30 Mar 2015

The North East District Council (NEDC) scooped position one in the excellence awards at the end of the Botswana Association of Local Authorities (BALA) and District Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit in Maun.

NEDC was competing against district councils in the northern region of Botswana, being North West District Council (NWDC) at position two, Selebi Phikwe Town Council at position three, Gantsi District Council in position four, Tutume Sub-district at position five while Chobe and Boteti were at position six.

NEDC will represent the northern Botswana region at the national summit scheduled for Mahalapye prior to the SADC regional summit, which will be held in Gaborone this year.

In an interview, the BALA Women National commissioner, Ms Elizabeth Swartz said her key duties are to ensure gender sensitisation is achieved at council level and to ensure gender focal persons are in existence.

Ms Swartz also said as the commissioner, she will liaise with the districts’ commissioners (DCs) to ensure gender sensitization is done even at ministry level. She pointed out that BALA was in partnership with Gender Links to attain capacity building and to make media an instrumental partner.

Ms Swartz noted that there was need to empower women to appreciate themselves, noting that her district, Ghanzi, where she is a specially elected councillor, has many challenges of poor illiterate women and children who are school drop outs.

She said one of her roles will be to ensure the women in Ghanzi are sensitised on the importance of educating their children instead of encouraging them to leave school to work at ranches. ENDS