The African Professional Issue 19

CELEBRATING PROFESSIONALISM IN AFRICA WITH SAPSA CEO’s from left – S. Zilwa (Nkonki), S.Kana (PWC Africa) & D. Magugumela (Bosch Stemele)

B ROU GHT TO YO U BY

R2 9 , 9 5

Issue 19

MAGA Z IN E

SEND MONEY DIRECTLY TO ECOCASH MOBILE WALLET IN ZIMBABWE Let your loved ones enjoy hassle free, reliable money transfers from the comfort of their home: • No need for your receiver to leave home • No need for them to wait for operating hours • No risk associated with carrying cash Money transfer service available at the following authorized providers in South Africa:

02

Read our magazine on your tablet or android device. Download the Issuu app via www.theafricanpro.com

HAVASWW64114/E

Insur ance benefits as specialised as you are.

As a professional, you have a set of skills that not many people have. Not everyone can do what you do – and earn what you earn. At PPS, we understand that – and our reinvented PPS Sickness and Permanent Incapacity Benefit is just as specialised as your vocation, allowing you to create your own distinct insurance package to insure your most valuable asset – yourself. After all, you are unique, and your insurance should be too.

Consult a PPS product-accredited financial advisor or visit pps.co.za/sppi for more information.

#joinourtable PPS offers unique financial solutions to select graduate professionals with a 4-year degree. PPS is an authorised Financial Services Provider.

12742

MAKE

PROFESSIONAL BANKING HAPPEN With a banking experience from Nedbank that works as hard as you do and caters for both you and your family.

Whether you are operating as a specialist in your field, quickly climbing the corporate ladder or simply looking for a professional banking experience that emphasises convenience, quality and flexibility, our Professional Banking package is the answer. With dedicated relationship bankers, tailored financing options and 24/7 service, we are making banking more professional for you and your family. This offering enables your financial aspirations, comes with the rewards and lifestyle benefits you deserve and is flexible to grow as your needs grow.

Contact us today on 0860 555 222 to arrange an appointment. Alternatively email us at professionals@nedbank.co.za. #ThingsThatReallyMatter

Nedbank Limited Reg No 1951/000009/06. Authorised financial services and registered credit provider (NCRCP16).

TABLE OF CONTENTS

8 Editorial 10 Sentiments from PPS CEO Mike Jackson 13 Professional of the Year - Suresh Kana 17 Woman Professional of the Year - Sindi Zilwa 20 Engineering Woman Professional of the Year - D. Magugumela 23 Overall Firm of the Year - Norton Rose 24 PM Firm of the Year - Akweni Project Management 27 Engineering firm of the Year - Gibb Engineering 06

29 Accounting Firm Honours 30 Accounting Firm of the Year - Grant Thornton 32 Management Consulting Honours 33 Pamoja Capital’s Faith Mwaura 34 Architecture Honours 36 Lifetime Achievement Award Winners 41 Saving for the Future 42 Inside Home Affairs 43 Moneygram Rewards Subscribers 44 Book Review 46 Xenophobia and the Reasonable By-stander 48 Peprah: The World has Gone Mad 50 Ten Business Lessons from Mayweather 51 TAP - Social Pages www.theafricanpro.com

only 8% to send Rands** to Zim

Send more to your loved ones with MoneyGram Rand-to-Rand

*Applicable at consumer fee of 8% of the face amount to be sent in Rand (VAT excluded). A 14% VAT will be added to the consumer fee. **Payout currency is determined by sender at the time of send.

MoneyGram International Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. 2014 MoneyGram. All rights reserved.

Bidvest Bank Limited (2000/006478/06) is a licensed ďŹ nancial services and registered credit provider, NCRCP17.

10016150/E

*

EDITOR’S NOTE

CELEBRATING PROFESSIONALISM Available at

As advertised on

The rationale for the awards is that for the first time in history, a successful attempt has been made to bring together service providers from across differing fields to compete for the two main titles: the SA Professional of the Year and the SA Professional Services Firm of the Year.

08

A

t the inaugural SA Professional Services Awards (SAPSA) held in October last year, one of the key speakers Dr Janette Minnaar-van Veijeren, opened the event with a speech on professionalism.

“When one does work that one is paid for you are a professional. But there is a second dimension that relates to whether one meets a prescribed or a known standard in one’s profession.

In other words, how one behaves in the execution of that work, one then is being a professional. The outcome in other words of doing the right thing is to be professional,” she said.

In this issue, SAPSA teams up with The African Professional magazine to celebrate the achievers of the local professional services industry from a varying number of fields including architecture, accountancy, law, management consulting, project management and engineering.

“It is wonderful to bring all these professions together and enable us to engage with names that we may have encountered before like those of prominent architects and accountants,” said Trueman Goba, a former president of the SA Institution for Civil Engineering (SAICE) as well as the Engineering Council of South Africa(ECSA).

This magazine compilation brings you all the notable nominations while singling out the eventual winners in the various categories for further discussion. We interview the leading contenders for professional of the year including the Built Environment Woman Professional of the Year Bosch Stemele’s Danai Magugumela, the Legal/Finance and eventual winner of Woman Professional of the Year Sindi Zilwa and the Overall Professional of the Year PWC’s Suresh Kana.

Our regular contributors are not left out with continued commentary from Chaitwa Mamoyo, Yaw Peprah, Wanjiru Waichigo-Njogu, Wendy Foley and Andreas Krensel. I wrap up this edition with 10 business lessons from Floyd Mayweather Jr. KC ROTTOK Managing Editor of African Pro/Project Manager of SAPSA

Twitter: @africankc www.theafricanpro.com

As verified by

Publisher: The Proud African Professional (Pty) Limited Reg. Number: 2010/012428/07 10 Madison Square, 195 President Fouche Drive, Randburg Republic of South Africa Tel: 011 251 6325 www.theafricanpro.com & www.expatriate.co.za Director: Carol Malonza – carol@africanpro.co.za Twitter: @mueni8 Managing Editor: KC Rottok – kc@africanpro.co.za Twitter: @africankc Deputy Editor & Content Advisor Leah Maina Publishing Executive Dumisani Hlatshwayo Edition Writers/Contributors Keith Kundai Wanjiru Waichigo Andreas Krensel Yaw Peprah Chaitwa Mamoyo Wendy Foley Photography Mzu Nhlabati www.creativenation.co.za Design Mike Obrien mike@obriendesign.co.za Website Drutech Media www.drutechmedia.co.za Advertising Enquiries info@africanpro.co.za To subscribe or contribute an article, email us at info@africanpro.co.za All rights reserved. Excerpts may be used as long as this magazine is credited as the source. Longer versions of our content may only be used with the written permission of the Publisher. Neither the publisher nor the editor accept responsibility for any of the information from edition writers or contributors. Whilst we have taken care in preparing this publication, the publisher/editor does not warrant its completeness or accuracy. The editor retains the right to edit all contributions. Advertisers are responsible for their material.

© The African Professional / The Expatriate SA: ISSN 2218 – 757X.

Leading the way in international banking and investments The #1 private bank and wealth manager in South Africa.

InvestecOnePlace As recognised by:

BEST PRIVATE BANK

SOUTH AFRICA

Investec Specialist Bank, a division of Investec Bank Limited registration number 1969/004763/06. Investec Specialist Bank is committed to the Code of Banking Practice as regulated by the Ombudsman for Banking Services. Copies of the Code and the Ombudsman’s details are available on request or visit www.investec.co.za. A registered credit provider registration number NCRCP9. Investec Wealth & Investment, a division of Investec Securities Proprietary Limited. 1972/008905/07. Member of the JSE Equity, Equity Derivatives, Currency Derivatives, Bond Derivatives and Interest Rate Derivatives Markets. An authorised financial services provider No.15886. A registered credit provider registration number NCRCP262. 24/7/365 Global Client Support Centre 0800 1Place (75223) Cape Town 021 416 1000 Durban 031 575 4000 Johannesburg 011 286 7000 Port Elizabeth 041 396 6700 Pretoria 012 427 8300 Stellenbosch and Winelands 021 809 0700.

MIKE JACKSON SPEECH, CEO OF PPS

G

ood evening everyone. It is a great pleasure for PPS to be associated with the SAPSA (South African Professional Services Awards) awards tonight.

I want to emphasize that this is PPS not PPC – that’s very important. And the CEO’s name is not (Ketso) Gordhan.

PPS is the Professional Provident Society and we sometimes do get confused with PPC. PPS has been associated with professionals for over 70 years and

10

we always had the professional at the core of our business - that is all our business is all about. I have always been a fan of Warren Buffet. And he has a saying that I often repeat : “Someone is sitting in the shade today, because someone planted a tree many, many years ago”. And I think that’s very important with regards to PPS.

to work and therefore not having any income.

PPS was began by a small group of dentists when one of their colleagues became very ill and was unable to work. The dentists realised the effect of the professional not being able

You will have to have capital in order to start and without outside shareholders investing in the business, how are you going to get the capital? Well, that was quite simple, they decided

So they decided to form PPS – so that if anyone became sick they could in fact look after them. How do you form an insurance company without any capital? The accountants here would be interested to know that you can’t.

that they will contribute premiums but they wouldn’t claim.

Can you imagine today getting people to contribute premiums without claiming?

Well they did. For three years they contributed premiums and they did not claim.

And they built up a significant reserve - and then and only then when the reserves were sufficient did they then decide that alright now we are a fully-fledged insurance company and our dental members can start claiming.

This was in the early 40’s.

The doctors then said we want to join. And the engineers said we want to join and the lawyers.

PPS grew from those very small beginnings into over the 200 000 members that PPS is today.

mind. The professional just keeps on working as long as the mind keeps on going.

We have an 85 year old gynaecologist.

recognized, I think that’s what tonight is all about. It is about recognizing people who love what they do - and when you love what you do, you give it your best. And then the ethics just follow on naturally. We hope that the SAPSA awards build up momentum and that in the future we can continue to be part of recognizing professionals.

“We hope that the SAPSA awards build up momentum and that in the future we can continue to be part of recognizing professionals.

Without professionals the country has a very major problem.

South Africa has developed over the years superb professionals. I trip over them all over the world...”

One of the biggest financial institutions in the country is a result of someone planting that tree so many years ago. We are extremely proud to be associated with professionals.

As you have seen from a couple of examples tonight, professionals carry on for a long time. They carry on working, and I think one of the reasons why they live for a long time is because they carry on working. There is no such thing as retirement in a professionals

We have an 88 year old engineer. We have a 91 year old doctor still practicing.

The reason is, they love their work.

I think one of our earliest speakers’ highlighted ethics, one of the key things in a professional. They love what they do.

They do it because they love it. And that’s really the key and if you can do something that you love and get rewarded at the same time – and be

Without professionals the country has a very major problem. South Africa has developed over the years superb professionals. I trip over them all over the world. Our engineers have built Dubai. Our accountants and lawyers run the property industry in the UK. We have an incredibly high standard of professionals.

Certainly PPS wants to maintain that standard – and we want to recognize the professionals for doing the great work that they do.

So congratulations to those who have done well so far and those who will be recognized later. And I just wanted to assure you that PPS is here for you.

MIKE JACKSON

11

DR. SURESH KANA

TERRITORY SENIOR PARTNER OF PWC AFRICA & THE SA PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR

W

hat is your impression of the initiative to recognise the best professionals and best professional services firms in South Africa?

Having been a human capital leader at PwC, it’s always been clear that encouragement, support and recognition are critical to influencing productive human behaviour.

The feedback from our PwC representative was that the event was successful and the news of the award has since been disseminated to our 9,000 employees across the continent.

The good thing about SAPSA is that the recognition cuts across several professions and enables us to interact and recognise good work across the board.

How do you and the firm ensure that ethical behaviour is maintained?

We have a ratio of one ethics officer for every 15 members of staff and one of our partners, Nezira Ayob, heads the division, with 30% of her portfolio dedicated to ethics.

Furthermore, we have quarterly ethics board meetings with two representatives from the firm and two external members.

On a personal note, I sat on the board of Transparency International - an agency dedicated to countering corruption globally - and as the former human capital leader at PwC, initiated the creation of a global code of conduct in 1999.

Briefly describe what you and your

firm have done to contribute to the South African community in the recent past?

We established a corporate responsibility (CR) programme in May 2001 which was not very common back then. The office is headed by Megan Naidoo and our initiatives focus on education and upliftment.

One of these is the Business Skills for Southern Africa foundation, which manages the Faranani Rural Women project, which imparts skills to rural women.

PwC was involved in taking about 50 children from underprivileged schools across the country through the CIDA City Campus programme.

What would you say is your management and leadership style?

My style is collaborative, as I don’t believe in hierarchies. Although management control is needed, we also need accountability at every level. 80% of the people I manage have two or more university degrees and therefore it is important to engage with them. A recent PwC Global People Survey found that we have an 84% engagement rate with our staff - I’m very pleased with this.

How is your firm achieving excellence in customer service?

PwC has dedicated resources to research and produce thought leadership, to the extent that we are the ‘go to’ professionals for a number of industries. Top of the list is our CEO Survey, which helps us and the market

understand what CEOs are saying about their respective industries, the economy and business in general. We also conduct family business surveys to better understand how we can support small and medium-sized enterprises.

In 1988, we established a foundation aimed at imparting business skills to micro-entities in Southern Africa.

How has your firm fared from a business perspective and what growth targets have been achieved?

We find ourselves in an exceptional profession where, as the saying goes, no news is good news! Our brand health and reputation are a good measure of how well we are doing. From a business perspective locally, we recently won the audits of Sasol and Vodacom – massive companies with significant fees.

In 2009, we set out to double the size of the firm’s revenue and by 2014 we had achieved that as a result of organic and inorganic growth. In terms of human capital, we have also increased our staff complement from some 5000 to 9000 on an Africa-wide basis and grown our partner base from 250 to 400.

We are currently on a drive to move many our offices on the continent to new premises, to create better working environments for our people and position ourselves as the market leader in the communities in which we operate.

What is your contribution technical excellence?

to

I was the National Technical partner of PwC from 1986 to 1998 and during that time co-authored - with Professor Geoff

13

Everingham - “Corporate Reporting”, a leading textbook in financial reporting.

The book is now in its ninth edition.

At PwC we believe that quality is nonnegotiable, and we come out tops in all our internal and external quality reviews.

What is your personal approach and participation in mentorship?

How is your firm participating in the upliftment of young professionals?

14

My passion is youth development; this led to the formation of PwC’s Business School, which comprises eleven centres of excellence. PwC’s Business Schools have since been established in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania and another one is set to open in Ghana at a ceremony to be attended by the State President.

At a local firm level, 22% of chartered accountants in South Africa train through PwC. On a personal level, I participate in an initiative that requires me to meet with young children on weekends and give them leadership lessons and mentoring on life and careers How has your firm contributed to transformation?

As the first person of colour to be employed as a professional trainee at PwC South Africa in 1976, transformation has always been a passion of mine.

Of our recent annual intake of over 300 trainees, 52% of them are of colour and we have achieved a AAA rating from Empowerdex. We are a level 2 contributor according to the

BBBEE ratings. PwC’s Talent Management Council analyses our staff by race and gender and gauges transformation in the firm. Over the past seven years, the firm has developed over 1 300 black chartered accountants.

For our extended interview with Suresh Kana, visit www.saprofessionals.com KC ROTTOK

The future is now

At PwC, we know that a sustainable business needs strong leaders, both now and in the future.

We also know that the achievers of today are the leaders of tomorrow. Our sincere congratulations go to the winners in the SAPSA awards, including our Africa Senior Partner Suresh Kana, who was named SAPSA Professional of the Year.

We’re proud of our contribution to our profession – and the contribution of our people to our communities and our country.

www.pwc.co.za

©2015 PricewaterhouseCoopers Inc. (“PwC”). All rights reserved. (15-16458)

SINDI ZILWA

L&F AND OVERALL WOMAN PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR

S

indi Zilwa has over 20 years post Chartered Accountancy qualification experience in the auditing profession. She was the second black woman to qualify as a Chartered Accountant in South Africa and is CEO and co-founder of Nkonki Inc. In the course of her career, she formed part of the initial team that was involved in the joint audits of the South African Reserve Bank, People’s Bank, Sanlam, and the MTN Group which were at that time audited by Nkonki Sizwe Ntsaluba.

Her Schedule 2 experience includes the external audit of the Transnet Group through APF Inc., the current audit of South African Airways, the Development Bank of South Africa (DBSA), Telkom and the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) as a Schedule 3 entity.

Sindi has maintained both lead and client relationship roles, with the main objective of ensuring that client needs are met by the Nkonki team, and that client retention takes place through the provision of an exceptional client service, seamless quality audits and effective stakeholder management.

Rebosis Property funds, and previously Woolworths Limited, Primedia Limited, and Telkom Limited.

She also served on the audit committees of various State-owned Schedule 2 Companies namely the Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) SOC Limited, Air Traffic Navigation

meet the needs of her clients.

This knowledge is applied to ensure that the audit teams attain the requisite Assurance levels and provide adequate reporting and communication at all times.

In 2013, Sindi authored the book “The ACE Model – Winning Formula for Audit Committees” which was launched at Nkonki’s 3rd Annual Audit Committee Conference held on 21 and 22 October of the same year.

“One of the reasons why we actually got the award is our level of integrity and our commitment to the standards of our profession; being able to put pen to paper and sign an audit opinion that represents what we think and what we feel is in line with the highest auditing standards irrespective of who will be irritated by that kind of opinion...”

Ms Zilwa’s current experience also includes serving on the audit committees of the following listed companies: Discovery Health Limited, Aspen Limited, Metrofile Holdings,

Services (ATNS) SOC Limited and Alexkor SOC Limited.

This enables her to have first-hand experience on the nature and extent of the external audit services required to

Nkonki was recently in the news when South African Express threatened to sue the firm with legal action and damage claims if it issued a disclaimer of opinion on the airline’s amended financial statements. Sindi was quoted in the Business Day as saying: “Our first reaction was that attorneys do not have a role to play between a statutory auditor and its client. No one can threaten or influence or force us to do anything that is not in the auditing standards.”

Sindi and Nkonki’s resolve were a key contributor to the firm’s good performance at the South African Professional Services Awards (SAPSA) and her winning both the woman professional of the year in the legal and finance category and overall woman professional of the year awards.

17

Find below the speech she delivered at the ceremony “Good evening ladies and gentlemen. I have just realized that if I don’t come and make a reply speech, I have got about 30 years ahead of me before I can qualify for a Lifetime Achievement Award, and I cannot wait for 30 years to thank my team.

As the woman professional of the year, I have not been working alone.

18

I am working with a very big team from our firm Nkonki and one of the reasons why we actually got the award is our level of integrity and our commitment to

the standards of our profession. Being able to put pen to paper and sign an audit opinion that represents what we think and what we feel is in line with the highest auditing standards irrespective of who will be irritated by that kind of opinion.

When you run a business as an entrepreneur [as we have done] since we started 21 years ago, you realize that business is tough out there.

So when you are able to stand your ground irrespective of whether you are going to lose a client, or you’re going to lose revenue, it shows what you stand for and that you intend to protect the

Sindi Zilwa (in blue dress) with other partners from Nkonki Inc.

integrity of your brand.

We really feel proud and thanks to SAPSA for this award!”

DUMISANI HLATSHWAYO

“She was the second black woman to qualify as a Chartered Accountant in South Africa and is CEO and co-founder of Nkonki Inc.”

Providing Africans With Access To Quality Healthcare Anywhere In The World With operations covering 7 African countries and members based across the African Continent, Buphe is committed to providing access to quality healthcare to individuals from all walks of life, or businesses looking for primary and, or, comprehensive local or international health cover for its employees. Our cover has global reach, regardless of where an individual may reside or work. Contact us today for an obligation free quote and see how we can provide you with access to quality healthcare anywhere in the world.

39 Linksfield Road, Edenvale, 1609, South Africa Tel: 0861 288 823 • Fax: 086 609 7669 Email: info@buphe.com • http://www.buphe.com

Authorised Financial Service Provider (FSP#21033)

DANAI MAGUGUMELA,

MANAGING DIRECTOR OF BOSCH STEMELE ENGINEERING

T

20

ell us about your background and how you ended up working in South Africa’s built environment?

judges’ decision to award you the Engineering and Built Environment Woman Professional of the year award 2014?

I was born in Zimbabwe and at the age of three my family was exiled from what was then Rhodesia. We crossed over to Zambia which is where I grew up before moving to the USA at the age of twelve when my parents went there for further studies.

I wish to express my heartfelt appreciation for the vote of confidence shown in me by the judges of the first ever SA Professional Services Awards (SAPSA).

In 1981, my family returned to a now independent Zimbabwe where I completed my A levels before pursuing an international baccalaureate diploma in Italy on a scholarship.

My civil engineering studies were in Texas, USA where I met my husband who comes from South Africa. We moved here in 1995 and I am South African by naturalization.

I am forever grateful for the circumstances that lead to me living in so many countries; Zambia in particular was very cosmopolitan being a harbour for Zimbabwean, Angolan and South African exiles.

of the SAPSA awards by striving for excellence in my professional life, both within my employer Bosch Stemele and also in the broader built environment sector.

It was good to know that both Bosch Stemele and I were in good company in looking at the takers of the other categories. Our company’s semi-annual publication which goes out to market twice a year will be capturing this achievement in significant detail.

“I was born in Zimbabwe and at the age of three my family was exiled from what was then Rhodesia. We crossed over to Zambia which is where I grew up before moving to the USA at the age of twelve when my parents went there for further studies. This background has enabled me to have an appetite for interacting with people of different ethnic and economic backgrounds as well as picking up languages. In my professional life, it has enabled me to be amenable to a vast spectrum of environments....”

This background has enabled me to have an appetite for interacting with people of different ethnic and economic backgrounds as well as picking up languages. In my professional life, it has enabled me to be amenable to a vast spectrum of environments.

What are your thoughts on the

I must apologise that I was unable to attend the award ceremony due to a whole host of competing work pressures and deadlines. As a recognised winner, I wish to respect and advance the image

What are your views on transformation (BEE) as a professional and a company?

I think it goes without saying that disparities entrenched in the past were so massive and far reaching that this country had to structure black empowerment. And I feel privileged to have come to South Africa early enough to have witnessed the genesis of transformation and empowerment.

Bosch Stemele is a 100% South African owned entity with a level 2 BEE rating. When I was approached to join the company, I was keen to be part of a continuing representation of transformation. I am in agreement with that knowing that my ‘Africanness’ is material to demonstrating the rightful space African professionals should be taking.

Without the legislative framework on Black Empowerment, a lot would

21

become impossible in the South African space.

You mention moving to Bosch Stemele, what was your previous station and why did you leave?

22

I spent six and a half years in BKS (now Aecom) and managed to achieve the very outcomes that the board expected of me when they head hunted me for the job. On entry into BKS I found a pale male organisation with quite mature males running the business and I was the only black female on the board except for the chairman who was South African Indian.

division of civil engineering. Bosch has a focus on water and wastage treatment and that gave me a sense of renewal and the opportunity to face this sector more squarely than I ever had to care about before. Bosch Stemele is part of a group of companies with a unique group structure that allows for synergies to manage projects of a dynamic nature.

Prior to my joining in 2012, Bosch Stemele was awarded the technical excellence award by Consulting Engineers South Africa (CESA). It gives me great pleasure to be affiliated with a business of that calibre.

The kind of management dispensation I inherited when I joined BKS did not look the same when I was leaving. I was privileged enough to carry the organisation successfully through the 2010 boom. It may have seemed easy because of a buoyant market but on the other hand, buoyancy comes with a high risk of claims and mistakes can easily be made.

What has been your contribution to your profession?

It’s safe for me to say that through the years that I served in BKS, we came out profitable and with minimal number of claims. I was positively at the forefront of leading BKS into the acquisition space when it was acquired by a multinational. After the acquisition, I felt there were enough global chiefs to take the business forward and that my experience would be more impactful to an African owned business.

I have been a member of the disciplinary committee of CESA where firms are taken to task over unethical practice.

At my previous job, the HR manager and I developed an initiative known as Future Now, a mentoring program that persists to this day at AECOM. It is a very structured program aimed at developing the complete self for candidate engineers.

My professional background has been anchored in road and transportation engineering and I always affiliated myself to firms that were strong in that

From my early candidate engineer days, I was an active member of the SA Institution for Civil Engineering (SAICE) and I headed the portfolio of women in engineering for many years.

I also sat on the SAICE council for a number of years.

Mentoring is the kind of space that I enjoy and I have been to countless universities, conferences and forums to speak to professionals - particularly women. I am also a council member

of the University of Pretoria and sit on the advisory board of their engineering faculty.

What would you management style?

say

is

your

In a nutshell, I like to seek first to understand and be understood. I am really a listening type of leader; I believe if you do not take the time to listen you may be missing out on some significant wisdom. Because of that driving principle, I am consultative and would like to run a ship which fosters participation.

What would you say was the worst day in your career?

I once took a proposal to a board meeting and it was tossed across the table by one of my directors. It is my worst memory but has also been a phenomenal learning opportunity. I was actually seeking a principled view from the board and this particular director misunderstood my intentions. The reaction was out of line and was extremely dismissive. He acted as though the proposal was not worth the paper it was written on. But he apologized afterwards and I would take the call if he phoned me today. I am grateful for the lessons learnt from such experiences.

What do you do outside work?

Outside of work, I focus on rearing my two boys - or should I say three including my husband?

KC ROTTOK

NORTON ROSE FULBRIGHT, LEGAL FIRM AND OVERALL FIRM OF THE YEAR

N

orton Rose Fulbright was voted by the judges of the awards to be the legal firm and overall professional services firm of the year.

The firm’s notable contribution to the legal profession included this perspective on employee development.

“Creating connections and sustaining our shared culture between all our offices and staff is important to us. We do this through a variety of measures in relation to South Africa, such as running a global mobility policy for all employees; (over the last 18 months we have had 18 intra office secondments in Africa) and the focus on training and knowledge transfer through our industry focused groups.

And of course we place a major emphasis on Black Economic Empowerment internally - on recruitment, promotion and mentoring. As an example in 2013, 50% of our partner promotions in South Africa were black associates,” their submission read.

The firm also appears to have made considerable strides towards the upliftment of the community as well as its global standing.

our South African chairman, Sbu Gule, to global chairmanship as well as the hire of Gale Shabangu as diversity and inclusion manager for South Africa.”

Further attributes that led to the achievement include the significant growth realised in recent years, demonstration of customer service as well as technical excellence as evidenced by a myriad of awards won.

KEITH KUNDAI

“We are committed to equality of opportunity and diversity in the broadest sense. We believe that an inclusive environment that welcomes and supports differences, and encourages input from all perspectives, helps our people excel. A good example of this is the recent 1 May 2014 appointment of

BELOW: Sbu Gule (left) with his lifetime achievement award and Norton Rose award for law firm of the year and Riza Moosa (right) with the Norton Rose award for overall professional services firm of the year

23

AKWENI,

WINNER OF THE QUANTITY SURVEYORS & PROJECT MANAGERS FIRM OF THE YEAR

A

kweni Project Management is a firm with humble beginnings that has grown from two employees to 17 in a few short years. It is a 100% black owned South African firm with 80% of the staff being women.

Akweni opened a Ghanaian branch in 2008 with a staff complement of five employees running projects there.

24

The firm’s founder Anthony Afordofe, has been invited to act as an assessor and mentor by the South African Council for Project and Construction Management Professions (SACPCMP).

Development Agency, Johannesburg Property Company, Development Bank of South Africa (DBSA), South West Gauteng College, Barclays/Absa Group, First National Bank, Pareto, Morgan Stanley, Phalaborwa Mining Company, Fezile Dabi Municipality and Metsimaholo Municipality.

question thus: “Customer service is the only way to achieve our mandate to our clients, user-clients and stakeholders from project to project delivery. Akweni has embarked on the accreditation and certification process as of 2013 through the ISO 9001 programme to maintain best practices within our industry in customer service. We want to achieve the highest level of service delivery to our clients and will not stop until each employee and the company is equipped to perform at their optimum levels.”

“We want to achieve the highest level of service delivery to our clients and will not stop until each employee and the company is equipped to perform at their optimum levels...”

He was further seconded to the board of the Council and previously served as the Vice President of the Association of Construction Project Managers.

Clients include the Johannesburg

Akweni’s corporate social investment includes supporting the Rivers Church Foundation, Hospivision, Coach House and Uthando Labanthwana orphanages.

The firm addresses the customer service

KEITH KUNDAI

BELOW: Left - Anthony Afordofe receiving the award from KPMG CEO Moses Kgosana. Right – Anthony Afordofe poses for a photograph with wife and business partner Latty

011 486 3315 www.akweni.co.za

REGISTERED WITH:

Congratulations

Akweni Project Management For winning the South African Professional Services Award (SAPSA) 2014 PM/QS Firm of the year Award in November 2014

The leap isn’t as scary

when you’re working with the right people Leaders in engineering consulting

ENGINEERING & ARCHITECTURE

+27 11 519 4600 marketing@gibb.co.za | www.gibb.co.za GIBB is a Level 2 BBBEE contributor

GIBB,

ENGINEERING FIRM OF THE YEAR

G

IBB is South Africa’s largest black-owned consulting engineering firm, testament to its commitment to transformation in the industry. The firm delivers worldclass solutions across a diverse range of markets and was this year rated Topco’s number one firm in the engineering sector.

The firm employs an ethical commitment to how leadership conducts itself in its interaction with staff and clients as well as looking after the business on behalf of the shareholders. GIBB has an independent board in line with the King III Codes of Governance.

The firm also has a zero tolerance policy on corruption and has implemented an internal framework to deal with any threats to GIBB’s integrity in this regard. Internal whistle blowing is encouraged and the procurement handbook is designed to ensure ethics, probity and accountability in the procurement process. GIBB

is committed to maintaining its ISO 9001 certification through continual improvement. Additionally, the firm is a member of the South African Quality Institute and has pledged to uphold the core values of quality.

The Group CEO, Richard Vries, believes that the firm should aim to change lives and that this should be reflected in the way GIBB channels its efforts. “At GIBB, it is important for its people to incorporate the human element - their hearts - into everything they do and plough their CSI efforts back into the communities in which they operate.”

service offering by responding to client needs. GIBB recently merged with SVA International, adding architecture to its already comprehensive service offering.

The company has received a number of awards which includes: •

• •

In a relatively short time GIBB, has grown in leaps and bounds. Over the past six years GIBB’s staff complement has grown by almost 29 percent.

•

The firm achieved another year of great financial success in 2014, achieving revenue exceeding R 1 billion in fees two years ahead of its target date. The firm continuously strives to diversify its

•

•

2014 - Leading performer among the Topco Top Performing Companies 2013 - Leading performer among the Topco Top Performing Companies 2013 - Impumelelo SA’s Top Performing Companies 2012 - East London Airport Feather Award: Best Consultant 2011 - Feather Awards - GIBB won the Best Consultant Award at the 9th Annual East London Airport Feather Awards ceremony hosted by ACSA 2011 - CESA AON Engineering Excellence Awards - Partnering for Growth 2011 - Transport Africa Awards Innovation Award

GIBB CEO Richard Vries (in striped tie) with the rest of the GIBB team that attended the awards

27

ADELE LOMBARD,

YOUNG PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR

and comprehensive. On her return to GIBB, she was responsible for designing considerable portions of the Teylium Hotels before moving onto the Monorail Project in Port Harcourt, Nigeria.

She was also involved in the complicated wind load design for the Sikhuphe control tower and critical buildings, which required her to return to Stellenbosch University to discuss the design with her former professors.

This project was published in many engineering publications.

Ms Lombard formed part of the team responsible for the complex design of the EMS building at the University of the Free State for which GIBB was awarded the South African Institution of Civil Engineering (SAICE) Regional Excellence Award in 2012.

28

Adele receives her trophy from Busi Hlongwane of Investec Adele Lombard has established herself as an outstanding professional in her field. Throughout her career she has exceeded expectations and demonstrated her professional excellence on various projects for GIBB.

challenging circumstances. She is mature beyond her years, persistent and relentless, yet asserts her authority in a way that inspires people to want to cooperate with her. She is quick to understand issues and pro-active and versatile in resolving them.

In her position, she has been responsible for substantive project management, documentation quality control, and coordination. She slipped into this role smoothly and efficiently and has since become a much respected team leader.

Adele Lombard joined GIBB as a “Cum Laude” student from Stellenbosch University and submitted her application for registration as a Professional Engineer at the end of 2013. On completing her first year with GIBB, she returned to Stellenbosch to write her Master’s Degree in Engineering where she specialised in buildings and passed with distinction.

Her training to date has been varied

Although Adele is only 27, she has shown her character and tremendous work ethic. She is exceedingly hard working and will persevere through

Adele has been a key designer in many other projects including the Lobatse water supply in Botswana, the Botshabello reservoir near Bloemfontein and the Zuikerbosch water treatment plant.

She has not limited her expertise to design but has embraced the full spectrum of skills required to take a project from its inception to completion - including the admin planning and project leadership. Adele is a high achiever with a clear picture of where she wants to go and what it takes to succeed.

OGILVY PR

ACCOUNTING HONOURS,

FIRMS AND PROFESSIONALS OF THE YEAR

F

inalists for the 2015 audit firm of the year award included PWC - one of the “Big 4” audit firms whose achievements are well documented in Suresh Kana’s article featured in a previous edition, and Sizwe Ntsaluba Gobodo - a top performer at the awards on the back of achieving number 5 status having competed admirably against the “Big 4” on a number of projects. Nkonki was also a finalist in the accounting firm of the year category.

As mentioned in our profile article on the overall woman professional of the year Sindi Zilwa, the firm set a noble example for the profession by standing up to one of their significant clients who threatened legal action if the firm stood by its ‘disclaimer of opinion’ – a statement by auditors that they do not express an opinion on the financial position of a firm either because they have not completed their examination of the statements, or the information provided to them is not sufficient to form an opinion.

Another finalist was Nexia SAB&T, a medium-sized firm that has achieved a year on year growth of close to 30 percent, and has played a major role in the re-launch of the Black Chartered Accountants Practitioners Forum. Their partners take time out of their busy schedules to participate in committees established by the SA Institute of Chartered Accountants.

The winning firm was Grant Thornton which scored highest based on the pre-determined criteria that included strides in transformation, evidence of technical excellence, contribution to the community and demonstration

of customer service. The accounting professional of the year award was hotly contested boasting an accomplished field which included Suresh Kana of PWC - the eventual winner of the category, and Sindi Zilwa of Nkonki.

Moses Kgosana who heads a team of 260 partners at KPMG was also a top contender. He was the first black CEO of a “Big 4” audit firm whose appointment played a pivotal role in the transformation of the industry.

Another impressive professional in the running was Ajen Sita who heads EY and has been at the helm of reengineering its 33-country A f r i c a n operations into an integrated business unit styled EY Africa.

The final leader of a “Big 4” firm Lwazi Bam of Deloitte was also a candidate for the coveted prize. At 44, he is one of the youngest CEO’s of a firm grossing more than a billion rand in revenue in the p r o fe s s i o n a l services sector.

The contest also included Bashier Adam of Nexia

SAB&T who heads the mediumsized firm as well as its public sector division. He also serves on the Europe Middle-East and Africa board of Nexia International.

The seventh candidate was Andrew Hannington, CEO of Grant Thornton (GT) who served as the Africa chairman of PKF for six years prior to the merger of the PKF practice with GT. KEITH KUNDAI

GRANT THORNTON,

AUDIT/ACCOUNTING FIRM OF THE YEAR

G

rant Thornton South Africa won the title of Audit / Accounting firm of the year.

This award comes at a time when the firm’s organic and acquisitive growth strategy continues to bear fruit with Grant Thornton South Africa celebrating a 19% growth in revenues for the 2014 year.

The first ever South African Professional Services Awards (SAPSA) ceremony focused on giving recognition to professional firms and individuals for their best practices and exceptional work within their respective industries.

30

PPS, the only mutual financial services company in South Africa that specialises in providing solutions to graduate professionals, sponsored the prestigious event.

In addition to Grant Thornton’s SAPSA award as the Audit/ Accounting firm of 2014, the firm also received nominations in four additional categories, as follows: •

•

•

•

Finalist for the Overall Professional Services Firm of the Year award The CEO, Andrew Hannington, was a nominated finalist for the Auditing / Accounting Professional of the Year award Deputy CEO, Jeanette Hern, was nominated as a finalist for the Woman Professional of the Year Award in the Legal and Finance Category Vianca Pretorius - a Partner Grant Thornton Johannesburg who was named one of the top 35 most outstanding young CAs under the

age of 35 for 2014 by the South African Institute for Chartered Accountants - was a nominated finalist for the Young Professional of the Year Award “We’ve had a celebratory year of note,” says Deepak Nagar, national chairman, Grant Thornton South Africa. “To be nominated amongst a vast number of other entries and our accolade as winners of the esteemed SAPSA audit and accounting firm of the year award bears testament to the many successes and growth targets we’ve achieved during 2014. It’s a huge achievement and it highlights our extensive skills and quality of our people, and our business.”

STRAT COMMS

Andrew Hannington of Grant Thornton receives the trophy on behalf of the firm from Silvia Oliveira of Kentz Engineering

Reason says: admire the difference.

Instinct says: cherish the individual.

At Grant Thornton, we recruit people with a passion for business, who combine reason and instinct to give the kind of advice that makes a real difference to the organisations they work with.

They know it’s about more than just the numbers, it’s about enjoying tough challenges, seeking out opportunities and adding real value to our clients by unlocking their potential for growth.

South African Professional Services Awards (SAPSA) Grant Thornton awarded Best Accounting/ Auditing Firm of the year 2014

www.gt.co.za

2015 Grant Thornton South Africa. All rights reserved. Grant Thornton South Africa is a member firm of Grant Thornton International Ltd (GTIL). GTIL and the member firms are not a worldwide partnership. Services are delivered by the member firms. GTIl and its member firms are not agents of, and do not obligate, one another and are not liable for one another’s acts or omissions. Please see www.gt.co.za for further details.

MANAGEMENT CONSULTING HONOURS

T

with a particular emphasis on supporting private sector engagement. The company’s three key areas of focus are: Consulting, Projects, and Capacity Development. Africa Business Group is based in Johannesburg, South Africa and has associates in London, New York, Nairobi, Ghana and Ethiopia.

he finalists for management consulting firm of the year at the South African Professional Services Awards (SAPSA) were as follows: •

32

•

Pamoja Financial Consulting which offers general financial consultancy and revenue management solutions primarily targeted at Municipalities and Public sector Corporations.

Formed in 2006, Pamoja’s key focus in the last couple of years has been on infrastructure projects and have to date have been involved in a number of landmark infrastructure projects in SA. Africa Business Group - a rapidly growing company specialising in designing, promoting, facilitating and implementing African economic development projects

•

EOH Consulting - with a “vertical” focus on telecoms, mining, manufacturing and financial services, EOH Consulting has developed “horizontal” Centres of Excellence (CoEs) and where these intersect they have developed industry and subject area-specific Value Propositions for their clients. These centres of excellence include strategy and operations, information management and analytics,

information risk management, process improvement, people change management, programme and project management, ICT architecture and digital.

•

Accenture South Africa (Winner) - With 192,000 professionals in more than 50 centres, Accenture offices and client locations, the Accenture Global Delivery Network is the largest and most diversified group of management consulting, technology and business process outsourcing professionals in the world. All of Accenture’s top 100 clients are served in its Global Delivery Network. In South Africa, the firm is responsible for billing and invoicing municipal taxes and services for approximately 10 percent of South Africa’s population. It was the first information, communications and technology (ICT) sector organisation to receive a level 2 BEE rating from Empowerdex.

For five consecutive years, Accenture placed in the Top Employers (previously CRF) Institute’s annual Best Employer in South Africa.

The management consulting professional of the year came down to a contest between the CEO of Accenture William Mzimba, Faith Mwaura - CEO of Pamoja Consulting, and the eventual winner, the CEO of EOH Consulting Asher Bohbot.

KEITH KUNDAI A representative holds up the trophy received on behalf of Asher Bohbot. Presenting the trophy is the CEO of Turner and Townsend South Africa Mr. Ian Donaldson

PAMOJA’S FAITH MWAURA FINALIST FOR MANAGEMENT CONSULTING PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR

P

amoja has presented me with a perfect opportunity to fulfil my dreams and aspirations.

As of 1st of June 2013, the directors of the firm saw it fit to make space for a new young and dynamic team to lead the advisory business to the next level. This led to my promotion as chief executive officer of Pamoja. My rise to this position is part of the Pamoja story that if you dare to dream, wear loyalty on your sleeve and work hard, then there are no barriers to what you can become.

Also the firm continues to support me in every way so that I can succeed and advance my technical skills.

Pamoja is committed to substantive skills development on mandates during the pitching as well as the execution phases of each exercise. To this end the firm has given me the ownership of leading clients by empowering me to take decisions on the advisory front.

As an example Pamoja partnered with a reputable global financial institution in order to gain the requisite experience in international debt capital markets and thus expand the range of advisory services Pamoja can offer clients.

The partnership has resulted in securing and successfully implementing two landmark bond issuances: Transnet

2013 ZAR international bond and National Treasury 2013 USD bond.

I was nominated the lead advisor on both transactions and I have gained enormous experience and diversified my skills into the area of debt capital.

ARCHITECTURE HONOURS

T

he finalists for the firm of the year in the architecture category were as follows:

34

• Paragon Architects – This is a firm of architects that has project interests across Africa including Angola, Ghana, Uganda and Mozambique.

Clients have entrusted the firm with shaping the working environments of large companies in South Africa including Alexander Forbes, Standard Bank, Bloomberg, General Motors, Sun International, Absa Capital and Discovery Health. The firm’s recent engagements include the Sasol offices on Katherine Street, Alice Lane Phase Two - which includes Santam and Sanlam, Alice Lane Phase Three which includes offices for the attorneys, Bowman Gilfillan and Alice Lane Annex which will house ABSA Capital. The company’s demonstration of technical excellence is evidenced by various awards won including 2014: South African Property Owners Association (SAPOA) Awards: Winner Commercial Office Development for Alice Lane Phase One, 2013; Gauteng Institute for Architecture: Award for Architecture: Alexander Forbes, 2013; Loerie Awards: Bronze Awards for Environmental Design for 15 Alice Lane and 2013 SAPOA Awards: Winner Office Development Corporate and Overall Winner.

• GLH Architects – The firm maintains a staff complement of between 50-60 people which ensures a practical equilibrium between the correct resourcing of jobs, and partner oversight and guidance on all projects.

This results in each building receiving the utmost consideration from concept to implementation. Throughout its long

and proud history, the partnership has been commissioned to design a wide range of projects varying in scale and function across many industries. This gives the practice extensive experience upon which to draw. Notable work done includes the prestigious Nedbank corporate office in Sandton - the first Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) Green Star certified building in South Africa, having achieved a 4-star design rating in October 2009 and a 4-star As-Built rating in September 2010. Phase II completes the Nedbank Campus, located in the heart of the Sandton business district.

• Boogertman and Partners Boogertman + Partners Architects was established in 1982. With offices in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town, Durban, and Kenya, the practice engages in projects throughout Africa continually embracing social, economic, and functional challenges through ‘Excellence by design’. Having gained national and international acclaim, Boogertman + Partners has successfully completed projects in Egypt and Sudan and has ongoing projects in Botswana, Kenya, South Africa and Zambia, as well as numerous design proposals in the Ivory Coast, Ghana, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

• Nico van der Meulen architects The architectural practice was established in 1984 by owner and founder Nico van der Meulen and his wife Santa. He initially studied civil engineering, explored project management and finally registered as a professional architect. Under Nico’s guidance and with his two sons following in his footsteps and

joining him, the firm has grown into a family legacy. The company lives and breathes the conviction of a total design philosophy, creating a seamless transition between the exterior and the interior, reducing the scale to finer detail. This resulted in M Square Lifestyle Design and M Square Lifestyle Necessities being established in association with Nico van der Meulen Architects. More than 250 designs from Nico van der Meulen Architects have been featured in magazines and hardcover books all over the world, with South African Home Owner magazine being the most common publication in which the firm’s bespoke architecture is showcased. Furthermore, many of the firm’s projects have been exclusively selected for front covers.

• Louis Karol Architects - From a firm of one partner Louis Karol has grown to 11 partners. Louis Karol was established in 1952 in Cape Town and has offices in Cape Town and Johannesburg. The firm offers the following professional services: Architecture, Interior Design, Space Planning, Project Management and Outsourcing. Louis Karol is one of the largest and most eminent architectural firms in South Africa with a portfolio of work comprising numerous corporate head offices and commercial office buildings, waterfronts, residential apartments, hotels, retail facilities, convention and exhibition centres, educational buildings and numerous refurbishment projects. The practice has worked with the majority of corporate and public clients in South Africa (as well as international corporates such as Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Shell, Dunlop & Swiss Re), producing crafted, robust and striking architecture which

responds to its environment, makes a statement, and supports environmental and economic sustainability.

• GAPP Architects (Winning architectural firm) - Glen Gallagher - director emeritus and a founding member of GAPP - was responsible for persuading the Royal Institute of British Architects to set up a bursary fund for students who were disadvantaged as a result of apartheid. A bursary scheme, developed by GAPP, annually provides financial aid to black students for fees and living expenses for their final year at university. Large scale urban projects, urban design frameworks for whole

cities or parts of cities, land evaluation, land release strategies and city-region planning policies all fall under the integrated disciplines that GAPP brings to bear on its projects. GAPP has received numerous architectural awards from its peers in the South African Institute of Architecture as well as numerous similar awards from other professional organisations.

GAPP presently has 25% of its equity held by previously disadvantaged individuals with 12.5% equity under black ownership. Employment equity consists of 45% BEE Staff at an operational level.

Erky Wood (left) of GAPP receives the winners trophy for architecture from Bashier Adam of Nexia SAB&T

architects/urban designers

Awarded SAPSA

Architecture Firm of the Year

2014 www.gapp.net JHB (011)4821648 / CT (021)4242390

“Anatomy”

ROBERT LEGH,

&

Lifetime Achievement Awards

CHAIRMAN OF BOWMAN GILFILLAN

SBU GULE,

CHAIRMAN OF NORTON ROSE FULBRIGHT

R

obert Legh is the chairman of Bowman Gilfillan with 25 years extensive experience in corporate finance, antitrust and regulatory work.

36

Competition Review, Who’s Who Legal Competition and The Legal 500.

“I would like to thank the organizers and sponsors, it is such a novel idea that has never been done before and I think we should give the sponsors and organizers a round of applause,” Robert remarked at the ceremony.

Robert founded the competition law group in 1998 and has worked on a number of high profile cases over the years in relation to hostile mergers, abuse of dominance and cartel cases.

He contributed to the first South African text book in the area.

S

Robert Legh is ranked as a leading South African competition lawyer in several rating publications including Chambers and Partners Global Guide to the World’s Leading Lawyers, Global

Norton Rose Fulbright boasts a base of about 4000 lawyers spread across

ibusiso ‘Sbu’ Gule has been involved in Labour and Employment Law for more than 20 years and has been published in numerous reputable local and international print media and law journals.

55 offices across the globe and is on the list of top 10 global legal firms.

In 2014, Sbu Gule was appointed Global Chairman of this international organisation in addition to serving as Chairman of Norton Rose Fulbright in South Africa.

“I would like to thank my parents and my wife Zanele who is here with me this evening for all the support that they have given me over the years. I thank my colleagues at Norton Rose for putting me in a position where I can make a difference to people’s lives in particular through a subject which is close to my heart… labour relations,” Gule said.

KEITH KUNDAI

Robert Legh (left) and Sbu Gule (right)

TURNING HEADS

WE’RE PROUD TO BE THE AFRICAN LEGAL AWARDS PROPERTY & CONSTRUCTION TEAM OF THE YEAR

ATTIE PRETORIUS,

CHAIRMAN OF CLIFFE DEKKER HOFMEYR

A

ttie Pretorius is the chairman of Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr having joined as a director in 1984. He is an expert in property law and has advised several large corporations including all the major South African banks. He authored the South African chapter for the International Comparative Legal Guide to Real Estate Law, and advised on the Waterfall City project, which at R11 billion is the largest property development in South African history.

Best Lawyers International 2013, named Attie “Lawyer of the Year” in Johannesburg Real Estate.

This was his speech at the awards ceremony.

cliffedekkerhofmeyr.com

TLG6432

Attie Pretorius

Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr is a member of DLA Piper Group, an alliance of legal practices.

“It is not often that one gets recognition of this magnitude. For practicing attorneys, there are no shortcuts to achieve success. I can assure you that it takes long hours. I would like to thank my firm Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr for affording me the opportunity and the platform to achieve my career goals over a period of more than 30 years.

Finally, but most importantly, I would like to express my gratitude to my family and especially my wife Chrissie who as a result of long hours has had to make enormous sacrifices.”

&

Lifetime Achievement Awards

STANFORD MKHACANE, M.D. OF NYELETI CONSULTING

TRUEMAN GOBA,

CO-FOUNDER OF HATCH GOBA

S

tanford Mkhacane is the current president and a fellow of the SA Institution for Civil Engineering (SAICE). He is a former Chairman of Consulting Engineers of South Africa and managing director of Nyeleti Consulting (Pty) Ltd. Mr Mkhacane boasts 39 years of experience in civil, roads and transportation engineering, with specific reference to the design, construction, and management of rural roads and civil engineering services.

38

He has also been involved in research on transportation; has published approximately 10 national and international papers; and the accreditation of Civil Engineering programmes at the Edwardo Mondlane University in Mozambique, the University of Kwa Zulu Natal (UKZN) and Wits University.

Stanford Mkhacane

Mkhacane thanked his colleague Dr Pienaar who provided the motivation for the award, his parents, the educational institutions in which he studied engineering and SAICE. “Finally I would like to thank my wife who is here with me. This award is for you,” he said.

T

rueman Goba is the founder of Goba (Pty) Ltd, consulting engineers and project managers.

From humble beginnings, the company grew to a staff complement of over 500 professionals nationwide.

In 2013, Goba took the decision to merge with international engineering giant Hatch, with Trueman becoming

Trueman Goba

executive chairman of the combined entity.

Trueman served as the president of the South African Institution of Civil Engineering (SAICE) in 2002 and as president of the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) between 2007 and 2009.

“I would like to congratulate the

organizers of this function tonight. It is so wonderful to have awards that are held together with all these professions and to meet people whose names we have encountered in the course of our engineering business including Louis Karol, Rodney Grosskopff and Brian Eaton.”

BRIAN EATON,

&

Lifetime Achievement Awards

MANAGING PARTNER OF RSM JOHANNESBURG

NONKULULEKO GOBODO

CO-FOUNDER OF SIZWE NTSALUBA GOBODO

B

rian Eaton is the Managing Partner of RSM Betty & Dickson (Johannesburg), a position that he has held since 2001.

His professional career began at the firm in 1973 and he has dedicated the last 41 years to building the firm and constantly finding new ways to improve the service offerings.

In 2011 SizweNtsaluba VSP and Gobodo Incorporated merged to form the largest black-owned and managed accounting firm and the fifth largest accounting firm in South Africa.

She is Chairman of the combined entity and is a recipient of several awards including a Top Business Woman Award in 2014. Gobodo thanked

her family including her son who accompanied her to the SAPSA Awards for allowing her to take time to build her career and her firm. She announced that she would be leaving the profession in 2015.

It is through Brian’s leadership that RSM Betty & Dickson has grown from small beginnings to a medium sized firm and has become a significant player in the professional services arena.

39

In 2001, Brian took the decision to join the RSM International network – the 7th largest network of independent audit, tax and advisory firms in the world.

Brian spent four years as Chairman of the Board of RSM International.

This is a tremendous achievement, especially considering that there are over 700 Managing Partners in the RSM network.

Brian Eaton

N

onkululeko Gobodo is SA’s first black female chartered accountant.

She had a vision when she was young of one day helping change the economic landscape of South Africa, and refused to be part of an international network choosing instead to establish her own home-grown brand.

In 1996 she founded Gobodo Incorporated which served as an audit practice working with parastatals and government departments.

Nonkululeko Gobodo

LOUIS KAROL,

&

Lifetime Achievement Awards

FOUNDER OF LOUIS KAROL ARCHITECTS

RODNEY GROSSKOPFF, CHAIRMAN OF GLH

L

ouis Karol arrived in South Africa in the 1930’s on an immigrant ship from Lithuania.

He worked at his parents’ boarding house while studying architecture at UCT. He started his practice while still in University which has gone on to design a number of award-winning South African and international buildings.

He has served as an examiner for Wits University and chair of Architecture SA and has won a number of architecture awards including the Architecture SA Project Award for the Waterfront.

40

Louis Karol

“I am still a young man; I am only 86 and I am still working. It is a very special privilege in life to be in architecture; it is one of those opportunities to be creative. And it is a tremendous achievement in life to be responsible for part of the built environment, with probably the most special [building I worked on] in South Africa being the Waterfront project in Cape Town,” Karol said in his acceptance speech.

R

odney Grosskopff is the Chairman and a Partner at Grosskopff, Lombart, Huyberechts (GLH) and Associates based in Johannesburg.

Rodney has designed and been associated with some of the firm’s most notable buildings over the last halfcentury. His architectural philosophy has been ‘To Add Value’, which remains the company’s credo to this day.

He was involved in the conversion of the old produce market into the Market Theatre and is a recipient of the A

Rodney Grosskopff

S Furner Prize for Architecture. Mr Grosskopff is a published author whose books include ‘Carved in Stone’.

“It is with enormous humility that I accept this award; really knowing that it was earned by so many wonderful people. If I did anything in the world to deserve this accolade, it is to select and

collect wonderful people around me,” Rodney said.

SAVING FOR THE FUTURE

A

s we head towards the middle of the year, we remind people to reflect on their lifestyle plans going forward and to develop a strategy on how to get there. It is likely that you will need a certain amount of your wealth on hand for a rainy day, and that you are likely to have short, medium and long-term financial goals to work towards.

So what are your options, and where do you invest your money?

Bank Deposit Accounts Returns on a bank deposit are typically around 5% p.a.. If tax is payable then the net return is lower e.g. 20% tax on 5% gives a net interest of 4% per annum. If inflation is 3.9%, and you’re receiving 4% net interest, then in real buying power your money is only increasing by 0.1% per year.

So what are the alternatives?

Collective Investments A collective investment, most commonly known as a unit trust, will typically pool together thousands of people’s money and invest them into one or more different funds. Depending on what you want, these funds could be very low risk to very high risk.

Key Points • There are hundreds of different funds to choose from • There are a wide range of different fund managers to choose from • There are four main different asset types • Even within the different asset types, the level of risk/return can vary • Some fund managers are better than

others • The difference between the best and worst fund can be staggering There are four main asset types; equities (shares), fixed interest, cash, and property. You can select some funds that combine all of these elements or ones that contain just one.

The main types of assets for collective investments are as follows: Equities (shares) Their value fluctuates significantly and the level of risk depends on two key factors: the timescale of the investment and the type of shares selected.

Government Issued Bonds Government Issued Bonds (South African Gilts) are in effect a government’s way of borrowing.

Government bonds will pay the holder interest annually, until a pre-determined future date. The traded price of a bond depends to a large degree on interest rates. If interest rates increase, the bond price will reduce and vice versa which will in turn have an impact on the value of the capital amount invested. These are, however, seen as one the safest types of fixed interest investments since they are backed by a government.

Property Many retail parks and office blocks are, for example, owned by investment companies, who rent out the premises.

The property stocks are listed and traded on the stock exchange. Investing in property is not risk free, and commercial property also depends to a degree on how the economy performs.

Cash Funds A cash fund, sometimes referred to as a deposit fund or money markets fund, invests in cash or “near cash” investments. These are very low risk investments and you will get a return comparable to investing directly in a bank account. Spreading your wealth well between the different asset classes and methods of approach would give you a diversified and balanced portfolio.

Non-resident persons continue to be taxed only on their South African source of income. On departure, an expatriate may take away their savings, but needs to confirm that they have not previously emigrated from South Africa. South Africa is by far one of the most economically developed of the African states and as such will likely be the continent’s economic gateway for the foreseeable future. It would make sound financial sense to invest at least a portion of one’s wealth into the South African market.

Wendy Foley CFP *Consolidated is a national financial planning practice with offices in Western Cape, Johannesburg, Tshwane, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. Wendy is based in Gauteng. For more information please visit: www.consolidated.co.za

41

MINISTER GIGABA & HIGH RANKING OFFICIALS GIVE DETAILED DHA INFORMATION

TAP Immigration:

D

42

uring the course of the month of April, the department brought together multinationals and provided a platform for them to air their concerns and for the department to explain its position on the new Immigration laws. IBN Immigration Solutions had the privilege of direct engagement with the Minister of Home Affairs Malusi Gigaba and other high-ranking Department of Home Affairs (DHA) officials. We raised some of our major concerns directly to him and he expressed a willingness to look into them. He appeared to be accessible and prepared to assist where possible.

It however remains to be seen whether this engagement will yield any real results.

The DHA acknowledged the glaring inconsistencies of adjudication at the missions abroad which are in part responsible for an increase in appeals.

In order to address this and improve quality at the missions, heads of the consulate departments in all missions will receive training in South Africa in May and June 2015. In addition new checklists will be issued to provide clarity for officials. They also conceded that the appeals section is overwhelmed and has allocated more staff to it with a view to reducing the five month processing time.

The Department confirmed that in their view, holders of Intra Company

Transfer Work (ICTW) visas cannot apply to change to another visa from within South Africa. This is consistent with what we see in practice.

centre is expected to launch shortly and is to be housed inside the Gauteng Growth & Development Agency’s investment centre in Sandton.

Their reasoning is that an ICTW visa is temporary and therefore, an applicant must return to their home country to change the terms of the visa. However, according to the law only a change from a visitor or medical treatment visa is prohibited from within South Africa.

Consequently, there are grounds for appeal for those with ICTW visas.

The existing corporate account will be reviewed shortly and South Africa’s major 300 corporates will have the opportunity to register with this premium service. Besides better service, processing turn-around times shall be brought down to two weeks instead of 4-9 weeks.

The new requirement of the transfer of skills plan will remain and will be monitored for compliance by the Department of Labour (DoL), not DHA. This is worrying because many companies do not have local employees who can take over the senior positions within their organization.

DHA further reiterated that they require applicants for a Study Visa to have medical aid cover in place from a medical aid scheme registered in South Africa as it is difficult for them to verify the authenticity of some international medical aids.

Extensions of General Work Visa (GWV) are regarded as a new application, thus DoL needs to be involved again. The current long processing times of up to six months within the DoL are not the responsibility of the DHA and applicants who feel disadvantaged should feel free to take legal steps against DoL. In my opinion, DHA is making it unnecessarily harder for employers to employ foreigners.

A special Premium Corporate VFS

Applications from Kenya, Nigeria and India will in future be processed in Pretoria. VFS will accept applications in the above countries, but the adjudication will take place in South Africa. However, this new hub will not be in place before the end of 2015.

Lastly, the Minister indicated that they are currently working on a white paper and new amendments to the law can be expected by the end of 2016.

In summary, I would say that the Department is keen to engage with large multinationals to ensure that they receive a better service which will result in good service for multinationals and a slower service for individual applicants.

Additionally, although the high-ranking officials are generally approachable and willing to help, we know from past experience that as soon as they pass the problem down the ranks, nothing much gets done.

ANDREAS KRENSEL from IBN Immigration Consultants www.ibn.co.za

MONEYGRAM REWARDS USERS OF RAND TO RAND SERVICE TO ZIMBABWE

M

oneyGram International launched a campaign in December 2014 to create awareness regarding the Rand to Rand service. The transfer costs only 8 percent to send Rands to Zimbabwe.

This is the applicable flat consumer fee on the face amount to be sent in Rand, excluding Value Added Taxation. The payout currency is determined by the sender at the time of sending the funds from Bidvest Bank locations in South Africa.

The campaign run a competition for lucrative prizes for users of the service who sent R1,500 or more during the month of December. The winners were determined by way of a draw from a sealed box conducted at Bidvest Bank Carlton Centre, Johannesburg.

The prizes were co-sponsored by campaign partners FlyAfrica.com and the Rainbow Tourism Group. Winners received two fully paid tickets to Victoria Falls as well as two nights bed and breakfast at the 4 Star A’Zambezi River Lodge. The lodge is located in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, 25km from the airport, nestling on the banks of the mighty Zambezi river within the periphery of the Zambezi National Park.

Lovemore Sithole was one of the winners who was presented with his prize at a ceremony hosted by the High Commissioner of Zimbabwe to South Africa at the Zimbabwean Consulate in Pretoria. Sithole stated that he is a regular user of the international money transfer company.

“They have very many locations in Zimbabwe meaning the people I am

43

sending money to can access the funds easily. They also have very good service.

I am really looking forward to the trip seeing as the last time I was at Victoria Falls was about three years ago and it is a destination I love to visit,” Sithole said. The function was also attended by the second winner Brian Muzapi. He is a civil engineer who sends money to his parents in Zimbabwe every three months through MoneyGram.

“When I sent money in early December, I was informed that MoneyGram was running this Rand to Rand competition.

They informed me in March this year

that I was a winner and I was obviously elated! I do my best to send money to my parents now and then and this felt like I was being rewarded for doing the right thing,” Muzapi said.

Muzapi went on to say the reason he uses MoneyGram is because it is convenient as the agent he uses is very close to his place of work.

“I also found the 8% pricing straight forward and easy to understand, therefore I will encourage everyone to try out the service and experience it themselves,” he concluded.

BABALWA FATYI’S

GREETINGS FROM MY CORE

I

have always thought of poetry as a genre of literature that requires absolute honesty and some degree of vulnerability from the poet, if the reader/listener is to enjoy its illuminating power.

Using few words, the poet has to dig deep to draw the reader/listener into their world, sharing memories, realities, and fantasies. Babalwa Fatyi accomplishes this beautifully in her debut published collection of poetry, Greetings From My Core: Soul Salutations.

44

I recently met Babalwa Fatyi at a women’s only cocktail event and was drawn to her quiet steady voice. A good friend of mine had loudly and proudly summoned my attention to her presence which made me initially awkward as I usually am when caught off my guard. I diffidently waved at her and said a weak “hallo” while my mind raced.

She politely waved back and started walking away. At that moment, I knew I had to pull myself together if I wanted to be in the presence of a woman whose thoughts, words, and feelings I had read in a book that I now display in my small library.

When I finally caught up with her, I became aware of her calm confidence whilst we had a quick chat about her work.

Later that night, when she took the stage to perform her poetry, the hall vibrated from the power of her voice.

She is truly in touch with her core for it was as if she spoke from her soul. But this is a review of her collection of poetry not her presentation.

Greetings From My Core: Soul Salutations, is a collection of 52 poems that takes the reader through different chapters of being. The poems are divided into nine “movements”/ “chapters” that capture different motions of life and emotions. She begins by opening and presenting herself to the imagined reader.

Consciousness from within salutes the honour of being Thus paying reverence to my core for surfacing And balancing the being I am She then leads the reader through a journey loaded with feelings and experiences that resonate with humanity. The first part reads more like performance poetry, something one expects to hear at a conference, but it gets deeper and somewhat complex as the “chapters” develop.

Self-identity is emphasized, and she describes the different important elements that define her core: business, environment, African culture, spirituality, motherhood, loss, victory, love and relationships. In the true South African Ubuntu spirit, she acknowledges that she exists because of, and, with others.

The collection of poems is developed on blocks of everyday living held together by memories and dreams.

TAP Book Review

I am reminded Audre Lorde’s definition of poetry as a “revelatory distillation of experience, not a sterile word play that covers a desperate wish for imagination without insight”.

been taken not to compromise on the African authenticity of her experiences

experiences are no longer marginal but have become central.

Babalwa Fatyi’s collection of poetry contributes to this body of literature. Her passion is undeniable, and her commitment to her art is admirable.

There are moments of repetition especially in the introduction of the different “chapters”, but the potential, beauty and power of the poems lies in their simplicity and perceived candour. It is definitely book to have by ones bedside.

“Consciousness from within salutes the honour of being Thus paying reverence to my core for surfacing And balancing the being I am..”

Lorde, a 20th century Caribbean-American poet, believed that in order to present one’s true self (in this case as a poet), one needs to be aware of and interact with their cultural consciousness and “respect those hidden sources of power from where true knowledge and lasting action comes”.

and thoughts. Some of the poems are published in isiXhosa, and several of those published in English are dotted

“Self-identity is emphasized, and she describes the different important elements that define her core: business, environment, African culture, spirituality, motherhood, loss, victory, love and relationships....”

Babalwa conveys this deep level of consciousness in her poetry. She is well aware of her beginnings, her culture, her realities and dreams and she delicately invites the readers to experience this through poetry.

She seamlessly oscillates between the physical and the supernatural, hence complicating trite definitions of identity.

Politics of language Although most of her poems are in English, there is a sense of cautiousness and restraint in how the language has been employed.

One gets the feeling that the writer has simply borrowed the language to reach a wider audience (for several obvious reasons), but great care has

with indigenous words and phrases.

Language is core in the determination and definition of personal and communal identity.

It is always refreshing to meet authors and poets bold enough to utilize African languages in their authentic form and locate it in African literature, and at the same time, display a mastery of English to the point that they can mould it to accommodate African archetypes. It is even more inspirational when young African women poets do this.

Over the years, the presence of African women writers has become more obvious and their narratives and

WANJIRU WAICHIGO-NJOGU

45

XENOPHOBIA AND THE REASONABLE BYSTANDER

I

had decided not to write about Xenophobia. I have heard and seen a lot on the subject in the media, on social media forums, at every get together and in every conversation.

I had shed my tears at the horrific images doing the rounds on Facebook but I was still not going to write about it.

46

My heart was sore but I thought all that needed to be said had been said. At least that was how I felt until Emmanuel Sithole was murdered in Alexandra.

Emmanuel Sithole, a Mozambiquan national, was murdered in what must be the most well documented crime in a long time.

According to Times Live, he was murdered because he was a foreign national and died with three armbands on his wrist that read “United for Bafana.” The heartbreaking irony.

crawl away. My heart and mind cannot accept the assertion that the only thing a reasonable bystander could have done at this time, was take photos.

I know that it’s easy to be an armchair critic. It’s easy to perform a post mortem of another’s actions and to judge them harshly.

I know that a reasoned perspective is not always a luxury one can afford in

take a selfie of herself, blood and all.

On 702 Talk Radio, the photographer defended himself by saying the anger that has been directed towards him should be directed towards the attackers.

After listening to his defence of his actions, one is inclined to believe that there is an inability to comprehend that there are two guilty parties in a crime of any sort, including xenophobia.

“After listening to his defence of his actions, one is inclined to believe that there is an inability to comprehend that there are two guilty parties in a crime of any sort, including xenophobia. The crime committed by the murderer and the crime committed by the ones who watch it happen and do nothing to stop it....”

His death was tragic and unnecessary but it’s not the mere fact of his death that moved me to write. It is the fact that a team of journalists, faced with a man being murdered, chose to take photos first and then help later.

There are photos of every stage of the murder, from the repeated bashing with a wrench to the photos of Emanuel collapsing in the gutter as he tried to

life’s situations. But when I see those last two photos of Emmanuel’s life… bloodied, open gash on his chest, face grimacing in pain and cell phone in hand, I cannot believe that someone paused to take a photo or two or three before helping him.

It reminds me a little of one of my sisters. She loves selfies. When she was involved in a brutal car accident that left her with a bloody head and terrible whiplash, the first thing she did was

The crime committed by the murderer and the crime committed by the ones who watch it happen and do nothing to stop it.

One can’t help but feel that the rules of a healthy society have been forgotten by some.

Rules like I am my brother’s keeper; I must act reasonably at all times; an attack on one is an attack on all of us; Ubuntu.

No matter how much I try, I cannot see the reasonableness in taking a photo while a man; a husband; a father; a son; a human dies. It is the human imperative to try our hardest to save another’s life.

Where morality fails, there is always the law. The “reasonable man test,” discussed ad nauseum during the Oscar Pistorius trial, is used to determine whether a person acted in a manner that is so unreasonable and negligent that it resulted in the loss of life in another.

Would as reasonable person have foreseen that taking photos of a man with his chest cut open instead of helping immediately might result in his death? If so, could any step have been taken to try and prevent the loss or death in this case?

I would like to believe that something more reasonable could have been done to try and save Emmanuel but we will never know because a photo was taken instead. The photographer is merely a metaphor for the response to xenophobia by some authorities

and some communities. Help came eventually, but the price had already been paid.

I thank the community in Mamelodi who made a strong statement about xenophobia: “there will no xenophobia here.” They stated unequivocally that they were prepared to fight for the safety of their foreign neighbours.

I thank the brave South Africans who stood at street corners in their communities to prevent the looting of foreign shops and beat back the

attackers. I thank the two Maritzburg taxi drivers who stepped in when a man wielding a spanner attempted to attack two Congolese men.

“There is no room for xenophobia in Howick,” they said. I thank these and many other unsung heroes who stood for humanity when xenophobia reared its ugly head.

CHAITWA MAMOYO

47

Shutterstock

THE WORLD HAS GONE MAD

I

s it just me or does it seem as if the world has gone mad?! Or maybe that is exactly how the world has been and now we just have greater access to information.

The last few months have exposed to me new realms of crazy. Up north we have people fleeing on boats that seem to be capsizing more often than not.

48

In the west we have a group whose name translates to “Western education is forbidden” killing people randomly and a little over a year ago kidnapped 276 school girls. In the east we have a similar group whose name translates to “The youth” who recently, in the early hours of the morning, brought death upon a university as retribution for nonMuslims invading a Muslim territory.

Then down south we have…HAD…a seemingly whole nation that is in fact wholly broken, and the signs of this brokenness are starting to show. The 27th of April, known as “Freedom Day” in SA, marks the anniversary of our first democratic elections. 21 years later, our minds are more shackled than before. I cite two recent illustrative instances below amongst many, and this is just in Africa.

It was my last acceptance letter and my parents broke the piggy bank. A 20 hour bus ride later, I was finally there.

Mission: BCom. (Information Systems and Accounting), post grad, then Chattered Accountant (SA).

That’s it and that’s all. Rain

or shine that was my only mission because in my mind I was fortunate to have the opportunity and it was my only opportunity to make it in this world. For over 20 years I walked past this inanimate stone object, but you see, my circumstances were different from many that saw Mr. Rhodes as an

business built that assisted in providing disadvantaged children with a good foundation was no more.

In hindsight though it may well have come at a good time bearing in mind what has flared up in the country over the past few weeks. Sad shame.

“Why would anyone want to live in a world where everyone looked, ate, spoke, dressed, thought, drank, danced, believed and worshipped the same?..” obstacle to their progress, and good on them, I hope his removal helps them achieve their goals. One thing this did show us was how divided and truly shackled by our past this nation truly is.

Xenophobia. Phobia implies a fear but this is just contempt for foreign nationals. SA has been my home for 31 years. A little over a month ago, a Ghanaian called me in desperate need of a lawyer. There was a mutiny being staged at their crèche in Garankuwa that they have travelled 200 kilometres to and from daily for 18 years.

They opened it to supplement their income and like me, they have been in South Africa for over 30 years. A meeting conducted in Tswana was held by the parents, in conjunction with the department of social work, child welfare and the police.

Arson on their property and harm to their person were threatened. The police just stood by and took no action.

They are South African, yet in truth weren’t accepted as such. A 18 year old

So much fear, hate and anger. All because we are different. That is the part that perplexes me most. Why would anyone want to live in a world where everyone looked, ate, spoke, dressed, thought, drank, danced, believed and worshiped the same? I am not sure about you but wouldn’t that be the most horrendously limiting existence?

Whilst looking for a way to end this piece, I stumbled upon this post which seems so apt, so simple, yet is apparently very difficult in the world we live in… ”If our minds are ruled by destructive emotions, by self-centredness, with little regard for others, we won’t be happy. As social animals we need to work together. With friends around us, we feel secure, happy and our minds are calm. We’re physically well too.

When we’re filled with anger, fear and frustration, our minds are upset and our health declines. Therefore, the ultimate source of happiness is warmheartedness...”

YAW PEPRAH Twitter - @yawzie

10 GENIUS BUSINESS LESSONS

FROM “ILLITERATE” MAYWEATHER

I

was one of millions who forsook the comfort of my blanket to get out into the chilly May morning weather to watch one Floyd Mayweather Jr. take on the very likeable Manny Pacquiao.

Billed the fight of the century, the trash-talking Mayweather came across as a villain, and the fact that he was boring and defensive throughout the fight did not help endear us to his image.

and reading his story.

1. GENERATIONAL ADVANTAGE Mayweather comes from a family of boxers with his uncle and father having been professionals in their

As someone who rarely has time for the sport of boxing - other than when I am overcome by the hype of a big fight - I knew little about the man who calls himself “Money”.

After watching several documentaries, I found that he is a choice target of ridicule, with some branding him illiterate after he struggled to read a script on a TV show. Rapper 50 cent even bet USD750, 000 that Mayweather couldn’t read a page out of a Harry Potter novel flawlessly.

To add to the reading difficulties, Mayweather has made a litany of unpalatable comments that make him appear unintelligent. But the fact that he is rated one of the richest sportsmen on the globe indicates that he could provide several business tips that have made him so successful. Here are ten lessons I gathered in watching the fight

flexibility, loyalty, stability and reduced costs.

2. CONTROL Every business has a supply chain within which they play a particular role for profit. In sports and entertainment, agents and promoters play a key role given that they are charged with identifying and closing opportunities for their principals.

Quite often they end up controlling the principal and reap monetary benefits far in excess of what they are worth.

Mayweather managed to wiggle out of that situation by exiting his contract with Bob Arum and setting up Mayweather promotions “to do things his way”.

3. NOT CARING WHAT PEOPLE THINK

heyday. He essentially went into the family business which has the benefit of seeing first-hand the pros and cons from the perspective of the successes and failures of those who went before him. According to Northern Irelands’ nibusinessinfo, family businesses come with the advantage of common values,

Many people are afraid to start their own businesses or take certain steps within those businesses because of a fear of failure. In fact, it is the fear of what others will think or say if and when one fails that holds one back. Mayweather seems unperturbed by public perception and the frequent boos he receives after each defensive display. In fact he embraces the hatred given that it results

49

in increased viewership and more money in his pocket. “One guy pays to see Mayweather win. Keep paying.

Another guy pays to see Mayweather lose. Keep paying. Love me or hate me, you’re going to watch me,” he says.

4. REPUTATIONAL VALUE

50

Any business depends heavily on its reputation. It could make or break you in a very brief instance. When the Enron scandal happened, their auditors Arthur Andersen, an international multibillion dollar firm had to close down partly because their reputation had been irreparably damaged. With respect to Mayweather, Brian Goff stated in a Forbes article that “he understands the value of the “zero” in his record and carefully manages his schedule to keep it that way. A single loss along the way would have likely impacted his Pay per View value a lot.”

5. MENTORSHIP Gerard R. Roche stated in an article titled ‘Much Ado About Mentors’ in the Harvard Business Review that “in the arts, it is an accepted fact that a young person learns the trade best when studying with a master”. Despite previously falling out with his father, Mayweather brought him back into the fold to mentor him. “I chose him to come back into my life to help me; he wants the best for me”, he said. Many other successful billionaires frequently quote their mentors when asked about the secret to their success – Mark Zuckerberg mentions Steve Jobs, Bill Gates points to Warren Buffet and Richard Branson credits Sir Freddie Laker.

6. BRANDING Mayweather declares that “Money is not everything, it is the only thing”.

He went from being known as the ‘pretty boy’ to demanding that others call him ‘Money’. Andrew Beattie wrote in Investopedia that “a brand is more than a name - it is the sum total of a consumer’s experiences with a recognizable product - and it is powerful”. Over and above Pay per View revenues, Mayweather has a lifestyle brand known as The Money Team or TMT which sells millions worth of products at exorbitant prices to aspirational consumers.

7. KNOWING YOUR LANE Often in business, when one begins to taste success, one succumbs to the temptation to venture into different products and services or expand one’s current offering. The notion that success can be replicated in different fields is frequently misguided especially where the ingredients to excelling in the initial area are inadequate for the new arena.

Brian Goff’s Forbes article touches on this thus: “As a savvy decision maker, he doesn’t chase after windmills. Most fighters of lower and middle weight classes inexorably move up in weight class until they fight someone with enough punching power to drop them cold.”

8. NEGOTIATION Negotiation in business is critical to success. It is about giving suppliers and customers what they want but on terms that are favourable to you. In the Pacquiao deal, Mayweather negotiated

a host of conditions that favoured him including the location of the fight (his home town of Las Vegas) and a 60 – 40 split of revenue.

9. CALCULATED RISK FOR MEASURED RETURNS The higher the risk, the higher the return. In facing Manny Pacquiao, Mayweather risked a significant dent to his record given that his experienced opponent has braved ten more fights and delivered twelve more knockouts.

Mayweather stood to make tons of money regardless of the result but winning the fight safeguards future inflows from an unblemished record.

He went into the fight at the right moment, when the world had been kept waiting for ages and the hype around the event at its peak. As he said at the pre-fight press conference: “Everything is about timing and we couldn’t have chosen a better time”.

10. WORKING SMART NOT HARD Many of those who watched the fight thought Manny Pacquiao may have won given the number of punches they saw him throw. A statistician found that Mayweather threw 168 power punches while Pacquiao had 236 but the former had a connect percentage of 48% as opposed to the latter’s 27%. In business, the smarter you work, the more you get done in the same amount of time as your competitors. It is an essential attribute to getting ahead.

KC ROTTOK

More pics available on www.facebook.com/africanpro TAP Social KENYA AIRWAYS GOLF DAY 1 - Kenya Airways South Africa staff members 2 - From left: Kevin Ndungu, Eddie Okoth and David Kiarie 3 - Kenya Airways Southern Africa Regional Manager, Rosemary Adogo 4 - Dajo Technologies fourball 5 - From left: Humphrey Gathungu, Susan Githae and Nick Wanjau 6 - Kenya High Commissioner to South Africa Jean Kamau 7 - With their prizes, from left: Ndegwa Nderitu, Eric Njuguna, Charles Mwaura and Dylan Rogers 8 - Dylan Rogers with a prize for individual honours

3

1

2 4 51

5 8

6

7

More pics available on www.facebook.com/africanpro LAUNCH OF THE ZIMBABWEAN CONSULATE TRIBUNE 1 - Programme director, Richard Moyo 2 - MoneyGram’s Regional Director (South East Africa) Anton Luttig 3 - Zimbabwe High Commissioner to South Africa H.E. Isaac Moyo 4 - Attendee’s check out the newly launched tribune 5 - Networking 6 - One of the prize recipients 7 - Cocktail drinks at the MoneyGram stand 8 - Draw conducted by the organisers

TAP Social

3

1

2

4 50

5

8

6

7

NOMINATIONS OPEN FOR THE 2ND CEREMONY WHY TAKE PART? Measure your performance • Gain highly valuable media and PR Exposure Impress potential new clients •Raise your profile and create awareness Network with fellow professionals •Recognise your professional staff Attract top talent • Promote your profession and its values

All South African engineers, accountants, architects, project managers, quantity surveyors, management consultants and lawyers are invited to participate.

Visit www.saproawards.co.za for further information or contact us on 011 251 6325.