Western-sponsored civil society groups regroup against Marange diamonds

According to the state controlled the 'Sunday Mail', western-sponsored civil society groups that are opposed to Zimbabwe's diamond industry have regrouped following their failure last year to campaign for a total ban on the sale of Marange diamonds, it has emerged.

In the countdown to last November's Kimberley Process Certification Scheme plenary in Kinshasa, the non-governmental organisations were lobbying through Global Witness. However, the decision by Global Witness to boycott the important meeting proved costly to the anti-Zimbabwe campaigners, as the plenary went ahead and gave Zimbabwe the greenlight to sell Marange diamonds, without the input of the NGOs.

As a direct result of the Kinshasa boycott, Global Witness lost steam and has been struggling to seek relevance ever since.

To revive the anti-Zimbabwe campaign, the NGOs are planning to convene a Publish What You Pay (PWYP) session where renewed strategies will be formulated. PWYP, a Western-funded coalition of over 600 NGOs, traces its roots to a December 1999 document compiled by Global Witness.

One of the civil society groups, Zimbabwe Environment Law Association (Zela), has written a document alleging that Zimbabwe's mining sector lacks "transparency and accountability".

A political analyst said the PWYP campaign is meant to amplify the anti-Zimbabwe lobby and, ultimately, convince the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme to ban the sale of Marange diamonds on the international market.

"The Publish What You Pay campaign is an offshoot of Global Witness. They know that Zimbabwe's Kimberley Process certification was under constant review, so they are pushing for a ban on the Marange diamonds. This can only be a sinister agenda. Why should a sovereign state be barred from benefiting from its natural resources?" asked the analyst.

The Zela document, written as a concept paper circulated to the NGOs that will convene the strategy session in Harare on Thursday this week, casts aspersions on Zimbabwe's mining sector.

"Zimbabwe's mining sector is characterised by a plethora of problems. These problems include lack of transparency and accountability, displacement of communities without compensation; violations of civil, political, environmental, economic, social and cultural rights of communities living in or near mining areas; limited socio-economic benefits for mining communities and the nation," reads the Zela document.

Zela is also demanding the disclosure of Government revenues.
Analysts said the NGOs' agenda is questionable, considering that the Government is currently empowering communities through Community Share Trusts under the economic empowerment and indigenisation programme.

"Where were these NGOs when Western transnational corporations were plundering our minerals? Why are they making noise now, when the Government is actually empowering local communities via the indigenisation programme?" asked a senior executive in the mining industry.

The KPCS is this year chaired by the United States, represented by career diplomat Ms Gillian Milovanovic.

Although the KPCS has certified the Marange diamonds, Washington has shown insincerity by unilaterally imposing sanctions on Mbada Diamonds and Marange Resources. Analysts say Western nations in the KPCS grouping are adopting a two-pronged strategy this year: on one hand they are maintaining a veneer of respecting the consensus-based system, but on the other hand they use unilateral sanctions and hostile NGOs to undermine Zimbabwe.