Botswana diamond slump hits miners living on the edge of survival
Botswana's diamond-dependent economy has seen exports fall around 40% in two years as lab-grown stones flood the market, with Debswana slowing production at its largest mines. The government says the budget deficit has climbed to 9% of GDP, with thousands of mineworkers now relying on emergency assistance.
Reporting from Jwaneng, Al Jazeera said Debswana has shortened worker shifts at its giant Jwaneng and Orapa mines and suspended more than 1,200 sub-contractor agreements. De Beers executives said demand is being shaped by "persistent pressure on retail prices from synthetic stones."
Botswana's President Duma Boko confirmed Finance Ministry figures showing the budget deficit had risen to 9% of GDP and said foreign-exchange reserves have fallen 35% over the past two years. The government said it had opened contacts with the IMF but had not formally requested a support programme.
In the village of Galbatswe, where the sole income comes from a father working in a mine, one family told Al Jazeera they had "barely been able to put basic food on the table for two weeks." Botswana's Mineworkers Union has asked the government for a temporary income-support programme.
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