Matthew Lester
SA expert, lecturer, also loved by all
TAX expert Professor Matthew Lester claimed his sole reason for working was to finance his addiction to fishing and a life on the beach with his dogs.
But this was all a bluff because, somewhere along the way, he ended up giving far more to South African society than he received in return in terms of beach hours with his fishing rod and beloved Great Danes.
The lecturer extraordinaire, raconteur, and renowned tax analyst died suddenly on Monday, aged just 57, from a heart attack after a brief battle with a lung infection, according to his daughter, Jess Lester.
There has been an outpouring of grief and shock from current and former students, Rhodes University colleagues, the Grahamstown community, captains of industry, journalists and readers of his many columns this week.
His own description of his career, like all that he did, is threaded through with self-effacing humour.
After qualifying as a chartered accountant, he says he successfully dodged conscription with the old SA Defence Force by joining the SA Revenue Services as a tax inspector. He later turned from “game warden” to “poacher” by leaving SARS and becoming a consultant – showing clients how to cut back on their tax burden.
This betrayal, he says, was followed by an attempt at “rehabilitation” by immersing himself in academia at his alma mater.
He lectured in tax and corporate governance at the Rhodes Business School in Grahamstown, while living on his old family property in Kenton for many years.
The entertainer-educationalist, whose many public lecturers were always packed to capacity, could morph the most complex budget speech, financial concept or littleunderstood tax law into easily accessible facts.
The digestion of these facts was always facilitated with a hefty dose of humour. His hundreds of columns in publications such as the Sunday Times and Biznews were widely read and enjoyed.
Biznews editor Alec Hogg wrote of his shock at the passing of his larger-than-life friend, who he said found such joy in teaching young people.
Head of the Rhodes Business School, Prof Owen Sake, described him as an extremely dedicated and kind and generous teacher.
“Notwithstanding the fact that he was one of South Africa’s foremost tax experts, his gift was to explain this in the easiest of terms. Behind all of this was a man deeply committed to social justice. We will miss him in many ways, but most of all his ability to make us laugh.”
Award-winning financial journalist Bruce Whitfield tweeted: “Lovely man. Bonkers in the very best way and a great mind on tax.”
Lester’s affection for Great Danes was legendary and he was often seen driving around Kenton with his hound hanging out the window, ample lips flapping in the wind.
Jess says his love of Great Danes was born some two decades ago with the first rescue dog, Boofy. The 100kg mutt would sit patiently in Lester’s yellow jeep parked in Grahamstown’s New Street, waiting for the return of his beloved master who would be enjoying a drink in the local Rat & Parrot pub.
“They have been an important part of his life ever since.”
But Lester could also be stubborn and as tenacious as the dogs he so loved.
He battled in court for more than a decade with his Kenton-on-Sea neighbour James Haslam to keep intact his enormous sea-facing mansion. He converted the beloved family “shack” on the property into a mansion in the early 2000s, blocking Haslam’s stunning river, beach and ocean views and – according to Ndlambe Municipality – flouting many building bylaws. The matter went all the way to the Constitutional Court and in 2014 a heartbroken Lester threw in the towel and agreed to knock it down. It was a battle that he said had affected his health and well-being.
But that same tenacity, together with his passion for economics, politics and tax, allowed him to convey to generations of confused South Africans what the latest tax prescripts and budget speeches meant to their everyday life.
In 2013, he was appointed by the Minister of Finance to the Davis Tax Committee (DTC) investigating the structure of aspects of the South African tax system.
The DTC has hailed Lester as a robust debater, fearless in expressing his often-controversial views, with a unique brand of enthusiasm and unassuming charm.
“Professor Lester said and did things which he thought were in the best interests of South Africa which he loved dearly. [He] will be remembered for the extraordinary work that he has done, his unique sense of humour and his unorthodox yet effective manner in dealing with things, like his innovative teaching methods. He will be sorely missed.”
A devastated Jess said she would be honouring her father’s wish that there should be no fuss, no funeral, and no memorial services. His ashes will be spread in the ocean, not far from his launch spot at Kenton’s Middle Beach.
Lester will no doubt be looking down on us still trying to fathom how the old-new finance minister Nhlanhla Nene can give the taxpayer a fair deal “when there were so many mouths to feed”.