Abbey Chikane, the Kimberley Process monitor for Zimbabwe, arrived in Harare Monday for a three-day fact-finding mission, the All Africa website reported.

According to the report, which quoted an official government press release, Chikane immediately held meetings with officials from the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development, Mbada Diamonds and Canadile Miners.

Chikane's visit aims to assess whether Zimbabwe is implementing an agreed work-plan pertaining to the Chiadzwa diamonds mines. The plan, adopted at the last Kimberley Process session Namibia, provides a series of stipulations which Zimbabwe must follow to bring diamond mining in Marange in full compliance with Kimberley Process directives.

Zimbabwe had been given various deadlines to comply with Kimberley Process directives. The country has until December 2010 to ensure that the Joint Work Plan is fully implemented, Chikane was quoted by the website as saying.

A Kimberley Process Secretariat statement said: "Chikane's appointment as a monitor marks the beginning of a collaborative approach to the implementation of the KP minimum requirements, which should result in Zimbabwe diamonds being traded legitimately on the global market." Israel heads the current Kimberley Process Secretariat.

Chikane, who is the founder chairman of the Kimberley Process, also met with Mines and Mining Development Minister Obert Mpofu.

Commenting on the meeting, Minister Mpofu said: "We had a meeting with him this morning and an itinerary for him has been set and I hope this will be the start of his assignment.

"This is definitely as per our agreement at a Kimberley Process meeting in Namibia where we agreed that Zimbabwe should have a monitor as part of the Joint Work Plan. We are looking forward to a successful mission and as Government we are excited with the development. Zimbabwe has done its best to meet the set-out standards towards Kimberley Process compliance."

Officials from the Ministry of Finance, Zimbabwe Revenue Authority, Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe and the Zimbabwe Republic Police's Minerals Unit and Marange Resources attended a separate meeting held at Minister Mpofu's offices on Monday, along with officials from the Global Diamond Evaluators from Namibia.

Chikane is expected to visit the Chiadzwa diamond fields on Tuesday in order to personally seethe activities by Mbada Diamonds and Canadile Miners.

Chikane will also represent the KP with regard to the supervision of export mechanism for Marange diamonds.