22 Sep 2026

North East District Council (NEDC) Chairperson, Mr Mbaakanyi Smart, has outlined progress in youth mobilisation, social welfare programmes and cross-border child protection initiatives in the district.

Addressing the full council session, Mr Smart said youth engagement meetings held across the Masunga, Siviya and Tati Siding clusters in August and September had successfully mobilised young people and created a platform for communication and information sharing.

He said participants exchanged ideas on improving livelihoods and received updates on youth development programmes.

To sustain the initiative, Mr Smart said all participants would join a dedicated WhatsApp platform through which they would receive guidance on key economic opportunities from the Presidential Envoy on Economic Development in the Office of the President.

On the Child Support Grant (CSG), Mr Smart said the programme was gaining momentum following its successful launch in the district in August.

He said the initial rollout benefited 240 children under 12 months, comprising 127 females and 113 males, while a second batch of 261 children had been submitted to the Ministry of Local Government and Traditional Affairs for data capturing.

However, he noted operational challenges with data entry into the SOBERS system, as capturing was centralised at the Gaborone headquarters.

He said the Department of Social Development and the council were engaging to address the challenges and ensure that eligible beneficiaries were not left out.

Meanwhile, Mr Smart said the district had recorded a rise in cross-border cases involving children, with seven new cases recorded between June and September 2026.

He said the district had taken the children into protective custody, with one placed at Masiela Trust Centre and six accommodated within the district’s foster care network.

He further said coordinated efforts between the Department of Social Development and NEDC had resulted in the successful repatriation of 14 children to Zimbabwe in August.

The group comprised 10 children from Masiela Trust Centre and four from local foster homes. ENDS