By Cde Patriot Sunungura
Ten years after Mbada Diamonds spectacularly collapsed like a ZUPCO bus on a steep hill, its former employees are still waiting for their dues.
What a touching display of corporate responsibility – if by “touching” we mean “it would make a stone cry.”
These poor souls were promised fat terminal benefits after years of backbreaking work in Chiadzwa’s diamond fields.
But in classic Zimbabwean fashion, their money vanished faster than a civil servant’s productivity at 4pm on Friday.
Officially, the company admits it owes the workers just over US$636,125.01.
True Patriots, we all know official figures are like rain in the dry season — unreliable and scarce.
Workers claim they’re owed anywhere between US$18,000 and US$30,000 could buy at least several cows or a lucrative rural investment.
Then came February 2016, when the ministry of mines, in a surprise move, cancelled all mining operations in Chiadzwa, causing Mbada’s sudden shutdown.
Talk about perfect timing for an already broken system!
In 2018 the Insurance and Pensions Commission (IPEC) heroically declared the Mbada Pension Fund officially “liquidated.”
The appointed liquidator, David Mureriwa of MAOS, then told the workers to submit claims — but don’t get your hopes up.
With pension contributions resembling a Zimbabwean drought, many workers were advised to brace for partial or zero payouts.
And just when you thought the courts might save the day—hold your applause—enforcement remains as effective as a leaking umbrella in a monsoon.
Mbada has no cash, no assets, and apparently no shame, making it impossible to pay what’s owed.
A flicker of hope appeared in 2020 when the Supreme Court even ruled in the workers’ favor – which in Zimbabwe is basically the legal equivalent of being told “lol, good luck with that.”
However, here’s the twist: no mining resumed, and no workers got their money. Zimbabwean “justice” at its finest.
But fear not! Our ever-efficient government stepped in to help… by creating more committees to discuss the committees that will eventually form a task force to consider possibly looking into the matter.
Meanwhile, the big shots who ran Mbada into the ground are doing just fine, thank you very much.
They’ve moved on to new ventures, like buying luxury cars and explaining to their wives how they definitely didn’t steal anything, it’s just that God has blessed them.
So here’s to the forgotten workers of Mbada – may your children one day see that money, right after they finish waiting for the 2028 elections to be free and fair.
After all, this is Zimbabwe, where workers’ rights are like our electricity – you know they theoretically exist, you just never actually see them.
