15 Aug 2019

The Kweneng West poverty eradication committee has been encouraged to work as a team to succeed.

When addressing members of the poverty eradication committee in Letlhakeng on Tuesday, National Coordinator for Poverty Eradication Programme, Mr Montshiwa Montshiwa said he was there to appreciate the work that the committee was doing and also share his concerns and challenges they meet when carrying out their duties.

He said since inception of the programme, 37 002 projects had been funded with 29 504 of them operational.

Mr Montshiwa further said within a year since President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi ascended to the presidency, 10 000 projects had been packaged.

He said failed projects as at April 01, 2018 stood at four per cent and had been reduced to two per cent, which meant that officers in different districts were doing a great job.

The national coordinator said a lot needed to be done going forward more so that some districts continued to be hard hit by poverty among them Kweneng, Ngami and Ghanzi West.

He said this calls for concerted efforts and new strategies to address the challenges.

Mr Montshiwa said he was concerned that even though many beneficiaries received packages, the situation in some instances did not change, while some had not received a full package leading to stalling of their projects.

He said if poverty was not going down in the district despite projects being funded, it was time for the committee to find counter strategies that would work in their area.

He said there were guidelines, and authorities were at liberty to find out what would work for their area and make recommendations for such projects.

Mr Montshiwa said the biggest challenge had been that some people who ought not to have benefited were given packages

He therefore asked the poverty eradication committee to re-check the assessments, including checking the households to ensure the right people had been assisted.

Mr Montshiwa informed the Deputy District Commissioner, Ms Margaret Lekoape and Letlhakeng Sub District Senior Assistant Council Secretary, Mr Joseph Segopa that they were in charge and whatever the committee did was on their behalf.

He further urged them not to be afraid to repossess the machinery given to those who are not utilising them and repackage them for others, who want to benefit.

Mr Montshiwa advised the committee to consider the cluster packaging approach as it could help deal with backlog and monitoring.

Ms Lekoape expressed gratitude for the appreciation and guidance they received from the coordinator and his team.

She said the programme was not doing well in the sub-district because some beneficiaries did not own their projects and referred to them as ‘Molaodi’s projects’.

This then, she said resulted in lack of commitment while others neglected their projects when they are not doing well.

Ms Lekoape said they had realised that some packages were not working, while some were facing challenges due to issues of sustenance, like guinea fowls, whose upkeep was costly.

She said some beneficiaries abandoned their projects.

The deputy district commissioner promised to utilise economists, statisticians and social workers to find better strategies that would work for their area.

When giving a vote of thanks, Mr Segopa said emphasised the need to utilise the programme to its full potential.

Mr Segopa was of view that procurement in government was enough to sustain many beneficiaries of government funded projects.

He said the council would continue to do its best to help many Batswana benefit from the programme.

Mr Montshiwa was accompanied by the Director of Monitoring and Evaluation Mr Nyendi Moloyi and Chief Programmes Officer Ms Lesego Sepato. ENDS