‘Strive to make SA as good as it should be’
Christo Wiese, who grew Pepkor into a retail giant, is chairman of Shoprite and a nonexecutive director at Brait. He delivered this speech at this week’s Sunday Times Top 100 companies event, where he was presented with the lifetime achievement and busine
RECOGNITION by one’s peers is a humbling experience. It is the dedication, loyalty and support of a vast number of people that make such an achievement possible. In thanking the Sunday Times and all those responsible for the singular honour, I wish to pay homage to the many unsung heroes who shaped, guided and enriched my “lifetime” in business.
I consider it a great privilege to receive this award on their behalf. Allow me also to express my appreciation to Caro and my three children, Jacob, Clare and Christina, for always being there for me and for filling my life with love.
After half a century in the exciting arena of the business world, I can honestly say that had I known at the beginning just how tough it would be, I may never have started.
Back in Upington where it all started, we certainly had dreams, but in our wildest dreams we could not foresee that from one small shop a group would grow with more than 10 000 outlets around the world — creating employment for almost 300 000 people.
The journey from Upington in 1965 to Sandton in 2015 delivered many learnings.
First, if a “bunch of boere ” from the Kalahari can do it, anyone can.
Second, no person should ever allow other people to determine his or her horizon. Never be intimidated that you speak a certain language or come from the wrong side of the tracks where your horizon is limited.
Third, one should steer by clear beacons. In our group we have always been guided by a philosophy, summarised in five terms: faith, positive thinking, hard work, enthusiasm and compassion. It has served us well.
I believe that such a philosophy can help all of us to navigate the turbulent times that we are experiencing in our country and, indeed, the world at large. This should help South Africans to understand that we should never be despondent even though we are fully entitled to feel hugely frustrated at times.
The South African business community, with such an essential role to play in making South Africa the country that we all want it to be, should approach our challenges with a profound understanding of who we are and where we come from. In fact, all South Africans should do so.
In his inaugural address, a former vice-chancellor of the University of Stellenbosch, Professor Chris Brink, suggested that in plotting a course for the university, and for South Africa as a whole, we should ask ourselves four questions: ý Where do we come from? ý Where are we now? ý Where do we want to be? and
How do we get there? He suggested that we come from a world of “either, or”— in South Africa one was either black or white; spoke either English or Afrikaans; and things were either right or wrong. In such a world it is easy to take decisions because one only needs to tick the boxes.
Now, however, we live in a world of “and”. We are black and white. We speak Afrikaans and English and nine other languages, too. And this is the important truth — we now have to do things that are at the same time both right and wrong. Let me explain: black economic empowerment, affirmative action, social grants, sensible land redistribution.
We are business people, not politicians. Or, put differently, the business of business is business. On that basis we should not engage with the government in ideological debates. Those are debates for politicians. We should, however, speak out with respect and constraint on issues that are non-ideological and that require pragmatic and practical solutions.
In this regard I refer to the unhappy “visagate” that we have just gone through, and the fact that we are constantly embarrassed as a country by the appointment of incompetent people and even fraudulent people to key management positions in parastatals. I am sure I do not have to point out all the sad examples in this regard.
The third question, Where do we want to be? General Smuts, almost a century ago, said that South Africa was a country where things were never as good as they should be but also never as bad as they could be.
Clearly, we should all strive to make South Africa as good as it should be. How do we get there? We need to steer by the beacons that I referred to, so we can grow our economy and create a better life for all.
This is an edited version of Wiese’s speech