22 Apr 2013

Government has been implored to consider consulting Batswana before embarking on projects meant to help them improve their livelihoods.

Tonota South MP, Mr Pono Moatlhodi who was contributing to the debate on the mid-term review of National Development Plan (NDP) 10 on the chapter on social upliftment in Parliament last Thursday said it was important to have people's input whom government was intending to assist.

Though the programmes aimed at improving the lives of less-privileged citizens were clearly good on paper, he noted that there were still some challenges in terms of implementation.

However, the MP commended government for uplifting Batswana through the poverty eradication programme.

MP for Kgatleng West, Mr Gilbert Mangole concurred on the need for government to consult people before giving them projects.

This, he said would ensure that beneficiaries had ownership of their chosen projects; something he noted would improve the success rate of the projects.

MP Mangole also emphasised the value of being able to measure the results of the programmes in place; saying without doing so it would be difficult to quantify whether or not any progress was being made.

In addition, he said the poverty eradication programme was not comprehensive enough to help beneficiaries break free from poverty.

He observed that the majority of them were in rural areas and as such they lacked the means of taking their produce to places where they could find markets; indicating that selling in their own localities was almost impossible as they lived alongside the poor who lacked the means to buy.

Mr Mangole said because of its many challenges, the programme was now a burden and not a relief to the beneficiaries.

Though appreciative of government efforts to recognise Batswana who have contributed positively to the growth of the nation, Molepolole South MP, Mr Daniel Kwelagobe expressed concern at what he termed the discriminatory nature of the exercise.

MP Kwelagobe said some Batswana who had also contributed immensely were sidelined and not recognised accordingly.

Such a scenario, he said was likely to discourage people from being innovative and would also lower their motivation to embark on projects with the potential to impact positively on the lives of their fellow Batswana.

On another issue, Mr Kwelagobe observed that though the programmes aimed at empowering the youth were generally good; their beneficiaries often experienced great difficulties in securing land to carry out their projects.

On yet another point, he noted that while the statement that enrollment at primary school level had increased was indeed positive, it was worrisome that the facilities available were insufficient to accommodate growing numbers of learners. ENDS