Deputy Water and Environmental Affairs Minister, Ms Rejoice Mabudafhasi, MP, will hand over 250 school desks to Boitumelo High School on Wednesday, 23 January 2013, in Ficksburg, Free State.
During the month of July last year, the Deputy Minister adopted Boitumelo High School in honour of former statesman Nelson Mandela. It was at that time that she also commissioned a needs assessment at the school which clearly indicated that there is a dire need for school desks amongst other needs.
These desks are made out of biomass from cleared Invasive Alien Plants and manufactured at the Department of Environmental Affairs’ Working for Water Eco Furniture factory situated in KwaZulu-Natal. The Working for Water programme has piloted value-added industry options, in partnership with the KwaZulu-Natal Invasive Alien Species Programme (KZN IASP).
These initiatives have shown the viability of the approach of utilising invasive alien biomass to create jobs, in making value-added products relevant to Government’s needs, and reducing the cost of clearing the invasive plants.
The product that has become the short-term major focus has been the manufacture of school desks. High-quality, durable, solid-wooden desks are being manufactured for less than half of what schools are currently paying for chipboard desks that last a fraction of the time of the Eco-desks. At R420 per school desk, these costs of the Eco-desks include the full costs of harvesting the wood.
The Mayor of Setsoto Local Municipality, Cllr Tshediso Jakobo and the School Governing Body will join the Deputy Minister during the handover.
Media is invited to attend the handover as follows:
Date: 23 January 2013
Venue: Boitumelo High School, Ficksburg, Setsoto Municipality
Time: 9h00
RSVP: Xolani Nqoshela
Tel: 012 310 3078
Cell: 083 630 9519
E-mail: XNqoshela@environment.gov.za
For media queries contact:
Peter Mbelengwa
Cell: 082 611 8197
E-mail: mbelengwap@dwa.gov.za
