06 Aug 2015

Kgosi Kgotlaitsile Motsamai of Motswedi ward in Lobatse has encouraged the youth to take charge of their lives in order for them to become responsible leaders. 

Speaking during a Youth Pitso in Lobatse , Kgosi Motsamai said the youth can only secure themselves a better future if they stay away from destructive substances like drugs and alcohol. 

He observed that young people are blessed to have youth-specific empowerment programmes and initiatives, which he encouraged them to take advantage of. He said indulging in drugs and alcohol will only destroy their lives.

Kgosi Motsamai also advised the youth to refrain from a social trend, which is on the upsurge among young people in the town, cohabitation. He attributed social ills like gender- based violence, passion killings and sexually transmitted diseases to cohabitation.

Also speaking during the meeting was Ms Omphemetse Mmolai, assistant programmes officer at the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Culture (MYSC) in Lobatse. She said statistics show that teenage pregnancy is rife amongst school-going girls of ages between 14 and 19 years. She revealed that cases of HIV infection, HIV positive mothers and defilement were on the rise.

“Teenage pregnancy prevalence stands at 10.6 per cent among school-going youth, while multiple concurrent sexual partnerships linked to sex work are at 15.8 per cent,” she said. 

She revealed that TB/HIV co-infection cases stood at 63.9 per cent with 2781 cases of sexually transmitted infections amongst women and men reported between 2014 and 2015.

For her part, the health promotion officer in Lobatse, Ms Lucrecia Moremi, advised that the youth should be empowered to actively participate in the socio-economic diversification of the country. She also encouraged the youth to develop an enterprising culture in order to create employment opportunities for themselves. She urged young people to have dreams and the drive to pursue them. Ends