Goodman Makamu’s Success Story - From Internship to Office of the President

Siyabonga Mbatha

Goodman Makamu has come a long way from internship to Office of the President.

There has been a fierce public disagreement over whether internships and learnerships are a worthy course, or another form of exploitative labour practice. Do they create significant jobs meant to take the Black youths out the shackles of poverty, or to appease the numbers at the expense of the masses?

According to the latest economic data figures released by the South African Reserve Bank, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has not shown any signs of improvement, with terrible consequences for the unemployed, mainly graduates.

Twenty-seven-year old Foster Goodman Makamu is a Public Management and Governance Honours graduate from the University of Johannesburg (UJ), who spared us his lunch-hour to take Soweto WayaWaya on his journey as an intern. His maiden graduation was in 2014, crowned with being a `qualified public servant’ with a degree in Public Management and Governance.

His star shone even brighter when Goodman was among those granted a UJ Honours Bursary to pursue an Honours degree on a full-time basis the following year. It took the hardships of two years after his second graduation for the sad realities faced by many of his peers due to unemployment to sink in.

With little or no resources at his disposal, all his energies were relentlessly focused on job-hunting in both the public and private sectors of our economy. “Chief, on many an occasion I wanted to give up, forget about all the so-called education, but through faith-based prayer I persevered,” says a guy with endless stories on this particular subject.

Regarding some of the challenges he had to contend with in his quest for employment, Mr Makamu points out that when one lives in Soweto, or any other predominantly Black African township, internet costs are a bit steeper than in Johannesburg Central Business District (CBD), for instance. To ease the burden of being an unemployed graduate, he had to learn to secure menial jobs from family and strangers, in an effort to keep afloat, while keeping his dignity intact.

Here r Makamu shares a light moment with former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela, shortly before the second inauguration of President Cyril Ramaphosa.

“Most of these opportunities are online, yet it is a lived reality that data costs are amongst the most exorbitant in this country, even for the employed, and at times an hour online is never enough to make a difference”, quips Mr Makamu.

The proverbial light at the end of the tunnel finally came his way in the form of a three-week internship with the Transport Sector Education Training Authority (SETA), through an initiative called Inqaba Yokulinda, which Mr Makamu embraced with both hands, taking into consideration that such chances can be as scarce as a hen’s teeth.

This small break was to be forerunner to 12-month internship with the Local Government SETA (LGSETA) within the Sector Skills Planning Division. It was in March 2017. Having studied almost everything meant to make Local Government `effective and efficient’ during his varsity days, he felt more finally at home with the LGSETA.

As with most so-called ‘employment opportunities,’ his tenure came to an end, and no job was offered except that his CV was getting thicker with all the experience. More determined, this young man persevered in his job-seeking quest, emboldened by the skills he had acquired in his field of study.

On the question of whether there is any difference between a Learnership and an Internship, he says: “If you want the truth without distortions, the difference is quite subtle”. Four months into 2018, Mr Makamu received yet another internship opportunity with the Presidency at the Union Buildings.

This being the highest office in the Republic, Makamu’s emotions were not as high as one would expect. “Soon, you get used to the emotional rollercoaster, develop a thick skin and take it in your stride” says a guy who is in the same building as the President quite often.

Like the proverbial emancipation of Israelites from slavery in Egypt, Goodman’s dedication and never-die attitude finally paid off in the Presidency when his 12-month traineeship came to an end at the end of April 2019, and he s currently serving as an Administrative Secretary within the Private Office of the President.

Asked about his views on the entry requirements for internships, Mr Makamu honestly believes that a policy review is needed in this regard. His bone of contention is that, when there is an age-limit to one being considered for internship.

However, this is not the case with funding. For instance, National Students’ Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has no such limits for funding, but the working world does. In the process, a situation is created whereby certain graduates cannot be given an opportunity based on their age.

“Hard work, earnest prayer and sheer determination has gotten me this far,” quips Goodman Makamu in his parting short, staring into the distant horizon with a renewed hope.

Photos: Supplied