08 Feb 2015

Delegates at the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) youth congress that was held in Masunga have been informed that government was working hard to create job opportunities for the country’s youth as not all of them carried within them the passion for entrepreneurship.

In his address during the first day of the two-day congress on Friday, February 6, the Minister for Youth, Sport and Culture Mr Thapelo Olopeng stated that though government had put in place several programmes aimed at helping the youth to set up their businesses, it had since been realised that there remained the need to create jobs as not all would be interested in venturing into businesses.

The realisation, he said, had made it apparent that government needed to do something to address the needs of those young people to whom entrepreneurship was unappealing.

Minister Olopeng on the other hand appealed to the youth to exercise patience in whatever they chose to embark on in life.

He said the lack of patience had not only seen their businesses collapse but had also resulted in some of them failing to keep jobs.

This, he said had, in addition to often threatening their job security, resulted in employers losing confidence in them.

Mr Olopeng also called on the youth to help government with ideas on what else could be done to empower them.

Speaking at the same event, Minister Vincent Seretse of the Ministry of Trade and Industry highlighted government’s commitment towards diversifying the country’s economy.

He said however that, the Economic Diversification Drive (EDD) would become a reality only when Batswana made an effective use of the many programmes put in place to empower them.

Mr Seretse thus urged citizens to take full advantage of government’s commitment to support local businesses.

Earlier when making welcome remarks, Kgosi Thabo Maruje III of Masunga implored the youth to understand that leadership was a great honour for which one had to make sacrifices.

Urging them to understand that they were leaders in their own right, he pleaded with them to endeavor to attain moral excellence in all aspects of their lives.

Kgosi Maruje III added that leaders were not the kind of people who would allow themselves to break when confronted with challenges, calling on the delegates to understand the value of exercising self-control in everything the engaged in, especially because not only their party, but the country as well needed their input to be able to move forward. ENDS