Zimbabwe plans to enforce a 100% ownership of diamonds, among a raft of measures designed to leverage on the country’s mining sector.
The move is set to plug leakages and ensure that the country benefits from its natural resources. The move is likely to set government on a collision course with investors already operating in the diamond industry.
In his mid-term fiscal policy review on Wednesday, Finance minister, Tendai Biti, said government had approved a diamond policy to enforce government’s 100% ownership of diamonds.
Biti said government had also approved the enactment of the Diamond Exploration Act that issues a directive to prohibit the exportation of unpolished or uncut diamonds.
He said there would be immediate separation of diamond mining from marketing.