Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila says Namibia should ensure optimal value for its natural resources such as diamonds to increase revenue, create jobs and reduce poverty.

The Premier said this during her first visit to Namib Desert Diamonds.

The Premiere says as Namibia continues to ensure price discovery for its diamonds, the high returns from the mineral will improve the well-being of citizens as well as create space for individuals outside the sector to benefit.  

This, the Prime Minister says, will further enable the country, through value addition, to improve the resilience of the economy.

Additionally, Kuugongelwa-Amadhila emphasized the importance of developing human resources to ensure that Namibia as a large producer of top-quality diamonds, develops the capacity to mine and process its raw diamonds to create more wealth.

"Now you have countries that do not produce diamonds but they are wealthy because they are able to buy our resources in raw form and process it creating jobs and income for their countries, then sell it to our citizens who can afford it, at exorbitant prices. We should leverage the availability of these resources to raise the necessary capacity, I was happy to hear that the capacity available here at NAMDIA is available to the government to make sure that we formulate policies that regulate these resources. "

While commending NAMDIA for its accomplishments after a tour of the institution, Kuugongelwa-Amadhila encouraged local participation by promoting Namibian diamonds.

"It is very important to ensure that our people share the benefits from this and be able to build capacity amongst Namibians so that we have the ability when others no longer want to share their capacity with us. Then we will harness the potential that exists in these resources, continuing to improve the welfare and conditions of our people. "