The Year Of The Choppies Juggernaut
Monday, December 21, 2015

Mohamed Osman. PIC:KENNEDY RAMOKONE
Reflecting on the year, Choppies director Ram Ottapathu singled out the listing in the Johannesburg Stock Exchange as a milestone moment for Choppies, although the process also required him and fellow directors to shed off significant chunk of their shareholding to meet the minimum required to float in the JSE. “It’s not that I wanted to, I was forced to sell, but I’m still the biggest shareholder and I have got no intention to step down”, says the man famously known as Ram.
South Africa became Choppies’ target for market expansion in the same period as the Botswana company took their tally of stores in the country to 40, adding 12 new stores in the Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Free State, and the North West Provinces.
While every citizen, including the Head of State, has the right to voice opinions, the tone and context of the President’s comments were regrettably dismissive and risk chilling free expression in our country. The remarks are not isolated. They form part of a disturbing pattern of public attacks on independent institutions pillars essential to the healthy functioning of our democracy. The Judiciary, the Legislature, and now the media have all...