Botswana has rejected plans by the G7, a group of Western countries, to have all African diamonds sent to Antwerp, Belgium for certification. Gaborone claims that such a move – which is designed to enforce sanctions on Russian diamonds – would cause a logistical nightmare and increase costs for African diamond producers.
Botswana’s minister of minerals said he’d made it ‘abundantly clear’ to the G7 that his country was opposed to the proposal. Lefoko Moagi added that it would pose a threat to national sovereignty, given the central role that diamonds play in the Botswanan economy (contributing more than two-thirds of the budget’s revenue).
The government also questioned why the G7 wants to introduce a new system of certifying diamonds when no loopholes have been pointed out in the Kimberley Process (KP) that was adopted in 2003 to keep so-called conflict diamonds from the market. During a visit to Botswana, a G7 delegation failed to give concrete answers when asked by journalist how the proposed certification system would differ from the KP.
Under the KP, the certification of diamonds is done in Botswana, making it more cost effective for African diamond producers, who contribute more than 60% of the rough diamonds that enter the global market. The certification of diamonds within the continent has helped efforts by African countries to add value to the stones before exporting them – thereby making more profit on them, and also creating more jobs in the continent’s diamond industry
The proposal to move the certification process from Africa to Europe has led to fears that this is simply another ploy by the West to maintain control over African resources and sabotage efforts by African nations to maximise the benefits from their minerals.
