Diamonds are forever and they have caused this stampede among the impoverished Zimbabweans but it is the top Zanu PF officials that are creaming the country and that must be stopped forthwith.
The Mbada Holdings directors are refusing to appear before a Parliamentary probe team into how they secured diamond mining concessions at Chiadzwa.
It is apparent that their refusal is not out of their volition but is a Zanu PF parallel government directive aimed at flexing muscles in the coalition government and protecting the Party bigwigs that have been looting the country’s resources with impunity.
Mbada Chairman Robert Mhlanga has been asked on three different occasions to present himself and his full board of Directors before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee but has been finding excuse after excuse for not complying.
The problem he faces is that the Mbada Board is a cartel of Senior Army Officers some of them still in service who have expropriated ACR mining rights by condoning off the minefields and have been siphoning and ferreting the gem to the informal market for illicit gems for personal gain.
Constitutional Amendment No 19 upon which the current government is premised did not visit the contracts of serving military personnel to seek their allegiance to the coalition government and we are all paying the price for that reckless omission.
The omission was deliberate as it was feared that any attempt to clip the powers of the Military Commanders would trigger a full scale and bloody Military coup.
The reason why President Mugabe retained the Presidency he had lost in an election to Morgan Tsvangirai was because the Military commanders had made it clear to SADC that if he was pushed out they would step in and cease power.
It may have been prudent then to leave them be while the government found each other but now it is no longer prudent to allow these self serving bloodthirsty Commanders free reign to loot and plunder as they wish simply because they have threatened a coup.
It is opportune time for the government to exploit the presence of President Mugabe at its helm to put foot down and bring the Commanders online or force them to topple Mugabe if they so wish.
The way President Mugabe has kept silent or openly supported albeit indirectly the Chiadzwa debacle suggests that somehow he may be directly involved with Mbada and likewise Mines Minister Obert Mpofu and you guessed right Gideon Gono, Solomon Mujuru and Emmerson Mnangagwa.
What with Retired Air Marshall Robert Mhlanga playing lead role in the venture when previously he was President Mugabe’s Personal Helicopter Pilot and was closely linked to the President’s late former wife Sally Mugabe.
Billy Rautenbach has been increasingly seen around the Manicaland province and we all know his Diamond escapades in the DRC as well as his close links within Zanu PF and in particular Emmerson Mnangagwa.
The other key player Canadile is fronted by the late Retired General Vitalis Zvinavashe ‘s cousin Lovemore Kurotwi.
With the support of the late General Kurotwi caused commotion in the Coal Merchants association and ended up its President taking over lucrative coal supply contracts previously held by established Coal Merchants and exposing the tobacco farmers to serious shortages due to lack of capacity to deliver adequate supplies of coal in time for the curing season.
Then there are the revelations that Obert Mpofu has packed the Boards of Mbada with his relatives and trusted employees from the Ministry of Mines.
Its stinking business at Chiadzwa and nobody seems to have the nerve to unruffle feathers of the Military involvement in the lucrative dirty diamonds trade that is benefiting a few individuals rather than the nation at large.
Mines Secretary Thankful Musukutwa has been writing letters to the Parliamentary portfolio committee investigating the Chiadzwa diamond mining operations that it was premature for him and other players to appear before the committee as the matter was before the Courts.
What Musukutwa has been conveniently turning a blind eye to is that Courts work with statutes from parliament and thus cannot have supervisory powers on Parliamentary business neither does the fact that a matter is before a Court preclude parliament to exercise its powers and independently investigate the matter with a view to regulate the causes of the matter.
The doctrine of separation of powers between the Executive, Judiciary and Parliament means neither of these central pillars of our democracy has power to stop the other exercising its right to scrutinize a matter that is topical in order for it to determine what course of action to take on the matter.
But Musukutwa is obviously under instructions from the Executive to defend the exposure of key Government and political figures behind the murky deals at Chiadzwa.
The leniency of the Parliamentary Committee suggests that it is aware of these behind the scenes pressures on the Secretary’s shoulders hence the offer for him to appear in camera if need be for it to get his confession to anomalies and illegalities going on at Chiadzwa.
It is likely Musukutwa will appear before the committee sooner rather than later or find himself behind bars. Known Board members of Grandwell trading as Mbada that Musukutwa has been barring from appearing before the Parliamentary Committee include Robert Mhlanga, Sithengisiso Mpofu, Dingiswayo Ndlovu and Crystesona Kanjoma while Canadile is represented by Alvin Ncube, Beauty Moyo, Caughan Matanhire and Lavemore Kurotwi
That will sent the correct signal to the contemptuous Minister and the Board Members of the rag tag mining outfits currently looting the Chiadzwa diamond fields dry and they will stampede to appear before the Committee to avoid similar fate.
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