He plans to name these top-class studios after two music icons from the province. In an interview with Mpumalanga News on his 56th birthday on September 3, Makhabane revealed that his birthday plans for this year was to officially launch these recording studios in the Nkomazi Local Municipality to empower the province’s artists.

“Unfortunately, we had to postpone that due to the death and funeral of Masibuyele KuJehova’s lead singer, Fifi Anna Mabuza. We will still launch this project in two weeks,” he said.

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Makhabane said he had had a dream to build a studio for all genres long before he had been involved in a serious accident in 2014 that nearly took his life.

“Now I still have to negotiate with the family of Mabuza and the family of the late jazz singer, Ray Chikapa Phiri, to seek their permission to name these studio after them in their honour. The studio for gospel artists will be named after Fifi Anna Mabuza while the other studio for other genres will be named after Ray Phiri,” he said.

“I will not die before fulfilling this dream.” Makhabane also expressed his heartfelt sympathies to those who had lost their loved ones, income and jobs due to Covid. “They must not lose hope. They must have a positive attitude. They must keep their faith and believe in the God of impossibilities at all times,” he said.