The Stellenbosch Mafia by Pieter du Toit

Author:Pieter du Toit
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781868429196
Publisher: Jonathan Ball Publishers
Published: 2019-06-18T09:33:25+00:00

Durand says racial diversity in Stellenbosch is a problem and that it could benefit from more people from different backgrounds. ‘It’s something that we’ve tried to address at Remgro. Today our chief financial officer is Coloured, our chief compliance officer is female and three members of the executive are black. Ten years ago, that would not have been the case. And it happened with the encouragement of the Rupert family. If you walk around our headquarters it looks totally different in race and gender from how it did a decade ago,’ Durand explains.

Stellenbosch is a town that produces young, creative spirits and the country needs them to help kick-start the economy, Hertzog says. But the economy also needs the big companies, like Remgro, Mediclinic and Distell, he insists. ‘Politicians say the big companies squeeze out the little players and leave no room for entrepreneurs. I disagree. Rembrandt carried us for years. If it weren’t for them, we wouldn’t have been here.’

For a big company like Remgro, stability and predictability are crucial, according to Durand. There are no get-rich-quick schemes that work – 99% of success comes down to honest, hard work, long hours and a functioning relationship with the immediate environment.

Stellenbosch has struggled to come to terms with the Steinhoff bombshell. Many people lost lots of money, homes had to be sold and fortunes were lost. Jooste, once the talk of the town and Remgro’s nemesis, has rarely been seen in public since. In 2018, at the Stellenbosch Academy of Sport, the Springbok Sevens rugby team trained with the Steinhoff logo blocked out with tape. ‘Steinhoff used to sponsor the team, but since the crash the players have started to cover up the logo on their jerseys. Last year they received R5 million in Steinhoff shares as performance bonuses. It’s all gone,’ Durand says.

He adds: ‘There are only ten companies left on the JSE that were listed eighty years ago. Remgro is one of them. And there’s no reason why we cannot be there in a hundred years from now.’ The Stellenbosch originals are still standing.

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