- Richard Maponya
Richard John Pelwana Maponya, GCOB, [http://www.thepresidency.gov.za/orders_list.asp?show=343 The Presidency - Republic of South Africa - Grand Counsellor of The Order of the Baobab in Gold] ] (born in
Limpopo onDecember 24 ,1926 ) is aSouth Africa n entrepreneur andproperty developer best known for building a business empire despite the restrictions ofApartheid and his determination to see theSoweto township develop economically.Early career
At the age of 24, [http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081004/ap_on_re_af/af_south_africa_soweto_entrepreneur Up from apartheid, Soweto millionaire a role model - AP] ] Maponya, then a teacher, took a job as a stock taker at a clothing maker and subsequently won a promotion for both himself and his white manager. In gratitude, the manager sold Maponya soiled clothing and offcuts, which he resold in Soweto. With the capital acquired he attempted to open a clothing retailer in Soweto, but was blocked by the government's refusal to grant him a licence – despite the intervention by the law firm created by
Oliver Tambo andNelson Mandela . [cite web|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1657164,00.html|title=Retail Renegade: Richard Maponya|publisher=Time magazine|accessdate=7 July|accessyear=2008]Instead, in the early 1950s, Maponya and his wife Marina (a cousin of Nelson Mandela) established the
Dube Hygenic Dairy , which employed a fleet of boys on bicycles to deliver milk to customers in Soweto with no access to electricity or refrigeration. [Soweto Rising, Maverick magazine, volume 2, issue 2] By the 1970s the retail empire had grown to include several general stores, car dealerships and filling stations. [cite web|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1657164-2,00.html|title=Retail Renegade: Richard Maponya|publisher=Time magazine|accessdate=7 July|accessyear=2008]Political activity
During the 1960s and 1970s Maponya was a member of the Urban Bantu Council. He resigned in 1977, shortly after youth affiliated with the
African National Congress (ANC) requested that he do so, and shortly before the council offices were burnt to the ground. [Soweto Rising, Maverick magazine, volume 2, issue 2]In the 1960s he was a founding member and the first president of the
National African Federated Chamber of Commerce (Nafcoc) and likewise the founder and chairman of theAfrican Chamber of Commerce .But some consider his boldest political move to have been his choice of horse-racing colors. As the first person to be granted such colors in South Africa, Maponya chose green, gold and black, the colors of the ANC. [cite web|url=http://www.mg.co.za/article/2005-08-17-i-will-die-with-my-boots-on|title='I will die with my boots on'|publisher=Mail & Guardian|accessdate=7 July|accessyear=2008]
Maponya Mall
On 27 September 2007 Nelson Mandela opened the
Maponya Mall in Soweto. One of the largest shopping centers in the country, and one of few in black townships, it holds more than 200 stores and a cinema complex. [cite web|url=http://www.sabcnews.com/south_africa/general/0,2172,156535,00.html|title=Mandela officially opens new Soweto mall|publisher=SABC|accessdate=7 July|accessyear=2008] .Maponya acquired the land where the mall is situated in 1979, at first as a 100 year lease. In 1994, after several attempts, he acquired it outright. Various attempts to finance construction failed until Maponya's holding company entered into a joint venture with
Zenprop Property Holdings .Awards
Grand Counselor of the Baobab, April 2007 [cite web|url=http://www.info.gov.za/aboutgovt/orders/recipients/2007apr.htm|title=National Orders awards 24 April 2007|publisher=SA Government Communication and Information Service|accessdate=7 July|accessyear=2008]
ee also
Soweto References
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