Image credit: Namdia
The Namibian government has rejected the state-owned diamond company Namdia’s plans to extend the contract of their middleman and global diamantaire Neil Haddock, according to local news reports.
The Namibian reports that the former De Beers dealer had been facilitating the sale of Namdia's diamonds in Dubai since 2016.
“I can confirm that I opposed the extension. Please contact the public enterprises minister, under whom Namdia now falls, for further details on this matter,” minister of mines and energy Tom Alweendo was quoted as saying by the daily.
He said it was baffling that Namdia failed to ensure the transfer of skills for Namibians to take over once Haddock's contract expired.
The minister had given Namdia permission to keep Haddock on for a further six months when his contract initially lapsed in September 2019.
Namdia was set up following an agreement between the Namibian government and De Beers in 2016, which stipulated that Namdeb Holdings would channel 15% of its annual diamond production to state-owned entity.
The company previously faced allegations of selling Namibian diamonds below market value to Dubai companies.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished
