Ministry of Minerals and Energy (Botswana)

The Ministry of Minerals, Green Technology, and Energy Security (MMGE) is a ministry within the Cabinet of Botswana. The current minister is Bogolo Kenewendo.^[1] She was appointed by President Duma Boko on November 14th, 2024.^[2] The Ministry is made up of 6 departments/sections including the Department of Corporate Services, Department of Mines, Department of Energy, Mineral Affairs Division, Diamond Hub, and Projects & Energy Development Unit.^[3] The Ministry of Minerals and Energy holds massive importance in Botswana as Botswana is the world’s leading producer of diamonds by value.^[1]

This sector contributes to 80 percent of foreign exchange earnings in Botswana, but is heavily influenced by global demand. Largely due to increased costs, long term trends have shown a decline of mineral revenues especially in the diamond industry. The diamond industry was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic as global demand for diamonds revenues decreased significantly. Despite a short increase in 2021/2022 driven by the United States, the industry continues to see diminishing returns. This has been attributed to subdued demand, falling prices, and growing competition in synthetic diamonds.^[1]

Debswana Diamond Company currently operates almost 100% of all diamond mines in Botswana and a joint venture of Botswana and De Beers. Debswana currently sells 75% of its output to De Beers.^[4] However, De Beers' Rough Diamond Sales has seen major declines over the years.^[5]

Due to these global declines, The Ministry of Minerals and Energy is pursuing more investments in the industry through the exploration and exploitation of non-diamond minerals. The MMGE is looking to diversify the mineral sector from its diamond dependency through increased mining of copper, nickel, silver, coal, manganese, soda ash, gold, semi-precious stones, and granite. Additionally, there are untapped reserves of uranium, lead, and zinc that companies are seeking to exploit.^[1]