ICONIC

• ZaNtsi Communication Solutions (Pty) Ltd • 2012/143311/07 • 37 The Row •

• Muizenberg • 7945 • info@zantsi.com

CON TENTS

ON THE COVER

• VOL 01 • R 23.95 (inclVAT)

MAPHEFO ANNO-FREMPONG Chief Executive Officer, Teta

06 10 16 26 30

COLLABORATIVE EFFORTS

FOREWORD »D eputy Minister in the Presidency for Women, Prof. Hlengiwe Mkhize

• Power On Heels • Cape Nature sustainable future • 10 years Youth development with NYDA

DRIVING PROGRESS THROUGH COLLABORATIVE EFFORTS » T ransport and education training authority T.E.T.A – heart and skills innovation

POWER ON HEELS

» C onserving nature for a sustainable future – Cape Nature »W omen empowerment in motion – Nissan » Growing South Africa together through skills and development – CATHSSETA

PROPONENT OF YOUTH EMPOWERMENT

»S IFISO MTSWENI, NYDA Executive Chairman

YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR FROM GUGULETHU, CAPE TOWN

» T HABISO MOKOMELE, founder of T-Squared Clothing

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EMPOWERING THE YOUTH THROUGH SKILLS DEVELOPMENT At Exxaro, we believe in powering possibility for the youth by creating platforms to develop and harness their business skills, particularly in the fields of digital technology and 4th industrial revolution related skills. Our Youth Exponential Development programme, in partnership with SADICO, plays a role in the growth of the youth in the communities in which Exxaro operates, and in turn, the economy at large.

www.exxaro.com

CRE DITS

About ICONIC

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n icon being an important and enduring symbol in communities, one who is the object of great doings & devotion, iconic journal aims to highlight those organisations and individuals who’ve made a significant effort in charting a positive direction in their respective fields with the ultimate goal of empowering & playing a role in the growth of the individual aspirer and economy at large

EDITOR

Zanele L. Huna JOURNALIST

Ratlou Mabula RESEARCH

Ntsikelelo Nkwelo ART DIRECTOR

Tariq Cassim DESIGN

Tariq Cassim, Ntsikelelo Magwaca DISTRIBUTION

Ntsikelelo Nkwelo ADVERTISING SALES

Zanele L. Huna MARKETING

Tebogo L. Huna C.E.O

Zanele L. Huna

Square Back, Perfect Bound, iConic journal intelligently uses informative articles to highlight a transforming business and government landscape, showcasing to its readership articles that feature interviews with iconic leaders & aspirers, profiles pictorials that motivate and inform the forward thinking citizen of the world.

The publication speaks directly to leaders in business & government, hosting on its covers icons of business, government, style, arts, BBBEE, sport, transformation and trend setters.

The publication offers the perfect platform to the business community and government to showcase and communicate with their target markets strategy, service delivery, brand activities, target engagement. This is a journal, cleverly spread for a full year’s effective exposure, comes out 3 times a year, thereby giving clients longevity in exposure by having a shelf life of 4 months, ranging as follows: April/May/June/July – August/Sept/Oct/Nov – Dec/Jan/Feb/Marc REGULAR FEATURES: Thought Leadership, Transformation, Empowerment, Entrepreneurship, Government Leadership, Business Trends & Developments, Access to Finance, Wealth Creation & Sustainability, CSI, Youth Development, SMME Development, Education & Skills Development, Women Leadership (Imbokodo Zesizwe), Social & Economic Development, Infrastructure Development, Agriculture, Utilities, IT – Artificial Intelligence, Energy, Innovation, Trends, Opulence, Style & Lifestyle, Sport, Entertainment, Motivation

C.O.O

Ntsikelelo Nkwelo

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FORE WO RD

Deputy Minister in the Presidency for Women PROF. HLENGIWE MKHIZE

Iconic women are inspirational and motivate the youth to be dream catchers

A DREAM TO BECOME AN ICON IS AN ACT OF COURAGE I

n modern societies, women often have to break patriarchal norms and standards by pursuing a transformative and entrepreneurial agenda by being competetive.

Iconic women are inspirational and motivate the youth to be dream catchers, thus it is of high significance that this journal, ICONIC, led by a woman is being launched in Women’s Month.

Zanele Huna hereself is a

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dreamer who has given birth to a digitial and print communication platform which is the must to have in every household and on each coffee table.

To have it named ICONIC, is, like the women of South Africa, naturally iconic.

The selection and presentatio of icons is innovative and futuristic as it is set to often profile those who are recognized as the first but also the upcomiing and unsung heros and heroins, the doers of great things. ☑

E DIT O RS NO TE

EDITORS NOTE WELCOME TO THE VERY FIRST ISSUE OF ICONIC

Editor & CEO ZANELE L. HUNA

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ournal, 100% black owned & female led; the publication for the Forward Thinking Global Citizen, for those who have vision and a positive outlook to the future.

It has been my dream for as long as I can remember to own my own journal and showcase iconic individuals, projects, structures and highlight a transforming business & government landscape. ICONIC has given me the platform to do just that, the beauty about the journal is that, it also gives the platform to Corporate Sector and Government to showcase their strategies, projects and programmes.

This debut issue, coming out in August, with the Foreword written

by Honourable Deputy Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth & Persons with Disabilities – Prof. Hlengiwe Mkhize has been dedicated to Women in Leadership positions and Youth Empowerment, with iconic interviews conducted with several women of fortitude from different walks of life and different industries. The ICONIC Women profiled in this issue include our Front Cover Profile, Maphefo Anno-Frempong, Felleng Yende, Dr Razeena Omar, Keitumetse Lebaka and three dynamic women from Nissan South Africa.

In order to look at the challenges facing our youth and issues pertinent their development, ICONIC took to a special interview with the Executive Chairman of the National Youth Development Agency, Sifiso Mtsweni. We also had a discussion with a young entrepreneur by the name of Thabiso Mokomele from the dusty streets of Guguletu, who is hard at work building his business and showcasing a different breed of youth that is unspoken of from this corner of South Africa.

Putting together this launch issue of ICONIC came with its challenges, however, being part of a South Africa at work for a better life, interested in sharing

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a more positive narrative about this beautiful country; it has been an absolute joy and a learning experience. Reading through the various interviews with the women leaders and the Executive Chairman of the NYDA, one realises that a common denominator to the growth and development of our country is Skills Development coupled with industry cooperation so as to ensure that skills development is on par with industry requirements.

Proudly, this journal has been put together with no funding at all, however, through the support of organisations like Nissan SA, NYDA, NEF, etc; we have managed to publish this beautiful journal which speaks to captains of industry, leaders in business and government and those who aspire towards leadership positions.

A great big thank you to you, our reader for taking time out to read ICONIC; and to all the organisations who have supported this journal and the black child’s dream. We are humbled and filled with gratitude; we hope to grow with you and see you in the next edition of ICONIC. ☑ Zanele Huna

I N DU S T RY S EC TO R

COVER F EATURE

MAPHEFO ANNOFREMPONG Chief Executive Officer, T.E.T,A

I find that there are generally perceptions about what people think women can and cannot do.

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DRIVING DRIVING PROGRESS THROUGH C O V ER F EATU RE

COLLABORATIVE

EFFORTS EFFORTS

F

irst of all, a very big congratulations on a very successful, well attended intervention and I can safely say a very successful intervention: Yes I am very pleased at the outcome and the fact that the women showed up is humbling and this shows that women are hungry for more knowledge and how to share experiences

with Educational Programmes to be run countrywide. However, the fascination I had with transport came from being a beneficiary of the transport sector from home.

I am what I am and went to school because of the Taxi industry, my father was a taxi operator and it wasn’t by choice but through retrenchment and my family galvanised resources to assist him in getting into the industry.

Had it not been for the transport industry, I don’t think I would have been You have been with TETA since here today. The second trait that got 2008, before then what did you do me here is that I am an educationist by and what fascinated you with the profession and I specialise in curriculum transport sector in particular? design and teacher development initiatives. Anything to do with Skills Before I joined TETA in April 2008, I Development, however, when I was was actually working for the National in education I was faced with limited Department of Transport and had career growth obstacle and being a been performing two roles in the naturally resilient person I then left the Department, however, my entry into the Transport Industry was through the Department and joined the Department of Transport with the intention of Road Safety Directorate. bringing my Education experience, I was the Manager in charge of not knowing it would be creating an Pedestrian Safety Education and it was all about how to assist vulnerable people opportunity for me to be in this career for as long as I have been.was exposed to navigate with vehicular transport and still arrive home safely. I had to come up in the North West Department of 11

Transport as a Manager to a variety of roles ranging from fleet management, traffic law, mechanical side, even road construction, community safety, Finance, HR, Supply Chain etc.

That multifaceted role helped me a lot to just gain a perspective of what a Transport Department does, from that experience; I then got promoted back to the National Department as the Chief Director for Road Transport Regulation.

Maybe by design or how I got into my various roles, I got exposed to turn around, because when I moved back to the National Department of Transport, the Department was now establishing an entity called Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) so I had to now manage the transfer of all those role to the RTMC. When the opportunity arose from TETA looking for a CEO, I took it out of a dare because I had never been in an interview for a CEOs job, I thought to myself; I wonder what they ask them and I applied just to see how it would turn out. I sat in that interview for about an hour, several

COVER F EATURE

questions thrown at me, however, my background as an educationist, combined with my exposure in transport just made me the perfect fit for the Transport SETA. My entire experience just marriedtogether perfectly for the role that I am in now. I have found that there’s a lot that needed and needs to be done especially with regards to transformation of the sector, women representation and the role young people play especially as they are in the majority in the sector.

We have made strides in the right direction; however, much still needs to be done.

What do you find commonly challenging as the leader at the helm of TETA? Commonly they are two-fold; some are perception based, stereotypes & bias. I find that there are generally perceptions about what people think women can and cannot do. Some perceptions are about young people, how reckless they are and how they move from one career to another and the fact that they are millennials and most are not even based on any empirical evidence.

So all in all, I have found that bias plays a major role in challenges we face, so much that, one can ask whether it is because of these challenges I have identified that people don’t approach us. Attached to the bias, I have seen another barrier being a sense of not belonging. Young people want to get into the transport industry without understanding what each job entails. A typical example, we talk about Ocean Economy, we talk about taking young people to the sea and we forget that South Africa is part of a Global village and a child might think I want to go to Maritime because I am told it pays much, rather than wanting to enter the field because of a passion for it. Starting at the bottom base jobs in Maritime may have proven to be challenging to our young ones as they are academically educated in most instances.

In such a globally competitive environment it puts a South African child at a disadvantage.

The disadvantage is two-fold, they

don’t have a reference point in the industry as they are previously disadvantaged in SA, but, they get into a world where they have to compete at a certain standard that assumes everything is the same and they struggle to cope. Then you find nations that are Maritime strong like Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines; from childhood, they understand Maritime, they have a work ethic that is different.

You combine youth from those countries with a South African youth, disadvantage to our youth.

The same applies to aviation, difficult to get into, highly regulated with certain standards expected and then you find our young ones unable to cope, it’s almost as if they have to deal with a lot of disadvantages before they get on the same platform.

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However, the world doesn’t wait for South Africa to be on the same platform, we compete globally, so you are expected to perform in accordance with the global standards.I believe, some are more about people selfmastering themselves, some are more societal and some are more systematic. I have also found that people are their own worst enemies.

The other challenge faced by the industry is skills and competency shortages which can only be rectified when the Universities and TVET Colleges work together with industry by ensuring the workplace is training friendly. Currently, learning institutions have their curriculum, the industry has their expectations, however, one finds that there is a disconnect between learning institutions and industry.

I took 50 unemployed graduates

C O V ER F EATU RE

from TVET Colleges to China & to give them work exposure. We found companies that also operate in SA work very closely with TVET Colleges.

They have learning blocks in their factories where they would bring the latest vehicle for the students to learn at the latest innovation and technological level that is required by industry, therefore ensuring that TVET College students are industry ready and capable when they graduate.

In China, the absorption rate is 97% but in SA the unemployment rate is very high yet the absorption rate is very low. So, it is very important for industry to be involved in the set-up of the curriculum to curb the disconnect that exists in South Africa. I see it as a systematic challenge that exists at a macro-economic level where there needs to be close collaboration from

to ensure they do not have issues with starting at the lowest level?

It would require a concerted effort by everyone; everyone has the ability to self-master themselves. Attitude all role-players in the different parts of takes a long time to develop and to the economy; marrying education and settle. An example, I always say that I bringing it closer to the work place. can take anyone with no skills, as long How that can be achieved, still trying to as they have a good attitude because explore how best we can bring such a you can develop their skills. model back to SA. Perhaps the SETAs The countries that are doing well, can broker the partnership between they start them young with vocational industry and institutions of learning, learning. We would go a long way if there’s room for exploration there. we stopped categorising intelligence With our young ones not being according to academics. No country able to match up performance in can survive on academics only; we accordance with global expectation, need technically inclined people to build could it be safe to say that it is an the economy. Most companies that attitude issue, a mental block our are major role-players in economies young ones are experiencing. are built on technical skills. Technical & vocational skills need to be made a Could it be that the transformation priority & not a second option for us needs to happen in the mind for to win the battle. We have a decade them to commit and perform at the of artisan programmes where we go global expectations? to all the provinces in the colleges How do we transform the mind of and schools showcasing to youth the the South African young one in order benefits of vocational learning.

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COVER F EATURE

We’re making those small strides, but it will require us to stop categorising intelligence in accordance with academics when there are other skills sets pivotal to the building of the economy. To elaborate a bit further, if you look at the State Owned Enterprises, Eskom, Transnet, PRASA are all technical skills inclined and in the past those were the SOEs that government used to bring skills into the country and depend on its own home-bred skills to build the economy.

Now, we need to understand that any country that focuses on academic education to the exclusion of technical education becomes a consumer and not a producer. When your country is a consumer you reverse the roles and put your economy in jeopardy.

If you were to talk about your achievements since joining TETA & some of those you still wish to reach, what would name them as?

The key one to me has been to stabilise the institution, it went through its disruption which I didn’t view as a negative.

One of the key achievements, after going through a stage where mistakes were made; we worked together and focussed on how things could be done differently for the benefit of our stakeholders.

The important thing was to ensure that the institution recognised that it could get capacity from within.

We didn’t have to use consultants to raise our performance to the level we have managed to bring it to, we made use of internal capacity, and having gotten the Transport industry to work with us was a major achievement. In four years we gained stakeholder confidence through active engagement, participation and dialogue. We realised that we were not going to achieve within a short space of time, however, as we went on, working together consolidating on the things we did right, we only grew to greater heights. There’s a saying I like, “nothing for us without us”, that speaks to how I took engagement with stakeholders seriously and the involvement of my staff members.☑

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I ASKED THEM THREE QUESTIONS NAMELY; 1. What are we doing well?

2. What are we not doing well which we should stop doing?

3. What are the new things to add that stakeholders thought would add value?

We didn’t shy away from our inefficiencies.

STRA PL I NE

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E MP OW ERMENT

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EM POW ERMENT

A

POWER OF HEELS

misinformed individual would say that women today are privileged, especially when looking at where women’s struggle for equal rights comes from. In the past, black women had to suffer racial oppression under the apartheid regime coupled with unfair labour practice, while at home they had to suffer patriarchal oppression & dominance. It was the patriarchal dominance that levelled the playing field for both black and white women in South Africa, leading them to join forces in solidarity for each other’s rights.

In retaliation to the extreme levels of oppression women had to endure in the past, on 9 August 1956, more than 20 000, brave South African women of all races, led by Lillian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph, Rahima Moosa & Sophia Williams, took to a march to the Union Buildings in Pretoria. An ICONIC march that would be commemorated annually, to ensure we are reminded of the struggles of the women that paved the way for women today.

Fast forward to today, the spirit that lived in those heroic women who took part in that march in 1956 still lives in the women of today. South Africa today is no longer under the evil rule of apartheid; however, the country faces a different kind of struggle, patriarchy.

South African women now face much societal oppression as we live in a male testosterone driven country. Young girls are facing violence in schools, in their private lives, even in their homes. That is a very sad state of affairs which cannot be ignored and needs to be dealt with strategically as these young girls are the ones who have to take leadership roles in 17

the future.

Our government has done much work to put policies in place, to assist in the protection and development of women in society and in the workplace.

This is evident when looking at the representation of women in parliament.

Even with all those positive changes, does it mean that the struggle for woman’s total emancipation is complete?

Can we, with ease say that we have sufficient women in leadership positions, while in those leadership positions; it is not certain whether these women have full decision making authority?

Within findings of the 2018 Grant Thornton International Business Report focused specifically on Women In Business, it is documented in an article

by Lee-Anne Bac in bbrief pubication that although almost one third (29%) of senior roles in South Africa are now filled by women, one in five local businesses (20%) still have no women at all in senior positions.

Today still, the struggle for woman’s liberation in the workplace and society knows no colour, it is a common struggle to do away with patriarchal norms and allow women to take their rightful place in business, government and society. The time for change is now. ICONIC took to discussions with several iconic women in leadership positions in SA, in a special ICONIC feature named, Power On Heels which includes our Cover Feature, where we showcase the true potential of women in leadership roles, the benefit to the organisations they serve as they allow women to unleash the power within.

Zanele L. Huna

N AT UR E

CONSERVING NATURE FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

How would you describe Cape Nature’s effectiveness in fulfilling its role as the organisation responsible for nurturing the Western Cape’s biodiversity over the past 20 years?

This year marks a special commemoration in that Cape Nature celebrates 20 years in existence.

The two decades were abounding with exceptional successes, but also some challenges. I am of the opinion that we built a credible brand to conserve the unique biodiversity of the Western Cape, which includes the Cape Floral Region that was declared a World Heritage Site (WHS) by the United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organisation in 2004.

WHS aims to protect areas of outstanding natural, historical & cultural value, and the Cape Floral Region is one of the world’s most unique regions in terms of plant diversity, with 70% of the plant species which do not grow anywhere else in the world. Cape Nature is mandated with the important responsibility to manage, conserve & promote these natural and heritage assets.

The entity has maintained and accumulated an astounding expansion of the protected estate through various means, especially through encouraging private land owners living on biodiversity-worthy land to conserve & manage their land in a sustainable manner. We have also excelled in guarding the

CEO of Cape Nature DR RAZEENA OMAR

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Western Cape’s unique biodiversity; in providing the public with pristine nature escapes; & in significantly positively impacting on the socioeconomic status of families through job creation opportunities. Although our mandate is to conserve, we recognise that the environment offers opportunity for sustainable livelihoods. One of the success stories is the good relationship Cape Nature fosters with communities adjacent to its protected areas where local communities harvest plant material in a sustainable manner for their benefit.

The Western Cape being one of the world’s most beautiful coastal destinations with out of this world scenery, how important is biodiversity conservation & how does it feed into tourism in the province?

The Cape Floral Kingdom is one of six floral kingdoms in the world, & is literally found nowhere else on the planet. This magnifies our enormous responsibility to ensure the conservation of this unique floral kingdom, other associated life-forms & the cultural heritage associated

NATU RE

with this unique landscape. However, careful management of our natural assets present opportunities for access to opportunities for tourism to contribute to the economy & create work opportunities for rural communities living around our nature reserves. Over the past five years, the implementation of ecotourism infrastructure programme created many SMME & job creation opportunities, thus growing our revenue to augment our funding for our conservation endeavours.

In 2016, you were one of the recipients of a Lifetime Conservation Achiever Award at the Wildlife & Environment Society of SA. What did it mean to you as the leader of Cape Nature?

I have a passion for conservation & for environmental education / advocacy work. In 2003 I received a Gold medal from WESSA for my contribution in the field of Environmental Education. This award came very unexpectedly, I guess recognition of one’s contribution towards the work they enjoy is always heartening & affirming, especially in a leadership position.

How do you intend to educate the general public about the importance of caring for nature?

A multi-prong approach is key.

While educating our children, the next generation, to better understand the need to respect & care for the environment is crucial, there is also the importance to ensure that we need to factor in the protection of the planet into policies, planning & implementation of all decisions we make.

As a woman in a male dominated field, do you have aspirations to inspire women, more so young women for follow in your footsteps?

Although international conventions such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) recommends that authorities consult women in policy development, & encourages the participation of women in conservation initiatives at all levels, it is evident from the work that we 19

do in the landscape that women often have less access to natural resources than men & are less involved in decision making initiatives.

Hence, there is a desperate need to mainstream gender equality in nature conservation. These gender inequalities restrict the economic independence of women, keeping the poverty stricken, & undermines sustainable development.

Future prospects for Dr Omar and Cape Nature?

I have concluded a full term of five years at the helm of Cape Nature, & the Board renewed my contract for another five years. The entity is in the process of concluding a major restructuring of the way we operate, to ensure our readiness to protect & conserve our environment for resilience & sustainability for the next 20 years. This is indeed a journey that I am very excited to embark upon. ☑ Zanele L. Huna

ST RAPL INE

WOMEN empowerment FOR THIS WOMEN’S DAY, NISSAN CELEBRATES FEMALE DRIVERS, BUT IMPORTANTLY THE BRAINS AND HANDS BEHIND VEHICLES THAT ROLL OFF THE NISSAN SOUTH AFRICA PLANT IN ROSSLYN

IN MOTION Tell me about yourself and your role at Nissan.

My name is Mrs. Chanetelle Mashego and I am the senior manager in charge of rolling out the locally produced Nissan Navara that will be manufactured at the Rosslyn plant.

Earlier this year, Nissan announced it would begin production of the Nissan Navara locally. It’s been a highly anticipated announcement, even the honourable President Cyril Ramaphosa joined in the celebration of the announcement.

Not only will we be creating new jobs, but it’s a huge investment by the company that illustrates their trust and belief in our plant.

CHANTELLE MASHEGO

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MO BI L I TY

LIZETTE

processes and more onsite at CRAUSE the dealerships.

I also play a role in the skills development of these dealers across Sub-Saharan Africa.

Tell me about yourself.

My name is Lizette Crause, and I’m the general manager of customer quality, network development and skills development at Nissan South Africa. I report directly to our managing director and am responsible for all things related to our dealer network. This means ensuring their profitability, returns, performance management, visual identity,

Walk us through your career.

Over my 11 years at Nissan, I’ve worked hard to grow through the ranks from a contracted engineer to holding roles in vehicle quality, parts quality and more. In that time, I’ve also held international roles including a stint at Nissan Spain, returning to South Africa with new skills and experience.

For the new Navara project, I will lead the engineering, quality and facility department to ensure all milestones are met. This includes ensuring suppliers and functional area managers are in check, maintaining budget and timelines, quality standards and regulations are met.

As part of this effort, I’m also excited to implement skills development

How long have you worked at Nissan and what is your professional background?

I’m lucky to say I’ve been with Nissan for the past 19 years in various roles and departments. From roles in the regional office that oversees Africa, Middle East & India, to other roles throughout the dealer network and finance, I’m very proud of the career I’ve built with Nissan.

What does women’s empowerment mean to you?

Women empowerment for me is about aspiration and trust. It is inspiring to see women empowered and authorized to run businesses

or business units. It might not be easy, but the diversity we see in business now should inspire women to draw on their strengths, develop more confidence and take actions to reach higher. We have it, all we need to succeed is within us, and the environment is increasingly open to us, so let’s claim it and enjoy it.

How do I celebrate Women’s Month?

To celebrate Women’s Month, I engage with other women to campaign for gender equality and to encourage women to speak out and be heard as leaders in all aspects of life. I myself enjoy life and being a woman each and every day.

That said, Women’s Month is less an annual event for me, and more a re-confirmation of what we need to do every day: all of us need to share our enthusiasm and take actions to reach our dreams.

How do you celebrate Women’s Day? I prefer to celebrate throughout the What does uplifting women year by motivating and gathering mean to you? women to share advice – not only to It’s all about sisterhood. Within the give, I love to learn from my fellow manufacturing industry in particular, women as well. women are heavily outnumbered by I also celebrate my mother as often as men. As a result, possible. She was a single parent and I make time to mentor fellow ladies in through pure self-determination created the workplace, not only to further their a path to become a chief nurse. She’s careers, but also make an impact in my “Shero!” their communities, health and amongst family. I believe women’s empowerment Any final thoughts? means redefining the way people Women are strong and always think about women, demonstrating determined to make life better for women can do more – even hold the next generation – that’s why the the responsibility to bring the muchfuture is female! anticipated Navara to life in South Africa. for employees, driving forward their development.

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MOBIL ITY

GORBUNOV

LIZ

Tell me about yourself.

My name is Liz Gorbunov, and I’m the Chief Marketing Manager for Light Commercial Vehicles & Sporty Utility Vehicle at Nissan South Africa. In my role I am responsible for overseeing and implementing brand position towards Nissan’s ingenuity through Nissan Intelligent Mobility (NIM).

NIM technologies are features which (like in the launch of new Nissan Navara Stealth) includes Moving Object Detection, the Intelligent Key System, the Intelligent 4x4 System – which assists drivers in smooth cornering by adjusting power output to the front and rear wheels – and Hill Start Assistance.

The Navara Stealth also comes with Intelligent Around View Monitor, which uses four cameras positioned at different points around the pickup to give the driver a 360-degree, aerial view of his vehicle and its surrounds, very exciting features for the avid roadster!

How long have you worked at Nissan and what is your professional background?

I’ve been at Nissan going on three-anda-half years now, every year the role evolves to learnings that are priceless.

What does women’s empowerment mean to you?

Women empowerment for me is about the objective to advance women into leadership positions at Nissan and across the automotive industry. This month reminds me of the thrill to share that women have a goal in sight to focus on providing opportunities, access and growth for women across all levels.

With that, I am pleased to have

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seen the South African narrative continue to foster an environment that is both safe and conducive for women of all backgrounds to enjoy equal opportunity to grow, lead and succeed. Women should feel passionate about, and committed to, ensuring women feel motivated and empowered to strive for, and become industry leaders.

At Nissan I’m constantly learning to enable a networking and mentorship, encourage advocacy and sponsorship, provide learning opportunities, help to recruit and retain employees, and ultimately provide business and cultural value.

Today’s social climate demands companies and organizations recognize inequality of all kinds and rise to make changes to positively impact their employees. As we ask our clients to act with certainty, we want to continue to lead by example in a positive way. ☑

The young, dynamic, result-orientated leader goes with the motto of ‘doing things right the first time around’ and this she believes is possible if one is determined to learn and develop himself/herself to being a better person.

Appointed CATHSSETA’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) by the Minister of Higher Education and Training in January 2019, Ms Keitumetse Lebaka has occupied a number of strategic roles at CATHSSETA leading to her recent appointment as the CEO. From Learning Programmes Manager, she progressed to climb the corporate ladder. In 2016 she was appointed Executive Manager for Skills Development.

She continued to oversee, give counsel and support the business unit by ensuring that CATHSSETA delivers quality service in accordance with Service Level Agreements and stakeholder expectations. At the time of her appointment as Executive Manager for Skills Development, CATHSSETA was undergoing significant changes but it was during this trying time that Ms Lebaka thrived showing her resilience and strong leadership skills that made her to contribute towards CATHSSETA improving its performance to obtain a clean audit – a first in the history of CATHSSETA. Ms Lebaka continued earnestly to contribute towards skills development initiatives. During her tenure as CATHSSETA’s Acting CEO, a position she was appointed to in 2017, she initiated a strategic partnership between the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) and CATHSSETA. Through this partnership a custom-made Global Executive Development Programme (GEDP) was developed for managers who fall under the CATHSSETA subsectors. The aim of the programme was to upskill these managers and to support transformation within our subsectors.

The CATHSSETA/GIBS partnership inspired Ms Lebaka to do more in skills development by initiating the CATHSSETA China Work Integrated Learning (WIL) partnership project, a partnership with the Chinese Culture and International Exchange centre. Through this partnership 120 TVET learners were placed on a 12 months WIL programme in China. The programme is aimed at bridging the skills gap and contributing positively towards the growth and development plan of the country.

Under her belt of achievements, we can also count the Executive Development Programme for Women in Tourism, a partnership between CATHSSETA, UNISA Graduate School of Business and the National Department of Tourism aimed at building leadership capacity for women in the Tourism and Hospitality sector.

To date, 50 women have participated in this programme and 20% have been promoted to managerial positions in the Tourism industry. Initiated in 2016 this programme was designed as a transformation intervention to capacitate black women for executive positions within the sector.

“CATHSSETA is committed to skills development within our diverse sectors.

This also means empowering our own staff so that they excel in their respective roles in order to provide an excellent service to our stakeholders,” says Ms Lebaka.

She is dedicated to seeing CATHSSETA employees being developed and growing their careers to greater heights. Under her leadership, CATHSSETA prides itself for appointing more women into executive and managerial positions. The majority of these women have been capacitated through courses such as Women as Leaders training, a Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) training aimed at building leadership and management competencies to thrive in a world of gender equity challenges.

One of Ms Lebaka’s highlights for 2019 was being recognised by President Cyril Ramaphosa at the State of the Nation Address (SONA) reply in May this year. In his reply, the President congratulated Ms Lebaka for being one of the finalists in the CEO of the Year Award category of the 2019 Annual Future of HR Awards.

Ms Lebaka was one of the two CEOs from the state entities to have reached this level. The Future of HR Awards honours Southern Africa’s most outstanding, inspiring and effective leaders in human capital management, HR innovation and HR technology – highlighting their achievements for local and international peers in moving the industry forward.

Having successfully completed postgraduate courses in various fields, Ms Lebaka is currently enrolled for MBA. Her career life spans over 17 years work experience gained from both private and public sector. She has developed leadership and strong people management skills which enable her to relate well with people from all walks of life. “CATHSSETA is responding to the transformational needs of the country�, concludes Ms Lebaka.

More and more opportunities are being strategically opened for the emancipation of women as a way to respond to the call made by President Cyril Ramaphosa to recognise women and give them platforms where they can share their skills to uplift society.

YOUT H EMPO WERMENT

PROPONENT OF

YOUTH EMPOWERMENT SIFISO MTSWENI

NYDA Executive Chairman

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he National Youth Development Agency is a South Africanbased agency established primarily to tackle challenges that the nation’s youth are faced with.

It was established by an Act of parliament, Act no 54 of 2008 and this formation was as a result of a merge between the National Youth Commission and Umsobomvu.

It is just after 12h00 on Friday, 26 July 2019 and the Executive Chairman Sifiso Mtsweni has just come back to the office after attending an event that recognises the 100 Young South African Shinning Stars, held in Kempton Park.

Mtsweni says the NYDA, through the President appoints the Board which serves for 3 years and the Executive Chairperson becomes a full-time official.

The Chairman looks at governance issues and oversees the Executive work, including that of the CEO.

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Y O U TH EM POW ERMENT

What do your day today duties comprise of?

My day typically starts at 04h00 and my strategy has been that we need to be on the ground.

The Act of NYDA speaks about the Agency mainstreaming youth development and coordinating their work across sectors and that is why I travel around the country to engage young people about the NYDA, as part of marketing it and coordinating the work of youth. We are the voice of the youth and from time to time I go to parliament to give report back on what we do.

Do you get a sense that the youth are doubtful of NYDA agenda of emancipating them from their struggles?

When the NYDA was initially formed things didn’t go well and it was in the news for all wrong reasons. Others viewed it as a structure that was pushing a political agenda and wasting money. Now NYDA has been turned around and is a stable organisation.

As we speak today, Friday 26 July 2019 we have been conferred the 5th consecutive clean audit by the Auditor General and this is a clear indication that we have restored credibility of NYDA. It was important to get things right internally first and as a result we now are able to engage the youth openly and let them know of what we do.

Just before this interview we were honouring 100 young South African shining stars that include a 21 year old fighter jet. There is also youth in Eastern Cape who started a water purification plant using basic things through the buckets and technology they developed as a team and with that they clean water which they then supply in their village. We have reached a point of now unearthing great stories and in the past 3 years we have been able to assist over 4000 new entrepreneurs, created over 18 000 jobs, trained over 430 000 youth and reached over 1.2 million youth. We have moved to a point where young people appreciate NYDA and if there is an element of doubtfulness it has decreased tremendously. Even the

President on June 16, for the first time head of state, acknowledged the impact of the NYDA in the country.

How do you continue to invest reading ability in youth that are skilful but struggle to read and write?

Let me give you an example, many people take their cars for service at established places; what we do is link the skills youth have in the grant programme, so before we certify one as an entrepreneur we take them through compulsory training, where they will be able to research new markets and do market linkages. Say you are a mechanic who needs access to the market; we will link the skills you have to established areas that have been in the field for some time. We want young people who are naturally educated so that we can assist them to enter the markets.

Poverty is an injustice that takes away a person’s dignity & no one deserves it What are you doing to ensure there is easy accessibility to NYDA centres by youth across the country?

One of the things I said when I joined NYDA over 2 years ago was that I wanted to eradicate the situation where young people travel long distances to reach our offices. We are constrained financially, with R435 million annual budgets and 19 million youth who expect a piece of that.

If you divide that budget you 27

get R20 per young person. I implemented a working relationship with SEDA, LEDA and municipalities for accessibility and thus far we have 5 offices in Limpopo and when I joined the NYDA, we only had one in that province. In just 2 years, we have managed to increase our offices from 15 nationally, to 40. My vision is to have NYDA offices in all districts around the country by May 2020 when my term ends. We have managed to cover Eastern Cape, Kwazulu Natal and Gauteng with offices. Recently we have revamped our website and it is now interactive and we also established a mobile app to allow our youth to access us from the comfort of their zones.

Are young people responsive to Artificial Intelligence & what are some of the key fundamentals that NYDA has equipped the youth with?

It is a variety of them; to begin with we have a grant programme and in my view grants instead of loans assist more as most businesses collapse within their first 3 years, leaving them unable to repay the loan.

Our grant programme is not a walk in the park; we ensure entrepreneurs go through intensive training which assists them with essential skills like how to draft a business plan and how to look after financials.

We also have the National Youth Service Programme, which focuses on Skills development.

For example, we now have a programme with the Department of Human Settlements, where we take old government buildings, bring in young people, skill them in refurbishing the buildings and they come out as painters, carpenters etc. We are creating an environment where young people can use their natural skills to advance themselves.

In addition, we have the Solomon Mahlangu Scholarship fund, which has produced over 500 graduates particularly from previously disadvantaged backgrounds. In addition, we have a job preparedness programme, you would have noticed that some youth can’t write a CV or those who can, can’t conduct an

YOUT H EMPO WERMENT

interview, and this programme assists youth in self-marketing skills.

Your take on the 4th Industrial Revolution?

In my view I think there is a need to understand the Artificial Intelligence and Fourth Industrial Resolution in context. These are not entirely new things and we have lived in times of smart phones, using face recognition and online banking.

All these robotics will co-exist with humans and it isn’t like they will create themselves and take over from everyone.

A robot is a manmade product and we need young people in the innovation space. We don’t need to import but create our own Fourth Industrial Revolution.

The role of an entrepreneur is to be innovative.If you are running a tuck shop and realise that the products you sell can be better sold through usage of a vending machine, then use it.

Make the 4IR work for the sector you are in, when the 2IR and 3IR came; people fought against them and now everyone needs them.

I recently attended a workshop run by Huawei and I was surprised to realise that China and Japan are already speaking about 5G. There is a notion that young black South Africans who are innovative are

absorbed or crashed by the system in the country, how do you support such to ensure they are consistent and are not absorbed by those with financial muscles?

The economic system in my view seems to be pro big business and a clear example is the struggle the guy who invented Please Call Me went through. Our youth have always been innovative and we need to transform the economy and allow new entrants otherwise we will sit with a problem.

The reality is that everyone who invests in a phone is a direct competitor to the already existing big names. One thing we need to do, and I discussed this with the President; we need to set up a fund that encourages innovation, to ensure we invest in our innovative youth, allow them to test their products and export them.

Another challenge is that our borders are too open for foreign goods and we need to impose a quota where we have a limit to imports, this will encourage the usage of our locally produced products.

In your assessment how has the National Youth Service Programme been doing?

The basis of this is broken down into: Skills element, Social Cohesion, Nation Building & Patriotism. A lack of patriotism is one of the biggest

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challenges we face as a nation. An example, when communities protest for a service like water, they burn the clinic.

As soon as they have water, they are faced with another major problem.

South Africa is a world of milk and honey and from a local level we need to start building blocks that are taking the country far.

There are 3.5 million youths who are not at school nor in training. Perhaps we should enrol such youth in the Army, where they can gain skills, be educated while embracing patriotism.

Love for our country & the significance of our flag.

Is the Solomon Mahlangu Bursary Fund and Matric Rewrite programme getting the exposure they deserve?

In the past we worked with selected universities and the classes were attended only on Saturdays.

The concept was okay but implementation was wrong as students in the rural areas could not access these classes. What we have done was to pull Basic Education and now students who write their final exams are aware of a second chance programme.

What plans are in the pipeline to help Graduates find employment?

One of the key features of the

Y O U TH EM POW ERMENT

administration I lead is to undo the injustice Graduates face with regards to required experience before employment. People who are likely to be employed in South Africa are 30 and above.

The issue of demanding 3 years’ experience for someone to be a Receptionist is a system that is there to exclude the youth.

We have fought this battle to have the experience removed as entry level requirement and create space for Graduates, now I am happy that the President has announced this as a policy.

We will take it to the private sector because they are the main culprits of this practice We even approached National Economic Development and Labour Council (NEDLEC) and told them we want to impose quota on companies through Labour Department, that if they don’t employ at-least 40% of the youth then their license must be revoked.

The other problem is the Last in First Out when it is retrenchment and

we are fighting it. It can’t be right that companies want to keep old people while neglecting the youth, who are the future of the country.

We want young people who have recently been employed to have job security.

In addition to that what is your take on companies taking interns every year and they don’t hire any of them after the programme?

In my view we should scrap the whole internship programme as it doesn’t bear the fruits it should. A person studies Financial Management and when they get an internship they are sent to make copies or coffee and 18 months later they don’t even receive a certificate in the end.

We want to cripple this together with the Extended Public Works Programme (EPWP), where people are taken for 2 years to clean streets and later they are sent back home.

By the way Nelson Mandela has never had experience as a President before 1994.

I always say this to Ministers that they have never had the Ministerial experience prior to being deployed there. So why should experience apply to Graduates when it doesn’t apply to deployees!

Does NYDA work with Youth Officers in Municipalities?

The challenge we face with working alongside Youth Officers is the separation of powers. Municipalities are a different sphere and we have recently started engagements with SALGA on how to work with them.

The other challenge is how the Youth Offices have been politicised as some are in the Mayor’s offices and will hire someone who will serve Mayor’s interests.

There has to be a total overhaul in this, we no longer want Youth Offices or Desks but Youth Directorates, who will give the youth budget and power to be able to take their own decisions and they must be informed by youth structures. ☑

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he Executive Chairman was appointed in May 2017 and his term comes to an end in 2020. Prior to this he was a Business Advisor at SEDA for 9 years and among other things he runs his own business.

in Sekhukhune, he has a soccer club named Motetema Arsenal with an under 14, under 17 and the senior team.

He has studied Sports Management and says he lived his youthful days dedicated to youth He is a Youth Activist who grew up in activities and is still yet various youth movements including to enjoy his individual being the SRC President while youthfulness. at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan The element that University. Born in the Motetema area triggered his youth activism was in Sekhukhune, he has a soccer club after his mother, a then leader of the with an under 14, under 17 and the Women’s League attended meetings senior team. with him as a young boy and he With the Executive Chairman’s became conscious of what was going appointment effective as of May 2017 on.“In primary we attended with those with the NYDA Board serving for 3 few kids who carried lunch boxes years, his term comes to an end in while the majority attended classes 2020. Prior to this he was a Business Advisor at SEDA for 9 years and among on empty stomach. I have been other things he runs his own business. exposed to two societies, the affluent and those who faced hardships. The He is a Youth Activist who grew reality has always been that the life up in various youth movements of a black person remains three times including being the SRC President while at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan harder in order form them to achieve something.”

University.Born in the Motetema area 29

He further describes poverty as an injustice that takes away a person’s dignity and unequivocally states that no one deserves it. “We can’t sit idle when there is such injustice, I have learnt from great leaders whose speeches I have listened to and that taught me that I can’t relax when the next person is struggling.”

Joyously, Mtsweni confided in ICONIC Journal that he is getting married in October this year. ICONIC says to the Executive Chairman and his Fiancé, Halala Ratou Mabula

YOUN G ENTREPRENEUR

THABISO MOKOMELE

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YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR FROM GUGULETHU, CAPE TOWN

Y O U N G EN TR EPRENEU R

Please give us a short description of who Thabiso is?

My name is Thabiso Mokomele, 27 years old, founder of T-Squared Clothing, born & bred in Guguletu with an Honours Degree in Industrial Psychology.

Can you describe to us, a regular day in the life of Thabiso, during the week & on a weekend?

There is no perfect way to describe my regular day or weekend. I am always working & that’s just me. Many people are question my social life & I am not bothered as I love being productive.

What inspired you to start your business, the main driving force behind all of that you are today?

The main reason why I started my business was because there were no other clothing businesses in Guguletu

Why a clothing label though?

It all goes back to my childhood. As a boy I grew up loving to dress up and look good, I just loved looking good.I think that’s how my love for fashion grew in me.

making process & educate the local community on the value of local production. Our clothing reflects our values of minimalist street-wear design, with focus on the quality of the material, construction, & silhouettes relevant to urban youth.

Why should people wear your clothes?

Our garments are affordable & are of high quality. They are locally produced & this makes us a 100% Proudly South African Brand.

How would you categorize your clothing?

We stand for quality local design & manufacture with a global outlook. We strive to inspire the youth through our work. We handcraft every garment we produce in-store to ensure that our customers get the best quality apparel and experience. We want the customer to be involved in the

Being an educated, young black man yourself, what’s your opinion of the importance of education?

No two ways about it, education is important. Like Nelson Mandela said, “Education is a powerful tool to change the world”. I firmly believe that education is a form of selfempowerment and one should never stop educating themselves.

which were in existence at the time.

Secondly, it was a method of assisting with payment towards my fees as I came from a financially disadvantaged family. Now that my business is running, I am fuelled by my passion.

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YOUN G ENTREPRENEUR

Would you describe yourself as a creative?

Indeed, a creative entrepreneur.

My business depends on creativity, I always emphasize the importance of creativity to my staff & the impact it has on any business. Creativity is not an easy process, there is a lot of thinking, conceptualisation & drafting behind the process. Finding the right staff members who understand my vision has been an intergral part of building T-Squared.

As a young businessman, what advice would you give to youth wanting to start their own business?

Entrepreneurship is not a trend, don’t start a business because of friends or societal pressures. Do what you love & love what you do. Running a business is not easy, you have to be strong. There are sunny days and there are rainy day. It’s no easy ride.

As a part of youth from the township of Guguletu, if any, would you say there are sufficient opportunities put in place to assist the youth of Guguletu to better or improve the quality of their lives?

Yes, the City of Cape Town & other large corporations are doing their best to play their part in assisting

entrepreneurs. In 2018, I took part in a youth competition known as YouthstartCT which runs every year and I won first prize which came with buisness support from SEDA. What does your business mean to you?

Everything, I need my business to survive & it needs me to run.

Where can people buy your clothes?

Online at www.tsquared.co.za on social media @TSquaredSA or they can visit our physical store in Guguletu, 1 Khanya Crescent, Station Park. ☑ Zanele L Huna

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