South Africa’s government has awarded the ruling African National Congress’s investment arm, Chancellor House, the rights to prospect for diamonds and other minerals in the country.



According to a statement to that effect carried by several media outlets, Chancellor has been awarded five of the 25 diamond and minerals’ prospecting rights it applied since 2004.



Rival party the Democratic Alliance slammed the move as "wrong," adding in a statement that “it represents a conflict of interest, on the one hand, and an attempt to use public resources and state control to the benefit of the ANC on the other."



Concern over diamond mining rights in South Africa has grown this year, as some of the largest producers challenged issuances.