By Masilo Malakwane
QWAQWA- Last week’s glacial weather left hundreds of QwaQwa residents without heat or electricity as snowfall and sub-zero temperatures pounded the locality.
This stimulated up-and-coming local businessman Bafana Mokhotla (36) to plough back into the community.
Mokhotla, who hails from Phuthaditjhaba, used his company ‘Bafana Steel works’ to support the most vulnerable families by donating coal stoves that he designed himself.
He has since aided many families who were devastated by the cold front that left many residents in a state of crisis caused by the failure of the national power grid due to high demand.
Having established his business in 2018, Mokhotla told The Guard that “QwaQwa is well-known for chilling weather, especially in such seasons, hence I saw the need to at least give back to the poor of the poorest”.
He believes the challenge of constant power outages in Maluti-a-Phofung local municipality could be resolved only if the residents could revert to using coal stoves.
“The current cold conditions we’re facing might cause people to lose their lives, so I also encourage my clients to normalise the use of natural resources to reduce the high demand of electricity, gas and paraffin”.
Mokhotla said he left his paramedic job after he saw the opportunity that comes with the cold weather in QwaQwa and surrounding areas.
However, he has been a Good Samaritan to the family of Maleshwane Makume (48), who lives in a shack at Ha Rankopane village. Makume – a mother of three – was overwhelmed by the aid she received.
“I’m very grateful indeed, because we’ve been experiencing the freezing conditions lately, at times without electricity or cash to buy gas. I also wish to express my gratitude to Mr Mokhotla for the good deed of caring for the less fortunate,” she said.
