I am honoured to join you on this momentous occasion to mark yet another milestone for Soweto by the Maponya Group, as they continue to build sustainable world class businesses in Soweto.
These dealerships that we are launching here today are part of Dr Richard Maponya's long-held dream to bring the motor retail industry closer to the people and to fashion Soweto as a city within a city.
Today's opening of these dealerships does not only mark another milestone for the Maponya Group and indeed the people of Soweto, but also, it tells a moving story of the tenacity of the human spirit to refuse to give in to impediments subjectively imposed on human life.
In many ways this story is told through the trials and tribulation of Dr Maponya's years of commitment and giving to the Soweto community, starting from his days as a milk man on bicycle wheeling to the development of the multi-million rand Maponya Mall.
It is not merely a rags to riches story, it is far more than that. It is a symbol of what it meant to be black and to refuse to be defined by arbitrary apartheid laws and the colour of one's skin.
Today, through their various projects the Maponya Group is the largest independent job creator in Soweto, having created thousands of jobs through the Maponya Mall project and many others.
We are indeed happy that through this world-class dealership partnership with Barloworld, 60 new jobs have been created and that ultimately more than 100 people will be employed in the coming three years.
Ladies and gentlemen;
We should heed Dr Maponya's counsel that we help aspirant young people struggling to get funding to start up businesses; his urge for them to work hard and get educated; his striving for flexible bank funding and his passion to end poverty through opening business opportunities and creating jobs.
We are confident that the community of Soweto will continue to see Dr Maponya's success as a sign that through hard work and dedication we can turn Soweto, and indeed all the under-developed parts of our country, into the epitome of post-liberation successes.
I once again wish to congratulate the Maponya family for nudging us closer to this dream.
I thank you.
