Mr. Abbey Chikane, a founder Chairman of the Kimberley Process, has been appointed as the Kimberley Process Monitor for Zimbabwe. He was scheduled to visit Zimbabwe between 1-3 March 2010. The Kimberley Process appointed a ‘KP Monitor’ under a Joint Work Plan which was agreed with Zimbabwe at the Swakopmund Plenary meeting, in November 2009, to address the indications of serious non-compliance with KP’s minimum requirements identified in July 2009. %% The Joint Work Plan lists down Zimbabwe’s commitments to ensure diamond mining in the Marange area in full compliance with the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS). Implementation of the Joint Work Plan will be closely monitored by the KP, notably through the ‘KP Monitor’ while exports of Marange diamonds will be subject to prior verification of compliance. %% Mr. Chikane’s visit follows an invitation from the government of Zimbabwe that stated, in a letter to the KP: “In the interest of quick implementation of the Swakopmund Decision and the Joint Work Plan, Zimbabwe wished to express its readiness to have the KP Monitor in the country ... in view of the tasks contained in the Joint Work Plan that need to be urgently accomplished”. %% Mr. Boaz Hirsch, Chairman of the Kimberley Process, stated that as Chair of the Kimberley Process, Israel has set the fulfillment of the Kimberley Process standards in the Marange area at the top of its priorities. Implementation of the Joint Working Plan, said Mr. Hirsch, is an important step in the right direction. The KP Monitor’s role involves liaising with the Zimbabwean government, as represented by Ministry of Mines, to assess implementation of the Joint Work Plan, and report the same to the Kimberley Process. The KP Monitor will also be involved in the process of supervising exports of Marange diamonds in compliance with KP minimum requirements. To enable the KP Monitor fulfill his mission, the Zimbabwean government has committed to ensure complete access to all relevant diamond production and processing sites and relevant stakeholders from mining to export, including representatives of government, industry and civil society.