Leader of the Landless People’s Movement Bernadus Swartbooi has accused the Namdeb Diamond Corporation of operating in a highly secretive world, where potential maleficence is rife.
The entity is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Namdeb Holdings, which is a 50:50 joint venture between De Beers and the Namibian government.
Making these remarks at a press conference last week, Swartbooi questioned the royalty tax relief granted by government to fund Namdeb’s ramp-up phase.
“If Namdeb operates in a cloud of secrecy, how can one validate issues of such nature if you don’t know what the impact of the royalty waiver would have on the operation of Namdeb and figures are not known?” the LPM leader questioned.
He also wanted to know more about Namdeb’s method of selling closed-down mines to companies allegedly owned by former mining executives and contractor systems.
Swartbooi was referring to the Elizabeth Bay Mine that was sold some four years ago.
He further alleged structural violence exerted on employees by Namdeb.
“Your systems are manipulated to mentally, emotionally, physically exhaust, victimise, intimate and bully employees,” Swartbooi charged.
Responding on behalf of Namdeb, spokesperson Shangelao Ndadi rejected the allegations, saying as a subsidiary of Namdeb Holdings, Namdeb Diamond Corporation’s financials are reported under the aggregated numbers of Namdeb Holdings for any given financial year. “In September 2019, Namdeb publicly announced the sale of its Elizabeth Bay Mine and its associated marine assets as a concern to a member of the Lewcor Group, which is a 100% Namibian-owned consortium. At the time, Namdeb explored various options to extend the life of its Elizabeth Bay Mine beyond 2019. Operations, however, ceased in September 2018, as Namdeb could no longer economically sustain the operation,” Ndadi said.
She further explained that following the review, Namdeb concluded that the best way to attempt to secure a future for the mine was to find a suitable operator that could potentially mine the asset sustainably, ensuring the continuation of employment and economic activities in that area.
On the issue of royalty, Ndadi noted Namdeb sought royalty remission from the regulator as per the law to enable it to develop an economically sustainable business plan to lengthen the life of its land-based operations, which were facing closure at the end of 2022.
“Without the royalty remission, it would not have been possible to continue the operations with the prevailing pricing, operational cost profile and tax regime. The remission granted enabled capital to be invested in the operations that will support a life of mine extension of up to 20 years for Namdeb, delivering substantial long-term economic benefit for Namibia, commercial benefit for Namdeb, continuity of employment for its staff and even more benefits for community partners.”
The five-year royalty remission granted to Namdeb means there will be a 50% reduction of the normal total royalty for 2021 to 2025.
According to Ndadi, this remission has enabled Namdeb to re-invest in new equipment and infrastructure projects, and it added approximately 1 000 additional direct jobs in the business and countless other supporting roles.
“This vital decision was a key factor in unlocking the long-term opportunities and the short-term royalties that have been remitted
by the Namibian government are being dwarfed by the economic benefits to the country,” she
added.
Ndadi further assured that the company continues running programmes that create awareness of bullying and harassment, sexual harassment, unconscious bias, victimisation as well as domestic violence.