De Beers announced last week that, together with the Department of Education in the Limpopo Province, it had handed over another four schools that received infrastructure upgrades as part of the Rural Schools Programme at the Malenkwana Primary School in Wegdraai Village within the Blouberg Municipality.
Initially, both parties; De Beers and the Department of Education; agreed to each allocate R4 million towards developing schools in the rural parts of the Limpopo Province, making this a R8 million partnership. The partnership has since been extended and a total of
R23, 8 million has already been invested and spent. The Primary aim of this programme is to assist schools that are located within De Beers Venetia Mine’s area of operation by backing their initiatives to improve their infrastructure such as the building of extra classrooms, well functioning administrative and ablution blocks.
The MEC for Education in Limpopo, Dr. Aaron Motsoaledi, and De Beers Managing Director Mr. David Noko will address the gathering. During 2007/2008 financial year, this well entrenched partnership saw infrastructure being developed in the following four schools all of which will be officially handed over today and are as follows: Seshane Primary School in Early Dawn Farm, Mmatsela Secondary in Pax Village, and Malenkwana Primary in Wegdraai village and Saint Martin De Porres primary school in Musina.
“The Department of Education recognizes that children are the future of South Africa, and that an education has a strong positive impact on their development”, said MEC of Education, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi. “Having identified a dire need for proper classrooms in the rural areas of Limpopo, the programme strives to contribute to the eradication of the backlog of infrastructure as well as the improvement of Maths and Science results in the Province”, concluded the MEC of Education. Venetia Mine, the De Beers Fund and the Department of Education in Limpopo remain as the custodians of the programme and putting in place measures to ensure that the most deserving schools get priority using criteria that was developed at the onset when the 2005 programme was initiated.
David Noko, the managing director of De Beers elaborated: “We are aware that communities are an integral part of our business and where we believe we can make a contribution directly to a community that empowers that community we will endeavor to assist. The official opening of the four schools today is yet another additional project to the substantial work undertaken since 1973 by the company’s social investment vehicle, the De Beers Fund in supporting rural school. The ceremony marks the positive relationship which Venetia Mine has had since the mine opened in 1992. While a mines resource ends an education is something that lives forever in the minds of all and we believe it is like our slogan for diamonds; ‘forever’.”
The De Beers Fund spends an average of R35 million a year on community development, mostly in disadvantaged areas in the mining communities near and far and associated with De Beers mines. The company supports many organisations, including the Soul City HIV/AIDS initiative, several education programmes, as well as the Grassroots Soccer programme and associated educational programmes in rural areas. All such projects form a part of an extensive De Beers corporate social investment (CSI) programme which addresses social issues in the mining communities within which De Beers operates.