Ninety-nine-year-old Richard Maponya, who launched his business career with a milk delivery service in Soweto during the apartheid era, has died after a short illness.
Maponya was the founding president of the National African Federated Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Nafcoc), serving in that position from 1964 to 1966.
Fin24 reports that, by the 1970s, Maponya owned a number of shops, petrol stations and car dealerships. In the 1980s, he became the first owner of a black-owned BMW dealership in Soweto.
In 2007, Maponya opened the Maponya Mall in Soweto on land he bought in the 1970s. According to the Fin24 report, he ‘successfully resisted various attempts by the apartheid government to take the land away from him’.
Having trained as a teacher, he began his business career in the clothing industry, ‘but was blocked from opening a clothing store by the apartheid government’.
On the occasion of his 99th birthday on Christmas Eve, President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a tweeted message: ‘I urge young South Africans to research the life story of this great legend, and draw lessons from how he overcame adversity to become one of the greatest pioneers and success stories of our time.’
In a report on SowetanLive, long-time friend and fellow business leader Dr Sam Motsuenyane said that, in a recent conversation, Maponya had expressed concern about the state of the South African economy.
‘He was thinking that things should be improved as far as the economy is concerned,’ Motsuenyane said. ‘He wasn’t too happy about the state of our economy at the present time.’