Chikane Confirmed as KP Monitor in Zimbabwe

Abbey Chikane has been appointed as the Kimberly Process Monitor in Zimbabwe, the office of KP Chair Boaz Hirsch confirmed to IDEX Online. Chikane served as the first chairman for the KP Certification System.

The appointment of a monitor is part of an agreement between the KP and the African country that follows calls for Zimbabwe’s suspension from the process due to grave human rights violations in the Marange diamond fields.

Chikane's appointment comes after months of political wrangling. The first name suggested to the post, a former De Beers executive familiar with diamond mining in Africa, was rejected by Zimbabwe, which did not like the idea of a white European overlooking its diamond activities. Chikane, a South African, raised less resistance, and won the appointment despite having less experience in examining rough diamonds.

The monitor is expected to examine rough sourced from the Marange diamond fields and approve their exports. The appointment of a monitor, while not directly resolving any real human rights issues, was proposed as a way to keep a closer eye on what is happening in the region.

However, there is concern that the placement of a monitor will not address many underlying issues, such as wide-scale diamond smuggling from Marange across the Zimbabwe border.

Chikane is currently in Harare on a three-day fact-finding mission, according to the government-owed The Herald and a press release issued by the KP. He met with government officials from the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development as well as the government-controlled mining companies Mbada Diamonds and Canadile Miners. The two firms took control of the Marange mining area after title holder African Consolidated Resources was driven out by President Robert Mugabe in 2006.