05 Nov 2013

The President, Lieutenant General Seretse Khama Ian Khama says the success rate of ongoing youth funded projects stands at 87.7 per cent which should encourage the nation to do more. The President said he had observed on many occasions, besides being relatively well educated, the youth of this country had an abundance of talent.

“What they need in the light of current levels of unemployment and underemployment is more opportunities, as well as additional skills to take advantage of existing ones,” he noted. He said government had recently approved the Local Procurement Scheme which allowed for preferential treatment to women, youth, and people with disability adding that this would improve the general performance and sustainability of Youth Projects.

President Khama highlighted that the Youth Development Fund (YDF) continued to finance youth entrepreneurs in the form of 50 per cent grant and 50 per cent loan. He said 2 908 projects received funding of over P274 million since the inception of the programme in 2009. He said of these projects, 151 had so far been funded during the current financial year and altogether, the projects had created a total of 4 837 jobs.

President Khama said government, through the Youth Empowerment Scheme (YES), had embarked upon an integrated approach to the creation of vocational opportunities for unemployed youth, while simultaneously contributing to the development of their community.

He indicated that government had thus sponsored a CITF construction multi-skilling programme, which had benefited a total of 160 participants. The President said over the past year, 5 002 young people attended youth empowerment festivals, business ability workshops and basic business management training, while 464 had also been assisted to attend different expositions to exhibit and market their products.

He said to date 3 299 participants had attended YES boot-camps, with 1 893 graduates having been attached to various government departments and private entities. Moreover he said a total of 229 young people with disabilities had attended YES mini camps for youth with disabilities, of whom 72 were already attached to various government departments.

He said the National Internship Programme also continued to be a platform for skills transfer and development with Intern enrolment standing at 4 137 as at end of September 2013. He further highlighted that since inception to date, 3 587 interns have graduated to permanent employment.

“To provide additional opportunities, while stimulating the spirit of community service, discipline and self-help among youth, as well as empower them with additional competencies, government will introduce a new National Service programme for all out of school youth between the ages of 20 and 30,” he said.

He said unlike the old Tirelo Sechaba it would be a voluntary programme intending to enroll up to 15 000 participants next year. President Khama said the Gaborone Multi-purpose Youth Centre had been handed over to the Botswana National Youth Council (BNYC) adding that a number of youth centres were being refurbished in several localities.

He said government had further established an Inter-Ministerial Committee on Youth Programming, a structure bringing together government agencies, NGOs, the private sector and development partners to facilitate synergies and strengthen coordination. ENDS