Women’s Month tees off

Sports, recreation, arts and culture MEC Bulelwa Tunyiswa launched Women’s Month on Thursday in honour of late struggle heroine Albertina Sisulu.

Sisulu, the wife of ANC stalwart Walter Sisulu, died in 2011.

In December, the ANC declared it would dedicate this year to Sisulu and Nelson Mandela both, to celebrate the remarkable contribution the two made to the struggle.

Addressing the inaugural two-day Charity Gold Event, held in partnership with the Vicky Mbalo Foundation at the East London Golf Club, Tunyiswa said Sisulu and her generation had fought one of the great moral battles of the 20th century, and women of today continued the fight.

Sisulu was “coincidentally also a netball player, so we are the department to drive her legacy projects”, Tunyiswa said.

“We are chairing the inter-ministerial task team that will see the centenary celebrations of Mama Sisulu to the finish.”

The golf day attracted 40 golfers, of which five were women.

It was meant to be opened by Sisulu’s daughter, international relations and cooperation Minister Lindiwe Sisulu.

However, she accompanied President Cyril Ramaphosa to Zimbabwe after violent clashes in Harare following Monday’s elections.

Ramaphosa is the chair of the Southern African Development Community (Sadc).

The department was given permission to auction a portrait of Albertina at the event, and the MEC said the money raised would be used to stock libraries with books and toys for young pupils in Mdantsane schools.

The MEC said the Vicky Mbalo Foundation, and others like it, were vital to the development of children.

The official centenary celebrations will be held in October in Tsomo, Sisulu’s birthplace.

The department also hosted a memorial lecture in honour of Sisulu on Thursday.

The foundation’s Vicky Mbalo said building libraries in less fortunate areas was a priority.

The foundation was hoping to supply four libraries a year, “until every child has access to these libraries”, said Mbalo.