Stating that negotiations by their nature are a confidential dialogue between participating parties, Molale said negotiations between Botswana and De Beers are no different.
He told Parliament that the parties could agree to make public statements before, during and after the negotiations without compromising the sanctity of the subject at hand.
Molale who was answering a question in Parliament said there should be no fear of compromising the sovereignty of the state.
“Government’s mandate is to negotiate to achieve an outcome that is in the best interest of Batswana(citizens) . Therefore the issue of lack of transparency does not arise nor does that compromise sovereignty,” said the minister.
He added that the negotiations should be a “win-win situation between us as a country and those that we are partnering with. So far I have participated in at least two negotiations, there has been progressive kind of benefits that have accrued over time.”
The government has its own valuators , De Beers nearly singlehandedly controls the value of diamonds emerging from its valuable mines in Botswana using the price book, which in turn determines government’s mineral revenue.