24 Mar 2015

The Assistant Minister for Presidential Affairs and Public Administration, Mr Phillip Makgalemele, has applauded the National AIDS Coordinating Agency (NACA) staff for their candid gesture.

Mr Makgalemele conveyed this message on March 23 when handing over a house built by NACA staff for the children of their deceased colleague, Ms Thato Nage.

He said after the burial of the former colleague two years back, the NACA staff looked back and decided to create something memorable for the children of Ms Nage. Mr Makgalemele said this would go a long way in ensuring that the deceased’s children were not trapped in poverty.

Furthermore, he said the gesture shown by the staff demonstrated that they had heeded the call by President Lt Gen. Seretse Khama Ian Khama to help those unfortunate in life. He added that the house to the Nage family was the 407 built since President Khama made the call when he acceded to the post.

The assistant minister added that it was the right of every person to have a decent life as it gives them a dignified life. Furthermore, Mr Makgalemele said as a way of appreciation, it was upon every Motswana and resident of Mmankgodi to ensure that NACA accomplish its mandate of ensuring that no new HIV/AIDS virus was recorded by the year 2016 and beyond.
He said that the government was concerned about the new cases on HIV/AIDS infections, adding that there was need for concerted efforts to fight the disease spread.

However, he called on Batswana to make their health a priority adding that if people could be health cautious, many diseases and deaths could be avoided. Another speaker, Member of Parliament for Mmankgodi-Gabane, Major Gen Pius Mokgware said the donation was unique in the sense that it targeted people who are not destitute but rather it showed compassion for the children of a deceased colleague.

“This is the leadership that is required in our society,” Major Gen.  Mokgware said. While the NACA coordinator, Ms Grace Muzila said they started the project in 2012 and added that it was not easy as staff contributed from their salaries for the project.

She said this was also compounded by the fact that the NACA has only 93 staff members, hence they have to double their efforts to raise the money. The house consists of a sitting room, toilet, bedroom and a kitchen for the twins of the late Ms Nage. ENDS