Zimbabwe’s Chiadzwa Mines Plundered by Corruption and Mismanagement

Diamonds in the Dust

By Shingirai Vambe

When former President Robert Mugabe revealed that $15 billion worth of diamonds had gone missing, Zimbabweans felt a deep sense of betrayal and disillusionment. The staggering figure seemed like a far-fetched tale, a narrative that was more drama or comedy than reality. However, the harsh truth is that the diamond industry, once a thriving sector that brought economic activity to the eastern highlands, has been marred by corruption and mismanagement.

Despite the government’s efforts to bring order and establish a company to oversee diamond mining, the outcome has been starkly different. Instead of benefiting the nation, the industry’s riches have largely enriched a select few, leaving the majority of Zimbabweans wallowing in poverty.

The people of Chiadzwa, who once revered diamonds as a sacred mineral, now express their discontent and frustration, feeling displaced and neglected by the very company that was meant to manage the resource for the nation’s benefit. The once-thriving diamond industry in Zimbabwe’s Chiadzwa has been brought to its knees by corruption, mismanagement, and a lack of accountability.

Since the government took over the mines and established the Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC), the sector has been plagued by allegations of graft, embezzlement, and blatant disregard for the welfare of workers.

The recent firing of ZCDC board chairman Munashe Shava, accused of running the company as a personal fiefdom, has sent shockwaves through the industry. According to sources, Shava’s tenure was marked by brazen corruption, with allegations of hiring personal contractors and interfering with the day-to-day operations of the company. The final straw came when Dr. John Mangudya, CEO of Mutapa Investment Fund, declared July 11, 2025, as the “end of tenure” for Shava, citing his alleged malfeasance as the reason for his dismissal.

However, Shava’s ousting is merely a symptom of a far deeper malaise that has infected the entire diamond sector. The industry is currently facing a triple threat of plummeting productivity, rampant illicit trade, and a devastating labor crisis that is pushing workers to the brink of collapse. According to Justice Chinhema, General Secretary of the Zimbabwe Diamond and Allied Minerals Workers Union, the sector is on the verge of collapse, with workers suffering the most.

The ZCDC, once the flagship diamond mining company in Zimbabwe, is at the center of the crisis. The company’s latest move to retrench 600 workers, with 295 already affected, has sparked widespread outrage. The workers, who have been left in the dark about their fate, are yet to receive their packages, despite the company’s claims that the retrenchment process is voluntary. Chinhema has condemned the move, saying that the union will not stand idly by while workers’ rights are trampled upon.

The union’s concerns are not limited to the retrenchment process alone. Workers have been complaining about unpaid wages, poor working conditions, and deteriorating labor standards. The situation is dire, with many workers struggling to make ends meet. Chinhema has called on the government to intervene and save the sector from collapse, but so far, there has been deafening silence.

The crisis at ZCDC is a stark reminder of the government’s failure to manage the country’s resources effectively. The diamond industry, which was once a significant contributor to the country’s GDP, is now on life support. The people of Chiadzwa, who have borne the brunt of the industry’s decline, are left to wonder when the government will take action to restore the sector’s former glory.

As the industry teeters on the brink of collapse, the government’s takeover of the diamond mines has been a disaster, said Nelson, a second hand clothes dealer in Mutare.

“The corruption, mismanagement, and lack of accountability that have characterized the sector’s decline are a direct result of government interference,” he added

Unless the government takes drastic action to address the crisis, the diamond industry in Zimbabwe will be lost forever, leaving thousands of workers and their families to pick up the pieces.

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