The diamond industry's Wonder Woman

| Friday October 8, 2010 00:00

 

Mmegi: Briefly explain your role at Diamond Trading Company Botswana?

Mabua: I'm the Technical Services Support Manager, which is a senior management position. I am the manager coordinating all the activities to do with security technology in the DTCB complexes as well as the secure transfer facility from where we transport our diamonds. I ensure that the technology is state of art and protects the commodity that keeps our GDP going. This area includes the CCTV, access controls and other technology to make sure that entry is very secure.

I liaise a lot with the security department to make sure that their systems are robust. It's a very complex arrangement; the end user just sits in front of their computer, but there's a lot happening behind the scenes to make sure that is possible.

Mmegi: Any other responsibilities?

Mabua: I am also in charge of the diamond sorting and valuing equipment, which sort diamonds according to various colours, sizes and quality, which determines price. This equipment has to be up and running all the time because that's how our country raises funds. Very sharp planning and organising is required to keep the equipment going and one has to be excellent at arranging preventative maintenance, instead of reactive maintenance.

I'm in charge of 10 engineers and technicians, guiding their development as well. Any technology we procure has to be tailor-made for our operations and the engineers and technicians are robustly trained to keep this equipment running.

Mmegi: Have there been any threats to the security of Botswana's diamonds, during your tenure?

Mabua: There have not been any threats and this is thanks to our team effort. We also enjoy strong support from the senior leadership in terms of budgets which ensures that we never have incidents, like those that have occurred in other countries. However, we never relax; we are fairly confident that if there's a risk, we will be able to curb it before it exposes us.

We are far ahead of our sister sorting houses in South Africa and Namibia due to the large population of sorting equipment that we have to handle our large supplies of diamonds. Over the years, we have gained experience in maintaining these machines and I am very proud to say our sister sorting houses come for training, information sharing and benchmarking with us.

Mmegi: What are some of the challenges of your responsibility?

Mabua: If you plan well and have preventative maintenance in place, you can minimise these risks, but if anything goes wrong, people ask me what happened. The most challenging factor is that we are not that advanced as a country in technology. As a result, I purchase a lot of spares abroad and that affects the turn-around time. Also, a lot of the equipment is sophisticated and necessitates a lot of liaising with suppliers. That is also the reason why we do not want to train someone for only one machine because when this is removed from the market, that person should be able to carry one doing something else.

Mmegi: How does one wind up in such a challenging career?

Mabua: I grew up one of the intelligent girls who gave boys a run for their money. My teachers spotted my talent for Maths and Science and I eventually excelled, receiving first class passes and representing the country in Maths and Science Fairs. I always wanted to be a geologist but after Form 5, I was chosen for a Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) scholarship to study for a Diploma in Electronics Engineering. Part of the agreement was that I would work for the Department of Geological Supply, alongside geophysicists, hydrologists and others; I was their technical person, fixing survey equipment and also IT systems.

I left DGS, applied and was engaged at the BDVC as a Technical Officer; the career was still about electronics and we would conduct maintenance of diamond sorting equipment. I emerged as the first woman in the world doing such a job!

Before long, they gave me an opportunity to go and enhance my technical ability at the University of Surrey, before training further at DTC London Research and Design Centre where the sorting and valuation technologies are made for De Beers.I returned to the BDVC having proved my attributes to myself; I was soon promoted to junior management level, becoming the first female engineer in all world's sorting houses. I would come up with technological strategies and advise on the technology to be acquired.

There was then talk about the DTCB and I found myself in the team discussing how to incorporate the latest technology in the new building, which required a lot of research and liaison.

When we started at the new DTCB building, I was promoted to senior management position as Technical Services Support Manager.

Mmegi: What's next in your career plan?

Mabua: Within De Beers, I believe I still have room to go as far as being the Operations Manager. If you work with equipment that processes diamonds, you know the diamond industry and if you know the security systems, I can safely say the sky is the limit.

I believe I can compete with other global engineers in security systems and at present, security is very high on the global agenda. I also recently enrolled with the UB on a modular part-time MBA. I'm doing it because I see myself rising higher and as you rise, the careers become all about strategy and prudent financial management, which the MBA will give me. Five years from now, I have to be in the executive management of an organisation or managing my own business.

Mmegi: Last comments on your career path thus far?

Mabua: Diamonds have taken us to where we are and as a Motswana, whatever you do propels you towards diamonds. My career is like giving back to the diamonds that took me through school, sponsored through my educational career. Also, if you venture into a predominantly male field, prove yourself with your actions; don't try to gain acceptance by pleading.

Put 110 percent effort because that's the reality. Also do not think there will always be chauvinists; if you face disrespect, handle it through performance, rather than shouting that you have a degree. Show them that you have the brains, but the physique was God's choice.

What helps me is that I'm very confident and content with myself. The only person who will make you fail as a woman, is yourself.