from NJABULO BUTHELEZI in Durban
DURBAN, (CAJ News) – MTN South Africa Foundation has invested R6 million (US$319 809) in customised multimedia centres for special needs schools in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN).
The investment will go towards connecting students at Day Dawn Special School, S Dass Special School and VN Naik Special School.
However, persistent load shedding, battery theft and vandalism remain a hurdle to digital learning.
KZN saw 536 sites vandalised between January 2022 and February 2023. Some 203 of these were battery theft incidents.
Copper cables, diesel, generator batteries, alternators and even whole generators are stolen.
Rural remote areas are hit the most but sites in the eThekwini metro also affected.
Despite these challenges, MTN believes it is making solid progress against its broader R1 billion network resilience plans to reinforce the strength of the network to withstand the onslaught of crime affecting customers in KZN and across the county.
These investments are said to already show success and will enable significant improvement to network availability in the second half of the year, as more of the work rolls out.
Arthur Mukhuvha, General Manager at the MTN SA Foundation, commented.
“People who are connected are ultimately empowered. Children who are connected are uplifted,” he said.
“To this end, MTN remains committed to doing all it can to contribute meaningfully to helping alleviate the adverse impact of battery theft, vandalism and load shedding on the nation, it’s people and the economy, and we call on all South Africans to remain vigilant for any suspicious acts.”
– CAJ News