22 Sep 2013

Poverty eradication projects should be everybody’s business. Speaking during a kgotla meeting addressed by President Lt Gen. Seretse Khama Ian Khama on September 19, the Minister for Presidential Affairs and Public Administration, Mr Mokgweetsi Masisi said communities should ensure the success of all projects.

He was answering a concern from the chairperson of Khwee Village Development Committee, Mr Roger Tauejele, who complained that the projects were slow and lacked monitoring. Mr Masisi said his ministry had formed a committee led by the assistant minister to see that the projects took off. He said they had also hired temporary staff to monitor the projects.

However, he said they were concerned about beneficiaries who changed projects because they no longer believed the projects would work for them. For his part, the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Peter Siele said government was doing everything in its power to empower the youth through Back-to-School programme and other initiatives tailored for youth.

He said the programme was meant to assist the youth to go back to school, pursue their desired courses and come back to help develop their villages. He said government was also concerned about the high number of youth who were engaged in Ipelegeng.

The minister was answering Mr Tauejele’s complaint about the high number of young people engaged in the Ipelegeng programme. On other issues, the minister applauded Khwee residents who volunteered to carry out some jobs in the village. He said some villages and lives had been changed through volunteerism.

Some residents had said that since they had more for over a decade been volunteering to develop the village, government should give them paying jobs. ENDS