14 Feb 2016

he Economic Stimulus Programme (ESP) has brought life to Machaneng. The 25 public officers houses under construction did not only benefit the 17 citizen owned construction companies, but also created employment for 108 residents.

Mr Ananiase Mokwena is one of the youth in Machaneng who was hired by Rogal Holdings, a citizen owned construction company. Prior to that, life was hard for him as he had no source of income and like other youth, he migrated to Mmopane near Gaborone to look for employment in the city.

Fortunately, he was employed by one security company, but with his meagre income, it was still difficult to make ends meet. To his disappointment, the company was shut down and he could not afford life in the city thus being compelled to go back to Machaneng.

When the tender for construction of the 25 houses for public officers was awarded, Mr Mokwena became one of the fortunate youth to get employment as a labourer. “ESP has changed my life for the better now, I no longer pay rent or bus fares to go to work,” he said.

Mr Mokwena said he was now able to take care of his parents and siblings. He thanked government for ESP saying that it had created employment for the youth and would also change the economic landscape of Machaneng. The ESP also benefited Mr Robert Lebala, the owner of Rogal Holdings.He was awarded the tender to construct one house to the tune of P156 000.

The project created employment for five residents of Machaneng. Mr Lebala said ESP had helped resuscitate his company, which had been struggling to make profits as a result of the 2008 economic recession.
He said construction industry had been suffering as a result of lack of development projects being under taken.

Mr Moffat Magwegwe of C&M Maintenance also benefited from ESP by being awarded a tender to construct two of the 25 houses. He said it had been difficult for his company to get any construction project except for maintenance.
He said  most of the projects were for maintenance thus his company struggled to make profits.

Mr Magwegwe said with the introduction of ESP, he expected construction industry to grow. The ESP was a response to the unfavourable economic climate following the world economic recession of 2008/09.
The recession resulted in decline in diamond revenue that contributed largely to the country’s GDP.

The ESP targeted  buildings, road construction and maintenance, manufacturing, tourism development and agricultural production and re-skilling of youth, among other things.
All these were geared towards boosting economic growth, diversify the economy and accelerate employment creation. Ends