Laying the foundations for a fairer workplace
PPC’s Gordhan brings a new perspective to CEO’s post
KETSO Gordhan, CEO of cement manufacturer PPC, looks like one of the boys. Dressed in an open-necked shirt at PPC’s head office in Sandton, he exudes that sense of hardy openness that seems to accompany men involved in the construction industry. A giveaway that there is more anti-establishment about him is the diamond stud earring.
We are eating lunch in the canteen of PPC’s new head office in the centre of Sandton. Today it is chicken à la king and the lure of red velvet cake for dessert. The canteen is pristine — the group moved in this year and a sense of fresh new horizons seems evident.
PPC has a long history — it has been around for 120 years, listed for more than 100 — and yet has been expanding offshore for only the past three years.
Tinkling in the background is ’80s music — Bananarama, vintage Madonna, Elton John and Bon Jovi — which probably suits the age profile of most of the diners.
Gordhan likes to be among his people and what differentiates him even further is not just his involvement in the struggle and his social conscience, but his implementation of these principles in the corporate world.
On hearing the grievances from some of the group’s lowest-paid workers, he asked the top 60 managers whether they would volunteer not to take an increase this year and give that money to the lowest earners.
He cut his salary by 15% from October last year. This enabled the company to give 1 200 of the lowestpaid workers an extra R10 000 a year as well as an inflation-linked increase.
“I got an amazing response”. It was a real appreciation about the fact that when they talked — boss and workers — they were heard and something was done about it.
“There’s a lesson for the whole country in that. When I started, my salary was 120 times [that of] the lowest earner and just by cutting mine and increasing theirs, we got it to 48, and we will get it to 40,” he said.
“Income inequality is a problem in South Africa. There needs to be more money at the bottom . . . I don’t think PPC employees can change the economy, but those people will buy more stuff that’s made in South Africa. They don’t buy iPads or go on skiing holidays.” He talks of the need to grow domestic demand, so more money is transferred from the top to the bottom.
He bought R30-million in shares in the company (not options) as a way of aligning himself with the company. “I was given options, but they’re not as exciting as buying your own shares.”
Gordhan is direct, but he is not abrasive. He is quite depressed about what is going on in South Africa. “I’ve spent all my life working for this country. It’s quite refreshing to be in a place like Rwanda, growing at 7%, where the government welcomes you to invest, partners with you and people are excited about your presence.
“The relationship between government and business in South Africa is bad. There’s an absence of trust. We are an over-regulated market and government is way too involved in business. Why does government need to run Eskom or Transnet? I don’t understand. What’s causing some of the frustration is that some of these organisations are not responsive to our needs.”
He regards himself as a loyal South African. “I worked in government. I’m not talking from the sidelines, I’m talking from the middle.”
One defining moment was when he was in detention in 1987: “I thought, you know, we’re getting there. I thought I must study some more, so I went off to Sussex and did a degree in development economics, which is why I understand a little bit about business.”
Gordhan regards people who have been involved in areas other than just the corporate world as better businessmen. “... our starting point is we care about people.”
And with that, Connie Mnikazi happens to walk past. She is a cleaner who has worked at the company for 31 years. Gordhan invites her to join us. They talk about the end of last year, when there were two empty seats on a charter flight to somewhere in South Africa. “I said I’m never going to fly with two empty seats. So we checked around and, of course, Connie’s never been on a plane,” said Gordhan. They took her along.
There are other areas in which he is doing things differently. There are 300 employees in PPC who do not have decent housing. Initially, the company planned to contribute R50 000, but then it realised the workers were too indebted, so they brought in experts to help them to reform their financial lives. “Is building 300 houses a big deal? No. But if every company in South Africa did that, it would be. If everybody did a bit of housing, took a bit from the top and gave it to the bottom … I think we can make a difference.
“I think the capacity in government to roll out stuff isn’t there and its willingness to partner with people who can isn’t there either. Private and public have to come around the table and say we need 400 schools, 300 sewerage plants, 20 dams.”
He has called for an infrastructure Codesa to get public and private participants together to generate ideas. This has not been taken up yet, but he is not giving up.
So what about life after PPC? His next role will not be a job — it will be about using skills and networks, probably in education. With that he takes his piece of red velvet cake to his office. There is work to do.