The Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC) recently made a decision to bring in artisanal miners into diamond extraction. ZCDC chief executive officer Morris Mpofu last week indicated that this will be done in order to boost production. He said
We are considering ring-fencing our alluvial fields to accommodate local villagers to come and officially register to do artisanal mining. We want to ensure that whatever they find, they will sell to the government through ZCDC rather than on the black market and they will be paid for that.
The move has however been condemned from some quarters. According to a Daily News source, such a move is not the best way forward. It said
We had various companies operating in Marange such as Mbada Diamonds that were contributing something to the fiscus and it only makes sense to bring them back and help in turning around the country’s waning economic fortunes.
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