16 Jul 2019

About 23 beneficiaries in the Chobe district have received their packages under the poverty eradication programme.

The packages include egg layers, food preparation and catering services, home based laundry, children’s entertainment, beauty parlour and Information Communication Technology.

Beneficiaries received their packages during the Chobe District Mass Packaging Day held at Kachickau kgotla. It was reported that 412 beneficiaries had qualified to be assisted under the programme and 355 have been assisted. Of these, 249 business projects were operational and had created 250 jobs.

Speaking during the event, the assistant minister of Presidential Affairs, Governance and Public Administration, Mr Machana Shamukuni said the mass packaging marked yet another milestone in the poverty eradication drive. Giving the beneficiaries packages, he said was a demonstration and commitment by the government to addressing the poverty scourge with the ultimate goal of ensuring that all Batswana lived a dignified life.

He said it was the government’s expectation that the beneficiaries would add value to the packages to ensure that their lives and those of their families improve, thus leading to a reduction of poverty levels in the district.

Through initiatives such as the poverty eradication programme, Mr Shamukuni revealed that the government sought to ensure that three key priorities of sustainable employment creation, eradicating poverty and reducing inequality, were achieved.

To achieve that, he said it was essential that government took the lead in providing a conducive environment for those packaged to grow their businesses, primarily by putting in place simplified and transparent procurement processes as well as providing an assured market.

“There is no reason for those producing eggs for example, to experience lack of market access, while there are government schools and hotels in our district to consume these. It is the responsibility of the district leadership to ensure that to the extent possible, poverty eradication products are consumed by government institutions,” he added.

Mr Shamukuni, who is also the area MP, noted that poverty issues were complex and required involvement of not only government, but also the private sector, non-governmental organisations and other stakeholders.

He called on the district leadership to create platforms for dialogue and collaboration with the stakeholders to create market opportunities. Furthermore, he revealed that the latest poverty statistics released by Statistics Botswana in February 2018, indicated that impact was starting to show. The percentage of Batswana living below the poverty datum line stood at 16.3 per cent, while those who are still living in extreme poverty are 5.8 per cent.

In the Chobe area, the poverty incidents stood at 19 per cent with some of these people living in extreme poverty. Mr Shamukuni said through concerted efforts, making deliberate decisions, all could achieve the eradication of extreme poverty in Chobe and in the country.

He encouraged beneficiaries to take advantage of the availed opportunities and run with them, appreciating that it would not be easy.

“You must be resilient and develop capabilities to deal with challenges relating to the management of your projects. Any business comes with challenges therefore I encourage you to work hard and grow your businesses so that you can also graduate and pave way for others,” he said.

Beneficiaries learnt that to ensure project sustainability, an exit strategy and value chains booklet had been developed to guide provision of appropriate interventions for increased impact of the programme.

Such interventions include, among others, technical and business management training, psycho-social support, product quality improvement as well as marketing of products.

Mr Shamukuni noted that proceeds from the businesses were intended to facilitate improvement on the livelihoods of beneficiaries so that they ultimately graduate from poverty. Ends