Last week, after diamond negotiations with the country's government reached stalemate, De Beers simply suspended operations worth millions of dollars.The family, which could be known as Southern Africa Inc, is worth up to $3bn (£2.1bn), according to Forbes magazine. The Oppenheimers whose complex web of interests is managed in such a way that they will never be taken over and the family will always own De Beers control the world market in uncut diamonds, decide the international price of the gems and extract a considerable share of the planet's gold and platinum.For four generations they have perfected the art of foresight in business and politics, of frequenting key players and hedging their bets. The Oppenheimers did business with the former Rhodesia but their interests in the country really expanded after independence in 1980 when Harry O began treating with a devil incarnate, the black Marxist leader, Robert Mugabe.Zimbabwe is not the family's most lucrative country but it is the one which is closest to its heart, where the Oppenheimers have a ranch and where they go on holiday. Indeed Debshan Farm, which is often described as the size of Belgium, is situated on land which was bought by Harry Oppenheimer before he converted to Christianity.
His intention was to offer it to Holocaust survivors; it might have become Israel in Africa.Effectively, Nicky Oppenheimer is more powerful in Zimbabwe than President Mugabe. It is estimated that, despite scaling down his interests in the country, he still owns enough of it nickel, chrome, coal, fertilisers, sugar, supermarkets to be responsible for up to 40 per cent of the country's foreign exchange earnings.Last week's disagreement with the Mugabe government followed a claim that the Oppenheimers had attempted to deceive the authorities about the size of the Debshan estate which was occupied by 5,000 campaigners for land rights last year. After the occupation began, the Oppenheimers offered to establish a trust fund to empower local people and maintain 21,000 cattle and various private hunting outfits at Debshan. They claim the government ignored the offer.According to the state-owned Herald newspaper, the Oppenheimers own 960,000 hectares (2.4 million acres) of Zimbabwe and have attempted to mislead the country's government by claiming that Debshan which spans the Midlands, Masvingo, Matabeleland North and Matabeleland South provinces, and makes £1m a year from beef sales to Europe measures 137,000 acres instead of 137,000 hectares.As part of the ongoing wheeler-dealing between the Oppenheimers and the government, Zimbabwe last year served notice that it intended to acquire part of Debshan for the resettlement of landless peasants. The ranch was de-listed from designation after Nicky Oppenheimer offered the state 40,000 hectares at a meeting with President Mugabe.Then last week, vice president Joseph Msika, allegedly on the orders of Mr Mugabe who personally handles relations with the Oppenheimers, stormed Debshan, apparently to ascertain the actual size of the farm. Mr Msika was accompanied by a high-powered government delegation including local government minister Ignatius Chombo, information minister Jonathan Moyo, senior ruling party officials and up to 10,000 demonstrators. Clive Swanepoel, the general manager of Debshan, apologised at length to Mr Msika over what he said was an error by the company on the size of the property.
The 10,000 demonstrators are understood still to be at Debshan.. The construction industry is still in the stone age when it comes to using IT. The construction industry is still in the stone age when it comes to using IT. Blighted by delayed projects and a host of other problems, the sector remains unreconstructed. But John Connaughton sees no reason why it should not catch up.
