Zim army, cops 'must get diamond mines'

2012-07-02 12:04

(AP)

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Cape Town – Zimbabwe’s mines and mining development minister Obert Mpofu has pledged to give gold, platinum and diamond mines to the military forces and police "to safeguard the country's minerals".

Radio VOP reported on Sunday that Mpofu urged Zimbabwe’s security organs to apply for mining licences, saying he was ready to grant them concessions at any time.

"I want to make it clear that if Zimbabwe Prison Services [ZPS] applies for a mining concession, I will give them anytime. That applies to the police, the army and the air force," said Mpofu in his address during a pass out parade of prison officers in Ntabazinduna.

"These are the people who are protecting our resources. They are the people who made it possible to repossess what the colonisers took away from us," he said.

"Security forces should not be apologetic to seek mining claims. In any case, where in our statutes does it say that security forces should not participate in the economy?"

Zimbabwe’s security forces have long been alleged to be involved in diamond mining in the vast Chiadzwa area.

According to the report, Deputy Mines Minister, Gift Chimanikire, recently confirmed that an army-owned company, the Zimbabwe Defence Industries (ZDI), holds a 40% stake at Anjin, one of the most lucrative diamond concessions in the country.

- News24

Read more on: gift chimanikire | obert mpofu | zimbabwe | southern africa | blood diamonds

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Zim army, cops 'must get diamond mines'

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