Speaking at a Chatham House event in London on Thursday, Gaolathe pushed back on worries that Gaborone might overreach to buy more of De Beers. "I can assure you that Botswana as a government, the Ministry of Finance, is not reckless and careless," he said, adding, "We're very particular about how we invest." The message: increase involvement, but not at the expense of the country's financial wellbeing.
As the diamond unit endures one of its most prolonged and severe downturns - hit by lab‑grown competition and softer luxury buying in China - Anglo American has moved to divest De Beers. An investor consortium headed by former De Beers Chief Executive Officer Gareth Penny has been tapped as the preferred bidder, and people familiar with the talks told Bloomberg in July that Anglo has been discussing a price near $1 billion. That is far below what the stake was once worth, and negotiations continue.
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Since diamonds were found in 1967, the revenues have underwritten Botswana's progress, lifting the country to among Africa's wealthiest on a per‑person measure. By value, the nation ranks as the top global source of rough diamonds, and those gems provide the bulk of foreign‑exchange inflows and about one‑third of government income. But the demand downturn has pushed the economy into recession. While Botswana wants to "go to the next level" in diamonds, Gaolathe said it is also chasing other revenue sources, putting it bluntly: "We have no choice to diversify or we perish."
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