Glittering stones: A visitor holds a 17 carat diamond in Cullinan, outside Pretoria. Botswana, along with South Africa, Angola and Congo, are Africa’s biggest diamond producers and mine more than US$500mil (RM2.18bil) worth of diamonds annually. — Reuters
GABORONE: Botswana’s President Mokgweetsi Masisi says that his country may sever ties with diamond giant De Beers if talks to renegotiate a sales deal prove unfavourable to his government.
The country is Africa’s leading diamond producer, and Masisi called on the nation to rally behind his government as it tries to hammer out a better deal.
A 2011 sales agreement governing terms for the marketing of diamonds produced by Debswana – A 50:50 partnership between the government and De Beers, which auctions the majority of the gemstones, was set to expire in 2021.
It was extended by the parties citing the outbreak of coronavirus as the reason for the delay to conclude negotiations and it will run through June 30, 2023.
“If we don’t achieve a win-win situation each party will have to pack its bags and go,” Masisi said at a rally of his ruling Botswana Democratic Party in his home village, Moshupa, about 65km from the capital Gaborone.
Masisi said he was kicking off the campaign for the 2024 legislative election, adding that Botswana was facing a “Goliath” as far as the negotiations were concerned.
Under the 2011 agreement, De Beers sold 90% of diamonds, while Botswana auctioned 10% through its Okavango Diamond Company. In 2020, Botswana’s share was raised to 25%.
“We got insight into how the diamond market works, and we discovered that we had been receiving less than what we should get,” said Masisi, who spoke both English and the local Tswana language.
“We also discovered that our diamonds are making a lot of profit and that the 2011 agreement had not been beneficial to us.
“We are upping the stakes because we want a larger share of our diamonds.
“It can’t be business as usual,” he warned. — AFP
