Govt moves to strengthen control of diamond industry

Greater state control of Angola's diamond sector and its long-term growth will spur the economy, ultimately helping to improve the lives of Angolans, a senior state company official said this week. Sebastiao Panzo, spokesman for the state diamond company, Endiama, told IRIN that with the end of almost three decades of war, the government was making efforts to clean up the industry that had helped to fuel the conflict. These included formalising diamond production, with the ultimate aim of ending informal mining, known as 'garimpo', and ensuring that the state had total control of all diamonds being sold to the international market. "Angola's diamond industry will, long-term, provide a bigger contribution to the state budget. It can also create secure employment for Angolans - that's something a 'Garimpeiro' [traditional miner] can't do. And it will help to improve Angola's credibility at the international level," Panzo said in an interview. An estimated US $350 million worth of Angolan diamonds were still being smuggled out of the country illegally each year, Panzo said. But the government's 'Operation Brilliant' - a crackdown on illegal immigrants mining and trading the gems - was already starting to curb illegal trafficking. It had also successfully reduced the quantity of diamonds produced by 'garimpeiros', which, Panzo said, was an indication that the state was gaining greater control. "The export of diamonds produced by the informal market has slowed down, because we are getting rid of illegal traffickers from the sector and putting official companies in their place," Panzo said. Despite its oil and diamond wealth - Angola is sub-Saharan Africa's second largest oil producer after Nigeria - the vast majority of its 13 million people live in dire poverty. Panzo said strengthened state control of the diamond sector would make more funds available for government to spend on developing basic services for ordinary people. "It's a sector which can provide a lot of potential state revenues, which in turn can be used for developing essential programmes, such as schools and hospitals," he explained. "Diamond firms are already creating small structures, like health posts for their own workers, but the state needs to be in a position to make the larger investments to help Angola as a whole," he added. Operation Brilliant was suspended for several months earlier this year after reports that the police and army had committed human rights violations against those being expelled. Panzo confirmed that the crackdown had resumed, but admitted it had been a difficult exercise. "The big problem at the moment is distinguishing between Angolan and foreign garimpeiros, which isn't always easy. Only after we've done that, can we work out how many Angolans need jobs in the diamond-rich areas," he noted. Observers have said that putting garimpeiros out of work will create a new social problem, but Panzo commented that finding them employment in the formal sector was a top state priority. "Endiama is trying to ensure that as many [Angolan garimpeiros] as possible are given jobs by formal companies in the area where they have been mining," he said. Industry sources consider Angola to be one of the most important territories in the southern African region in terms of its potential diamond reserves.