Oversight Committee to check conflict diamonds inaugurated

Accra, Dec. 6, GNA - Professor Dominic Kweku Fobih, Minister of Lands, Forestry and Mines, on Wednesday inaugurated a nine-member Kimberley Process (KP) Certification Oversight Committee charged with the responsibility of ensuring that no conflict diamond passed through Ghana to other countries.

The Committee has Madam Rita Tani Iddi, Deputy Minister in charge of Mines, as its chairperson.

During the middle of the year Ghana was alleged to have become a conduit for conflict diamonds from Cote d'Ivoire, although it was a member of the Kimberly Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) and should not indulge in Conflict Diamonds.

Prof Fobih said the setting up of the Committee was at the instance of the last KP Plenary session held from November 6 to November 9, 2006 in Gaborone, Botswana.

He said the Plenary requested Ghana to strengthen its internal controls from mining through local purchases, to export of rough diamonds.

"Ghana was given three months to implement these directives," Prof Fobih said.

He said judging from the importance of the diamond industry to Ghana, it had become necessary to institute measures that would ensure that all agencies that had a stake in the mining and marketing of rough diamonds were involved in the implementation of the KP in Ghana.

"I have since met with agencies under the Ministry; The Minerals Commission, the Geological Survey Department, the Precious Minerals Marketing Company Limited and the Inspectorate Division of Mines Department and assigned to them the respective roles they had to play," he said.

Prof Fobih said the Taskforce would ensure full implementation of Ghana's action plan to strengthen its internal controls to prevent conflict diamonds from being exported through Ghana in conformity with the decisions of the Gaborone Plenary of the KP.

"The Taskforce will be expected to propose strategies that will help to improve on the scheme's implementation in Ghana," he said. Prof Fobih said Ghana has been promised technical assistance by some international organisations and some countries to enable her to implement the scheme.

The USA for instance has promised to help Ghana formulate technical data on the specification of Ghanaian diamonds so as to make them distinct from any other, he said.

The other members of the Taskforce were drawn from the Ministry of the Interior; Ghana Immigration Service; Customs, Excise and Preventive Service and the Ghana Consolidated Diamonds Limited. Madam Iddi thanked the Minister for the confidence reposed in the Committee and promised that members would discharge their duties to the level that Ghana's image would be redeemed. 6 Dec 06