Maihapa Ndjavera

WINDHOEK – Namib Desert Diamonds (Pty) Ltd (Namdia) officially inaugurated its offices, Eumbo, last Friday.

The building was inaugurated by the Minister of Mines and Energy, Tom Alweendo seeing this as an achievement and hoping such will provide an enabling physical working environment promoting and enhancing the company’s effectiveness and efficiency. He urged the board, management and employees to continue to build on its recent successes.

Alweendo revealed that during the 2017/18 financial year, Namdia managed to pay N$50 million dividend to its shareholder. Namdia, one of the recently established State-Owned Enterprise (SOEs), has only been in existence for just over two years. During its short existence, the company has demonstrated a compelling value proposition. “This is indeed a proud day for our company, Namdia, as we provide you with a privileged inside view of our state-of-the-art new building, Eumbo, which signifies beginnings” stated the chairperson of the board of directors, Adv. Shakespeare Masiza at the occasion.

The building is a five-star security to ensure the safety of staff and product. Namdia was established as Namibia’s wholly owned sovereign agency to sell and market the diamonds as per the agreement in the international market and to create a footprint for Namibia’s high quality diamonds in the discerning niche market. Namdia was thus established to assert the country’s sovereign rights over mineral resources. Masiza said the building has a unique story, deeply rooted in the liberation struggle of Namibia.

At its establishment, the company operated from a small office in one of Windhoek’s malls. Masiza continued that when an opportunity presented itself to purchase one of the historic sites of the city, mired in a glorious history, the board of directors decided to buy this property. The diamond industry has a history of over 100 years in Namibia since the discovery of the first diamond by Zacharias Lewala, whilst working on the railway line to Lüderitz in 1905.