Would you give Zimbabwe's army military grade helicopters?

I know I wouldn't, if it was in my power to make such decisions. And you don't need to search too hard on Google to understand why the notoriously pro-Mugabe military in Zimbabwe should not be further supported in terms of such hardware.

So why and how did the South African National Defence Force think they could get away with donating a full fleet? Did they think no one would notice?

Luckily, groups like AfriForum exist for the simple fact that they challenged this donation, and this week an interdict against the delivery of the helicopters was upheld.

Here's my latest report:

A fleet of helicopters that were set to be donated to Zimbabwe’s military by the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), will remain where they are for now.

The North Gauteng High Court in South Africa on Thursday upheld an interdict against the delivery of the helicopters, meaning the donation will not happen in the near future. The Court also ordered the government to pay costs for Thursday’s legal proceedings.

The legal battle began soon after it emerged in January that the SANDF was planning to gift its fleet of unused Alouette helicopters to the Zimbabwean army. Civil rights group AfriForum had applied for an urgent interdict to stop the donation and that interim interdict was granted to allow time for the main application challenging the donation to be finalised.

AfriForum is arguing against the donation on the basis that Zimbabwe’s human rights record indicates that the helicopters could be used to facilitate oppression. The group has warned that South Africa would be complicit in such oppression if it willing gifted the helicopters, in spite of the human rights record across the border.

This is of particular concern as Zimbabwe heads towards elections, and incidents of politically motivated violence as well as a crackdown on civil society have intensified.

AfriForum’s legal representative Willie Spies told SW Radio Africa on Thursday that the interdict was upheld because of a ‘concession’ by the government’s legal team.

“It was quite an awkward experience. We were ready for the process and had gone to a great deal of trouble to ensure the matter was brought before court in a relatively small amount of time. That was on the insistence of the legal team of the government,” Spies explained.

He continued: “But all a sudden the senior advocate for the government indicated he was not well and was not ready to carry on. And the government just tendered costs and said the matter should be postponed for an indefinite period. They also offered that the interim indict be maintained until the process is finalised.”

“So it’s quite a concession by the government lawyers and means the matter was not formally heard. We are satisfied for the simple reason that the helicopters will not be exported, will not be donated, will not be delivered.”

Spies went on to explain that they are now waiting for the government’s lawyers to proceed, but stressed “we won’t rush the matter. As soon as the government’s lawyers are ready, we will go to court. In the time being, we have what we need.”

“The only way the helicopters will be donated is if the government’s lawyers successfully challenge our review application. I have serious doubts that they will be successful. We have a very strong case. I’m not convinced they have a strong case. The fact that the lead council today essentially kicked for touch is indicated that they are not confident to go to court,” Spies said.

Zimbabwe's diamonds: How political will and new 'diplomacy' is still standing in the way

Zimbabwe's diamond sector remains the giant screaming elephant in the room in terms of Southern African development, because the riches quite simply have changed the face of diplomacy in the space of a few years. From being a condemnable epicentre of human rights abuses (including murder, beatings, forced labour and more) Zimbabwe's lucrative diamond fields are now the centre of diplomatic wrangling, with everyone wanting their slice of this shiny pie. 

Cynic I may be, but there is no denying that the outrage that followed the 2008 murder of hundreds of diamond panners at the hands of the Zim military (who gunned down scores of people in single rounds of gun fire from helicopters) has morphed into a tragic acceptance that this was 'collateral damage'. 

Those abuses will never be investigated. Those lost lives will never be honoured  The horrific abuses that followed (and reportedly still happen) will not receive any outcry. And you can thank the Western world for this state of affairs.

The biggest slap in the face for many Zimbabweans (and other concerned people) however will be the fact that this situation is being actively normalised, not for the sake of the millions who need the diamond riches to be utilised to improve their lives, but rather to enrich a corrupt minority. 

So moving to my latest article on the situation:

A complete overhaul of Zimbabwe’s political framework has been described as the key to unlocking the country’s true diamond potential, which remains under a cloud of corruption and suspicion.

Noted human rights defender Farai Maguwu (pictured below), who is the Director of the Centre for Natural Resource Governance, made these comments during an interview with me on Tuesday. He was explaining how the Zimbabwe Diamond Policy, adopted by the government last year, is not enough to ensure the diamond sector becomes a transparent, accountable, beneficial one.

Farai Maguwu from the Centre for Natural Resource Governance

The Centre this week released a full analysis of the Diamond Policy, stating that while the Policy is a good starting point to improve governance in Zimbabwe’s diamond, it does need revision. The Centre states in its analysis key issues remain unaddressed, namely investor identification, revenue transparency, community participation, mine closure, environmental impacts and access to information, among other things.

Maguwu said that the major problem in the sector is a result of a lack of political will, which is preventing proper governance and oversight in the industry.

“It is an issue of politics. I have always said that Marange (diamond fields) should not be seen as an island, because it is a part of Zimbabwe that is experiencing the same governance problems in every sector in the country. Unless there is a turnaround in the way we think and the way we do things politically, there won’t be the quick turnaround we need,” Maguwu said.

He added: “We need political will; we need good leaders who have the interests of citizens at heart. Not the current situation where we have unpatriotic elites who are doing things for themselves and not for the people.”

Maguwu also explained that aside from the ‘internal’ problems dogging the industry, there are also external factors.

“We have (diamond) dealers who are taking advantage of the weak political, institutional, legislation and policy framework in Zimbabwe to do underhand deals and in the process are prejudicing Zimbabwe of millions of dollars,” Maguwu explained.

He said that while the Diamond Policy is an acknowledgement by the government of the need for such a policy, there is still c critical need for revision.

“The Policy does not show that government has learned from it past mistakes … I don’t think we have addressed the fundamental problems and checks and balance in whole value chain,” Maguwu said.