24 Mar 2015

In an attempt to promote equal opportunities for remote area communities, government instituted affirmative action through the Revised Remote Area Programme of 2009 to ensure that such people are included in all national programmes.

The purpose was to address and correct imbalances resulting from geographical conditions. The programme was intended to run for 10 years to allow RADs to graduate and be treated like other Batswana. 

Ngamiland District is so far doing well in implementation of the programme. Programme coordinator, Ms Violet Morris, said it had been rolled out to all deserving communities. 

It yielded positive results in all sectors; education, housing, employment, poverty eradication, Ipelegeng, community project and RADP beauty pageants in all the 14 deserving communities. In education, 3 453 RADs children were in schools, 50 in pre-school, 2 599 in primary, 638 in secondary and 166 in tertiary education. 

A total number of 896 students were in hostels. In housing, Ms Morris indicated that the district was allocated 160 housing units and only 91 were complete and had been handed to beneficiaries. 

She said construction of the 2014/15 houses was yet to start while 26 had been completed under the Presidential Appeal Housing, 25 at Xaixai and one at Phuduhudu settlements respectively.

She also observed that since the programme inception, they had managed to employ 263 beneficiaries in the whole district. Ms Morris said RADs were employed in different sectors of which 21 per cent were employed by the government and the rest were in other sectors while the majority were absorbed in the tourism sector through  community trusts. North West District Council (NWDC) had employed 23.

Since employment opportunities are limited in settlements, the council has made a deliberate move to reserve all unskilled positions in settlements for RADs. Under the poverty eradication programme, she revealed that 287 beneficiaries had been mobilised of which 98 were offered packages. 

Ms Morris said while some projects were excelling even though some were experiencing challenges because of lack of commitment and beneficiaries selling their livestock. 

She says the council has taken a decision that some of the projects such bakeries, catering services, those in tailor and designing should supply schools within their localities with bread and uniforms while catering services serve council workshops, meetings and seminars.

In community projects, the coordinators reveals that 10 are being implemented and five are complete while another five are still at different levels of development. She cites examples such as Khwai and Mababe corporatives. 

Ipelegeng  programme has absorbed 1 344 as general labourers, community policing, game scouts, refuse collectors and green scorpions.

The district also has been doing well in RADP beauty pageant as for two conservative years NWDC won and the two queens hailed from Mababe and Qangwa respectively.

Meanwhile, Ms Morris mentions some of the challenges faced by the programme such as lack of commitment, conflicts within group projects, beneficiaries selling livestock and livestock exposed to predation.

To address the issue of predation at Phuduhudu, they are in the process of developing a farm where they will relocate beneficiaries’ livestock. 

She says they have managed to solve some of the challenges citing as an example the Chanoga bakery where the project was not doing well because the beneficiaries were fighting over ownership of the project.

The council management had a meeting with the beneficiaries to understand the purpose of the project and that it belonged to the group not an individual. 

The coordinator explained that they continue to monitor progress and give new beneficiaries the necessary support.

Council secretary, Mr Mzondik Moswete, says affirmative action in the district is on track and believes that it will indeed produce the expected results. 

He says since its inception it has made a big difference in the lives of the communities, noting that some beneficiaries have so far graduated. 

Remote area communities continue to be most affected by poverty in the country and are increasingly becoming dependent on welfare support from the state but Mr Mzondik reveals that some beneficiaries are breaking even as they are making profit out of their projects. 

The implementation of the programme was also meant to facilitate achievement of desired development in all recognised remote area settlements and it will further assist to minimise development gaps between recognised remote areas and the rest of the country. BOPA