TSP, Ipelegeng a waste of money � Rammidi

Pauline Dikuelo | Monday June 16, 2014 06:59

“The same applies to the TSP ones, they have been roaming the streets with their certificates and tired of the humiliation they suffer due to the unemployment that’s why they opted for this programme,” he said. “Are we going to get value for the money that is poured into these schemes? Can these people sustain themselves after their period is done? Can’t we give them something to rely on for eternity rather than this,” wondered Rammidi.

In response, the Permanent Secretary Solomon Sekwakwe said that the TSP was meant to be a filler gap so that they can improve the economy and reduce unemployment. 

He further said Ipelegeng people could qualify for schools like Construction Industry Trust Fund (CITF) but unfortunately, these institutions cannot absorb all these people. “We are targeting some certain skills at CITF. We thoroughly need to assess this first to avoid situations of market saturation. It will be prudent to say lets try this instead of criticising and crushing,” Sekwakwe said.

To which Rammidi responded that the reason CITF could not absorb Ipelegeng candidates is because of under resourcing and thus could not re-tool itself. Sekwakwe however assured the legislators that they would look into these matters and take their advice into consideration. TSP was launched in April this year as a stop-gap to unemployment of graduates. About P178 million was allocated to the 15,000 TSP participants. Participants get a P500 monthly allowance and P200, which is saved monthly, for them to get during their completion.The Ipelegeng programme currently has about 50,000 beneficiaries with their monthly wage of P511 for casual labourers and supervisors getting P534 per month. This programme is a short-term employment support and targets unskilled and semi-skilled labour for short-term assistance. Beneficiaries work six hours per day, five days a week. Government allocated P580 million for the Ipelegeng programme for the 2014/15 financial year.