18 Feb 2019

Minister of Infrastructure and Housing Development Mr Vincent Seretse has implored youth contractors to take advantage of the P43m reserved for youth-owned construction companies.

Officially opening a construction youth pitso in Selebi Phikwe recently, Mr Seretse said the total maintenance budget provision for the current financial year was about P287m out of which 15 per cent or P43m was reserved for youth-owned companies.

He said creating a conducive environment for development was a deliberate effort by government to develop the private sector, which should be the source of economic growth and creation of employment opportunities, especially for the youth.

Mr Seretse said it was important to empower youth-owned construction companies so that they could grow and help create employment as well as contribute positively to the growth of the economy.

He encouraged young people in the construction industry to participate actively in the economic diversification activities by tapping into government initiatives such as the Economic Diversification Drive.

Mr Seretse said construction companies owned by young people had the ability and capacity to engage in big projects, adding “I do not want to subscribe to the notion that we do not have the capacity.”

He said government wished to see youth-owned companies winning big tenders.

The minister commended the 33 youth contractors who benefited from the Economic Stimulus Programme, saying they did a good job adding that this showed positive development in the ministry’s mentorship programme.

Minister Seretse urged youth contractors to work together and form associations which he said would make them strong and encourage diverse ideas that could help them grow.

He said if they worked in silos they were likely to continue getting small projects.

For his part, Botswana Youth Contractors Association secretary Mr Utlwanang Serumola thanked government for the budget reserved for young people saying it would go a long way in empowering youth construction companies to participate in big projects.

He urged fellow youth contractors to do their best to deliver projects on time, on budget and on quality so that government could increase the maintenance budget reserved for the youth.

Mr Serumola said the youth should understand that projects were meant to develop their communities and should therefore desist from doing shoddy jobs or abandoning projects.

He also warned them against corruption.

Kgosi Moses Ghani of Kagiso Ward urged youth contractors to take their jobs seriously and show the world they could do it on their own.

He urged them to do away with the entitlement mentality and encouraged them to focus on building their companies rather than using profits to buy expensive vehicles which were equally costly to maintain.

“Water the tree before you could enjoy its fruits,” he said.

The pitso’s theme was “Aligning youth constructors with opportunity for Selebi Phikwe resuscitation.” ENDS