POLITICS & CURRENT AFFAIRS
Botswana Medicine Shortage 2025: How a Health Crisis Exposed a Broken System
Botswana’s 2025 medicine shortage emptied pharmacy shelves and triggered a national health emergency. Behind the immediate crisis was a more troubling vulnerability: a healthcare system heavily exposed to falling diamond revenues, external funding decisions and procurement weaknesses that remain unresolved.
The Thucydides Trap: When a Rising Power Stops Asking for Permission
The Statement That Was Not a Question On May 14, 2026, during a high-stakes summit in Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping turned to his American counterpart and posed a question that had been simmering in the halls of global power for over a decade: “Can China and...
Tembisa is Not Sandton: The Quiet Faith of Building vs. The Loud Force of Blaming
Two women. Born same year. Same country. But different worlds. In the theatre of modern South African life, there’s a tale not often told with clarity - a tale of method. Not morality. A tale of how one arrives at power, not just that one possesses it. And in this...
BUSINESS & TRADE
Botswana De Beers Acquisition: A Bold Power Move—or a Multi-Billion-Pula Risk?
Botswana wants greater control over the diamond industry that built its economy. But with revenues falling and the natural diamond market under pressure, acquiring a majority stake in De Beers could become either a historic economic power move—or an extraordinarily expensive gamble.
Can AI Make Agriculture Attractive to Botswana’s Youth?
Botswana’s national cattle herd has fallen from 2.6 million to under one million head since 2010, and the food import bill reached P14.7 billion in 2024. Can precision farming, drone monitoring, and AI-driven agri-tech rebuild Botswana’s agricultural sector — and make it attractive to the 44% of young Batswana who are unemployed?
Can Botswana Insulate Itself from Global Commodity Shocks?
Botswana’s inflation surge reveals how deeply global commodity shocks affect local prices. With heavy reliance on imported fuel, food and South African supply chains, can energy diversification, stronger domestic production and alternative trade routes build lasting economic resilience?
OPINION & PERSPECTIVE
Women in Botswana: 57% of Graduates, Still Missing from Leadership
Women now make up the majority of Botswana’s university graduates, yet that educational success has not translated into equal economic power or leadership representation. Somewhere between graduation and the boardroom, Botswana is losing much of the female talent it has successfully developed.
Botswana Medicine Shortage 2025: How a Health Crisis Exposed a Broken System
Botswana’s 2025 medicine shortage emptied pharmacy shelves and triggered a national health emergency. Behind the immediate crisis was a more troubling vulnerability: a healthcare system heavily exposed to falling diamond revenues, external funding decisions and procurement weaknesses that remain unresolved.
The AI Question Botswana Cannot Avoid
Botswana released a National AI Strategy in 2023 and allocated P900 million to digital transformation in its FY2025/26 budget — but youth unemployment sits at 44% and the National AI Policy remains unenacted. Is Botswana adapting to artificial intelligence fast enough to protect its labour market?
YOUTH & EDUCATION
Women in Botswana: 57% of Graduates, Still Missing from Leadership
Women now make up the majority of Botswana’s university graduates, yet that educational success has not translated into equal economic power or leadership representation. Somewhere between graduation and the boardroom, Botswana is losing much of the female talent it has successfully developed.
Can AI Make Agriculture Attractive to Botswana’s Youth?
Botswana’s national cattle herd has fallen from 2.6 million to under one million head since 2010, and the food import bill reached P14.7 billion in 2024. Can precision farming, drone monitoring, and AI-driven agri-tech rebuild Botswana’s agricultural sector — and make it attractive to the 44% of young Batswana who are unemployed?
Why So Many Young People Want to Leave Botswana
Botswana’s youth unemployment rate stands at nearly 44% — among the highest in the world. With the UK tightening visa rules for Botswana nationals and graduate routes shortening, young Batswana face narrowing options abroad just as domestic opportunities remain insufficient. What will it take to reverse the brain drain?
CULTURE & TOURISM
Setswana’s Struggle for Relevance in the Digital Age
Setswana is spoken by the vast majority of Botswana’s 2.6 million people — yet higher education, digital platforms, and formal employment in Botswana operate almost exclusively in English. As Botswana pursues AI-led economic growth, is the country building a knowledge economy its own language cannot fully participate in?
The Monetization of Romance: Courtship Fraud in Gaborone and Across Africa
The Gaborone dating market has been hijacked by an extractive gig economy. The Probe audits the Pre-Date Invoice, the Venture Capital Experiment, and the Woolworths Body / Choppies Brain paradox of modern courtship fraud.
South Africa’s Mall Coffee Culture: Where Every Corner Brews a New Adventure
In South Africa, the mall is not just a place to shop - it’s a lifestyle destination, a social circuit, and increasingly, a coffee hub. Across the country, with over 3,500 malls stretching from Sandton to Sea Point, coffee culture has planted itself firmly between...