FRANCISTOWN: Botswana Congress Party (BCP) and Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) have warned that government should tread carefully during talks with De Beers over a fresh sales deal or risk throwing the country into chaos.

The positions of the UDC and BCP come just days after Alliance for Progressives (AP) president, Ndaba Gaolathe, appeared to express reservations about the government’s overall approach to the negotiations with De Beers.

President Mokgweetsi Masisi is on record saying Botswana wants to get the best out of the negotiations with De Beers. The talks with De Beers over a new sales deal are expected to be completed in June. The consensus amongst many is that Botswana would not have achieved much without diamonds. Mining contributes about 35% to GDP, of this, 94% is from diamonds. Currently, Botswana gets 25% of rough diamonds mined under its partnership with De Beers, and the latter gets the rest.

Masisi’s public posture when talking about negotiations with De Beers has elicited various emotions amongst Batswana. He has threatened that Botswana will dump De Beers if there is a feeling that the country is getting a raw deal from the negotiations.

Some Batswana back the position that the country should get more out of the negotiations. Others assume that Masisi’s posture indicates that the decades-long relationship between Botswana and De Beers is destined for a collapse.

This week, the BCP said it has been following the negotiations between the government and De Beers with eagerness because of the centrality of diamonds to the country’s economy. The party has emphasised that the government should be very cautious with its attitude to the talks.

“Our economy has been anchored on revenue from diamonds. We believe that whatever we do, we need to avoid any major disruption that will amount to ‘Killing the goose that lays the golden egg.’ Why are we saying this? We think it is possible that President Masisi is planning to weaponise De Beers to be his rallying point for the next general elections since he is part and parcel of the system that signed off agreements with De Beers,” BCP spokesperson, Mpho Pheko told Mmegi this week.

She also gave the BCP perspective with reference to the kind of outcome that would be deemed fair to both Batswana and De Beers.

“We want Botswana to move up the diamond value chain, attract investment into value addition activities and domesticate more of the revenue as well as jobs from our diamonds,” Pheko said. She added that there is no doubt that Botswana could have benefitted more from the diamonds had the BDP been willing to remove the veil of secrecy around previous agreements with De Beers. She elucidated that secrecy has resulted in Botswana missing out on opportunities availed by the value of diamonds buried in Botswana.

“While we believe the public should be familiarised with the details of agreements with De Beers, we think this can be done without compromising the process of negotiation.

In regards to negotiations, the BCP would have opted for a process where we respect the process and avoid speaking about ongoing negotiations in public.”

The BCP has also said it is uncomfortable with the government entering into the HB Botswana deal whilst the De Beers deal is ongoing.

“Even if De Beers and HB Botswana play at different parts of the diamond value chain as is often claimed, De Beers is an interested party and should at a minimum be fully aware of what Botswana wants to do and how it affects it. We take the view that the President does not act like someone who appreciates the risks to Botswana that could arise from the mismanagement of the De Beers contract negotiations. Nor does he realise how his conduct generally contaminates the business environment.”

Pheko also shared the party’s overall assessment of Masisi’s public posture when talking about the De Beers and government negotiations.

“It is concerning that rather than engaging De Beers at the table and securing the best possible deal for Botswana, the President has opted to reckless demands and calling on the nation to take a dim view of De Beers. The problem has not been De Beers as they delivered in accordance with the deal signed by the BDP government. President Masisi clearly wants to continue with the secretive deals that have been maintained by the BDP government and only reveal aspects of the agreement that portray him as a Messiah taking down an unscrupulous business partner.”

The UDC through its spokesperson, Moeti Mohwasa, acknowledged the significance of Botswana getting a fair deal from the negotiations.

“We would obviously want the best deal for the country without threatening the income generation capacity of the diamond sector and its contribution to the fiscus,” he said. Mohwasa maintained that the negotiations should ensure that the benefits of the Botswana/De Beers relationship accrue to the ordinary Motswana who has been neglected by the BDP government up to now.

“The focus should be on how the immediate communities and the ordinary citizens benefit. It should not be an elite-driven negotiation that seeks to secure cuts for those seated at the negotiation table and their friends and other interests.”

Mohwasa added that Masisi’s statements when talking about the government and De Beers talks are tantamount to posturing.

“It is our hope that this posturing by Masisi is not about extortion or a fund-raising gimmick for his party considering that the elections are around the corner. The BDP has handsomely benefitted directly from De Beers donations.”

The BDP-led government has on several occasions denied unduly benefitting from its relationship with De Beers. De Beers has also denied the assertions on several occasions.