Mbada Diamonds Cup - a case of skewed priorities

I was one of the many readers who used to follow Robson Sharuko's writings in the Herald until he was he tainted by the Asiagate scandal. Guilty or not guilty, I now rarely follow what he writes until last week when I stumbled upon his article in defence of the Mbada Diamonds Cups which a diamond activist, Farai Maguwu had christened a 'Cup of Shame'.

In trying to defend the Mbada Diamonds Cup, Sharuko opined that Mbada Diamonds Company was doing a lot in supporting communities in Marange. Granted the relocated people are getting food hampers quarterly from Mbada but is this what we want as Zimbabweans to live on food handouts? And it seems Mbada can play God over the relocated people as they entirely depend on the company for food. Sharuko says the Mbada diamond has launched income generating projects at Arda Transau. I stand corrected but I was one of the journalists who went a heavily guided tour of the new settlement at Arda Transau but no income generating project was yet off the ground and that was sometime in June this year.

Even to use the relocated people as a yardstick to measure how Mbada Diamonds Company is assisting communities is unobtrusively misplaced. These people were relocated as a result of Mbada's mining operations in Marange and the company had an obligation to provide the necessary amenities like schools, clinics and clean water among others not as a favour but as an entitlement to the relocated villagers.

Sharuko's argument was also premised on what he hears from other people and he has never visited Marange diamond fields or the relocated families. As a person who lives in Mutare, a stone throw from the diamond fields, I know what it means to watch rich resources being shunted out of your backyard while you're wallowing in poverty. To tell someone who shares a boundary fence with Mbada diamonds or any other diamond company in Marange that millions of dollars have been poured into a soccer tournament is an insult. Local people are now living in a highly polluted environment-dust and tainted water sources-as a result of operations from the diamond mining operations. Marange clinic which was recently upgraded into a hospital remains in a sorry state. Save for the little developments courtesy of the Minister of State for Manicaland, Chris Mushohwe nothing much has been going on at the hospital in terms of development. The Odzi-Marange road which was partly tarred when Minister Mushohwe was still Minister of Transports is also in sorry state. But that road is leading to one of the richest resources in the country. And to worsen the matter people in Marange are on the brink of starvation when they are sitting of such a rich resource. A few thousand dollars could make a difference to the starving villagers.

Get me right here, yes I don't hate soccer, however when our priorities are skewed in favour soccer at the expense of starving poor villagers, I start to wonder whether we are setting our priorities right. Can we go on empty stomachs to support our teams during a Mbada Diamonds Cup? We cannot continue begging maize from Zambia when have diamonds in our country- alots of them for that matter.

Shakuro even opined that the Mbada Diamonds Cup is supporting downstream "industries" like vending groundnuts and frozen drinks (mafreezits). Selling "mafreezits" at soccer tournaments is not the type of "industry" we are yearning for as a country. Yes I understand Sharuko is a sports reporter, and his appreciation of economics is limited, but to think that Zimbabwe can develop through selling roasted groundnuts and frozen drinks at soccer tournaments is a far too myopic. Selling "mafreezits" might be an "industry" in Chakari (where Sharuko comes from) but not here in Mutare or any other place in Zimbabwe. People are selling these wares out of desperation. As a country we want development hinged on our extractive industry not to be perpetual "freezit" vendors at soccer tournaments. And by the way Mbada Diamonds Cup comes to Mutare only once or twice a year, this then means I have to sell my "freezits" only once a year. Or should a vendor travel all the way from Marange to sell "mafreezits" at Sakubva Stadium? Practically impossible! Imagine same million dollars were channelled to food security or to the health sector- food for thought Mr Sharuko.

It is unfortunate that Sharuko is not from Manicaland and the issue of Marange diamonds is way above his pay cheque, but the truth is, even senior politicians and government officials in the province are not happy when it comes to the benefits from the diamonds. The Minister of State in the President Office, Didymus Mutasa recently expressed concern over the limited benefits from the diamonds. Minister Mushohwe expressed the same sentiments, so did Manicaland provincial administrator, Fungai Mbetsa and the business community. I don't think these senior politicians and government officials are wrong on Marange diamonds. As I am writing, the Zimunya/Marange Share Ownership Scheme's coffers are still empty as no company mining in Marange has put a cent into the scheme. But other big mining companies in the country which are not sponsoring soccer and which Sharuko castigated have put upto US$10 million dollars into community projects. Sharuko should have been there when Minister Mutasa and Minister Mushohwe poured their bleeding hearts about the Marange diamonds during some of our Press Club sessions in Mutare.

Yes, soccer is very important but as a country we need to set our priorities right, should we go begging for food when we have invested millions of dollars in football? The biggest challenge the country if facing now is how to feed its people not how to get sponsorship for soccer tournaments. We can't continue to be a nation of beggars when we have mineral resources worth billions and when some of those resources are going into soccer tournaments.

Yes, soccer can be a multimillion dollar business in Zimbabwe but first we need exorcise the Asiagate ghost. If Sharuko had written feverishly in support of those who are trying to cleanse the football, I would have taken him seriously. We may pour in millions of dollars into soccer but if we still have some of our journalists directing from soccer coach's bench then we are doomed even with millions of dollar from Mbada Diamonds. The Dream Team was a success because they did not participate in dubious tournaments in Asia nor had journalists acting as coaches. As Zimbabweans we should think beyond our own myopic conspiracy theories and realise that when one criticize something in the country he or she is not enemy of the country. We should all realise that criticizing Mbada or any other companies in Marange is not about being unpatriotic or about the impending KP meeting in South Africa.

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Andrew Mambondiyani can be contacted at amambondiyani@gmail.com