09 Oct 2018

Minister of Mineral Resources, Green Technology and Energy Security, Mr Eric Molale says celebrating  Gujarat Day in Botswana was meant to enhance the bilateral relationship between Botswana and India.

Speaking at the celebration of the Gujarat Day in Gaborone on Monday, Mr Molale said the celebration was also meant to create awareness among the business community in Botswana, about opportunities available in India, for investment and networking, particularly in the diamond industry.

He said the significance of the day derives from a historical landmark where through an Act of Parliament, which came into effect on May 1, 1960, the state of Bombay was divided along linguistic lines, to form today’s two states of Maharashtra and Gujarat.

The minister said the Gujaratis, due to close proximity to the Arabian Sea, developed a mercantile ethos that maintained a cultural tradition of seafaring, long-distance trade, and overseas contacts with the outside world since ancient times.

He said the ancient history of Gujarat State in India was enriched by commercial activities of its inhabitants, adding that there is clear historical evidence of trade and commerce ties with Egypt, Bahrain and the Gulf during the time period of 1000 to 750 BC.

He said Gujarat was one of the main central areas of the Indus Valley Civilisation. He said the ancient city of Dholavira is one of the largest and most prominent archaeological sites in India, belonging to the Indus Valley Civilization.

Mr Molale said the Gujarati merchants formed diaspora communities outside of Gujarat, and in many parts of the world, including Africa and this mercantile culture has contributed to the harnessing of Gujarat’s mineral and other resources to build a success story that Gujarat has become.

 “Today Gujarat is rich in a range of minerals such as calcite, gypsum, manganese, lignite, bauxite, limestone, agate, feldspar and quartz sand and  now the state produces most of India’s required amount of soda ash and salt,” he said.

Mr Molale said in addition to producing oil and natural gas, it hosts, in Dhuvaran, a thermal power station, which uses coal, oil and gas and because of its efficient use of resources, derived from a long mercantile tradition, Gujarat has become one of India’s most prosperous states that Botswana need to draw inspiration from and determine to build her own success story.

He said his ministry, through the Botswana Geoscience Institute is in the process of updating the country’s mineral inventory, adding that just as was the case with Gujarat, Botswana needs to have a comprehensive understating of her mineral resources, and the right set of skills to develop them to grow the economy.

The minister said the ministry objective is to diversify mining and the minerals industry to reduce the country’s overreliance on diamonds. He said the government continues to invest in infrastructural development in order to unlock untapped mineral resources and facilitate the country’s diversification drive.

He said the Northwest Transmission Grid Connection (NWTGC) project, for instance, is aimed at providing grid access to the northwest part of the country including the Chobe and Ghanzi districts.

Mr Molale said the project aims to stimulate economic activity in the area, notably in mining and agricultural developments.

He said Botswana has had a comparably healthy diamond trading relationship with India over the years, the Indian De Beers Global Sightholder Sales (DBGSS), constitute around fifty per cent of the total Sightholder across the world.

He said since 2013, after the relocation of diamond sales from London to Gaborone, representatives from these companies come to Gaborone to buy diamonds 10 times a year.

He said currently there are 19 operational diamond manufacturing companies, out of which eight are of Indian origin and together these companies employ about 1 000 young Batswana, whom they train in the art of diamond cutting and polishing.

Mr Molale said four of these companies were licensed in 2018 and said Botswana’s diamond sector is dominated by the  Gujarat community, thanks to their culture of international trade that they engaged in decades ago. ENDs