Athol Williams

Athol Williams (born 20 June 1970) is a

It was at the University of the Witwatersrand, in 1991, that he published his first poem, "New South Africa", in the student publication Wits Student. The poem captured the newfound optimism associated with the release from prison of Nelson Mandela and other anti-apartheid leaders in 1990.^[2]

He is the co-founder of Read to Rise,^[3] an NGO that promotes youth literacy by making appropriate books available to children in poor communities and founder of the Institute of Social and Corporate Ethics (ISCE). He serves on the board of New Contrast Literary Magazine, a South African literary journal,^[4] and is the founder of the Cape Flats Book Festival.^[5]

Anti-corruption

Williams is acknowledged for his anti-corruption and ethical business stance. In October 2019, Williams blew the whistle on Bain & Company stating that they had withheld relevant information from the Nugent Commission investigating irregularities at South African Revenue Service.^[6][7][8][9] In December 2019, several media outlets reported that Bain had attempted to buy Williams's silence.^{[10][11][12][13]} The Nugent Commission found that Bain did not make full disclosure.^[14] Bain have denied these allegations.^[15][16]

In March 2021, Williams testified for two days before the

He is the first person to earn five master's degrees from five global top-ranked universities.[30] He holds the following degrees:

• BSc (Engineering)(Mech), University of the Witwatersrand,^[2]
• MBA, MIT Sloan School of Management
• MSc (Finance), London Business School,^[31]
• MPhil (Political Theory),
  Hertford College)^[32]
• MPA, Harvard University
• MSc (Political Theory),
  London School of Economics and Political Science.^[33]
• DPhil (Politics), University of Oxford,^[34]

Williams has held the positions of Adjunct Professor at University of the Witwatersrand and Senior Lecturer at the University of Cape Town, specialising in corporate responsibility and ethical leadership^[35] He was also a Research Fellow in the Centre for Applied Ethics at the University of Stellenbosch.^[36]

Writing

From 2009 to 2014, Williams published his poetry under the pseudonym AE Ballakisten. His poetry typically addresses four themes: (i) social justice as in the poems When It Rains, Protest in Colombo and Coat of Arms (ii) exploration of our humanity as in Your Song (iii) inspiration as we find in 39 Postcards or (iv) the surreal as in the poem At Home.

Williams's academic writing focuses on corporate responsibility and business ethics. He is often published in the media on topics of poverty,^[37][38] youth literacy,^[39] social justice^[40] and corporate malfeasance.^[41][42][43]

Williams writes regularly on public affairs for publications in South Africa and is a regular radio guest and conference speaker. He has a regular column for Thought Leader^[44][45] and has recently published in the Mail & Guardian,^[46] The Big Issue^[47] and Business Day.^[42]

Bibliography

Poetry

• Heap of Stones (2009; Theart Press)
• Talking to a Tree: Poems of a Fragile World (2011; Theart Press)^[48]
• Bumper Cars. Onslaught Press. 2015.
  ISBN 978-0-9927238-7-3
  .
• Invitation (2017; Theart Press)[49]
• Fragile (2020; Theart Press)^[50]
• Whistleblowing (2021; Geko Publishing)^[51]

Non-fiction

• Deep Collusion: Bain and the capture of South Africa (2021; Tafelberg)^[52][53]
• Pushing Boulders: Oppressed to Inspired (2016; Theart Press)^[54][55]
• The Book of Eden: a spiritual philosophical revelation for a hopeful future (2019; Theart Press)^[56]

Children's books

• The Oaky Series (illustrated by Taryn Lock; Theart Press): Oaky and the Sun (2014), Oaky the Happy Tree (2015),^[57] Oaky the Brave Acorn (2017),^[58] What is Happening to Oaky? (2017),^[58] Oaky Runs a Race (2018), Oaky and Themba (2019), Oaky and the Virus (2020),^{[59][60][61][62][63][64]} Oaky in the Playground (2021)^[65]
• A Girl Called H (2019, Theart Press)

Awards and honours

Literary

• Sol Plaatje European Union Poetry Award (2015)^[66]
• Sol Plaatje European Union Poetry Award (2016)^[67]
• Parallel Universe Poetry Competition, Winner,
  Oxford University (2016).^[68]
• South African Independent Publishers Award (2017) for Invitation[69]
• Cultural Affairs Award for Contribution to Literary Arts, Western Cape Provincial Government (2019).^[70]

Public Service

• Special Recognition Award, Blueprint for Free Speech, Australia, 2022^[71]
• Chairman's Award, SA Chamber of Commerce UK, 2022^[72]
• Mayor's Medal for Extraordinary Bravery, Cape Town, South Africa, 2023^[73][74]

References