Also known as: DR DOUGLAS RASBASH
Douglas Rasbash — expert commentator on Botswana's economic policy, infrastructure evaluation, and informal sector development.
News reports
Order a long-term news report on Douglas Rasbash
Every mention in the Botswanan press over the period you choose, compiled as a PDF or Word document.
Verbatim sentences from the source article.
The Botswana Gazette
… DR DOUGLAS RASBASH President Duma Boko reiterated the goal of rebuilding the national cattle herd from around 1.6 million animals in 2024 to close to five million by the end of the decade. …
Five Million Cattle, But Why?The Botswana Gazette
… DR DOUGLAS RASBASH Minister Bogolo Kenewendo’s launch of the 100 MW Mmadinare Solar PV Cluster is an important milestone in Botswana’s energy transition. …
WHO OWNS BOTSWANA’S SUNSHINE?The Botswana Gazette
… DR DOUGLAS RASBASH Ninety-four people are now confirmed dead after the Mbuya Nehanda ferry capsized on Lake Kariba earlier this month. …
Accidents Happen, But Do We Learn?The Botswana Gazette
… DR DOUGLAS RASBASH Botswana’s State-Owned Enterprises are once again under the national spotlight. …
Rethinking Botswana’s State Enterprise ModelThe Botswana Gazette
… DR DOUGLAS RASBASH The proposed sale of Anglo American’s controlling stake in De Beers is widely regarded as one of the most significant…
AFTER ANGLO DIVESTS DEBEERS IT LEAVES THE BSE?The Botswana Gazette
… By Elliot Majova and Douglas Rasbash Botswana’s proposal to place Permanent Secretaries on performance contracts deserves broad support. …
Contract the Permanent Secretaries – but for what?The Botswana Gazette
… DR DOUGLAS RASBASH Botswana has every reason to welcome the United States’ decision to remove the additional import tariff on Botswana-origin diamonds. …
Diamond Tariff Relief Won’t Reverse TrendsThe Botswana Gazette
… DR DOUGLAS RASBASH Transport is arguably the most commonly experienced but least understood of all economic activities. …
Botswana’s Hidden Transport BillThe Botswana Gazette
… DR DOUGLAS RASBASH A DIFFERENT ANSWER By the time the final whistle blew on the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Spain had become world champions after defeating Argentina in the final.…
The Most Unpredictable World Cup in HistoryThe Botswana Gazette
… DR DOUGLAS RASBASH Few public policies in Botswana carry the emotional, historical and political significance of free residential land allocation.…
An End to Free Plots?A restoration programme worth P60 billion is being proposed to repair public assets like schools, hospitals, roads, railways, and water systems that were built with diamond wealth, asking whether Botswana should prioritize maintenance of existing infrastructure before commissioning new projects.
22 October 2026 · The Botswana Gazette →
A restoration programme worth P60 billion is being proposed to repair public assets like schools, hospitals, roads, railways, and water systems that were built with diamond wealth, asking whether Botswana should prioritize maintenance of existing infrastructure before commissioning new projects.
22 October 2026 · The Botswana Gazette →
Six decades of development have raised living standards, but gaps in social indicators may obscure signs of social distress, raising questions about whether material wealth is accompanied by social wellbeing.
20 October 2026 · The Botswana Gazette →
Anonymous online personalities are drawing Botswana's institutions into disputes, raising questions about manufactured political influence and the corruption of truth.
15 October 2026 · The Botswana Gazette →
Botswana's economy grew 8.7% in Q2 2026, but household consumption fell 7.3%, manufacturing contracted, and questions remain about whether diamond production is generating jobs and sustainable investment.
11 October 2026 · The Botswana Gazette →
The 2nd Republic Policy Think Tank proposes that Botswana cut duplicated government machinery, reorganize the state around outcomes, and place public enterprises under professional commercial management to create a government that costs less to administer and delivers more to citizens.
7 October 2026 · The Botswana Gazette →
Botswana cannot promote entrepreneurship while restricting the informal sector, which already accounts for nearly one in four jobs, according to Dr Douglas Rasbash. Rather than asking how to create jobs, the country should focus on removing barriers that make it difficult for people to start their own businesses.
3 October 2026 · The Botswana Gazette →
Six decades after independence, Botswana's partnership with De Beers has shaped the country's development, but the economy is preparing for a future where diamonds will no longer carry the same weight.
29 September 2026 · The Botswana Gazette →
Analysis of healthcare, tertiary education and social protection by The Botswana Gazette suggests females receive about P1.40 in selected public-service benefits for every P1.00 consumed by males, raising questions about male engagement with the state.
27 September 2026 · The Botswana Gazette →
Douglas Rasbash argues that as diamond revenues decline, Botswana should evaluate infrastructure projects based on jobs, productive output, and domestic value created rather than project size.
27 September 2026 · The Botswana Gazette →
Despite decades of regional integration plans and corridors, Southern Africa's 2024 trade figures show the region remains overwhelmingly organised around South Africa rather than functioning as a genuinely shared economy.
15 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 →