DIAMOND SECTOR LIFTS BOTSWANA’S ECONOMY

The Diamond Trading Company Botswana (DTCB) has contributed a lot towards the economy of the country lifting it to a middle income stability country.

President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi mentioned during the DTCB’s 50th anniversary that DTCB played a role in the long journey of diamond industry that altered the fortunes of Botswana since it commerce its operations as BDVC in 1972 first as a joint venture between the investment arm of government, Botswana Development Corporation and De Beers, later becoming a subsidiary of Debswana, itself a partnership between the Botswana state and De Beers,

“To this day, DTCB cleans, sorts and values all diamonds from Debswana and sells them to its two customers Okavango Diamond Company and De Beers Global Sightholder Sales. DTCB has developed and evolved to become the world’s largest and most sophisticated rough diamond sorting and valuation operation,” the President said.

He further pointed out that diamonds contributed 80 per cent of Botswana’s foreign exchange earnings and that the mining sector, dominated by diamonds, contributed 22 per cent of gross domestic product, 38 per cent of government revenue, 80 per cent of export earnings and 23 per cent of customs revenue.

The DTCB managing director, Mr Sedireng Serumula, said they will deploy into digitisation which is the President’s passion for digital transformation which would involve change management initiatives, which would incorporate staff training and partnering with institutions of higher learning.