John Vuli Wallet, says Alex resident and Gauteng MPL Sizakele Nkosi-Malobane
ALEXANDRA – I speak to you as the living testimony of the selfless work of both Manzi and Paul Mashatile, says Miss Teen SA Kimberley Malope.
Gauteng MPL and chair of chairs Sizakele Nkosi-Malobane called on those attending the launch of the Manzi Mashatile Foundation in honour of ANC treasurer-general Paul Mashatile’s late wife to open their wallets and contribute to the foundation.
Thanking the attendees at the launch, Nkosi-Malobane, a friend of Manzi as they grew up and schooled together in Alexandra, said she hoped ‘all the Johns in the house will not just open the gate for the stock but will also open their wallets and donate immensely to enable the noble work of this foundation to be realised’.
“Manzi was a friend of mine and I had mixed feelings when she was buried as I had Covid but I am now safe to mingle with all of you. While we mourn her loss, we must also celebrate her life and live her legacy. Long live to the legacy of Manzi,” she said.
Miss Teen SA, Kimberley Malope, who described herself as a living example of the selfless work of Manzi and Paul Mashatile, said the youth of the post struggle generation was not a lost generation as most would want people to believe. “We’re the future leaders of this country and we deserve to be given all the opportunities available so that we can take over the baton from the current crop of leaders and continue to move this country forward.
“I speak to you as the living testimony of the selfless work of both Manzi and Paul, two people that will stop at nothing to help and ensure that a black child was educated,” Malope added.
ANC deputy secretary-general Jessie Yasmin Duarte congratulated Mashatile for establishing a foundation that would uplift communities in the country in honour of his wife’s memory. “I say a big up to you Paul. Some people would build monuments and statues for their wives like the Taj Mahal but here is a family that wants to build selfless monuments of help to the poor and ensure they uplift them from the poverty they find themselves in,” she said.
“There are many children that go to school in the bitter winter without shoes, without a meal in the morning and will only have another meal in the evening when they return home from school. Imagine a child who cannot go to school because there is no money for fees, books and other stationery items.
“Some people tend to forget where they come from once they’re put in positions of power but here is a family that has not forgotten all that – their roots. They know the government cannot do it all alone and they have seized the opportunity to spring to the help of the poor.”
