‘Lies, Damn Lies... and Statistics’
Friday, May 26, 2023 | 2260 Views |
Heart of the economy: Diamond mining remains the core of the country’s economic wellbeing PIC: MORERI SEJAKGOMO
In context, that’s by weight, not value, and engagement rings make up only 25% of the diamond jewellery market, but even so..., that’s a worryingly big number.
In fact, the natural diamond industry is under threat as never before. The Natural Diamond Council does a fantastic job of promoting the “Diamond Dream” but it’s massively underfunded. Russia is (for obvious reasons) persona non grata, and the Kimberley Process is unsuited and unable to bring in the necessary changes. So yet again the industry falls back on the partnership which has given stability to the industry for the last half century – De Beers and the Government of Botswana... except you may not have noticed; their relationship may be about to go up in smoke.
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...