02 Mar 2015

The Assistant Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Sadique Kebonang, has urged departments under his ministry to create employment as his ministry had been mandated to do so.

Addressing employees of Local Enterprise Authority (LEA), Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency (CEDA) and the department of cooperatives in Molepolole recently, the assistant minister reiterated the need for all the three institutions to create employment. 

He said currently there were 175 jobs to be created which accounted to almost 19 per cent, adding that officers should create these jobs as there was need for fast turnaround times for efficiency. 

He urged CEDA staff to finance viable businesses as well as businesses that would employ many people; however, he advised that if business ideas were not viable they should not be discarded but instead, they should be looked into and proposers be helped to become viable.

He further insisted that employees must try at all costs to remove bottle necks which often hamper service delivery, citing the ever growing concern of the system being down whenever when customers seek help from offices.

Mr Kebonang said it was becoming apparent that some people created all sorts of reasons not to impede service delivery.

“If we do not service people, we become non relevant and unnecessary,” he cautioned, adding that a study conducted throughout the country in different departments and ministries had highlighted general problems. 

The document, titled ‘Ten-point-agenda’ addressed common concerns among them; no set timelines in institutions, lack of customer focus, sense of urgency and accountability. 

Customer care, supervision, and respect for the elderly have been cited as lacking as well, he pointed out.

The assistant minister said that such complaints were genuine and that something must be done about them. 

He therefore advised that there should be systems in order to deal with these concerns.

Responding to the minister’s concerns, Technical Advisor for LEA Mr Kereemang Moilwa, also showed concern about the Government Accounting and Budgeting System (GABS) system suggesting that when the system is down the manual system can be used as an alternative.

CEDA employee Ms Tshepho Phale raised a concern that government should consider setting policies in place in order to govern manufacturers and retailers. She said retailers charged milling companies paralysing costs referred to as rebates.

They also paid millers after a 90 day period, saying all of these ended up putting milling companies out of business.

A similar concern was raised by M.r Moilwa citing that retailers decided prices for farmers produce therefore, farmers made losses and ultimately they would not be able to create jobs.

Mr Kebonang explained that it was difficult to tell business owners to change their business practices because they operated in a free market economy. 

Many businesses want to buy goods at a lower price and make profit. 

“It is an issue of survival as they are also competing with other products from South Africa.” The assistant minister also visited staff at Mochudi and Kanye.  ENDS