Hope glitters after diamond distress
Friday, February 05, 2021
Statistics Botswana figures released this week showed that exports of locally produced stones dropped to P23.7 billion in 2020 from P32.7 billion in 2019, while the main producer, Debswana, saw its production fall to 16.5 million carats from 23.3 million carats in 2019. State-owned diamond company, Okavango Diamond Company, which is allocated and sells a portion of diamonds from Debswana, saw its sales drop to $206.2 million (P2.3 billion) in 2020 from $440.3 million (P4.8 billion in 2019, further worsening the impact on government mineral revenues.
“The year 2020 was a tumultuous year for the global industry and Okavango Diamond Company, like the rest of the diamond industry was adversely affected,” Dennis Tlaang, the state diamond company’s communications coordinator told BusinessWeek.
While it is widely acknowledged that Khama holds the title of Kgosi, the government’s failure to properly gazette his recognition has raised serious concerns about adherence to legal procedures and the credibility of traditional leadership. (See a story elsewhere in this newspaper.) Recent court documents by the Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, Kgotla Autlwetse, shed light on the intricacies of Khama’s recognition process....