Masisi reacted to the G7's decision that all diamonds sold in G7 countries now need to be certified in Antwerp, Belgium, as part of sanctions on Russia. The President called this a wrong decision that is taking away Botswana and other diamond producers' capacity to be in control.
Botswana recently authored an official letter to the G7, protesting the unilateral decision to route all global diamonds through Antwerp, with Namibia and Angola signing the letter. Quizzed on why he wrote the letter, Masisi said they were offended by the decision. "We're offended by the decision because it's a wrong decision. They didn't take our opinion. It was also wrong because they didn't take into consideration our sovereignty as an independent state. It was a wrong decision because it was taking away our capacity to be in control even of our data of diamonds. It's a wrong decision because we are the producer countries. Why would we not be trusted? Why would we not be given an opportunity if there was any doubt to be an ode and place it in a country that does not produce diamonds,” he said.
Quizzed on whether as one of the top diamond producers they were consulted, Masisi said they were not hence they were offended. Masisi said upon stating that they were offended, it was then that they were contacted but the plan was already moving forward with many errors in it. Masisi said they wrote the letter after a breakdown in communication with the messengers who eventually pulled out. He said to date, they await a response to the letter, which they wrote early this year. On whether he was expecting a positive response, Masisi said he did not think there was any other way. “I'm convinced in the conversations we had that there is positivity at the end of the tunnel,” he said. The G7, which comprises the United States, the United Kingdom, and other industrialised states, which represent the market for diamonds, has adopted tough new rules to stop Russian diamonds from entering the global diamond industry. Russia is the world’s largest producer of rough diamonds by volume and while the US long imposed sanctions due to the invasion of Ukraine, Moscow’s diamonds continue to freely trade in the market and into the US. Amongst its various elements, the G7’s plans involve all polished diamonds being sent to a single node in Antwerp, for certification that the stones are not of Russian origin.
The decision not only adds costs and delays to producers in Africa but also re-centres the global rough diamond industry in Antwerp, away from emerging centres such as Gaborone. It also undermines the efforts of producers such as Botswana to establish cutting-edge traceability initiatives and undercuts government’s plans to extract more value for the country’s diamonds through downstream activities.
Meanwhile, the President said just like with G7, they want respect from the international community on the trophy hunting matter. “The reasons advanced (to protect nature) are negated by evidence and science. You don’t control them by banning trophy hunting. If you're banned, what will happen to the ecosystem when you have more elephants? And more than anything else, if you are really a humane person, what happens to human beings, particularly in Botswana where we have reserved 40% of land for wildlife? So what do you think happens to elephants and the people and their crops? That is fallacious logic,” he said.
