26 Sep 2019

Assistant Minister of Tertiary Education, Research, Science and Technology, Mr Moiseraele Goya says that government is committed to eradicating poverty.

Mr Goya said this when launching the mass packaging of Poverty Eradication programme held under the theme ‘Creating an open and interactive business environment to eradicate poverty’ at the Palapye Administrative Authority (PAA) Wednesday.

About 100 beneficiaries from Palapye and villages that fall under PAA received project packages, while 10 beneficiaries who went through training graduated from the programme and were awarded certificates.

Mr Goya stated that government was proud that the poverty eradication programme had impacted positively on peoples’ lives.

He said peoples’ dignity was restored, as the beneficiaries managed to take care of their families, build houses and purchase cars.

The assistant minister stated that since the inception of the programme in 2011, the Palapye Sub-district had funded 1 368 projects, out of which 1 062 are operational.

He said the operational projects had created employment for 190 males and 925 females.

“It is heartwarming and encouraging to note that women who are most affected by poverty have embraced the programme in large numbers,” he said.

Mr Goya said the achievement was in line with attaining the first UNDP sustainable development goal of ‘ending extreme poverty in all forms’.

Furthermore, he noted that a wide range of packages totaling 45 had been offered with key projects such as egg layers, gardening, horticulture, small stock, fashion and design as well as small and medium machinery.

Mr Goya stated that PAA was planning to establish a horticulture project in Topisi, targeting over 10 beneficiaries.

“These projects have great potential to create wealth for our people,” he said.

He added that by the end of the year, PAA aimed to have funded about 422 remaining applicants of the programme.

He called on beneficiaries to utilise funds accordingly for their own benefits and society as a whole.

For his part, Poverty Eradication coordinator, Mr Montshiwa Montshiwa said that the reason government introduced the mass packaging under Poverty Eradication programme was to reduce the backlog that was experienced over the years.

He explained that the move was intended to speed up the awarding of project materials to beneficiaries and to reach as many applicants of the programme as possible instead of providing project materials to individuals at a go.

He said that since the inception of the programme in 2011, over 37 002 citizens benefitted from the programme countrywide, adding that a total of 29 504 businesses were operational, while 32 500 jobs had been created through the projects.

The PAA council chairperson, Mr Lesedi Phuthego acknowledged the fact that the Poverty Eradication programme was on track fulfilling its mandate.

He called on citizens to take advantage of the programme to empower themselves and gain income to take care of their families.

He noted that many Batswana had been trained and equipped with the necessary business and project management skills to take care of themselves and contribute towards creating employment for fellow citizens. Poverty eradication projects also exhibited their products . Ends