09 Jun 2021

Government is committed to prioritising youth empowerment, says Minister of Youth Empowerment, Sport and Culture Development, Mr Tumiso Rakgare.

Officiating at the launch of the P1.5 million-sponsorship by Standard Bank Botswana towards Future Makers Programme, Mr Rakgare said youth unemployment remained a challenge in Botswana with the rate currently estimated at 32.4 per cent.

The unemployment rate, he said called for deliberate effort by government, to focus resources on youth empowerment through execution of initiatives, which directly or indirectly impact their livelihoods. 

He said it was on that view that the ministry entered into partnership with Standard Chartered Bank and Young Africa to upskill Tirelo Sechaba participants as part of the exit strategy. Mr Rakgare indicated that the partnership was motivated by the Young Africa model, which had proven successful in other African countries having  trained over 30 000 young people towards employability and entrepreneurship, with an 83 per cent chance of self-sustainability and economic activeness.

 He said the ministry thus offered the Lady Masire centre as a hub to support the Young Africa model of setting up financially self-sustaining skills centre, where local entrepreneurs would train the youth to gain industry skills. 

The Standard Chartered Bank sponsorship, he said would thus go a long way in helping in the achievement of the objectives of the partnership between government and the Young Africa programme. Minister Rakgare highlighted that the funding for the Future Makers initiative by Standard Chartered Bank would help diversify the kind of services offered to the youth.

“There is no project that can prosper without good management, guidance and good mentorship, thus Young Africa Botswana have to lead in terms of developing sound training programmes,” he said.

He said today’s youth have high expectations from the ministry to deliver on its mandate.

 The intention, he said was not only to offer programmes that would help in marketability, but also to help the youth venture into sustainable income generating initiatives with guaranteed longevity. Ends