05 Jul 2021

 Minister for Presidential Affairs, Governance and Public Administration, Mr Kabo Morwaeng has urged youths to utilise government programmes to improve their lives.

Speaking at a youth workshop in Molepolole on Saturday, the minister, who is also MP for Molepolole South, said empowerment programmes such as Youth Development Fund (YDF) were meant to improve the livelihood of youths who had been hit by lack of employment.

The MP organised the workshop to assist youths to fill the YDF application forms and engaged the consultants from Gaborone Business Association to offer guidance.

He urged youths whose applications were previously rejected not to give up, adding that they would eventually be funded.

YDF, a youth empowerment scheme managed by the Department of Youth in the Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Sport and Culture Development offers funding of up to P100 000, half of which is a grant.

The minister encouraged the youths to also use other empowerment establishments such as Citizen Entrepreneurship Development Agency (CEDA) to improve their lives.

Government, through YDF, is offering assistance to youths to venture into businesses so that they have income and create jobs for themselves and others.

Molepolole South has been allocated P1.7 million for youths aged between 18 and 35 years who are out of school or earn less than P2 500.

Meanwhile Mr Phuthego Chere of Gaborone Business Association said he was impressed by the level of enthusiasm from the youths who turned in so large numbers that they had to be split into different classes due to COVID-19 protocols.

However, he was concerned that they lacked the entrepreneurial spirit, hence they gave up when they encountered challenges in their businesses, saying youths needed motivation. 

He said market conditions were tough, hence the need for perseverance. 

It has been noted that the youths mostly engaged business consultants to fill forms and develop business plans, hence their failure during interviews.

Mr Chere said this was a major concern, adding that his organisation did not offer business ideas to the youths, rather, it encouraged them to develop their own ideas and research on them before they could submit forms for funding.

He further said they interrogated their clients to ensure that they fully understood the business area they were venturing into and were also prepared to deal with the challenges.

The consultants will continue to offer assistance during the week at the MP’s office. ends