Page 5 - MiNDSPACE Issue 2 2022 - Old Mutual Corporate

Contributors
ANNELIESE BURGESS
A one-on-one with Imtiaz Sooliman (p10)
What have been your best and worst moments in your career as a journalist? ‘The best was without doubt my decade- long stint at Special Assignment at the SABC in the late ’90s and 2000s. It was an extraordinary time to be at the public broadcaster. We had complete editorial freedom and did world-class investigative journalism. But the worst time was also at the SABC when it started falling apart due to mismanagement and political agendas, and I realised it was time to go. It remains a great sadness for me. The SABC today is a shadow of its former self.’
As the author of Heist, what hope do you have for South Africa
and the crime epidemic?
‘We will never get a grip on crime if we don’t have an effective criminal justice system. The recurring theme of my book is that crime is a low-risk endeavour in South Africa because the chances of being caught, prosecuted and sentenced are extremely low, even for serious, violent and organised crimes.’
‘Its people. There is a resilience that
I don’t think you find in many other societies. Despite our traumatic history, we have much better relationships with each other than what the politicians would like us to believe.’
CHRISTO VAN DER RHEEDE Our young Black farmers (p26)
What is South Africa’s best quality?
If you could change one thing in South African agriculture, what would it be?
‘To see a higher uptake of regenerative agricultural practices. Regenerating soil conserves and restores organic matter by protecting the habitats of micro- and macro-organisms. This improves the soil’s ability to retain water and resist erosion. It is essential if we are to protect our natural resources such as land and water. Without them, we will not be able to feed our people.’
From the Cape Flats and music to agriculture ... how did that happen? ‘One set of my grandparents had a farm; the other was very active in the church choir and brass band. I guess I received my interest in farming from the one and my love of music from the other. I ended up working in a potato- processing plant while studying music after matric. But eventually I decided to further my studies in policy analysis and public leadership, which brought me to Agri SA.’
What is vital to a farmer’s prosperity?
‘A profitable, competitive and viable farm where the farmer has the freedom and certainty to produce high-quality, affordable food.’
MANDY WIENER
On supporting whistleblowers (p40)
What inspired you to become an investigative journalist?
‘I followed the news very closely as
a teenager and was fascinated by good investigative journalism. I loved Christiane Amanpour’s war reporting from the frontline. I loved the Truth and Reconciliation Commission coverage from Antjie Krog and others. It all made me want to be a journalist. Naively I supposed that it seemed glamorous at the time, which is not true at all.’
‘For the State to be uncaptured and for the damage done during the last decade to be rolled back. I have so much hope for the country and if the promise we show through civil-society action can be transferred to government, we could achieve so much.’
You have written six books. Which was the hardest to write?
‘The one I wrote with Barry Bateman on the Oscar Pistorius and Reeva Steenkamp case. It was a very intense time. People were consumed with the case and it was very polarising and toxic. I also had my first child a week before the trial started and worked to a deadline with a newborn baby. It was wild.’
What do you wish for South Africa?
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