19 Mar 2015

In early 1990, a group of German Lutheran Church missionaries descended on the small settlement of Zutshwa  in Kgalagadi North. Their arrival heralded a new era of economic development for the local community.  Thus, part of the brief was to identify viable and ecologically sustainable projects that could improve the livelihoods of the corridor residents.The Germans would then not only impart Christian doctrines to the locals but also established what came to be known as Zutshwa salt project.

The establishment of the salt project was undoubtedly one of the most successful citizen empowerment projects ever implemented in the Zutshwa area. Even though the wages of members of the community were not anything to write home about, they were enough to put food on the table. Sadly, what started as a noble idea under the management of the German missionaries subsequently suffered a major blow after it was handed over to Qhaa Qhing Community Trust to manage on behalf of the community.

The trust failed to manage the project on behalf of the community and it finally collapsed in 2003 amid allegations of poor management and abuse of funds. The collapse of what used to be a huge money-spinner in the Kgalagadi region almost drove the community into the deeper ends of poverty.

 “The Zutshwa salt project was a community beneficiation initiative that enabled residents to harness their natural resource to generate income and put food on the table,” says one of the village leaders and former beneficiary of the project, Mr Arbatin Kabatlhophane.  By then it was a thriving project creating employment through a rotation system for unskilled labourers while some members of the community were given skills.

Mr Kabatlhophane says the project used basic technology and most work was done manually which created employment for the locals. Livestock Advisory Centers provided a reliable market for the project only that at times they struggled to meet demand given among other lack of consistency in quality
Consequently, the collapse of the project, he says, could be attributed to some trust members who exploited the ignorance of their counterparts as well as lack of accountability in the use of the trust funds.

Residents of Zutshwa once again found themselves with no source of income and struggling to escape the clutches of poverty. Once a thriving society that was able to feed and develop itself, Zutshwa was robbed of its self-sustenance. The community found itself dependent solely on government poverty eradication and Ipelegeng programmes. However, all that is poised to change and the old good times promise to be back again as the residents in their bid to better their livelihoods are raring to resuscitate the salt project.

“The resuscitation of the salt project will transform the economic status of Kgalagadi and turn Zutshwa into an economic power house” says secretary of the community trust, Ms Kegomoditswe Mokoto. The jobs that the residents lost and the income generated from the project when it collapsed will be offset as the plan to resuscitate the projects ultimately unfolds.
Ms Mokoto is grateful that government has now undertaken to invest sustainably the project.

“Government has invested P5 million towards resuscitation of the project hence it is imperative for the community to ensure sustainability of the project and how best it could benefit us,” she reckons. She says the salt project is part of government’s poverty eradication drive hence all efforts should be geared towards its sustainability
Recruitment of management personnel and procurement of operational vehicles, she reckons, is a clear indication that the resuscitation of the project is well underway. ENDS