The Mail & Guardian introduces you to the movers and shakers of the rainbow nation
In compiling our top 100 stars of the future, we sought to have fun. But more importantly, we wish to reflect the direction we believe our country will take over the next decade. This will be a decade in which South Africa will increasingly assert itself on the global stage, from the way we handle the new economy to the way we care for the less fortunate; from the way we dazzle the world with athletic and artistic brilliance to the way we share ideas to inspire new ways of playing, learning and doing business. We depart from the premise that the future is mainly not exclusively young and black.
Which is why we pay tribute to Mark Shuttleworth. He epitomises the ability to think ahead, essential for survival on the wild frontiers of information technology. He pioneered a powerful website authenticationtechnology, then sold his outfit, Thawte Consulting, to Verisign for R3,5-billion. We like him most because of his generosity ask any of the 47 staff members who received R1-million each and the fact that he is not contemplating retirement.
Unfortunately, the decade ahead will be deeply wounded by Aids, which is why we note the important role played by these men and women in the fight against the epidemic. Lucky Mazibuko is a young man with a mission. He has used his status as a person living with HIV to raise awareness and help transform attitudes. This he does by writing two columns that reach more than two million people a week in Sowetan and Sowetan Sunday World. He also serves on President Thabo Mbeki’s Aids advisory panel. On the medical and scientific front Dr Glenda Gray, the Chris Hani Bara-gwanath hospital-based pediatrician who also heads the Soweto giant’s research unit, is a tireless worker in the battle against HIV/Aids. We are happy to inform you that they believe HIV causes Aids.
In the other important growth area, financial services, we tread with caution as we would not like to bump flashy BMW’s (or egos). Step forward Deanne Gordon, gilts analyst and economist at international financial services house Chase, for habitually coming out tops in Financial Mail’s annual survey of market analysts. Our top 10 would not be complete without Peter Matlare, the SABC’s new group CEO. We would have picked him even if he stayed at Primedia. He faces the unenviable task of reforming the aesthetic output of the public broadcaster. He also has to rid the monolith of factions that have escalated power battles into an inspiring and award-winning soapie.
Mohale Ralebetso is the 28-year-old deputy-managing director of Hunt Lascaris TBWA, the second-largest advertising agency in the country. His choice of employer allows him the opportunity to learn from the best. He then has to help transform an industry that has made sluggish strides in a bid to shake the racist belief that blacks only eat rice on a Sunday. Then there is Bheki Khumalo, effectively Mbeki’s new representative. Khumalo brings with him to the presidency youth, intellectual capability and acumen accumulated from one of the most difficult ministries education. Close confidantes describe him as open, independent and occasionally confrontational, qualities he will need in trying to rescue Mbeki from himself.
The ruling party also boasts Mandisi Mpahlwa, the Deputy Minister of Finance and previous chair of the Portfolio Committee on Finance. Mpahlwa has quietly proved himself a competent operator and knows what he is talking about.
Professor Sipho Seepe is a bright, young intellectual to look out for. The head of Vista University in Sebokeng is a political analyst who has risen through the sciences and is one of the few eloquent black critics of Mbeki.
We round off our top 10 with the editor’s choice. After lengthy delibe-rations, Phillip van Niekerk has chosen Thebe Mabanga, a young and versatile reporter with the Mail & Guardian.
The many who vindicated us …
When we compiled this list in 1997 we felt sure that many of those in whom we placed our faith would come through for us. Here are some:
Maria Ramos: We described the Department of Finance’s director general as articulate and feisty. Time was when she was rumoured to start her day by lecturing on the budget deficit to her then new boss Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel. She has since played a crucial role in ensuring that Manuel makes this list again.
Nkhensani Manganyi achieved considerable success in more than one area. Having conquered the classroom with an Honours degree, we picked her for her work in M-Net’s It’s a Funny Country. She has since gone on to successfully appear in Generations and host M-Nets’ Face of Africa. She now runs Stoned Cherry, which showcases young designers of Afrocentric chic.
In the entertainment arena we picked, among others, TKZee. Zwai Bala remains the driving force in a phenomenon that has spawned a seven-member “family”, and no less than four solo projects.
Finally, we thank Benni McCarthy and Makhaya Ntini for proving us right. McCarthy has gone on to score our 100th international goal since readmission to international foot-ball. He also scored our first-ever World Cup goal, against one of the world’s best goalkeepers Denmark’s Peter Schmeichel. As for Ntini, he has overcome personal tragedy and recently inspired South Africa to victory over New Zealand in a summer that has proven one of the most difficult for South African cricket.
… and the one we omitted In the nature of these things, we admit to an embarrassing oversight in our 1997 list. Our apologies to Eve Sisulu, working-class hero, voice of the voiceless and a champion of the domestic workers’ cause. She has put the white woman in her place and is probably the reason pale females are scared to show their faces in Women’s Day celebrations.
Arts, popular culture and entertainment A very difficult area this one. We start by acknowledging that South Africa is saddled with a palpably thin celebrity culture and an obsession with celebrating mediocrity, lamented with resonance by literary icon Zakes Mda. So in search of talent we ignore continuity presenters, especially SABC1’s, and pick Lebo Mathosa. The ex-Boom Shaka vocalist is one of many artists who has gone solo after years with established groups. We pick her first for her polished stage act and musical potential and for her versatility. Besides singing, she has made a convincing appearance in Generations.
Another artist we think will domi-nate the decade is Mandoza, more for his aura than his musicianship. His popularity was confirmed when Metro fm listeners gave him five awards recently. We would like to emphasise that these artists’ edge is rather thin. Indeed, by the time next Easter rolls around, matters might be radically different; there is no room for complacency. Given the stiffness of the competition faced by kwaito musicians over the next decade, we cannot help but pray for Mzambiya, this year’s best genuine newcomer. There is no telling what selling 50000 copies can do to a 12-year-old, but if he handles the challenges of being a child star well he is destined for greater things. In adult contemporary circles the international circuit continues to give a warm reception to our artists.
Jimmy Dludlu has made bold strides this year. He has appeared at the original North Sea Jazz Festival in Holland and had his album, Essence of Rhythm, released in Europe through the Verve label. Along with Moses “Taiwa” Molele-kwa who made our 1997 list they head a generation that has benefited from the 1990s jazz revolution.
A guitar prodigy we can expect a lot from is Selaelo Selota. He recently teased an expectant audience on a cold night in Taung, North West Province, just from sound-testing, then delivered a performance to warm up the evening.
To round off music we introduce you to Leo Manne. He is Yfm’s good-looking music programme manager. Since the youth station’s inception, he has helped create a winning concept that has captured the hearts and minds of a million Johannesburg teenyboppers. Although Yfm’s appeal is now verging on saturation, its ascendance has introduced us to the talent of people like DJ Fresh, who, with Metro fm’s Glen Lewis look set to impress the international club scene. Manne also introduced us to Phat Joe, who we pick because of his TV show. It oscillates between sheer inanity and side-splitting humour; either way it is a youth talk show that works.
On the small screen we can but hope that the SABC commissions credible work to showcase more often the talents of the likes of Hlomla Dandala, the heart-throb of Isidingo: The Need. He ignited our screen with cross-colour chemistry as Bianca Armanto’s partner and broke many hearts when they separated.
In the small but challenging film industry we cannot omit director Teboho Mahlatsi. He shocked the nation into debate with Yizo Yizo and then displayed an esoteric edge with A Portrait of a Young Man Drowning, which earned him the Silver Lion award at the Venice Film Festival. Next year he brings us the second series of Yizo Yizo, hopefully with equally skillful use of the camera and a slamming soundtrack. Other film-makers to watch out for are Akin Omotoso and Hakeem Kae Kazeem. The former holds the distinction of being the only actor to have appeared in both Isidingo and Generations. The latter is better known for his part in a soft drink ad and e.tv’s Mainly for Men. We pick them because of their upcoming film God is an African and we are thankful that they have made our industry their home.
Theatre continues to cry out for support but there is hope. There are the likes of the irascibly brilliant Mncedisi Shabangu, an actor and director whose energy knows no bounds. He has two groundbreaking works to his credit: The SiSwati-dominated KwaNyamazane Galvinomit Akusiti and the mime-and-whistle piece, The Barbershop.
Two of the most accessible art forms are stand-up comedy and dance, and talent is in abundant supply for both. In comedy, we ask you: what have you been doing if you have not seen David Kau? Kroonstad’s finest product has grown accustomed to being practically the only black face in a gig full of whites.
In dance, we look to Gregory Maqoma, formerly with the acclaimed Moving into Dance. He recently spent a year in Brussels and we predict that he will be spending the better part of this decade outside South Africa.
Another outfit that has steadily trickled with exciting talent is the Ballet Theatre Afrikan. Two of their stars, Yolandi Olckers and Kitty Phetla, offer hope for a troubled sector. Both impressed at the prestigious Prix de Lausannne, Switzerland. Olckers spent a nine-month period ending in July studying dance in Canada. Phetla has been offered a chance to study at the Ballet School of the Vienna State Opera.
South Africa’s market of a million book buyers remains dishearteningly small. When we finally become a nation of readers we will wake up to the wonders of the likes of Thuli Nhlapo, who makes an overdue appearance, not for the letters she has brought this paper with her stories but as an award-winning author. She has to her credit, Isikhetho (1994), an anthology of Zulu poetry. She has already received accolades for the manuscript of Sibongo Sabo (1995) and Imbali YemaNgcamane (1996), which was a finalist for the 1997 M-Net Book Prize. Heinemann will publish Sibongo Sabo in SiSwati and English. She recently gave a gripping, austere recollection of her childhood in “Colour Me Yellow” in the pages of the M&G. We believe she will be a forceful yet frank voice in literature.
Still on the literary front we suggest you tune into the poetry of Kgafela oa Magogodi. As a student at the University of the Witwaters-rand, he once competently shared a platform with renowned dub poet Lesego Rampolokeng. He has now put his work in print in Thy Condom Come, which was described by our books editor Shaun de Waal as “an extraordinary collection that burns off the page”.
Our world would not be complete without the people who obsess about the abstract and receive little appreciation.
A young artist we will keep an eye out for is Moshekwa Langa. He blew away critics when he mounted an exhibition of art made of discarded objects and has continued to impress with ideas that defy categorising.
Over the past few years South Africa has made its presence felt on the catwalks of the world, contributing both designers and models of note. A fashion designer with a bright future is Craig Native, whose grasp and conception of design is rather abstract, but was catchy enough to win over American rock star Lenny Kravitz. A model that is beginning to make lengthy strides internationally is Nombulelo Mazi-buko, winner of this year’s M-Net Face of Africa. She was born in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, and has already been to New York, where she was described as a hot commodity. Next stop: Milan and the covers of the world’s leading fashion rags.
Politics and labour
At a time when student leadership is in decline, we cannot but note that without new inspiration among youthful political leaders, the generation presented here might be the last of the capable.
In the meantime, we are grateful for the likes of David Makhura, deputy general secretary of the influential National Education Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu). He is currently the African National Congress’s interim coordinator in Gauteng. He sits on the Youth League’s national executive committee, providing spark in a boring leadership.
The deputy general secretary of the ANC Youth League, Nomfanelo Kota-Mayosi, is one of several notable young women. She currently shares command of the party’s propaganda machinery with veterans such as Smuts Ngonyama.
A person in an unenviable position is Khumbula Ndaba. Until a few months ago he was the Congress of South Africa Trade Union’s (Cosatu) chief negotiator with the government. Now, in his capacity as the government negotiator in the bargaining council, he is charged with deliver-ing a stable public service supported by Cosatu, a difficult task when facing former comrades-in-arms.
Other unionists with clout include Fikile Majola. A respected communist nicknamed “Slovo”, Majola is the man who turned Nehawu from a group of misdirected cannons into a respectable political machine that has forced the government to take its allies in the union movement seriously.
Roger Ronnie, the vocal secretary general of the South African Muni-cipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) is a man to watch out for. His union is the only consistent vocal opponent of local government privatisation plans, including iGoli 2002.
In Durban there is Nomusa Dube, the thirtysomething newly-elected speaker of the Durban Metro. She was formerly the mayor of the North Central council and has risen quite swiftly, growing close to the national leadership.
An important breeding ground for leadership in the new order is Parliament. Here, we lament the decline in the number of feisty backbenchers in the mould of Pregs Govender.
Among those MPs to watch, though, are Nick Clelland, who as parliamentary counsellor for the Leader of the Opposition, Tony Leon, holds a key strategic position. So too John Jeffrey, who performs a similar role for Deputy President Jacob Zuma.
Langa Zitha is a key member of the South African Communist Party innermost circle. He sits on the trade and industry portfolio committee and single-handedly delivered the ANC’s local government election victory in the East Rand.
Yunus Carrim, ANC and SACP, is the chair of the portfolio committee on provincial and local affairs. He has played a significant role in developing the legislation for the restructuring of local government.
The opposition weighs in with other bright sparks who hope to enjoy increasing influence in the post-2004, perhaps 2009, Parliament. These include Andre Gaum, one of the key younger New National Party MPs and education representative for the Democratic Alliance. Raenette Taljaard, Democratic Party/DA MP, is one of the most competent opposition MPs despite her youthfulness. She is opposition representative on public enterprises and is a sharp critic of the government’s privatisation programme. The Inkatha Freedom Party can look to Rev Musa Zondi, who is being increasingly used as the IFP’s representative when party leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi is not available.
Sports
Look forward to 2006 and Dsseldorf, or anywhere else in Germany, where we will be playing against the host country in the closing game of the group stages of the World Cup. We will beat Germany 2-1 and although that will not knock them out of the competition, at least we will have beaten them at the competition we should have hosted. The bulk of that team will come from Ajax Cape Town, who we pick as the team of the coming decade. In their short history they have duelled with giants Orlando Pirates on three occasions. On the third, the recent swansong Rothman’s Cup Final, they won 4-1 in a display of well-rounded technical sharpness. They are young and full of running. They master the basics: trapping and caressing the ball with ease, running off the ball with brisk pace and intelligence, and can provide classy entertainment. Steven Pienaar will be a key figure in our 2006 team. In fact, we think he will create the goal that will sink the Germans by laying a through pass for the predatory Kaizer Chiefs striker Siyabonga Nomvete. The coaching staff will include Steve Khompela and Neil Tovey, the first gene-ration of Bafana Bafana stars who, we believe, will go on to enjoy successful coaching careers. Both brilliant game readers and central defenders during their playing days, we note Khompela for incisive, analytical thinking and Tovey for his motivational abilities and technical simplicity.
On the cricket pitch we start by noting again sadly how Hansiegate has eroded enthusiasm built over many years. In the townships, whenever South Africa played on home soil and was shown on SABC, makeshift stumps would spring up and welcome new heroes every season. This year, for the first time in recent memory, the enthusiasm has been muted. It is left to a brigade of youngsters to win back the converts. We look to Mfuneko Ngam, who came to prominence due to an injury to Allan Donald. His first over in Test cricket should have produced a wicket, were it not for the wobbly hands of Darryl Cullinan. Ngam is a genuine product of the United Cricket Board’s development programme. He is one of those rare talents who makes his presence felt just by running up to the wicket. He has the ability to replace Donald and, barring injury, achieve 300 Test wickets. His team-mate in the current squad Neil McKenzie also deserves mention. His father, Kevin, had the misfortune of playing his best cricket during isolation but critics have spotted the same fearless strokes. Neil’s natural talent saw him play for the old Transvaal at 19 and he looked like a Test player from day one. He just has to overcome frailty in dealing with quality spin bowling. While these two have had a look into the senior team, Justin Kemp has not. The Eastern Province all-rounder has improved his bowling in leaps and bounds this year. His ferocious hitting and exceptional slip catching in addition to his bowling makes him a genuine candidate for the one-day side. He may have to wait his turn behind established all-rounders Lance Klusener, Nicky Boje and Andrew Hall, but may yet turn to be better than all of them.
In rugby, the quest to regain world championship status will be led by Breyton Paulse. He has been a Springbok since 1997 but has only this year cemented his place in the side due to a timid selection policy and nonsensical doubt about his size and sense of ability. The fact of the matter is he has been the best back we have had over the past three years and will be for the next three. When the assault on the Webb Ellis trophy is launched in earnest, Paulse will be joined by the likes of Butch James. He has played flyhalf at every age group and 2001 may see him accede to the number 10 shirt in the Springbok team. He was stupidly left out of Harry Viljoen’s first touring side at the expense of such minor talents as
Chris Rossouw and Percy Montgomery. Our forgettable performance in the Olympics is still fresh in our minds. Looking ahead, we do not have an incentive to look too much beyond the few medallists who saved our face in Sydney. Except to venture and bring to your attention Dikeledi Morapane, one of the most exciting female sprinters in the country. She narrowly missed out on Olympic qualification thanks to the National Olympic Committee’s stricter standards. She is set to do well in the world championships in Canada next year. Apart from her, we look mainly to medallists. Llewelyn Herbert is our big hope in the 400m hurdles. High jumper Hestrie Cloete came agonisingly close to winning gold and has matured remarkably over the years. She is among a handful of the best high jumpers in the world. Franz Kruger has obtained second ranking in discus before reaching what is considered peak point in the sport. Terence Parkin, we believe, has only just begun with his 200m breaststroke silver medal.
Two other sporting names we cannot omit are Lehlohonolo “Hands of Stone” Ledwaba and Trevor Immelman. Pound for pound, Ledwaba is the best boxer in the country, having already won the International Boxing Federation junior-featherweight and the World Boxing Union featherweight titles. As an amateur golfer Immelman won everything on offer. After turning professional three years ago, he realised there were a lot of talented golfers in the world. This year, however, he secured his European tour card and at the beginning of December he won his first Sunshine tour event, beating Ernie Els into second place at the Players Championship at the Royal Cape. Enough said.
Public service When it comes to the nitty-gritty of running the country think “RR” for Robinson Ramaite, former student leader and a trained lawyer who had a swift rise through the ranks of the government. He demonstrated his fortitude in handling what was potentially an explosive labour dispute with the civil servants at wage negotiations. Lesetja “Congress” Kganyago makes our list as one of the newly appointed deputy director generals (economic policy and international relations) in the National Treasury. He is a graduate of the London School of Economics and member of the economic policy section of the ANC. The country’s economic future depends on our relations with the European Union and a key player in the recent protracted negotiations with the EU is Director General of the Department of Trade and Industry Bahle Sibisi, who is now well-acquainted with port and sherry.
Academics and opinion makers Muzi Sikhakhane and Aubrey Matshiqe are dubbed the revo-lutionary twins the former donning dreadlocks and the latter a beard like Frelimo’s Politburo chief Marcelino dos Santos. Their careers in the government culminated in speechwriting for premiers Tokyo Sexwale and Mbhazima Shilowa respectively. The two left the government to set up a black political think tank with a leftist perspective. Matshiqe provided accessible commentary on the recent local government elections. Bheki Shabane is a promising academic battling to keep African culture and tradition alive. Armed with a doctorate in Maskandi music, Shabane sits on the board tasked with preparing a Zulu dictionary. Dumisani Hlope is fast becoming a much-quoted political analyst. Making sense of numbers is University of Durban Westville academic Renuka Mittal’s job. She works in the field of ethno mathematics, which uses Ndebele beads for interpreting mathematical problems, as seen at this year’s Urban Futures conference. A Wits University aca-demic who has also caught our eye is Chris Landsberg, an international relations lecturer with an impressive grasp of local issues. Xolela Mangcu is the last of our eccentric thinkers we believe has a bright future.
We now put under the microscope our future A-rated stars. Tilly Pillay, a researcher from the department of paediatrics at the University of Natal, recently won the Nuffield Scholarship to study at Oxford University for three years. Rajendra Bhimma, another scientist from the University of Natal, is said to be the best authority in the African continent on kidney ailments in children.
Professor Anna Coutsoudis from the University of Natal deserves a mention. She has done pioneering research work on the transmission of HIV through breastfeeding. Francois Venter is another up-and-comingdoctor dedicating himself to the fight against HIV/Aids as well as developing a writing career.
Diane Hildebrandt was the first woman, as well as one of the first two academics, to be awarded a gold medal by the SA Institute of Chemical Engineers, with Wits colleague David Glasser. She currently occupies the Unilever chair at Wits and in 1997 was named the distinguished young scientist in chemical engineering. Her pioneering work with Glasser, on chemical reactor technology and chemical separations, has already been put to use overseas.
We close our books by bringing to your attention a crucial position in higher education transformation. Whoever succeeds Collin Bundy as vice chancellor at Wits will be under scrutiny. We tip SABC board chair Vincent Maphai.
Business
The country continues to be riddled with mistrust between employers and workers. We focus our attention on black economic empowerment, which has risen on the back of politi-cal expediency and goodwill. The current state of black empowerment calls for a cathartic introspection. We suggest the new players mobilise a culture of saving among blacks and build their business empires in areas they are passionate about and can manage hands-on. We lead with two young people who demonstrate how it should be done.
Wandile Nzimande and Sechaba Mogale are fashion designers and proprietors of Loxion Kulca, a label they established less than three years ago by sewing woollen hats. We take our hats off to them for their entrepreneurial savvy. They have struck a distribution deal with a leading chain store and have teamed up with Treets to distribute high-quality footwear to complement their range.
An area that will take off significantly in the next decade is e-commerce. And people who influence the way we do business include James Thrush and Joan Swart, two Nelspruit residents who threw up long-time jobs with paper giant Sappi in June to establish Paper-nova.com, a new business-to-business e-commerce venture that puts the paper industry in touch with itself. It went online on October 25 and is pulling an average 550 hits a day.
Wherever you look in the South African Internet industry, you stumble across the name Cathy Stadler. She works with Media Africa’s Arthur Goldstuck and writes ubiquitously on the South African Web. She is listed as a Human Sciences Research Council analyst and is now marketing director for business-to-business mammoth CommerceOne’s South African operation. She calls herself “freelance information professional” and is definitely one surfer who’s caught the wave.
He’s hot, hot, hot in his own words. Andile Mazwai, an equity sales trader for stockbroking house Barnard Jacobs Mellett, is definitely one to watch. Catch him on Safm, Highveld, Summit TV, e.tv and SABC with his punchy updates of market news. Or watch for him in the history books as he goes “to the top wherever that may be”. Gill Raine has established herself as Rand Merchant Bank’s hot-shot deal-maker. The head of financial engineering at RMB special projects division, she has carved a name for herself as a veritable whizz. RMB was voted the best company to work in South Africa by Deloitte & Touche, where according to Raine, “your brain is more important than your gender”.
Topping the list of South Africa’s new generation of tycoons is Jeremy Ord, founder and head of networking group Dimension Data (Didata), which is riding the wave of the e-business boom. Didata was voted number one in this year’s Business Times Top 100 Companies survey. Not shy to flaunt this wealth he bought a R6-million seaside mansion in Plettenberg Bay and then tore it down to build a R4-million house on the site. The 42-year-old Ord’s pet hate is human resource departments, which he considers an evil addition to any company.
In big black business we are intently watching the performance of people like Tiego Moseneke. He has tried to live outside the shadow of his well-known brother Dikgang, who is managing director of New Africa Investment Limited. He has redefined black economic empowerment by placing emphasis on the professional capabilities of black business people rather than political connections. Moseneke is the CEO of New Diamond Corporation, which recently acquired a 20% share in Nabera, the management contractor of the state diamond mine, Alexkor.
Sandile Zungu is a notable critique of mainstream black economic empowerment who showed his skills by growing the South African Railways and Harbour Workers’ Union’s investment arm from seed capital of R400 000 to an investment worth R400-million.
We are also keeping our eye on Christine Ramon, senior manager: finance and administration at Johnnic Limited.
Media
We note this sector for its impact on what we think and talk about. At the beginning of 2001, one of the country’s highest circulation weekend newspapers, City Press, will have a new editor. Vusi Mona possesses a rare combination of traditional journalistic values combined with a contemporary, middle-class outlook. He also has the chutzpah to speak his mind. When the long-mooted restructuring of the SABC gets under way, one of its most powerful positions will be general mana-ger: commercial radio. Indications are that newly wed Romeo Khumalo will take the post. We must state, though, that we disagree with the way he has driven growth at Metro fmusing glossy marketing hype instead of inspiring entertainment. He should be left in marketing. We now pre-empt a few full-page ads by picking Greta Steyn, who is back at Business Day as star columnist and economics supremo after a stint at the Reserve Bank advising Governor Tito Mboweni.
A young star who will grow to be an influential editor is Sunday Times London bureau chief Justice Malala. The BBC’s man in Africa, Milton Nkosi, has to use the Beeb to project us in a positive light, and then of course there is the M&G, which promises to continue breaking the best investigative stories.
Spiritual leaders, legal eagles and a rising star
In the courts, Mohamed Navsa, has been promoted to the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein. He has had a highly successful stint at the Johannesburg High Court, where another one of the rising stars to watch is Dunstan Mlambo. Tom Plewman from the Johannesburg Bar has gained an enviable reputation as one of the country’s finest young barristers. While talking of legal stars, we have to give a round of applause to Derek Spitz, the M&G’s loyal advocate who skilfully guides us through our stream of defamation suits.
As the country looks for moral regeneration, we look to our spiritual leaders for salvation. Simanga Kumalo is a young, Ivory Park-based theologian who will pray a lot from public platforms this decade. The Methodist clergyman is currently pursuing his studies at masters’ level. The Jewish community has given to us Warren Goldstein, a Rabbi and a professional in the legal field. Naeem Jhina is a prominent Muslim community leader who has also worked with Cosatu.
We conclude the Top 100 by noting a deliberate omission of the 50 odd lottery millionaires. Basically, we deride the ethic that has brought them wealth and refuse to allow luck to determine our destiny. Besides, none of them has assimilated to their new lifestyle in a snazzy, envy-inducing manner. On then to our 100th and final entrant. Take a bow Nelson Mandela. Yes, time and health permitting, this young-at-heart octogenarian will be among us for the better part of this decade. If he is not opening a clinic in a remote village, he is politely declining an offer to mediate in the Middle East or is reprimanding the rebels in Burundi. We are lucky to have him, as we are to have all those who made this list. To all of them we say: the spotlight is on you. You dare not wither in its glare.
ENDS