A few can claim to have accelerated their career paths from the perceived low rank of a taxi driver to steering a JSE-listed entity at Group CEO level. Jabu Mabuza did it.
Sadly, the Jabu Mabuza, who often donned a fedora hat, neatly trimmed grey beard and untucked shirts around his round belly, breathes no more.
The baritone voice of this short strong man has been muted by what has been deemed as Covid complications. Mabuza (63) sailed to the celestial shores on Wednesday, 16 June, a historic day commemorating the youth of 1976 in South Africa.
Although he was physically deprived from a height perspective, Mabuza was what the Nguni people would refer to as “Mdengentonga”, meaning short physically but tall in achievements.
Eskom board chairperson Jabu Mabuza testifies at the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture on 22 February 2019 in Johannesburg. (Photo: Gallo Images / Times Live / Masi Losi)
A manoeuverer of note and driven by the Winston Churchill mantra of “never let a good crisis go to waste”, Mabuza will be remembered for, among other things, bringing leadership during a disastrous moment in South Africa.
He demonstrated this when the country was in a tailspin following the firing of the markets admired Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene by former president Jacob Zuma in December 2015. It was a period when the country battled a looming sovereign debt rating downgrade and a bleak global economic environment.
At the time Mabuza and Pravin Gordhan coordinated efforts between government and business to work together in rescuing the country from sliding to a banana republic. Mabuza was one of the people critical to the mending of the shattered trust between government and business in South Africa.
Appointed by President Zuma in 2016 as the CEO of the Business and Government Initiative to look into the state of the South African economy, Mabuza led an effort where honest conversations were held about South Africa. It was from these engagements that business was asked to do more to contribute to South Africa. One of the outcomes was the establishment of the over R1bn SA SME Fund to aid small businesses. Equally it was at the same platform where government was asked to properly manage its fiscal affairs.
Mabuza also tried to preach unity in a period where black business formations such as the Black Management Forum and Black Business Council increasingly distanced themselves from Business Unity South Africa (Busa) then seen to be biased towards the interests of established white business at the expense of economic transformation.
A product of Black Business formations himself, Mabuza did not support a segregated approach in driving black economic empowerment. He believed black business needed to be part of Busa as this was where mainstream economic decisions were engaged upon. Despite being the then president of Busa, Mabuza still commanded the respect of the Black Business Council.
Mabuza defended and supported black excellence to the core.
Before he passed on it was under his chairmanship at technology firm Net1 that the company poached the charismatic banker Lincoln Mali from Standard Bank to become Net1 UEPS Group CEO.
When the Telkom CEO Sipho Maseko faced allegations of taxi rank like misbehavior involving bogus car number plates, Mabuza as chairman of the telecommunications group, unapologetically stood behind Maseko. He was firm in his belief that Sipho Maseko was the best person for the job, despite the alleged shenanigans. Mabuza was proven right as Maseko steered Telkom to unimagined heights.
When Mabuza stepped down as Group CEO of Tsogo, he invested some of his capital and time in Sphere Holdings, a black business investment holding company ran by brilliant people younger than him. Some used the Sphere Holdings relationship to sully Mabuza’s character.
Sphere Holdings, way before it associated with Mabuza, held amongst its investments an industrial company called Babcock. This company was a supplier to the power utility Eskom. And so, the conspiracy emerged when Mabuza chaired Eskom that he was giving business to a company he had interests in.
As street smart as he was, Mabuza had a tough time at Eskom. He would ultimately resign after failing to fulfill a promise of ensuring the power utility kept the country’s lights on. It was an accountability move rather than a push to jump from his comrade Pravin Gordhan, the Minister of Public Enterprises.
Despite the dark times at the electricity provider, Mabuza passed on leaving a solid legacy.
In his high school years he was caught up in the 1976 student uprising and was expelled. He completed his matric at the heritage Ohlange High School started by the educator and founding president of South African Native National Congress, John Langalibalele Dube. After his high schooling Mabuza enrolled at the University of the North for a BProc degree but dropped out to generate income. He worked in the civil service briefly. He drove taxis in Johannesburg until he bought his own.
In the mid-1980s he became a taxi owner and a key member of the South African Black Taxi Association.
In 1988 Mabuza was part of the visionary leaders who founded the Foundation for African Business and Consumer Services (Fabcos). He established Fabcos alongside business leaders such as James Ngcoya (President of the SA Black Taxi Association at the time), Ellen Kuzwayo, Joas Mogale, Andrew Lukhele; Sam Tuntubele, Zithulele ("KK") Combi, Knox Tsotsobe and Sam Buthelezi. With the dawn of political freedom in South Africa, Fabcos put the black economic empowerment project on the agenda in order to ensure that small black businesspeople, especially from the informal sector, were properly represented to participate in the mainstream economy. He was also involved in the Urban Foundation at the dawn of democracy.
Mabuza was a corporate leader extraordinaire. As far back as 1997 he was country adviser to Union Bank of Switzerland. He had a successful career at Tsogo Sun, having helped the firm to gain market share, including key casino licences. Before ascending to Group CEO at Tsogo, Mabuza was Managing Director of Tsogo Sun Gaming from 1996 to 2006. Mabuza did so well as MD of the gaming division prompting then group chairman Johnny Copelyn to announce him as Group CEO in 2006. He stepped down in 2011 after a five-year term. In his corporate life he held a number of board directorships, including chairman of AB Inbev Africa.
A real soldier has fallen. BM/DM