The Eastern Cape Department of Social Development (ECDSD) has injected a total of R657 000, shared among two youth-owned cooperatives under the OR Tambo District Municipality, as part of the provincial department’s contribution to the Youth Day commemorations.
The chosen beneficiaries of the funding were the Bellarosa Agricultural Primary Cooperative in the Ngcwala Locality outside Mthatha, as well as Luyanda Multi-Purpose Primary Cooperative in Tsilithwa Village, Qumbu.
The Bellarosa Agricultural Primary Cooperative, which received R350 000 from the provincial Department of Social Development, was founded in 2018 by five young people, two females and three males, who used their own funds to buy start-up stocks of eggs and chicks for their project. Both cooperatives that benefited from the ECDSD funding are involved in poultry farming and hatchery.
“We don’t want young people whose only contribution to the economy will be selling labour for wages but young people to grow and create employment for other young people in their communities and contribute to the development of the Eastern Cape, more especially in rural areas,” said Eastern Cape Social Development MEC, Siphokazi Mani-Lusithi, while visiting the Bellarosa Cooperative on June 9.
Mani-Lusithi said that their contribution was not only in monetary value but also in pledged government to further assist the cooperatives beyond just the funding.
“We are proud of the work you are doing. The contribution of government will not only end in monetary value, but we will also be able to link you with other opportunities in various spheres of government for your cooperative to grow,” she added.
Since its formation in 2018, Bellarosa has experienced steady growth and is currently supplying its products to Savoy Hotel as one of its biggest clients.
‘Our biggest challenge currently is that we do not have a facility that is fit for purpose for the work we are doing and for our cooperative to grow, and as a result the current supply does not meet the huge demand for our products. We, therefore, welcome the funding by the Department of Social Development as it will go a long way in eliminating some of the challenges I alluded to,” said Bellarosa chairperson, Nobubele Nzima.
ECDC said that efforts would be made to ensure that all funded initiatives were monitored by officials monthly, to ensure that record keeping and expenditure were in line with funding guidelines of the Cooperatives Act. The provincial department further said their mission, through the funding initiatives, was to see these cooperatives graduating to business enterprises that supply their produce to local businesses. ECDSD has injected over R2.6 million to youth-owned initiatives under the OR Tambo region over the last three years.
