Africa-Press – Botswana. Vice President Slumber Tsogwane has urged residents of Mokobaxane and Mopipi to form trusts and utilise natural resources found in their area to create wealth and sustain livelihoods.
Mr Tsogwane, who is also Boteti West MP, was addressing kgotla meetings in the two villages this week.
He said forming trusts could help to create employment opportunities and boost the villages’ economies.
He said some communities did not have livestock, but survived through wildlife.
He also noted that residents could seek training from the Department of Wildlife and Natural Resources on the operations and management of trusts.
Mr Tsogwane encouraged residents to focus on developing their lives and to refrain from tribalism. He noted that the lion park in Mokobaxane was initially developed to empower the youth as opposed to Mokopi Trust, which failed to deliver.
He also advised residents against fighting for board positions and using their political affiliation to attack each other.
He said they would not succeed in their development projects if they failed to assume the responsibility to run their trust with the objective of developing the village.
The Vice President also advised his constituents to change their mind-set and focus on uplifting their livelihoods.
Lack of employment amongst the youth, he said, was a major concern to government, adding the youth could also help create employment.
On other issues, the MP told residents that the Mokobaxane-Kedia-Xhumo Road was not included in the National Development Plan, therefore it would be budgeted for after the second transitional development plan.
Mokobaxane Village Development Committee chairperson, Mr Bonyere Jane, informed the meeting that the Mokopi Trust had been handed to a new board and that it had changed the layout plan of the park.
He noted that the snake park had been changed to a restaurant.
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