Diamond Board of Namibia
2015 International Diamond Conference

YOUR 2015 SPEAKERS

Hon. Walter K. Chidakwa
Minister of Mines and Mining Development of the Republic of Zimbabwe

Hon. Walter K. Chidakwa is the Minister of Mines and Mining Development of the Republic of Zimbabwe. His key functions include administering the principal mining code of the country, the Mines and Minerals Act, as well as other attendant pieces of legislation. He is responsible for formulating mining sector policy and providing direction to the sector.

The Honourable Minister has vast knowledge of the investment promotion arena with close to two decades of experience. He joined the public service in 1991 and served at the Ministry of Finance until 1993, when he left to join the Zimbabwe Investment Centre, currently the Zimbabwe Investment Authority, as a Deputy Director.

In 1996 he joined the Export Processing Zones Authority as its Chief Executive and in 2008, was elected Member of Parliament and served in the last Executive as Deputy Minister for State Enterprises and Parastatals.

He holds a Masters in International Relations with the University of Zimbabwe and a Masters in Political Economy with Sofia University, Bulgaria.

Professor Roman Grynberg
Professor Economics & Management Sciences, University of Namibia

With a PhD from McGill University, Professor Roman Grynberg held the position of Advisor to the Prime Minister of New Guinea from 1988 until 1989. After this, in 2000, he became the Deputy Director Trade Policy Commonwealth Secretariat, which he held until 2009. During this time, between 2006 and 2009, Professor Grynberg was also the Director of Economic Governance for the Pacific Islands Forum. From this position Professor Grynberg established himself in Botswana where he became a Senior Research Fellow at the Botswana Institute for Development Policy as from 2009 until earlier in 2015. Since June of 2015, he has made his home in Namibia as a Professor at the University of Namibia (UNAM).

Simeon Niilenge Negumbo
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Mines and Energy

Mr. Simeon Niilenge Negumbo is currently the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Mines and Energy, and was appointed to that position effective 01 July 2015. He was born in Elondo, Omusati Region, in the north-western part of Namibia. Mr. Negumbo is currently studying towards an MBA, Final Year (Thesis), Management College of Southern Africa (MANCOSA holds Diploma in Business Administration from the same institution. He also holds Further Diploma (Advance Certificate) in Education (Management and Administration) –with Distinction from Vista University and a Higher Secondary Teacher’s Diploma from the University of Fort Hare.

Mr. Negumbo started his career as a Bank Clerk before independence and also worked at the Ministry of Education as a Teacher, a School Principal and later as an Education Officer. He joined the Omusati Regional Council as a Deputy Director of Administration, where at the same time he was also acting as the Chief Regional Officer, before he was promoted to the position of a Director, General Services.

In 2008, Mr. Negumbo moved to the Ministry of Environment as Undersecretary, and later became the Permanent Secretary of the same Ministry. He also acted as the Managing Director of NWR.

Mr. Negumbo has extensive experience in Banking, Education, Finance, Human Resources Administration, Natural Resources Management and Tourism.

Conrad Dempsey
RMB (Capital Financing)

Conrad Dempsey is Co-Head of RMB Namibia, the Corporate and Investment Banking Division of FNB Namibia. He spent the last fifteen years of his career in the mining industry across commodities in Namibia, Australia and Chile. He held various corporate finance and strategy roles with De Beers, Glencore Xstrata and Trafigura before joining the world of Investment Banking at RMB in 2014.

He has been closely involved in the structuring and financing of various mining projects in Namibia, working closely with foreign investors, local shareholders, regulators and financiers.

Programme
Programme

Programme

Challenges facing diamond beneficiation in Southern Africa:

How can we make this industry viable and sustainable?

 

Sunday, 22 November 2015 - Safari Hotel
17:30 - 19:30 Pre-Registration  

PLEASE NOTE: THE PROGRAMME IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT PRIOR NOTICE
Monday, 23 November 2015 - Safari Hotel
07:30 - 09:00 Registration, Coffee, Networking  
09:00 - 09:30 Namibian National Anthem & AU Anthem Inauguration and addressing the gathering. Keynote: Namibia perspective: challenges facing diamond beneficiation in Southern Africa Hon. Obeth Mbui Kandjoze, Minister of Mines & Energy, Namibia
09:30 - 10:00 Challenges facing diamond beneficiation in Southern Africa: How can we make this industry viable and sustainable Chaim Even Zohar (Moderator) Principal of Tacy Ltd;
Pranay Narvekar (Co-Moderator), Partner at the management consulting company Pharos Beam Consulting LLP
10:00 - 10:30 Beneficiation in Africa, where we were, where we are now, where are we going and can it be sustainable? Ernest Blom, President, World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB), President, Diamond Bourse, Johannesburg, SA
10:30 - 11:00 Coffee & Networking  
11:00 - 11:30 Diamond Beneficiation: Think global. Think Local. Stephen Lussier, Executive Vice President, Forever Mark, De Beers
11:30 - 12:00 Challenges facing diamond beneficiation in Southern Africa: How can we make this industry viable and sustainable Maurice Tempelsman, Chairman of the board of directors of Lazare Kaplan International Inc. (LKI)
12:00 - 12:30 Sustainable 'beneficiation' the beginning or the end of a dream? Burhan Seber, Honorary Consul for the Republic of Turkey in Namibia; Managing Director Hard Stone Processing(Pty.)Ltd.; Former President of DIAMAN
12:30 - 14:00 Lunch  
14:00 - 14:30 Marine Mining to Sustain Namibian Diamond Production Kombadayedu Kapwanga, Managing Director, LLD Diamonds Namibia(Pty)Ltd
14:30 - 15:00 Beneficiation in Challenging Times: Maximizing Revenue Through Strategic Partnerships Ari Epstein, CEO, Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC)
15:00 - 15:30 Beneficiation: global context for diamond cutting and polishing Shihaleni Ndjaba, Chief Executive Officer of the Namibia Diamond Company(NDTC)
15:30 - 16:00 Challenges facing diamond beneficiation in Southern Africa: How can we make this industry viable and sustainable Cecil Khosa, General Manager: Regulatory Compliance for the South African Diamondand Precious Metals Regulator(SADPMR).
16:00 - 16:30 Maximising diamond beneficiation's impact in the poverty fight: A Namibian Perspective Ndeulipula Hamutumwa, Managing Director of Ongudi Investments (Pty) Ltd
16:30 - 17:00 Panel discussion Chaim Even Zohar (Moderator) Principal of Tacy Ltd;
Pranay Narvekar (Co-Moderator), Partner at the management consulting company Pharos Beam Consulting LLP
Tuesday, 24 November 2015 - Safari Hotel
09:00 - 09:15 Second Day Conference, Opening Remarks Chaim Even Zohar (Moderator) Principal of Tacy Ltd;
Pranay Narvekar (Co-Moderator), Partner at the management consulting company Pharos BeamConsulting LLP
09:15 - 09:45 Challenges facing diamond beneficiation in Southern Africa: How can we make this industry viable and sustainable Hon. Walter Chidakwa - Minister of Mines and Mining Development, Zimbabwe
09:45 - 10:15 What Namibia and Botswana need to do to make beneficiation work Professor Roman Grynberg, Professor Economics & Management Sciences, University of Namibia
10:15 - 10:35 Coffee & Networking  
10:35 - 10:50 Escort to Ministry of Mines - Vehicles outside the conference venue  
10:50 - 11:20 The National Earth Science Museum, MME Namibia Shining Lights Exhibition Opening exclusive to the delegation. Heritage Journey.  
11:20 - 11:40 Book Launch: Diamond Book Of Namibia, A Beautiful Journey Mr.Simeon Niilenge Negumbo, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Mines and Energy
11:40 - 12:00 Escort to Safari Hotel - Vehicles outside the conference venue  
12:00 - 12:20 Book launch: The Global Diamond Industry: Economics and Development. It brings together a collection of papers covering various aspects of the diamond industry including economics, law, history, sociology and development. Professor Roman Grynberg, Professor Economics & Management Sciences, University of Namibia
12:30 - 14:00 Lunch  
14:00 - 14:30 Challenges facing diamond beneficiation in Southern Africa: How can we make this industry viable and sustainable Conrad Dempsey, Co – Head of RMB Namibia, Corporate and Investment Banking Division of FNB Namibia
14:30 - 15:00 Conclusive speech - Challenges facing diamond beneficiationin Southern Africa: How can we make this industry viable and sustainable Kennedy Hamutenya, Diamond Commissioner of Namibia
15:00 - 15:30 Closing Remarks - Namibian National Anthem & AU Anthem Chaim Even Zohar (Moderator) Principal of Tacy Ltd;
Pranay Narvekar (Co-Moderator), Partner at the management consulting company Pharos BeamConsulting LLP
19:00 - 20:00 GALA DINNER Reception at the Parliament Gardens, Windhoek, Namibia