KZNI 18

KZN A U G U ST 2 0 2 2

INVEST CONNECT COMMUNICATE COLLABORATE

ISSUE 18

Exporter

Gambling

Marketing

Fashion

A small business getting wings to fly with food exports

Government roasted for taxes that will kill the goose that lays the golden egg

Social media boffs on what button to press to help your businss soar

Local producers pumping to meet local clothing demand

Future Farming Agriculture Special

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Issue 17

WINTER 2022

MAKING DOING BUSINESS

IN KWAZULU-NATAL EASY KWAZULU-NATAL, THE GATEWAY TO AFRICA AND THE WORLD, IS OPEN FOR BUSINESS AND TO ELEVATING INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES THROUGH THE INVESTSA KWAZULU-NATAL ONE-STOP-SHOP.

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The following entities operate from the investSA KwaZulu-Natal One-Stop-Shop located at Trade & Investment KwaZulu-Natal’s premises.

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WINTER 2022

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TRADE TRADE && INVESTMENT INVESTMENT KWAZULU-NATAL KWAZULU-NATAL NEWS NEWS SOUTH SOUTH AFRICA’S AFRICA’S BEST BEST KEPT KEPT SECRET SECRET IS OUT… IS OUT…

Y OY U ORU RK NK O NW O LWELDE G D EG EP APRATRNT ENRE RI NI NB UBSUI SNI ENSESS S MANDATE MANDATE SERVICES SERVICES Trade & Trade Investment & Investment KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal is a South is a South AfricanAfrican trade and trade inward and inward investment investment promotion promotion agencyagency established established to: to:

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Identify, Identify, develop develop and package and package investment investment opportunities opportunities in in KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal

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GROWING GROWING THE THE PROVINCE PROVINCE THROUGH THROUGH FOREIGN FOREIGN DIRECT DIRECT INVESTMENT INVESTMENT ANDAND EXPORT EXPORT TRADE TRADE The agency The agency is equipped is equipped with the withprofessional the professional expertise expertise and experience, and experience, as well asas well national as national and international and international networks networks geared geared to maintaining to maintaining and growing and growing KwaZulu-Natal’s KwaZulu-Natal’s competitive competitive advantage advantage as a premier as a premier investment investment destination destination and leader and leader in export in export trade.trade.

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www.tikzn.co.za www.tikzn.co.za ISO 9001ISO Certifi 9001 ed Certified

Issue 18

KZN

W H AT ’ S I N S I D E

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Connecting people, places & dreams – meet ACSA’s Nathi Myataza

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Majozi Bros: 5 years later An update on the marvellous Majozi Bros

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Up, close and personal Connecting with nature

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Ploughing on Future farming is the launchpad for our agriculture special that follows the trail from the farm to the fork

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Marketing maestros Two gurus helping businesses build their brands

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Growth catalyst Gateway Theatre of Shopping turns 21

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Roti ready for lift off Who would have thought: a roti is about to get exported

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Turf wars Horse-racing faces an existential threat in KZN

- 47 The Platform gallery A little gallery on a Midlands roadside

AUGUST 2022

INVEST

EDITOR Greg ArdŽ PRODUCTION EDITOR Lorna King DESIGNER Stephanie Osborne ADVERTISING Jenni McCallum 082 411 6401 GENERAL MANAGER Doody Adams CONTRIBUTORS Shirley le Guern Lyse Comins Katrine Anker-Nilssen Matthew Hattingh Jon Ivins Jonathan Erasmus

Copyright: All material in this issue is subject to copyright and belongs to Famous Publishing unless otherwise indicated. No part of the material may be quoted, photocopied, reproduced or stored by an electronic system without prior written permission from Famous Publishing.

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Disclaimer: While every effort is taken to ensure the accuracy of the contents of this publication, neither the authors nor the publisher will bear any responsibility for the consequences of any actions based on information contained herein. Neither do they endorse any products/services advertised herein. Material which appears under ‘Advertorial’ is paid for.

Cow machines?

Will fermenting vats ever replace cows? Dairy farmer Colin Wellbeloved gives us the lowdown

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Published by Famous Publishing www.famousdurban.co.za Printed by Novus

Home sewn Local fashion is lekker, but it’s never that easy in the textile business

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Talk of the town Chris Black’s latest inspiration

In compliance with the Protection of Personal Information Act 4, if you do not want to receive KZN Invest magazine for free, please email sarah.mackintosh@ famouspublishing.co.za For more information visit: www.famousdurban.co.za

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Issue 18

AUGUST 2022

ED’S LETTER

W

hat does a ballsy 40-something KZN businessman who went to Maritzburg College have to do with a 29-year-old tattooed extreme unicyclist from New Zealand?

Well, nothing and everything. While planning the agricultural features in this edition of the magazine I watched a brilliant documentary online called Milked, by Maori activist, unicyclist and film maker Christian Huriwai.

And then by sheer chance I spent a day with KZN’s Rob Hoatson, a talented and energetic man, who with his family, is involved in a significant agri-business.

Milked is a thought-provoking look at the R80-billion dairy industry in New Zealand, which is home to some of the world’s biggest dairy companies.

Huriwai looks at the ruinous impact on the environment and how the industry stands to be totally upended by “precision fermentation” technology that will create faux-milk that doesn't need dairy farms. If things go the way the vegans hope, then technology – brewing protein in fermentation chambers – will have enough scale to replace dairy cows. Some might call it wishful thinking, but it has plant-based protein advocates wild with glee.

For a variety of reasons the world will have to reduce dependency on animals as a food source. Food security is a fascinating and topical subject.

The pandemic, global supply chain disruptions, the effects of climate change (floods in KZN), the war in Ukraine and unrest in the province, have made us all aware of how vulnerable we are. Which is why meeting Hoatson was a revelation for me.

Brainstorming for this edition I conjured up the image of an ideal farmer: someone committed to the environment and who treasures resources. On a tour of some of the Hoatson enterprises you get a sense of how monumentally difficult and critical agri-business is. Farming is essential to life but is happening on a shrinking and increasingly

our precious PLANET poisoned planet.

At its worst, failed farming can be ruinous to a nation. At its best it is almost alchemy: a combination of science, smart strategy and grit in the face of the elements. Not to crow about the Hoatsons, but their story of a mindful, integrated but diversified business is perhaps representative of where we need to go with agri-business. It looks to cut out waste, produce smart crops that are

responsive to slick supply chains and serve sophisticated buyers who are marshalled by demanding retailers.

This sounds quite rah-rah in a column written by an editor in a city hundreds of kilometres from a farm.

Visiting Hoatson and speaking to Boston dairy farmer Colin Wellbeloved gave me a good sense of how hard the work is and how increasingly complex the food business is. It is complicated and often iniquitous. The biggest

ED’S LETTER

privately held company in the US with an annual turnover of $120-billion is Cargill, an agricultural trading company.

Raj Patel, a renowned author and academic with ties to Durban, wrote a book in 2012 called Stuffed and Starved.

It delved into the world’s wealth and inequality and, as the title suggests, how some have way too much food and some almost none.

I don’t pretend to understand the complexities of it all, but you don’t have to be a genius to work out where this is going. What is flashing like a big neon sign is dwindling resources and a growing population. A 2016 Harvard Business Review report says in the last century the global population has quadrupled. In 1915, there were 1,8-billion people in the world. Now the UN says there are 7,3-billion and we may reach 9,7-billion by 2050. This will mean dietary shifts that will shape agricultural markets in ways we have not seen before, the report says.

New technology like precision farming and fermentation is inevitable – and we’ll have to keep an eagle eye out for what the ecological and social tradeoffs of these are. Plant protein must

skyrocket past the deeply uneconomical and quite destructive reliance on meat (writes the dyed in the wool carnivore).

Add to all of this the petrol price increases, power and water shortages, plus the Ukraine war and global inflation, and the picture doesn’t look

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Rob Hoatson says most of the family’s business has been born out of challenge.

They seem to be going at that full throttle: energetic people engaging with futurists, business strategists and scientists planning 100 years ahead. It is very interesting.

While a lot of the mag is dedicated to agri-businesses, we also have a fascinating take out on controversial taxes planned for the KZN gaming industry. One has to wonder what the provincial government is really up to with this ill-conceivied idea. Why threaten an entire sector already on the ropes and run the risk of chasing them away? For me it is indicative of how few politicians actually know about what it takes to run a business and make money (other than through corruption). Instead, they are masters at spending other people’s money.

Anyway, read the feature and let me know what you think. Beyond that we’ve done a thought-provoking take on the local clothing and textile industries which is embracing new challenges and opportunities. And then there are a host of inspiring stories about good people making a go of things and helping others in the process. I trust it will all be worth a read.

Not to crow about the Hoatsons, but their story of a mindful, integrated but diversified business is perhaps representative of where we need to go with agri-business rosy. Many farmers are likely to move towards mechanisation or bow out of agriculture. Which is why a lot of hope rides on the success of agri-businesses like the Hoatsons, that are multifaceted and interconnected.

Author Malcolm Gladwell writes about the advantage in disadvantage.

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gregarde@gmail.com

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G U E ST CO LU M N

AUGUST 2022

CONNECTING people, places & dreams Nkosinathi Myataza is an engineer and the regional general manager of ACSA’s (Airports Company South Africa) Durban International Airport. He spoke to KZN INVEST

Q A

In a nutshell, how would you describe your job?

We connect people to people, people to places, people to opportunities, people to dreams. We do this in the context of contributing to the greater good of the economy, people and society, and the natural environment, all the while while creating a sustainable industry and developmental state.

Q A

As an engineer, what are your qualifications and how do you apply them at work?

What I value more than the qualifications are the professional registrations, in that they hold one accountable to various bodies of knowledge and ethical codes. I am a Professional Certificated Engineer with ECSA, a Certified Risk Management Practitioner with IRMSA, and a Certified Director with IoDSA. My highest academic qualification though, is an MSc in Operations Research, which opens up a whole new world of quantitative and qualitative modelling techniques and systems thinking, including Systems Dynamics. This is a practical skill in a world with a multitude of interdependent and everchanging variables.

Q A

As you’ve worked in a variety of jobs, please tell us about your job history and what your priority is now?

I have worked in nuclear power generation, and the petrochemical and manufacturing industries. It has always been about processing resources

through varying but controlled physical parameters to finished products. All these are inanimate. Working in the airport environment is very different in that your main input resources and output products are PEOPLE. No matter how consistent and controlled you maintain your physical environment, there is no guarantee of a consistent and happy outcome. That is the challenge – producing a happy and satisfied customer and stakeholder is

The priority is to achieve that consistent passenger satisfaction while meeting reasonable stakeholder needs much more complex than converting nuclear energy to electrical energy, and all other transitional states in between.

The priority is to achieve that consistent passenger satisfaction while meeting reasonable stakeholder needs, under the different scenarios and at times conflicting wants.

Q A

If you’d like to leave a legacy at work, what would it be?

A resilient and sustainable business, in harmony with internal and external stakeholders. But more fulfilling would be building and leaving behind an inclusive leadership corp of fully rounded professionals.

Q

After a two-year hiatus, Turkish Airlines has extended two of its Istanbul-Johannesburg flights to include Durban on Thursdays and Saturdays.

Why do you think that is important?

An airport’s value is its ability to move passengers and cargo from one place to another as fast and costeffectively as possible. International flights work to enable this by driving greater air connectivity, which involves growing the network effect of the airport, allowing travellers and goods to reach more destinations efficiently. With the reintroduction of air services by our Middle East hub carriers – Emirates Airlines and Qatar Airways and now the resumption of flights by Turkish Airlines – it has expanded King Shaka International Airport’s overall route network to over 500 destinations which can be reached within 24 hours from Durban.

My team has the resources to monitor and anticipate the performance of the airlines that have air services at our airport. This data becomes vital in identifying trends, opportunities and threats. This data forms the basis of the business cases we and our route development committee colleagues use to put forward proposals to airlines to introduce new routes into Durban.

Airfreight has seen strong growth that enabled the reintroduction of regional and intercontinental air services, as most airfreight in and out of Durban is flown in the cargo holds of passenger aircraft.

There is also a strong focus on flights

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G U E ST CO LU M N

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International air travel is important in the overall mix of travellers that contribute to overall passenger volumes. Some of the major tourism source markets for KwaZulu-Natal are in Europe and North America.

International air travel provides these lucrative visitors access to our tourism products. The potential spending of these visitors on accommodation, entertainment and logistics gives an idea of the multiplier effects of international air travel. The tourism sector contributed 3,7% to GDP and directly employed 4,7% of the total workforce in 2019.

Nkosinathi Myataza.

within the SADC region and to improve connectivity between our provinces. A significant global and local development is the building of economies around airports in the form of aerotropolis cities. This is not much different to developments of economies and towns around railway stations or junctions in the past centuries, but now with higher speed, connectivity, and technology.

But of greater significance, there is now a deliberate emphasis on work-life balance, social inclusivity and equity, and due considerations for the natural environment.

Q

How does one explain how important international air travel is as a driver of South Africa’s tourism sector, and what economic multiplier effect is?

Q A

In terms of connectivity, how connected is Durban globally?

Airline route networks change and adapt in accordance with various factors – social, economic and political.

Turkish Airlines has a route network connecting 329 cities from its hub in Istanbul; Emirates has around 146 destinations, while Qatar Airways has 160. We recently introduced Airlink’s Durban-Harare route with three flights a week.

Q A

Please tell us a bit about your personal life?

I am the second born son of seven children, and come from a tightknit family. Our father – who passed on while we were quite young – was an Anglican priest, and our mother – who joined our father earlier this year – was a foundation phase schoolteacher. I grew up in various areas, mostly in the

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Eastern Cape, as the family moved from one Anglican mission to the next. I was born in uMzimkhulu. In my early teens I was at boarding school in Mthatha (St Johns College), and later moved to the then University of Natal-Durban. My first year in boarding school coincided with the 1980 school boycotts. Three years later I joined the University of Natal to study electrical engineering, after having waited for a period to be granted a permit to study in a white university, which was the norm in those years. The political landscape was volatile with the youth at the forefront of the struggle against inequality and injustice. These years reinforced a strong sense of justice and social conscience infused by church teachings.

My studies were disrupted. Sadly, some of those we grew up with never came out alive. Those are the painful and yet proud memories that keep me strong, steadfast and ethical. These freedoms were not free.

In the 90s I resumed my studies at the then Peninsula Technikon in Cape Town. I worked in the city for 14 years while continuously studying further part-time. In 2004 I found myself back in Durban having joined the Airports Company South Africa.

Besides my siblings and childhood friends and compatriots, I share my life with my two sons and a daughter. When I am not at work I am with family and friends. I read widely and follow social media. I was an amateur boxer in my youth so sometimes I hit my punching bag.

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Issue 18 AUGUST 2022

A G R I C U LT U R E

PLOUGHING on T he agricultural sector was among the worst hit by the triple burden of Covid-19, the July 2021 riots and the floods. And before that it was already facing major challenges such as land reform, sugar taxes, farm murders, flailing infrastructure and policy uncertainty.

FNB Senior Agricultural Economist Paul Makube says while officially, national agriculture historically comprises just 2,5% of South Africa’s GDP, some now estimate that its contribution is far greater, given its interconnectedness with the rest of the economy.

“Some estimate its contribution to surpass 10% if one considers the backward and forward linkages of agriculture with the rest of the economy,” says Makube. However, KZN’s total contribution to the national economy is 16% and the province’s agriculture’s is 0,6% of the SA GDP. But, Makube says the contribution of KZN farms to the national agricultural component of GDP was almost 30%, higher than Western Cape and Mpumalanga at 24% and 10% respectively.

Agribiz chief economist, Wandile Sihlobo, says the province is a significant producer of products such as sugar, fruit, milk and poultry. “Estimates from the Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy show that around 30% of South Africa’s dairy herd is located in KZN and significant volumes of chicken, eggs and pigs are produced with a 12% share each.”

KZN processes about 8% of the 11,5 million tonnes of maize and roughly 21% of the country’s annual wheat consumption. However, when it comes to sugar, KZN is a major player, churning out 81% of national production.

SA Canegrowers CEO, Dr Thomas Funke, said the sugar industry represents 44% of agricultural GDP in KZN and Mpumalanga, making it the single biggest field crop cultivated in these provinces.

There are 1 091 large-scale growers (who each deliver more than 1 800

KwaZulu-Natal’s agricultural sector could be the key that unlocks the province’s rural economy, writes Lyse Comins

tons of sugarcane a year) and 20 130 small-scale growers. The sugar industry employs 65 000 workers directly and an estimated 51 206 of them are in KZN. But this important sector has been battered in recent years, and not just by the April 2022 floods and July 2021 unrest. “The South African sugar industry has faced significant headwinds in recent years. These include the influx of cheap sugar imports and the introduction of the Health Promotion Levy (sugar tax). The levy cost the industry more than 16 000 jobs and R2-billion in its first year alone,” he said.

The industry-specific challenges have

been compounded by the unrest and the floods. These crises cost growers R84,5-million and R222,9-million respectively. Recovery has been hampered by above-inflation increases in fuel and fertiliser, both of which have been adversely affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “All these factors have merged to create one of the most difficult periods the industry has ever faced.”

SA Sugar Association executive director, Trix Trikam, says the country’s total sugar production for the 2021/2022 season was 1,84 million tons, of which nearly 400 000 tons was sold on the world export market.

A G R I C U LT U R E

Production of two million tons of sugar has been forecast for the 2022/2023 season.

A masterplan, adopted to address challenges like tax, sugar imports and dwindling local sales, had brought the industry back from the brink of collapse.

Makube says the agricultural sector has been hammered by the rising cost of fertiliser, weed killer, pesticide, herbicide and fuel prices. “KZN is yet to recover from the floods as infrastructure is slowly being repaired.

The relatively poor municipal services and the internal road network the urgently need rehabilitation,” Makube says.

And, land reform has been “pedestrian”. “Land reform should be expedited through improved policy to ensure farm ownership, which is critical for investment. Efficiencies in the disbursement of a variety of finance instruments that have been established for the benefit of farming communities (need to be improved). The Land Reform Agency will go a long way in helping expedite the process. Its setting up is long overdue.”

KZN Agricultural Union (Kwanalu) CEO, Sandy le Marque, echoed concerns about rising input costs, with the price of fertiliser having gone up more than 380%.

“Farmers in KZN have got mixed feelings. In many instances, producers are subsidising the food market, many commodities are under severe pressure

Land reform should be expedited through improved policy to ensure farm ownership, which is critical for investment and need support and protection.

Infrastructure is severely affecting the supply and movement of goods and services.”

She says little or no help has been forthcoming from the government after the recent floods and “farmers are trying to patch together their operations”. But, she said, some would not recover.

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“Disease management is certainly not at the level that it should be and it has fallen behind. This is witnessed in the spread of the Foot-and-Mouth Disease which has not been contained and severely impacts the livestock industry.”

Added to this, policy uncertainty, crime and high levels of corruption at municipalities – which were unable to provide basic services and repair or maintain roads – are among challenges facing the sector.

“Farm attacks and murders have continued and incidents relating to arson, crop and stock theft, invasion of communal and commercial land for livestock has increased.”

Le Marque says there appears to be “little progress” in land reform.

“Claims remain outstanding for more than 20 years later, largely due to lack of budget, resources and the will to resolve. Many proactive initiatives have not materialised as the public private partnership approach has not received the support it should have. The private sector has quietly forged ahead with initiatives to build and unite.”

The resolve of farmers keeps them ploughing on despite these challenges. Their “passion and sense of responsibility to produce safe food and fibre” highlights the importance of the sector for employment, poverty alleviation, food security and economic stability.

“We are addressing cross-cutting issues of land, development, disease management safety and security in a strong, clear mandated manner and will not waiver in its efforts to influence and lobby on behalf of the rural and agricultural sector. There is much to be done and a united agricultural and rural sector can be the key that unleashes the economic growth the province needs.”

*

• KZN accounts for 7,7% of the 40 122 commercial farms in SA. • KZN accounts for 23% of SA’s 2,3-million agricultural households.

• 844 000 people are employed in agriculture and KZN accounts for 10% or 85 000 jobs.

Source: FNB Agricultural Economist Paul Makube

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Issue 18 AUGUST 2022

F U T U R E FA R M I N G

future T FARMING Rob Hoatson is a man utterly consumed by his endeavours, which, if they continue to succeed, could prove a model for agri-businesses in a critical sector of the KZN economy

he 43-year-old farmer is part of a clan of brothers whose diversified agri-business was started by their 69-year-old father, Lawrence. Hoatson senior, a diesel mechanic from Kokstad, built a national group that now employs over 3 000 people and has interests in timber, beef, sheep, nuts and beverages.

Brothers Sean, Rob, John and Matt are all involved in the business that owns thousands of hectares of timber farms in KZN and Mpumalanga.

The foundation of Lawrence Hoatson’s business is sawmills, although he only got into that in 1992 after running an agricultural transport business which he started when he quit a full-time job as a mechanic with Ford and bought an old truck. Rob says

F U T U R E FA R M I N G

the brothers remember sitting beside their dad in the cab while he trucked sugarcane and timber to mills in southern KZN. In 1992 Tekwani was launched when Lawrence bought a sawmill to feed his transport business. Tekwani now processes 400 000 cubic metres annually and primarily supplies timber for roof trusses from Pietermaritzburg, Newcastle and Piet Retief. In 2001 the Hoatsons bought Normandien, a 10 000-hectacre farm near Newcastle where they operate the smallest of their sawmills. While the purchase of the farm, set up against the Klein Drakensberg, was chiefly to provide timber, in 2012 a massive fire there prompted the Hoatsons to extend their horizons.

The fire coincided with a chance encounter between Rob and a local lady, the relative of one of their staff, who crowed about the quality of the pure water drawn from Normandien’s mountain springs. A host of geohydrological surveys revealed just how sweet, pure and vast the water supply was, prompting Rob to do a financial feasability study that he presented to his father and his brothers.

This was the upshot of it: South Africa’s water infrastructure is nearly broken (in storage, purification and distribution) so they spent R50-million setting up a bottling plant at their Normandien springs.

Lawrence asked Rob: “Do you know what you are doing my boy?”

To which his son replied: “No Dad, but I’m going to find out.”

And he did – in the process creating Thirsti, a business that seven years later turns over around R500-million a year. Thirsti is now the largest private label beverage supplier to Woolworths, supplying 70% of its demand, not including dairy and fruit juices; and employs around 250 people who work out of a 20 000m² state-of-the-art factory built from scratch.

The business has been growing at around 40% a year and by volume is the country’s second biggest bottled water company after Aquelle. At peak production it bottles four million litres a week. Rob says he has not had time to reflect on Thirsi’s runaway success because it has been all absorbing.

An injudicious summary of the plethora of challenges includes constructing a plant; sourcing and operating sophisticated European equipment; and finding customers and distributing to them. The company’s big break came from Woolworths after Rob managed to convince one of their buyers to visit the plant.

“I went to their head office and said I’m a forester and I’d like to supply you with water, but please, you have to come and visit our farm. There is no way I can share the magic of what we have to offer you in a presentation in an office in Cape Town.”

The exacting requirements of Woolworths are partly attributable to Thirsti’s growth and a total investment to date of R300-million in slick blow moulding machines, bottling lines and canning and labelling capacity.

The factory is 10 000m² and there is a 10 000m² warehouse, which in the main was built by Themba Dlamini, a 36-year-old local put through school

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by the Hoatsons. Rob says homegrown empowerment is integral to their business, and has meant they have controlled costs and built solid foundations.

“We are not scared to get the specialists in. For the construction of our plant we got engineers and architects to do what we couldn’t. But we built it exactly to our specifications at a fraction of market cost.

“Themba started his working life as a gardener. Now he can read a set of plans and can construct top quality buildings.

“At the end of the day that’s what business is all about: growing one another.”

Thirsti has a fleet of 20 superlinks that services retail distribution centres situated roughly equidistant from the farm. Newcastle’s strategic location – almost in the centre of the eastern part of the country – means it is a four-hour truck drive to major centres.

The family’s history in transport helps, and Rob studied economics and logistics at university.

Power Thirsti’s plant demands 2,5 MVA and Eskom challenges have meant the Hoatsons have had to invest hugely to circumvent these. The first problem was supplying power to the plant, 8km from the network. Eskom said it would cost R4-million and 18 months to create a distribution network across the farm to supply the plant. Instead the family spent R750 000 and in six weeks built their own 8km “extension cord” on their own land. The factory has 4 000 solar panels that supply 40% of its daytime energy. This, along with three massive diesel generators and a huge uninterrupted power supply system means the plant doesn’t have to endure power dips that each come with a 20-minute restart time.

The family is investigating how to get off the grid using a combination of solar, hydrogen and hydro-electric power.

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Rob runs the Thirsti business while Sean and John oversee Tekwani, the timber business. Matt is the CFO and Lawrence is CEO. Agri-business demands a long-term view – it takes 20 years before a pine tree can be felled and reliance on one crop can be crippling because of the vagaries of the market, weather and disease.

“If you don’t plan and do your homework it can be disastrous.”

Rob says almost every business the Hoatsons have got into has been born of adversity. “Every move in our business has been a step to mitigate risk or respond to a challenge and often that results in another business on its own.”

The sawmills arose to meet the transport need, and Thirsti to offset over-reliance on timber.

And there have been other, remarkable, diversifications. Beef farming is one. The Hoatsons invested in cattle to essentially act as lawn mowers and graze the flammable veld between the timber where grass was growing dangerously long and presented a big fire hazard. Every year 1 000 grass-fed beef are sold

F U T U R E FA R M I N G

Family Businesses No spouses are involved in the Hoatson business. The brothers and their father are participating in a year-long process with PWC that sees them meet every month for a day alone to plan strategy and succession.

“We set some rules, like the no-spouses rule for this generation. But that’s what works for us. It may not be the same for the next generation.”

So what is the power dynamic in the group?

“My dad is the CEO, but we have spirited engagement. We love one another and always have each other's backs. No one wilfully sets out to make a mistake.”

F U T U R E FA R M I N G

to Woolworths.

Another internal business is the manufacture of pallets produced at the sawmills from smaller trees harvested from the timber plantation.

This “thinning” process is done to maximise the growth of bigger trees and the early harvested timber is used to make pallets needed by Thirsti to pack and move bottles. Once used these are sold to Chep.

“We try not to waste anything.”

The wood chips on the mill floor are collected and mixed with chicken manure to make fertiliser which is used to nurture 200-hectares of pecan trees which are grown on the farm at Normandien.

The Hoatsons have planted 45 000 pecan trees and have another 45 000 seedlings. In five years they hope to harvest the first crop. The income from the yield of one hectare of pecans in one year is equivalent to that of one hectare of timber harvested every 20 years.

If things work to plan, they plan to plant 1 000-hectacres under pecans long term.

“Pecans are a superfood. Plant-based protein is the future. We have to build to grow 100 years from now. We try and build with disciplined ambition, to create a pipeline, mindful of the complexities of life.

“Our businesses lean on one another.

We try wherever we can not to waste and to maximise value.

“Not all the dreams we have or the plans we make will come to fruition, but we try. We never, ever give up. It is never all peaches and cream.”

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Food Security In June this year the G7 outlined five urgent steps to address the global food crisis.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation said food security was threatened

by Covid, the interruption of supply chains, rising costs of primary commodities, the war in Ukraine and other conflicts and humanitarian crises around the world. The UN said the situation had been aggravated by the longterm decreased investment in agrifood systems, the pressure of climate change and population growth.

“We are at a serious risk of facing a food access crisis now, and a food availability crisis for the next season.” The UN said investment in food systems was critical. As was improved food security analysis. Third, the UN said, was fostering policies that increase efficiency and resilience of agrifood systems. The other priorities were reducing food waste and making better use of available fertilisers.

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nvironmental and agricultural experts say the impact of “monocropping”, specifically in KZN where single crops like sugarcane, maize and timber are extensive, is profound.

Agroecological farmer at Bonakude Farm in Richmond and University of KwaZulu-Natal associate professor in the School of Built Environment and Development Studies at UKZN, Mvu Ngcoya, says that the long-term impacts of monoculture include a deterioration in soil quality and the need for strong chemical pest control measures.

“Because of lack of biodiversity, which by nature preserves soil quality and helps limit pests, monocropping and plantation systems require extensive use of external inputs such as synthetic fertilisers and pesticides. The short-term costs are both economic and environmental.

“The long-term environmental costs are quite extensive as these agrochemicals infiltrate groundwater and lead to further biodiversity loss.

The use of heavy equipment associated with monocropping also affects soils, causing soil compaction.” Added to this, the social costs are historically immeasurable.

“It’s the monocropping and plantation system that intensified slavery and continues to produce tremendous suffering among workers across the globe. From a food security perspective, heavy reliance on a single crop is insanely risky. The historical

A G R I C U LT U R E

save the SOIL Agriculture needs to move away from monoculture to more sustainable farming to improve food security, enhance biodiversity and create a buffer against climate change, writes Lyse Comins record affirms this.”

The Irish Potato Famine was caused by the planting of a genetically uniform clone and the outbreak of late blight – which destroyed almost 80% of the crop – lead to mass migration, starvation and death. Similarly, the Bengal famine in the 1940s resulted from a disease that decimated rice production in India.

Farming “with” rather than “against” nature, is the solution. When farmers focus on a wide range of diverse crops and varieties, combined with animals and other creatures, they are less dependent on a single commodity and more economically resilient. The costs of their operation are also reduced by adopting natural pest management and soil management systems that are not expensive. While the plantation system

relies heavily on external knowledge and a few corporations govern that knowledge economy, a more diverse, agroecological approach values local and popular knowledge (obviously not against scientific expertise), but farmers are more in control.

“An agroecological system, on the other hand, values biodiversity among species, populations and ecosystems and provides not only benefits to nature but continues our ability to provide adequate food, fuel and fibre.”

Ngcoya says sugar, maize and timber farms account for most of the province’s arable land. “While their economic value is undeniable, it’s a sad irony that we rely on so few crops when our province is one of the most biodiverse regions in the world, even though that

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biodiversity is under constant threat from urbanisation and monocropping.

So, there is a wide range of indigenous crops and other plants we could grow for food, medicine, and other uses.

However, the cultural and economic conditions would obviously have to change for that to happen.”

A major challenge to making the shift to agroecological systems is access to markets. “Food that is produced sustainably in South Africa gets no extra rewards. Since most of the sustainable farmers operate on a small-scale, they really can’t compete with the behemoths that control much of our agricultural system. They are locked out along various stages of the value chain. There is little institutional support besides that offered by a few independent associations and NGOs. The state favours the conventional large-scale industrial agriculture model.”

University of Cape Town Department of Environmental and Geographical Science and bioeconomy research chair Professor Rachel Wynberg says that out of 2 000 to 3 000 crop opportunities, only about 150 species were planted globally, while the extensive use of pesticides, herbicides and fertilisers was destroying soil health.

“About 12 species are providing about 75% of the world’s plant-based foods including rice, wheat and maize. We are losing the microorganisms in the soil and the importance of having life in the soil is fundamental to everything,” she said.

“The negative impacts of monoculture are in a broader sense around a loss of diversity and a loss of resilience, especially in the context of climate change. If you are planting one type of crop you have a much greater chance of losing your entire productivity to drought, pestilences and disease.

“Very little of SA is suited to crop production, and that part which has been planted very intensely leaves our soils in a very bad way. The Free

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It’s a sad irony that we rely on so few crops when our province is one of the most biodiverse regions in the world State is a pretty dead landscape, KZN might not appear visually as bleak, but if you look at sugarcane along your coastline and trees like Eucalyptus and pine, these are very intensive forms of monoculture. The coastline has been so heavily decimated by sugar and tree production, it is quite difficult to rehabilitate the coastal forest,” she said.

Wynberg said farmers should seek to plant more indigenous crops, such as sorghum and millet, which have natural resistance and are more tolerant to drought. “It’s not about replacing a maize field with a millet field, but rather looking at diversity and planting local crops in addition to other crops.”

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Contact Jenni today for a tailor-made package to suit your budget. Phone her on 082 411 6401

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Issue 18 AUGUST 2022

A G R I - TO U R I S M

FARMING for tourists Covid may have dealt a blow to agricultural tourism but there are hopeful indicators this neglected sector is on the mend, writes Shirley le Guern

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gricultural tourism is hard to define and includes everything from farm visits and stay-overs (boosted by Air BnB) to stop-offs during travels and farm tours.

But, if research organisations such as Euromonitor International are correct and consumers are looking for more sustainable and authentic products and experiences, then there’s room to grow.

Agri-tourism not only offers an option for farmers to diversify and supplement mainstream farming operations, but also provides opportunities to grow struggling rural economies desperate for job creation.

KZN is not short of agricultural land – and hence agri-tourism opportunities – according to TIKZN. Agriculture in the province is extremely diverse and most of the world's farming can be done here because of the region's reliable rainfall and fertile soils.

KZN has 6,5-million hectares of land for farming, of which 82% is suitable for extensive livestock production. To unlock the agricultural potential of the province, concepts such as agrivillages and community estates have been put forward by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Various tourism bodies have also thrown their weight behind agri-based

tourism, especially in the KZN Midlands where the signature Midlands Meander encouraged visitors to not only visit working farms and sample locally grown and produced fare, but also encouraged crafters, artists and other creative industries to go along for the ride.

At this point, high membership fees sometimes place the Meander out of reach of many small businesses, but the local municipality is investing R800 000 in its tourism offering this year to bolster the community-run uMngeni Tourism, which is working to cut red tape and improve the region’s offering. The idea is to expand

A G R I - TO U R I S M

attractions beyond the mainstream of bed-and-breakfasts, farm stalls, cheese makers, art galleries, adventure tourism and health spas.

Although the KZN South Coast is best known for its blue flag beaches and dive sites, Ugu South Coast Tourism also decided to switch some of its focus to what it calls the hinterland, and launched its South Coast Agri-CULTURE Tours in February.

CEO Phelisa Mangcu says the organisation is working hard to improve the holiday experience. By boosting popular agriculture in the region – macadamia nuts, bananas and coffee – it is able to grow agri-tourism and new attractions.

“This is a wonderful initiative that is expanding the footprint of tourism.”

BBS Farm in Southport, is named after founders Busisiwe, Bongi and Slindile, and started as a subsistence venture owned by women. The team of 40 employees produces green peppers, bananas, tomatoes and macadamia nuts. On the tourism front, they offer farm tours showcasing the organicallygrown produce, macadamia trees and the hydroponic system that waters their tomatoes. Guests can also fish for carp, tilapia and bass at the dam or grab a coffee.

B’s Guesthouse is a bed-andbreakfast just outside the farming town of Harding which is perfect for families to stop over en route to the Eastern Cape or Durban. This was originally a farmhouse on a sugar plantation which has been transformed by Brigitte Buhr into a comfortable, fine-dining establishment serving farm-to-fork meals with a touch of German flare.

Guests can fish the fully stocked dam, hike through the macadamia trees or visit the animal farm.

Ubumbano Homestead is an agricultural co-operative that was started on a smallholding by the Zama family in 2017. The growing demand for its quality produce prompted a switch to a commercial enterprise. The family farms sugarcane, macadamia nuts, bananas, spinach, sweet potatoes, mealies and green beans and offers guests farm tours to see growing techniques, harvesting and sample fresh produce. The farm stall stocks freshlymade macadamia nut and rocket pesto, macadamia nut biscuits and

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brittle, baked mealie loaf and steamed mealie bread. There is also locallymanufactured arts, crafts and other memorabilia in the curio shop.

Beaver Creek Coffee Estate is the southernmost coffee estate in the world and boasts three generations of coffee growers. Tourism-based activities include its Crop to Cup walkabout tour which provides a behind-the-scenes look at the coffee production process, a visit to the on-site cafe as well as some of the areas best mountain biking trails.

Mac Banana in Port Edward is a family-friendly retail and entertainment facility with more than 20 adventure activities. In addition to growing bananas, this agri business includes four restaurants, the Mac Chimp & Zee and Mac Conquer rope adventure park, the Mac Farmyard and Mac Butterfly Farm as well as quads, an archery and airgun range, paintball and putt putt.

Peel’s Honey is now a national business but has its roots in the Midlands dating back to 1924. The owners first parked their car beside the national road to sell their produce, graduated to a wooden kiosk not far from the road and is now at home in a bright red shipping container shop that is a popular landmark on the Midlands Meander. Honey continues to be sourced locally to encourage the art of beekeeping.

Abingdon Wines is a pioneering KZN wine estate and single vineyard boutique wine producer based at Lion’s River. It was the first farm in KZN to produce a certified estate wine with its maiden vintage in 2007. The farm was bought in 2000 by Ian and Jane Smorthwaite and now has four hectares under vine. It is family run, including daughter Laurie Cooper, and offers wine tasting, a wine bar, lunches in the vineyard (with harvest boards and a tapas-style menu) and is home to a wine school.

Crocodile Creek is situated in dense coastal bush overlooking the Tongaat River just 14km from Ballito.

Established in 1983 by Peter and Sheila Watson, it remains a family-run farm based on sustainable farming methods and exports skins globally. Crocodile Creek is currently home to over 9 000 Nile crocodiles and is known for its conservation work and as a popular tourist destination.

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SUGAR INDUSTRY

VITAMIN boosts Dube’s business Millhouse International exports 95% of its vitamin A sugar premix to the Southern African Development Community from its factory at the Dube TradePort Special Economic Zone, writes Shirley le Guern

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or the CEO of South Africa’s only micronutrient premix (palmitate) manufacture, this represents the realisation of a longstanding dream.

Andre Redinger was born into a family who had farmed sugar in the Midlands for generations.

However, it was while he was focusing on growing and milling sugarcane that he realised that primary agriculture producers had no opportunity to derive value from their produce as their selling price was dictated.

“This adversely affects the farmer’s ability to positively impact the lives of farm workers through education, housing, health and skills transfer. The only way out is for farmers to add value to their produce,” he says.

Andre Redinger.

His personal quest for value-add opportunities saw him travel throughout Africa looking at other primary agricultural models. He found that families could only afford about 50g of sugar a week, and it was seen as a vital source of energy as well as an important opportunity to address malnutrition issues.

In other African countries, it has now become law that vitamin A is added to sugar. Because sugar is seen as a staple food that reaches a large portion of the population, it is seen as an ideal means of adding vitamin A to diets.

In 2009, Redinger started experimenting with vitamin A additives, but he soon discovered a few roadblocks. Not only were all the recipes dictated

by the World Health Food Programme and foreign multinationals, but local companies were prevented from supplying blends and nutrient solutions.

Undeterred, he increased production and started to deliver vitamin A-enriched sugar to areas in SA that had the highest known vitamin A deficiencies.

“In SA, 33% of children under the age of six have a poor vitamin A status.

About 65% of children aged between three and five are most affected, especially children living in rural areas,” he said.

By 2010, Redinger had not only set up Millhouse within Dube TradePort, but concluded formal alliances with vitamin and micronutrient producers to assist them technically with food fortification.

He also developed

relationships with government departments throughout SADC and set up contracts with all the mills in these countries to supply palmitate for sugar.

Redinger says that locating his company at Dube not only helped overcome difficulties at the set-up stage, but also helped the company to contain costs and even survive a price war with multinationals which tried to push Millhouse out of the market.

“When you’re up against a perception that anything produced in Africa is substandard, flying in clients and partners to visit the Millhouse plant is such a pleasure. When they see DTP’s infrastructure, people are absolutely impressed.

It’s a wonderful flagship for SA,” says Redinger.

From its base in Durban, Millhouse intends running a “very aggressive campaign” to assist growers and millers in client countries, as well as provide equipment, knowledge and annual training in fortification, food analysis and safety, so they can fortify their own brands. Millhouse is also assisting micro-growers and millers in Tanzania to standardise their levels of food fortification.

Looking to the future, Redinger is looking at other vitamins to add to blends as well as instant foods and porridges.

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A D V E RTO R I A L

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from bar to BOARDROOM

Garlicke & Bousfield’s newly appointed director, Michelle Posemann, is all about excavating barriers to growth and challenging established views in a constructive manner – and believes we should never stop learning

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he product of an acclaimed specialist in Admiralty Law and a lateral-thinking teacher with, inter alia, an Honours degree in Criminology and a Master’s degree in Theology, Michelle Posemann’s approach to the practice of law and to raising children is the same – it is about creating space. “Whether that is space to vent and resolve conflict, or space to allow teenagers to explore the inner workings of their psyche, in both instances people are figuring out who they are and what they want,” says Michelle. Comparing the raising of children to the practice of law may perhaps be unusual, but that is not where “unusual” ends when it comes to Michelle.

Born in Pretoria but having moved to Durban at the age of five, Michelle regards KZN, and particularly Durban, as home and describes her postgraduate studies of a Law degree and a Diploma

in Maritime Law at UKZN as the best years of her academic life, largely because she was with her tribe – a group of like-minded graduates who challenged issues such as gender bias and stereotype traditional roles head on. “We have come a long way since then,” says Michelle, “but there is still much to be done. Our young female professional colleagues must own their place in the profession and find a positive way to express themselves in the practice of law.”

Michelle’s place in the profession is firmly planted in the area of mediation and arbitration as an alternate to litigation, having been widely accredited as an arbitrator by AMSSA, AFSA and Tokiso, and as a mediator by ADR Group (UK) the Dispute Settlement Accreditation Council of SA, Conflict Dynamics and the SA Medico-Legal Association.

Until recently she practised as an advocate but was then approached

to join G&B as a director in their Employment Law department, an approach that she says came “out of the blue”. Describing this transition in her profession as “seamless and stressless”, Michelle believes that her new role allows her to bring all of who she is to where she now is, occupying a dynamic space that is supported by a team aligned to her vision. “One of the biggest challenges facing the legal profession is the inefficiency of the systems and mediation thrives because it is unaffected by those. It operates within parameters agreed to in advance, and within timeframes that can be controlled,” says Michelle.

Excavating barriers to growth and challenging established views in a constructive manner is what Michelle is all about, which is reflected in her professional life as well as her personal life. Home schooling her children during their early years, Michelle’s mantra was “everything is a learning opportunity”, a philosophy that she continues to espouse as she guides her teenagers into adulthood, and one she attributes to the upbringing she herself enjoyed, believing implicitly that one should never stop learning.

Behind the deceptively quiet demeanour of G&B’s newest director lies a trail blazer with a focus on selfdetermination for her children, her young colleagues climbing the ranks in the legal profession, and for those embroiled in conflict. “Ultimately each of us should have the permission to be who we are and not be judged for it, and our communities should be a melting pot of differences that are celebrated,” says Michelle.

Celebrating differences has been a universal challenge, but in the adversity endured and overcome by the people of KZN recently, we have demonstrated that Michelle’s words are not beyond the pale.

FOR MORE INFO Michelle Posemann on 031 570 5405 or michelle.posemann@gb.co.za

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Issue 18 AUGUST 2022

E X P O RTS

ROTI ready for lift off The humble, hand-made South African roti, infused with sub-continent culture and tradition, may soon be making its way to dinner tables around the world if a determined Pietermaritzburg entrepreneur has her way, writes Jonathan Erasmus

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hashika Jaggernath, the owner and director of Pietermaritzburg-based Top Rotis, is currently enrolled in the Pietermaritzburg and Midlands Chamber of Business (PMCB) global export accelerator programme, supported by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammen-arbeit (GIZ) GmbH, a German international development agency.

Jaggernath’s personal story of victory over adversity, her desire to experiment with her product, and her eagerness to learn from customer experience, have given her that special edge necessary for the programme. She is also an entrepreneur willing to take risks.

Just over a decade ago, the roti could only be found in home industry stores, markets, or via made to order.

“It was a tradition that was handed

down from mother to daughter. Buying a roti was simply unheard of in a traditional Indian household. Now it is as easy as buying a loaf of bread.”

It was sheer financial survival that led her to making roti to sell, says Jaggernath, when the wellbeing of her family was under severe pressure.

“In about August 2010, my husband had had a stroke and I needed to take over the reins of running the household.

At the same time, there was a massive public sector strike, including all government hospitals, and my husband couldn’t access the treatment he needed. We were forced to go private, and with that the bills kept on piling up.”

Jaggernath started making the versatile bread, intended for sale, in her home kitchen. Her first “big break”, she recalls, was a phone call from RK’s, a chain of Durban-based vegetarian restaurants.

“They asked me who made the best rotis, and I said, ‘I do’. This was followed by another chance conversation at a local Spar store. The manager, whom I knew, saw me with a bag of flour and asked what I was making. I told him it was roti. This exchange eventually led to me supplying a number of stores.”

What started on her stove soon engulfed the entire kitchen. The business was subsequently moved to a standalone premises, and thereafter, Jaggernath sub-divided the family property, sold off one half and used the capital to build her own production facility near her home in Ashburton, Pietermaritzburg.

And while her husband recovered, Jaggernath was ramping up production and now has a daily capacity of 5 000 rotis and employs five staff.

“My family has sacrificed as over the years the business took preference over everything.”

Jaggernath has since trademarked her company name and logo, but she trades on her interpersonal skills and values interactions with her core clients.

Feedback is respected. Top Roti is always experimenting she says, adding

E X P O RTS

Shashika Jaggernath. that much of what appears to be new on the market is steeped in tradition, such as crafting roti from buckwheat or coconut flour.

“You don't have to be a big business to be sustainable, you just have to have the fundamentals in place. We have been

through two recessions, the lockdowns, looting, and floods, and we are still here. And we are still alive. Small businesses have that connection with customers. I have always done business on a much more personal basis and believe in quality clients over quantity.”

With 12 years in the game, Jaggernath’s advice to other burgeoning home industries wanting to break into the mainstream market is simple: Never compromise on health and food safety standards.

“In the food industry you need to comply, and compliance is key to supplying the corporate clients.

Accreditation comes at a hefty price, and that is why food products are so expensive.

“It was because Top Roti invested in compliance that we not only survived the harsh lockdowns as a result of Covid-19, but that we thrived. While many businesses were forced to close, we were deemed an essential service, allowing our doors to remain open. We did knock and drops and took a number of steps to meet the demand.”

Jaggernath said that the thought

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of participating in the PMCB export programme was initially daunting.

“I thought I was not ready, but I realised that there was much I could learn from the programme, so I applied and was accepted. Small businesses often fear they don't have the capacity, but we should just try and put ourselves out there.”

“My dream has been to take the business to franchise and one day service airline clients. Now this export opportunity has come along,” she said.

The 12-month programme accepted 40 black-owned small businesses and aims to provide them with a suite of export-orientated development support.

This includes training, mentoring, product development, international market research, international market access and business linkages.

“Being an entrepreneur, you must have guts. I don’t have an option but to succeed. An entrepreneur must always look at improving their game plan. The export programme gives us free access to mentors for a year and there is a sincerity to develop our businesses and give hope to people,” said Jaggernath.

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OPINION PIECE

making grade 9 subject choice SIMPLE AND INSPIRING Naretha Pretorius, Campus Head at IIE-Vega School, offers a guideline along with expert advice from career counsellor Prof Zak Nel

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ubject choice is just a starting point, the beginning of a lifelong journey. Few people know exactly what they want to do – most discover it along the way, while some make radical career shifts far removed from what they originally studied. We can however approach this starting point in a better way, ensuring a more meaningful, enjoyable and fulfilling journey for our children. The answer sits in the cliché “love what you do, and you will never work a day in your life”.

Parents may feel anxious and uncertain, especially when facing current challenges, fears and prejudices.

Our attitude has a great impact on how our children will feel about their choices, so rather approach the process with excitement and inspiration. How do you achieve an enjoyable experience in selecting subjects? As a higher education manager, I have witnessed the subject and study choice process

parents and learners go through. And as a parent myself, I can relate.

Recognising this need, the IIEVega School collaborated with Prof Zak Nel, a career counsellor and counselling psychologist with over 40 years’ experience. Here is a guideline, combining my experience and his advice.

NOTICE WHO YOUR CHILDREN ARE Be a curious observer, ask and listen.

There is no need for psychometric assessments if you can notice it yourself – often the answer and direction is right in front of you.

Observe these two telling factors: your child’s personality and mode of thinking. Their personality is their way of being and what they love doing. It is who they are. Their mode of thinking on the other hand is the way they are “wired”. We naturally perform at our best if we get to utilise this. The aim is

to identify and name their preferred way of thinking. For example; creative thinkers are makers and play with creative ideas, analytical thinkers enjoy numerical challenges and feel safe in facts or information – they carefully think before they make decisions, language thinkers enjoy expression through stories or words, kinetic thinkers express through movement or performance, technical thinkers build mechanical things, digital technical thinkers enjoy information technology like coding, empathetic thinkers connect with the world around them (people, animals or nature), and versatile thinkers are diverse in various thinking styles. Subjects must ultimately complement the person.

CREATE A SUBJECT SCORECARD Identify which subjects they enjoy the most, are most confident in or find most interesting, as well as the subjects they perform best in and the subjects they dislike or find the hardest. Finally, ask them to select from the school’s available electives, ask them what they would prefer, and ask them why.

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Naretha Pretorius.

Prof Zak Nel.

CREATE A STUDY AND CAREER OPTIONS GUIDE The Grade 9 subject choice is the starting point for their study and career choices. To study a degree they need a Bachelors pass in matric, and to meet the entry criteria for their preferred degree. With information on websites from private and public higher education institutions, Prof Nel advises you should explore with your child and create a table to compare the following: • The degrees available and their entry criteria (the subjects and marks they ask for).

• The degree modules (to get an idea of the content).

• The career opportunities (and then google what that means).

THE FULL PICTURE: SELECTING THE SUBJECTS Once done, ask them to show you where they see themselves in that table.

Highlight the “must-have subjects” from the entry criteria, then consider which subject combination will support them best – the first indicator is the entry criteria (the “must-have” subjects), while the elective subjects support their interest or the field they wish to consider (the “want-to” subjects). If math core is not a requirement, then

opt for math literacy.

Use these indicators to consider the subjects they should select or avoid.

By choosing their own subjects they make a commitment and will want to do well.

The ideal outcome of this process is a happy child feeling inspired and capable; having something to look forward to while feeling empowered in having a choice in their future.

And as Prof Nel would state, the ideal outcome is also to end the process by having a stronger relationship with your child.

IIE-Vega School invites teachers, parents and Grade 9 learners to join a webinar with Prof Nel on 31 August, 2022, advising on subject, study and career choices.

To learn more, contact dbn@vegaschool.com 031 569 1415 www.vegaschool.com

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AUGUST 2022

DAIRY

Colin Wellbeloved.

COW machines?

C KZN’s dairy industry is small but vibrant and increasingly fewer farmers are producing more milk

olin Wellbeloved who farms a dairy herd of 400 cattle in the Boston area is the chairman of the South African Milk Producers Organisation.

He says there are 984 dairy farmers in South Africa, down 46% from 2015 when there were 1 834.

Of the 984, KZN is home to 202 who are responsible for 28% of the 3,4-billion litres of milk produced in South Africa annually.

Wellbeloved says there are no reliable statistics that he is aware of for the number of employees in the dairy farming sector, but on average a farmer has an employee per 20 milking cows.

The national herd is 600 000 so that equates to 30 000 workers.

While the number of dairy farmers has decreased in the last seven years, production has increased by 7%. The fewer farmers are becoming more efficienct or have expanded and are

benefiting from economies of scale.

But, in the current economic crunch with high input costs of diesel, electricity and fertiliser, few dairy farmers are making big profits and most will have to run lean for the next few years.

“A year ago it cost me R22 000 to fill my 2 000-litre diesel tank (at R11 a litre).

Now it costs close to R50 000 to do that.

Then there is the disruption cost of no electricity. Fertiliser has gone up 150% since September, but I see nitrogen is down now from a high of R18 000 a ton to R11 000. Nitrogen warehouses are obviously full and farmers haven’t bought for a while so the price has dropped. The price we get for milk has also increased from R5,20 a litre a year ago to R6,52.” (Fresh milk retails for much higher – R24,99 a litre at Woolworths).

Wellbeloved said less milk was being produced because less was being sold

as a result of the weak economy. Dairies produced 4% less this year than 2020 because demand was down. There is likely to be a further reduction in the number of dairy farmers because of weak profit projections.

“If you are a farmer close to retirement I think you would consider selling your farm to a younger neighbour. If you are younger and you have built your dams you can run leaner and hang on to your bakkie for a few more years. The outlook for the next few years is not great. I think some farmers will sell cattle to bring in some money.”

So what are the biggest threats to dairy farming in order of priority? Stock theft; land claims; rising input costs?

“At the moment it is the lack of economic growth. We are having a hard time producing milk but the retailers are having a hard time selling it, which is down to the economy. People have

DAIRY

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Dairy farmers, Wellbeloved says, are on average, carbon neutral.

“We have to be environmentally sustainable. It is in our own interests to look after our animals and our land. I strongly disagree with the people who say that dairy farming is responsible for 14% of greenhouse gas emissions because they refuse to include what the caloric value of what the milk is versus its environmental impact. I can assure you that the emissions from producing or consuming a bottle of water, a trip to the mall or watering a flower garden are many times worse for the environment and provides no nourishment whatsoever.”

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Precision Fermentation

less money. If you had asked me this time last year what the biggest threat was I’d have probably said political unrest and threats of land expropriation without compensation, but now they are further down the list of threats.”

Wellbeloved said the high barriers

We are having a hard time producing milk but the retailers are having a hard time selling it to entry meant a likely rationalisation of dairy farms. The investment in a dairy is on average R150 000 per cow.

The average size of a commercial dairy herd is 700, or R105-million. In KZN the 202 dairy farmers are served by seven milk production plants, mainly in the

Midlands, Southern KZN and in Durban.

In theory the beneficiation of milk at source, for example making cheese which sells at a higher value, makes sense.

If a dairy farmer produced 20 000 litres of milk a day he or she could invest R2-million on a process facility to make two tons of cheese or maas or cream, which sells at much higher values than milk. Woolworths price for yoghurt is R53,99/kg; cream is R111 a litre and cheese is R187/kg. But, branding and marketing the cheese and securing space on the supermarket shelf can come at considerable cost.

Wellbeloved says while South African dairy farmers have access to world class technology and knowledge, precision fermentation isn’t widely spoken about in South Africa. If a disruptive technology like that were to be commercially viable its biggest impact would be on employment numbers.

Milk is a fundamental to most human diets. It is the first food that people consume and is loaded with vitamins, proteins, fats and minerals that are vital for growth. But cows, while key to human development, are also a big contributor to greenhouse gases. According to a 2021 report in The Guardian, cows and other farm animals produce about 14% of human-induced climate emissions. There is a growing interest in alternative proteins.

Investments in this sector run into billions. Companies like Perfect Day and Remilked are gaining more attention. Here is an excerpt from Remilked’s website about the science. “Simply put, we copy the gene responsible for the production of milk protein in cows, and insert it into yeast.

The gene acts like a manual, instructing the yeast how to produce our protein in a highly efficient way. We then place the yeast in fermentors where it multiplies rapidly and produces real milk proteins, identical to those that cows produce, which are the key building blocks of the traditional dairy we know. These proteins are then combined with vitamins, minerals, and nonanimal fat and sugar to form every imaginable dairy product.”

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PROFILE

Majozi Bros has expanded since we featured them in 2017.

Here is the team now with some of their creations.

MAJOZI BROS: 5 years later Internationally acclaimed KwaZulu-Natal construction entrepreneurs Simphiwe Majozi and Sihle Ndlela, founders of Majozi Bros, have soared to greater heights and made yet another top 100 business leader list, writes Lyse Comins

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ajozi Bros is a Durban born firm built from the ground up in uMlazi – without any government tenders. It has expanded over the past five years to work on upmarket projects and estates including The Gateway Theatre of Shopping, The uMhlanga Arch, Cotswold Downs, Zimbali and Simbithi Eco Estate.

The company recently featured in the South African Institute of Black Property Practitioners (SAIBB) 100 list. CEO, Majozi, 34, featured as the youngest and only Youth Property Developer in the SAIBPP 100 list under the category “Business Leaders Shaping the Property Development Industry”. In celebration of the latest accolade, Majozi Bros shared on social media its vision: “To build the biggest property group

PROFILE

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in Africa, to turn the skyline of Durban into the Dubai of Africa and develop fully integrated cities across the globe.”

Majozi Bros has expanded its business horizons since the partners were featured in KZN Invest back in 2017.

The firm’s joint venture with WBHO Construction on the Gateway expansion project had birthed Majozi Bros Tool Hire & Sales, the first black owned company of its kind in the province, at the time.

The pair took their business from a micro enterprise in the township market to one with more than 100 employees. Both were under 30 at the time and had sought out mentors and business partners to help them learn on the job.

They continue to raise eyebrows in the construction sector. They were the first black developers to build a home in Cotswold Downs – after sourcing a stokvel to invest in a R1-million plot.

They have since constructed many luxury homes in the upmarket Hillcrest estate.

The partners wrote to construction companies across the province seeking mentorship and were invited to work with WBHO on the Gateway project, and the firm now has its head office at WBHO’s premises in Durban North.

Majozi Bros has since expanded further into property development, recently launching the latest phases of the middle-income targeted, Isipingo Estate and Seaview Estate projects. “We also have a 100-unit residential development coming up in River Horse Valley, a 300-bed student accommodation development in Isipingo, and we have just signed up to build one of the most expensive houses in Durban, a R30-million house for a client in an upmarket estate,” Majozi said.

A far cry from the day a Cotswold Downs security guard told the two inquiring young builders that they would never build in the estate because they were black. The pair is now the most dominant builder on the estate and recently signed up to build a R15-million house in the development.

Majozi and Ndela are proud of the fact that they have built their business without relying on a single government tender.

“We are still a private business and at our age we are turning over R100-million in revenue without any government assistance – that’s one thing we can boast about our business.

We have never depended on the government at all,” Majozi said.

“Our vision is to be the biggest property group in Africa – not just the biggest black group. We imagined we would be where we are today because we plan where we want to be, it’s always in the planning. We have a ten-year plan and for some reason everything is falling into place,” Majozi said.

He said government corruption was a problem that had led the pair to keep their focus on private work. “We are definitely going to become billionaires and only then will the government start coming. They should be backing us up because they always talk about creating black billionaires,” he said.

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D I G I TA L F O OT P R I N T

which button do I PRESS? Jodie Kroone’s GLOW helps those who are dazzled by the array of tools available and haven’t got a clue about how social media can enhance their business

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y business began in earnest in 2020, and I had little idea how much it would grow.

Looking back, the growth took place because I helped some people fix some problems.

I set out to promote local businesses that had no digital footprint during the pandemic. It was a time when everyone was moving online and some businesses were closing due to a lack of support or because people were not aware of what was available in their own community.

The pandemic forced me to improve my skills and help start-ups and small businesses develop brands that are recognisable and consistent.

I chose the name GLOW because businesses can use social media to shine over their competitors. I honed in on three key services: 1) Digital Audit – unpacking a client’s current digital presence and giving feedback on improvements and recommendations about the types of platforms and posting they can use. It all has to do with images, areas of focus, hashtags and the like. It guides people around brand clarity and messaging.

2) Brand Marketing – I create

personalised digital adverts, social media posting calendars and scheduling plus all relevant logos and branding. It is about how to maintain and manage an online presence.

3) On-going Marketing Management – I manage and report on social media pages for clients, either by day to day handling of their online presence or training them to do it themselves.

Although I mostly market companies, GLOW does personal branding too. This gives me the opportunity to guide and grow people. Social media is a place to market your offering and reach more customers if you have focused messages on appropriate platforms.

I prefer Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn as platforms, but social media is awash with platforms that can make your unique selling points sing. They are crying out for unique, carefully considered, targeted articles, videos, and other media.

People are often overwhelmed and intimidated by social media, but it is a critical business tool that is often misunderstood. Many people have wonderful ideas but inundate social media with a glut of posts that is too much to absorb. And then they go silent

and ghost their pages for weeks. This doesn’t sit well with the algorithms.

Most social media platforms reward you by putting your post in front of your audience if you post consistently.

I believe there is a critical difference between understanding your brand and your audience.

You have to be clear about who you are and what your offering is, and then how you target an audience that will best resonate with that.

Seth Godin said: “People do not buy goods and services. They buy relationships, stories and magic.” Your brand must offer that. It must make your clients smile.

I don’t know who to attribute these quotes to but they are fantastic and I keep them uppermost in my mind when I help clients shape their brand and then target their audience: “Your business is the body. Your brand is the soul.”

“Every interaction with your brand should have your ideal client saying “Yes. I want more of her in my life.”

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FOR MORE INFO: Jodie Kroone | 072 710 9826 or email: jodiekroone4@gmail.com

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understand your AUDIENCE Advice from Craig Brigg on how you can improve the performance of your social media posts

S

ocial media is constantly evolving, and new trends frequently test your marketing team’s ability to produce quality social media posts for your business. So, what makes social media content engaging and worthwhile?

In the past, brands used social platforms such as Facebook as just another platform to display their classified adverts in an attempt to catch the eye of a consumer, and hopefully generate another sale.

However, since social media offers everyone a platform to share their thoughts, it has also changed the way businesses have had to align their business service/product adverts with the interests of the consumers.

In fact, according to recent survey data from the US, consumers are preferring brands to provide content that is imperfect and unpolished.

Consumers are wanting to feel like your business content is “real” and made by someone believable, natural and raw.

When a business understands this trend, it becomes relatable and trusted. Humour, for example, is a universal language that offers a great option for a brand to dissolve the boundaries between their consumer audience and their brand. The message here is authenticity and creating content that aligns with “normal” people, as if they were in your family or community.

It’s time for businesses, large and small, to start listening to their audience – rather than dictating with

disruptive and “perfect” classified advertisements. Take a moment to understand your audience and consumer, and offer them an opportunity to engage with you through your social platforms – as opposed to telling them what you think they’re wanting to hear.

There are a multitude of options to improve the performance of your content, and in so doing increase your following and your own digital community. Very often the time you spend building relationships with your audience can lead to a higher number of sales – especially when you have an opportunity to interact with them on a social post, or when they engage via a message.

Engagement with customers builds loyalty and automatically leads to sales. Videos, polls, humorous graphics or a photo that encourages others to tag their friends or creates a positive reaction from your audience, are great ways to generate interaction and engagement and in turn grow your following.

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5 Practical Tips 1. Offer Authenticity: Always provide your audience with real, authentic content.

2. Tell Your Story: An audience that can relate to your story will follow you.

3. Video Content: Static content is viewed less, while video content is becoming a very strong medium to tell your story.

4. Listen: Be cognisant of what your customer and audience want to hear.

5. Educate: Give back to your audience by offering advice and tips they can use.

If you would like to learn more about how to improve the performance of your digital media and build a social media following, please feel free to contact Craig Brigg of UHI MEDIA GROUP, on 079 505 3170, or email craig@ upperhighwayinfo.co.za

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A D V E RTO R I A L

our closet JOURNALIST Meet Garlicke & Bousfield’s commercial and tax law specialist, Graeme Palmer

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raeme joined Garlicke & Bousfield in 2012 and was appointed as a director in 2014 – specialising in commercial and tax law. For ten years he has written monthly articles for The Mercury on matters of interest related to tax law, and in July 2022 he will have reached his century with the publication of his 100th article. He has been described by a colleague as a “closet journalist,” which is not too far from the truth, as it was a close call when he left school whether to study law or journalism.

In addition to the 100 articles for The Mercury, Graeme has written many articles for other newspapers, websites, magazines and journals – such as Without Prejudice, Tax Planning, and Tax Talk.

In 2014 Graeme was asked to write the Revenue volumes for the Law of South Africa (LAWSA), which is published by LexisNexis. He still writes the Revenue updates today, which now comprise three books which cover Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax (Part 1), Value Added Tax and Customs & Excise (Part 2), and Tax Administration (Part 3).

In 2019 Graeme was approached to write the first tax volume for a new electronic publication entitled The Laws of Africa: Botswana Taxes and Duties. More recently he wrote the updates for the LAWSA Trust Law volume.

Graeme was awarded Certificates of Appreciation between 2014 and

2022 by the World Bank Group for participating in their Doing Business project. Other publications which he has written include Practical Guidance Business Law (LexisNexis), Doing Business in: South Africa for LexisNexis in the United Kingdom, and Commercial Contracts: South Africa for Lexology.

Having reached his century, Graeme has not yet hung up his pen and continues to write on various aspects of commercial and tax law.

FOR MORE INFO Graeme Palmer: 031 570 5496 or graeme.palmer@gb.co.za

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GAMBLING

I

f horse-racing operator Gold Circle is the proverbial goose that lays the golden egg, might the KwaZulu-Natal Gaming and Betting Board be the blinkered peasant bent on killing it?

Many in the thoroughbred racing industry believe so.

But let’s start this story from scratch, or at least turn back the clock to Christmas Eve, 2019. At a time when many of us were doing some lastminute shopping and government departments were shutting shop for the year, the Board was busy firing off emails.

Gold Circle and others received a two-sentence notice advising that the schedule of taxes in the province’s Gaming and Betting Tax Act was being replaced. An extraordinary edition of the provincial gazette followed a week later, on New Year’s Day, with the new schedule, detailing changes to the tax rates on different forms of gambling.

Whether the timing of this was calculated to avoid attention or down to more mundane reasons, remains the subject of conjecture. But when the holidays were over and the new rates became widely known, an outcry erupted.

Gold Circle stood to lose up to R70-million and later warned the “very survival of the horse-racing industry” in the province was at stake.

The then Treasury MEC, Ravi Pillay, backed down three weeks later, withdrawing his January 1, 2020 thunderbolt. But in November last year the revised schedule was back, this time within an amendment bill – a proposed change to the Act. However, the bill was deemed irregular and withdrawn. It was gazetted again on January 7 this year.

Public hearings on the bill were underway across the province at the time of writing, with an August 1 deadline for written submissions.

We will deal with the schedule’s contents shortly, but first a little background.

Horses have been racing at, or near, the present site of Durban’s Greyville Racecourse since July 1844. Pietermaritzburg’s Scottsville Racecourse held its first meet in 1886.

Both are operated by Gold Circle, which is owned by more than 800 members, most of whom are white or Indian. All revenues are ploughed

TURF wars Thoroughbred racing faces an existential threat in KZN, writes Matthew Hattingh

back into the racing industry and its two courses in the province. Both are very much part of the social fabric of the two cities.

When the man in the street thinks of Greyville, chances are he thinks of the Durban July. In his mind’s eye he sees a vast crowd. He may remember bright winter afternoons spent at that very race meeting … the fine fillies, the

fashion, the fun, the parties in big tents pitched on the infield … the spectacle of it all.

Our hedonist everyman might even remember the horses. The July, as of this year named for its title sponsors, Hollywoodbets (who stumped up the R5-million stake for the main race), is the most important day on the South African racing calendar. First run in

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rates may spell doom for Gold Circle and, perhaps, the July. The future of the company’s 871 directly employed staff hangs in the balance, to say nothing of the about 1 000 grooms, training centre and racecourse workers employed by trainers and others.

“It will be the end of us. We will not be able to sustain it,” he said, pointing out that a similar revenue cut had been imposed on Phumelela.

Let’s take a look at that tax schedule. It affects casinos, slot machines and bingo, but the big story is what it does to horse-racing.

For decades all winning fixed-odds horse-racing bets in the province have been subject to a 6% tax.

Half of that money, collected from bookmakers, goes to the province’s coffers; the balance goes to the operators of horse-racing. For a long time that has meant Gold Circle.

But if the new bill becomes law the money will be split four ways. The province will keep its 3%, but Gold Circle’s share will be cut to 1,6%. The remaining 1,4% will go to a Horse Racing and Betting Transformation Fund (1%) and the operators of standardbred racing (0,2%) and » 1897, it attracts the best field in the country to Durban and with it a vast caravan of jockeys, grooms, owners, trainers and horse-racing people of every stripe.

More importantly, for the economy of the city, it brings visitors and funseekers from near and far, with more than 50 000 people counted at the race day and related events, according to a survey done for the eThekwini Municipality in 2019. Those visitors represent a hospitality and tourism industry fillip, estimated at more than R85-million. And once spending by the organisers is counted, plus the multiplier effect on the wider economy, the July was reckoned to contribute more than R288-million to Durban’s GDP. Racing tax revenues on the day alone topped R20-million.

But amid this plenty and the youthful energy of the July, it’s easy to forget that horse-racing in South Africa is losing ground, or as Michele Nairac, Gold Circle’s chief executive, put it, “Our customers are older gentlemen”.

For the most part, punters

increasingly prefer to place their bets on the outcomes of other sporting contests, particularly football.

The company’s R1,2-billion turnover in 2021 belies the difficulties it faces.

Nairac told KZN Invest that Gold Circle revenues had been in decline since

For the economy of the city, it brings visitors and funseekers from near and far 2014, but in the past few years things had gone from bad to worse, citing Covid and last year’s riots.

Problems in Gauteng, where Phumelela, the horse-racing operator, has gone into business rescue have added to Gold Circle’s woes. The two companies shared assets and Gold Circle is writing off R75-million – a big chunk of the R106-million in losses it faces for the current financial year.

On the back of this, Nairac fears the proposed changes to the gambling tax

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Issue 18 AUGUST 2022

harness racing (0,2%).

Nairac confirmed the 3% was worth more than R70-million to Gold Circle in 2021. The proposed division would deprive the company of nearly half this, but it goes further. The company has long enjoyed free rein on how it spends the 3%. In the future its 1,6% share will come with strings attached and no certainty. Gold Circle must submit a plan to the board for approval each year, explaining how it will spend that money on transformation in its business.

Nairac and many bookmakers see the bill as iniquitous and a distortion of what that 3% really represents. There is also a feeling in the industry that the board is playing fast and loose with a recent big increase in fixed-odds horse revenue that it is lucky to be receiving (see Horse racing by numbers, pg 37).

“The regulators (the Gaming Board) see a redistribution of tax. But it’s not.

It’s a funding mechanism put in place by the government in the 1990s,” he said, explaining that it was a necessary and effective means for bookmakers, the people who profit from fixed-odd horse-racing bets, to contribute to the cost of racing.

“Compensation must come from somewhere,” he said.

The bill was “illogical” and if made law would reduce tax revenues, said

GAMBLING

Nairac, calling it a “disaster for the province”.

What about the transformation element?

“When it comes to transformation, we have a very good track record,” said Nairac. Here Gold Circle points to the Summerveld jockey academy west of Durban that it helps fund, its Coastal Horse Care Unit, which assists rural communities, and other empowerment initiatives.

And the company questioned whether the board would really know how to spend the fund money wisely: “What makes them think they will do a better job?” he asked.

KZN Invest requested more details on the fund, how it would be managed and what oversight mechanisms would be put in place.

The board declined to answer this and seven other questions. Board spokesman Clarissa Naidoo said the bill was with the legislature and they did not want to interfere or be seen to be trying to sway public opinion.

Treasury Department spokesman Nathi Oliphant took a similar line, but referred to a “substantial response” to Gold Circle’s submission before the legislature.

The bill itself speaks broadly on its transformation objectives and explains the redistribution

of taxes was intended to kickstart standardbred (trotting horses) and harness (horses pulling buggies) racing. Details are a little sketchy but it seems money will be routed via Trotco – since 2012 the province’s other licensed racing and totalisator betting operator – and go to developing the black trot-racing scene in rural areas around the province, best-known for its Dundee-July race day.

Mbongeni Majola, who spoke at the public hearings on the bill in June, in Newcastle, already feels he’s in the money, and used the occasion to plead for more. “There are things that we are not happy with as people who are in the horse industry. What we received is too small.” He asked that his sector receive a “straight 1%”.

Bringing Trotco and others in as beneficiaries of the reallocation was necessary for a “more equitable tax distribution model”, was “long overdue” and would “go a long way to avoid any litigation that they may be contemplating”, the bill said.

Maybe so, but there are still legislative processes to hurdle and unless common ground is found, who knows what other legal challenges might already be warming up. The home stretch is nowhere in sight. Or, as they say in that other dicey game, journalism, this story has legs.

The depictions herein are for illustration purposes only and are subject to change without prior notice.

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Issue 18 AUGUST 2022

T

hey have warned it places racing in peril and threatens their businesses, already hard hit by Covid, the riots and floods.

Meanwhile the industry’s leading player has told the authorities they were effectively gambling with KwaZuluNatal’s tax revenues.

The bookies’ beef lies with two main changes proposed by the KZN Gaming and Betting Tax Amendment Bill: • The slashing by nearly a half of racing operator Gold Circle’s share of the tax on winning fixed-odds racing bets and the knock-on effect this will have on the sport (see main story) and consequently bookmaking; and • The increase in the tax on KZN bookies’ gross, non-horse betting

GAMBLING

revenues – up from 6,5% to 6,75%.

The SA Bookmakers’ Association in a written submission to the legislature said the tax increase “may deal a death blow” to many of its nearly 60 members in KZN. Profits had been marginal before, but Covid had squeezed bookies further, keeping punters out of betting shops during hard lockdown and continuing to restrict numbers.

Sean Coleman, the association’s chief executive, said the 0,25% hike appeared to be intended to swell the coffers of the KZN Gaming and Betting Board’s transformation fund, but bookmakers were already doing their bit for transformation by meeting all the requirements of the Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment Act. In addition, the board had imposed

a host of “extremely ambitious” equity and related requirements and targets, through licence conditions imposed, which bookies had met in good faith.

“Extracting further contributions through a proposed increase in the taxes payable would not serve the interests of a sustainable betting industry. Perceived immediate short-term increases in tax revenue will be overtaken by decreases in tax revenue once forum shopping starts.”

At the first public hearings on the bill, hosted in Newcastle in June by the legislature’s Finance portfolio committee, bookies expressed concern about the proposed cut to Gold Circle’s share.

Veenen Naidoo, an operation and support manager with Track and Ball, a

Hollywoodbets flexes its MUSCLE Proposed changes to taxes on horse-racing are a bad bet for the province, say bookmakers. Matthew Hattingh reports

GAMBLING

partly black-owned bookmaker with five branches and 123 employees, said they relied heavily on the racing operator for support, services and unsecured loans. He said profit margins were small and they “would not survive if Gold Circle declines”.

Zwile Zulu, a Gold Circle nonexecutive director and co-owner of a number of licensed betting shops, told the hearing he had been the beneficiary of transformation thanks to the board, but that if Gold Circle were to now lose out, there would be fewer races and less punting.

The privately-held Hollywoodbets group of companies has its roots in KZN. Reportedly the biggest sports betting group in the country, its words carry an extra punch.

Its chief executive Surendra Rampersadh delivered this body blow: “Commencing in March 2020 and then accelerating through to November 2020, Hollywood brought its online horse-racing business to KwaZuluNatal.

He said the move provided a “desperately-needed lifeline” to Gold Circle, which benefitted from the 3% of punters’ winnings from the “redirected” Hollywood horse-racing business. But he feared these efforts would be negated by the bill.

In a written submission Rampersadh reminded legislators that as of September 26, 2019, Hollywood

transferred one of its “major product offerings”, the online Betagames, plus more, to its KZN online business.

“These significant increases in taxation will not have gone unnoticed by the KZN Gaming and Betting Board.

In polite, but direct terms, they have been a windfall for the province and our claims are easily verifiable,” he said.

On the increase in the gaming revenue tax, from 6,5% to 6,75%, Hollywood chose their words carefully, but it would have left lawmakers and the board with few illusions about the tough choices they face.

Rampersadh said the amendment “completely ignores the fact that licensees who have an online platform, have no obligation to conduct their online business in KZN”.

The change to the tax would make KZN uncompetitive and “will almost certainly see a re-direction of turnover (which is currently taxable in KZN) to other provinces”.

“If the current online activity was to be ‘redirected’ in its entirety, the loss of taxes in KZN will well exceed the expected 0,25% increased collection …

The result will be that everyone loses.”

Hollywood drew the legislature’s attention to a yet-to-be-honoured pledge made by Premier Sihle Zikalala and MEC Ravi Pillay to engage with the industry and called for the bill’s withdrawal.

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Horse-racing by numbers  Gold Circle turnover for year ending July 31, 2021: R1,2-billion.  Taxes paid by Gold Circle R117-million.  The visitor and organiser spend of the Durban July to the eThekwini economy is R170-million.  The Durban July race day attracts 50 000 fans.  R70-million is Gold Circle's revenue in 2021 from its half share on the tax on punter’s fixed-odd bets.  R33-million to R70million is the estimated loss in revenue to Gold Circle if the amendment bill is passed.  R35-million is the growth in gambling board’s revenue from fixed odds betting 2020 to 2021. Hollywood Bets moving its online horse-racing business from Gauteng to KZN over the period was a major contributor to this increase – a windfall for the KZN Gambling Board.

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A D V E RTO R I A L

TURKISH AIRLINES returns to Durban P

The reintroduction of these flights reopens business and tourism opportunities between Istanbul and Durban, signifies resilience and demonstrates efforts of recovery and thus rebuilding confidence within the aviation industry

assengers onboard the Turkish Airlines flight that landed at King Shaka International Airport were given a warm Durban welcome as they stepped into international arrivals on Thursday 16 June.

The airline has extended two of its Istanbul-Johannesburg flights to include Durban on Thursdays and Saturdays and has plans to increase these to four weekly flights later this year, depending on passenger uptake.

Currently, Emirates flies five flights a

week from Durban directly to Dubai, Qatar Airways flies four direct flights a week, with plans to increase this to five later this month; and now Turkish Airlines brings additional capacity with the reintroduction of flights into Durban.

“The reintroduction of these flights reopens business and tourism opportunities between Istanbul and Durban; it underpins the resilience of KwaZulu-Natal, its people and leadership to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the implications of the recent destructive

flooding have had on the tourism industry.

“This achievement, along with the recent direct Airlink flight to Harare, Zimbabwe, is indicative of the untapped capacity within our destination for air services, as well as the behind-the-scenes work being undertaken by Government and its agencies to bring air connectivity into KwaZulu-Natal,” Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs MEC, Mr Ravi Pillay.

King Shaka International Airport

A D V E RTO R I A L

is regarded as the second-fastest recovering international airport in the country, achieving 71.9% of its pre-COVID-19 passenger throughput in the year to date. By March 2022, international load factors had reached 50% of the March 2020 pre-covid level and domestic load factors have achieved the pre-covid level of 77% year to date.

Turkish Airlines’ JohannesburgDurban-Istanbul return route will boost cargo airlift capacity, said Mr Hamish Erskine, Chief Executive Officer of Dube TradePort Special Economic Zone, and Durban Direct Co-Chairperson.

“With the gradual reintroduction of international, regional and domestic air services the Dube Cargo Terminal has seen a growth of 23 percent in cargo volumes over the past 12 months. This is a direct result of the increased capacity available in passenger flights serving King Shaka International Airport.”

Most foreign countries have eased restrictions on South African travellers, provided they are fully vaccinated. While, South Africa’s vaccination rate is lower compared to other countries, a larger proportion of the adult population – the age group that travels – has been inoculated.

Phindile Makwakwa, CoChairperson of Durban Direct and Acting CEO of Tourism KwaZulu-

Natal, said: “The return of Turkish Airlines is very important for tourism as Istanbul offers our destination fantastic connectivity to our tourism source markets in Europe. Air services continue to play a critical role in ensuring ease of travel for tourists, thereby growing KwaZulu-Natal’s tourism sector, which in turn grows the tourism economy and increases

King Shaka International Airport is regarded as the secondfastest recovering international airport in the country, achieving 71.9% of its pre-COVID-19 passenger throughput in the year to date. job opportunities within the tourism value chain" Locally a resilient domestic market has been critical to the recovery of air travel in South Africa with King Shaka International Airport passenger numbers breaching the 72%-mark year to date. Overall, domestic travel now contributes more than 74% of the Airport Company South Africa’s

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(ACSA) airport network traffic, Cllr Mxolisi Kaunda, Mayor of the City of Durban added: “Collaboration with our tourism trade partners and other Government entities has enabled us to achieve great milestones under the most difficult time of COVID-19. The road to recovery is promising.”

“Turkish Airlines have stated that Durban remains a strategic market for the airline and country.

Prior to COVID-19, Istanbul ranked number seven as a top international destination for Durban, with as much as 88% of outbound domestic passengers originating in Durban.

These flights to Durban will make it easier for local passengers to visit Istanbul and will allow travellers from our source markets in Europe to fly into Durban,” he said.

ACSA Regional General Manager, Mr Nkosinathi Myataza, said: “Turkish Airlines flights will add much-needed traffic between Europe and South Africa, this will help in propelling the recovery of both air freight and passenger traveller, a key driver of South Africa’s tourism sector, an economic multiplier for the country.”

“The resumption of Turkish Airlines signifies resilience and demonstrates efforts of recovery and thus rebuilding confidence within the aviation industry. This is important to connecting South Africans to people, places, dreams and opportunities, and vice-versa for inbound traffic.”

Turkish Airlines has a route network connecting 128 countries and 329 cities from its hub in Istanbul.

FOR MORE INFO For more information about Dube TradePort Special Economic Zone, contact: Vincent Zwane Marketing and Communications Officer: Dube TradePort Corporation Call: 032 814 0000 Email: Vincent.Zwane@dubetradeport.co.za

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ot only is this swinging more orders to home soil, but it is seeing more investment in local factories as insurance against the massive global supply chain disruptions stemming from Covid-19.

TFG has led the way with multimillion rand investments including buying up Hanes South Africa in KZN after its international parent liquidated last year.

But all is not as it seems, say clothing industry insiders, many who spoke anonymously for fear of losing orders.

One said the downward pressure on prices that retailers were prepared to pay for locally made goods made it impossible to achieve the margins needed to re-invest.

Another said that favouritism amongst buyers meant that many small businesses were still excluded from supplying big chains.

Another admitted that the only way he could accommodate prices demanded by big retail chains was to compromise on quality.

Greg Wallis, owner of D&G Apparel, whose career in clothing spans over 50 years and who has mentored young designers as part of the eThekwini municipality’s bid to revive the fashion industry in the city, says the clothing industry supply chain is lopsided.

“Because of the long shipping times and the erratic supply of vessels from ports, mainly in Asia, there’s quite a big switch to local production and retailers are under pressure to have quite a large percentage of their goods made locally.

I think that the man in the street is becoming more aware of where goods are made. It’s about time, actually.”

Professor Justin Barnes, manufacturing ambassador at the Toyota Wessels Institute for Manufacturing (TWIMS) says major South African retailers are looking to source more goods both locally, partly because of pressure from government, but primarily because of the potential competitive advantage secured from the fashion speed, flexibility and accuracy secured from doing so.

“This is a global trend in the fashion value chain. Doing so in South Africa is complicated by the weakened position of the local value chain, but this can be overcome through investments in people and productive assets,” The Retail, Clothing, Textile, Footwear and Leather Master Plan 2030 was launched in 2019 just prior to the

FA S H I O N

HOME sewn

Major retailers like The Foschini Group (TFG), Mr Price and Pick n Pay are sourcing more and more clothing from local suppliers, writes Shirley le Guern pandemic. Retailers committed to increasing locally-made clothing in their stores to 65% by 2030. But there are already rumblings that government will pressure them to speed up their local

Uniquely local problems such as load shedding as well as the longer term impacts of last year’s looting and recent floods exacerbate the challenges quotas as unemployment rises.

There are a number of problems that might stand in the way of a revival.

The implosion of the clothing industry took South Africa’s textile industry with it. Today, only a small portion of textiles can be bought locally, meaning that the clothing industry is as vulnerable to supply chain problems and currency fluctuations as ever before.

Barnes says: “South Africa has continued value chain strength in

certain commodity segments – for example knitted cotton t-shirts, where we grow the cotton, gin it, spin it, knit it, dye it, print on it, and ultimately sew it together. But we have almost no capability in synthetic, light weight ladies’ garments where we can sew the product, but don’t have capabilities in the balance of the chain. This undermines the cost, speed and flexibility advantages of local purchasing. Overall, the advantage of local sourcing is speed, flexibility – with price and quality a given requirement.”

Wallis has hands-on experience of this. “I have swung to local but it’s actually quite difficult. Sadly, the fabric has to be imported but everything else – the buttons, the thread, the ribs and zips are local. But now those factories are being inundated,” he says.

Uniquely local problems such as load shedding as well as the longer term impacts of last year’s looting and recent floods exacerbate the challenges.

Barnes is also not convinced that retailers will meet their 65% target.

“I estimate that around 40% of goods are sourced locally. I don’t see the 65% being reached unless there

FA S H I O N

is a fundamental change in how government supports manufacturing in the country. It is overtaxed, burdened with excessive social obligations, struggles with access to skills and modern technology and, typically, operates with outdated industrial infrastructure, serviced by dysfunctional municipalities – and this is before dealing with the issues caused

by Eskom and Transnet’s failures.”

He believes that the industry needs significantly more investment to realise the full benefits of the fashion shift that is occurring with this extending to the balance of the value chain as well as associated commodities, like handbags and fashion accessories, costume and fine jewellery and household textiles and furnishings.

“The opportunity is enormous with the potential to create well over 200 000 direct jobs. The problem is that margins remain low and South Africa is a very difficult place to manufacture.

The present recovery in the industry is therefore largely one of established capacity being filled as opposed to major new capacity being created,” he says.

As Wallis stresses, it would take millions to re-establish capital intensive textile mills that were once major contributors to the province’s economy.

The loss of employers like Frame, Romatex, David Whiteheads and, most recently, Gelvenor, led to massive job losses whilst the closure of both textile and clothing operations in the likes of Mooi River, Ladysmith and Isithebe decimated small town economies.

Wallis believes it is the resultant skills shortage that matters most. Many experienced professionals have left the industry and there are very few young people taking their places.

He attributes this to a lack of

opportunities in a struggling sector but also to the fact that graduates from tertiary institutions are academically qualified but ill-equipped to work in the industry. They can produce a once off for the Durban July but not cost a

Support Local With high youth unemployment more people are targeting the clothing industry for opportunities.

Recent DUT graduate, Nqobile Mpungose is working as a seamstress to learn the industry from the bottom and realise her dream of becoming a merchandiser or buyer in clothing retail.

She buys local because it provides important support for young people like herself to build their careers and boost the economy.

The eThekwini Municipality is also doing its bit via the 2022 Durban Fashion Fair (DFF) Mentorship Programme.

garment for production.

“I started in the industry during the seventies. We were all trained in all aspects of manufacturing, production and quality control. Then major retailers decided to go offshore. As the machinery became old, there was no longer any pressure to repair or replace it or even acquire advanced technology.

There was a lethargy when it came to

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upgrading plant and training as the orders became less and less.

“Now, all of a sudden, we are met with this surge of people wanting to make goods locally. But there aren’t enough qualified technicians who really know what they are doing. All of a sudden, one of the chains has decided to embark on a multi-billion-rand project to manufacture locally. Who will run these plants?”

The few emerging entrepreneurs who do want to open companies find it extremely difficult to raise the funds needed and Wallis says that, despite the promises of banks to provide loans and government to provide supporting finance, the difficulties experienced by aspiring business people are “frightening.”

Currently consulting to the Botswana government which is working hard to establish its clothing industry as a labour intensive alternative to diamond mining which is expected to decline in the next two decades, Wallis says that more meaningful government support is urgently needed to create sustainable investment in clothing manufacture in this country.

Barnes agrees and it seems that the window of opportunity to take advantage of a change in retailer mindset might be very short.

Disruption in global supply chains should not be exaggerated and there’s still a very strong business case for purchasing goods from distant locations that have both product specialisations and substantial cost advantages.

“Global supply chains will recover, but transportation costs and the risk of calling fashion trends wrong on long lead time purchases are powerful inducements to source more locally or regionally – provided local capabilities exist. This is the strategic tension being considered in all retailer value chains at present,” says Barnes.

Overall, retailers are just part of the equation. “Even global retailers with deep vertical capabilities (such as Zara), still purchase the majority of what they sell from independent vendors, and I don’t see the development of the value chain in South Africa being any different. Certain retailers will build deep internal capabilities where this gives them a sustainable competitive advantage, but the industry ultimately requires significantly more scale to compete, and therefore much broader investment than only from retailers,” he says.

*

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TRAVEL

S

hannon and Dale Airton are both passionate conservationists. While Dale has worked in conservation management doing everything from rhino and lion monitoring to trail guiding, Shannon’s background is more research-oriented.

“I did an undergraduate and graduate degree based in the US and spent time in SA researching rhinos, wild dogs and leopards,” she says.

The couple met while working and living in Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Game Reserve 20 years ago. “We were fortunate to receive an ecotourism opportunity via a business venture with Dale’s family,” says Shannon, adding that they are today kept on their toes running two lodges in Manyoni – Rhino River Lodge and Rhino Sands – on top of raising their eight-year-old son.

“I split my time between the reserve and Ballito, where our son is enrolled in school. The school has been extremely flexible, allowing us to spend a portion of each term on the

up, close and PERSONAL Connection with nature, with a strong focus on conservation and sustainability, is key at Rhino Sands – a small, intimate camp in Zululand’s Manyoni Private Game Reserve, writes Katrine Anker-Nilssen reserve – distance learning with Wyatt.

In that way life on the game reserve is an integral part of his childhood and learning, but he still gets to participate in the classroom and school environment when we are in Ballito.

We get to enjoy a wonderful balance of the two incredible lifestyles that KZN has to offer … beach and bush,” says Shannon.

The Airtons initially learnt about Manyoni Private Game Reserve via the WWF’s Black Rhino Range Expansion Project. “Dale was working for the project, conducting research and providing training for the monitors who would be tracking and caring for

new populations. So at the reserve’s inception, we were present and in attendance for the release of the vast majority of black rhinos,” says Shannon. “It struck us as such a beautiful reserve, right in the heart of Zululand, and it was an exciting project where landowners were joining their properties together – all towards a common conservation goal. We could see the potential in the project and the area and when the opportunity to invest and make a living in the reserve came up, we both jumped in feet first.”

Rhino Sands is an incredible piece of bush heaven – and it’s Zululand at its very best. “We wanted the camp

to be eco-friendly and tented, as there is just something about how people experience nature when staying in canvas as opposed to behind four walls with windows shut and air-conditioners on,” explains Shannon. “Part of what we love about safari is the romance – the throwback to a simpler, slower time.

We love how a classical style facilitates that.” The camp is small and intimate, where guests feel like family. “They get to know our team, the reserve and the area well. Large camps often lose this sense of connection,” says Shannon.

The Rhino Sands ethos is definitely one of connection. “Our aim is to connect our guests with nature, our

TRAVEL

Issue 18

Shannon, Wyatt and Dale Airton.

beautiful reserve, and our beautiful country. We also aim to facilitate a connection with people – not just our team, but also for guests to connect with one another,” says Shannon. “It’s all about making lifelong memories together, setting aside the stresses and challenges of day-to-day life.”

What sets Rhino Sands apart from

The camp is small and intimate, where guests feel like family other lodges came into sharp relief during the pandemic. “We are a small family-run company,” says Shannon.

“While many of the corporations in our industry laid off large numbers of staff, refused to issue refunds to guests, and drastically cut salaries, we took the opposite approach – applying empathy and understanding with every decision we took, and standing by our team and guests to the very best of our ability.”

Because the camp is small, the team is small. “While we look for good experience and training, we hire largely based on personality and passion for creating a stellar guest experience.

The small size of our camp allows us to tailor the guest experience to the

individual, and this extends to our kitchen. It keeps our chefs stimulated and creative, and the quality of the food always reflects that.”

The Airtons are not about chasing awards or accolades, but feel guest feedback and experience are the true measures of success in the safari industry. “While we would like to potentially add one additional tent to the camp, bringing the total number of tents up to five, we will not be expanding beyond that. Our future goals are to continue striving to be the best five-star safari experience in KZN while staying true to our ethos, making gentle improvements, and focusing more and more on our sustainability efforts.”

Shannon says there is just a certain magic about Zululand. “I am convinced that once a person spends time in the bush here, nothing else will ever compare. The landscape is dramatic and varying, the area is wild and untamed,” she says. “With a high human population and many truly unique wild areas and animals, conflict and conservation are endemic and in a precarious balance. The challenge and coexistence makes it all the more exciting and meaningful.”

*

FOR MORE INFO www.rhinosands.com

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R E TA I L

GROWTH catalyst Gateway Theatre of Shopping turns 21 in September. We spoke to general manager Feysel Potgieter

Q A

What is Gateway’s growth in size and the capital investment to date?

Gateway was built in 2001 with an initial footprint of 118 000m² and an investment of around R1,4-billion.

Gateway was a fundamental part of a larger R3,5-billion plus development project set to revolutionise the north coast of KZN. In 2008 the centre embarked on a further extension into the South Mall to the tune of R250-million as well as developed the Gateway Hotel and Virgin Active node.

R E TA I L

growth over the years, is among the highest valued retail shopping centres in South Africa.

Q A

ABOVE: Gateway GM Feysel Potgieter.

In 2018 the new Woolworth’s node was established and the food court was relocated to create an indoor/outdoor experience flooded with natural light. A two-level Starbucks created a new focal point for Gateway and was situated directly above the completely remodelled Palm Court. About R700-million was invested in this 2018 development project.

Gateway currently has a retail footprint of over 175 000m² and after significant investment and capital

What makes Gateway different?

The tenant profile is a wide mix of local and international outlets, giving shoppers convenient access to their most desirable brands – all under one roof. Gateway has built itself on providing the market with an array of experiential offerings that meet international standards, providing not only shopping, but shoppertainment at its best. There are a number of exciting new offerings at Gateway such as Dior, Skins, ARC, Mango, Hydraulics and YuppieChef.

Gateway is an aspirational shopping centre and has continued to attract international brands into our bouquet of tenancies. In addition, our entertainment outlets have weathered the Covid storm and shown resilience under tough trading circumstances.

Q A

How many tenants are there and what is the total employment figures?

We have 410 tenants with about 7 500 staff working in the mall.

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Q A

What is the largest store (m2), and smallest space?

Our largest anchor store is over 10 000m2 with a few ranging from between 6 000m2 to just less than 10 000m2. The smallest is 16m2.

Q A

What are your vacancy rates?

Vacancy rates certainly grew in our industry with the onset of Covid, however this has enabled us to relook our tenancies and bring in quality new additions which have enhanced the overall shopping experience.

Q A

Gateway has changed much since the wave parks and climbing wall.

What is next?

We have continued to evolve in line with market demand and our offering has had to follow suit. Entertainment trends change over time and shoppers look forward to new exciting concepts. Team sports courts and active kids’ facilities get us away from devices and offer a break from digital fatigue. We are also finding that semi-permanent attractions such as our World of Illusions exhibit keep customers coming back to see what’s next.

CUSTOMISED DESIGN

Int Tel: 031 705 2640

Cell: 082 570 1399

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A D V E RTO R I A L

TACKLING challenges head on We talk to two top consulting engineers who are setting the benchmark for engineering in KZN and leading the charge in this integral field

PRADHEEP DHANEE

Managing Director, BMK Consulting Engineers BMK Consulting Engineers is a mediumsized organisation that provides professional civil and structural

KUBEN GOVENDER

Director, Tesla Consulting Engineers Tesla Consulting Engineers is a young dynamic firm based in Durban with a collective engineering experience

consulting engineering services.

“We currently have a staff complement of 25 in our KZN region and our combined expertise comprises of five robust technical teams which are led by skilled professional engineers that manage, design, and supervise infrastructure projects relating to Roads and Transportation, Water and Sanitation, Infrastructure Asset Management, Stormwater and Flood Studies, and Housing Developments,” says Dhanee.

“One of the major challenges currently faced by consulting engineers is managing the unpredictability of cash flow. An additional challenge is the highly competitive bidding processes” explains Dhanee. “On a positive note, there is an increase of projects and opportunities being created by the public sector. One of the turnkey solutions

exceeding 20 years in the following sectors: commercial, residential, and industrial. Tesla offers professional engineering services in these disciplines: electrical, mechanical, power generation, and renewable energy.

“One of the major challenges faced by professional consultants recently has been the almost complete halt on most private and governmental projects.

We are only recently starting with projects awarded pre-Covid, and had to diversify our service offering during the pandemic,” says Govender.

“We have found that most SMMEs don’t understand the importance of consultants and only look for consultancy services because it’s a requirement by local legislation.

So we used the opportunity during

currently being used in the public sector is EPC contracts, which has a favourable outcome on project deliverables.”

Dhanee adds that BMK are currently working on an emergency project on Bayhead Road on the Bluff. “BMK is appointed as part of a turnkey solution for a bypass road to Bayhead and the port entrance. We were able to get the project to the construction stage within two weeks of appointment, whereas, under normal circumstances, this process would have run for a minimum of six months.”

FOR MORE INFO: pradheep@bmkgroup.co.za; www.bmkgroup.co.za

the pandemic to reach out to potential clients to enlighten them of the purpose of a consultant,” says Govender – adding that a consultant can minimise the cost of the project through proper design principles and experience.

FOR MORE INFO: kuben@teslaeng.co.za; www.teslaeng.co.za

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Gallery owner, Glen du Preez

the platform GALLERY T This space reflects and gives back to nature, while also promoting local talent at its best, writes Shirley le Guern

he Boucher Legacy’s Art for Conservation auction, which raised more than R500 000 in March, has gone a long way to put the Lions River Platform Gallery on the map.

Glen du Preez, who opened the gallery with wife Molly Malloy in 2018, says the auction provided an opportunity for artists whose work hangs in the gallery to give something back.

The collection includes everything from pencil sketches to landscapes, oils and water colours, reflects nature. The gallery has one of the largest collections of sculptures for sale in South Africa – with over 80 works in bronze, stone, wood, and other natural materials from well-known artists such as Llewellyn Davies, Sarah Richards, Sma Shabalala, Carl Roberts and Michael Mawdsley.

Money raised through the action will fund collaring of African wild dogs in the Kruger Park, pangolin rehabilitation, development of high tech tracking technology for endangered mammals, and ongoing monitoring and protection of rhinos.

It also achieved what Glen and Molly set out to do when they opened the gallery – promote local talent.

“Fundamentally, a lot of what we have been doing is to support local people. A lot of their art is world class,” he says.

This not only means providing a platform for established local artists to sell their work but also to both discover and help refine the work of

It is amazing for a young artist to sell through an edition and know that he is on the right path newcomers to suit a growing body of art lovers who follow the gallery.

One such artist is Luke Falconer, who recently sold his final limited edition bronze sculpture of a kingfisher. Glen actually owns the first edition. “He can now break the

mould. It is amazing for a young artist to sell through an edition and know that he is on the right path. For us, it is so rewarding to be part of these stories.

We are now working with him to produce the biggest sculpture that we’ve done to date,” says Glen.

The gallery has an interesting story.

Glen studied engineering but headed off to sail before completing his degree.

When he returned to the Midlands, he wasn’t keen to join the family beef farming business. Instead, he began selling Nguni hides that were a byproduct. He started with a few hides draped over the fence of collectibles shop Treasures and Trash – which is located diagonally across the R103 from what was a dilapidated railway shed at the Lions River Station. Today The Nguni Guy, is one of the largest hide sales companies in the country.

Glen and Molly spent a few months finding the owner of the shed and longer negotiating a lease with Transnet.

A massive and distinctive spherical metal sculpture by artist Brendon Edwards in front of the gallery together with the rattle of passing trains speaks to the evolving venue’s railway roots as well as its essential industrial vibe.

In addition to the art shop, there is also a space for The Nguni Guy as well as furniture and accessories designed by the couple.

An eatery and coffee bar, known as The Local, occupies a container between the two spaces – together with the skeleton of an old double decker bus which is about to be transformed into another retail space.

In addition to the gallery, Glen and Molly also develop menus and source fresh ingredients for the restaurant from neighbouring farmers.

The coffee beans are locally roasted.

Now that Covid lockdown is over, The Platform Gallery will also host events – such as the art auction and music evenings with artists such as Guy Buttery.

This, Glen believes, will lure more over-nighters to the Midlands.

“Retail is tough. You work weekends, you put all of your energy into the people who come through the door.

“So all of us sacrifice a bit of our social lives, but it is things like this that give us purpose,” says Glen.

*

FOR MORE INFO Contact Glen on 065 275 0935

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FOOD

AUGUST 2022

talk of the TOWN Chris Black has just opened the new kid on the block: Hillcrest eatery The Black Rabbit. Chris started out his hospitality journey as a pizza delivery guy aged 21.

He later bought the business and launched a 25-year career that has included owning Aubergine and coowning Lupa Osteria. We spoke to him concept of Enlightened Hospitality, and Jeremy King’s restaurants – such as the Ivy and the Wolseley in London – have always been known for outstanding service and delicious comfort food.

Q

What's the feeling you want patrons to have when they leave your restaurant, and how do you give that feeling?

I aspire to create a feeling for the guests so that when they leave The Black Rabbit they are planning how quickly they can come back, and they tell their friends and family that the hospitality was as good as they hoped it was. We really like to make our guests feel as if they are at a dinner party with a lot of their friends, but the food is better than anything they could get at home. We give that feeling by preparing to offer excellent, thoughtful service and delicious food and wine.

A

Chris Black.

Q

What has been the biggest influence in your hospitality career, defining your business ethos?

The biggest influence has been Danny Meyer and Jeremy King. They are

A

both globally recognised restaurateurs who have always led their restaurants from the Front of House.

Danny owns the Union Square Hospitality Group in NYC and pioneered the

Q

What menu items are most likely to surprise patrons, or what surprised you in creating them?

A

I think the desserts are a huge strength of The Black Rabbit, and the Turkish Delight and Pistachio Parfait is going to surprise guests with its range of flavours and textures.

Q A

What's the best and the worst part of your working day?

The best part of my working day is planning the seating charts and the daily specials. The worst part of my day always the huge amount of admin needed to make the business run smoothly.

Q A

What are your favourite things to do when you are not working?

I am lucky enough to spend time with my family when I'm not working, and we try and eat out if we can. I love squash and have recently started playing again, and I also love just relaxing at home reading a book with a great glass of wine.

FOR MORE INFO 14 Old Main Road, Lillies Quarter, Hillcrest; 031 765 3059; www.theblackrabbit.co.za

It’s because of our commitment to walking every step with our clients, that we know how to help them realise their vision and turn their dreams into reality.

At the end of the day, what sets TUHF apart is our ability to See What Others Don’t.

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