DTC Botswana appoints new MD

Brian Benza
Staff Writer | Tuesday December 6, 2011 00:00

 

Kobedi, a Motswana with over 15 years experience in the diamond industry, is currently the Group Finance Manager for Debswana where he is responsible for a diverse range of activities in finance, supply chain, risk management and insurance.

The appointment, which was endorsed at a meeting of the board of DTC Botswana last week, follows the retirement of Brian McDonald who leaves office at the end of this year after being with DTC Botswana since 2007.

British citizen McDonald became the founding MD of DTC Botswana four years ago. The company, which is an equal partnership between the Government of Botswana and De Beers, was created in 2006 as a primary vehicle for creating a sustainable and profitable downstream diamond industry in Botswana.

In a statement, DTC Botswana says Kobedi will spend the first nine to 12 months of his tenure gaining a deeper and comprehensive understanding of all aspects of mid-stream and downstream aspects of the diamond value chain.

'He will spend considerable time visiting the cutting centres to meet sightholders and industry stakeholders, and will travel regularly to associated DTC offices,' the statement says.

'During Kobedi's transition into his new role, Paul Rowley, currently the DTC's Executive Director for Sorting, Valuing and Purchasing, will serve as Acting Managing Director of DTC Botswana.

'Both Kobedi and Rowley will be working to ensure the smooth and successful transition of the DTC's London-based sales activity to Gaborone by the end of 2013.'    CEO of DTC International, Varda Shine, commented on the appointment: 'We are delighted with Kobedi's appointment as the first Motswana to lead DTC Botswana.

'With the eyes and energy of the diamond world increasingly focused on Botswana and the upcoming move of the DTC, we are excited about the experience and skill that Tabake will bring to DTC Botswana.' DTC Botswana currently values and sorts all Debswana production in Gaborone before exporting to DTC London for aggregation, the process of blending diamonds from various De Beers producer countries, among them Canada, South Africa and Namibia, and preparing them for sale.

In addition to sorting and valuing, DTC Botswana - which has the capacity of 45 million carats a year - imports some aggregated mix from DTC London and distributes the rough diamonds to 16 sightholders in Botswana for cutting and polishing. 

Of the US$5.08 billion (P32.6bn) DTC global sales in 2010, US$482 million (P3.1bn) was sold through DTC Botswana. However, after the relocation of DTC International, DTC Botswana will only continue with the sorting and valuing of Debswana production while the local 16 sightholders that are set to be increased to 20 will be transferred to DTC International's list of sightholders.