Diamond town on a high

At the mall, people mill about clutching plastic bags. At the supermarket, a long queue stretches from the food stand and snakes through the aisles all the way to the fridges as the waiters struggle to serve the customers. Workers hungry and moneyed, here for lunch.

There is something new in Jwaneng. It could be the mine. It is always the mine. Afterall, the mine is to Jwaneng what showbiz and gambling is to Las Vegas. There is a P24-billion project underway at the mine, and some say the cut is so big that even if only a fraction of that found its way through the tight security fences there, it would transform the town. Actually, it has and will continue to do so.