14 Dec 2022

Assistant Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Ms Talitha Monnakgotla has appealed to MPs to assist Batswana to advance the dream of human and social development.

Contributing to debates on chapter 7 of the Transitional National Development Plan, Ms Monnakgotla said by so doing, government would achieve higher levels of socio-economic growth.

Ms Monnakgotla said government had made significant strides in providing a dignified life in rural areas and establishing farms and cooperatives in some of those areas.

She said Rural Development Council (RDC) had assisted the Zutshwa salt project, which had since created employment for local communities.

She said the RDC, chaired by Acting President Slumber Tsogwane, had helped to stimulate economic activities in the area and changed the economic landscape of the village.

She said programmes such as the recent Mr and Miss RADP were meant to empower youth in rural communities and give them dignity.

She applauded programmes such as Mabogo Dinku and Letlhabile from CEDA and urged the organisation to look further into empowering rural communities where livestock farming was the main economic activity.

Ms Monnakgotla said it was important to support the informal sector as it had great potential to fight unemployment.

For his part, MP for Thamaga/Kumakwane, Mr Palelo Motaosane said Parliament must consider setting up a monitoring policy to assist in project implementation of government projects.

He said in order to develop people there was a need to take care of infrastructure developments such as road links projects, thus appealed to authorities to intensify monitoring and supervision.

Mr Motaosane said in prioritising health provision, primary health care must be taken back to local government as service was fast and efficient before decentralization.

On agriculture, Mr Motaosane said farmers must be facilitated through upgraded networks for ease of doing farming through the use of ICT.

He decried financial assistance from CEDA, which he said did not benefit all Batswana.

For his part, Selebi Phikwe East MP, Mr Kgoberego Nkawana said the decision to close BCL exacerbated the economic challenge in Selebi Phikwe.

He said government had never reached its target of poverty eradication unlike other countries that were vying to reduce the impact of poverty.

Mr Nkawana said it was necessary for government to give citizens the necessary tools including education to empower them.

He said the mandate of CEDA on ordinary citizens was close to nothing as Batswana were still wallowing in poverty and informal sectors were not assisted in their efforts to upgrade their businesses.

He said a few Batswana who were assisted through the programme were now dealing with huge debts. ENDS