INFORMATION COMMUNICATION AND TECHNOLOGY LAUNCH SPEECH
There comes a time when an ordinary person gets tired of being ordinary, an average person of being average, a small person of staying small. This is the moment when one looks around oneself and asks why one is classified this way. Is it a fair classification?
We are called a small firm. How small are we? We are called a black firm, is it because we need to be empowered? We are not treated as the best firm, is it because our services are not competitive?
We were only established in 1998 and if firms possess attributes of natural persons, we should be at a pre-school somewhere else, which confirms that we are young. Is being young a bad thing? We do not think so, only being young and brat is bad.
Being young is often equalled to being immature and inexperienced. But in the words of one of the best political thinkers of all times and I think is Socrates, he said
“I know that I am not clever and very few people know that they are not clever. And because I know that I am not clever, therefore I am the cleverest.” (free quotation)
We know that we are young, small and not so much experienced, but we are doing something about it. We are not in any way immature.
Our ICT launch is not a disguised Christmas Party. We are here as sentries of a legion to come and tell you that the storm is over, but the battle has just began. We are here to tell you that the centre is indeed holding and things will not fall apart.
Yes things did not go so well in the past. Bad services, no quick response to letters or telephones, professional handling files changing from time to time and other problems. We are aware of this and that is why we have employed an Office Manager, very young and knowledgeable. This was to dedicate most of the operational issues to him, whilst the lawyers work into the professional side of things and ensure that you receive efficient service. You deserve only that.
How can we do this when we are so few? We will take only what we can do in capacity and capabilities. That is no special recipe. The end result is that, we will grow in numbers and probably we can start making a real living.
We need you to grow and we need to be well-nurtured so that we can become well-groomed and behaved men and women. Do not give us breakfast and send us scavenging for our next meal. Stay with us all the way!! .
We feel that although we get onto most of your panels for legal services, as a black economic empowerment law firm, we need your continued support to grow and please help us to be a competitive firm and not remain a political case forever. We want to be just attorneys and not black attorneys.
The ICT launch is an event that signified our declaration of capability and maturity in rendering legal services. We have about twenty staff members, both professional and administrative. They all have access to PC’s which are linked through a network system facilitated by a server. Other infrastructural requirements are very sophisticated and we are indeed saving the environment through less and less usage of paper in our offices. Sooner or later the only paper will be from you or to you. That is if you insist. You are the bosses and we will oblige you.
I also would like to thank a few people who made the ICT launch possible. I will stick to the earthly figures in demonstration of my respect to the various beliefs, religions and ways of life. By name it is our ICT Manager, Mr Matome Ramodike; our Public Relations Officer, Ms Nthabeleng Mokitimi and our Office Manager, Mr Gideon Monyemorathoe and in general all our staff members; the CSIR Convention personnel, the Afro-Jazz band, Miss City Press Nomthi Vithi, who compeered the ICT Launch on our behalf, Waterkloof flowers and all our clients. Without the clients there would have been no ICT launch and no Manamela Attorneys.
Khashane Manamela
11-11-2004