DB Promises ‘Culture Change’ Ahead of Namdeb Talks

Just months away from a five-year review of its Namibian joint venture, diamond producer De Beers has pledged to change its culture to create more jobs in the country.

Namdeb, jointly owned by De Beers and the Namibian government, last week celebrated its tenth anniversary.

“We commit ourselves to be allies of government in local skills development and creating jobs," De Beers Group MD Gary Ralfe said. “This will mean a change in De Beers' perceived old culture.” Ralfe did not provide further details.

The background to Ralfe’s comments is the criticism the diamond giant has received in both Namibia and Botswana that supplies of De Beers diamonds to local polishing outfits are first channeled via De Beers’ London sorting operation, where diamonds from around the world are mixed together, so local polishers end up using mainly foreign gems.

De Beers faces further pressure from Israel's Lev Leviev group, the world's second-biggest diamond producer, which opened a plant in June to cut and polish diamonds from its own Namibian offshore operations.

In thinly veiled attacks on De Beers, Leviev has publicly asked why African producer countries should be discouraged from creating their own large-scale diamond polishing industries to add further value to their diamond exports.

Meanwhile, Ralfe said both the Namibian government and De Beers needed to show greater flexibility to ensure a long-term partnership.

“Partners have to be sensitive to one another’s needs, they have to be flexible ... hence we have decided to make a cultural U-turn so that we can get more involved in addressing our partners’ needs, “ he said.

The sales agreement between the government and De Beers, which allows Namibian diamonds to be sold in London via the DTC, is up for its five-yearly renegotiation early next year.

Namdeb employs 3,000 workers and is the second-largest single employer in Namibia after the government.

Its staff numbers have fallen in recent years as diamond mining operations have moved to offshore alluvial deposits, which require fewer workers than traditional mines.

Namdeb’s diamond production in 2003 was 1.3-million carats while in the first half of this year in excess of 800,000 carats were produced.