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Last Week Highlights: Grant to promote Culture and Sport in South African schools

RSA Netball South Africa
Students playing netball in one of the South African schools.
Written by RelevantStuff

South Africa might just be benefited more in the field of sports, with the Motsepe Foundation donating R117 million to the Department of Basic Education for promoting sporting and cultural competitions. The amount will be paid over a period of 10 years. The main officials making this announcement were Angie Motshekga, South Africa’s Minister of Basic Education, and Patrice Motsepe, Chairperson, Motsepe Foundation. This announcement was made just a couple of weeks ago, on the 24th of November in Johannesburg.

For the first five years (till 2020), R55 million will be transferred to the ABC Motsepe Schools Choral and Traditional Eisteddfod, the Kay Motsepe Schools Football Cup and the Kay Motsepe Schools Netball Cup. In the remainder of the years (2021 to 2025), the remaining amount (R62.5 million) will be transferred. All 25,000 schools in South Africa (public as well as private) will get a chance to participate in all the three competitions.

RSA Netball South Africa

Students playing netball in a school in South Africa.

The Department of Basic Education was obliged with this announcement of transfer of funds. Precious Moloi-Motsepe, Co-founder and Deputy Chairperson, believes that sports and music are necessary to the growth of an individual, and if implemented at an early age, helps create role models. She is the daughter-in-law of ABC Motsepe, the founder of these schools and competitions. The Choral and Traditional schools focus on choral and traditional music, besides other things. Precious was also excited with sponsoring netball, which she feels is popular among girls in rural as well as urban areas.

The 10-year old Kay Motsepe Schools Football Cup, awards the largest prize money in the world for sporting competitions, with a staggering R1 million going to the winning school, out of a total prize money of R3.4 million. The foundation is backed by the South African Football Association, which believes that football should be promoted throughout the country at basic education level, and if an organization such as the Motsepe Foundation looks after this, then nothing like it.

 

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