YDF injects over P6m into Serowe youth projects, but...
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Tuesday June 17, 2025 11:10
According to the latest District Development Committee (DDC) report presented during a full council meeting last week, a total of 711 projects have been funded since the programme's inception.
Furthermore, it states that these projects are spread across the three main administrative routes of the sub-district, with Serowe South accounting for 259, Serowe North with 242 and Serowe West contributing 210.
“In the current 2024–2025 financial year, the report reveals that 64 new projects have been approved and funded under the YDF, injecting P6.4 million into the local economy,” the report reveals.
“Agriculture remains the dominant sector, receiving P4.8 million of the total funding. It is followed by the services sector, which secured P1.1 million, whilst manufacturing and digitisation received P300,000 and P200,000 respectively.”
Despite this financial commitment and ongoing efforts to empower the youth, the DDC report highlights persistent challenges that threaten the sustainability of the initiative.
One of the most pressing issues is the low rate of loan repayments from beneficiaries, which undermine the fund's ability to support future applicants.
Additionally, the monitoring of funded projects remains limited. According to the report, this is largely due to youth officers being overwhelmed with administrative duties, particularly assisting young people in opening business accounts and completing compliance.
However, some of the interventions they are putting in place to address these issues include intensive monitoring planned, with a focus on specialisation due to restructuring of the ministry.
It states that this approach aims to motivate youth to repay their loans and ensure better oversight of funded projects.
Meanwhile, on the Women's Economic Empowerment (WEE) Programme, designed to assist individual women and women's groups, has funded 43 projects in Serowe District.
“As of April 2025, 16 projects are operational, one is non-operational, and 26 collapsed. The collapsed projects are primarily attributed to group conflicts, lack of ownership by members, and market challenges,” the report states.
However, the report also revealed that the WEE Programme has been suspended for new projects since February 2017 and was transferred to the Ministry of Entrepreneurship in April 2022.
The DDC report said the challenges are group dynamics and in that regard, there is lack of ownership and commitment by beneficiaries.
Whilst most of the groups have disintegrated leaving evidence of poor record-keeping, the report reveals.
However, the report states that mitigation measures are ongoing including consultations with each group to resolve conflict and establish an action plan.
Others are, “Intensify monitoring. Stakeholder partnership to conduct projects monitoring. Mentor beneficiaries on work ethics and productivity. Encourage beneficiaries to keep proper records and coach them on business skills.”
The report says monitoring activities have been carried out for various WEE projects.
“For instance, Waghutti Glazing in Serowe remains operational, having diversified into horticulture retail.
“However, challenges such as the long distance to obtain raw materials have been reported. Other projects, like Tanita Ranch in Mogatsapoo,” it says.