In the spirit of good will in honour of Tata Madiba's birthday

As millions of people were celebrating Nelson Mandela's birthday and his legacy across the globe, the MEC for Agriculture Rural Development and Land Administration Mrs Candith Mashego-Dlamini was joined by the Head of Department (HOD) Ms Nelisiwe Sithole, Senior Managers, and officials when making a difference in the lives of the needy people in his honour.

In marking the Mandela Day Celebration and making it a success, the department partnered with the Mpumalanga News/ Mirror, Meso ICT Solutions, the Nkomazi Executive Mayor and Local Councillors and dedicating their 67 minutes to service delivery.

Mandela Day is celebrated globally on 18 July to pay tribute to the sacrifices made by former President Nelson Mandela and many others in the fight against apartheid. The overarching objective of this special day is to inspire people to take action in changing the world for the better. The United Nations (UN) has declared the 18 of July, former President Nelson Mandela’s birthday, as International Mandela Day in celebration of the statesman’s legacy. Mandela dedicated 67 years of his life to political activism, and Mandela Day is a celebration of Mandela’s life.

The department hosted this year's annual celebration at Madedeni Trust in Nkomazi Local Municipality, one of the Comprehensive Rural Development Programme (CRDP) sites in the province.

In the spirit of goodwill and rendering services to the poor and needy people in honour of Dr Rholihlahla Mandela's Legacy, the department started the day by first visiting Ikwezilokusa Vegetable & Poultry Project Farming Project.

It was here in this project where the MEC and her entourage dedicated their first 67 minutes by planting potatoes, green pepper, tomatoes and harvesting green beans and butternut. The department has also donated a Jojo tank and installed an irrigation system on this farm. The farm, a 12 ha project was established in 1996 with 12 members. The project was registered as a cooperative in 2010 and it is a project of job creation as they are employing nine permanent and 14 temporary workers. This project is one of the projects benefitting through the department's Masibuyele Emasimini Programme.

The MEC wearing a green overall and her entourage still in the mood to give back in honour of the man who distinguished himself from others and dedicated his entire life for the liberation of the poor, the journey to celebrate the Mandela Day continued to Dlamadoda Secondary School. This was the MEC's second visit at the school.

It was here again at the school where she first started her visit as part of her door to door campaign during the Cabinet Outreach Programme in May 2012 at Nkomazi Local Municipality when she noticed that the school's windows were broken. She then promised that the department would replace the school's window panes broken by the community and learners.

On this day, it was a dream come true at Dlamadoda Secondary School, since the MEC kept her promise to fix the windows. The MEC's visit at the school also brought a smile to the 19 needy learners who received gifts from the team in the form of complete school uniform including shoes, shirts and gloves. This year the Grade 12 learners have promised the MEC that they would achieve more than 70 per cent pass rate. The MEC and Thulani Lubisi a grade 10 student at Dlamadoda Secondary School posed as Tata Mandela of the day joyfully cut the birthday cake and shared in honour of Tata Mandela's birthday.

The celebrations did not end at Dlamadoda Secondary School but proceeded to Sihlangu five drop-in centre located meters away from the secondary school, Sihlangu Primary School and Ndlavela Primary School where the most of MEC's important guests the learners that were supported by the centre attend their respective classes.

Ms Thusile Mathabela, the Project Coordinator for the Sihlangu 5 drop-in centre stated that the centre was started in 2003, as a Home Based Care Centre and later became a drop-in centre upon realising the need to take care of the children who did not have parents to look after and those coming from poor child headed households.

This day brought joy and hopes to the needy children as the MEC donated food parcels, garden tools, clothes and seedlings to the centre and also spent 67 minutes planting beetroot, spinach and cabbage with the members of the centre. The MEC encouraged the children to focus on their studies as the majority was still learners. She further assured them that if they put their mind to their books surely they would become respected leaders one day.

The HOD Ms Nelisiwe Sithole in her closing remarks said the department would ensure that someone would be employed to maintain the garden of the centre through the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP). She thanked everyone who has made it possible for the event to be a success.