Ngoni Dapira  
CHIPINGE’s Chibuwe High School received a consolation cash prize of $5000 at the second edition of the 2018 Agribank Schools Deposit competition national draw held recently in Harare.

Chibuwe was one of the 10 schools in the countrywide draw that won consolation prizes whilst the main prize of a BAIC Grand Tiger Single Cab vehicle was scooped by Chifamba High School with the first runner-up Norton Primary walking away with $50 000, the second runner up Mthombowesizwe Primary received $25 000 and third place finalist Cheziya Gowke High received $12,500.

Agribank chief executive officer Sam Malaba said they take pride in the competition which was conceptualized in 2016 and has grown to become one of their signature corporate social responsibility projects that aims at empowering the education sector. “An integral part of our DNA as Agribank is giving back to communities who support our business. Over the past two years the bank has elevated our unique community interventions and support programmes, particularly reflecting our ingrained belief that communities are our business and therefore an integral part of our mission,” said Malaba.

Malaba said in the schools deposit competition the qualifying schools are supposed to meet minimum deposit thresholds for both the national and provincial draws. He said the brainchild of the competition was not only to increase schools deposits with Agribank but to also give back to the community through the provincial draws.
“This is one such programme that has allowed Agribank to achieve simultaneously the mutually interrelated objectives of deposit mobilization as a national bank with 45 branches in all the country’s 10 provinces as well as investing back into our communities,” said the Agribank Ceo.

He said from an initial target of increasing school deposits by 35 percent per annum in 2016 the initiative was successful as schools deposits increased from $4.6 million to about $6.2 million by end of 2017. The bank is however now targeting to increase schools deposits by no less than 40 percent per annum going forward.

Malaba said for the provincial draws held early this year, the bank bankrolled $68 000 with each province in the country’s 10 provinces getting $8500 in cash prizes. In the provincial draws for Manicaland the first prize of $3,000 went to Matione B Primary, the second prize of $2,000 to Crossdale High and the third prize of $1,000 to Murambinda B Secondary. Madziwa Secondary, Manzvire Secondary, Muchena Secondary, Buhera High and Chikwekwete Primary each received consolation prizes of $500.

The acting permanent secretary in the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education Mr John Dewah applauded the initiative and said it encouraged consistent banking by schools and the prizes would go a long way to promote the education sector, especially for the rural schools.