Delivered at the charity golf day hosted by Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi in September 2023. The text below is the version released by the SPG media office; minor edits for the printed version.
Premier Lesufi, honoured guests, fellow sponsors — thank you for the invitation to say a few words today. A charity golf day is not the forum for long speeches, so I'll be brief.
SPG has been a quiet sponsor of youth development across Gauteng for almost two decades — primarily through the operational companies in our portfolio, the apprenticeship positions we carry, and the bursary programmes we support at partner institutions. What we have learned in that time is simple: sport-backed networks get young people into rooms they otherwise would not reach. Golf, football, athletics, boxing — it does not matter which. What matters is the mentorship that comes with it.
“Empowerment is an everyday practice. It is who you answer the phone to, who you put forward for a tender, who you mentor when there is nothing in it for you.”
What we're doing
I want to highlight three ongoing initiatives SPG is proud to be associated with. First, the bursary placements we fund through the Isithimela Facilities pipeline — candidates drawn directly from the communities along the Gautrain line. Second, the apprenticeship positions on the Optinet rail-telecoms side, where the scarce skills in our economy sit. Third, the informal mentorship network that has grown up organically around the group — hundreds of young people who ask for an hour and get it.
What we'd ask
A single request, Premier. Keep the door open for the young people who cannot buy access to it. The work SPG does, the work this golf day does, the work every person in this room does — all of it rests on whether the next generation has a real pathway, not a marketing one.
Thank you.
— Mzolisi Diliza, Group Chief Executive Officer