The Midday Report

Solutionist Thinking with RMB is a thirteen-episode podcast hosted by Bruce Whitfield and focusing on the great South African minds who are thinking differently and going against the norm. In this first episode, Whitfield interviews author, farmer, music producer and businessman Dr Reuel Khoza.

"He'll be the first one to tell you that he was the chairperson of Eskom when it worked," says host Bruce Whitfield of Dr Reuel Khoza, a man who has chaired numerous boards and acted as director of some of the biggest corporations in the country; and produces choral music, farms avocado pears, and writes and speaks extensively on leadership, transformation and business.

As I grow a little older, I try to diversify.

— Dr Reuel Khoza, President of the Institute of Directors in South Africa

But how does Khoza maintain such a packed schedule?

He works 12 to 14 hours a day, he says, and attributes his work ethic to his grandfather, who instilled industriousness into his grandson and viewed rest as something to be enjoyed only when one was tired.

Khoza, it is clear, is a man who is passionately aware of his personal history.

If you don’t know where you come from, chances are you would not know how you came to where you are. And if you don’t know where you are, chances are you’ll have serious difficulty defining your sense of destiny, from which derives your sense of purpose.

— Dr Reuel Khoza, President of the Institute of Directors in South Africa

And what is Khoza’s personal purpose? He explains it as “an earnest effort to make a positive difference in the national interest”.

He believes firmly in the principles of ubuntu and its potential to do a great deal for South Africa as a nation, as we serve the national interest as the “ultimate boss, not some individual”.

As South Africa continues to unpack the impact of State Capture on the nation, Khoza remains confident that the vast majority of major corporations are "uncaptured".

There are probably more major corporations that behave, more major corporations that are very, very exemplary.

— Dr Reuel Khoza, President of the Institute of Directors in South Africa

As South Africa emerges out of what Whitfield refers to as a “destructive decade”, Khoza believes that the country will recover.

Given what is happening now under the Cyril Ramaphosa presidency, I want to believe that there is hope.

— Dr Reuel Khoza, President of the Institute of Directors in South Africa

But, he adds, this requires the rest of the nation to be aligned behind that thrust and dedicated to building.

Listen to the full Solutionist Thinking with RMB podcast below.

This article first appeared on 702 : Solutionist Thinking: In Conversation with Reuel Khoza