R27 million skills centre opens in Boboyi
The centre was named after the former mayor of Ugu District Municipality, Tolomane Mnyayiza.
The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Social Development officially opened the R27 million Tolomane Mnyayiza Youth Development Centre in Boboyi on Tuesday last week.
Opening the centre with a graduation ceremony for the first bunch of students was KZN Social Development MEC, Nonhlanhla Khoza.
Khoza said the students received training in courses such as plumbing, hospitality, sewing, and more.
The centre was named after the former mayor of Ugu District Municipality, Tolomane Mnyayiza.
His brother Onke Mnyayiza, said every time they pass by the Ugu region, they struggle to get closure as a family.
“We are hopeful that a number of young people from Ntlamvukazi in the Eastern Cape will flock to this skills centre as Tolomane was a person who was against tribalism. We know of a number of people who come from struggling homes, and would appreciate the opportunity to be trained here,” he said, adding that they are grateful for the initiative as Tolomane was passionate about the youth.
Meanwhile, Khoza said the aim was to highlight who Tolomane Mnyayiza was, the role he played in the struggle,and his sacrifices in the community and government.
“This is a state-of-the-art youth development centre, when you are inside the centre, you will never tell that it is located in the area of Boboyi. As we said that we are moving from social welfare to developmental, we are saying people must be able to develop themselves and be able to make a living for themselves without having to go out and look for jobs. Fifty two young people who were trained graduated on Tuesday, although they were trained for different skills, they all received computer literacy certificates because it was mandatory for them to do a course in it,” she said, adding that they now have trained plumbers and they are pleading with Ugu District Municipality to give them a chance.
The Ugu District Municipality Youth Office said the opening of the skills centre brings relief to the district.
“In the Ugu district, we have an issue of young people who are unemployed due to a lack of skills. So we are pleased that the centre will develop scarce skills that are in high demand in the private sector so that young people can be able to make a life for themselves or be employable. Young people can reach out to the Department of Social Development and their different youth offices to find out how can enroll in the centre,” said the municipality.
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