Grahamstown Building Society (GBS) Mutual Bank held an award ceremony for 60 participants of the GBS financial skills course last week at the Raglan Road multi-purpose centre.
Grahamstown Building Society (GBS) Mutual Bank held an award ceremony for 60 participants of the GBS financial skills course last week at the Raglan Road multi-purpose centre.
“Our bank has developed much time and effort investing in this programme and uplifting the community,” said GBS Managing Director, Anton Vorster in his opening speech at the awards ceremony.
Cathy Braans, an independent public relations officer for GBS, said “Their aim was to equip people with the skills they require to manage their finances more effectively.”
Over 300 people have attended this course which has been presented twice a year for three years now. The participants attend in groups from different companies and organisations.
Mfuzo Dyira, a financial skills coordinator at GBS and a facilitator of this course, said that the course covers financial goals, budgeting, debt managing, saving and how to use an ATM .
Dyira mentioned that people who are interested have to be literate and earn an income because that is how the bank can assess that the knowledge is being implemented.
“The course is part of the bank’s corporate social responsibility which means that participants and organisations do not have pay GBS,” Dyira said.
“What we ask organisations or companies to do is to provide refreshments and a venue for their participants and to give a donation to a charity of their choice,” he added.
One of the participants, an administration assistant for Grahamstown Child Welfare, Neliswa Tshazibana said she was thankful for the course and she will share her financial skills with other people including her children.
Thembani Onceya got to participate in the course through the Makana Arts Council and said it benefitted him so much because previously he did not know about the importance of saving.
“Now I know that I have to write down my budget every month and look at interest rates before I take something on credit,” he said.
