26 Feb 2017

Over indebtedness continues to be a  problem in Botswana, hence the need to educate the public on financial matters.

Speaking at the launch of the third season of Madi Majwana; Stories from Our Pockets radio drama recently, Barclays Bank managing director, Reinette Van der Merwe said the radio drama was aimed at addressing issues of money that people had to deal with everyday.

“Stories told by Madi Majwana are meaningful and relevant, mainly because they are developed from research that is done within various communities,” Van der Merwe said.

 She noted that financial literacy and basic understanding of how to manage finances was critical to individual health, wealth and happiness.

She said Barclays Bank had a robust involvement in social issues, hence its involvement in the radio drama.

“Our community investment programme is focused on young people between the ages of 10 and 35 and has provided the skills that they require to live economically active lives. This programme necessarily includes a focus on money management because we recognise this as a critical skill if one needs to live a comfortable and successful life,” said Van der Merwe.

She further said Barclays Bank of Botswana had consistently endeavoured to provide education and skills development that would enable its customers and clients, and indeed communities to manage their funds better.

“We have done this through various mechanisms including our Citizenship Agenda, which includes  Madi Majwana programme. Our Barclays colleagues also spend time educating our customers and some community members about managing money. In fact 85 per cent of our colleagues volunteered in the community in 2016,” she said.

She said despite these efforts and substantial investments made, they were not satisfied with the progress they were making, and sought to identify an innovative approach to financial literacy education to customers and the public. The idea of using theatre and drama was therefore conceived.

“Our relationship with Maitisong on the specific subject of money matters began in 2013 when we launched the Pula! Money Matters theatrical performance and the play focused on people’s relationship with money, the complex issues and problems that we are faced with in our daily lives," she said.

Based on the success of the theatrical production and desire to reach a wider audience, she said Barclays agreed to develop and launch a radio drama series during World Literacy Day in 2014.

She indicated that the radio drama featured on three radio stations for a period of 20 weeks, with radio discussions on pertinent matters taking place in between shows. They also went on a national tour to 16 villages, where the radio drama was translated into  theatrical production.

Speaking on Barclays Banks’ initiative termed ‘Ready to Work’ launched last year, Van der Merwe said it was Barclays Africa’s flagship employability initiative that prepared young people across Africa for the world of work by focusing on education and skills.

She said the initiative had been designed to facilitate critical transition of a young person from education to the world of work, be it as a self-employed person or for those seeking employment.  

“Ready to Work supports the work that is being done by Maitisong Theatre through Madi Majwana. Young people have the opportunity to further understand and learn about money skills by accessing the free Ready to Work programme,” she said.

She further indicated that the programme supported government’s efforts to up-skill and empower the youth as it would provide practical and relevant training required for them to access the Youth Fund.

Producer of the radio drama and also director of Maitisong, Gao Lemmenyane said the future of job creation in Botswana lied in the creative industry.

“So far we have 150 people engaged with the overall production of Madi Majwana,” Lemmenyane said.

He indicated that the production would travel around Botswana and economic benefits would trickle down to other sectors of the economy. ENDS