06 Jun 2021

Councils, government departments and communities have been urged to support or empower local youth funded businesses by giving them precedence when procuring services.

Speaking during a tour of some of the businesses in Gumare and Nokaneng recently, Minister of Youth Empowerment, Sport and Culture Development Mr Tumiso Rakgari said for such businesses could grow and be sustainable, through local empowerment.

“These people need our support, we should buy from them so that their businesses can grow,” he said.

He however encouraged young entrepreneurs to be patient with their businesses as they could not flourish overnight.

The minister also urged the youth to utilise the Youth Development Fund programme as it could change their lives and would reduce unemployment among the youth.

He said every financial year, the Youth Development Fund programme got a larger share of the budget because government wanted by all means to fight unemployment in the country.

Mr Rakgari therefore encouraged the youth to apply for the YDF as syndicates for effortless funding, saying a business proposal of people with different skills stood a better chance for funding.

Ngami MP, Mr Caterpillar Hikuama commended minister Rakgari for his tour of some youth funded projects in Ngami constituency, saying the visit alone, could be motivational to business owners to work harder.

The MP however noted that the bad state of roads in Ngamiland somehow thwarted efforts by the entrepreneurs to grow their businesses, citing an example of problematic access of markets because of bad roads.

Kgosi Kebonyetsala Fish of Nokaneng decried high rate of unemployment in his village especially among the youth.

Kgosi Fish therefore commended the Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Sport and Culture Development for the establishment of a youth business centre in Nokaneng, adding that the centre would allow the youth to do business with ease.

The facility is the long abandoned Rural Area Dwellers (RADs) hostels in Nokaneng and have been salvaged by the youth ministry for use as a youth business centre.

District coordinator at the ministry, Mr Odiretsemang Molao said the project was in two phases, and phase one of the project was renovation of the hostels and training of key personnel within the ministry who would run the centre.

Phase two, Mr Molao said entailed purchasing equipment for the centre and connection of utilities such as telephone, internet, electricity and water.

He said the centre was expected to among others reduce the current cost for renting commercial buildings. Ends