Mthuli donates to Vulindlela Primary

TENDAI BHEBE IN BULAWAYO

Finance and Economic Development Minister, Mthuli Ncube, this week donated 35 laptops and drilled a borehole to Vulindlela Primary School in Cowdray Park in Bulawayo in a bid to improve the livelihoods of the pupils.

Speaking at the handover ceremony, Ncube who is ZANU-PF’s candidate for Cowdray Park constituency in next month’s elections, said education was the cornerstone of economic development as it opens avenues for entrepreneurship and technological advances.

“This project came from the City of Bulawayo. Every year, I set aside five percent of the national budget towards devolution and we consider things such as the quality of infrastructure, and the population size.

“In this part of Cowdray Park we have 15 000 households and they need school infrastructure. The third point we consider is the level of income or poverty. And in that light, we saw it fit to establish a school here to enhance the quality of the neighbourhood and our pupils,” said Ncube.

Currently, the Bulawayo City Council has 30 primary schools and one high school.

Vulindlela, which was officially opened in 2021 by the city council to decongest Tategulu, Mkhithika, Mgiqika and Cowdray Park primary schools in the suburb, has an enrolment of 895 Grade 1 to 5 learners.

The sprawling suburb has a population of about 25 000 residents.

In 2020, about ZWL$114 356 155 under devolution funds was availed for the construction of classroom blocks, caretaker’s house, toilets, septic tank, perimeter fence and supply of furniture at Vulindlela Primary School.

He said more than 10 Wi-Fi spots were installed in the constituency.

“There are a few schools in this neighbourhood and more are needed.

We need to have an education-based economy. Over the next five years we will ensure that there are more schools that are built to feed the populace.

“We can’t do without digitalisation in this era and I’m very passionate about digitalisation. I spoke about this some years ago saying I want to implement that in Bulawayo but I will do it here in Cowdray Park. So far, I have installed more than 10 Wi-Fi hot spots, “he said.

Ncube said parents were supposed to get information on their children’s performance through digital platforms.

“This is a serious educational platform that can transform a whole society and economy. With this tech I want parents to have real time information on the performance of their children and school. Let us demonstrate that through our silicon Cowdray Park,” Ncube said.

He was welcomed at the school by 6-year-old Alenthia Mbaya, a Grade 1 student, who read a poem.

The poem inspired Ncube and instantly covered the young girl’s entire years’ worth of school expenses.

The school’s headmistress Tshidzani Ngwenya said: “We will produce engineers and technicians of the 21st

century from this noble donation. On the other hand, the borehole is taking us to education with production as per ministry’s requirements supported.

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