16 Jul 2013

Minister of Youth Sport and Culture, Mr Shaw Kgathi says boot camp activities are designed to transform youth into citizens with a sense of purpose.

Mr Kgathi said this during the official launch of the sixth boot camp in Tsetsebye on July 12. He said the ministry had established various initiatives and schemes such as Youth Development Fund and Youth Empowerment Scheme (YES) to address youth unemployment.

He said although 38 per cent of youth made the population of the country, they were faced with challenges that included poverty, unemployment, crime and HIV/AIDS. He said the initiatives were intended to help them overcome the pressing issues.

The camp that started in July 1 would end in August 4 and has enrolled 629 trainees and 500 of them would be attached to Ministry of Health to be trained further into health education assistants.

Mr Kgathi advised participants to make use of programmes such as CEDA, Young Farmers Fund, LIMID and Back to School to set up businesses that would also create employment to other citizens. “Through activities such as boot camp that mould youth, I am optimistic that by 2016 we will make Botswana a force to reckon with,” Minister Kgathi said.

He said the boot camps had produced 1 770 graduates and all had been attached to various departments and government was spending P12 million to pay their monthly salaries. He said, funds permitting, the ministry would enroll close to 4 000 youth per year on boot camp activities that would would be area specific, adding that the next camp would focus on leadership.

The camp he said, enhanced youth employability, entrepreneurship, as well as behavioural and mind-set change, time management, emotional intelligence and physical training. “Before they came here, they were hopeless and lacked energy but the training they get empowers them into responsible citizens full of vigour,” he said.

He urged parents to resume their parenting responsibilities in order to make well-rounded citizens. “There are those punching holes to condemn the programme, but I have full confidence that we are building an upright citizens through a holistic integrated YES programme,” he further said.

Mr Kgathi described as false talks that boot camps were a Botswana Defence Force activity, but said it was his ministry’ programme.ENDS