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Diamond mining, revenues enter tricky period

Uncertain times: Jwaneng and other diamond mines could be forced to pare back production this year in line with weaker demand PIC: MORERI SEJAKGOMO
Uncertain times: Jwaneng and other diamond mines could be forced to pare back production this year in line with weaker demand PIC: MORERI SEJAKGOMO

The country’s principal economic activity, diamond mining, enters a tricky period in the second half of the year, with fiscal authorities upgrading their risk assessments and De Beers unsure of the outlook due to pressures on demand for the gems.

The major factors facing the industry in the second half of the year are high inventory levels of polished diamonds in the midstream, which affects demand for rough diamonds, as well as ongoing global economic uncertainties, particularly in major markets such as the United States.

The US Federal Reserve raised interest rates to a 22-year high last week, further pressuring consumers in a market that accounts for about 54% of the diamond jewellery market.


Editor's Comment
The State apparatus must be sanitised

When the State cannot rely on its own machinery to pursue suspected wrongdoing, repairing that machinery must become a national priority.The establishment of a Special Investigations and Asset Recovery Task Force may help government respond to the immediate challenge. However, Botswana cannot afford to leave the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) and the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) struggling whilst building...

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