Boko’s frustrations with De Beers rise

Mbongeni Mguni - Sharon Mathala | Monday July 28, 2025 10:10

Speaking off-speech over the weekend at the Botswana National Front congress as the party’s president, Boko expressed frustration with the slow sales by De Beers, the country’s partner of 56 years in diamonds.

“We are in trouble. The challenges for the leadership is how to get out of these difficulties. “At the markets for diamonds, the whole stock of diamonds that was dug up in 2024 has not been bought; it was not sold. We are not counting the one for this year. “Others say it cannot be sold, and they have their many reasons. “The bottom line is that money is not coming in, and as this is not happening, the doctors want money, the teachers want money, and schools don’t have what they need. “These things are all happening at once while we are sitting on top of 10 million carats from 2024 that have not been bought. “This means that there should be unusual decisions that some may believe are provocative. “The order I have taken out is by telling those who are taking care of these diamonds, by July 31, 2025, part of these diamonds must have been sold.”

Government’s coffers have been running on fumes for months due to the prolonged diamond slump, which traces back to the third quarter of 2023. With the official reserves also drained, the government has borrowed from the African Development Bank, OPEC Fund, Botswana Public Officers Pension Fund, and received an advance from the Bank of Botswana, to keep afloat.

Borrowings from the local market are set to reach their statutory limit of 20% of GDP soon, meaning the government will have to look outside the borders for debt, which will be made in hard currency, particularly the US dollar.

Boko said his order that the diamond stockpile be sold by July 31 had been challenged by experts, warning that the move would flood the market and depress diamond prices.

“Others are saying if we do that, we will flood the market and collapse prices. “Some things we have to make decisions. There are assessments that are called Games Theory, which say if I do this, this will happen, and that will happen, but at the end, you have to say, let’s let what happens happen.

“The idea is to sell the ones from 2024 and get them out, then help the economy while we fight to build other sectors that can support growth,” Boko told the party’s conference. It’s not clear how Boko’s order to De Beers will be achieved. The diamond giant sells its diamonds through a sightholder system where dates are set for buyers on an exclusive list to travel to Gaborone, select stones, and make bids.

Sales have struggled since 2023 owing to numerous factors, including lower-than-expected growth in China, the continued intrusion of sanctioned Russian stones in the mainstream market, and more importantly, the surge in lab-grown diamond production and sales.

This year, green shoots of recovery were being seen in the first quarter for natural diamonds, before United States leader, Donald Trump, announced global tariffs, which will make it more expensive for buyers in that country to purchase diamonds. The U.S accounts for more than 50 percent of annual diamond demand.

Boko’s latest comments come a week after he first expressed frustration against De Beers, during a meeting with Batswana living in Lesotho. At that meeting, the President accused De Beers of failing to play its role of selling the country’s stones.

Over the weekend, the President sought to downplay the suggestion of tensions with De Beers.

“We are working very well with those we have been working with. “We are not fighting at all, but we can see that we are sitting on top of a fire, and if we are seen to just be sitting without making decisions, it will mean that we have no vision. “We are taking decisions to help the situation,” he said.

By Press time, De Beers had yet to respond to emailed enquiries from Mmegi sent yesterday afternoon.

Meanwhile, the Financial Times has quoted Minerals and Energy Minister, Bogolo Kenewendo, as saying Botswana will make a push to take over controlling ownership in De Beers. Anglo is exiting its 85% stake in De Beers as part of a divestment strategy that focuses on base metals.

Botswana, as the 15% shareholder in De Beers, has pre-emptive rights, meaning shares should be offered to the country before other ‘outsiders’.

Various media reports suggest that Anglo wants to close its bidding window for De Beers next month.

“A formal process for the sale of De Beers is advancing, despite the current challenging market conditions,” Anglo said in a statement accompanying its second-quarter production figures on Thursday.

The group, led by CEO Duncan Wanblad, is expected to provide more details during the second quarter briefing on July 31.