Can The Trade Do the Right Thing in Angola? - Cutting Remarks

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Rob Bates

Can The Trade Do the Right Thing in Angola?
July 26, 2007

There are reports that Angola is changing its marketing to induce more foreign investors to its diamond sector.

This could be a good move, but it's also a pretty sad story. Angola is a major diamond producer that could some day, with further development, rival Botswana (when I was in Botswana, this was a real fear.) And yet its diamond resources seem to be handled haphazardly -- one day one company is in charge, the next another, and now, who knows.

The diamond industry's record here is also pretty bad. There doesn't seem to be much evidence that Angola's diamond resources have led to any kind of sustained economic development, and there are reports of human rights abuses at its mines. (By contrast, its oil sector is booming.) And, of course, Angola was a "conflict diamond" country, with major members of the industry almost certainly complicit in keeping the war going beyond its expiration date.

We all know the problems in Africa - bad, corrupt government; difficult infrastructure; a poor, and therefore, easily bribe-able population. And yet, members of the industry can no longer use these as an excuse for just taking the money and running.

If the "Blood Diamond" brouhaha has done anything, it's made the industry turn inward. This business has a great job in bringing economic development to Southern Africa (Botswana, in particular), and now it needs to replicate that elsewhere. This trade should insist that whoever markets Angola's diamonds in the future commits to making a real contribution to the country and its future. To have another success story to point to -- in a former "conflict diamond" country, no less -- will go a long way to restoring this trade's battered image.

Posted by Rob Bates on July 26, 2007 | Comments (3)

July 27, 2007
In response to: Can The Trade Do the Right Thing in Angola?
Homer commented:

I don't know that you can really compare the two. Botswana was a democracy before diamonds were discovered. It was one of the few African countries in which departing Europeans (the British, in this case) were successful in setting up a stable government on the way out. The Portuguese, by contrast, were kicked out of Angola by the MPLA and UNITA, which then spent the next 20+ years fighting each other over who was going to be in charge. Diamond money alone isn't going to fix the damage.

July 27, 2007
In response to: Can The Trade Do the Right Thing in Angola?
Rob Bates commented:

Fair points, and I don't think that the diamond industry can solve that country's problems. Obviously, Botswana, being the richest diamond producer, as well as a small country (1.5 million people, vs. Angola's 12.5 million), and the other advantages you mentioned, has obviously had the most benefits. That said, I do think the trade's record in Angola could use improvement, especially considering its past role in that country's troubles, and I hope it commits to best practices there.

August 2, 2007
In response to: Can The Trade Do the Right Thing in Angola?
Laura Finkelstein commented:

Sounds to me like it's time for Blood Diamond 2: Angola...and since you're friends with the director, Rob, I'll put it out there that I'd like to see Jake Gyllenhaal in the lead role.