Zimbabwe is said to be “losing at least $14 billion” in potential revenue annually due to the country’s failure to beneficiate its rough diamonds.
Zimbabwe Diamonds Technology Centre (ZDTC) chairperson Lovemore Kurotwi and Diamond Beneficiation Association of Zimbabwe chairperson Richard Mvududu were quoted as saying by local media that the country was promoting foreign companies by failing to add value to its stones.
"In light of this, Zimbabwe being a major producer of diamonds known to have capacity of contributing up to 30 percent of the world's production when in full operation, can earn itself approximately $14 billion that is if we sell cut and polished stones," he said.
"If we sell finished products in jewellery form we will earn approximately $21 billion annually. These are the kind of funds which the country had forgone by not taking value addition seriously. We facilitated other nations to maximise at our expense."
Mvududu also said that there was need to take advantage of Zimbabwe’s position of being a producer. “Having the supply is one of the competitive advantages that one can ever get in the diamond industry because everybody then clamours for product.
"When you have the product you want, then take advantage of all the other aspects of the value chain, be it sorting, cleaning, cutting and polishing, jewellery, trading and retail,” he said.
"All these things are what make up economic growth in other countries. In our case, we are mining and we are one of the biggest producers, going to be number one within the not so distant future but we don't have a viable diamond cutting and polishing industry."
Mvududu said out of 29 diamond beneficiation firms that were registered in 2011, only one was left at the end of 2013 due to high license fees and one-year tenure.
The country’s annual licence fees for diamond beneficiation was pegged at $100,000.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished
