Left of What’s Right
By Marlan Padayachee
Marlan Padayachee is a freelance journalist and a media communications strategist and he writes in his personal capacity.
Politics is not new to sports.
South Africa is one of the most spectacular examples of politicking in sports.
Chief anti-apartheid sports antagonist Sam Ramsamy, formerly of Magazine Barracks and Asherville, will not be sitting among the VIPs with his East German Olympic athlete wife, Helga, if he had not made a substantial investment to ensure that all South Africans will participate in the Olympic Games and the IOC Congress.
Forced into self-exile in London in the 1960s, having hurriedly quit his physical education teaching job at Springfield College and head coach at Aces United FC at Currie’s Fountain, Ramsamy was persecuted by apartheid agents abroad. His home in Chingford was bombed and his job as headmaster at a school was affected because SA’s Enemy Number One was embarrassing the Afrikaner rulers with his curved ball activities.
Painstakingly and meticulously, with the home base support of Morgan Naidoo, MN Pather, RD Naidu, Hassan Howa, Rama Reddy, Shun David, Cassim Bassa, Lambie Rasool, Reggie Feldman, Reverend Sigamoney, Rathansamy and many other activist-leaders, this pint-sized personality plucked each and every national sporting code, one by one, from the IOC organogram.
Blackballed For Sporting Prowess
The old country drew first blood, with Prime Minister John Vorster banning the English cricket team’s tour of SA. Reason? The MCC featured outcast coloured cricketer Basil d’Oliveira. Others fled with their talents, like weightlifter Ron Eland, who won a bronze medal for the UK, while his compatriots Johnny Geduldt and Precious McKenzie refused to lift for SA at the Olympics. In protest, Shun David refused to throw a dart for the SA team in world tournament. The Olympic flame of tennis aces Jasmit Dhiraj and Herman Abrahams was snuffed out. Golf maestro Papwa Sewgolum was denied a passport during the height of his prowess on the greens from the Dutch Open to St Andrews. He embarrassed apartheid sport by outflanking Gary Player and fetched the Natal Open trophy in driving rain. Player enjoyed an inside track of politics by playing golf with Vorster.
All fired up, Ramsamy, operating from a tiny office in the basement of the Portman Court in London, owned by activist Chris de Broglio, and with the support of Isaiah Stein, whose sons graced British football fields, and exiled intellectual giant Dennis Brutus, plotted SA’s downfall from world sports. Brave stalwart Peter Hain punctured Springbok rugby with his famous “Don’t Scrum with a Racist Bum” protests from Twickenham to Auckland.
Only a thesis can do justice to how SA played politics in sports and how the anti-apartheid lobbies used politics to blackball the vierkleur flag from flying internationally.
Now, they have since kiss and made up. Ramsamy sits in the IOC boardroom. A likely sports minister in the ANC government, he butted heads with hardliners at home during the reshaping of SA’s Olympic preparations.
With the medals drought in Beijing, our athletes could have benefited from his wise counseling, mentorship and coaching expertise, but all we have is a silver lining. Handicapped and high-spirited, swimmer Natalie du Toit has saved the nation’s proud face. Yet our able-bodied athletes are crying foul about a lack of money and administrative infighting and our brand ambassadors are spending millions showcasing 2010 at a five-star uptown hotel?
Jamaica, a poor Third World nation whose economy and gross domestic product is outstripped by a million times by the economy of Sandton Square, puts its best foot forward and scoops gold and silver medals.
Sports and politics go hand in hand, just like the baton-charged relay race. Naturally, the Tiananmen Square student rebellion will haunt China in its glory hour before worldwide TV exposure. The Dalai Lama and the Tibetan monks will not fold their arms and die piously.
High Tea and Spirits But No Free Cuppa
Outside the five rings of action and drama, freelance writer Francisco Little learnt the old adage the new way - there’s no such thing as a free cuppa or lunch in forex-flooded Beijing despite the Olympic spirit. Two young Chinese women volunteers, acting as his de facto tour guide, showed him around from Chairman Mao’s portrait to the cacophony of the side streets until they couldn’t take the heat and lured him into a government teashop.
“Tea is refreshing and good for removing body heat,” they giggled into his foreign ears. Several rounds of home-brewed cuppa in tiny cups and take-home tea jars of the exotic variety, our man received his bill, little over R3 000 or 3 000 yuan. With no bargaining power and the hostess screeching like a Peking duck with two heavies at the door, there was little choice, but to pay his own bill and give his little helpers some just deserts for taking him on a rickshaw ride.
Gold medals to worldwide website search engine Google for glossing its double-O’s with Olympic icons to keep the surfer’s spirits up. A peep into Googleland reveals that staff are feted, fed and fascinated by the best office environment on the planet.
Until next week when I hope to dissect why Indians are becoming chilly under the rainbow, remember what the Chinese say: “Be careful what you wish for.”
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Monday, June 30, 2008
Academic Accolades for Marlan Padayachee
2000 Annual Report
Written by Keyan Tomaselli
The very successful International Research Seminar on Political Economy of the Southern African Media. 28 delegates and CMS MA students from all over the world participated.
Marlan Padayachee, Independent Newspapers KwaZulu-Natal, was appointed as industry liaison officer. This is an honorory position, very ably executed by Padayachee, with the support of his employer. David Wightman, Editorial Coordinator at Independent Newspapers KwaZulu-Natal and regional chair of the SA National Editors Forum, was elected as chair of $the CMS Professional Advisory Committee.
World Association for Christian CommunicationWe are also indebted to Marlan Padayachee who assisted in Seminar organisation,publicity, reporting of conference activities, and for raising additional funds.
Written by Keyan Tomaselli
The very successful International Research Seminar on Political Economy of the Southern African Media. 28 delegates and CMS MA students from all over the world participated.
Marlan Padayachee, Independent Newspapers KwaZulu-Natal, was appointed as industry liaison officer. This is an honorory position, very ably executed by Padayachee, with the support of his employer. David Wightman, Editorial Coordinator at Independent Newspapers KwaZulu-Natal and regional chair of the SA National Editors Forum, was elected as chair of $the CMS Professional Advisory Committee.
World Association for Christian CommunicationWe are also indebted to Marlan Padayachee who assisted in Seminar organisation,publicity, reporting of conference activities, and for raising additional funds.
Academic Accolades for Marlan Padayachee
2000 Annual Report
Written by Keyan Tomaselli
The very successful International Research Seminar on Political Economy of the Southern African Media. 28 delegates and CMS MA students from all over the world participated.
Marlan Padayachee, Independent Newspapers KwaZulu-Natal, was appointed as industry liaison officer. This is an honorory position, very ably executed by Padayachee, with the support of his employer. David Wightman, Editorial Coordinator at Independent Newspapers KwaZulu-Natal and regional chair of the SA National Editors Forum, was elected as chair of $the CMS Professional Advisory Committee.
World Association for Christian CommunicationWe are also indebted to Marlan Padayachee who assisted in Seminar organisation,publicity, reporting of conference activities, and for raising additional funds.
Written by Keyan Tomaselli
The very successful International Research Seminar on Political Economy of the Southern African Media. 28 delegates and CMS MA students from all over the world participated.
Marlan Padayachee, Independent Newspapers KwaZulu-Natal, was appointed as industry liaison officer. This is an honorory position, very ably executed by Padayachee, with the support of his employer. David Wightman, Editorial Coordinator at Independent Newspapers KwaZulu-Natal and regional chair of the SA National Editors Forum, was elected as chair of $the CMS Professional Advisory Committee.
World Association for Christian CommunicationWe are also indebted to Marlan Padayachee who assisted in Seminar organisation,publicity, reporting of conference activities, and for raising additional funds.
Marlan Padayachee GreenGold Africa Communications
At GreenGold Publishing, publishing editor Marlan Padayachee commissions titles, develops manuscripts, liaises with authors, manages publishing programmes, negotiates with printing houses and potential sponsors, networks with academic institutions and established and emerging publishers and booksellers, works closely with marketing and branding teams, arranges pre- and post-publicity in the print and electronic media and co-ordinate book launches.
Marlan Padayachee Media provides a full-house service of conceptualising a media and communication product to the final stages of printing and publishing, including editorial copywriting, editing, photography, imaging and design and layout. The following publications were produced: Greyville Gazette (In house newspaper for Independent Newspapers KZN), PwCpeople (In house newspaper for PricewaterhouseCoopers KZN), DDP Diary (ocassional publication for the Democracy Development Program, Durban), Alumni & Anecdotes (occasional publication for the University of KwaZulu-Natal), and corporate business profile and brochures for Dream-Plus and Firecheck.
Marlan Padayachee, media adviser and communications consultant to PricewaterhouseCoopers, created and conceptualised PwCpeople as an internal staff magazine, and contributes editorial and photographic service to this quarterly publication produced by PwC Durban's Marketing Department.
Marlan Padayachee writes a regular commentary on a changing South Africa in his column, Left of What's Right, for Juluka, an American-based Magazine Embracing South Africa and her People, edited by Charlene Avis and aimed at a readership of more than 20 000 South Africans living and working abroad.
Editorial and photographic contributors to the following publications: UKZN Indaba and UKZN In Touch alumni magazine for the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa-India Independence Day supplement for Media Com published in the Sunday Tribune
Publishers of PwCPeople for PricewaterhouseCoopers, DDP Diary for the Democracy Development Programme, Alumni & Anecdotes for the University of KwaZulu-Natal, contributor to the UKZN Alumni and UKZN Indaba.
. THE INDIAN ANNUAL – Focusing on South Africans of Indian descent
SINCE the 1990s, Marlan Padayachee has contributed a series of articles, features and commentary and photography on leading personalities, high-achievers and a changing South Africa in the Indian Annual, a national publication that focuses every year on South Africa’s 1,3-million strong Indian community.
Some of the features include a series entitled Wordsmiths and Lensmen, a focus on journalists and photographs of Indian descent; The End of An Era which highlighted the careers of anti-apartheid campaigners and critics like Judge Hassan Mall, Ismail Meer, Appiah Saravan Chetty, a Pietermaritzburg activist and South Africa’s first Chief Justice of colour, Ismail Mahomed; followed by the 1946 Passive Resisters, a catalogue of the struggle by Indian and African people who were imprisoned for resisting a plethora of apartheid laws; the publication of a rare interview with President Thabo Mbeki at the Non-Aligned Movement summit in Harare, Zimbabwe, in 1987, when Mbeki was the ANC’s Director of Foreign Affairs; and an insight into a visit to Robben Island in 2001.
Photographic coverage includes Marlan Padayachee’s foreign assignment for Independent Newspapers South Africa with President Nelson Mandela to India in 1995, including a visit to Mahatma Gandhi’s ashram in India.
NOTE: Copies of the Indian Annual catalogue are available from Marlan Padayachee Media and GreenGold 083 796 7162/083 792 1762/031 266 1762/ greengold@telkomsa.net or mapmedia@telkomsa.net
Marlan Padayachee Media provides a full-house service of conceptualising a media and communication product to the final stages of printing and publishing, including editorial copywriting, editing, photography, imaging and design and layout. The following publications were produced: Greyville Gazette (In house newspaper for Independent Newspapers KZN), PwCpeople (In house newspaper for PricewaterhouseCoopers KZN), DDP Diary (ocassional publication for the Democracy Development Program, Durban), Alumni & Anecdotes (occasional publication for the University of KwaZulu-Natal), and corporate business profile and brochures for Dream-Plus and Firecheck.
Marlan Padayachee, media adviser and communications consultant to PricewaterhouseCoopers, created and conceptualised PwCpeople as an internal staff magazine, and contributes editorial and photographic service to this quarterly publication produced by PwC Durban's Marketing Department.
Marlan Padayachee writes a regular commentary on a changing South Africa in his column, Left of What's Right, for Juluka, an American-based Magazine Embracing South Africa and her People, edited by Charlene Avis and aimed at a readership of more than 20 000 South Africans living and working abroad.
Editorial and photographic contributors to the following publications: UKZN Indaba and UKZN In Touch alumni magazine for the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa-India Independence Day supplement for Media Com published in the Sunday Tribune
Publishers of PwCPeople for PricewaterhouseCoopers, DDP Diary for the Democracy Development Programme, Alumni & Anecdotes for the University of KwaZulu-Natal, contributor to the UKZN Alumni and UKZN Indaba.
. THE INDIAN ANNUAL – Focusing on South Africans of Indian descent
SINCE the 1990s, Marlan Padayachee has contributed a series of articles, features and commentary and photography on leading personalities, high-achievers and a changing South Africa in the Indian Annual, a national publication that focuses every year on South Africa’s 1,3-million strong Indian community.
Some of the features include a series entitled Wordsmiths and Lensmen, a focus on journalists and photographs of Indian descent; The End of An Era which highlighted the careers of anti-apartheid campaigners and critics like Judge Hassan Mall, Ismail Meer, Appiah Saravan Chetty, a Pietermaritzburg activist and South Africa’s first Chief Justice of colour, Ismail Mahomed; followed by the 1946 Passive Resisters, a catalogue of the struggle by Indian and African people who were imprisoned for resisting a plethora of apartheid laws; the publication of a rare interview with President Thabo Mbeki at the Non-Aligned Movement summit in Harare, Zimbabwe, in 1987, when Mbeki was the ANC’s Director of Foreign Affairs; and an insight into a visit to Robben Island in 2001.
Photographic coverage includes Marlan Padayachee’s foreign assignment for Independent Newspapers South Africa with President Nelson Mandela to India in 1995, including a visit to Mahatma Gandhi’s ashram in India.
NOTE: Copies of the Indian Annual catalogue are available from Marlan Padayachee Media and GreenGold 083 796 7162/083 792 1762/031 266 1762/ greengold@telkomsa.net or mapmedia@telkomsa.net
The Story of Movers and Shaikers in South Africa
Mention the word Shaik to the average South African and an image of shadowy political operators insinuating themselves into the very fabric of South Africa's political elite emerges.
How did the Shaik brothers from middle-class Reservoir Hills, Durban, end up with massive influence in South African politics? They are well connected, are on every elite guest list and are close friends of deputy president Jacob Zuma. The family name has been splashed on newspaper front pages over the R66 billion arms deal and other political scandals.
They take centre stage in politics despite bad press which implies two of the brothers, Schabir and Shamin, known as Chippy, have hijacked the democratic process for their own ends. Of the brothers, it is Schabir who is at the heart of the scandals which are tearing the family apart.
In spite of these accusations, even the Scorpions don't have enough to nail the brothers on the arms deal.
It was claimed in a report two weeks ago that Schabir gave money to former transport minister Mac Maharaj. Zuma was also alleged to have received money from Schabir.
Questions are now being raised about this information which is in the possession of the Scorpions since they seized documentation from Schabir's office two years ago.
Second eldest brother Yunus, a lawyer and part time commissioner in the Commission for Conciliation and Mediation in Johannesburg, said: "Schabir was never questioned about this. Why is all this information being exposed now?"
He believes the claims about Schabir, chief director of Nkobi Holdings and director of African Defense Systems, one of the companies which benefited from the arms package as a sub-contractor, constitute a "firm intention to embarrass our family and never to prosecute".
The Scorpions are investigating a single charge against Schabir - contravention of the Protection of Information Act, relating to documents about the arms deal - a year after he obtained the tender.
Reeves Parsee, acting for Schabir, said: "My client faces a single charge with a maximum fine of R10 000. We challenge the constitutionality of the search warrant the Scorpions used to enter his premises. If the information links Schabir to corruption, why has he not been charged?"
Chippy, who was on the arms deal negotiating team, made no secret of the fact that his brother was involved in the arms industry. Third brother Mo, now special adviser to foreign affairs minister Nkosazana Zuma, was previously SA ambassador to Algeria. The youngest brother, Faizel, a businessman, and their sister, Rehana, are not involved in politics.
Said an ANC activist: "During the struggle days when things were hard and we had no money or nowhere to hide, you would turn to the Shaiks."
Mo, Chippy and Yunus were political activists. And it was their activism and networking in the ANC intelligence community that brought them closer to the political elite.
Schabir was streetwise, smart and a businessman who made sure the struggle gave him rewards.
"When exiles, such as Zuma, started returning, it was Schabir who integrated them," said the ageing activist.
"The Shaik brothers made their presence felt by helping ANC returnees, setting up companies for them. The rock was set and payback came after 1994."
It was their father Lambie Rasool Shaik (popularly known as Rasool), an upholsterer and shopsteward with the then Leather Worker's Union, who introduced the brothers to politics.
They formed the Mandla Judson Khuzwayo unit - and began building ANC support. Mo was the mastermind in the province's intelligence network. Frequently the brothers spent time in detention.
Maharaj and Ronnie Kasrils, minister of water affairs and forestry, were among those smuggled into the country by the Shaiks.
Now relatives are convinced the Shaiks are being used as pawns in a bigger game of political cat and mouse.
Mo claims "right-wing elements" are using state resources to embarrass the government and his family.
"They touched my family and that is OK. But now they have touched the deputy president that is not OK. Do you not think that if there was evidence after such a long investigation, they would have proceeded with the trial?
"Just as we did in the case of political detainees, we call on the Scorpions to prosecute or exonerate."
Yunus adds: "This time we are being embarrassed and money is tainting our name.
"Everything is being linked to the arms deal. Yes, there were payments Schabir made. He managed the finances of Zuma and other comrades. There is a fair explanation for everything. We are willing to co-operate for good governance. But we are being burnt at the stake.
"You will notice that every time a scandal breaks it happens just prior to an ANC congress," said Yunus.
Sipho Ngwema, the public face of the Scorpions and spokesman for the National Director of Public Prosecutions, said: "The probe continues."
With acknowledgements to Farhana Ismail, Marlan padayachee and Sunday Argus.
How did the Shaik brothers from middle-class Reservoir Hills, Durban, end up with massive influence in South African politics? They are well connected, are on every elite guest list and are close friends of deputy president Jacob Zuma. The family name has been splashed on newspaper front pages over the R66 billion arms deal and other political scandals.
They take centre stage in politics despite bad press which implies two of the brothers, Schabir and Shamin, known as Chippy, have hijacked the democratic process for their own ends. Of the brothers, it is Schabir who is at the heart of the scandals which are tearing the family apart.
In spite of these accusations, even the Scorpions don't have enough to nail the brothers on the arms deal.
It was claimed in a report two weeks ago that Schabir gave money to former transport minister Mac Maharaj. Zuma was also alleged to have received money from Schabir.
Questions are now being raised about this information which is in the possession of the Scorpions since they seized documentation from Schabir's office two years ago.
Second eldest brother Yunus, a lawyer and part time commissioner in the Commission for Conciliation and Mediation in Johannesburg, said: "Schabir was never questioned about this. Why is all this information being exposed now?"
He believes the claims about Schabir, chief director of Nkobi Holdings and director of African Defense Systems, one of the companies which benefited from the arms package as a sub-contractor, constitute a "firm intention to embarrass our family and never to prosecute".
The Scorpions are investigating a single charge against Schabir - contravention of the Protection of Information Act, relating to documents about the arms deal - a year after he obtained the tender.
Reeves Parsee, acting for Schabir, said: "My client faces a single charge with a maximum fine of R10 000. We challenge the constitutionality of the search warrant the Scorpions used to enter his premises. If the information links Schabir to corruption, why has he not been charged?"
Chippy, who was on the arms deal negotiating team, made no secret of the fact that his brother was involved in the arms industry. Third brother Mo, now special adviser to foreign affairs minister Nkosazana Zuma, was previously SA ambassador to Algeria. The youngest brother, Faizel, a businessman, and their sister, Rehana, are not involved in politics.
Said an ANC activist: "During the struggle days when things were hard and we had no money or nowhere to hide, you would turn to the Shaiks."
Mo, Chippy and Yunus were political activists. And it was their activism and networking in the ANC intelligence community that brought them closer to the political elite.
Schabir was streetwise, smart and a businessman who made sure the struggle gave him rewards.
"When exiles, such as Zuma, started returning, it was Schabir who integrated them," said the ageing activist.
"The Shaik brothers made their presence felt by helping ANC returnees, setting up companies for them. The rock was set and payback came after 1994."
It was their father Lambie Rasool Shaik (popularly known as Rasool), an upholsterer and shopsteward with the then Leather Worker's Union, who introduced the brothers to politics.
They formed the Mandla Judson Khuzwayo unit - and began building ANC support. Mo was the mastermind in the province's intelligence network. Frequently the brothers spent time in detention.
Maharaj and Ronnie Kasrils, minister of water affairs and forestry, were among those smuggled into the country by the Shaiks.
Now relatives are convinced the Shaiks are being used as pawns in a bigger game of political cat and mouse.
Mo claims "right-wing elements" are using state resources to embarrass the government and his family.
"They touched my family and that is OK. But now they have touched the deputy president that is not OK. Do you not think that if there was evidence after such a long investigation, they would have proceeded with the trial?
"Just as we did in the case of political detainees, we call on the Scorpions to prosecute or exonerate."
Yunus adds: "This time we are being embarrassed and money is tainting our name.
"Everything is being linked to the arms deal. Yes, there were payments Schabir made. He managed the finances of Zuma and other comrades. There is a fair explanation for everything. We are willing to co-operate for good governance. But we are being burnt at the stake.
"You will notice that every time a scandal breaks it happens just prior to an ANC congress," said Yunus.
Sipho Ngwema, the public face of the Scorpions and spokesman for the National Director of Public Prosecutions, said: "The probe continues."
With acknowledgements to Farhana Ismail, Marlan padayachee and Sunday Argus.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Take a Sho''t Left to Mandela's Country
Left of What's Right
By Marlan Padayachee
Take a Sho’t Left
Published in Juluka Magazine May 2008 Cover Price $4.25
A magazine embracing South Africa and her people
SOUTH Africa is still best-value-for-money holiday destination for foreign and local tourists, but they will have to take a Sho't Left to visit our revered statesman as he stands majestically in bronze overlooking the hordes of shoppers at the Sandton Square.
Sho't Left is the acronym for locals and overseas visitors to leave the motorways and take a sharp left to the beaten track to experience the sights and sounds of a fascinating landscape that criss-crosses the mountains, rolling green valleys, stretches of sun-baked beaches, flora and fauna and wild life.
Mandela in flesh is out of bounds for all and sundry. Only the high-rollers and the well-heeled icons of the world - like Richard Branson, Bill Gates, Beyonce and French President Nicola s Sarkozy and his new First Lady, former supermodel Carla Bruni, enjoy visitor's rights to Houghton home of the nation's founding father of democracy.
Mandela Square situated in the heartbeat of the nation's prestige shopping mall and financial capital and this cacophony of sounds and sights is a must-see for locals and foreigners. A spectacular bronze statue of Madiba stands tall as children play around the Old Man's iron-like legs and parents take turns with tiny digital cameras to capture this awesome spectacle.
To borrow an old phrase from the apartheid country, SA is still a land of milk and honey for a diverse mix of tourists clutching high-currency dollars, pounds, Euros and yens.
From eating succulent prawns with masala rice to whetting appetites with a classic repertoire of wines to reveling in casinos, this shopper's paradise where tourists strike bargains all the way to duty-free shopping and more wine and good cuisine on the jetliners that ferry them around the land of the beauty and the beasts.
Ahead of the FIFA 2010 World Cup Soccer, the nation is gearing up for the biggest influx of tourists since Mandela took the long walk to the Tuynhuys. Residents are transforming homes into bed-and-breakfast lodges. Townships are no longer no-go areas for foreigners. Wandi's, an African-styled eatery situated in the heart of Soweto near the homes of Mandela and Tutu, is a favourite haunt that dishes out mielie pap, samp and mutton curry and ice-cold, home-brewed Castle Lager beers.
Tourism, an important revenue earner next to gold and diamonds, is on the upswing as foreign embassies from Port Louis to Paris market the holiday landmarks and sight-seeing high spots, with Table Mountain reigning supreme and Robben Island ranking as a pilgrimage among most tourists keen to take a peek at Cell Number Five at our own Alcatraz.
The major cities – Johannesburg, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Durban – are all preparing for the big influx of visitors and a strong flow of foreign currency.
South Africa's best showcase to the world market is through the window of opportunity presented annually by the Indaba, rated as one of the biggest tourism marketing events on the African calendar and one of the top three 'must visit' jamborees on the global calendar.
The who's who of international tourism and hospitality marketing, from the luxury Blue Train that snakes its way across the picturesque landscape from the Highveld to the Cape, to the Golf Estates tucked away among the vineyards, orchards and mountains, hold their way for a week in Durban.
Since the beginning of the year, thousands throng the grand prix of tourism, where they sample spectacular sights ranging from Bela Bela, to Thaba Chwe, the hub of tourism. Last year, 12,523 filed past the turnstiles at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli ICC. This year, almost 15 000 attended the Indaba Travel Expo in Durban.
Whether it’s God's Window or the beat of the Zulu dancers in the Valley of a Thousand Hills, or tucking into a mutton curry bunny chow on Durban's Golden Mile, the sky's limit when you take a Sho't Left. Maybe a stopover at Nyoni's Kraal for lunch in Cape Town's Long Street.
Marlan Padayachee is an independent freelance journalist and social and political commentator in Durban, where he runs GreenGold Africa Communications: greengold@telkomsa.net
By Marlan Padayachee
Take a Sho’t Left
Published in Juluka Magazine May 2008 Cover Price $4.25
A magazine embracing South Africa and her people
SOUTH Africa is still best-value-for-money holiday destination for foreign and local tourists, but they will have to take a Sho't Left to visit our revered statesman as he stands majestically in bronze overlooking the hordes of shoppers at the Sandton Square.
Sho't Left is the acronym for locals and overseas visitors to leave the motorways and take a sharp left to the beaten track to experience the sights and sounds of a fascinating landscape that criss-crosses the mountains, rolling green valleys, stretches of sun-baked beaches, flora and fauna and wild life.
Mandela in flesh is out of bounds for all and sundry. Only the high-rollers and the well-heeled icons of the world - like Richard Branson, Bill Gates, Beyonce and French President Nicola s Sarkozy and his new First Lady, former supermodel Carla Bruni, enjoy visitor's rights to Houghton home of the nation's founding father of democracy.
Mandela Square situated in the heartbeat of the nation's prestige shopping mall and financial capital and this cacophony of sounds and sights is a must-see for locals and foreigners. A spectacular bronze statue of Madiba stands tall as children play around the Old Man's iron-like legs and parents take turns with tiny digital cameras to capture this awesome spectacle.
To borrow an old phrase from the apartheid country, SA is still a land of milk and honey for a diverse mix of tourists clutching high-currency dollars, pounds, Euros and yens.
From eating succulent prawns with masala rice to whetting appetites with a classic repertoire of wines to reveling in casinos, this shopper's paradise where tourists strike bargains all the way to duty-free shopping and more wine and good cuisine on the jetliners that ferry them around the land of the beauty and the beasts.
Ahead of the FIFA 2010 World Cup Soccer, the nation is gearing up for the biggest influx of tourists since Mandela took the long walk to the Tuynhuys. Residents are transforming homes into bed-and-breakfast lodges. Townships are no longer no-go areas for foreigners. Wandi's, an African-styled eatery situated in the heart of Soweto near the homes of Mandela and Tutu, is a favourite haunt that dishes out mielie pap, samp and mutton curry and ice-cold, home-brewed Castle Lager beers.
Tourism, an important revenue earner next to gold and diamonds, is on the upswing as foreign embassies from Port Louis to Paris market the holiday landmarks and sight-seeing high spots, with Table Mountain reigning supreme and Robben Island ranking as a pilgrimage among most tourists keen to take a peek at Cell Number Five at our own Alcatraz.
The major cities – Johannesburg, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Durban – are all preparing for the big influx of visitors and a strong flow of foreign currency.
South Africa's best showcase to the world market is through the window of opportunity presented annually by the Indaba, rated as one of the biggest tourism marketing events on the African calendar and one of the top three 'must visit' jamborees on the global calendar.
The who's who of international tourism and hospitality marketing, from the luxury Blue Train that snakes its way across the picturesque landscape from the Highveld to the Cape, to the Golf Estates tucked away among the vineyards, orchards and mountains, hold their way for a week in Durban.
Since the beginning of the year, thousands throng the grand prix of tourism, where they sample spectacular sights ranging from Bela Bela, to Thaba Chwe, the hub of tourism. Last year, 12,523 filed past the turnstiles at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli ICC. This year, almost 15 000 attended the Indaba Travel Expo in Durban.
Whether it’s God's Window or the beat of the Zulu dancers in the Valley of a Thousand Hills, or tucking into a mutton curry bunny chow on Durban's Golden Mile, the sky's limit when you take a Sho't Left. Maybe a stopover at Nyoni's Kraal for lunch in Cape Town's Long Street.
Marlan Padayachee is an independent freelance journalist and social and political commentator in Durban, where he runs GreenGold Africa Communications: greengold@telkomsa.net
Friday, June 27, 2008
The Day I Shook Mugabe's Hands
Left of What’s Right
By Marlan Padayachee Marlan Padayachee is a freelance journalist and a media communications strategist and he writes in his personal capacity.
The day I shook Robert Mugabe’s hands and he acknowledged our struggle for democracy in South Africa I knew there was light at the end of the tunnel for a country divided by state-inspired racism, social injustices, economic imbalances and political crisis.I was heading back to Africa via Munich after attending the United Nations Special Conference against Sports Apartheid in London, where I met President Mugabe’s Sports Minister who facilitated a visa from the Zimbabwe’s High Commission.Mugabe had just entered the hall for the Zanu-PF Youth Rally in Harare when I met him, shook his hands in admiration of one of the region’s top guerilla leaders who led blood-stained and racist Rhodesia to uhuru in the 1980s. His charm offensive and warm tug in our hands told me he would stand by South Africa in its own quest for a post-Harare uhuru.No-one who knows and benefited from liberation history will challenge Mugabe as one of the inspirational leaders of the brutal bush war. No-one can even challenge his academic track record as one of the most educated liberation leaders with more than six degrees to his credit.But were many of us may depart from the point of dissent is that one of Africa’s most decorated leaders had overstayed his welcome. The rule of law has to kick in ahead of the June 27 president run-off with MDC candidate Morgan Tsvirangai. High level state tactics and violence had forced the MDC candidate to pull out of the race and seek refuge in the Dutch Embassy with the United Nations merely condemning the pre-poll violence and intimidation against dissidents.But South Africa has been blowing hot and cold over Mugabe’s iron-fisted rule across the Limpopo River.Beit Bridge as I knew it as a border crossing has changed dramatically in the past decade as thousands flee poverty, joblessness, lack of provisions and a diabolical currency that makes a joke of of the SADC’s fiscal system.I returned a few more times to this new African model of a breadbasket with skyscrapers reflecting a new skyline of hope after years of a horrendous bush war that resulted in many Rhodesians seeking economic and social refuge and a better lifestyle in apartheid’s land of milk and honey.But it was often difficult to put a finger on Harare-Pretoria relations as I witnessed a resentful Mugabe lose his badge of liberation status to Nelson Mandela who went on to marry the widow of another distinguished freedom fighter Samora Machel. Mugabe may have been cheesed off when our Old Man married Graca Machel. Then Mugabe gave President Thabo Mbeki a nasty diplomatic snub at an African Union assembly.In my opinion, Mugabe will never hold a candle in front of Mandela, South Africa’s symbol of care, compassion and crusader for a culture of a cosmopolitan country, and now the subject of admiration on his 90th birthday as he sets the stage for a worldwide campaign against HIV-AIDS.Before that the penny dropped when Mugabe was trumpeted into Mbeki’s presidential inauguration ceremony at the Union Buildings in 2004 when the huge crowd rose to their feet and roundly applauded the ever-green president-for-life, sending a mixed message to many despite having rigged elections since 2000 and bad-mouthing the MDC as capitalists’ stooges.Hence, the Union Buildings quiet diplomacy to Harare and since then until the political and economic meltdown began eroding local jobs. Almost two decades later, Zimbabweans have become the new refugees heading down south and until recently among the highest casualties of the shocking xenophobic attack on foreigners.The human drama continues in a country that once had as its tourist landmark the Zimbabwe Ruins.Whether we like it or not, the presidential election across Beit Bridge affects all of us. We are dealing with a stubborn dictator chasing his sixth term, largely paranoid about being unseated by Downing Street and Pennsylvania Avenue rather than by a tough trade unionist that refuses to give up despite the shifting of goalposts.Also envious about Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s halo in the world, Mugabe has rubbished our revered theological icon as an “irrelevant old bishop”. Tutu’s got no time for this ageing despot and has grave doubts about a free-and-fair election.For beleaguered Mbeki, his rapprochement across Beit Bridge is a diplomatic foray of too little, too late while his possible successor, ANC president Jacob Zuma has bluntly dismissed a fair vote.The June 16 celebration was followed by World Refugee’s Day with the United Nation’s High Commission for Refugees stating that the world’s exiled, homeless, persecuted, banned and banished people were numbering more than 12-million, and they ranged from Iraq, Afghanistan, Somali, Palestine and the Sudan.Remember the days when carrying a UN refugee status passport was prestige?It’s often dangerous to be insulated and act inwardly and think that we are only ones in the global village beset with the ordinary headaches of rising mortgage bond, fuel and electricity, food riots, racism and xenophobia.Look left or right and maybe we need to digest some of the issues that are causing grief above our radar screen. The UN says five-million Zimbabweans face the risk of starvation as grain output tumbles due to bad weather, lack of seeds and fertiliser, fuel costs and poor grain prices for farmers; the US Government condemns Zimbabwe for seizing truckloads of American food aid that are dished out to Mugabe’s supporters.So, we all have a vested interest in what’s happening across Beit Bridge, simply because the spillage, pilferage and spoils will affect our pockets.As our home fires continue to burn with dissent and discontent, ANC Youth League President Julius Malema should reading and researching Roman political history and grasp how Caesar was knifed from office; and he will also find himself in the dock at the palace of justice if he does not apologise to an already nervous nation about his call to arms and murder if the judiciary does not let Zuma off the hook.Until next week, take note of Richard Carlson’s “Remember to Acknowledge” verse: “You can acknowledge others in many ways. When someone calls you, acknowledge the call. When they send you something, remember to say thank you, or take the time to write a note. When someone does a good job, say so. When they apologise, acknowledge that too. It's especially important to acknowledge acts of kindness; doing so reinforces the act and encourages more of the same. We all benefit!”
Posted by commissar at 12:47 AM
Labels: Dateline: Durban June 2008
By Marlan Padayachee Marlan Padayachee is a freelance journalist and a media communications strategist and he writes in his personal capacity.
The day I shook Robert Mugabe’s hands and he acknowledged our struggle for democracy in South Africa I knew there was light at the end of the tunnel for a country divided by state-inspired racism, social injustices, economic imbalances and political crisis.I was heading back to Africa via Munich after attending the United Nations Special Conference against Sports Apartheid in London, where I met President Mugabe’s Sports Minister who facilitated a visa from the Zimbabwe’s High Commission.Mugabe had just entered the hall for the Zanu-PF Youth Rally in Harare when I met him, shook his hands in admiration of one of the region’s top guerilla leaders who led blood-stained and racist Rhodesia to uhuru in the 1980s. His charm offensive and warm tug in our hands told me he would stand by South Africa in its own quest for a post-Harare uhuru.No-one who knows and benefited from liberation history will challenge Mugabe as one of the inspirational leaders of the brutal bush war. No-one can even challenge his academic track record as one of the most educated liberation leaders with more than six degrees to his credit.But were many of us may depart from the point of dissent is that one of Africa’s most decorated leaders had overstayed his welcome. The rule of law has to kick in ahead of the June 27 president run-off with MDC candidate Morgan Tsvirangai. High level state tactics and violence had forced the MDC candidate to pull out of the race and seek refuge in the Dutch Embassy with the United Nations merely condemning the pre-poll violence and intimidation against dissidents.But South Africa has been blowing hot and cold over Mugabe’s iron-fisted rule across the Limpopo River.Beit Bridge as I knew it as a border crossing has changed dramatically in the past decade as thousands flee poverty, joblessness, lack of provisions and a diabolical currency that makes a joke of of the SADC’s fiscal system.I returned a few more times to this new African model of a breadbasket with skyscrapers reflecting a new skyline of hope after years of a horrendous bush war that resulted in many Rhodesians seeking economic and social refuge and a better lifestyle in apartheid’s land of milk and honey.But it was often difficult to put a finger on Harare-Pretoria relations as I witnessed a resentful Mugabe lose his badge of liberation status to Nelson Mandela who went on to marry the widow of another distinguished freedom fighter Samora Machel. Mugabe may have been cheesed off when our Old Man married Graca Machel. Then Mugabe gave President Thabo Mbeki a nasty diplomatic snub at an African Union assembly.In my opinion, Mugabe will never hold a candle in front of Mandela, South Africa’s symbol of care, compassion and crusader for a culture of a cosmopolitan country, and now the subject of admiration on his 90th birthday as he sets the stage for a worldwide campaign against HIV-AIDS.Before that the penny dropped when Mugabe was trumpeted into Mbeki’s presidential inauguration ceremony at the Union Buildings in 2004 when the huge crowd rose to their feet and roundly applauded the ever-green president-for-life, sending a mixed message to many despite having rigged elections since 2000 and bad-mouthing the MDC as capitalists’ stooges.Hence, the Union Buildings quiet diplomacy to Harare and since then until the political and economic meltdown began eroding local jobs. Almost two decades later, Zimbabweans have become the new refugees heading down south and until recently among the highest casualties of the shocking xenophobic attack on foreigners.The human drama continues in a country that once had as its tourist landmark the Zimbabwe Ruins.Whether we like it or not, the presidential election across Beit Bridge affects all of us. We are dealing with a stubborn dictator chasing his sixth term, largely paranoid about being unseated by Downing Street and Pennsylvania Avenue rather than by a tough trade unionist that refuses to give up despite the shifting of goalposts.Also envious about Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s halo in the world, Mugabe has rubbished our revered theological icon as an “irrelevant old bishop”. Tutu’s got no time for this ageing despot and has grave doubts about a free-and-fair election.For beleaguered Mbeki, his rapprochement across Beit Bridge is a diplomatic foray of too little, too late while his possible successor, ANC president Jacob Zuma has bluntly dismissed a fair vote.The June 16 celebration was followed by World Refugee’s Day with the United Nation’s High Commission for Refugees stating that the world’s exiled, homeless, persecuted, banned and banished people were numbering more than 12-million, and they ranged from Iraq, Afghanistan, Somali, Palestine and the Sudan.Remember the days when carrying a UN refugee status passport was prestige?It’s often dangerous to be insulated and act inwardly and think that we are only ones in the global village beset with the ordinary headaches of rising mortgage bond, fuel and electricity, food riots, racism and xenophobia.Look left or right and maybe we need to digest some of the issues that are causing grief above our radar screen. The UN says five-million Zimbabweans face the risk of starvation as grain output tumbles due to bad weather, lack of seeds and fertiliser, fuel costs and poor grain prices for farmers; the US Government condemns Zimbabwe for seizing truckloads of American food aid that are dished out to Mugabe’s supporters.So, we all have a vested interest in what’s happening across Beit Bridge, simply because the spillage, pilferage and spoils will affect our pockets.As our home fires continue to burn with dissent and discontent, ANC Youth League President Julius Malema should reading and researching Roman political history and grasp how Caesar was knifed from office; and he will also find himself in the dock at the palace of justice if he does not apologise to an already nervous nation about his call to arms and murder if the judiciary does not let Zuma off the hook.Until next week, take note of Richard Carlson’s “Remember to Acknowledge” verse: “You can acknowledge others in many ways. When someone calls you, acknowledge the call. When they send you something, remember to say thank you, or take the time to write a note. When someone does a good job, say so. When they apologise, acknowledge that too. It's especially important to acknowledge acts of kindness; doing so reinforces the act and encourages more of the same. We all benefit!”
Posted by commissar at 12:47 AM
Labels: Dateline: Durban June 2008
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
