War Stories shared by members of the Makoya family
show what it means to have the opportunity to shape your own future.
War Story
Peter Mahlangu
Under the powerful leadership of Kenny Malgas, I started working at Makoya Supply Chain Holdings…
Peter Mahlangu
“Under the powerful leadership of Kenny Malgas, I started working at Makoya Supply Chain Holdings in September 2009. This was at the beginning of Makoya’s involvement with the site and we were building the site from almost nothing. We started with 2 shifts of 4 staff each, working 12 hours per shift. The small staff included the Shift Supervisor (who worked 18 hours at a time to include shift changes), Weighbridge Clerk and 3 traffic controllers. From there we figured out the best, quickest and safest ways to get the offloading and loading done leading us to the large and very busy site we have today.
The main lesson I have learnt from Makoya is that there will always be challenges but if you work hard and stay consistent, you can overcome any challenge. We faced many challenges in growing the site, including the fact that Makoya did not have its own assets at that time in terms of machinery and we had to borrow machines that were not ideal. We had to deal with trucks getting stuck, dust everywhere as there was no source of water on site, overloading and underloading of trains that imposed penalties on us, delayed trains, etc. The list goes on an on.
Through all of these challenges the Makoya management team with Kenny stayed true to all of us working on site and they stuck by us. We worked together to come up with solutions for all the problems we faced on site and the company kept on growing. Now we are able to work normal shifts and use our own machines! Management did not just tell us what to do, they listened to us and involved us in the processes of finding solutions, for example with the development of our unique reinforced containerised solution to carry coal and managing to offload a train in 3 hours and we started off with it taking more than 3 days!
Starting my working life as a cashier at a filling station, to where I am today within Makoya – from a Shift Supervisor, Senior Shift Supervisor, Site Manager, Production Manager to currently Operations Manager – would not have been possible without the support of management. They have changed my entire life. I like facing challenges and growing in my career and Makoya has given me the opportunity to see my dreams come true. My heart is with Makoya as our leader Kenny’s heart is with us.”
Peter is currently the Operations Manager for one of Makoya Supply Chain Holdings’ coal loading and offloading sites.
War Story
Shepherd Mahlalela
I have been with Makoya since September 2010 when I was employed as a Driver at one of their coal terminals…
Sheperd Mahlalela
“I have been with Makoya since September 2010 when I was employed as a Driver at one of their coal terminals. Since then my life has only changed for the better as I have been provided with the opportunity to grow my career to where I am now part of the highest levels of management on the site. Can you even believe it – started off as a Driver at Makoya and look at me now.
My dream was to have a Code 14 driving licence and to be able to drive machinery on the mines. I did a number of other jobs and eventually worked at a power station as a Pipe Fitter. After that, I was a Truck Driver and found out about the opportunity to join Makoya.
I applied and Stephen Malgas saw the potential in me. Makoya gave me a job as a Driver and after only 4 months I was promoted and became a Shift Supervisor – not long after that I became a Senior Site Supervisor followed by becoming a Site Manager. As a reward for my hard work I was promoted again and am now a Production Manager.
I am focused on all safety aspects on site and function like a Quality Controller for the offloading of coal from trains. I did not know anything about this job function before joining Makoya and with the guidance from management I have found an amazing career path.
Makoya provides a great deal of training and this has played an important part in my career and personal development. Makoya has proven that it is focused on empowering previously disadvantaged people with competitive salaries and benefits and a lot of skills development.
I give Makoya management a big applause for being so generous and caring for its people and the communities and for believing in black leadership and bringing hope to the poorest classes of our country.”
Sheperd is currently a Production Manager at one of Makoya Supply Chain Holdings’ coal loading and offloading sites.
War Story
George Tjia
I was born and raised in Limpopo and worked as a security guard for a number of years. I decided that I needed more…
George Tjia
“I was born and raised in Limpopo and worked as a security guard for a number of years. I decided that I needed more from life and moved to Middelburg to become a Weighbridge Clerk. The company that owned the site where I was working had some problems and the site closed. I did not know what was going to happen to me! This is where my journey with Makoya started as they came to our rescue by taking over the site.
This is when I joined the Makoya Supply Chain Holdings family in September 2009 as a Weighbridge Clerk and within 3 months earned a promotion and became a Front-End Loader Operator. Not long after that I received a promotion again and became an Assistant Supervisor. In 2010, less than a year later, I became a Full-Time Supervisor for one of the shifts on site.
Due to the fact that I worked hard and remained committed to the Makoya goals and dreams, the management at Makoya once again recognised my value and within 2 years I was promoted to become a Senior Supervisor across all shifts on the site. In 2014 management once again recognised my potential and gave me the opportunity to become a Senior Site Manager.
Before Makoya, the truth is that I could not even drive or use a computer. They lifted me – guided and helped me to develop my skills so that I can do so much more than just managing the people on site, I can also operate the machinery and much more. I am amongst the best now because of Makoya.
Makoya really recognises hard work and I was even given a trophy in 2014 for being one of the best Makoya employees. This was such an honour for me. I like working hard, proving myself and always learning and Makoya continues to give me the opportunity to do this.”
George is currently a Senior Site Manager at one of the Makoya Supply Chain Holdings coal loading and offloading sites.
War Story
Xola Tyesi
I grew up in the Eastern Cape and moved to Gauteng when my mother received a promotion in the South African Police Force…
Xola Tyesi
“I grew up in the Eastern Cape and moved to Gauteng when my mother received a promotion in the South African Police Force. I finished my high school career at Clapham High School and went on to study Marketing at the Tshwane University of Technology. Due to financial constraints, I could not complete my studies and had to start working. I found myself in the Sales environment working in the tertiary education sector.
I outgrew the sales roles and moved into the academic sector – becoming an Academic Co-Ordinator. I had a great deal of responsibility and enjoyed the job, but I felt like I was not in the right place for my career growth and personal journey. By that time I already knew Kenny Malgas and his wife Emily quite well as we attended the same church. They were, and still are, very involved with all aspects of the church and I viewed them as my mentors.
Learning from Kenny as a businessman was one of my main goals and I decided to make a complete career change. There were some vacancies at Makoya and I applied. It seemed to happen so seamlessly – I got a position as a Procurement Officer in 2012 and from the very first day I felt at home and it was a complete change from where I worked before. The culture at Makoya plays an integral role in the success of the company and Kenny makes a point of never allowing us the get comfortable. He constantly ensures that we push and challenge ourselves and our colleagues.
I think the ultimate sign of the value that Makoya has in my life is that people ask me if there are vacancies for them to come and join the company as I am constantly sharing the life-changing benefits of working here. I sometimes invite a family member to join me at work for lunch – just so that they can experience the Makoya culture.
Kenny often tells us to use Makoya as a stepping stone – whether you remain with the company or not – use your time at Makoya to grow and develop so that you can blossom wherever you might end up in life.”
Xola is currently the Head of Procurement for the Makoya Group.
War Story
Simon Mothobi
Growing up in the Free State with my grandmother, I always knew I had an entrepreneurial passion and had to eventually…
Simon Mothobig
“Growing up in the Free State with my grandmother, I always knew I had an entrepreneurial passion and had to eventually find some way to live out this passion. I attended the University of Pretoria studying Computer Information Systems and following that I spent 15 very happy years working at Telkom.
From about 2009 and 2010 I started following the entrepreneurial spirit within and started my first company while still working full-time – a cleaning company that I ran out of my car over weekends. I cleaned houses, vehicles, upholstery etc. for between 4 and 5 years.
My initial desire was to venture into a property development business. The banks advised me that I did not meet the requirements to receive enough funding for my business idea. It was during this time that I met Kenny Malgas at a Youth Day Conference and he took me under his wing. He told me that one should always have a Plan B – if Plan A does not work, you move on and make the next plan work.
I went back and reviewed the business opportunities around me. I looked around my neighbourhood and saw a gap in the market for a cleaning company. Unlike growing a property development business, the cleaning business was something I could afford to get up and running immediately.
Through the cleaning business, I connected with individuals involved in procurement supply services to government and in 2014 I registered with various government departments as a supplier of various perishable and non-perishable goods, mainly food.
In 2016 we were awarded a long-term food contract by Eskom and I realised that we would not be able to grow the business alone as we were in need of business support. I approached Kenny and the Makoya team and they were interested in a shareholding partnership with us. Makoya is thus our strategic business partner and our company continues to grow through this partnership.
I live my life according to various principles, one of them being something Kenny taught me – the FFF Principle – Faith, Facts and Figures.”
Simon is the Director of Cedar and has formed a joint venture with the Makoya Group.