Onicca Moloi

Everything that we need for healing, God has provided. After the whole world was taken by storm by the pandemic, I had to sit down and figure out what I could do as an individual with the gift of healing that God has given me.

I am passionate about youth development and as a person who has always been an activist, I’ve always been about seeing young people using their gift to empower themselves into bettering their lives to contribute to society.

There are numerous barriers, I mean the issue of funding was a challenge for me. The business was almost self-funded. The biggest challenge is always the issue of access to funding more than anything.

Sport can create jobs, contribute to the economy and deal with several social ills that we have in our communities. That is why when this opportunity was presented to me, I accepted it with both hands because I understood the role that I had to play as an MEC.

We had to combine both our skills with me being a nutritionist and getting a chef who has been working in five-star restaurants in the US. It was a good combination for the times when I am being overly sensitive about the health aspect of things.

I had to make sure that it was not just about me but about catering to various people and their pallets. I finally met with the head chef for Green Lounge who was also equally passionate but not very keen about healthy eating.

The ingredient for excellence is that I teach my staff exceptionalism. I have gone to tons of restaurants, and this is what I’ve always been teaching. I used to tell my staff that many people start catering because it’s a business that does not have a lot of challenges. So what kept us in the industry for such a long time is because of what I call exceptionalism and being able to be different in your offering, in your approach and paying close attention to detail.

Women are lagging in terms of leading in the hospitality industry. We need to encourage women to take up space because the future is female.

It’s about hard work, sacrificing family time, always making sure that you do more with less and making sure that you change the lives of people. So, the uncertainty was there – you ask yourself whether it was the right decision or not.

The uncertainty also creeps in when you start asking yourself questions on whether the work that was started was going to continue without you. I’ve already made up my mind that I needed a new path and a path that would make me grow not only as a politician, but as Onicca as a whole.