Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Log in. The third group of factors concerns impunity for smuggling and the prevalence of other illegal and fraudulent activities. Although fraud has always been a problem in CAR, it has reached a turning point where it has become almost the norm.
The more contraband increases, the more difficult it becomes to circumvent it. Before the crisis, at least some of those found at Bangui airport attempting to smuggle diamonds were arrested, thanks in part to the financial benefits derived by the agents carrying out the seizures. Today, the question arises as to why no smuggler in recent years has suffered consequences for their actions, a fact which shows ineffective controls and the power of trafficking networks.
By analyzing these different factors, the diagnostic study aimed to identify practical solutions at all levels. For the KP, a serious debate should take place on the viability of the Operational Framework, in particular the obligation to remotely verify the packages each month before export. In addition, serious consideration of the use of diamonds seized by the Central African government or other countries is necessary otherwise the fight against smuggling will be in vain. For the Government of the Central African Republic, officials should see this as a rare opportunity to rethink their supply chain system, especially with regard to how artisanal miners are organized, data is collected and used, and the institutional role of the Kimberley Process Permanent Secretariat.
With regards to the supply chain, consultations with purchasing offices and external experts are needed to reassess fees and taxes and the organization of actors. However, no change will occur without the strict minimum of law enforcement, in particular at Bangui airport, but also with regard to the protections granted to traffickers or semi-industrial actors illicitly operating as cooperatives.
International trafficking networks require special attention. Nevertheless, the starting point for reversing the trend should be law enforcement by the Central African Government, because until tangible efforts are made, the legal supply chain will remain weak and the Government will not be credible in its efforts to get the KP to completely lift the suspension.
More generally, CAR could benefit from an in-depth dialogue on the mining sector, perhaps in the form of formal policy dialogue like those organized in , especially taking into account the Khartoum Accord and semi-industrial mining activities and the gold mining that are growing rapidly.
The dialogue will help build buy-in for reform, generate technical ideas, and most importantly, restore confidence in the supply chain, which in the end is not about the stones, but about people—their lives, their livelihoods and well-being. My driver listened to Congolese rap music with headphones that were plugged into his Chinese smartphone.
The sound was tinny. For Tunga and his colleagues, direct access to the international market has meant a chance to cut out the middlemen who made massive profits at their expense. We used to sell mixed quality, and get bad prices. The buyers controlled the market. Now we get much more for the price. Almost all the buyers take them there, and the Indians have a lot of buying offices here. They weigh my shipment, and take a percentage of the stones in exchange for the certificate.
And while Kinshasa is ground zero for the trade today, diamond smuggling bases cycle rapidly through African cities as wars flare and ebb, and black-market figures are notoriously murky for a reason.
Retail customers rarely consider provenance an issue worthy of scrutiny before buying. Few diamond dealers in the USA or Europe go beyond calling themselves KP-compliant, knowing that their customers see Kimberley as a certificate of faith in conflict-free merchandise—even if the reality is anything but. Neither of the fast-growing China and India markets—already the two biggest audiences after the United States—seem that interested either.
With buyers ultimately the only people who can pressure the industry to change, reform remains a distant dream. Our conversation gradually reached the inevitable point of diminishing returns. He headed back to his table, pulling out a wobbly chair beside it that boasted his name in big black Sharpie. Give readers a window on the world. Click to donate.
Welcome to the multimillion-dollar deal-making desk of Douglas Tunga, Congo diamond bootlegger. All rights reserved. This Is My Room.
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