MARANGE – It seems winds of change are blowing at the Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC) as energised acting chief executive of the Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC) Roberto De Pretto has urged the restless Marange community to be patient as he thrives to engage them in serious developmental initiatives that are aimed at addressing their grievances.
In the previous dispensation at ZCDC, majority of villagers were thrust into poverty despite having diamonds in their midst.
Addressing journalists in Marange on Monday
after meeting the Parliamentary Thematic
Committee on Indigenisation and Empowerment who were on tour of Chiadzwa diamond mine, De Pretto said his company was
aware of the major concerns that were being
raised over the mining of
diamonds in Marange.
He said:
“The thing is
that the company still have limited resources to help the needs of the community as we
have not been selling diamonds.”
“We have a very limited budget, but, we will be
looking at the province of Manicaland.
“We will then look
at the country as a
whole but our first focus is on the community we
serve,” he said.
The acting CE who seems to be having positive
acknowledgements, among neutrals pleaded the agitated Marange
community to give him a chance.
“As you
might be aware that there was change at the top leadership of ZCDC which affected about 50 percent of the executive
staff, but it’s up to the (Executive)
board to appoint a substantive executive on those positions to start work,”
explained De Pretto.
“But,
despite the changes, we have a clear policy on corporate social responsibility, which looks at the community,” he said.
“The
community must give us a chance and hopefully results will start coming. As you are aware it is very easy to speak than
to take action.
l believe there is a lot of work that needs to
be done and we are looking forward to do
some good things,” said De Pretto.
The ZCDC board recently fired its top
executives, including troubled former
chief executive Morris Mpofu in the wake of diamond pilferage and allegations of corruption.
Mpofu appeared at the Harare Magistrates’ Court
facing criminal abuse of office charges
after he allegedly recommended that ZCDC
should sell diamonds to a blacklisted buyer.
He was released on $2 000 bail by magistrate
Barbara Mateko.
The seven include Mpofu, chief finance officer
Charles Gambe, supply chain executive
Newton Demba, chief human resources executive
Masciline Chikoore, engineering executive Andrew
Murwisi and Cleopatra
Mutisi, the audit executive as well as the chief
security officer Clement Munoriarwa, who is listed as the company’s protection
and surveillance services executive on its
website.
There have been growing calls by the communities
imploring the government to disband ZCDC
over its glaring failure to run Marange diamonds
transparently and uphold human rights abuses.