Dr (Col) Irvin Khoza instills a sense of leadership and responsibility to DOD members

By: S Sgt Lebogang Tlhaole
Posted 21 June 2012

“Great leaders are transparent, leadership is something that can’t be faked. A leader assesses current strengths and areas for improvement and sets out specific plans of action for personal development. They are curious, have goals and know their profession by taking courses and studying. Great leaders listen to experienced people and they ask a lot of questions because successful people leave a trace”, said Dr (Col) Irvin Khoza.

Chief of Logistics, Lt Gen Justice Nkonyane invited Dr (Col) Khoza to Logistics Division to speak to the leadership and members of the Division to inspire and motivate them. Dr (Col) Khoza spoke about leadership principles, responsibilities and to serve with honour and dignity in order to achieve professional competence and pursue self improvement.

Speaking to members of Logistics Division Dr (Col) Khoza said he was very humble and pleased by the confidence shown in him by Lt Gen Nkonyane. He said that members of the SANDF are a significant pillar and building block that will ensure South Africans live and protect our constitution. He further stated that SANDF is an organization that is built on a value system that is unshakable if upheld. The values of dependability, discipline, trust and honour define the SANDF. He mentioned that these values if compromised men and women pay with their lives.

He urged the members to remember ours is a generation of first to live and hence give meaning to our constitution. He said that we must not allow disruptive influence of money compromise and erode the nobility and honour to serve. Dr Khoza said he was encouraged by the story of Warrant Officer Moloi, who was given a task to undertake renovations and maintenance entrusted with a sum of five million rands.

He told the packed hall that if they to succeed when odds are stacked against them, they have to develop a thick skin and totally disregard the naysayers. Do not listen to the naysayers. By the time they finish you will be filled with doubt and hopelessness. They are driven by forces and interests that are motivated by what you want to defeat in the first place. You have to transcend paralysis by over analysis.

Make choices. For example Africa has to make a tough choice between being a trading partner or aid dependant subordinate in its relationship with the world. The world will treat us in accordance and commensurate with the choice we make. We did not go to FIFA and the world and asked for them to do us a favour, drop standards and pity us into hosting a B-grade African World cup. From the beginning we sought to prove not only to the world but ourselves that we are willing and capable, and have the capacity to undertake the mammoth task

Dr (Col) Khoza, a God fearing man was born on 27 January 1948, he is former student at South Africa’s famous Fort Hare University but did not complete his degree as he was allegedly expelled for anti-apartheid activities.

A highly experienced soccer administrator, Dr Khoza is the Chairperson of Orlando Pirates Football Club, his team Orlando pirates is the only South African team to have won the prestigious and the most prized soccer tournament in the African Continent, the now African Champion League Cup, when Pirates defeated Asec Mimosa of Ivory Coast in 1995. Orlando Pirates is currently the only football club in the southern hemisphere that has ever won the African Champions trophy.

He is also the Chairperson of the SA Premier Soccer League (PSL) and was also a vice president of the SA Football Association (SAFA). As the chairperson of the PSL, he was instrumental in securing sponsors of the league such as the ABSA Group Limited.

Dr Khoza was also the chairperson of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Organising Committee South Africa from 2004 to 2010, which was tasked with, among other things, to ensure that South Africa adheres to the promises made to FIFA with regard to hosting a successful 2010 FIFA World Cup. He served as the chairperson of South Africa’s 2010 FIFA World Cup bid team, which secured the right to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

In 2004, he was honoured with an Honorary Doctorate of Philosophy by the University of Zululand. The award was also in recognition of his involvement in sports development, following his contribution to help South Africa win the right to host the world’s largest sporting event in 2010. In March 2009, the SA national Defence Force honoured him with an inauguration as the newly appointed Honorary Colonel of Logistical Division of the SANDF.

Dr Khoza was also awarded the Order of Ikhamanga in Gold for his hard work and dedication in helping South Africa win the right to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and for ensuring that the tournament becomes a success in the eyes of the entire football fraternity. He was also honoured for his contribution towards development and transformation of the game of soccer in South Africa.