Diamond Trading Company Botswana (DTCB) has called for a new public-private partnership model to help Botswana expand its downstream diamond industry, saying the country must do more to capture value from jewellery manufacturing, exploration and other diamond-linked businesses.
Speaking at the Future of Mining Summit in Gaborone, DTCB Managing Director Serty Leburu said Botswana’s diamond sector had been central to the country’s development but now needed a new partnership framework to unlock longer-term growth and sustainability.
Leburu said a revised public-private model would be critical to expanding Botswana’s downstream potential and creating more jobs across the diamond value chain.
She said Botswana should move more aggressively to capture opportunities in jewellery manufacturing, exploration and other value-adding activities linked to diamonds.
“There is untapped potential and it is time for us to leverage on opportunities driven by partnerships to unlock full potential in the diamond industry pipeline,” Leburusaid.
Leburu said diamonds had played a decisive role in Botswana’s economic development, helping to support public investment in health, education and social services.
“The diamond story is very clear on what it has done for Botswana,” she said.
She said the industry still had significant untapped potential and pointed to what she described as a multi-billion pulapipeline in exploration and jewellery manufacturing.
Leburu said DTCB remained focused on supporting a sustainable and profitable downstream diamond industry in Botswana through its sorting and valuation operations.
Botswana is one of the world’s leading diamond producers and has long sought to increase local value addition through cutting, polishing, trading and related downstream activities as part of efforts to diversify the economy and reduce dependence on raw mineral exports.
