November 2, 2009

Sazi Radebe breezes into the conference room, bringing with him an air of confidence. As Maropeng’s events executive, his confidence is one of his biggest assets.

Sazi’s job entails managing some of the events held at Maropeng. Depending on the event, he could be managing thousands of people while dealing with high-end corporates and VIPs.

“I enjoy the thrill of it,” he says.

Sazi describes his job as life changing: “Maropeng is internationally recognised. Working here has exposed me to the world of event management.”

The job demands that he keep a cool head and manage his time well. “I need to prepare well in advance and, when there is a problem, I simply say, ‘We’ll make a plan’,” he says.

An accomplished events manager, Sazi has mastered this skill well. He explains that there is always an alternative solution to any hiccup he encounters.

According to Sazi, his greatest achievement so far has been pulling off Maropeng’s Heritage Day 2008 celebrations. “It was a huge task – it showed me what the event industry is really about,” he says.

But managing events is not the only thing Sazi has learnt during his time at Maropeng. “Working here has brought into perspective what it is to be human,” he says. He attributes this to the openness among the staff at Maropeng. “I find it very open – I can tell someone when there is a problem; it makes it easy to do my job.”

In his job, Sazi depends on a team working together to achieve a common goal. He explains that before Maropeng he tended to only listen to his elders, but says he has learnt that he needs to show respect to everyone – especially when working within a team. “With support, anything is possible,” he says.

Maropeng food and beverage manager Patrick Mutavhatsindi works closely with Sazi and is full of praise for his colleague. “Sazi is a very committed staff member and a very good co-ordinator. He never wants to make a mistake and always looks for a solution to a problem,” says Patrick.

“We always get very good comments about Sazi from clients saying how committed he is; they’re always happy with his service.”