They claim government programmes in their area are limited compared to those accorded Basarwa in other villages."The government has sidelined us economically, socially and culturally. I have a lot of ambition, but there is no support," said Moses Thoma, a 24-year-old unemployed Nata resident. "We need proper guidance so that we can launch specific projects here which will enable us as young people to be economically empowered," he said. Another unemployed Mosarwa, Steenkamp Baitshepi said they were not benefiting from government programmes such as the Remote Area Development Programme (RADP). RADP benefits people who live at least 15 kilometres outside established villages and settlements like Nata and do not have access to basic social amenities. They must be considered to be socially and economically marginalised.
Baitshepi said most of their children were not being afforded the same privilege as those in villages such as Manxotae, Maposa and Sepako. It is time, he suggested, that government officials pay more attention to their plight in Nata. Although Nata is home to a number of tribes, Basarwa constitutes the larger proportion of the village's population estimated at about 7,782 people.Baitshepi chose to stay in Nata hoping for more opportunities than in places like Sepako, for instances. But he is now regretting the move he made because the government has "forsaken us as if we are not Basarwa".
