Business / Economy
Zimbabwe diamonds NOT blood diamonds: Chaim Evan-Zohar
04 Mar 2011 at 08:19hrs | Views
The talks aimed at Kimberley Process approval for Zimbabwe diamonds have once again failed, says Tacy president Chaim Evan-Zohar.
Evan-Zohar, who addressed the Mining Indaba, in Cape Town, said that, while Zimbabwe diamonds might still not be officially exported from Zimbabwe in accordance with Kimberley Process principles, unofficial sales were continuing.
He said that, in recently celebrating ten years of the Kimberley Process, the industry believed that the blood diamond issue and other reputational issues were behind it.
But it was now back in a political quagmire.
The Zimbabwe diamonds were not, he said, blood diamonds. "The mines are modern and they are well managed, but they're apparently in the wrong political system," he said.
The diamond industry could not afford to leave the Zimbabwe issue unsolved and needed to deal with its reputational issues. "It's a balancing act. We're facing the hour of truth," Evan-Zohar said.
He believed that the immediate challenge was to avoid politicising the industry's regulatory environment, which would endanger the inclusiveness of global diamond trade and result in smuggling and other undesirable outcomes.
While the supply and demand fundamentals looked good, the diamond industry had become vulnerable to outside shocks, mostly in the reputational and consumer confidence areas.
Evan-Zohar, who addressed the Mining Indaba, in Cape Town, said that, while Zimbabwe diamonds might still not be officially exported from Zimbabwe in accordance with Kimberley Process principles, unofficial sales were continuing.
He said that, in recently celebrating ten years of the Kimberley Process, the industry believed that the blood diamond issue and other reputational issues were behind it.
But it was now back in a political quagmire.
The Zimbabwe diamonds were not, he said, blood diamonds. "The mines are modern and they are well managed, but they're apparently in the wrong political system," he said.
The diamond industry could not afford to leave the Zimbabwe issue unsolved and needed to deal with its reputational issues. "It's a balancing act. We're facing the hour of truth," Evan-Zohar said.
He believed that the immediate challenge was to avoid politicising the industry's regulatory environment, which would endanger the inclusiveness of global diamond trade and result in smuggling and other undesirable outcomes.
While the supply and demand fundamentals looked good, the diamond industry had become vulnerable to outside shocks, mostly in the reputational and consumer confidence areas.
Source - Byo24News
