Mines minister Walter Chidhakwa has said Murowa Diamonds should maintain standards set by former largest shareholder, Rio Tinto and not allow a situation where the company collapsed because it has been taken over by locals.
BY Stephen Chadenga
In June this year, mining giant Rio Tinto left the country after selling 78 % of its stake in Murowa Diamonds to local investors.
Though Rio Tinto announced that it was selling its shares to be “best managed by entities with existing interests in Zimbabwe” economic analysts believe hostile government economic policies pushed the international mining firm out.
“Rio Tinto has sold off its shares and we don’t want to hear at any point in time that when Murowa was under Rio Tinto, it was a good company, it paid its workers, it performed well, it trained its people, it worked with the community, but when it was taken over by us we lost all that,” Chidhakwa said during a tour of the mine on Friday.
“We should never allow that, we must maintain or even better what Rio Tinto gave us in terms of international expertise and standards and build around it a local rich.”
Chidhakwa conceded that he had visited other diamond mines in Marange, but the systems at Murowa were of high standards. He said Murowa had mining, safety and security operating systems of high quality.
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In the past, Murowa and other mining companies pleaded with government to review taxes and fees charged on mines although the request was not addressed.
