Key Projects of Botswana

projects

De Beers Botswana Mining Company

After mining began in earnest in 1967, a year after independence, the De Beers Botswana Mining Company (Debswana) was formed in 1969 as a diamond-sorting and valuing facility held jointly between De Beers and the Government of Botswana. The public–private model co­operation has run successfully for the past 42 years. Botswana is currently the largest producer of diamonds relative to value in the world, the industry being a key factor in its transformation to a middle-income country. Debswana’s Jwaneng is the world’s richest mine in value. The majority of Botswana’s GDP is drawn from the mining sector and the government has been commended for its subsequent reinvestment of revenue into social services and infrastructural development. Debswana alone yields 30 per cent of Botswana’s GDP and contributes 50 per cent of all government revenues, as well as being the largest private employer of Batswana.

 

Glen Valley and Dikabeya farms

As of 2012, the privatisation of Glen Valley and Dikabeya farms has been in motion, at the request of the National Master Plan for Agricultural Arable and Dairy Development (NAMPAADD) unit in the Ministry of Agriculture and assisted by PEEPA. The farms had previously been deemed too inefficient and expensive to operate. However, the development of commercial agriculture in Botswana is in progress to reduce dependence on food supplies from neighbouring countries. A feasibility study by PEEPA suggested the privatisation of the farms through a leasing agreement in which the government retains land ownership. The investor in the project is required to pay the cost of electricity, operate the farm and train its workers. New developments include the use of recycled water for irrigation purposes and potable water from water utilities for human consumption, as well as the addition of a storeroom, office, seedling nursery and packing room.

Public-Private Partnerships

PPPs

 

The rich availability of natural resources and a stable history of uninterrupted multi-party democracy, as well as the relative transparency of government finances, have long facilitated private investment in Botswana. Consequently, Botswana is host to one of the most successful and long-running public-private partnerships in the world: the Debswana Mining Company, which it owns with DeBeers. In recent years, the government has sought increased privatisation alongside a diversification of the economy from its dependence on the diamond industry. Public-private partnerships have emerged as a central vein of the government’s privatisation policy, in the interests of infrastructure and service provision, as stated in the National Development Plan 9 (2000). The Public Enterprises Evaluation and Privatization Agency (PEEPA), founded 2001, leads and advises on the privatisation ‘master plan’ launched across Botswana in 2005.

As part of its economic diversification policy, Botswana has chiefly focused on promoting industrialisation. Tourism has also emerged as a sector for growth, with the development of safari-style operations in large wilderness areas. Agriculture is another area for private-sector development, formerly a major contributor at 42.7 per cent of GDP, but presently only accounting for three per cent.

Several key institutions have been established to drive economic diversification in the last few decades: the Botswana Development Corporation, the Botswana Export Development and Investment Authority and, recently, the International Financial Services Centre.
An economic diversification master plan, the Economic Diversification Drive initiative, was formed in consultation between the government, the private sector and relevant stakeholders.

Botswana is one of a number of African states to be trained in PPPs by the Southern African Development Community Banking Association’s PPP Capacity Building Programme