BNYC targets to create 500 tele-centre jobs

Keikantse Lesemela | Monday November 10, 2014 16:15

The strategy provides the council with an opportunity to build its competencies in the administration of the government youth grants to youth civil society organisations.

Addressing the media on Friday, BNYC Chairperson, Louis Sibanda said this will be implemented by engaging the youth to run the Telecommunications Centers (tele-centres) around the county.

“We will train the youth who will run the tele-centres and they would create employment for other youth. We are still negotiating with Botswana Telecommunications Corporation Limited and Mascom so that they can give us their telecommunications centres in villages to be run by the youth,” he said.

He said they would also engage the chiefs and district commissioners to facilitate the project.

“Next year this time we are going to be having 458 jobs created through this initiative. We believe that SME development is the key driver to the economy, so the youth need to be empowered with entrepreneurship skills so that they can help reduce unemployment,” said Sibanda.

Sibanda said the council is also initiating the programme that seeks to tap into the strength and ability of young people to create employment opportunities for their peers. “The project seeks to create 50,000 jobs by 2019 whilst concurrently creating 50 young millionaires,” he said. The targeted sectors for this entrepreneurship development include, manufacturing, mining and agriculture.

The BNYC strategic plan was developed when the leadership was faced with the task of ensuring that the organisation remains on course to achieve its mandate of advising government on youth matters and to guide and plan youth activities in Botswana.

Sibanda said the strategy is geared towards reinforcing the council’s research capacity to ensure that its support to youth development programme is evidence based. “It is envisioned that this BNYC strategy will present an opportunity for the council to convene key stakeholders in identifying innovative ways of addressing the challenge facing youth in Botswana as well as anticipating future challenges,” he said

However, the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Culture announced that it spends over P300 million on youth development and empowerment programmes.