Zimbabwe should adopt the Publish What You Pay (PWYP) strategy in order to ensure mining companies disclosed their revenue from mineral resources to the government, the Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (Zela) said yesterday.
The association said they were in the process of establishing a PWYP Campaign Chapter in Zimbabwe that would advocate for information disclosure in the mining sector. Plans to launch the PWYP Zimbabwean Chapter at the end of this month are at an advanced stage.
It will be part of a global network of over 600 member organisations in more than 30 countries calling for extractive sector revenues to form the basis for development and improve the lives of ordinary citizens in resource-rich countries.
The move has been necessitated by the realisation that despite billions of dollars from oil, gas and mining extraction, Africa remained stuck in poverty.
“There is a high level of obscurity in the flow of mineral revenues in Zimbabwe and this is clearly illustrated in the diamond mining sector, particularly the operations in Chiadzwa and there is confusion as to the whereabouts of over $300 million generated from mining operations in Chiadzwa diamond fields.
The Minister of Finance is on record stating that diamond revenues have not been handled transparently,” Zela said.
“The opaqueness extends beyond the mineral revenues because there is also very limited public knowledge of diamond mining contracts as illustrated through the irregular licensing of Canadile (Pvt) Limited to mine diamonds in Chiadzwa.”
