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WARM greetings to readers of this column.
Home Affairs embarked on an ID registration campaign
During the Integrated Community Registration Outreach Programme (ICROP) held recently at Chibini village in ward 5, it was discovered that a number of people still do not have identity documents (IDs) and birth certificates. This, despite the late registration of birth campaign conducted by the Department of Home Affairs in these areas.
As part of providing feedback on ICROP findings to the communities of wards 5, 7 and 9, the Department of Home Affairs has from November 6 to 8 been stationed at Chibini community hall in ward 5. This is in order to assist communities of wards 5, 7 and 9 with ID applications and other Home Affairs documents.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with our communicators, the Home Affairs manager, Mxolisi Ntaba, indicated that this campaign emanates from a number of inquiries they received during ICROP. He also cited the high influx of people from these areas into their Matatiele office as another motivator for them to go to the people.
“We hope this outreach will decrease the backlog we are experiencing from these areas,” added Ntaba.
He further encouraged people to apply for birth certificates of new-born babies within a period of 30 days. Among the challenges experienced by the department during such campaigns is the issue of undocumented Lesotho nationals (women).
“This makes it difficult for us to register their children, even though the father is a South African citizen,” he said. He further pleaded with people to report fraudulent activities, ie. people who obtain IDs illegally.
Tswarelo Mbokwana (19) was among those who successfully applied for a birth certificate. “I’m excited that I will finally be in a position to apply for an ID,” said Tswarelo.
On Tuesday, the department managed to register 40 applicants and the number is expected to increase.
Multi-million rand project for
Zamokuhle JSS
Life will never be the same again for pupils at Zamokuhle JSS in Maluti. November 1 saw the Adopt-a-School Foundation (AAS) handing over an Early Childhood Development Centre, IT centre and the Nelson Mandela Centenary Library. The facility is part of the Whole School Development projects, in partnership with the Industrial Development Corporation of SA (IDC), Wipro Technologies and the Nelson Mandela Foundation.
Over the last six years, the IDC, in partnership with the AAS Foundation, invested over R102 million towards uplifting and supporting 30 schools throughout South Africa.
The launch celebrates progress made in the five adopted schools in the Eastern Cape. The IDC has invested over R20 million in upgrading facilities at these schools, including the construction of a library in honour of the Nelson Mandela 100-year centenary.
AAS implements a unique, holistic approach when supporting schools, called the Whole School Development (WSD) model. This mechanism aims to improve and uplift the academic, infrastructural, social and security environments in adopted schools. WSD ensures that schools have the necessary management and community leadership to support an environment conducive to excellence in both teaching and learning.
Representing the mayor of Matatiele Local Municipality on the day was Councillor Thembeka Dyantyi.
“ECDs and computer literacy are the foundation phase of any pupil. The intervention witnessed here today will go a long way to address the challenges our children face at this critical phase of their academic development,” said Dyantyi.
The schools supported in Matatiele to date by the partnership are Zamokuhle Junior Secondary School, Mariazell Secondary School and Tholang High School. All these schools have received significant infrastructural support and training.
“The IDC’s main priority in CSI investment lies in education. Through our partnership with Adopt-a-School, we have been able to improve the quality of education in selected schools and today we celebrate the success of our investment,” said Tebogo Molefe, head of CSI at the IDC. “We are thrilled with the progress made at all the secondary schools we have invested in over the past five years,” added Molefe.
“The matric pass rate at the schools we support has improved and that is a great example of our Whole School Development Model at work,” said Steven Lebere, executive director at Adopt-a-School
The new ICT centre at Zamokuhle Junior Secondary School and Tholang Secondary School was implemented in partnership with Wipro Technologies. Wipro has been an integral part of this partnership, having partnered with the IDC and ASA on similar projects around the country. “This project forms part of Wipro’s skills development initiative, which seeks to invest in the education and upskilling of South Africa’s IT sector. We also believe that IT education needs to start at grass-roots level to maximise its effect, enabling the growth of the country’s digital economy,” said Ravi Yuvraj Panthi, head of human resources, Africa, at Wipro.
Receiving the facility, the acting executive mayor for the day, Councillor Jackie Bosman-Magangana said the facility upgrade has brought much-needed job opportunities for both the skilled and unskilled personnel from the surrounding community.
“We are a Destination of Choice and Excellence.”
