July 13, 2016 The Skanner Page 9
News
Botswanan Officials Tout Economic Success During 50th Anniversary
Ambassador David Newman calls his native country ‘the world’s best-kept secret’
By Barrington M.
Salmon
NNPA News Wire Con-
tributor
When the southern
African nation of the
Republic of Botswana
gained
independence
from Britain in 1966, it
was ranked as the third
poorest country in the
world. Through pru-
dence, fiscal discipline
and good governance,
Botswana earned the
reputation as one of the
fastest growing econo-
mies in the world in the
mid-1970s and is now a
solidly middle-income
country which boasted
“
and since then, diamond
mining has fueled much
of the country’s infra-
structure expansion and
growth in areas such as
education, agriculture
and healthcare. Reve-
nues from diamond min-
ing accounts for almost
80 percent of export
earnings, more than
one-third of GDP, and, ac-
cording to the World Dia-
mond Council, generates
almost one-third of the
government’s revenues.
“The British were will-
ing to part with [the
country] and expected
Botswana to be a chari-
ty case forever,” he said
headed by President Lt.
Gen. Ian Khama, former
commander of the Bo-
tswana Defense Force –
has made.
“At a time when our
world is overwhelmed
with negative news, the
50th anniversary of Bo-
tswana’s independence
is evidence of enduring
good news,” said Chavis.
“The NNPA is very inter-
ested in getting and shar-
ing the stories of Botswa-
na’s stable democracy
and the significance and
improvement of the qual-
ity of life of African peo-
ple in Southern Africa.”
“We look forward to
working
with our
counter-
parts
in
Botswana
who’re in-
volved in
the media, both print
and digital. Botswana is
a global story of what all
people should be made
aware.”
For 10 days in early
June, Newman, tourism
officials and represen-
tatives of the DeBeers
Group traveled to the
largest diamond show in
the world in Las Vegas,
and to New York, Chica-
go and Washington, DC
to drum up exposure and
nail down trade and in-
vestment opportunities.
“We’ve been in Bo-
tswana for almost 50
years since they found
diamond deposits at Oka-
vango in 1967,” said David
Prager, De Beers’ Global
Head of Corporate Af-
fairs. “We have a joint
venture called, ‘Debswa-
na,’ which is a true 50-50
partnership. Botswana
does the mining which
has helped fuel tremen-
dous economic growth.
Diamonds are our long-
term proposition. De-
Beers is blessed to be a
The British were willing to part with
[the country] and expected Botswana
to be a charity case forever
a per capita gross do-
mestic product (GDP) of
$16,600 in 2014.
Ambassador
David
Newman, Botswana’s en-
voy to the United States,
calls his native country
“the world’s best-kept se-
cret,” and as the 2.2 mil-
lion citizens celebrate 50
years of independence,
Newman said that not
only will he spread the
good news about the
country’s success, but
tourism officials, corpo-
rate partners and others
will also share the posi-
tive reports.
“We are a modern de-
mocracy and success
story,” said Newman
during an interview
prior to a June 10 black-
tie gala at the Mandarin
Oriental Hotel in down-
town Washington, D.C.
“Botswana is the world’s
largest producer of dia-
monds in terms of value.”
Newman said it was
fortuitous for natives of
Botswana, that diamonds
were discovered in 1967
with a chuckle.
The Ibrahim Index
ranks Botswana as the
best governed nation on
the African continent
and, according to Forbes
magazine, two major in-
vestment services rank
Botswana – a landlocked
republic that gained in-
dependence after being
a British protectorate –
as the best credit risk in
Africa.
Newman credits a num-
ber of factors for Botswa-
na’s stability, including
the people themselves,
who he said naturally
practice tolerance, re-
spect and humility.
“We’ve
developed
some good partnerships.
We’ve had 50 years and
10 elections, one every
five years. It’s a very sta-
ble, secure country,” he
said.
Benjamin Chavis, pres-
ident and CEO of the
National
Newspaper
Publishers Association
(NNPA), praised the
progress the country —
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part of your daily routine
for a better day today
and tomorrow.
Ambassador David Newman (left), Botswana’s envoy to the United States, and Mrs. Changu Mazana
Newman pose for a photograph during a black-tie gala at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in downtown
Washington, D.C. (Travis Riddick/NNPA News Wire)
partner. For DeBeers, it
was the right thing to do.
We’re proud corporate
citizens.”
Debswana is the coun-
try’s largest private-sec-
tor employer.
Jillian
Blackbeard,
marketing
manager
for Botswana Tourism,
echoed Prager’s com-
ments about diversifi-
cation, as she discussed
her country’s efforts to
expand its tourism and
conservation sectors be-
yond diamonds.
She said the country’s
leaders have set aside 40
percent of the land for
wildlife
management
in the wetlands of the
Okavango Delta in the
north. Botswana is home
to about 40 percent of all
the surviving elephants
left in the world, and
the country which is the
size of Texas, has what
is described as the larg-
est game reserves on the
African continent with
giraffes, big cats, rhi-
nos, zebras, large dogs,
giraffes, wild dogs and
the largest population
of African elephants —
200,000 – in Africa.
Read the rest of this story at
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