This is the dramatic story of how the De Beers corporation entered into a 50-50 joint venture with the government of Botswana after a huge diamond field was discovered there in l967. What happened over the past 40 years has been the transformation of the country and the lives of the people. It is a unique example of corporate social responsibility in Africa —- in contrast to centuries of exploitation of the continent's resources by outsiders.

De Beers is the legendary company, founded in South Africa in l888 by Cecil Rhodes, that controlled diamond exploration, mining and trading world-wide throughout the 20th century. Until the l990's, De Beers sold between 60 to 80 percent of the world's diamonds. The slogan "A diamond is forever" is part of the popular culture, with the diamond seen as the quintessential symbol of love and commitment.

From the earliest years, the Oppenheimer family, who owned De Beers, was ahead of the times, working in philanthropy, giving scholarships, building roads and hospitals and opposing apartheid. Edward Jay Epstein, in his book, "The Rise and Fall of Diamonds," says of the Oppenheimer family, "They were the good guys."

It was a twist of fate and timing that Botswana had just gained its independence from Britain in l966 when rough diamonds were found in the remote area of Orapa, 250 miles from the capital city of Gaborone. The De Beers company developed the site and spent $33 million over four years to make it ready for production. Seretse Khama, Botswana's president, officiated at the opening ceremony.

Botswana originally had an agricultural economy and ranked as one of the poorest countries in the world with a per capita income of about $80 a year. By the l980s, 50 percent of the nation's gross domestic product came from diamond, manganese and copper mines controlled by De Beers. Today, Botswana is one of the most prosperous countries in Africa with a per capita income of nearly $6,000 a year. In contrast, the average person in Angola earns about $2,500 a year while the per capita in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is close to $1,500 according to records from the World Bank.

As a result of the joint agreement between De Beers and the government, the company has built roads, schools and hospitals in Botswana. It has also been deeply involved in dealing with H.I.V. and AIDS. Ten years ago, De Beers sold the government a 15 percent share in the company, which has been controlled by the Oppenheimer family for over 100 years. Most of the executives in the government-company venture are Africans who have been trained by De Beers. In March, 2008, De Beers closed its diamond sorting center in London and opened the largest, most technologically advanced sorting facility in the world in Gaborone.

Gareth Penny, 45 and South African, has been the company's chief executive since 2006. He spelled out the concept of corporate social responsibility when he said, "We are making a contribution by helping to build a more civil society. We are part of the solution." He added, "We think our approach is a competitive advantage." He explains that De Beers needs roads as does the country. De Beers needs a healthy work force; thus its interest in H.I.V. awareness benefits both the company and the citizens. De Beers needs an educated populace. De Beers aims at a harmonious society and Botswana has proven to be politically stable in contrast to certain other African nations.

Penny said in an interview, "The country can now attract banks and service industries - and avoid the natural resource curse." He uses the term "beneficiation" to describe "doing

well while doing good." When he visited in Washington several months ago, he cited Botswana and Namibia where De Beers has programs that benefit the country as well as the corporation. A third African country, Tanzania, has a partnership between De Beers at 75 percent and the government at 25 percent. Over 7,000 people are employed in Botswana, 3,800 in Namibia, and 7,100 in South Africa.

In contrast to the countries where De Beers has entered into joint ventures, other countries like Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo, have diamond deposits that have not been explored and mined. The key difference is that the governments of these countries have

been unstable with corruption at high levels.

De Beers, a private company, could not take the risk of investing as a partner with a regime that could be overthrown by rebels. The difference in Botswana is that since independence, the leadership and elected officials have been described as honest and aware that economic growth is necessary to avoid civil insurgencies. Their focus has been to build a secure society and improve the lives of the citizens.

Another facet of Africa's economic picture involves the increase of Chinese companies coming into Africa. Their role has not been one that fosters benefits to the people in the African nations. In 2008, Fast Company magazine published an investigative article that exposed in detail how certain Chinese companies are paying off governments and taking out resources with no regard to "beneficiation." Sonia Marciano, a professor at New York University who has written several case studies about De Beers, makes clear that there are limits to corporate social responsibility if the leaders in a government are incompetent or corrupt. She wrote, "It's the real lesson here; the importance of decent governments."

The joint agreement in Botswana between De Beers and the government rests on the stability within the country and the solid support and vision of the company. They both benefit from the partnership. It's an on-going success story that serves as a model for other African countries with diamond and mineral resources to follow.

Joyce S. Anderson's articles have appeared in the New York Times, the Philadelphia Inquirer and other national publications. She is the author of "Courage in High Heels," "Flaw in the Tapestry," "If Winter Comes" and "The Mermaids Singing." She can be reached at JSAWrite@aol.com.