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Keynote address by the Executive Mayor by Advocate Lentswe Mokgatle on the launch of Mogale Foundation
Fellow Councillors present I am pleased tonight to see an idea come to reality as we formally launch the Mogale Foundation. The Foundation comes at a time when development is becoming a major differentiator in the public and private sector that our organizations care. The Mogale Foundation is an establishment that shall change the lives of people who live and reside in Mogale City. When I took office as the Executive Mayor, I had observed that challenges faced by people in rural areas, townships and in the urban areas require a collaborative effort from business, government and civic organizations. Programme Director, it is my belief that government cannot solve economic and social problems of our communities alone. There is a need for business and government to pull resources together to address these challenges. It was my vision that a foundation be formed to pitch itself at that level. Tonight, we are witnessing a dream coming true in Mogale City. A dream that can give birth to other great projects that could change lives of people. Ladies and Gentlemen, Mogale Foundation is an independent, non-profit organization that champion key strategic areas such as Local Economic Development, Leadership and Youth Development, Educational Assistance through bursaries and scholarships to deserving students, Arts and Culture including Heritage, Science, Sports development, HIV & AIDS. The Foundation is not going to forge ahead single-handedly and deliver on these key focus areas. We shall seek to find strategic partnerships with private sector companies. It is my pleasure to announce that Cell C has become one of the founding companies to commit funds to the Foundation. It is through such relations that we are going to be able to make Mogale City to be a winning city and a good place to invest in. Programme Director, please allow me to acknowledge the board of trustees of the foundation. The trustees have selflessly devoted their time to make this foundation work. We have Jean Davidson, Hugh Masekela, Bushy Kelebonye, Dr.Leon Wessels, Advocate Richard Moloko, Patrick "Ace" Ntsoelengoe, Aboobaker Varachia, Gert Visser and Robert Forsyth. These individuals are successful and talented individuals in their own right. They have caught the vision and are flying with this vision. We are fortunate to have had the support of Dr.Nthato Motlana, Mr. F.W. de Klerk and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Sister Bernard Ncube as patrons of the foundation. I am certain that the sky is the limit for this foundation in terms of achieving its objectives. Programme Director, it is true that without a vision people shall perish. Through Mogale Foundation it is clear that we have a vision to take this city forward. The foundation's first project will be the hosting of the Imagenation Film Festival in Mogale City during the 10th Year Democracy Celebrations in South Africa. This project shall be held in April 2004. The Film festival shall be held both in Harlem and Mogale City. The Mogale City leg shall feature artists like Erykah Badu, Femi Kut, and Dead Prez. The Film festival shall highlight international black cinema produced by independent filmmakers. The intention of hosting such an event is three-fold:
Watch the space. In the area of Arts and culture, which is a crucial component to assist us in unlocking the creativity of our people, of allowing for cultural diversity and rediscovering our historical heritage. Our intention is to develop Mogale City into a world-class cultural city. Mogale City has history of involvement in arts and culture and there should be an attempt to revive that history. The foundation shall develop an Arts Centre focusing on two aspects that is the Performing Arts and Fine arts. A focus on our heritage should aim at training the youth to know their history. The Foundation should work closely with the Historical society in this respect. Research that focuses on the history of Mogale City with an attempt to reconcile different communities and races should be funded. The foundation shall lead the development of a Sports Academy in Mogale City. We want to nurture the most promising young sportsmen and women in our city. This project was started when we honoured Ace Ntsoelengoe for his outstanding achievements in the world of soccer. We profiled Ace Ntsoelengoe as a citizen of Mogale City and ambassador of sports in Mogale City. The sports academy shall be spearheaded by the foundation to unearth hidden talent amongst our young people. The foundation will address lack of sporting facilities in our townships, holistic development of all sporting codes in all our areas. We want to create the Ace Ntsoelengoes, Ernie Els', Tiger Woods', Makhaya Ntinis and Hezekiel Sepengs out of the sports academy. The sports academy will benefit the West Rand as a whole - we should start nurturing budding stars. The foundation will be the overarching organization that will lead the development of the sports academy. It is a dream but it will come true. This is big and we are prepared to leave a legacy for our youngsters. Tonight, we formally launch this amazing foundation, which has a bright future ahead. We have had a good support from the media to profile the launch of this foundation. This is big but it can be done. With those remarks, I just want to say that please feel free to make your pledge tonight to bless this foundation. Cell C has done it and I believe that this is the vision we can implement together. Enjoy the evening and I thank you.
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