Niël Terblanché
The Group of Seven (G7) nations; the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Canada, are planning to introduce further sanctions on Russia that would have a further negative impact on Namibia’s ability to trade in diamonds.
These measures proposed by the G7 nations are part of broader efforts to reduce Russia’s revenue, which is believed to be financing its conflict in Ukraine.
Brent Eiseb, the Chief Executive Officer of the Namibia Diamond Trading Company, said that in addition to market challenges, the diamond industry must contend with the impact of the G7 restrictive measures against Russian diamonds.
He stated that the NTDC and De Beers have enhanced their diamond traceability measures with new technologies.
Import limitations have been enforced since the beginning of January this year for non-industrial diamonds originating from Russia, regardless of size, if imported directly or through a third-party nation without undergoing transformation.
“The diamond industry is constantly evolving, necessitating the introduction of advanced technologies to enhance transparency in the supply chain. A pivotal aspect of this initiative involves the implementation of cutting-edge technology at the Namibia Diamond Trading Company (NDTC) that will ensure provenance capture and enable end users to trace back the journey of their polished diamond to its source. Diamond provenance assurance is a rapidly growing priority that will affect all parts of the industry, especially with G7 nations set to implement new import restrictions on the industry,” Eiseb said.
He added that the provenance capture at De Beers and NDTC is being delivered by Project Vector, a group-wide initiative and collaboration across technologies, diamond trading operations, information management, and Tracr.
“Its objective is to scan, digitize, track, and match targeted De Beers diamonds and load sold production, including Country of Origin (COO), on Tracr. Vector covers all hardware, software, people, and process delivery to support provenance capture requirements. TracrTM is the world’s leading digital platform for tracing natural diamonds from the source at scale, enabling exploration of provenance, authenticity, and the unique journey a diamond has taken. This enables the industry to provide an immutable record of a diamond’s provenance, empowering all players to have confidence in its origin,” Eiseb added.
About three weeks ago, President Nangolo Mbumba appealed to King Philippe of Belgium to reconsider the stringent diamond sanctions imposed by the G7 nations, expressing concerns over their economic impact on Namibia and other African diamond-producing countries.
During a recent state visit by the king of the Belgians, President Mbumba said that the G7’s decision to route all rough and polished diamonds through Belgium for certification poses significant threats to the economies of Namibia, Angola, and Botswana.
This policy, intended to trace and limit the sale of Russian diamonds, is seen as a move that inadvertently increases costs and curtails trade freedoms for the three African nations.
“This decision poses a serious risk and threat to our economies by increasing costs, as well as curtailing the freedom of trade for our countries,” Mbumba said at the time of the king’s visit.
The President stressed the need for urgent dialogue to find a mutually beneficial solution, seeking Belgium’s support in this endeavour.
In February, Namibia, along with Angola and Botswana, sent a joint letter to the G7 leadership, in which the three countries urged for a reevaluation of the ban.
The African leaders argued that the tracking mechanism associated with the sanctions would disproportionately harm their economies.
The US is currently reassessing the ban due to industry complaints, with sources indicating that G7 discussions on enforcing the tracing measures have stalled due to opposition from African diamond miners, Indian polishers, and US jewelers.
President Mbumba’s call for reconsideration of restrictive measures reflects broader regional unease about the economic repercussions of the G7’s sanctions framework.
