DRC moves to stop blood diamonds
2003-08-25 18:37
Kinshasa - The body in charge of certifying minerals for export from the Democratic Republic of Congo has set up three branches in formerly rebel-held areas to combat the trade in illicit blood diamonds, a spokesperson said on Monday.
The Centre for Evaluation, Expert Analysis and Certification of Precious Minerals (CEEC) was establishing offices in Goma, Bukavu and Kisangani in the eastern part of the country, the spokesperson said.
The region was controlled until July by the Congolese Rally for Democracy, a rebel force under Rwandan direction. It and other rebel groups have agreed to a peace deal providing for a post-war transition in the DR Congo followed by eventual elections.
Much of the fighting in this country and elsewhere in Africa has been financed by the sale of unregistered minerals, such as so-called blood diamonds.
The CEEC was set up last year to assay and certify precious and semi-precious minerals exported from the country, a system that has been supported by diamond importers as a means of protecting their market for legally-produced gems.
The government last month sent an investigative mission to the eastern part of the country to evaluate the extent of unregulated mining activity.
The minister for mines, Eugene Diomi Ndongala estimated recently that the Congolese treasury loses some $450m a year because of diamond smuggling.
He cited Kisangani in the eastern part of the country and Brazzaville in the neighboring Republic of Congo as two major centers for the trade in illicit diamonds.
Ndongala announced on Monday that diamonds produced by the Bakwanga Mining company (Miba) would be offered at public tender in Kinshasa within the very near future.
President Joseph Kabila last year dismissed the company's management following the publication of a UN report that accused senior Congolese officials of plundering the country's mineral wealth.
Ndongala said the public tender was aimed at improving transparency and reducing fraud in the buying and selling of diamonds and industrial diamonds, and would progressively be extended to other precious minerals.
The minister said the tendering process had attracted a large number of foreign businessmen to Kinshasa, with beneficial effects on the local hotel, restaurant, tourism and transport sectors. - Sapa-AFP
- SAPA