Zimbabwe Loses 400 Million Dollars Through Diamond Looting, Smuggling

Zimbabwe loses 400 million dollars through diamond looting, smuggling

HARARE, April 5 (Xinhua) — Zimbabwe has lost at least 400 million U.S. dollars over the last nine months through looting of diamonds and smuggling of the precious stones, The Herald reported on Thursday. Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Gideon Gono was quoted by the newspaper as saying that there is need for the government to come up with a robust system for mining and marketing diamonds to guarantee maximum benefits for the people of Zimbabwe.

Presently, only few people are benefiting from the discovery of the precious stones in the country, he said.

Investigations over the past few months have revealed that hotels in Mutare were every weekend full of top officials and foreigners, some of whom were employed runners who would buy diamonds during the week only to hand them to their principals in hotel rooms at the weekends. This could not be allowed to continue, said Gono, while addressing students, lecturers and the Gweru business community at the Midlands State University on Wednesday.

Diamonds were among the most valuable and precious minerals produced in this country with immense potential to contribute significantly to foreign currency earnings.

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