Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Mines and Mining Development says it has licensed several local and international diamond cutting and polishing firms to set up shop in the country, amid indications it intends introducing incentives to encourage the participation of local companies in the diamond processing business.

Mines and Mining Devel-opment Minister Walter Chidhakwa says the Ministry has licensed companies from Dubai, Hong Kong, Israel and China.

“At the moment, the companies we have approved are not yet operating because they want access to diamonds that match the quality they are looking for,” he says, adding that the companies will only start operating after receiving government approval of their operating plans.

First Element Diamond Services, of Botswana, a subsidiary of Belgian diamond miner and dealer First Element, is among those seeking diamond mining concessions and a cutting and polishing licence in Zimbabwe. The company already has operations in Johannesburg, Gaborone and Antwerp.

However, the growing international interest in the cutting and polishing business comes as local operators complain that the business remains unviable in Zimbabwe because of bureau- cracy and the poor quality of local gems, mined at Chiadzwa, in the east of the country.

John Sanhanga, director of local diamond polishing company Good Crew Investments, based in Chiadzwa, says he is unhappy about the time taken between licensing and the commencement of operations, owing to bureaucracy. “We used $180 000 to set up the plant in Chiadzwa and spent $20 000 on the licence. After that, we had to wait for six months before we received the first allocation of diamonds. “We received the diamonds from Mbada Diamonds, but they were of poor quality and were not polishable.”

Mines and Mining Devel-opment secretary Francis Kudyanga says government will go out of its way to attract more local companies into cutting and polishing by introducing tax and fees-relief incentives.

“We will do that by waiving the 15% value-added tax charged for local buyers who were doing value addition. “We are also working towards the easing of licensing rules so that the payment of licensing fees for cutting and polishing firms can be spread over a period of five to ten years,” he says.