MINES minister Tom Alweendo yesterday appointed a new board for the Namibia De Beers Holdings (Namdeb) – a 50:50 diamond venture between the government and De Beers.
Presidential adviser Inge Zaamwani-Kamwi is the new board chairperson. Other board members are Dagmar Holsbein, Shakwa Nyambe, Filomena Diyerenge, Alex Gawanab, Martha Uumati and Ndeulipula Hamutumwa. They will serve for three years, effective 1 December 2019.
Alweendo called on the new board to continue being instrumental in implementing socio-economic changes in the livelihoods of Namibians.
The minister also urged the board to be transparent, and do their best in the interest of the company.
They take the reins at a time when the company is focusing on marine diamond mining, as land-based operations have started to yield minimal returns.
In June this year, four major local banks joined hands to finance the construction of a custom-made N$7 billion diamond recovery vessel for Debmarine Namibia.
The investment was said to be the biggest, not only in the Namibian mining industry, but also in the world’s marine diamond mining sector.
Debmarine had said the new vessel is expected to create more than 160 jobs, in addition to Debmarine Namibia’s current workforce of 975 employees.
Namdeb’s land operations in 2018 recovered 571 000 carats, up from 426 000 recovered in 2017. Debmarine is, therefore, a great contributor to the company’s overall diamond production.
Debmarine is owned by Namdeb Holdings, and the group had a combined revenue of N$13,2 billion last year, and N$74 billion in the last seven years.
Email: charmaine@namibian.com.na
Twitter: Char_Ngatjiheue
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