Nkwenkwe Nkomo - Scouting

Scouting

He served two five-year terms as Chief Scout of South Africa, from 1996 to 2005, of which he says, "As Chief Scout I am chief servant". Nkwenkwe Nkomo was elected at the 37th World Scout Conference held September 2005 in Yasmine Hammamet, Tunisia, for a six-year term, along with five other members from a field of 15 candidates from around the world. Nkomo was the second South African to be elected to the World Scout Committee; Garnet de la Hunt was a member from 1996 to 2002 and held the post of Chairman of the committee.

Nkomo joined the Daveyton 7th Cub Scout pack in 1957, when there were four separate associations for whites, coloureds, Indians and blacks whose association was called "Pathfinders". He was chairman for several years of the Daveyton Residents Committee, which had a projects committee that identified needs in the area and raised funds for development. One of the requests presented to the committee was by the Scouts. When their presentation failed to meet standards, Nkomo helped them re-work their presentation, resulting in the committee's decision to build a Scout hall in the community. In 1991, he was approached by Colin Adcock, then chief executive of Toyota (one of Lindsay Smithers' clients) who had been asked to put together a marketing program for the South African Scout Association. He made a presentation to a Scout conference, and was then asked to "rejoin the movement", as Assistant Chief Scout. "One of the reasons I agreed to return to Scouting was the challenge to take it back to the community. Scouting is a premium youth movement, there to enable us, especially now, to move towards healing this country, to train leaders and empower people."