How To Find A Job You Love

By Segun Akiode

“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” – Confucius

VENTURES AFRICA – While trying to find an anchor for today’s post, the above quote credited to Confucius, the great Chinese legend, came to my rescue.  I believe many of you would have come across the above quote at one time or the other and would continue to ask how true is the quote? Can you really choose a job or the job chooses you? On and on, you can go. The aim of this post is to attempt to answer the question – how can I find a Job I love?

Permit me to start with myself. I have strong passion for knowledge and that drives most of my offline & online activities a great deal. I love engaging myself in intellectual activities per time; I simply love reading and sharing ideas! Can I make a career around my interests & passion? Yes, I can sure do! But, is that what I do on a full time basis now – partially yes! Why, you would ask? Truth be told, I didn’t get to know all these about myself in time, I only started to discover myself as my career in HR kick-off a few years back. Actually, I have a first degree in Chemical Engineering and thanks to early career discovery; I’m close to doing a job I love! My citing all the details above is for a reason which reading till the end of this piece would justify.

Choosing what you love and making it your job, how true is that? Can it really be achieved, irrespective of location & profession? I found a perfect answer, which I would be sharing with you in a moment.

According to James Citrin and Richard Smith in their book called “The 5 Patterns of Extraordinary Careers” (the book was based on in-depth, original research and extensive experience of the authors), they proposed that there are three critical elements responsible for finding the right fit in a career i.e. find a job you love. These three elements are:

• Playing to your Strengths,

• Setting your passions free and

• Working with the right set of people

They believed that when “you find your strengths, passions, and cultural fit, you will be happier and more successful in your career. How simple indeed. However, from the thousands of professionals they surveyed ONLY 9% believed they are in jobs that fully leverage their strengths, performing activities that they are passionate about in an energizing environment and with people that they like and respect.”

After encountering the above research findings as presented in their book, I came to the understanding of why every employee/job holder is always on the move to change jobs! It is the quest to strike a balance between all three elements. I believe this would hold true for those that make ‘career fulfillment’ their main goal and not ‘cash fulfillment’.

• As an employee, ask yourself – does my current job role play to my strength?

• Am I passionate about going to work each morning? Do I love to be with my colleagues at work or say your boss at work?

• And as an employee planning to change employers, ask yourself – will my new role play to my strength? Will I be passionate about my new role? And will I grow career wise with my new employer’s?

These are the main questions you need to ask and consider very deeply.

In closing, finding a job you love is not a day’s job, it requires a lot of balancing act based on the three elements above – your strength, your passion and the people you work with! When the balance is right, you can make bold to say you are doing a job you love!

Africa’s Richest Woman Buys Portuguese Pay-Tv Company

VENTURES AFRICA  - Africa’s richest woman Isabel dos Santos  has bought a further 5 per cent of Portugal’s leading pay-TV and Internet provider Zon Multimedia from Spain’s Telefonica.
The acquisition makes Dos Santos,  the entrepreneurial daughter of Angolan President,  the largest shareholder of Zon Multimedia; with her total share rising to 15 per cent. The move  was her second foray into the Portuguese market after she secured 9 per cent share in Portugal’s third-largest listed bank Banco BPI.
According to  Bloomberg, Zon shares were up 2.9 per cent to 2.649 euros ($3.427 ) in early trade on Wednesday after the announcement of the deal that came late on Tuesday, sailing against the wind while Lisbon’s stock index was 0.5 per cent lower. Sources close to the deal said dos Santos paid Telefonica 2.5 euros per share in a transaction worth a total of 38 million euros ($49.2 million).
Dos Santos, an avid investor and daughter of Jose Eduardo dos Santos,  Angola’s long-serving President, has been actively investing in Portugal. According to Nuno Milheiro, a trader at Dif Broker, “it is a strong investor at a tough time for Portugal in which any money coming in counts”.
Analysts believe cash from oil-rich Angola, a former colony of Portugal, could be pertinent in helping companies in the European country endure the shocks of recent deep recession as it implements tough austerity measures under a 78 billion euro  ($100.9 billion) EU/IMF bailout package. They also hinted at more mergers and acquisitions for Zon.
Analysts lauded news of the acquisition, confirming the viability of the investor. Market experts have long argued that four telecom operators in a £mature market and recession-hit economy like Portugal” are a luxury.
Zon and telecoms group Sonaecom are seen as the most likely candidates to form a joint outfit, thanks to the sizeable synergy savings and the advantages of jointly competing against former monopoly Portugal Telecom.
Isabel dos Santos  is said to be worth at least $170 million  and is the richest woman in Angola. She is also said to have relevant interests in telecommunications, media, retail, finance and the energy industry, both in Angola and Portugal.

The Man Who Bought Gatwick Airport

The Nigerian-born investment banker, Mr. Adebayo Ogunlesi, beat the Britons at their own game.

VENTURES AFRICA – Up until February 2010, very few people had heard about Adebayo Ogunlesi. The Nigerian-born investment banker and money manager made international headlines when he led the acquisition of London’s Gatwick Airport from the British Airports Authority in a recorded £1.51 billion deal. The acquisition instantly propelled Ogunlesi, 58, into the global spotlight and earned him a place in history as the man who acquired London’s second largest international airport.

Adebayo Ogunlesi is the chairman and managing partner of Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), a New York-based independent private equity fund focused primarily on infrastructural investments, with over $5.6 billion under management. The purchase of Gatwick Airport may have grabbed all the headlines, but GIP has some other noteworthy assets in its portfolio including a 75% stake in London City Airport, and Biffa Limited, a UK based waste management company.

Gatwick suffered deep losses over the years, and all the turnaround efforts made by its former managers, the British Airport Authority (BAA), failed to halt the downward spiral. In the first nine months of 2009, the airport reportedly recorded a pre-tax loss of over £780 million, prompting the British government to actively shop for buyers. BAA also reportedly lost £225 million on Gatwick after it was compelled to sell the airport by the Competition Commission.

While Ogunlesi’s acquisition might have brought him international acclaim and made him something of an overnight private equity rock star, pundits kept their fingers crossed to see what he will make out of the ailing airport.

But Ogunlesi believed strongly in the future of the airport so much that he invested some of his own personal funds into the acquisition. He promised to make Gatwick a truly first class international airline and substantially improve the customer experience. Judging from his antecedents, he is likely to deliver on those promises.

In 2006, Ogunlesi had led the acquisition of London City Airport. Immediately after its acquisition, Ogunlesi spearheaded a series of operational improvements aimed at boosting capacity and improving the operating offering and service quality. According to information available on GIP’s corporate website, London City Airport’s passenger numbers grew by 22% in its first full year of ownership.

Formidable footprints
Ogunlesi has had the good fortune of being born into a solid pedigree. His father was the first Nigerian-born professor of medicine and tutored at the country’s premier university, University of Ibadan. After attending the prestigious King’s College, Lagos, he went ahead to study philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford where he graduated at the top of his class, and later earned law and business degrees from Harvard. At Harvard, he was an outstanding student, becoming one of the first two editors of African descent to serve together on the influential Harvard Law Review.

After studying at Harvard, he took up a job as a clerk for the late American Supreme Court justice, Thurgood Marshall, serving at the court for 3 years- from 1980 till 1983. This effectively made Ogunlesi the first non-American ever to clerk at the U.S’ highest court.

In 1983, Ogunlesi enjoyed a brief stint at the New York Law firm, Cravath, Swaine & Moore as an associate, before taking up an appointment with First Boston, an investment bank.

At First Boston, he swiftly rose from the position of associate to managing director of the bank’s project-finance group. He spent a great deal of his time travelling through emerging market countries where he brokered high-powered deals among lenders, governments, and firms involved in mining, oil refineries and natural gas plants.

In 1997, the Credit Suisse Group acquired First Boston and subsequently renamed it Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB). Ogunlesi was still one of the institution’s most strategic managers, and by 2002, the new owners had appointed him as the managing director of the firm’s global investment banking division- one of the most influential subsidiaries of the group. Ogunlesi was in charge of a division that managed $2.8 billion in assets and employed over 1,200 investment bankers. His new appointment also earned him a seat on the bank’s board of directors and its influential 15-member operating committee.

However, the elevation was not without some challenges. Ogunlesi had to return the division back to profitability, considering that the previous year it had lost almost $1 billion. He adopted a lean, mean management style, firing 300 bankers and 50 senior executives within the first few weeks of his assumption. He persuaded the remaining staff to accept pay cuts and advocated for reduced operating expenses. Top bankers were required to relinquish the luxury of limousines in favour of taxis. But his cost-cutting measures worked magic. Within a year, the bank had returned to profitability and its revenue had risen by 25 percent.

An eye on Africa
Despite his long sojourn in Europe and America, Ogunlesi still manages to stay abreast of developments in Africa. He has helped champion the African economic renaissance and in 2009 was appointed non-executive chairman of the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), a financial institution set up to revamp Africa’s critical infrastructure and invest in key sectors of the continent’s economy. AFC, which was patterned after the International Finance Corporation (IFC) – the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, was a lead investor in the $240 million Main One submarine fibre optic cable that will expand telecommunications capacity in West Africa. AFC also led Africa’s participation in the $750 million syndicated lending facility to develop the landmark Ghanaian Jubilee Oil Field, one of West Africa’s largest deepwater offshore developments in over a decade.

In Nigeria, Ogunlesi is spearheading the corporation’s attempt to address the country’s epileptic power supply. In January 2011 it hosted a power sector roundtable to examine the key issues, identify the constraints and proffer practical solutions to the challenges facing Independent Power Plants (IPPs) in the country. Ogunlesi’s passion for his home country has seen him advising successive governments on fiscal policies, strategic management and economic development. He served as an informal adviser to former president Olusegun Obasanjo, and still consults for the country’s current government on occasion.

Recently, it was announced that Ogunlesi’s Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) was set to acquire Edinburgh airport for a surprise £807m ($1.3bn).

How To Make Wise Career Decisions

By Segun Akiode

Because I’m thinking in a broader way, I feel like I am able to make better decisions. – Takafumi Horie

VENTURES AFRICA – When the subject of career decisions or choices comes to mind, one fundamental fact must be accepted – A choice is, most often, nothing more than a best guess—a hopeful step in a new direction. You can only be sure of the right path when you have enough information of both risk and benefits. As it pertains to career decisions, I find the concept of ‘career anchors’ very instructive and directional.

The concept of ‘career anchors’ is not a completely new concept, I believe. Though, many may not be aware of it. I encountered this concept sometime back and it was a ‘light bulb moment’ for me. All of a sudden, basis for career choices became clearer to me just like the dawn of a new day!

‘Career anchors’ became renowned by the original research of MIT Professor Emeritus Edgar H. Schein in the mid-1970s. Schein described ‘career anchors’ as a self-concept formed by individuals, which often affect their career preferences or choices. He found that an understanding of ‘career anchors’ would illuminate how people make career choices. Basically, career anchors are perceived areas of competence, motives and values related to work choices or aspirations. Once you know your career anchor, it would help you get a good sense of who you are and what you are after in your career and life. It aims to represent your real self!

Career anchors only evolve as one gain occupational and life experience. However, once the self-concept has been formed, it functions as a stabilizing force, hence the metaphor of “anchor,” and can be thought of as the values and motives that the person will not give up if forced to make a choice. Most of us are not aware of our career anchors until we are forced to make choices pertaining to self-development, family, or career. Yet it is important to become aware of our anchors so that we can choose wisely when choices have to be made.

In Schein’s original research from the mid-1970’s he identified that most people’s self-concept revolved around five anchor categories reflecting basic values, motives and needs. A follow-up study in the 1980’s identified three additional anchor categories making it eight anchor categories in all.

Find below a summarized explanation for each anchor categories for you to do a preliminary career anchors self-assessment.

1. Autonomy/independence – they desire work situations that provide maximum freedom to independently pursue career interests; they need and want control over work; can’t tolerate other people’s rules or procedures; independent consulting and contract work would be a good fit for these people.

2. Security/stability – they are concerned with long-run stability and security of employment; motivated by calmness and consistency of work; don’t like to take chances, and are not risk-takers; stable companies are best bets.

3. Technical-functional Competence – they are intrinsically motivated by the work itself, its technical aspects, and the desire for enhanced technical competence and credibility; in other words, it is the actual work they are concerned with not the organization or the overall mission of their work. They are the specialists.

4. General Managerial Competence – they view specialization as limiting; primarily want to manage or supervise people; enjoy motivating, training and directing the work of others; enjoy authority and responsibility; motivated by the opportunity to develop and use interpersonal and problem-solving skills to climb to general management levels. They are the generalists.

5. Entrepreneurial Creativity – they like the challenge of starting new projects or businesses, have lots of interests and energy, and often have multiple projects going at once; different from autonomy in that the emphasis is on creating new business.

6. Service or Dedication to a Cause – they are motivated by core values rather than the work itself; strong desire to make the world a better place; committed to the service of others. They find NGO jobs amusing.

7. Pure Challenge – they are motivated by the desire to overcome the odds, solve unsolved problems, and win out over competitors; conquering, problem solving; constant self-testing.

8. Life Style – wants to integrate personal, family and career needs; have a high need to balance work and the rest of life; enjoy work, but realizes that work is just one of many parts of life that are important.

What category do you fall under? The whole essence of this post is to awaken your awareness of this concept and for you to get better informed understanding of how it affects your career choices now and later in your career journey.

Diary Of An Under 30 CEO: Entrepreneurship Lessons I Wish I Knew At 20

By Sean Obedih

VENTURES AFRICA – Now that I consider myself to be old enough when I hit my 30^th birthday, it has been a bittersweet moment of growth. On one hand I’m glad I made it to the promised land of the wise heads (or so I think) but on the other hand, my head is gradually rising above the many frustrations of learning the ropes of entrepreneurship. There are many things I wish I knew in my 20s, when I first ventured out, some of which I am going to share below:

Don’t listen to those who think there is a shortcut to wealth. There is no shortcut.  You might as well get that out of your head right now. Wealth is created when you provide something interesting of value, unique to people who demand it either faster or cheaper than the current providers. Until then, you will be trading hours for money and you’ll always think you’re underpaid. “Find a need and fill it” is the old mantra and it is still quoted because it’s true. In today’s world it should read “Create a need that only you can fill well quickly.” Then you’ll be on your way to wealth. The lesson learned: figure out where there are unmet needs and figure out a way to fill those needs by turning them into opportunities in form of a product or service that people will happily pay good money for.


Learn how to negotiate a better deal on everything. Having read several books on negotiation just a little too late, I’ve recognized how many people duped me. Learning these skills would have saved me thousands. The lesson learned: prepare by educating yourself and always be willing to walk away because “The doors of wisdom are never shut.” Benjamin Franklin


Money doesn’t spoil, it keeps. Start investing early.  I don’t know about you but if I look around me, how much stuff do I  have to show for the money I  made in high school or in my early 20s? Not much. If I had invested half of what I made during those years in a fund I wouldn’t need to raise any funds for any of my startups, I’m still kicking myself. Invest early but I guess that is well reflected in this great quote: “Winning is not everything but making the effort to win is.” Vince Lombardi

Stay far, far away from any Multi Level Marketing “business” that requires you to sponsor new distributors. They are all scams. You are not “CEO of your own distribution network”–you are a commission-based salesperson relying on the liquidation of your social capital (i.e. alienating your friends and family) to make any money at all…and 99.5% of people in MLM’s lose money, as has been shown again and again in numerous studies. The only profit you can ever make is by turning what would be called “customers” into “distributors” and then taking the money from the 99.995% that lose money in the organization and giving it to the 0.005% at the top (the people who started the whole “business” in the first place). Stay away no matter how glossy the brochure looks and how enticing the holiday package sounds.

I can say that the only thing I clearly learned from my MLM days was the introduction to Self help gurus but like Henry Ford said, “Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.”

Education is very important so stay in school. Don’t quit. Sure you’re bored now, but wait until you’re in a dead end job that you can’t stand but you’re afraid to lose. The power of self-discipline can never be underestimated especially in business world when you have to employ people.

Finishing your degree will open up many more opportunities than you currently realize. Arrive on time, do your homework, study, and treat your learning process as if you were at a real job because these are the skills that you will need once you have started your business and are on your way to making your millions (in your dreams) but then again like Eleanor Roosevelt said   “It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.”

I hope you will take these experiences to heart and please don’t be like me. I wish you prosperity, good health and wealth but most of all I will finish with this verse  “I have come to realize that people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” Abraham Lincoln. Be happy.

Kenyan Millionaire Chris Kirubi Fills Government’s Void In Youth Mentoring

VENTURES AFRICA – Chris Kirubi, the flamboyant millionaire chairman of Kenya’s Capital Media Group, may be 70 but he shows no sign of slowing down or holding his tongue. The tycoon used the platform at a recent ICT conference in Nairobi to launch a scathing attack on Kenya’s government and ICT Board for not doing enough to connect with young people through digital channels and social media.
“I think we have to stop fooling ourselves that we have changed,” he said. “We need to believe and get the government to do the right thing. The government talks to youth through a newspaper. Why don’t they go to the platform that the youth use? If the government wants to talk to its citizens it should talk to them in their language, in their medium. I think maybe our government is scared of revolution.”
Kirubi put this inactivity down to a lack of faith in Kenya’s young population on the part of the government, and said this had to change.
“I think it’s about time that the government realised that the youth we have can use their brains to generate money,” he said. “The money we have needs to be put into the youth. They can become great inventors. The problem we have is the knowledge gap between the leaders and the youth generation.”
Kirubi’s criticism was all the more pointed as Paul Kukubo, the CEO of the Kenya ICT Board, was sharing a panel with the Capital Media boss at the time the comments were made. Kukubo looked uncomfortable, but upon further pressing from Kirubi was forced to admit that the government was not doing enough in terms of social media, a far cry from the Twitter-active government in nearby Rwanda, though he said the ICT Board was advising the government to do more. He cautioned, however, that the government was an easy punching bag and that the private sector also needed to do more.
This is not just hot air from Kirubi, who has become an active participant on social media platforms. He has 42,438 Twitter followers and tweets prolifically, while also being active on Facebook. Later in life, Kirubi has taken up the baton for young people in Kenya, mentoring them online and fighting their corner in public. The multi-millionaire, who made his money in real estate and now owns companies across various sectors, took to Twitter earlier this year to declare his new objectives.
“I am on a mission. I believe my following needs to grow. I need to be able to work with many Kenyans in order to drive this country forward,” he tweeted. Shortly after, he followed up with: “Oh my word! Thank you all for your support. It’s about time I created more time to mentor and influence the great minds of this country.”
Since then Kirubi has been easily contactable via social media, mentoring and answering questions from various followers. His social media posts normally contain plenty of business insight and advice, such as: “True leadership is about humility. It’s about knowing when to call it a day and acknowledging there others better suited to take the lead” and “To prosper soundly in business, you must satisfy not only your customers, but you must lay yourself out to satisfy also the men who make your product and the men who sell it. So if you’re not doing too well in business, you should consider the above.”
Kirubi is filling a role that, according to a 2004 study by the Harvard Business Review, is crucial. The report said that “young leaders with mentors were more likely to succeed professionally and experience career satisfaction”, noting that a trusting relationship is essential for effective mentoring. Kirubi appears to have created this type of relationship with his many followers, and it is his hope that the Kenyan government will try harder to engage in the same way.

Gear up For The Olympics

France’s revered sports daily L’Equipe produced a special Olympics edition on Thursday which it claimed was the biggest newspaper in the world.

In two sections measuring 80 centimetres (32 inches) side to side and 56cm up and down (22in), the paper said although reading it would no doubt pose problems for commuters in busy trains and buses, the “collectors edition” was a fitting way to mark Friday’s opening of the London Olympics.

The front page of the broadsheet’s first section carries a huge picture of Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt with his arms held aloft in victory super-imposed onto a snap of London’s Tower Bridge.

Section two has a cartoon of the Olympic rings with a hand stretching out to grab them. Said the paper: “Twice the size of its usual edition, L’Equipe Friday sets a new record for a sports daily in tribute to the giants (of sport).

Jamaica’s Usain Bolt, who is aiming to win a fourth gold medal at the Olympics, is among them.” Among the offerings inside are a 2.03 metreslife-size picture of popular French judo star Teddy Riner. (AFP)

6 People You Need Around You to Help You Succeed

By Dorcas Karuana,
It doesn’t matter if you did not receive the best academic training from a top university. A person with less education who has fully developed good relationship skills can be far more successful than a person with an impressive education who falls short in these. Nothing incredible is accomplished alone. You need others to help you, and you need to help others. With the right team, you can form a web of connections to make the seemingly impossible practically inevitable.

1. The Instigator- Someone who pushes you, who makes you think. Who motivates you to get up and go, and try, and make things happen. This is the person who gives you hope which makes things happen. ‘You can do it.’ An instigator is a strong believer in you; he encourages you to excel at what you do, keeps you cool in tense situations and helps you focus on the positive. You want to keep this person energized, and enthusiastic. This is the voice of inspiration.

2. The Cheerleader- This person is a huge fan, a strong supporter, and a rabid evangelist for you and your work. This person makes you happy; gives you a reason to smile, is intelligence, and nice to you. A cheer leader recognizes and appreciates you for an achievement, helps you know the opportunities there are for growth, tells you exactly what he/she want you to do and gives multiple reasons for doing what he wants you to do. Work to make this person rewarded, to keep them engaged. This is the voice of motivation. 

3. The Doubter- This is the devil’s advocate, who asks the hard questions and sees problems before they arise. You need this person’s perspective. Call him/her a ‘Think tank’ who comes up with new ideas, critically analyze them by looking at their positive or negative implications on you/ business and finally helps you arrive at the best decision. They are looking out for you, and want you to be as safe as you are successful. This is the voice of reason.

4. The Taskmaster- This is the loud and belligerent voice that demands you get things done. This person is the steward of momentum, making sure deadlines are met and goals are reached. This is the person who wants to see nothing but results. Occasionally, helps you focus on what gives results to your career or even business. A taskmaster ensures that you meet your plans and finish up projects in time with a focus on your growth and expansion. This is the voice of progress.

5. The Connector- This person can help you find new avenues and new allies. This person breaks through roadblocks into finds ways to make magic happen. A connector will help you attend networking events, workshops or even seminars. This is the person who gets you introduced to who is who in business circles and share what you can do best. He/ she invite you to meaningful social places; golf, Rotarian clubs, parties or other events where you are likely to get a good network of people you can do business with. You need this person to reach people and places you can’t. This is the voice of cooperation and community.

6. The Example- This is your mentor, you hero. This is the person who you seek to emulate. This is your guiding entity, someone whose presence acts as a constant reminder that you, too, can do amazing things. Mentors are very experienced and probably have a sixth sense while arriving at a decision. This is someone you trust, can connect with and is interested in and willing to help you. Mentors are honest with you and will tell you the naked truth whether you like it or not. You want to make this person proud. This is the voice of true authority.

5 Cover Letter Critical Mistakes

By Dorcas Karuana,
You’ve polished your resume to no end, especially after finding a job posting that precisely fits your skills. But did your cover letter merit the same attention? Many hiring managers use your cover letter to gauge your interest in the company, as well as your aptitude for the job. Therefore, when you resort to “Dear Sir, I’m interested in your open job, here’s my resume,” you’re missing out on a critical chance to persuade employers to take you seriously.

Nonetheless, statistics show 50% of employers don’t read them and the others scan it in 5-10 seconds. That being said, how do you craft a cover letter that quickly captures their attention? First of all, let’s agree the ONLY purpose of the cover letter is to get someone to want to read your resume. It is NOT a recap of your resume or a short story of how you moved from job to job. Since employers spend only a few seconds glancing at your cover letter, it should be short, easy to read and compelling.

Here are five of the most crucial mistakes made in cover letters—those that can quickly knock you out of the running for a job: 

1.Your opening line was boring- Do not start your letter this way; “I am a Marketing Executive with 5 years of experience,” or “In response to your ad for an Administrative Assistance, I have enclosed my resume.” This is not compelling enough to use as opening statements. Instead, try a hook that makes the hiring manager sit up straight in his or her chair, as in this example: “As a Sales Executive for ABC Company, I’ve increased customer satisfaction to 97% in 3 outsourcing engagements—pushing our revenue growth to its peak despite the recession. I’m interested in creating the same results for you.” Note each of these sentences contains statistics, a targeted job title, and a career-defining achievement that is framed in context and laid out quickly for the reader to absorb. Ensure you speak precisely to the employer’s pain points while describing the performance impact you’ve had in previous roles. Your opening line should also leverage the research you’ve done on the company, per the next point.
 
2. You didn’t demonstrate the ability to solve the employer’s problems. – Showing off a list of competencies isn’t strong enough to distinguish you from other candidates, but speaking directly to the company’s needs will do the trick. You have to dig into the company’s history, press releases, annual reports, and other news to figure out their pain points. What type of expansion is planned? Were earnings down in previous quarters? What do industry analysts say about the company’s future and their business strategy? Armed with this information, you’re able to connect your leadership skills to the employer’s needs much more succinctly: For instance, “My ability to produce business development results; (30% rise in ABC Company sales during Q4 2010) can address any struggles you’ve had in breaking into this market. Can we talk?”
 
3. Your key points don’t match (or exceed) the job requirements.- Like CVs, cover letters must be precise and direct the reader…keeping them attentive to the reasons they should hire you and the edge your work can give them. While you’re writing, put the job description in front of you to remind yourself what the employer is seeking. Then, look for ways to point out how you can surpass these expectations. For example, a Sales Director may say; “In your ad I noted that you require a leader in service delivery and customer satisfaction. My career includes 3 years of 97% satisfaction ratings, achieved by improving infrastructure and network capacity, and I hold responsive service as my first priority.”
 
4. You didn’t address the letter to an actual person. - Finding a contact name inside the company has never been easier. Taking the time to locate a name (vs. resorting to “Dear Hiring Manager”) will help your letter create more impact at a target employer.
 
5. You forgot to be assertive. – If your closing line isn’t strong, you run the risk of looking too passive. Most of us end your letters with these words, “Thank you in advance for reviewing my credentials.” This is certainly polite and professionally stated.  If pursuing a senior-level role, employers like to see a take-charge style. For instance, be more forceful by saying; “I plan to exceed your requirements as your next Finance Officer,” and “I am confident that I can demonstrate the leadership you look for in your next F.O.” This is stronger. Even more intense, “I will follow up with you next Tuesday,” shows definite intent on your part to influence the hiring audience, and gives them advance notice of the proactive steps you’ll take to secure the interview.

There’s no reason to settle for a bland, one-size-fits-all cover letter that blends in with the others. Your job search will fare better when you zero in on the hiring audience with an unforgettable opening—especially when it draws a parallel between employer needs and your unique value.

The 10 Richest Bankers In Kenya

Kenyan banks have slowly been expanding across the East African region, with the Central Bank of Kenya confirming that ten of the country’s biggest banks have subsidiaries operating in East African Community partner states and South Sudan. Tom Jackson takes a look at ten of the richest and most prominent bankers making money from the expansion of the sector.

James Mwangi
CEO and Managing Director of Equity Bank, Mwangi made $2 million dollars when he sold off some of his shares in the company in November last year. He has sold shares totalling $8 million in the last three years, and has an estimated wealth of $8 million. He retains a 4.65 percent in the bank, as the largest individual
shareholder. Last month he was named Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur of the Year for 2012, as a result of his having turned around what was originally a moribund microfinance company and turning it into East Africa’s largest financial services provider, which now represents millions of customers in the region. The more than seven million Equity Bank accounts represent over half of all bank accounts in Kenya.

Gideon Muriuki
Co-operative Bank CEO Muriuki, through cash collected from the sale of shares and the value of shares he retains, is worth around $11.3 million. Muriuki has worked his way up the banking system, gaining 22 years experience between Barclays, Standard Chartered and Co-operative. A Graduate of Mathematics and a Fellow of the Kenya Institute of Bankers, he joined Co-operative in 1996 as Senior Corporate Manager, rising to Managing Director in 2001. He has restructured the operations of the bank, turning it around from facing closure in 2001 to becoming the fourth biggest in the country.

Jimnah Mbaru
With a wealth estimated at $5 million, Mbaru is the foremost investment banker in the East African region. He currently operates as the Chairman of Dyer and Blair Investment Bank and as director of the Nairobi Securities Exchange, having been chairman until 2001. He has led some of the greatest capital market deals such as the landmark $110 million KenGen IPO 2006, the $60 million Celtel 2005 corporate bond and the 1996 EADB Bond, the first ever corporate bond in the region.

Peter Munga
Munga founded Equity Building Society Ltd, the precursor of Equity Bank, and now serves as its chairman. He is listed amongst the richest men in Kenya. He is also the chairman of, amongst others, Pioneer International College, Kenya Genetic Resource Centre and Freshco International Ltd. He is also a Director of British American Investments Company (Kenya) Ltd. He is a retired civil servant, industrialist and educationist.

Titus Muya
Muya is the current non-Executive Chairman of Family Bank, having been founding Chairman and CEO for the first twenty-three years of Family Finance Building before it converted to a full commercial bank in 2007. His exact wealth is unknown but substantial, with his interests ranging from insurance, real estate and property development to commercial farming. Before entering the world of business, he worked as a senior government officer in the Ministry of Home Affairs and Tourism.

Sarit S. Raja Shah
The founder of I&M Bank, which has an estimated asset base in excess of $937 million and shareholder’s equity of approximately $169 million, Shah is well respected in the business community and earned $1.6 million in dividends in one year alone. In 2002 he was bestowed the honour of a Moran of the Order of the Burning Spear by the former President of Kenya, Daniel Arap Moi. He sits on the Board of several companies.

Martin Oduor-Otieno
CEO of KCB Bank, Oduor-Otieno holds a number of degrees and was appointed to the KCB board in 2005, becoming CEO in 2007. He is also chairman of the Kenya Bankers Association. KCB’s net profit rose 36.7 percent in the first quarter of this year, making it poised to become most profitable lender. Oduor-Otieno acquired shares to the value of Sh12 million ($150,000) last year.

Richard Etemesi
Etemesi is the CEO of Standard Chartered, as well as the current Chairman of the Kenya Bankers Association. Appointed to the board of Standard Chartered in 2004, becoming CEO in 2006, he has previously held senior management positions with the bank in Zambia and Uganda. The nation’s fourth biggest lender by market value, the bank is set to see profit growth accelerate this year as it adds more branches, faster than the 8.6 percent it recorded last year.

Dhanu Hansraj Chandaria
Chandaria is the principle founder of Fina Bank and an eminent entrepreneur with over 50 years experience in business. He also own Kenpoly, the leading households plastics company in East Africa, and serves as Fina Bank Chairman. Fina is a medium-sized financial services provider, offering loans to individuals and organisations. It also has arms in Uganda and Rwanda. The asset valuation of Fina Bank (Kenya) is estimated to be approximately $171 million.

Duncan Ndegwa
The first African governor of the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), Ndegwa also served as the first Kenyan African Head of the Civil Service. His exact net worth is not known, but is sure to run into the millions of dollars. He recently published his memoirs.

Source: Ventures Africa.

Must Read! Kenyan MPs with No Degrees.

 By Dorcas Karuana,
The Provision on Education threshold of a degree in order to vie for any parliamentary post was seen by many as a way to deny those without degrees but have post secondary education as well as the young people of Kenya a chance to lead. Many including the president who declined to assent the bill into law found the constitution provides for equal opportunities to all Kenyans without any form of discrimination, it has to be fair to all.

I would like to concur with these FACTS;
THAT Over 80% of the total population of Kenya can’t afford University Education and don't have degrees.
THAT 18 - 24 Year olds who feel like they want to run for office will not be able to do so because they haven't graduated from a University in Kenya.
THAT More men than women get a chance to go to university. In this case the provision will discriminate against gender.
THAT 90% of the Highly qualified Cabinet Ministers with Degrees are the most Corrupt, manipulative and arrogant.

Had President Kibaki enacted the bill seeking to make it mandatory for a legislator to have a degree, many of the current MP's would have been disqualified from running for office next year. Some of them are well known like Balala, Sonko, Ngilu and Fred Gumo. Here is a list of those MPs who have no undergraduate degrees. To my surprise!! North Eastern province has the most educated number of MPs with only 1 being without a degree. Coast and Rift valley lead the pack with the highest number of MPs without degrees, each having 10.

Central region
1. Nemesis Warugongo-Kieni
2. Clement Waibara- Gatundu North
3. James Maina Kamau-Kandara
4. Peter Mwathi-Limuru
5. David Njuguna-Lari

 Coast region
1. Najib Balala-Mvita
2. Mwalimu Mwahima -Likoni
3. Omar Zongo- Msambweni
4. Ngozi Rao-Kinango
5. Danson Mwanzo- Voi
6. Hassan Joho- Kisauni
7. Rashid Kajembe-Changamwe
8. Kazungu Kambi- Kaloleni
9. Gideon Mungaro-Malindi
10. Shakeel Abdalla- nominated.

Nairobi region
1 Fred Gumo- Westlands
2. Mike Mbuvi Sonko- Makadara
3. Beth Mugo-Dagoretti
4. Margaret Wanjiru- Starehe
Nyanza region
1. Wilfred Ombui-North Mugirango
2. Shakeel Shabir-Kisumu Town East.
3. Omondi Anyanga-Nyatike
4. Oyugi Magwanga- Kasipul Kabondo
5. Otieno Ogindo-Rangwe
6. Cyprus Omolo-Uriri

Eastern region
1. Itwiku Mbai-Masinga
2. Johnstone Muthama-Kangundo
3. Charity Ngilu –Kitui Central

Rift Valley region
1. Asman Kamama-Baringo East
2. Gideon Konchella-Kilgoris
3. William Ole Ntimama-Narok North.
4. Maishon Leshomo-nominated
5. Mursa Sirma-nominated
6. Beatrice Kones-(Bomet)
7. Simeon Lesirma-Samburu West
8. Micah Kigen (Rongai)
9. Jebii Kilimo-Marakwet East
10. Joseph Nkaisery

Western region
1. Evans Akula- Kwisero
2. Manyala Keya-Lurambi
3. Bifwoli Wakoli –Bumula
4. Ben Washiali-Mumias

North Eastern region
1.    Yusuf Haji

Leadership is a Calling that needs to be NURTURED through continuous training, Leadership is about wisdom, Leadership is about influence. Many argued that the degrees will not necessarily provide good leadership for Kenya.

My question is, when you look at each of the above legislators, what do you see?  leaders or non educated mps,is it not true that you can be educated and not learned, is there not more to a leader than just certificates, is there anthing tangible that we can attach to the other educated legislators that the above don’t have or are we just  being made slaves by our constitution.
Food for thought!!!!!

6 Reasons why a Man’s Salary is his Secret

By Dorcas Karuana, 

Recently, John was hospitalized in hospital having been involved in an accident that killed almost all the passengers on board. John who is married to Mary was in critical condition which doctors said he could either survive or not. During this period, John underwent various operations and was on expensive medication to try save his life. His family used all the money they had and could not raise half a million that was required to settle his bill.
 
During one of the visits, John told his brother, James, of a 1 Acre land that he owned in Ruiru which could be sold off to pay for his bill. James was to get the land license from his mother, and then proceed to sell it. However, as James went home, he passed by John’s home and met Mary who he shared with what John has asked him to do. Mary was furious; she did not know the existence of the land! ….
There are many secrets that men will keep away from their wives or girlfriends; for one reason or another. Whether he loves you or not there are some secrets that you might never find out about him. Among these is the package he takes home at the end of the month.

His Salary is his secret for these reasons.
1. Men do not want women who budget for their money. This is the first reason why men dread to say how much they earn to their ladies. The simply do not want you to give a budget of things to be done in the house. Say for example, one is paying all the bills but the lady wants the house modernize, carpet changed, kitchen utensils added or bought micro waves and fringes. If the man says he doesn’t have money and the wife knows how much he earns this becomes a conflict. Questions like; where he is taking his money? Who he could be giving or sharing with his money?

2. Men do not completely trust that a woman’s love even if she is the mother of his children. Men trust their mothers more than their wives to an extent that they consult her before making some family decisions without even the knowledge of the wife. For example, some will buy land or other property and put it custody to his mother. Others leave a will of all property either going to his children or his mother or even a brother other than the wife.

3. Men do not want women to know when they are broke or have money. All men have an ego. Financial security massages their ego while financial insecurity makes their ego go down. A man should be the head and provider of the family. He should take care of the needs of a woman. This makes him feel worth, and responsible for his family. When a man is broke he feels insecure doesn’t want his lady to know it. He just fears that you could be tempted to… go out with someone else, get money from another man e.t.c.

4. Men fear that a woman will make unrealistic demands if she finds out he has money. Some ladies are known to be spenders; extravagant and not flexible. Men dread such women. They want women who can reason and be understanding to all needs of the family/ relationship. For example, ask for a vacation trip for some days; ask for designer bags, wardrobe change, a new vehicle, changing children from one school to a high class one e.t.c.  Others will even ask the man to sell off some of his property just to meet her demands of life.

5. Men just have a utopia; fear that something from his imagination can happen to him if his woman realizes he has money.  For example, some think you can kill him for his money and be left enjoying it. Others imagine you give them ‘kamuti’ i.e bewitch him so that he does all what the wife says while some  see as if you love him for his money and if he become broke you will walk out while others

6. Men also want to maintain their status quos to their friends and society.  Some will not want the wife to find out how he uses his money.  He could be spending it on his family members or even a ‘mpango wa kando.’ This is the reason why some men do not meet all the bills of the house.

Secrets are there in relationships, but they can either work for or against a person in a relationship, if your partner finds out you are hiding something from her/ him. It could also seem like you do not trust her yet she has been beside you all through. But at the end of it all, people will decide how they want to live and how much you can disclose to your partner.

Wishing you a good weekend!!

Caroline Mutoko: Respect Small Beginnings For What They Are- A Beginning.

By Caroline Mutoko. ( This article was first published in the Star Newspaper)
The last six months have been amazing yet strangely eye-opening. When we launched our 'Get started, get focused – Tuesdays' on The Big Breakfast, our mission was to debunk the myth that we miraculously arrived at our present status in our careers and lives. We all started learning the ropes of life and work in the most basic of ways. Somehow we were lucky enough to have parents and guardians who knew that unless we learnt to appreciate work and its relation to self-worth and money, we were doomed.

I have been a messenger, waitress and basic KYM and even when I started at Capital, all I did for months and months was key-in music into the system, do the traffic update, read classifieds before I was even allowed to “drive” the desk for Phil Mathews (no talking) before they even let me have a show.

So yes, we are duty bound to inspire a generation by telling the story of our journey. After six months of
doing that, we are now embarking on putting some substance behind the stories. A lot of young people would text and say “the calls are great, powerful, but where can I get my start”. So we purposed to do just that – give them a place to start. Once again I’m appealing to those looking to fill entry level, start up positions for young people to drop me an e-mail with the particulars and leave the rest to me: Caroline@kissfm.co.ke. These start-up positions do not exclude shampoo girls, hairdressers, waiters, waitresses, front office personnel, sales people etc. Those who are interested will apply and get a start on their lives, those who don’t get will spend their time whining.

Aside – to those who don’t seem to understand that I’m asking employers to send me their vacancy positions, please stop e-mailing me your CVs. I have no need for them. If you want a job at Radio Africa write to our Human Resources Manager. That’s her docket. I don’t hire people like she doesn’t do The Breakfast show.

Last week, a fabulous organisation looking for executive drivers responded to our appeal. Imagine my bemusement and Jalango’s anger when the usual numbskulls on social media chose to “diss” the vacancy. Because I have been known to be brutally honest to the point of making some people weep, allow me to quote Saliva Vic who posted the following on my wall:

I just have to give my 2 cents on all these dumb, ignorant, sleeping, intellectual midgets who talk smack on facebook. I used to be like you, thinking that coz I have a degree then I'm entitled to a plush job.....Unlike many I was lucky to finish Uni in 2 years & got to work for a multinational media company straight out of campus but nooooo that wasn't good enough for me. I jumped ship & went to a multinational packaging company that offered 6 figures at 26! But then I got bored & bailed after 4 months to work for a well known Hotel chain....I was made manager at 27 but coz my boss hated me guess what I did? I quit! Boy oh boy! That's when Sir Jah had it up to the neck with me.....He got tired & left me out in the cold....after a year I went to work for a start up radio station....I loved it but then thanks to my "entitlement" issues I decided to bail from my show to audition for a 6 figure job at the competition... not only did I get fired but I also didn't get the other job....now at 30 I have a child I need to school, a degree, maaad certificates but no job.... it took me 6 years to wake up & smell the cow dung... I only hope this long azz post makes you wake up in 6 minutes! To borrow from one of your lame rap icons, Y.O.L.O. Stop showing us your azz & show us what you got!

A few years ago when I made the move from Capital to Kiss, Gerald Mahinda had also just made the move from Standard Chartered to EABL. As he gave me his reasons on why I should take the job at Kiss (I do consult), I asked him how and why he made the move from banking to brewing. His answer stays with me to this very day and every time I speak to young people, I quote him. “Sometimes you need to move horizontally to move vertically”. I’d like to now add my own line to that, "because the career ladder is dead”.

Career ladders died out during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Let me tell you why by borrowing from Sherly Sandberg, the chief operations officer of Facebook . “It used to be that in order to reach more people than you could talk to in a day, you had to be rich and famous and powerful. You had to be a celebrity, a politician, a CEO. But that’s not true today. Now ordinary people have voice, that means anyone with access to Facebook, Twitter, a mobile phone”.

When Sherly Sandberg went to work for Facebook as COO, she was met with reactions very much like those from the numbskulls on my FB wall. At the time people asked her, “why are you going to work for a 23-year-old?”

My dear Generation Y, the career ladder is dead. It doesn’t make sense in a less hierarchical world. As you start your post high school, college, university career, look for opportunities, look for growth, look for impact, look for mission. Move sideways, move down, move on, move off, or in the words of Gerald Mahinda, move horizontally so you can move vertically. Build your skills, not your CV. Evaluate what you can do, not the title they’re going to give you. Do real work and real work is what I’m trying to get for you by pleading to employers from every walk of life to contact me.

If you speak to Rachel in my office, she’ll tell you that until last year, my business cards had no title. I do far too many jobs around here including dropping and picking banners to bother with title. There isn’t enough space on a card to define me and I’m fine with that.

My dear Generation Y, allow me once again to borrow from Sandberg. “You are entering a different business world from the one I entered. Mine was just starting to get connected. Yours is hyper-connected. Mine was competitive. Yours is way more competitive. Mine moved quickly, yours moves at lightspeed”. It's a different world. But if a world without career ladders allows you to take charge of your own career, then it is a far better one.

If you don’t get started, somewhere, anywhere and you waste even a month twiddling your thumbs waiting for Kiss 100 to post a job that gives you the swag you think you deserve, you’ll be 27 before it hits you and by that time a 22-year-old will be your boss. Guaranteed. As you step out into the world, you will not be able to rely on who you are or the degree you hold.

You’ll have to rely on what you know. Your strength will not come from your place on some organisation chart, your strength will come from building trust and earning respect. You’re going to need talent, skill, imagination and vision to make it. My dear Generation Y, as we endeavor to try and find vacancies for you, remember this: If you’re offered a seat on a rocket ship, don’t ask which seat, just get on.

10 Africa's Richest Women.

Typically, women in Africa have been seen as homemakers or agriculturalists, yet a new breed of empowered women across the continent have managed to forage a way in business, whether through family connections, governmental patronage or sheer entrepreneurship. Below, Tom Jackson profiles the ten richest females on the continent.
 
1. Mama Ngina Kenyatta
The widow of Kenya’s first president, Jomo Kenyatta, the former glamorous “mother of the nation” now leads a quiet, reclusive life away from the spotlight. Yet though she is not to be found on any African rich list, she has fabulous, mostly undeclared, wealth.
Mama Ngina, now 79, has gained huge respect from the Kenyan public for her defence and promotion of the family’s business interests. The Kenyatta family has investments in banking, education, farming, hospitality, insurance, manufacturing and real estate, though its presiding matriarch keeps a low profile.

Having stuck by Kenyatta even during his detention by the British colonial government, and defended the family’s business interests since his death in 1978, Mama Ngina now oversees a serious portfolio of brands and investments, including the largest privately owned Kenyan bank, the Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA), and the upmarket hotel chain Heritage. Brookside Dairies, East Africa’s leader in the dairy field with market share reaching from the region to the Middle East is another part of a vast investments empire which also includes media firm Media Max and Timsales Timber.

The latest move is in real estate, where Mama Ngina runs the rule over the construction of the 500-acre Northlands City, which will be the largest upmarket gated community in the region. Though alleged to have been involved with ivory smuggling in the 1970s, she is also engaged in many philanthropic activities. She has never revealed the full extent of her investments.
 
2. Isabel Dos Santos
Isabel Dos SantosDos Santos, 39, is the oldest daughter of Angolan President José Eduardo dos Santos. The millionaire businesswoman is estimated to be worth over $50 million, with interests in oil and diamonds. She also has shares in Angolan cement company Ciminvest and the Banco Africano de Investimentos. She is worth $170 million.

She originally made her mark in business at the age of 24 by using her father’s patronage to gain lucrative state contracts. She has fostered close business ties with Portugal, with her Maltese-registered investment firm holding a ten per cent stake in Portuguese media conglomerate Zon Multimedia. She also owns major stakes in Portuguese banks Banco Espírito Santo and Banco Português de Investimento, and in energy firm Energias de Portugal.

3. Hajia Bola Shagaya
The richest Nigerian businesswoman, Bola Shagaya has retained links with important figures in various administrations up to the present day and now enjoys a status as a queen of luxury. With interests in oil, banking, communications and photography, she has now also made steps into real estate, building hundreds of town houses for which renters pay $180,000 per year.

Owning properties in Europe and America, she has become one of the biggest players in the lucrative Nigerian oil sector. She is Group Managing Director/CEO of Bolmus Group International and a board member of Unity Bank Plc, while she has served on numerous board committees and currently sits on the board for the National Economic Partnership for Africa Development (NEPAD), a Nigerian business group. With over 24 years of active local and international business experience, she had participated in many local and international seminars and workshops, including the Harvard Business School to keep abreast of developments in management techniques.

4. Folorunso Alakija
Alakija is a 61-year-old Nigerian billionaire fashion designer and Executive Director of FAMFA Oil, the gas and oil exploration and production company. After studying fashion design in the UK, she founded her fashion house Supreme Stitches in Nigeria in 1985 in Lagos, becoming the best designer in the country by 1986. Through a friend she became involved in the oil business, being allocated an unwanted oil bloc which later struck oil in commercial quantities and made Alakija’s fortune. This was achieved due to a hook-up with Texaco, which later became Chevron, in 1996. She later became a more religious individual and now donates a lot of time and money to her Rose of Sharon Foundation, which provides interest free loans to start-up businesses.
 
5. Wendy Appelbaum
The only daughter of South African billionaire Donald Gordon, Appelbaum became a director of her father’s insurance and real estate firm Liberty Investors. Upon selling her shares she made her own personal fortune. Previously she was the Deputy Chairman of Women’s Investment Portfolio Limited (Wiphold), the first women’s controlled company to list on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange with then assets in excess of R1 billion. Moneyweb calls her the wealthiest woman in Africa.

In tandem with her husband Hylton, she used these funds to purchase DeMorgenzon, a wine estate in the famous wine region of Stellenbosch. She has in total donated US$23 million to found the Gordon Institute of Business Science and the Donald Gordon Medical Centre, in memory of her father, while she also chairs the South African Women’s Professional Golfers’ Association.
Wendy Appelbaum’s net worth as of early 2012 is estimated at $259.3 million.
 
6. Wendy Ackerman
Retail tycoon Ackerman is worth $190.2 million, with the Ackerman Family Trust run by her and her husband owning about 50 per cent of the major South African grocery chain Pick ‘n’ Pay. The $3 billion company owns outlets in Mozambique, Nigeria, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Australia, with Ackerman acting as Executive Director.

7. Bridget Radebe
The founder of Mmakau Mining, the successful mining firm with assets in gold, platinum, uranium, coal, chrome and exploration, Radebe started out by working in mines herself. Now the president of the South African Mining Development Association, she is the older sister  of South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe and married to South Africa Justice Minister Jeff Radebe. She was the first black woman in the country to found her own mining company, overcoming racial and gender prejudice. While her net worth is large, it is currently not published. Radebe received the International Businessperson of the Year Award in 2008 from the Global Foundation for Democracy.

8. Sharon Wapnick
Worth $43.1 million, Wapnick is one of the largest individual shareholders in listed loan stock companies Octodec Investments and Premium Properties, which were both founded by her father Alec. She is also a partner at TWB Attorneys, a Johannesburg-based commercial law firm. Her fortune was made in investments and real estate. As of October 2011, Wapnick stepped into the role of non-executive chairman of Octodec, replacing her father. An attorney, she also has a wealth of experience in the property industry.
 
9. Elisabeth Bradley
Bradley, whose father Albert Wessels brought Toyota to South Africa in 1961, enjoys a net worth of $32 million as a result of her investments portfolio. In 2008, Wesco Investments, the holding company that she chairs, sold its 25 percent stake in Toyota South Africa to Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp for $320 million, with Bradley pocketing at least $150 million. As well as remaining chairman of Wesco Investments, she is also vice-chairman of Toyota South Africa Limited, a director of AngloGold and board member at blue chip companies such as Standard Bank Group, Hilton Hotel and Roseback Inn.

10. Irene Charnley
Charnley, 52, is a former trade unionist who has amassed a net worth of $150 million. Currently the CEO of Smile Telecoms, a telecommunications products company working out of Mauritius, she first made a mark as a negotiator for the National Union of Mineworkers in South Africa. Later she became Executive Director at MTN, Africa’s largest teleco. At MTN she led the company’s expansion across Africa and beyond, helping to acquire licences from Nigeria to Iran. She was as a result rewarded with MTN stock worth $150 million, though she left the company under controversial circumstances in 2007. She has also been a director of FirstRand Bank, Johnnic and Johnnic Communications. Her current company, Smile Telecoms, helps lower-income individuals to have telecommunications and continues a line of anti-poverty programs Charnley began at MTN.

Source: Ventures Africa

Girl’s journey to ancestral land in China

More than 600 years ago, a ship carrying Chinese sailors capsized off the Indian Ocean near Siyu in Lamu.

According to accounts by the local people and historians, a ship from Malindi that was carrying giraffes and other mementoes capsized in the high seas near Shanga. A few sailors swam to safety and got integrated in the local community. They intermarried with the local Swahili people.

This shipwreck, involving famous Chinese explorer Zheng He, is the genesis of the story of Mwamaka Sharifu, a 26-year-old intern doctor now working in China.

Dr Sharifu was born and bred in Siyu village, Pate island, in the Lamu archipelago. But her ancestry can be traced to the Chinese Ming Dynasty in East China’s Jiangsu Province.

Dr Sharifu’s story is not just about her professional achievements, having studied clinical Chinese medicine and graduated from the Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. She has become one of the prominent Kenyan ambassadors in the East. She is special because she is one of the few links the Chinese have with the Kenyan coast. The others are her mother Baraka Badi Shee, her two sisters and two brothers.

“My grandmother’s great grandfather, who converted to Islam and was named Mohamed, was among the few Chinese sailors who were rescued after their ship hit a big rock called Mwamba Hassan and capsized,” Dr Sharifu says.

This history makes her one of the most cherished Chinese guests. Yet, about 10 years ago, she could hardly complete her studies at Lamu Girls’ High School as her father, Mr Sharifu Lali, a fisherman, could not afford her fees.

She was a timid teenager when we met her in 2003. But today she is a confident young woman, in whose hands many Chinese patients are putting their lives. And that has been thanks to a sponsorship she got to study in China.

“I appreciate the help of so many people and organisations in Kenya, especially the Nation Media Group that brought out the story of the Chinese connection. It was that story that changed a whole world for me and my family,” she told Lifestyle.

Others that helped her were the National Museums of Kenya, the Ministry of Higher Education, the Chinese embassy in Kenya and the China Scholarship Council.

“This support bolstered my resolve and gave me confidence to come to this great country. Upon reaching China and meeting the real family of the great sailor, Admiral Zheng He, it was a great relief for they ensured that I was settled and geared up to start studies,” she says.

Dr Sharifu’s story is one of perseverance and determination to see a dream come true when an opportunity presents itself. A dream that a decade ago was fading due to poverty.

She arrived in China to battle with language and cultural barriers.

“The initial two years were full of challenges, but I’m glad I was able to finish the Chinese language course and can now not only speak and write in it, but also translate it to Kiswahili or English with ease,” she says.

“Unlike the other languages I was used to, there are no alphabets in Chinese, but only 3,000 characters which one has to memorise before applying. Now I understand why it takes at least two years to study the language because one word can have so many meanings and usages. It all depends on the pronunciation,” she said in a 2007 interview.

But language was not her only difficulty in China. The food and culture were hard to adapt to.

“I gradually adapted to the life and managed to live almost like the Chinese,” she recalls.

And then there was her faith.

“As a young Muslim lady life was more difficult because of huge cultural differences. At the beginning I would spend most of the time indoors to avoid things that are forbidden in Islamic culture. I used to cook my own food for fear of eating haram food. However, with time I got used to the culture and fear disappeared and I chose to do what was right,” she says.

Studying medicine in Chinese was not a walk in the park and it took her more than determination and hard work to complete the five-year course.

“Studying medicine itself is not easy, and then the additional problem was studying in a foreign language. It took me almost one year to really understand what was being taught in class.

“I discovered that the Chinese I learnt in the language class for two years was not useful for the technical course, especially medicine. Grasping the biological concepts in class or through reading was hell. Briefly, I did a two-year course in Chinese language, then five years of clinical Chinese medicine,” she says.

Her greatest achievement was the exemplary performance and graduating as a medical doctor. She says she owes her success to hard work and cooperation and encouragement by her classmates and lecturers.

She is currently an intern doctor at the Nanjing Municipal Hospital, the third affiliated hospital to Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

She says she would have desired to practise in Kenya but the opportunities for internship in Kenya or elsewhere are rare as Chinese medicine is still new in many countries.

“I haven’t really worked in China due to visa restrictions but, as part of course requirements, I undertook a one-year internship as part of fifth year studies. I think working as a foreign doctor in China is a challenge because mostly the Chinese would not prefer to be treated by a foreign doctor, more so one dealing with Chinese medicine, because they believe that’s their thing.”

And Dr Sharifu’s quest for knowledge did not end with acquiring her first degree. “Having successfully completed my basic degree, I found it prudent to further my knowledge in this field that is quite nascent in Kenya. I have set my sights on imparting the skills and knowledge in medical institutions in Kenya or elsewhere, and that is why I opted to continue with my studies with the hope of graduating with a master’s degree from the same university,” she says.

She plans to return to Kenya and practise medicine and engage in community work after her studies.

And, for a woman who comes from a community where marriage is considered a big source of pride for the family (in many cases girls are married off at an early age), Dr Sharifu says that it is not in her short-term plans.

“I leave that to Allah. At the moment the plan is study hard, finish and come back. I think the family issue will come automatically when the time comes.”

She says she is looking for scholarships for the youth of Lamu.

Access sponsorship

“I am exploring ways of working with Chinese friends to see whether young people, especially ladies, can access sponsorship for higher education because I strongly believe that an educated Lamu is a prosperous Lamu,” she says.

She advises the women and girls of Lamu who have opportunities to study to grab them.

“I hustled a lot in China just as life in Kenya, but at the end of the day, the results are here. I beseech the young girls out there not to be lured by men into early marriage at the expense of studies. Education is essential in life and this is clearly exemplified by the Lamu Port Project where the youth of Lamu might lose opportunities simply because of lack of technical skills,” she says.

Having lived in China for close to a decade, Dr Sharifu is saddened by the poor state of health care in her home area. Siyu has one dispensary which suffers lack of medicine and other facilities. She says China’s health care system is advanced and fundamentally differs in many ways from Kenya.

 

Most hospitals in China have sufficient equipment, personnel and other resources to the extent that people have choices of what hospitals to go and the doctors to see.

The costs, she says, are affordable in most instances due to a well-developed social insurance network.

“My plan is to form a social organisation to help young people of Siyu to understand the value of education, health and gain the necessary business skills.

“I envision a Siyu that is connected to the rest of the country; with piped water, electricity, and communication infrastructure to enable the people exploit the vast tourism potential in the islands and the Lamu archipelago in general.”

She says her dream is to have a sizeable percentage of Chinese who identify with Zheng He and his exploits to visit Siyu in their lifetime.

“I believe that if Siyu is properly marketed in China, the revenue from Chinese tourists would be sufficient to make Lamu prosper.”
Aside from volunteering her time and skills to mentor young girls, Dr Sharifu has political ambitions.

“I believe that in future I will not hesitate to give Lamu a pioneer woman senator.”

Success is about forming habits that keep you on course

Few people have the luxury of choosing how to die. Fortunately, most of us have the luxury of choosing something more important: how to live.

This past Monday, author, educator and businessman Steve Covey died from injuries he sustained in a bicycle accident in April this year. He was 79.

Steve Covey, one of the most influential thinkers of our time is best known for his book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. He also authored 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families and the Leader in Me - How schools and Parents Around The World are Inspiring Greatness, One Child at a Time.

Newspaper reports indicate that his family was by his bedside at his transition.

Fortunately, Covey left the world with much to celebrate and his influence will continue to be felt through individuals and businesses that subscribe to his philosophy. However, it was interesting to note that Steve Covey’s passing came as a result of an accident while riding his bicycle down an incline.

I don’t know any 79 year-old who still rides a bicycle, and downhill at that. Also, most 79 year-olds I know are retired. Not Covey, who was a professor at the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University at the time of his death.

Although his books will continue to do that for posterity, here was a man who was still passing on wisdom and knowledge, when by all indications (he was quite wealthy), he didn’t need to. What an unusual and it appears to me, interesting life.

That’s how I want to go too. Not in a bicycle accident as I couldn’t ride one if my life depended on it. No, I want to go surrounded by love, still physically engaged in things I enjoy, giving back to my community and leaving a legacy for the world. But again, few people choose how they die. We all get to choose how to live.

And here’s Steve Covey’s gift to the world. It boils down to this simple truth – we all can live better lives if we acquire the habits that support it. He offered no pat answers, no secrets to invoking our desires except the timeless principle that states, you get what you want by regularly practicing for it until it becomes a habit.

Whatever you desire, health, wealth, happiness, love, learn and practice the habits that will create it for you. This is not always a palatable truth because habits require time, consistency, patience and determination to acquire and refine. In the same vein, as you acquire new habits, you get rid of the old ones that do not serve you.

How we live our life

Consider this: In a few days, we will all be glued to our screens as the Olympics take centre stage. I know I will be coveting the toned and flexible bodies of the athletes while sitting comfortably on my sofa munching pop corn. And that’s how most of us live our lives.

Wanting things that we can’t have because we are not prepared to do what it takes to get them. In my case, that would be adopting the habits of the athletes I see, not as one time fads but daily routines. Early morning runs, daily exercise, and strict diets. But then again, watching from the sofa is less sweaty and so much easier.

The same thing applies to wealth. Most people are looking for short cuts and get rich quick schemes rather than painstakingly applying the habits of generating wealth. It’s more exciting to talk about the next big thing in investment rather than living below our means.

Which is probably why we are drawn to the genie in the Aladdin story. If only we could rub a magical jar and get our three wishes, life would be perfect. Problem is, there are no short-cuts in life. If we want to change where we end up, we must as Covey advised, begin with the end in mind and get with the habit.

You’re the miracle you’re looking for

Today, My son Israel turns two. To say I’m happy would be an understatement. Like I told you all last week, this child brings magic into my life. Don’t get me wrong, all my children are special, but, like all mothers will attest, each child has his or her unique attribute.

I wish a certain pastor, whom I met sometime back at Aga Khan Walk in Nairobi, would attend Issa’s birthday party. When I met him, he greeted me warmly, something that didn’t surprise me. Why, every day I meet people who tell me they feel as if they know me. Either they’ve read about me, heard me over the radio or we’ve met at a certain meeting.

But this pastor’s happiness at meeting me in person wasn’t to tell me that I inspired him. As he took my hand and pulled me aside, he remarked: “I’ve looked for you for a very long time, and I thank God that we have finally met.”

At this point, I had no doubt that he was a con artist. You know, the ones who tell you to close your eyes in prayer, and promise to double the money in your handbag, all the while quoting from the Bible.

I was wrong though; this pastor had a different agenda. The H-word. I should’ve seen it coming.

“Asunta, do you know God can do a miracle for you and you can be HIV-free? That’s what God has been showing me. That you can be healed and stay free for the rest of your life.”

I didn’t know how to dismiss him politely. Don’t misunderstand me. I’m a believer. As far as my healing’s concerned though, I’ve been there, done that, got the T-shirt.

Once, when I wasn’t wiser, I believed a certain man who claimed to have the ability to heal diseases such as HIV. He charged 10,000 bob for a prayer. It took me six months to save the money. My hope had shot past the stars. Yeah, I never got the said healing, and the false hopes I’d built came crushing down on me.

I chased loads of faith healers. When I didn’t get anywhere, I settled for the “miracle” God had placed right in front of my nose: antiretorivals (ARVs) and adherence.

“I appreciate your concern pastor, but please know that I’m comfortable with my HIV status. I’ve accepted that for over 20 years,” I told him.

“I really don’t need a miracle in the manner you’ve presented, but a miracle all the same.”

The miracle I actually need is money to foot bills for 16 students who we’ve admitted to local universities. I have no idea where their fees will come from, yet I want them to drink from the fountain of knowledge.

I also need a miracle to complete paying my mortgage. It looks as if I’ve been paying it forever, and just the other day, banks decided to increase their interest rates. If we’re talking miracles, this is it. I have no issues with my HIV status.

Sometimes, we look for miracles so far away, that we miss the ones God has already performed. For me to get Issa after I’d lived with HIV for over 25 years is a miracle. No hater will convince me otherwise.

What I didn’t tell the pastor was that I didn’t know exactly what I’d do differently if I woke up one day and found out I was HIV negative. I would work the same way I do. Live the same way I live, and love my children and family like I’ve always done. Plus, I’d love God the same way I do, unconditionally, because my love isn’t based on miracles, signs and wonders.

You’re probably wondering why I’d want this pastor to attend Issa’s second birthday. I’d want him to behold a miracle: Issa’s certificate that says he’s HIV negative. It’s in things like this that I see God’s hand, and how He confounds us all. 

I have an attitude adjustment. I believe that every day, for every single breathing being, with or without HIV, is a miracle.

The miracles I look for aren’t like the ones that made Pharaoh wonder during Moses’ time, but seemingly-inconsequential happenstances. And look at me, I’m a miracle. Despite all odds, God has blessed me with a healthy HIV-free third child. 

This is the diary of Asunta Wagura, a mother-of-three who tested HIV-positive 25 years ago. She is the executive director of the Kenya Network of Women with Aids (KENWA)

Windows 8 to be released on October 26

Microsoft has announced the release on October 26 of its next-generation operating system tailored for a world that is shifting from personal computers to smartphones and tablets.

Windows unit boss Steven Sinofsky revealed the Windows 8 debut date at a sales meeting yesterday, Microsoft communications manager Brandon LeBlanc said in a blog post, adding, it will be available in 109 languages across 231 markets worldwide.

Microsoft has promised to make the new operating system available in August for computer, tablet or smartphone makers to build into hardware.

It “is simply the biggest deal for this company in at least 17 years,” Microsoft chief Steve Ballmer said last week, referring to the time since the launch of the game-changing Windows 95 operating system.

“It’s the glue; it’s the foundation of everything Microsoft is built on.” Microsoft reported that it has sold more than 630 million licenses of Windows 7, and that the software powers the majority of business desktop computers. Windows 7 went public in October 2009.

The latest version of the operating system that is the norm for personal computers will also be used on many smartphones and tablet computers, including Microsoft’s own Surface tablet to be launched this year.

The Redmond, Washington-based firm has gone on record stating that Surface tablets would hit the market when the Windows 8 operating system became publicly available. (AFP)

South African and rich

They show up in Mondo suits, Roberto Cavalli shoes, and zoom around in Ferraris, Maserattis, Rolls Royces and Bentleys; Louis Vuitton sunglasses sheltering them from ultra violet radiation and eye contact with ordinary mortals.

Naturally, they throw wild parties where Chivas Regal and Dom Perignon flow in equal measure. No Viceroy please. Only single-malt whiskeys.

They are the new class of young, if not youthful, monied black South Africans.

Favoured by the Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) program put in place by the African National Congress (ANC) in 1994 to address economic injustices that stemmed from the white minority rule, this breed of black bourgeoisie bats no eyelid when flaunting its millions.

Popularly known as the “buppies” or simply the “BEE men”, their spending sprees and sense of fun easily relegate what goes in the exclusive Nairobi party dens to kindergarten tea parties.

To the BEE men, most of whom are between the ages of 25 and 49 according to a study by the University of Cape Town, BMW is an acronym of “black man’s wishes” hence the multimillion-Shilling German marques are some of their playthings.

But with this hedonism thriving against a backdrop of crippling poverty among millions of ordinary black South Africans, some people have been quick to compare the situation to George Orwell’s popular satirical novel Animal Farm.

“Literary-minded pessimists may cast the farm as South Africa,” the Guardian wrote. “The tyrannical Mr Jones as the apartheid government, the noble revolutionary as Nelson Mandela, the deposed and erased Snowball as Thabo Mbeki, the scheming ruler, Napoleon, as Jacob Zuma and the garrulous zealot Squealer as Julius Malema,” reported the paper.

A study in November last year by the Unilever Institute of Strategic Marketing, an affiliate of the University of Cape Town, found that nearly 40 per cent of the country’s richest 10 per cent are BEE men.

The survey also established that one of the recipes for hitting big money in the new South Africa includes being young, entrepreneurial and some post-secondary education.

Kenny Kunene, the flamboyant investor and owner of ZAR chain of nightclubs with outlets in South Africa and Zimbabwe, embodies South Africa’s rich upstarts; arrivistes, if you will.

Born and bred in Kutlwanong Township in the Orange Free State the Bible-quoting “Sushi King”, as he is known because of his peculiar obsession with the Japanese delicacy that happens to be rice (with raw fish) wrapped in seaweed, Kunene is a true rags-to-riches fairytale character that many boys in the townships would die to be.

As a statement of his social status the glamour-loving Kunene is said to have thrown a party worth more than R700,000 (Sh7 million) at one of his exclusive nightclubs in Sandton, the wealthiest suburb in Johannesburg, during his 40th birthday in 2010.

“The party was the definition of bling and debauchery and the guest list itself was a gold-digger’s dream,” the City Press, a local newspaper, reported.

South African papers reported that 66 bottles of Dom Perignon (a brand of vintage champagne), 36 bottles of Cristal and 32 bottles of 18 year-old Chivas Regal were downed at the bash. The alcohol alone cost around 500,000 rand (Sh5 million). That can pay for the sinking of six bore-holes in some needy part of Kenya.

As a sign of his deep rooted connections with politicians who matter, among the 300 invited guests was former ANC Youth League leader-turned rebel Julius Malema and Zizi Kodwa, President Jacob Zuma’s spokesman.

The same publication wrote that the hedonistic tycoon, who hosts the live bling bling show, So What, on ETV was served his favourite delicacy, sushi of course, on a model’s belly during the nocturnal merrymaking.

Kunene’s extravagance attracted the wrath of Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) leader Zwelinzima Vavi, a man perceived by many as the rapidly emerging voice of ANC’s disgruntled supporters.

“It is this spitting in the face of the poor and insulting their integrity that makes me sick,” Vavi spat.

“I am told at one party, sushi was served from the bodies of half-naked ladies. It is the sight of these parties, where the elite display their wealth, often secured by questionable methods, that turns my stomach”.

But the combative Kunene pulls no punches. The businessman, who served a six-year jail term from 1995 for something having to do with a pyramid scheme, hit back at the trade unionist in a venom-dripping open letter published in several South African newspapers.

“During the World Cup you were sitting in elite air-conditioned suites. What were you eating there? What were you drinking? We didn’t say you were spitting on the faces of the poor,” was Kunene’s counterblast.

“I want to correct your misapprehension that my party cost R700,000. It cost more…the next time people are invited to my party, you can go hang or go to hell,” the trade unionist was told.

The irritated millionaire went on to question the morality of Vavi attending the lavish wedding of another BEE billionaire Robert Gumede in Mpumalanga.

Looks like Kunene has company.

Jabulani Ngcobo is considered Durban’s youngest multimillionaire at 27 years old. Donning Roberto Cavalli shoes, a Mondo jacket and Louis Vuitton sunglasses while zooming past your Toyota on the streets of Durban with his BMW M3, Ngcobo is popularly known as “Cash Flow” after the stock market company Cash Flow Pro that he established in 2009.

“There are two kinds of education in this world,” he says. “There is academic education (in) which it is guaranteed that you will always work for someone else for the rest of your life, and there is financial education which guarantees you financial freedom”.

Ngcobo’s new money attracted the attention of the South African Police Commercial Crimes Unit which investigated the legality of his offshore investment companies last year.

Although the gap between the rich and the poor in the rainbow nation has increased since the fall of Apartheid in 1994, the composition of the top end tier has drastically acquired shades of black.

But ownership of big business is still largely in the hands of the Whites with only 4 per cent blacks accounting for chief executive officers in Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE)-listed companies.

The South African Revenue Service says that almost a million people in the country earn more than R30,000 (320,000) a month.

A Unilever Institute of Strategic Marketing survey classified the country’s wealthy people into three categories:

The “Drivers” included people worth up to $130,000 (Sh10 million) 50 per cent of whom were blacks under the age of 35; the “High Flyers” with a net worth of up to $650,000 (Sh52 million) featured the major and “Astronauts” who were the wealthiest group with members worth more than Sh100 million, 27 per cent of them being black.

At the dawn of majority rule in 1994 there were hardly any blacks in the “Drivers” category, with the other two classes being exclusively white.

While most Afrikaner wealth is second generation dating back to 1948 when the Nationalist Party came to power and introduced Apartheid, African wealth is first generation with the bulk of it in the hands of people who were born and bred in the squalor of the slums.

Take for instance Gumede, a man born and bred in a humble family of seven children in Nelspruit, Mpumalanga, where he once carried golf bags for white players and was a gardener at the Nelspruit Golf Club.

The information technology (IT) mogul’s R50 million (Sh500 million) wedding in March, held at the same golf club left thousands of tongues wagging across the country.

The glamorous three-day event that took a whole year to plan featured 2,500 high profile guests from the country and abroad.

Gumede shot to prominence in 2005 when his IT company Gijima acquired a controlling stake at the JSE-listed firm AST to form Gijima-AST where he is the executive chairman.

But like many other BEE millionaires and billionaires, the gardener-turned tycoon’s rapid rise to the economic pinnacle has been questioned, with many pointing a finger at his close connections to ANC Treasurer General Mathews Phosa.

Apart from a multimillion-rand tender Gijima won in 2002 to supply phone cards for Telkom South Africa, the company was also awarded a R2 billion (Sh20 billion) contract in 2007 by the Department of Home Affairs.

Besides having vast interests in IT sector, Gumede has substantial stakes in the travel firm Tourvest, Canadian coal power company CIC Energy and Gauteng Lions Rugby Club. He is also the chairman of the South African chapter of the South Africa-Russia Business Council.

But Kunene, Ngcobo and Gumede’s financial empires are child play compared to Patrice Motsepe’s, the tenth richest man in Africa worth $2.7 billion (Sh216 billion) according to the March 2012 edition of Forbes magazine.

Born to a school teacher father in the Soweto Township 50 years ago, Motsepe graduated with a law degree from the University of Witwatersrand in 1994, the same year that ANC came to power and implemented the black empowerment programme.

Motsepe established African Rainbow Minerals, since renamed ARMgold, of which he is the current executive chairman.

But while acknowledging him as one of the wealthiest people on the planet, Forbes magazine 2008 edition noted that his achievements were “not through entrepreneurial zeal” but his close connections to the ruling party, ANC.

“A handful of politically-connected individuals have grown enormously wealthy… from laws that require substantial black ownership in certain industries, including mining,” the magazine noted.

“One of Motsepe’s sisters, Bridgette Radebe, who’s married to transport minister Jeffrey Radebe (now Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development) heads a mining company and is said to be among the wealthiest black women in the country”.

The South African mining magnate also owns Mamelodi Sundowns football club besides being the chairman of Absa Group, Ubuntu-Botho Investments and Sanlam Ltd. He is also the current president of South Africa’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Apart from the BEE “Young Turks”, there are old guard billionaires who were in the heart of the fight against the white minority rule like Cyril Ramaphosa and Tokyo Sexwale.

Ramaphosa was apparently pushed to joining business in 2007 after losing the race to succeed Nelson Mandela to Thabo Mbeki. Worth around $227 million (Sh181.6 billion) according to Forbes in 2011, the former trade unionist is among the richest South Africans with vast interests in energy, mining, real estate and banking sectors.

Although the blatant display of materialism by wealthy blacks is said to be a big motivator for young people in the townships and ghettos to embrace a work ethic, the failure of the BEE program to create equality and bring progress to the poor majority has been partly blamed for the huge rates of crime and corruption in the Rainbow Nation.

According to the Johannesburg-based Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation, over 1,900 serious crimes are reported in South Africa daily. Among these are 50 murders, 88 rapes and 431 aggravated assaults.

Class has replaced apartheid making South Africa one of the most economically unequal countries in the world. Some observers have even said that the country needs another Nelson Mandela to lead the struggle against black-led, post-independence economic apartheid.

“We are already sitting on a ticking time bomb. The poor are tired of watching and reading about the elite blacks or whites parading wealth,” warned COSATU boss Zwelinzima during a press conference.

“The more we delay intervening, the more the risk that one day this poor majority will simply walk to the suburbs to demand the same living standards. No walls will be high enough and no electronic fences will be enough to stop the overwhelming majority”.