Women's capital limitations addressed

KEIKANTSE LESEMELA
Correspondent | Tuesday March 27, 2012 00:00

In response to a question from the MP for Okavango, Bagalatia Arone, Siele said the ministry is putting up some measures to address the needs of women.'In the short-term, deliberate measures that have been put in place to address this gap include grants to women's groups to start income generating projects that are administered through the Women's Affairs Department in my ministry,' said Siele. He explained that the proposed income generation projects can receive up to P250,000 each and they are monitored closely for three years following funding.

'Currently 75 projects throughout the country aged zero to three years are being closely monitored to support their firm establishment and profitable operation,' Siele said, adding that the total estimated initial value of these projects is P12,425,000.He noted that lenders and administrators need to ensure that their programmes are sufficiently informed by the realities surrounding women's lives because research has shown that while women may not have collateral or acknowledged means such as property to secure credit, once granted the opportunity, they tend to be more credible borrowers and dependable entrepreneurs.

Apart from inconsistent income generation that significantly reduces their opportunity to utilise current institutionalised credit facilities, women in informal trade are at risk of gender-based violence, loss of merchandise and malpractice and corruption.Siele said there is a need to engage and enrol the private sector in the overall development of a broader and more sustainable strategy for a holistic response to women's limited access to productive resources. 'My ministry is advocating for the systematic inclusion of the respective needs and concerns of men and women in the packaging of financial products,' he said.

Institutions should set financial conditions that recognise and address women's disadvantages as well as take into account their social responsibilities. 'This approach is not only a progressive development imperative, it is also a smart way of doing business as it optimises business opportunity,' the minister said. He disclosed that preparations are at an advanced stage for undertaking a baseline study on Women in Informal Cross Border Trade (WICBT).

'This initiative is a collaborative venture between my ministry and the Ministry of Trade and Industry and it has been made possible through partnership with the United Nations,' he said, referring to the UN organ for gender equality and women's empowerment.

However, Siele stated that the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs provides financial support to civil society organisations such as Women's Finance House (Thusang Basadi), which provides small loans at a low interest rate of four percent to women who cannot access credit from regular financial institutions.