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The visionary Cde Msipa launched a scholarship fund — CG Msipa Scholarship Trust — to assist a few orphans and less privileged children in the Midlands province when he was still governor.
On a recent windy Monday afternoon, Chronicle took time to visit the politician at his new base, a single-roomed office housed at a building situated along First Street in the city of Gweru, to establish what inspired him to assist society’s down-trodden and the less privileged.
“What inspired me to come up with the programme was that I observed that a number of children were failing to pursue their dreams of attaining university education owing to lack of funds. The Presidential Scholarship that was coordinated by my office when I was Governor could only cover a limited number of students. I then decided to launch the CG Msipa Scholarship to assist my fellow countrymen attain their dreams. I told myself that I should not just go home and relax without doing something to assist the needy. This way I will be contributing towards building a better Zimbabwe by assisting future generations,” said the humble veteran politician.
Predictably, there were many people standing in queues outside his office, waiting to be assisted in one way or another.
Among those in the queue were the elderly, the middle aged and youths. The former Midlands Governor said most people in the queue were parents and guardians while the younger ones were aspiring university students and some primary and secondary school pupils.
It became apparent once the news crew gained entry into Cde Msipa’s office that the number of people who needed assistance far outweighed the available resources.
Cde Msipa acknowledged the overwhelming turnout of people who needed assistance in paying their fees.
He said when he launched the CG Msipa Scholarship Fund in 2009, the initial idea was to assist only a few pupils in Midlands but in recent months the scholarship fund was attracting applicants from all the corners of the country.
“You cannot turn away children who need assistance to pursue their studies. The numbers are, however, overwhelming and it is increasingly becoming difficult to cater for everyone. There is need to engage the corporate world and other stakeholders to come on board and help change the lives of our youths for the better,” said the philanthropic Cde Msipa.
What quickly catches the attention of a visitor to Cde Msipa’s office is the humble environs where such an important programme is being undertaken.
There is no computer, printer or any other machine that technology has availed to modern offices to boost efficiency and reduce labour input.
Cde Msipa’s office is furnished with an old table, a couple of chairs, file cabinet and two trays full of documents.
The environment does little to dampen the spirit of the nationalist as he attends to the pupils, students and their parents with such great zeal that belies his age.
Cde Msipa said the biggest number of students getting assistance under the CG Msipa Scholarship Trust were studying with the Midlands State University.
“At the moment, the CG Msipa Scholarship Trust is assisting students who are pursuing studies at almost all the country’s universities.
“There are students under the trust fund at the University of Zimbabwe, National University of Science and Technology, Africa University, Great Zimbabwe University, among others. The greatest number of students under this scholarship trust is, however, at the Midlands State University,” he said.
He said so far, more than 40 students countrywide were now pursuing various university degree programmes under the CG Msipa Scholarship Trust.
Cde Msipa said he was hoping to officially make the scholarship trust a national trust fund by coming up with a board of directors.
He said the idea was to make the fund complement President Mugabe’s popular Presidential Scholarship Scheme.
“I think this scholarship can grow to the extent of complementing the Presidential Scholarship Scheme which also has too many people seeking assistance under it. I am considering coming up with a board of directors for the CG Msipa Scholarship Trust. I wouldn’t mind changing the name of the scholarship because my main aim is to see to it that the trust assists the less privileged and help them reach maximum levels of education,” he said.
Owing to the limited funds and resources, Cde Msipa does most of the work at the office. The office is well-organised with everything neatly arranged, proving that the person manning it knows how to go about his business.
Cde Msipa’s experience in dealing with the public as a former civil servant and Government minister has also proved handy in the running of the trust on professional lines.
He dealt with the public for so many years, having served for 10 years as a teacher, between 1950 and 1979, before serving as a minister between 1980 and 2008. The former Midlands Governor also sat on the board of various companies during his heyday.
Cde Msipa is a commercial farmer who has no other businesses outside farming.
The former Governor spends most of his time at his humble office listening to sad stories that make the diary of most orphans and less privileged children’s daily lives.
“On average, I receive more than 10 applications from students on a daily basis. I also receive very sad stories on a daily basis from people seeking assistance. Some of these stories are so touching that one could easily break down, if he or she is not strong,” he said.
Cde Msipa appealed to the corporate world to assist with pledges and donations towards the CG Msipa Scholarship Trust.
He said this would help the country build a better future with qualified human resources.
“Zimbabwe is rated as one of the best in terms of literacy in Africa. This, however, is not enough when we do not build our human resource further than just being literate. I therefore appeal to the corporate world to kindly donate to the CG Msipa Trust so that we build a better future for our country,” he said.
Cde Msipa expressed gratitude to the Zvishavane-based giant platinum mine, Mimosa Mining Company, for injecting $50 000 into the CG Msipa Scholarship Trust. He said the money helped him kick-start assisting students from the country’s various provinces by paying their fees.
To bolster the trust’s coffers, the former Midlands governor has approached several companies in the province to come on board and help turn around the lives and fortunes of Zimbabwe’s less privileged youths and orphans. He said some of the companies approached were already contributing funds directly to the CG Msipa Scholarship Trust. “At the moment Unki Mines is assisting two students to pursue their degree programme studies. A local supermarket, DCK, is also assisting one girl after I approached them and recommended that they assist the students,” he said.
Cde Msipa said his desire to assist the less privileged started way back, during the liberation struggle. The nationalist believes education is an empowering tool that is akin to the country’s indigenisation and economic empowerment programme.
Cde Msipa was part of the team that championed the first phase of indigenisation and economic empowerment programme when he was Minister of State for Indigenisation and Privatisation around 1995, hence his commitment to empower youths through giving them a decent education.
“I am not a rich man but my heart bleeds whenever I see my kinsmen suffer. I am eager to uplift the people of Zimbabwe’s lives. My concern started during the liberation struggle. I would go around the globe sourcing scholarships for Zimbabweans who would want to pursue their studies abroad. I also championed the now famous indigenisation and empowerment programme when I was the Minister of State responsible for Indigenisation and Privatisation,” he said.
Cde Msipa said he would soon organise some fund-raising dinners to raise funds for the many people seeking assistance under the CG Msipa Scholarship Trust.
Such philanthropic work, one might say, was last witnessed in the days of the late Jairos Jiri who went out of his way to assist disabled members of the society.
One can only hope that the corporate world would come on board to render support to a cause as noble as the CG Msipa Scholarship Trust.
Online Reporter