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The agreement places a renewed emphasis on building local capacity in diamond cutting, polishing, and jewelry manufacturing, ensuring more value remains within the country.
Is Botswana Getting a Raw Deal From De Beers Diamonds? The decades-long marriage between the Republic of Botswana and De Beers Group is often hailed as the world’s most successful public-private partnership. Since the discovery of diamonds at Orapa in 1967, shortly after Botswana gained independence, this alliance has transformed a destitute pastoral nation into a thriving upper-middle-income economy.
Despite these gains, critics and local leaders argue the nation remains vulnerable:
The partnership was forged in the late 1960s by Botswana’s founding President, Sir Seretse Khama, and De Beers chairman Harry Oppenheimer. At the time, Botswana was dirt-poor, and De Beers was the absolute monarch of global diamonds. Khama offered a deal: De Beers could mine, but Botswana would get 50% of the profits. This public link is valid for 7 days
Established in 1969, Debswana is a 50-50 joint venture between the government of Botswana and De Beers. It operates four major mines: Jwaneng, Orapa, Letlhakane, and Damtshaa.
Recognizing these vulnerabilities, Botswana’s President Mokgweetsi Masisi adopted an aggressive negotiation stance leading up to the renewal of the 10-year sales agreement. Masisi publicly threatened to walk away from De Beers entirely if Botswana did not secure a better deal, stating that the nation was no longer content with receiving "crumbs."
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Botswana is getting a raw deal not because of malice, but because the 50-year partnership was built for an era of stable growth and rising demand. That era is over. The country now faces the impossible task of trying to secure prosperity from a resource that is no longer as valuable, through a company that is losing money, all while trying to buy that same company for a price it can barely afford. The partnership that built Botswana into a success story may now be the very thing holding it back from its next stage of development. Can’t copy the link right now
The latest chapter in this partnership began with intense negotiations over a new sales agreement. The previous 10-year contract, signed in 2011, was extended multiple times due to the COVID-19 pandemic and complex discussions.
The signing of the sales deal in early 2025 did not end the debate. Instead, it became a stepping stone for a bolder, more existential play.
For over 50 years, the De Beers–Botswana partnership has been the envy of the resource-rich world. The cornerstone of this arrangement is Debswana, a 50/50 joint venture between the government and De Beers that controls the country's vast diamond reserves, including the legendary Jwaneng mine, often cited as the world's richest diamond mine by value. In a model rarely seen in Africa, Botswana used its diamond windfalls to build schools, roads, and hospitals, achieving a status that earned it the title of an "African success story".
What do you think? Should resource-rich nations control their own diamond destiny? Join the conversation in the comments below. Is Botswana Getting a Raw Deal From De Beers Diamonds
De Beers committed to investing an initial 1 billion pula ($75 million USD) into a development fund aimed at diversifying Botswana's economy, a figure scaling up to 10 billion pula over the course of the contract.
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With Anglo American owning the lion's share of De Beers, profits were flowing out to international shareholders rather than being fully reinvested in the local economy. The Ultimatum and the Landmark Deal
In 2018, a report by the human rights group, Global Witness, accused De Beers of failing to provide adequate compensation to communities affected by its mining operations. The report also accused the company of using security forces to intimidate and harass local communities.