Kgathi encourages youth to stand together
Lerato Maleke | Monday December 9, 2013 11:26
Speaking during the Southern Youth Pitso under the theme “Behaviour Change: A Key to Creating a Dynamic and Responsible Youth”, held at Oodi College of Applied Arts and Technology yesterday, the minister said that his ministry continued to hold Youth Dipitso to consult widely with young people.
“The number of people I am seeing here attests to the support we are getting from our stakeholders and obviously our success hinges on your presence and active participation,” he said.
“The government traditionally exists to serve citizens and such engagement also provides an opportunity for citizens and other stakeholders to appreciate how the government machinery functions,” he added.
He said the theme was an appropriate one for yesterday’s event in that “60% of our population is young people who are susceptible to alcohol and drug abuse, HIV/AIDS, Sexually Transmitted Diseases, unplanned pregnancies, homicides, criminal activities, road accident; vandalism of property and other behaviour-related challenges”.
“There may be modern technological advancements such television, radio, film, the internet, music, magazines and newspapers that have greatly influenced the behaviour of the youth,” he noted,
He added that these have in most cases led the youth to mimic habits and lifestyles that are harmful to their well-being and bodies.
However, he said that modernity cannot be blamed for social ills.
He said society had a critical role to play in influencing positive behavioural change among the youth.
“Through this Youth Pitso, we will be united in our efforts to link the youth with the resources, services and opportunities they need” he stated.
Kgathi said that the role of the church and other religious organisations could not be overlooked in the endeavour to positively influence the behaviour of the youth.
“In 1974, the government established the Botswana National Youth Council to represent the interest of the youth of this country as well as advocating for the same interests,” he said.
However, he said over the years the organisation had been experiencing a series of instabilities such as coups, mismanagement of resources and several other issues bordering on poor management.
He appealed to the youth to run their organisation properly, adding that this could only happen if there was engagement of all the parties.
“Attacking each other in the media or instituting coups will not help anyone,” he warned.
He encouraged them to form youth organisations “as you would be able to speak with one voice and fragmentation will not help in any way”. He said he would continue to lobby the government, the private sector and other development partners to adopt pro-youth approaches in the delivery of social services, employment opportunities, political, religious and educational empowerment.
“We have various government programmes meant to develop and empower you, such as the Youth Empowerment Scheme with all its components like the Youth Development Fund; CEDA and LIMID,” he said.
“Moreover, we have introduced the Local Procurement Scheme which provides a 20% preference margin in government procurement activities for vulnerable groups such as the youth, women and people with disabilities.
“This arrangement will improve the sustainability of youth projects by providing a market for their products and services,” he explained.
He appealed to the youth to make use of these programmes and others to chart out a future for themselves and that they should not waste time complaining and engaging in unhealthy behavioural tendencies.