Debswana places multi-billion pula bet on local
Friday, May 13, 2022 | 2600 Views |
Power to the people: Debswana plans to procure at least 50% of its supplies and services from citizen contractors by 2024 PIC: MORERI SEJAKGOMO
Debswana’s targets for its Citizen Economic Empowerment Programme (CEEP) are bold. Having started CEEP in 2019, the country’s premier diamond producer plans to reach P20 billion in citizen spend value by 2024 and create 20,000 citizen jobs in the process.
The targets are the most ambitious transfer of citizen value creation in the history of the country’s minerals sector, an industry where procurement registries are dominated by large, well-established multi-national entities and other foreign titans.
That sounds like good news. But the report also warns that this may simply be because our digital economy is still young, not because we are safe. As more people shop, bank and pay online, criminals will follow.We Batswana do not need a report to tell us that danger is real. Many of us have heard of or fallen victim to KYC scams. A caller impersonates your bank or mobile money provider. They say they need to “verify” your account. They ask...