Evening star., 1960-12-27
Diamonds BOOtlegged

U1amOmUS DOOSAeBkeU
Diamonds were discovered in
Sierra Leone near the Liberian
botder In 1880 and q 99-year
concession was granted to the
Sierra Leone Selection Trust,
which Is tied in with the De
Beers organization.
In 1854, Africans began in
vading the concession area to
dig for alluvial stones and
armed gangs Of wildcatters
waged often successful battles
against the police.
As q result. Sierra Leone
found itself losing something
like SIS million o year in reve-
nue. on stones mined illicitly
and smuggled out Of the
country.
Since it was unable to control
the situation, the Sierra Leone
government paid the trust $4.5
million In compensation, short
ened the duration Of its conces-
sion to 54 years. and reduced
the area Of its operations.
At the same time the govern
ment established a scheme
whereby local people legally
could dig for diamonds on the
fringeS Of the concession area.
This year native diggers will
produce $50 million worth of
diamonds, about twice as much
as the concession company.
Farming I'm Back Seat
Government spokesm e n |
maintain that little Illicit min
ing and selling now takes place,
but other observers say that at |
least $25 million worth Of stones
are smuggled out Of the coun-
try each year.
What is certain Is that agri-
cultural production has not re-
covered from the effect Of hav-
ing the mass Of adult males
digging for diamonds.
In fact, Sierra Leone has
reached the point where 1t can
no longer feed itself: Last year
$4,000 tons Of rice (the basic
food in this part Of the world
worth SIS million in hard
earned foreign exchange, had
to be imported.
The colony has q low gross
national product Of $50 per
head (25 per cent Of which is
absorbed by the budget, high
taxes. high labor costs (the
unions are well organized)
growing unemployment, and a
coSt-of- Living index which, al
though it Is the lowest In West
Africa. is mounting rapidly.
Iron mining, which with dia-
mond exports forms the coun-
try's economic base, has not
expanded. The Sierra Leone
Development Co., which repre-
sentS an investment Of $50
million in British capital, has
been producing an average Of
one million tons Of iron ore
q year for the last 27 years.
Capital Lacking
A new iron ore find near the
original deposit could add an
other three million tons a year
to Sierra Leone's production.
But the concession company
lacks the $S4 million necessary
to develop it.
The chrome mines, which
once added q little to the coun-
try's revenues, are rapidly be-
coming exhausted.
OI sierra Leone'S foreign
trade Of Sis million, less than
4 per cent is accounted for by
citizens Of the country.
There are some bright spots
in the picture. Sierra Leone
has cash reserves of $8.4 mil
lion and Its foreign debt
amounts to only $19.3 million.
1t enjoys a favorable balance
OF trade. has a stable govern
ment and possesses $4,000
square miles Of arabic land.
The hydroelectric potential is
fair. the civil service is efficient
(156 Of 233 senior British Of
ficials will stay on after in
dependence), and the British
have agreed to give Sierra
Leone $21 millien in aid be-
tween 1861 and 1865.
U. 3. Interest Claimed
Prime Minister Milton Mar
gai has evidenced no official
interest In Sino-Soviet aid and
his finance minister, burly Mo-
hammed Mustapha, asserts
that United States assistance
would be most welcome
i. B. Taylor -Kamara Gree
.oAuUurY EUH7