Govt formalises deal with De Beers :: Mmegi Online

Government and De Beers have formally signed agreements giving the country a higher allocation of rough diamonds from their partnership and providing for the mining giant to provide P1 billion to start a fund to diversify the country’s economy.

The deals signed on Saturday afternoon, known as heads of terms, follow an agreement in principle reached between the two sides on June 30, which came after five years of increasingly tense negotiations. At the tail end of the talks, President Mokgweetsi Masisi threatened to end the 54-year old partnership unless Botswana gained greater access to the diamond downstream market.

Officials involved in the latest developments explained that by moving from an agreement in principle, to heads of terms, the two sides were transitioning to a non-variable stage of the various conditions agreed to in June. From the heads of terms, the two sides will be able to draft and sign binding contracts on the various terms.

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