Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) has in a matter of months become a daily part of the South African wine industry's vocabulary. In recent weeks the industry has been particularly preoccupied with the corporate application of this concept, involving massive numbers and, it seems, politics on a scale and of intensity worthy of such numbers.
BEE, however, is sometimes realized far away from the corporate corridors of big enterprise, ironically with much less drama. In these instances, the haves and the have-nots are unassumingly and without fanfare getting on with the business of BEE, and with the business of wine. Thandi in Elgin is such a place.
On Monday 19 July, Thandi (isiXhosa for love) came of age when Safcol (South African Forestry Company Limited), a state-owned entity of the Department of Public Enterprises, announced the official handover of its share in the Lebanon Fruit Farm Trust to the remaining beneficiaries of the Thandi project.
Mr. Charles Ntuli, chairman of Safcol, said he felt humbled in the presence of the beneficiaries and by the success of the project. 'Safcol is selling its shares in the Thandi project because of the confidence we have in the other existing partners. It is an exciting and inspiring project that is a blueprint for similar community development and empowerment initiatives in South Africa.'
In a packed community hall generations of farm workers' lives were changed that night. Safcol was handed a cheque of R2m from the remaining beneficiaries in exchange for its shareholding.
Jafta Mars, Sam Lingers and Hester Muller from the Thandi Investment Trust received the project's first declared dividend on behalf of the community and in a gesture that poignantly captured the spirit of the evening, the VIP's in the first two rows, including ex-Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Vali Moosa, Anton du Toit of Vinfruco, Dr. Paul Cluver and various high-profile government representatives, saluted the visibly moved Thandi beneficiaries with a standing ovation.
Thandi winemaker, Patrick Kraukamp received the gold medal his Chardonnay won at the International Wine Challenge in London earlier this year amidst an applause fit for the hero that he is. Not only has a community been developed and empowered, but internationally acclaimed wine that competes on merit was made too.
Mr. Charles Ntuli from Safcol began his speech by commenting that the atmosphere in the hall is similar to what one experiences in a stadium right before a Springbok rugby game. The excitement was certainly palpable, but what touched me most was the obvious absence of politics, pomposity and pretentiousness. Instead, a strongly felt sense of community, mutual respect and deep gratitude prevailed.
Privately, I was in awe of what is possible in this country (and industry) I call my own. Sudden wafts of patriotism and pride at times filled me to the point of bursting.
In the presence of such sincerity what I too felt most was humbled.
Media queries: Wessel Steyn, De Rust Farm
Tel: 021 8440605
Email: wessel@cluver.co.za
Samantha Hunt, Frog Communications
Tel: 011 8497699
Email: sam@frogcomm.co.za