The community of Mukula near Thohoyandou will soon have an up-to-standard community hall, after the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund (NLDTF) issued at least R4 million for the building of a new hall in the village.

The sod-turning event was held last Tuesday. Those who attended the event included dignitaries such as Ms Florance Radzilani, Mailausumbwa Vho-Kennedy Tshivhase, Ms Mavhungu Luruli-Ramakhanya, and the chairperson of the National Lotteries Board (NLB), Prof Alfred Nevhutanda.

Nevhutanda said that the NLB was committed to uplifting communities, saying the NLB was always ready to engage local government in partnership with projects funded by the NLDTF to see that the communities were assisted better.

“When people play lotto, a percentage is put aside and directed towards community projects through our funding trust,” Nevhutanda said.

Mailausumbwa Vho-Kennedy Tshivhase said that he would appreciate it if the NLB continued to fund projects that uplifted the lives of the people in rural areas. “If you have projects which you wish to do for the people in this area, more especially agricultural and environmental projects, please do not hesitate to approach us, so we can see that we provide a piece of land for those projects,” he said. He added that projects of that nature would help alleviate poverty by means of job creation.

Vhavenda Vho-Takalani Thakhani of the Mukula community hailed the NLB as a body that knew the needs of South Africans who lived in poor rural areas. “There’s no better chance for us other than now to get assistance in having our own community hall,” he said. “It has been one of our major plans to have a hall, but we lacked funds. With a community hall, some of the government offices could centre in the hall to give people effective and speedy service delivery.”