Growing calls for Namibian diamonds to be cut locally

LEV LEVIEV, the Israeli diamond merchant who owns Africa’s largest diamond cutting and polishing factory in Windhoek, yesterday urged Government to ensure that Namibian diamonds are cut and polished locally before being exported.

Addressing a diamond conference in the capital, Leviev, who is the Chairman of LLD Diamonds, said his Namibian cutting and polishing factory had to import diamonds because of the short supply of local rough diamonds. At present the bulk of Namibian diamonds are sold by the Diamond Trading Company (DTC) – the marketing arm of De Beers – in London.LLD Diamonds, which launched the biggest diamond cutting and polishing factory in Africa in Windhoek last year, said the state-of-the-art factory – which employs 590 people – mostly worked on diamonds imported from other countries at very high prices, and yet Namibia produced quality diamonds suitable for the local industry.”In order to continue the momentum of development we must win total and uncompromising support in actions to ensure the supply to the local industry of locally mined diamonds at the same export prices.This must become a reality,” Leviev said.”There are some who would say that Government intervention in this issue (diamond polishing) would be against the rules of free trade.I would answer – these actions of the African states are not aimed against free trade but against decades of discrimination.After all, the present situation is far from free trade.”He said his company commended the efforts made by the South African government on the management of its rough diamonds.The South African government passed legislation this week that seeks to increase the supply of diamonds to local cutters to boost the diamond jewellery sector and create employment.The Deputy Minister of Mines and Energy, Henock ya Kasita, and the Deputy Minister of Finance, Tjekero Tweya, also called for local rough diamonds to be directly supplied to local cutters and polishers.Ya Kasita said the export of Namibian diamonds should be minimised and more polishing and cutting factories should be established locally.”Concerns are specifically raised on rough diamonds that are being taken out from these countries to other countries and in this way no job opportunities and much needed skills are left for them.More cutting and polishing factories should be established and the exporting of rough diamonds should be minimised to give the existing cutting and polishing factories a chance to sustain themselves and in so doing, to keep the jobs of those employed”, said Ya Kasita.Participants heard that Government would press for changes to free up the local supply of rough diamonds when Government and De Beers meet in two weeks’ time to review the contract for Namdeb – a joint venture between the two.The review is done every five years.De Beers announced that it was building a diamond-sorting centre in Botswana, which would serve the whole SADC region.The DTC Sales Director, Varda Shine, said the centre should be completed by 2008 and is scheduled to start its operations in 2009.She said De Beers planned to move its main trading centre from its current headquarters in London to southern Africa.De Beers Managing Director designate Gareth Penny said the centre was to be set up in Botswana because that is where most of the company’s diamonds came from and mines in that country still had long lives ahead of them.However, diamond guru Maurice Tempelsman of Lazar Kaplan International said it was not about having many diamond factories, but about what was generated from these establishments and how competitive the end product was on the world market.At present the bulk of Namibian diamonds are sold by the Diamond Trading Company (DTC) – the marketing arm of De Beers – in London.LLD Diamonds, which launched the biggest diamond cutting and polishing factory in Africa in Windhoek last year, said the state-of-the-art factory – which employs 590 people – mostly worked on diamonds imported from other countries at very high prices, and yet Namibia produced quality diamonds suitable for the local industry.”In order to continue the momentum of development we must win total and uncompromising support in actions to ensure the supply to the local industry of locally mined diamonds at the same export prices.This must become a reality,” Leviev said.”There are some who would say that Government intervention in this issue (diamond polishing) would be against the rules of free trade.I would answer – these actions of the African states are not aimed against free trade but against decades of discrimination.After all, the present situation is far from free trade.” He said his company commended the efforts made by the South African government on the management of its rough diamonds.The South African government passed legislation this week that seeks to increase the supply of diamonds to local cutters to boost the diamond jewellery sector and create employment.The Deputy Minister of Mines and Energy, Henock ya Kasita, and the Deputy Minister of Finance, Tjekero Tweya, also called for local rough diamonds to be directly supplied to local cutters and polishers.Ya Kasita said the export of Namibian diamonds should be minimised and more polishing and cutting factories should be established locally.”Concerns are specifically raised on rough diamonds that are being taken out from these countries to other countries and in this way no job opportunities and much needed skills are left for them.More cutting and polishing factories should be established and the exporting of rough diamonds should be minimised to give the existing cutting and polishing factories a chance to sustain themselves and in so doing, to keep the jobs of those employed”, said Ya Kasita.Participants heard that Government would press for changes to free up the local supply of rough diamonds when Government and De Beers meet in two weeks’ time to review the contract for Namdeb – a joint venture between the two.The review is done every five years.De Beers announced that it was building a diamond-sorting centre in Botswana, which would serve the whole SADC region.The DTC Sales Director, Varda Shine, said the centre should be completed by 2008 and is scheduled to start its operations in 2009.She said De Beers planned to move its main trading centre from its current headquarters in London to southern Africa.De Beers Managing Director designate Gareth Penny said the centre was to be set up in Botswana because that is where most of the company’s diamonds came from and mines in that country still had long lives ahead of them.However, diamond guru Maurice Tempelsman of Lazar Kaplan International said it was not about having many diamond factories, but about what was generated from these establishments and how competitive the end product was on the world market.