Moretele – Communications Minister Faith Muthambi says the youth can no longer use poverty and unemployment as an excuse for taking drugs.
Minister Muthambi was speaking during her visit to the North West on Sunday to showcase career opportunities available to young people within the field of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT).
The visit was aimed at assessing the status of education in the Lefatlheng area, which is under the Moretele Local Municipality, and also encourage young people to stay in class and finish school.
The Minister’s visit comes against the backdrop of President Jacob Zuma’s call for government to prioritise policies and activities that broaden the participation of black people, as well as women and the youth, in the ICT sector.
Minister Muthambi encouraged young people to grab the opportunities provided by government and use them to their advantage.
“It is our plan to assist matriculants become better professionals. The department is currently busy with the digital migration programme, and we want content producers and photographers…
“Education is a top priority for government, so, learn as much as you can while you are still young. We will come back to the area with stakeholders to expose young people to the opportunities available,” said Minister Muthambi.
She encouraged learners to volunteer their services to their community, emphasising that they can become anything they want to be.
The Minister said government will join hands with its partners to fund a local rehabilitation centre to assist those with drug problems.
Earlier in the day, Minister Muthambi visited four families where she demonstrated how the digital migration project works.
Moretele Municipality Mayor Andries Monageng thanked Minister Muthambi for visiting the area.
“Moretele is the poorest rural municipality in North West, with 76 villages. We will monitor the roll out of the digital migration and ensure that women, child-headed households and elders are the first beneficiaries of the programmes,” said Mayor Monageng.
Maria Maluleke, 21, from Ward 20 said the Minister’s visit showed that government cares for its people.
“I’m happy that government came to our area because we will now know more about ICT,”
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