The eagle has not fallen, it has gone to rest for a little while.

The eagle has not fallen, it has gone to rest for a little while.

Khanyi Dhlomo owner of Ndalo Media

It will gather its strength soon and it will fly again. Please be patient and allow it to recover from all  the trauma and pain it has gone through.Allow it to heal and gather strength. Ngu Khanyi Dhlomo lo, I know she will return. Tell her enemies to enjoy the feast because the party wont last  long. For now, she needs time and space to restrategise so she  can comeback  wiser and stronger.

Yes whether you like it or not Khanyi Dhlomo is/was whatever you call it one of the leaders in the media industry.

I write this with a very heavy hard, after learning of the news that all her titles that produced  excellent quality in telling black South African stories will be shut down.

Destiny Magazine, Destiny man and Elle under "Ndalo Media will be no more from next year going forth" it is reported that Khanyi told her staff this week.

 I admired sisKhanyi  as a child and saw my career path going to the same direction as hers.

As a young girl and later a print journalist, I followed Khanyi Dlomo's career as a newsreader on SABC. She later became the editor at True Love and later building Ndalo from scratch after she studied at Harvard Business School.

Latest title I have bought from them, always loved how they tell black African stories

Soon after leaving my work, I kept myself busy by reading some of her titles. It had introduced me to two women who were in the arts and craft industry full time, Ntozintle Accessories and Keke beads.

I would like to believe that these two women are doing well in their business, with Keke having the honor of even dressing American singer Janet Jackson, in the video of Made for Now.  I haven't met these two women personally but I first read about them in Destiny Magazine. The publication is excellent and treated black stories with the respect they deserved.

All pictures taken from the internet

The past few months a lot had been reported about Ndalo Media's financial problems. Screaming headlines of staff salaries not being paid, Khanyi Dhlomo company in a financial crisis and many more you can google them. News after news the stories kept coming as if someone had been waiting for her downfall and finally this week she handed it to them on a silver plate. As a small business owner, I cant even imagine what Sis Khanyi is going through. I often wondered in situations like these doesn't government step in and offer an emergency fund or assist with the running until the real problem is identified. People say print is dying I still say it can still be  revived using new fresh ideas but not loosing its originality to draw people to the magazine. 

pics supplied

Over and above what it was selling Khanyi has interviewed a lot of influential people include the president, Cyril Ramaphosa and wife. Cant the president of the country help in this situation? Cant the current minister of communications, Telecommunications and Postal services, Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams do anything about this? I'm just asking as I do not know how these things work. I personally wouldn't want the title to shut down, but if there's nothing coming in what do you do? You cant keep people in the company? How are you going to pay them? When there's no money the working environment also suffer no matter how hard you push to get things going, you will be judged by where you are seen at? Who you happened to be seen with? What were you thinking to start a black magazine in South Africa at the time? What happened to the money? She misused the money  are some of the things people are saying about her now. Not knowing how hard it was for her to keep things going and maybe other titles just made it to the printers.

I don't know Khanyi personally but I doubt if she is those that are reckless with money. I can only imagine the last few days had been like for her? Probably was praying for a miracle from anywhere so she could pay the people's salary. She probably went through all the options that were available before her and it was hard to accept the only solution staring back at her was to close down. If the message was recorded as the reports say, meaning she was even  more ashamed stand inf front staff and tell them the bad news. It was probably difficult for her to look at them in the eyes  and say "this ship is going down and as a captain, I cannot save it, tough luck.  I have failed you by employing and promising everything in your contract" not exactly the same harsh tone but I just imagined Khanyi with her politeness, kindness and everything beautiful about her breaking down when delivering such heavy news during the festive season.
This is when you need someone like Anele Mdoda (she has a human heart in interview and I'm interested in the well being of Khanyi) to probe all the questions you want answered on the closure and knowing what this woman was going through the build up to the announcement. Did she for see it coming? What efforts she made before that headline about her not paying the printers? Does she feel betrayed by the person who leaked that story? If she knew about, was it her last cry for help? People of her calibre are not crazy about media attention, so if she knew and  was OK with the story being leaked, it was probably her last cry for help. Can she be helped?

Being an entrepreneur is not easy. The hustle is real and corruption is everywhere even when you get a legit tender  cool drink which cost thousands to millions of rand is always wanted and demanded from you. This leads some of the people who had invested in their project not getting a cent from what they thought was a boast from government.Instead some are swimming in debt cause a greedy government official wants a chunk of what government has given you before you could even pay service providers. You cant help but wonder if Destiny close down, what other titles left and how soon are we going to follow the same path?

Sis Khanyi, I wish there was a way or something I could do but please know, you and your staff are in our prayers. #Iwillnotrejoicewhenanothergreatwomangoesdown

Ndalo Media pioneered by Khanyi Dlomo is reported to be closing down.