Botswana: Gaborone City Council (GCC) held a graduation ceremony for Ipelegeng Skills Development Component (ISDC) graduates. The event was hosted under the theme “Rising strong: Embracing Resilience, Empowering Change towards a knowledge based Economy.”
The beneficiaries of the programme are trained for occupational skills that would help them in making a successful career. The training was done in skills like carpentry, bricklaying, painters, tilers and plumbing.
The event was hosted through the assistance of Construction Industry Trust Fund (CITF). Assistant Minister of Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development Talita Monnakgotla delivered a brief address.
She hailed the ISDC programme as saying it will add value to the economy of the country. Monnakgotla said there has been a challenge with occupational skills in the country thus far as most of the workers were not certified.
She said lack of occupational skills has been a challenge for locals to compete in the local market. She highlighted that after attaining these skills, those challenges will slowly be phased out through this programme.
As such the aim of the project is to empower those locals through Ipelegeng Skills Development.
Member of Parliament for Gaborone North Honourable Mpho Balopi urged graduates to carry out the level of professionalism they displayed throughout their training. He also urged them to ensure quality works.
MP Balopi applauded the graduates for the projects they have built in different wards. He said that the show great potential throught this ISDC programme.
Kgosi Kenneth Thari of Block 8 Customary Court said that this programme is in line with Botswana’s Vision 2036 which states that Botswana will be a high-income country, with an exported economy underpinned by diversified, exclusive and sustaniable growth driven by high levels of productivity.
Kgosi Thari highlighted that Ipelegeng has not been deemed as an important programme by most people. However, but is now imparting positively into the lives of those who enrolled into it.
He noted that the programme is a step into the right direction as it shows potential in uplifting the lives of the community members.
The Deputy Mayor of Gaborone City Council Oduetse Tautona pledged council’s support for the programme. The Deputy Mayor said the Ipelegeng Skills Development component was introduced with a view to provide the Ipelegeng beneficiaries with skills that would help improve their livelihoods.
He stressed that it was also meant to encourage graduation from the Ipelegeng programme as well as employment creation. Hon Tautona encouraged graduates, to always ensure full commitment to whatever works they have been assigned to ensure timely delivery of projects, and good workmanship that is within budget.
For his part Town Clerk Mr Lopang Pule said that the government of Botswana saw it fitting to re-engineer Ipelegeng through the Presidential Directive CAB 23 (A)/2020. Mr Pule said that the improved Ipelegeng programme was introduced in 2022 at South East District but in Gaborone it was in February 2023 and hence why graduation of 45 beneficiaries.
Mr Pule added that In implementing the initiative, other Government programmes that have already been approved funding are targeted to complement the Ipelegeng programme and these include the Constituency Community Programme (CCP), development and recurrent budgets maintenance programmes,
Mr Pule further said that beneficiaries were also equipped with entrepreneurial and life skills, and were taken through a mindset change programme facilitated by Botswana National Productivity Center (BNPC).