26 Oct 2022

Undesirable conduct has been blamed for poor implementation of policies and programmes engineered by government to advance Batswana.

Corruption, lack of continuity, inadequate human and material resources are among challenges often leading to implementation gaps.

These were issues raised by stakeholders at a Local Economic Development programme  workshop for councillors, VDCs, District Economic Development Committees and other local level structures in Serowe on Monday.

One of the attendants,  Serokolwane Ward councillor, Mr Molefhi Setlalekgosi described the programme as a good initiative and wished it had started when they assumed office after the 2019 elections.

He said most government programmes were good but  lacked  implementation.

Had they been implemented, people would not be relying on handouts and lives would be improved, said Mr Setlalekgosi.

Giving an overview of the programme, Central District Council principal economic officer, Ms Lorato Gomotsang, said it allowed and encouraged local people to work together to achieve sustainable economic growth and development.

 That way it brought economic benefits and improved quality of life for all residents in a given area, she said.

“It is described as taking a collective action, the result of which is to improve the community in any or all realms: physical, environmental, cultural, social, political and economic,” said Ms Gomotsang.

She said the main purpose of community development was to organise people to collectively identify, prioritise and plan to solve their problems  ultimately leading to sustainable development.

Ms Gomotsang defined the programme as an outcome based on local initiatives and driven by local stakeholders which involved identifying and using local resources, ideas and skills to stimulate economic growth and development.

Its aim was to create employment opportunities for the benefit of all residents while its vision, goals and objectives were formulated together with a set of programmes and projects for implementation, she explained.

 Ms Gomotsang said the reason for introducing the programme in Serowe Sub-district was to create employment, renew, stabilise and improve the community and local economy.

Serowe Administrative Authority senior assistant council secretary, Mr Mogorosi Kokoro said community members should work jointly to uplift their lives, seize opportunities available and not rely solely on government. Ends