Economics of Rough Diamonds

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Countries in Africa rely heavily on their exportation of diamonds along with oil for income. The revenue from the exportation of rough diamonds has either helped countries develop or lead to catastrophic events. The economic comparison of countries that sell rough diamonds can vary greatly. Some African countries strive for economic independence where as others have faced years of conflict and poverty. The economic and political oversight of rough diamonds compared differently throughout countries in Africa. Two countries that are plentiful in rough diamond resources are Botswana and Angola. These two countries took two different economic paths. Botswana embraced a democratic government and escaped civil war while Angola has suffered years of civil war. Despite the fact that both countries sell the same resource, they faced different economic futures.

In 1967, Botswana became an independent democratic country from Britain. Most of Botswana's revenue at that time came from the agricultural industry. The government of Botswana was approached by a corporation called DeBeers in the early 1970's. DeBeers is a large corporation that oversees the production of rough diamond mines. DeBeers offered Botswana a 50/50 “share ownership in all of the country's diamond mines” (Taylor and Mokhawa 263). Botswana was one of few countries in Africa that saw the potential for economic growth by having a joint venture with DeBeers. When DeBeers and Botswana formed their first partnership, it became a new company called Debswana. The first major exploration discovery of the joint partnership was in a city called Boteti. This is an area rich in rough diamonds and is now called the Orapa field. The diamond mine located here is home to the

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Molomo, Mpho G. "Civil-Military Relations in Botswana's Developmental State."

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