Members of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Economics and Public Administration are concerned about equipment left behind by diamond exploration companies in the Skeleton Coast Park.

The committee visited a diamond exploration site at Mowe Bay in the Kunene Region.

Chief Diamond Inspector Patrick Elungu explained that two exploration licences were awarded to two Namibian companies for onshore and offshore activities.

Elungu added that the companies have so far not found viable diamond deposits.

The ||Kharas Regional Council has condemned the naming of a 15,02-carat diamond, which was recently unveiled by Namdia, as Egumbo Star.

Council's Chairperson  Joseph Isaack said the naming of the diamond in the Oshiwambo language smacks of undermining the inhabitants of the region. 

He argued a name in the Khoe-Khoe Gowab for the diamond would have been appropriate since it was mined in the region where the latter language is spoken by the majority of its inhabitants.