12 May 2022

The newly enacted Economic Inclusion Bill and the revised Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act are intended to ensure citizens effectively contribute towards economic growth through equitable distribution of resources.

Addressing kgotla meetings in Lotlhakane West and Polokwe, Moshupa/Manyana MP, Mr Karabo Gare consequently called for residents to position themselves to play a role in resuscitating the country’s economy.

He said the government’s Reset Agenda called for mindset change to tackle various challenges, including youth unemployment.

“I urge you to encourage young people to come on board with innovative ideas that could contribute in this regard. I also encourage you to form cooperatives and clusters in order to take advantage of this legislation and ultimately create jobs for other people, “he said.

Additionally, he noted that the government had capacitated various institutions such as the National Development Bank (NDB) and the Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency (CEDA) to assist Batswana in their efforts towards reducing the import bill.

He underscored the need for residents to venture into the agricultural sector, through programmes such as Intergrated Support Programme for Arable Agriculture Development (ISPAAD) and the Youth Development Fund (YDF), to ensure the country realised its food security aspirations.

“It is important that we all play a role in ensuring food security in our country, and we can do that by venturing into various agriculture projects with the aim of producing more food. ISPAAD guidelines have also been revised to ensure that the programme is result-based in order for it to be sustainable,” he noted.

On other issues, Mr Gare called on Batswana to continue adhering to COVID-19 protocols as they were not yet out of the woods. He said the fact that some countries were currently recording an increase in COVID-19 cases was a clear sign that the virus was still a health risk. 

He urged people to ensure that they were fully vaccinated and had taken the booster shot to reduce the strength of COVID-19.

“As you are all aware, most development projects were deferred to prioritise health and the government ensured that vaccines were availed to the eligible population. I therefore appeal to you to do your part by getting fully vaccinated and getting the booster dose as advised by health professionals,”he said.

For her part, Ms Babedi Ponego said despite the various government programmes availed to Batswana, mindset change was still a challenge in the villages.

She said as a young person, she was passionate about imparting skills and collaborating with other stakeholders but Lotlhakane West residents were not eager to contribute towards developing their village.

She further called on residents to collaborate to assist young people to get away from anti-social behaviours and criminal activities.

Another resident at Lotlhakane West, Ms Kelebogile Morwagae called on the village leadership to ensure that various committees were functional and executing their mandates. She said resuscitation of committees could go a long way in giving residents work experience thereby increasing their chances of getting jobs elsewhere.

In Polokwe, Mr Lebatla Kenosi commended the government for enhancing local empowerment to ensure that Batswana benefited and contributed towards the economy. 

He said that he was optimistic that most Batswana would take advantage of such initiatives and create employment for others. Ends