Both founders of the aforementioned respective business enterprises, James 'Jimmy' George Haskins of Haskins & Sons Building and Hardware Stores as well as Patrick van Rensburg of Swaneng Hill School in Serowe, and the nationwide Brigades Movement in this country, are of European descent. Haskins, though born in Bulawayo was already a Motswana by virtue of his father already being a citizen of Botswana at the time of his birth. Though coming in different eras, with Haskins featuring in the early 1900s and van Rensburg arriving in the early 1960s, both men would become a significant part of Botswana’s history, ultimately being viewed by many as visionary trailblazers in nation-building.
According to Jeff Ramsay, Barry Morton, and Fred Morton in their book, Historical Dictionary of Botswana (1996): “When the father of Botswana’s politician and businessman James 'Jimmy' George Haskins, Bristol-born James Haskins arrived at Tati from England in July 1897, he had little idea of the solid dynasty he was founding in the then Bechuanaland Protectorate. Four generations later, in the Botswana of today, Haskins is as native to the country as Chobe bush- buck and tsamma melon.” The business was expanded into several branches of trading posts from the Tati stretching all the way up to Gweta. J Haskins, well known as Haskins & Sons today, was able to survive and prosper through all the challenges it faced in Botswana over the years. It has been run by different generations in the family hierarchy and today is led by Victor John Haskins Walsingham from the fourth generation. A fifth-generation leader is also coming through the ranks. Haskins is a company that thrives on the famous saying "by the people, for the people" and it is expected to keep growing by delivering quality goods, employment, and good governance.
“Born in 'Gibixhegu' later named 'ko Bulawayo' of Rhodesia in 1914, James George Haskins’ father (or JG as he was affectionately called), had just that measure of talent which so often sires a genius. Haskins senior ran a coffee business in Tati Concession Land and later a trading store chain headquartered in Francistown. Haskins founded the Francistown Chamber of Commerce. JG Haskins entered politics in 1948 as a member of the European Advisory Council. He was a member of the Legislative Council of Bechuanaland from 1961–1964. He was also a member of the Bechuanaland Democratic Party. Haskins could be considered a spokesperson of the white community in Botswana and an advocate for Botswana's independence. In 1966, he became a member of the National Assembly of Botswana. The same year he joined Cabinet and held the offices of Minister of Commerce, Industry and Water Affairs, and later Minister of Finance, Agriculture, and Communications. In 1979 Haskins retired from Cabinet and returned to the family trading business. From 1979 to 1989 he served as the Speaker of the National Assembly of Botswana. JG Haskins died in 1990 as a retired politician and businessman.” [Quote from Historical Dictionary of Botswana].
Another of Botswana’s luminaries, Patrick van Rensburg (December 3, 1931 − May 23, 2017) was a South African-born anti-apartheid activist and educator. In the 1960s, he founded Swaneng Hill School in Serowe, Botswana, and the nationwide Brigades Movement in the country. In the 1980s, he founded the Mmegi national newspaper and the Foundation for Education with Production, which promoted his ideas in South Africa, Botswana, and Zimbabwe. In 1981, he was awarded the Right Livelihood Award "for developing replicable educational models for the third world majority".
Van Rensburg was born in Durban, South Africa. His parents separated when he was young and he was raised by his Afrikaner grandmother and her French-Mauritian husband. The family spoke English at home and were Roman Catholic: a big difference from the traditional Afrikaner upbringing. Van Rensburg attended St Henry's Marist Brothers' College and Glenwood High School. He had three children: sons Mothusi van Rensburg and Thomas van Rensburg, and daughter Joanna Forbes. Diplomatic and political activities Van Rensburg was South African Vice-Consul-in the Belgian Congo (now Democratic Republic of Congo) from February 1956 till May 1957, when he resigned as a protest against South Africa's apartheid policies of racial discrimination. He joined the Liberal Party of South Africa, becoming the party's organising secretary for the Transvaal province in September 1958. In 1959, he moved to the UK, where he almost immediately began helping organise the 1960 campaign to boycott South African goods in the UK and the Netherlands. Other organisers and supporters of the campaign included Julius Nyerere, Trevor Huddleston, Canon John Collins, and Tennyson Makiwane. The Boycott Movement soon grew into the British.
Anti-Apartheid Movement Van Rensburg was vilified by Afrikaners for his part in the campaign, and when he returned to South Africa in 1960, his passport was confiscated and he fled over the border to the Swaziland Protectorate. Botswana In 1962, he moved to the Bechuanaland Protectorate (now Botswana), where he undertook many educational and social initiatives. In the 1980s, he founded the Foundation for Education with Production.
Van Rensburg is the founder of Mmegi, Botswana's leading private newspaper. The newspaper began as a Swaneng Hill School newsletter called 'Mmegi wa Dikgang' in Serowe. Towards the end of his life, he was one of Botswana's elder statespeople, having written a regular column for years for Mmegi. Van Rensburg died on May 23, 2017, in Serowe. Both men may have not been awarded key national awards like the annual 'Naledi Ya Botswana' medal(s) that are bestowed on individuals who have made significant contributions to the country, but they have made outstanding and noteworthy developments. Their works undoubtedly put them up there with other nation builders, if not above them. Together, their companies (Mmegi and Haskins) would establish a long-lasting working relationship from the 1980s through advertising, with Haskins being the client (advertiser) and Mmegi being the publisher. The unbroken healthy relationship has lasted to this day. [Additional sources: Mmegi Online edition and Wikipedia]
