Absalom Shigwedha
21 August 2008
THE Ministry of Environment and Tourism has placed a moratorium on the sale of carved ivory products with effect from September 1 as a measure to control trade in ivory amulets known as omakipa.
The decision was announced in Windhoek yesterday by Environment Permanent Secretary Dr Kalumbi Shangula, who said the Ministry was acting in accordance with a Cabinet decision taken earlier this year.
From September 1, Shangula said, all jewellery and curio shops and street vendors selling ivory products would have to register with the Ministry of Environment and a registration fee of N$500 would be payable.
Applications for registration can be obtained from the Ministry's permit office in the Channel Life Building in Windhoek.
This is the only place in the country where these forms can be obtained.
Shangula said the moratorium would remain in place until the Controlled Wildlife Products Bill had been passed.
He said the bill had been discussed by Cabinet and would be tabled in Parliament during its next session.
Shangula said for the duration of the moratorium, the buying and selling of ivory products in Namibia would be prohibited and legal action would be taken against anyone found doing so.
The Ministry is concerned about illegal ivory entering Namibia to be carved here and sold legally, and it wants to establish a legal trade in omakipa carved from ivory supplied by the Ministry.
At the Cites conference held in Bangkok, Thailand, in 2004, Namibia received approval to allow local communities to trade in worked ivory products for non-commercial purposes.
The decision was bitterly opposed by Kenya, which feared that any re-opening of the ivory trade would be exploited by poachers who would target its elephants in a bid to launder 'dirty' ivory through Namibia.
Trade in ivory products for non-commercial purposes means that Namibians can produce omakipa and sell them, for example to tourists for their own personal use, but they cannot be sold in bulk to outside markets.
Omakipa (singular: ekipa) are unique cultural objects mainly found in northern Namibia and southern Angola and are in high demand because of their aesthetic quality and cultural-historic value.
They were once the jewels of Owambo aristocracy.
They were worn on leather straps suspended from the neck or the waist and indicated the social status of the wearer.
They were worn mainly at special occasions such as fertility feasts, wedding and funerals.
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