Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane has once again thrown consultation to the four winds and dumped the long-standing practice of granting exemption to rough diamonds being sent to neighbouring Botswana so that they can be like-for-like sorted with diamonds mined in Botswana, Namibia and Canada. This sustains South Africa’s diamond cutting and polishing industry, which needs big stones, and optimises foreign exchange revenue through local value addition. Up to now, De Beers has received export levy exemption yearly without fail, because, once the aggregation process is complete, rough diamonds of higher value are reimported back into South Africa for cutting and polishing. But Zwane has chosen to suddenly go rogue on beneficiation, despite De Beers exceeding all the legislated criteria. As a consequence, De Beers has approached the Pretoria High Court to set aside the Minister’s decision, another indication that litigation is becoming the new normal as government errors increase.