Latest News #313 – Botswana
May 5, 2005

The following news concerns Botswana.

Bible Society praised for combating unemployment

BOTSWANA — The Bible Society of Botswana (BSB) has made a contribution to combating unemployment with a Scripture Portion encouraging young people to take a positive attitude to the problem.

The booklet, entitled Why Are You Standing Here Idle?, has been produced in both Botswana's major languages, Setswana (25,000 copies) and English (10,000 copies) and is designed to motivate young people, in particular, to explore and use their talents.

Unemployment in Botswana is high. It was one of two problems that Festus Mogae highlighted and promised to tackle after being sworn in following his party's landslide election victory last October. The other was poverty.

The booklet, says the Society, "encourages creativity and innovation and shows people that God wants us to work and that he will reward us according to our performance."

The special activities organised for the day the Portion was launched began with an early-morning 10km (six-mile) sponsored walk. The 70 walkers included T S Kesupile, Chairperson of the BSB, M A Kareng, the Executive Secretary, and the Rev Evariste Munyabarame, UBS Program Consultant. Leaders. Young people and leaders from several churches also took part.

A little more than two hours later they were joined by D Saleshando, MP for Gaborone Central, Pastor Habibo, Superintendent of the Assemblies of God Church, and others at the service of dedication.

Mr Kareng welcomed everyone and spoke about the background and purpose of the booklet.

The guest speaker was Naledi Moselakatane, Botswana's Director of the Institute of Development Management (see below). Making it clear that she had read the booklet thoroughly, Ms Moselakatane acknowledged that young men could no longer count on finding jobs in the mines of neighbouring South Africa as they had in the past. Nevertheless, she said, to be idle was to be "disobedient to God" and so people had to combat unemployment by discovering and using the talents God had given them.

She praised the Bible Society for "motivating and educating us to come out of our shells" and encouraged the congregation to support its work, by becoming members or volunteers.

The Bible Society's mission, she added, was in line with Vision 2016, the government's statement of long term goals that identifies the challenges facing the country and proposes strategies that will meet them.

"A Godly nation will result in a nation that is prosperous and productive, spiritually and economically," she told the congregation.