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Many
similar projects have failed due to the lack of adequate capacity
building and training. The success of the development aspect
of this venture is therefore integrally dependent on ongoing
skills-oriented capacity building aimed both at servicing
the core business and stimulating greater integration between
the lodge enterprise and the local rural economy.
The DfID-funded
Madikwe Initiative is working closely with other agencies,
notably the Central District Council, the THETA and the Tourism
Enterprise Programme (TEP), to implement a comprehensive support
programme designed to ensure that the people of Lekgophung
acquire the skills and institutional capacity to benefit optimally
from the development of the proposed lodge.
A core
benefit of the project will therefore be the stimulation of
institutional capacity and economic opportunities in one of
the poorest areas of the Central District and the North West
Province. The initiative will equip historically disadvantaged
individuals with skills marketable to the core lodge business
but also to the broader tourism industry. Through its participation
in the project, the local partner will also build the organisational
capacity and entrepreneurial expertise needed for further
independent ventures in the future.
Small
enterprise skills have been developed through services of
the Centre for opportunity development (COD) to enable Lekgophung
residents to benefit from secondary enterprise opportunities.
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