Diamond drop demands �new normal'

The latest figures bring into stark reality, the comments made by Finance Minister, Kenneth Matambo, in his budget speech about the need for austerity and discipline in public finance management.

According to Matambo, the slowdown in diamond export income in 2015 was among major contributors to the 15 percent drop in government mineral revenues to P18.2 billion. The lower diamond production was also key in the economic growth forecast for 2015 being slashed from 2.6 percent to one percent.