Francistown — Local businessman, Mclean Letshwiti, has partnered with Tiffany's & Company to open a diamond cutting and polishing company in Botswana. The company, which has already been registered, will be operational by March next year. Tiffany's is a renowned jewellery retailer with a US$ 3 billion yearly turnover and a US$ 6 billion market capital value.

In an interview with Mmegi, Letshwiti did not reveal the figures involved in the partnership but however said his shares are of substantial value. "At the moment I am going at it alone but I will be inviting other Batswana to join me in the partnership. I am not just going to keep it to myself."

Letshwiti did however urge the government to be supportive in making sure that all diamond and sorting companies get the right quality of diamonds. "If government want us to succeed, they should be willing to see to it that we get the right supply of quality diamonds and that's very critical. If it doesn't happen, we are all going to fail," he said.

After the government successfully negotiated with DeBeers for the Diamond Trading Company (DTC) to relocate to Botswana, it started awarding licences to foreign companies interested in diamond cutting and sorting. Tiffany's was one of the companies awarded the licence and Letshwiti says all the necessary staff recruitment, factory renovation and machinery has already been finalised.

Last week President Festus Mogae and his delegation to New York took time to visit one of Tiffany's retail outlets. "We wanted to show the President who Tiffany is and the shear size of the company because it is one of the largest diamond trading retailers in the world," said Letshwiti.

He further revealed that the factory is going to be housed in a warehouse that belongs to BEDIA in Mogoditshane and will house other diamond cutting and polishing companies. He stated that Tiffany's would in future relocate depending on the success of the project and availability of suitable land to build their own premises. Letshwiti advised Batswana to get involved in the diamond industry because it has many opportunities. He said they should not expect the government to do everything for them, but they should approach foreign companies coming to invest in the country to see how they can be involved at ownership level.

"It's the right of Batswana to venture into these industry, if they don't start now, tomorrow they will say they are being sidelined but who should put them there, no one except themselves," he said.

He also called on those companies coming to invest in the country to make it easier for Batswana to approach them to do business. He stated that even if government wants these companies to partner with Batswana, they cannot force them to do so. "The only thing is for these companies to also understand that they should involve Batswana and work together." Regarding the prosperity of Tiffany's in the country, considering other companies that have failed in the diamond cutting and polishing industry before, Letshwiti said the company will succeed because it has a lot of resources and experience in the industry all over the world.

He also noted that with DTC coming to the country, Tiffany's and other companies coming to invest in Botswana would be at an advantage to directly negotiate for the supply of better quality diamonds. When operational, DTC Botswana will buy, sell and market some of the world diamonds directly from Botswana and will create up to 3,000 jobs.