By Marlan Padayachee, Speechwriter to the Deputy Mayor of the City of Durban, Logie Naidoo
Opening and Welcome Address by Councillor Logie Naidoo, Deputy Mayor and Chairman of the Economic and Development Committee of the eThekwini Municipality City of Durban, South Africa, at the Annual LED Conference at the International Convention Centre, Durban, on Tuesday, 17 March 2009 at 08h30.
Thank You, Programme Director, Ms Carol Coetzee, Head of the Department of Economic Development.
Good morning, Ladies and Gentlemen, Distinguished Guests and Honorary Guests and Stakeholders.
I am pleased as Chairperson of the eThekwini Municipality’s Economic and Development Committee and the city’s Deputy Mayor to bid all of you a warm welcome to the Annual Local Economic Development Conference piloted by the KwaZulu-Natal’s Finance and Local Development Department.
May I take this opportunity of thanking our counterparts in the provincial government for choosing Durban as the convention city for this all-important conference, taking place at a time when world markets are jittery and there are growing concerns about our own local economy and its strategic development in this region.
I am sure that after last night’s opening banquet and social and business networking at this venue that the local organising committee and delegates are inspired to ring in the changes and give new meaning to the conference theme, “Together, Accelerating Local Economic Development”.
It is also encouraging for our local economy when a big-brand bank like Nedbank signs a Memorandum of Understanding with the Department of Economic Development that demonstrates another chapter to government’s enterprising strategy of locking in the private sector in our public sector initiatives and projects.
As you may agree, government alone cannot overcome the post-apartheid challenges of service delivery and the realigning of the socio-economic landscapes that contradict our city, regions and country.
The African National Congress, for its part as the majority party in the eThekwini Municipality, fully supports the cut and thrust of our election manifesto: “Working Together, We Can Do More.”
On that note, it is with a sense of pride and pleasure that I officially welcome one and all to Durban and wish you all the best in your deliberations, debates, dissents and discourse, as you collectively contribute towards making a difference to the economic landscape.
I am therefore privileged and honoured to recognise and acknowledge the presence, participation and the leadership of the Honourable Premier of KwaZulu Natal, Comrade Doctor Sibusiso Joel Ndebele.
It is my pleasure to welcome and acknowledge the Honourable MEC for Finance and Economic Development, Comrade Doctor Zweli Mkhize.
I wish to welcome and recognise the contribution of the following role-players.
The Chief Director: Provincial & Local Government Infrastructure, National Treasury. Mrs Malijeng Ngqaleni.
The HOD for Local Government and Traditional Affairs, Ms Gabi Gumbi-Masilela.
Mr Jabulane Moremi of the Development Bank of South Africa’s LED Capacity Development Programme.
Mr Sihle Mkhize, General Manager: Economic Planning, DED
Dr L. P. Mondi, Chief Economist & Divisional Executive: Professional Services, IDC.
Ms Astrid Ludin of Finmark Trust
Mr N Dlamini of Save Act,
Mr Frikkie Brooks, General Manager: Development Planning of the Department of Local Government.
The HOD of for Local Government and Traditional Affairs, Ms Gabi Gumbi-Masilela
Ms Gabriele Trah of GTZ.
I also welcome all my colleagues, the District Mayors and Municipal Managers and Chief Financial Officers and as well the Business Leaders.
Ladies and Gentlemen.
Today’s conference, headlined by the relevance and timing of “Together, Accelerating Local Economic Development” should provide a perfect scenario for our pioneering government leaders, notably Dr Ndebele and Dr Mkhize, and our social and economic experts to provide a blueprint that will navigate this region into economic road map that will benefit our impoverished communities from the urban, peri-urban and rural areas.
I stand before you with a sense of optimism, despite the world credit crunch and looming job losses that presenters, participants and delegates will work as a team in a collective effort to provide us with economic solutions for a changing economic landscape.
The challenges and complexities are indeed onerous, but 15 years later, we have to continue our unique public-private sector partnership to ensure that we not only accelerate the local economy, but we accelerate service delivery to the millions of voters, constituencies and communities who believe that there is a “Better Life for All” – but the question is – How Soon?
Therefore, this Local Economic Development conference is ideally positioned to map out the kind of economic initiatives and imperatives that will begin to spell new hope for all our stakeholders.
I am confident that the April 22 election will provide the necessary stimulus for the new government leadership to pin-point the socio-economic priorities that will alter the present landscape of joblessness, poverty, homelessness, the perceived slowdown in the black economic empowerment arena, particularly for emerging entrepreneurs and the reluctance on the part of big business to provide opportunities and skills development training for previously disadvantaged people.
Now is the time, ladies and gentlemen, for the tripartite alliance of government, labour and the community to work together and make things happen to identify economic growth, create jobs, fast-track rural development and alleviate poverty.
Working Together, We Can Do More.
Ladies and Gentlemen, the eThekwini Municipality has made the economic development and growth of small, medium-sized and microenterprises its strong focal point in the past ten years.
Annually, the city’s Business Support Unit contributes R18-million of Durban’s R25-million budget towards stimulating the SMMEs through our yearly Small Business Fair that started with 40 SMMES.
Today, almost 350 SMMES participate in the Small Business Fair.
That’s not all: an average of 3 000 people supported the fair last year.
The fair provides a perfect platform for SMMEs, where emerging businesses look for opportunities for joint ventures for the purpose of business growth.
This, in turn, creates massive job opportunities for locals.
Our political commitment ensures that the municipality, within the city’s 2020 Vision, creates a viable and vibrant economic platform for our ‘Second Economy’ – represented largely by the SMMEs – to make headway in the current economic tidal wave.
Ten years later, the city continues to provide opportunities for SMMES – including disabled business people - to gain access to markets and to provide them with the necessary training and business networking opportunities both on a local and international level.
I am optimistic that despite the credit crunch and difficulties experienced in the local economy, this city-wide stimulus will accelerate the economic growth of black economic empowerment and SMMES will continue to be the lifeblood of our local economy as many of them strives to aspire for mainstream of the first economy.
Finally, the eThekwini Municipality salutes the MEC for Finance and Economic Development and his team at the department for pulling together this conference.
May today’s deliberations point us in the direction of economic recovery, progress and growth, and as a city government, the municipality will continue to play a powerful role in ensuring that our service delivery mechanism is in top gear to meet the aspirations and ambitions of so many people who are waiting to board the economic express to help government realise the dream of a “Better Life for All.”
These economic solutions and challenges can emerge from this conference and by “Working Together, We Can Do More.”
My best wishes to all the participants for a fruitful conference.
And remember that the accent is on acceleration.
I Thank You.
Speech researched and written for the Mayor’s Office, eThekwini Municipality 16 March 2009 by GreenGold Africa Communications: greengold@telkomsa.net/ www.greengoldcom.com/ 083 796 1762/ 083 797 1762 _______
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
The Centenary - A Class of Its Own in Durban
By Marlan Padayachee, Speechwriter to the Mayor of Durban, Obed Mlaba
Opening Address by His Worship, Councillor Obed Mlaba, the Mayor of the eThekwini Municipality, at the opening of the Centenary Umhlanga Ridge New Town Centre on Tuesday, 17 March 2009, at 17h00.
Thank You, Programme Director.
Good afternoon, Ladies and Gentlemen, Distinguished Guests and Stakeholders.
Mr Carlos Correia, Chief Executive Officer of the Isolenu Group.
The representatives of Moreland and the Tongaat Huletts Group.
All Protocols Observed.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I stand before you as the Mayor of one of the fastest growing and developing cities in Africa.
In the past 15 years since the changing of the guard at the City Hall to what I believe is a truly progressive, people-centred and business-friendly city government, I have attended more sod-turning ceremonies and the opening of new buildings than before in my entire life.
This experience itself speaks for itself as far as how far we have come in our public-private sector partnership that was mooted by Nelson Mandela.
Each day, from the city’s skyline is changing.
Not in 15 years since we ushered democracy with a promise for a “Better Life for All”, I have not witnessed so many cranes dominating our skylines from Umbumbulu to Umhlanga.
From the pioneering development of Bridge City in the nearby Kwa Mashu/Ntuzuma Township to the Centenary in the New Town Centre in Umhlanga, the city’s landscape is undergoing phenomenal changes.
From the south to the north of the city’s coastal flanks leading up to the majestic development of the King Shaka International Airport and the Dube Tradeport, Durban is experiencing a real infrastructural and development boom for the first time in many decades.
The Centenary in the New Town Centre is now part of this exciting mix of socio-economic history that is taking place as central, provincial and municipal government work hand in hand to map out Durban’s 2020 Vision of creating a safer and sustainable city where all sectors of citizens, the rich and the poor, shall live and work in harmony in a changing society.
The versatility, style and modern design of the Centenary is an inspiring new asset to our city and our rapidly growing inner-city town centres such as the gilt-edged location of Umhlanga and its portfolio of big-brand businesses.
This evening, I wish to roundly congratulate the visionaries and developers of this magnificent project that has added new value to the city as we strive to put our best foot forward for the FIFA 2010 World Cup Soccer.
This project is the brainchild of a visionary company, Moreland and the Tongaat Huletts Group.
In years to come, the New Town Centre’s revolutionary design, functionality and affordability will be judged as one of the finest models for the future urban development planning in KwaZulu-Natal.
The Centenary’s form and beauty, aesthetically supplemented by a unique, bustling business environment and some of the finest residential developments and prestige golf estates, and encapsulating Old Mutual's extraordinary R1, 6 billion Gateway Theatre of Shopping, is certainly an attractive option for businesses looking for a world-class sectional title block.
While property developers and experts will agree with me that the concept of sectional title ownership has been foreign to our own investors.
Ladies and Gentlemen, once they view or hear about the Centenary, I am confident that local and foreign investors will snap up this popular option for sectional title office and industrial properties.
The answer is simple: This makes good business and economic sense because the cost is shared by all tenants.
Thank you, very much, for giving me and the eThekwini Municipality and opportunity to grace this opening ceremony and endorse this breathtaking project.
I extend our best wishes to the developers and tenants and may the Centenary stand out majestically in the sea of beauty and progress.
Finally, when the African National Congress says: “Working Together, We Can Do More” – we mean just that – May our public-private partnership continue in a spirit of trust and co-operation so that we can all deliver on the city’s 2020 vision to create jobs and provide a safer and sustainable city.
Kindly let me leave you with the words of wisdom from one of the world’s most daring entrepreneurs, Richard Branson who said:”Business opportunities are like buses, there's always another one coming.”
I Thank You.
______________________________________________________________________________
Speech researched and written for the Mayor’s Office, eThekwini Municipality, City of Durban, South Africa 13 March 2009 by GreenGold Africa Communiactions: Marlan Padayachee/Sally Nene/Amanda Cele/ greengold@telkomsa.net/ www.greengoldcom.com 0837961762/0837971762/0312661762/
_________________________________________________________________________
Opening Address by His Worship, Councillor Obed Mlaba, the Mayor of the eThekwini Municipality, at the opening of the Centenary Umhlanga Ridge New Town Centre on Tuesday, 17 March 2009, at 17h00.
Thank You, Programme Director.
Good afternoon, Ladies and Gentlemen, Distinguished Guests and Stakeholders.
Mr Carlos Correia, Chief Executive Officer of the Isolenu Group.
The representatives of Moreland and the Tongaat Huletts Group.
All Protocols Observed.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I stand before you as the Mayor of one of the fastest growing and developing cities in Africa.
In the past 15 years since the changing of the guard at the City Hall to what I believe is a truly progressive, people-centred and business-friendly city government, I have attended more sod-turning ceremonies and the opening of new buildings than before in my entire life.
This experience itself speaks for itself as far as how far we have come in our public-private sector partnership that was mooted by Nelson Mandela.
Each day, from the city’s skyline is changing.
Not in 15 years since we ushered democracy with a promise for a “Better Life for All”, I have not witnessed so many cranes dominating our skylines from Umbumbulu to Umhlanga.
From the pioneering development of Bridge City in the nearby Kwa Mashu/Ntuzuma Township to the Centenary in the New Town Centre in Umhlanga, the city’s landscape is undergoing phenomenal changes.
From the south to the north of the city’s coastal flanks leading up to the majestic development of the King Shaka International Airport and the Dube Tradeport, Durban is experiencing a real infrastructural and development boom for the first time in many decades.
The Centenary in the New Town Centre is now part of this exciting mix of socio-economic history that is taking place as central, provincial and municipal government work hand in hand to map out Durban’s 2020 Vision of creating a safer and sustainable city where all sectors of citizens, the rich and the poor, shall live and work in harmony in a changing society.
The versatility, style and modern design of the Centenary is an inspiring new asset to our city and our rapidly growing inner-city town centres such as the gilt-edged location of Umhlanga and its portfolio of big-brand businesses.
This evening, I wish to roundly congratulate the visionaries and developers of this magnificent project that has added new value to the city as we strive to put our best foot forward for the FIFA 2010 World Cup Soccer.
This project is the brainchild of a visionary company, Moreland and the Tongaat Huletts Group.
In years to come, the New Town Centre’s revolutionary design, functionality and affordability will be judged as one of the finest models for the future urban development planning in KwaZulu-Natal.
The Centenary’s form and beauty, aesthetically supplemented by a unique, bustling business environment and some of the finest residential developments and prestige golf estates, and encapsulating Old Mutual's extraordinary R1, 6 billion Gateway Theatre of Shopping, is certainly an attractive option for businesses looking for a world-class sectional title block.
While property developers and experts will agree with me that the concept of sectional title ownership has been foreign to our own investors.
Ladies and Gentlemen, once they view or hear about the Centenary, I am confident that local and foreign investors will snap up this popular option for sectional title office and industrial properties.
The answer is simple: This makes good business and economic sense because the cost is shared by all tenants.
Thank you, very much, for giving me and the eThekwini Municipality and opportunity to grace this opening ceremony and endorse this breathtaking project.
I extend our best wishes to the developers and tenants and may the Centenary stand out majestically in the sea of beauty and progress.
Finally, when the African National Congress says: “Working Together, We Can Do More” – we mean just that – May our public-private partnership continue in a spirit of trust and co-operation so that we can all deliver on the city’s 2020 vision to create jobs and provide a safer and sustainable city.
Kindly let me leave you with the words of wisdom from one of the world’s most daring entrepreneurs, Richard Branson who said:”Business opportunities are like buses, there's always another one coming.”
I Thank You.
______________________________________________________________________________
Speech researched and written for the Mayor’s Office, eThekwini Municipality, City of Durban, South Africa 13 March 2009 by GreenGold Africa Communiactions: Marlan Padayachee/Sally Nene/Amanda Cele/ greengold@telkomsa.net/ www.greengoldcom.com 0837961762/0837971762/0312661762/
_________________________________________________________________________
Imagine Durbban Supports Earth Hour 2009
By Marlan Padayachee, Imagine Durban
Imagine Durban supports Earth Hour 2009
Imagine Durban is supporting eThekwini Municipality participation in World Wildlife Foundation’s Earth Hour. The global campaign aims to get more than one-billion people in over 1 000 cities switching off lights between 8:30pm and 9:30pm on Saturday, 28 March.
Imagine Durban, a city council-driven initiative on integrated, long-term planning in coalition with Sustainable Cities and the PLUS Network has called on Durban households and businesses to support the campaign by switching off lights for an hour between 8.30 and 9.30pm. Pledge your support at www.earthhour.org.za
The lights-out awareness campaign that began in Sydney, Australia, in 2007, grew spectacularly last year when more than 50 million people in over 270 cities in over 35 countries responded positively to the clarion call to reduce the world’s high energy consumption that affects global climate change.
Imagine Durban is encouraging all home-owners, businesses and anyone who uses electricity to support Earth Hour by switching off lights and any other non-essential appliances. Residents and social groups are urged to organise fun, electricity-free events with friends and family to spend the ‘global hour’ discussing how they can reduce energy consumption by contributing to global warming and what government can do to address this problem.
Durban’s flagship venue, the International Convention Centre, will be in darkness for an hour on the night to raise awareness of how excessive use of energy affects climate change across the world.
Simultaneously, the city’s “Switch Off, Unplug and Save” public campaign is aimed at encouraging residents and business owners to use less electricity by saving 10 percent of their electricity consumption.
Global warming is caused by the emission of Carbon Dioxide and other Greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Eskom's electricity production accounts for over 60 percent of South Africa’s national greenhouse gas emissions.
Closer to home, climate change in Durban is expected to result in higher temperatures, more storms and rising sea levels, thereby increasing the risk of diseases, disruptions to agricultural systems and loss of life and damage to property through more floods and coastal storms.
Imagine Durban supports Earth Hour 2009
Imagine Durban is supporting eThekwini Municipality participation in World Wildlife Foundation’s Earth Hour. The global campaign aims to get more than one-billion people in over 1 000 cities switching off lights between 8:30pm and 9:30pm on Saturday, 28 March.
Imagine Durban, a city council-driven initiative on integrated, long-term planning in coalition with Sustainable Cities and the PLUS Network has called on Durban households and businesses to support the campaign by switching off lights for an hour between 8.30 and 9.30pm. Pledge your support at www.earthhour.org.za
The lights-out awareness campaign that began in Sydney, Australia, in 2007, grew spectacularly last year when more than 50 million people in over 270 cities in over 35 countries responded positively to the clarion call to reduce the world’s high energy consumption that affects global climate change.
Imagine Durban is encouraging all home-owners, businesses and anyone who uses electricity to support Earth Hour by switching off lights and any other non-essential appliances. Residents and social groups are urged to organise fun, electricity-free events with friends and family to spend the ‘global hour’ discussing how they can reduce energy consumption by contributing to global warming and what government can do to address this problem.
Durban’s flagship venue, the International Convention Centre, will be in darkness for an hour on the night to raise awareness of how excessive use of energy affects climate change across the world.
Simultaneously, the city’s “Switch Off, Unplug and Save” public campaign is aimed at encouraging residents and business owners to use less electricity by saving 10 percent of their electricity consumption.
Global warming is caused by the emission of Carbon Dioxide and other Greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Eskom's electricity production accounts for over 60 percent of South Africa’s national greenhouse gas emissions.
Closer to home, climate change in Durban is expected to result in higher temperatures, more storms and rising sea levels, thereby increasing the risk of diseases, disruptions to agricultural systems and loss of life and damage to property through more floods and coastal storms.
Monday, March 9, 2009
150 Years of Indians in South Africa
2010 A defining milestone for a colorful community
Marlan Padayachee comes from a long of chiefs and reflects on his ancestry and forebears ahead of 150 years of Indians in 2010 South Africa.
Dateline Durban: 2010 is an important year for South Africa. With the FIFA World Cup taking centre stage next winter, another significant, though on a smaller scale, will unfold across the country.
South Africa’s 1,3 million strong Indian community, will be commemorating and celebrating 150 years of their legacy, history and heritage as descendants of sugar cane slaves who were shipped by colonial India to Durban on 16 November 1860.
The community’s economic platform was also built by the traders and skilled artisan and teachers who followed one of the most epic journeys of human-labour cargo.
There are 25 million Indians outside India, with South Africa ranking among the most unique group in the Indian Diaspora.
The staging of the Miss India Worldwide Pageant in Durban this year, featuring Indian beauties from almost 25 countries, gives excellent cultural and performing arts portrayal of the community. This international pageant may be hosted in 2010 in Durban and Mauritius, where the first batch of Indians arrived with the rest landing in two ships and followed by hundreds of thousands until the 1900s.
Recently, local Indians built bridges at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (Global Indian Diaspora) Convention in Chennai, India, an occasion that provides an opportunity to examine the perennial identity crisis facing SA’s Indians. This time next year the Indian community will celebrate a plethora of projects marking their co-existence in Africa, a far cry from the country they refer to as the motherland or Thai Nadu.While older generations are emotional and sentimental about traditional and historical ties with Mother India, the younger generations seek jobs and lifestyles in Western democracies, leaving behind the baggage of the past.On the flipside, the hybrid of labourers and traders has the capacity to fuse this milestone into a continental psyche that will herald the first kick-off of the 2010 Soccer World Cup and throw Africa into a euphoric explosion of football frenzy. Their culture contributes to our cosmopolitan society.A community with a history and heritage can offer much more to a country with the complexities and challenges of economic empowerment, nation-building, poverty, crime and corruption.During the reign of the British Raj, agriculturally skilled Indians were shipped to SA and other colonial outposts to turn sugar cane plantations into new economies for the imperial industrialists, hence the term “green gold”. Peasants, faced with grinding poverty, were lured via the colonial expansion to work on the railways, mines, agriculture and domestic services.After the SS Truro dropped anchor in Durban Bay on November 16, 1860, with the first batch, shiploads of semi-skilled slaves, professionals and merchants were ferried in droves. The economic migration ended 50 years later. The pioneers gave birth to a new generation, the largest outside India.While the stoical semi-slaves transformed the green fields into gold for sugar barons, traders and craftsmen gave Indians an economic and capitalist face on this edge of the Indian Ocean rim.It took a visionary, M. K. Gandhi, to change the complexion of how the business and the underclass Indians would map out their survival strategy and destiny in the face of discrimination that was also meted out to indigenous people.In the Indian Diaspora, the local community stands out for a variety of reasons, with political resistance and an enterprising spirit ranking high.The “uniqueness” comes from the work culture that they inherited from their forebears, always resilient in the face of adversity. Credibility came by siding with the oppressed masses. With this alliance, they got rid of the colonial-apartheid leg irons.Staving off repatriation, they sacrificed so much for so many people to enjoy freedom, social justice and human rights, making them a cut above the rest in the global village.On the other side of the coin, the grass is no longer greener for working-class Indians, now in a similar position to poorer black workers.Although Indians today are a formidable presence, enjoying social cohesion and economic advantage, and continue to influence business and politics, the legacy of the 1860 descendants has been left behind by change.Or did the winds of an epoch-making transformation push Indians onto the margins of the economically empowered black mainstream, in sharp contrast to the role they played in the resistance to apartheid?With 800 000 Indians in KwaZulu-Natal, 2010 still provides an excellent exhibition to showcase their 150 years.Politically, the Indian swing vote is important to the national ballot, being split between the African National Congress and its dissident Congress of the People formation, and a variety of opposition parties.Conservative by nature, Indians blow hot and cold. Always apolitical, they are cautious and put “place bets” on the political roulette wheel. They need to assimilate themselves into the nation’s heartbeat.Yet of 1, 3 million Asians, two percent of South Africa’s population of 47 million, Indians are in the majority.When they arrived from colonial India, they were termed Indian South Africans. At the Global People of Indian Origin gathering, they were called South Africans of Indian origin. They have evolved via political resistance to Indian-African or African-Indian.Notwithstanding the sentimental journey, emotional bloodlines and poignant history, culminating in the triumphal spirit of humanity, the identity crisis is a post-apartheid challenge. This is further complicated by a strong identification with Bollywood, heart-throbbing ethnic music, spicy cuisines, sweetmeats and saris, demonstrating that the umbilical cord with Mother India is still intact. Today, a legacy lives in the hearts and minds of a people whose forebears toiled from dawn to dusk under the African sun.
Marlan Padayachee, who covered President Mandela’s State Visit to India in 1995, is an international freelance journalist and social and political commentator who runs a media strategy consultancy in South Africa: greengold@telkomsa.net
Marlan Padayachee comes from a long of chiefs and reflects on his ancestry and forebears ahead of 150 years of Indians in 2010 South Africa.
Dateline Durban: 2010 is an important year for South Africa. With the FIFA World Cup taking centre stage next winter, another significant, though on a smaller scale, will unfold across the country.
South Africa’s 1,3 million strong Indian community, will be commemorating and celebrating 150 years of their legacy, history and heritage as descendants of sugar cane slaves who were shipped by colonial India to Durban on 16 November 1860.
The community’s economic platform was also built by the traders and skilled artisan and teachers who followed one of the most epic journeys of human-labour cargo.
There are 25 million Indians outside India, with South Africa ranking among the most unique group in the Indian Diaspora.
The staging of the Miss India Worldwide Pageant in Durban this year, featuring Indian beauties from almost 25 countries, gives excellent cultural and performing arts portrayal of the community. This international pageant may be hosted in 2010 in Durban and Mauritius, where the first batch of Indians arrived with the rest landing in two ships and followed by hundreds of thousands until the 1900s.
Recently, local Indians built bridges at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (Global Indian Diaspora) Convention in Chennai, India, an occasion that provides an opportunity to examine the perennial identity crisis facing SA’s Indians. This time next year the Indian community will celebrate a plethora of projects marking their co-existence in Africa, a far cry from the country they refer to as the motherland or Thai Nadu.While older generations are emotional and sentimental about traditional and historical ties with Mother India, the younger generations seek jobs and lifestyles in Western democracies, leaving behind the baggage of the past.On the flipside, the hybrid of labourers and traders has the capacity to fuse this milestone into a continental psyche that will herald the first kick-off of the 2010 Soccer World Cup and throw Africa into a euphoric explosion of football frenzy. Their culture contributes to our cosmopolitan society.A community with a history and heritage can offer much more to a country with the complexities and challenges of economic empowerment, nation-building, poverty, crime and corruption.During the reign of the British Raj, agriculturally skilled Indians were shipped to SA and other colonial outposts to turn sugar cane plantations into new economies for the imperial industrialists, hence the term “green gold”. Peasants, faced with grinding poverty, were lured via the colonial expansion to work on the railways, mines, agriculture and domestic services.After the SS Truro dropped anchor in Durban Bay on November 16, 1860, with the first batch, shiploads of semi-skilled slaves, professionals and merchants were ferried in droves. The economic migration ended 50 years later. The pioneers gave birth to a new generation, the largest outside India.While the stoical semi-slaves transformed the green fields into gold for sugar barons, traders and craftsmen gave Indians an economic and capitalist face on this edge of the Indian Ocean rim.It took a visionary, M. K. Gandhi, to change the complexion of how the business and the underclass Indians would map out their survival strategy and destiny in the face of discrimination that was also meted out to indigenous people.In the Indian Diaspora, the local community stands out for a variety of reasons, with political resistance and an enterprising spirit ranking high.The “uniqueness” comes from the work culture that they inherited from their forebears, always resilient in the face of adversity. Credibility came by siding with the oppressed masses. With this alliance, they got rid of the colonial-apartheid leg irons.Staving off repatriation, they sacrificed so much for so many people to enjoy freedom, social justice and human rights, making them a cut above the rest in the global village.On the other side of the coin, the grass is no longer greener for working-class Indians, now in a similar position to poorer black workers.Although Indians today are a formidable presence, enjoying social cohesion and economic advantage, and continue to influence business and politics, the legacy of the 1860 descendants has been left behind by change.Or did the winds of an epoch-making transformation push Indians onto the margins of the economically empowered black mainstream, in sharp contrast to the role they played in the resistance to apartheid?With 800 000 Indians in KwaZulu-Natal, 2010 still provides an excellent exhibition to showcase their 150 years.Politically, the Indian swing vote is important to the national ballot, being split between the African National Congress and its dissident Congress of the People formation, and a variety of opposition parties.Conservative by nature, Indians blow hot and cold. Always apolitical, they are cautious and put “place bets” on the political roulette wheel. They need to assimilate themselves into the nation’s heartbeat.Yet of 1, 3 million Asians, two percent of South Africa’s population of 47 million, Indians are in the majority.When they arrived from colonial India, they were termed Indian South Africans. At the Global People of Indian Origin gathering, they were called South Africans of Indian origin. They have evolved via political resistance to Indian-African or African-Indian.Notwithstanding the sentimental journey, emotional bloodlines and poignant history, culminating in the triumphal spirit of humanity, the identity crisis is a post-apartheid challenge. This is further complicated by a strong identification with Bollywood, heart-throbbing ethnic music, spicy cuisines, sweetmeats and saris, demonstrating that the umbilical cord with Mother India is still intact. Today, a legacy lives in the hearts and minds of a people whose forebears toiled from dawn to dusk under the African sun.
Marlan Padayachee, who covered President Mandela’s State Visit to India in 1995, is an international freelance journalist and social and political commentator who runs a media strategy consultancy in South Africa: greengold@telkomsa.net
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Revisiting Rhodes University
By Khaya Thonjeni
Schools Outreach Officer
Rhodes School of Journalism and Media Studies
Marlan Padayachee to apply for JMS Masters in 2010
Seasoned journalist Marlan Padayachee, who also heads GreenGold Africa Communications, was spotted reading a copy of Grocott’s Mail in the Africa Matrix Media building after an academic visit and meetings with Professors Larry Strelitz and Guy Berger. He was en-route from an assignment at the Lalibela Private Game Reserve when he revisited Grahamstown to discuss a part time study proposal for a Master’s degree at the JMS in 2010.
He shared his story of how apartheid blackballed him from studying journalism in the 1970s: “In terms of the Separate University Act and the Group Areas Act, I could not enrol at Rhodes University. I was directed to the Minister of Internal Affairs to apply for a special permit. It was politically incorrect to request a special dispensation when the rest of South Africa’s disenfranchised people were subjected to these discriminatory laws. However, I took sabbatical in 2000 from Independent Newspapers and some opportunities included coming to Rhodes as a visiting lecturer and I am grateful to Guy Berger for arranging that visit.”
“It’s time to bring closure on this chapter and work towards attaining an academic qualification from one of the world’s leading journalism schools,” says Padayachee, who earned a British Council Scholarship to study international journalism at London’s City University in the 1980s and was recognised for his brave reporting style during the apartheid and democracy era with the International Visitor’s Award from the American Government in the 1990s.
His involvement in the University of Natal’s Cultural and Media Studies in Durban in 2000 inspired him to promote the industry-institution linkage. In 2003, he started broad-based media consultancy where he writes speeches for mayors and government ministers, co-ordinates social responsibility projects for corporate firms and writes for a variety of publications locally and abroad.
For more information on how to enrol for a master’s degree click here.
Schools Outreach Officer
Rhodes School of Journalism and Media Studies
Marlan Padayachee to apply for JMS Masters in 2010
Seasoned journalist Marlan Padayachee, who also heads GreenGold Africa Communications, was spotted reading a copy of Grocott’s Mail in the Africa Matrix Media building after an academic visit and meetings with Professors Larry Strelitz and Guy Berger. He was en-route from an assignment at the Lalibela Private Game Reserve when he revisited Grahamstown to discuss a part time study proposal for a Master’s degree at the JMS in 2010.
He shared his story of how apartheid blackballed him from studying journalism in the 1970s: “In terms of the Separate University Act and the Group Areas Act, I could not enrol at Rhodes University. I was directed to the Minister of Internal Affairs to apply for a special permit. It was politically incorrect to request a special dispensation when the rest of South Africa’s disenfranchised people were subjected to these discriminatory laws. However, I took sabbatical in 2000 from Independent Newspapers and some opportunities included coming to Rhodes as a visiting lecturer and I am grateful to Guy Berger for arranging that visit.”
“It’s time to bring closure on this chapter and work towards attaining an academic qualification from one of the world’s leading journalism schools,” says Padayachee, who earned a British Council Scholarship to study international journalism at London’s City University in the 1980s and was recognised for his brave reporting style during the apartheid and democracy era with the International Visitor’s Award from the American Government in the 1990s.
His involvement in the University of Natal’s Cultural and Media Studies in Durban in 2000 inspired him to promote the industry-institution linkage. In 2003, he started broad-based media consultancy where he writes speeches for mayors and government ministers, co-ordinates social responsibility projects for corporate firms and writes for a variety of publications locally and abroad.
For more information on how to enrol for a master’s degree click here.
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