Feisty Wendy Appelbaum fights the just fight

MOIRA SCHNEIDER

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CAPE TOWN

Pictured:  Wendy Appelbaum.

The high-flying businesswoman and daughter of Liberty Life founder Sir Donald Gordon, became a household name when she took on Auction Alliance some three years ago in a case of so-called “ghost bidding”. She agrees that that case has had the effect of focusing her attention in a new direction. 

“Injustice is something that drives me quite wild,” she says, “and I believe that was my visceral reaction to the Auction Alliance case. I believe that we all have a role to play in this country and I think that people who sit back and complain… One really needs to do something about it.”

She feels that it is “really sad” that civil society has to take government to task, but if that is what is necessary to allow “this wonderful country” to stay that way and fulfil its potential, then so be it.

So, how did her involvement in the recent issue come about? “Basically, it stemmed from me looking at the garnishee orders (court orders that compel employers to deduct from an employee’s salary money that he or she owes a creditor) that my staff on my wine estate had against them and thinking there was something wrong with the system.

“I really needed to go quite deeply into it, so I went to the bookstore, bought the National Credit Act and the Magistrate’s Court Act and I read them,” she recalls.

“I realised that this couldn’t possibly be right and started to think about how it could be changed. The real tragedy is that it’s the poorest of the poor that have been the victims here.”

The Marikana issue had initially focused her conscience around the level of debt in the country and had galvanised her into action. “I was absolutely appalled that government was not looking after its people – there is absolutely no political will to care for the poor,” she says.

But Appelbaum will not take all the credit for the successful outcome of the recent court case, describing herself simply as “a connector of people. That’s how the court case came about – I was just the conductor.

“I found all these players in the field and connected them to the point where we sat down and brainstormed ideas of how we could change the system. I didn’t do it alone.”

She had been quite prepared to fund the case on the basis of “bang for buck”, reasoning that the outcome would have such ramifications for the poor that it was a no-brainer in terms of an investment. In the event, attorneys Webber Wentzel and advocate Anton Katz SC thought it a brilliant idea, saw the national interest of the project and acted pro bono.

Now that she has cut her teeth in the field, does Appelbaum foresee consumer advocacy becoming a bigger part of her life? “I certainly will step up to the plate where I think it is necessary – absolutely!” 

It is not surprising then to learn that her personal philosophy is encapsulated thus: “I love a good fight, but I prefer a fight for good.”

Appelbaum has in fact moved on to the next project and is involved in the anti-corruption march being organised by human rights organisation Section27, for August 19. “The public interest from all corners of society has been absolutely remarkable,” she comments.

“I think the country is just getting to the point where enough is enough. With the use of social media, I think we can make this go viral.”

This sounds as if a political career is in the offing, but Appelbaum dismisses this out of hand. “Absolutely not – I don’t have a political bone in my body! As you see, I cannot be anything but straightforward and absolutely honest and I think, unfortunately, politics and those kinds of personality traits don’t mix.

“What I’m interested in is keeping South Africa on the straight and narrow; I think we’re having a wobble at the moment and I think that civil society does have an incredible role to play in crafting a new future for the country.

“I believe there is enough goodwill and enough people who have had enough of what is going on, so I do believe that the possibility for change is near.”

Mentioning other areas of “terrible unfairness” particularly towards the poor, Appelbaum slams the state of education as “diabolic” and says that people’s human rights are being eroded daily with devastating results for the country. She is very involved in this sphere, spending, as she says, “an enormous amount of time” examining new models of education.

While she has farmed at DeMorgenzon wine estate in Stellenbosch for 12 years, Appelbaum’s influence is felt nationally with her involvement in business schools and her substantial role in medical training. “The healthcare available to the underprivileged in this country is equally poor,” she adds. 

On her move to the “heavenly” Stellenbosch from Johannesburg, she reflects: “I didn’t think I would ever settle down in the countryside as well as I did, but with modern technology there’s nothing you cannot do from any place on the planet. It’s just that my office is now in a far more beautiful place, probably one of the most beautiful in the world.”

Known as a most active philanthropists, Appelbaum feels that the more one has, the more responsibility one has to share it with those who don’t. “How many beds can you sleep in? How many cars can you drive?” she wants to know.

“I do think one has a responsibility to society – it’s been ingrained in us as a family since we were born that those who have, put back. I don’t think paying tax is enough – you need to be able to sculpt and make positive change.”