28 Oct 2015

Beneficiaries of the poverty eradication programme have been urged to take care of their projects as they had been disbursed for their benefit.

Poverty eradication coordinator, Mr Olebile Gaborone noted that the government has come up with several projects geared towards eradicating poverty and uplifting the lives of Batswana.

Mr Gaborone was speaking at a poverty eradication success story show in Mochudi on  Tuesday ( October 27).

The programme, he said, aims at empowering destitute persons to sustain their livelihood through engaging in income generating projects. 

“The main objective of the programme is to eradicate abject poverty and promote food security at household level, and moreover it is to empower beneficiaries with life skills and to promote small scale entrepreneurship and income generation,” he said.

He noted that Kgatleng District has various alternative packages under the programme which include fisheries, backyard or tree nurseries and small stock.

“So far a total of 1 997 potential beneficiaries were assessed and 1 399 were registered for alternative packages while others were referred to other departments for assistance,” said Mr Gaborone. 

He further pointed out that he was aware of the backlog that they had to deal with.

Some of the beneficiaries, he noted, were awaiting training, while some were yet to be provided with materials for their projects.

He encouraged beneficiaries to do everything possible for their projects to be successful, adding that he was inspired by the success stories in Kgatleng District.

That, he said, showed that the programme has benefited many Batswana. 

He also noted that backyard garden beneficiaries faced challenges of water shortage. 

However, he said some were doing well and encouraged the beneficiaries to continue with the good work.

Mr Gaborone urged social workers to ensure that beneficiaries were assisted to overcome the challenges they faced. The poverty eradication coordinator also encouraged beneficiaries to choose different projects to avoid the markets  getting saturated.

Giving the objectives of the mini show, the poverty eradication regional coordinator, Ms Khutsafalo Mogotsi said the show was meant to showcase success stories under the programme.

She said they also want to encourage others and give support to projects under the programme so that they continue with their successes.  

Ms Mogotsi further said the show presented an opportunity for project owners to market their products and create a platform to share experiences and learn from others. The success story show was held under the theme: My project, my success.Ends