31 Aug 2020

Malatswae residents have joined forces to uproot some of the ills that have, for many years, been a source for concern in the village.

Tackling their village’s challenges through different community committees, the residents hope that should the mandates of the respective committees be realised, the village would not only advance in terms of development but would also become more peaceful and therefore be more accommodating to potential investors.

One of the committees through which residents hope to turn around the plight of their village, the Malatswae Youth League, has taken off just recently; its main purpose being to encourage youth participation in the general affairs of the village.

In an interview recently, a member of the committee, Mr Otshabile Halola, 29, explained that the committee came about after the realisation that there was no structure in the village that advocated for issues affecting the youth, a scenario that resulted in the youth not doing much to better their own lives and also play a role in the growth of their village.

Mr Halola explained that when they realised that they were sitting on their potential to do something worthwhile for themselves and their village, a couple of young people came together and formed the youth league in February this year; adding that since the committee’s formation, many youths have since come forth and joined.

He said the only setback that the committee had so far suffered was having its activities stalled by the nation-wide COVID-19 lockdown, explaining that since it had just taken off when the lockdown was announced, not much had been done.

Mr Halola indicated that in one of their foundational meetings, they had met with the Village Development Committee (VDC) to inform the village leadership of the path they wished to chart.

He said the warm reception they received inspired them and gave them hope that if they remained on course, they would be able to achieve a lot.

A VDC member, Mr Kereng Makeshane said the move Malatswae youth had taken gave a ray of hope for the village especially that through the youth committee, they intended to amongst other things, help each other search for jobs.

Theirs, he said, was a dream worthy pursuing particularly because, like from the rest of the country, youth in Malatswae were hard-hit by unemployment.

He said the fact that the youth would, through the committee, help each other by sharing job adverts, crafting work resumes, as well as preparing for interviews, would help Malatswae youth seeking employment to fare better when competing for job opportunities with young people from the rest of the country.

He observed that it was similarly encouraging that the youth would also be helping those seeking to go into entrepreneurship through the sharing of relevant information as well as linking them up with the relevant institutions that can help them in their respective business endeavours.

Mr Makeshane however bemoaned the fact that out of the over 40-member strong committee, males far outnumbered their female counterparts.

In spite of this, he said he remained hopeful that more females would come aboard since the youth league was actively recruiting new members.

Expressing the VDC’s commitment to support the youth committee, he pointed out that he was hopeful that problems such as teenage pregnancy and crime in general would decline.                                              

Another active committee in the village, the Malatswae Forest Conservation Agency, also plays a critical role in helping curb as well as fight veld fires around the village.

A committee member Mr Kebeemang Dikapolelo said the committee provided support for the Department of Forestry and Range Resources in its endeavour to prevent the outbreak of veld fires.

Mr Kebeemang said they had realised that their area was prone to veld fires hence they decided to form the committee so as to be at the fore-front of efforts to prevent and control the fires.

 

Further, he observed that as a community they derived their livelihood from their environment as some residents earned a living from activities such as the sale of thatching grass, and they, as a result felt compelled to join government in efforts to protect the environment. BOPA