‘You stole my work’
JOURNALIST SUES CULTURAL LEADER FOR R500 000
CANDICE SOOBRAMONEY
Published in the front-page of POST December 28-January 1 2012 (South Africa)
A JOURNALIST is suing respected community leader TP Naidoo for half a million rands.
Marlan Padayachee, currently a media and communications strategist, claims Naidoo plagiarised his work.
Naidoo is the director of the Indian Academy of South Africa and has played an active role in promoting Indian culture in South Africa. Last year he authored the book The Settler: Tribulations, Trials and Triumph. It was published to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Indians coming to South Africa.
It included a series titled The 1946 Resisters.
Padayachee claims he wrote the series but Naidoo failed to acknowledge his contribution.
He has now filed papers in the Durban Magistrate’s Court claiming half a million rands.
Padayachee said from 1988 to 2004 he assisted Naidoo in compiling and contributing stories and profiles on community icons for the publication The Indian Annual. Until then he had complaints about working with Naidoo.
In 2009 he approached Naidoo with a proposal.
“I told him I was putting together a series of updated and rewritten articles, which previously appeared in the e Indian Annual, on the 1946 series. It was accepted for the 2010 special edition and I was subsequently paid R3 000.”
After the book The Settler was launched Padayachee realized Naidoo had taken credit for an interview he (Padayachee) did with South African anti-apartheid activist Yusuf Dadoo in London in 1983.
According to Padayachee the (then) Argus newspaper group assigned him to cover the three-day conference in London on United Nations’ sanctions against South African sport.
While there he conducted interviews with freedom fighters including Dadoo, who at that stage was in exile.
When he returned home he wrote a series of articles for the Sunday Tribune.
At a later stage some of them were rewritten, updated and published in The Indian Annual.
“I had not seen the draft (of The Settler) and was surprised when I realized I was not rightfully credited.
“Naidoo is not a journalist and was never in London in 1983. He was in Durban. I couldn’t and still cannot understand why he took credit for my work when it was previously published in The Indian Annual and I was credited for it.”
Padayachee consulted attorney Siven Samuel and served summons.
He demanded R500 000 in lieu of Naidoo’s failure to acknowledge his work.
This was followed by a second summons this month.
Padayachee said Naidoo believed the proprietorship of any article that appeared in The Indian Annual belonged to the Indian Academy of which he is the Editor.
“But he cannot claim credit for another professional’s work. He is well aware that each of the stories I submitted over the years had my copyright> then by adding his name to the Dadoo story, he erroneously gave the impression he wrote the entire series.
“I will not stand for that. He has committed plagiarism and political fraud.”
Asked if this could have been an oversight on Naidoo’s part, Padayachee remarked: “This is no oversight. He wanted credit for himself.”
Padayachee said he was writing a book on his journalistic career and feared other writers and historians would dispute his information, which Naidoo staked claim to.
“I will not allow this to go unchecked. If he continues to publish further editions of my work, he will continue to abuse my intellectual property and history will record it as that.”
Naidoo’s daughter said her father did not want to comment.
Published in Durban by Post newspaper at Independent Newspaper KwaZulu Natal, South Africa, on the 28th December 2011. Copyright Post/INKZN.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
‘You stole my work’
‘You stole my work’
JOURNALIST SUES CULTURAL LEADER FOR R500 000
CANDICE SOOBRAMONEY
Published in the front-page of POST December 28-January 1 2012 (South Africa)
A JOURNALIST is suing respected community leader TP Naidoo for half a million rands.
Marlan Padayachee, currently a media and communications strategist, claims Naidoo plagiarised his work.
Naidoo is the director of the Indian Academy of South Africa and has played an active role in promoting Indian culture in South Africa. Last year he authored the book The Settler: Tribulations, Trials and Triumph. It was published to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Indians coming to South Africa.
It included a series titled The 1946 Resisters.
Padayachee claims he wrote the series but Naidoo failed to acknowledge his contribution.
He has now filed papers in the Durban Magistrate’s Court claiming half a million rands.
Padayachee said from 1988 to 2004 he assisted Naidoo in compiling and contributing stories and profiles on community icons for the publication The Indian Annual. Until then he had complaints about working with Naidoo.
In 2009 he approached Naidoo with a proposal.
“I told him I was putting together a series of updated and rewritten articles, which previously appeared in the e Indian Annual, on the 1946 series. It was accepted for the 2010 special edition and I was subsequently paid R3 000.”
After the book The Settler was launched Padayachee realized Naidoo had taken credit for an interview he (Padayachee) did with South African anti-apartheid activist Yusuf Dadoo in London in 1983.
According to Padayachee the (then) Argus newspaper group assigned him to cover the three-day conference in London on United Nations’ sanctions against South African sport.
While there he conducted interviews with freedom fighters including Dadoo, who at that stage was in exile.
When he returned home he wrote a series of articles for the Sunday Tribune.
At a later stage some of them were rewritten, updated and published in The Indian Annual.
“I had not seen the draft (of The Settler) and was surprised when I realized I was not rightfully credited.
“Naidoo is not a journalist and was never in London in 1983. He was in Durban. I couldn’t and still cannot understand why he took credit for my work when it was previously published in The Indian Annual and I was credited for it.”
Padayachee consulted attorney Siven Samuel and served summons.
He demanded R500 000 in lieu of Naidoo’s failure to acknowledge his work.
This was followed by a second summons this month.
Padayachee said Naidoo believed the proprietorship of any article that appeared in The Indian Annual belonged to the Indian Academy of which he is the Editor.
“But he cannot claim credit for another professional’s work. He is well aware that each of the stories I submitted over the years had my copyright> then by adding his name to the Dadoo story, he erroneously gave the impression he wrote the entire series.
“I will not stand for that. He has committed plagiarism and political fraud.”
Asked if this could have been an oversight on Naidoo’s part, Padayachee remarked: “This is no oversight. He wanted credit for himself.”
Padayachee said he was writing a book on his journalistic career and feared other writers and historians would dispute his information, which Naidoo staked claim to.
“I will not allow this to go unchecked. If he continues to publish further editions of my work, he will continue to abuse my intellectual property and history will record it as that.”
Naidoo’s daughter said her father did not want to comment.
Published in Durban by Post newspaper at Independent Newspaper KwaZulu Natal, South Africa, on the 28th December 2011. Copyright Post/INKZN.
JOURNALIST SUES CULTURAL LEADER FOR R500 000
CANDICE SOOBRAMONEY
Published in the front-page of POST December 28-January 1 2012 (South Africa)
A JOURNALIST is suing respected community leader TP Naidoo for half a million rands.
Marlan Padayachee, currently a media and communications strategist, claims Naidoo plagiarised his work.
Naidoo is the director of the Indian Academy of South Africa and has played an active role in promoting Indian culture in South Africa. Last year he authored the book The Settler: Tribulations, Trials and Triumph. It was published to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Indians coming to South Africa.
It included a series titled The 1946 Resisters.
Padayachee claims he wrote the series but Naidoo failed to acknowledge his contribution.
He has now filed papers in the Durban Magistrate’s Court claiming half a million rands.
Padayachee said from 1988 to 2004 he assisted Naidoo in compiling and contributing stories and profiles on community icons for the publication The Indian Annual. Until then he had complaints about working with Naidoo.
In 2009 he approached Naidoo with a proposal.
“I told him I was putting together a series of updated and rewritten articles, which previously appeared in the e Indian Annual, on the 1946 series. It was accepted for the 2010 special edition and I was subsequently paid R3 000.”
After the book The Settler was launched Padayachee realized Naidoo had taken credit for an interview he (Padayachee) did with South African anti-apartheid activist Yusuf Dadoo in London in 1983.
According to Padayachee the (then) Argus newspaper group assigned him to cover the three-day conference in London on United Nations’ sanctions against South African sport.
While there he conducted interviews with freedom fighters including Dadoo, who at that stage was in exile.
When he returned home he wrote a series of articles for the Sunday Tribune.
At a later stage some of them were rewritten, updated and published in The Indian Annual.
“I had not seen the draft (of The Settler) and was surprised when I realized I was not rightfully credited.
“Naidoo is not a journalist and was never in London in 1983. He was in Durban. I couldn’t and still cannot understand why he took credit for my work when it was previously published in The Indian Annual and I was credited for it.”
Padayachee consulted attorney Siven Samuel and served summons.
He demanded R500 000 in lieu of Naidoo’s failure to acknowledge his work.
This was followed by a second summons this month.
Padayachee said Naidoo believed the proprietorship of any article that appeared in The Indian Annual belonged to the Indian Academy of which he is the Editor.
“But he cannot claim credit for another professional’s work. He is well aware that each of the stories I submitted over the years had my copyright> then by adding his name to the Dadoo story, he erroneously gave the impression he wrote the entire series.
“I will not stand for that. He has committed plagiarism and political fraud.”
Asked if this could have been an oversight on Naidoo’s part, Padayachee remarked: “This is no oversight. He wanted credit for himself.”
Padayachee said he was writing a book on his journalistic career and feared other writers and historians would dispute his information, which Naidoo staked claim to.
“I will not allow this to go unchecked. If he continues to publish further editions of my work, he will continue to abuse my intellectual property and history will record it as that.”
Naidoo’s daughter said her father did not want to comment.
Published in Durban by Post newspaper at Independent Newspaper KwaZulu Natal, South Africa, on the 28th December 2011. Copyright Post/INKZN.
Friday, December 23, 2011
Q&A With Mayor James Nxumalo by Marlan Padayachee
Q&A
From Mayor-elect, His Worship, Councillor James Nxumalo
1 JAMES SIKHOSIPHI NXUMALO, 46-year-old.
2 I prefer to call all the residents, the citizens of our city. Citizens may be unaware that my activist-political career that has brought to the pinnacle of city hall was actually defined by the deplorable and appalling conditions labourers worked at a big-brand chicken factory. I am a trade unionist at heart. We were a lost generation and opportunities were limited. However, I would have loved to strum the guitar like George Benson or played the trumpet like Bra Hugh Masekela. I am passionate about jazz music as the people I serve. I seek solitude in soul, rhythm and blues and jazz music and seldom end a long day without watching the breaking news and popular programmes on television. If time permits, I would like to don a white martial arts suit and practice karate to gain a balance in my impending hectic schedule as the first citizen of Durban.
3 I have an appetite for traditional food, handed down by the mothers of the Zulu nation over generations of our long history and legacy in KwaZulu-Natal. But, I will not say no to the city’s favourite cuisine, the piping-hot curry in the traditional bunny-chow that has made Durban globally famous export. My popular eating house is the Spur for juicy steaks and chips and Café Fish for a harbour view lunch of seafood. I can cook up a storm with a boiled eggs dish.
4 I am very patriotic to my city and spend quality time at the world-ranked Ushaka Marine World with my family; and we shop at the Pavilion and the Gateway because the buzz at these big malls is a microcosm of our drive for economic energy and growth.
5 I recall without bitterness my disadvantaged boyhood working hard as a gardener in Westville during weekends and school holidays. I enjoyed playing football at school level.
6 Durban’s temperate, warm weather conditions, and the multicultural vibrancy of all our people who have given new meaning to the ancient African philosophy of Ubuntu (I am because of you).The city’s cosmopolitan image and nonracial mix inspires me to go the extra mile.
7 I read William Shakespeare and its timeless tales of humanity. Nelson Mandela’s Long Walk to Freedom is my reference book. I am an avid listener of radio stations that talk to the masses, such as Ukhosi FM, Metro FM, Gagasi FM, the lively debates on SAfm and PMlive, and the SABC radio jazz programmes.
8 I will remain loyal to the city’s 2020 Vision to ensure that Durban achieves the African Dream by emerging as the best African city on the continent. Our cultural diversity and cross-flow of cultures and traditions makes us unique as one of the potentially progressive cities along the Indian Ocean Rim and a city that can compete in the world rankings as one of the most non-racial metropolitans of the 21st century. I would like to see all our citizens from diverse backgrounds and demographics coming together in social harmony and unity and reinforcing the spirit of our slogan, ‘One City, Many Cultures’. I would like to see much more meaningful changes in the way we do business and how we fast-track our second economy among the street-traders, vendors and small enterprises that is best epitomized within the city city and the revamped Warwick Avenue Triangle commuter and trading landmark.
9 I am getting there soon. The technological revolution is catching up with us and our information and communication technology hub at the Smartxchange is a testimony of Durban’s appetite to navigate the world’s information highway. It will be a policy decision by the city at a council meeting to consider introducing IT solutions such as Tweeting and Face book for our councilors to interact with communities and constituencies. Just watch this space.
10 Growing up in the tranquility of the rolling, green hills of Inchanga, I am a ‘berg’ person and love the heritage site of the Drakensberg Mountain where the spirit and sketches of the San people live in the caves of the rock art. Durban’s golden beaches energise me into action. I love the treasure trove of KZN’s game reserves and the Valley of a Thousand Hills is my favourite destination to switch off and enjoy my family.
11 Soccer reigns supreme in my past-time, and I spend as much time as possible watching local and international football, followed by rugby, cricket, tennis and boxing. I play soccer and practised karate as a teenager, but guess I will have to keep fit and will be kitting out soon in my soccer strip and karate suit.
12 The late anti-apartheid leader Harry Gwala who sacrificed his life on Robben Island like many of the freedom fighters. He was my inspiration and mentor who taught the values of being people-centred, loyal and honest.
13 My morning breaks early. I enjoy a cuppa of rooibos tea, black no sugar or sweeteners. I reply to all SMSes. I ferry my children to their schools, and head straight for my office around 8am. I am surrounded by loyal personal assistants who brief me about my day’s schedule, appointments and invitations for speaking and community engagements. I then switch on my personal computer and read my emails before reading the headlines and stories of the day in the English and isiZulu language newspapers.
14 I always wanted to be a lawyer, championing the defenceless and the helpless in courts. But I cut my political teeth as a youth activist and trade union organizer and hence a career in politics in a historic time-frame.
15 Humility, Charm and Good Listening.
16 Difficult to make public, but I get irritated, frustrated and disappointed with shoddiness, laziness and people who don’t respect time and are oblivious of our people’s cultural dynamics.
17 Under my watch, I want to leave a legacy of a mayoral leadership that will take the baton of my predecessors and transform Durban into Africa’s most viable, accessible, economically prosperous and socially stimulating Indian Ocean gateway city into the rest of Africa. I will strive for the neighbouring Southern African Development Community cities being the first port of call for our socio-economic drive that will literally change the lives and livelihoods of all our citizens, including citizens who were previously economically elbowed under apartheid, and the African migrants who live and work in Durban in a post-apartheid democracy. We will make our sister-city relationship with African cities work wonders and Durban must become the world’s most non-racial and non-sexist city.
18 My leadership style will be as accessible as a phone call away, if the municipal protocol allows it. All our citizens, constituencies and communities must be assured that my doors will always be open and I will be accessible to all the people, visitors, delegations, organisations that make up the multicultural tapestry of the City of Durban. I will continue to attend meetings in all communities that occupy the urban, peri-urban and rural spaces of our 100 kilometre city limits and jurisdiction. My well-rounded mayoral team is gearing to meet these challenges with civic courtesy, homegrown hospitality, world-class protocol, the culture customer care and friendliness in the city’s spirit of the letter of Batho Pele, Putting People First.
19 Since joining the new order at the city hall as a councilor and then as a Speaker of the 200-member, politically and culturally diverse city council, I have been at the coalface of the communities and constituencies the councilors serve, some under very difficult terrains and conditions, socio-economically speaking, and I would be the first to lead as the First Citizen to place communication as the key priority in how the new and the re-elected councilors engage the community with service delivery being their most important mission when they serve the new-look city council over the next five years.
20 My message focuses on a clarion call to all our citizens, regardless of race, culture, creed, colour or economic class or status, and including all spheres of business, non-governmental organisations and community-based formations, is to put the interest of Durban and its people, first and foremost, by working together in unity and social cohesion to meet the challenges of job-creation, housing for all, poverty eradication and a quest for a safer city, with progressive greening commitment ahead of Durban hosting the COP 17 Climate Change conference.
Ends
From Mayor-elect, His Worship, Councillor James Nxumalo
1 JAMES SIKHOSIPHI NXUMALO, 46-year-old.
2 I prefer to call all the residents, the citizens of our city. Citizens may be unaware that my activist-political career that has brought to the pinnacle of city hall was actually defined by the deplorable and appalling conditions labourers worked at a big-brand chicken factory. I am a trade unionist at heart. We were a lost generation and opportunities were limited. However, I would have loved to strum the guitar like George Benson or played the trumpet like Bra Hugh Masekela. I am passionate about jazz music as the people I serve. I seek solitude in soul, rhythm and blues and jazz music and seldom end a long day without watching the breaking news and popular programmes on television. If time permits, I would like to don a white martial arts suit and practice karate to gain a balance in my impending hectic schedule as the first citizen of Durban.
3 I have an appetite for traditional food, handed down by the mothers of the Zulu nation over generations of our long history and legacy in KwaZulu-Natal. But, I will not say no to the city’s favourite cuisine, the piping-hot curry in the traditional bunny-chow that has made Durban globally famous export. My popular eating house is the Spur for juicy steaks and chips and Café Fish for a harbour view lunch of seafood. I can cook up a storm with a boiled eggs dish.
4 I am very patriotic to my city and spend quality time at the world-ranked Ushaka Marine World with my family; and we shop at the Pavilion and the Gateway because the buzz at these big malls is a microcosm of our drive for economic energy and growth.
5 I recall without bitterness my disadvantaged boyhood working hard as a gardener in Westville during weekends and school holidays. I enjoyed playing football at school level.
6 Durban’s temperate, warm weather conditions, and the multicultural vibrancy of all our people who have given new meaning to the ancient African philosophy of Ubuntu (I am because of you).The city’s cosmopolitan image and nonracial mix inspires me to go the extra mile.
7 I read William Shakespeare and its timeless tales of humanity. Nelson Mandela’s Long Walk to Freedom is my reference book. I am an avid listener of radio stations that talk to the masses, such as Ukhosi FM, Metro FM, Gagasi FM, the lively debates on SAfm and PMlive, and the SABC radio jazz programmes.
8 I will remain loyal to the city’s 2020 Vision to ensure that Durban achieves the African Dream by emerging as the best African city on the continent. Our cultural diversity and cross-flow of cultures and traditions makes us unique as one of the potentially progressive cities along the Indian Ocean Rim and a city that can compete in the world rankings as one of the most non-racial metropolitans of the 21st century. I would like to see all our citizens from diverse backgrounds and demographics coming together in social harmony and unity and reinforcing the spirit of our slogan, ‘One City, Many Cultures’. I would like to see much more meaningful changes in the way we do business and how we fast-track our second economy among the street-traders, vendors and small enterprises that is best epitomized within the city city and the revamped Warwick Avenue Triangle commuter and trading landmark.
9 I am getting there soon. The technological revolution is catching up with us and our information and communication technology hub at the Smartxchange is a testimony of Durban’s appetite to navigate the world’s information highway. It will be a policy decision by the city at a council meeting to consider introducing IT solutions such as Tweeting and Face book for our councilors to interact with communities and constituencies. Just watch this space.
10 Growing up in the tranquility of the rolling, green hills of Inchanga, I am a ‘berg’ person and love the heritage site of the Drakensberg Mountain where the spirit and sketches of the San people live in the caves of the rock art. Durban’s golden beaches energise me into action. I love the treasure trove of KZN’s game reserves and the Valley of a Thousand Hills is my favourite destination to switch off and enjoy my family.
11 Soccer reigns supreme in my past-time, and I spend as much time as possible watching local and international football, followed by rugby, cricket, tennis and boxing. I play soccer and practised karate as a teenager, but guess I will have to keep fit and will be kitting out soon in my soccer strip and karate suit.
12 The late anti-apartheid leader Harry Gwala who sacrificed his life on Robben Island like many of the freedom fighters. He was my inspiration and mentor who taught the values of being people-centred, loyal and honest.
13 My morning breaks early. I enjoy a cuppa of rooibos tea, black no sugar or sweeteners. I reply to all SMSes. I ferry my children to their schools, and head straight for my office around 8am. I am surrounded by loyal personal assistants who brief me about my day’s schedule, appointments and invitations for speaking and community engagements. I then switch on my personal computer and read my emails before reading the headlines and stories of the day in the English and isiZulu language newspapers.
14 I always wanted to be a lawyer, championing the defenceless and the helpless in courts. But I cut my political teeth as a youth activist and trade union organizer and hence a career in politics in a historic time-frame.
15 Humility, Charm and Good Listening.
16 Difficult to make public, but I get irritated, frustrated and disappointed with shoddiness, laziness and people who don’t respect time and are oblivious of our people’s cultural dynamics.
17 Under my watch, I want to leave a legacy of a mayoral leadership that will take the baton of my predecessors and transform Durban into Africa’s most viable, accessible, economically prosperous and socially stimulating Indian Ocean gateway city into the rest of Africa. I will strive for the neighbouring Southern African Development Community cities being the first port of call for our socio-economic drive that will literally change the lives and livelihoods of all our citizens, including citizens who were previously economically elbowed under apartheid, and the African migrants who live and work in Durban in a post-apartheid democracy. We will make our sister-city relationship with African cities work wonders and Durban must become the world’s most non-racial and non-sexist city.
18 My leadership style will be as accessible as a phone call away, if the municipal protocol allows it. All our citizens, constituencies and communities must be assured that my doors will always be open and I will be accessible to all the people, visitors, delegations, organisations that make up the multicultural tapestry of the City of Durban. I will continue to attend meetings in all communities that occupy the urban, peri-urban and rural spaces of our 100 kilometre city limits and jurisdiction. My well-rounded mayoral team is gearing to meet these challenges with civic courtesy, homegrown hospitality, world-class protocol, the culture customer care and friendliness in the city’s spirit of the letter of Batho Pele, Putting People First.
19 Since joining the new order at the city hall as a councilor and then as a Speaker of the 200-member, politically and culturally diverse city council, I have been at the coalface of the communities and constituencies the councilors serve, some under very difficult terrains and conditions, socio-economically speaking, and I would be the first to lead as the First Citizen to place communication as the key priority in how the new and the re-elected councilors engage the community with service delivery being their most important mission when they serve the new-look city council over the next five years.
20 My message focuses on a clarion call to all our citizens, regardless of race, culture, creed, colour or economic class or status, and including all spheres of business, non-governmental organisations and community-based formations, is to put the interest of Durban and its people, first and foremost, by working together in unity and social cohesion to meet the challenges of job-creation, housing for all, poverty eradication and a quest for a safer city, with progressive greening commitment ahead of Durban hosting the COP 17 Climate Change conference.
Ends
COP 17 Letter by Marlan Padayachee December 2011
COP 17 Letter by Marlan Padayachee December 2011
AMID all the high drama, dissents, debates, discourses at the Durban COP 17 Climate Change conference, including a strong comeback to the frontline and fringes by civil society, non-governmental groups and young and old activists, it is hoped that the ‘Durban Protocol’ will give birth to a powerful commitment for a broader, worldwide movement to encourage people to get involved in green politics, issues, development and socio-economic sustainability. Within this context of the diverse landscape of this COP 17, let me share a perennial Native-American quote to inspire how we can navigate the future: : “We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.”
MARLAN PADAYACHEE, via email
Durban-Westville
AMID all the high drama, dissents, debates, discourses at the Durban COP 17 Climate Change conference, including a strong comeback to the frontline and fringes by civil society, non-governmental groups and young and old activists, it is hoped that the ‘Durban Protocol’ will give birth to a powerful commitment for a broader, worldwide movement to encourage people to get involved in green politics, issues, development and socio-economic sustainability. Within this context of the diverse landscape of this COP 17, let me share a perennial Native-American quote to inspire how we can navigate the future: : “We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.”
MARLAN PADAYACHEE, via email
Durban-Westville
Letters to the City Hall - Speeches by Marlan Padayachee for the Office of the Mayor Durban-eThekwini Municipality South Africa
By Marlan Padayachee
POST PRESENTATION PAPER AND REPORT-BACK DOCUMENT TO THE INDIAN CONSUL-GENERAL, HIS EXCELLENCY, MR ANIL SHARAN, ON THE OCCASION OF THE PARTICIPATION AT THE PRAVASI BHARATIYA DIVAS IN NEW DELHI, INDIA, 7-9 JANUARY 2011, BY COUNCILLOR FAWZIA PEER
CITY COUNCLLOR AND CHIEF WHIP OF THE ETHEKWINI MUNICIPALITY, CITY OF DURBAN, REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA
26TH January 2011
The Honourable Mr Anil Sharan
Consul-General
Government of India
City of Durban
Republic of South Africa
Dear Mr Sharan,
On behalf of the eThekwini Municipality and the people of the City of Durban, I extend our traditional greetings of Assalamu Alaikum, Vannakam, Namaste, Namaskarumu, Sawubona, Saniboni, and Molweni.
I also take this opportunity of conveying our felicitations and compliments of the season for the New Year to you, your family and your colleagues in the consular staff at the Durban Consulate of the Government of India.
This communiqué serves to confirm and record my heartfelt thanks and gratitude to you and your colleagues in the Government of India in New Delhi for the heartwarming hospitality, courtesy and high levels of protocol that was accorded to me in my capacity as the Chief Whip representing the Mayor of Durban, His Worship, Councillor Obed Mlaba, the eThekwini Municipality and the citizens of Durban during my participation at the 8th annual Pravasi Bharatiya Divas held recently in the capital city of the world’s largest democracy.
I also convey the similar sentiments and gratitude of my husband, Dr Peer, who had thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated pukka Indian hospitality.
I humbly salute you for your personal role and responsibility in ensuring that our visit to your ancient land of cultures and cuisines, and our attendance at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, was made all the more special and extraordinary through a programme of homemade hospitality and the humaneness of your peace-loving compatriots.
I was most heartened and delighted by the overall high standard of reception we had received in what will go down as one of our most memorable visits in recent years.
I was therefore most pleased to have represented our city and municipality at the Pravasi Bharitaya Divas, which provided some fascinating insights about the power of partnerships and the social networking of Indian communities living and working in diverse countries around the world, and yet all of us of Indian origin were sentimentally drawn to the magnetism of the beauty and splendor of India.
Furthermore, I was impressed by the amazing spirit of humanity and goodwill that prevailed over the symbolic meeting that brought together some of the most remarkable examples of Indians who have made spectacular strides in their field of business and expertise outside their motherland.
It was encouraging to note that both our countries share a common legacy of having being inspired by the teachings, principles, ethics, integrity and wisdom of one of the world’s iconic pacifists and peace gurus, the legendary Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, in our respective quest for freedom, human dignity, social justice and economic empowerment.
I was therefore particularly thrilled to have been part of a celebration that paid homage to the arrival of Gandhiji in India after having spent 21 years in South Africa, where he had helped to shape our political resistance to colonial-apartheid’s autocratic rule over the indigenous people of my country, including the 1860 Indian indentured labourers who faced the same racial and human rights discrimination meted out to our African, Coloured and Chinese compatriots.
Reflecting on my personal experience and interaction with fellow delegates at this world platform of Indians, I am therefore pleased that droves of South Africans of Indian origin have continued to attend the annual Pravasi Bharatiya Divas ever since the inaugural gathering of people of Indian origin took place in New Delhi in 2003.
I am overwhelmed that there has always been a strong participation by many of our leaders, entrepreneurs, academic, religious and cultural personalties, in the main, from Durban to this prestigious conference.
The high quality of the speakers and presenters and the diverse range of topics and themes have provided invaluable insights for me to ensure that Pravasi Bharatiya Divas will always enjoy the full support and goodwill of our municipality and citizens.
The collective pool of the knowledge economy and the human resources capital from the diverse delegations will certainly serve not only to guide the high standards of future conferences, but also contributes as communication tools, templates, texts and referencing point for a myriad of topics and themes that makes up the three-day programme of debates and discourses centred on the future and wellbeing of Indians.
We therefore owe a debt of gratitude to the visionaries behind the LM Singhvi Committee on the Indian Diaspora for having pioneered this celebration of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas as a global gathering of Indians while honouring the priceless life’s work of Gandhiji on the 9th of January each year.
This conference is unique, in that it may be the only gathering of nationals and expatriates that come together on a prestige platform and programme that recognizes the contributions of individuals of Indian origin who are honoured for exceptional merit and outstanding achievement in their field and profession.
The Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards ceremony also serves as a classic example of how a nation can truly recognise and honour its nationals at home or abroad.
Developing democracies like South Africa can also learn from the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas that also focuses on issues and concerns that people of the diaspora face in their adopted countries, and how this programme of discourse and debate motivates people of Indian origin to assimilate to the local conditions on a socio-economic and political levels of their host adopted countries while maintaining strong linkages with India without losing touch with their motherland.
The high-level participation and support of the Government of India, the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry further enhances the scope and uniqueness of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas as a broad-based social networking, business, cultural and investment facilitation platform for overseas Indians.
I am therefore impressed that an event of this high calibre, capacity and standard can only strengthen ties between India, the diaspora or non-resident communities and the people of Durban and South Africa as we embark on a journey to turn our regions into the new frontiers of economic growth, social cohesion and political stability.
Within this context, it is encouraging to note that that Durban enjoys a twinning sister-city relationship with Mumbai, and until recently the City of Chennai. It is matter of time before we embark on linking Durban to Delhi, thereby making this famous and historic host city our next port of call in our ongoing, cordial social, economic and political relations between the citizens of Durban and the people of these major Indian cities and India as a whole.
I had certainly left the conference, and as well as the culturally-enhancing melting pot that symbolizes all that is India, a much wiser and inspired visitor, delegate and friend of the people of India.
Outside the conference, we were accorded a right royal reception by support staff that ensured that the comfort and convenience of visit was not going to be compromised right down to the finest details.
The services of a professional and knowledgeable chauffeur further served to accentuate our personal joy of savouring sumptuous cuisines, old-fashioned courtesy and protocol that Indians excel in as our trip transformed into a home-from-home experience of note.
I must compliment you and the support team for the choice of superb and splendid hotels that made our stay most pleasant and unforgettable, for which we are truly grateful and thankful for.
India is a vast spectrum of cultures and a land of a multitude of languages and dialects, and our interaction with the local people brings home our attention to the importance of mother languages in India and the Indian Diaspora and the revival of ancestral languages.
The sights and sounds of India today, its beliefs and physical and economic landscapes further enriched our exploits of some of breathtaking sight-seeing landmarks.
We were taken into the labyrinthine world of Delhi’s old and the new metropolis, and other surrounding towns and villages, where some of the secrets and riches of incredible India reside.
Our sight-seeing programme was a breathtaking experience, further revealing the ancient secrets and romanticism of India. We were particularly awestruck by the majestic beauty and magnificence of the Akshardham Hindu temple complex in Delhi.
The Swaminarayan Akshardham is one of the wonders that are a repository for traditional Indian and Hindu culture, spirituality, and architecture.
We were enchanted to learn about how culture of Gandhian-inspired volunteerism involving 3 000 men and women who gave their labour of love to help 7 000 artisans to construct this holy shrine that stands as a lasting legacy to Pramukh Swami Maharaj, spiritual head of the Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha, whose footprints are etched in a temple in London.
As a representative of a multicultural city, the tourism dimension of this holy place of worship will certainly encourage Durban to further enhance our catalogue of ancient temples, churches and synagogues that stand side by side in our local landscape.
Crafted wholly of stone, the central monument highlights the life and times of Swaminarayan and the timeless mystique of India, and beautifully enhanced by a musical fountain and landscaped gardens would surely rate as an ‘out of the world’ spectacle.
Another highlight deserves mentioning is our visit to the Kingdom of Dreams and our sheer joy and excitement at the extravagant offerings of the theme-based entertainment experiences that brought to life India’s cultural diversity, and an ambitious architectural project that blends a choreography of traditional Indian performing arts, entertainment and cultural heritage.
Durban could learn lessons from India’s portfolio of tourism landmarks and we are encouraged by the potential to open a gateway for South Africans to visit the treasure troves of an ancient civilization steeped in tradition, culture, hospitality and humanity.
In the final analysis, India’s humanity and humility left me humbled, but inspired to spread the word of a democracy where peace, respect and tolerance reign supreme, and work harder towards sharing the knowledge and experience gained at the conference with my fellow colleagues, compatriots and comrades as we prepare for another milestone in our developing democracy, the 2011 local government elections in a few month’s time.
Once again, we are eternally grateful to you and the Government of India for blessing our passage to India with your friendship, grace and charm.
We thank you.
Yours sincerely
Councillor Fawzia Peer
POST PRESENTATION PAPER AND REPORT-BACK DOCUMENT TO THE INDIAN CONSUL-GENERAL, HIS EXCELLENCY, MR ANIL SHARAN, ON THE OCCASION OF THE PARTICIPATION AT THE PRAVASI BHARATIYA DIVAS IN NEW DELHI, INDIA, 7-9 JANUARY 2011, BY COUNCILLOR FAWZIA PEER
CITY COUNCLLOR AND CHIEF WHIP OF THE ETHEKWINI MUNICIPALITY, CITY OF DURBAN, REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA
26TH January 2011
The Honourable Mr Anil Sharan
Consul-General
Government of India
City of Durban
Republic of South Africa
Dear Mr Sharan,
On behalf of the eThekwini Municipality and the people of the City of Durban, I extend our traditional greetings of Assalamu Alaikum, Vannakam, Namaste, Namaskarumu, Sawubona, Saniboni, and Molweni.
I also take this opportunity of conveying our felicitations and compliments of the season for the New Year to you, your family and your colleagues in the consular staff at the Durban Consulate of the Government of India.
This communiqué serves to confirm and record my heartfelt thanks and gratitude to you and your colleagues in the Government of India in New Delhi for the heartwarming hospitality, courtesy and high levels of protocol that was accorded to me in my capacity as the Chief Whip representing the Mayor of Durban, His Worship, Councillor Obed Mlaba, the eThekwini Municipality and the citizens of Durban during my participation at the 8th annual Pravasi Bharatiya Divas held recently in the capital city of the world’s largest democracy.
I also convey the similar sentiments and gratitude of my husband, Dr Peer, who had thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated pukka Indian hospitality.
I humbly salute you for your personal role and responsibility in ensuring that our visit to your ancient land of cultures and cuisines, and our attendance at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, was made all the more special and extraordinary through a programme of homemade hospitality and the humaneness of your peace-loving compatriots.
I was most heartened and delighted by the overall high standard of reception we had received in what will go down as one of our most memorable visits in recent years.
I was therefore most pleased to have represented our city and municipality at the Pravasi Bharitaya Divas, which provided some fascinating insights about the power of partnerships and the social networking of Indian communities living and working in diverse countries around the world, and yet all of us of Indian origin were sentimentally drawn to the magnetism of the beauty and splendor of India.
Furthermore, I was impressed by the amazing spirit of humanity and goodwill that prevailed over the symbolic meeting that brought together some of the most remarkable examples of Indians who have made spectacular strides in their field of business and expertise outside their motherland.
It was encouraging to note that both our countries share a common legacy of having being inspired by the teachings, principles, ethics, integrity and wisdom of one of the world’s iconic pacifists and peace gurus, the legendary Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, in our respective quest for freedom, human dignity, social justice and economic empowerment.
I was therefore particularly thrilled to have been part of a celebration that paid homage to the arrival of Gandhiji in India after having spent 21 years in South Africa, where he had helped to shape our political resistance to colonial-apartheid’s autocratic rule over the indigenous people of my country, including the 1860 Indian indentured labourers who faced the same racial and human rights discrimination meted out to our African, Coloured and Chinese compatriots.
Reflecting on my personal experience and interaction with fellow delegates at this world platform of Indians, I am therefore pleased that droves of South Africans of Indian origin have continued to attend the annual Pravasi Bharatiya Divas ever since the inaugural gathering of people of Indian origin took place in New Delhi in 2003.
I am overwhelmed that there has always been a strong participation by many of our leaders, entrepreneurs, academic, religious and cultural personalties, in the main, from Durban to this prestigious conference.
The high quality of the speakers and presenters and the diverse range of topics and themes have provided invaluable insights for me to ensure that Pravasi Bharatiya Divas will always enjoy the full support and goodwill of our municipality and citizens.
The collective pool of the knowledge economy and the human resources capital from the diverse delegations will certainly serve not only to guide the high standards of future conferences, but also contributes as communication tools, templates, texts and referencing point for a myriad of topics and themes that makes up the three-day programme of debates and discourses centred on the future and wellbeing of Indians.
We therefore owe a debt of gratitude to the visionaries behind the LM Singhvi Committee on the Indian Diaspora for having pioneered this celebration of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas as a global gathering of Indians while honouring the priceless life’s work of Gandhiji on the 9th of January each year.
This conference is unique, in that it may be the only gathering of nationals and expatriates that come together on a prestige platform and programme that recognizes the contributions of individuals of Indian origin who are honoured for exceptional merit and outstanding achievement in their field and profession.
The Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards ceremony also serves as a classic example of how a nation can truly recognise and honour its nationals at home or abroad.
Developing democracies like South Africa can also learn from the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas that also focuses on issues and concerns that people of the diaspora face in their adopted countries, and how this programme of discourse and debate motivates people of Indian origin to assimilate to the local conditions on a socio-economic and political levels of their host adopted countries while maintaining strong linkages with India without losing touch with their motherland.
The high-level participation and support of the Government of India, the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry further enhances the scope and uniqueness of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas as a broad-based social networking, business, cultural and investment facilitation platform for overseas Indians.
I am therefore impressed that an event of this high calibre, capacity and standard can only strengthen ties between India, the diaspora or non-resident communities and the people of Durban and South Africa as we embark on a journey to turn our regions into the new frontiers of economic growth, social cohesion and political stability.
Within this context, it is encouraging to note that that Durban enjoys a twinning sister-city relationship with Mumbai, and until recently the City of Chennai. It is matter of time before we embark on linking Durban to Delhi, thereby making this famous and historic host city our next port of call in our ongoing, cordial social, economic and political relations between the citizens of Durban and the people of these major Indian cities and India as a whole.
I had certainly left the conference, and as well as the culturally-enhancing melting pot that symbolizes all that is India, a much wiser and inspired visitor, delegate and friend of the people of India.
Outside the conference, we were accorded a right royal reception by support staff that ensured that the comfort and convenience of visit was not going to be compromised right down to the finest details.
The services of a professional and knowledgeable chauffeur further served to accentuate our personal joy of savouring sumptuous cuisines, old-fashioned courtesy and protocol that Indians excel in as our trip transformed into a home-from-home experience of note.
I must compliment you and the support team for the choice of superb and splendid hotels that made our stay most pleasant and unforgettable, for which we are truly grateful and thankful for.
India is a vast spectrum of cultures and a land of a multitude of languages and dialects, and our interaction with the local people brings home our attention to the importance of mother languages in India and the Indian Diaspora and the revival of ancestral languages.
The sights and sounds of India today, its beliefs and physical and economic landscapes further enriched our exploits of some of breathtaking sight-seeing landmarks.
We were taken into the labyrinthine world of Delhi’s old and the new metropolis, and other surrounding towns and villages, where some of the secrets and riches of incredible India reside.
Our sight-seeing programme was a breathtaking experience, further revealing the ancient secrets and romanticism of India. We were particularly awestruck by the majestic beauty and magnificence of the Akshardham Hindu temple complex in Delhi.
The Swaminarayan Akshardham is one of the wonders that are a repository for traditional Indian and Hindu culture, spirituality, and architecture.
We were enchanted to learn about how culture of Gandhian-inspired volunteerism involving 3 000 men and women who gave their labour of love to help 7 000 artisans to construct this holy shrine that stands as a lasting legacy to Pramukh Swami Maharaj, spiritual head of the Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha, whose footprints are etched in a temple in London.
As a representative of a multicultural city, the tourism dimension of this holy place of worship will certainly encourage Durban to further enhance our catalogue of ancient temples, churches and synagogues that stand side by side in our local landscape.
Crafted wholly of stone, the central monument highlights the life and times of Swaminarayan and the timeless mystique of India, and beautifully enhanced by a musical fountain and landscaped gardens would surely rate as an ‘out of the world’ spectacle.
Another highlight deserves mentioning is our visit to the Kingdom of Dreams and our sheer joy and excitement at the extravagant offerings of the theme-based entertainment experiences that brought to life India’s cultural diversity, and an ambitious architectural project that blends a choreography of traditional Indian performing arts, entertainment and cultural heritage.
Durban could learn lessons from India’s portfolio of tourism landmarks and we are encouraged by the potential to open a gateway for South Africans to visit the treasure troves of an ancient civilization steeped in tradition, culture, hospitality and humanity.
In the final analysis, India’s humanity and humility left me humbled, but inspired to spread the word of a democracy where peace, respect and tolerance reign supreme, and work harder towards sharing the knowledge and experience gained at the conference with my fellow colleagues, compatriots and comrades as we prepare for another milestone in our developing democracy, the 2011 local government elections in a few month’s time.
Once again, we are eternally grateful to you and the Government of India for blessing our passage to India with your friendship, grace and charm.
We thank you.
Yours sincerely
Councillor Fawzia Peer
Hong Kong Delegation in South Africa
By Marlan Padayachee
HONG KONG FINANCIAL SECRETARY HEADS TOP TRADE DELEGATION TO SOUTH AFRICA 4-11 DECEMBER 2011
TRADE and business relations between South Africa and Hong Kong is expected to be strengthened enormously when the Government of the Hong Kong Special Representative Region’s Financial Secretary, Mr John Chun-wah Tsang, heads a top-flight delegation of more than 50 corporate and business leaders and chambers of commerce and various financial, industrial and professional organisations to Johannesburg and other parts of the country from the 4-11 December 2011.
Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan is scheduled to meet the Hong Kong delegation.
Hong Kong, highly ranked as a financial and economic gateway point into Asia, changed political and administrative hands from Britain to the People’s Republic of China in 1997.
Local hosts say the new trading culture with the strategically-positioned sovereign city-state should be hailed within the context of the burgeoning BRICS economic partnership bloc between Brazil, Russia, India and China, with South Africa becoming part of this advancing economic cluster despite its tiny economy and population of under 50 million people.
Mr Rajen Pillay, South Africa’s Country Entry Strategist and Foreign Investment Adviser, said the high-level Hong King delegation would be particularly attracted to do business with established and emerging entrepreneurs within South Africa’s socio-economic diversity that continues to change the economic and business landscape since South Africa’s transition to democracy. A delegation headed by a Financial Secretary last visited South Africa in 1999.
Apart from a busy schedule of meetings and get-togethers, the delegation will be hosted by Mr Pillay’s Garuda Finance (Pty) Limited and Norma Xabiso Majokweni, chief executive officer of Business Unity South Africa, at a cocktail networking event in Sandton on Tuesday, 6 December 2011 at 5.30pm.
“South African entrepreneurs and businesses across the demographic and gender spectrum would have a rare opportunity of networking, engaging and doing business with a diverse range of businesses and professional organisations. The involvement of Business Unity South Africa makes the international networking platform much more meaningful and focused to give our businesses insights into how one of the most successful financial hubs and global landmarks operates within its own cultural diversity,” said Pillay.
“Hong Kong, as one of China’s two Special Administrative Regions, provides an excellent platform to play a very important role as gateway for South Africa into the Asian sub-continent. This is the awakening of a refreshing, new economic dawn for our entrepreneurs too push back the frontiers of doing big business under the banner of the BRICS umbrella,” added Norma Xabiso Majokweni, Business Unity South Africa’s CEO.
Among the prominent personalities on the delegation are Margaret Fong, deputy director of Hong Kong Trade and Development Council, her colleague Stephen Wong of the Middle East and Africa desk, Eddy Fong, chairman of Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, Hye Cheng Cheah, chairman of Value Partners, Robin Lee, group chairman and CEO of SSC Mandarin Group, Kenny Lee, chairman of Chinese Academy of Governance, Gui Xian Wei, Alternate Chief Executive of the China Development Bank Corporation (Hong Kong), Junius Ho, President Law Society of Hong Kong, Philip Tsai, President of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Chit Sun Cheong, Executive Director China State Construction International Holdings Limited, Otto Poon, President of the Hong Kong Federation of Electrical and Mechanical Contractors Limited, and several other influential delegates.
Ends
For Media Interviews and Photo Opportunities, contact Marlan Padayachee, media strategist and publicist on behalf of Rajen Pillay and AfroAsian Capital Garuda Finance (Pty) Limited and Business Unity South Africa, on the following contact details:
Email: marlan.padayachee@mtn.blackberrry.com/ marlan.padayachee@gmail.com
Phone: + 00 27 31 266 2134 / 266 4293 (all hours)
Mobile: 073 625 8247/ 084 519 5931
Personal Assistants: Pinky Naidoo & Sally Nene: 078 076 8121
HONG KONG FINANCIAL SECRETARY HEADS TOP TRADE DELEGATION TO SOUTH AFRICA 4-11 DECEMBER 2011
TRADE and business relations between South Africa and Hong Kong is expected to be strengthened enormously when the Government of the Hong Kong Special Representative Region’s Financial Secretary, Mr John Chun-wah Tsang, heads a top-flight delegation of more than 50 corporate and business leaders and chambers of commerce and various financial, industrial and professional organisations to Johannesburg and other parts of the country from the 4-11 December 2011.
Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan is scheduled to meet the Hong Kong delegation.
Hong Kong, highly ranked as a financial and economic gateway point into Asia, changed political and administrative hands from Britain to the People’s Republic of China in 1997.
Local hosts say the new trading culture with the strategically-positioned sovereign city-state should be hailed within the context of the burgeoning BRICS economic partnership bloc between Brazil, Russia, India and China, with South Africa becoming part of this advancing economic cluster despite its tiny economy and population of under 50 million people.
Mr Rajen Pillay, South Africa’s Country Entry Strategist and Foreign Investment Adviser, said the high-level Hong King delegation would be particularly attracted to do business with established and emerging entrepreneurs within South Africa’s socio-economic diversity that continues to change the economic and business landscape since South Africa’s transition to democracy. A delegation headed by a Financial Secretary last visited South Africa in 1999.
Apart from a busy schedule of meetings and get-togethers, the delegation will be hosted by Mr Pillay’s Garuda Finance (Pty) Limited and Norma Xabiso Majokweni, chief executive officer of Business Unity South Africa, at a cocktail networking event in Sandton on Tuesday, 6 December 2011 at 5.30pm.
“South African entrepreneurs and businesses across the demographic and gender spectrum would have a rare opportunity of networking, engaging and doing business with a diverse range of businesses and professional organisations. The involvement of Business Unity South Africa makes the international networking platform much more meaningful and focused to give our businesses insights into how one of the most successful financial hubs and global landmarks operates within its own cultural diversity,” said Pillay.
“Hong Kong, as one of China’s two Special Administrative Regions, provides an excellent platform to play a very important role as gateway for South Africa into the Asian sub-continent. This is the awakening of a refreshing, new economic dawn for our entrepreneurs too push back the frontiers of doing big business under the banner of the BRICS umbrella,” added Norma Xabiso Majokweni, Business Unity South Africa’s CEO.
Among the prominent personalities on the delegation are Margaret Fong, deputy director of Hong Kong Trade and Development Council, her colleague Stephen Wong of the Middle East and Africa desk, Eddy Fong, chairman of Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, Hye Cheng Cheah, chairman of Value Partners, Robin Lee, group chairman and CEO of SSC Mandarin Group, Kenny Lee, chairman of Chinese Academy of Governance, Gui Xian Wei, Alternate Chief Executive of the China Development Bank Corporation (Hong Kong), Junius Ho, President Law Society of Hong Kong, Philip Tsai, President of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Chit Sun Cheong, Executive Director China State Construction International Holdings Limited, Otto Poon, President of the Hong Kong Federation of Electrical and Mechanical Contractors Limited, and several other influential delegates.
Ends
For Media Interviews and Photo Opportunities, contact Marlan Padayachee, media strategist and publicist on behalf of Rajen Pillay and AfroAsian Capital Garuda Finance (Pty) Limited and Business Unity South Africa, on the following contact details:
Email: marlan.padayachee@mtn.blackberrry.com/ marlan.padayachee@gmail.com
Phone: + 00 27 31 266 2134 / 266 4293 (all hours)
Mobile: 073 625 8247/ 084 519 5931
Personal Assistants: Pinky Naidoo & Sally Nene: 078 076 8121
Friday, December 16, 2011
umAfrika Skills Project - the route to short courses
umAfrika Project Specialist
QUOTE: “When we seek to discover the best in others, we somehow bring out the best in ourselves.” – William A Ward.
Umafrika Project Specialists – A Model For Community Outreach Education As A Unique Platform For Advanced, Short Courses, Workshop-Based Training Programme To Complement South Africa’s Critical And Scarce Skills Development And Training Challenges.
WITHIN South Africa’s transforming education terrain, a homegrown education and skills development and training agency, umAfrika Project Specialists, housed in the historic ML Sultan Campus of the Durban University of Technology, is providing short courses for students and school-leavers to get a foothold in a competitive job market.
umAfrika is a community-driven Training Service Provider with innovative workshop programmes.
Founded by Ann Sewlal eight years ago, umAfrika continues to turn unskilled youth around, year in and year out, culminating in the annual graduation ceremony at the DUT’s Hotel School days after the Day of Reconciliation on 16 December.
Sewlal says the ‘the enabling and empowering environment of the campus city’s university’ has provided a niche for umAfrika to deliver basic skills training, learnership training and development for a broader corp of young people from economically marginalised and disadvantaged communities in the Greater Durban Region.
“umAfrika aims to become a model for Community Outreach Education as a unique platform for Advanced, Short Courses, Workshop-Based Training Programme in its quest to complement South Africa’s critical and scarce skills development pipeline and training challenges,” added Sewlal, the agency’s director.
Each year, umAfrika and its dedicated team leaders and service providers deliver turnkey solutions and knowledge economy to upskill and mentor young people for the reality check in the job market and marketplace.
Ahead of umAfrika’s tenth anniversary in 2013, Sewlal says a single historical event, South Africa’s dramatic transformation from an apartheid-based society to a democratic state, had propelled Sewlal to quit the comfort zone of a corporate job to launch a women-empowered skills development and training agency, aimed at upskilling African, Indian, Coloured, Chinese and other minority communities that were marginalied in the apartheid society.
Strategically located within the Abdul Hamed Building at the landmark ML Sultan Campus which provided technical education for disadvantaged communities, umAfrika provides easy access to post-school students, undergraduates and career candidates.
Despite the progress of a democratic country, millions of South Africans are still denied rudimentary services, like piped water, electricity, sanitation and sewerage system. In a post-apartheid environment, school children attend classes in wattle and daub and non-electrified schools, serviced by water tanks and bore holes that dot the rural landscapes: “These depressing conditions, coupled with rampant unemployment and grinding poverty, stymie the education growth and development of our young citizens who we should be nurturing and mentoring as future leaders,” added Sewlal.
However, government continues to redress the socio-economic imbalances and inequities of the old country, promoting a ‘developmental state’ concept of encouraging private-sector capacity to support the public-sector platform of realigning all spheres of social and economic activities in the new nation.
South Africa is still battling with high levels of illiteracy and scarce skills among disadvantaged communities.
umAfrika has identified this deficiency that continues to deny communities of their God-given right to education.
“umAfrika believes it is contributing to the skills shortage pipeline by training and retraining our youth and graduates. We support the culture of education in the formal and informal sectors that has earmarked community involvement as a cornerstone in the areas of teaching, research and skills development and training and applying these theoretical and practical inputs and outputs to the issues that are becoming increasingly relevant to the community at large.
“We believe the emergence of umAfrika has filled a necessary gap in providing subsidized training programmes, including training, examinations and certificates, free of charge.”
umAfrika specialises and focuses in offering streamlined and practical short courses for duration of 3-6 months to a year, in these skill shortage areas:
Computers;
Information Technology;
New Media – internet, emails and social networking;
Entrepreneurship;
Women and Youth in Business;
Black Empowerment Opportunities;
Business Management and Consulting;
Office Administration;
Call Centre Business Networking;
Communications;
Marketing;
Project Management;
Business Law;
Globalisation;
Quality Management;
Production Management;
Human Resources;
HIV and AIDS;
Ends
ABOUT UMAFRIKA
umAfrika’s education and skills development and training programme is based on extensive research in South African and international experiences.
umAfrika’s examinations are co-ordinated and supervised on an ongoing basis, aimed at directly conceptualizing and formulating issues according to the reality check of the possibilities and options available, especially to the disadvantaged, rural and disabled citizens and student population.
umAfrika is guided in its task by:
International and National provisions allocated towards the upliftment of skills development in our country.
Continual research and development undergoing towards what is immediately required for the upliftment of communities.
Integrating of International experience within our local framework, particularly in the development of candidates in accordance to our nations needs.
Design policies and programmes that will assist in developing and accomplishing the Vision and Mission statements of umAfrika.
umAfrika’s success could be attributed to a higher level of grassroots community involvement:
Projects consist of the construction of low-cost housing, schools, libraries, community halls, roads, clinics, IT Training, HIV Training, Leadership and Motivation courses; and viable and future start-up of Call Centres incorporating Help Desk facilities.
In addition, umAfrika focuses on the stimulation of economic development and community empowerment through interventions such as relevant training schemes and focus on Small, Micro and Medium Enterprise (SMME) development and training.
The development of all projects incorporates the need to redress social injustices and promote black economic empowerment.
umAfrika is responsible for providing redevelopment and training. The agency engages strategic partners, like securing funding from the European Union, international education and training donor organisations, local, provincial and central government, and other funding and humanitarian aid agencies, locally and internationally.
umAfrika has developed IT Training and Business Studies programmes and has created a synergy to complement products and services suited to the common skills needed.
Says founding-director AnnSewlal: “Our human capital, our people, is our key strength in developing umAfrika into a local and national model for community outreach education at grassroots level.
“We select and nurture the best to create an awesome base of expertise and talent. Our wide footprint of embedded knowledge based on international accreditation covering all faculties extensively.”
umAfrika appears to be the open-door for candidates requiring training and skills development towards achieving a variety of skills, like a recent weekend workshop for computer training attracted 250 candidates, thereby revealing the ‘desperate need’ by young people to upskill themselves in computers and information technology.
Majority of the candidates hail from the INK cluster (Inanda, Newtown and Kwa-Mashu), a depressed job market pinpointed by Durban’s eThekwini Municipality for major economic development, and the inner-city suburbs, Phoenix, Canelands, Amaoti, Chatsworth, Lamontville, Isipingo, Umlazi and other areas.
Ends
umAfrika’s Core Vision and Mission
To employ and train previously disadvantaged throughout the country and to equip them with a competent level of a skill that will interact both theoretically and practically.
To enhance their chances of entering the working world and living their dreams.
To eliminate poverty, crime, violence by ongoing participation of outlined workshops.
To focus on gender and to ensure that equality is given.
To focus on people with disabilities on how to provide a workable environment, protecting against discrimination and any violation to human rights.
Transform candidates to adapt to the different cultural background of individuals within the workplace.
Promote globalization as it opens up possibilities for the improvement of life for the poor people, and the disabled.
Strategise to transform all faculties and departments both on a local and a corporate level.
To conduct ongoing (SWOT) analysis: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats.
umAfrika will endeavour to:
Provide essential tools and resources for the upliftment of socio-economic development within our country.
Provide regular workshops and skills development and training to create ongoing participation within the communities.
Provide transparent and accountable projects whereby candidates are able to have ongoing support and infrastructure.
Strive among all cultures to achieve equality, non racialism, gender equality, economic growth, social cohesion, peace and stability to enhance nation building.
To ensure the efficient and effective delivery of all services and the creation of a safe, healthy and comfortable training environment.
Adapt individuals with skills to operate with a multi-skilling approach to maximize benefit to both the company and the individual.
Adopt a strategic, creative and innovative approach to meet new and current challenges.
Be proactive in achieving social objectives and maximize economic development and job creation opportunities.
Contribute to and create co-operative and supportive relationships within the localized communities and businesses.
The unique layout of designing content course material to provide precise, workable turnkey solutions.
Strive for wider acceptance and accreditation of training course and programme locally and globally.
As a fully-fledged Black Economic Empowerment and Women-empowered agency, umAfrika will continue to add value to the formal and informal education by providing and sharing skills and knowledge aimed at achieving service excellence and supporting the critical skills developing sector.
Copyright
This publication has been produced by Marlan Padayachee GreenGold Africa Communications: greengold@mtnloaded.co.za/ marlan.padayachee@gmail.com/ Mobile: 073 625 8247/ 078 076 8121/ Durban 266 2134/ 266 4293.
COPYRIGHT 2011 Marlan Padayachee GreenGold Africa Communications. This material cannot be used, published or broadcasted without proper and prior consultation with the copyright licensee and holder. All inquiries regarding rights or concerns about this content should be directed to: Marlan Padayachee, email: greengold@mtnloaded.co.za; +00 27 31 266 2134 or 266 4293/ fax + 00 27 31 266 2134; Mobile: 073 625 8247/ 078 076 8121; Legal Advisors: Siven Samuel & Associates: South Africa; Karlen Padayachee (JD): Minneapolis, United States of America.
QUOTE: “When we seek to discover the best in others, we somehow bring out the best in ourselves.” – William A Ward.
Umafrika Project Specialists – A Model For Community Outreach Education As A Unique Platform For Advanced, Short Courses, Workshop-Based Training Programme To Complement South Africa’s Critical And Scarce Skills Development And Training Challenges.
WITHIN South Africa’s transforming education terrain, a homegrown education and skills development and training agency, umAfrika Project Specialists, housed in the historic ML Sultan Campus of the Durban University of Technology, is providing short courses for students and school-leavers to get a foothold in a competitive job market.
umAfrika is a community-driven Training Service Provider with innovative workshop programmes.
Founded by Ann Sewlal eight years ago, umAfrika continues to turn unskilled youth around, year in and year out, culminating in the annual graduation ceremony at the DUT’s Hotel School days after the Day of Reconciliation on 16 December.
Sewlal says the ‘the enabling and empowering environment of the campus city’s university’ has provided a niche for umAfrika to deliver basic skills training, learnership training and development for a broader corp of young people from economically marginalised and disadvantaged communities in the Greater Durban Region.
“umAfrika aims to become a model for Community Outreach Education as a unique platform for Advanced, Short Courses, Workshop-Based Training Programme in its quest to complement South Africa’s critical and scarce skills development pipeline and training challenges,” added Sewlal, the agency’s director.
Each year, umAfrika and its dedicated team leaders and service providers deliver turnkey solutions and knowledge economy to upskill and mentor young people for the reality check in the job market and marketplace.
Ahead of umAfrika’s tenth anniversary in 2013, Sewlal says a single historical event, South Africa’s dramatic transformation from an apartheid-based society to a democratic state, had propelled Sewlal to quit the comfort zone of a corporate job to launch a women-empowered skills development and training agency, aimed at upskilling African, Indian, Coloured, Chinese and other minority communities that were marginalied in the apartheid society.
Strategically located within the Abdul Hamed Building at the landmark ML Sultan Campus which provided technical education for disadvantaged communities, umAfrika provides easy access to post-school students, undergraduates and career candidates.
Despite the progress of a democratic country, millions of South Africans are still denied rudimentary services, like piped water, electricity, sanitation and sewerage system. In a post-apartheid environment, school children attend classes in wattle and daub and non-electrified schools, serviced by water tanks and bore holes that dot the rural landscapes: “These depressing conditions, coupled with rampant unemployment and grinding poverty, stymie the education growth and development of our young citizens who we should be nurturing and mentoring as future leaders,” added Sewlal.
However, government continues to redress the socio-economic imbalances and inequities of the old country, promoting a ‘developmental state’ concept of encouraging private-sector capacity to support the public-sector platform of realigning all spheres of social and economic activities in the new nation.
South Africa is still battling with high levels of illiteracy and scarce skills among disadvantaged communities.
umAfrika has identified this deficiency that continues to deny communities of their God-given right to education.
“umAfrika believes it is contributing to the skills shortage pipeline by training and retraining our youth and graduates. We support the culture of education in the formal and informal sectors that has earmarked community involvement as a cornerstone in the areas of teaching, research and skills development and training and applying these theoretical and practical inputs and outputs to the issues that are becoming increasingly relevant to the community at large.
“We believe the emergence of umAfrika has filled a necessary gap in providing subsidized training programmes, including training, examinations and certificates, free of charge.”
umAfrika specialises and focuses in offering streamlined and practical short courses for duration of 3-6 months to a year, in these skill shortage areas:
Computers;
Information Technology;
New Media – internet, emails and social networking;
Entrepreneurship;
Women and Youth in Business;
Black Empowerment Opportunities;
Business Management and Consulting;
Office Administration;
Call Centre Business Networking;
Communications;
Marketing;
Project Management;
Business Law;
Globalisation;
Quality Management;
Production Management;
Human Resources;
HIV and AIDS;
Ends
ABOUT UMAFRIKA
umAfrika’s education and skills development and training programme is based on extensive research in South African and international experiences.
umAfrika’s examinations are co-ordinated and supervised on an ongoing basis, aimed at directly conceptualizing and formulating issues according to the reality check of the possibilities and options available, especially to the disadvantaged, rural and disabled citizens and student population.
umAfrika is guided in its task by:
International and National provisions allocated towards the upliftment of skills development in our country.
Continual research and development undergoing towards what is immediately required for the upliftment of communities.
Integrating of International experience within our local framework, particularly in the development of candidates in accordance to our nations needs.
Design policies and programmes that will assist in developing and accomplishing the Vision and Mission statements of umAfrika.
umAfrika’s success could be attributed to a higher level of grassroots community involvement:
Projects consist of the construction of low-cost housing, schools, libraries, community halls, roads, clinics, IT Training, HIV Training, Leadership and Motivation courses; and viable and future start-up of Call Centres incorporating Help Desk facilities.
In addition, umAfrika focuses on the stimulation of economic development and community empowerment through interventions such as relevant training schemes and focus on Small, Micro and Medium Enterprise (SMME) development and training.
The development of all projects incorporates the need to redress social injustices and promote black economic empowerment.
umAfrika is responsible for providing redevelopment and training. The agency engages strategic partners, like securing funding from the European Union, international education and training donor organisations, local, provincial and central government, and other funding and humanitarian aid agencies, locally and internationally.
umAfrika has developed IT Training and Business Studies programmes and has created a synergy to complement products and services suited to the common skills needed.
Says founding-director AnnSewlal: “Our human capital, our people, is our key strength in developing umAfrika into a local and national model for community outreach education at grassroots level.
“We select and nurture the best to create an awesome base of expertise and talent. Our wide footprint of embedded knowledge based on international accreditation covering all faculties extensively.”
umAfrika appears to be the open-door for candidates requiring training and skills development towards achieving a variety of skills, like a recent weekend workshop for computer training attracted 250 candidates, thereby revealing the ‘desperate need’ by young people to upskill themselves in computers and information technology.
Majority of the candidates hail from the INK cluster (Inanda, Newtown and Kwa-Mashu), a depressed job market pinpointed by Durban’s eThekwini Municipality for major economic development, and the inner-city suburbs, Phoenix, Canelands, Amaoti, Chatsworth, Lamontville, Isipingo, Umlazi and other areas.
Ends
umAfrika’s Core Vision and Mission
To employ and train previously disadvantaged throughout the country and to equip them with a competent level of a skill that will interact both theoretically and practically.
To enhance their chances of entering the working world and living their dreams.
To eliminate poverty, crime, violence by ongoing participation of outlined workshops.
To focus on gender and to ensure that equality is given.
To focus on people with disabilities on how to provide a workable environment, protecting against discrimination and any violation to human rights.
Transform candidates to adapt to the different cultural background of individuals within the workplace.
Promote globalization as it opens up possibilities for the improvement of life for the poor people, and the disabled.
Strategise to transform all faculties and departments both on a local and a corporate level.
To conduct ongoing (SWOT) analysis: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats.
umAfrika will endeavour to:
Provide essential tools and resources for the upliftment of socio-economic development within our country.
Provide regular workshops and skills development and training to create ongoing participation within the communities.
Provide transparent and accountable projects whereby candidates are able to have ongoing support and infrastructure.
Strive among all cultures to achieve equality, non racialism, gender equality, economic growth, social cohesion, peace and stability to enhance nation building.
To ensure the efficient and effective delivery of all services and the creation of a safe, healthy and comfortable training environment.
Adapt individuals with skills to operate with a multi-skilling approach to maximize benefit to both the company and the individual.
Adopt a strategic, creative and innovative approach to meet new and current challenges.
Be proactive in achieving social objectives and maximize economic development and job creation opportunities.
Contribute to and create co-operative and supportive relationships within the localized communities and businesses.
The unique layout of designing content course material to provide precise, workable turnkey solutions.
Strive for wider acceptance and accreditation of training course and programme locally and globally.
As a fully-fledged Black Economic Empowerment and Women-empowered agency, umAfrika will continue to add value to the formal and informal education by providing and sharing skills and knowledge aimed at achieving service excellence and supporting the critical skills developing sector.
Copyright
This publication has been produced by Marlan Padayachee GreenGold Africa Communications: greengold@mtnloaded.co.za/ marlan.padayachee@gmail.com/ Mobile: 073 625 8247/ 078 076 8121/ Durban 266 2134/ 266 4293.
COPYRIGHT 2011 Marlan Padayachee GreenGold Africa Communications. This material cannot be used, published or broadcasted without proper and prior consultation with the copyright licensee and holder. All inquiries regarding rights or concerns about this content should be directed to: Marlan Padayachee, email: greengold@mtnloaded.co.za; +00 27 31 266 2134 or 266 4293/ fax + 00 27 31 266 2134; Mobile: 073 625 8247/ 078 076 8121; Legal Advisors: Siven Samuel & Associates: South Africa; Karlen Padayachee (JD): Minneapolis, United States of America.
Don't Let Your CV End Up in File 13
UMAFRIKA GRADUATION – SPEECH BY MARLAN PADAYACHEE, MANAGING PARTNER OF GREENGOLD AFRICA COMMUNICATIONS AT DURBAN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY HOTEL SCHOOL 17.12.2011
THANK YOU, PROGRAMME DIRECTOR.
· ANN SEWLAL, FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR OF UMAFRIKA SKILLS PROJECT.
· THE STAFF AND MANAGEMENT OF UMAFRIKA SKILLS PROJECT.
· COUNCILLOR DIANA HOORZUK, REPRESENTING THE SPEAKER OF THE DURBAN-ETHEKWINI MUNICIPALITY, COUNCILLOR LOGIE NAIDOO.
· ALL DISTINGUISHED DIGNITARIES, GUESTS, PARENTS AND MEMBERS OF THE DURBAN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY.
· AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, THE YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN OF THE MOMENT, THE STUDENTS WHO HAVE SUCCESSFULLY GRADUATED TO BECOME GRADUANDS.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, I AM HUMBLED AND HONOURED TO BE ADDRESSING YOU THIS AFTERNOON AS SOMEONE WHO LEARNT EARLY IN MY LIFE THAT ‘EDUCATION IS YOUR SALVATION’ AND ‘KNOWLEDGE IS POWER’ – THAT IS WHY I AM STANDING BEFORE YOU TO SHARE MY WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY WITH ALL OF YOU.
IF YOU LOOK TO YOUR LEFT AND RIGHT, YOU WILL NOTICE A GRADUATE NEXT SEATED NEXT TO YOU: YOUR PARENTS, GUARDIANS, GRANDPARENTS – ALL OF WHOM WORK TIRELESSLY TO ENSURE THAT YOU RECEIVE THE GIFT OF EDUCATION.
ALL OUR PARENTS DESERVE A ROUND OF APPLAUSE AND SOME ACADEMIC ACCOLADES, AS WELL.
THAT’S WHY MANY OF US BELIEVE AND LIVE BY THE ANCIENT AFRICAN MANTRA, UBUNTU (HUMANKIND), WHICH MEANS IN ISIZULU OR INDIGENOUS AFRICAN LANGUAGES, ‘I AM BECAUSE OF YOU’.
THAT’S WHY WE ALSO SAY IN THE AFRICAN VERNACULAR: ‘IT TAKES A VILLAGE TO RAISE A CHILD’.
WE MAY LIVE IN A COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT, WHERE PEOPLE ARE COMPETING FOR EACH OTHER FOR WEALTH, CASH, AND STATUS, AND DREAM FOR A GET-RICH-QUICK SCHEME .
THERE IS NO SHORT-CUT TO SUCCESS;
THERE IS NO SIDE ROAD TO ACCUMULATING WEALTH;
· THERE’S ONLY THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD TO SUCCESS AND ITS CALLED :
· HARD WORK;
· HONESTY;
· HUMILITY;
THE CERTIFICATE YOU ARE RECEIVING TODAY MOST TELL A STORY OF A DINT OF HARD WORK, HONESTY AND HUMILITY.
IF YOU PRESENT FALSE INFORMATION ON YOUR CURRICULUM VITAE, THEN YOUR CAREER WILL BE CONDEMNED FOR LIFE.
IT’S CALLED ACADEMIC FRAUD.
YOUR EMPLOYER WILL SHOW YOU THE DOOR THAT IS SIGN-POSTED AS ‘EXIT’.
SO, VALUE THIS CERTIFICATE YOU ARE RECEIVING TODAY.
IT IS THE START OF A NEW BEGINNING.
LEARNING DOES NOT STOP HERE.
IT CONTINUES AND CONTINUES UNTIL YOU ARE A WELL ROUNDED CANDIDATE FOR CAREER SUCCESS.
TODAY, WE ARE LIVING IN A GLOBAL VILLAGE, WHICH MEANS BY THE TOUCH OF A BUTTON YOU CAN CONTACT ANYONE IN THE WORLD, VIA CELLPHONE, VIA EMAIL, VIA INTERNET, VIA FACEBOOK, VIA TWITTER AND VIA ANY SOCIAL MEDIA.
I STAND BEFORE YOU BECAUSE I BELIEVE IN ANN SEWLAL’S UMAFRIKA SKILLS PROJECT.
IN THESE TRYING TIMES OF ECONOMIC DOWNCAST WHERE JOBS ARE BECOMING INCREASINGLY SCARCE AND POVERTY AND SOCIAL ILLS ARE REDUCING THE QUALITY OF LIFE OF THE CITIZENS OF THE GREATER DURBAN REGION, AND MANY OF THE COUNTRY, GOVERNMENT LED BY THE AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS UNDER OUR MULTIPARTY DEMOCRACY SYSTEM, IS WORKING HARD TO GIVE US ‘A BETTER LIFE FOR ALL’.
JOBLESSNESS IS THE SINGLE GREATEST THREAT TO ALL US – PARTICULARLY OUR YOUTH POPULATION – OUR FUTURE CITIZENS – OUR FUTURE LEADERS.
UMAFRIKA, THROUGH AN SEWLAL’S VISION, OFFERS STUDENTS, SCHOOL-LEAVERS, UNDERGRADUATES AND POST-GRADUATES A PRAGMATIC ANSWER TO A VERY DIFFICULT JOB MARKET – AND THAT IS FOR YOUR TO GAIN NEW SKILLS.
TO DESCRIBE UMAFRIKA, WHICH COMPLIMENTS THE TERTIARY EDUCATION INSTITUTION WITH ITS RANGE OF SHORT COURSES, I WOULD AGREE THAT: ‘
· UMAFRIKA PROJECT SPECIALISTS IS A MODEL FOR COMMUNITY OUTREACH EDUCATION AS A UNIQUE PLATFORM FOR ADVANCED, SHORT COURSES, WORKSHOP-BASED TRAINING PROGRAMME TO COMPLEMENT SOUTH AFRICA’S CRITICAL AND SCARCE SKILLS DEVELOPMENT AND TRAINING CHALLENGES.
TODAY’S JOB MARKET ALSO DEMANDS THAT YOU ARE VERSATILE.
· YOU MUST STRIVE TO BE AN ALL-ROUNDER.
· YOU MUST SAY TO AM PROSPECTIVE EMPLOYER AT A JOB INTERVIEW: ‘I AM MULTISKILLED; I AM A HARD WORKER AND HUMBLE ENOUGH TO MAKE THE TEA OR COFFEE WHILE YOUR COMPANY TEACHES ME THE TOOLS OF THE TRADE’.
· WHILE SERVING THE TEA OR COFFEE, YOU MUST DEVELOP AN APPETITE FOR KNOWLEDGE AND BE WILLING TO LEARN, AND BECOME A TEAM PLAYER WITHIN THE WORKPLACE.
· THERE IS NO ‘I’ IN THE WORD ‘SUCCESS’.
· EMPLOYERS ARE LOOKING FOR JOBSEEKERS WHO CAN ADD VALUE TO THE PROFITABILITY AND VIABILITY OF A BUSINESS, AND IT’S CALLED BOTTOMLINES.
· LEARN TO SPEAK THE ECONOMIC LANGUAGE.
· IF YOU UNDERSTAND SOMEONE’S BUSINESS, THEN YOU WILL GROW WITHIN THE WORKPLACE AND YOU WILL BE A BIGGER ASSET TO THE COMPNAY, AND THAT’S CALLED HUMAN CAPITAL.
IF YOU ARE A SLAVE TO WAGES OR SALARY THEN YOUR CAREER HAS A SHORT SHELF LIFE AND YOU WILL BE WASTING VALUABLE TIME EMAILING AND DROPPING YOUR CV’S ALL OVER.
AND IF YOU CV IS NOT A HONEST STORY OF WHAT YOU CAN OFFER YOUR EMPLOYER, THEN IT ENDS UP IN FILE 13 – THE DUSTBIN.
THAT BRINGS ME TO SOME WORDS OF VISION:
· AN AMERICAN, PHILLIP J KRAWITH, WRITING ABOUT THE FIVE REVOLUTIONS - INDUSTRIAL, TRANSPORT, COMMUNICATIONS, COMPUTER AND INTERNET: “IF YOUR COMPANY HAS PEOPLE WHO ARE SMARTER, BETTER TRAINED, MORE INNOVATIVE AND MORE PASSIONATE THAN THE OPPOSITION, YOU WIN - AND THE IMPLICATIONS ARE PROFOUND.”
APART FROM LEARNING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SKILLS, THE OTHER ASPECT OF SUCCESSFUL CAREER PATHING ARE MENTORING AND COACHING.
REMEMBER THAT ‘WITHOUT A MENTOR, AN INDIVIDUAL WILL LEARN LESS, MORE SLOWLY OR NOT AT ALL,’ SAYS MARIUS MEYER AND LEON FOURIE IN THEIR BOOK, ‘MENTORING AND COACHING’.
· THIS BOOK WAS WRITTEN TO PROVIDE GUIDELINES FOR MANAGERS, TEAM LEADERS, FACILITATORS, MENTORS OR COACHES WHO ARE REQUIRED TO DO SOME FORM OF MENTORING AND COACHING AS PART OF THEIR JOBS.
· THE AUTHORS SAY ‘EMPLOYEE INVOLVEMENT AND CHANGE MANAGEMENT ARE ESSNTIAL REALITIES OF THE NEW BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT’.
· THAT’S WHAT IS WAITING FOR YOU IN THE WORKPLACE – A NEW BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT, A FAR CRY FROM THE WORKPLACE OF YOUR PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS.
· COACHING, MENTORING AND TRAINING IS ALL ABOUT HOW ELL YOU PERFORM IN THE WORKPLACE.
SO, RECEIVING YOUR CERTIFICATES AND BEING HAPPILY PHOTOGRAPHED, IS THE START OF YOU’RE YOUR THOUSAND MILE JOURNEY INTO A LIFE WHICH IS REALLY IN YOUR HANDS.
· YOUR ATTITUDE WILL DETERMINE YOUR ALTITUDE.
· YOUR ATTITUDE WILL DETERMINE YOUR DESTINY.
· TAKE NOTE OF THESE TIPS:
· GOOD COMMUNICATIONS SKILLS;
· RESPECTFUL OF SELF AND OTHERS;
· WILLINGNESS TO SHARE;
· FLEXIBLE;
· ENCOURAGING;
· SENSITIVE TO THE NEEDS OF OTHERS;
· SELF-CONFIDENT;
· COMMITTED;
· SUPPORTIVE;
PUT ALL THE TIPS TOGETHER, IT’S A WORD CALLED ‘UBUNTU’ (HUMANENESS OR HUMANKIND).
WE ALL NEED EACH OTHER, NO-ONE IS INDISPENSABLE, NO-ONE IS AN ISLAND;
BE A TEAM PLAYER.
WE ALL KNOW WHO OPRAH WINFREY IS: WELL, SHE SAYS: “WHERE THERE IS NO STRUGGLE, THERE IS NO STRENGTH.”
ALWAYS REMEMBER: “THERE ARE TWO THINGS NEEDED THESE DAYS; FIRST, FOR RICH PEOPLE TO FIND OUT HOW POOR PEOPLE LIVE; AND SECOND, FOR POOR PEOPLE TO FIND OUT HOW RICH PEOPLE WORK.”
AND WILLIAM SPRAGUE ONCE SAID: “DO NOT WAIT TO STRIKE TILL THE IRON IS HOT; BUT MAKE IT HOT BY STRIKING.”
GOOD LUCK.
NKOSI SIKELEL IAFRIKA.
Marlan Padayachee
Marlan.padayachee@gmail.com/ 073 625 8247/ (031) 266 4293/ 266 2134: PA Pinky Naidoo: 078 076 8121/ Professional coordinator & isiZulu tutor: Sally Nene: 082 686 7561
THANK YOU, PROGRAMME DIRECTOR.
· ANN SEWLAL, FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR OF UMAFRIKA SKILLS PROJECT.
· THE STAFF AND MANAGEMENT OF UMAFRIKA SKILLS PROJECT.
· COUNCILLOR DIANA HOORZUK, REPRESENTING THE SPEAKER OF THE DURBAN-ETHEKWINI MUNICIPALITY, COUNCILLOR LOGIE NAIDOO.
· ALL DISTINGUISHED DIGNITARIES, GUESTS, PARENTS AND MEMBERS OF THE DURBAN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY.
· AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, THE YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN OF THE MOMENT, THE STUDENTS WHO HAVE SUCCESSFULLY GRADUATED TO BECOME GRADUANDS.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, I AM HUMBLED AND HONOURED TO BE ADDRESSING YOU THIS AFTERNOON AS SOMEONE WHO LEARNT EARLY IN MY LIFE THAT ‘EDUCATION IS YOUR SALVATION’ AND ‘KNOWLEDGE IS POWER’ – THAT IS WHY I AM STANDING BEFORE YOU TO SHARE MY WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY WITH ALL OF YOU.
IF YOU LOOK TO YOUR LEFT AND RIGHT, YOU WILL NOTICE A GRADUATE NEXT SEATED NEXT TO YOU: YOUR PARENTS, GUARDIANS, GRANDPARENTS – ALL OF WHOM WORK TIRELESSLY TO ENSURE THAT YOU RECEIVE THE GIFT OF EDUCATION.
ALL OUR PARENTS DESERVE A ROUND OF APPLAUSE AND SOME ACADEMIC ACCOLADES, AS WELL.
THAT’S WHY MANY OF US BELIEVE AND LIVE BY THE ANCIENT AFRICAN MANTRA, UBUNTU (HUMANKIND), WHICH MEANS IN ISIZULU OR INDIGENOUS AFRICAN LANGUAGES, ‘I AM BECAUSE OF YOU’.
THAT’S WHY WE ALSO SAY IN THE AFRICAN VERNACULAR: ‘IT TAKES A VILLAGE TO RAISE A CHILD’.
WE MAY LIVE IN A COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT, WHERE PEOPLE ARE COMPETING FOR EACH OTHER FOR WEALTH, CASH, AND STATUS, AND DREAM FOR A GET-RICH-QUICK SCHEME .
THERE IS NO SHORT-CUT TO SUCCESS;
THERE IS NO SIDE ROAD TO ACCUMULATING WEALTH;
· THERE’S ONLY THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD TO SUCCESS AND ITS CALLED :
· HARD WORK;
· HONESTY;
· HUMILITY;
THE CERTIFICATE YOU ARE RECEIVING TODAY MOST TELL A STORY OF A DINT OF HARD WORK, HONESTY AND HUMILITY.
IF YOU PRESENT FALSE INFORMATION ON YOUR CURRICULUM VITAE, THEN YOUR CAREER WILL BE CONDEMNED FOR LIFE.
IT’S CALLED ACADEMIC FRAUD.
YOUR EMPLOYER WILL SHOW YOU THE DOOR THAT IS SIGN-POSTED AS ‘EXIT’.
SO, VALUE THIS CERTIFICATE YOU ARE RECEIVING TODAY.
IT IS THE START OF A NEW BEGINNING.
LEARNING DOES NOT STOP HERE.
IT CONTINUES AND CONTINUES UNTIL YOU ARE A WELL ROUNDED CANDIDATE FOR CAREER SUCCESS.
TODAY, WE ARE LIVING IN A GLOBAL VILLAGE, WHICH MEANS BY THE TOUCH OF A BUTTON YOU CAN CONTACT ANYONE IN THE WORLD, VIA CELLPHONE, VIA EMAIL, VIA INTERNET, VIA FACEBOOK, VIA TWITTER AND VIA ANY SOCIAL MEDIA.
I STAND BEFORE YOU BECAUSE I BELIEVE IN ANN SEWLAL’S UMAFRIKA SKILLS PROJECT.
IN THESE TRYING TIMES OF ECONOMIC DOWNCAST WHERE JOBS ARE BECOMING INCREASINGLY SCARCE AND POVERTY AND SOCIAL ILLS ARE REDUCING THE QUALITY OF LIFE OF THE CITIZENS OF THE GREATER DURBAN REGION, AND MANY OF THE COUNTRY, GOVERNMENT LED BY THE AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS UNDER OUR MULTIPARTY DEMOCRACY SYSTEM, IS WORKING HARD TO GIVE US ‘A BETTER LIFE FOR ALL’.
JOBLESSNESS IS THE SINGLE GREATEST THREAT TO ALL US – PARTICULARLY OUR YOUTH POPULATION – OUR FUTURE CITIZENS – OUR FUTURE LEADERS.
UMAFRIKA, THROUGH AN SEWLAL’S VISION, OFFERS STUDENTS, SCHOOL-LEAVERS, UNDERGRADUATES AND POST-GRADUATES A PRAGMATIC ANSWER TO A VERY DIFFICULT JOB MARKET – AND THAT IS FOR YOUR TO GAIN NEW SKILLS.
TO DESCRIBE UMAFRIKA, WHICH COMPLIMENTS THE TERTIARY EDUCATION INSTITUTION WITH ITS RANGE OF SHORT COURSES, I WOULD AGREE THAT: ‘
· UMAFRIKA PROJECT SPECIALISTS IS A MODEL FOR COMMUNITY OUTREACH EDUCATION AS A UNIQUE PLATFORM FOR ADVANCED, SHORT COURSES, WORKSHOP-BASED TRAINING PROGRAMME TO COMPLEMENT SOUTH AFRICA’S CRITICAL AND SCARCE SKILLS DEVELOPMENT AND TRAINING CHALLENGES.
TODAY’S JOB MARKET ALSO DEMANDS THAT YOU ARE VERSATILE.
· YOU MUST STRIVE TO BE AN ALL-ROUNDER.
· YOU MUST SAY TO AM PROSPECTIVE EMPLOYER AT A JOB INTERVIEW: ‘I AM MULTISKILLED; I AM A HARD WORKER AND HUMBLE ENOUGH TO MAKE THE TEA OR COFFEE WHILE YOUR COMPANY TEACHES ME THE TOOLS OF THE TRADE’.
· WHILE SERVING THE TEA OR COFFEE, YOU MUST DEVELOP AN APPETITE FOR KNOWLEDGE AND BE WILLING TO LEARN, AND BECOME A TEAM PLAYER WITHIN THE WORKPLACE.
· THERE IS NO ‘I’ IN THE WORD ‘SUCCESS’.
· EMPLOYERS ARE LOOKING FOR JOBSEEKERS WHO CAN ADD VALUE TO THE PROFITABILITY AND VIABILITY OF A BUSINESS, AND IT’S CALLED BOTTOMLINES.
· LEARN TO SPEAK THE ECONOMIC LANGUAGE.
· IF YOU UNDERSTAND SOMEONE’S BUSINESS, THEN YOU WILL GROW WITHIN THE WORKPLACE AND YOU WILL BE A BIGGER ASSET TO THE COMPNAY, AND THAT’S CALLED HUMAN CAPITAL.
IF YOU ARE A SLAVE TO WAGES OR SALARY THEN YOUR CAREER HAS A SHORT SHELF LIFE AND YOU WILL BE WASTING VALUABLE TIME EMAILING AND DROPPING YOUR CV’S ALL OVER.
AND IF YOU CV IS NOT A HONEST STORY OF WHAT YOU CAN OFFER YOUR EMPLOYER, THEN IT ENDS UP IN FILE 13 – THE DUSTBIN.
THAT BRINGS ME TO SOME WORDS OF VISION:
· AN AMERICAN, PHILLIP J KRAWITH, WRITING ABOUT THE FIVE REVOLUTIONS - INDUSTRIAL, TRANSPORT, COMMUNICATIONS, COMPUTER AND INTERNET: “IF YOUR COMPANY HAS PEOPLE WHO ARE SMARTER, BETTER TRAINED, MORE INNOVATIVE AND MORE PASSIONATE THAN THE OPPOSITION, YOU WIN - AND THE IMPLICATIONS ARE PROFOUND.”
APART FROM LEARNING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SKILLS, THE OTHER ASPECT OF SUCCESSFUL CAREER PATHING ARE MENTORING AND COACHING.
REMEMBER THAT ‘WITHOUT A MENTOR, AN INDIVIDUAL WILL LEARN LESS, MORE SLOWLY OR NOT AT ALL,’ SAYS MARIUS MEYER AND LEON FOURIE IN THEIR BOOK, ‘MENTORING AND COACHING’.
· THIS BOOK WAS WRITTEN TO PROVIDE GUIDELINES FOR MANAGERS, TEAM LEADERS, FACILITATORS, MENTORS OR COACHES WHO ARE REQUIRED TO DO SOME FORM OF MENTORING AND COACHING AS PART OF THEIR JOBS.
· THE AUTHORS SAY ‘EMPLOYEE INVOLVEMENT AND CHANGE MANAGEMENT ARE ESSNTIAL REALITIES OF THE NEW BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT’.
· THAT’S WHAT IS WAITING FOR YOU IN THE WORKPLACE – A NEW BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT, A FAR CRY FROM THE WORKPLACE OF YOUR PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS.
· COACHING, MENTORING AND TRAINING IS ALL ABOUT HOW ELL YOU PERFORM IN THE WORKPLACE.
SO, RECEIVING YOUR CERTIFICATES AND BEING HAPPILY PHOTOGRAPHED, IS THE START OF YOU’RE YOUR THOUSAND MILE JOURNEY INTO A LIFE WHICH IS REALLY IN YOUR HANDS.
· YOUR ATTITUDE WILL DETERMINE YOUR ALTITUDE.
· YOUR ATTITUDE WILL DETERMINE YOUR DESTINY.
· TAKE NOTE OF THESE TIPS:
· GOOD COMMUNICATIONS SKILLS;
· RESPECTFUL OF SELF AND OTHERS;
· WILLINGNESS TO SHARE;
· FLEXIBLE;
· ENCOURAGING;
· SENSITIVE TO THE NEEDS OF OTHERS;
· SELF-CONFIDENT;
· COMMITTED;
· SUPPORTIVE;
PUT ALL THE TIPS TOGETHER, IT’S A WORD CALLED ‘UBUNTU’ (HUMANENESS OR HUMANKIND).
WE ALL NEED EACH OTHER, NO-ONE IS INDISPENSABLE, NO-ONE IS AN ISLAND;
BE A TEAM PLAYER.
WE ALL KNOW WHO OPRAH WINFREY IS: WELL, SHE SAYS: “WHERE THERE IS NO STRUGGLE, THERE IS NO STRENGTH.”
ALWAYS REMEMBER: “THERE ARE TWO THINGS NEEDED THESE DAYS; FIRST, FOR RICH PEOPLE TO FIND OUT HOW POOR PEOPLE LIVE; AND SECOND, FOR POOR PEOPLE TO FIND OUT HOW RICH PEOPLE WORK.”
AND WILLIAM SPRAGUE ONCE SAID: “DO NOT WAIT TO STRIKE TILL THE IRON IS HOT; BUT MAKE IT HOT BY STRIKING.”
GOOD LUCK.
NKOSI SIKELEL IAFRIKA.
Marlan Padayachee
Marlan.padayachee@gmail.com/ 073 625 8247/ (031) 266 4293/ 266 2134: PA Pinky Naidoo: 078 076 8121/ Professional coordinator & isiZulu tutor: Sally Nene: 082 686 7561
Monday, November 28, 2011
Tribute to Fallen Journalists
A double blow for journalism – a tribute to Deon du Plessis and Patrick Leeman
By Marlan Padayachee
KANTHAN Pillay provided an insightful portrait and anecdotes of the newspapering life of Deon du Plessis. This is how I recall a fallen colleague, who ensured that I covered President Nelson Mandela's historic visit to India, once the ANC's strongest ally, for Independent Newspapers and Post, in 1995.
More so, journalism was dealt a double blow: the paragon of publishing, founder of the Daily Sun and stalwart of the mainstream media, has passed on, leaving behind a legacy of an old-fashioned newspaperman, with his sleeves folded and booming voice, that provided excellent editorial leadership and humanity.
Diametrically opposed and a quieter personality was Patrick Leeman, who passed away a day after Du Plessis’s demise on 9/11.
Within the context of the newsroom environment at Natal Newspapers (Independent Newspapers), both wordsmiths touched the lives of peers, colleagues, workers and the public through their unique brand of journalism, human touch and their ability to engage people across the colour lines during the apartheid-democracy era.
Leeman was no Sunday Christian. He brought his Catholicism into his profession, often expressing favourable or dissenting views within the challenges of the industry, championing society’s underclass, while remaining committed to journalism and Paddy Kearney’s Diakonia Council of Churches that assisted striking black media workers in the 1980s.
Du Plessis also showed his hand and craftsmanship during the Media Workers Association of South Africa’s 13-week industrial action in a national protest against newsroom inequalities, racism and lack of career opportunities for disadvantaged reporters and poor pay and working conditions for workers.
As Deputy Editor of the Sunday Tribune, one of the Argus/SAAN publications hit by the strike, Du Plessis tackled the pros and the cons of the strike issue in his column about the ‘three empty desks’ – a reference to the absence of journalists, Ticks Chetty, Shami Harichunder and I from our work stations. The strike separated white and black colleagues on industry politics and ideological grounds.
The union remained unswerving to bring about the changes that presently prevail in the print and electronic media. MWASA won the day. Workers were reinstated and not even a big-hearted and boorish giant like Du Plessis bore any resentment to those who reoccupied the ‘three empty desks’.
He understood the growing militancy and the political terrain of the time. He also stopped short of sanctioning unionised journalists who raised their clenched fists, black-power style, at the launch of an ethnic political party headed by a controversial House of Delegates’ politician. Despite fielding the complaint, Du Plessis argued cogently about the objectivity of journalists, whether we enjoyed political rights, but still respected our action.
Heading back to Johannesburg, straight-talking Du Plessis left an indelible mark in the business of news gathering. Despite his ideological chasm, Afrikaner culture and fiercely independent mind, many of us looked up to this towering practitioner with admiration and respect.
This firm and fair, and yet colourful persona, is journalism’s loss .
The success of his top-circulation tabloid for blue-collar and working-class readers bears testimony to his integrity, honesty, management style, professional passion and inimitable common touch.
His legacy and contribution serves to inspire editors and journalists to continue reporting and publishing without fear or favour, and be damned, particularly at a time when the media landscape is at the crossroads of our young constitutional democracy.
Ends
· Marlan Padayachee, Journalist, Researcher and Media and Communications Strategist, GreenGold House, 1 Hillside Road, Dawncliffe, Westville, South Africa: marlan.padayachee@greengoldmedia.com/ (031) 266 2134/ 266 4293/ Cell: 073 625 8247.
By Marlan Padayachee
KANTHAN Pillay provided an insightful portrait and anecdotes of the newspapering life of Deon du Plessis. This is how I recall a fallen colleague, who ensured that I covered President Nelson Mandela's historic visit to India, once the ANC's strongest ally, for Independent Newspapers and Post, in 1995.
More so, journalism was dealt a double blow: the paragon of publishing, founder of the Daily Sun and stalwart of the mainstream media, has passed on, leaving behind a legacy of an old-fashioned newspaperman, with his sleeves folded and booming voice, that provided excellent editorial leadership and humanity.
Diametrically opposed and a quieter personality was Patrick Leeman, who passed away a day after Du Plessis’s demise on 9/11.
Within the context of the newsroom environment at Natal Newspapers (Independent Newspapers), both wordsmiths touched the lives of peers, colleagues, workers and the public through their unique brand of journalism, human touch and their ability to engage people across the colour lines during the apartheid-democracy era.
Leeman was no Sunday Christian. He brought his Catholicism into his profession, often expressing favourable or dissenting views within the challenges of the industry, championing society’s underclass, while remaining committed to journalism and Paddy Kearney’s Diakonia Council of Churches that assisted striking black media workers in the 1980s.
Du Plessis also showed his hand and craftsmanship during the Media Workers Association of South Africa’s 13-week industrial action in a national protest against newsroom inequalities, racism and lack of career opportunities for disadvantaged reporters and poor pay and working conditions for workers.
As Deputy Editor of the Sunday Tribune, one of the Argus/SAAN publications hit by the strike, Du Plessis tackled the pros and the cons of the strike issue in his column about the ‘three empty desks’ – a reference to the absence of journalists, Ticks Chetty, Shami Harichunder and I from our work stations. The strike separated white and black colleagues on industry politics and ideological grounds.
The union remained unswerving to bring about the changes that presently prevail in the print and electronic media. MWASA won the day. Workers were reinstated and not even a big-hearted and boorish giant like Du Plessis bore any resentment to those who reoccupied the ‘three empty desks’.
He understood the growing militancy and the political terrain of the time. He also stopped short of sanctioning unionised journalists who raised their clenched fists, black-power style, at the launch of an ethnic political party headed by a controversial House of Delegates’ politician. Despite fielding the complaint, Du Plessis argued cogently about the objectivity of journalists, whether we enjoyed political rights, but still respected our action.
Heading back to Johannesburg, straight-talking Du Plessis left an indelible mark in the business of news gathering. Despite his ideological chasm, Afrikaner culture and fiercely independent mind, many of us looked up to this towering practitioner with admiration and respect.
This firm and fair, and yet colourful persona, is journalism’s loss .
The success of his top-circulation tabloid for blue-collar and working-class readers bears testimony to his integrity, honesty, management style, professional passion and inimitable common touch.
His legacy and contribution serves to inspire editors and journalists to continue reporting and publishing without fear or favour, and be damned, particularly at a time when the media landscape is at the crossroads of our young constitutional democracy.
Ends
· Marlan Padayachee, Journalist, Researcher and Media and Communications Strategist, GreenGold House, 1 Hillside Road, Dawncliffe, Westville, South Africa: marlan.padayachee@greengoldmedia.com/ (031) 266 2134/ 266 4293/ Cell: 073 625 8247.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Durban's Fozy Peer is rising in radiography ranks
Durban’s Fozy Peer – Rising Within the World of Radiography
By Marlan Padayachee
WHEN radiographers in South Africa and rest of the globe celebrate World Radiography Day on 8th November, one of its chief campaigners, Dr Fozy Peer of Durban, will be in the company of some of leading scientists at the conference of the International Atomic Energy Association in Vienna, Austria.
Dr Peer, a senior manager in nuclear medicine at the Chief Albert Luthuli Hospital in KwaZulu-Natal, is among the delegates attending this week’s four-day IAEA’s conference that will also focus on the latest Pet-Scan Imaging diagnostics purposes used to treat mainly cancer patients.
She said her attendance and participation at the conference will bring her to the coalface of nuclear medicine, radiography and radiology issues on a world scale as the conference has attracted some of the leading thought leaders, academics and exponents in the professions.
Back at home and in many countries around the world, including Africa, radiographers will be holding workshops, seminars, goodwill fellowships and get-togethers to mark World Radiography Day under the theme, Radiography: the Heart of Medicine, at government and private hospitals and medical centres and institutions.
Each year, the Society of Radiographers of South Africa, of which Dr Peer is a spokeswoman and board member, gather to pay homage to Professor Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen for his discovery of X-rays in 1895, an outstanding academic achievement that made him the first recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for physics in 1901.
Said Dr Peer, the first woman in the country to achieve a doctorate in radiography, and a director of public-relations and board member of the International Society of Radiographers and Radiological Technicians: “World Radiography Day is an annual international initiative that is aimed at raising awareness of and stimulating an interest in radiography as a profession. This collective contribution serves to highlight the importance of radiography, the indispensable function it plays, and the frontline role of radiographers in the health care environment.”
Hospitals and health care centres here and abroad will host open days and share information about radiography as a challenging career in the medical and healthcare sector
In the medical field, radiographers play a key role as frontline health workers, particularly during the upcoming holiday season when road fatalities and pedestrian injuries escalate at crisis proportions through speeding, reckless driving practices, especially drink-driving and drug abuse behind the wheel.
“World Radiography Day also highlights career opportunities for young graduates, promotes opportunities for radiographers to start their own practices, and puts the focus on how government can partner the private sector in stemming the flow of the flight skills. Scarce skills are bound to affect the quality of healthcare for patients across South Africa.”
Dr Peer, who has been credited locally and internationally for having brought the first World Congress of the International Society of Radiographers and Radiological Technicians to Durban, South in 2008, and then responsible for the hosting of the first joint conference of the Society of Radiographers of South Africa and the Radiological Society of South Africa in Durban this year, also confirmed the second joint Durban Congress of both disciplines will be held in the city from 18-21 April in 2013.
The next World Congress takes place in Toronto, Canada, in 2012.
SOUTH AFRICA CELEBRATES WORLD RADIOGRAPHY DAY 8 NOVEMBER 2011
RADIOGRAPHERS and medical support staff will join the rest of the world in celebrating and commemorating World Radiography Day on Tuesday, 8 November.
The Society of Radiographers of South Africa will observe this year’s theme, Radiography: the Heart of Medicine, in homage to Professor Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen for his discovery of X-rays in 1895 and first recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for physics in 1901.
“Radiography Day is an annual international initiative that is aimed at raising awareness of and stimulating an interest in radiography as a profession. This collective contribution serves to highlight the importance of radiography, the indispensable function it plays and the frontline role of radiographers in the health care environment,” said Dr Fozy Peer, spokeswoman for Society of Radiographers of South Africa and the International Society of Radiographers and Radiological Technicians.
Hospitals and health care centres in South Africa and across the globe will host open days and share information about radiography as a challenging career in the medical and healthcare sector.
Marlan Padayachee is a journalist and media consultant to the Society of Radiographers of South Africa.
Ends
By Marlan Padayachee
WHEN radiographers in South Africa and rest of the globe celebrate World Radiography Day on 8th November, one of its chief campaigners, Dr Fozy Peer of Durban, will be in the company of some of leading scientists at the conference of the International Atomic Energy Association in Vienna, Austria.
Dr Peer, a senior manager in nuclear medicine at the Chief Albert Luthuli Hospital in KwaZulu-Natal, is among the delegates attending this week’s four-day IAEA’s conference that will also focus on the latest Pet-Scan Imaging diagnostics purposes used to treat mainly cancer patients.
She said her attendance and participation at the conference will bring her to the coalface of nuclear medicine, radiography and radiology issues on a world scale as the conference has attracted some of the leading thought leaders, academics and exponents in the professions.
Back at home and in many countries around the world, including Africa, radiographers will be holding workshops, seminars, goodwill fellowships and get-togethers to mark World Radiography Day under the theme, Radiography: the Heart of Medicine, at government and private hospitals and medical centres and institutions.
Each year, the Society of Radiographers of South Africa, of which Dr Peer is a spokeswoman and board member, gather to pay homage to Professor Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen for his discovery of X-rays in 1895, an outstanding academic achievement that made him the first recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for physics in 1901.
Said Dr Peer, the first woman in the country to achieve a doctorate in radiography, and a director of public-relations and board member of the International Society of Radiographers and Radiological Technicians: “World Radiography Day is an annual international initiative that is aimed at raising awareness of and stimulating an interest in radiography as a profession. This collective contribution serves to highlight the importance of radiography, the indispensable function it plays, and the frontline role of radiographers in the health care environment.”
Hospitals and health care centres here and abroad will host open days and share information about radiography as a challenging career in the medical and healthcare sector
In the medical field, radiographers play a key role as frontline health workers, particularly during the upcoming holiday season when road fatalities and pedestrian injuries escalate at crisis proportions through speeding, reckless driving practices, especially drink-driving and drug abuse behind the wheel.
“World Radiography Day also highlights career opportunities for young graduates, promotes opportunities for radiographers to start their own practices, and puts the focus on how government can partner the private sector in stemming the flow of the flight skills. Scarce skills are bound to affect the quality of healthcare for patients across South Africa.”
Dr Peer, who has been credited locally and internationally for having brought the first World Congress of the International Society of Radiographers and Radiological Technicians to Durban, South in 2008, and then responsible for the hosting of the first joint conference of the Society of Radiographers of South Africa and the Radiological Society of South Africa in Durban this year, also confirmed the second joint Durban Congress of both disciplines will be held in the city from 18-21 April in 2013.
The next World Congress takes place in Toronto, Canada, in 2012.
SOUTH AFRICA CELEBRATES WORLD RADIOGRAPHY DAY 8 NOVEMBER 2011
RADIOGRAPHERS and medical support staff will join the rest of the world in celebrating and commemorating World Radiography Day on Tuesday, 8 November.
The Society of Radiographers of South Africa will observe this year’s theme, Radiography: the Heart of Medicine, in homage to Professor Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen for his discovery of X-rays in 1895 and first recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for physics in 1901.
“Radiography Day is an annual international initiative that is aimed at raising awareness of and stimulating an interest in radiography as a profession. This collective contribution serves to highlight the importance of radiography, the indispensable function it plays and the frontline role of radiographers in the health care environment,” said Dr Fozy Peer, spokeswoman for Society of Radiographers of South Africa and the International Society of Radiographers and Radiological Technicians.
Hospitals and health care centres in South Africa and across the globe will host open days and share information about radiography as a challenging career in the medical and healthcare sector.
Marlan Padayachee is a journalist and media consultant to the Society of Radiographers of South Africa.
Ends
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Monday, January 10, 2011
Durban signs twinning agreement with Chennai
BY MARLAN PADAYACHEE
PRESENTATION PAPER BY THE DEPUTY MAYOR, COUNCILLOR LOGANATHAN NAIDOO, CHAIRPERSON OF THE ECONOMIC AND DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE, ETHEKWINI MUNICIAPLITY AT THE ANC PROGRESSIVE BUSINES FORUM TRADE DELEGATION TO CHENNAI INDIA/ SOUTH AFRICA –INDIA TRADE SEMINAR ON THE TOPIC SOUTH AFRICA – OPEN FOR BUSIUNESS 13-17 NOVEMBER 2010.
DATE: TUESDAY 16 NOVEMBER 2010
TIME: 10H20,
VENUE: PARK SHERAT0N HOTEL CHENNAI.
THANK YOU, DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMME.
· GOOD MORNING, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN; HONOURED GUESTS;
· VANNAKAM;
· NAMASTE;
· NAMASKARUMU;
· SAWUBONA;
· ASSALAMU ALAIKUM;
· SANIBONANI;
· GOEIE MORE;
· THE HONOURABLE MS SHOBANA KAMINENI, PAST PRESIDENT OF THE CONFEDERATION OF INDIA INDUSTRY (SR) AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF APOLLO HOSPITALS GROUP;
· HIS EXCELLENCY, THE HONOURABLE REVEREND HARRIS MAJEKA, SOUTH AFRICAN HIGH COMMISSIONER TO INDIA; AND CONSULAR STAFF FROM THE SOUTH AFRICAN MISSIONS IN INDIA;
· THE HONOURABLE MR DARYL SWANEPOEL, CO-CONVENOR OF THE AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS PROGRESSIVE BUSINESS FORUM OF SOUTH AFRICA;
· MR RAJEEV RANJAN, THE IAS PRINCIPAL SECRETARY, INDUSTRIES DEPARTMENT, GOVERNMENT OF TAMIL NADU.
· MR SUJITH HARIDAS, REGIONAL DIRECTOR, CONFEDERATION OF INDIA INDUSTRY, SOUTHERN REGION;
· MEMBERS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN BUSINESS DELEGATION;
· MEMBERS OF THE INDIAN BUSINESS DELEGATION;
· ALL GOVERNMENT AND MUNICIPAL OFFICIALS;
· MEMBERS OF THE MEDIA;
· ALL PROTOCOLS OBSERVED;
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, TODAY, THE 16TH DAY OF NOVEMBER 2010 IS AN IMPORTANT DAY IN THE LONGSTANDING RELATIONS BETWEEN THE PEOPLE OF INDIA AND THE PEOPLE OF SOUTH AFRICA.
EXACTLY, ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS AGO, TO THIS HOUR, INDIA GAVE BIRTH TO ONE OF THE FIRST AND MOST FORMIDABLE INDIAN COMMUNITIES OUTSIDE WHAT MANY OF MY INDIAN COMPATRIOTS AND COMRADES WOULD CALL THE MOTHERLAND, THAI NADU, AS WE SAY IN TAMIL OR TELUGU.
TODAY, BACK IN MY BELOVED COUNTRY OF BIRTH, SOUTH AFRICA, MORE THAN 1, 3 MILLION INDIANS WILL START CELEBRATING AND COMMEMORATING ONE OF THE GREATEST EVENTS OF A POIGNANT HUMAN DRAMA THROUGHOUT THE CITIES AND TOWNS WHERE SOUTH AFRICANS OF INDIAN ORIGIN RESIDE AND WORK CHEEK BY JOWL TO REALIZE THE AFRICAN DREAM FOR ALL OUR CITIZENS OF MORE THAN 45-MILLION.
IT IS THEREFORE APPROPRIATE THAT I THANK OUR HOST FOR YOUR GRACIOUS WELCOME AND HOSPITALITY OF WHAT WILL CLEARLY MAP OUT AS THE REAL INDIAN EXPERIENCE ON SOUTHERN SHORES OF INDIA WHERE THE FIRST BATCH OF 340 INDENTURED LABOURERS WERE SHIPPED TO THE CITY OF DURBAN ON 16TH NOVEMBER 1860.
SUGAR FARMING WAS SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHED IN OUR REGION IN 1855 WHEN OUR SUGAR FARMERS GOT WIND OF HOW THE INDIAN INDENTURED LABOUR SYSTEM WAS GIVING NEW ECONOMIC LIFE TO THE SUGAR INDUSTRY IN MAURITIUS AND MADAGASCAR SUGAR PLANTATIONS.
SUGAR FARMING WAS SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHED IN THIS REGION IN 1855 WHEN OUR SUGAR FARMERS GOT WIND OF HOW THE INDIAN INDENTURED LABOUR SYSTEM WAS GIVING NEW ECONOMIC LIFE TO THE SUGAR INDUSTRY IN MAURITIUS AND MADAGASCAR SUGAR PLANTATIONS.
THE BURGEONING BARONS OF THIS INDUSTRY THEN LOBBIED THE GOVERNMENT OF NATAL TO INTRODUCE INDENTURED INDIAN LABOURERS TO WORK ON THEIR SUGAR PLANTATIONS.
DURING BRITAIN’S COLONIAL RULE, INDIANS WERE PERCEIVED AS SUITABLE WORKERS FOR THIS JOB AS THEY WERE ALREADY USED TO THIS SYSTEM IN THE INDIAN OCEAN ISLANDS, AND THEY SOUGHT AFTER AS SKILFUL AGRICULTURISTS AND GARDENERS.
BUOYED BY AN INDOMITABLE SPIRIT OF SURVIVAL AND ENTERPRISE, THEY VENTURED INTO THE DARKNESS, ONLY TO TURN THEIR POOR PLIGHT OF INDENTURED LABOUR INTO ONE OF LIGHTNESS THAT WILL FOREVER LINK INDIA TO SOUTH AFRICA DURING THE TURBULENT PERIOD OF COLONIAL-APARTHEID HISTORY THAT CULMINATING IN GANDHIJEE RETURNING TO INDIA AS A PEACE GURU AND MANDELA BECOMING OUR NEW NATION’S FIRST BLACK PRESIDENT.
IT THEREFORE GIVES ME AN INCREDIBLE SENSE OF PRIDE, PLEASURE, PATRIOTISM AND HUMILITY TO SHARE WITH YOU THAT THIS IS CERTAINLY A GOD-GIVEN PRIVILEGE TO BE VISITING THE SEAPORT OF CHENNAI WHERE THE SS TRURO DEPARTED INTO THE DARKNESS OF THE INDIAN OCEAN TO BRING HOME OUR FOREBEARS WHO WOULD MAKE MOTHER INDIA SO PROUD AND THIS SYMBOLIC UMBILICAL CORD WILL FOREVER REMAIN BETWEEN CHENNAI AND DURBAN AS WE NAVIGATE THIS TRADING PROTOCOL TO TAKE INDIA AND SOUTH AFRICA INTO THE HEART OF THE AFRICAN 21ST CENTURY.
MR CHAIRPERSON, DISTINGUISHED GUESTS, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN.
AS THE DEPUTY MAYOR OF THE ETHEKWINI MUNICIPALITY AND THE CITY OF DURBAN, AND ALSO IN MY CAPACITY AS CHAIRPERSON OF DURBAN’S ECONOMIC AND DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE, I BELIEVE I WON’T BE OUT OF ORDER IF I EXTEND A COLLECTIVE BOUQUET OF GRATITUDE TO OUR DISTINGUISHED HOSTS.
FROM THE MOMENT EMIRATES FLIGHT EK 544 TOUCHED DOWN ON THE RUNWAY IN CHENNAI, WE HAVE BEEN TREATED WITH EXCEPTIONAL WARMTH AND FRIENDSHIP, AND THIS GLOBAL GOODWILL IS ONLY UNIQUE TO INCREDIBLE INDIA.
IF THE SPIRIT (IF NOT HIGH SPIRITS) AND VIGOUR WAS ANYTHING TO GO BY AT SUNDAY NIGHT’S WELCOME AND NETWORKING DINNER AT TAJ COROMANDEL HOTEL IS ANYTHING TO GO BY AS A SOCIAL-BUSINESS GAUGE OR BAROMETER, THEN OUR DELEGATION MUST BRACE ITSELF FOR A TRADE MISSION THAT WILL FOREVER BE ETCHED IN THEIR MINDS AS ONE OF THE MOST INTERESTING AND FASCINATION BUSINESS EXPERIENCES.
ON BEHALF OF OUR DELEGATION, I SAY ‘THANK YOU’ IN THE LANGUAGE OF THE BRITISH COLONIALISTS WHO SHIPPED US TO SOUTH AFRICA, ‘NAANDRI’ IN TAMIL AND ‘NGIYABONGA’ IN THE INDIGENOUS ISIZULU LANGUAGE OF THE KINGDOM OF THE KWAZULU, WHERE THE CITY OF DURBAN IS STRATEGICALLY POSITIONED ON THE INDIAN OCEAN RIM AS THE GATEWAY INTO AFRICA.
ON BEHALF OF THE ETHEKWINI MUNICIPALITY AND THE PEOPLE OF THE CITY OF DURBAN, I EXTEND WARM GREETINGS, GOODWILL AND GOOD WISHES TO THE CITIZENS OF CHENNAI ON THIS HISTORIC DAY THAT HAS THE POTENTIAL TO REDEFINE OUR MUTUALLY-ENHANCING RELATIONS ON THE SOCIAL, ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL SPHERES.
WE HAIL FROM A CITY OF GOLDEN BEACHES WHERE OUR MANTRA IS THE ‘FUN NEVER SETS’.
SO LET ME ASSURE YOU THAT OUR ESTEEMED REPRESENTATIVES FROM SOME OF OUR FINEST HOMEGROWN BRANDS HAVE MUCH MORE THAN THEIR SOCIAL STAMINA TO MAKE THIS LONG HAUL INTO A FRUITFUL AND ENTERPRISING SHARING AND EXCHANGING OF BUSINESS ACUMEN, TRADE OPPORTUNITIES AND PARTNERSHIPS.
THE ANC RULING PARTY’S PROGRESSIVE BUSINESS FORUM WAS LAUNCHED AT OUR PARTY’S HEADQUARTERS IN LUTHULI HOUSE AS A NEW VEHICLE TO STIMULATE THE ECONOMIC REVOLUTION THAT THE ANC HAD EMBARKED ON IN RECENT YEARS TO PLACE MORE AND MORE BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES IN THE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTORS IN THE HANDS OF PREVIOUSLY DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES, OF WHICH INCLUDES THE INDIAN COMMUNITY.
MANY OF THESE COMPANIES ARE REPRESENTED AMONG THE 35 TO 40 COMPANIES AND CONSULTANCIES IN OUR DELEGATION.
IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE 1860 INDENTURED LABOURERS, WE ARE RETRACING OUR STEPS TO STRENGTHEN A NEW ERA OF ENTERPRISE WITH OUR PROVINCE AND SOUTH INDIA.
THE ONE OF THE PURPOSES OF OUR TRADE VISIT IS TO SEEK APPROVAL FROM THE CITY GOVERNMENT OF CHENNAI TO SIGN THE SISTER CITY AGREEMENT BETWEEN ETHEKWINI AND CHENNAI.
THIS MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING WHICH HAS BEEN SHARED WITH THE CONSUL-GENERAL OF INDIA IN DURBAN HAS BEEN SUBMITTED TO DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND CO-OPERATION AND HAS SINCE BEEN RATIFIED AND APPROVED.
ALSO, AS THE DEPUTY MAYOR AND HEAD OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND GOVERNANCE IN THE CITY OF DURBAN, I WISH TO SHARE SOME BACKGROUND WITH YOU.
SOUTH AFRICA AND INDIA ARE STRONG TRADING PARTNERS AND HAVE ESTABLISHED MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL RELATIONS THROUGH A NUMBER OF INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS. SOUTH AFRICA AND INDIA HAVE SIGNED A NATIONAL BI-NATIONAL COMMISSION AND HAS AGREED TO COOPERATE WITH INDIA WITHIN THE IBSA AND OTHER INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS THAT STRIVES TO SUPPORT AND STRENGTHEN THE WORLDS DEVELOPING ECONOMIES.
IN ORDER TO GIVE ADDED MOMENTUM AND ADDED BENEFIT TO THE ETHEKWINI MUNICIPALITY IT HAS BEEN RECOMMENDED THAT THE MUNICIPALITY JOIN A POWERFUL BUSINESS DELEGATION TO CHENNAI INDIA.
THE DELEGATION WILL SEEK TO BUILD STRONG BUSINESS TO BUSINESS ENGAGEMENTS IN THE FIELDS OF AUTO-MOTOR, COMPUTERS, AND IT HARDWARE MANUFACTURING AND HEALTH CARE INDUSTRIES.
IN ORDER TO STRENGTHEN THE BUSINESS AND POLITICAL TO ENHANCE TRADE AND INVESTMENT, WE BELIEVE THAT SIGNING OF A MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING AND LAYING OF A PLAQUE WITHIN THE CITY OF CHENNAI TO COMMEMORATE THE ARRIVAL OF INDENTURED INDIAN LABOURERS IN 1860 ON THE FIRST SHIP FROM INDIA THAT DEPARTED FROM CHENNAI, WILL BUILD SIGNIFICANT POLITICAL AND CULTURAL GOODWILL BETWEEN THE CITIZENS OF THE TWO CITIES, AND IN SO DOING FAST TRACK TRADE, INVESTMENT AND CULTURAL EXCHANGES THAT WILL BENEFIT BOTH CITIES.
IN THE PAST 16 YEARS SINCE OUR RELATIONSHIP BEGAN BEARING FRUIT AND BLOSSOMING INTO A FULL-BLOWN SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL PARTNERSHIP, WE HAVE ESTABLISHED LINKS WITH BOLLYWOOD.
ON THIS MISSION, WE WANT TO PROMOTE TRADE AND TOURISM AND CONTINUE THE CULTURAL LINK THAT BEGAN 150 YEARS AGO AND STILL CONTINUES BETWEEN OUR TWO FRIENDLY COUNTRIES.
ON THIS MISSION, WE ARE READY TO DO BUSINESS WITH OUR SOUTH INDIAN COUNTERPARTS.
WE NOW NEED TO CEMENT LINKS WITH THIS ANCIENT SEAPORT WHERE THE FOUNDING FOREBEARS OF THE INDIAN COMMUNITY SET SAIL FOR DURBAN.
OUR DELEGATION IS OVERWHELMED BY THE HISTORIC EVENT THAT COMMEMORATES AND CELEBRATES 150 YEARS OF INDIAN LINKAGE TO AFRICA.
I BELIEVE THE TWINNING OF DURBAN AND CHENNAI IS THE SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC TONIC THAT WILL SET OUR ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP ALIGHT.
DURBAN HAS TWINNING AGREEMENTS WITH CHICAGO, AND NEW ORLEANS IN THE UNITED STATES; ROTTERDAM IN THE NETHERLANDS; LEEDS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM; BULAWAYO AND MAPUTO IN AFRICA; REUNION ISLAND IN THE INDIAN OCEAN RIM.
CHENNAI, OR MADRAS AS WE KNEW IT IN THE COLONIAL-APARTHEID ERA, IS THE FIRST CITY IN INDIA WITH WHICH WE ARE PROPOSING A TWINNING THAT WILL BUILD A BRIDGE FOR US ACROSS THE INDIAN OCEAN RIM.
WITH THE TWIN CITIES AGREEMENT IN PLACE, I CAN ASSURE YOU THAT THE BIG BLUE SKIES WILL BE MORE THAN THE LIMIT OF OUR CONSTRUCTIVE ENGAGEMENT OF ECONOMIC TOES AND SOCIAL EXCHANGES.
WE ARE CONFIDENT THAT IN THIS HEARTLAND OF TAMIL NADU, ICONIC LEADERS LIKE CHIEF MINISTER M KARUNANIDHI AND THE MAYOR OF THE CHENNAI MUNICIPAL CORPORATION, HIS WORSHIP MANICKAM SUBRAMANIAN WILL HELP US NAVIGATE THIS TWINNING AGREEMENT TO BRING OUR ECONOMIES AND COMMUNITIES CLOSER TOGETHER FOR THE BETTERMENT OF BOTH SIDES OF OUR SHARED LEGACY.
OUR DELEGATION ARE FULLY BEHIND DURBAN’S INITIATIVE BECAUSE THEY ARDENTLY BELIEVE THAT CHENNAI’S WORLD REPUTATION AS BEING A STRONG HUB FOR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, TEXTILES, MOTOR MANUFACTURING AND THE MOVIE INDUSTRY COULD BE MATCHED WITH THE SIMILAR ECONOMIC GROWTH POINTS AND STRENGTHS DURBAN HAS TO OFFER CHENNAI.
OUR DELEGATION WILL BE LOOKING AT HOW BUSINESS BASED IN THE PORT CITY OF CHENNAI COULD TIE UP AGREEMENTS WITH OUR BUSINESSES BASED IN DURBAN.
WE ARE ALSO KEEN TO LINK SOUTH AFRICAN COMPANIES WITH SOUTH INDIAN COUNTERPARTS.
IN THE BROADER PICTURE OF OUR SOCIO-ECONOMIC JOURNEY, WE LOOK TO THE SOUTH INDIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND THE CONFEDERATION OF INDIAN INDUSTRIES TO JOIN DURBAN AND CHENNAI IN THIS BRAVE NEW JOURNEY INTO SOUTH-SOUTH TRADING AND BUSINESS SYNERGY AND JOINT VENTURE PARTNERSHIPS.
FROM OUR FROM QUAYSIDE, WE ARE READY FOR AN EXCITING NEW ECONOMIC CROSSING TO CHENNAI.
WE INVITE OUR INDIAN COUNTERPARTS TO ALSO UNDERTAKE THE CROSSING THAT CHENNAI AND DURBAN.
AS WE RELIVE AND REKINDLE OUR HISTORIC CHAPTER THAT TIES OUR DESTINATIONS AND DEMOCRACIES, LET ME DECLARE THAT SOUTH AFRICA IS OPEN FOR BUSINESS AND FULL OF OPPORTUNITY.
I AM FORTUNATE THAT THE DURBAN-CHENNAI ROUTE IS A BEATEN TRACK FOR ME.
I HAVE BEEN FORGING THIS JOURNEY FOR ALMOST A DOZEN YEARS.
EVER SINCE CONSUL-GENERAL LATHA REDDY RAISED THE INDIAN FLAG, PRE-1994, AT THE OLD STATION BUILDING WHERE MK GANDHI SET OUT ON A HISTORIC AND CONTROVERSIAL TRAIN JOURNEY TO PRETORIA THAT WAS TO RESULT IN AN INTERNATIONAL RACIAL INCIDENT IN WHICH GANDHIJEE WAS THROWN OFF THE ‘WHITES-ONLY TRAIN’ IN PIETERMARITZBURG, AND WHEN AMBASSADOR MANGALMURTHI REOPENED THE INDIAN EMBASSY IN 1994 THAT WAS SHUTDOWN IN PROTEST AGAINST THE APARTHEID GOVERNMENT IN 1940S, I CAN SHARE WITH THIS SEMINAR THAT TRADING CONDITIONS BETWEEN OUR TWO SISTER CITIES HAS BEEN BRISK.
SOME OF THE POSITIVE SPIN-OFFS OF THESE PIONEERING EARLY-YEAR VISITS HAVE BEEN THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FOOTPRINTS OF RAMCO, AN INNOVATIVE THAT NOW LOOM LARGE IN THE CITY OF DURBAN AT OUR IT HUB THAT RAMCO EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT AND IT LEADERS HAD HELPED OUR MUNICIPALITY TO DEVELOP SINCE THE 1990S.
TODAY, RAMCO IS ONE OF THE PIONEERING COMPANIES THAT EMBARKED ON THE BRAVE NEW JOURNEY INTO AFRICA.
IT IS THE SAME BIG BLUE OCEAN WHERE OUR INDIAN FOREBEARS BEGAN A HORRIFIC AND HORRENDOUS JOURNEY OF LABOUR MIGRATION THAT WAS TO CULMINATE IN FUTURE GENERATIONS OF INDIANS TYING THEIR MAST TO AN AFRICAN DESTINY.
TODAY, WE HAVE GATHERED ON A DATELINE AND DESTINATION THAT WILL FOREVER CEMENT THIS HISTORIC MILESTONE BETWEEN THE PEOPLE OF CHENNAI AND THE PEOPLE OF DURBAN.
IN THE FINAL ANALYSIS OF THIS GROUNDBREAKING TRADE VISIT, WE WOULD HAVE SUCCEEDED IN UNIFYING AND SOLIDIFYING ALL OF INDIA AND SOUTH AFRICA AROUND A COMMONNESS OF OUR CULTURAL DIVERSITY, SOCIAL COHESION, ECONOMIC ADVANCEMENT AND POLITICAL EXCHANGE AND SHARING OF ECONOMIC IDEAS AND STRATEGIES.
THIS MORNING, AS WE PUSH BACK THE FRONTIERS OF A UNIQUE ECONOMIC JOURNEY THAT BEGAN 150 YEARS AGO, WE ARE UPBEAT AND CONFIDENT THAT THIS STRATEGIC SEMINAR WILL PROVIDE US WITH A FRESH, NEW ROUTE MARKER TO NARROW THE LOGISTICAL CHALLENGE BETWEEN DURBAN AND CHENNAI.
DISTINGUISHED SPEAKERS AND PANELISTS, HONOURED GUESTS AND LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE WATERMARK ON ANY TRADE AGREEMENTS OR ECONOMIC PACTS THAT WE WILL ENDORSE DURING THIS TRADE MUST FOREVER BE INSPIRED BY THE INTREPID BAND OF INDIAN INDENTURED VISIONARIES.
AS A SON OF THE SLAVES, I AM PROUD TO BE STANDING BEFORE YOU BY CALLING UPON ALL THE CHENNAI BUSINESS STAKEHOLDERS TO JOIN YOUR NEW DURBAN COUNTERPARTS IN GIVING NEW MEANING TO THE SOUTH-SOUTH LATITUDE THAT COULD ENCOURAGE BOTH SIDES OF THE INDIAN OCEAN RIM TO MAKE THIS TRADE DELEGATION AN ANNUAL EVENT SO THAT MORE AND MORE ENTREPRENEURS ENJOY THE OPPORTUNITY OF WALKING THROUGH THESE NEW AVENUES OF SOUTH AFRICA-INDIA BUSINESS PARTNERSHIPS AND SYNERGIES.
SURELY THE SUCCESS OF THIS BRAVE NEW JOURNEY IN WHICH WE ARE CHARTERING NEW WATERS WILL BE A FITTING HOMAGE TO THE HISTORIC HOUR WHEN ‘COOLIE NUMBER ONE’ 30-YEAR-OLD DAVURAM FROM MADRAS STEPPED OFF THE SS TRURO AND SET FOOT ON THE SHORES OF DURBAN.
THE SECOND INDENTURED LABOURER ON THE SHIP’S MANIFEST WAS 18-YEAR-OLD NAGURAM, PROBABLY HIS WIFE, AND THEIR TWO CHILDREN, FOUR-YEAR-OLD KUBAY, AND ONE-YEAR-OLD ELIZABETH.
THESE STOICAL BANDS OF INDENTURED LABOURERS WHO WERE FOLLOWED BY THOUSANDS OF ECONOMIC MIGRANT LABOURERS, TRADERS, ARTISANS WERE TO LAY A POWERFUL PLATFORM FOR MOHANDAS KARAMCHAND GANDHI TO FOREVER CHANGE THE TIDE OF OPPRESSIVE COLONIAL POLITICS AS WE KNEW IT IN SOUTH AFRICA, INDIA AND OTHER COUNTRIES WHERE SUGAR PLANTATIONS WAS THE NEW GOLD OF THE 18TH CENTURY.
THIS HISTORIC DATE, 16TH OF NOVEMBER 1860, HAS COME TO DEFINE AND SHAPE THE DESTINY OF GENERATIONS OF OUR INDIAN CITIZENS IN DURBAN AND OTHER METROPOLITAN CITIES AND TOWNS IN SOUTH AFRICA.
TODAY, MORE THAN 800 00 OF SOUTH AFRICA’S 1, 3 MILLION CITIZENS OF INDIAN ORIGIN RESIDE IN THE CITY OF DURBAN AND CITIES AND TOWNS ACROSS THE PROVINCE OF KWAZULU-NATAL.
FOR ME, AS A SON OF INDENTURED LABOURERS, I AM GRATEFUL THAT WE ARE SHARING THIS MOMENT OF HISTORY TO CEMENT THE RELATIONS BETWEEN DURBAN AND CHENNAI AT THE UNVEILING OF A COMMEMORATIVE PLAQUE LATER TODAY.
THIS COLOURFUL CEREMONY, I FIRMLY BELIEVE, MAY FOREVER STAND AS A SYMBOL OF OUR OF PAST ERA OF ADVERSITY AND OUR PRESENT JOURNEY OF ADVANTAGE AND ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION BETWEEN OUR SEAPORTS; AS A LASTING MOMENT OF OUR PRESENT AND FUTURE CO-OPERATION.
CLOSER TO HOME, AN INDIAN FLAG FLYING ALONGSIDE THE SOUTH AFRICAN OUTSIDE A LANDMARK TYRE MANUFACTURING COMPANY CALLED DUNLOP OUTSIDE THE DURBAN CBD TELLS A REMARKABLE STORY OF HOW FAR THE TRADE JOURNEY HAS COME BETWEEN INDIA AND SOUTH AFRICA.
IN THE BUSINESS HUB OF JOHANNESBURG, THE GUPTA FAMILY FROM INDIA HAS ESTABLISHED A BEST-KNOWN COMPUTER BRAND CALLED SAHARA.
THE GUPTAS ARE TO LAUNCH AN INDEPENDENT NATIONAL NEWSPAPER CALLED THE NEW AGE THAT WILL TAKE A FRESH NEW LOOK AT POLITICS, A PROGRESSIVE PEOPLE-CENTRED GOVERNMENT AND THE SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC REVOLUTION THAT IS TAKING PLACE IN OUR RAINBOW NATION OF PEACE AND PROSPERITY WHERE INDIAN NATIONALS ARE AT HOME IN THE HEART OF AFRICA’S ECONOMIC MELTING POT.
WITH THE SIGNING OF A SISTER-CITY RELATIONSHIP WITH CHENNAI, WE ASSURE INDIAN BUSINESSES THAT YOU WILL BE FLYING MORE THAN YOUR COLOURS IN OUR COSMOPOLITAN CITY WHERE EAST MEETS WEST ACROSS THE AFRICAN DIASPORA.
A UNIQUELY COSMOPOLITAN CITY, DURBAN CAN BEST BE DESCRIBED AS A PARADISE AND ITS PEOPLE.
A VISITOR TO DURBAN MAY STRUGGLE TO FIND A DEFINITE PHRASE THAT FITS THE CITY AND ITS SUBURBS.
FOR DURBAN, OR ETHEKWINI (THE CITY BY THE WATER IN THE ISIZULU LANGUAGE), AS IT IS ALSO CALLED, CONTAINS SUCH A VAST SPECTRUM OF CULTURES, BELIEFS AND PHYSICAL AND ECONOMIC LANDSCAPES, THAT IS INDEED DIFFICULT TO ENCAPSULATE THE PLACE IN A WELL-WORDED PHRASE.
BUT IT IS PRECISELY IN THIS DIFFICULTY OF FINDING A CENTRAL METAPHOR OR DESCRIPTION THAT THE SECRETS AND RICHES OF THIS LIVELY AFRICAN CITY RESIDE.
FOR DURBAN IS A CITY OF FUSION, CROSS-POLLINATION, OF WILD ECLECTICISM.
HERE AFRICA, EUROPE, AMERICA AND THE EAST MEET AT A SINGLE GEOGRAPHICAL POINT.
DURBAN HAS A SUMMERY CLIMATE WITHOUT BEING SWELTERING.
AS A BEACH PARADISE, THE DURBAN GOLDEN MILE, WHERE WE ARE PLANNING A BOLLYWOOD/HOLLYWOOD TYPE FILM STUDIO, IS A STRETCH OF GOLDEN SANDY BEACHES AS FAR AS THE EYE CAN SEE, COMPLEMENTED BY ALL YEAR ROUND WARM INDIAN OCEAN, SUNNY CLEAR AFRICAN SKIES AND AS NEW ARRIVALS YOU WILL ENJOY ALL THAT TROPICAL PARADISE AND VIBE OF OUR COLOURFUL CONTINENT.
WE ARE HOME TO SOUTH AFRICA’S BIGGEST PORT, IS HOT AND SOMETIMES HUMID, A BEACH PARADISE.
NOW, YOU WILL UNDERSTAND WHY INDIAN BUSINESS LEGACY AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP REIGNS SUPREME IN THE CITY OF DURBAN, WHETHER IT’S THE FOOD MECCA OF THE JEWEL OF INDIA THAT ENSURED THAT THE CHENNAI SUPER KINGS WERE WELL FED WITH INDIAN CUISINES DURING THEIR RECENT CRICKET SERIES TOUR, OR HOW THE BANK OF BARODA IS PROVIDING INDIAN NATIONALS WITH WORLD CLASS BANKING SERVICES IN OUR CULTURALLY DIVERSE CBDS.
THERE ARE MANY OTHER INDIAN MULTINATIONALS FLAGS FLYING HIGH IN THE CITY OF DURBAN.
DURBAN IS AN INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT FRIENDLY CITY AND THE STATISTICS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES.
RESEARCH BY MCGREGOR INFORMATION SERVICES SHOWS THAT SINCE 1993 INDIAN INVESTMENT HAS GROWN FROM NOTHING TO R2, 7BILLION SINCE 1994 IN THE NEW SOUTH AFRICA.
ESTIMATES NOW PUT THE NUMBER OF INDIAN COMPANIES, WHICH ARE TRADING IN SOUTH AFRICA AT MORE THAN 500, OF WHICH 20 HAVE ESTABLISHED LOCAL SUBSIDIARIES AND A FURTHER 100 HAVE APPOINTED LOCAL AGENTS AND DISTRIBUTORS.
EXPORT-IMPORT BANK OF INDIA RELOCATED ITS AFRICA OFFICE FROM ABIDJAN TO JOHANNESBURG AND RECENTLY SIGNED AN AGREEMENT WITH STANDARD BANK TO EXTEND A $10M CREDIT LINE TO FINANCE EXPORTS FROM INDIA TO SOUTH AFRICA.
OTHER INDIAN BANKS ACTIVE IN SOUTH AFRICA ARE BANK OF BARODA AND THE STATE BANK OF INDIA, WHICH HAS OPENED A BRANCH IN DURBAN TO AUGMENT ITS JOHANNESBURG OFFICE IN THE COUNTRY’S COMMERCIAL CAPITAL.
DISTINGUISHED GUESTS, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, AS THE DEPUTY MAYOR OF ONE OF AFRICA’S LEADING, DEBT-FREE CITIES WITH ONE OF THE BEST CITY ADMINISTRATIONS, LET ME ROUND UP MY ADDRESS BY TOUCHING ON SOME VERY ATTRACTIVE HIGHLIGHTS THAT WILL ENCOURAGE SOUTH INDIAN BUSINESSES TO INVEST IN THE CITY OF DURBAN.
OUR MUNICIPAL AREA IS LOCATED ON THE EASTERN SEABOARD OF SOUTH AFRICA WITHIN THE PROVINCE OF KWAZULU-NATAL, COVERING ABOUT 2 297 SQUARE KILOMETRES.
WHILE OUR TOTAL MUNICIPAL AREA IS ONLY 1.4% OF THE TOTAL AREA OF THE PROVINCE OF KWAZULU-NATAL, JUST OVER A THIRD OF OUR PROVINCIAL POPULATION AND 60% OF ITS ECONOMIC ACTIVITY ARE CONCENTRATED WITHIN OUR ETHEKWINI MUNICIPAL AREA.
OUR REGION IS CHARACTERIZED BY DIVERSE TOPOGRAPHY, FROM STEEP ESCARPMENTS IN THE WEST TO A RELATIVELY FLAT COASTAL PLAIN IN THE EAST.
WE HAVE ALMOST 100KM OF COASTLINE, 19 RIVERS AND 17 ESTUARIES. THIS DIVERSE LAND FORM SUPPORTS A WIDE VARIETY OF TERRESTRIAL, FRESH WATER AND MARINE NATURAL ECOSYSTEMS.
OUR PEOPLE
OUR CITY IS A MIX OF RACIAL AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY, WITH ITS AFRICAN, INDIAN/ASIAN AND EUROPEAN INFLUENCES CREATING A VIBRANT COSMOPOLITAN SOCIETY. OUR MUNICIPAL AREA HAS AN ESTIMATED POPULATION OF JUST OVER 3 MILLION PEOPLE.
THE BLACK AFRICAN COMMUNITY MAKES UP THE LARGEST SECTOR (65%) OF THE POPULATION FOLLOWED BY THE INDIAN/ASIAN COMMUNITY (21%). THE AGE PROFILE REVEALS THAT, THE WORKING AGE GROUP COMPRISES 68% OF THE POPULATION; WE ALSO HAVE A RELATIVELY LARGE YOUTHFUL POPULATION, WITH 38% UNDER THE AGE OF 19 YEARS.
OUR ECONOMY
DURBAN IS SOUTH AFRICA’S MAJOR PORT CITY WITH A DIVERSE A DIVERSE AND VIBRANT LOCAL ECONOMY.
DURBAN IS SOUTH AFRICA’S SECOND LARGEST INDUSTRIAL HUB BEHIND GAUTENG.
DURBAN HAS A LARGE CONCENTRATION OF MANUFACTURING ACTIVITY DIRECTLY AND INDIRECTLY LINKED TO OUR STATUS AS A PORT CITY.
DURBAN IS ALSO THE COUNTRIES KEY TRADING GATEWAY WITH ACCESS TO IMPORTANT TRADING ROUTES TO THE EAST AND THE SUB-CONTINENT.
DURBAN’S PROXIMITY TO THE GAUTENG MINERAL-INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX AND THE COMMERCIAL CAPITAL OF JOHANNESBURG, AND AN ECONOMIC LINK INTO SOUTHERN AFRICA, MAKES IT AN ATTRACTIVE INVESTMENT DESTINATION.
WITH THE FOUR MAJOR SECTORS OF THE ECONOMY BEING MANUFACTURING, TOURISM, FINANCE AND TRANSPORT, WE HAVE A STRONG PRESENCE IN ADVANCED SECTORS OF THE ECONOMY.
MANUFACTURING, WHICH CONTRIBUTES ABOUT 30% OF THE LOCAL ECONOMY, HAS HISTORICALLY BEEN LOCATED TO THE SOUTH OF OUR CBD IN OUR IDUSTRIAL BASIN.
MORE RECENTLY, THIS HAS BEEN SPREADING TO THE WEST AND EXTENT TO THE NORTH OF THE CITY WHERE MODERN SHOPPING MALLS AND BUSINESS CENTRES SERVES OUR ECONOMIC LANDSCAPE.
TOURISM, ANOTHER STRONG SECTOR ADDS 24% TO THE LOCAL ECONOMY AND IS CONCENTRATED ALONG THE COAST.
DURBAN IS THE HOME OF THE ANNUAL INDABA TRAVEL TRADE AND TOURISM EXHIBITION THAT ATTRACTS MORE THAN 20 000 DELEGATES, VISITORS AND INVESTORS EACH YEAR.
COMMERCIAL SERVICES SUCH AS BANKING, INSURANCE AND OTHER FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES ARE WELL DEVELOPED.
TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATION IS THE FOURTH BIGGEST SECTOR CONTRIBUTING ABOUT 14% TO THE ECONOMY OF OUR REGION.
WE HAVE SUBSTANTIAL AND FAST GROWING LESS FORMAL ECONOMY ALTHOUGH MUCH OF IT¹S CURRENT GROWTH IS FOCUSED IN LOWER INCOME JOBS. WE HAVE A GROWING ‘SECOND ECONOMY’ MADE UP OF STREET VENDORS, COTTAGE INDUSTRIES AND BEAD MAKING AND HANDICRAFTS RUN MAINLY BY RURAL WOMEN.
THE FINANCIAL ENVIRONMENT: LOCAL GOVERNMENT WITHIN OUR MUNICIPAL REGION OPERATES FROM A SOUND FINANCIAL FOOTING WITH STRONG FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS IN PLACE.
OUR CITY COUNCIL CURRENTLY HOLDS ASSETS OF ALMOST R8.8 BILLION AND HAS AN ANNUAL EXPENDITURE OF CLOSE TO R8 BILLION. ABOUT R1.3 BILLION OF THE CITY COUNCIL EXPENDITURE IS DEVOTED TO CAPITAL INVESTMENT WITH THE BALANCE USED FOR OPERATING EXPENSES.
THE TWINNING OF DURBAN AND CHENNAI COULD MARK A FOLLOW UP JOURNEY AKIN TO THE ENTERPRISING SPIRIT OF THE FIRST BATCH OF ECONOMIC MIGRANTS WHO ENTERED THE AFRICAN LANDSCAPE TO ENSURE THAT THIS EVERLASTING RELATIONSHIP TAKES ON A NEW MEANING OF SOUTH-SOUTH AND CITY-TO-CITY SOCIO-ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION.
IN MY CLOSING REMARKS, I ONCE AGAIN THANK OUR HOSTS FOR GIVING ME THIS WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY TO ADDRESS YOU ON BEHALF OF OUR DELEGATION AND THE CITY OF DURBAN.
MAY OUR RELATIONSHIP AND SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC TOES TAKING PLACE ON THIS HISTORIC DAY PAVE THE WAY FOR PROSPEROUS PARTNERSHIPS THAT WILL CREATE AN ENABLING CLIMATE BETWEEN THE PEOPLE OF CHENNAI AND DURBAN.
I THANK YOU.
Presentation Paper researched and written for the Office of the Deputy Mayor and Councillor Logie Naidoo , eThekwini Municipality, City of Durban, South Africa on the ANC PBF South Africa-India Trade Delegation to Chennai, South India from 13-17 November 2010 and the Twinning of Durban and Chennai and unveiling of 1860 plaque by Marlan Padayachee, in association with Amanda Cele, Sally Nene-Mbhele, Pinky Naidoo, Sibusiso Ngema, all of GreenGold Africa Communications: greengold@mtnloaded.co.za/ (031) 266 2134/ 073 625 8247/ 078 076 8121/ 078 2453579/fax 00 27 31 266 8592.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
