Appeal to lottery to assist in initiations

THE National Lottery Commission has been roped in to help with the funding of traditional initiation as more money and extra personnel are needed.

Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Deputy Minister Obed Bapela said since 2006 hundreds of initiates have died and more than 1 000 lost their manhood countrywide.

He said they were trying to raise funds for public awareness to prevent botched circumcision. “We have requested additional funding from Treasury and we have been sourcing funding from other departments, including state-owned institutions. The National Lottery Commission has come on board to fund and support public awareness and education campaigns through the Vusisizwe Trust, an NGO based in the Eastern Cape, to the tune of R2.9-million,’’ said Bapela.