There has been a spike in the local diamond production. This is according to Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, who recently disclosed that an increase in diamond production “makes us feel good.”
In 2016, royalties from diamonds exceeded the budgeted amount of $24 million for the period January to October 2016. For that year 109,651 metric carats of diamonds were declared which earned the government $73, 277, 347 in fees and royalties.
But according to Minister Trotman, “we just have to make sure that we are not processing somebody else’s diamond from some atrocity from someplace else.”
In February, Cabinet, based on a recommendation from the Natural Resources Ministry, approved the request for the expertise of a legal consultant to review the Kimberly Process Certification Scheme [KPCS].
KPCS is the international body tasked with certifying diamonds. It was launched in 2003 in a bid to clean up the international diamond trade after it was recognized that diamonds were being used to finance wars and terrorism.
Moreover, the KPCS is important for preventing “conflict diamonds” from infiltrating Guyana’s local production which could affect the country’s production credibility on the international market.
Neighbouring Venezuela has been blacklisted by the watchdog body.
In late 2014, a high level team from the KPCS visited Guyana to assess whether the country’s system was robust enough to prevent illegal diamonds from being mixed in the legitimate ones.
However, the porous borders of Guyana has long been a major worry for authorities, with the country facing a possible halting of trade to well-established European and other markets if it is found that dirty diamonds have infiltrated.
The Kimberley Process (KP) is open to all countries that are willing and able to implement its requirements. The KP has over 50 participants, representing more than 80 countries, with the European Union and its member states counting as a single participant. KP members account for approximately 99.8 percent of the global production of rough diamonds.