19 Jan 2015

Tutume Sub-district principal programme officer in the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Culture, Ms Wazha Fani has said 61 projects have been financed through the Youth Development Fund (YDF) at an amount of P5.4 million in the Nkange constituency.



Briefing the MP for Nkange and also the Minister of Labour and Home Affairs, Mr Edwin Batshu in a meeting with Heads of Departments (HODs) recently in Tutume, she said 58 were operational while three had collapsed.

Ms Fani said these projects, which are mostly in the agricultural sector had created 137 jobs for the youth.

 She said 28 beneficiaries were trained on basic business management at the cost of P110 291 for the financial years 2013/2014 and 2014/2015.



Ms Fani said the programme was facing challenges as the beneficiaries were reluctant to pay back the loans and currently, only P92 920 had been paid against the target of P1 353 081.

In other developments, Ms Fani said 214 youths had enrolled in Tirelo Setshaba programme against their target of 293.
 She said some participants abscond or exit the programme without notifying their supervisors or the youth office.



For his part, Mr Batshu said the purpose of the meeting was to build a cordial relationship with officers as they are drivers of government programmes.
 
He emphasized the importance of teamwork, which he said was good for progress and would help them to close loopholes.



Mr Batshu also said Tutume sub-district performed badly in delivery of services such as Ipelegeng, Nyeletso Lehuma and other programmes compared to other districts in the country.
 ENDS