Uncommon heroes

What SA needs is new breed of ethical entrepreneurs that will help rebuild our country.

It’s a sad day when former struggle stalwarts say the new enemy is greed and corruption. Speaking at a recent memorial service for fallen Umkhonto weSizwe members, Desmond Tutu lambasted the ANC for their conspicuous consumption and spoke out against corruption. The fearless Tutu asked whether the bloodshed spilled during the apartheid years was worthwhile, saying that corruption plagued a government now facing service-delivery riots.

A national shame
Corruption is the new plague. As people take to the streets, rhetoric will do little to appease the angry and disillusioned foreign investors and other agents of influence and growth. A case in point is the Home Affairs Department, which has reportedly spent R1 billion during the past 10 years to improve efficiencies, only to become a national shame.

In a recent issue of FM, chairperson of the immigration and nationality committee of the International Bar Association Gary Eisenberg laments the mess. He points out that 70% of top management at home affairs have failed basic competency tests but cannot be fired in terms of the Labour Relations Act. He also points to a recent US terrorism report that details corruption and incompetence at the department. “Because of poor administration, lack of institutional capacity and corruption within the Department of Home Affairs, which is responsible for immigration services, thousands of bona fide South African identity cards, passports and work/residence permits were fraudulently issued,” the annual US Country Reports on Terrorism reads.

Zuma asks for leniency
While our streets are burning and SA slips in the Global Competitive Report, our president begs for leniency, saying we should cut our government some slack. “Let’s not do things that will create the perception that you are against your own government. Give this government a chance. What people are doing is like entering the ground and scoring a goal while the other team is still putting their boots on and preparing themselves for a match,” Zuma said. Speaking over the weekend, this was the first time President Jacob Zuma addressed the service-delivery protests sweeping Gauteng and Western Cape.

What’s clear is that at a time like this, we need heroes because we certainly can’t wait on a government lacing its boots while the game is in full play. That’s why we should celebrate those in the IT sector who are spending sleepless nights trying to find solutions to the ethical challenges that weigh heavily on our economy and society.

People like Zibusiso Mkhwanazi who, at 26, is the chairperson of one of South Africa’s fastest growing, empowered digital companies, KrazyBoyz. Recent winner of the Men’s Health Editor’s Choice Award, Mkhwanazi could be enjoying the fruits of his success but instead spends his free time trying to solve the problems of corruption and joblessness that confront our country.

Ethical entrepreneurs
The digital maverick recently founded a non-profit entrepreneurship academy for the underprivileged in his community of Vosloorus with a bold vision — to centre learning on values and so create a new breed of “ethical” South African entrepreneurs.

“We find young potential in the townships, people who are clearly disadvantaged. Then we fine-tune their skills and introduce them to the right kind of people so they can become fully-fledged entrepreneurs,” says Mkhwanazi. “We look for budding entrepreneurs — the type of people who want to be successful but have not had the opportunity to be successful. It is my experience that these people are not getting enough support. We need to nurture and encourage business ideas in disadvantaged communities to ensure they get off the ground. What’s exciting about our model of education is that it is something totally new and has never been done in SA before.”

Mkhwanazi says they are flooded with applications but those who make it into the school go through a rigorous five-step plan to ensure the school delivers value-based and ethical entrepreneurs. “We firstly prepare the person’s mind for success using predefined lesson plans. Then we are in partnership with Cisco, which, through the Cisco Entrepreneur Institute, provides us content from Stanford Carnell University. The third step is motivation. Because it is a Christian academy, we use the Bible a lot to motivate people to achieve their best. A big factor is the motivation for success. People meet many challenges but they are not motivated enough to finish what they have started. This is a critical aspect to ensure that people don’t sit on knowledge or do not use the knowledge they have gained; that they get off their butts and make things happen for themselves.”

Inspiration factors big in Mkhwanazi’s plan, together with mentorship and coaching, which serves to create a dream that entrepreneurs can aspire to and emulate. “Then we have great organisations that have come on board. People who have said they will put these people first in line for funding because we produce ethical, emerging business people. A lot of people in South Africa have lost essential values and need to understand that value is crucial to success. Crime, corruption, greed and favouritism are short-term selfish gains that create long-term societal and economic losses. SA desperately needs ethical entrepreneurs.”

Thanks to Mkhwanazi, we’re beginning to get them.