بررسی توسعه معدنی و سیاست های سرمایه گذاری در بوتسوانا

Botswana's mineral policy objective is primarily to maximize the national economic benefit from the development of mineral resources. In 1999, the government replaced the old mining code of 1977, which was out of tune with prevailing economic philosophies with a new mining code. Although, the old act had its shortcomings it served the country reasonably well for 20 years, during which time the country was transformed from being one of the poorest of the world's poor to a middle income country. One of the cornerstones of the new and old mining codes is that government does not subscribe to privately owned minerals rights. The Botswana government attempts to provide a fair balance between the various stakeholders. There are, however, areas in the mineral policy and mining codes that need to be critically reviewed as outlined in this paper.

The mining sector makes a significant contribution to the economy of Botswana. During the last National Development Plan 8 (1997/1998–2002/2003) the sector contributed about a third of the Gross Domestic Product, over 70% of export earnings and over 55% of total government revenues (Mining Development Plan 9, 2003/2004–2008/2009). Since, diamond mining began in the early seventies the country has posted commendable economic growth. Although, the country has made significant progress since independence, economic diversification has not been well rooted. This is a major concern to Botswana especially against the fact that no significant growth impetus is expected to originate from the mineral sector in the near future. This paper reviews the mineral development and investment policies of Botswana. The paper focuses on the impact of mineral and fiscal legislation in attracting investors. It highlights the information most crucial to the investor during the exploration and exploitation phases including mineral potential, mineral legislation, fiscal regime, business environment and political risk. Mining involves an element of speculation and is particularly susceptible to risk. Investors would normally carry out a risk analysis of prospective countries prior to making investment decisions. There are many types of mining project risks including management, political and security risks, ore reserves, production (technology), construction, commodity (price and market) and environmental risks. This paper however confines itself to political and security risks since government authorities may influence them.

Botswana has clear and transparent legal and fiscal legislation backed by efficient administration structures. Botswana has a track record of fair and equitable dealings with international investors spanning 30 years. This has enabled the government to get away with measures such as holding shares in mining companies and drawing royalty payments. However, the country cannot afford to be complacent. Botswana should make an effort to enhance its position as an investor friendly country. Not only is exploration expenditure in the country focused primarily on diamonds but it has also been fluctuating as seen in Table 2. The country is also massively dependent on diamonds, which account for 80% of exports and 50% of government revenue (Official SADC Trade, Industry and Investment Review, 2003). This does not augur well for the country. It is therefore, crucial for the government to attract more exploration activity for other minerals to the country. The mineral policy should seek to encourage the development of other sources of mineral wealth. A potentially limiting feature of Botswana's mineral industry has been that very few shares in Botswana mining companies have been available on the local stock exchange. The ownership has been either in private hands or jointly owned by government and private companies. This legal investment limitation has prevented the ordinary citizen or pension funds from effectively investing and participating in the extraction of the nation's resources after more than 30 years of mining history. This is an indictment of the policies of the country. Botswana should consider strengthening its investment agency, BEDIA. The agency should be truly a one-stop-centre responsible for co-coordinating, promoting and facilitating investment in the country. Botswana's Embassies, High Commissions and Consulates abroad should play a more important and noticeable role in promoting the country's mineral potential and mineral investment environment. The Botswana Mineral Policy is well defined but is still lacking in detail. It would be useful if the policy document included mineral taxation, mineral rights and prospecting information, mineral beneficiation, minerals marketing, research and development, mine health and safety, human resource development, migrant labour, downscaling and regional co-operation. It is however, noted that some of these issues are addressed in the mining laws and other laws of the country. It would however, make life easier for the investor if the relevant issues were contained in one policy document.