11 Dec 2019

The Ministry of Investment Trade and Industry on December 10 hosted the 7th annual Boleswa Youth Co-operative Exchange Forum at Mmadinare Senior Secondary School.

Officiating at the forum, Mr Dikgang Makgalemele, patron of Botswana Youth Co-operatives Alliance (BOCA) said the three countries of Botswana, Lesotho and Eswatini’s co-operative movement came together in 2012, to work towards the establishment of the forum.

He said the forum enabled young people to learn from each other with intent to stimulate interest, exploration and taking advantage of opportunities generated in these countries so as to create sustainable long term employment. 

“I call upon you, co-operators to make every effort to create a sustainable environment through which the youth could enhance co-operative ideals so that they may continue to be the beacon upon which co-operative enterprises are anchored,” said Mr Makgalemele.

He said that the co-operative enterprises promoted peace, cooperation, consultation and self-reliance.

He added that the enterprises were the vehicles through which governments could liberate through job creation, income generation, poverty eradication and financial inclusion.

Mr Makgalemele explained that the Ministry of Investment Trade and Industry, through the Department of Co-operative Development, had taken steps to promote the co-operative philosophy and entrepreneurship through school co-operatives in some selected schools. 

He explained that the initiative was being piloted in ten schools, one in the southern region and nine in the SPEDU region.

“The piloting programme will be evaluated with the view of rolling it to other educational institutions in consultation with other key stakeholders,” said Mr Makgalemele. 

He noted that Lesotho and Eswatini had made significant strides in this direction and that was commendable and encouraging.

He said the intention was to groom a generation of young people who would be able to manage their finances, through financial literacy programmes and cultivate a culture of entrepreneurship as well as the aspect of savings in co-operatives at a young age.

Mr Makgalemele said youth co-operatives, like other businesses, had their own challenges, which they must be poised for if they were to run successfully.  

Speaking at the forum, BOLESWA President, Ms Lensha Dlamini Hadzebe said the objectives of the forum was to build programmes for BOLESWA Youth Co-operatives; establish youth leadership forums where youth co-operative leaders would meet annually to discuss progress made in the implementation of the milestones and other programmes facilitated jointly and to facilitate and lobby for recognition and participation of the forum delegates in other international youth bodies regionally, continentally and globally.

Ms Hadzebe said the forum was supposed to lobby governments and other organisations for the support of co-operatives and to mobilise resources to ensure the smooth operation of the BOLESWA co-operative federation. 

Chairperson of Botswana Cooperatives Association Mr Thatayotlhe Mbule said he was optimistic that the forum would yield a productive discussion aimed at improving the respective countries’ economies.

He was happy with the number of youth who attended the event.He said the involvement of youth would turn around the fortunes of co-operative models in the respective countries. ends