Rising from the dusty townships of KZN, Xolani Sithole, who played as a child in the streets of Ezakheni, Steadville, and Shayamoya, will be heading the new international logistics team for Bidvest International.
Sithole was no ordinary child and attended Enjabulweni Crèche in D Section Ezakheni, Emcitsheni Primary School in B Section Ezakheni, Gqama Primary School in A Section Ezakheni and later ML Sultan Primary School, followed by high school at Windsor Secondary School.
It is here in these schools that Sithole learned about setting goals and working hard, despite ongoing challenges, which is what made him reach for the stars.
“At first I imagined what was possible. I knew that education was my only way out of an economically challenging life, it was the only thing I could do something about. We were poor, we had no assets, money or inheritance. But I was healthy, I could read and my mother ensured that we went to school. I believed something great could come out of being educated. When I started seeing people like me, who came from my hometown, going to university and studying professions I only read about in newspapers, I used to go visit these people (uncles, children of my mother’s employer, church mates) just to hear stories about life on campus, how they cope in the big city and what doors these qualifications were opening for them. I moved from imagination to know that what I imagined was possible because people like me had achieved it.”
Sithole recalled his mother lining the walls of their shack with old newspapers after being told that he must read it first. Sithole’s mother believed that reading would improve his English and assist him to find bursaries. “I then spent some time in the library reading about CAs. It appeared that it was one career that was relevant to many industries because every business needed an accountant,” said Sithole.
Even as a youngster, he was fascinated by wealth accumulation and what was required to achieve it. While visiting Johannesburg, where his grandmother worked as a domestic worker, he saw the opulence of Sandhurst and dreamt of the day he would be able to shop in Sandton himself. He had also witnessed people from his own township rising above their circumstances to attend university and go on to forge impressive careers for themselves, professions he had only ever read about in those wallpaper newspapers.
Most importantly, he experienced situations that showed him how problems could be turned into opportunities.
In July, Sithole was named international logistics divisional head for Bidvest International Logistics, a portfolio that will require him to help guide the company through one of the most challenging times in the logistics industry’s history.
Given his already-remarkable journey, no one is betting against him. The Wits University accounting graduate comes to the position boasting a wealth of financial management and logistics experience, having held senior positions at some of South Africa’s leading companies. Having joined Deloitte as a trainee accountant in 2006, he soon went on to enjoy stints as Sebenza Forwarding & Shipping (group financial manager and later managing director) and Otis before joining BIL as an international logistics executive in 2019.
Like everything else in his life, Sithole’s move from finance to logistics was a case of grabbing an opportunity with both hands. Given his incredible rise from the dusty townships of KwaZulu-Natal to where he is today, Sithole is well-placed to advise young professionals on what they should do to make it in their respective fields. “I would definitely urge young people to spend less time aimlessly browsing social media or watching too much TV. They should instead use the time to improve their skills in technology, selling, communication and business. Young people should also not be afraid to fail, because failures are lessons that prepare us for the next opportunity,” he said.
Sithole told Tabloid Newspapers that is not your background that defines you as a person. “While what we hear, see and experience where we grow up shapes our view of the world, we do need to remember that it is not who we are. Who we are is determined by what we do and how we react to our circumstances. Each day we have an opportunity to challenge the status quo and change our own future. We live in an information and technology era where we are no longer limited by geography. Technology allows us to connect with the rest of the world, learn and master new skills, even if we can’t afford formal education, and connect with opportunities that can take us further,” said Sithole.
He added that the youth in Ladysmith are more fortunate today than in the past and if they invest their time wisely, the sky will be the limit. “Be patient with yourselves. Success takes time, well-invested time. Don’t be discouraged when it takes longer to make it big in life, don’t be tempted to take shortcuts and end up compromising yourselves. Even high net worth individuals (millionaires) in South Africa have an average age of 57, things do take time.”
Sithole said it’s important to celebrate the small wins before taking the next step.
“When you experience failure or a setback (and we all experience those), never let failure go to waste! We all have setbacks in life, whether it is in our studies, our relationships or our careers and businesses. But loaded in those failures are lessons that prepare us for the next opportunity. Never walk away from failure with shame and no lesson learned. It was our President Nelson Mandela who said: ‘Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again’ and your ability to get up again depends on what you learned when you fell.”
He went on to say that whatever we don’t measure, we don’t achieve, improve or correct. “Set goals for your finances, skills, knowledge and health (physical and psychological); and stay committed to achieving those goals through your daily decisions. The word ‘decision’ is derived from the Latin word ‘decidere’ which means ‘to kill off any other alternative’.”
Sithole’s biggest inspiration was seeing how his mother had nothing but really believed that education would open many doors and made a lot of sacrifices to ensure that he could collect as much information before matric for him to apply for bursaries. Sithole uses the bible for daily motivation and is filled with great inspirational stories of how people rose above many circumstances that seemed impossible. In terms of his career, Sithole wants to contribute to significant growth in the division he leads.
“I really want to drive the growth in the division which will lead to more job creation. I get very excited when we are able to build the economy and give more opportunities to young people to be employed or at least be trained to have valuable skills. I see myself doing more of that over the next five years in my current role.” Sithole, who grew up financially poor but had great faith that his future will be brighter, said that he would also like to author books on personal finance and leadership.
“We lived from shack to mud house and moved around a lot. When democracy came, there were opportunities to apply for government housing as we really owned no home.
My mother applied and we were on the waiting list for a number of years. I remember we would spend Sundays viewing other people’s RDP houses that were just about to be completed. We would stand there and dream about how our own RDP will look like. We believed that ‘this time next year’ it will be us. I continued to use that phrase (‘this time next year’) throughout my university years to propel me to get closer to the end goal.”
Sithole explained that every person has what it takes to move forward and be successful in life. He added that in the past, some of the disadvantages of being from a small community included the fact that there is less information that is available about opportunities (jobs, business, bursaries, sponsorships) or the latest trends. “But technology has made all this accessible and even people in small communities have access to technology or media (TV and newspapers). Small communities sometimes have fewer businesses to work for or less economically active people to sell products and services to.
Fortunately, post-democracy people are no longer restricted to just the areas they live in, we can go and open businesses or work in other bigger communities.” Sithole still visits Ladysmith at least four times a year and spends time with his sisters, nephews and nieces. “I also visit my father’s house and my extended family,” he said.
