Is Botswana Getting A Raw Deal From De Beers Diamonds - The World News [BEST]

Policy options Botswana could pursue to capture more value

Botswana may not be capturing enough value from its diamonds, despite being the world's second-largest diamond producer by value (after Russia) and home to Debswana — a 50/50 joint venture with De Beers.

The friction does not lie in the mining operations, but rather in the . For decades, Botswana’s primary grievance has been its confinement to the low-margin, high-risk extraction phase, while De Beers retained monopoly control over the highly lucrative downstream sectors: sorting, marketing, cutting, polishing, and retailing. 1. The Allocation of Rough Diamonds

Is Botswana getting a raw deal? Historically, the answer is nuanced. Compared to other resource-rich nations in Africa that fell victim to the "resource curse," Botswana maximized its diamond wealth to build infrastructure, provide universal healthcare, and fund free education. In that regard, the De Beers partnership was an undisputed triumph of resource nationalism and fiscal management. Policy options Botswana could pursue to capture more

For decades, the partnership between the Government of Botswana and De Beers Group was hailed as the world’s most successful public-private partnership. Founded via the 50-50 joint venture , the arrangement successfully lifted Botswana into an upper-middle-income nation.

More significantly, the has explicitly warned Botswana against increasing its stake in De Beers. The IMF points to Botswana's precarious fiscal position—a projected budget deficit of 11% of GDP, rising public debt, and an economy already dangerously over-dependent on a single, declining industry. The argument is simple: taking on billions in debt to buy a majority share of a struggling diamond company in a shrinking market is a gamble the country cannot afford.

Under the previous long-term agreements, De Beers held the lion's share of the "marketing" power. While Botswana owned half the mines, the majority of the rough stones were sold through De Beers' global distribution network. The New Deal: Progress or Posturing? Compared to other resource-rich nations in Africa that

After seven years of arduous negotiations, a new 10-year sales agreement was finally signed in February 2025, bringing with it significant changes. Under the new terms, Botswana's share of Debswana's rough production is set to increase incrementally from the previous 25% to 30% in the first five years and 40% in the next five, with an option to reach 50% by 2035. The government framed this as a historic win, arguing that it unlocks greater control over its natural heritage and channels more wealth directly back into the national treasury.

At the heart of this economic miracle sits , a 50/50 joint venture between the Botswana government and De Beers.

The paradigm shifted dramatically under the administration of Botswana’s President Mokgweetsi Masisi. Adopting a fiercely nationalist and populist stance on natural resources, Masisi began publicly questioning the status quo, openly declaring that Botswana was being shortchanged by the legacy arrangement. " warns one mining analyst

Debswana extracted the stones from ultra-lucrative mines like Jwaneng and Orapa.

"If Botswana pushes too hard," warns one mining analyst, "De Beers might divert capital to newer discoveries in Canada or Angola. You don't kill the goose that lays the golden egg—but you also don't let the goose starve the farmer."