Let’s hear it for Ocean Marambanyika. Writing for The Standard Ocean suggests that well-managed diamonds can make a difference – to the lives of the citizens of Zimbabwe. It really is time for Zimbabweans to reject nontransparent and unaccountable political leadership.

Well-managed diamonds can make a difference

http://www.thestandard.co.zw/

Sunday, 21 August 2011 14:36

The discovery of the Marange diamond fields in eastern Zimbabwe should be a milestone in the history of the nation. The discovery should NOT be a catastrophe.

Various media reports point out that the Marange diamonds might be roughly
20% of all global diamond deposits. If this is true, then it is a God-given chance to turn around the fortunes of the country, especially considering that the global economic crisis favours minerals such as gold and diamonds.

The Earth Times reported that, “The hugely prolific Chiadzwa fields are regarded as the world’s biggest diamond find in more than a century”. The New York Times quoted a United Nations-related expert Mark Van Bockstael as saying: “This (Marange) is a world-class deposit, no doubt about it.” He added, “The deposit is a freak of nature.”

If this is true, then imagine how wonderful it would be if the diamonds were properly managed and put to good and transparent use. Maybe Zimbabweans can learn from how other nations managed their precious resource finds. There are many examples that we could learn from. We could take for instance the discovery of oil in Norway and how the Norwegian government managed its oil resources.

Oil has netted in billions of dollars for Norway and as the United Nation index says, Norway is rated as the country with the best living standards in the world. This is mainly due to its oil and gas revenues.

Zimbabwe does not need to waste time thinking about how to manage the diamonds and the gold for the benefit of its citizenry.  It can simply learn from examples such as Norway. The lesson is that Zimbabwe should have ownership of its strategic resources. By Zimbabwean ownership, it is meant a transparent, democratic system accepted by and accountable to the citizens of the country through constitutionally recognisable provisions.  Below are some quotes on how the oil structure works and benefits Norway.

In 2009, Norway’s petroleum sector accounted for 21% of value creation in the country. This is three times the value creation of the manufacturing industry and around 22 times the total value creation of the primary industries.

By revenue, Norway’s oil utility Statoil was last year ranked by Fortune Magazine as the world’s 13th largest oil and gas company, and the largest company in the Nordic region by reveue, profit, and market capitalisation.

From oil history and oil management in Norway, people can learn that significant resources like diamonds and gold must be state-owned in partnership with private investors who have the expertise. Success depends on transparency and accountability and the ability of the majority of the citizens to accept the laws governing the natural resource industry. It is critical that laws governing significant natural resources like oil, gold and diamonds are seen as moral and beneficial by the majority of a country’s citizens.

It is rare for citizens to reject government control of a country’s natural resources as long as the citizens feel that they are benefitting through infrastructural developments, improved standards of living, better salaries, better education, health and liberty, among other things. Foreign control of significant and strategic assets like oil, gold and diamonds will rarely develop a nation. Local ownership is a preferred model only when it benefits all its citizens and not a select few. All hopes are that Zimbabwe will strive to exploit the diamonds to uplift the standards of people’s lives in rural areas as well as urban areas.

About the Author Ocean Marambanyika writes from the University of Oslo, Norway.

Another interesting bit I heard, from many conversations, some with people I trust very much.

The Army has let it be known (one source has senior army connections, but is not a soldier) that for the next elections, they will campaign (i.e. ‘count’ the papers) for Zim 1, but no one else. (Zim 1 is the losing party chairman).

All other Zanu PF MP candidates must do their own campaigning. They must pull their finger out and get out there to meet the people, see their constituency, make the political promises, etc. The army does not care for the old incumbents. They are quite happy to see a new crop of ZPF come in.

What does this mean? Only the big guy stands a chance. The rest, very vulnerable to the Jonathan Moyos. In some ways ‘great’. A new crop will mean a new party. ‘Safe’ seats in parliament will flow away and Zim1 will have a whole new struggle. Head of administration verses the government. Who wins will be he (or she) who has power (in most cases, those with the guns). But, the party (the losing party) needs a good clean. Many incumbents are busy jigging the monkey. Chombo I most think of (because he screws around in my area of interest, local government). A nobody, with power, who is making good money out of it – and not even in his area. If he has to service his home constituency, he will find life far more difficult. But many other’s too – the really old guys with liberation war credentials.

On the other hand, what will this do to the party, which itself really has nothing but liberation war credentials? And the party (and Zim1 himself) is the face of legitimacy the military coup regime hides behind. Without it, they are naked as the ‘coup of the ZANLA high command’. And many do not even have liberation war credentials. Who is Brigadier General whatever his name is? Where was he in the struggle? What is his history? How has he serviced his constituency (assuming he can find the balls to take off his uniform and stand for election)? They are really just a gang of friends with power (i.e. guns). In the eastern DRC and Great Lakes region, they would be termed warlords. Power, but no legitimacy.

What is their plan (or Zanu PF’s for that matter) for moving Zimbabwe forward?

“Fidel Castro celebrated his 85th birthday outside of the public spotlight… with little fanfare around the aging revolutionary,” thus it was reported 13 August. Different strokes for different folks.

Yes, it is entitled “the accident”, and I have tried but can’t seem to bring myself to think about the detail of my husband’s accident, 4 weeks ago today, let alone put it on paper. So much for the therapeutic benefits of writing. So we shall just put it on the back burner for a while (don’t hold your breath).

I played golf yesterday afternoon with my family. Needless to say, my son and husband took me to the cleaners. I was going to say they put me to shame, but let’s not rub it in. My son is 4 and my husband played with one hand (his left).  My daughter bowed out gracefully early on, after several swipes at the ball. The poor sod has inherited my lack of ball skills and athletic talent. I don’t know whether to warn her now that she will always be in the snail race at sports day, with the overweight people, and will inevitably be selected for tug-of-war simply because everyone will feel she is being left out. I didn’t display any of my daughter’s dignity and continued to slog away for 9 holes. With age has come a certain perseverance … gritted teeth, clenched jaw … I will not be outsmarted by a damn ball @$#%!

But the sky was blue, we saw lots of birds, and I only lost 3 balls. My husband, Graham eventually suggested teeing off from the other side of the water. In my case it was a case of “see water – must make splash”. It was instinctive, I just couldn’t fight it.

This morning I find myself miraculously free of aches and pains. I’m so proud – this MUST mean I’m fitter! But watch, tomorrow I will be unable to brush my teeth!

I wonder sometimes at the choices of people in positions of power Our Dear Leader has made. It would be myopic to place the entire burden of responsibility for our economic and social quagmire on his shoulders. Yet, surely the man who answers to no one when making these appointments must bear a large portion of the blame.

Having had to assemble my own crack team for a project recently, I am beginning to understand the difficulties of placing the right person in the right position, and, trusting that person to do their job the way I wish it done. Sometimes I am disappointed, and sometimes it works out. Having a relationship with that person makes it difficult to criticise them, especially when there is always an excuse for work that is not done properly.

Today’s Newsday reports that while speaking at the funeral of Rtd. General Mujuru Our Dear Leader ‘conceded he was surrounded by wannabes and corrupt people, but admitted there was nothing he could do to stop the virus.’ The article goes on to say that he is becoming increasingly lonely following the deaths of his closest comrades.

While Our Dear Leader is only a man, and an old man at that, he cannot be everywhere to watch everyone at once, despite what the ZANU PF Women’s and Youth Leagues would have us believe. That is the purpose of organisation and bureaucracy, but even the soundest strategy can fail without adequate leadership at every level. In many respects it is a case of letting things get out of hand, and for that he is solely to blame. In the terms of his own paternal metaphor: a father is supposed to punish his children when they do wrong, not reward them with more trips abroad, more power, a continued stay in office, and protection from would-be opponents.

Our Dear Leader is in his twilight now, a time for much reflection. If gossip and rumour are to be believed, he is making plans for an exit strategy, but in whose hands will he place the burden of steering Zimbabwe and the party into the future? Who will replace him in executing his vision? Even those who are quickest to point to his failings, have themselves failed in this regard.  The leaders of organisations to whom we would entrust with safeguarding us against avaricious and power-hungry party and government officials are themselves afflicted with the very same demons. The MDCs, with their factionalism, and embarrassing public infighting, can hardly claim the moral high ground. Civil society is not blameless either, with founder-directors refusing to vacate office to make way for a renewal of ideas.

Our leaders regardless of where their spheres of influence lie are afraid of change, and ironically it is those who have the loudest voices in calling for it that are most afraid. As many have said before me, ours is a crisis of leadership. But as a society, we should look to ourselves before we point to the failings of our leaders. Our leaders reflect who we are; if they are corrupt it is because we allow them to be so. If they are avaricious it is because we allow them to take from us without raising a single voice.

The first edition of Tedx was launched in Harare under the name Tedx Harare. This independently organised event was packed with interesting speakers, music performances and Tedtalk videos. The idea of TED started 25 years ago in USA to create spaces for idea sharing and discussions. And finally it has now reached Zimbabwe.

The speakers included some of Zimbabwe’s researchers, entrepreneurs and artists and they all lived up to expectations with inspirational and stimulating performances and presentations. The presentations created an environment where everything was just free from any political and religious agenda. Zimbabwe is awash with so much talent that it begs the question how and where we are getting it wrong as a country. Among the most inspirational presentations was the one done by researcher and academic Oswald Jumira. Oswald explored and shared ideas on how we can make technology work for the next generation and us. He talked on how technology creates challenges, which can be turned into opportunities and make our country move forward and compete in the global village. In the presentation he emphasized the need for government, companies and individuals to invest in technology since it strengthens the future of the next generation.

In one of the Tedtalk videos, Chimamanda Adichie explores the Danger of a Single Story. This Tedtalk got me thinking especially on the way news is reported in Zimbabwe by different newspapers and organisations in mainstream media. A good example of the danger of a single story is how election campaigning in Zimbabwe has caused a lot of stereotyping among citizens. One lesson to learn from this presentation is not to make early judgements on a particular situation or story and not to work on assumptions. This was a wonderful way of educating people about the single story perspective.

Live music performances during the breaks from Tina Watyoka added more life to the event. The other presenters who left the audiences with questions and inspirational answers included Max Soutter and Sarah Norman.

The next edition Tedx Harare is expected to be bigger with more speakers coming to share their ideas and innovative skills with the people of Zimbabwe.