The Ministry of Mines and Energy says Namibia’s G7 diamond certification will not be decided until after February next year.
Executive Director in the Ministry Penda Ithindi confirmed that discussions are ongoing. “A technical mission from the G7 recently visited Namibia to assess the country’s readiness for certification,” he said.
The process requires Namibia to meet specific criteria such as transparency and operational standards.
“We presented our case for Namibia to be a recognised single node within the G7 framework,” Ithindi explained.
The G7 will first establish Botswana as a pilot node. “The lessons learned from Botswana will guide their strategy before considering Namibia,” he said.
“We will continue with our existing strategies until a final decision is made,” Ithindi added.
The G7 has set a tentative deadline of 6 February 2025, for further deliberations. “We are waiting for the next steps after Botswana’s pilot phase,” he said.
Recently, Minister of Mines and Energy Tom Alweendo said the government welcomes the joint statement by the Republic of Botswana and the G7 Diamond Technical Team on 27 November 2024, announcing that Botswana will establish a certification point for diamond exports to G7 markets.
“We also welcome the commitment made in the same statement that the G7 Diamond Technical Team will continue to engage other African diamond-producing countries such as Namibia and Angola with a view of setting up additional export certification nodes,” he said.
He noted that the establishment of export certification nodes in African countries supports the important principle that diamonds should be certified as close to the source as possible and that countries like Botswana, Namibia and Angola should be able to certify their diamonds for trade with the G7.
“Our country, Namibia, is known for its responsible and transparent diamond governance and has put in place robust controls which provide for the effective provenance, traceability, certification and monitoring of rough diamonds, in line with the Kimberley Process,” he said.
He believes that by strengthening the existing Kimberley Process Certification Scheme and working together in partnership with the G7, Africa can achieve the shared goals of ethical trade and sustainable development.
“Namibia looks forward to future engagements with the G7 Diamond Technical Team, following the latter’s familiarisation visit to Namibia from 8 to 10 September this year. The Government of the Republic of Namibia believes that the only way to work together is in partnership, with mutual respect and through mutually beneficial relations,” he said.-miningandenergy.com.na
