Taking to Twitter, Anele Mdoda shared how her father was giving back to his childhood hometown. Patillizwe Mdoda was born in Ncembu kuTsolo, which is in the Eastern Cape. Like many villages in the Eastern Cape, and arguably the rest of South Africa, not much has been done in improving its infrastructure and education system.
As such, it seems that Mr Mdoda, has taken it upon himself to give back to his village by building a primary school. While Mr Mdoda might have been the one to spearhead the project, it seems that Anele and probably the rest of his brood, have joined in the efforts to see their father have his vision realised.
The school my father is building in our village. Ncembu kuTsolo. My father attended grade 1 in a hut on the very ground he has built this school on. Some brands I work with have come on board like, LEGO bricks will be doing the Early Childhood Development center for us💕💕💕 pic.twitter.com/kX2HA6DNd8
This is as Mdoda affirmed that she along with some of her business partners, associates and friends are also chipping in where they can to fully realise a functional and multi-use primary schooling infrastructure. But as Anele has continued to assert, that this is not her project. But she is merely helping in seeing her father realise his dream.
But the realisation of the school, might somewhat be an approaching full-circle moment for the acclaimed broadcaster. This is as Anele has on numerous occasions made it clear just how much she is inspired by Oprah Winfrey, who built a school in South Africa. Therefore, it might just be that Anele is also just a step closer to also building her own school in the future.
However, the question remains:
Who is Patilizwe Mdoda?
While we have seen numerous images of Anele and Thembisa Mdoda with their father. Along with the complimentary manner in which they talk about him. Very little is known as to the identity of their father, Patilizwe Mdoda.
"From what is available on the internet, Patilizwe Mdoda is a respected businessman who occupies a number of boards. This includes his current position as the Independent Non-Executive Chairperson of energy infrastructure investment company, Hulisani, with his biography reading in part: Pat is a seasoned executive who served at various bluechip companies. He has held executive positions at South African Breweries – Beer Division, Edgars Consolidated Group (Edcon) and Kumba Resources Limited. He also served as a member of the South African Petroleum Industry Association (SAPIA) Board of Governors. Pat’s contribution to the growth of Royale Energy as a founder, Board member and Chairman of the Group is one of his career highlights.
He participated in the deal structuring and fundraising that turned Royale into a multi-billion rand revenue company. Pat exited and sold his equity held through PYUTAZ Family Trust as part of the sale of the company to the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru). Pat has a strong understanding of empowerment, having been part of the committee which selected the participants in the Kumba Resources transaction which resulted in the development of Exxaro Resources Limited."
