Dr Nthato Harrison Motlana is no more. For those who have an intimate knowledge of the developments in the empowerment fraternity, he needs no introduction. In the words of Zwelakhe Sisulu, he was not “an individual but an institution.”

Before celebrating the long, fruitful life of this giant of extraordinary passion, let me make it clear that this column is not in the habit of idolizing individuals, but we will always profile those who have made such a major difference to the lives of many.

Motlana, a man of enviable accomplishments, remained humble despite attaining many a lofty heights as a community leader, Madiba’s physician, BEE pioneer and entrepreneur.

I remember bumping into him in Braamfontein one morning in 1995. I was in the company of two fellow Wits students and we were fiercely debating the content of an article in the Sowetan newspaper we had just bought. He came to us and in a very down-to-earth manner thanked us for supporting his business. The three of us were flummoxed and asked for a clarification. He patiently explained how the newspaper was part of his fledging business empire within the New Africa Investments Limited (NAIL).

At NAIL the old Doc was never a big fan of mediocrity or that other aberration currently occurring among some of our people - jobs for pals. He assembled a top dream team comprising Cyril Ramaphosa, Dikgang Moseneke, Rob Dow and Zwelakhe Sisulu. NAIL was among the first so-called “black chips” on the local bourse, and had substantial stakes in MTN, Metropolitan Life, Johncom (now Avusa), and African Bank.

A trailblazer and pioneer in the empowerment fraternity, he was also bestowed with admirable analytical skills. This is reflected by his perspective on the country’s economic challenges: “If the population growth is much faster than the economic growth or job creation, any country can only head for disaster and the expectations for a better life and a prosperous future could be a mere pipe dream.”

Ramotena Mabote, Motlana’s biographer, points out the frightening selflessness of this late octogenarian. “Nthatho Harrison Motlana spent more than 60 years of his life fighting the cancers of apartheid, dependency, laziness, denial and racism.”

Cell phone industry giant MTN, of which Motlana was the founding chairman, also stressed his immeasurable contribution to the empowerment cause.

“As a father, a stalwart of the anti-apartheid movement, a campaigner who paved the way for black business people to play a role in the economic transformation of South Africa, Ntate Motlana’s indelible impact echoes through the chronicles of SA’s democratic and economic transformation history.”

Motlana also arranged scholarships for many needy students under the auspices of the Education Opportunities Council (EOC) that enabled them to study abroad. Through this, Motlana played a critical role in preparing the current crop of leaders such as Saki Macozoma, who benefited from the initiative.

While a biographer should remain partisan when dealing with their subject, on occasions such as these it seems an impossible task to overemphasize a lifetime of achievements. Dr Motlana falls within this category.

Besides founding NAIL, the first black-owned company to list on the JSE Securities Exchange, he was an entrepreneur of note. In the late 1970s he initiated the formation of the first black-owned chemicals company, Africhem. Subsequently, he was central to the formation of Phaphama Africa, a company which manufactured uniforms for soldiers and school children.

Following a spell in detention in the aftermath of the 1976 Soweto uprisings, the ever entrepreneurial Motlana started New Africa Marketing, an outfit which provided employment opportunities for youth who had been detained for political activism.

Then came a big move, he founded Kwacha, a company that established the first black-owned private hospital in SA, the Soweto–based Lesedi Clinic. An estimated 40 black medical practitioners bought shares in the business. A complementary facet of the business was a foray into the medical schemes industry with the establishment of Sizwe Medical Aid Scheme, the first such scheme to be owned and operated by blacks.

Among other honours, Dr Motlana received the Top 5 Businessmen Award from the Sunday Times in 1993 and a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005 from the same newspaper. The Graduate School of Business in the University of South Africa awarded him the Leadership in Practice Award in 1998. Dr Motlana received the Little Black Book Lifetime Achievement Award from the Financial Mail last year (2007). Motlana has also been the recipient of honorary doctorates from the University of Dartmouth in the US, the Medical University of South Africa and the University of Natal. 

His has been a life deeply immersed in activism across the spectrum. A former secretary-general of the African National Congress Youth League as arrested in 1952 during the historic Defiance Campaign. Undeterred by seemingly insurmountable odds, he still completed his medical degree at Wits University after obtaining a BSc degree at Fort Hare University.

We should all take a cue from the life of this indefatigable giant of our times. What a life well lived to the fullest. It was not without reason that he argued: “The greatness of a nation is not determined by the number of its people but by the quality of their existence.”

Sello Mabotje writes in his personal capacity