This is according to Mike Nkuna, the billionaire tycoon who owns the mall, and is also a key developer in Giyani and Malamulele area. Nkuna was speaking during the launch of the MLFM satellite studio in Giyani on Friday, which is aimed at getting closer to the listeners and stopping them from having to travel to the station’s studio in Polokwane when they needed to air something. “The station will stay here rent-free and only pay for municipal services such as electricity and water, the rest will be paid in kind,” he explained saying the presence of the station at the mall would help advertise his name along with his businesses under Masingita Group.
Apart from Masingita Mall, Nkuna also owns several malls in the province and Gauteng, all of which fall under the Masingita Group of Companies. Nkuna said there was a need for MLFM to “come home,” where the support base from Xitsonga native speakers was based rather than staying in Polokwane, an area that is populated by people speaking various languages. “If there’s a need for a march that would push the SABC to bring our station home, I can be the leader of that march,” he said.
Nkuna also blasted the ANC leadership saying it was not supportive of business proposals that have the potential to create jobs. He said there were many developments such as private hospitals, hotels, and car dealerships that he wanted to bring to Giyani but was blocked by the leaders in the municipality. “Look at what the Chinese government did for what is now the biggest employer in the whole world, Alibaba. One person came up with the idea of an online shopping mall and the government bought it and supported him, but you can’t get that kind of support here because of the kind of leaders we have,” he said.
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Hosi Siyandhani, who owns part of the land in the CBD responded immediately that there was land he was willing to give out for development. “Bring whatever development you think of, we have land, we will support you all the way,” he said. Meanwhile, the regional manager for SABC, Aupa Mamabolo, said MLFM was a leading station on Twitter when compared to all the SABC’s 19 radio stations in the country, saying the station has a “disruptive way” of doing things that seems to work.
“UkhoziFM which tops the charts with over seven million listeners has only around 200 Twitter followers . But MLFM has way too many and is also a number one station in the province to have more listenership outside the country than any other station in the country,” he said.
