Mafube Publishing, owned by businessman Thami Mazwai, has been battling to get back on its feet after losing the lucrative South African Airways (SAA) in-flight magazine Sawubona to Uhuru publishing last year and with it a chunk of its key managers.
“We will be providing a few key management services to the company for six months,” said Mail & Guardian Media chief operating officer Hoosain Karjieker.
“At this point there will be no share ownership, but this could change later.
“There is the possibility that we could take share ownership in Mafube later on,” Karjieker said.
The six-month stint would serve as a trial period, after which Mail & Guardian would re-evaluate its position.
Hoosain said that Mafube’s top attraction was its empowerment magazine Enterprise which, in its own words, caters to readers “in professional and middle to senior management positions and black captains of industry”.
Going forward, Mail & Guardian would be responsible for tailoring the magazine to suit regional readers in an edition for those in KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and the Free State; a central edition for Gauteng, Limpopo and North West; and a Cape edition for the Eastern, Northern and Western Cape provinces.
Mail & Guardian Media said the new editions would be available in July.
Mafube chairman Siza Khampepe said: “We have reorganised our business since our contract with SAA came to an end. We are now a leaner, stronger organisation, ready to scale new heights.”
He said Sawubona’s loss had hit the company hard, as it made up an estimated 35%-40% of annual turnover.
To offset this Mafube would involve itself in initiatives in the media sector in July, with the assistance of the National Empowerment Fund (NEF).
He could not say what these initiatives would be as there were confidentiality clauses in the contract with the NEF.
Mail & Guardian Media CE Trevor Ncube said:“This is a strategic partnership for Mail & Guardian Media. We are proud to be working together with Mafube in the interest of strengthening its publications.”
