Municipality makes 300 upwardly mobile

PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - Three hundred applicants filled the Piesang River Community Hall on Thursday 17 November to enlist for a driver's licence drive launched by the Bitou Municipality as part of a youth upliftment programme.

Each participant in the R1m programme will receive 16 driving lessons from George-based Victoria Driving School, which will see them instructed to complete their learner's licence and Code 8 and Code 10 driver's licence.

Over a thousand applications were received from "deserving young people from all wards, and they were rigorously reviewed against a set of criteria to choose the final three hundred recipients," said a statement from Bitou Municipality.

Bitou Ward 1 Councillor Jessica Kamkam said because of the plight of the youth today and high unemployment, the council decided to "go one step further" and provide this opportunity.

"You all have careers and dreams ahead of you - and this opportunity will allow you to achieve your dream. See this as an opportunity for your future - and don't disappoint us," said Kamkam.

Municipal delegates and community leaders at the induction programme of the 300 successful applicants who will undergo a driving instruction course of 16 lessons each.