Skip to main content

Bidvest founder to offer portion of business to entrepreneurs

| Supplier news

Bidvest Group founder Brian Joffe plans to give a portion of the business to dedicated entrepreneurs, Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry Mzwandile Masina said.

"A number of people have already applied and officials are already looking into it," he said of the company Joffe founded about 30 years ago.

The listed international services and distribution company is being restructured and Joffe plans to step down once the separate listing of Bidvest's food services company has gone through.

Masina was responding to a question in the National Assembly on whether he could commit to a policy whereby no friends or family members of the ANC benefit from department contracts and investment opportunities.

Masina took exception and said the people who would be selected for the Bidvest offer would not be cronies of the ANC, as suggested.

"It will be credible individuals," he said, to roars from the opposition benches.

"If they are qualified ANC people, we are not going to sit here and grandstand and say they are not welcome," he said.

The government has come under scrutiny for the way big contracts are awarded, with many believing that ANC members get first dibs.

Masina rejected a suggestion that Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa was among those in line to benefit from deals through the black industrialist programme.

"When people want to cast doubt on the leadership of the movement, we have a responsibility to respond.

"The deputy president of the republic and the ANC is a successful businessman. He has never been brought to court for his business dealings.

"For us to come here and speak like that it is very worrying," he said.


Related Articles

Festive family fashion alert - Pick n Pay unvei...

Forget fugly clichéd holiday-themed jerseys: matching family pyjamas is the latest craze for the holidays and is flying off the shelves, says Pick n Pay Clothing.

Liberty Accelerates Unclaimed Benefits Pay Outs 

As part of its ongoing Unclaimed Benefits Funds tracing efforts, this year, Liberty has identified in excess of 13 000 people and paid over R105 million to members and beneficiaries who had a legitimate claim.

Shoprite and Checkers support small suppliers t...

Shoprite and Checkers are helping small suppliers grow their volumes this Black Friday as customers flock to its stores looking for value on everyday essentials and groceries between Thursday, 23 November and Sunday, 26 November 2023. 

Supermarket chain set to appeal judgment in ‘si...

By: Chevon Booysen - IOL Retail giant Pick n Pay has indicated its intention to appeal a Western Cape High Court judgment to damage all print works, all printed materials, product packaging, and the like bearing the infringing get-ups similar to ...

Woolies pulls Israeli couscous after 'credible'...

By: Ahmed Areff – Fin24 Woolworths has pulled Israeli-imported pearl couscous from its shelves, but has emphasised that the move was preemptive due to threats it received and not because it supported a boycott of the country’s products or was pro...