adminPeter Matika Senior Reporter
We often read or hear of stories regarding inherited wealth going downhill, where concerned families entangle themselves in vicious estate wrangles, often leading to long and tiring court battles.In some instances where there is little or no drama involved, those who manage to get their inheritance “hassle-free” somehow squander it much because they simply do not understand let alone acknowledge the amount of power, sweat and sacrifice that brought about the wealth.
But the young unmarried Makoni brothers Charles (25), Luckymore (22) and Ngonidzashe (20) whose father was a prominent businessman in the city seem to have understood their late father Sebastian Makoni’s vision of seeing a sprawling empire and also managing to feed other families as an employer.
Their father had some shares in Pathfinder buses and owned businesses in and outside the city.
They live in a suburban house in Matsheumhlope with their mother and own a wide variety of top of the range cars and said despite the straining economic environment they were making efforts to expand the empire and keep the employees that their father left.
They seem to have drawn lessons from the Biblical story of the prodigal son where Jesus tells of a man who has two sons.
The younger son asks his father to give him his portion of the family estate as an early inheritance.
Once received, the son promptly sets off on a long journey to a distant land and begins to waste his fortune on wild living.
When the money runs out, a severe famine hits the country and the son finds himself in dire circumstances.
He takes a job feeding pigs. He is so destitute that he even longs to eat the food assigned to the pigs.
The young man finally comes to his senses, remembering his father. In humility, he recognises his foolishness, decides to return to his father to ask for forgiveness.
The father, who had been watching and waiting, receives his son back with open arms of compassion.
The three young Bulawayo lads have more than doubled the wealth they inherited from their father and managed to keep their family estate afloat despite the harsh economic challenges the country is facing.
Better known as the Makoni Knights, perhaps because of their huge night club in Pumula South suburb, they have managed to better not only their livelihoods but those of many others, since their father’s death ,taking over from where he left and expanding the business.
The three carry the responsibility of running the affairs of their father’s businesses, which are a couple of buildings within the city, mine, farms and night club, and they admitted it was no easy task.
“We were young when our father passed on. Dealing with business is not an easy task and it was hard when we started. But because we often used to assist in the affairs of the businesses we managed to catch up quickly,” said Luckymore, speaking on behalf of his other brothers.
He said since they started handling the businesses hands-on they figured that it was very necessary to keep the empire afloat and also to expand it, while at the same time not forgetting to better themselves as young men.
“Because we are youthful we can adapt to various situations. Also because of the advantages we have, having managed to live outside the country we have new ideas to turn around our business. As it stands we want to infiltrate other towns such as Victoria Falls,” said Luckymore who was in Malaysia.
Luckymore mentioned that what helped them keep a clear and conscious mind was principle.
“People have to be principled and know what they want in life. We are presently working on resuscitating some of our projects, such as our piggery in Mguza, which has the capacity to hold at least 100 pigs. We are also working on our mine in Esigodini and before the first quarter of this year would have refurbished our buildings,” he said.
Particularly focusing on the nightclub — Makonights — which could be one of their major cash cows, Luckymore spoke of revamping it so that it meets the standards of bars and night clubs located within the CBD.
“We want to turn this bar into a state-of-the-art spot, as we seek to open a canteen, which serves warm food to customers; also we want to increase the variety of beverages here. Presently we have beefed up our security and have our local police station on speed dial. We are also going to introduce new themes where we not only seek to popularise this place but also to promote local talent through hosting shows,” he said.
The night club is housed at one of their buildings in Pumula South suburb. The building is also home to other shops and supermarkets who lease the property from them.
Since they became men, they have acquired movable properties for themselves, such as expensive luxury cars and other household property.
“This is just the beginning we hope to become very successful business people and hope to be a stepping stone and example to others,” added Luckymore.
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