DTC Sightholder Offers Namibia Loan To Stick With De Beers
July 30, 02
Maurice Tempelsman, an American sightholder, offered the Namibian Government an N$500 million ($49.26 million) loan if it gives De Beers exclusive rights to buy all of Namibia's rough diamonds. According to a report in The Namibian yesterday, Tempelsman has written to President Nujoma proposing the loan to cover the Government's projected budget deficit. One of the terms for the loan is that the government will not independently check the prices De Beers pays Namibia for its diamond exports. Namibia has been planning to implement two dormant sections of the Diamond Act of 1999. One section allows selling of Namibian diamonds on the open market and the other allows Namibians direct participation in the diamond business. If Tempelsman's offer is accepted, the implementation of the two sections will be delayed. Tempelsman's seven-page letter, dated May 27 2002, comes shortly after he visited Namibia and met the President. Namibia's Mines Minister, Jesaya Nyamu, said the idea of selling diamonds in the open market was not "well-received by diamond producers." "There was a hysterical reaction from some quarters," Nyamu was quoted, adding that De Beers "had some problems with the idea." To date, De Beers is the sole exporter of Namibia's diamonds through Namdeb, a company jointly owned by De Beers and Namibia.