ZIMBABWE — HARARE - The management of Zimbabwe's diamond mining company is in hot water and face dismissal after a damming report tabled to Robert Matibili Mugabe exposing shocking theft of precious minerals.

 

The head of Zimbabwe's Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC) Dominic Mubayiwa and the other members of the board are facing the chop over "failure to account for massive leakages in diamonds amounting to US$25m."

 

 

The action comes after the tabling of a damning report by the central bank which accused senior ZMDC officials of plundering the country's mineral wealth, especially diamonds in the Chiadzwa area in Marange, Manicaland.

 

The report also covers major diamond mining concerns, including the controversial River Ranch Mine and Marowa Diamonds.

 

Sources privy to the report say it alleges "the board and senior members of the company funnelled billions of dollars of state assets into the hands of private companies."

 

It also alleged that "these companies are owned by a network of senior government officials, foreign businessmen and senior members of Zimbabwe's Government and army."

Furthermore, the report claimed that the managers of ZMDC's largest diamond mine, and the Zimbabwean soldiers guarding it, had organised the theft of up to US$25m in gems this past year alone.

 

 

 

 

 

Zimbabwe has sent dozens of troops to Chiadzwa to guard the diamonds mine there following a rush for the precious stone known as "ngoda" here.

ZimDaily heard that senior government and ZMDC official have all denied allegations made in the report.

Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Dr Gideon Gono was said to have complained that the parastatal had only managed to raise US$15 million in the past year from its diamond mining activities, yet dealers who were panning the site before government took over were earning US$50 million monthly, which was being smuggled out of the country.

ZMDC took over diamond mining in Marange sometime last year after the Government moved in to curb diamond smuggling in the area.

The report indicates that Zimbabwe could have been fleeced of a total of US$1,3 billion in potential revenue from diamonds.

ZMDC is a Government-backed mining firm, which is responsible for extracting a variety of minerals including chrome and gold.

 

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