Africa Daily Focus on Africa: Can Botswana continue to depend on its diamond industry?
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Oct 3, 2025 
Moses Arinaitwe, a Ugandan public health researcher on schistosomiasis, and Waihiga Mwaura, a BBC correspondent who interviewed Botswana’s president. They discuss Botswana’s heavy reliance on diamonds and plans to diversify into soda ash, critical minerals and tourism. The conversation also covers economic pressures, US tariff talks, Guinea’s surprising mining‑led growth, and schistosomiasis transmission and prevention.
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Diamonds No Longer A Guaranteed Lifeline
- Diamonds once provided about a quarter of Botswana's GDP and funded strong public services.
- Recent drops in demand and competition from lab-grown gems force urgent economic pivots.
Add Value Before Exporting Minerals
- Do pursue value addition rather than exporting raw minerals to capture more revenue.
- Invest in beneficiation, light manufacturing and industrialisation around critical minerals like copper and cobalt.
Diversification Beyond Diamonds
- Botswana plans to scale up soda ash and expand mining beyond diamonds into manganese and other deposits.
- The country aims to become a regional food basket and boost tourism around the Okavango Delta.