Author: TSA Press

TINASHE MAKICHI

Zimbabwe diamonds have been under the spotlight since commercial production started in 2009 and seemed to have been passing all compliance issues after the formation of the Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC) in 2015. However, reports that ZCDC executives had opened the fields to small scale miners was judged as being tantamount to conflict creation.

Blue Nile, one of the top jewellers in US, said the move to stop diamonds purchases from Marange was to ensure that high ethical standards are observed when sourcing jewellery and diamonds.

“Blue Nile is committed to ensuring that the highest ethical standards are observed when sourcing its diamonds and jewellery. Because of the reported human rights abuses in Zimbabwe’s Marange diamond district, Blue Nile will not purchase or offer diamonds from that area,” it said.

“As a responsible member of the diamond and jewellery industry, we are working with our suppliers to ensure our consumers receive only the finest goods procured from ethical sources.”

The move by Blue Nile comes at a time a coalition of civic organisations is lobbying for the blacklisting of locally produced diamonds citing growing human rights violations on unregistered artisanal miners.

Treasury projects the economy to register a three percent growth driven by strong growth in the mining sector, particularly gold, chrome, coal and diamonds.

Now pressure is mounting on global diamond trade watchdog Kimberley Process to widen the scope of what is termed conflict diamonds. This came after security officials descended on illegal diamond panners in Manicaland resulting in a fatality.

The move by Blue Nile also comes after an illegal diamond miner last month was shot dead by a ZCDC security guard. Terrence Masendeke, from Jori village under Chief Nyashanu, was part of the over 300 illegal diamond panners who invaded Bravo near Muchena in the Marange diamond fields, when he was shot dead on May 15.

No comment could be obtained from Mines and Mining Development minister Winston Chitando as his mobile number went unanswered. He did not respond text messages sent to his number.

Centre for Natural Resources Governance director Farai Maguwu said the move by diamond jeweller was going to have a massive impact on the growth prospects of the local diamond sector.

The United States of America has a huge network of diamond jewellers and just a single negative issue raised by one jewellery company will have a cascading effect on the whole network.

“The human rights abuses are ongoing in the Marange diamond fields and it’s shocking that nothing tangible is being done to address that. Miners are being shot there and what needs to be done to address issues in Marange is not even difficult, ZCDC just needs to arrest people rather than shoot them,” Maguwu said.

“Most diamond jewellers obviously will raise their reservations in the event that issues of conflict diamonds are raised.  As you are aware USA has a network of hundreds of jewellers and when one member raises issues that will definitely cascade to all members in that network.

“As civil society organisations we have raised these issues at several platforms including KPCS [Kimberly Process Certification Scheme].”

In addition, the local diamonds sector also came under spotlight after it emerged that a controversial Lebanese businessman, Robai Hussein, was actively involved in the sorting of the precious stones in violation of global standards.

Hussein, who has since been deported by Zimbabwean immigration authorities, was reportedly using government’s metallurgical facilities for washing of his gems away from the radar of global diamond watchdog, KP.

Hussein, according to sources, was not licensed to buy diamonds in Zimbabwe which was in contravention of the KPCS minimum rules which require exporters to have KP certificates and also emphasises on traceability of origin of the gems.

Zimbabwe struggled to get KP certification until late 2011 due to incidents of violence and gross human rights abuses around diamond mining in Chiadzwa with concerns over transparency in processes and what was termed illicit diamond trade including smuggling.

ZCDC has been hopping from one scandal to another and last month fired seven senior executives, including CEO Moris Mpofu, in a move meant to refocus the business in line with prevailing operating environment and the “need to rebuild public and market confidence”.

Other executives shown the exit door were Charles Gambe (chief finance officer), Newton Demba (supply chain executive), Masciline Chikoore (chief human resources executive), Clemence Munoriyarwa (chief security officer), Andrew Murwisi (engineering executive) and audit executive Cleopatra Mutisi.

Mpofu and Gambe were arrested last on abuse of office charges. Their case is awaiting trial. Last month, Government rescued the ZCDC and stopped a creditor who was circling over the diamond producer with a writ to attach diamond over a US$14m debt.

Post published in: Business

The United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT)

The UNCAT makes it clear that torture is unjustified under any circumstances. In terms of this convention, torture is ‘any act by which severe pain, or suffering, whether physical or mental is intentionally inflicted on a person… by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity.’ In addition to considering prisons, police custody and allegations of war crimes; UNCAT also looks into how society’s vulnerable groups who are at risk of ill-treatment are treated.

The Zimbabwean status quo

Zimbabwe has not ratified the UNCAT, and at present, there is no specific law that criminalises torture in Zimbabwe. Reprieve is thus found in various clauses of the Constitution of Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum (the Forum) has been litigating for victims of organised violence and torture since 1998 to bring perpetrators of violations to book. On 18 June 2019, the Forum launched its anti- impunity report, highlighting the detrimental effects impunity has on society as a whole. It further posited recommendations to the Government of Zimbabwe on dealing with impunity to promote justice and accountability.

Despite litigation efforts and awards being granted in favour of victims, impunity remains a problem through the total disregard of payment of damages by the State. With the limitations posed by the State Liabilities Act, victims cannot execute against State property and are left in a vulnerable state. Below is a schedule of outstanding judgment debts which the State is yet to honour.

The right to redress

After ill-treatment, torture or any human rights violations, victims should be redressed. It is a fundamental principle that ensures that there is accountability and effectively works towards the fight against impunity. Victims should be placed in a position where they can rebuild their lives at all costs.

Report violations by the Security Services

The Forum encourages citizens to report violations by the security services on our anti-impunity platforms to bring about accountability and fight impunity.

Call – Econet Toll Free: 08080 242
NetOne Toll Free: 08012 020
SMS: – Econet: 0772 411 124 NetOne: 0712 844 954
Ushahidi Whatsapp: 0772 411124

Post published in: Featured

* In case you missed it, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he’d be willing to entertain a Democratic president’s Supreme Court nominee in 2021 because it would be “politically unsustainable” to hold open a vacancy for so long — but that doesn’t mean there’d be a confirmation. [POLITICO]

* It’s sick that we need a federal court order to get this done, but… conditions for migrant children must be improved immediately at Border Patrol facilities in Texas because right now, they “could be compared to torture facilities.” [New York Times]

* A judge has permanently enjoined the Trump administration from diverting $2.5 million in military funds to construct a wall on the southern border. We imagine there will be some Twitter rant about “Obama judges” coming soon. [The Hill]

* October Term 2018 was pretty strange and we saw SCOTUS justices making strange bedfellows in their opinions, with Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh joining the high court’s liberals in the majority for one of the most FUCT-up cases. [NBC News]

* Hoping to open your own firm or join a small law firm after graduation from law school? If that’s the case, then you might be interested to know that average compensation in this area of the legal profession is down, with women earning incomes 36 percent lower than their male counterparts. [Law.com]

Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

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It is just one aspect of the country’s dire economic difficulties as official inflation nears 100 percent and supplies of daily essentials such as bread and petrol regularly run short.

“If you want to work, you have to be here overnight and start when the electricity comes on until it goes off around 4:00 am,” Benhura, 32, told AFP as he made some wooden backrests for chairs.

At the open-air Glen View furniture market in Harare, Benhura welds steel frames for chairs and grinds off rough edges in the darkness, and then returns to do his manual woodwork in the daylight.

Zimbabwe — where the economy has recently lurched into a fresh crisis — introduced rotational power cuts of up to 19 hours a day earlier this year, forcing many to do their ironing or cooking in the dead of night.

For Egenia Chiwashira, a resident of the poor Harare suburb of Mbare, the outages are a grim burden.

The mother of three in her 40s says she can barely afford to feed her family, let alone pay for a generator.

– ‘We are in darkness’ –

“To cook porridge for my children needs electricity, also for me to prepare myself something to eat,” Chiwashira said, while stoking a fire she had made outside her house to prepare supper.

“We are always in darkness. It’s not easy. Life in the city is tough without electricity. You have to buy firewood unlike in rural areas where you can fetch it in forests.

“I can’t afford to buy both wood and candles, so my children cannot do their schoolwork in the evening.”

Zimbabwe last month introduced rolling electricity power cuts known as “load-shedding” due to low water levels at the Kariba hydro-power station, as well as the country’s crumbling power infrastructure and lack of funds to pay for energy imports.

The ZESA power utility said cuts would be imposed between 5:00 am and 10:00 am and 5:00 pm and 10:00 pm, but they often last longer.

“Last week we had no electricity on Friday, Saturday and Sunday,” Chiwashira said. “We only got supplies back on Monday afternoon.”

Energy minister Fortune Chasi has pledged the outages would be reduced, and urged consumers to pay their bills to enable ZESA to buy more power from neighbouring countries.

“We will be turning the corner pretty soon,” Chasi told a post-Cabinet briefing this week, adding that ZESA had just paid a $20-million debt to neighbouring South Africa.

South Africa’s state-owned energy company Eskom on Friday denied the money had been paid.

– No post-Mugabe upturn –

One of few to see an improvement in business is Simba Vuremu, a stationery shop owner who has added solar lighting units to his stock.

“They are selling and selling fast,” he said.

After Robert Mugabe was ousted from power in 2017, many Zimbabweans hoped that their country’s long economic deline would be reversed under his successor President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Mnangagwa promised to end the country’s international isolation, attract investors and create growth that could fund the country’s shattered public services.

But the economy has declined further, with shop prices rocketing at the fastest rate since hyperinflation wiped out savings and pensions ten years ago.

This week, Zimbabwe in theory ended the use of US dollars and other foreign currencies that have been the official legal tender since the Zimbabwe dollar was rendered worthless in 2009.

The government’s surprise decision fuelled further confusion and uncertainty.

For Caution Kasisi, 45, another furniture-maker in Glen View, the power cuts have only added to his worries.

“We have a small petrol-powered generator which cannot run for a long time,” he said.

“The price of food and other things like school fees are going up and we are not getting much money because we can’t deliver our goods. We have got a problem.”

“We lost all our belongings – including the new clothes we had bought for the baby,” Tatenda Sithole, from Rusitu. © UNFPA Zimbabwe

JOE BIDEN’S ANSWER ON BUSING IS BAD: When your opponent is on the side of Thurgood Marshall, and you’re on the side of Jesse Helms, you’re losing the argument.

WE STILL HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THE CENSUS: Listen to your friend, Larry Tribe.

HERE’S A KIM KARDASHIAN-ADJACENT STORY: This is a good piece about trademarks that some will read hoping there are Kim Kardashian underwear photos in it, and you will not be disappointed, either way.

DACA IS BACK ON THE TABLE: Conservatives are so red-assed about Roberts right now that they going to punish kids.

BOUTIQUES FOR YOUR STARTUP: Law firm boutiques, that is.

PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEES SERIES 25/2019

Although the National Assembly will be on a short break for the first two weeks of July, the three portfolio committees mentioned below will be meeting this coming week in order to fulfil prior commitments.  These committee meetings will be held at Parliament in Harare from Monday 1st to Wednesday 3rd July, and will be open to the public.

Members of the public may attend the meetings – but as observers only, not as participants, i.e. they may observe and listen but not speak. If attending, please use the entrance to Parliament on Kwame Nkrumah Ave between 2nd and 3rd Streets. Please note that IDs must be produced.

The details given in this bulletin are based on the latest information from Parliament. But, as there are sometimes last-minute changes to the meetings schedule, persons wishing to attend should avoid disappointment by checking with the committee clerk that the meeting concerned is still on and open to the public. Parliament’s telephone numbers are Harare 2700181 and 2252940/1.

Reminder: Members of the public, including Zimbabweans in the Diaspora, can at any time send written submissions to Parliamentary committees by email addressed to [email protected] or by letter posted to the Clerk of Parliament, P.O. Box 298, Causeway, Harare or delivered at Parliament’s Kwame Nkrumah Avenue entrance in Harare.

Monday 1st at 10.00 am

Portfolio Committee:  Budget, Finance and Economic Development

Oral evidence from the Minister of Finance and Economic Development on Statutory Instrument 142 of 2019.

Venue: Senate Chamber

Note by Veritas:  Statutory Instrument [SI] 142 of 2019 is available on the Veritas website [link], as is Bill Watch 32 commenting on it [link].   The SI contains the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (Legal Tender) Regulations, 2019, made by the Minister of Finance and Economic Development, and gazetted on 24th June 2019.  The regulations lay down in section 2 that with effect from 24th June “the British pound, United States dollar, South African rand, Botswana pula and any other foreign currency whatsoever shall no longer be legal tender alongside the Zimbabwe dollar in any transactions in Zimbabwe” and that “the Zimbabwe dollar shall … be the sole legal tender in Zimbabwe in all transactions”.   Both statements are subject to the savings provisions of section 3 of the regulations referring to Nostro FCA accounts; payments that must be made in foreign currency of certain customs duties under the Customs and Excise Act and import tax or VAT under the Value Added Tax Act; and payments in foreign currency for international airline services.  There are also declarations “for the avoidance of doubt” that references to the “Zimbabwe dollar are coterminous” with references to bond notes and coins and the RTGS dollar, and that bond notes and coins and RTGS dollars are “at par with the Zimbabwe dollar”.

Tuesday 2nd July at 10 am

Portfolio Committee:  Lands, Agriculture, Climate, Water and Rural Resettlement  

Oral evidence from the  Manicaland Provincial Lands Committee on the land dispute between Mr Rememberance Mbudzana and Mr Richard Le Vieux.

Venue: Senate Chamber.

Wednesday 3rd July at 10 am

Portfolio Committee:  Defence, Home Affairs and Security Services

Oral evidence from the  Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defence and War Veterans on the provisions of the War Veterans Act and pension and general welfare benefits of war veterans.

Venue: Committee Room No. 311.

Veritas makes every effort to ensure reliable information, but cannot take legal responsibility for information supplied.

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