15 Aug 2017

Mabutsane Sub-district Council chairperson, Mr Kgopolo Ramosesane has decried the lack of progress of projects under the Women Economic Empowerment (WEE) programme.

Addressing a sub-council meeting recently, Mr Ramosesane said out of 35 proposals submitted to the Gender Affairs Department, only four were successful.

“The Gender Affairs Department had received 35 project proposals, but only four were selected and are currently being appraised.

This reversal of proposals was due to the new considerations that are being made such as disqualifying beneficiaries who previously benefitted from other government schemes or grants,” he said.

Furthermore, the sub-council chairperson noted that financial constraints had also resulted in the non-funding of individuals.

He noted that the department was only funding groups, and had ceased to fund applicants under the age of 36 who fall under the youth category.

He also said shortage of transport has continued to hinder the progress of approved projects since they could not be rolled out on time.

“Other challenges include crop damage by pests, vandalism of irrigation systems by beneficiaries, high water bills due to allegations that beneficiaries watered livestock, poor record keeping, lack of commitment, theft and inadequate market opportunities in some areas,” he said.

However, Mr Ramosesane said there were interventions that had been employed to address the challenges.

He said officials continued to offer advice to beneficiaries as well as monitoring the projects.

He also said beneficiaries were given the opportunity to showcase their products during expositions, mini shows and market days.

On other issues, the chairperson said since the inception of the Poverty Eradication Programme, 954 projects had been undertaken in the sub-district.

He said 548 of the projects were operational, 85 were non-operational while 27 failed.

He also noted that there 37 newly-funded projects and that 20 of them were success stories.

He noted that the LIMID programme continued to receive applications despite the backlog.

“Although LIMID office is still working on the eradication of backlog, new applications have been received from April 2017 and the closure is 30 September 2017. Let us remind those who intend to apply to visit nearby offices to seek assistance before closure,” he said.Ends