EMALAHLENI – Learners at the South African Digital Content Organisation (SADICO), an Exxaro Mine – funded initiative, are reportedly crying for stipend payment which is three months overdue.
“We have not been paid since January,” SADICO learners cried. On average, SADICO has a rollout of about 400 learners in different municipalities in Mpumalanga and Limpopo and they are paid a monthly stipend of R3, 500. In Mpumalanga, these learners are found in municipalities such as eMalahleni, Victor Khanye, Govan Mbeki, Steve Tshwete and eMakhazeni.
The Exxaro Mine – funded initiative is aimed at supporting the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) for the country to find solutions on its socio-economic challenges and to decrease the alarming unemployment rate facing young people in the country by developing their skills. Exxaro Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mxolisi Mgojo, introducing the project in May 2019, said: “The project aims to support the youth in conjunction with business, government and labour as well as the SADICO and the Youth Exponential Development programmes (YDx).
Mogojo added that the YDx also targets youth with grade 12 in previously-disadvantaged communities such as those in Mpumalanga and Limpopo. Exxaro invested R40 million in SADICO programmes over a twelve-month period to provide digital technology both in theory and practice.
SADICO’s Director, Linda Khumalo, confirmed to the journalist here that there has been a delay of stipend payment and they are working around the clock to fix it. “Yes, it is true that SADICO has been unable to pay learners the stipend since January. We have currently run out of budget and been unable to raise sufficient funds to complete the project. We have informed the youth about this and it is pity that some of them seem to focus more on getting stipend instead of focusing on the training.
“Exxaro is not responsible for this but SADICO is. We are working on fixing this matter and we have apologized for the delay of stipend payments,” Khumalo said. Khumalo said the initial budget for project was R40 million but with many challenges facing the project, it ended up shooting up to R49.8 million. The project specialises on solar installations, web developments, DSTV installations and mobile phone repairs.
Exxaro’s Stakeholder Affairs spokesperson, Mzila Mthenjane, responding on the matter at hand, by saying: “Exxaro is fully aware of the situation that learners are not paid. We are currently engaging with SADICO to resolve the issue. We injected R40 million for the SADICO project.”
