05 May 2016

Assistant Minister for  Presidential Affairs and Public Administration, Mr Phillip Makgalemele, has encouraged Botshabelo Ward Development Committee to come up with a job creation strategy. 

He said the committee should work with or get assistance from the district commissioners office, town council authorities, SPEDU and department of youth to come up with the strategy.

He said the strategy should include viable projects that could be undertaken to create jobs for residents. 

Mr Makgalemele, who was addressing a kgotla meeting at Botshabelo in Selebi Phikwe on Tuesday, said said the projects could be funded through the Poverty Eradication Programme.  

He explained that government was working around the clock to create jobs for Batswana especially the youth. 

He said government was committed to eradicating abject poverty by 2017. 

However, he also raised concern that they had received reports that some beneficiaries neglected their projects to join the Ipelegeng programme.

He said the move resulted in government funds going to waste.

The legislator said government has also embarked on a mission to accelerate the implementation of the Poverty Eradication Programme where beneficiaries would be funded and given equipment for their projects immediately after they had been assessed and found to qualify for the programme.

He said poverty eradication officers had been placed in districts to fast track implementation of the programme. 

Also, he indicated that the district commissioners offices as well as district councils had been assigned to oversee, coordinate and monitor the programme in districts. 

Mr Makgalemele noted that this idea to fast track the poverty eradication programme came about after his office received concerns that beneficiaries took long to receive their benefits.

“The government has targeted to have eradicated abject poverty by 2017,” he said.

On the issue of job creation, Mr Makgalemele said SPEDU was established to come up with viable projects that could create jobs and help diversify the economy of the mining town and the region.

He said so far, besides other projects earmarked for the region, an Agro Processing Plant, that would process horticulture produce into canned and bottled food had been setup by the organisation in collaboration with National Food Technology Research Centre for this purpose. 

He said the plant had also been setup to create a market for agriculture produce to promote agriculture and to empower locals financially.

Regarding the BCL mine, Assistant Minister Makgalemele said government had assisted the mine by giving surety to banks for the mine to acquire loans to mitigate the financial problems the company is facing, to continue its operations. 

For his part SPEDU’s agric and tourism manager, Mr Maiba Samunzala noted that the Agro Processing Plant set up at the BDC warehouses in Selebi Phikwe is scheduled to start receiving vegetable produce from the public starting mid May this year. 

He said any person who produces vegetables in large scale or in their back yard can sell their produce to Agro Processing Plant. 

He said the plant was expected to start processing the agric produce into canned and bottled food by end of this month.

Giving a vote of thanks, councillor for Botshabelo East Mr Kgakgamatso Ramatopi urged people from Botshabelo, especially the youth to utilise programmes availed by government to empower themselves.

He said it was within their hands to use the poverty eradication programme, youth development fund programme and other programmes to take themselves out of poverty. Ends