31 May 2018

Projects under the poverty eradication programme in Francistown and the greater area are performing well at over 70 per cent.

Speaking in an interview, Francistown-based district poverty eradication coordinator, Mr Louis Mlilo said of the 1 176 qualified projects between 2011 to 2017, 982 have been funded whilst 162 were still awaiting funding.

He said of the 982 funded projects, 762 were operational while 199 were non-operational, adding that from those that were operational, 109 were excelling.

Mr Mlilo explained that most of the projects that were excelling were those under bakery, fashion design, backyard tree nursery and grass harvesting.

He said only a few projects had collapsed, attributing this to lack of entrepreneurial skills among beneficiaries.

“We are packaging people and the only problem is the market because they are competing with already established competitors in the formal sector,” he said.

Mr Mlilo said the other challenge was that of operational space. He said most of the beneficiaries operated from rented spaces, which was expensive for non-established businesses.

He explained that the lack of operational space had contributed to beneficiaries becoming nomadic or moving from one space to another, thereby making it difficult for customers to know their whereabouts.

The coordinator highlighted that the lack of commitment also had a bearing, saying some of them lost hope from the beginning.

“Commitment is very crucial in every business. The duty of the government is to provide the beneficiaries with skills and packages whilst the rest is up to them,” Mr Mlilo added.

He said his department was committed to assisting beneficiaries to market their products.

Mr Mlilo also said his office was working on measures to encourage government departments to engage beneficiaries and buy their products as one way to empower them.

However, he noted that some projects, such as pot hire and tent renting, had proved to be unmarketable because customers nowadays were interested in sophisticated decorations.

He revealed that his area had never registered any ghost beneficiaries, as there was a monitoring team in place to keep checks and balances. ENDS