At the height of the #FeesMustFall crisis in 2016, a group of business, academic and civil society leaders converged on Boksburg for a weekend of talks on the higher education funding dilemma. The convener of the meeting, former deputy chief justice Dikgang Moseneke, turned to then Tsogo Sun chair Jabu Mabuza to provide the institutional and logistics support for the meeting.
The choice of Mabuza, who passed away on June 16, as the man in charge of leading that engagement was an appropriate acknowledgment of his status and stature as a business leader with a keen understanding of the issues underpinning the pursuit of social justice and access to higher education.
Forty years earlier, in June 1976, Mabuza as a student observed first-hand the role of young people in confronting systemic injustices. He paid a heavy price as he was summarily expelled from school. Later, his pursuit of higher education at the University of Limpopo (Turfloop Campus) was ended by a lack of funding.
Over the years, as he navigated through the worlds of business, advocacy and leadership, he distinguished himself as a man of conviction with a deep sense of commitment to the country of his birth.
In 1988, Mabuza spearheaded the formation of the Foundation of African Businesses and Consumer services. In later years, as the growing pains of a nascent democracy saw the worlds of business and politics often speaking past each other, Mabuza took it upon himself to foster collaboration.
When he took on leadership roles at Business Unity SA, the CEO Initiative and Business Leadership SA (BLSA), he wore multiple complementary hats with a view of finally getting the world of big business to work towards a common purpose.
His role across the business and social sectors was intersectional and multidimensional.
The sense of enterprise he showed in small business — particularly in transport where he started as a taxi driver and then taxi owner and went on to become an influential member of the SA Black Taxi Association — was equally evident within the corporate corridors of Tsogo Sun, where he served as group CEO.
His ability to provide leadership across diverse sectors was reflected in his membership of the World Travel and Tourism Council in the UK; the Concordia Leadership Council in the US; and the Regional Business Council of the World Economic Forum, where he served as chair.
State-owned enterprises — often a no-go area for black professionals in recent years — became a focus area for Mabuza in his later years.
As chair of partially state-owned Telkom he oversaw the company’s most stable period, underpinned by sustained success in a thoroughly competitive sector.
When the governance crisis at power utility Eskom escalated, Mabuza put up his hand and agreed to join the board and shepherd it though the choppy waters of a transition involving political changes and the terminal crisis of capacity constraints. Mabuza served as chair and stepped in as acting CEO.
His legacy there was one of initiating substantive changes in the governance and leadership of Eskom, and he enabled the organisation to enter a period of relative stability that had been missing for many years.
His journey in activism, advocacy and leadership reached a seminal moment in July 2017 when Wits University conferred on him an honorary doctorate of commerce for his “leadership in business in the cause of creating a successful economy that creates a better life for all”.
During his address to faculty of engineering graduates the day he received his doctorate, Mabuza called on the young people assembled at Wits’s Great Hall to “avoid getting weighed down by populism or by pessimism. Care about people. And make [your] impact on our country and the world a positive one.”
Such words epitomised the life and story of Dr Jabulane Albert Mabuza. When the Association of Black Securities and Investment Professionals (Absip) learnt of his passing, 45 years to the day that he participated in the Soweto uprising, we were left with a deep sense of shock and sadness. As a transformational leader in the advocacy space, we sought his guidance in challenging times.
His loss leaves a deep void in the country’s leadership corridors, advocacy and the hallways of transformation.
Absip sends its deep and heartfelt condolences to his wife, Siphiwe, and his three children. We wish you strength and healing and our thoughts and prayers during this tough time.
Hamba Kahle Mshengu, Hamba Kahle Mkhonto We Sizwe. You will be solely missed.
• Radebe is president of Absip.
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