Johnathan Paoli
The ANC expressed its condolences to the Ackerman family and the Pick n Pay staff, following the nonagerian’s death on Wednesday in Johannesburg saying he was a ‘friend of the ANC and its allies’ who helped many activists and communities during the apartheid era.
The party described Ackerman as a ‘patriotic South Africa’ who contributed to the country’s economic development and social transformation and praised him for his ‘progressive stance’ against apartheid and his support for the liberation struggle.
The ANC said that Ackerman’s legacy will live on through his business acumen, his philanthropic work and his commitment to uplifting the poor and margianlised, and further urged South Africans to emulate his values of ‘customer service, innovation and social responsibility’ and to continue his vision of building a prosperous and inclusive society.
“Through his acumen, he contributed to building the South African economy, creating thousands of jobs, entrenching the Pick n Pay footprint and building it into a brand associated with a strong corporate social investment,” the party said in a statement.
The South African businessman and philanthropist who founded the Pick n Pay retail chain in 1967, was born in Cape Town in 1931 and studied commerce at the University of Cape Town.
He started his career as a trainee manager at the Greatermans department store and later joined the Checkers supermarket chain, where he rose to become the managing director.
However, he was fired in 1966 after a disagreement with the board over his customer-focused policies. He then bought four small stores in Cape Town and transformed them into the Pick n Pay empire, which became one of the largest and most successful retailers in Africa.
Ackerman was also a pioneer of social responsibility and corporate citizenship, supporting various causes such as education, health, environment, and human rights.
His friendship with the liberation movement stretched back to the late 1970s. He was a vocal critic of the apartheid regime, friend to Nelson and Mandela and urged former President FW de Klerk in 1989 to release Mandela and end apartheid.
After the democratic transition, he continued to work with the ANC on various social and economic issues, such as job creation, education, health and poverty alleviation, receiving the Order of the Baobab in Silver from former president Thabo Mbeki in 2007 for his contribution to the country.
The ANC said that Ackerman is credited with several community development initiatives from which he received many accolades and awards, including the Raymond Ackerman Academy of Entrepreneurial Development responsible for the training of future managers and leaders in South Africa, as well as the Ackerman Family Trust which has supported hundreds of young people graduating across a broad range of professions.
President Cyril Ramaphosa expressed his sadness at the passing of the Pick n Pay founder and philanthropist, extending his condolences to his wife Wendy Ackerman, his children Gareth, Kathy, Suzanne and Jonathan and to the extended family.
Ramaphosa praised Ackerman as one of the first retailers to fight on behalf of the South African consumers against the apartheid state’s monopoly on basic goods, drastically reduce the cost of essentials such as bread, milk and chicken and also spoke against the inclusion of value-added tax (VAT) on basic food lines, a course that he fought and won on behalf of the poor.
Ackerman was also one of the first executives to promote black South Africans to senior positions and to acknowledge black trade unions, at a time when such unions were banned from operating in the country, as well as abolishing race classification on the company’s human resources payroll, Ramaphosa said.
ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba has also expressed his sincere condolences to the family and friends of the late businessman.
Mashaba described Ackerman as a pioneering South African entrepreneur who revolutionised consumer retail in this country to ensure that customers are always placed at the centre of retail operations.
“Raymond represents the entrepreneurial spirit that ActionSA values and seeks to achieve, and we honour his unwavering patriotism to South Africa and its people,” Mashaba said.
The party said that it will continue to work to honour his legacy and improve the lives of our people and create an economic environment which allows all entrepreneurs in the country to flourish.
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