"Is A New Era Ahead of De Beers in Africa?"

Only a week after Israeli diamantaire Lev Leviev grabbed headlines when he said he is giving African countries what they want – namely a bigger share of the diamond pipeline – Botswana is now singing the same tune as it carries out crucial negotiations with De Beers.

In a potshot at De Beers last week, during a seminar on rough diamonds in Israel, Leviev told a packed hall that he did not understand why producing countries were told they couldn’t sort or polish diamonds. Their own diamonds.

According to Leviev, one of the secrets of his success is that he stuck by his suppliers through hard times and helped them achieve their goals, as they expressed them to him. The Angolan Minister of Resources agreed with him during the seminar, as did the Namibian Prime Minister during the opening of Leviev’s polishing plant in the country earlier this month.

Full Article : idexonline.com