Look into poverty eradication strategies - Somolekae

Barati Mathambo
Correspondent | Friday January 27, 2012 00:00

This was an advise from the assistant minister of finance, Dr Gloria Somolekae during a Kgotla meeting held on Wednesday in Chadibe.

She said the government has introduced strategies that will help the nation. Some of these strategies are poverty eradication plan, diversity drive and youth development fund.

The Ipelegeng and backyard gardening programmes were formed as poverty eradication initiatives. 'People should start looking at backyard gardening to generate income for their homes,' she said.

Even though the government is focusing on youth empowerment, they [youth] should be the ones leading this initiative, she advised.' The youth should utilise all government schemes and they should do things such as music, art, wood carving and many other activities that will improve their lives.'

She also said: 'The President's main concern is to eradicate poverty and by so he has introduced to the public what is called the National Development Plan.'

She said that next week the Minister of Finance will deliver the budget speech and they should expect that the focus will be on strategies to develop the country.

The country suffered a huge blow when it was hit by the recession and many projects that were planned before it were stopped because the country did not have money, she stated.

'The country borrowed P1.5 million from the African Development Bank to help with some of the projects. Batswana are always told that there is no money but they are never told in detail what really is going on with our national finance,' she pointed out.