Pamenus
Tuso
Chimanimani—Police
details
deployed
to
guard
the
Chiadzwa
diamond
fields
in
Manicaland
suspect
that
their
bosses
are
diverting
money
due
to
them
in
travel
and
subsistence
(T
and
S)
allowances.
Junior
officers
who
are
on
special
guard
and
patrol
duties
at
Chiadzwa
told NewsHub that
they
had
not
been
paid
their
travel
and
subsistence
allowances
for
close
to
three
years.
Their
provincial
bosses
and
those
at
the
Police
General
Headquarters
in
Harare
have
not
been
able
to
explain
to
them
why
they
were
not
paying
the
allowances,
said
the
sources.
The
police
details
told
this
publication
that
they
were
supposed
to
receive
the
equivalent
of
US$5
a
day.
The
diamond
companies
are
reportedly
remitting
the
money
to
the
law
enforcer.
Security
personnel
from
the
police
Support
Unit
and
the
canine
section
are
rendering
their
services
to
Zimbabwe
Consolidated
Diamond
Company
(ZCDC)
at
Chiadzwa.
The
ZCDC
was
formed
in
2015
following
the
expulsion
of
several
miners
that
the
government
of
the
late
former
president
Robert
Mugabe
accused
of
siphoning
proceeds
from
Chiadzwa.
The
company
is wholly
owned
by
the
government through
Defold
Mine
(Pvt)
Ltd.
The
police
details
are
also
providing
security
at
Anjin
Investments,
a
joint
venture
between
the
Zimbabwean
army
and
a
Chinese
multinational,
Anhui.
In
addition,
there
has
been
a
heavy
presence
of
soldiers
at
the
diamond
fields,
but
it
could
not
be
immediately
established
if
they
were
getting
their
allowances.
More
police
officers
are
deployed
at
Sandawana
Mines,
a
lithium
entity
run
by
the
state-owned
Kuvimba
Mining
House
in
Mberengwa
in
the
Midlands
province.
Highly
placed
police
contacts
said
these
officer
were
not
receiving
their
travel
and
subsistence
dues
at
Sandawana
too.
“We
have
not
been
paid
our
T
and
S
for
close
to
three
years
now.
We
have
tried
to
engage
our
commanders
over
this
issue
on
numerous
occasions
but
no
one
has
bothered
to
give
us
a
satisfactory
answer.
“We
are
working
under
extremely
tough
conditions
here
and
we
are
entitled
to
those
allowances
as
per
our
conditions
of
service,”
said
one
of
the
police
officers
who
refused
to
be
named
for
fear
of
victimisation.
The
police
officers
said
their
bosses
asked
for
their
banking
details
on
the
understanding
that
they
would
be
used
to
transfer
the
T
and
S
after
deployment.
However,
no
money
has
been
wired
to
their
accounts
since
they
commenced
operations
where
they
are
permitted
to
rest
for
a
week
or
two
bi-monthly.
Another
police
source
suspected
that
the
bosses
were
diverting
the
money.
“We
strongly
believe
that
our
commanders
are
receiving
our
allowances
from
the
mining
companies
but
they
are
not
giving
us
our
money,”
said
one
of
the
details.
The
police
command
has
in
the
past
been
accused
of
withholding
officers’
allowance
during
election
time
or
when
the
details
are
deployment
to
provide
security
at
music
and
other
entertainment
shows.
The
officers
also
claimed
that
they
were
being
forced
to
work
without
protective
clothing.
“We
attend
blasting
operations
without
proper
safety
helmets
and
masks.
This
is
affecting
our
health,”
said
another
low
ranking
police
detail.
The
police
officers
and
dog
handlers
are
deployed
to
the
blasting
sites
so
as
to
prevent
intruders
from
breaching
security
to
look
for
diamonds.
The
ZCDC
spokesperson,
Sugar
Chagonda,
referred
all
questions
to
the
police.
“I
am
not
aware
of
the
situation
you
are
talking
about.
I
do
not
comment
on
Zimbabwe
Republic
Police
(ZRP)
operations.
“As
far
as
I
know,
our
police
force
is
a
well
-structured
and
professional
institution
with
well-defined
channels
of
communication.
I’m
sure
the
ZRP
press
department
will
be
happy
to
field
your
questions,”
Chagonda
told NewsHub.
The
Manicaland
police
provincial
spokesperson,
Wise
Chinyoka,
referred
all
questions
to
national
spokesperson,
Paul
Nyathi.
But
Nyathi
did
not
respond
to
several
calls,
emails
and
Whatsapp
messages.
Source:
Police
commanders
accused
of
“stealing”
juniors’
allowances
–
News
Hub
Zimbabwe