Nangula Shejavali
16 November 2009
NAMIBIA'S new Government Diamond Valuator (GDV) is a fully Namibian-owned company.
The company, called Gazania Investment Eighty Eight, is owned by four Namibian directors, each with a quarter of the shares, and all of them experienced diamond valuators.
At the signing of the five-year contract yesterday, Permanent Secretary of Mines and Energy Joseph Iita described the appointment of Gazania as "a watershed event".
The GDV over the past five years, Diamond Marketing Consultants (DMC), was part Namibian- part foreign-owned, while the previous GDV, which served for 10 years, was completely foreign-owned.
Iita said having a Namibian-owned valuator would "increase our security, our sustainability, and our economic and tax base, because the money stays at home rather than being diverted offshore".
The main responsibility of the GDV is to ensure that a fair market value is put on Namibian diamonds before they are sold and exported.
The GDV also sorts all diamonds according to a master sample, monitors the sale of Namibian diamonds, keeps abreast of developments in the international market that might impact on the interests of Namibian diamond producers or exporters, and advises Government on all matters relevant to the sorting, valuation and marketing of Namibian diamonds.
Gazania Chairman Andries Eiseb said they had an edge over their competitors in the bidding process because they have local industry knowledge combined with experience at De Beers and the previous GDVs.
The other directors are Manfred Isaacks, Timotheus Mujeu and Albino Prungu.
They will all be active in diamond valuation, along with four other valuators and four trainees.
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