14/48 Dr Ruben Richards on South Africa

Originally Aired December 2nd-8th 2014 on Inspiring South Africans with Heather de Wit and her guest Dr Ruben Richards.

South Africa is healing and becoming the vibrant and prosperous country again. Dr Ruben Richards is playing his part in it.

Dr, Professor, Pastor Ruben Richards has an eclectic and multi-faceted professional career path. He is a visionary and currently wears a formal hat as CEO of the Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

He started out life as a worker in a clothing factory, later completed an apprenticeship within the mechanical and marine engineering environment and then later completed 4 degrees in three different countries, Germany, Switzerland and USA, finishing with a doctorate (PhD) majoring Old Testament Studies (i.e. Hebrew Bible) at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. As a young tradesman, he also completed mechanical engineering studies.

The intervening years between the blue collar qualified tradesman and white collar intellectual-academic identity, is more than a decade of work within the criminal justice environment of South Africa. He served as Executive Secretary in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission with Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Thereafter, his next challenge was wrapped up in his appointment by national government as Deputy Director General, where he was also one of the founders of South Africa’s version of FBI then called the ‘Scorpions’. He also serves as a democratic governance consultant as advisor to the United Nations Development Program, having undertaken projects in various African countries.

More recently, through his South African non-profit organisation ‘The Ruben Richards Foundation’, Ruben has acted as a peace builder and mediator between police and criminal gangs in Cape Town. His foundation is focused on bringing healing to traumatized communities.

He published a brilliant and well researched book “Bullets or Ballots” – a must buy and read for every South African anywhere in the world and which is available on Amazon. In his book Ruben tells the truth about South Africa and also gives hope, as he shares the 6 components of a rescue plan.

Ruben’s story is what is possible for any South African and he has dared to go down some scary roads to fuel is dream, always standing in his truth. If anyone knows what’s really going on, on the ground, in our infrastructure and the workings of South Africa, Ruben Richards is the man.

His life ambition is to maximize potential in others and he’s doing just that.