15 Mar 2016

Parliament has approved a budget proposal of over P952 million for the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Culture for the 2016/17 financial year.

The sum of P899.8 million is for the ministry’s recurrent budget, representing an increase of two per cent as compared to the 2015/16 budget, while the total for the development budget is P52.9 million .

Presenting the budget in parliament on Monday, Minister of Youth, Sport and Culture, Mr Thapelo Olopeng said the increase in the recurrent budget was mainly attributed to the provision of funding for the 50^th anniversary of independence celebrations coordinating office and the landmark celebrations to be held this year.

He also noted that the proposed development budget was a reduction of P57.3 million  from last year’s budget allocation of P110.2 million   which represented about 52 per cent reduction on the 2015/16 budget estimate.

Meanwhile, the sum of P793.4 million was requested for the ministry headquarters under the recurrent budget, while the provision shows an increase of P6.1 million which is attributed to BOT50.

Botswana National Archives and Records Services will get P22. 3 million , an increase of P11. 1 miilion which is attributable to the establishment of two records centres in Kanye and Francistown.

The Department of National Service and Internship requires P84.1 million while the largest share of this will go to interns allowances.

As for the development budget, a total budget of P4.2 million was proposed under the ministry’s headquarters to develop the IT infrastructure project at headquarters and in district offices to improve service delivery.

The sum of P24.6 million was also requested under the National Library Services while P20 million was requested to settle final payment on the design of the Botswana National Library and the remaining P4. 6 million  is for the government contribution towards the Sara and Robert Rothschild family foundation library projects.

Sports and recreation will require P24.1 million  to complete works on increasing the seating capacity at the national stadium.

Minister Olopeng also told the House that youth enterprises faced challenges such as lack of operational space, high rentals, limited market and lack of business management skills despite the ministry’s good efforts of funding youth enterprises. 

He however said to mitigate this; his ministry was identifying and refurbishing old buildings, introducing a quota for access to open spaces and compiling land banks for access to youth, adding that they have also trained youth in business management.

Mr Olopeng said the ministry would introduce new reforms in the processing and adjudication of applications for Youth Development Fund (YDF), noting that capacity building would be conducted prior to funding and after approval of applications.

On job training and attachments, the minister said they faced the challenge of lack of work experience and skills mismatch with the job market, hence government’s move to provide youth with opportunities for meaningful engagement and gaining employment readiness skills.

The minister stated that Botswana has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Real Madrid Foundation aimed at developing children into responsible citizens in future. Two schools have been identified, Kgomodiatshaba and Therisanyo primary schools to pilot the programme, he added.

He emphasised the need to preserve and promote arts, culture and heritage for social cohesion and national unity, adding that government has introduced a programme to support local art and crafts and provide opportunities for artists to earn income and make a living from their craft.

The minister urged all Batswana to take pride in the achievements of the country and participate in the activities planned for the BOT50 celebrations. Ends