Youth development a priority for govt

Chippa Legodimo | Monday September 8, 2014 12:49

Seretse added that government set aside P300 million to be used in various programmes aimed at empowering the youth throughout the country in the year 2014.

He, however, emphasised that collaboration between government and the private sector was crucial in achieving the goal of uplifting the standard of living of many young Batswana.

“Youth development is one of the key areas of investment for government.  We believe that with proper support youth can build Botswana into a dynamic, vibrant economy,” he said.

He therefore, called on the Botswana National Youth Council (BNYC) to always put the interests of young people first in their dealings.

He hailed the awards as a positive development in celebrating youth’s success and excellence.  Seretse said that he hoped the awards would go a long way in motivating all young people to work hard in improving their own lives and those in their communities.

BNYC executive secretary, Benjamin Raletsatsi, echoed the same sentiments saying that such recognition will spur the winners up into doing better while it will challenge others to aim for the same recognition.

The youth organisation’s executive committee chairman Louis Sibanda said the awards were not only aimed at recognising talent but also to highlight the different contributions made by youth in their various communities.

“This is to celebrate leaders of tomorrow and make them practice leadership now,” he said. He said that the nomination for the competitors was not done by the BNYC, but by other young people in various parts of this country.

He noted that they had confidence in both the nominations and the judging process indicating that it (process) was thoroughly audited by Delliote and Touche. The awards were held at the Gaborone International Convention Centre.