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said the company's Managing Director, Brian McDonald.
DTCB
will be the largest and most sophisticated rough diamond
sorting and valuing operation in the world, sorting
and valuing in excess of 34 million carats a year
of Debswana's production. It is expected that US $375m
of rough diamonds will be sold by DTCB to its Sightholders
in 2008, and that by 2009 US $550 million will be
supplied in the country each year. Over US $270 million
of diamonds have been supplied for local manufacturing
during 2007, providing approximately 2000 jobs. McDonald
said "this is a dramatic increase on the 2006
figure of $135m and shows a rapid expansion of the
local industry since Government and De Beers decided
to create DTC Botswana and develop the downstream
industry in Botswana in May 2006." In addition
to sorting and valuing, DTCB has a Sales and Marketing
function which is responsible for local sales of aggregated
diamond mixtures to its newly established client base
and for supporting the establishment of a sustainable
local diamond manufacturing operations.
On November 14 2007 DTCB announced its list of Sightholders,
formalizing supply arrangements for 16 Botswana-based
diamond manufacturing operations. "A robust and
objective evaluation process resulted in all 16 license-holders
in Botswana meeting the criteria for supply and becoming
DTCB Sightholders" says the company's Head of
Sales and Marketing Toby Frears.
The
DTC Botswana building was funded by De Beers at a
cost of P 471 million and has been equipped with state
of the art technology fully funded by De Beers.The
equipment comprises a total of 39 diamond sorting
machines with a combined value of P69m. The new building
has a total capacity to process 45 million carats
per annum and to accommodate up to 600 employees.
Work
to restructure BDVC business operations in preparation
for the establishment of DTCB commenced in 2006 and
continued through out 2007. "A vital part of
this was embedding the skills that will be required
at DTCB. BDVC has since maintained a strong emphasis
on training and development. For example, the majority
of management staff have attended supervisory, team
leadership and management programmes, and a drive
towards building commercial awareness has been reinforced
through courses on Finance for Non-Financial Managers,
Foundation Management and a Programme for Management
Development" said DTCB's Head of Human Resource
Richard Malikongwe.
A
programme of transition was undertaken to ensure the
smooth transition, not only of the business of BDVC
to DTCB, but also of ensuring the smooth operations
from Orapa House to the new DTCB facility. "The
transition has been a challenging one, not least the
uncertainty that it has created for the staff of BDVC.
As DTCB emerges from the old company, it is clear
that the strength and maturity of the staff places
DTCB in a strong position to succeed in the years
ahead" says Malikongwe.
DTCB
also launched its corporate identity alongside the
official launch of its operations on the day. "Our
brand was mainly conceptualized from what we believe
is our clientele's gut feeling towards the goods and
services we will render. The concept was also informed
by stakeholder perceptions, our Vision, Botswana's
national symbols and the goods we provide" says
DTCB's Corporate Communications and Public Affairs
Manager, Kago Mmopi. "DTCB's vision - Diamond
Pride, Diamond Prosperity, Diamond Sustainability,
we will support the creation of a globally competitive
downstream diamond industry in Botswana - played an
instrumental role in determining our company's slogan
- "Pride and prosperity through Diamonds"
says Mmopi.
DTC
Botswana commenced operations at its new facility
along the airport road on 10th March 2008 subsequent
to a successful work simulation run at the new premises
on 1st March 2008. The simulation run sought to ensure
the smooth running of various systems and to induct
staff to their new working environment.
The
guest of Honor was H.E. the President of the Republic
of Botswana President F.G. Mogae accompanied by the
First Lady Mrs. Barbara Mogae. Other dignitaries at
the event included His Honor the Vice President, Honorable
Ministers and MPs, Mr. N. Oppenheimer - Chairman of
De Beers and Captains of Industry.
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