Pro soccer player resurfacing from football to business

From a professional soccer player, Sepeke Manamela has resurfaced as a community-based civic activist.

Modimolle’ son of the soil is now the chairperson for the Local Economic Development Forum (LEDF) within the Modimolle-Mookgophong Municipality, which encompasses Vaalwater and Alma.

The forum deals with issues such as service delivery, unemployment and emerging contractors, among others.

Since he quit football, 2017 was the first year since high school, 13 years ago, that Manamela spent entirely in Modimolle and could see the reality of challenges people in that area are faced with.

He and other two young entrepreneurs, Thapelo Malemela and Matshidiso Motlhake, discussed the challenges and resolved to do something.

They started the forum in October 2017, aiming to change people’s mind-set of schooling only for business and job opportunities.

Forum members met with the municipal manager, whom they gave a proposal entailing the changes they would like to see in the area.

“We urged the municipality to have a programme in place, through which they grow local businesses, targeting 10 companies each financial year. The issues our forum is aimed at addressing go hand-in-hand; in terms of addressing service delivery and unemployment, we need projects and in that, emerging contractors will be empowered. We are thriving for this goal as a collective,” said the former player.

Manamela’s soccer career has been hampered by injuries, which forced him to quit in 2013 to venture into business.

– The Beat