New wave of panning in Marange
Source: The Daily Mirror
Date: 15 November 2006
Author: Elliot Siamonga
Panners evicted from the popular Chiadzwa diamond fields in Marange in Manicaland have rushed to the Dowa and Four Roads areas near Mutare, hoping to strike "gold" from emerald deposits thought to exist there. The illegal prospectors, popularly referred to as makorokoza, have defied police orders to leave the area, opting instead to trek to the emerald deposits, while others are moving further afield to the west to Chimanimani in pursuit of gold. Some of the fortune seekers were still stranded at the Sakubva long distance bus terminus in Mutare by Monday. It was not clear when the illegal surface miners discovered the emeralds deposits at Dowa and Four Roads, but attention seems to be shifting from Chiadzwa to the new area. The illegal miners, whom Mutare police estimated to be around 15 000, were removed form Chiadzwa at the weekend by a combined operation of the police and army to stem out uncontrolled digging that has left gaping holes on the landscape, evidence of wanton destruction of the environment. Police in Mutare were on Monday planning a morning raid at the new fields to put a stop to the rush. Manicaland provincial police spokesman Inspector Brian Makomeke said police would raid Dowa and Four Roads to rid the area of the panners.
While their stay in their new "El Dorado" of emeralds may be short-lived, as was the case with the diamond fields, they always leave a mark to be remembered well after they have left. The social lifestyle of the Marange people, a closed Apostolic community, drastically changed from the time the rush for diamonds to the impoverished community started about two months ago. The Daily Mirror travelled to Chiadzwa in Marange where most men from the sect, because of the rustic nature of panning, have hung their white robes for the opaque beer popularly referred to as the Scud. Women have not been spared the "cultural revolution" either, with accounts given by fortune seekers at Chiadzwa indicating that some of them were engaging in commercial sex. Swarms of flies gave police officers at the security checkpoint a torrid time as they descended on anything they could perch on, while panners relieved themselves in the bush. The convergence of so many people created potential health and environment disasters as the place has no running water or ablution facilities.
Sources claimed that one illegal miner was axed to death following a dispute over a mining claim, while three reportedly succumbed to suspected diarrhoea as yet another person was crushed to death by a baobab tree which fell on him while digging underneath. A close relative of the deceased revealed to this reporter that her sister died at a village in Chiadzwa after succumbing to a stomach ailment. "She died of a stomach ailment after drinking some contaminated water at Chiadzwa and we buried her there," said Chiedza Musoni. The country lost millions of dollars in potential foreign currency earnings through illegal sales. Since the discovery of industrial diamonds, the rush has to a large extent benefitted mostly individuals. Moves by the government to suspend all activities and order everyone off the area were hailed by a local prominent businessman as a step in the right direction. "This is not good for our country and business. Removing those people is the only option that ensures proper and sustainable business practices in the province," Jonathan Kadzura, an economist with business interests in Mutare said. He stressed the need to award a contract to a mining company which would establish full operations to ensure that benefits derived from the mine spread to the local community and benefitted the country as a whole.
Although the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC) was fencing off the fields in preparation for a fully-fledged operation, some illegal miners had remained adamant and were still digging up the land. The illegal miners are suspected to have channelled most of the industrial diamonds to South Africa and Mozambique where they have a ready market. According to the Zimbabwean law, minerals like diamonds are supposed to be sold solely to the State-run Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ). The miners and traders are also believed to be smuggling diamonds outside the country by hiding them in loaves of bread or small bottles. These illicit activities are happening right under the noses of the police who appear to be doing little to stop the menace. The Daily Mirror discovered that local and cross-border traders bring in foodstuffs and clothing that they exchange for diamonds - the main form of currency in the area. The scarcity of basic commodities has also pushed prices up, while traders are selling water to the remaining miners mainly from Marange Communal Lands. The traders are free to sell the diamonds to anyone or can exchange them for white robes or beer provided the trading is within the Marange domain.
However, the leakages were a cause for grave concern in Mutare as many people were found out to possess a stone or two, with some doing so for sentimental purposes and others for speculation. The discovery of diamonds is now the talk in beer halls, buses and everywhere, with some saying they were fake while those who have benefitted insist the stones are genuine. "It is a genuine type that is why we are buying the stone," said an MCCZ official in Chiadzwa. Chief Superintendent James Makone, the officer commanding CID in Matare district, is on record confirming the "rampant leakages of diamonds" and called on the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development to enforce control measures and curb diamond smuggling practices.