At the Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company, where the promise of national wealth has long been tied to the glitter of Marange, the luster appears to be fading, at least for those tasked with extracting it.
Workers, according to internal accounts, have gone nearly five months without pay, a silence in wages that contrasts sharply with the company’s once-ambitious production targets. ZCDC has previously reported annual outputs in the range of 2 to 3 million carats, positioning itself as a key player in Zimbabwe’s diamond sector.
In earlier disclosures, the company indicated aspirations to scale production beyond 10 million carats per year, a figure that, if realized, would place it among the more significant producers on the continent. Yet such figures now sit uneasily alongside reports of empty pay slips and growing worker distress.
Inside the company, a different economy is said to prevail. While miners reportedly struggle to afford basic necessities, allegations have surfaced of executive indulgence: luxury vehicles, including top-tier SUVs, procured amid what insiders describe as acute financial strain.
A parallel payroll system, benefiting a select managerial class, is said to distribute allowances of up to $2,000 per month, an arrangement that, to workers, underscores a widening gulf between leadership and labor.
“It is demoralizing,” one employee said, describing the daily calculus between food and school fees. The remark captures not only personal hardship but a broader institutional malaise, where governance appears fractured and accountability elusive.
Labour union, Zimbabwe Diamonds and Allied Minerals Workers Union confirmed that this state of affairs as unfair and reflects a deep seated governance crisis and misplaced priorities at the state miner.
“As ZDAMWU, we are deeply concerned by the alleged non-payment of salaries and alleged misuse of resources at ZCDC. No worker should go for months without pay while leaders enjoy privileges. We urge authorities to urgently investigate these allegations and ensure workers’ rights and welfare are protected,” said Justice Chinhema, ZDAMWU general secretary.
He added, “Authorities must act urgently to address this, no workers should go for moths without salaries, investigations must be carried out to ascertain what is going on pertaining the resources.”
Mr Justice Chinhema, ZDAMWU general secretary
The allegations, unproven but persistent, point to a familiar paradox in resource-rich economies: abundance at the top, precarity below. Zimbabwe’s diamond sector, once heralded as a pathway to national transformation, has repeatedly been shadowed by questions of transparency and control.
At ZCDC, those questions now converge on the most basic of obligations, paying workers, while raising more profound concerns about how public wealth is managed, and for whom it ultimately exists.
For now, the company has remained silent. In that silence, the discontent grows louder.