22 Sep 2015

Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Vincent Seretse, has commended the Mmadinare Development Trust (MDT) for coming up with a plan that will promote sustainable development in the area. 

He said the plan does not only have sustainable projects that would create employment, but that it would also help to manage natural resources to derive maximum benefits to the trust and residents of the area.

Minister Seretse said this when officially launching the Mmadinare Development Trust Strategic Plan recently. He said the trust has come up with programmes that were aimed at economically empowering residents.  

He said the trusts strategic plan, which has targets for five years, would develop Mmadinare from its current state to the desired future. “Community regeneration which is achieved through community owned enterprises and assets is the way to build strong and sustainable communities,” he said.  

 He said his ministry takes pride in such initiatives by community organisations as they assist the government in improving the livelihoods of Batswana by creating employment opportunities and skills transfer.  

He said the transformation of cooperative societies and community based organisation’s is a testimony of the government’s commitment to see such organisation’s prosper.  

 Minister Seretse expressed his gratitude to former vice president, Dr Ponatshego Kedikilwe who is the patron of the trust and a member of the board of trustees of the trust,  for playing a significant role in the establishment of the tust.

Meanwhile the chairperson of Mmadinare Development Trust, Mr Ditshupo Ntwaagae said the trust was initiated in 2001 by the Mmadinare community and Dr Kedikilwe, who is the former MP for the area. He said the trust has a constitution as well as policies and procedures that govern and drive it.

He added that the trust works with government departments, parastatals and non-government organisations.  

 He said challenges they face include not having a plot to build a permanent office, adding that currently they have to rent one from the Village Development Committee. 

He noted that they were working on a volunteerism basis and that they utilise their own funds for operations to take place.  

 However, he noted that they have managed to make progress although they need more financial support from the community.  

For his part, Mr  Lawrence Madzinyane, who played a role in drafting the strategic plan, said the plan was basically to empower the Mmadinare community and the trust.    

He said the mission of trust was to work in partnership with stakeholders, and to plan and implement an intergrated natural resources management strategies, programmes, policies and projects through skilled manpower and modern technology for the upliftment of the living standards of the community.   

He said if the trust project was not taken seriously by the members of the trust and the community, it may collapse.

He urged everyone to have an input to ensure the sustainability of projects and the trust. He said they were now implementing the strategy and would utilise the balance score card as a tool to track the performance of the trust.  

The strategic plan includes setting up of recreational facilities along the Letsibogo and Dikgatlhong dams, lodges, guest houses, a nature reserve, a fish farming project, packaging of phane, sale of homemade jam and other products from locals.  

The event was graced by Dr Kedikilwe, the MP for Mmadinare, Mr Kefentse Mzwinila, Kgosi Phokontsi Seeletso of Mmadinare and senior government officials. Ends