{"id":82175,"date":"2026-02-26T07:23:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T07:23:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/govt-injects-over-p13bn-into-diamond-marketing"},"modified":"2026-02-26T07:55:16","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T07:55:16","slug":"govt-injects-over-p13bn-into-diamond-marketing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/govt-injects-over-p13bn-into-diamond-marketing","title":{"rendered":"Govt Injects over P13Bn into Diamond Marketing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"ap-article-header-tag\"> <strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Botswana. <\/strong> <\/span><b>Government has launched a P13.2bn (US$100million) marketing and consumer education campaign to distinguish natural diamonds from lab-grown synthetics.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>The initiative, arriving after a 10-year hiatus, is designed to protect Botswana\u2019s primary export.<\/p>\n<p>This was revealed in Parliament on Monday by Minister of Minerals and Energy and Specially Elected Member of Parliament, Ms Bogolo Kenewendo, during the 2026\/27 budget debate.<\/p>\n<p>Minister Kenewendo stated that the campaign aimed to reclaim the narrative of the diamond industry.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is a major strategic move that has begun to bring stability to how we produce, sell, and attract value. We were intentional and deliberate in managing the industry to ensure we retain as much value as possible within Botswana,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>The minister added that government was now mandating that lab-grown stones be strictly disclosed as \u201csynthetics\u201d or \u201clab-grown\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>She emphasised the importance of storytelling to highlight the distinction between stones formed over billions of years and those manufactured quickly in factories. She noted that such efforts had already yielded significant shifts in the Indian market.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFollowing the Indian President\u2019s visit and engagement with President Advocate Duma Boko, the Indian government decided that the \u2018diamond\u2019 designation will be reserved exclusively for natural diamonds,\u201d Ms Kenewendo informed the house.<\/p>\n<p>The minister further noted that government had engaged the GIA to ensure that the 4Cs -colour, clarity, cut and carat, grading system remained exclusive to natural diamonds.<\/p>\n<p>She indicated that the campaign, conducted in partnership with Angola and Namibia, with South Africa expected to join soon, was reportedly already stabilising the sector.<\/p>\n<p>Despite production dropping from 17 million carats in 2024 to 15 million in 2025, the Minister indicated that government successfully cleared older stock from 2023 and 2024.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis stock balancing has been vital in maintaining mine operations and preparing for market rebounds,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, she said the government-run Okavango Diamond Company (ODC) began selling 25 per cent of Botswana\u2019s stock in 2025, successfully pivoting from auctions to contract sales.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis shift included a significant investment in diamond traceability to ensure every stone sold carries the Botswana story,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n<p>Minister Kenewendo endorsed the 2026\/27 budget, supporting the transition from mono-commodity dependency to a capability-based economy.<\/p>\n<p>She noted that the budget aligned with global best practices in economic transformation, resonating with the principles of development economics, competitiveness and evidence-based policy.<\/p>\n<p>Acknowledging the structural crossroads facing the nation, characterised by weakening diamond growth, narrowed fiscal buffers and high youth unemployment, she remained optimistic.<\/p>\n<p>She said while GDP contracted by 2.8 per cent in 2024 and 0.4 per cent in 2025, a rebound was expected in the coming fiscal year.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe budget\u2019s diversification entails transforming the micro-economic outlook from dependency to a capability-building framework, supported by careful fiscal planning and targeted investments,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ap-article-footer-note\">Find more news and analyses on <span class=\"ap-highlight-country\">Botswana<\/span> on the <span class=\"ap-highlight-brand\">Africa Press<\/span> website<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Botswana. Government has launched a P13.2bn (US$100million) marketing and consumer education campaign to distinguish natural diamonds from lab-grown synthetics. The initiative, arriving after a 10-year hiatus, is designed to protect Botswana\u2019s primary export. This was revealed in Parliament on Monday by Minister of Minerals and Energy and Specially Elected Member of Parliament, Ms [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":82174,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,7,12],"tags":[234],"class_list":["post-82175","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-head-lines","category-policy","tag-botswana"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Govt Injects over P13Bn into Diamond Marketing - Botswana<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"-article-header-tag&quot;&gt; Africa-Press - Botswana. 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