Botswana diamond slump hits miners living on the edge of survival
Key takeaways
- Botswana’s diamond-driven economy is under mounting strain as global demand weakens and production falls.
- He says he had been on rolling three-year renewable contracts with Enabler Hires (Pty) Ltd, and expected the arrangement would continue through to 2027.
- Instead, he was retrenched and made redundant without warning.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
Botswana’s diamond-driven economy is under mounting strain as global demand weakens and production falls.
xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogle Add Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Botswana’s diamond slowdown is triggering widespread job losses in mining communities, exposing the risks of reliance on a single export sector. [Botswana Diamond Workers Union]By Enos Denhere Published On 9 Jun 20269 Jun 2026Orapa, Botswana – It is a year since Motshwegwa Rakhudu lost his job after 14 years working as an installer at Debswana diamond mining operations in northern Botswana. He says he had been on rolling three-year renewable contracts with Enabler Hires (Pty) Ltd, and expected the arrangement would continue through to 2027.
Instead, he was retrenched and made redundant without warning.