Page 2 - KZN Business Sense Vol.2 No.5
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It is time to lead from the top
Dominic Collett, the Chairman of the time to lead from the bottom”. is a ticking time bomb and a they have the same responsibility, KWAZULU-NATAL BUSINESS
KwaZulu-Natal Business Chambers Council In September we remembered sad reflection of the lack of but it is the duty of all who have a CHAMBERS COUNCIL :
commitment we have made as living wage. Chairman: Dominic Collett
To the death of Steve Biko and South Africans towards a better Secretariat: Charmaine Nundalall
follow reflected on the principles he nation. Where did we go wrong? Going forward we need to be Tel: +27 (0)87 350 6747
in stood for and the vision he had Or should we rather ask what motivated and concerned to deal Address: 3rd Floor, The Boulevard,
Akash Singh, for an inclusive society. must we do going forward? with the level of poverty and 19 Park Lane,
outgoing the living conditions of a huge Umhlanga Rocks, 4319, KwaZulu-
Chairman This occasion gave South It is time to lead from the top. percentage of our population. Natal, South Africa
of KBCC’s Africans an opportunity to The bottom, unemployed Email: Dominic.Collett@rhdhv.com
footsteps, is re-visit our commitment to the disenfranchised do not have the We need to put as much energy Website: www.kznchamber.co.za
no easy task ideals of equality and freedom. resources to steer decision makers as we can to work together as
In 1994 legislation was created in changing their circumstances labour, business, government of the Constitution of South
so I have and a constitution born that put so it is business and society’s and civil society to implement Africa. n
borrowed the wellbeing of each individual responsibility to care for and programmes, amend legislation,
from his living in South Africa first. support the poverty stricken. listen to communities and
article in Leading from the top is not inject capital where required.
the recent Unfortunately the economic limited to CEOs and Presidents, Our aim must be to reduce the
KZN plight for most South Africans although it goes without saying unemployment numbers and
Business has not changed. Our current grow South Africa to reach the
Sense publication entitled, “It is gap between rich and poor dream envisaged by the authors
Earnings of Chief Executives
Melanie Veness, CEO group employs a significant number month, when others earn the kind thinking, because we operate in a The status quo is not
Pietermaritzburg of people and when he acquired and of money that Basson does. global arena – our deciding on our sustainable, but perhaps it
Chamber of turned Checkers and OK around, own to limit the disparity between is world leaders that need to
Business he saved 16 500 and 33 252 jobs Do I think that talented executives the pay of executives and the lowest acknowledge this and agree to
respectively. His efforts, and those like Whitey Basson should be paid employees will simply result collectively address it? n
There of the team that he built underneath paid well to do the incredible in a South African brain and talent
has him, have resulted in Shoprite work that they do? Absolutely, drain, as our best people take up www.pcb.org.za (This article was first
been Holdings Ltd. cornering 30% of because if we didn’t reward opportunities elsewhere in the published in The Mercury Network)
a lot said the formal retail food market excellence, then people would stop world.
in recent in South Africa. An incredible expending energy on acquiring
years accomplishment! He clearly has a knowledge, expertise and skill and Umhlanga Ridge
regarding passion for what he does and his would expend the least possible
the personal dream to drive food prices effort because there would be no Distribution
earnings down in Africa is commendable motivation to excel. Mediocrity is The publishers of Business
of chief and has benefited many people not sustainable, but the question Sense are delighted to with regards inter alia construction
executives across the continent. remains: how much is enough, announce that the hard procedures, signage and behaviour.
in the private before it becomes unpalatable? copy of the tabloid will be
sector versus the pay of workers The Chairman of the Board It has been suggested that the distributed to 450 businesses in the Since 1995 when Tongaat
and whether or not this is morally has always defended the decision disparity between what the highest La Lucia/Umhlanga Ridge area by Hulett began converting former
acceptable in the context of to pay Basson the remuneration paid employees and lowest paid Ridge Management. sugarcane land to urban uses
poverty and inequality. Take for that he is paid, based on the fact employees are paid should be on the La Lucia / Umhlanga
example the earnings of someone that the Board benchmarked his limited. Some years ago there was Ridge Management is the Ridge, the area has attracted
like Whitey Basson, Managing remuneration against what others at a proposal in Switzerland that it more than 1 500 000 square
Director and Chief Executive of his level were being paid elsewhere be legislated that CEO’s income umbrella body in charge of five metres of development. Located
Shoprite Holdings Limited. in the world. Wiese said that they not exceed twelve times that of the separate management associations approximately 20km north of
were comfortable that they were lowest employees’ wages, in this in the La Lucia/Umhlanga Ridge Durban, Umhlanga Ridge is a
Firstly, one has to acknowledge paying a competitive package. The way, the CEO could not earn more region, which totals 430 hectares holistic, mixed use development
that Basson is an exceptional point was also made, that since in a month than his/her lowest paid in extent. The management that falls within the eThekwini
businessman and the fact that he people of Basson’s talent are so employees could earn in a year. It associations are: La Lucia Ridge Municipality.
heads the largest retailer in Africa is rare, the demand for his services didn’t make it through the system, Office Estate, Millennium Bridge
no accident of fate. He studied hard, is high and he is thus extremely because of a lack of support, so the Business Park, Umhlanga Ridge The area continues to experience
worked hard at gaining experience marketable. In order to retain benefits of the proposal were never Town Centre, Ridgeside and ongoing and accelerated real
and then used his skill and ability him, it is necessary to pay him a tested. Parkside. estate investment and has one of
to turn a R1 million company competitive salary. South Africa’s fastest-growing
into a R53 billion company. There I don’t know the answer, but The various associations urban development nodes. Over
are very few people who have his All this is perfectly I do know that we’re on an manages the public environment’s the last five years, many key
business acumen and risk tolerance. understandable in the context unsustainable path, and that a new, centralised services like security, businesses having moved their
As Shoprite Chairman, Christo of our economic system, but the more equitable way must be found. landscape and irrigation, cleaning regional head offices to the area.
Wiese said: “a guy with this talent is disparity between those that have Perhaps there is some merit in the and litter control, public lighting These include Unilever, Standard
terribly rare”. His ability to acquire and those that don’t, remains a proposal? and others. The Associations Bank , First National Bank, Old
and rebuild troubled companies, to challenge. I think that it is fair do not manage the individual Mutual, Deloitte, Shepstone &
reposition and differentiate brands to question how we can have an Having said that, this is not a buildings within each of their Wylie to name but a few.
is phenomenal, and through his economic system in which 48% South African problem, rather, precincts. As members of each
work, one cannot ignore the fact of the population lives below the it is a world problem, because it Association, property owners are
that he has also done some amazing poverty line and 60% of those doesn’t help us to change the rules bound by the Rules of Association www.ridgemanagement.co.za
things for people in Africa. The employed earn less than R2500 a here if the rest of the world does
not subscribe to the same way of
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