Liberia has dismissed a United Nations report, which alleged that it lacked commitment to fight the trade in blood diamonds, arguing that it lacked the means to do so instead.
"We are constrained by a capacity problem. That we accept. (But) the government does not lack the will," acting minister of lands and mines, Betty Blamo, was quoted by Reuters as saying.
"We do recognise that we do have challenges and we are putting into place measures to resolve some of these challenges ... But it is unfair to say that we have not done anything in that area."
She said that Liberia's steps to be part of the Kimberly Process included dispatching inspectors to monitor the trade and the demarcation of mining areas.
However, Liberia’s financial woes were set to mount as the United States had threatened to stop funding a programme to help the government improve its KP compliance.
The West African country also said that it exported 49 000 carats of rough gems last year worth $15 million.
"This tells you the chain of custody structure which we put into place is working. We were able to track about 60 percent of diamonds taken from Liberia ... no country can track 100 percent of diamonds," Blamo said.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished
