14 Aug 2017

Minister of Youth Empowerment, Sport and Culture Development, Mr Thapelo Olopeng has implored the youth to utilise social networks as a business marketing tool rather than dwelling on ill-behaved acts.

Addressing youth from Kgalagadi North constituency in Hukuntsi recently, minister Olopeng said since their area was distant from potential markets, they could social media platforms to reach the larger markets that would ultimately close the gap of poor accessibility of markets for their products and services.

He said it would also provide a valuable platform for better understanding and learning from their target audiences.

Mr Olopeng emphasised that the population was growing and that technology has reduced human labour. He encouraged youth to be active participants in creating job opportunities for others by venturing into entrepreneurship.

He said their participation would assist government to achieve one of its mandates that focused on job creation for citizens, more especially the youth as they were the hardest hi.

He also said their participation would also prevent rural-urban migration as they would be able to enhance the socio-economic aspects of their respective villages.

To achieve the mandate, he said programmes such as Youth Development Fund (YDF), Internship Programme, Graduate Volunteer Scheme (GVS) and LIMID were set up to empower the youth to be entrepreneurs for them to live dignified lives.

Mr Olopeng further said youth were impatient when it came to doing business as they expected instant results. 

He encouraged them to exercise patience and also to think outside the box by deciding on feasible business ideas, as it took quite time and hard work to grow a successful business.

Therefore, he urged them to remain focused and determined when doing business, saying  they should be psychologically prepared to experience the leaps and bounds of a business and soldier on to find other alternatives or seek guidance from other business expertise to sustain their businesses.

Moreover, he said their ministry was currently working under the establishment of a communication centre, whereby the youth would have adequate information access, and receive instant feedback regarding youth programmes in place.

On other issues, he encouraged them to take sport seriously by forming sports clubs in their areas to help them to stay away from illicit use of drugs and alcohol abuse.

He said through sport they would be able to keep their bodies fit and guard against the increasing cases of non-communicable diseases.

In addition, he encouraged them to preserve and promote their culture, as it could also help to improve their lives through different cultural activities.

Meanwhile, one of the youth, Ms Kebaneilwe Ngakanyane lauded the minister’s visit, saying they had lots of pending issues in their constituency that needed his intervention.

She said they lacked operating spaces since they were not allowed to operate from homes and also decried about delays to funding.

She also complained about the lack of water, markets, tender opportunities, complexities of YDF forms and proper sporting facilities in the constituency.

In response, minister Olopeng said government institutions should buy from the beneficiaries in the constituency, and that when quality was compromised, an expertise in that area of services should be engaged to impart more skills to them.

In terms of the complexity of YDF forms, he said they have reached an agreement that the forms should be written in both Setswana and English so that they become readable to all. With regard to sporting facilities, he said they were in talks with cabinet to establish community sport facilities across the country to ensure a conducive trainning environment for participants.

For lack of operating spaces, the MP for Kgalagadi North constituency, Mr Itumeleng Moipisi said the Kgalagadi sub land board had issued 30 business plots to the youth, and that a follow-up would be done after their sitting scheduled for August 21, 2017.

He also noted that those who needed water for their projects, especially in Inalegolo settlement, should approach the village trust to seek permission from them to water their animals and other projects that needed water.

Kgosi Molaodi Leipego of Hukuntsi also lauded the minister for his visit since they were lagging behind in developments.

He urged the minister to ensure that the programmes put in place were implemented accordingly to improve the lives of constituents.

For his part, Kgosi Bojosi Motshoge of Tshane shared the same sentiments with Kgosi Leipego regarding the minister’s visit, and called for cordial relationships between dikgosi and government department in their sub-district to assist them to reach out to communities about different government programmes in place to improve their lives.

In his closing remarks, Mr Moipisi, who is also Assistant Minister of Land Management Water and Sanitation Services, thanked minister Olopeng for his visit despite working within a tight schedule.

He said the new developments outlined by the Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Sport and Culture Development in the form of youth television, communication centre and community sports facilities would be a breakthrough as they would in the long run improve the lives of the youth. ENDS