'Aggregation will put Botswana on a global pedestal'

This week, De Beers Aggregation began placing adverts in the local media inviting suitably qualified personnel for job interviews in the new company that is going to the housed at DTC Botswana near the Sir Seretse Khama International Airport. In an interview with Business Week, De Beers Botswana Managing Director, Sheila Khama, said aggregation, which is a regional initiative involving De Beers and the three governments of Namibia, South Africa and Botswana, is set to start in Gaborone by the second quarter of 2009 and will handle at least 50 million carats in the first twelve months."We expect that there will be about 40 jobs created, 30 of which will be for citizens," Khama said.

"However, I believe the opportunities that will be presented to Botswana by the relocation of aggregation to Gaborone will by far outweigh the jobs to be created by De Beers Aggregation.