19 Jan 2014

The resuscitation of Tirelo Setshaba which was stopped almost 14 years back will see many young Batswana get first-hand experience of the work place.

The initiative, re-introduced and re-modelled late last year (2013), is meant to address unemployment among the youth. In the entire Kgatleng District, the programme has started with initial preparations which include mobilisation and registration of prospective youth participants.

In an interview Kgatleng District principal youth officer Mr Kagiso Mapotu said the first enrolment of 15 000 youth participants across the country is earmarked for April 2014. He said eligibility is for one to be a Motswana aged between 20 and 30 years adding that the registration process started last year on the 16th of December and will be closing on the 17th January 2014.

Mr Mapotu said already a total of 1 074 youth have registered and they still anticipate more youth to register given the number of applications collected which stands at 1660. “We continue to witness concentration of submission of applications in Mochudi village as compared to the rest of other villages in the district.”

Mapotu further said out of the total number of 1074 submitted applications more than half (615) is recorded in Mochudi alone. Concerning the Youth Development Fund (YDF), Mr Mapotu said funding of YDF projects this year stands at 38 youth initiated businesses with a total financial assistance of P3 646 136.78 in the whole district.

He said the funds allocated for the District on yearly basis is P4 million which can minimally produce a total of 40 projects. Mr Mapotu added that the youth who qualify for this programme are aged between 18 and 35 years and there are guidelines to provide more requirements.

The Principal Youth Officer said Kgatleng District is witnessing a concentration of projects distribution in the Agricultural sector, followed by manufacturing and services while the tourism sector is lagging behind with not even a single project ever funded. Mapotu said this is a concern to the District more so that there are opportunities of tourism in the surroundings.

He concluded that even though some youth approach their offices with tourism business ideas but no submission from the sector has ever been received and considered.

Maputo also said they have noted that the distribution of projects is concentrated more on Kgatleng East than West. “This is due to some geological set up of the District as most projects are of agriculture especially livestock and horticulture which are largely dependent on utilising water from the Notwane river.” ENDS