09 Nov 2016

Stakeholders implementing poverty eradication programme have been urged to rid problems impeding success of the government empowerment programmes, assistant minister for Presidential Affairs, Governance and Public Administration, Mr Thato Kwerepe has said.

Speaking during a meeting with Kubung leadership and village extension team (VET) representatives, he said there was need to close knowledge gap among stakeholders tasked with implementing poverty eradication programme.

He said his ministry as implementing entity is concerned of lack of closer collaboration between stakeholders at village level in terms of information and data sharing to ensure that all are abreast with information.

He said he was meeting implementing stakeholders to touch base and gauge uptake level of government programmes in the village and how the villagers have been utilizing such assistance and what interventions are needed.

Mr Kwerepe said most of the times it may seem that government programmes were not addressing peoples’ needs, only to learn that un-collaborative efforts by people who should be working together are to blame.

He said sometimes the village chief or councilor will not have proper/similar information compared to say social worker, VDC or VET officers, but as a team responsible they should have similar information, such the number of those assisted, backlog and the uptake level of poverty eradication programme.

As part of its effort to eradicate poverty, government  is promoting citizen economic empowerment and citizen entrepreneurial development and adoption of social safety nets that target the poor and vulnerable groups in the country as developmental strategy. The implementing authority is head at office of the president.

The assistant minister implored with VET to play its advisory role to village leadership and other implementing authorities, on issues such availing market, by ensuring that government institutions in the village support poverty eradication beneficiaries.

He said institutions such schools and government offices should buy food, hand crafts and other produce from the local community as a way to promote local economic empowerment drive as well as a way to stimulate the local economy.

For her part social worker in the village, Ms Boikanyo Hengarie said beneficiaries have been assessed, and are awaiting to be give programme packages, and others who were given packages such as tents are facing challeges such as market availability which has been crowded with tents packages.

She said water scarcity in the village has been the reason why the backyard gardens, which could be feeding the village, are not doing very well. ENDS