Botswana - The African Mirror

Apr

2024

Fossil beetles found in a Botswana diamond mine help us to reconstruct the distant past

WHEN most people think of fossils they probably picture bones. But there’s much more to the global fossil record: plants, shells, minerals and insects. The study of fossil insects is called palaeoentomology. Palaeoentomologists like myself seek out and study fossil insects that were trapped in mud which later became rock sediments, and those found in amber (tree resin). Very few deposits containing either fossil plants or fossil insects, or both, have been found so far on the African continent, or in the southern hemisphere more broadly, particularly those dating back to the Cretaceous period, some 145 million to 66 million…

Apr

2024

By BONFACE ORUCHO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Botswana’s 90 million-year-old ancient beetle discovery explains earth’s evolution

SCIENCE, TECH AND INNOVATION

A team of scientists from GENUS, a department of paleosciences at the University of Witwatersrand has discovered an ancient beetle species at the site that not only reaffirms Africa’s rich biodiversity but also contributes to understanding the mysteries of prehistoric life on Earth. The latest discovery is in part thanks to the 1980 discovery of fossil material at the Orapa Diamond Mine in the Central District of Botswana, which sparked years-long research interest among scientists. This site is now emerging as a hotbed for groundbreaking research uncovering unique details about early life on Earth. “This beetle is a clue into…

Feb

2024

By ANDREW SHENNAN and MEGAN HALL

80% of premature baby deaths happen in poorer countries. Five simple measures that can help save them

HEALTH

WORLDWIDE in 2020 a baby died every 40 seconds because of complications of prematurity. Preterm birth is the leading cause of death among children under 5 years old. The burden of preterm birth is heavier in in low- and middle-income countries, where around 80% occur. The countries with the highest recorded preterm rates in Africa are Malawi, South Africa, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Botswana. In Ethiopia 12.9% of babies were born preterm in 2020. In Nigeria the figure was 9.9%. ANDREW SHENNAN, Professor of Obstetrics at King’s College London and chair of the FIGO Preterm Birth Committee…

Feb

2024

By BRIAN BENZA

Botswana forecasts economic rebound, budget focus on infrastructure

BUSINESS

BOTSWANA sees a recovery in economic growth this year and plans to increase spending on infrastructure development in a "stimulus" budget, its finance minister said. The southern African country's economy was hit by a decline in demand for diamonds last year. The gems generate about 30% of its revenue and 70% of its foreign exchange earnings. Finance Minister Peggy Serame said in a budget speech that growth was estimated at 3.2% in 2023, lower than a previous forecast of 3.8%, picking up to 4.2% this year and 5.4% in 2025 premised on the world economy recovering. Serame said the 2024/25 fiscal…

Nov

2023

By BRIAN BENZA

Botswana conducts due diligence on HB Antwerp stake, president says

BUSINESS

BOTSWANA is conducting due diligence on HB Antwerp, as the world's top diamond producing country by value seeks to finalise a deal to acquire a 24% shareholding in the Belgian gem trader, President Mokgweetsi Masisi said. At the height of talks for a new sales contract with De Beers in March, Botswana announced a deal to become a shareholder in HB Antwerp and to supply the trader with 10% of the rough diamond output from the state-owned Okavango Diamond Company (ODC) for five years. But the proposed deal was called into question in September when Lucara Diamond terminated its sales agreement with the Belgian…

Oct

2023

By BRIAN BENZA

Botswana’s ODC halts diamond sales as industry seeks to reduce glut

BUSINESS

BOTSWANA'S state-owned Okavango Diamond Company (ODC) has temporarily halted its rough stone sales as part of an industry-wide drive to reduce the glut of inventory caused by lower global demand for jewellery, its managing director Mmetla Masire said. ODC, which reported a record $1.1 billion in revenue in 2022, holds 10 auctions a year to sell its 25% allocation of production from Debswana Diamond Company, a joint venture between Anglo American's De Beers and Botswana, in terms of the partners' gem sales agreement. Debswana produced about 24 million carats last year, with ODC getting an allocation of about 6 million carats.…

Oct

2023

By The African Mirror

Gem Trader HB Antwerp ends feud as Botswana weighs diamond sales deal

BUSINESS

HB Antwerp, a Belgian gem processor and trader, said that one of its founding members who was fired last month has been reinstated, amid a pending deal with Botswana for the supply of rough stones. Oded Mansori was reinstated as managing partner and director and all four of the company's founding partners have moved past "internal differences of the last several weeks", HB Antwerp said in a statement issued late on Monday. The three-year-old company said last month that it had removed Mansori following differences in strategy. Botswana, the world's No. 1 diamonds producer by value, has said it wants to buy a 24%…

Jun

2023

By The African Mirror

Ford Castrol Team scores a double victory in the Botswana

MOTORING NEWS

THE Neil Woolridge Motorsport (NWM) Ford Castrol Team scored an emphatic one-two finish in the EcoBoost V6-powered T1+ Ford Rangers at Round 3 of the South African Rally Raid Championship (SARRC), which was held in Jwaneng, Botswana, from 23-25 June 2023. As the longest and toughest event of the year, the Toyota Gazoo Racing Kalahari Botswana 1000 Desert Race is a three-day marathon event which covers almost 1 000km of racing through semi-arid terrain, characterised by unforgiving thorn bushes and lots of soft sand. Despite the punishing conditions destroying bodywork on all the competitor cars and pushing the crews to…

May

2023

By The African Mirror

Botswana says it is still keen on De Beers partnership, confident of new deal

BUSINESS

BOTSWANA wants to maintain its partnership with De Beers and is confident that ongoing negotiations for a new diamond sales agreement will succeed, a government spokesperson said. Botswana is negotiating a new sales deal with Anglo American Plc's De Beers ahead of the expiry of its current agreement, signed in 2011, later this year. President Mokgweetsi Masisi's threats to walk away from the negotiations if Botswana fails to secure a bigger share of rough diamonds produced by Debswana, their 54-year-old diamond mining joint venture, has fueled speculation that the government may end the relationship. But in a statement, government spokesperson William Sentshebeng said the negotiations…

Feb

2023

By The African Mirror

Botswana and Comoros latest countries to ratify the AfCTA agreement

BUSINESS

BONFACE ORUCHO, BIRD STORY AGENCY THE African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which aims to create a single market for goods and services in Africa, got another boost after two more countries handed over instruments of ratification to the African Union Commission Chairperson, Moussa Faki Mahamat, during February's session of the African Union. Instruments of ratification are documents by which a state expresses its consent to be bound by a treaty. Botswana and Comoros became the 45th and 46th state party members of the AfCFTA after depositing their instruments of ratification on the sidelines of the 36th Ordinary Session of…