Angolan Church speaks out on diamonds

On Friday 30 July, the Economic Justice Sector of the Episcopal Commission for Justice and Peace (CEJP) of the Bishops’ conference of Angola and São Tomé (CEAST) presented a report on the diamond sector in Angola, 'O sector diamantífero e a transparência em Angola' ('The diamond sector and transparency in Angola').

Through the report, the Church aims to open space for constructive dialogue between the entities of the diamond sector and civil society. In this regard, the launch of the report was successful as those present included a representative of the Catoca project, the world’s fourth biggest diamond mine in Lunda Sul province, as well as a representative from the government of Lunda Norte.

The report focuses on the growth of the sector from 2002 to 2009 and analyses the effects of the economic crisis, diamond legislation and the development of the diamond provinces of the country. Central to the report is the importance of transparency, which according to the Social Doctrine of the Church is fundamental for all to benefit from the natural resources of the country.

The report concludes that although the new constitution of the country, adopted in February this year, includes the right to information (art. 40), this right is not yet regulated by ordinary law. Moreover, contracts closed between the state diamond company and other companies include a clause on confidentiality, and access to other information regarding the diamond sector is not easily granted by public institutions or diamond projects.

With regard to the law that regulates the diamond reserves of the country, the report states that this law conditions the freedom of people, since it limits their entry, stay and circulation in these areas, which have to be authorised by the provincial governor. The law that regulates artisanal mining is also seen as imposing many limitations, as the requirements established to obtain a license to engage in artisanal mining are difficult to meet. A new mining law is currently being drafted by a technical commission which will include an obligation to hold a public tender in order to render mining rights. Under the current legislation, a tender is only optional.

The last chapter of the report points to the need for the government to implement programmes and policies in the diamond provinces of the country that promote development as public investments are often directed at the same limited number of provinces along the coast and in the central highlands of the country. The report refers to the words of the Bishop of Dundo, Dom Manuel Imbamba, who has stated publicly that exploration in the diamond provinces doesn’t have any impact on the lives of the local populations that are very poor, often illiterate and don’t have access to the most basic services. The diamond provinces also have one of the highest unemployment rates of the country and many youngsters are involved in illegal mining. Another concern raised in the report is the degradation of the environment in these provinces as a result of diamond exploration. This in turn affects the agricultural activities on which many small-scale farmers depend for their survival.

Angola currently is the largest oil producer of the African continent, together with Nigeria, and the third largest producer of diamonds after Botswana and South Africa. Worldwide, Angola is the fifth-largest producer of diamonds by value.

The first diamonds in Angola were found in 1590 with the discovery of the first reserves. However, it was only in the twentieth century that diamond mining took off with the foundation of the Mining Research Company of Angola in 1917. In 1981, the Angolan government created the National Diamond Company of Angola (ENDIAMA), which is the exclusive concessionary of mining rights in the country. Any company that seeks to explore diamonds in Angola needs to enter into a partnership with ENDIAMA, which by law needs to be approved by the Council of Ministers.

Most of the diamonds reserves in Angola can be found in the north east of the country, stretching towards the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo, in the provinces of Lunda Norte and Lunda Sul. After the end of the war in 2002, production of the diamond sector grew, leading to rising export, gross revenues and fiscal contributions. New diamond concession areas were opened or expanded which led to an increase in the output of the sector of about 6 million carats in 2003 to about 9.7 million carats in 2007. However, as a result of the global economic and financial crisis the price of diamonds came down by 40 per cent, and output between 2008 and 2009 fell by 21 per cent. This resulted in the closing of some mining projects and the reduction in the production of others, which led to the unemployment of many workers.

Angola is a participant to the Kimberley Process, which is an initiative between state, industry and civil society. However, civil society participation in the process is still weak in Angola. The launch of the diamond report of the Commission for Justice and Peace also mentioned the approval of new legislation in the USA, which will require energy and mining companies registered with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to disclose how much they pay to foreign countries and the US government for oil, gas and minerals. This measure may give citizens, also in Angola, the information necessary to combat corruption in the extractive industries sector, demanding more accountability for responsible resource use.

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* Sylvia Croese is an independent Dutch-Angolan researcher and consultant, based in Luanda, and a part-time accompanier to the Economic Justice Sector of the Episcopal Commission for Justice and Peace.
* The report is currently only available in Portuguese. Contact us if you wish to be notified when copies of the translation into English are available.
* Please send comments to [email protected] or comment online at Pambazuka News.