HARARE, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- Diamond operations in Zimbabwe are among the best in Africa despite criticism by some Western-backed organizations, a Kimberly Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) official said Wednesday.
KPCS chairman Ahmed Bin Sulayem said this after touring diamond mines in Chiadzwa in eastern Zimbabwe this week.
"The mines in Marange are in one of the best conditions compared to other mines in Africa," Bin Sulayem was quoted as saying by the state-run news agency New Ziana.
The KP chairman was in Zimbabwe on a familiarization tour of the country's diamond industry.
The KP, an international body charged with preventing trade of conflict diamonds, once banned Zimbabwe from selling its diamonds on allegations of human rights abuses in Chiadzwa.
The country, however, regained KP certification in 2010 but the country continues to receive criticism from Western backed Non-Governmental Organizations.
The government early this year consolidated operations of the seven diamond firms in Chiadzwa into one firm, the Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company, in which the government owns 50 percent while the firms which previously owned the ventures share the remaining 50 percent.
The government said it forced the move to increase transparency in diamond marketing but this raised fears in some quarters that the country could once again attract sanctions from the KPCS.
Discovered in 2006, the Chiadzwa fields are estimated to contain deposits that have capacity to supply 25 percent of world demand.
While the diamond sector had been widely expected to spur economic revival efforts, it has however grossly under-performed.
According to the government, rough diamond output for 2016 is expected to fall far below the projected six million carats, after only 972,000 carats were produced in the first half of the year.
