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MBABANE – The Minister of Tinkhundla Administration and Development, David ‘Cruiser’ Ngcamphalala, says young people need to be educated on what the Regional Development Fund (RDF) is.

He clarified that the RDF is a grant and not a loan.

The minister was responding to some concerns raised by the young people of Gilgal Inkhundla last Thursday during the army recruitment exercise, when they complained of restrictions and delays in the release of the funds.

The minister said young people must know that the money they received through tinkhundla was not expected to be repaid. He pointed out to the fact that there were processes which needed to be followed before the money was released, of which one of them was to offer them training based on the projects they wanted to start. “The youth must know that the RDF is a grant and not a loan, meaning they are not expected to repay it after it was granted to them. The most important thing is that these young people must be educated based on those various projects they want to do,” he said.

Some youth further complained about the 10 per cent they were expected to raise and said this made it difficult to access the grant. They also complained about the delays they faced while applying for the funds. Thulani Dlamini, a community member of Macetjeni said he had tried to register for the RDF in the past, but lost interest because of the terms and conditions attached to the funds.

“I tried to apply for the RDF previously but could not succeed because of the long process we are expected to undertake. I ended up giving up,” said Dlamini. The minister said it

If they are 20 in that project, they come together and decide how much each member needs to contribute towards raising the 10 per cent .The money they raise is called the ‘commitment fee’,” he said.

Chiefdoms

He said the delays were as result of young people meeting in their local chiefdoms to discuss what kind of projects they wanted to do in that area. He said they were further expected to meet with bucopho

and present their proposal before proceeding to the regional council. He said thereafter, they proceed to the tinkhundla for the approval of the proposal. He said the RDF was a gift from King Mswati III towards young people.

“People must understand that government pays quarterly. If they follow all the procedures, then the next step is taken much quicker. Ayibuyeli emuva lemali. The money is a gift from King Mswati III,” said the minister.

He further said each inkhundla

received E3 million annually (E15 million after five years). The minister encouraged members of Parliament to converse with community members whether the RDF was still there or not. He also said young people from Hosea, Lubulini and Ngudzeni had benefitted through