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MBABANE – Four Mbabane residents have been selected to participate in an eight-month Taipei City Chinese Language Scholarship.

The selected residents are; Sanelisiwe Hloniphile Mdluli (Ward 3), Vuyelwa Olivia Mthunzi (Ward 5), Thembinkosi Stadium Mbuyisa (Ward 7) and Sifiso Mangaliso Mhlungu (Ward 3).

The candidates applied for the scholarship in June and were selected by the Taipei City.

Mbabane Municipal Council Public Information Officer (PIO) Lucky Tsabedze said the scholarship participants were selected out of 30 applicants.

“This is a positive development as previously only one candidate, Nokulunga Dladla, was accepted in the programme,” said Tsabedze.

He stated that the candidates had been advised by Taipei to travel in December 2022 and return in May 2023. Tsabedze stated that initially, the programme had to run from September 2022 to February 2023 but had been postponed.

Emergencies

The PIO said Taipei City specifically stated that due to COVID-19 emergencies in their city, the candidates were advised to join the scholarship programme in December instead of the September 2022 window, which was logistically impossible as they would have had to travel at the end of the month.

He said the programme was fully-funded by Taipei City and the council was engaging them regarding travelling logistics that included airfare allowances.

Tsabedze said they were currently assisting the candidates with the application processes for travel visas and international travelling documents.

He said the council had a sister relationship with Taipei City and it was through the relationship that an opportunity for scholarship had become available in Taiwan.