Namibia’s leading diamond miner, Namdeb contributed over $100 million in profit tax and royalties to the government last year, local reports say.
The Namibian newspaper quoted the country’s chamber of mines as saying in a report that Namdeb contributed N$573.5 million ($65 million) in profit tax and N$350 million ($40 million) in royalties.
The entire mining industry in Namibia also pumped N$1.6 billion ($180 million) in direct taxes into state coffers in 2011, about 4 percent more than in 2010.
“This is indeed a significant figure in a country with a population of only 2.3 million, but with an extremely high unemployment rate,” chamber president Mark Dawe said.
“It cannot be emphasised too often that, without a vibrant mining industry, Namibia’s economy would struggle to pay its way in the world and uplift its people.”
Meanwhile, the chamber said mining also contributed 9.5 percent to Namibia’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2011, up from 8.5 percent in the previous year.
The report also stated that diamonds’ contribution to GDP recovered from 5 percent in 2010 to 7.2 percent last year.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished
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