High resolution colour photographs to illustrate this Press Release are available for downloading from the Gold Circle website.

How to locate photographic material:

1. Visit www.goldcircle.co.za

2. Click on "Picture Gallery"

3. Bottom right hand corner “Miscellaneous”

4. Select 28 September 2005

5. Click on the pictures you wish to download

PRESS RELEASE

28 SEPTEMBER 2005

GOLD CIRCLE DELIVERS BOOKS TO SCHOOLS

EVERY child at two schools in Inanda took a book home for keeps when schools closed for the holiday last week, thanks to a community empowerment partnership between horseracing company Gold Circle and the SA BookSmart Foundation.

Gold Circle has committed to using its transport fleet and double-decker bus to distribute container-loads of learning resources which have been shipped to SA BookSmart by overseas donors.

The partnership was cemented with the first delivery of books to Ziphembeleni High School and the neighbouring Mzomusha Primary School in Newtown, Inanda.

The Gold Circle fleet drew the attention of curious onlookers as it traveled through the sprawling township north of Durban recently.

The entourage was greeted by hundreds of singing children who cheered and ululated as the BookSmart and Gold Circle delegation were welcomed by school principals Mr V.V. Ngcobo and Mr Menzi Zulu and community leader Dr Ezra Mataba.

Handing over the books, Dr. Monica Mngadi, Managing Director of the SA BookSmart Foundation, urged learners to make use of every opportunity to improve themselves.

Dr Mngadi pledged to send a support team to the school to train learners and educators in the skills needed to establish and operate a library efficiently.

Gold Circle Communications Manager Praveen Naidoo said the company was committed to helping schools to develop to the point where they can contribute to the development of the communities around them. As these communities continue to grow, the people within them will be empowered with additional skills and resources and the vision of an economically liberated nation will be attained.

“This dream starts right here, in your own classrooms,” Naidoo told learners. “Gold Circle recognizes that you have many needs, and we are determined to use our resources to help you to overcome obstacles to your success.”

He said the fleet which would be deployed to take books to schools were normally used to transport thoroughbred racehorses between Gold Circle’s two training centres and the company’s three racecourses in KwaZulu-Natal.

Gold Circle will cover all the distribution costs in the three-year partnership.

After the official hand-over ceremony, learners assisted in off-loading the books and each pupil was given a book to take home. The school principals and learners thanked BookSmart and Gold Circle for their efforts in getting the much needed learning resources to the school.

ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND INFORMATION

1. An estimated 2 million South Africans are illiterate and there is a shortage of 12000 classrooms in KwaZulu-Natal alone. Addressing the education problem in South Africa is a massive one. Government has limited resources and it is widely recognised that contributions by the business sector are vital for success.

2. The SA BookSmart Foundation was launched in 1993 when Robert Brown, a businessman from the USA, became aware that schools in North Carolina were incinerating and shredding thousands of surplus textbooks to accommodate newer editions of reading material.

Having visited South Africa in the early 1980’s, Brown was aware of the illiteracy in South Africa and of the shortage of educational resources and decided to gather the surplus books in the US that were to be destroyed and ship them to South Africa for distribution to needy organisations.

3. The partnership between SA Booksmart and Gold Circle was launched at a function at Greyville Racecourse in Durban on Monday 19 September where Ethekwini Councillor B J Buthelezi delivered the keynote address on behalf of Mayor Obed Mlaba.

“A reading nation is a winning nation," he said. "It is imperative that we set up structures like this to promote reading. It is important for big business to support foundations like this one - to contribute to building a nation."

In his keynote address KwaZulu-Natal Director-General Professor Mandla Mchunu said that Government needed innovative partnerships to solve the many developmental challenges it faced.

He praised the joint venture between Gold Circle and SA Booksmart, saying the initiative was visionary.

"Reading allows us to occupy the positive mental space for our children," he said.

Addressing the gathering, Deputy Chairperson of Gold Circle, Mrs Manana Nhlanhla, pointed out that horseracing was not only about gambling.

"Gold Circle is not only about betting, winning and losing - it is also about getting closer to the community. Yes, we are about entertainment, leisure and lifestyle but we also understand the importance of supporting the community."

Chairman of the SA BookSmart Foundation, Mr Max Maisela, said: "I am very excited about this initiative and am impressed with Gold Circle's level of maturity in getting involved in a project in which I am emotionally involved. In the alleviation of poverty, bread is not enough. We need to develop the capacity to engage."

Captions to the photographs available at www.goldcircle.co.za :

Ref 01: (From Left) Councilor BJ Buthelezi (Ethekwini Municipality), Mr David Furness (Managing Director of Gold Circle) and Dr Monica Mngadi (Managing Director of SA BookSmart Foundation).

Ref 02: Mr Max Maisela – Chairman BookSmart Foundation.

Ref 03: Professor Mandla Mchunu – Director General KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government.

Ref 04: Sinje-Nje-Nje Choir

Ref 05: Pupils from Ziphembeleni Secondary School with (from left) Mr Zizi Ngoco (Principal), Dr Monica Mngadi (Managing Director - BookSmart) and Mr Praveen Naidoo (Communications Manager – Gold Circle).

Ref 06: Mr Praveen Naidoo (Communications Manager – Gold Circle), Mr Menzi Xulu (Principal of Mzomusha Primary School), Dr Monica Mngadi (Managing Director – BookSmart Foundation) and Mr Zizi Ngoco (Principal of Ziphembeleni Secondary School).

Ref 07: Pupils from Ziphembeleni Secondary School