Bafana star steals limelight
Former Bafana Bafana and Kaizer Chiefs' all-time top goalscorer, Marks Mafa Maponyane stole the limelight at Nkomati Mine this past Thursday.
The former player, who was nicknamed “Go-Man-Go” for his explosive pace and goal-scoring prowess, recently visited the mine.
Maponyane, a sports analyst for SABC and a motivational speaker, caused a photo frenzy after he delivered his speech, relating to the success of his sports career, with the theme, ”Safety”.
He was swarmed by mine workers who were eager to take photographs with him. Maponyane had earlier told the workers that if they wanted to be successful, they needed to have purposes.
Reliving his story about when he joined the Chiefs at the age of 19 while he was in high school, Maponyane said all he wanted was a chance to prove himself.
“For you now, just like me back then, to have this job is a privilege. Just think about seven million South Africans who are unemployed.
So you must be grateful. Set goals for yourselves and look at the bigger picture of where you want to be in the future,” he said.
Maponyane also motivated the mine workers to prioritise safety every day. “Like in soccer, there are rules at work. I used to wear ship pads and conducive soccer boots to protect myself from being injured. So even here at work, be safe from day to day. Don’t try to be cool and then turn out a fool,” added Maponyane.
Soon after the event, he was surrounded by workers who wanted to take selfies with him. “I used to watch him on television, today I want to touch him and have his photo taken with me. I will save it as my screensaver on my phone,” said Liberty Malambe.
Unlike his explosive runs during his playing days, Go-Man-Go, remained polite and allowed the mine workers to take photos.
