Brand South Africa through its flagship Play Your Part Programme is collaborating with Ubank, Mineworkers Investment Company and Mine Workers Development Agency to provide food relief during this global pandemic – Coronavirus.
Play Your Part is about understanding the importance of active citizenship and ensuring that civil society, and business get involved to help the less fortunate in the spirit of Ubuntu. These objectives echoes Ubank stands, as they have always had the needs of the people as one of its top priorities. Thus, they are amongst the many organisations, parties, and individuals that are actively helping to combat the negative impact COVID-19 has brought to people.
Ubank, Mineworkers Investment Company (MIC) and Mineworkers Development Agency (MDA) have joined forces and pledged two million Rands and two hundred thousand towards COVID-19 relief efforts. One million Rand has already been dedicated to the Solidarity Fund, while another million and two hundred thousand Rand has been dedicated to supporting current and former mineworkers and their families in the form of food aid.
As the adage says, “Real leaders lead by example”. This is indeed what Ubank, Mineworkers Investment Company and the Mineworkers Development Agency’s COVID-19 Food Aid Roll-out Programme will do. The food aid will be in a form of food vouchers and will go to the former mineworkers in the selected major labour sending areas in OR Tambo District, Greater Taung Municipalities and Matjhabeng Municipalities West and Free State.
As we finalise our plans to hand over the vouchers, I am reminded of a colleague who once said to me “bana ba motho ba kgaoganya tlhogo ya tsie”. A Setswana proverb that literally means “siblings share a head of a bee”. This has stuck in my mind for many years. The proverb simply talks about being able to share even the smallest things that we have, to as many people as possible – the true spirit of Ubuntu. We truly hope that these food vouchers will make a difference.
Through the administration of the Mineworkers Development Agency, Ubank has reached an agreement with Boxer Superstores and Shoprite to give food vouchers to the value of a thousand rand each to 500 beneficiaries in Umtata, 500 beneficiaries in Taung and 200 in Matjhabeng in Welkom. For O.R Tambo District Municipality area, vouchers are available for the following areas: King Sabata Dalinyebo: Umtata, Mhlontlo- Tsolo, Nyandeni –Libode, Nqhuza Hill- Lusikisiki and Port St Johns.
For the Greater Taung Municipality areas vouchers are expected to be available from the 26th May 2020 for the following areas: Reveilo, Taung, Tlapeng, Mokgareng and Losasaneg. The last leg of distribution will be in Welkom on the 4th June 2020.
“Giving food vouchers enables us to honour the COVID-19 gathering protocols,” said Ubank CEO, Luthando Vutula.
The MDA’s CEO, Mr Tshimane Montoedi thanked both Ubank and MIC for this strategic partnership, as this will go a long away in helping the less fortunate and having a hard time as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The implementation of this programme will be jointly executed with our Local Government partners, that include the three municipalities, Ntinga Development Agency, Small Enterprise Development Agency (OR Tambo) and the Department Social Development in Taung. “This will enable us to reach the most vulnerable in the community, and apply fair dispersal of the food vouchers”, said MIC Chief Executive Officer, Mary Bomela.
Following this selfless act of kindness Brand South Africa will on-board Ubank as a corporate Play Your Part partner, with the objective of spreading the importance of collaborative efforts towards a better world for all.
For more information about Ubank, visit our website www.ubank.co.za. Contact Nono Bam for Ubank’s CSI Initiative via email at nono.bam@ubank.co.za or Anne Williams, Ubank’s Public Relations, Communications and Events Manager via email at anne.williams@ubank.co.za. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter @Ubank SA.
About Ubank
Ubank is a well-established financial services provider entrenched primarily within the gold and platinum mining communities. Its mandate to service the broader working market in South Africa has become imperative in order to extend affordable financial services and to provide the workers with a bank they trust.
For more information about Ubank, visit our website www.ubank.co.za or follow us on Facebook and Twitter @UbankSA.
About Mineworkers Investment Company
The Mineworker’s Investment Company (MIC) is a 100% black owned broad-based investment holding company that was established by the Mineworkers Investment Trust (MIT) to provide ongoing funding for the Trust’s social and educational projects. With a foundation cemented in South African soil since 1995, we invest in companies of all sizes and across various sectors, including financial services, health, leisure, business services, industrials and media.
Over the past 25 years, we have disbursed more than R700 million directly to MIT who have in turn allocated these funds to social development programmes in the fields of education and training, poverty alleviation and micro-enterprise development. We create additional value through small business support, supplier development and education projects of our own.
For more information about MIC, visit our website www.mic.co.za or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter @MIC_Investment.
About Mineworkers Development Agency (NPC)
The Mineworkers Development Agency (MDA) is a Non-governmental Organisation formed 1987 and registered in 1995 as an Non Profit Company. We are currently enjoying a Public Benefit Organization status (in terms of the Income Act), with a mandate of providing sustainable socio-economic development initiatives to alleviate the negative impact poverty, unemployment and inequality for former mineworkers and their communities in South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland and recently in Botswana. With programmes that includes Food Security and Poverty Alleviation, Enterprise and Skills Development, Occupational Health and Compensation of former mineworkers.
For more information about MDA, visit our website www.micjhb.co.za.
