21 Aug 2016

Minister of Youth, Sport and Culture Mr Thapelo Olopeng has urged Tonota youth to attend workshops and benchmark on others to improve their businesses.

Speaking at a meeting held for youth in Tonota, where he is also the Member of Parliament, Mr Olopeng said unemployment is a global issue, noting that even though a lot of youth are educated, not all can become entrepreneurs.

Mr Olopeng implored the youth to find ways of creating jobs and employ others, encouraging them to take their business ventures seriously because some of them collapse along the way due to neglegence.

He advised them that not all businesses start booming but they should all be prepared to start small looking at the market and economy of the country.

The minister said the environment should also determine what business they should venture into because some started businesses in places where there was no market to sell.

He advised the youth of lots of opportunities in agriculture as there was a lot of demand for goats outside the country as well as chicken and shortage of feedlots in the country.

Furthermore, he encouraged them to use their talent too and form clubs that matched their talents and use them to generate income.

Some of the youth complained that the country continued to import goods even when they manufactured them and asked the minister to help support local products.

Mr Olopeng promised them monthly feedback on their youth schemes applications and implored them to use youth offices effectively.

When welcoming the minister, Kgosi Ramosinyi Radipitse said the youth should be well informed about government schemes and the kind of projects they wanted to pursue.

He added that they should involve their parents in their projects for encouragement because if they are all alone, they will end up losing morale and focus. Ends