Africa-Press – Botswana. Due to its low population, Botswana should be doing better in job creation and should not be grappling with unemployment.
This was said by the Member of Parliament for Mahalapye East, Mr Yandani Boko during his contribution to the State-of-the-Nation Address (SONA) on Thursday.
Mr Boko said due to the current high rate of unemployment, the youth were idling most of the time, getting exposed to the risk of drug temptation.
“To curb this problem of drug usage, government should create as many jobs as possible to keep the youth engaged,” he said.
Mr Boko also noted that the issue of lack of jobs was probably contributing to high suicide rates as the youth were depressed.
Just like job creation, Mr Boko also said the issue of plot allocation should also not be a challenge as the country was not densely populated.
He urged government to support the creative and sports industries as he said the two had the potential to help in job creation.
“We have a lot of talent in this country, both in the arts and sport and these need development and nurturing, otherwise we risk losing them,” he said.
Mr Boko also raised concern at the rate of gender-based violence in the country, which he also said should be treated as a matter of urgency.
For his part, Mmathethe/Molapowabojang Member of Parliament, Dr Edwin Dikoloti also reiterated the concern on lack of employment by the youth, saying it equally affected parents mentally.
“Such may lead the youth into criminal activities and other undesirable deeds,” he said.
Dr Dikoloti also called on government to declare stock theft a national crisis as it was spread countrywide.
On other issues, Dr Dikoloti, also the Minister of Health, urged Batswana to develop a habit of living healthily, by engaging in regular exercise and healthy eating.
He said should Batswana adopt such, it would help relieve the health sector as few people would require medical attention.
He also hailed the growth of the Segwaragwara dog race that he started in his constituency and expressed hope that the Botswana Tourism Organisation would soon recognise and include it in their annual calendar of activities.
In development projects, Dr Dikoloti appreciated government for the Gasita Clinic, which he said was large enough to serve a larger area. He also said the Mogojogojo clinic site had already been handed to the contractor to start the project.
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