Chinese Embassy in South Africa joined hands with the government as it continued to revive the rural heartland of the North West province, this time providing the impoverished Kgomo-Kgomo villagers with home solar batteries and Christmas hampers. At the well-attended donation ceremony at the local school men, women and children filled the two white tent structures to capacity amid the blistering sun that sat at a temperature of 38 degrees on a Thursday morning.
A total of at least 1000 food parcels were distributed to hordes of crowds that showed immense appreciation, shaking hands of a large contingent of officials from the China Embassy in South who were led by Ambassador Wu Peng. The national government was represented by the Minister of Social Development, Sisisi Tolashe, and the North West government under which Kgomo-Kgomo village falls was represented by acting Premier Basetsana Dantjie, who is also the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) in charge of Social Development portfolio.
George Manyike, the mayor of Moretele local municipality under whose jurisdiction Kgomo-Kgomo falls, made an impassioned plea to the Chinese authorities to help build a school and a hospital in the area. Villagers, most of who are unemployed or under-employed, often pay for transportation to the nearby health facilities with the little money from their meager earnings – for those who have any form of income. Mayor Manyeke painted a heart-breaking picture of a community in dire straits. “We are poor in this place. We are struggling. Majority of the community depend on services from the local municipality, which are inherently over-stretched,” he said.
He pleaded with Minister Tolashe to escalate Kgomo-Kgomo’s plight to the level of the Presidency, asking for red-tape to be removed so that the undertaking by the Embassy of China in SA to assist with the establishment of public facilities could start in earnest. The excited crowd applauded in approval.
The mayor’s sentiments were also endorsed by Chief Nchaupe Makapan III, traditional leader Kgomo-Kgomo. “We are begging for any help the Chinese can offer. Things are rough. It’s tough in this place,” he said with a heavy heart.”
Acting Premier Dantjie also noted Kgomo-Kgomo’s desperate state. Visibly overcome by the heat, Dantjie said the provincial government was determined to harness the goodwill of the Chinese Embassy in SA. No impediments will be allowed to derail plans to turn Kgomo-Kgomo into a smart city of some sort, she said.
“We have been engaging with the Chinese authorities for a long while about Kgomo-Kgomo. We are on the same page – to push back against hunger and starvation and to help create public amenities that are obviously needed,” Dantjie said, before adding: “We visited China in September as part of our President (Cyril Ramaphosa’s) state visit to China. There, were pleased to sign the MOU between us and the Chinese. The future looks promising. There is light at the end of the tunnel. Soon, I hope and pray, the people of Kgomo-Kgomo will discover the hard-work that we are putting in improving their lives.“
Minister Tolashe also added her valuable views, using her experience as a past mayor in the Eastern Cape. “I understand too well the challenges that our people go through at local level. Nothing is going to hold us back in cooperating with the Embassy of China in South Africa to alleviate the plight of the Kgomo-Kgomo people,” she said.
Amb Wu triggered a wave of excitement when he told the attentive crowds: “I know too well that food parcels are only a stop-gap measure and cannot eradicate poverty. However, they can lessen the immediate pain. And this why we are here my first ever visit and certainly not the last – and I can feel the warmth and love of the people,” he said to loud cheers.
Amb Wu gave the people of Kgomo-Kgomo and South Africans in general about a huge dose of hope and optimism when he gave them a brief historical perspective about China’s development in the modern era.
“When the People’s Republic of China was founded in 1949, we had one of the highest poverty rates in the world. The rural population accounted for 87% of the total population, and they were mostly in extreme poverty,” said Amb Wu.
He continued, as villagers listened to a historical background similar to their present circumstances: “After more than 70 years of efforts, China lifted nearly 800 million rural people out of poverty, which accounts for over 70% of the global poverty reduction during that period.”
Now, as the large crowd listened to the Chinese model of rural development that mirrored their reality, a sense of hope could felt in the air.
Of course Kgomo-Kgomo’s population is drastically a lot lesser, but the pain of poverty, hunger and starvation does not care about the numbers. The paid of poverty is the same anywhere and everywhere. Hence, Amb Wu’s uplifting brief story about the Chinese example of defeating poverty was well-received, and indeed raised the level of optimism about the future, especially as the Embassy of China in SA is involved.
Amb Wu elaborated: “Right now, the Chinese side id actively discussing with the South African government, about how to deliver more livelihood projects in Kgomo-Kgomo village that will truly benefit all the villagers, for example, building roads, clinics and schools and improving electricity and water supply infrastructure, etc.”
He consoled the villagers further when he invoked the spirit of the iconic Madiba, saying: “As former President Mr Nelson Mandela once said: Poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings.”
He pleaded with the people of Kgomo-Kgomo to join hands with the Embassy of China in SA . “Let us move towards the goal of no poverty, as we together advance the Poverty Alleviation Model Village project at Kgomo-Kgomo, and create a better tomorrow without poverty or hunger, but with common development and shared prosperity!”
The Embassy of China in SA will never be forgotten in Kgomo-Kgomo after an early 2024 Christmas that many hopes will not be the last.
