The Diamonds Amendment Bill would not introduce nationalisation in the diamond industry, Deputy Minister of Minerals and Energy Lulu Xingwana said on Tuesday.
The Bill was passed by the National Assembly with objections noted from the official opposition Democratic Alliance, the African Christian Democratic Party and the Freedom Front Plus. It will now be referred to the National Council of Provinces for concurrence.
Participating in the debate, Xingwana also said that the current South African Diamond Board, which regulates the diamond sector, was like “a branch meeting of business persons who make favourable laws to serve their own interests”.
It was being replaced by a regulator representing business, labour and the government.
The deputy minister said that the DA had screamed nationalisation when it came to the Bill, but this had not been the case when neighbouring Botswana and Namibia had determined that 50% of the diamonds produced in their countries belonged to the state.
“The DA wants South Africa to continue to be an economic colony of other countries,” she said.
During public hearings on the Bill before the National Assembly minerals and energy portfolio committee a number of industry interests — along with the DA — expressed concern about the establishment of a State Diamond Trader (SDT).
Noting that diamonds had been spirited away to the “mother country” — a clear reference to the United Kingdom, Xingwana said the Bill now indicated that “diamonds must support the people of this country”.
She said a SDT would ensure that beneficiators — including an unused beneficiating factory in the diamond capital of Kimberley — would now be able to receive unpolished diamonds.
Referring to resistance in some of the industry to the proposed change to the regulatory environment, she said the current Diamond Board — which acted as both a regulator and promotion agent — was dominated by the industry.
These roles would be separated with the trader doing the promotion and a regulator, the regulation.
Minerals and Energy Minister Lindiwe Hendricks said that the official opposition had focused on an element which was not in this Bill — the imposition of taxes on
export diamonds. This matter would be dealt with by the Treasury.
She said the state would not own an element of the market but would act as a facilitator — through the SDT — to promotion beneficiation. – I-Net Bridge