Working for Herman Mashaba, a politician with empathy

Herman Mashaba has been a familiar name in South African households for at least three decades, thanks in part to his catchy Black-Like-Me brand – introduced in an era when products designed specially for the local market were few-and-far-between. More recently, the successful business entrepreneur has become a public figure through his role as a politician and serving time as a Johannesburg mayor.

Although he's often in the headlines, a tribute to him buried in the comments under Herman Mashaba: 'SA, ANC cannot exist in mutual prosperity – ANC must go' stands out for me.

A visitor, who calls himself This side of X, details a moving and heartfelt story about how he and a friend got to work for Herman Mashaba at a time when life for the young men was "difficult" and "desperate". This side of X only realised later that the two men were doing the job of one and that the man who gave them gainful employment had done so out of empathy for "two poor white Afrikaner boys". 

You can read the details about how Herman Mashaba really operates when no-one is looking, below, as told by This side of X.

And to chat to the man who is intent on taking on the ANC and shaking up the political status quo with his new political party, The People's Dialogue, don't miss today's BizNews Midweek Catch-up Webinar with Tim Modise. Sign up to join the discussion here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2632221349207190800.

This side of X on Herman Mashaba:

I have to say that once many years ago, decades past, myself and a friend we're struggling to get by. It was before I personally had a drivers license, luckily for me my friend had one as we searched for some type of job door to door. It was Cape Town near Parow Vally, or Tygerberg Industrial area that my friend and I happened to knock on a small warehouse door desperate to find some form of work. It was a lucky day for us, looking through the roll-up door, we saw stacks of palletted Black-Like-Me products, with their yellow and black labels.

My friend and I looked through the doorway and turned away, as we did not see any obvious opportunity to gain employment and as we did so a man came out and asked what he could do to help us.

My friend quickly explained that we were looking for work. The man asked if either of us had a drivers license. My friend produced his I.D. which had his drivers license in it and low and behold after a few minutes of discussion we were employed right there and then.

Within two hours we were delivering Black-like-Me products in a small Nissan 14hundred panel-van (those old Eskom or Telkom work vans) to Discom branch.

I would like to thank that person for taking a chance on us, especially now, many years later I realize that there was no need for him to have hired me.

I look back now with faded memories and realize that the job of picking out, sorting, loading and delivering was really a one man job as the individual packages of products were light and manageable by one person.

So much later I realize that he did not actually need me but he had hired me anyway as driver assistant with my friend. I realize now that he was driven by empathy and honored the friendship between my friend and I realizing our struggle.

I wish this man the best of the very best in all that he is trying to do for South Africa as I know this man is an honorable caring person. He will have forgotten my friend and I, for I had certainly forgotten those days myself until I began to hear that he was rising up in the South African political spectrum. I feel pride that I can say that I once worked for this man and that he was one of the people that helped to lift me up when times seemed more than difficult and desperate.

I do not know what has happened to my friend who worked with me, decades later we have lost touch. I am however happy to see that the guy who took a chance on two young poor white Afrikaner boys has achieved such great success and I wish him the best of the best as I know he deserves it.

Mr. Mashaba has my full support and South Africans need to know that here is a man that has worked himself up, against all odds with courage and honor.

I am grateful to this day for the step up that Mr. Mashaba gave me way back then by taking a risk, hiring myself and my friend off the street, and I thank him for this.

South Africa take note, this is the type of person you want to promote to represent our interests in Parliament.