05 Mar 2023

The development agenda the Rural Development Council (RDC) has embarked on to curb rural-urban migration and make people’s stay in rural areas relevant is making some progress, Acting President Slumber Tsogwane has said.

Addressing the media at the end of the 161st RDC meeting in Gaborone Thursday, he said already rural areas had been transformed as they were now equipped with the requisite infrastructure to sustain livelihoods in a meaningful manner.RDC, Mr Tsogwane said,  had advanced accessibility and modern network facilities to ensure that rural localities were able to provide for the people.

“Government has taken upon itself to provide such amenities. We are empowering our people in rural areas. We want to retain them at such localities and make sure that they utilise the available natural resources and engage in any other meaningful activities. We are doing our all to manage rural-urban migration,” he said.

Mr Tsogwane pointed out that  an Economic Diversification Drive policy was in place to encourage Batswana to produce goods for both the local and export markets. 

On the legislative side, he mentioned enactment of The Economic Inclusion Act also geared at empowering locals to produce goods and services and penetrate sectors such as tourism that were dominated by foreign companies.

Mr Tsogwane said through support structures such as LEA and BOCONGO, local communities would be empowered to run effective, profitable and sustainable projects.

“We have started empowering them. You will see change. We are equipping them with new skills. We are working with NGOs through BOCONGO to improve the livelihoods and economy in rural areas,” he said.

Another speaker, Assistant Minister of Agriculture Mr Molebatsi Molebatsi said through National Agro Processing (NAPRO) farmers were encouraged to take advantage of the farming value chain and do away with after-harvest losses.

Mr Molebatsi said the Selebi Phikwe plant was established to help farmers process their harvests and produce food items such as chakalaka and tomato sauce.

The intention was to replicate NAPRO operations at other locations, he said.

Mr Molebatsi empasised the need to move at an increased pace to ensure that farmers fully exploited all opportunities in the agricultural value chain.

Regarding concerns that popular supermarkets shunned locally produced goods, Mr Molebatsi said the Economic Inclusion Act encouraged companies doing business Botswana to buy locally and even keep a register of such purchases.

For his part, Assistant Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Sethabelo Modukanele said government planned to develop livestock ranches allocated to communities under the Remote Areas Development Programme (RADP).

Such farms were running exceptionally well in Kgalagadi and Ghanzi districts, he diclosed.

Mr Modukanele said his ministry would move with speed to ensure rescucitation of floundering ranches, many of which were in the Central District.

 “We will make sure they take off,” he vowed. ENDS