19 Nov 2017

A total of 2 662 projects from the 8 371 that qualified for the Poverty Eradication Programme in the Southern District are operational.
This was said by the Specially Elected Member of Parliament, Mr Mephato Reatile during the Southern District Poverty Eradication Expo in Mabutsane recently.
He said since the inception of the programme in 2012, a total of 14 971 have been mobilised, from which 5 182 underwent the technical training associated with their projects.

However, he noted that due to various challenges, only 2 662 were operational while 187 had failed altogether.
“Not long ago we went on a benchmarking exercise in the North West in South Africa to learn about their poverty alleviation practices.
We have since realised that one of the reasons why some projects failed was because some beneficiaries were not passionate about the businesses they chose and they ended up abandoning the projects,” he said.

He underscored the need for beneficiaries to enroll for projects that they had interest in so that government could effectively achieve the programme’s objective of improving their lives.
Further, Mr Reatile said government had taken a deliberate decision for its departments to purchase from beneficiaries through the local empowerment initiative.
He said this move would help address the issue of lack of market, which has been crippling the programme.

He said extension workers from different sectors would also be deployed to different areas to monitor the projects to ensure their effectiveness.
He said proper monitoring would also improve record keeping because it would reflect on the day to day operations of the businesses.
Additionally, he emphasised the need for group applications, saying these were more effective compared to individuals.

He said group projects received more funding and therefore had more capacity to satisfy the market.
Some beneficiaries commended government for coming up with a programme that had been able to uplift their livelihoods and those of their families.

Ms Keonyaditse Mekwe of Mabutsane said her dressmaking business was doing well such that she had been able to electrify her house.
She urged other people to apply for projects that were in line with their skills so that they could enjoy what they were doing.
She also advised other beneficiaries to be patient and not expect instant profits from the beginning.

Ms Onkokame Podise, who runs a water purification business in Jwaneng with three others urged young people to be focused on what they wanted to achieve.
She said even though they were funded on a small scale, they were working on expanding the business beyond government funding. ENDS