Anjin looting Zim diamonds – COZWVA
The Children of Zimbabwe War Veterans Association (COZWVA) has implored that Chinese owned diamond miner Anjin Investments (Pvt) Ltd two weeks ago collected diamonds from diamonds fields in Chiyadzwa adding on to allegations that the diamond miner is illegally selling the country’s diamonds without the involvement of Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ).
Rudairo Mapuranga
Through their Twitter handle, COZWVA also said that politicians have formed cartels that use artisanal diamond miners to mine and loot diamonds from the fields, this is despite the fact that diamond mining in Zimbabwe according to the diamond policy can only be carried out by four firms.
“On Thursday last week, this Blue & white aeroplane landed at Anjin Diamond Mine in Chiyadzwa. It collected some diamonds. Over 5000 illegal miners are in Chiyadzwa today, working for syndicates controlled by politicians. No arrests No diamonds revenue accounts Only looting.”
https://twitter.com/cozwva/status/1377124122866552835
It is alleged that since Anjin resumed operations in Marange last year it has not been selling its diamonds with the involvement of MMCZ. MMCZ is Zimbabwe’s exclusive agent for selling and marketing of all minerals except gold.
The failure by Anjin to sell the gems through MMCZ has highlighted long-held fears that the diamond mining companies have been looting resources, depriving the country of meaningful revenue in the form of taxes and dividends in the case of firms jointly held by the government.
It is alleged that many politicians and military chiefs are working with the Chinese owned mine to loot the country’s diamonds for personal use.
In a report, titled “An inside job Zimbabwe: the state, the security forces, and a decade of disappearing diamonds” released in 2017 the country’s security forces benefit from the plunder of diamonds, despite Treasury coffers being dry. According to the report, the military is the single biggest local beneficiary of Anjin Investments Pvt Ltd’s diamond mining revenues.
Anjin is a joint venture between the Chinese military and their Zimbabwean counterparts and is back in Marange after it was ordered to stop operations, alongside other producers, in the diamond-rich area by Robert Mugabe led government in 2016 as the government was getting little from the gems.