The long time relationship between the Botswana Government and mining giant De Beers built on diamonds but skewed in favour of the latter may be on shaky ground.
President Mokgweetsi Masisi told some Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) supporters in Moshupa on Sunday that the government may pull the rug from under the feet of De Beers should Botswana feel hard done by the outcome of the ongoing negotiations for the resale of the country’s diamonds.
He said Botswana was now negotiating with De Beers from an informed opinion.
According to Masisi this was as a result of the 2011 agreement between the parties which saw the De Beers transferring its London-based rough diamond sales activity to Botswana.
The agreement provided for an independent sales outlet for the Botswana Government, which also saw 10 percent of Debswana’s run of mine production. Currently the government’s share of Debswana’s run of mine production has been raised to 25 percent.
Masisi revealed that the 2011 agreement that allowed Botswana to take 10 percent of the diamonds and sell them independently helped the government to discover that it was not getting a fair share from its own diamonds. The government now sells 25 percent of diamonds from Debswana’s run of mine production independently through the state-run Okavango Diamond Company.
While he did not mention De beers by name, Masisi said he did not want to mince words or beat about the bush but wanted Batswana to know that the country had been getting a raw deal in its partnership with the diamond giant.
“The relationship or agreement that we have with those that we have partnered with is not achieving a win-win situation for both parties as we were made to believe,” said Masisi.
He added that the negotiations were ongoing and he was convinced that their conclusion of the agreement should be such that it is beneficial to Botswana more than before. He called on Batswana to rally behind BDP, Cabinet and Minerals Minister Lefoko Moagi to ensure that the country gets a better deal from its own diamonds.
“We should get enough revenue from the diamonds and not a raw deal that it is now,” said Masisi.
He said former Minister of Minerals and now Minister of Infrastructure Eric Molale was familiar with what he was alluding to because he had been part of a team that negotiated on behalf of Botswana Government prior to the 2011 agreement.
Paying tribute to Molale, Masisi said love or hate him, Molale and his team played an important role in convincing De Beers that Botswana should get a 10 percent share of Debswana’s run of mine production. He said Botswana’s diamonds have been controlled by a company that he did not name – making it difficult for the government to have control over them. It is assumed that he meant De Beers or Debswana. The latter is a 50-50 joint venture between the two parties.
Parading Moagi before his audience, Masisi said the Member of Parliament for Ramotswa was no ordinary mining engineer or minister. He said Moagi has a lot of experience in the mining industry and this would help Botswana not to continue getting a raw deal. He appealed to Batswana to rally behind the government noting that as far as the ongoing negotiations are concerned Botswana was minnow. Likening De Beers to the biblical Goliath, Masisi conceded that the negotiations were not a walk in the park as De Beers has been shaken to the core’ this was because it was the first time that Botswana demands “what is rightfully ours.”
Masisi said should the negotiations not bring the desired results it is high time the two parties end their relationship.
