27 Jul 2015

The Minister of Youth, Sport and Culture (MYSC), Mr Thapelo Olopeng has challenged churches to approach the government and show interest in the implementation of some programmes.

Speaking at the Anglican Church Mothers’ Union annual conference on Saturday (July 25), Mr Olopeng said some government programmes under the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development could be better run by churches.

He said the church was the right institution to run social programmes as it was founded on the principle of love.

Mr Olopeng also called on the church to continuously play a role in ensuring stable marriages that could guarantee the production of morally upright families and children.

He said marriage was faced with a lot of challenges because women were now professionals who have difficulty in prioritising their careers at the expense of their roles as wives and mothers.

Mr Olopeng said a product of a troubled marriage or family was a disturbed child who could end up becoming a social problem, and he encouraged parents, especially mothers, to train their children in the ways of God.

He observed that the Internet has posed a challenge to the way children were raised because they tend to copy foreign cultures and religions which were in some cases unacceptable in the Setswana custom.

On other issues, the minister who is also the MP for Tonota, said the government was concerned about the mushrooming of churches in the country.

He said some churches have doctrines that cause confusion, and that the government had to come up with measures that could protect citizens.

The Anglican Bishop of the Diocese of Botswana, Reverend Metlhayotlhe Beleme said the Anglican Church was ready to help the country in whatever way it could assist, adding that he had even made the pledge to the President.

Mothers’ Union president, Ms Amogelang Rakwadi said the union faced challenges of orphans and needy children from across all church denominations.

She said as a way of addressing the challenge, the union started an orphan care centre in Mahalapye that currently has 129 children. She, however, lamented that the initiative of starting a day care centre failed because the church needed over P100 000 to meet the requirements of getting a license.

Kgosi Hetanang Goitsheka said the church teaches morality and could help deal with social ills such as alcohol, drugs and crime.
The conference theme was derived from a biblical scripture: Whosoever is born of God does not commit sin, and he cannot continue to sin because he is born of God.” Ends