TO BANKING, VIA THE
SCENIC ROUTE
Banking found Tami Sokutu rather
than the other way around. His
circuitous route to the industry
has left him a little light on the
paper qualifications in the likes
of economics, but well versed in
deflecting subtle offers of a bribe.
‘In government senior positions
– if not every day, then every other
day – there is a member of the
public willing to give you a bribe
for one thing or another,’ he says
when asked if he ever had such
approaches as Director-General of
the Department of Public Works, his
last job before joining African Bank.
‘Yes, I was subjected to that,’ is
his response.
His career also taught him a
thing or two about environmental
sustainability. He still chairs the
South African National Biodiversity
Institute, now in what he says will
be his last year, where he advises
the government on water issues
and policies. That is natural, given
his masters degree in the biological sciences combined with the
political activism of his youth, which
included stints on environmental
policy for the ANC, but that’s about
as close as he gets to either these
days.