A shining light with energy to spare
- Wits University
The word “passionate” is overused but it might have been invented to describe Wits alumnus Robbie Brozin.
The word “passionate” is overused but it might have been invented to describe Wits alumnus Robbie Brozin. Sitting at the I Love Food restaurant on Constitution Hill, one can almost see the neon fizz of ideas pouring at breakneck speed from his mind.
Best known for founding the world-famous brand Nando’s, Brozin has stepped back from the day-to-day activities of chicken and chips. Unlike some other 64-year-olds who have enjoyed global success, however, he is not playing golf every day. That is not Brozin’s style.
Instead, he is involved in ambitious projects to uplift Constitution Hill, improve the efficiency of Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital by digitising patient records, and reinvigorate the inner city of Johannesburg. Much of this work involves Wits, where Brozin is an advisory board member of the Wits Business School.
“This is where it all began,” Brozin says, gesturing joyfully at the revamped sections of the ConHill precinct.
Eight years ago, he was invited by Cheryl Carolus — with whom he’d previously worked when she was SA’s High Commissioner to London while Nando’s was opening its UK branches — to become a trustee of the Constitutional Hill Trust which he is at pains to point out is a completely different entity to the state-owned Constitutional Court Development Company.
“The first time I came here with Cheryl I was seriously embarrassed,” he says. “When I was at Wits [he completed a BCom in 1984] I used to jol in Hillbrow and we would walk past here. I knew there was something, but I wasn’t curious enough. Political prisoners were being held literally 20 metres away; so many people were tortured and killed. So, it’s a place of pain, but also of hope, because we built our Constitutional Court here. Our Constitution has dignity, equality, and freedom at its core. We the people need to lean into this vision and purpose.”
Since becoming a trustee, three of the initiatives Brozin has inspired are the excellent restaurant Food I Love You, Flame Studio’s recording hub, and the Truth to Power lounge in which people can debate prickly issues with dignity.
It was in this lounge that Brozin, Wits Vice-Chancellor Professor Zeblon Vilakazi, and the then CEO of Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, Dr Nkele Lesia, met to discuss the role of Wits in the regeneration of the hospital. The bond formed there also led to talks about rejuvenating Johannesburg’s CBD, building on the excellent work done with the Braamfontein Improvement District, to make the connecting spaces of the University safer and more vibrant for students.
And so the Jozi My Jozi movement was born, with a mission to connect every person who wants to make a difference, from the private to public sector and the everyday people of Jozi, to inspire sustainable solutions for the inner city and create a snowball of positive change that spreads across South Africa.
Anglo-American is one of the companies collaborating with Jozi My Jozi in this mission. After moving its head office out of their historic Jo’burg building, Anglo has committed to preserving its legacy in the CBD and to inspire the youth through the establishment of an educational hub in Main Street. Wits has signed a lease on a part of the old Anglo precinct with the intention of making it a safe place of youthful energy, creativity, and education.
Others have joined the charge, with Standard Bank driving projects to galvanise inner-city communities. Absa funded the solar lighting that now make the Nelson Mandela bridge safer for Wits students to cross at night.
“Lights are the first level of security,” says Brozin, who is himself a shining light, and who sees everything he does as congruent with the vision and values of the Constitution.
“It is our moral compass. It’s a contract between us on how to live our lives collectively. It’s such a beautiful document with so many layers. Wits and the Constitution are so perfectly aligned, both taking our rightful place in the world. I want my grandkids to go to Wits.”