16 Aug 2016

Permanent secretary for the Ministry of Youth Sport and Culture (MYSC), Mr Kago Ramokate has implored communities to appreciate the youths for their distinctive skills that could strengthen the country’s economy.

Officiating at the International Youth day held in Lobatse on August 12, Mr Ramokate said the country was stricken by poverty, hence the need for the nation to tap onto the energy of the youth by according them the platform to lead the development process.

He said the communities should bear in mind that the youth was capable of bringing innovative creative and sustainable ideas that when given the opportunity to spread their wings they would add positive value to the country’s economy.

Mr Ramokate said events like the International Youth Day give young people an opportunity to converge from all spectrums of life to celebrate their achievements, showcase talents, share experiences and challenges as well as devising on some mitigating strategies to help them for personal development.

He said since the day was a celebration of achievements and talents of young people, it was also about achieving the 2030 agenda for sustainable development.

Mr Ramokate said the day also gave the government an opportunity to reflect through engagement with the youth on the impact of its programmes and initiatives available to them and how the programmes could be improved to drive sustainable development goals.

He challenged youth to stand united and collectively optimise exploitation of the limited resources at their disposal to improve their livelihoods and consequently eradicate poverty.

However, he said, the youths were faced with challenges such as unemployment, HIV/AIDS and poverty but they should bear in mind that they were the engine that drove development both nationally and globally.

He implored them not to look out for solutions to their problems only but also to fully engage themselves in leading the nation.

To address such challenges, he said the government had introduced programmes like Tirelo Sechaba, the Graduate Volunteer Scheme and National Internship meant to assist unemployed youth and graduates to learn work ethics in a practical way.

Mr Ramokate said Youth Development Fund (YDF) was another avenue which young people could use to reduce the unemployment rate in the country.

He noted that government had done a lot in educating youths and empowering them to influence and shape the poverty eradication initiatives as that would help them safeguard the needs of future generations while at the same time addressing the needs of the youth.

Moreover, he said the government was doing everything in its power to address high levels of unemployment amongst the youth. He urged them not to let those issues divide the nation to the extent of them venturing into unlawful ways of trying to get their voices heard.

He implored them to continue engaging each other through the spirit of botho and respect to find practical solutions that would bring positive results.

In her welcome remarks, Lobatse town Mayor, Ms Malebogo Kruger implored communities to recognise, appreciate and care for the youth as they were the future leaders.

She encouraged them to uphold the spirit of botho to safeguard the Setswana culture from deteriorating .

Ms Kruger further encouraged them to utilise government programmes at their disposal to uplift their livelihoods and also create job opportunities for others. ENDS