Ageing Orapa yields its best kept secret
Thursday, April 18, 2019
From the time the mammoth Lesedi la Rona was unveiled in 2015, as the second largest rough diamond in history to the time it was finally sold in 2017, Batswana questioned what their actual benefit would be in all the fuss.
Although it has propped up the economy and indirectly benefited citizens for decades, the diamond industry has always been out of reach of the ordinary Motswana.
The Francistown Umbrella Informal Sector chairperson, David Mbulawa, has highlighted this growing concern, revealing that many local traders are using their licences to facilitate the entry of foreign goods into the market at a fee.Fronting undermines the very fabric of our local economy. It allows foreign traders to exploit the system designed to benefit Batswana, using local licences to cross borders and sell goods at prices intended for local...