South Africa’s Asset Migration

There’s a dual significance in Pepsico’s South African vice president, Mark Bunn’s remark that Future Life is helping to transform and improve health. (The Mercury, October 6).

While undoubtedly Pepsico’s investment in Future Life’s facility at Dube Trade Port is a welcome development, it marks another increase in the extent to which ownership of South African products is passed to international corporations.

Pepsico is the largest food and beverage corporation in North America by net revenue. In March 2020, it acquired ownership of Pioneer Foods for $1,7 billion. That means a string of household South African products is now owned by Pepsico: Bokomo, Sasko, Ceres, Liquifruit, White Star, Simba, and Safari.

Other examples of asset migration are; Clover Dairies – 60% owned since 2019 by an Israeli company; Illovo Sugar – bought by Associated British Foods in 2016; Game stores absorbed into Massmart, a subsidiary of the US giant Walmart, in 2011; Standard Bank – 20% owned by Industrial and Commercial Bank of China; Distell – producer of wines, Amarula, Richelieu, Three Ships, Hunters – owned by Heineken since 2022. South Africa is second on China’s list of investments in mining in Africa.

Increasing foreign ownership of a country’s resources, assets and industries erodes the extent to which it can claim to be sovereign and independent. That is one of the objectives of globalism whereby policies and narratives can be dictated.

That process is already at an advanced stage regarding health and health hazards whereby the WHO seeks to dictate health policies worldwide and control all human mobility, interaction and travel as a result.