16 Feb 2016

The first sale of diamonds following relocation of sales from London to Gaborone was in November 2013.

Answering a question in Parliament on Monday, the Minister of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources, Mr Kitso Mokaila said employment stood at 3 302 as at the end of 2012, adding that at the end of December 2013 the employment was at 3 614 with a total of 3 192 Batswana and 449 expatriates.

He further said employment reached a pick of about 3 700 in 2014, until it started to fall in 2015, after the diamond industry worldwide experienced challenges.
Minister Mokaila said Canadian, Namibian, South African diamonds were bought for aggregation and trading in Botswana causing US$5 - $6 billion worth of diamonds to flow through Botswana annually.

Furthermore, Mr Mokaila said the relocation of diamonds sales from London to Gaborone came about as part of the 2011 sales agreement between the government and De Beers.

He said the benefits to Botswana were mainly derived from the business opportunities generated from sight holders visiting Botswana to purchase diamonds and some of the beneficiaries included, hotels, restaurants, chauffer services, security banking and airlines.

Francistown East Member of Parliament, Mr Buti Billy had wanted the minister to state the number of jobs created since the relocation of the Diamond Trading Company (DTC) to Botswana.
He also wanted to know how much in Pula has gone through the banking system geared towards diamond dealings and how local people are benefiting from this relocation. Ends