Zimbabwe officials are now being questioned by non-government organizations that are involved in the Kimberly Process Certification Scheme.
The questions revolve around the claims made by Zimbabwean Deputy Mines Minister Gift Chimanikire that the global watchdog group had indeed authorized Zimbabwe to auction off Marange diamonds in 2011.
The Kimberly process members have allegedly agreed to an auction of the controversial Marange Mine diamonds in 2011 as long as they have been mined between 2006 and 2009 as per the Deputy Mines minister. However Global Witness campaigner Elly Harrowell who is a Kimberly Process member said that she knew of no such decision.
The sale of diamonds was used to finance conflict and these were called blood diamonds. The Kimberly Process was set up in 2002 as a joint measure between world governments and the diamond industry to stop the sale of such blood diamonds.
At the Marange Diamond fields Zimbabwe has been accused of smuggling, rape and assault by the army and police. This has led to the diamonds not receiving the Kimberly process certification which would allow them to be sold in the global markets.
The Kimberly process members were to vote by Monday on an amendment to the agreement that the organization had drafted in late 2010 in Jerusalem. The passing of the amendment received a final push by outgoing chairman Boaz Hirsch to find some solution to the problem of the Marange Diamonds.