Africa-Press – Botswana. Acting assistant district commissioner (DC) for Lobatse, Ms Queen Makobo, says non-governmental organisations (NGO) have the support of her office in their quest to achieve their mandates.
Delivering the keynote address at an open day organised by the Urban Rhythm Youth Trust recently, she said NGOs were driving the primary mandate of government and it was critical that they were given the support they needed to fulfill their mission.
She said her office was willing to offer them assistance they needed.
“Our office, as the focal point for all government offices, is open to create a platform and a conducive environment as well as linkages to respective government offices that you may wish to seek assistance on,” she said.
Ms Makobo noted that NGOs had a significant role to play in making a difference in people’s lives.
“Your primary focus as stakeholders is to assist government in ensuring that sustainable community development is achieved through activities such as capacity building and self-reliance,” she said.
She also advised NGOs to come together with common positions and strategies in addressing poor academic performance in school.
She said the pass rate at Lobatse Senior Secondary School had deteriorated over the past years and that the school needed an intervention strategy.
Ms Makobo also commended the Urban Rhythm Youth Trust for serving the community, admitting that dealing with the youth was a difficult task.
“It is with your assistance that government is able to reach out to many lives and we urge you to continue doing the great,” she said.
She said the youth friendly entertainment programmes that were provided by Urban Rhythm Youth Trust would groom young responsible adults.
“Through your programmes we are sure that our youth will look forward to coming here again,” Ms Makobo said, adding that they would not be bored and fall victim to drugs and alcohol.
Urban Rhythm Youth Trust programmes officer, Mr Emmanuel Motsemme, said the trust had existed since 2012 and it was first established under the Word to Africa Botswana programme.
He added that they were officially registered as a trust in 2018.
He noted that they had programmes focused towards the youth such as Leaders 4 life internship, Reach 4 life Clubs in Schools, Urban Friday Ignite, Saturday Spark, Ladies of Legacy, One-to-One United Football Club, Cams, Man Up and Urban Youth Centre.
Mr Motsemme said their centre was a place for affirmative entertainment programmes and has games such as snooker, Slaki, PS4, music, cards, board games and a variety of other games.
He said the idea was to have a centre where the youth could gather and be mentored and given guidance.
“Our goal is to give them a place where they can relax and have fun so that they can stay away from drugs, alcohol and other negative influences from the streets,” Mr Motsemme said.
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