The Managing Director, Bheki Shongwe, has paid a glowing tribute to the founder, Kaizer Motaung, and the Kaizer Chiefs Organisation as the Club celebrated its 40 years of existence on Thursday, 7 January.

Thursday, 7 January, was again a special day for us like it has been since 1970 when this great institution was born. I know we have celebrated this day each year with joy and excitement.

On Thursday, however, we celebrated this birthday with significance, for it was the day that we turned 40. It was a birthday that we celebrate when our craft, which is football/soccer, is being celebrated on our continent and especially in our country. Some of our Kaizer Chiefs family members will represent our country at this great soccer event, the FIFA 2010 World Cup, with the usual distinction that we have become accustomed to. This is no mean feat and I am sure you will all join me at this time, silently in your hearts, to thank God that our founder and Chairman, Kaizer Motaung, has been spared to witness the fruits of his labour become a reality in his lifetime.

Thank you Mr Motaung for what you have done for football in this, our country, our continent and, of course, in other parts of the world where you displayed your skills and leadership. To Mrs Motaung and all the children, thank you for looking after him and thank you most importantly, for allowing us to share in his greatness.

On Monday, 4 January, we took time away from the office to deliberate and dialogue on a journey for the next 40 years ahead of us. We concluded on 6 January by acknowledging that we have a Mount Everest to climb, one that our founders have built for us since 40 years ago. We resolved and declared, as a management team and on behalf of all the staff of the organisation, that though the task is daunting, we shall not be afraid because of a set of values/beliefs, which we confirmed to be:

• Leadership


• Achievement


• Integrity


• Service


• Love and Peace

Whereas all these values are critical for guiding us in our lives and particularly as members of this organisation, today I thought I should just briefly touch on leadership.

I know that leadership means different things to different people but for us at the Kaizer Chiefs Organisation, we understand leadership to mean goodness...for us leadership is an art.

But what is leadership you might ask?

I want to submit that leadership’s first responsibility is about defining reality and the last is to say thank you. In between the two, a leader must become a servant and a debtor. That for me sums up the progress of artful leaders.

Leaders do not inflict pain, but they bear pain and the measure of leadership is not the quality of the head but the tone of the body. The signs of outstanding leadership appear primarily among the followers, when you ask these simple questions: Are the followers reaching their potential? Are they learning? Are they serving? Do they achieve the required results? Do they change with grace and do they manage conflict?

The art of leadership, therefore, requires us to think about a leader as a steward in terms of relationships, in terms of assets and legacy preservation, in terms of momentum and effectiveness and in terms of civility, humility and values.

Personal and organisational effectiveness is directly proportionate to the strength of leadership and in our founder we get it all and more every day. I am sure we all look forward to him giving us more of the same for the next 40 years.

Thank you again Tau (Kaizer Motaung) for all that you have given us in the last 40 years. Thank you for being you and thank you for living a life in the service of others. Your leadership, for us, has no equal.

Happy Birthday Makhosi Amahle.......ukuthula noxolo makube nani njalo, njalo, manje nanini!

God bless you all.

I thank you.