Mugabe 'plans diamond mine grab' (Zimbabwe)

[Ignacio Upton]

Mugabe 'plans diamond mine grab'

President Robert Mugabe plans to nationalise some of the country's diamond resources in an attempt to prop up the flagging economy.

Zimbabwe has two diamond mines: Murowa, which is owned by Rio Tinto and Riozim, and the privately-owned River Ranch.

In an interview on state television, President Mugabe said: "Only government will mine diamonds."

There have been recent problems with people rushing to try to dig up diamonds at a new deposit in Marange.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6382443.stm

[BayCityProgressive]

1. Doesn't he have

a bad habit of redistributing or nationalizing things and then keeping the profit or giving it to friends??

[Pavulon]

2. Zimbabwe

went from a net exporter of food to an importer in 2 years. Inflation 1600%.

Mugabe is a moron.

[BayCityProgressive]

3. Supposing someone were

really a socialist and not just a pig like this guy...wouldn't it be a better idea for land distribution to do this: Put new farmers through training and education programs, make sure they have experience, then lend them a loan at low or 0% interest and allow them to buy a portion of the land from the dominant land owners? Make th elandowners sell a certain portion of their land to the government at a fair price..then sell it to the new farmer with a low or no interest loan. This way land is used fairly, new people who have some experience will be farming and people with plenty of experience would slowly be phased out or at least in level with the masses.

[Ignacio Upton]

5. If you are going to do land redistribution, that makes sense

Mugabe, OTHO, just wanted to seize land for his cronies. He's also notorious for violent slum clearance against the poor. It should be noted that he just had a lavish birthday party while his country is starving.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/22/world/africa/22zimbabwe.html

[1932]

7. knowledge isn't the problem. Oil is the problem. I think I read that

the government promised tractors to farmers, but they didn't have gas for them, so the farmers couldn't use them.

[tabatha]

4. He needs to be stopped....

somehow. I could support an overthrow of his government.

[BayCityProgressive]

6. I couldn't

unless there was an active opposition from within. I would have no trouble funding an opposition or helping them..but I am sick of sticking our nose where it doesn't belong. I am even hesitant to help an opposition. When we involve our troops it only ever ends up benefiting the multinationals..and 75% of the time the opposition we support turns out just as badly as the person we replaced.

[noonwitch]

8. This would be a good time to leave the country for execs of the companies involved

A very good time to take a nice long trip to England with the wife and kids, and stay there forever.

[Xithras]

9. Doesn't matter all that much.

The world diamond market is controlled by a couple of powerful corporations (the biggest and best known of which is DeBeers). These companies already have warehouses full of diamonds that are being kept off the market to artificially keep prices up. If Mugabe plays dirty with some of the multinational diamond mining conglomerates, he may find himself owning the diamond mines but lacking anyone to sell to. If the big players shut him out, those diamonds will be worthless. Last I checked, most diamonds come out of Russia and South Africa, so cutting Zimbabwe out of the market won't cause DeBeers and its ilk any real harm.

The diamond business is a very closed community, and those who don't play by their rules get the door slammed in their face. Unless Mugabe intends to create an entire international distribution pipeline, I doubt this is going to work out for him.