The Free State MEC for Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation MEC Mathabo Leeto officially opened the Motati Community Library in Tshepong, Verkeedevlei on 5 April 2017. This multimillion rand facility will serve the community of Tshepong with the latest form of technology and boasts state-of-the-art equipment such as reading section, reference section, activity hall, study hall, toy library and a computer room.
The Motati Public Library was built at a cost of approximately R12 million. The project was funded from the Community Library Conditional Grant which is made available by the Department of Arts and Culture to provincial departments to transform and upgrade public library services in the country.
In her address MEC Leeto said, “Our libraries should help us to preserve and archive our own history using our own narrative. We need to encourage libraries as spaces where information conveyed through new technologies can help to revolutionise and transform our people’s lives. We need to equip our libraries with the common foundational texts, that elaborate on our shared African identity and how Africa can take its rightful place in the wider world, so that when our youth meet each other, they can engage with this common and rich body of knowledge even as they come from different places and a multiplicity of cultural expressions.”
The department of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation as custodians of library services in the province has shown its commitment to education and the availability of resources to all communities. This commitment will continue to be displayed and other major projects are in the pipeline. Communities are encouraged to utilize these facilities to their maximum and not to vandalize them.
Enquiries:
Mr. Tankiso Zola
Director: Communication and IT
Cell: 082 940 2392
Tel: 051 – 4104742/4786/4735
E-mail: tankiso@sacr.fs.gov.za
