The diamond industry in the Democratic Republic of Congo is currently being radically reorganized by the Head of State, Félix Antoine Tshisekedi. Last Thursday, the President paid a personal visit to the Jwaneng surface mine, located 150 kilometers from the Botswana capital, Gaborone. On site, he received all the information relating to the production and marketing of diamonds according to the model of Botswana, which is the world’s leading producer in value and volume, just ahead of Russia.
“At the end of this visit to the Jwaneng mine, the Head of State, conquered by the Batswana model, in terms of the organization of the diamond sector, expressed the wish to duplicate it in the Democratic Republic of Congo. “, indicated the Presidency of the Republic.
His journey did not end there. A day before going to the Jwaneng mine, Félix Antoine Tshisekedi spent his day on Wednesday at the headquarters of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) of which he is the current President. He toured the premises and spoke with the executive secretariat staff recruited from 16 member countries, praising their professionalism, dedication and commitment to this sub-regional organization.
As a reminder, President Tshisekedi is currently staying in Gaborone, Botswana, since last Sunday, May 07, where he took part in the Extraordinary Summit of the Troika of SADC Heads of State and Government. He also met other Heads of State to discuss the various worrying security situations in the DRC, particularly in North Kivu.
This new agreement to reorganize the diamond sector could be an important step towards the modernization of the mining industries of the DRC. However, the country still has many challenges to overcome in terms of infrastructure modernization and economic development. We have covered some of these topics in previous articles, such as the progress in modernizing ports or the humanitarian and security crisis in the DRC.