Property developer and owner of the BT Ngebs Mall, in Mthatha, Dr Sisa Ngebulana, walked away with the biggest accolade, that of business of the year, at this year’s fourth annual Eastern Cape Chamber of Business awards and gala dinner, held at the Savoy Hotel on December 3.
The annual awards ceremony is aimed at celebrating and recognising individuals from the Eastern Cape who continue to make a difference in various areas, including health, traditional leadership, professionals, politics, and the business fraternity, wherever they may be in the country.
“The emphasis of our fourth annual awards ceremony was on black people to work together and support each other and not to laugh when a business colleague is struggling but to come closer and assist one another wherever we can,” said Eastern Cape Chamber of Business secretary, Dr Andile Nontso.
The awards ceremony was also addressed, virtually, by Eastern Cape Premier, Oscar Mabuyane, who described the ceremony as testament of the business fraternity’s resolve, amid economic challenges and the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This, the fourth annual Eastern Cape Chamber of Business Awards, is a testament of our business community’s resolve and resilience, as we face head-on the challenges presented by an evolving global economy towards digitisation, notwithstanding the challenges presented by the coronavirus over the last two years,” Mabuyane said.
“While the awards are an occasion to acknowledge and celebrate excellence in business, they also offer invaluable insights for emerging and small entrepreneurs on the kind of business, operational and ethics standards the Eastern Cape business community ought to emulate and aspire towards,” he said.
Mabuyane also shared with those in attendance news of a R35 million investment by the NTT Group, which will see the opening of a fully-fledged VW and Audi dealership in Mthatha in 2022.
A fundraising golf day was also held on December 4, as part of the annual awards ceremony programme.
