9 October 2007
Maputo — The South African mine labour recruitment company TEBA (The Employment Bureau of Africa) delivered on Monday computer equipment worth more than one million rands (about 149,000 US dollars) to the Mozambican Education Ministry to support education in the southern provinces of Maputo, Gaza, and Inhambane, where most of the Mozambicans working on the South African mines come from.
The equipment, that includes 100 computers and other components, was handed to Education Minister Aires Aly by the chairperson of the TEBA board, James Motlasi.
Motlasi said that this gesture is in recognition of the effort of the 50,000 Mozambicans employed in his country's mines, who have been contributing to the development of the South African economy.
'Thousands and thousands of Mozambicans have died in the mines in South Africa. Now it is our turn to return this sacrifice. The current tendency is for Mozambicans to go to South Africa, and we want South Africans to start coming to Mozambique', he said.
He added that ensuring education for Mozambican children is a good investment 'if we are to have a developed country. This investment will benefit both Mozambique and South Africa, if we want a skilled workforce in the future'.
Motlasi declared that South Africa must not continue acting in the same way as the colonisers, who used to send unskilled labour workforce to South Africa. 'We must become a qualified and competitive SADC (Southern African Development Community)', he said.
Aly said that the equipment will be of great use, not only for the students, but also in teacher training. He added that a major priority for his Ministry is to equip the Primary Teacher Training Institutes.
He added that investing in teacher training is the best way to guarantee better management of schools and improved quality of education, hence the need to improve working conditions in the teacher training institutes.
'A school without Information Technologies will remain backward in meeting the country's education targets', said Aly. 'We want a modern education, that leads us to sustainable development, that allows us to enter upon an easier regional and world integration'.
Motlasi added that TEBA support is not limited to the education sector, but also covers areas such as water and sanitation, and agriculture.
In water and sanitation, TEBA is carrying out a programme to rehabilitate 300 wells. Half of this work has now been completed, Motlasi said.
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