28 Aug 2013

The Botswana National Productivity Centre (BNPC) has been implored to train Batswana on self-management to prevent the unpleasant effects of failure to effectively manage oneself.

Councillor Saul Duha of Mosojane said this during the ongoing North East District full council meeting in Masunga on August  27. Cllr Duha cited councillors as some of the people who were prone to falling into destitution when their term of office ends, attributing such a scenario largely to lack of knowledge as to how best to manage the affairs of their lives.

He said it was crucial for councillors and other members of the society to be trained on business and self-management. Councillor Dikitso Mandevu of Gulubane also appealed for training of councillors to enhance their credibility as leaders thereby earning them trust of their electorates.

Cllr Mandevu urged the BNPC to go an extra mile in training Batswana and also underscored the need for Botswana to be at par with other countries excelling on productivity issues. Cllr Moses Maloiso of Tshesebe said it was necessary to re-define productivity and refrain from viewing it as something required from employees only.

He said it was important to preach and practice productivity at family level to inculcate good habits in children and ensure the existence of a crop of highly productive employees across the various sectors of the economy in future.

Earlier, the acting regional manager for BNPC in Francistown, Mr Jacob Mmola said the institution’s mandate included among others; to stimulate and generate productivity consciousness in Botswana, as well as promote increased productivity in all sectors of the economy.

He also informed councillors of the setting up of the District Productivity Improvement Forum, aimed at determining the productivity agenda of the district in collaboration with other district development structures. Mr Mmola stated that one of the expected outcomes of the forum was to raise fully-informed productivity change agents in the district and streamline into everyday life the culture of productivity and best practices.

He concurred with the councillors on the need for business training, saying many businesses had and were indeed continuing to collapse due to their owners’ lack of management skills. Ends