MAUN (miningweekly.com) – Botswana should focus on establishing a diamond sector that was second to none, President Ian Khama said during the thirteenth Confederation of Commerce, Industry and Manpower in Maun, this week.

He noted that the relocation of diamond aggregation and sales to Gaborone, as well as the development of the diamond cutting and polishing industry in the country, was testimony to the country’s quest to diversify its industrial base.

“I recognise that the global competiveness of our diamond industry value chain can still benefit greatly from an improvement in productivity; therefore, I want to congratulate the Botswana Chamber of Mines for their Business Development Project initiative, which will support and nurture participation of local manufacturers and service providers through consolidated purchasing of inputs for the mining sector,” he stated.

Khama further noted that the Business Development Project, which was launched in October, would further promote foreign direct investment (FDI) by attracting foreign mining equipment manufacturers to invest in the country.

He added that, in Botswana’s efforts to accelerate economic diversification, the country needed to pay special attention to the alignment of its industrial policy with its focus on attracting on FDI.

“FDI plays an important role in our economic development strategy owing to the effect it has on job creation and [the] transfer of intellectual capital and technology. It also contributes to other important objectives, such as economic diversification and industrialisation,” he explained.

Khama further commented that the Botswana government intended to leave no stone unturned to ensure it became one of the top investment destinations in Africa.

“It is encouraging to note that Botswana was ranked the best investment destination in the world by the US Foreign Policy magazine, which evaluated 112 countries based on the Baseline Profitability Index,” he said.

He stressed that the government would continue its efforts to attract FDI into the manufacturing sector, owing to its potential to create permanent skilled jobs.

“The sector could also prove crucial in developing the next generation of competitive Batswana workers with industry-relevant skills, which will go a long way in bridging the relevant skills industry gap that we are always alluding to,” he pointed out.

Khama stated that he recognised that a significant portion of recent FDI had flowed into the mining and financial services sectors.

“While this is a welcome development, it also calls for prudence in ensuring that FDI flows are diversified to guarantee that other key economic sectors also benefit. If we do, we will be ensuring that local firms in these sectors also grow and become globally competitive,” he said.

Meanwhile, the tourism sector in Botswana had also given the country confidence and had enabled the country to demonstrate its ability to deliver an attractive and diverse range of products in the sector.

The President also noted that unemployment remained an area of deep concern and that the country needed to create jobs that enhanced the welfare of Batswana and that were consistent with economic growth.

“The key to this lies in the development of globally competitive export-oriented industries and the growth of local small to medium business enterprises,” he said.