Liberia's government conceded that it lacks the capacity to fully monitor diamond mining due to limited financial and human resources, Rapaport reported citing The New Dawn. Acting Lands, Mines and Energy Minister, Betty Lamini Blamo, told journalists here at a press briefing Thursday that at times its inspectors have to be accompanied by security personnel as a result of threats from miners, something which brings with it much more expenditure that her ministry's limited resources can handle.
In his most recent report to the UN Security Council, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was quoted as saying that Liberia is showing limited commitment to efforts to stop blood diamond trade.
But Blamo disagreed that the government lacks the will or commitment to efforts aimed at stopping the blood diamond trade.
In what also appear to be a contradiction she contended that Liberia is in full compliance with the Kimberley Process, which regulates the rough diamond trade.
She said in a bid to address the capacity gap and to ensure full compliance with the Kimberley Process, the Lands, Mines and Energy Ministry has designed several projects, while government has also infused over $1.4 million into the project budget of the ministry.
"Since the imposition of sanctions on the export of Liberia's rough diamond based on allegations that Liberia was being used as a conduit for the sale of blood diamonds from Sierra Leone, and Liberia which helped fueled the civil wars in both countries, this country [Liberia] has worked assiduously to have those sanctions removed and continues to work in that direction to remain fully Kimberley compliant," said Blamo.
In addition to the UN imposed sanctions, she said the Liberian Government put a self-moratorium on diamond mining here, coupled with the establishment of a Presidential Diamond Task Force (DTF) in 2006 to ensure that the sector satisfies conditions necessary to remove UN sanctions and ensure compliance to the Kimberley Process.
"Sanctions were lifted and Kimberley membership form was attained by June 2007 - diamond exports began later that year..."
However, she said there was a short hiatus in the frequency of meetings among the Presidential Diamond Task Force at the beginning of the year on grounds that new appointments were being made in government.
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