The media tour was characterized by the attendance of various stakeholders which amongst oth­ers included; The People’s Ministry, The Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Ministry of Education and Skills Development and of course the media.

During his statement on pov­erty eradication, Honourable Min­ister for Presidential and Public Administration Mr. Mokgweetsi Masisi availed that the poverty eradication initiatives in South East District came about as a result of the monthly Community Service Day that government employees take part in.

He further noted that the volun­teerism and hard work of civil serv­ants should be an example to the general public; this was said in re­lation to the concept of every Mot­swana playing a part in the Nye­letso Lehuma flagship campaign.

In her response to questions about the types of poverty eradica­tion initiatives that are available to the public, Assistant Minister of Lo­cal Government Hon. B. Tshireletso mentioned that backyard gardens are not the only initiatives available to the public. She availed that bak­eries, sewing projects, catering, and tuckshops are all viable projects that can be entered into.

Furthermore, Hon. Tshireletso noted that Local Economic De­velopment and the Economic Di­versification Drive have been put in place to assist small to medium sized enterprises, and as such they aim to create a multiplier effect which has the ability to reduce and eventually eradicate poverty.

During her address to the at­tendees at the event Ms. A. Joubert, said that the South East District is the smallest district in Botswana but it has plans to have 200 projects aimed at community development and poverty alleviation 43 of these are already complete.

Ms. Joubert further availed that the eradication of poverty through projects such as gardens, bakeries etc leads to the restoration of dig­nity amongst members of the citi­zenry who were previously under­privileged, as they can now provide for themselves instead of relying on government social safety nets.