Government splashes P65 million on diamond valuer

According to a notice of the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Board (PPADB) published on Tuesday, a US$9,427,409.00 tender submitted by the Ministry of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources on April 27 was approved at a PPADB board meeting on May 20, 2009.

The PPADB notice does not state for how long the contract between Diaval and the government will run, though Mmegi is reliably informed that it will run for five years. There has been discontent in diamond circles regarding the true value of a government diamond valuer (GDV), especially that the services of Diaval come with such an expensive price tag in such hard times.