06 May 2025

Minister of Youth and Gender Affairs, Ms Lesego Chombo, has assured young people of government’s dedication to addressing their needs .
The minister was speaking at  a consultative forum in Mochudi on Monday.
The forum was attended by community leaders, non-governmental organizations, advocacy groups, and local members of the community
Ms Chombo emphasised the ministry’s ongoing review of various programmes aimed at fostering opportunities for youth engagement and development.
“The Youth Development Fund (YDF) is currently under review to enhance its effectiveness and alignment with the needs of the youth. Our aim is to restructure the YDF to better support successful enterprises, tackle training and market access issues, and avoid a one-size-fits-all approach,” Ms Chombo stated.  
She added that monitoring and evaluation would be crucial components of the revamped fund.
Ms Chombo  pointed out that existing programmes for young people were often overlapped and required integrated solutions.
Consequently, she said an inter-ministerial committee had been established to address youth issues, collaborating with the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs, Ministry of Basic Education and Child Welfare, and the Ministry of Justice and Correctional Services.
This committee, according to Ms Chombo, would play a pivotal role in empowering young people across various sectors and projects led by these ministries.
In addition, she highlighted the ministry’s active engagement with the youth through the establishment of youth centers nationwide.  
“We aim to create youth centres where individuals can meet, network, and connect their businesses to the market.
These centers will serve as one-stop hubs for all youth-related concerns,” she said.
The minister also said government was exploring the creation of rehabilitation centres to address pressing youth challenges, acknowledging the need for improvement in initiatives like Tirelo Setshaba and the National Internship Programme to ensure young people received adequate training for market absorption.
Addressing broader societal issues, Ms Chombo underscored the urgent need for collaborative efforts on unemployment, substance abuse, Gender-Based Violence (GBV), and intergenerational challenges. Youth representative Ms Refilwe Tito urged the government to bolster support for youth-owned businesses through the Local Procurement Scheme, which offers preferential treatment in public procurement. She called for an increase in YDF funding, particularly for high-impact ventures in fields such as manufacturing, technology, and agriculture.  Ms Tito also advocated for improved online services for applications and emphasized that the government must prioritize the overall well-being of the youth.  “Many societal problems stem from the stress of unemployment among young graduates. We are bored and seeking relief through drugs and alcohol,” she lamented.
Meanwhile, Mr Mpho Morolong, Member of Parliament for Kgatleng West, praised Minister Chombo for her outreach to the Bakgatla community and expressed commitment to youth issues.
He cautioned against the rising tide of GBV, warning that it impacted families and government resources.
“GBV is a main societal ill that threatens family structures. We must work together to combat it,” Mr Morolong said. ENDS