Diamonds Amendment Act fails to grow cutting and polishing industry
PRESIDENT Jacob Zuma tacitly acknowledged on Tuesday that the Diamonds Amendment Act introduced more than five years ago had failed to achieve its objectives.The act, which was introduced against strong opposition by diamond miners, established a State Diamond Trader to which companies were obliged to offer a representative sample of production that the regulator would sell to local buyers, to grow a local cutting and polishing industry. But in the last few years the number of jobs in local diamond beneficiation has dwindled, not increased.Mr Zuma said at the official ceremony marking the launch of the R20bn Venetia underground mine expansion, that although South Africa has been exporting diamonds for more than 100 years, it had not been able to develop a local cutting and polishing jewellery industry."We are not able to reap the benefit of our commodities," he said. "We have thus identified jewellery manufacturing as a priority area."He said Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabang...
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