High youth unemployment in Botswana: a case of policy failure or poor research?

Abstract

Rising youth unemployment is a major challenge in Botswana. In recognition of the gravity of the matter, the Government of Botswana has formulated and implemented policies addressing unemployment. Despite the well intentioned policies and programmes, unemployment amongst the youth continues to rise. The unemployment rate amongst the youth is higher than the national unemployment rate. This paper attempts to ascertain as to whether the rising unemployment is due to poor formulation and implementation of policies or posssibly a failure of research which feed into the formulation, implementation and monitoring of the policies? The paper begins by providing a socio-economic profile of the youth utilizing data from different sources. It goes on to discuss the existing policies and programmes addressing the youth unemployment. The paper concludes by emphasizing the importance of research informing on policy formulation, implementation and monitoring, highlighting the need to promote a strong relationship between policy makers and researchers in addressing issues of youth unemployment.