Campaign group Global Witness has said that the report by the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Mines and Energy into the looting of diamonds appears to have serious gaps. In a statement, Global Witness Said
The use of secretive shell companies to conceal off-budget financing to Zimbabwe’s security forces has been a consistent feature of Zimbabwe’s diamond sector. But there has been no previous public indication that the ruling party may also have secured a hidden stake in the industry.
The possibility that a Zanu PF government awarded a diamond-mining licence to a company in which it held a major stake presents a potentially serious conflict of interest. It also potentially limits oversight and transparency in a key part of Zimbabwe’s democratic system by securing the ruling party a hidden source of finance.
The committee was chaired by the independent legislator for Norton, Temba Mliswa.
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