Northern Cape Prime Minister Zamani Saul announced during his state of the province address that a debt of Rand 150 million for former beneficiaries of the Prime Minister’s trust fund will be written off in April.

The trust fund was initially a loan offered to learners in the Northern Cape who qualified to attend higher education institutions but did not have the means to do so.

For years, former beneficiaries of the Northern Cape Premier’s Education Trust Fund have paid off debts amounting to hundreds of thousands of rand.

Saul says that is about to change. “The 150 million rand debt owed by the former beneficiaries will be canceled. So we reinvest that money for them, they don’t have to pay.

Former beneficiaries say the announcement eased a financial burden on them. “Since 2011, I pay this amount which I do not even know if it increases or decreases or if it remains the same”, says one of the beneficiaries.

Another beneficiary states: “I can’t believe I have paid this since 2013 when an amount of R400 was deducted every month. “

In the meantime, the Prime Minister announced the dissolution of the Education Trust Fund. Its functions will henceforth be carried out from the Prime Minister’s Office.

The Prime Minister of the North Cape, Zamani Saul, gives the speech on the state of the province: