Tough market forces ODC 2015 sales down by 45%
Friday, January 15, 2016

Diamond Sorter.PIC: MORERI SEJAKGOMO
Established as part of the 2011 renewal of a sales agreement between De Beers and government, Okavango in 2015 was entitled to purchase 14 percent of Debswana’s production and independently auction it. Contractually, the figure rises to 15 percent this year.
Yesterday, Okavango managing director, Toby Frears said the number of carats sold by the company had dropped in 2015 to 1.6 million from about 3.3 million in 2014.
While every citizen, including the Head of State, has the right to voice opinions, the tone and context of the President’s comments were regrettably dismissive and risk chilling free expression in our country. The remarks are not isolated. They form part of a disturbing pattern of public attacks on independent institutions pillars essential to the healthy functioning of our democracy. The Judiciary, the Legislature, and now the media have all...