overnment. (PACNET)The countries described above all have extremely unstable and volatile economies. Their problems are rooted in disputes over control of land and diamond mines. On the other hand, there are countries in Africa that are not in the same situation as Angola, Sierra Leone, and Liberia. Nations such as Botswana and Namibia have very stable economies, which rely heavily upon diamond mining activities. How is it possible that some countries can fall into such turmoil, while others can be extremely prosperous when diamonds are a key factor in their economy? Botswana has the strongest economy in Africa, and also has the highest GDP/person in Africa. The dependence on diamond mining activities on Botswanas economy is great. (MBendi) Botswana lies immediately to the north of South Africa and is bordered by Namibia and Zimbabwe. Its lush landscape is extremely untamed and contains an astonishingly large variety of wildlife. The discovery of numerous diamond reserves in the late 1960s brought upon great economic potential. By the beginning of the 1980s, diamonds had well overtaken beef as the country's leading foreign exchange earner and in 1981, diamond exports accounted for 40% of total exports and rose rapidly thereafter to reach approximately 80% of total foreign exchange earnings by 1989. (Botswana Govt Website)Botswana exports to several nations including many European nations, South Africa, and the U.S. This beautiful African nation is known to many as The Gem of Africa. Many diamond mining oriented businesses have flourished in Botswana over the years. Debswana is a joint company of DeBeers and the Botswana government. This company has control over three very large and important diamond mines in Botswana. These mines account for the largest majority of Botswanas production of approximately 20 million carats per year. Debswana employs about six thousand people and is Botswanas largest employer. (MBendi) On...
