16 Mar 2014

Debswana Jwaneng Mine general manager, Mr Albert Milton has called on all stakeholders to play a role in fighting illicit diamond trafficking.

Speaking at the official re-launch of the Diamond Control Awareness Team (DCAT) on Friday, Mr Milton said the value of diamonds to the lives of Batswana and the development of the country was immeasurable, hence everybody’s responsibility to curb their theft.

Thus, he urged all stakeholders to jealously guard diamonds so that they can continue contributing immensely to the development of Botswana as it has been happening over the years.

“Diamonds are very close to my heart and in fact they are at the centre of my whole career. I have no doubt that you equally value them and what they have done for you as a Motswana. As you all know diamonds have and continue to play a critical role Botswana’s socio-economic development. We know they make 45 per cent of government revenue, 33 per cent of GDP and form a significant part of the country’s foreign exchange earnings,” he explained.

He added that the responsibility of protecting diamonds was not only limited to Debswana employees but rather to every citizen of this country.

He said even though Debswana, and on a narrow scope Jwaneng mine, was committed to raising awareness on the importance of diamonds through programmes such as DCAT, the input by other stakeholders was crucial.

He underscored the need for stakeholder unity to ensure that the fight against diamond theft bears fruit.

He said by virtue of being small and easy to conceal, diamonds were at a risk of being stolen and uneasy to detect.

“Diamond theft is becoming a rampant problem across the world, and this requires we put stringent measures to make it impossible for anyone to steal them. Debswana is not immune from attempts to steal diamonds, this therefore calls on all of us to continuously and vigorously join hands in the fight against this phenomenon,” he said.

Mr Milton also called on Jwaneng mine employees and members of the public to show their commitment to ensuring the security of diamonds by subscribing to DCAT and becoming its ambassadors wherever they go.

This way, he noted, the Jwaneng mine would be able to win the fight against diamond theft with ease.

Furthermore, the general manager acknowledged contribution made by the Jwaneng local authorities, the police and other organisations such as the Directorate of Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC), amongst others.

He said their commitment and passion in the matter has helped build a solid partnership which has made the objective achievable.

The DCAT, whose membership comprises employees and members of the public, was formed in 2001 with the main goal of raising awareness about the value of diamonds and how they could be protected. The re-launch was motivated by the decline in activeness of the team members over the years.

Batswana are also encouraged to report illegal diamond trafficking at the mine or contact the nearest police stations in the country. ENDS