BDP Youth host National Policy Forum
Forum to advise on policies to be reviewed
The Botswana Democratic Party National Youth Executive Committee ( BDP- NYEC) is expected to hold a National Youth Policy Forum and supporting activities in Serowe.
The Forum which is scheduled for next month and to be officially opened by President Mokgweetsi Masisi will discuss the review of existing youth policies. It will also open conversation to all emerging issues surrounding and affecting livelihoods of Batswana.
NYEC Chairman Collen Mochotlhi told this publication that the forum will focus on both party and government policies. Ministers from various portfolios will make presentations at the forum, share successes and challenges that their ministries face in serving the youth or implementing policies
“We have found it important that after being elected into office in Bobonong we could not have a chance to be given the mandate by the youth. So, this is the perfect time as the youth to have a conversation on issues that affect us hence the policy forum. “To achieve this, branches are to hold Special Branch Congresses and submit resolutions and recommendations to the General Secretary by the 07th November 2022. Our aim is that we need to have our youth activities rotate across all our 14 regions. “So NYEC has decided that it has been long without having its activities in that region hence we settled for Serowe,” said Mochotlhi who is also Councillor for Lenganeng Ward in Tlokweng Constituency. He said this is the first- ever forum to be called by the youth. He said all the concerned government departments and parastatals that deal with youth issues need to appreciate those issues. He said they will discuss which policies and programmes need to be reviewed with the view to aligning them with the changing trends of youth challenges. According to Mochotlhi it is time the policies and programmes designed for the youth serve the intended purposes. “We will be looking at all those policies from education, farming, YDF and CEDA. We want to appreciate them and seek how we can work together to improve them. If there are any that need to be reviewed, we will have to take resolutions on that and have them improved. “Those resolutions will be shared with our deployees at government being the ministers so that we engage and have such policies reviewed and improved for the benefit of young people of this country. “We want to leave Serowe with our young people having shared their challenges and appreciating what government departments are doing so that we walk this journey of improving the lives of the youth together as a united nation. We are happy that President Masisi is fully behind this initiative,” he stated.
According to the youth leader this National Youth Policy Forum shall be attended by all delegates who attended the 39th Youth Wing National Congress in Bobonong. The BDP Youth Wing first had a National Youth Council in 2015 in Mosu and another in 2017 in Bobonong. At these gatherings the youth engaged on matters affecting party and government. Mochotlhi revealed that the policy forum will this time around take a different focus and deal with bread- and- butter issues.