Speech by Deputy Minister of Public Enterprises Gratitude Magwanishe at the official handover of a Computer Lab at Seshigo High in Moletjie
Programme Director
MEC Education
District Mayor
Local Mayor
Traditional leaders
Transnet Acting GCE
Teachers and learners present
"The role of the DPE and Transnet in facilitating the promotion of education and skills enhancement"
We live in a highly globalised world, influenced by technology and innovation.
Computers form part of our everyday lives!
From the huge desktops found in our office spaces to the smallest and portable in the form of laptops and cell phones.
Life, without computers, should never even be imagined.
It was a programme aimed at facilitating the promotion of Maths, Science and Technology in rural schools throughout the country, as advocated for by the NDP.
With only two (2) PCs at the commencement of the programme in the year 2013, Transnet, another of our SOCs, committed to moving the programme forward by becoming part it.
The transfer of Broad-Band Infraco to the Department of Telecommunications saw Transnet, in partnership with the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE), play an even larger role in ensuring that the Youth's education is a priority in this country.
Today, you are presented with the opportunity to fulfill your dreams of becoming doctors, scientists, biologists, IT technicians and many more unmentioned careers within the Maths, Science and Technology streams, dreams that were not made available to your parents and grandparents in the previous non-democratic government prior 1994.
Today, the democratically elected government of the ANC today, makes it possible for you the disadvantaged to benefit from the prestigious right to education,
A right that no longer deems Maths, Science and Technology men-only fields, with access limited to a selected elite few, but as disciplines vital in the growth and development of South Africa, made also accessible to everyone, more especially women from disadvantaged rural communities, as outlined in the National Development Plan (NDP).
Indeed, the ANC government of today plays a role in rectifying past imbalances, by facilitating for women emancipation and empowerment, as stressed in the NDP! Spelling it out that women are just as important as men, if not a little more superior ;).
As in the words of Thomas Sankara "Inequality can be done away through an establishment of a new society, where both men and women enjoy equal rights, meaning that the status of women will only improve with the elimination of the system that exploits them.
Your democratically elected government of the ANC is striving to towards creating the exact same society for you, a society that is democratic, non-racial, non-sexist and prosperous, made possible by each and every one of you here.
Indeed, the ANC government carries on the spirit of Tata Nelson Mandela, by ensuring that there is maximization of educational opportunities to the youth, through the handover of this computer laboratory.
It is thus your responsibility as students to protect and take care of this laboratory, to stand up against anyone who abuses this privilege, and to say no to the vandalism of such a vital asset.
"And another one bites the dust,
Why can't we conquer life,I would have thought that we are one,
Wanted to fight this war without weapons" should no longer be a marginalized student's narrative.
Instead,
You the students, should develop thick skins and elastic hearts, despite the blade being a little sharp for you,you should be like rubber bands that can get pulled too hard, without breaking into pieces. With such learning opportunities presented right before your eyes, may you grasp them with both hands, take advantage of them by all means, and exhaust them with your all, to be able to contribute to the growth and development of our beautiful country.
In the words of Tata Nelson Mandela, "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world".
Computers, technology and innovation should be guiding tools in the facilitation of education and skills enhancement of the youth in the country.
May you be inspired!
Thank You!
