MEC urges youth to establish cooperatives

MATSULU – The MEC for Finance, Economic Development and Tourism, Mr Sikhumbuzo Kholwane has urged young people to establish youth cooperatives to starve off the challenges of poverty and unemployment.

Addressing a special service for youth and men at the Methodist Church of South Africa ,  Kholwane said the cooperatives are the best form of economic intervention because they benefit a large number of people instead of individual.

“When the youth organises themselves in a cooperative, the benefits that accrue from the government’s support touch many households instead of an individual person.

“We are committed to implementing a consolidated programme that fosters inclusive growth and create employment for the people, especially for the youth,” he stated.

The Provincial government has put in place a system to support the cooperatives in the province.

The government has also adopted a tailored policy framework to support procurements of services from the cooperatives.

“There can be no uncertainty on the part of the provincial departments on how best they can involve the cooperatives in the provision of services.

“We have seen how the correct use of the procurement framework has assisted in changing the face of the communities in the municipalities that are designated for implementation of the Comprehensive Rural Development Programme,” said MEC Kholwane.

Meanwhile, MEC Kholwane has urged the church and communities to protect the legacy left by the generation of 1976.

“We must protect this special month, and especially the historical significance of June 16, against the demons of drug abuse, women and children abuse in our communities.

“We must, working together with the Church, encourage the young people to invest their time correctly, in the areas that will benefit the community.

MEC Kholwane said the Provincial Government will continue to honour this generation for such a costly sacrifice by ensuring that ”our children and young people have access to free education at the public schools, receives free meals and get bursaries to pursue the careers that will help Mpumalanga to Move Forward”.

The Provincial Government has spent more than R65.2 billion to increase opportunities for children and youth to be in school, to open the doors for them to enter the institutions of higher learning in the last five years.