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. She was appointed by President Duma Boko on November 14th, 2024. 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. The Ministry of Minerals and Energy holds massive importance in Botswana as Botswana is the world’s leading producer of diamonds by value.

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.

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. However, De Beers' Rough Diamond Sales has seen major declines over the years.

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.