20 Nov 2018

While some trades such as construction are still associated with masculinity, efforts by females in defying the stereotypes are slowly creeping in, and one such is Ms Kepaletswe Mokgolele, a native of Motokwe in the Letlhakeng Sub-district.

She said in 2014 her passion for the construction industry got the better of her and she decided to quit her teacher aid job and upgraded her registered company to grade A so that she could now tender for bigger projects.

“My passion was pushed by my cousin who is also a woman in construction. I also followed other women in construction who did their job whole heartedly and I kept inquiring and bench marking from them,” she said.

Her company, Mpozi Investments, of which she is also the director, learnt to live with challenges in the construction industry as even getting a tender is not a simple thing.

She said one must have a registered company with other documents such as VAT registration, BURS and PPADB for codes, with certain professionals in place like civil engineers, safety and health environmental officer and site agents just to mention a few.

She said as a woman in construction, she had to swap feminine enhancements such as make ups, manicures and high heel shoes for a helmet and overalls as she was always on site, and said it was on top of having to fulfill other duties as a mother and a wife.

Ms Mokgolele, who has engaged a high number of women in her project, said it was a deliberate move which she agreed with her project manager, and said only lack of required skills prevented them from engaging as many women as they would have loved.

“As a result of lack of skilled women, we could only engage seven women out of the 29 employees we have. As a woman I found it fit to empower other women as most of them are breadwinners, and whenever I win a tender in a village I ensure that the hiring is biased towards local residents,” she said.

Ms Mokgolele urged women interested in investing in construction to be determined, dedicated and self-disciplined as those were the core characteristics one must possess to succeed.

She also expressed her gratitude to government for giving female owned companies an equal chance to male owned ones.

For his part, Kgosi Bafentse Moatsheng of Metsibotlhoko could not hide his gratitude toward Mpozi Investments as he said that ever since companies won tenders to do projects in his village, it was the first time he saw a company that prioritised the needs of locals.

“In most cases companies bring employees from outside, something I was never happy with, but Mpozi Investments seems to be more humane and knows the interests and needs of their host villages,” he said.

He urged other companies to learn from Mpozi Investments and not undermine projects and people in rural areas. ENDS