Zimbabwe 'Has Long Way To Go in Making Diamond Sector Transparent'

(IDEX Online) – Piers Pigou, a political analyst and senior consultant at the International Crisis Group (ICG), argues that Zimbabwe still has a long way to go towards fostering transparency in its opaque diamond sector.

“Good governance in the diamond sector, which includes tangible progress towards improved transparency and accountability, remains a key litmus test of the Zimbabwean government’s reform commitment,” he told the Zimbabwean Independent.

“The apparent failure of the government to respond to the preliminary investigations of the Mines and Energy parliamentary portfolio committee into missing Chiadzwa diamond revenues reflects a lack of prioritization to appropriately regulate, notwithstanding the development of a new diamond policy,” Pigou said.

Global Witness, a human rights watchdog, requested last month that the Zim government publish detailed information about all diamond mining-related revenue flows, disaggregated by company, year, and type of revenue stream, Pigou reported. Global Witness noted that quarantining Zimbabwe’s controversial diamond industry would add impetus to the country’s ongoing re-engagement drive with the international community.

“The new government’s handling of the Marange diamond industry will be a clear indication of whether its commitments to economic reform and anti-corruption go beyond lip service. Opening up the diamond industry to public scrutiny will make it much harder for bad actors to permeate and devastate the sector and may give reputable investors and the international community confidence in the commitment of the new government to genuine reform,” Global Witness stated.