Debswana secures board approval for multi-billion diversification drive

With the current squeeze on rough diamonds not abating, Debswana has, since last year, been mulling a diversification drive away from diamonds to reduce dependence on its single commodity being diamonds. Industry insiders have revealed to BusinessWeek that for many years, there was resistance to talks of Debswana doing any commercial activity away from diamonds, with the current change of mind coming from successive years of declining revenues and rough diamond values in international markets. The statement, whilst some may say, comes a little bit too late, is timely as gender-based violence (GBV) continues to haunt the country.

A week hardly passes without reports of a wife, a girlfriend or boyfriend being killed by their intimate partners. Just recently, a high-ranking officer stationed at Glen Valley Barracks reportedly murdered his wife and has so far managed to evade arrest. It is also alleged that another soldier murdered his…