SA State diamond trader says “commercially sensitive” to disclose its buyers

South Africa’s State Diamond Trader has refused to disclose to whom it sells diamonds claiming that it was “commercially sensitive” information.
Business Day reports that the move angered members of Parliament’s oversight committee on mineral resources.
The diamond trader is eligible by law to purchase up to 10 percent of the run of mine from all diamond producers in the country, which it then trades to promote equitable access to and beneficiation of diamond resources.
State Diamond Trader chairperson Dolly Mokgatle said in a written response to the committee that she had obtained legal opinion and would only provide this information if it was in the public interest.
She said, to disclose the information, there should be a rational connection between the request for information and the purpose for which it was requested.
She said the diamond trader would carry the legal liability if compelled to disclose the information, as the information would have been given unlawfully.
However, ANC Member of Parliament Mandla Mandela was quoted as saying that the refusal was unacceptable.
"This is not what we asked for (from the State Diamond Trader). We cannot accept this and we must refer it to our own legal people for their opinion," said Mandela’s grandson.
MPs were said to have walked out of a committee meeting last month in protest that the State Diamond Trader had ignored their questions about who it sold diamonds to, reports Business Day.

Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished