London-based African Consolidated Resources was to return to court in Zimbabwe next week seeking to force the Ministry of Mines to comply with High Court and Supreme Court rulings ordering government partners to halt diamond mining operations in Marange.
Successive court rulings have found that ACR is the rightful holder of mining claims in Marange – but Mines Minister Obert Mpofu has vowed never to let the company take over operations there.
Mpofu, accused of barring members of a parliamentary fact-finding mission from the Marange diamond fields this week, says ACR does not represent the interests of Zimbabweans, an assertion rejected by the company, which has black and local representatives.
Lawyer Jonathan Samkange, who represents the firm, told VOA Studio 7 reporter Sandra Nyaira that the government's failure to comply with court rulings shows the rule of law has yet to be re-established.
Meanwhile, the Kimberly Process monitor for Zimbabwe, Abbey Chikane, said no diamonds from Marange have been certified for sale yet.
Dismissing recent reports that the Kimberly Process had authorized government joint venture partner Mbada Holdings to sell some two million carats of diamonds from Marange, Chikane said his first certification visit to Zimbabwe has not been scheduled. He said he made a fact-finding visit to Zimbabwe last month and has submitted a detailed report to the Kimberly Process working committee on monitoring.
