Zimbabwe Misses Diamond Revenue Deadline, Says Report

(IDEX Online) – Zimbabwe has missed a June deadline to ensure diamond revenue from the Marange deposits is submitted to the Treasury as part of reforms under a supervised program by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Allafrica.com reports.

Government operations have been practically brought to a standstill for the past three months due to the presidential election campaign ahead of elections on July 31, the report said.

In June, the IMF agreed to a Staff Monitored Program (SMP) on Zimbabwe after the government vowed to undertake a range of reforms.

As part of the agreement, Zimbabwe said it would issue a Statutory Instrument by the end of June 2013 that would establish a clear formula for the calculation and remittance of any dividends to government from those bodies in which it holds shares.

"This is an important step towards ensuring that all diamond revenue is remitted to Treasury, in keeping with the government's commitment under the Diamond Policy,” Zimbabwe said in a letter to IMF Managing Director, Christine Lagarde. “In addition, all rough diamonds produced shall be sold through a government-appointed agent."

Marange diamonds played a central part in the election campaign among partners in the coalition government whose term ended last month. The MDC party accused President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu PF of using diamond revenues to build up its war chest in the run up to the July 31 election.