DID DIAMOND GIANT MEDDLE IN BOTSWANA VOTE?

Botswana’s ex president says the current leadership has watered down an “unprecedented” deal with diamond giant De Beers that he’d negotiated - and alleges it was bought off by the diamond giant. Mokgweetsi Masisi has insinuated that his rivals in the election - Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) - may have been getting funding during the 2024 campaign from the South African-British firm. This, he claims, could have cost him the presidency, and the country - greater diamond profits.

The November 2024 electoral defeat of the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), which had been in power since independence in 1966, surprised many. The country is often touted as one of the continent's success stories, mainly due to the prudent use of its diamond resources. According to the World Bank, Botswana has the third-highest GDP per capita in Africa and some of the best public infrastructure. However, this was not enough to save the BDP from a stinging defeat at the hands of the then-opposition, the UDC.

Masisi has yet to provide hard evidence to support his allegations, made at a media conference in early April, that De Beers bankrolled UDC's campaign to get back at his administration, which, according to the ex president, pushed the diamond firm for a bigger share of the national diamond pie. Do you believe Masisi when he says that a foreign corporation essentially pushed for ‘regime change’ in Africa? Or is it simply a case of sour grapes from a politician struggling to move on from a humiliating electoral loss?

Sources

https://www.mining.com/botswana-de-beers-sign-overdue-diamond-deal/

http://www.idexonline.com/FullArticle?Id=50396

https://www.mmegi.bw/news/masisi-takes-aim-at-udc-de-beers/news

https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD?locations=A9