Africa-Press – Botswana. Custodians of community trusts and village development committees have been challenged to transform their entities into businesses by developing diversification strategies that catered for expansion.
Addressing graduates at the end of the five-day entrepreneurship training in Ghanzi on Friday, senior wildlife Biologist Mr Modiege Bakane said community trusts could no longer afford to depend on hunting quotas and donors, but should start operating as business entities to sustain themselves and embrace the country’s Resent Agenda.
He said like some successful trusts in the Chobe region, trusts from the Ghanzi region could forge partnerships with private companies. He was confident that through the workshop, the collapse of trusts due to poor governance and funds misappropriation would cease to exist. The training was conducted by Local Enterprise Authority (LEA) in collaboration with Ghanzi District technical advisory committee, supported by the Kgalagadi and Ghanzi Dry Land Ecosystem project.
The workshop was attended by community trust members from New Xade, Xwiskurusa East and West as well as Kacgae, Qabo and Grootlaagte as well as Bere, alongside the VDC members.
For his part, LEA branch manager in Ghanzi, Mr Molefhi Basutli appealed to graduates to exploit the knowledge they acquired to improve the livelihoods of community members in a sustainable manner.
Mr Basutli implored VDCs and community trust members to work hand in hand and be active at all times for the operational efficiency of the entities.
LEA business consultant and trainer, Mr Victor Ramaribana said expectation was that graduates should be able to craft business plans and carry out market research, added that participants had been capacitated to drive successful businesses.
On behalf of graduates, Kacgae VDC chairperson Mr Lesedi Kamanyane pledged the two entities’ intension to work together and put into practice what they had learnt in order to uplift the livelihoods of community members.
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