24 Apr 2013

There is need to cascade the poverty eradication component of alternative packages.

The South East District Council chairperson, Mr Thekiso Sorinyane said this during the full council session on April 22.

“We all acknowledge that unemployment and poverty are the challenges facing our country, it is for this reason that government has embarked on a number of poverty eradication strategies,” he said.

Mr Sorinyane said for the initiative to be realised, there is need for concerted efforts to be geared towards informing and educating people about the programmes.

He said this would ensure high enrolment numbers and the facilitation and achievement of poverty eradication, which is a government priority.

However, he said he regretted that the programme started late in the district despite that the ministry of local government and rural development had released P3 967 185 for the district to implement alternative packages.

Mr Sorinyane said beneficiaries who continuously change projects caused some of the reasons for the delays.

“In Ramotswa, beneficiaries have been trained in baking and graduated on the 11, April 2013, and for Tlokweng, 37 have been trained on entrepreneurial skills,” he said.

He said training on book and record keeping had been scheduled and it would help beneficiaries to be competitive and to penetrate the market.

The council chairperson further pointed out that other packages such as Ipelegeng and LIMID had been implemented in the district.

“Since incepting LIMID Phase II, a total of 484 applications have been received, 418 of which are for small stock and 63 for poultry, nine applications, which did not meet all the requirements were rejected,” he said.

Sorinyane also said out of these, only 370 applications were approved and 170 were implemented at a cost of P1.9 million, in which P2158 was for small stock and P275 was for Tswana chicks as well as cattle handling facility, one fodder processor and one water reticulation equipment. ENDS