Saturday, September 29, 2007
Botswana National Budget Speech 2007
Monday, August 27, 2007
Sigwele advises young farmers
He also added that to administer these skills, the fund needs better people to train the farmers.
"It is important that we guide the youth," said the agriculture expert. Sigwele also told the workshop that it is bad for young people to copy each other's business ideas.
He said the youth should go out and find what the market needs so that farmers do not go into the same business like producing vegetables at the same time.
Sigwele added that vegetables could not go wrong, if those involved do the right thing.
"You should find out what the market really wants. For example, if you plough the same vegetables, the prices will go down," he argued. He also advised that young farmers should explore agricultural opportunities in dairy farming and raising of flowers and added that flowers can be produced for export. On the other hand, Sigwele told the young prospective farmers that the poultry industry is another area where they could create a niche for themselves.
He also said that under the farming sector, it is not only production that they should concentrate on, but also other areas like services to support the industry.
He advised that some of them should go into services like designing irrigation.
Meanwhile, Sigwele raised concerns about bottlenecks in getting land in Botswana, which he said takes a long period to acquire.
He said that agriculture, unlike the Information Technology (IT) sector cannot be done in the sky, as it needs to produce.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Mogae prepares to vacate State House
by Kgomotso Kgwagaripane22.07.2007 4:04:40 P
President Festus Mogae slipped into biblical prose from Paul to Timothy as he bid Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) activists farewell at the party national congress last week a few months before he vacates the State House.In a memorable bit, he quoted Paul’s famous line “Just like Paul’s letter to Timothy in the Bible where he says, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have kept faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness,”The quote provides a clue to what Mogae sees when he looks back at his career as president – a leader who leaves office with no regrets. Mogae said that as he looks forward to his retirement as President of both the BDP and the Republic of Botswana in nine months’ time, he does so with a sense of immense satisfaction over what he had achieved.“I find myself in an enviable and nostalgic disposition as I recall the friendship, the inspiration and camaraderie I have shared with many throughout our motherland as well as in the region and beyond,” he said with pride.Mogae said that he is further comforted by the belief that he led a good party with assistance of good men and women who are now positioned to take it to greater heights. In the BDP, the President said, they have always operated as a team. He pointed out that they did not embrace any personality cults as other parties do.“In the BDP, the institution is more important than the individual,” he stressed, adding that the BDP represents competence, experience and unwavering commitment to develop Botswana for the benefit of all Batswana, and that no amount of malicious propaganda will deflect it from this noble goal. Over the years, Mogae said, the BDP focused aggressively in reducing the poor in society. Poverty had dropped from 60 percent in 1985/86 to 28 percent in 2002/2003, he said, and added that this was a clear indication of his government’s success in its poverty eradication efforts.The president announced that this year alone, his government allocated P395 million to drought relief projects.“This will provide part time employment for some 180 000 Batswana, the majority of whom would have depended on agriculture had the rains been good,” he said.On education, Mogae stated that education had been heavily subsidized or totally free for all Batswana from primary to secondary education. He pointed out that the expansion of the University of Botswana, the planned Botswana International University of Science and Technology (BIUST), and the Medical School and Training Hospital are recent examples of projects in education aimed at further empowering Batswana and providing employment and higher caliber job creation.“Health care is also virtually free in Botswana. Even expensive medications such as ARVs are availed free of charge,” said the President, adding that the BDP government is cognizant of the relationship between an individual’s health and their overall ability to command an acceptable living standard.Touching on financial assistance initiatives, Mogae said the BDP government found it necessary to provide subsidies and preferential access to credit to Batswana, adding that they hoped that this would facilitate the establishment of a vibrant entrepreneurial class. On youth issues, the President stated that statistics showed that youth make up 60 percent of Botswana’s population making them a priority constituency for the BDP government. Last year and this year, he said, a number of developments made this year a watershed year for the youth. He emphasized that the new Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture, the proposed new BIUST and the CEDA Young Farmers Fund all have the potential to create empowerment opportunities for Botswana Youth. “This also includes the increment of the out-of-school grant 10 fold, from P3 million to P30 million in addition to the multi-billion development projects from the private sector,” he added. Mogae urged the democrats to remain united and cohesive so that they can continue to be the dominant political force in Botswana. “Let me reiterate one more time that ‘United we stand, divided we fall’. This adage remains true now in our party as it has always been.”Reminding the democrats about the 2009 election, Mogae emphasized that they channel all their energies towards making sure that the BDP not only wins those election but does so convincinglyHe expressed gratitude to his party followers for the support they gave him during his tenure as party leader; he urged them to extend similar support to his successor, Vice President Ian Khama. “As I look forward to my retirement, I do so in the conviction that I did my best. Like Frank Sinatra, I did it my way; and, like Tony Blair, I did what I thought was right.” The 32nd BDP National Congress was held at Molepolole under the theme ‘Unity and hard work: Towards 2009 and beyond.’
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Saturday, July 14, 2007
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... farmers with their unused fields while they awaited land allocation to enable them to use CEDA Young Farmers Fund. Officials of the Department of Crop ...
Saturday, June 30, 2007
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Assist young farmers with land
MOLEPOLOLE - Farmers in Kweneng District have been encouraged to assist young farmers with their unused fields while they awaited land allocation to enable them to use CEDA Young Farmers Fund.
Officials of the Department of Crop Production advised when conducting a community leadership seminar on empowerment initiatives, in Molepolole on Saturday.
They said while awaiting the land board to allocate land to young farmers, parents should assist their children with land to avoid delaying them to venture into agricultural business.
Officials indicated that there were unused fields which could be handed to their young ones on agreement with parents. However, the Minister of Presidential Affairs and Public Administration, Mr Daniel Kwelagobe, said government was concerned about most of Batswana who failed to use existing government assistance programmmes.
Mr Kwelagobe said government provided various assistance programmes to deliver Batswana from poverty, but some of them still pushed themselves in the yokes of poverty by not using the programmes accordingly.
He pointed a finger at Bakwena who said they were always left behind in using government programmes, encouraging them to get on their marks.
He said some Batswana misused programmes by venturing in wrong uses, citing SMME, saying some bought cell phones instead of starting tuck shops.
Mr Kwelagobe urged community leaders to disseminate the information to communities they served to use the programmes before they were closed or reviewed.
The Principal Agricultural Scientific Officer, Mr Agrippa Nehemia, said the government introduced the programmes to assist unemployed youth roaming the street.
He said they wanted to reduce the migration of youth from rural to urban areas, saying they should use the scheme to create employment for themselves and their counterparts in rural areas.
He advised them to contact agricultural demonstrators and veterinary officers for assistance, advising them to venture into marketable businesses, adding that they should be passionate and committed.
Mr Nehemia said youth were an impatient group which need regular encouragement, advising their parents to stand by their shoulders.
Mr Shimane Mongati of the Department of Land Board Services told participants that the minister had directed all land boards to assist young farmers fund applicants within 14 days to answer their requests, and should be done in a special way.
He said the minister also stated that 18 years old youth should be allocated land instead of 21 years as it was. He further said the land boards were working around the clock on a strategic plan on how they were going to assist young farmers with land allocation which have been a problem.
Mr Oabile Regoeng, the public relations manager for the Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency, criticised Batswana for laziness and reluctance to use free government programmes.
Mr Regoeng said assistance that came through the defunct Botswana Enterprises Development Unit, Financial Assistance Policy and Small Medium and Micro Enterprises were under used.
He said Botswana depended on diamond revenue, some Batswana would regret not having used advantage of economic prosperity.
He said most foreigners were scrambling to run businesses in Botswana because of the countrys plentiful opportunities while citizens remained spectators.
He called on Batswana to help diversify the economy and add value to it -- through the use of the various assistance programmes -- so that they created employment for themselves and other Batswana.
Mr Lesang Leloba, a youth projects officer, said his department assisted out-of-school youth with grants to start businesses.
He said the department assisted unemployed youth aged between 18 to 29 who were degree holders only earning P500 or less at the end of the month.
But some participants were worried about the difficulty in completing forms and said applications took too long to be approved.
They said some applications were rejected without justification. They said shortage of land would prevent them from using the programmes. Others called for monitoring of the projects to avoid collapse. BOPAFarming is Risky Business - Phikwe Youth
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