SIX traditional kingdoms in the Eastern Cape will benefit from a green project, which will see a total of 15000 trees planted over four months.
The project, a partnership between the Champions of the Environment Foundation (Cote), the national Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (Deat) and local government, is set to create 700 temporary jobs.
The planting of trees will take place on December 1, but already sites are being cleared.
Work has already started at Qaukeni and Nyandeni great places and yesterday, it moved to the Bumbane Great Place near Qunu.
It will also be rolled out to Mngqesha, Nqadu and Qamata Great Places. Enyokeni Great Place in KwaZulu-Natal has also benefited.
In each of the kingdoms, between 75 and 100 women, youth and disabled residents will be employed to plant guava, orange and peach trees. At Bumbane, up to 92 villagers have been temporarily employed to plant and tend to the 2500 indigenous and fruit-bearing trees.
Some of the workers will be retained to maintain the process through liaison with a steering committee that is made up of traditional leaders.
Cote chairman and UDM leader Bantu Holomisa visited Nyandeni Great Place yesterday, where the groundwork to prepare for the planting began.
Holomisa reminded Deat and service providers that the project had to employ as many villagers as possible.
They will earn not less than the government-set minimum R75 daily wage.
Among the advantages of planting trees was the reduction of carbon emissions, soil erosion, protection against natural disasters and beautifying living spaces, he said.
He would also be writing to the Deat to bring in game as part of long-term plans to preserve the status of AbaThembu monarch King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo’s Bumbane Great Place as a national heritage site.
He said business owners would be able to claim from the UN Global Fund for protecting the environment.
More than 500 young men and women gathered at Bumbane Great Place yesterday to express their gratitude for the opportunity.
Chief Mfundo Mtirara urged the villagers to grab the opportunity with both hands, as the majority of them depended on social grants for a living. Up to R500000 has been budgeted for the process, said project manager Mgcineni Matshaya.
The employees will be trained on health and safety standards, environmental protection and will be equipped with tools and protective working gear, he said.
The initiative has the blessings of Dalindyebo.
“We welcome this very much. It’s going to not only make a difference in the lives of our people but it will beautify the kingdom,” he said. — loyisom@dispatch.co.za
Tree project to beautify kingdoms
The project, a partnership between the Champions of the Environment Foundation (Cote), the national Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (Deat) and local government, is set to create 700 temporary jobs.
The planting of trees will take place on December 1, but already sites are being cleared.
Work has already started at Qaukeni and Nyandeni great places and yesterday, it moved to the Bumbane Great Place near Qunu.
It will also be rolled out to Mngqesha, Nqadu and Qamata Great Places. Enyokeni Great Place in KwaZulu-Natal has also benefited.
In each of the kingdoms, between 75 and 100 women, youth and disabled residents will be employed to plant guava, orange and peach trees. At Bumbane, up to 92 villagers have been temporarily employed to plant and tend to the 2500 indigenous and fruit-bearing trees.
Some of the workers will be retained to maintain the process through liaison with a steering committee that is made up of traditional leaders.
Cote chairman and UDM leader Bantu Holomisa visited Nyandeni Great Place yesterday, where the groundwork to prepare for the planting began.
Holomisa reminded Deat and service providers that the project had to employ as many villagers as possible.
They will earn not less than the government-set minimum R75 daily wage.
Among the advantages of planting trees was the reduction of carbon emissions, soil erosion, protection against natural disasters and beautifying living spaces, he said.
He would also be writing to the Deat to bring in game as part of long-term plans to preserve the status of AbaThembu monarch King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo’s Bumbane Great Place as a national heritage site.
He said business owners would be able to claim from the UN Global Fund for protecting the environment.
More than 500 young men and women gathered at Bumbane Great Place yesterday to express their gratitude for the opportunity.
Chief Mfundo Mtirara urged the villagers to grab the opportunity with both hands, as the majority of them depended on social grants for a living. Up to R500000 has been budgeted for the process, said project manager Mgcineni Matshaya.
The employees will be trained on health and safety standards, environmental protection and will be equipped with tools and protective working gear, he said.
The initiative has the blessings of Dalindyebo.
“We welcome this very much. It’s going to not only make a difference in the lives of our people but it will beautify the kingdom,” he said. — loyisom@dispatch.co.za
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