03 Sep 2023

Education plays a crucial role in transforming lives of families and communities, the Vice President Mr Slumber Tsogwane has said.

Addressing a kgotla meeting in Xere recently, Mr Tsogwane urged parents to strive for a better education for their children, saying education was a ticket out of poverty as it instilled knowledge and skills needed for improvement of lives.

United Nations Sustainable Development Goal number four, he said, called for inclusive and equitable quality education as well as promotion of lifelong learning opportunities for all.

Mr Tsogwane pointed that there were long-term benefits of sending children to school, saying it was not only an individual benefit as it translated into the economic growth of the society.

He indicated that education empowered communities and was the engine of growth for many under-developed communities.

“Lets enroll our children in schools, these are the people who could uplift the economy and the livelihoods of the people of Xere,” he said.

Mr Tsogwane said education prepared learners for successful careers and contributed to economic growth on a large scale, further emphasising that increased investment in education led to increased economic growth.

He urged Xere residents to change mindsets on education by prioritising it and working in partnership with teachers to improve their children’s education.

Mr Tsogwane said the Basarwa children had the potential to attain higher grades like any other child, adding ‘we want to see graduates from Xere, this village has long been established’.

He emphasised that knowledge was a valuable gift hence he  pleaded with parents to avoid denying their children an opportunity to assume leadership positions and high profile careers in the future.

The Vice President said change of mindset could help improve people’s welfare.

The people of Xere, he said had a lot of skills and knowledge that could be utilised to sustain their lives, citing that they had rich indigenous knowledge and skills that had not been put to good use.

Mr Tsogwane noted that they were gifted with knowledge on various healing processes like, newborn fontanelle fomentation procedure (go baa phogwana), the traditional healing of a bone fracture (go baa thobega) and others.

He stated that such knowledge needed protection through intellectual property rights so that the natives of Xere could sustain their lives through the knowledge.

He said failure to conserve and protect such knowledge would lead to its loss. 

The kgotla system, a concept developed in Botswana, he said, deserved to be registered and protected. 

Commenting, Mr Kaingotla Tshamikiso wanted to know the results of Xere Primary School and the number of its former pupils who were employed.

Mr Tshamikiso said he also wanted to know where their hunting skills could be showcased, so as to preserve and promote their culture.

Another resident, Mr Jolokwa Mokoba expressed concern that they were not allowed to sell traditional brews from their homesteads, arguing that there was  no depot in the village.

Ms Khanyisile Mbangiwa who settled in the village as a hawker, raised a concern that the youth in Xere failed to use family planning methods.

Mr Vaitiso Gaoagiwi complained that some of the youth who had been trained on diamond polishing in Gaborone were struggling with their daily upkeep as they were not paid allowance.

In response, Mr Tsogwane said he would make a follow up with the Department of Wildlife and National Parks regarding allocating Xere Trust a campsite  in the Central Kalalahari Game Reserve.

He implored Xere residents to devise self-empowerment  initiatives, saying government was assisting Basarwa with destitute housing and Remote Area Dwellers Development Programmes. 

He said  that those who benefitted from such programmes should graduate to pave way for others.

He advised residents to not look for job opportunities only in Xere.

Boteti District acting council secretary, Mr Christopher Maramba said finance committee met and agreed that the 17 youths sent for diamond polishing training  should be paid allowance. ends