By Abbey Chikane, KP Monitor for Marange, Zimbabwe

21 March 2010

Introduction

The author prepared this report to confirm the understanding of the mandate of the KP Monitor for Zimbabwe. The report is written with a view to ensuring that the KP Monitor’s approach to the implementation of the Joint work plan is consistent with Kimberley Process, Working Group on Monitoring expectations. The terms of reference and joint work plan incorporate in this report provide further details of the KP Monitor’s respective responsibilities and; the fact-finding visit to Zimbabwe facilitated an on-the-spot assessment of the situation. Further, the fact-finding-visit has enabled him to determine his approach to the assignment and confirmed his operational requirements.

The fact-finding-mission occurred from 1-3 March, 2010.

Background

Appointment of the KP Monitor

Abbey Chikane, founder chairman of the Kimberley Process was nominated KP Monitor for Marange, Zimbabwe by the Kimberley Process Working Group on Monitoring, in consultation with the current chairman of the Kimberley Process. Following communication between Mr. Chardon, chairman of the Working Group on Monitoring, and the Honourable Obert Mpofu, Minister of Mines and Mining Development, Chikane was accepted by the government of Zimbabwe.

Understanding the Mandate

The Seventh Annual Plenary of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme met from 2 – 5 November, 2009 in Swakopmund, Namibia. At this meeting, the Plenary adopted an Administrative Decision on a joint work plan aimed at bringing Zimbabwe’s diamond trade into full compliance with the minimum requirements of the Kimberley Process. This follows acknowledgement by Zimbabwean government representatives that there have been certain challenges in complying with the minimum standards of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme. The government noted its commitment to urgently addressing issues identified in the reports of the Working Group on Monitoring (WGM), Working Group on Statistics and the report of the Kimberley Process Review Mission to Zimbabwe that took place from 30 June to 4 July 2009.

The joint work plan was developed by Zimbabwe and the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme to implement recommendations of the Review Mission (2009). The joint work plan is expected to be supported by technical assistance from Participants and Observers in the Kimberley Process. Plenary also urged Kimberley Process Participants and Observers to promote regional cooperation and outreach in support of this plan. The implementation and progress of the plan will be reviewed by the Intersessional and Plenary of the Kimberley Process in 2010.

To oversee and support the implementation of the joint work plan, Plenary resolved that a Kimberley Process Monitor for Zimbabwe (KP Monitor) be appointed. As stated in the Joint work plan, the role of a KP Monitor is to examine and supervise shipments of rough diamonds from the Marange area. The Joint work plan provides for a supervision of export mechanism under which exports of Marange diamonds are subject to Kimberley Process verification and confirmation that those rough diamonds were handled in full compliance with the minimum standards of the Kimberley Process. The Administrative Decision also provides for a review mission to assess progress in the implementation the joint work plan.

Although the terms of reference and joint work plan eloquently explained the task, the KP Monitor would like to restate his understanding of the assignment. The main objective of the KP Monitor is to support the implementation of the Swakopmund Plenary Administrative Decision and Joint work plan and work with the Zimbabwean authorities towards full compliance with the minimum requirements of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme.

The main activities of the KP Monitor involve monitoring the implementation of the Joint work plan and reporting on a regular basis, with the frequency of such reporting still to be mutually agreed, to the chairman of the Working Group on Monitoring with copies to the Kimberley Process chair and the

Minister of Mines and Mining Development of Zimbabwe. The Kimberley Process and the government of Zimbabwe have agreed that the KP Monitor will have full and unhindered access to all relevant diamond production and processing sites as well as to all stakeholders from the point of mining to the point of export, including representatives of government, industry and civil society.

On request, the KP Monitor will prepare an Interim Progress report for the Kimberley Process Intersessional meeting, to be held in June 2010 and/or for the preparation of the Kimberley Process Review Mission which will be conducted in terms of the Joint work plan, as well as a Final report for the Plenary which is scheduled to convene in November 2010. The calendar for submitting regular progress reports will be provided to the KP Monitor for consideration by the Chair of the working group on monitoring.

In addition, prior to each export, the KP Monitor will examine, at the request of the Zimbabwean Ministry of Mines and Mining Development, diamonds shipment from any producing areas in the Marange diamond fields to confirm whether diamonds selected for shipment meet Kimberley Process minimum requirements and confirm their certification for export.

The KP Monitor will conduct a thorough examination of individual shipments and their chain of custody to confirm their compliance with Kimberley Process requirements, according to the following procedure:

- When the KP Monitor assesses that an export shipment has been produced and prepared in accordance with Kimberley Process Certification Scheme minimum requirements, the KP Monitor is required to confirm this on the relevant Kimberley Process Certificate with his signature and stamp, and will digitally photograph the certificate and shipment. A specimen of the KP Monitor signature and stamp will be provided to the Kimberley Process Chair for prior distribution to Kimberley Process Participants.

- When the KP Monitor assesses that an export shipment has not been produced and prepared in accordance with Kimberley Process Certification Scheme minimum requirements, the KP Monitor will provide to the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development specific written indications as to the reason(s), including any possible means of remediation. Any such proposed export will be held until the necessary remedial action is completed, after which the KP Monitor will reexamine the export and, if fully Kimberley Process Certification Scheme compliant, certify the shipment and sign the Kimberley Process Certificate.

After each examination, the KP Monitor is required to prepare a specific KP ‘export examination report’, providing summary conclusions on exports that have been reviewed against specific Kimberley Process Certification Scheme requirements. Such KP ‘export examination reports’ are to be submitted within one week of the certification examination to the chair of the Working Group on Monitoring, with a copy to the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development of Zimbabwe. Pictures of certificates and shipments must be attached to the ‘KP export examination reports’. Finally, the KP Monitor will perform his tasks under the aegis and supervision of the Kimberley Process Working Group on Monitoring, and will refer any related issues to this working group. The KP Monitor may be invited to take part in the meetings or teleconferences of the working group, at the discretion of the chair of the working group.

KP Monitor Meetings in Zimbabwe

Courtesy visit to the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development

On 1 March 2010, the KP Monitor arrived in Harare on a three-day visit to begin the fact-finding mission. He met Mr. Thankful Musukutwa, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Mines and Mining Development. At this meeting the Permanent Secretary proposed a three day programme, including logistics and resources allocated for the success of the visit. The meeting was followed by a courtesy visit to the office of the Honourable Obert Mpofu, Minister of Mines and Mining Development. The Minister assured the KP Monitor that he would have full access to all relevant government representatives, relevant diamond production and processing sites as well as to all relevant stakeholders from mine to the point of export. He reiterated his government’s desire and commitment to comply fully with the minimum requirements of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme.

Meeting with KP Joint work plan stakeholders

The KP Monitor then met with officials of numerous state-owned entities and departments. These included representatives of the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development (MMMD), Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ), Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC), the Ministry of Finance represented by the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA), Minerals Unit, and Zimbabwe Republic Police. In addition, industry representatives of several private companies were present, including Marange Resources, Mbada Diamonds, Canadile Miners and Global Diamond Valuators, Namibia.

At this meeting, the Permanent Secretary of Mines and Mining Development introduced the KP Monitor and requested all present to introduce themselves. He then requested the KP Monitor to present himself to elaborate on the purpose of his visit. The KP Monitor explained that this was a fact-finding-mission to Zimbabwe to make preliminary assessments on operations at the Marange diamond field and to determine his requirements for technical support in fulfilling his mandate.

Visit to Mbada Diamonds sorting facility

The KP Monitor visited the Mbada Diamonds sorting and valuation facility housed in a hangar at Harare Airport (referred to as the hangar). The KP Monitor was received by Dr. Mhlanga, chairman of Mbada Diamonds, chief executive officer, Mr. Rhuhwaya, and Mr. Dave Kassel, chairman of Reclam, a company associated with Mbada Diamonds. The Monitor was also received by a contingent of government department representatives most of whom are responsible for the monitoring and implementation of the Kimberley Process Joint work plan.

At Mbada Diamonds, the line management team demonstrated the process of the movement of diamonds from Marange diamond fields to the Harare sorting and valuation facility. The team also explained security and control systems at the facility, chain of custody, as well as policies and procedures for handling diamonds in and around the ‘hangar’. Mbada Diamonds operational policies and procedures were designed and implemented by Global Diamond Valuators of Namibia, a consulting firm retained by Mbada Diamonds and Canadile Miners. Most importantly, management explained and demonstrated company production pipeline procedures, audit processes, administrative and document handling procedures.

Findings:

(i) Policies, processes and procedures applied at Mbada Diamonds are world class on paper and the company needs to build the necessary capacity to implement them. The company also needs to inculcate a culture of full compliance with Kimberley Process minimum requirements.

(ii) At the ‘hangar’ there is an area of the sorting and valuation facility without cameras. This creates ‘blind-spots’ and risks breaking the chain of warrantees. It also creates an opportunity for rough diamonds to be removed from the security and monitoring control system. The KP Monitor believes this situation compromises the audit process;

(iii) There is inadequate security around the helicopter landing pad. While the heli pad is in a secured area, it is also close to a standard fence that could be ripped apart;

(iv) Representatives of state security agencies present at the ‘hangar’ do not seem to be adequately trained or experienced enough to ensure that the manner in which rough diamonds are handled is fully compliant with Kimberley Process Certification Scheme minimum requirements;

(v) There is no visible paper trail to track the movement of rough diamonds from the safe to cubicles. Management of Mbada Diamonds would like to believe that the current paper trail is adequate; however the KP Monitor believes the system can and should be improved.

(vi) The sorting and valuation site requires a senior well-trained and experienced Diamond Auditor. At present the company has entrusted this responsibility to a person who does not qualify for the job. However, management promised they will employ a qualified person to take full responsibility for implementation of audit policies, processes and procedures.

Meeting with Global Diamond Valuators

At the end of the Mbada Diamonds visit the KP Monitor requested a presentation by Global Diamond Valuators Namibia to explain its role and the nature of contractual relationships between the firm and its clients. Representatives explained they are retained by Mbada Diamonds and Canadile Miners as technical advisors to establish policies, processes and procedure to meet Kimberley Process minimum requirements, particularly the industry chain of warrantees. In addition, the KP Monitor requested soft and hard copies of manuals, policies and procedures recommended to Mbada Diamonds and Canadile Miners. These were provided and are in the custody of the KP Monitor.

Findings;

(i) Methodologies and tools used by Global Diamond Valuators are consistent with international best practice, however, there is a possibility that Mbada Diamonds and Canadile Miners management may receive all the required knowledge and information but fail to implement systems due to lack of capacity.

(ii) The duration of the contractual involvement of Global Diamond Valuator is not certain. This poses a concern on the implementation and sustainability of the systems.

Meeting with the diplomatic community

The KP Monitor was invited by the Head of Delegation of the European Union to Zimbabwe, His Excellency, Ambassador Xavier Marchal who hosted a dinner at his residence for the Heads of the Missions accredited to Zimbabwe from countries or entities that are Participants in the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme. Ambassador Marchal advised the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Zimbabwe through a note verbale that he had invited Heads of the Missions accredited to Zimbabwe to the dinner. About 20 representatives of participating states and regional economic integration organisations attended.

In his speech, the KP Monitor explained that he was on a fact-finding-mission to assess operations at Marange diamond fields and to determine his staff requirements. In response, members of the diplomatic community raised a number of issues, including press statements by both Honourable President Robert Mugabe and Minister Mpofu that the government of Zimbabwe still had an option to trade diamonds outside the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme. However, members emphatically shared their commitment and support for the implementation of the Joint work plan and that revenue generated from the sale of rough diamonds should be used to rebuild the Zimbabwean economy and improve the livelihood of its people, particularly children.

Findings;

Most member countries represented at the dinner fully supported the implementation of the Joint work plan with some expressing concerns on the political uncertainty in Zimbabwe.

Visit to Chiadzwa, Marange

On 2 March 2010, the KP Monitor visited the Chiadzwa, Marange diamond fields for first hand information on mining operations in that area before touring Forbes, a border post between Zimbabwe and Mozambique. The visit to Forbes followed claims that diamonds from Chiadzwa were being smuggled through the borders between the two countries. Chiadzwa, Marange is a group of diamondiferous, largely alluvial gravel properties in the province of Manicaland, Zimbabwe. Mining takes place on surfacial alluvial and alluvial blocks, with open pits hardly reaching three metres depth.

The ground is broken with excavators, loaded into dump trucks using a backhoe excavator and hauled to the ore bin or stockpile at the plant.

Geologists explain that the ore consists of sands, gravels and pebbles with minor portions of boulders of conglomerates. All material from the mining block is processed as discrete batch and thus results can be compared with the sampling forecast for the block to check the efficiency of the recovery process. It is estimated that an area of 66 648 hectares (ha) held under 4 special grants that belong to ZMDC. The special grants are identified as follows:

SPECIAL GRANT NO. AREA COVERED (ha) % OF REA

SG 4718 600 0.90

SG 4719 400 0.60

SG 4720 2100 3.15

SG 4765 63 548 95.35

TOTAL 66 648 100.00

Based on the geological exploration carried out by ZMDC, 11 889 hectares or 18% of the total concession is prospective for diamonds. The remaining 54 759 hectares show low prospects, and further exploration is underway in this area. The prospective concession area has been demarcated and issued to two investors with some demarcated but not issued yet.

SPECIAL GRANT NO. AREA COVERED (ha) STATUS

SG 4718 600 Demarcated, not issued

SG 4719 400 Demarcated, not issued

SG 4720 1 100 Issued to Mbada Diamonds

SG 4720 1 000 Issued to Canadile Miners

SG 4765 8 789 Demarcated, not issued

TOTAL 11 889

Aside from the visit to Forbes border post, the KP Monitor’s objective was to (a) identify the total area under the control of ZMDC in Chiadzwa, Marange, (b) subdivision of resources into manageable areas and (c) assess mining operation at both Mbada and Canadile mining sites.

Visit to Canadile Miners sorting site

The KP Monitor visited the Canadile Miners sorting and valuation site in Mutare, Manicaland province.

At the site, the delegation was received by line management and shareholders of the company. Overall, the sorting and valuation site appeared non compliant with the Kimberley Process minimum requirements, largely because their security and monitoring control systems were in-adequate, and diamond audit systems were equally not up to standard. Understandably, the offices were only recently occupied and some if not most of their staff had been recently employed. When the KP Monitor randomly selected an employee, who happens to be an employee of the MMCZ, for questioning, it became apparent that he had no idea of activities at the sorting and valuation site, despite his role as the representative of a state owned entity.

Findings;

(i) Canadile Miners sorting and evaluation site does not meet a voluntary system of industry self-regulation aimed at facilitating the full traceability of rough diamond transactions by government authorities;

(ii) Policies, processes and procedures applied at Canadile Miners are world class in theory and therefore need the company to build the necessary capacity to implement them. The company also needs to inculcate a culture of full compliance with Kimberley Process minimum requirements;

(iii) At the sorting and valuation site there is an area without cameras. This creates ‘blind-spots’ and risks breaking the chain of warrantees. It also creates an opportunity for rough diamonds to be removed from the security and monitoring control system. The KP Monitor believes this compromises the audit process;

(iv) There is inadequate security around the premises;

(v) Representatives of state security agencies on site are not adequately trained or experienced enough to ensure that the manner in which rough diamonds are handled is fully compliant with Kimberley Process Certification Scheme minimum requirements;

(vi) There is no visible paper trail to track the movement of rough diamonds from the safe to cubicles. Management of Canadile Miners believes the current paper trail is adequate; the KP Monitor believes the system can be improved;

(vii) The sorting and valuation site requires a senior well trained and experienced Diamond Auditor;

(viii) Back-up of footage from the electronic security system is inadequate;

(ix) Roles and responsibilities of shareholders, management and staff are blurred and confusing. The KP Monitor was unable to identify the public office or accounting officer, even though the Managing Director was present at the meeting;

(x) The KP Monitor deducted, without conclusive evidence, that Canadile Miners may be encountering financial difficulties. This conclusion, if correct, contradicts the assertion that the company had committed US$100 million to develop its operation in Marange.

Visit to Mbada Diamonds mining site

The KP Monitor visited the Mbada Diamonds mining site where a relatively new, but highly mechanised, mining operation was established. The KP Monitor was received by the same team that met him at the sorting facility; Dr. Mhlanga, Mr. Rhuhwaya, and Mr. Dave Kassel. The KP Monitor was also received by representatives of government. At the mine Mbada Diamonds demonstrated the process of the

movement of diamonds from the mine site to screening, weighbridge, surge bins, sort boxes, all the way to the lock boxes. The company also demonstrated health and safety procedures, operational procedure and process flows. An elaborate security and monitoring control system was demonstrated. All machines and equipment found at Mbada Diamonds mine site are relatively new; this includes all mining machinery and equipment. The KP Monitor concluded that Mbada Diamonds, especially when compared to Canadile Miners, appears to be funded heavily by a large and established financial institution.

Findings:

(i) Mbada Diamonds mine is highly geared;

(ii) The company has been mining in the Marange area since late 2009 and has, stock-piled diamonds;

(iii) Comparing like with like, Mbada Diamonds mine is equipped on par with medium to large mining operations in Botswana and Namibia. Management believes the company has built a ‘hands-free’ mining operation;

(iv) During the visit, security arrangements in and around the mine were elaborate and highly visible (see section on security situation below);

(v) Operational and geological staff demonstrated knowledge of their mining operation;

(xi) Representatives of state security agencies present at the mine are not adequately trained or experienced enough to ensure that the manner in which rough diamonds are handled meets a voluntary system of industry self-regulation aimed at facilitating the full traceability of rough diamond transactions by government authorities;

(vi) The Mbada team (shareholders and management) is intimately involved in running the business.

Visit to Canadile Miners mine site

The KP Monitor visited the Canadile Miners mining site where a mechanised mining operation was established. The KP Monitor was received by management team under a tree where he was briefed about the programme and activities of the day. Apart from government and parastatal officials, present at the mine were directors and management of the company. These included, Mr. Rob van der Merwe, Marco Chioppi, Adrian Taylor, chief executive office, Z Ncube, Deputy chief executive officer and Gwiba, office Manager. This is the same team that the KP Monitor had met at the sorting offices.

At the mine Canadile demonstrated the value chain and the process of the movement of diamonds from mine site to the sorting and valuation office in Mutare. Canadile machines and equipment at the mine site are ‘work in progress. The splitting of diamonds and non-diamonds is done in a container. Whilst the KP Monitor was at the mine site, there was construction underway. The Canadile staff appeared to be working hard to meet Kimberley Process Certification Scheme minimum standards before the next visit by the KP Monitor. The Canadile Miners management team has also undertaken to engage the services of Global Diamond Valuators to expedite implementation of minimum requirements before the next visit of the KP Monitors and that of Kimberley Process Review Mission.

Findings:

(vii) Canadile Miners may be experiencing financial challenges;

(viii) The company has been mining in the Marange area since late 2009 and has stock-piled diamonds;

(ix) Comparing like with like, Canadile Miners mine is currently the size of a small-scale miner with machinery and equipment that can be moved from one site to another without much difficulty. ;

(x) During the KP Monitor’s visit security arrangements in and around the mine were sufficient to prevent intrusion;

(xi) The operational and geological staff demonstrated knowledge of their mining operation;

(xii) Representatives of state security agencies present at the mine are not adequately trained or experienced enough to ensure that the manner in which rough diamonds are handled meets a voluntary system of industry self-regulation aimed at facilitating the full traceability of rough diamond transactions by government authorities;

(xii) The Canadile miners managing director did not demonstrate active involvement in running the business. Although he was present, he never participated in company briefings.

Security at the plant

MBADA

Screened concentrate weighed with truck on a weigh bridge

Weight of concentrate from head feed is captured Weight-o-meters used to weigh concentrate

Process at DMS double-locked by security and mine management

Process in recovery up to vault is also double locked

Glove boxes have cameras inside to monitor the sorting operation

Sorting operations are hands free

Exporting boxes use self-locking mechanism

Exporting boxes locked with two locks

Access to all diamond areas are controlled by centralised access control system

Exit from mining area is via an X-ray machine

CANADILE

Count number of scoops from tipper into head feed

Weight concentrate from surge bin recorded again Security personnel on horses doing rounds

DMS plant is hands free

Conveyor belts screened off with wire mesh

Recovery up to vault is double locked

Glove boxes have cameras inside to monitor the sorting operation

Sorting operations are hands free

Exporting boxes use self-locking mechanism

Export boxes locked with three locks

Access to all diamond areas controlled by centralised access control system

Exit from mining area is via a thorough physical search

Security at the mine

MBADA

Entrances and security exits manned 24 hours

Static security space at 100m intervals

Motorbike units conduct rounds every hour

Dog unit right around the fence area

Control towers Watch towers at corners of the perimeter

CANADILE

Entrances and security exits manned 24 hours

Static security at 100m intervals

Security personnel doing rounds on horses

Night vision cameras along the fence and mining are- linked to central control tower

Visit to Forbes border post

En route to Harare, the KP Monitor toured the Forbes Border Post. At the border the delegation was able to briefly meet the head of Zimbabwe Revenue Agency who explained that she was not authorised to speak on behalf of her organisation.

Findings:

(i) The government of Zimbabwe has designated Harare International Airport as the country’s official point of export for diamonds and that no border gate or other exit point was equipped and/or authorised to facilitate the export of rough diamonds;

(ii) Rough diamonds exported from a border gate or any other domestic airport is deemed illegal;

(3) On the other hand, the KP Monitor was unable to obtain regulations or legislation that supports this desired situation. It appears that if a diamond trader met Kimberley Process minimum requirements and obtained the Kimberley Process Certificate, he/she could apply for permission to use a border of his/her choice.

Workshops with Stakeholders in Harare

On 3 March 2010 the KP Monitor arranged one-hour long workshops with individual key stakeholders at the offices of the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development. The purpose was to outline individual implementation plans to prepare templates. The workshop also provided further clarification for the implementation of the Joint work plan.

Meeting with the Reserve Bank

In a separate meeting with officials of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (Reserve Bank), two representatives of the bank, Messrs. Manase and Chiremba explained that as part of the court order, the Reserve Bank was requested to provide custody for the diamonds in question during the dispute period. The bank received all the diamonds referred to in paragraphs 3 and 4 of the High court order in judgment no. HC 6411/07 for safekeeping pending determination of the appeal noted against the judgment. In fulfilling this request, the Reserve Bank established a monitoring committee comprising representatives of the following institutions:

1. Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe

2. Minerals and Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe

3. Ministry of Mines and Mining Development

4. Office of the President

5. Zimbabwe Republic Police

6. Deputy Sheriff

7. African Consolidated Resources (legal representative)

The Reserve Bank further appointed Mr. Jamal Joseph Ahmed, a diamond valuator from Premier Diamonds, a company registered in Belgium with offices in Antwerp. Premier Diamonds was assigned to confirm the weight and value of the diamonds. members of the monitoring committee were invited to witness the valuation and sealing of the diamonds. The diamonds were placed in a trunk and one key was kept by the deputy sheriff and another by African Consolidated Resources legal representatives. The deputy sheriff also issued a receipt presented to African Consolidated Resources. The Ministry of Mines and Mining Development has informed the KP Monitor that its team is currently seeking legal interpretation of the court order and the implications.

Meeting with cabinet task force on Marange production

The KP Monitor met with the Zimbabwean cabinet task force on Marange production. The Task Force was established by government, to monitor developments in Marange, among other issues. The committee comprises Honourable Mpofu, Chairman of the Committee and Minister of Mines and Mining Development, Honourable Biti, Minister of Finance, Honourable Ncube, Minister of Industry and Commerce, Honourable Mnangangwa, Minister of Defence, and Honourable Mangoma, Minister of Economic Development and Investment Promotions.

At this meeting, the KP Monitor briefed the Task force on his activities in Zimbabwe as part of his factfinding mission. He assured them that Zimbabwe has the capability and potential to meet Kimberley Process minimum requirements.

Second meeting with the Minister of Mines and Mining Development

The KP Monitor met the minister at the end of his fact-finding mission. At this meeting, the KP Monitor informed the Minister that his fact-finding mission was successful and that he was able to visit every site possible and met all relevant stakeholders in the time frame provided. The KP Monitor also informed the minister that he would be preparing a report on his findings and that a copy would be sent to the minister.

Media Briefing

At the end of the visit, the KP Monitor met members of the media at the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development. He informed the media that his mission was accomplished and that he would be reporting to Mr. Stephane Chardon, chairman of the Working Group on Monitoring who, in turn, would report to the chairman of the Kimberley Process and the Minister of Mines and Mining Development, Honourable Obert Mpofu. The KP Monitor ended his fact-finding mission and returned to South Africa.

Agencies and companies actively involved in mining Marange diamonds

Mining in Zimbabwe is administered and managed by the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development. Among other issues, the ministry is responsible for granting mining rights by issuing certificates of registering mining claims, special grants, mining leases exclusive prospecting orders etc. The ministry discharges some of its functions through state owned entities such as the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC), a company created by act of parliament.

Another wholly-owned state entity is the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ). Its mandate is to sell and coordinate the export of minerals, for which it receives a commission of (0.875%). It also purchases rough diamonds from the local market and sell them to diamond manufacturers and dealers. MMCZ is Zimbabwe’s Kimberley Process Certification Scheme exporting authority. The MMCZ authority is required to keep diamond production statistics and other related production and export information.

The ZMDC is mandated to invest in the mining industry of Zimbabwe on behalf of the state. ZMDC operates 26 separate mining companies in Zimbabwe. Some of its operations include four special grants in the mining area of Chiadzwa, which are held directly by ZMDC. Together, the company owns approximately 125 000 hectares of diamondiferous area.

Initially, ZMDC attempted to produce and sell rough diamonds without partnering with commercial entities. This attempt, which produced 1 366 872 carats over less than three years, was later reconsidered and it was concluded that joint ventures were the preferred way to grow its technical and financial capabilities. As at October 2008, the company was allowed to sell rough diamonds in the open market. An estimated 876 000 carats valued at US$8,3 million were sold to the open market and a balance of 490 000 carats were kept in stock. Of the US$8,3 million, US$837 000 was paid to the national fiscus.

Formation of Joint Ventures

Following the Kimberley Process Review Mission, 2009, a report outlining levels of non-compliance, including the security situation around the Chiadzwa and Marange diamond fields, the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development and ZMDC resolved to revise their mining business model. A decision was taken to consider partnering with commercial mining companies. According to representatives of the Zimbabwean government, unsolicited expressions of interest from the mining fraternity were received from various local and international operators and a file was opened for applications.

When the government revised its business model, the need arose to select potential partners. The simplified version of the selection process can be summarised as follows; prospective investors were selected by the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development, which was preceded by establishing “a special purpose vehicle” that represented ZMDC commercial interests. This company was later named Marange Resources Private Limited (Marange Resources), a wholly owned subsidiary of ZMDC.

Marange Resources although wholly owned by ZMDC is a private company registered under Zimbabwe’s Companies Act Chapter 24:03. The company was originally registered as Block Wood Mining and later the name was changed to Marange Resources.

In July 2009, two companies, namely Core Mining, registered in South Africa and Grandwell Holdings, registered in Mauritius were considered for joints ventures with Marange Resources. ZMDC would hold its interests in the joint venture through Marange Resources. According to a report based on ZMDC oral evidence to the parliamentary committee on mines and energy, on 8 February 2010, Core Mining Resources is a diamond mining company operating in Kimberley, South Africa and Grandwell Holdings is a company involved in the reclamation business with strong a financial and administrative capacity to put in place a fully fledged mining operation.

Due diligence was conducted on both companies and subsequently the ZMDC signed a suspensive Memorandum of Understanding with Core Mining and Grandwell respectively. The report states that the Memorandum of Understanding with both companies was superseded by the shareholders agreements signed on 13 and 14 August 2009. The joint venture for Grandwell was signed on 13 and Core Mining on 14 August 2009.

Issuing special grants

ZMDC then released special grants named 4720 measuring 2100 hectares to Core Mining and Grandwell Holdings. The special grants were divided in two almost equal parts. The companies pledged US$100 million investment in the form of equipment and machinery that would be used for building physical, processing, water, road and security infrastructure. The agreement also undertakes to relocate communities within and around the mining fields. An inter ministerial committee was established to oversee the relocation programme. This committee included the ministries of local government, public works, mines and environment.

These joint ventures have resulted in the formation and incorporation of two distinct companies in which ZMDC (through Marange Resources) has 50% shares. Grandwell and Marange Resources hold their 50/50 shares in a joint venture company called Condurango, trading as Mbada Diamonds. Condurango has entered into a management agreement with joint venture partners, with the understanding that Condurango will be responsible for the day-to-day running of the mining operation.

For Core Mining Resources, a new company called Canadile Miners Private Limited was formed. Unlike Condurango, Canadile Miners partners have agreed to jointly manage their operations. Both joint ventures have board of directors. Condurango has ten seats, while ZMDC is allocated five directors and Grandwell five directors. The chairmanship of the board rotates after two years. The same arrangement applies to Canadile Miners.

Relocation of affected villagers

A total of 4,207 households have been identified for resettlement to pave the way for diamond mining operations. Total costs of resettlement have been calculated by the Ministry of Public Works and Housing at $11,791,644 (Table 1). The investors currently have committed to share the cost equally. New investors in the area will share the cost on pro-rata. The government has already identified ARDA Transau farm for resettlement of affected households. The first phase of the resettlement exercise will see 1,800 households being moved to ARDA Transau farm where each household will get one hectare for a homestead and half a hectare for crop farming.

The investors have so far built two sample houses at ARDA Transau and sunk 10 boreholes. The existing school and clinic have been renovated. The investors will install irrigation infrastructure for the settlers.

Small scale miners

The Ministry of Mines and Mining Development is drafting policy and procedures on handling small scale mining. Among other issues, the ministry is investigating the roles of each government department and other relevant key institutions. It is also looking at the definition of small scale miner, particularly size. To date, no small miner has been licensed to mine. The ministry indicated that a framework document will be completed by June 2010. However, mining operations by small miners will begin at a much later stage.

Country internal controls

Mining titles are issued by the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development (MMMD) after evaluation of the application and due diligence on the investor. The MMMD carries out periodic mine audits and inspections. The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) Minerals Unit also monitors the movement of diamonds from the mining stage up to the export stage. MMMD and the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ) are responsible for authorising exports of diamonds after satisfying themselves that the diamonds comply with Kimberley Process Certification Scheme requirements. No diamonds can be exported without the KP certificate.

At the port of exit ZIMRA insists on Kimberley Process certificates being produced before diamonds can be exported. The diamonds must be sealed and accompanied by a commercial invoice with the seal number and number of carats being exported. There is a statutory instrument in place which makes it mandatory for all diamond producers to comply with minimum Kimberley Process requirements.

Marange production and sales statistics

For the period October 2006 to 28 February 2010, a production and sales account of the Marange diamond field is obtainable from the activities of a number of players as summarised in the table below.

Marange Diamond Field Production Summary, October 2006 to 28 February 2010

Source

Product

volume

(carats) Sales volume (carats) Stock (carats)

Marange

Resources 1,363,566.55 1,083,840.36 279,726.19

Mbada 2,005,298.44 0 2,005,298.44

Canadile 346,551.92 0 346,551.92

MMCZ mop-up 531,222.01 525,167.76 6,054.25

Police/MMMD 25,932.88 25,932.88 472.87

ACR 129,031.87 0 129,031.87

TOTAL 4,401,603.67 1,634,941.00 2,767,135.54

Source:MMMD (2010)

Marange Resources annual production volume, 2007 – 2009

Production Period Diamond recovery (carats)

2007 494,181.95

2008 460,017.20

2009 409,367.40

Total Production 1,363,566.55

Source: MMMD (2010)

Marange Resources Sales Summary, 2008 -2010

Sales Carats

Tender 1 01-Oct-08 101,550.00

Tender 2 01-Mar-09 87,307.09

3,706.63

328,305.01

Tender 3 16-Jun-09 64,305.44

2,445.32

104,260.86

2,005.31

61,028.61

Tender 4 20-Aug-09 17,930.11

30,263.06

73,221.52

Tender 5 27-Jan-10 2,753.73

3,678.18

10,387.95

17,445.83

81,056.81

63,297.66

28,891.24

Total sales 1,083,840.36

Closing stock at 28

February 2010 279,726.19

Source: (2010)

Marange Resources only started sales in October 2008. The slow issuance of CD1 (currency declaration) forms by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe slowed the export process causing the accumulation of product/stock pile. A paper trail is available for all transactions entered by Marange Resources. The Ministry of Mines and Mining Development, through the comptroller and auditor general is engaging a forensic auditor to reconcile production and sales figures for Marange diamonds as stipulated in the Joint work plan, Strategic Issue 8. The exercise will include reconciliation of all diamonds bought by MMCZ and those from police seizures.

National Production Statistics, 2009

Marange

Resources Mbada Canadile Murrow River Ranch TOTAL

409,367.40 302,115.08 57,537.00 121,863.19 72,617.23 963,499.90

In 2009, Mbada and Canadile only started production in December 2009.

Cooperation and Transparency

In 2009, cabinet set up an inter ministerial task force to oversee Kimberley Process compliance issues on Marange diamonds, to include investment in the Marange diamond field and relocation of affected households. The three political parties to the Global Political Agreement (GPA) are represented in the inter-ministerial task force whose members include:

Hon O.M. Mpofu (MP) – Minister of Mines and Mining Development, (chair) Hon T. Biti (MP) – Ministry of Finance

Hon E.D. Mnangagwa (MP) – Ministry of Defence

Hon Professor W. Ncube (MP) – Ministry of Industry and Commerce

Hon E. Mangoma (MP) – Ministry of Economic Development and Investment Promotion.

In addition, there is the parliamentary portfolio committee on mines and energy which monitors compliance with best practices. It also monitors the implementation of relevant legislation and corporate governance by all players in the diamond industry. A steering committee chaired by the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development, monitors implementation of the Joint work plan agreed to with the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme. Other members of the committee include MMCZ, ZMDC, ZIMRA and ZRP – Minerals Unit. There is also a committee on border control made up of the ZRP – Border Control and Minerals Unit, ZIMRA and immigration officials who work with their counterparts in Mozambique.

A provincial committee chaired by the Ministry of Local Government has been set up to deal with the relocation process for affected households.

The Committee is made up of officials from:

· Ministry of Local Government

· Ministry of Lands

· Ministry of Public Construction

· Department of Irrigation

· Department of Physical Planning

· District Development Fund

· Environmental Management Agency

· Mutare Rural District Council

· Ministry of Agriculture

· Ministry of Mines and Mining Development

· Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation

The committee reports to the provincial governor for Manicaland.

Security situation in Marange

Demilitarisation of Marange diamond field appears to be ongoing, in accordance with the Kimberley Process Administrative Decision and Joint work plan. As resource areas are demarcated and allocated to joint venture companies, investors take full responsibility of their areas and are compelled to secure their areas and operate on hands free auditable systems. The KP Monitor was informed that there is now complete demilitarisation of areas under Mbada and Canadile’s operations. Both Mbada and Canadile have secured their areas of operation through physical security barriers (fences etc) and electronic means.

Industry voluntary self-regulation

The global diamond industry has undertaken to implement a voluntary system of self-regulation by ensuring an effective internal control system of diamonds based on the international certification scheme for rough diamonds. This system includes a chain of warrantees underpinned through verification by independent auditors of individual companies and supported by penalties set by industry, which helps facilitate the full traceability of rough diamond transactions by government authorities. The KP Monitor attempted to establish levels of compliance by mining companies at Marange diamonds fields. The results were as follows:

Security situation at Sorting and Valuation facilities

MBADA CANADILE

· Screened concentrate weighed with truck on a weigh bridge

· Count number of scoops from the tipper into head feed

· Weight of concentrate from head feed is captured

· Weight-o-meters used to weigh concentrate

· Weight concentrate from surge bin recorded again

· Security personnel on horses doing rounds

· Process at DMS double-locked by security and mine management

· DMS plant is hand free

· Process in recovery up to vault is also double locked

· Conveyor belts screened off with wire mesh

· Recovery up to vault is double locked

· Glove boxes have cameras inside to monitor the sorting operation

· Glove boxes have cameras inside to monitor the sorting operation

· Sorting operations are hands free

· Sorting operations are hands free

· Exporting boxes use self-locking mechanism

· Exporting boxes use self-locking mechanism

· Export boxes secured with 3 locks

· Exporting boxes are secured with 2 locks

· Access to all diamond areas controlled by centralised access control system

· Access to all diamond areas controlled by centralised access control system

· Exit from the mining area is via X-ray machine

· Exit from the mining area is via thorough physical search

Security at the mine

MBADA CANADILE

· Entrances and security exits manned 24 hours

· Entrances and security exits manned 24 hours

· Static security at 100m intervals · Static security at 100m intervals

· Motorbike units conducts rounds every hour

· Security personnel doing rounds on horses

· Dog unit right around the fence area

· Control towers

· Watch towers at corners of the perimeter

· Night-vision cameras along fence and mining area- linked to central control tower

Landing air strip and security control tower

The KP Monitor visited the well-publicised air strip that is being built in the area. The mine management team informed the KP Monitor that the airstrip will be used to transport rough diamonds from the mine to the sorting and valuation facility in Harare. The KP Monitor was also taken to the security control tower. The tower is being built on the highest point in the Marange area.

Matter between Ministry of Mines and Mining Development and African Consolidated Resources

The KP Monitor was informed by the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development that African Consolidated Resources Plc, a public company listed on the London Stock Exchange, has over the past several years, declared a dispute on mining claims in the Marange diamond fields with the ministry and its associated institutions. The dispute between the parties culminated into a High Court ruling in September 2009 with a court order stating the following (as paraphrased):

· The African Consolidated Resources claims issued to Dashaloo Investments, Possession Investments, Heavy Staff Investments and Olebile Investments, which are within the area previously covered by Exclusive Prospecting order 1523 held by Kimberlit Searches are valid and have remained valid since the date they were originally pegged, and the right granted to a company that is associated with African Consolidated Resources, shall not apply in respect of the African Consolidated Resources claims as indicated on Annexure ‘B’ (of the application). In that regard it is hereby ordered that Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation cease its prospecting and diamond mining activities in the said area.

· The Court Order further instructs that 129 400 carats of diamonds seized from African Consolidated Resources offices in Harare January 2007 be returned to African Consolidated Resources, and the Police be directed to cease interfering with the African Consolidated Resources prospecting and mining activities. And that the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development and/or its associate institutions pay African Consolidated Resources lost on a legal practitioner and client scale, the one paying the other to be absolved.

The Ministry of Mines and Mining Development advised that this matter is sub judice and therefore cannot be discussed in detail until a legal opinion is obtained from its advisors.

The matter between the ministry of Mines and Mining Development and African Consolidated Resources is of serious concern. Indications are that the African Consolidates Resources may file an urgent application to stop shipment of rough diamonds that were mined from Marange diamond fields. This action may require Kimberley Process participants and observers to apply their minds on the matter.

The KP Monitor is of the opinion that the Kimberley Process is mandated by its participants and observers to ensure that Zimbabwe complies fully with minimum requirements of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme. And that the matter between the ministry of Mines and Mining Development and African Consolidated Resources is a subject of Zimbabwe’s national laws and court decisions. An attempt to handle the matter outside the courts could easily draw Kimberley Process participants and observers into a political and diplomatic disagreement.

The KP Monitor recommends that Kimberley Process should focus on the implementation of the joint work plan, as envisaged, to ensure that Zimbabwe is in full compliance with Kimberley Process minimum requirements. In the event of an urgent application by African Consolidated Resources, Kimberley Process actions should be guided by a court decision on the matter.

The Way Forward

The following challenges and recommendations are not listed in any particular order, but focus on issues that may have a negative impact on the implementation of the joint work plan, directly or indirectly. In listing these challenges and recommendations, an attempt is made to list only those that address issues covered in the joint work plan, and relevant to Kimberley Process minimum requirements.

Challenges Recommendations

· Government agencies have recently deployed civil servants to monitor and report on the diamond production exports and imports, however, most of these individuals are not adequately trained or inducted into this new responsibility

· Ongoing onsite training and coaching be provided to civil servants. Among other issues, the focus should be on system leakage and audit processes and procedures. Others may be trained as diamond sorters and valuators.

· Too many government agencies are involved in monitoring and handling rough diamonds. This poses the danger of diamonds being swapped or stolen in the process.

· Only the MMCZ, ZIMRA and ZRP should handle rough diamonds. Even with these three agencies, movement of rough diamonds should be subjected to a monitoring and security mechanism that can detect the loss or of diamonds.

· ZMDC has issued some special grants and is issuing more such grants.

· ZMDC should accelerate the process of issuing special grants in the Chiadzwa area since illegal miners may seek to occupy unfenced areas.

· ZRP is permitted by legislation to hold confiscated rough diamonds as exhibit. The legislation allows ZRP to transport rough diamonds to court as required.

· Legislation be amended to reduce the risk of diamond swap or loss. In the event that legislation need not be amended, government may consider the safe-keeping of rough diamonds at MMCZ (on confiscation and during court proceedings) and only release them when necessary.

· Zimbabwe Reserve Bank currently holds rough diamonds for safekeeping pending the court order and Appeal of the court order by the government of Zimbabwe.

· Zimbabwean Reserve Bank be encouraged to keep rough diamonds only under extraordinary circumstances, otherwise be discouraged from handling rough diamonds.

· Mbada Diamonds and Canadile need to increase the chances of providing accurate rough diamond statistics from production to sorting and valuation.

· These companies be encouraged to install Torex and counting machines at the mines.

· Mbada Diamonds and Canadile Miners do not have adequate diamond audit systems.

· These companies need to employ, a full time qualified diamond audit to increase their chances of complying fully with industry self-regulating mechanism as agreed by the global diamond industry and Kimberley Process participants.

· Mbada Diamonds and Canadile Miners have not been able to demonstrate that their sorting and valuation centres have no blind-spots.

· These companies need to put cameras all around their sorting and valuation facilities.

· Mbada Diamonds and Canadile Miners claim their sorting and valuation facilities are fully secured and insured.

· Both companies are requested to submit insurance report from a current insurer of the sorting and valuation facility stating that the facilities are fully insured at a value equivalent to the value of its production

· Mbada Diamonds and Canadile Miners claim their electronic surveillance systems are fully fraud-proof and they guarantee an off-site back-up.

· Both companies are requested to submit an assurance letter certifying that the electronic security system installed at their sorting and valuation facilities cover all areas in the facilities and that on request from the Kimberley Process, they can provide footage of at least three years of coverage, assuming that their operations continue for such a period.

Other Challenges and Recommendations

In addition, the following additional related challenges and recommendations should be taken into consideration.

Challenges Recommendations

· Marange diamonds field is a resource-rich region on the one hand but a politically and economically charged piece of land on the other. The political and economic leadership in and outside government faces the challenge of ensuring that revenue generated from the sale of rough diamonds is used to reconstruct and develop the economy. The challenge is for all parties

involved to communicate clearly the strategic direction the country would like to take in exploiting diamond resources in the interest of all people of Zimbabwe.

The KP Monitor recommends that the Cabinet Task Force on Marange production must lead an economic strategy aimed at developing and growing the diamond mining industry in Zimbabwe to create a significant source of revenue for the state. The strategy will have to be communicated clearly at all levels of government and industry to solicit the buy in of all key players in the industry.

The communication of clear messages to communities and other relevant stakeholders in and around Marange needs to be led by the Cabinet Task Force and/or its representative bodies.

· Communities in Chiadzwa, Marange are not connected to the mining activities in the area. They have seen a fence being erected around the diamond fields, an air strip being constructed, and trucks and bulldozers working. And they have been informed that they will be relocated. The national, provincial and local government representatives and their implementing authorities need to develop an inclusive and well-coordinated relocation strategy aimed at building consensus on the way in which relocation should be implemented.

Such relocation of the community may require a well thought out and well orchestrated plan with involves the participation of all stakeholders, particularly the local communities and their representatives. It might also help to remember that the decision to relocate was taken at the height of the diamond rush and that the circumstances have since changed following the end of diamond rush.

A national and regional communication strategy and plan is required to educate and inform the community and all relevant stakeholders on the rationale, goals and objectives of the relocation.

There must be room for new ideas on the nature of the relocation since this decision was taken during or around the diamond rush period. New ideas may include; classification of communities that need to be relocated and categories of communities such as (a) those members of the community who would like to secure jobs at the mine (b) those who may want to be paid cash and start a new life elsewhere; and (c) those who are ready to relocate to a designated area.

· The government and its associate institutions face a financial crisis, as a result certain fundamentals are not in place to develop and grow diamond production in Marange. It might be relevant to consider development institutions in Africa and the world at large that are mandated to provide developmental assistance of all types.

The government needs to appoint a team that will research development institutions such as the African Development Bank, Development Bank of Southern Africa, Industrial Development Corporation and the European Community, etc. This takes into account that there are sanctions imposed on government and government officials.

· The selection of joint venture partners to invest and mine diamonds in the Marange diamond fields has received much criticism from several quarters. Numerous documents suggest prospective investors normally apply for grants and these applications accumulate over time. At a later stage relevant government institutions process these applications and select some.

The Ministry of Mines and Mining Development may want to consider a more transparent, credible and predictable system that will enable the ministry to select applicants for consideration. Such a system will ensure credibility and accountability in a more transparent and predictable manner.

· The certification and shipment of Zimbabwe’s rough diamonds is certainly going to create a revenue base for the government. The communities where diamonds are mined are most likely to expect return on the diamond resources.

The Ministry of Mines and Mining Development may want to consider releasing statistics on the royalties and company taxes paid to government as well as dividends declared by the MMCZ annually to demonstrate how the diamond industry is contributing to the national fiscus. The ministry may also want to demonstrate how mining in the area is contributing to the development of infrastructure, job creation, wealth, health and educational development.

· The development of small scale mining is a daunting task for government due to its complexity and magnitude. The programme that the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development and other stakeholders have embarked on is commendable.

The ministry of Mines and Mining Development may want to conduct a benchmark study on small-scale mining in countries that have similar economic and mining circumstances. These include Ghana, Sierra Leon and Angola.

· The implementation of the joint work plan Government needs to expedite the process of requires technical and financial support from participants. Apparently, that the government has written letters to countries such as South Africa to solicit technical support engaging these countries to support speedy implementation of the joint work plan. South Africa and European Community may be ready to assist government with immediate effect. The government should direct specific requests for assistance to those countries that have offered technical assistance, in order to ensure that areas of greatest need are addressed as a matter of priority.

· Experience has shown that illicit trade in Zimbabwe is most likely to spill over to its neighbouring countries. There is need for regional cooperation as recommended by the Working Group on Monitoring and as foreseen in the joint work plan. Such co-operation may include internal monitoring controls, security, technology, and coaching and or training. The DRC as the Vice Chair of the Kimberley Process may wish to consider championing efforts to promote strengthened regional co-operation, in consultation with the government of Zimbabwe, in order to ensure that such regional co-operation is designed to address specific challenges being faced by Zimbabwe in meeting the minimum requirements of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme.

Support for the KP Monitor

· Following the fact-finding-mission, the KP Monitor was able to establish the magnitude of the tasks ahead and has concluded that to fulfill his mandate in a professional and diligent manner he needs secretarial and technical expertise. It would be unrealistic to expect him to fulfill this task without secretarial and technical support.

Recommendations on the Secretarial and Technical support

· The secretarial support that is required includes the facilitation of constant communication with all key stakeholders; planning and coordination of KP Monitor visits to Zimbabwe; compilation of supporting documentation in preparation for writing periodic reports; monitoring media coverage of the Marange diamond fields and general administration of the activities of the KP Monitor. The envisaged secretarial support will ensure that the collection and, verification of data, as well as certification of information provided by the Zimbabwean government and industry is accurate. It will also ensure that periodic reports written by the KP Monitor are prepared professionally. Additional information may reach the KP Monitor through sources such as KP Participants, Observers and the Zimbabwean government.

· The following recommendations are made to expedite the task of the KP Monitor. The individuals who are recommended are highly competent and are known professionally to the KP Monitor and with whom the KP Monitor feels comfortable working. The fact that they are based in the region helps to keep costs down and makes the co-ordination of regular visits to Zimbabwe by the KP Monitor easy to co-ordinate, especially in the area of technical support on site in Marange.

Secretarial

· The KP Monitor recommends Ms. Thuli Magubane, an experienced and professional project coordinator, be engaged to provide the envisaged. For the past seven years, she has served the corporate world as an administrator and coordinator. Her strengths are in establishing programme management offices (PMOs) designed to administer and coordinate large projects. She has implemented PMOs in the financial and property industries in South Africa. Thuli has attended various training courses in programme management office, project management methodologies and project coordination. For more information, please consult the resume, which accompanies this report.

Technical

· The KP Monitor recommends Ms. Jennifer Posthumus, an experienced diamond expert, be engaged to provide the envisaged. With over 20 years of experience in the diamond industry, Jennifer has sorted and valued large quantities of rough diamonds into various assortments for optimum yield. In the past six years, she acquired experience in negotiations with buyers and sellers in the open market. Jennifer attended various training programmes in South Africa, Antwerp, London and Israel. She has worked for the De Beers, group of Companies, including Diamdel, South Africa. Currently, she works for Degas’ Love a rough diamond trading company. Her professional integrity and ethical standards are beyond reproach. For more information, please consult the resume which accompanies this report.

Next visit to Zimbabwe

· The KP Monitor is available to visit Zimbabwe from 6 -8 April 2010, subject to confirmation with chair of the working group on monitoring and the government of Zimbabwe. The purpose of the visit is to conduct a thorough examination of individual shipments from any producing area in Marange and their chain of custody to confirm whether rough diamonds selected for shipment were produced and prepared in accordance with Kimberley Process Certification Scheme minimum requirements.

· If compliant, the KP Monitor is required to confirm the certification on the relevant Kimberley Process Certificate with his signature and stamp, and will digitally photograph the certificate and shipment. If not compliant, the KP Monitor will provide to the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development of Zimbabwe written indications as to the reasons, including any possible means of remediation. During this period, the shipment will be held until remedial action is completed, after which the KP Monitor will reexamine the export and, if fully compliant, certify it and sign the certificate, as provided in the joint work plan.

· The KP Monitor would like to be accompanied by a diamond expert and a project coordinator when he visits Zimbabwe.

Conclusion

· The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme remains the only international system that has successfully responded to conflict resource issues worldwide. The scheme has successfully and drastically reduced resource issues on the continent and has contributed to the political and economic stability of fragile states such as Zimbabwe. The scheme is known for imposing extensive requirements on its members to enable them to certify shipments of rough diamonds as ‘conflict free’ and prevent conflict diamonds from entering the legitimate global trade.

· Under the terms of Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, participating states must meet minimum requirements and must put in place national legislation and institutions; export, import and internal controls; and also commit to transparency and exchange of statistical data. Participants can only legally trade with other participants who have also met minimum requirements of the scheme, and international shipments of rough diamonds must be accompanied by a Kimberley Process Certificate guaranteeing they are conflict free.

· The implementation of the joint work plan is critical for meeting these minimum requirements.

Politics

• After a further visit to Zimbabwe by South African President Jacob Zuma, one of the major breakthroughs was a commitment by President Robert Mugabe to reverse his attempt to remove the mandates of MDC ministers. Negotiators from each side will present a progress report to Zuma on March 31.

• Zuma also met Attorney-General Johannes Tomana, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) Governor Gideon Gono and deputy minister of agriculture (designate) Roy Bennett. Tomana has since been offered a post as high court judge if he resigns as AG.

• Cabinet approved the Government Work Programme (GWP) 2010, a plan crafted by Tsvangirai whereby he will closely monitor the performance of cabinet ministers and thwart moves by Zanu-PF to usurp his authority.  The GWP must also repeal the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) and introduce two new laws to regulate the media before the end of the year.

• Zanu-PF youth militia are setting up guerilla-style ”liberated zones” in the whole of Mwenezi district in an attempt to eliminate the MDC in the event of elections next year.

• Thousands of MDC youths marched unmolested through Harare, demanding the arrest and prosecution of Zanu- PF thugs who perpetrated acts of violence, murder, rape and arson in the run up to the 2008 elections.

• However, the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) banned a  peaceful demonstration organized by victims of political violence at Jerera Growth Point in Zaka.

Governance

• Part of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ)’s property was auctioned off to pay its US$2.1 million debt to Farmtec Spares and Implements.

• Finance Minister Tendai Biti has ordered the formation of a new board to drive reform at the Reserve Bank, which has been operating without a board for a year.

• Legislators have proposed that the powers of the police be curtailed further beyond changes suggested in the Public Order and Security Act (POSA) Amendment Bill, which is currently before Parliament. Public hearings in all the country’s provinces found that most Zimbabweans want the powers of the police to be further reduced.

• The UN’s International Labour Organisation (ILO) released a report officially recognising that Zimbabwe state security forces have used arrests and torture of labour leaders to stifle union activity in the country.

Business

• Major changes to the controversial indigenisation law were supported by SA president Jacob Zuma. Public hearings revealed the majority of Zimbabweans condemn the new law.

• The government has issued notice that it will acquire land belonging to property tycoon Phillip Chiyangwa for undisclosed urban developments. The move has unsettled the property market as Chiyangwa has been selling off prime land, primarily to the Zimbabwean Diaspora.

• The Chinese have pulled out of a joint gold mining deal with Zimbabwe in protest over the government’s failure to honour its contractual obligations, deputy Mines Minister Murisi Zwizwai said.

• Fly Kumba, a new low-cost airline, made its maiden flight from Johannesburg to Bulawayo last Thursday. The flight costs four times less than traveling on South African Airways (SAA).

• The government owes state phone company Tel One millions of dollars in unpaid bills, paralysing the company’s operations.

Economy

• Zimbabwe will next month launch a new blue print to succeed the 2009 Short Term Emergency Recovery Programme (STERP). The new Medium Term Plan (MTP) is expected to help spearhead the recovery of the country’s ailing economy up to December 2015.

• Bank deposits increased by 35 percent during the last quarter of 2009 from US$1 billion to US$1.35 billion. The average monthly deposit growth was US$113 million, a 9 percent increase or 26 percent of GDP.

• State power utility ZESA owes other regional electricity suppliers US$100 million due to low tariffs and failure by customers to settle their bills. The utility is owed US$347 million in unpaid bills, and requires US$383 million to import power and improve electricity generation.

• The Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) index has tumbled by 11.5 percent over the past two weeks, while the mining index has shed a massive 22.7 percent on the back of the new indigenisation law.

Agriculture

• Defence Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa is allegedly demanding as much as US$5 000 from white commercial farmers in the Midlands to “protect” them from eviction.

• Zimbabwe’s security forces want to prevent Gertrude Hambira, leader of the General Agriculture and Plantation Workers’ Union of Zimbabwe (GAPWUZ), from attending a regional court hearing in Windhoek, Namibia, on 24 March.  Despite two previous rulings by the SADC Tribunal, the lives, liberty and property of commercial farmers, farm workers and their families have continued to be violated by the Government of Zimbabwe. Ms Hambira is currently in hiding in South Africa for fear of her life.

Violence

• Zanu-PF has allegedly started recruiting youths for training in murder and torture techniques for a massive campaign of violence against the MDC soon after the FIFA World Cup, a report reveals. The purpose of the plan is to plunge the country into total anarchy, making the drafting of a new constitution impossible.

• Leading Zimbabwe Human Rights lawyer Dewa Mavhinga on Wednesday called for urgent regional action to save the country from sliding back into chaos, amid growing fears of a major upsurge in violence and tension in the rural areas.

• Violence and intimidation against MDC activists has continued in Buhera, as Zanu-PF steps up its efforts to force villagers to support the Kariba Draft. Zanu-PF militia and war veterans are reportedly abducting and torturing villagers.

• An MDC supporter’s house was last week burnt down by a Zanu-PF gang as renewed violence against the party intensifies, the MDC reported on Tuesday.

Diaspora

• A detained Zimbabwean asylum seeker in the UK has embarked on a hunger strike to protest alleged racism and mistreatment at the hands of detention centre employees. The 43 year old woman, who was tortured in Zimbabwe, has been locked up in the UK’s Yarl’s Wood detention facility for more than five months

Humanitarian

• Australia has pledged US$12 million to improve the provision of clean water in Zimbabwe and strengthen food security in the country.

Media

• The Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC) held its first meeting Thursday, after Mugabe approved its appointments. The new autonomous commission declared it would promote and protect media freedom.Tsvangirai told members of the new ZMC to ignore opponents of media reform and ensure the speedy registration of new media houses.

• State-run Zimbabwe Newspapers Group (ZNG) and two of its journalists are facing a US$10 million defamation lawsuit from an Harare private school over an article published in the company’s tabloid, H-Metro.

• ZNG performed dismally last year despite a monopoly on the daily newspaper market, recording an operational loss of US$329 000 during the year through 31 December 2009.

Diamonds

• The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Mines and Energy is forging ahead with its investigations into the diamond mining activities by Mbada Diamonds and Canadile Miners at Chiadzwa. Attorney General (AG) Johannes Tomana has told Mines Minister Obert Mpofu and his top officials that they could be jailed for refusing to appear before the parliamentary committee.

• Mpofu on Wednesday said UK-based mining firm African Consolidated Resources (ACR), which owns the mining rights to Chiadzwa, will never mine diamonds at the field as long as he is in charge of the ministry.

• Mines secretary Welcome Musukutwa has proposed restructuring the ministry, citing mismanagement of claims allocations, corruption and general incompetence of mining commissioners and other key staff.

Sport

• Zimbabwean authorities on Thursday questioned New Zealand’s decision to withdraw from a June 2010 tour of the country. Zimbabwe Sports Minister David Coltart said he believed the use of ‘health and safety risk’ as a reason was incorrect, citing well-run private health facilities in Harare and Bulawayo.

The Good News

• A new innovative programme called Male Champions has been launched to encourage men to support their wives in the Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) of HIV programme. The lack of fathers’ involvement in PMTCT has for many years been cited as one of the major challenges hindering its success.

• Telecommunications company Liquid Telecom is undertaking an ambitious US$3.5 million project, which it claims will transform Harare into the most digitalised city ahead of most of the world’s biggest cities.

• Tsk, tsk. Apparently Robert Mugabe is able to discipline an entire nation but not the children in his own household. Mugabe has recently been embarrassed by DisGrace’s son, who was expelled from St George’s College for being ‘disruptive’. The miscreant pupil then managed to get accepted (probably under duress) at St John’s, another posh independent school – where rumour has it he is continuing to be disruptive. However Grace’s ‘lovely boy’ had a birthday party recently, and all of his new classmates were invited. To make sure they came to the party, each one was given US$100 for attending! So he’s just like his famous daddy: if you can’t get friends – buy ‘em.

• Harare business sources say the Mnangagwa and Mujuru camps are enraged by the unilateral implementation of the 51% Indigenisation Bill which is largely being driven by Minister Kasukuwere and a few of his cronies. The old ones are under no illusions about the impending massive fallout over a statutory instrument which, according to the banks, has driven every investor out of the country as well as virtually crashing the stock exchange.

• In business circles they are also muttering that the reason the President thinks company owners should be happy with 49% equity is because his nibs is accustomed to getting a traditional 20% cut of any deal made by members of his party. Mugabe made it publicly clear that in his august opinion, “… 49% is a hell of a lot”!

• Another tattle is that the Chiadzwa looters who are excavating, not mining the diamonds, number just 5 or 6 of the top Zanu-PF chefs. These mafiosi are now getting a bit worried that “dog eats dog” so they are letting a few sparklies go the party’s way to keep the queue of disgruntled wanna-be looters quiet. The latter are tired of waiting  their turn to get their grasping hands on more free money. No wonder the civil service, who actually work for their pay, are saying, “Oy! What about us?”

• Zanu-PF’s supreme decision making body, the Politburo, said there will be no more Global Political Agreement (GPA) compromises until targeted sanctions have been lifted. The sanctions question is not included in any conditions of the GPA.

• A leaked Zanu-PF working document reveals that the party wants “an all-powerful presidency” and has no intention of sharing power in the future.

• The MDC-T standing committee meeting has reportedly said that they want SADC to declare the GPA talks deadlocked.

• A delegation of eight British MPs arrived in Zimbabwe on Monday for a four-day visit to review the effectiveness of British aid to Zimbabwe. The delegation’s report could inform the outcome of the EU’s sanctions review process, which is currently underway.

• Meanwhile Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Friday urged the EU to maintain sanctions on Robert Mugabe and his inner circle until the GPA is fully implemented.

• The new Zimbabwe Media Commission which is tasked under the GPA with reforming the country’s draconian media laws, and is chaired by Zanu-PF apologist Godfrey Majonga, has yet to convene a meeting. Journalists denounced the body as being ‘very political and partisan’. Leading civic society groups said on Wednesday that repressive media laws would hamper free debate during the outreach programme to gather people’s views.

• Zimbabwe has been included in the African Union’s new Peace and Security Council for a three-year term. Malawian president Bingu Wa Mutharika replaces Libyan leader as chairman of the AU.

Governance

• The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) is unable to feed suspects detained in holding cells owing to funding constraints. Operational activities such as transport for officers and crime scene attendance has also been affected. The organization received a budget allocation of US$30 million when it was hoping for US$230 million.

• Civil servants are holding make-or-break talks with government negotiators on Tuesday to demand a four-fold increase in their salaries after a 14-day strike ultimatum passed without any action. Education Minister David Coltart and his Public Service counterpart Eliphas Mukonoweshuro failed to take the civil servants’ grievances to cabinet because it has not been sitting.

• Tension between Zimbabwe and Botswana escalated after three armed officers from the Botswana Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) were arrested for straying into Zimbabwe. The three scouts were picked up two weeks ago in Kazungula close to Victoria Falls after they allegedly crossed into Zimbabwe by accident while tracking lions that had killed two cows in Lesoma village along the border.

• Police in Masvingo have arrested MDC Masvingo provincial chairman Wilstaf Sitemere on allegations of fraud involving $4 000.

Business

• A new World Bank report reveals that Zimbabwe has very poor investment protection policies. The report, which compared 181 economies worldwide, said out of the total number surveyed Zimbabwe stood at 119. It came way behind such nations as South Africa, Botswana, Angola, and Namibia.

• Citing strong growth in its Zimbabwe operations, LonZim reported a return to profit for the year ended 31 August 2009. LonZim reported  a pretax profit of £1.08 million, compared with a £1.09 million loss in the preceding year. Shares were buoyed by the positive results, climbing nearly 9% following the announcement. The company’s subsidiaries have successfully  positioned themselves to be ‘first back to market’ in Zimbabwe.

• The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) has proposed changes to the Labour Act that might see men taking paternity leave, on the grounds that present regulations are discriminatory and disadvantage women. The proposals have already been submitted to the Minister of Labour Paurina Mpariwa.

Economy

• Finance minister Tendai Biti is in Washington lobbying the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to restore the country’s voting rights and offer lines of credit. The IMF suspended Zimbabwe’s voting rights in June 2003 after the country’s economy collapsed and government fell behind on debt repayments. Zimbabwe owes the IMF US$139 million under the Poverty Reduction Growth Facility – Exogenous Shock Facility.

• Electrical power shortages in Zimbabwe will continue according to a Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) report. The report reveals that only one generator is working at Hwange and the other five have tripped due to ‘system failure’.

Constitution

• A compromise position has been reached on the issue of official rapporteurs on the constitutional outreach teams. Two members of each of the 70 outreach teams will be appointed by the Constitutional Parliamentary Committee.

• Prime Minister Tsvangirai, speaking at the World Economic Forum, said he expects the constitutional referendum to be conducted in October this year, allowing general elections to be held in 2011.

• Police Commissioner Augustine Chihuri has demanded $3 million in payment to release 1000 police officers to accompany outreach teams during the constitution making process. The committee is also expected to provide food and transport for the officers. Parliamentary Select Committee co-chairman Douglas Mwonzora said he did not understand why civil servants should be paid extra, and such large amounts, for what should be a national duty.

• The bunfight over allowances for the outreach teams continues: over 300 MP’s and Senators will earn between US$65 and US$300 per day in allowances for participating in the 65-day constitutional outreach programme. The number of legislators increased from 50 to 300, a move that nearly led donors to withdraw their funding.

• Zanu-PF soldiers, youth militia and war veterans are reportedly forcing villagers to attend political meetings where they are cowed into supporting the Kariba Draft. Zanu-PF has been pushing for the draft to be adopted as the new constitution, while the MDC wants a “people-driven” process. Youth militia bases in the Masvingo and Nyanga are reportedly being reactivated, with soldiers seen to be training the youths.

Agricultural Sector

• The government has signed a US$56.3 million fertiliser and seed deal with the African Investment Group (AIG) that will help ease the current shortage of the commodity, which was threatening the 2009-10 farming season.

• The continued farm invasions have resulted in more than 1500 farm workers losing their jobs in January alone, the General Agriculture and Plantation Workers Union of Zimbabwe (Gapwuz) has said. Gapwuz secretary general Gertrude Hambira said farm disruptions had a devastating impact on workers. About one million farm workers have been evicted from farms across Zimbabwe  since the year 2000, according to the Geneva-based Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre.

• Two Commercial Farmers’ Union (CFU) members were arrested on Thursday on dubious ‘contempt of court’ charges after coming to the assistance of four other farmers who were all convicted for refusing to leave their properties. Magistrate Samuel Zuze, who ordered the evictions and arrests, is a beneficiary of one of the properties in question.

• Zimbabwe Defense Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa says the national army will be used to ensure the controversial land reform program is never reversed. CFU leader Deon Theron said the statement was “extremely worrying.”  He said he believed the statement was ZANU-PF policy.

• Hundreds of illegal settlers have invaded the western part of Burma Valley, one of the country’s leading banana producing areas and a once vibrant farming area, choking one of the sources of water in the area. Some of the settlers have invaded farms that are already under new black owners. Meanwhile the Zimbabwe ambassador to Tanzania Edzai Chimonyo continues to occupy Fangudu Farm in the valley, ownership of which is protected by a Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (BIPPA).

Law

• At least 4,000 churchgoers held an open-air protest service in Harare on Sunday to protest police harassment and the continued occupation of the Anglican cathedral by excommunicated bishop and Mugabe crony, Nolbert Kunonga.

• Police officers armed with batons this week drove out 60 children from a nursery school at Karoi Anglican church because their parents do not support Kunonga’s bid to seize control of the church.

• Police in the Midlands province have been instructed to monitor and arrest members of the MDC, civic organizations, and NGOs holding public meetings. According to a radioed message sent to all police stations in the Midlands province last week, police commanders were being directed to closely monitor all meetings to be held by the ‘opposition’, NGOs and the civic society.

• Three war veterans on Friday took Masvingo governor Titus Maluleke hostage for hours demanding money from him to bury bodies of former freedom fighters who did not get decent burials in the province. They were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct likely to disturb public peace.

• Attorney-General (AG) Johannes Tomana last week failed to extract a confession from key state witness Peter Hitschmann during Deputy Agriculture Minister (designate) Roy Bennett’s treason trial. Tomana was given the chance to cross-examine Hitschmann after High Court Judge Justice Chinembiri Bhunu declared him a hostile witness.

Violence

• Aspiring ZANU PF MP Nathaniel Punish Mhiripiri told a ZANU PF meeting at Jani resettlement area in Makoni South that he had ‘authority and an open licence’ to eliminate opponents from the MDC, claiming he was allowed to kill in the name of ZANU PF. He also told the meeting he carried his guns in his vehicle and was always prepared to deal with ‘sell-outs.”It’s either you are ZANU PF or an enemy’, he said. Mhiripiri was once a Selous Scout in the Rhodesian army.

• Political violence has resurfaced in Tsvangirai’s home district Buhera, where ten families have been left homeless after their homes were burnt down. A local chief said there have been increased political tensions in the area.

• The South African government is being pressured to release a potentially explosive report by four retired generals sent to investigate post-election violence in Zimbabwe during 2008. The report has been kept hidden from the public for over a year. The South African History Archive and the Southern African Centre for the Survivors of Torture will ask the Pretoria High Court to force the government to release the report, which was commissioned by SA premier Thabo Mbeki.

• Evidence is emerging that individuals wanted for crimes of genocide in Rwanda are being employed by Zanu-PF for ‘dirty jobs’ in the youth militias that have terrorised MDC supporters since the 2008 election.

Health Crisis

• A malaria outbreak has hit Mashonaland province, with a number of people feared dead in farming communities.

• Japan on Tuesday donated US$1.4 million to the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) and the Zimbabwean government to help buy vaccine to contain a measles outbreak that has killed more than 50 children countrywide. Most of them had not been vaccinated because their parents are members of an Apostolic Faith sect, which discourages medical treatment.

• Cholera still lurks in Zimbabwe and the same problems that helped drive the last cholera epidemic remained unresolved. According to a report by the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organisation (WHO), the cholera fatality rate of 1.8 percent, although lower than last year, is still too high.

Education

• Zimbabwe may already have up to two million illiterate people and the number is rising. Last year 700 000 pupils in their mid-teens were scheduled to write the school-leaving Ordinary level examinations but three quarters of them were unable to. In 2003, the adult literacy level was estimated at 90.7 percent, one of the highest in Africa.

• Zimbabwe student leaders held a crisis meeting with Tsvangirai last week after it emerged that 28 percent of students had dropped out of the University of Zimbabwe because of a lack of foreign currency to settle tuition fees. The university opened last Monday but students have been struggling to raise fees of between US$300 and US$1500.

Diamonds

• A secret mile-long airstrip near Chiadzwa is under construction. Aerial photographs confirm the field will be capable of accommodating jets and cargo aircraft. Diplomatic sources speculate that such a facility would enable the shipment of arms, possibly from China, in direct exchange for newly-mined diamonds. Click here for more info >>

• Hundreds of illegal diamond panners and foreign dealers have besieged Chipinge, Chimanimani and unsecured parts of Chiadzwa. Investigations are currently underway. Most of the diamonds are believed to be finding their way to Mozambique’s Manica Province where a willing market is reportedly available.

• Zimbabwe’s Supreme Court has ordered the central bank to safeguard millions of dollars’ worth of diamonds from the Chiadzwa diamond fields amid an ownership battle over the mines. The chief justice said a neutral party should keep the diamonds pending a resolution of the dispute.

• The World Diamond Council (WDC) has called on international buyers to shun Zimbabwean diamonds until ‘human rights concerns’ have been dealt with and full compliance with the Kimberley Process has been achieved.

Wildlife

• National Parks rangers have shot five lions that killed four people in the northeastern district of Kanyemba. The lions were thought to have strayed from nearby hunting areas.

The Good News

• United States Ambassador Charles Ray said on Friday the U.S. would help Zimbabwe restore basic services in the health sector. He handed over 50,000 personal protective clothing kits for influenza preparedness donated by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

• The Australian government, instrumental in getting Zimbabwe kicked out of the Commonwealth, has agreed to now provide assistance to Zimbabwe. It will undertake projects to help with taxation laws as well as water and sanitation technical expertise.

• Two former Arundel school students have raised the country’s flag high when they were nominated for entry to Oxford University. The 2009 Rhodes scholars of the year, Mutsawashe Mutembwa and Sarah-Jane Littleford, will be part of  the 200 scholars nominated from 13 different countries.

Source:  Zimbabwe Democracy Now

www.zimbabwedemocracynow.com

In an article published on the Zimbabwejournalists.com website on 24 December 2007, the author, Freeman Forward Chari, posed the following question:

“In a country of nearly 200 000 military people…..  whose public sector is run by the military, where does the common man fit in?  Is there a possibility of civil participation in the country?”

Chari breaks down the military component for 2007 as follows, but does not indicate his sources, so the accuracy of his figures cannot be confirmed:

Security Forces – total 80 000

• Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA):                    35 000 [1]
• Air Force of Zimbabwe (AFZ):                          5 000
• Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP):                  25 000
• Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO):        15 000

Those with a basic knowledge of military operations/training – total 110 000

• Prisons Service:                                             10 000
• War veterans:                                                 35 000 [2]
• Trained youths / youth militia:                         30 000 graduates since 2005
• Zimbabwe People’s Militia (trained in ‘80s):    20 000 vigilantes/youths
• Plus voluntary retirements from ZNA & ZRP:            15 000

Total number:  190 000

“This means we have (in 2007) at least 190 000 people in Zimbabwe who have a basic understanding of military language,” wrote Chari.

He reminded Zimbabweans that, at the level of leadership and policy formulation, there was a need to also explore the level of involvement of the military in strategic entities that deal strictly with civilians.  In December 2007, the line-up was:

• Minister of Energy and Power Development – Rtd Lieutenant General Mike Nyambuya.
• Minister of Youth Development and Employment Creation – Rtd Brigadier General Ambrose Mutinhiri.
• Ministry of Transport – Rtd Colonel Hubert Nyanhongo, Deputy Minister
• National Railways of Zimbabwe – Brigadier Douglas Nyikayaramba (Board chairman) and Air Commodore Mike Karakadzai (CEO).
• Grain Marketing Board – Rtd Colonel Samuel Muvuti (CEO).
• Permanent Secretary for Industry and International Trade – Rt Colonel Christian Katsande.
• Zimbabwe Election Commission (ZEC) – Justice Chiweshe, (head) a former Advocate-General in the Zimbabwe National Army.
• Attorney General – Sobuza Gula-Ndebele, a retired Colonel.
• Sports and Recreation Commission – Brigadier General Gibson Mashingaidze and Rtd Lt Colonel Charles Nhemachena.

Chari summed up the relevance of the appointments as follows:

Zanu PF controls:

• Food (Grain Marketing Board – GMB)
• Transport
• Energy, fuel, power
• Trade and industry
• Sport
• Youth
• The Attorney General
• Elections.

Chari pointed out that Joint Operations Command (JOC) comprises the ministries of Defence, Finance, State Security, Home Affairs and Foreign Affairs.  “The military therefore controls the finances and even the foreign policy is directed by the military and not parliament,” he said.

Major Martin Saurombe (Rt), writing for the website zimsecurityforces.com in 2007, brought in an interesting perspective.  He reminded Zimbabweans that, in politicising the military, Zanu PF had started by appointing raw guerrillas to top posts in the army.

He noted that:

• General Solomon Mujuru commanded the army from 1981 to 1992 without attending a single military course.
• The late General Vitalis Zvinavashe, retired former commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, also never attended any military courses.
• Zimbabwe Defence Forces Commander, General Constantine Chiwenga, Air Force Commander Perence Shiri and Police Commissioner Augustine Chihuri are also politicians in military uniform.

One wonders how many people are aware of this fact.

Frustration in the ranks

Despite the fact that it became very dangerous for members of the armed forces to show the slightest signs of disloyalty to Zanu PF, by mid 2007 the dissatisfaction that had been brewing began to mount and to be expressed openly.

In August, Perence Shiri and Constantine Chiwenga were shocked when they were booed by junior soldiers at the KG VI Barracks in Harare for trying to convince them that the hardships being experienced in the military were caused by sanctions imposed by Britain and the USA.

The following month, disgruntled veterans of Zimbabwe’s liberation war asked government to hike their monthly allowances five-fold, just two weeks after pledging undying loyalty to Mugabe and declaring him the only one fit to rule the country.

Four months later, in January 2008, former army general Vitalis Zvinavashe sent political temperatures within Zanu-PF soaring after calling on Robert Mugabe to step down.  Zvinavashe is reported to have said that, “by clinging onto power, Mugabe was betraying the essence of the liberation struggle.”

Mugabe’s hatchet men

Authoritative journalist Basildon Peta wrote in an article published in the Sunday Independent of June 29, 2008 that “the multi-billionaires who have Zimbabwe by the throat are right to dread the people’s revenge.”

He listed Mugabe’s six “hatchet-men” as Defence Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa, General Constantine Chiwenga, Augustine Chihuri, Paradzai Zimondi, Perence Shiri and Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono.  He noted that this Joint Operations Command junta controls Zimbabwe.

“When Mugabe lost control of parliament and it became clear that he was also losing the presidency to Morgan Tsvangirai after the poll on March 29, it was these six men who hurriedly assembled around their octogenarian leader,” explained Peta.

“For five weeks, the announcement of the presidential election results were stalled while they plotted…(but) none of their charges stuck.

“So they unleashed the infamous Operation Makavhoterapapi (For whom did you vote?) in preparation for the presidential runoff….”

Peta reports that it was Constantine Chiwenga, as commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Force, who spearheaded the campaign of violence that led to the deaths of 86 people, the serious injuries inflicted on thousands more and the massive displacements countrywide.

Police and army clash in Harare

By the beginning of December 2008, tensions across the country were heating up.  In Harare, police shot at rioting soldiers on the streets as unpaid uniformed personnel sided with the country’s impoverished people for the first time in protest against Zimbabwe’s collapsing economy.

“If Mr Mugabe is unable to maintain loyalty even within his own armed services, his position will come under serious threat,” commented The Telegraph (UK) on December 1.

The following day, Mugabe ordered the execution of 16 rioting soldiers in a cold blood murder carried out by members of the Presidential Guard death squads at its PG HQ Base in Dzivarasekwa, north west of the capital.  Three others were reported to have died during torture.

The fast-track military court martial was presided over by High Court Judge Major General George Chiewshe, with three other assessors, two majors and a captain.  Chiweshe, who is the current Chairman of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, was previously Director Army Legal Services.

Soldiers tortured following theft of guns

During October 2009, at least 12 soldiers died after they were brutally tortured by military intelligence agents following the alleged disappearance of an assortment of guns and other military equipment from Pomona barracks.

By early November reports were being leaked that an additional 120 soldiers had been horrifically tortured at KG VI Barracks in Harare following the alleged theft of the guns. SW Radio Africa warned of rising tension in the Zimbabwe National Army.

A retired army colonel who fought with ZANLA forces in Mozambique, told the radio station that Robert Mugabe had lost the control and trust of the army. (ZANLA was the armed wing of ZANU PF during the liberation war of the 1970s).

Security reports from Zimbabwe indicated the situation was volatile.

Fear of reprisals, retribution and paranoia

Dr George Ayittey, a prominent Ghanaian economist, author and president of the Free Africa Foundation in Washington DC, analysed the militarisation of Zanu-PF in Part 1 of “The Zimbabwe Conundrum” (September 8, 2009) as follows:

“The hierarchy of the ruling Zanu-PF has fully been “militarized” or integrated with the security apparatus. The security chiefs who are behind President Mugabe presently — Paradzai Zimondi (rtd), head of prison service, Augustine Chihuri, head of the police force, Perence Shiri — want Emmerson Mnangagwa, who is also the choice of “war of liberation veterans,”[3] to succeed Mugabe.

Mnangagwa, known as the “Butcher of Matabeleland,” is known for his uncompromising stance and ruthlessness. He was the Minister of State Security who orchestrated a systematic and brutal 1981-1983 campaign (known as Gukurahundi) to suppress the Ndebele people and wipe out the main opposition, ZAPU and its leader, the late Joshua Nkomo.

It is fear of reprisals, retribution and paranoia which haunts the ruling Zanu-PF regime…. Their hands are dripping in blood and their pockets are full of booty. They are afraid that all their gory misdeeds will be exposed once they are out of power. So they must do everything they can to cling to power. They must crush the opposition and ruthlessly silence any whiff of protest. But in doing so, they dig deeper graves for themselves because these brutal tactics seldom work.

African tyrants spend an inordinate amount on an elaborate security-cum-military structure to protect themselves and suppress their people. Since they came to power through illegitimate means (a military coup or stolen election), they are suspicious of everyone and paranoid of any little event, however innocuous.

So they spend huge resources creating layers upon layers of security – just in case one level fails – and shower security agents with perks and amenities. But in the end, they are hoisted by their own petards – overthrown by their own security apparatus.

The more an African head of state spends on security, the more likely he will be overthrown by someone from his security forces…. The Zanu-PF regime, in contemplating its imminent demise, should ask itself whether more investments in lethal weaponry and brutal repression will pay off.”

In Part 2 of The Zimbabwe Conundrum (September10, 2009), Ayittey notes that, in all of Africa’s post-colonial cases where intransigent autocrats refused to yield to popular demands for freedom and took hard line positions, the threat to the despotic regime did not come from the opposition parties.  It came from:

1. Within the despot’s own security apparatus / circle of officers / family members
2. Rebel groups
3. Invasion from a neighbouring country.

Ayittey explains that the insurgency often started with a small band of determined rebels and says it was relatively cheap to start a rebellion.

According to Ayittey, Zanu-PF has two choices:  The first is to maintain its hard-line stance – which he says is invariably a dead end – and the second is to adopt a more conciliatory approach.

“Political leaders who were willing to yield to the popular will and make amends saved not only themselves but their countries as well,” writes Ayittey.

Holding Zimbabwe to ransom – a clique of 200

In view of escalating dissatisfaction within the ranks of the armed forces, Zimbabwean commentators say it is fallacious to believe that Zimbabwe is being held to ransom by security forces who remain loyal to Mugabe.

Furthermore, they point out that the improvements within the economy – which are clearly understood to be the result of Finance Minister Tendai Biti (MDC-T)’s achievements – are already impacting positively on the lives of their families and communities.

The glimmerings of optimism that followed the signing of the Global Political Agreement are now being bolstered by the decisiveness and firm approach of South African President Jacob Zuma.

President Zuma, with the support of the Southern African Development Community, is clearly committed to solving the Zimbabwean crisis and restoring peace and democracy across the Limpopo.

The question that must be asked is this:  Who exactly is holding Zimbabwe to ransom and how strong is this grouping?

Political commentators believe that it’s a cabal of about 200 people comprising senior serving army officers, the members of Joint Operations Command and a clique of Mugabe cronies who have benefited substantially over the years from his patronage.

This ties in with a report released at the SADC summit in Kinshasa during early September by Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition.  Comprising over 350 civil society organisations, Crisis said it had information that over 70 top military officers remained in the provinces where they were deployed after President Mugabe and Zanu-PF suffered a devastating electoral loss just after the March 29 poll last year.

Clearly they are crucial in the equation.  Crisis called on the inclusive government to immediately get the army out of the countryside and recall them to barracks.

Conclusion

In Part 2 of ‘The Conundrum on Zimbabwe”, Ayittey claims that the game is up for Zanu-PF.

“It has lost all credibility with the Zimbabwean people.  It has become an imposition – a cancer – on Zimbabwe’s body politic – a far cry from the liberation stature it once enjoyed. Fear and paranoia are driving the regime to cling to power at all cost – by force and with brutal repression,” he writes.

This changed scenario presents an opportunity for President Zuma, his South African negotiating team and the leaders of SADC, who have clearly lost patience with President Mugabe and Zanu-PF, and who want to see a speedy solution to the crisis.  The fallout on the entire region, while difficult to quantify, has been very significant.

To have found a peaceful solution to the Zimbabwean crisis in the period when Mugabe had the unequivocal support of a sizeable armed forces component would have presented a major problem.

To be faced instead with a clique of just 200 or so people who have brazenly amassed great wealth for themselves and their families while leaving the Zimbabwean people impoverished is totally different situation.

For a powerful country like South Africa, which holds all the trump cards, dealing with the dregs of a regime that has blighted the face of southern Africa suddenly becomes eminently manageable.

ENDS

GABRIEL SHUMBA
HUMAN RIGHTS LAWYER

Executive Director

Zimbabwe Exiles’ Forum
E-mail:  gabmrech@yahoo.com

The Zimbabwe Times published this list containing the names of all the officers involved after it was leaked by disgruntled officers.

[2] War veterans: Independent estimates for 2009 are as low as around 10 000.

[3] This statement is open to question.  Update: Emmerson Mnangagwa’s faction, which is entangled in a bitter struggle for power with a faction led by former army general Solomon Mujuru, was ruthlessly crushed in Zanu PF’s November 2009 presidium nominations.

• Zanu-PF pre-Congress provincial nominations reveal a widening rift within the party.  Vice-president Joice Mujuru has been nominated to retain her position, representing a defeat for the man even insiders call ‘the cruellest one’ – Defence Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa. John Nkomo is set to become the second vice-president, replacing the late Joseph Msika. Nkomo’s vacated post of Zanu-PF national chairperson will then go to Simon Khaya Moyo, Zimbabwe’s ambassador to South Africa. Meanwhile the Zanu-PF Congress, which was scheduled to be held in early December, has been postponed, reportedly due to lack of funds.

• Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai was invited to Tripoli for a meeting with Libya’s Colonel Gaddafi, current head of the African Union (AU), and was received with full military honours. Colonel Gaddafi has been a strong supporter of President Mugabe.

• The three principals in the transitional government resumed negotiations on Monday to resolve outstanding issues after the first deadline last week, set by the SADC Troika, was missed. The talks yesterday were attended by all teams from Zanu-PF and the two MDC formations. Meanwhile South African President Jacob Zuma has postponed his scheduled Dec. 5 visit to assess progress after the parties missed last week’s deadline.

• Malawi has been highlighted in a petition to the EU which calls for punitive action against SADC countries which “support Mugabe’s tyranny”.  The Zimbabwe Vigil pressure group presented the petition to the EU’s Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, Karel De Gucht, in Brussels this week. “Why, for instance, should Malawi get £70 million in balance of payments support this year from the UK alone when its people face starvation because of a reckless loan to Mugabe, which predictably has not been repaid?” reads the petition.

• Zimbabwe has been selected to host the 26th Plenary Session of the Parliamentary Forum of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Officials said most of the group’s 14-member countries were expected to take part in the session, scheduled for next week in Victoria Falls.

Governance

• Zimbabwe’s civil service audit is on. Public Service Minister Eliphas Mukonoweshuro told reporters on Wednesday that the US$4 million needed to bankroll the audit, which is set to run from Nov. 30 – Dec. 18, has been provided through the Zimbabwe Multi-Donor Trust Fund, a World Bank administered fund. The audit, to be conducted by independent auditors, will physically confirm the number of genuine civil servants.  Critics say the 300 000 strong public workforce is overrun with supporters of Mugabe, who allegedly receive salaries each month without actually serving the state – and that in addition there are close to 20 000 ‘ghost’ workers. The audit, which will exclude the uniformed security forces, comes amid allegations that Mukonoweshuro also announced civil servants will be getting bonuses this year.

• Parliament on Wednesday unanimously approved the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Amendment Bill, which aims to reduce the bank chief’s powers by appointing an independent board. This is the first major law to be passed by parliament since the formation of the transitional government. The catch? One of the amendments was a clause giving the bank governor and employees immunity “for anything done in good faith and without negligence.”

• Zimbabwe’s co-Home Affairs Minister Giles Mutsekwa is looking for technical expertise and financial resources to overhaul the country’s voters’ roll. MDC MP Tongai Matutu tabled evidence supporting his motion in parliament that the voters’ roll used in last year’s disputed elections contained gross irregularities. These included 74 021 voters above 100 years old, and 82 456 between the ages of 90 and 100 in a country where life expectancy is just 35 years. The roll also includes significant numbers of deceased people who had been registered to vote.  Zimbabwe is expected to hold fresh elections next year.

Business

• Tourism received a boost when a number of Western countries lifted warnings against travelling to Zimbabwe after the transitional government was formed. Zimbabwe Council of Tourism president, Emmanuel Fundira, said 362 000 people had visited the country by August compared to 100 000 visitors the year before. Zimbabwe is hoping to benefit from the Soccer World Cup to be held next year in South Africa.

• On the list of most corrupt nations, Zimbabwe this year improved from number 14 to number 34 out of 180 countries, according to the Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perception Index (CPI). TI said Zimbabwe’s position was still of concern due to the breakdown of the rule of law. The CPI measures the perceived levels of public office corruption in a country and is a composite index, drawing on a number of expert and business surveys.

• National coal producer, Hwange Colliery Company Limited (HCCL) will this week receive the first consignment of haulage excavating equipment worth US$5 million from a South African company to augment its ageing mining fleet and supplement the massive open-cast dragline, which has been inactive for months.

Diamonds

• Zimbabwe has started withdrawing troops from the country’s eastern diamond fields to meet Kimberley Process (KP) reforms over human rights abuses, state media reported on Thursday. “We have done a lot since the last review by the [Kimberley Process] as part of our efforts to comply with their recommendations as well as towards achieving and fulfilling compliance,” the state-run Herald quoted Mines Minister Opert Mpofu as saying. The withdrawal of soldiers comes as the government, through its mining arm Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation, signed a joint venture with two South African firms to mine diamonds in Marange.

Diaspora

• Xenophobic attacks against Zimbabwean asylum seekers in South Africa has reignited, this time in the poverty-stricken town of De Doorns, 150 km from Cape Town. Nearly 2,700 asylum seekers evacuated their shacks last week after local mobs chased them out, claiming they were robbing them of jobs. They are currently residing in a temporary safety camp.

• People Against Suffering Suppression, Oppression and Poverty (PASSOP)’s Braam Hanekom on Friday accused local authorities of not doing enough to prevent the attacks. He said the tensions in the community have been building since a week prior, tensions he said police and government officials were “more than aware of.”

• South African based MDC party officials have angrily denied a story carried by the state-run Herald newspaper, that their entire executive had been sacked for misappropriating funds. Information secretary Sibanengi Dube charged, “It is obvious to everyone the Herald is on a mission to discredit the MDC-T.”

• A 24 year-old Zimbabwean man has been held inside an immigration detention centre in Portsmouth, UK,  for over a year, awaiting deportation. Tatenda Jera was taken into custody by the UK border agency for violating his visitor’s visa. His asylum claim has been denied three times.

Media

• Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has launched a public broadcasting report published by the South African-based Africa Governance Monitoring and Advocacy Project (AFRIMAP) and the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA). The report urges the repeal of Zanu-PF-led legislation repressing freedom of speech. At a meeting chaired by the Media Institute of Southern Africa’s Zimbabwean Chapter, Tsvangirai said the media industry should be self-regulated, and called for editorial independence.

• Tsvangirai on Wednesday dismissed recent media reports suggesting that former Media and Information Commission (MIC) chairman Tafataona Mahoso had bounced back as head of the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ). “The final composition (of BAZ) has not yet been decided upon despite the premature announcement to the contrary,” he said.

Humanitarian Crisis

• About 1.6 million Zimbabweans will need food aid between now and the end of December, said the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWSNET) in a new food security report carried out in September. The US-based organisation found that around one million of those at risk live in the rural areas, and the remaining 600 000 in the cities. The assessment cites poverty and unemployment as contributing factors to the continuing food insecurity in the country.

• One hundred children die every day in Zimbabwe, while one in every four is an orphan, according to a UNICEF official. Dr Peter Salama, the UNICEF representative to Zimbabwe, said HIV/Aids remains the number killer of children. “Around one in 10 children today die before the age of five. “While the rate of under five mortality has dropped all over the world, it has gone up in Zimbabwe by more than 20 percent,” said Salama.

• The Family Support Trust Clinic at Harare Central Hospital said more than 30 000 cases of child sex abuse were reported in the last four years. Zimbabwe accounts for at least 1 million orphans under 17 years, according to a UNAIDS report of 2008.

• The Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria has extended the availability of some US$38 million in unused grants to the country, hoping to speed implementation of programs not implemented due to the political and economic turmoil of recent years.

Economy

• Zimbabwe’s state power firm, ZESA Holdings, has increased power cuts, resulting in unscheduled cuts in most cities for the past three weeks, at times lasting for 12 hours. The cuts are due to insufficient power imports, low generation capacity and heightened vandalism. Industrial output has increased from 10 percent at the start of the year to 40 percent after the formation of the coalition government. With this increased industrial demand for power, the electricity cuts are hurting the recovering economy. Power cuts have also caused water shortages in Harare.

• ZESA on Monday said foreign investors were reluctant to provide funding badly needed to boost power generation because of uncertainty about the country’s future political and economic direction.

Legal

• The State has invoked the controversial Section 121 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act (CPEA) to defeat the bail order given to MDC employee Pascal Gwezere, who is accused of breaking into a military armoury and undergoing military training in Uganda. “This is just an abuse of the section and you know we are challenging it at the Supreme Court,” said Gwezere’s lawyer Alec Muchadehama. Gwezere, who was abducted by state security agents from his home two weeks ago, was severely tortured and denied medical treatment.

• Meanwhile Alec Muchadehama, a leading human rights lawyer, is himself is being harassed: A Harare magistrate on Tuesday removed Muchadehama from remand. He is being charged with contempt of court for allegedly causing the unlawful release from custody of his MDC clients, Kisimusi Dhlamini, Gandhi Mudzingwa and Andrison Manyere, who were abducted at the end of last year and severely tortured.

• The Roy Bennett High Court trial: First the judge barred the prosecution from submitting evidence obtained under torture, then on Monday the state’s first witness admitted that evidence brought against Bennett was insufficient to secure a conviction. Chief Superintendent James Makone admitted that several weapons displayed as evidence in court had no connection to Bennett, and that he was yet to uncover other incriminating evidence. Bennett is being tried on terrorism charges, which he denies. Bennett’s defence lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa, has ended each court day trying to secure a promise from the court that Bennett will not be rearrested, further heightening concern that more spurious charges will be brought against her client.

Violence

• Four MDC activists from Muzarabani South have fled their homes after they were tipped of a death threat on their lives, following a resolution at a Zanu-PF meeting on 13 November to eliminate all MDC party position holding activists. Youths are allegedly being recruited as officers on the Zanu-PF payroll to carry out acts of violence to destabilise the MDC ahead of next year’s elections.

• A well-known Catholic priest in Banket has been savagely beaten by soldiers for hesitating at a road-block. A revered humanitarian, Father Wolfgang Thamm is in his late sixties. The German ambassador in Harare has lodged an official complaint.

• Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) provincial officials in Zaka on Tuesday said they were living in perpetual fear following abductions of their members in recent weeks. MDC councillor for ward 23 in Zaka West constituency, Mungoni Mazhindu, was on Friday last week abducted and severely tortured before being dropped off again near his home. Mazhindu said his assailants told him that he was getting the ‘sweet’ reward for supporting MDC-T.

• Peace activist group WOZA (Women of Zimbabwe Arise), has received the 2009 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award. WOZA co-leaders Magodonga Mahlangu and Jenni Williams accepted the award from President Barack Obama in a ceremony also attended by the late senator’s widow, Ethel Kennedy.

Farming Sector

• Zimbabwe and China are negotiating arrangements for contract farming as the Asian giant steps up efforts to ‘assist the country’s agrarian reforms’. However observers say that Chinese investments in contract farming will not assist the country’s food situation, as crops grown under such a system will be exported.

• Residents of Inyathi have rallied behind a local farmer, Glen James, whose land has been forcibly seized by a Bulawayo High Court Judge, submitting a petition for the farm to be left in peace. The Judge’s hired thugs, believed to be Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) operatives, have been using government equipment, including tractors, and also weapons, to plunder the land and stop farming activities. Locals explained that James is a vital part of the local community, helping with development projects and allowing local cattle herders to water their animals on his land. Even local members of the War Veterans Association, who have notoriously led farm invasions over the years,  expressed their support for James, whom they say is part of the community.

• While the main rainy season has commenced, small-scale and communal farming communities are still battling to obtain seed maize and fertiliser. Oxfam and other NGOs are providing urgent assistance in several provinces, but analysts say it will not be enough to produce a large enough harvest to feed the nation next year.

Source:   Zimbabwe Democracy Now

www.zimbabwedemocracynow.com

• The three principals in Zimbabwe’s coalition government met on Friday to negotiate a solution to outstanding issues threatening the power-sharing agreement. President Robert Mugabe, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara face a 30-day deadline set by the SADC Troika.

• Botswana’s President Ian Khama has again called for the holding of new elections in Zimbabwe as a strategy to break the country’s political impasse.

• SADC ministers have recommended that Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono should be dismissed to save the unity government. President Mugabe (who has vowed that Gono will never be fired) has meanwhile remained silent on the scandalous findings of the Auditor General’s report, which recently exposed massive looting of state coffers through Reserve Bank channels. The Chamber of Mines has sought the intervention of Finance minister Tendai Biti in a bid to recover funds misappropriated from its members by the central bank over the years.

• Local government minister Ignatius Chombo has dismissed the MDC deputy Mayor of Mutare and replaced him with a discredited councillor who recently defected to Zanu PF. The MDC claims that Chombo cannot dismiss a deputy mayor for no apparent reason.

Cholera

• The World Health Organisation says 116 cholera cases have been reported in Zimbabwe since August, killing five people in nine out of 62 districts in the country. With the rainy season starting and the availability of clean drinking water in short supply, it is estimated that between 100 000 and 125 000 people could be infected this year compared to last year, when nearly 100 000 cases were reported.

Violence

• Three more soldiers died under torture on Nov. 13 at Harare’s KGIV barracks, and two others are critical. This brings to 16 the total number of soldiers tortured to death since the ‘investigation’ began. Reports say at least 120 soldiers are being brutally ‘interrogated’ following a weapons disappearance two weeks ago at Pomona barracks. Activist groups have called for UN intervention to stop the killings.

• MDC employee Pascal Gwezere, who was abducted by state security agents from his home two weeks ago, has been severely tortured and was refused medical treatment. Gwezere was accused of breaking into a military armoury  and undergoing military training in Uganda.

• The United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has placed Zimbabwe on its “watch list” as the political and economic situation in the country deteriorates. The agency said that trafficking in human beings and drugs are on the increase. “Zimbabwe is on the Tier 2 Watch List for its failure to combat severe forms of human trafficking,” the CIA said.

• A DVD documentary presented in Harare by the General Agricultural and Plantation Workers Union of Zimbabwe says more than 60 percent of farm workers said they were tortured and forcibly removed from their homes during commercial farm seizures since 2000. The report says abused farm workers outnumber their former white-farmer employers by 100 to one.

• A dozen gun-toting soldiers reportedly ransacked an orphanage in Bulawayo last week and beat up children in the process. The soldiers went on the rampage in the Trennance suburb of the city, in what has been described as an operation to look for MDC supporters.

• Three uniformed soldiers in Darwendale beat a civilian unconscious for wearing an Anti-Kariba Draft Constitution T-shirt on Saturday.

• The continuing arrests and harassment of Zimbabwe’s trades unions were denounced by South Africa’s COSATU labour movement, the African regional organisation of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC-Africa) and the European Union.

Diamonds

• Powerful diamond trading merchants, the Rapaport Group and the RapNet Diamond Trading Network announced last Friday that it is “implementing an immediate trading ban on all diamonds from Zimbabwe due to severe human rights violations in Marange.”

• The government will allocate US$10 million for the relocation and housing of thousands of families from the militarized Chiadzwa diamond fields in eastern Zimbabwe’s Marange district, to make way for commercial extraction of the gems. This came after a meeting of the Kimberley Process (KP), a diamond trade monitoring body, voted not to ban Zimbabwe from the world market and instead gave the country a six month deadline to improve conditions in Marange.

• Insurance giant Old Mutual has a nearly six percent share in a South African company New Reclamation Group, which is exploiting the Chiadzwa fields in a joint venture with the state’s mining and development corporation.

• Mines Minister Obert Mpofu named Mbada Minerals and Canadile Miners Pvt. Ltd. which is reported to have South African shareholders, as being the two companies presently mining the eastern Chiadzwa field. Neither company is the legal owner of the diamond claim. Human Rights Watch says the military in control of the diamond fields has killed more than 200 people.

Legal

• Zanu PF last week tried to block the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Amendment Bill which aims reduce the bank chief’s powers by appointing an independent board. Introducing the Bill in the Lower House on Tuesday, Finance Minister Tendai Biti said reform was a key demand of donors and stakeholders including SADC, the World Bank, and the IMF. But Zanu-PF officials this week stepped up their efforts to block the Bill, stating it was motivated by self-serving “personal agendas”. They said the Bill aimed to weaken Gono while giving “too much power” to Biti.

• The High Court trial of MDC treasurer-general Roy Bennett, who is facing terrorism charges, commenced last Monday. The case was adjourned till Wednesday when the defence requested a new judge. Justice Bunhu did not recuse himself and the trial got under way on Thursday. Attorney General Johannes Tomana is personally prosecuting the case, with a ‘star witness’, weapons dealer Peter Hitschmann, who has already been cleared of all wrongdoing. Tomana insists that Bennett and the dealer plotted to blow up communications installations. Bennett pleads not guilty.

• MDC MP Blessing Chebundo was acquitted of rape charges in a Gweru magistrate’s court. Chebundo defeated Zanu PF senior politburo member and  Minister of Defence, Emmerson Mnangagwa, in the 2008 election.

• Scores of lawyers staged a protest march in Harare yesterday (16 Nov)  to protest the increasing intimidation tactics being used by the state against them, as they try to defend various human rights activists in the country.

Education

• Only 680 students from the University of Zimbabwe graduated on Friday, out of nearly 3000 students.  Even President Mugabe, who annually caps thousands of graduating students from the university, was shocked and said he understood the universities are faced with serious problems. “Colleges are in mess, I am aware that there is no water, food, lecturers and a lot of other essential things,” said Mugabe, who then blamed South Africa for luring away all the lecturers.

Business

• The Presidential entourage jetted off to Egypt for the Forum on China-Africa Co-operation trade summit. China invests heavily in African resources, without regard to a nation’s human rights or governance record. Robert Mugabe has urged other  countries in the world to emulate the example of China which he said provides “the best example” of how countries should relate globally at the economic, political and cultural levels. Analysts observed that China may overtake the EU as Africa’s biggest trading partner before long.

• Cape Town-based Circle Capital Commodities Trading has brought  an application in the Western Cape High Court for summary judgement against the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe after the bank failed to pay for an order of 40 000 metric tons of wheat worth US$6.6 million.

• The Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) says factory output doubled in the first six months of the year and capacity utilisation had climbed to 32.3 percent from below 10 percent.

• President Mugabe made a surprise announcement that the Zimbabwe dollar was coming back before the end of the year. The stock market panicked and shares nose-dived by more than 12% compared to the previous week. Some reports indicated that the Government printers are already at work on a new Zimbabwe dollar.

• Well-connected tycoon, Robert Mugabe’s cousin Philip Chiyangwa, is busy with an urban land-grab to develop property on Harare’s green belt protected area of the Borrowdale vlei, a catchment area for one of the city’s water supply dams.

• A consortium led by Jindal Steel and Power Limited has been shortlisted as one of two bidders to buy a majority stake in state-owned Zimbabwe Iron and Steel Co, or Ziscosteel. The consortium includes the Investment Development Corporation of South Africa and the Development Bank of South Africa. The other contender is ArcelorMittal South Africa Ltd.

• SA’s Old Mutual is facing a boycott petition for holding shares in Zimbabwe’s state-owned  propaganda mouthpiece, Zimpapers. South Africa’s powerful trades union, COSATU, has backed the call and threatened action against Old Mutual.

Commercial Farming Sector

• Zanu PF youths in Kadoma held their district administrator hostage, threatening violence and demanding ‘their share’ of land offer letters, in return for violent farm takeovers done on behalf of local Zanu PF politicians. An official explained that the youths were in reality only after the ‘farming input loans’ which they have been taking and abusing since 2000.

• About 500 ‘new settlers’ were evicted from the land they have occupied for nine years. The villagers said the farms belonged to the late Speaker of parliament, Nolan Makombe, Minister of Defence, Emmerson Mnangagwa and the late commander of the Zimbabwe National Army, General Vitalis Zvinavashe.

• Robert Mugabe took an entourage of 60 to Rome to attend the United Nations FAO World Food Summit.

• Zimbabwe is now dependent on massive food aid, after Zanu PF land ‘reforms’ all but destroyed the country’s agriculture. Meanwhile the FAO secretary-general, Jacques Diouf, is staging a symbolic hunger strike in the lobby of the FAO building.

• 79-year old Hester Theron – the mother of Commercial Farmers Union president Deon Theron – faces six months in prison if she fails to leave the 2 000 hectare Friedenthal farm, south of Harare where she has lived since 1957.

Zimbabwe Democracy Now

NANGO, the official umbrella organisation for NGOs in Zimbabwe, held a Directors’ Forum (Summer School) at Victoria Falls on 23 and 24 October 2009. On 25 October, the Chief Executive Officer of NANGO, Mr Cephas Zinhumwe, and the Chairperson of the Board of NANGO, Ms Dadirai Chikwengo, were detained on their way to the airport, and are being held under POSA, Section 25.1.d, for failing to notify the police about a political meeting.

During questioning, they were asked numerous questions about why the meeting was discussing the Global Political Agreement, the Constitutional Process and political party activity. They have been detained overnight in police custody and will appear in court tomorrow. (See statement).

YOUTH MILITIA

In the meantime, reports have been received of militia moving into the Mhondoro area, and Mashonaland East. Another report was received on Sunday evening (25 October 09), that trained militia, as part of the Zanu-PF military junta, are moving into Masvingo Province, and that “all NGOs should brace for the worst”.

Correspondents in Zimbabwe state that “there will be bloodshed in Zimbabwe”, adding that the ripple effect will reach South Africa, which is currently preparing to host the World Cup Soccer tournament.

South African President Jacob Zuma has declined to send a fact finding mission to Zimbabwe to ascertain the effect of the recent pull-back by the MDC, which has ‘disengaged’ from working with Zanu-PF.

The two most powerful members of Robert Mugabe’s Zezuru clan, Emmerson Mnangagwa (Minister of Defence) and Sydney Sekeramayi (Minister of State Security and head of the dreaded Central Intelligence Organisation), are directing the deployment of the militias.

In addition, presidential heir apparent Mnangagwa has been chairing Mugabe’s Politburo meetings in the past few weeks. This according to historical patterns of behaviour, indicates a very imminent spate of violent repression, which normally takes the form of abductions, torture, murder, arson and beatings.

More than one independent source in Dubai has confirmed that Robert Mugabe (85) is undergoing emergency treatment for a terminal condition in hospital.

A sudden dash from Namibia to the UAE via Harare kept the failing leader from several important appointments last weekend. It is likely that Mugabe may also miss his chance to parade about with Jacob Zuma at the official opening of the Harare Show this Friday.

Zimbabwean hospitals – even private ones – are not good enough for top officials within ZanuPF; the party has presided over the almost total disintegration of the health sector in Zimbabwe. Mugabe however has a personal urologist who has been treating his condition for years.

If Mugabe does not survive his malignant cancer, the implications are interesting at this delicate stage of ZanuPF’s political balancing act. With a recent nationwide poll giving ZanuPF just 10% of support, holding onto power in the face of overwhelming public disapproval is going to be a difficult task.

• Joice Mujuru is now alone as Vice President after the recent death in office of Joseph Msika.

• Emmerson Mnangagwa “Son of God” and Defence Minister already has a strategy to put himself in the Presidential palace as soon as possible.

• Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai theoretically outranks both, and has the majority of the people behind him as well as international support.

Should Mugabe pass away, the news would probably be greeted with jubilation among the suffering citizenship, but Morgan Tsvangirai’s situation would immediately become extremely dangerous, given the murderous track record of the above two wanna-be Presidents.

Add to this political brew the most explosive ingredient of all – money interests – and you have a recipe for a vicious civil war on South Africa’s doorstep.

The Chinese are already well entrenched with the Zimbabwean Government in debt to them, and with vast mineral and agricultural contracts on the point of being exploited.

Zimbabwe’s platinum reserves are a prize over which Australian, South African, Chinese and other interests are squabbling, and the presence of rich deposits of alluvial diamonds in the Marange area, presently under military control, increases the potential for conflict.

South Africa, SADC and the United Nations should be moving very fast to contain the situation in Zimbabwe, failing which there could be a new Somalia in the southern African region within weeks.

Mobilising and providing finance and logistics for an emergency election in Zimbabwe should be moved to the top of every agenda in the region.

A supervised election would be Zimbabwe’s often-prayed-for chance to finally emerge from the darkness of tyranny and failure, into a new beginning