MONEY MATTERS

The diamond fever made thousands of Zimbabweans descend on the Marange fields. Marange, near the eastern border of Mozambique, was a field of dreams which did not need expensive or complicated mining equipment, you could simply pan your way to riches. Diamonds are the fastest way out of a ten year economic crisis for the government. In Zimbabwe, mining is associated with allegations of severe human rights abuses, that the sale of Zimbawe’s diamonds has been blocked. Meanwhile Kimberley Process, a voluntary body to certify that diamonds entering the market are “conflict free,” has approved a limited amount of the stocked diamonds to be exported. These exports are just what the country needs to jump start its economy.
The military has been really harsh with the illegal miners, they shoot illegal miners. Use of forced labour – including children – and of beatings and torture are some of the complaints of the NGOs. But these kind of abuses, outrageous and unacceptable as they are, are not unique to Zimbabwe, but can be found wherever riches are discovered around the homes of the poor, such as oil in the Niger Delta or Equatorial Guinea.
If the wealth from the diamonds is channelled properly, it is just what Zimbabwe needs. The diamond fields that have been discovered are so vast that it is estimated the country could produce a quarter of the world’s diamond needs in a matter of years. The crucial issue around Zimbabwe’s diamond wealth is how to ensure it benefits the whole country and not just a few, because if managed well it has the potential to transform the country.

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