Marange, Zimbabwe – Earlier this month, a Kimberley Process team was sent to Zimbabwe to address allegations that the government used unnecessary force to remove diamond miners whom they had allowed into the mine fields in the first place.  The UN-based team found that Mugabe’s army and policy had killed and maimed hundreds of people in an effort to regain control of the fields that were abandoned by the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC).  The country was given two weeks to remove their soldiers from the diamond mines.

Rather than busy themselves with the agreed-upon evacuation of the Marange fields, President Mugabe’s ZANU-PF Party is allowing more than 300 children to mine for diamonds, handing them over to the soldiers, who, in turn, hand them to Mugabe’s senior lieutenants.  The revenue from illegal trading of the gems is split between Mugabe, his senior lieutenants, and the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, which has underwritten several military operations.

A Human Rights Watch investigation discovered this use of child slaves and money-laundering.  The unity government is not anxious for the HRW report, called “Diamonds in the Rough”, to become public, as it threatens to “embarrass” the nation.  Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, who has distanced himself from Mugabe as much as possible, continues to lobby for foreign aid based on the reforms Zimbabwe was supposed to make.  Unfortunately, the promises made by Mugabe have not been kept, so foreign aid is unlikely to come.  The tension between the President and Prime Minister is well known, and it is assumed that Tsvangirai was able to rise to his position only because Mugabe required him to be a more just face to show the world. 

The HRW report states that, “While Zimbabwe’s new government lobbies the world for development aid, millions of dollars in potential revenue are being siphoned off through illegal diamond mining, smuggling of gemstones outside the country, and corruption.  The government could generate perhaps as much as $200 million per month, if Marange and other mining centres were managed in a transparent and accountable manner.”

While the revenue of legal mining would certainly aid ordinary citizens of Zimbabwe, offering them small things like food and shelter, it would no longer be lining the pockets of President Mugabe and his top advisers. 

Now that the two-week grace period is over, Mugabe’s soldiers continue to control Marange.  Finance Minister Tendai Biti appealed to the Kimberley Process not to blacklist them over their non-compliance.  With Mugabe pulling in one direction, maintaining control of the police and military, and Tsvangirai pulling in another, there can be no resolution to the matter.  It makes no difference to Mugabe if he remains in good standing with the Kimberley Process, as most of his income is from illegally-mined and smuggled diamonds.  While Tsvangirai appears to be trying to help heal his country, he cannot do so until the illegal activity stops.  He is nothing more than a figurehead, and it is unknown what the ZANU-PF will do when he outlives his usefulness.

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