Zim Diamond Companies Merger Stinks
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Zim Diamond Companies Merger Stinks

The nearly finished merging of three struggling diamond mining companies in Marange has raised eyebrows.

Mines and Mining Development Minister Mr Walter Chidhakwa told the media

last week that Marange Resources, Kusena diamonds and Gye Nyame would by early next year operate as one entity.

In January, Gye Nyame Resources announced that it was defunct and was making efforts to engage a new investor after its previous investor, a Ghanaian national was implicated and alleged to be involved in underhand dealings.

President Mugabe later accused Masimirembwa of demanding a US$6 million bribe from Ghanaian businessman William Ato Essien who was a partner in Gye Nyame, a diamond mining company operating then in Chiadzwa.

The Ghanaian company which Essien claimed to own, Bill Minerals of Ghana, sought to invest in the Marange diamond field in a joint venture agreement with ZMDC and the Zimbabwe Republic Police.

 

Marange Resources, which is owned by government through its mining arm — the Zimbabwe Mining development Corporation (ZMDC) — stands accused of undervaluing mining equipment.

On the other hand, Kusena Diamonds is alleged to have failed to declare its royalties to Government.

The Government said the  merging of three struggling companies is aimed at streamlining operations and ensure accountability

 

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