Windhoek mayor Job Amupanda has proposed the establishment of an education fund to assist destitute students in the Windhoek local authority area, who struggle to access both higher and tertiary education opportunities.

In a memorandum availed to all city councillors and staff members, Amupanda said sub-section five of section 11 of the local authority act tasks the mayor, as principal head of council, to be responsible for the promotion and creation of the social well-being of inhabitants of the local authority area concerned, hence the proposal to help Windhoek students.

Amupanda in the memorandum he availed to Nampa on Tuesday said section 30 of the same act also permits the council to allocate bursaries and grant loans for educational purposes to needy students.

“Owing to the prevailing economic hardships, I hereby offer the following strategy to jump-start the initial fund, that staff members and councillors who are willing to contribute to the seed capital are engaged and requested to voluntarily commit to this noble cause. The contributions to the seed capital are made for a duration of 12 months starting 31 October 2021 and ending 31 October 2022,” said Amupanda.

The fund, he said, will officially offer bursaries, loans, grants and scholarships at the commencement of the 2023 academic year and the contributions will start with a minimum of N.dollars 100 per month that will be deducted from staff salaries and transferred to a special budget vote to be established by the Department of Finance and Customer Services of the city for the duration of the contribution period.

“During the said 12-month period, I will pledge an amount of N.dollars 500 each month towards the fund. At the end of the contribution period which is 31 October 2022, it is my hope that together we will raise more than N.dollars 2 000 000 in seed capital for the fund. This figure is derived from an estimate of 1 700 staff members out of the more than 2 000 staff members,” stated Amupanda.

He further added the initiative is every individual’s social responsibility. He said people should unite for the greater good by making a significant contribution to the future of underprivileged children.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency