Mmegi

Glimmers of hope in mining’s doom and gloom

Anchoring hope: Kenewendo at the Future of Mining Summit PIC: PHATSIMO KAPENG
Anchoring hope: Kenewendo at the Future of Mining Summit PIC: PHATSIMO KAPENG

Between multi-billion Pula expansions in copper and a P3 billion U.S government loan for the Kanye manganese project, mining is alive with hope. Even the troubled diamond sector received a timely boost this week from a landmark marketing deal. MBONGENI MGUNI writes

It’s quite easy to conflate the downturn in diamonds with a slump in the general mining industry. In fact, it’s almost inevitable.

After all, diamonds dominate receipts earned from the mining sector in terms of tax revenues, royalties and dividends to government. The country’s diamond mines have the highest direct and indirect employment figures in the mining sector and are also the main breadwinners in terms of foreign currency receipts.

Editor's Comment
The State apparatus must be sanitised

When the State cannot rely on its own machinery to pursue suspected wrongdoing, repairing that machinery must become a national priority.The establishment of a Special Investigations and Asset Recovery Task Force may help government respond to the immediate challenge. However, Botswana cannot afford to leave the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) and the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) struggling whilst building...

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