30 Jan 2022

Rural Development Council (RDC) met on Friday to consider more appropriate and effective programmes that could help improve peoples’ livelihoods.

Updating the media afterwards,   RDC chairperson and Vice President Slumber Tsogwane said its mandate was to coordinate programmes and projects in remote areas, look into service delivery and develop sustainable employment opportunities to eliminate poverty.

“The aim is to empower local authorities to develop rural areas and grow local economies through ideas brainstormed and agreed within districts,” explained Mr Tsogwane.

He said  RDC was determined to strengthen food security, promote value chain development locally as well as contribute to the development of an export-led economy.

Government, he said, was concerned about poverty and had resolved to eradicate it by ensuring that every citizen lived a dignified and acceptable life consistent with national aspirations as set out in Vision 2036.

He said people needed to be assisted to produce finished products rather than selling raw material to help improve their lives.

The vice president stressed the need for realignment of government machinery and priorities to help people in rural areas.

Saying digitisation was the way to go in growing the economy, he called for mindset change in line with President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi’s Reset Agenda.

Friday’s meeting paved the way for ministries to enhance implementation of projects, service delivery and fill in potholes, he said.

Mr Tsogwane said ministries would choose development programmes and projects based on their ability and past performance.

Two ministries, agricultural development and food security, investment, trade and industry and Local Entrepreneurship Authority convened to present their programmes, challenges and identified opportunities and projects which could be developed for alignment with the Reset Agenda.

Mr Tsogwane said RDC supported decentralisation in terms of capacity building and  coordination of activities.

Decentralisation, he said, had always been done piecemeal which led to district council ineffectiveness and consequently poor service delivery.

Mr Tsogwane said the status quo had not served the country well and resulted in endless complaints of development stagnation.

RDC membership includes all permanent secretaries and key non-governmental stakeholders. Ends