Namibia Diamond Trading Company (NDTC) has paid the Namibian government N$ 60 million in dividends, the local media has reported. A cheque of the said amount was handed over to Mines and Energy Minister Obeth Kandjoze by NDTC CEO Shihaleni Ndjaba at a function held in the Namibian capital, it said. This is the 11th dividend paid by the company since its inception, taking the total paid to the government to N$ 2 billion.

NDTC is a 50:50 JV between the Namibian government and the Diamond Trading Company, owned by De Beers. It was set up in 2007 with the aim of furthering cutting and polishing of rough locally to generate employment and revenue for the country.

The reports stated that Minister Kandjoze said that government was committed to establishing “sustainable growth” and would work towards “stability and viability of the downstream of the diamond industry through increased supply of rough diamonds to the factories.”

He also added that the government was keen to utilise the proceeds from diamonds to build infrastructure and improve living standards of the people.

NDTC CEO Ndjaba said that while there had been a “challenging environment” in the first half of 2015, due to slower than expected polished demand, the reduction in the amount of rough entering the pipeline would help the market to stabilise.