RE: Diamond Policy12 Dec 2018 11:27
It's hard to argue against what you say to be fair.
However, Zimbabwe has been screwed time and time again on its Diamond fields, by global corporations pre Mugabe, by Mugabe himself, not forgetting the highly suspicious activities of DeBeers when Mugabe was in power.
According to statements from locals, whilst DeBeers were permitted to prospect the land, there were allegations of the company going further than prospecting, even after their license suddenly expired, the artisinal miners, some of which were shot, were selling across the border, apparently to links of DeBeers....It's quite believable when you think that DeBeers have been caught for unfairly monopolising and controlling the industry prices, indirectly funding civil wars in Sierra Leonne etc.
If you were a Zimbabwean, forgetting Mugabe, would you trust foreign companies? .....Limiting the companies, given the weak economy, is the cheapest way to regulate and govern the market, and possibly appease the people by restricting a wild west. The alternative is to have to track the movements of many companies. I think it could be possible to rely on 4 companies, but would be incredibly difficult to counter the pressure of other countries.
Absolutely agree with the point concerning the old boys....but then again, it's just a low tech siphoning of wealth. In the UK, we are just better at it....George Osborne increases the amount that investors can invest, knowing full well that British controlled tax havens, who allow the creation of nobody nominated directors to control an individual trust fund on behalf of a legally hidden beneficiary, who then invest in UK stocks, but are untraceable by HMRC, thus enabling some to siphon vast amounts of cash without tax applied. All for the benefit of those who can....like Cameron's Dad for example.
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