15 Aug 2017

Minister of Agricultural Development and Food Security Mr Patrick Ralotsia, says church participation in fighting corruption and economic crime is important.

Mr Ralotsia was a guest speaker at UCCSA Motswedi branch 50 years anniversary celebration in Kanye held under the theme “Kgolo ya semowa bodiredi le ditlhabololo.’’

He congratulated UCCSA for contributing to  peace and stability as well as moulding the society to be responsible citizens. He also appreciated the effort of the church in  building schools and health facilities in the country.

Minister Ralotsia, also Member of Parliament for Kanye North stressed that it was risky for Batswana to rely on their neighbours for food. He encouraged them to engage in agricultural activities to produce food.

The minister said Batswana had resources like land, government assistance programmes and initiatives like ISPAAD to feed themselves and improve the quality of their lives in the process.

“It is the responsibility of farmers who are also church members to ensure that the country meet food requirement obligations. As farmers it is our responsibility to feed Batswana. It is upon me and you,” said Mr Ralotsia.

Mr Ralotsia further encouraged farmers to produce more so that excess could be sold to generate more money.

He said farmers also had a responsibility of creating jobs for their fellow citizens especially that employment opportunities were few and far between.

Government, he said had come up with programmes that farmers could take advantage of and improve production.

The minister noted that the Southern district had potential to produce adequate food to feed the nation.

He also called upon every citizen to fight corruption saying the responsibility belonged to all members of society including churches.

Mr Ralotsia said collaborative efforts between the church and the society to effectively tackle corruption was important to educate the public about the evils of corruption.

He said addressing corruption required action at various levels and with diverse modalities, necessitating well-coordinated activities and interventions.

For his part, Rev. Sebadi Tsuaneng said Motswedi congregational church had participated in assisting Batswana in Kanye and the surrounding villages.

Rev. Tsuaneng noted that the church had constructed Kgodisong day care centre for orphans and disadvantaged children in Kanye as well as adopting Lorolwane Primary School.

He said they had maintained and looked after Mmalekwa cemetery in Kanye where dikgosi and missionaries were buried; adding that they also looked after home based care patients and donated food hampers.

Recently, he noted that they constructed and donated a house to a person living with disability and donated clothes to Mozambique flood victims.Ends