Also known as: DR DOUGLAS RASBASH
Analyst who has argued Botswana needs fundamental shifts in development spending and economic policy to improve outcomes.
Verbatim sentences from the source article.
The Botswana Gazette
… By Douglas Rasbash Botswana’s old development model was simple: spend more, build more, import more, employ more through the state, and assume that wellbeing would follow. …
Post-Diamond Republic Needs DecouplingThe Botswana Gazette
By Douglas Rasbash A severely burned infant’s desperate journey from a public clinic to a private hospital exposes deeper questions about medicine shortages, emergency care and Botswana’s ability to protect its most vulnerable citizens. …
When a Child is Burned a Nation is TestedThe Botswana Gazette
Time for a new development paradigm Douglas Rasbash Despite billions in development spending, Douglas Rasbash argues that Botswana’s planning model has drifted from transformation to performance, with weaker growth and higher unemployment exposing the need for sharper, outcome fo …
Government Has Lost the PlotThe Botswana Gazette
… By Douglas Rasbash The Botswana CI GCF…
Botswana’s Quiet Ecological RevolutionThe Botswana Gazette
By Douglas Rasbash The forensic audit report should be read like an iceberg. What the public can see above the waterline is already alarming: 814 findings, 585 of them rated Very High or High severity, 80 special investigation referrals, contracts and payments with a combined gro …
The Forensic Audit Iceberg: We Are Seeing Only One-Fifth of the ProblemThe Botswana Gazette
… As growth stalls and pressures mount, Douglas Rasbash argues that six critical pillars must move from fragmented ideas into a single, disciplined economic framework. …
A COUNTRY WITH NO COMPASS?President Duma Boko reaffirmed the goal of rebuilding Botswana's national cattle herd from around 1.6 million animals in 2024 to close to five million by the end of the decade. An expert commentary argues the expansion must be judged by productivity, sustainability, and farmer income rather than cattle numbers alone.
3 September 2026 · The Botswana Gazette →
President Duma Boko reaffirmed the goal of rebuilding Botswana's national cattle herd from around 1.6 million animals in 2024 to close to five million by the end of the decade. An expert commentary argues the expansion must be judged by productivity, sustainability, and farmer income rather than cattle numbers alone.
3 September 2026 · The Botswana Gazette →
Minister Bogolo Kenewendo launched the 100 MW Mmadinare Solar PV Cluster as part of Botswana's energy transition, though questions remain about foreign ownership and whether long-term wealth from the energy shift will benefit the country.
3 September 2026 · The Botswana Gazette →
Following the Mbuya Nehanda ferry capsizing on Lake Kariba that killed 94 people, an opinion piece questions whether Botswana's institutions expose failures, learn from them, and prevent future disasters, citing a pattern of repeated transport tragedies from Matsha to Kariba.
30 August 2026 · The Botswana Gazette →
Mounting fiscal and governance pressures are prompting Botswana to reconsider whether fragmented ministerial oversight of state-owned enterprises remains viable, with a professional state holdings group emerging as a potential alternative.
30 August 2026 · The Botswana Gazette →
Anglo American's proposed sale of its controlling stake in De Beers could lead to the company's departure from the Botswana Stock Exchange, potentially revealing the true scale of the domestic market while intensifying pressure on pension funds to invest more assets locally.
9 August 2026 · The Botswana Gazette →
Botswana's proposal to place Permanent Secretaries on performance contracts warrants support, but Government must first clarify whether contracts should reward administrative activity or measurable improvements in citizens' lives.
3 August 2026 · The Botswana Gazette →
Botswana has welcomed the United States' decision to remove additional import tariffs on Botswana-origin diamonds, restoring competitiveness in a key jewellery market. However, lab-grown diamonds pose a greater long-term threat to natural stones than tariff-related barriers.
31 July 2026 · The Botswana Gazette →
Botswana's transport sector may represent an economy-wide burden approaching 17% of GDP, though it is commonly underestimated. The piece argues that transport is the most commonly experienced but least understood of all economic activities.
26 July 2026 · The Botswana Gazette →
Spain became world champions at the 2026 FIFA World Cup after defeating Argentina in the final. The 48-team format widened opportunity, challenged traditional hierarchies, and gave more nations competitive hope.
23 July 2026 · The Botswana Gazette →
As land waiting lists grow and development costs rise, Botswana faces questions about whether its policy of free residential land allocation, a nation-building measure from an earlier era, can remain sustainable in its present form.
18 July 2026 · The Botswana Gazette →
Botswana's historical development model of increased spending, construction, imports, and state employment succeeded while diamonds sustained it, but a new model is needed that raises wellbeing, productivity, and exports without relying on higher public spending, diamonds, or resource consumption.
22 June 2026 · The Botswana Gazette →
A severely burned infant's transfer from a public clinic to a private hospital raises questions about medicine shortages and Botswana's emergency care capacity for vulnerable populations.
14 June 2026 · The Botswana Gazette →
Douglas Rasbash argues that despite over P660 billion in development spending, Botswana's planning model has drifted from transformation to performance, with weaker growth and higher unemployment exposing the need for sharper, outcome-focused development policy.
24 May 2026 · The Botswana Gazette →
As climate change intensifies and nearly half of Botswana's land shows signs of ecological stress, the country is pursuing an ambitious national restoration programme to rebuild degraded communal rangelands before environmental decline threatens long-term economic survival.
16 May 2026 · The Botswana Gazette →
A forensic audit report identified 814 findings, 585 of them rated Very High or High severity, 80 special investigation referrals, and contracts and payments with a combined gross value of about P160 billion, with the author suggesting this represents only a portion of the underlying problems.
9 May 2026 · The Botswana Gazette →
Douglas Rasbash argues that Botswana has abundant plans and strategies but lacks a binding policy to truly shape the economy, and contends that six critical pillars must move from fragmented ideas into a single, disciplined economic framework.
25 April 2026 · The Botswana Gazette →