Botswana

Botswana

Statistics & Facts:

  • Capital City = Gaborone
  • Population = 2,029,307
  • Official and Recognized Languages  = English (official), Setswana, Kalanga, Sekgalagadi,
  • Independence = September 30, 1966
  • GDP = $26 BILLION (USD 2009 estimate) / Per capita = $13,100
  • Currency = Pulas
  • Religion = Christianity 71.6%, Badimo 6%
Statistcs from CIA – World Factbook

Botswana and Diamonds:

Botswana is the world’s leading producer of gem quality diamonds in the world, producing some 30.4 Mct in 2003 compared to 28.4 Mct in 2002. The diamond industry accounts for 70% of export earnings within the country and 30% of Botswana’s GDP.

Diamond production in Botswana is dominated by Debswana, a joint venture company owned by De Beers Investments (50%) and the Government of Botswana (50%). Debswana has 3 operational mines, Lethlhakane, Orapa and Jwaneng. The Letlhakane mine near Orapa was founded in 1973, as was the much larger Jwaneng mine in the south of the country but, while Letlhakane came into production by 1977, Jwaneng did not start mining operations until 1982. Jwaneng is by far the richest and the largest of the three mines and one of the largest diamond mines in the world. Jwaneng has been earmarked for the installation of the new “aquarius” technology – a new method of sorting rough diamonds without any human intervention.

Smaller mining operations exist near Martins Drift, close to the border with South Africa. Tswapong Mining Company, a joint venture between De Beers Prospecting Services (85%) and the Government of Botswana (15%) operate Martin’s Drift. The operation has a limited life around four years – with production coming from five smaller pipes. All diamonds are sorted and valued by Botswana Diamond Valuing Company, which is a subsidiary of the Debswana Diamond Company.

Botswana is a participant in the Kimberley Process, the association of governments of diamond-producing and importing countries, commercial diamond firms and pan-industry associations, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), which has implemented a certification system for the international trade in rough diamonds, designed to prevent so-called “blood” or “conflict” diamonds from being shipped through legitimate trading channels.

(MBendi.com)

Education in Botswana:

Botswana has made great strides in educational development since independence in 1966. At that time there were very few graduates in the country and only a very small percentage of the population attended secondary school.

With the discovery of diamonds and the increase in government revenue that this brought, there was a huge increase in educational provision in the country. All students were guaranteed ten years of basic education, leading to a Junior Certificate qualification. Approximately half of the school population attends a further two years of secondary schooling leading to the award of the Botswana General Certificate of Secondary Education (BGCSE). Secondary education in Botswana is neither free nor compulsory.

After leaving school, students can attend one of the six technical colleges in the country, or take vocational training courses in teaching or nursing. The best students enter the University of Botswana, Botswana College of Agriculture, and The Botswana Accountancy college in Gaborone. Many other students end up in the numerous private tertiary education colleges around the country. A high majority of these students are government sponsored. The quantitative gains have not always been matched by qualitative ones. Primary schools in particular still lack resources, and the teachers are less well paid than their secondary school colleagues. The Government of Botswana hopes that by investing a large part of national income in education, the country will become less dependent on diamonds for its economic survival, and less dependent on expatriates for its skilled workers.

In January 2006, Botswana announced the reintroduction of school fees after two decades of free state education though the government still provides full scholarships with living expenses to any Botswana citizen in university, either at the University of Botswana or if the student wishes to pursue an education in any field not offered locally, such as medicine, they are provided with a full scholarship to study abroad.

(Wikipedia.org)

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