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He has also said the country would no longer beg for foreign funding as it was expecting to rake in more than $3 billion per year from the sale of its diamonds.
According to the latest US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the two companies have been added onto the “specially designated” updated nationals list.
The list extends to any assumed names the companies might operate under, including Block Wood Mining and Condurango Investments.

Mbada Diamonds and Marange Resources both operate in joint ventures between the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC), a state owned company and private investors.  ZMDC was already on the OFAC list.
As part of its enforcement efforts, OFAC publishes a list  of individuals and companies owned or controlled by, or acting  on behalf of, targeted countries and lists individuals, groups   and entities such as terrorists and narcotics traffickers designated under programmes that are not country-specific.

US citizens are also prohibited from dealing with individuals or companies on the list.
Zanu-PF Secretary for Information and Publicity Cde Rugare Gumbo said the move was typical of US and vowed that Zimbabwe would fight back.
“It is unfortunate. It is tragic and regrettable for the United States to behave that way. Knowing the US way of doing things, this does not come as a surprise,” said Cde Gumbo. 
“But we will continue to fight back as we have fought before. Our indigenisation programme would not stop and we will continue to give our people the mining claims and do partnerships with those who want to work with us.

“There is nothing we can do but we are not perturbed. The sanctions are bitter but the KPCS came in favour of us.     The US is doing this deliberately to suffocate the    country’s economy in order to achieve its objective of regime change.”
The ZMDC, which holds the 667-square kilometre Marange concession area selects joint venture partners to establish mines along a thriving small-scale sector.

Anjin, a joint venture between Chinese investors and locals which also operates in Marange and was recently given the KP approval to export its rough diamonds, was not included on the updated OFAC sanctions list.

The illegal western sanctions have been blamed for the economic challenges facing the country resulting in the deterioration of service delivery, company closures and the suffering of ordinary Zimbabweans.
The US imposed sanctions on the country under the infamous Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act (Zidera) of 2001 in solidarity with Britain and its allies after the country had embarked on the land reform programme.

Officials from the four companies yesterday told journalists from different media organisations during a tour of the homesteads in Marange that the construction programme was still on  with  more villagers expected to be relocated before the end of the year.

The homesteads consist of a four-roomed standard houses, a round kitchen hut, toilet and a bathroom. The homesteads built by Marange Resources, Mbada and Diamond Mining Corporation have been fitted with solar panels.
Each household also got $US1 000 as a disturbance allowance. However, negotiations for their compensation between the Government and the companies are on.
Speaking to journalists Marange Resources human resources executive Mr Elmon Shumba said his company has constructed 44 homesteads and gave out  42.  He said they gave out 42 because two families got two each because they were polygamous. The wives of the two polygamous men were each given a homestead.

Mr Shumba said his company has also completed the construction of another 60 homesteads.
“We hope by the end of the year to have completed 200 homesteads, which would be in addition to those that we have completed,” he said.
” We have also stumped the fields and the villagers who moved to the area in July this year have started their farming programmes. We have also drilled boreholes for them. At the moment we are also providing them with food until they have harvested something from their fields.”

The villagers are getting foodstuffs that lasts them for three months. The foodstuffs include 200kilogrammes of mealie-meal, 40kg of sugar, cooking oil and matemba. 
Mbada Diamonds, which would relocate between 600 and 700 families has so far moved in 100 families to the new area.
The company’s media consultant, Mr Ignatius Mazura, said they have also drilled boreholes and constructed a 4,5 gravel  km road.

“We have also agreed with Marange Resources that we should share the responsibility in our social programmes. We are building classrooms at Wellington Primary School while Marange is taking care of the construction of the clinic. We are giving the villagers groceries as well. Like the other companies we are also giving seed,” said Mr Mazura.
As for Diamond Mining Corporation, its deputy managing director Mr Julian Sithole said they have relocated 115 families.

The journalists then rounded off the tour with a visit to the Anjin homes where they were told that about 50 homesteads had roofs blown off by strong winds.
The company’s coordinator for the relocation programme, Retired Colonel Romeo Mutsunguma, said they have relocated 484 families. The journalists found the villagers being given pieces of land, which they would use as their fields.

“As for us we have done 95 percent  of the relocation exercise. However, our homesteads do not have the solar system, but what we have done is that we have wired them with electric cables so that they would in future connect to the electricity grid. We also did not drill boreholes because we did not find water where we tried,” he said.

“However, what we have done is to lay a pipe from Odzi River  to a treatment plant that we built, so those villagers whom we relocated are getting treated water. They are just turning the taps, situated at various points.

“As for the roofs they were blown off because we used sub-standard nails, but we have since rectified the issue.”