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(NEWZIMBABWE) Mpofu, Tomana in US for KP meeting

Mpofu, Tomana in US for KP meeting
04/06/2012 00:00:00
by Staff Reporter

MINES Minister Obert Mpofu and Attorney General Johannes Tomana are in the United States to attend a key Kimberly Process meeting after being granted visas by the Obama administration.

“The Zimbabwean delegation has arrived and we have a full complement of stakeholders. We are currently going through the programme and we have noticed that quite a number of issues are going to be addressed,” Mpofu told state media. The US State Department said Sunday that Tomana and Mpofu would be part of the Zimbabwe’s delegation to the meeting which begins on Monday.

Both officials are subject to US sanctions but the department said as the current chair of the Kimberley Process, it is “obligated to facilitate the entry” of participants.

The US took the helm of the Kimberley Process earlier this year amid controversy after a major human rights watchdog quit, accusing the body of refusing to address links between gems, violence and tyranny, notably in Zimbabwe.

A spokeswoman for the State Department’s Bureau of African Affairs, said the participation of the Mpofu and Tomana in the meeting “is in no way indicative of an easing of US concerns about the human rights situation in Zimbabwe, nor a change in our sanctions policy.”

The US took the helm of the Kimberley Process earlier this year amid controversy after a major human rights watchdog quit, accusing the body of refusing to address links between gems, violence and tyranny, notably in Zimbabwe.

But Mpofu as saying Zimbabwe was ready to defend itself if put on the agenda of the intercessional gathering.

“This time around there doesn’t seem to be any specific issues on Zimbabwe as such,” he said.

“But, all the same, we are confident that if any serious issues pertaining to Zimbabwe are raised, they are going to be tackled appropriately.

“If there is a surprise introduction of issues that may have an impact on Zimbabwe, we will deal with that appropriately.”

Rights groups claim abuses continue in the country’s Marange diamond mining fields adding the country’s security services are also involved in the exploitation of the diamonds. Zimbabwe denies the allegations.

Still, disagreement continues over the use of diamond revenues in the coalition government with Finance Minister Tendai Biti recently claiming that senior officials were looting the diamonds adding money was not finding its way into the treasury.

"There is no doubt that a small coterie of individuals is benefiting from Zimbabwe diamonds. Some of us (officials) who are benefiting are not afraid to flaunt our monies. We are buying all kinds of assets," Biti said recently.

He added: "I am a government minister and earning US$800. How do I buy some of the assets that we are buying? People are now buying private jets because of our diamonds."

The Kimberley Process, founded in 2003, groups the diamond industry, rights groups and 75 countries to certify rough diamonds as “conflict-free” to assure purchasers they are not funding violence.

It was born after wars in Sierra Leone and Liberia that were fueled by “blood diamonds.”

Labels: KIMBERLEY PROCESS, OBERT MPOFU

posted by MrK @ 2:39 PM