Appeal to support education bursaries for rural children
KING Goodwill Zwelithini is hoping to have companies and businesses that do business with Ingonyama Trust land contribute towards his newly established education bursary scheme for rural pupils.
The bursary scheme forms part of five priorities the monarch wants the traditional leaders to focus on this financial year.
Speaking at the official opening of the KwaZulu-Natal legislature in Pietermaritzburg, the king announced the formation of his bursary fund.
“The painful situation that confronts pupils and teachers in rural areas emanate from infrastructure, inadequate allocation of teachers for certain subjects, and lack of bursaries,” he said.
The monarch said the bursary scheme, formed after consultation with the Ingonyama Trust board, would assist pupils from areas administered by traditional leaders.
“As I have started the bursary scheme, I will liaise with all businesses that operate on the land under the Ngonyama Trust, including mining companies, shopping malls and cel- lular companies that have cellphone masts in areas of traditional leaders, to lend support to the bursary scheme,” he said.
“I am doing so because businesses and companies would be painting a bad picture if theirs is just to make profit and not care about the owners of land,” the king added.
He said there would also be a campaign aimed at discrimination against albinos.
“I will implement this campaign with maidens in the kingdom and beyond its borders.
“It will reach out to schools, religious places, sporting areas and government institutions.”
The king said he would also continue with the KZN peace process he started in 2012.
He said political killings were not only affecting parties, but impacted on investment to the province.
A summit will be held on March 2, where stakeholders would report on work done towards the peace process.
The king expected reports commissioned by the KwaZuluNatal government on social cohesion after the xenophobic attacks last year to be presented.