DRAFT INPUT INTO THE FRIDGE DIAMOND STUDY

Agree with emphasis on the downstream aspects of the diamond sector but not agreeable with a liberalised macro-economic environment for the diamond sector and for any other sector for that matter,

2.Decline in the upstream activities is a concern particularly where no sufficient social plan mechanisms are put in place,

3.The recent announcement by Debeers to close some of its operations thus Koffiefontein and Kimberly Mines confirms the challenge we are faced throughout the upstream part of the sector,

4.The new legislative environment should present new opportunities capable of expanding the upstream sector in order to grow the downstream processing,

5.While the could be new opportunities for small-scale mining, experiences throughout the world should serve as a lesson towards moving to the direction, meaning that as long health, safety, environmental and working conditions are not dealt with upfront, we shall always have a problem with small-scale mining,

6.Comparison of South Africa with India and China always presents a big challenge particularly when it comes to costs as the two countries have a bid track record of child labour and poor working conditions,

7.Government support being proposed should be accompanied by tangible contribution to the socio-economic environment and beneficiaries should be widely spread,

8.Regarding the diamond jewellery, while the study is pointing to distanced markets as a challenge, local markets have not been fully explored and one biggest challenge is accessibility to the diamond jewellery particularly in terms of pricing and marketing,

9.The recommendations on the strategic positioning of the diamond industry is acceptable but should go further to put emphasis on the need to set cutting and polishing infrastructure to operate in the form co-operatives,

10.The beneficiation of diamonds should be integrated into other jewellery manufacturing activities such as Gold, Platinum etc,

11.While the study is pointing to the fact that the industry is towards the end of its life cycle, we believe that the industry still has a lot of opportunities ahead and will require investments into exploration activities particularly in light of the new legislative environment,

12.Transformation is a necessity in this sector and should go a long way to address ownership patterns, management structures, community and workers involvement in the downstream projects,

13.The current upstream activities should put down social and labour plans which explicitly show the various points of intervention in linking with the upstream and downstream activities of the pipeline. Meaning that it should also be the responsibility of the diamond mining industry to put alternative economic activities in place to complement their mining activities,

14.Lack of access to quality rough for local cutters and polishers will require degree of government intervention to enforce mining companies to make quality rough available to locals,

15.We are not in support of a liberalised macro-economic environment as proposed in the study,