12 Jul 2015

Shortage of transportation and manpower are impeding the monitoring of youth projects in Kgalagadi South.

The principal programmes officer in Tsabong, Mr Nyanga Nyanga said their office has five programme officers who were charged with monitoring youth projects in Kgalagadi South.

He said their responsibilities include facilitation of the annual President Day competitions, constituency tournaments, art and culture competitions and the newly devised Graduate Volunteer Scheme (GVS).

Despite the workload, Mr Nyanga praised the staff for their dedication and commitment.  

He cited challenges such as lack of transport as impeding the monitoring of projects on a regular basis. In an effort to redress the situation, the officer said they have made monitoring their top priority this financial year.

“We have devised a monitoring schedule that covers 24 villages in Kgalagadi South constituency which started on May 4 and ends on July 17,” he said.

Mr Nyanga said they have completed 16 per cent of the work and have visited 45 projects out of 265 projects that were to be assessed. The 45 projects are operating from seven villages of Tsabong cluster namely, Maralaleng, Kisa, Omaweneno, Maleshe, Maubelo, Mc Carthy’s Rust and Tsabong.

Furthermore, he said only five projects were found not operating. However, he observed that most of the projects involved livestock production. He cited negligence on the part of beneficiaries, which led to the collapse of the projects.

In addition, Mr Nyanga said the beneficiaries decried lack of water for their livestock.

Other challenges facing Young Development Fund (YDF) projects include high rentals, lack of space and delayed payments. He added that their customers including government departments delay in paying for services provided.

The programme officer advised the youth to use their innovative minds by exploring other sectors such manufacturing, Information and Technology instead of concentrating on livestock projects alone.

He said the Department of Youth would be hosting an open day on July 13 in Hereford to mobilise the youth. Ends