Premier of the North West Province, Kaobitsa Bushy Maape who was accompanied by Members of the North West Provincial Executive Council has officially launched the renaming of the Provincial Bursary Scheme to Victor Thebe Sifora.
The launch which was also attended by Local Mayors & Councilors and the Sifora family members and other dignitaries was held at the North West University, Mahikeng Campus.
V.T Sifora as affectionately known was born on 19 April 1914 at Mopyane village in the then Mankwe District in North West. He had an illustrious career as an academic, principal, teacher as well as an activist in the liberation struggle with Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu and O.R as his contemporaries.
In his address Premier Maape has appealed to business and other social partners to help the Bursary Scheme raise funds to enable government to increase its intake of beneficiaries. Since 2016 the bursary has benefited over eight hundred students.
“Our plan is to see more learners particularly from rural areas and disadvantaged backgrounds benefiting from this scheme. It is through education that we can change the lives of our people for the better. But education helps us to develop a new set of skills that can assist in addressing a number of challenges confronting our province” Premier Maape said.
Premier Maape maintained the North West is beaming with men and women of high ethical standards and astuteness whose names must be celebrated in preserving their legacy and the heritage of the province.
“Sifora was a remarkable person and part of preserving his legacy is to make sure that we create socio-economic opportunities for the youth. This will ultimately alleviate challenges of poverty, unemployment, substance abuse and other social ills bedeviling our communities. It is my firm believe that the renaming of this scheme will re-ignite interest among the youth to study further but critically emulate Sifora’s principles which were confined within the realm of servitude and selflessness” Premier Maape concluded.
Over four million rand has been set aside for the bursary scheme in the current financial year.
Source: Government of South Africa