On November 1st, the people of Botswana chose a new President for their country, President Duma Boko. Duma Boko is a part of the opposition coalition Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) and studied Law at Harvard University.
This election marks the end of a 58-year rule of the Botswana Democratic Party, the party of his predecessor Masisi.
Reuters reports that the 50/50 Government of Botswana and De Beers owned mining entity Debswana has seen sales nearly halved in the first half of this year, selling US$1.29bn compared to US$2.54bn last year. Currently, the company sells 75% of its production via De Beers, the remainder is allocated to Okavango Diamond Company (ODC). Under the new contract, ODC's share is set to be increased to 50% of Debswana's production by the end of the 10-year agreement.
Debswana and Chinese tech giant Huawei at the Mobile World Congress Trade Show this week announced plans for the unveiling of "the world's first 5G-oriented smart diamond mine project".
The 5G network allows cutting-edge technologies like autonomous driving and enables more intelligent digital transformation of the mining industry in the years to come.
Rough diamond sales by Debswana Diamond Company reached record levels in 2022 jumping up by 22% from the previous year. The jump in sales has resulted from the West’s shunning of Russian stones whereby Botswana profited from steady global demand for diamond jewellery.
Africa Intelligence reports that Botswana’s President Masisi, speaking at a gala dinner hosted by Lucara Diamonds, is adding pressure to the negotiations with De Beers on a renewed Debswana contract, the 50/50 joint venture between the government and De Beers. In the current agreement, 75 % of Debswana’s rough is sold via De Beers, 25% is sold via the state-owned Okavango Diamond Company, the latter achieving record sales revenue via its sales in Antwerp last year.