President Ian Khama revealed at a Kgotla meeting in Kang village on Thursday that the National Service Programme (Tirelo Sechaba) will soon be re-introduced after it was terminated in 1998.
Thousands of jobless youth roaming the streets can now call unemployment a thing of the past as they stand to benefit from the reintroduction of Tirelo Sechaba.
Khama said the government will next year recruit 15 000 youth as the first batch of Tirelo Sechaba participants. He added that the youth will provide services in the places where they reside.
However this new program has brought confusion on how it will be implemented.
The Telegraph has established that the new Tirelo Sechaba will not be like that of the past which was compulsory.
The program is going to enroll 15 000 youth according to the presidency and its monetary benefits will be just like those of the old Tirelo Sechaba.
Though many are welcoming this move, some are saying this is a political strategy by Khama’s administration ahead of the 2014 General Elections.
Ministry of Youth Sports and Culture has refereed all enquires to the Presidency.
When contacted by this publication, the Chief Presidential Spokesman Dr Jeff Ramsay differed with those who refer to the incoming National Service Programme as Tirelo Sechaba, saying it will differ with the previous one.
“The government is launching a completely different programme…..It is not Tirelo Sechaba and it is a completely new programme,” said Dr Ramsay.
