A legcay like no other: Dr Anna Mokgokong's selfless journey of hope and care

Nov 21, 2024 2:59:53 PM

"Dr Mokgokong has a vision for revitalising communities, making her own contribution to South Africa, and returning to her roots as a community leader who began her career as a medical doctor. She’s working on her own legacy, focusing on projects she believes can have a lasting, positive impact."

Dr Anna Mokgokong’s selfless journey of hope and care

By Fiona Wakelin & Koketso Mamabolo

“The work is not for oneself. Kill the spirit of ‘self’ and do not live above your people, but with them. If you rise above them, take somebody with you,” were the words of the great Charlotte Maxeke in 1938 during the National Council of African Women’s second conference. South African business icon Dr Anna Mokgokong turned to these words in 2019 when she wrote of Maxeke’s legacy, painting a picture of her own philosophy, one that is community-based, formed around a spirit of caring, an approach the word ubuntu captures perfectly.

A renowned entrepreneur, humble and selfless, Dr Mokgokong, a Standard Bank Top Women Lifetime Achiever Award winner, joining the likes of Dr Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka and the late Justice Yvonne Mokgoro, is an eternal optimist who is using that philosophy of service to contribute to the vision the country has aspired to in the last thirty years of democracy.

“South Africa has got so much to offer,” says Dr Mokgokong, speaking to Standard Bank Top Women Leaders. “There’s a lot of apathy and unhappiness, but I think each one of us needs to ask ourselves, ‘What am I doing to make South Africa better?’”

Leaving a legacy

“I think motherhood made me a grounded person,” explains Dr Mokgokong. “I utilise it as a tool in my daily life.” Widely respected and the recipient of a long list of awards, Dr Mokgokong is down-to-earth and carries this motherly approach into her professional life which has spanned decades of involvement and excellence in healthcare, commerce and academia.

“I have served on many boards, many commissions. So when people ask me, ‘What do you do for civil society and communities at large?’ I say, ‘I have served my time.’”

Dr Mokgokong has a vision for revitalising communities, making her own contribution to South Africa, and returning to her roots as a community leader who began her career as a medical doctor. She’s working on her own legacy, focusing on projects she believes can have a lasting, positive impact.

“I’m currently involved with three communities that are under traditional leadership because we must find, as South Africans, what we can do as individuals to contribute to the welfare and wellbeing of our citizens. The tendency is to apportion the blame to politicians. Politicians have their own role, but we as civil society have a role to play.”

She was approached to lead efforts to create jobs, reduce poverty, build infrastructure and support local economies. “They’ll be entrepreneurs taking advantage of opportunities right on their doorstep.”

Energy is a particular focus for Dr Mokgokong, with the highly successful Community Investment Holdings, which she chairs and co-founded in 1995, making significant investments in the energy sector. Her goal is to uplift these communities and kickstart local economic growth.

She has served on the boards of five Johannesburg Stock Exchange listed companies, including Africa’s largest retailer, Shoprite, which she saw as an opportunity to gain more knowledge and share her own knowledge on transformation.

“Because I didn’t have an interest in the company in terms of shares, I went to Shoprite to learn how to approach formation, how to approach inequality and equity,” she says. “And also how to approach many other things – how such big companies are run. So, in most cases, it was a learning experience.”

Dr Mokgokong served as Deputy Chairperson of the Independent Commission for the Remuneration of Public Office Bearers around the same time as she was appointed to the Health Charter task team. In 2009 she was appointed as Commissioner on the National Defence Force Interim Commission.

A past-president of both the South African Women Entrepreneurs (SAWEN) forum and the International Women’s Forum of South Africa (IWFSA) has long been a champion for gender equality. She has been The Honorary Consul General of Iceland in Pretoria since 2017, joining the other two Honorary Consuls in Cape Town and Durban. Her duties include issuing passports to Icelandic citizens living in South Africa.

A life of learning

In 2003 Dr Mokgokong was elected Chairperson of UNISA’s council and went on to spend time as a council member at University of Pretoria. UNISA would later bestow her with an Honorary Doctorate of Commerce. She counts this milestone, along with becoming the first female Chancellor of the North-West University (NWU) in 2019, as highlights of her incredible life.

NWU, which came into being twenty years ago in an effort by the government to transform higher education and today stands as an institution marked by “academic excellence, with superior teaching and learning outcomes, world-class research and a commitment to sustainable, impactful community engagement.”

“We have established a culture of care, characterised by inclusivity and a strive towards equality in all aspects of our many endeavours. For me, personally, it is a privilege to serve as Chancellor of the North-West University,” says Dr Mokgokong.

The university boasts a range of empowerment policies for students and staff, including employment equity and gender-based violence policies as well as policies catering for people with disabilities.

In March this year the university held a gala dinner as part of its 20th anniversary celebrations where exciting plans for the higher education institution were shared with guests and dignitaries, including the establishment of a School of Mining and Mining Engineering and the NWU Medical School. By April this year the university had already received over 50 000 applications for the 2025, a reflection of its growth and ability to attract prospective students. NWU is currently establishing memorandums of understanding with various universities to create opportunities for its students and staff.

“This is one of the strategic objectives of the NWU. This is evident in the dream of the university to be an internationally recognised university in Africa, distinguished for engaged scholarship, social responsiveness and an ethic of care.”

The appointment of professors from universities in other countries, such as Professor Laura Weiss from the University of Utrecht highlights NWU’s international outlook and its focus on fostering an environment of research excellence.

“By appointing professors from different countries and backgrounds, the university demonstrates its commitments to global collaboration, diversity, and the exchange of knowledge and expertise.”

“I’ve been blessed to have a career filled with highlights, but I regard my position as Chancellor among the most joyous and memorable,” says Dr Mokgokong. “I’ve been witness to growth, I have seen the unearthing of opportunities and I share the NWU’s vision of a better, more prosperous future for all that call this country and this continent their home.”

Family-orientated and a passionate cook whose downtime is spent constructing recipes and watching cartoons, Dr Mokgokong counts her peers as her friends, including fellow business icon Irene Sharnely. “I don’t like the hectic life of celebrations,” explains Dr Mokgokong. Her recipe for success consists of rest and a fervent passion for what she does. This, coupled with her optimism makes a perfect model for the kind of leaders we need to realise the dreams of prosperous and equitable society.

“And I think we must just be hopeful, let’s not lose hope as a country and, also, be diligent. We have to work hard. There is no soft way. There’s no soft solution.”

Read the 19th edition of Standard Bank Top Women Leaders