21 Dec 2016

Minister for Presidential Affairs, Governance and Public Administration, Mr Eric Molale, has implored Molopo constituents to utilise poverty eradication programme to the maximum so that they can be economically empowered.

Speaking during the launch of the small and medium scale machinery for poverty eradication programme in Phitshane Molopo on December 19, he said most citizens were subjected to abject poverty, but government was doing everything in its power to assist individuals or groups to get out of poverty through sustainable income generation and employment initiatives.

He said government also provided capacity building through skills transfers and provision of grants to individual beneficiaries and community organisations to help promote small and medium scale entrepreneurship.

Mr Molale also said government went an extra mile by procuring machinery as a way of expanding the packages that had been rolled out to the beneficiaries.

Through these machineries, government anticipated economic growth in terms of employment creation for beneficiaries of poverty eradication programme.

He further said the use of machineries would help to increase production in their businesses as well as add increase in the number of beneficiaries in their constituency to participate in the programme.

He lauded those whose businesses were still operating and urged them to continue soldering on despite challenges that might crop up in their way.

In relation to lack of market accessibility, Mr Molale assured beneficiaries that government was committed to help them and penetrate market to sell their products.

However, he urged them to take the initiative of ensuring that they produce good quality products that could compete in the market.

Kgosi Pekenene Sekwenyane for Phitshane Molopo appreciated the poverty eradication coordinators for their efforts in showcasing machinery to beneficiaries in their locality, saying that, it would be an eye opener to beneficiaries as they would gain skills and experience on how to expand their businesses as well as to increase production on daily basis to be able to meet the market demand.

He also appreciated all government programmes in place meant to improve the citizens’ lives and urged his people to be active participants in all the programmes.

When outlining the objectives of the event, poverty eradication coordinator from the Office of the President, Ms Bernadette Malala said most of the poverty eradication projects were failing despite having all the necessary equipment in place.

She said the event was organised to impart skills and knowledge to beneficiaries’ through different mediums for them to grow and nurture their businesses.

Good Hope-Mabule MP, Kgosi Lotlamoreng II lauded poverty eradication coordinators for their efforts to reach out to different people around the country to inform them about existing government programmes that could be used to uplift their lives.

He said it was important to impart essential information to beneficiaries for them to become successful entrepreneurs. ENDS