… He pledges water tanks, pit latrines and science laboratory
BY PHUMELELE MKHONTA
MBABANE– A Minister with a heart of gold!
This is the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade, Manqoba Khumalo, who has pledged water tanks, pit latrines and a science laboratory to the School for the Deaf High School at Matsetsa, Siteki.
Today, the Minister has also handed over two water tanks sponsored by Matsapha-based company Power Pack to the school.
The Minister made this pledge when leading a tree planting drive at the school, as part of the ongoing national ‘One Tree, One Person, One Eswatini’ campaign. Eswatini has pledged to plant 1.2 million trees this year, and 10 million trees in five years.
In his deliberation, the Minister said they would engage their development partners, the private sector and the relevant Government ministries to ensure that these were availed to the school as a matter of urgency.
“As a Ministry, we will be your ambassadors within Government to ensure that the things that you need as a school are availed, including the sports facilities that are still under construction.”
“As the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Trade, we are also happy to note that the focus in the school is also on vocational studies. Our wish is for the pupils who complete their studies here to be able to start their own businesses. That the school has now produced students who are pursuing diploma and degree programmes in other institutions is testament that the school is growing.”
“We are doing this campaign because we recognise that trees give us food, shade and help us breathe. These days, we are also facing climate change and researchers say that without trees, climate change will overwhelm the world and will result in natural disasters. We trust that every liSwati is playing their part to ensure that we have enough trees to sustain the country and keep all of us healthy.”
School for the Deaf Principal Nomsa Maseko said they were grateful for the donation of water tanks from the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Trade.
“This really came at the right time as we have a water challenge in this region, characterised by frequent water unavailability, which requires us to have water back up,” said Maseko.
