Zimbabwe’s diamonds saga took a strange twist after KP Monitor for Zimbabwe Abbey Chikane authorised the sale of diamonds from Marange worth $160 million. Non-governmental organisations raised hell. Outgoing KP chair Boaz Hirsch had to issue a statement saying the authorisation by Chikane was illegal. To give our readers a clear picture of what transpired, we published Chikane’s explanation. Today we publish Hirsh’s statement in full. This will be followed by the response from the African Diamond Producers Association and lastly by Mines Minister Obert Mpofu’s response.
(20 VIEWS)
Abbey Chikane, the Kimberley Process Monitor tasked with ensuring that diamonds from Marange meet the minimum requirements of the KP Certification Scheme, has come under a lot of flak for certifying diamonds worth about $160 million without authority from the chairman of the diamond body or its Working Group or Monitoring. But he has explained why he did so. He argues that he had no option but to oblige to the request by the Zimbabwean government to save the entire diamond industry.
(20 VIEWS)
Zimbabwe’s diamonds saga has taken another twist with African diamond producers saying they will back Zimbabwe to sell its diamonds from Marange and might even ask it to take legal action against those barring it from selling the diamonds.
(78 VIEWS)
