Africa-Press – Botswana. President Mokgweetsi Masisi’s frequent out bursts even on serious matters now threaten to become a destabilizing security matter.
This past week president Mokgweetsi Masisi made some cavalier remarks about an issue that for Botswana is literally a life and death matter.
He said Botswana is ready to walk away from the De Beers deal.
Coming from the -president, this is a serious matter.
And De Beers and the world are right not only to be shocked but also jittery at the president’s gangster-like behaviour.
The remarks, the occasion, the event and the location where the remarks were made were all wrong. He made the remarks at his home village in Moshupa where he was addressing a ruling party rally.
The inappropriateness of remarks aside, there is a precedent to this kind of attitude by the president.
And the nation should not be duped into this reckless, populist and nationalistic rhetoric.
We have been here before.
Immediately after ascending to the presidency in 2018, Masisi made equally obnoxious remarks about some people who he said had arrived in Botswana wearing “bo rampeechane” – roughly translated into cheap home-made sandals.
It was a barely veiled swipe at the Asian and Indian community in Botswana who have become obscenely wealthy.
At the time Batswana applauded him. Hoping he would take the action he was promising which was to empower Batswana against the Indians.
But the Indian community called his bluff and called on him to apologise.
In fact it was the Indian business community who were the first people to be invited at the president’s resident to celebrate the BDP victory.
This paper does not consider itself a friend or ally of De Beers.
In fact we have been consistent in our criticism even dislike of the contents of previous Sales Agreements between Botswana Government and De Beers, especially in so far as they exposed De Beers negotiators sophistication against Botswana’s.
These negotiations are hard.
They require technical expertise including the thorough understanding of the diamond value chain.
There are very few people in Botswana with such knowledge, and even fewer among today’s team of Botswana negotiators, many of who are in the team simply because the president likes them or they have been promoted to some plum job in the public service.
De Beers did not relocate to Botswana because they liked Botswana.
They did so because of the persistence of the then president Festus Mogae who felt that for Botswana to benefit more from these diamonds, the country needed to get involved along the value chain, especially cutting and polishing where many people are employed.
At the time Mogae had at his disposal experienced technocrats like Kago Moshashane to drive the negotiations with De Beers.
But perhaps much more importantly, to succeed these negotiations require steady and stable leadership on both sides.
It cannot be right for either party to throw tantrums in the manner that the president did at a political rally in Moshupa.
His behavior does not only scare De Beers, it also sends shivers down the spines of other private sector corporations looking to partner with Botswana Government on other initiatives.
De Beers and Botswana Government partnership has for a long time been flaunted and touted by both sides as a win-win example of the private sector working diligently with a government.
As a newspaper we are adhere passionately to a belief that for Botswana, diamonds just like the company that mines them, Debswana are a strategic asset.
And that importance should be demonstrated in every interaction between Botswana government and De beers.
At the moment that is not the moment.
Debswana estimates that in the next few years mining these diamonds will grow increasingly hard and more expensive to get off the ground.
The company has for years now been talking about going underground.
Those are the matters that should concern the president and his government.
It has not been lost to the industry that a day after throwing tantrum on De Beers at his home village, the president went on to host the CEO and president of Lucara at his office.
This is hardly a sign of foresight and maturity on the part of the president.
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