Masakhe 02_DIGITAL PAPERTURN - Flipbook - Page 23
LEGENDARY PROFESSIONALS
“You Are in
Someone’s
Community”
SAKINA
NOSARKA
TEXT GABRIEL MATHEWS IMAGES SUPPLIED
EDITORS NOTE: Sakina Norsaka, an alumnus of CEM,
is CEO of Old Mutual Property.
I
n the chaos of the July 2021
riots in KZN, with smoke
pluming over the East Coast,
the textbook response for a
property executive in South
Africa was fairly straightforward:
secure the perimeters, review the
insurance policies, and manage the
crisis from a safe distance. However,
when Sakina Nosarka, current CEO
of Old Mutual Property, was tasked
with managing the crisis, she was
surprised to find that something else
entirely was unfolding.
At the Gateway Theatre of
Shopping in Umhlanga (one of Old
Mutual Properties’ premier assets)
one of the centre’s managers simply
“refused to go home” during the
violence. For days, he stayed on-site
“working without even a shower”.
Although the centre manager was
the most steadfast of the employees,
many others took shifts guarding
the mall from invasion. Sakina recalls
how much it shocked her, “...We had
a community patrolling Gateway.
For us, it was an investment, right?”
She understood that people cared
for these places, but she had never
comprehended a commitment this
profound. “But for the people, it’s
their livelihood, and so for that reason,
there is a loyalty from us [Old Mutual]
to the community…the shopping
centre is a part of that community.”
The events in KZN in 2021
emphasised a question that has since
ISSUE 2
21
DECEMBER 2 025
