Sam Levy   

        by Tapfuma Machakaire

Rhodesian white entrepreneurs had a distinct characteristic of seclusion, but not Sam Levy, the billionaire businessman who was behind the top class mall, the Sam Levy village in the upmarket Borrowdale suburb of Salisbury now Harare.

How levy ended up being a close friend of a former guerrilla leader, the later General Solomon Tapfumaneyi Mujuru boggles the mind. But those who knew him well will tell you that he would associate with anybody with “constructive” orientation.

His mantra was if you are good and fair I give you honey, if you are not honest and did wrong you risked being stung, and this earned him the nickname Kanyuchi, the Shona word for bee.

Levy was involved in various charities and among his friends was prominent philanthropist, Vassiliki Divaris who confessed to receiving support from Levy including towards her Child Survival Trust.

Samuel Rahamin Levy was born to a Jewish family in Que Que (now Kwekwe) on 9 October 1929. He went to Prince Edward School in Salisbury.

In the 1960s, Levy founded and chaired the then popular Macey’s Stores Limited, a large supermarket group which had branches in most of the urban centre in Rhodesia. Macey’s group went public in the 1970’s. In the early 1980’s Levy bought back every share and sold the company to a private conglomerate. Levy faced heavy challenges from his Macey’s days when he started a price war by slashing the then standardised liquor prices. This earned him the nickname “Cut-price king”

In September 1973 he purchased Duly’s car showroom in Angwa Street, Salisbury for US$1.5 million. He converted the complex into a department store and later a shopping centre, the Ximex Mall.

He sold the complex to the National Social Security Authority (NSSA) in the late 1990s. From 1975 to 1979 Levy served as councillor for Ward 8 comprising the city’s southern district.

Levy built the Sam Levy’s Village without the support of the local community which was against the idea of having a shopping centre in a residential neighbourhood. He regularised the structures after he was threatened with demolition by the council. The mall became the largest and most prestigious shopping mall in the country.

He was caught up in another controversy in 2000 when 50 motorbikes marked police were discovered at his farm near Harare. The story which hit the headlines saw Levy being fined a paltry two hundred Zimbabwe dollars. Levy had bought the bikes at a virtual “tag sale” from the British Consulate.

What made Sam Levy village standout are its buildings that resemble English cottages which saw it being dubbed “Little England.” The mall also has a clock tower similar to Big Ben tower of England. The man who had so much pride in bringing new things to his country, issued security personnel at the complex with uniforms similar to those of British constables.

Levy was fond of bringing new ideas to his home country.

“When I see a good idea, I take it and bring it back to Zimbabwe”, he used to say. He made it very clear that he was part of a team that was determined to carry Zimbabwe forward. Levy was known to be very protective of kith and kin and would not allow people to harm anyone he loved. He reminded everyone he met to “respect and honour your parents and don’t fight with your brothers and sisters.” He was also known to constantly repeat the statement “Family is family” and “blood is thicker than water.”

Levy died on 5 June 2012. He was survived by his wife Gloria, four children and seven grandchildren. He was posthumously honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Victor Night Awards and recognised by the UN’s EMPRETEC programme as one of the most influential Zimbabwean entrepreneurs since 1980. His eldest son, Isaac, took over the family’s business operations.