12 Mar 2024

 As part of the rationalisation exercise, the Poverty Eradication/Wealth creation programme has been transferred from the Ministry of State President to the Ministry of Entrepreneurship in order to improve its effectiveness.

This effectiveness, Assistant Minister of Agriculture who was responding to a question Parliament on Monday on behalf of Minister of Entrepreneurship, said included reviewing the guidelines in order to improve screening of beneficiaries, pre-funding training on entrepreneurship and technical skills on respective business types to improve project conceptualisation hence increase chances of business success.

He said it entailed focusing on funding more impactful projects particularly joint or group ones, and intensifying monitoring of enterprises including offering regular business development services as well as psycho social support.

Mr Molebatsi Molebatsi said it further involved implementation of Economic Inclusion Act to address market access challenges.

Furthermore, he said the transfer aimed to ensure that viability assessment was done before funding to establish sustainability of the projects. He said the final assessment and funding approval for projects was done by the Wealth Creation Committee.

Mr Molebatsi said the committee comprised of multi-stakeholders such as district leadership, implementing ministries being Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Environment and Tourism and Ministry of Youth, Gender, Sport and Culture, district development officers, civil society, parastatals and private sector particularly those dealing with business development services.

The assistant minister further said  the Ministry Entrepreneurship was aware that since the start of the programme, there were some beneficiaries who took up the programme and abandoned the equipment or programme demonstrating lack of commitment.

MP for Selebi Phikwe East, Mr Kgoberego Nkawana had asked the Minister of Entrepreneurship if he was aware that since the start of Poverty Eradication/ Wealth Creation Programmme, there were beneficiaries who took up the programme and ended up unceremoniously abandoning the equipment or programme hence demonstrating lack of commitment.

Mr Nkawana further wanted to know what steps did the ministry intend to take in order to correct the situation and if the ministry ever did a market research to establish feasibility before giving out projects to potential beneficiaries in view of the fact that there was so much equipment lying idle in people’s homes. ENDs