Botswana guards against illicit diamond trade

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources, Gabaake Gabaake said at the first Diamond Town Hall Meeting that government will create a clearing house to block illicit diamonds entering the country from independent producers and manufacturers. He said the process of selecting independent producers is going on and the response has been good. "We are busy selecting key partners but because we want to start small, we will initially choose a small core group."

Government has set-up an ambitious plan to make Gaborone become one of the leading diamond hubs in the world. The dream will be realised through the Diamond Hub. The proposed independent diamond market will run parallel to the current De Beers-DTC Botswana platform, which exclusively markets diamonds from Debswana mines.