The Nelson Mandela Foundation says it remains committed to its work despite the dismissal of its CEO, Sello Hatang.
Hatang was recently dismissed by the board for unbecoming conduct.
On Saturday, the foundation, in partnership with Ride4Hope, kicked off Mandela Month in Muldersdrift with the launch of a 10-year remembrance Mandela T-shirt.
While Muldersdrift was chosen for the launch of Mandela Month, the lingering backdrop was the foundation firing its long-serving CEO with immediate effect.
That’s while the details surrounding his dismissal remained sketchy.
The Nelson Mandela Foundation says Hatang’s dismissal follows complaints about his conduct at work.
According to the Head of Mandela Day and Public Outreach, Gushwell Brooks, the matter has not affected the foundation’s work.
“I can assure everyone that the foundation is steaming ahead doing the work we are meant to do. All our donors can rest assured that none of those has by any means compromised the foundation. We are committed to the work we are doing and specifically loving up to the legacy of Madiba, and the only way we can do that is through action.”
This year marks 10 years since the passing of Madiba.
Issues of Climate change and food security are key pillars for this year’s theme.
Brooks says they want to re-ignite the significance of International Nelson Mandela Day.
“The key thing that stands out for us is that we should use this opportunity to launch the major plans that we have. Mandela Day is not just about 67 minutes but about that specific day of service. It’s about ongoing, long-term, sustainable projects to ensure we can provide communities with opportunities by which to uplift themselves and deal with issues of poverty.”
Hundreds of cyclists braved the cold morning, cycling 56 kilometers along the cradle.
Luthando Kaka says the relationship between Ride 4 Hope and the foundation were honed over several years.
“We do not only encourage the participants who pay an entry fee to the Nelson Mandela Foundation and donations, but we also encourage those companies and patterns to do something for those communities along the route. We’ve built classrooms, and we’ve donated ICT infrastructure and labs. We’ve done school uniforms and so forth. We look at each community and their needs, and we rally our partners to support and set those needs. We’ve been quite fortunate that we’ve done a lot of work in the past four years, and we look forward to classrooms that are being built as we speak, which will be donated as we travel to KZN.”
The Nelson Mandela Foundation will commemorate this year’s Mandela Day on July 18 in the community of Diesploot.
