The Motsepe Foundation has committed about R117.5-million to the Department of Basic Education (DBE) for sports and music development at schools across South Africa.

This commitment was made to Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga by the foundation’s cofounders, billionaire Patrice Motsepe and his wife, Dr Precious Motsepe, at the foundation’s annual general meeting (AGM) last month. Patrice Motsepe is the chairperson of mining majors Harmony Gold and African Rainbow Minerals (ARM).

The Motsepe Foundation AGM was held in conjunction with the AGM of ARM’s Broad-Based Economic Empowerment Trust.

The donation will be used to fund the development of football and netball, as well as choral and traditional music programmes, which, Motshekga highlighted, play an important role in the development of children and would result in the growth of communities’ future role models.

The funds will be disbursed from 2016 to 2025.

Over the first five years, R55-million will be allocated to the Kay Motsepe Schools Football Cup tournament, the ABC Motsepe Schools Choral and Traditional Eisteddfod and the Kay Motsepe Schools Netball Cup tournament, which will be open to the 25 000-odd public and private schools across the country.

The balance of R62.5-million will be spent from 2021 to 2025.

Motshekga pointed out that the Kay Motsepe Schools Football Cup had been held for ten years and had the largest cash prize for a schools’ football tournament in the world, with the winning school receiving R1-million from the R3.4-million on offer for the top-performing schools.

She noted that the South African Football Association (Safa) had been supporting and partnering with the foundation and the DBE to further develop schools’ football.

Discussions between the DBE and the foundation were currently ongoing to determine the prize money allocation for winners of the various categories of the ABC Motsepe Schools Choral and Traditional Eisteddfod, as well as for the Kay Motsepe Schools Netball Cup.

“Sport and cultural activities in education help advance social cohesion and are an integral part of the holistic educational development of our children,” Motshekga said.

She added that the donation would “go a long way towards advancing the development of learners” and pointed out that research had shown that schools which had been successful at sport also tended to have higher academic results, while some of the best schools in the country had strong choral music programmes.