While the number of legally exported diamonds from Sierra Leone had increased, reports indicate 40% of diamonds leaving the country were smuggled out.
Blood diamonds funded fighting in Sierra Leone in the aftermath of the civil war which ended two years ago. The government eventually clamped down on the illegal trade through the Kimberly Process Certification Scheme.
Created by diamond-producing countries the regulations were meant to close loopholes that had allowed illegally-mined diamonds to be sold on the global market.
Under the Kimberly Process, rough diamonds have to be accompanied by certificates of origin. Buyers should reject gems which do not have the necessary documentation.
John Karimu, Commissioner General of the National Revenue Authority, has warned that although more diamonds left the country legally there was little room for complacency.
Despite increased surveillance at the country’s only international airport, smugglers continue to move with ease across the country’s borders.
Monitoring offices employed at mines had also not totally prevented criminals from dealing in blood diamonds. Some monitors had little or no experience of the diamond trade.
”Those mines monitors are poor [ruling] party supporters who are been compensated for their loyalty to the party,” said Aiah Fomba, a youth activist in the diamond-producing district of Kono, east of Freetown.
”We see smuggling of diamonds happening every day. The mines monitors are poor and broke, and can be bribed — as happens often,” adds Fomba, who works for the Movement of Concerned Kono Youths.
Abdul Sanu, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Mineral Resources in Freetown, said authorities were doing as well as could be expected in adverse conditions.
”The monitors are doing their best in tracking smugglers, and we have seen several positive strides made by them. I can only say that they are ill-equipped and poorly-paid — and without incentives you don’t expect them to perform excellently.”
Mine monitor’s echoed Sanu’s sentiments. One monitor, who requested anonymity, said his monthly pay amounted to less than $100.
”We get paid such a pittance to track down smugglers of millions of dollars worth of diamonds. We don’t even have vehicles and other logistics.”
Hoping to provide monitors with incentives, the government agreed to pay them a percentage of the value of diamond consignments which they prevent from being smuggled.
During the civil war which raged in the 1990s, Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels seized control of diamond-producing regions in the east and south of Sierra Leone. Former Liberian President Charles Taylor has been accused of providing the RUF with support in exchange for the diamonds that it was illegally mining.
Members of the RUF will go on trial this week for atrocities committed during the country’s civil war.
The war crimes court which is trying the officials has also issued an indictment against Taylor, alleging that he bears the principal responsibility for war crimes committed in Sierra Leone.
The RUF became infamous in the last decade for its willingness to amputate the limbs of civilians in areas that it controlled or attacked. – IPS