BDP Youth Decry Unemployment Loudest
Koketso Kgoboge | Monday March 9, 2020 15:59
Numerous speakers raised their loud cries over the overwhelming lack of employment for the youth during the motions session at the BDP Youth League congress that was attended by ruling party youth masses from different corners of the country.
Emeldah Mogae of Bobonong, Mmadinare and Sefophe (BOMASE) region, who bemoaned the infamous closure of BCL Mine that slew the economy of her region, decried initiatives brought to drive economic diversification were either defunct or not serving intended purpose.
She complained that SPEDU was not inclusive therefore failing to alleviate unemployment in the region.
“SPEDU should include youth in platforms where they discuss issues aimed at economically boosting the region so that they bring relevant projects that would be of benefit to us in the region,” she said.
Tuelo Mojuta of Francistown West told The Monitor during the congress that government initiatives aimed at addressing unemployment were not accessible.
He specifically pointed at the Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency and the Youth Development Fund (YDF) that he said were set up to address unemployment but had proven complicated and unbeneficial to ordinary citizen.
“It’s not like we don’t apply to these initiatives as people assume. We do and they are of no benefit to us.
“I applied for YDF last year and haven’t received a response to date. These initiatives have been here for long, but it is clear that they failed to serve ordinary citizens therefore should be revised,” he said.
He added that government must create industries and cut on the import bill in order to create sustainable employment.
“We love our party because we religiously follow it as we are taught to by our parents, but we are not enjoying the benefit of it,” Mojuta said.
Balametse Sebulelo of Charleshill shed similar tears. She said unemployment in their constituency had driven the youth into drug and alcohol abuses.
She appreciated industrialisation would not reach her area any time soon, but thought the government could look into means of developing the massive talent of the youth in her area.
Most of the youth, she said, were not educated and their talents were left to rot immediately after they completed secondary school studies. Sebulelo said they survived out of Ipelegeng and the constituency league tournaments.
“There are athletes of note in the area who could be nurtured and athletics and different codes such as football and netball. Talented athletes with potential to represent the nation internationally and earn a living.
But we are left with nothing to do but waste our lives drinking alcohol.”
Lerato Maila of Lerala/Maunatlala shared similar complaints. She said rural areas were sidelined and the youth were resorting to criminal activities and bad habits.
Serowe North’s Gaeyo Ntshontsho called on the government to implement new ideas brought about by the youth.
He was also of the view that the government should revise and advance vocational education that he felt was slowly deteriorating.
“I think we have the right leadership and we are on the right track.
“We just need to speed up implementations and hopefully in the foreseeable future Batswana would start to benefit from BDP initiatives,” he said.