A SUGAR FARMER’S BITTERSWEET VICTORY
Bheki Mhlane had a flourishing career as a mechanical engineer, specialising as a turner machinist, first at Tongaat Hulett, then at Transnet and later at Voermol. But when his father’s health started failing in 2015, Bheki had to get more involved on their family farm. “My dad had just lost my stepmother and his health was starting to deteriorate. He was 70 years old and diabetic.”
Bheki’s father, Norman Ntethe Mhlane, started farming part time in the 1960s while working as an extension officer at Tongaat Hulett. Based in Pietermaritzburg, his job was to promote sugar-cane farming in the homelands of KZN. “My dad was fortunate to have had the opportunity to study for a diploma in agriculture at the University of Fort Hare back then,” says Bheki. “He claimed to have studied with Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi and other prominent political figures of the time.” Tongaat Hulett, explains Bheki, saw an opportunity to access more sugar in the underutilised former homelands and recruited Norman to
