DURBAN - FORMER Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize said gender-based violence, drug abuse and homelessness were among the pressing issues that need to be tackled in the country.
Mkhize was a keynote speaker at the launch of the Thembela Foundation on Tuesday in Pietermaritzburg. The foundation is funding pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds.
He encouraged the entrepreneurs who attended the launch to work together.
“The next generation should think you are talking about a fairy tale when you speak of apartheid and gender-based violence. All these things should be a thing of the past,” he said.
Mkhize said this generation needs to work together and change the narrative that black people are poor. He added that they need to work together in order to uplift the economy of the country.
Speaking to the bursary beneficiaries of the Thembela Foundation, Mkhize encouraged the pupils to make education their priority. He said young people should strive to be leaders in their country.
“The future is in your hands, stand up and uplift yourself because no one will do it for you. You guys are not growing up under oppression like us,” he said.
The foundation was launched by businessman Thokozani Gcaba, who chairs 51 co-operatives in the province.
Gcaba said he would soon launch a co-operative bank under the Sakhumnotho Financial Services co-operative.
Gcaba further said that the Thembela Foundation would be funding the education of 20 pupils.
THE MERCURY