Last year, South Africa’s aviation sector contributed R74 billion ($6.6 billion) to the country’s annual GDP and sustained around 230,000 jobs across the entire value chain, making it the largest on the continent.
However, the safety of the industry was questioned when allegations of death threats and illegal aircrafts operating without airworthiness certificates were made against the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) in October.
These claims were sparked when a parliament reply revealed that only 42% of the aircraft in the CAA register have been issued with airworthiness certificates.
This certificate verifies that an aircraft is safe to fly and without such documentation, an aircraft should not be able to operate. Aviation in the country is divided into many subsections, including the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SA CAA), the Commercial Aviation Association of Southern Africa (CAASA) and the Recreation Aviation Administration of South Africa (RAASA).
When asked by a member of the opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), the minister of transport, Dipuo Peters, revealed that there are 12,500 registered aircraft in the CAA but only 5,300 have been issued with airworthiness certificates.
Negative headlines swarmed the media and the CAA quickly released a statement denying the allegations. They claim that the information from parliament was taken out of context.
According to Leon Dillman, the CEO of CAASA, the details that were provided to Peters and her shadow minister were incomplete. Peters was, however, correct in saying that 42% of aircrafts registered with the CAA have airworthiness certificates. That 42% consists of all commercial planes and airlines. However, what the minister failed to mention was that aircraft used for different purposes qualify for different types of certificates.
The remaining 52% of the aircraft on the register have authority to fly certificates and are typically used for personal or recreational purposes or are vintage or ex-military aircraft. Dillman added that there are fewer than a handful of aircraft that might not be accounted for after being sold, exported or written off and this is something that just needs to updated on the system.
Dillman believes that the biggest problem in the CAA is their inability to process airworthiness certificates efficiently.
“If you do a modification on an aircraft, the process at the CAA, in my books, takes too long. They need to streamline this process as it’s causing issues within the industry,” he says.
One of the biggest allegations the CAA is facing is the whereabouts of the general manager of safety operations, Anton Richman. He disappeared when he received death threats, after reportedly running investigations within CAA. After asking about Richman’s employment status, and who is currently fulfilling his role, the DA received no feedback. The political party declined to comment on the matter as they are continuing with investigations.
Richman says he has resigned but denies running any investigation within the CAA.
“I wanted to pursue a career change, which I have done, following five and a half years as the general manager of air safety operations and two years before that as advisor to the CEO. The director of civil aviation and the board of the CAA were fully supportive of eradicating fraud in the organization and it was in that context that I was taking disciplinary action against an employee in the division I was responsible for,” he says.
“It was during my notice period, that I received threats against me and my family. The matter was referred to the relevant authorities for investigation. The CAA was highly supportive of me and the wellbeing of my family during that difficult time. As a result of the threats, it was agreed that I serve the remainder of my notice period working from home. I left on good terms with the CAA and I support the action that the leadership of the organization has taken to ensure good governance and legal compliance by its employees.”
Colin Jordaan was asked to stand as CEO of the CAA, after their first major audit by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) at the end of 2007, to get the organization up to standard and pass the re-audit.
“We spent a lot of time making sure that the team that was there for the re-audit understood the bigger picture,” says Jordaan.
During his time as CEO, the CAA passed their second audit and retained their Category 1 status.
Jordaan says that safety within the aviation industry in South Africa is not in question and that if there was something to worry about it would be dealt with immediately by the various governing organizations.
He, however, does share Dillman’s views on improving the process of obtaining and renewing certificates. Jordaan says many pilots have become frustrated with the gruelling process of taking care of their certificates. Some are even opting to register and renew in other countries where the process is less complicated and faster.
Jordaan also mentions problems within the CAA regarding its board members and management.
“You need people that have respect in the aviation industry. Somebody that is doing oversight on SAA needs to have experience flying an Airbus A340 rather than just a simulator and doing a course in Talos. You need to have credibility, that’s the bottom line.”
All questions surrounding the issues of safety in the aviation industry have been put to rest and all numbers were accounted for. The CAA scored very high on its most recent audit by the ICAO and there do not seem to be any concerns around safety at this stage. However, one thing that would be appreciated by some in the industry is  the improvement of the certification process.

Flying Through A Storm

Many are mesmerized by the flickering night sky that makes Earth minute in comparison. A few may recognize Venus, the morning star, and one or two other planets, but almost all are overcome by acatalepsy – the inability to fully comprehend – when it comes to the vastness of the universe. Perhaps this is why the unknown that confounds us, and simultaneously fascinates, is often accompanied by a deep-seated desire to unfurl mysteries.
Tanja Sund juggles three South African fitness publications, her two-and-a-half-year-old daughter Sienna, the planets, stars and the galaxy’s wonders all in a day’s – and night’s – work. Granted, it is an unusual combination, but this entrepreneur has modelled her business to allow her to work half-days so that she can pursue her passions.
The Astrophotographer As An Entrepreneur
Sund studied graphic design and animation at art school in Johannesburg. She ran her own design firm and did a lot of freelance agency work, before she met her fitness trainer, who would later become her husband and today is a close friend and business partner.
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“Business made a lot of sense to me, so we decided that we wanted to work together and there wasn’t a publication in SA for that niche… So the natural progression was because of my business sense and his passion for it, we were able to pull the magazine titles together.”
It would not have been possible without the sacrifice of their weekends, holidays, social lives, and many a sunset and sunrise at the office. But it paid off.
“Because I am a business owner it’s not just a position [that of editor] I will give to someone. I don’t think I’ll find someone who will look after it the way that I do. The whole team has control over the magazine but my function is business management because we have three titles now and we do merchandizing,” says Sund.
Being an entrepreneur has allowed her to free up her time and choose her lifestyle.
“I started hiring the right people for my team and now I have set up a team that is pretty much independent of me, so I can be a complete mom in the afternoons and I can do my own things at night and I have the freedom to travel.”
Sund attributes her business prowess to The 4-hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss.
“A lot of people do the normal 8-5 and get stuck in traffic for two hours a day and they don’t do the things they love, they do things because they have to get them done, but the thing is it’s all about the mindset,” she says.
The business owner and fitness fanatic shines when she compares life to a gym workout.
“It’s like gym, with anything in life, you don’t find the time, you make the time. You’re not going to get stuff served on a platter and everyone is going to dream ‘Oh, this would be so nice,’ well work for it, the only person who is going to give it to you, is you.”
She finds herself applying many of the skills she utilizes in publishing to her astrophotography.
“It’s a very deep rabbit hole but start somewhere and as soon as you get involved and see the possibilities, it opens up a whole new world. I like technical challenges and that’s why this mergers passion with the intellectual side of problem solving, astronomy and art,” says Sund.
The Entrepreneur As An Astrophotographer
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“It started with my dad, we borrowed a Dobsonian telescope from a friend of his. It didn’t even have a stand, so we used to rest it on our braai [barbeque]. I remember many cold winter nights… With Haley’s comment, he woke me up in the middle of the night and carried me out of bed,” says Sund.
An early childhood fascination in astronomy led to hours of watching Yoda and peering, with one eye shut and draped in blankets, through telescopes.
“I was a Star Wars fan, growing up I watched it repeatedly. Just the whole concept of interstellar travel and other galaxies, life and adventure [intrigued me].”
Astrotanja – as she is known in the online astrophotography community to fellow purveyors of the night sky – bought her first telescope, a Bushnell reflector sonutonian 3-inch, in 2007. Since then, her evenings, weekends and vacations are planned around the heavens. She has already photographed deep space from Africa, North America and Europe, and in late 2013 traveled to Iceland to photograph the Northern Lights. Astrophotography became her “professional hobby”, as she calls it, in early 2012.
“I know of three other female [astrophotographers in the world]. I’m sure there are more females out there but they are not very active online,” she says.
She is yet to meet, even virtually, another female, African astrophotographer. They seem to be as rare as alien sightings, which is one of the most common questions she is asked.
“I believe that there is life elsewhere, I don’t know if it’s intelligent life but honestly if I was an alien, I wouldn’t want to come to earth, I don’t think our civilization is advanced enough. Being of a superior intelligence, being able to travel through space, they should know that if they reveal themselves to us there will be anarchy. Just leave Earth alone. But I definitely think that there is other microbial and non-intelligent life out there, the universe is just too big. If you think about evolution or the age of man, we’ve only been here for such a short time of Earth’s lifespan, dinosaurs have come and gone, so exactly the same may have happened elsewhere, where there may have been intelligent life that may have been destroyed. I think it’s very narrow-minded to think that we’re the only living creatures, look at how many billions of stars are in our galaxy and then there are billions of galaxies out there. We’re not that unique.”
The curious often ask her if she has managed to photograph a UFO.
“I’ve seen one weird thing but I’m not sure if it was a UFO. I have to think about this intelligently. I’m sure it was Chinese lanterns but it was like the three-point that a lot of people describe and they move together. I ran into my home to get my camera but then they weren’t there anymore,” she says.
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Aliens or no aliens, Sund’s greatest love is deep sky photography because it is all about the editing technique and stacking principle. She has learnt to see the potential of a photograph in its pixels, long before she has edited or stacked it. Sund prefers deep sky photography to star trails – those long-exposure photographs that illustrate the apparent movement of the stars, which is actually due to the Earth’s rotation – as it is more challenging.
Her best advice to aspiring astrophotographers is: “As with anything, if you’re passionate about it, if you’re persistent and you just educate yourself, and the education is out there, [you can do it]. Everything I do in my life is like that: I let my passion drive me.”
But astrophotography will never be her full-time job because, in her opinion, relying on it financially will kill the passion. Sund has already presented workshops at Africa’s biggest photography expo that is held annually in Johannesburg, but that is as far as it goes.
“I’m not interested in that because financially I make more money with my publication, so why would I work hard to free up my time only to fill it in?”
By using her background in publishing, she hopes to write a beginner’s guidebook to astrophotography and sell her photographs through an online gallery.
While her head may be in the stars, this entrepreneur’s feet are firmly on the ground.

The Star Chaser

I arrived on the main Seychelles island of Mahe in the middle of the night, uncomfortable and annoyed. It was just a four and half hour flight from Johannesburg, but I spent most of the day at OR Tambo International Airport as my flight was delayed for several hours. All, however, was forgotten by sunrise, as I woke up to the amazing natural beauty of the island. Seychelles is an archipelago of 115 islands, but the majority of them are home only to the abundant bird life. The islands are clean, the people are friendly and the beaches are sublime. The sand feels like you are walking in a bag of flour. The water is cool and clear and the waves are soft and subtle, even at high tide.
If you manage to pull yourself away from the beach, walking through the streets is relaxed and safe and you are surrounded by lush green-covered mountains. The islands are largely underdeveloped. Coming from the fast-paced, traffic-crazy Johannesburg; it is just what was needed, as you are forced into a state of relaxation.
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My trip began in Victoria, the economic hub and capital of Seychelles. Despite being the most populated of all the islands, I found myself completely surrounded by nature. A walk up to the Morne Seychellois National Park is most rewarding. The park is at the top of Mahe’s tallest peak, which at over 900 meters high, provides magnificent views. Back on lower ground, I enjoyed a tour of the famous Takamaka Rum Distillery at La Plaine St Andre followed by a short history lesson on sugarcane juice as they call it, the production process, and the different flavors of island rums.
The next best thing to do in the Seychelles is eat. The food is mostly Creole-style, spicy curries and grills. Some restaurants even serve bat curry—I am told it tastes like chicken. The dish is made in only a few upmarket restaurants as a delicacy. Shark chutney also peaked my interest. I was horrified, until I learnt that sharks are not caught for consumption but are used when they get mistakenly caught in fishing nets.
The islands make for the perfect beach holiday but you need to have deep pockets. The Seychelles rupee is at almost 1:1 to the South African rand, but very weak. Basic items cost four times what you would pay in South Africa. Agriculture is minimal as there is very little land space and the population is a mere 86,000, making manufacturing a non-industry. As a result, everything is imported. The Seychelles has a multi-party democracy with a socialist government. The locals have free access to health and education and because tourism makes up 70% of the economy, Seychellois pay reduced prices on most services. A local pays almost a quarter of the price that a tourist pays for a ferry ride from one island to another.
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Traveling between the islands by ferry and a ride to the main tourist island of Praslin is a must. It boasts several beaches that consistently win accolades. The Anse Lazio beach took top honors in the 2012 World Travel Awards and was also listed as one of the 25 most beautiful beaches in the world in 2013 by travel website, Trip Advisor. Seychelles enjoys summer all year round making the beaches accessible at any time. Apart from lying around the beach, one can venture out to sea for a bit of snorkeling. The crystal clear water makes the experience memorable, more so if you find yourself swimming next to a yellow turtle. The islands have the world’s largest population of hawksbill turtles. The nation is also famous for its giant tortoises which can be found roaming around freely on certain beaches. Most of the species cannot be found in other parts of the world because of rapid urbanization.
A walk through the famous Vallee de Mai nature reserve must be comparable to walking through the Garden of Eden. Long towering palms with giant leaves hover above, with rare bird species creating an almost scary jungle experience. If you are lucky you might catch a glimpse of the endangered black parrot, but you will have to rely on your memory for that experience as no cameras are allowed in the forest. You also cannot miss the fascinating Coco de Mer plants which resemble male and female genitals.
The quaint island of La Digue has small narrow roads that are cut through lush forests. No cars are allowed, except for the few that belong to tour companies, and riding a bicycle is the main mode of transport. I spotted a few brave tourists attempting to hike to the statue of St Mary on the tip of the island.
The Seychelles is a tourist haven and a major source of income to the country. But, for years only the Europeans could afford it. Italians, Germans and the French are the most frequent visitors. When Europe went into recession in 2009, the Seychelles followed. The tiny country received a loan from the IMF to revive the economy, and the focus has since changed. Seychelles is now turning to Africa.
The government is working on creating partnerships to attract foreign investment from the continent and to lessen its heavy dependence on tourism. Eden Island boasts luxury villas for the uber-rich, ranging between $425,000 and $2.2 million. Over 40% of these are owned by South Africans.
Across the bridge in Mahe, Seychellois live in modest homes. There are no big shopping malls and fast food outlets at every corner. The locals are simple, caring and community orientated. They admit they do not care for lavish lifestyles, but they do care for each other.
“The one thing about Seychelles, no-one dies hungry and no-one dies alone,” says Elsie Sinon, a tour guide with the Seychelles Tourism Board.
The fishing industry contributes 30% of the revenue to the economy. The government wants foreign investment to double the fishing industry’s contribution to GDP. So far, only India has recently invested in a tuna factory on the main island of Mahe. With more ocean than land, Seychelles is not only looking for more fish but for oil too. Earlier this year, the government opened official bids for oil exploration. Two companies, one from London and another from Australia, grabbed the opportunity and have already conducted preliminary studies which found that there is in fact a fortune lying beneath the sea bed.
The thought of oil drilling in a country that depends on fishing, beautiful beaches and deep sea coral for tourism, is slightly alarming. But it seems the research has been done and the risks are being well managed.
“We understand the risk, a government department has been set up to specifically manage the oil exploration and the environmental impact assessments show little risk to the natural habitat,” says the country’s finance minister Pierre Laporte.
It will be an absolute shame if the natural environment is devastated. Unlike most island destinations, the Seychelles is largely untouched. The beaches are pristine and not very populated. What a treat to have a little piece of an island all to yourself.

White Sands,  Shark Chutney And Spice

It is harrowing watching a crane move a two ton yacht onto a truck. Ropes crack under the strain. You imagine the fibreglass hull will shatter at any moment. Professionals may struggle with the job, so consider a family of seven with their thirteen-year-old daughter, Michaela, driving the crane. This feat of engineering is the first step of a Robinson family holiday that most would find hard to imagine.
“It’s been impossible to get her out of the driving seat; at least if she doesn’t make it as a sailor she can always work the crane,” says father Mike Robinson.
The Robinsons are as much a crew as a family. For them a Christmas holiday is a month ploughing through the cold ocean, ducking under flying fish, gawking at glowing dolphins and watching out for floating containers as deadly as icebergs. All this in a 35-foot yacht, that cost them $24,000 to repair as well as a case of beer for the charter fee, on Africa’s most famous sea voyage, the Cape to Rio.
Once every three years, yachts of all shapes and sizes take to the high seas in a bid for glory. It is a downwind race stretching 5,500 kilometers from Cape Town in South Africa to Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.
“It’s not hard to find South America. You just go toward the setting sun,” jokes Mike.
It may seem unlikely but the Robinsons have a good chance of winning. In 2011, Mike and his wife Gill, sons Ricky, Brennan, and Ryan with daughters Kathryn and Michaela and their nephew Bradley came second on board the Ciao Bella, the smallest yacht in the competition.
What’s more, the Robinsons managed to sail all the way with a hole in their rudder after they collided with a submerged container. They say the greatest danger comes lurking, sinister as a snake, under the surface. The Robinsons were lucky, floating containers could easily rip a hole in your hull, says Mike.
“They fall off the tops of those huge charter ships, and you will never see them. They float just under the surface,” says Brennan.
While swimming, the Robinsons found their rudder was missing a large chunk. Ricky believes it started as a hairline crack that opened after traveling for a few days at high speed on the sea. You could say it took a knock to their chances of winning.
“All the hotshot sailors from the Cape were saying we were just a family from Carletonville, from the Vaal, that we knew nothing about ocean racing,” says Michaela.
Their critics were wrong. The Robinsons had trained together for years. The family grew up with the wind in their face and a rope in their hand. Brennan, Ricky and Michaela have all sailed for South Africa. The Robinson’s garage holds testament to this, it is a boneyard of boats, masts and sails. The cars are parked under a tree.
The Ciao Bella lies in their backyard in Carletonville, a small mining town that is a two-hour drive from Johannesburg and hundreds of miles from the ocean. The yacht is on its way to the sea, to race in the Cape to Rio, once again. This time round they are aiming to win it, with a new rudder designed and made by Brennan, an engineer student at the University of Witwatersrand.
It is a different world far out on the Atlantic Ocean. One night, outside of Cape Town, there was a glowing phosphorous light on the surface of the sea attracting life.
“In the wake of the yacht you have this bright light. Dolphins jumped out the water, it makes them look like glowing torpedoes. You can’t see the dolphins, you just see this glow,” says Brennan.
“Every time they hit a shoal of fish it would sound like fireworks as the fish scattered,” says Kathryn.
It is not always plain sailing. The Robinsons were halfway, 10 days out of Rio. They were moving along in the trade winds. All was well, when their engine failed. Somehow there was water in the diesel.
“We still don’t know if it was the cheapskate who we got the diesel from or if it was a pipe in the engine. It was dead,” says Mike.
“A yacht uses the wind to move, but uses an engine to survive,” says Mike.
Without it you cannot charge your GPS or purify water.
“When your engine fails, it’s the scariest moment on the Atlantic,” says Gill.
The family did an inventory of their available water; it was running low. They went into emergency rationing and experienced 24 hours without water.
“It was looking pretty bleak,” says Mike.
Luck and ingenuity saw them through. As the sun began to rise, a rare squall blew over the yacht.  Mike woke up to see his children using the yacht’s sail and every bucket they could find to store rain. They collected 80 liters of fresh clean water, which was the exact amount needed to get them to the Brazilian coast.
“What was really cool was that we could see another boat next to us, and they didn’t get any rain. It was just us,” says Michaela.
They managed to fix the engine a few days later, the danger had passed. And to boot they had some extra water for a rare bath.
Then there is the bombardment of flying fish.
“They are like phantoms, they’ll get caught in places you don’t want them and there is just a smell on the deck. They’ll rot for two days and you’ll think oh my word where is that smell coming from. You have to dig them out from all the holes they’ve crept into,” says Ricky.
The ultimate irony was that the family had tailed a line across 5,500 kilometers, hoping to catch a real fish, without getting a single bite.
The Cape to Rio starts off at a chase. Strong south-easters blow the ships off the coast of Cape Town. It is a judgment call where to pick up the calmer trade winds in the heart of the Atlantic. Finally you reach the most difficult phase of the trip, the South American coast.
“Everyone calls it the Parking Lot; you come to a complete stop, with the mountains of Rio just in front of you and the oil rigs around you. You have to be careful because there is a strong current and you end up going backyards. It gets tense on these last couple of days, when you are in the doldrums with no wind. It’s hot and you are trying to keep the boat moving,” says Gill.
The Robinsons were racing against teams who had the latest navigation systems, linked permanently to satellites and day-to-day weather forecasts. All the family had was a small yellow GPS phone called Homer, only useful for pinpointing your position. Instead, they relied on ship routes dating back to 1800s. Most of their opposition ended up being stranded in the Atlantic without wind, whereas the historical route, proven by hundreds of years sailing, was longer but more reliable.
“You will find the family transfers information between each other. I’m at best a journey man, we’ve taught them as best as we know. It goes full circle. The process of going across the Atlantic has got this potential to transfer this huge amount of knowledge. Our children are now teaching us, so when Brennan says this sail needs to be enveloped, we can’t let anybody know we don’t know what he’s talking about,” says Mike.
What started out as a family holiday, on a yacht that needed $24,000 to repair and a case of beer, has now become a family obsession. If you were to sit next to the Robinsons in a restaurant you would not think that they were contenders for a coveted gold medal. But don’t go telling them that, they don’t like losing. Coming second to a team from Cape Town last time was one place too far behind as far as they are concerned. So they plan to spend another 20 days cramped together fighting off flying fish and floating containers. All the while their eyes will be focused on the horizon and the setting sun.

The Yacht Family Robinson

China has long-standing links with Africa and has become an important trading partner. Now it wants to play football with us.
Africa’s footballers have been making steady inroads into the Chinese Super League in recent times, where new-found riches have been used to lure some top names to the competition.
It is a policy that has worked in part, though the more high-profile signings have not enjoyed lengthy stays in the country.
Cote d’Ivoire great Didier Drogba is the biggest name to have been lured to the Chinese league when he signed for Shanghai Shenhua in 2012 and earned a reported $1.3 million salary.
He joined former Chelsea teammate Nicolas Anelka at the club in what was viewed as a show of financial muscle by the team’s owners.
Despite these riches, Drogba stayed just six months before taking a pay cut to join Galatasaray in Turkey. The striker found it difficult to settle in a wonderful country that is unlike anywhere else on earth.
I saw it first hand when I traveled to Beijing in my role as president of the Football Association of Zambia for a friendly international against Brazil at the famous Bird’s Nest Olympic stadium. Next year’s World Cup hosts, Brazil, were made to work hard to beat the African nation 2-0.
There is much to enjoy in China, the sights, sounds and smells mesmerize the senses, but it is a culture that is very different to our own, and far, far removed from what you experience in the west. I was very impressed with Beijing. It is a bustling hive of activity and while everything from the west is available, the Chinese have clung on to their culture.
I have a new found respect for this nation since I scaled the Great Wall of China in Badaling. I realized the tenacity and strength of spirit that this great Nation has and I was mesmerized. We were lucky to be guided by my good friend Mr Yang because not much English is spoken. That does make it difficult to adapt. It is one thing to enjoy a few days holiday in an unfamiliar environment, but another living there.
That has not stopped a sizeable number of African players from making the move to the Super League though—21 African nations have been represented in the league down the years.
The influx of players started as a small trickle, when the Super League was formed in 2004, becoming a flood in the last three or four years.
It has become an alternative to Europe for some, and is financially more attractive than other options in Asia, such as Indonesia and Vietnam that had been popular destinations for African players in the past.
Zambia has been represented there by national captain Christopher Katongo, who has been with Henan Construction FC since 2011, as well as Isaac Chansa and Billy Mwanza, while James Chamanga has played for Liaoning Whowin for the last five years. All have stories to tell.
The biggest exporter to China from Africa has been Nigeria, who have had 20 of their players in the league since 2004. Brazil has the most players in China, with 122 players in the same period of time.
But teams have also scoured the rest of African continent, signing players from Angola, Cape Verde, DR Congo, Gambia, Mozambique and Sierra Leone, along with the more established football nations that you would expect on the continent.
It shows that their reach is long, and that all styles of African football appeal to them—the technical quality of the north, the power and physicality of players in the west and the skillful trickery of the players in Southern Africa.
There would no doubt be more, but the Chinese authorities have sensibly restricted the number of foreign players in the league, mindful of the need to develop young Chinese talent. Each team may register five foreign players for a season, and can field four of those on the field at any one time.
When you look at the infrastructure of the country, the massive population and the passion that they have for football, it is difficult to understand why China has failed to make the same strides on the pitch as the likes of Japan and South Korea.
In fact, in March this year they reached an all-time low on the FIFA World Rankings of 109th position and by October had improved slightly to 97th.
Within their own Asian Confederation they sit a lowly ninth, behind the likes of Oman, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, countries you would think they could beat easily given their resources.
China’s one and only FIFA World Cup appearance came in 2002 when the tournament was held in South Korea and Japan, but ended in three defeats and not one goal.
Having just completed its 10th season, it will be incredibly interesting to see how the Super League develops and whether the growing strength of the league does translate into greater success for the national side.
The two are not certainties, but you feel that China has great potential as a football nation. All of the ingredients for success are there; they just need to knit them together.

The Great Call of China

When an elephant charges, all you can do is pray and try and get out of its way; especially when you are stuck in a two-man canoe riding the powerful current on the Zambezi River.
It is a far cry from sipping a pina colada on a deckchair under a tree. It’s the last thing you would expect, but staring into the eyes of a two-ton beast that is only 10 meters away from you, will change the way you look at the world. This is the Lower Zambezi National Park, in Zambia, where the idea of a good time is getting as close as you can to nature without being trampled.
Most tourists would find Zambia difficult to point out on the map. It’s quite easy to overlook. It is hemmed in by Africa’s best known wildlife tourist destinations: Botswana; Mozambique; the Democratic Republic of Congo; Malawi; Tanzania and Zimbabwe. Up until 1991, the country was a socialist state, which prized copper over tourism. Now, the country has flung open its doors and is hoping to double tourism from 300,000 to 600,000 visits by 2015 and increase GDP from 2% to 7%, in line with Zimbabwe. It is arguably the freest economy in sub-Saharan Africa.
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What it means is more people are likely to be drawn to the thundering Victoria Falls, millions of fruit bats migrating, tiger fish jumping out of the water, and running away from elephants on the banks of the Zambezi River; or in some cases rowing furiously.
My introduction to Zambia came from game ranger, Wallace Kabompa, who works in the national park where he grew up, for Chiawa Camp; the only bush camp in the big five reserve, which lies on the Zimbabwe border.
For Kabompa, hippos and elephants walking in your backyard is just another day. He grew up fishing along the Zambezi, he has chased leopards from his patio and he has run from so many elephants in the bush he could do it professionally.
“The dangers are very real. I have seen it first-hand. When I was very young, I went swimming in a pool close to the river with my friend. My friend went down, underwater, and then he went for good. I never saw him again. His parents came to me and said ‘where is your friend?’. I said I didn’t know. He had been eaten by a crocodile. I tell you, I have been beaten by my parents not to swim in the Zambezi. My parents would say don’t you know there are crocodiles, it’s dangerous,&#8221; he says.
Standing by the river he warns tourists of the dangers of canoes.
“I just need to point out that the Zambezi River is dangerous. When you are in the canoe please do not dip your hands into the river. Crocodiles are advantageous predators, and we don’t want them to take advantage of your hands. Elephants will give you a toot when they think you are getting too close. But it’s nothing to be scared of, they are just saying hi. If we encounter a mother with her baby they are more aggressive. All you can do is try not to get in their way. So… who wants to go in front?” he says.
A Dutch family, red of nose and sweating profusely in the 40 degree heat, watch skeptically as he speaks. Their sunburned faces turn white at the mention of being in front. With Kabompa’s cautious speech over, we board our canoes and enter the Zambezi. Kabompa boards the two-man canoe with me, the eager photographer, in front.
As the sun sets, the water glistens in golden light. In the still of the evening, Kabompa’s warning came to life like a snake in a bed. It started so sedately. In the distance, a herd of elephants crossed the river. The only problem was at the end of the line were two females with a baby.
“Let’s get close, I really need a good photo,” I say.
Kabompa obliges and we drift closer, hugging the shoreline. It was as quiet as the grave. The elephants begin to cross the river, but as they reach our side of the shore there is a problem. They get stuck. In their panic, their bodies crash against one another. Their ears flap madly. They then turn and come straight for us.
You may think an elephant charging in water is slow. Think again. An elephant slices through water like it is going through a field of grass. White water churns at their feet. Their trumpeting gets louder with every step. Their trunks smash the water. It is terrifying.
When it is 50 meters away you think it can never reach you. When it is 35 meters away you worry that it will. When it is just 15 meters you realize one stamp of the foot could turn your body to dog meat.
It is at this time that Kabompa saves us from the butcher shop. He slams his paddle in the water violently, sending us in reverse. Ten meters from us, where our canoe was a few moments before, the beasts take a sharp right turn and scramble up the bank. I thank the heavens.
Our canoe rocks in the elephants’ wash. I turn to Kabompa, too stunned to speak. He looks back with a smile as wide as the Zambezi.
“Was that close enough?” he asks.
All I could do is nod in agreement as the canoe drifts away to live another day.
“Do you need to change your pants?” Michelle, one of the Dutch tourists, asks.
No change needed after a moment deep in the Zambian bush that will live with me for the rest of my life.
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With gratitude to the Zambian Tourism Board and Proflight Zambia for accommodation and flights.

When The Elephant Says Hi… Run!

Mauritius regards fashion as serious business. This was emphasized by the country’s industry, commerce and consumer protection minister, Cader Sayed-Hossen, when he declared that the items at the Trend Forum 2013 were made by Mauritius, not in Mauritius.
The country’s export promotion organization, Enterprise Mauritius, who hosted the event at the Intercontinental Hotel in October, aims to give its young designers cues on the trends shaping global fashion and more importantly, how to forecast those trends.
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The country has aspirations to evolve from a rudimentary textile economy, synonymous with the likes of Bangladesh, and graduate into the sexy design environment that epitomizes the fashion worlds in New York, London and Tokyo.
The Indian Ocean island is along a trade route between Africa and Asia and has become a leading exporter of textiles and apparel to the world. Last year, the nation exported almost $1 billion to countries such as the Britain, France, the United States and South Africa.
The fashion industry is a main pillar of Mauritius’ economy and since its genesis in the 1970s, has contributed to economic growth and attracted crucial foreign direct investment.
According to Enterprise Mauritius, the country now supplies to international brands such as Topshop, Levi’s, Zara, MANGO, Guess and Calvin Klein.
But sub-Saharan Africa’s most competitive country wants more and is beginning to punch above its weight, positioning itself as a major supplier of high-value fashion pieces.
This ambition is a familiar one. The t-shirt phase, where a significant number of poor farm workers who, rather than toil on land, accept harsh work conditions and low wages in textile and apparel factories, has been a rite of passage for nearly every rich country. Countries such as Britain, the United States, Japan and China have progressed from the t-shirt phase into broader economic development. Cambodia, Turkey, India, and Bangladesh are currently passing through this phase.
The t-shirt phase lasts only as long as there are large populations of farm workers with few options. But once the labor market has cleared, factories need to find a new competitive advantage which involves moving up the value chain and requires workers who are better skilled and better paid.
Mauritius is now at the juncture when the race to the bottom coincides with the beginning of a race to the top. What is refreshing is not only the ambitious vision, but the pragmatism that follows it. The country is certainly not a stuck-up upstart, but a keen apprentice that invited international players in the global fashion and design industry to speak and engage with students from local design institutions.
Representatives from WGSN, one of the world’s largest fashion trend forecasters with a glittering list of clients including Prada and Gucci, gave guidance on the social and cultural trends shaping design, as well as the translation of macro trends into color, textiles and product.
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French representation came in the form of Louis Gerin and Gregory Lamaud, the creative director and director respectively, of Le Garcon. The pair gave insights on the evolution of European fashion trends.
Italy had KB Design’s director, Enrico Brussa, and creative director, Flora Russo, zoned in trends for autumn and winter as well as micro trends for jackets, cut and sewn, artworks, labeling and accessories.
Inspiration also came from South Africa, a country further up the value creation chain.
Bryan Ramkhilawon, CEO of the Cape Town Fashion Council, presented a case study on the South African market’s patterns.
The students were perhaps most inspired by the youngest speaker at the event, designer Shweta Wahi, who at 22, has shown in more fashion shows than her age (23 to be exact). Wahi, the creative director of the eponymous Shweta Wahi Creations brand, advised that African designers cannot compete with the prices of the East and the style of the West, and should instead find their own niche.
The fashion event was not only about fashion education, but action too. The last evening saw the launch of the Mauritius Fashion Design Council whose efforts to develop and look after the interests of local designers were bolstered by a generous donation from Shweta Wahi Creations. A significant part will go towards sponsoring the best fashion student in 2014.
The CEO of Enterprise Mauritius, Dev Chamroo, is committed to staging more events similar to this and promised that the next Trend Forum will be bigger, better and staged abroad.
The evening was aptly concluded by a breathtaking fashion show by the international designers present at the forum, providing final inspiration to the young designers whose items will don the Made By Mauritius With Care brand and, if Sayed-Hossen has anything to do with it, will be worn all around the world.

The Fashion Contender

With an 18% unemployment rate, Botswana is the largest producer—by value—of diamonds, the country’s main source of income, and one of Africa’s fastest growing economies. It has come a long way since its independence in 1966.
Botswana has recently been commended by the African Development Bank (AFDB) for maintaining good economic growth and healthy foreign reserves. The country’s fiscal discipline has raised it to middle income status.
With a GDP of $14.4 million, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected GDP and inflation growth at 3.9% and 6.8%, respectively, for 2013 and 4.1% and 5.8% for 2014.
The country’s main exports are diamonds, copper, nickel and beef. The discovery of alluvial diamonds in the late 1950s has played a large role in the country’s development. Botswana has achieved what many countries in Africa have longed to with their natural resources; ensuring its citizens benefit from their country’s riches.
Debswana, an equal partnership between the government and diamond company De Beers, began in 1978. De Beers has moved its operations and $6 billion-a-year worth of sales to the country. De Beers’ sites have been moved to Gaborone and a new 10-year sorting, valuing and sales contract was secured. The government is looking to turn Botswana into a major international center. The subprime crisis that rocked the world shrunk the country’s diamond revenue.
The country’s rule for new mining investments is that 15% of the company needs to be offered to local investors on the same terms as foreign ones. If the locals do not take up the offer, the companies are free to commence with business as usual.
Pangolin Diamonds recently announced it had discovered one of the largest known kimberlite pipes—a rock formation in which diamonds are formed—in the world at its Tsabong North project.
Botswana cites low inflation, low corruption, a stable economy and investment protection as some of its attractive qualities when courting investors. Investment opportunities lie in manufacturing, information technology and tourism.
It takes 61 days and 10 procedures to start a business in Botswana, and ranks at 56 on the ease of doing business index. The country has increased the profit tax rate; corporate tax is 15%, value added tax (VAT) is 10% and the country has no foreign exchange controls.
Botswana was number 59 on FORBES’ ‘Best Countries for Business’ 2012 list. Credit ratings are stable, with an A- from Standard &amp; Poor’s and an A2 from Moody’s.
Botswana is a member of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), Southern African Development Community (SADC), enjoys the benefits of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and the Interim Economic Partnership Agreement (IEPA) between SADC and the EU.
Near the Sir Seretse Khama International Airport lies the Botswana Innovation Hub. The country is hoping to attract domestic, regional and global companies. The hub will focus on the biotechnology, energy and environment, information and communications technology and ICT enabled services, as well as the mining technologies sectors.
With a history of having one of the highest infection rates in the world, and one of the most advanced HIV/Aids treatment programmes on the continent, a study by Botswana’s National AIDS Coordinating Agency has recorded a 71% decline in new HIV infections since 2001, thanks to increased knowledge and condom use.
Amid all the advances that Botswana has made, it is currently facing some controversy. A court battle against the government began in 2003 after the government began relocating the Kalahari Bushmen population to settlements.
London-based Survival International has called for a boycott on Botswana tourism as a stance against how the Bushmen are being treated by the government. There is concern over Spain’s king, Juan Carlos, being allowed to shoot elephants in the country while the Bushmen are prevented from hunting, a way of life for them. They are also prevented from digging for water in the reserve, but Wilderness Safaris was granted permission to dig boreholes for water, supplying a swimming pool. Botswana is facing a severe water shortage due to receding dam levels caused by drought.
The British lawyer defending the Bushmen’s rights has been barred from returning to Botswana.
On a governance front, the 2013 Ibrahim Index of African governance, compiled and published by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, ranked Botswana second out of 52 countries.
The president is selected by the party that wins 29 of the 57 parliamentary seats through proportional representation system. Parliament rejected a call for the people to vote for the president in 2008. The ruling party, the Botswana Democratic Party, has been in power for the last 46 years.

A Diamond In The Rough

The Drakensberg has been around for 540 million years. Man has been living in its shadows for more than 100,000 years. In its bowels are 40,000 Bushmen paintings. It is home to one of the most famous choirs in the world, The Drakensburg Boys Choir, countless resorts, and herds of cattle. Thousands of tourists flock to its scenic basalt rock structures to hike, climb and camp in its huge shadow.
Winter is a good time to go. It brings out the golden hues of a dry mountainscape capped with sapphire skies.
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I’m nestled deep within the sweet scent of the pine trees of the Champagne Valley in the heart of the Central Drakensberg.
Within this valley is the Champagne Castle Resort. It is here where I am about to experience the ‘berg’, as people call it, in what many say is the best way possible; in the saddle.
The brochure was a sell: Why walk when you can ride in comfort? Experience the glory of an African sunset. To boot they’ll even throw in a free glass of champagne. It’s money you will never regret spending.
With this in mind, I walk down to the stables to gewar-up. I imagine a majestic creature approaching. The dust rises up as its hooves caress the earth. His mane billows majestically in the cool mountain breeze. They say if you stare into a horse’s eye you can see into its soul. All I see is a beady eye.
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“Majestic?” I ask the guide.
More like a deadly creature galloping straight out of a nightmare. Its brown coat is muddy. It smells like hay and 10-year-old sweat. Staring into his eyes was like being a loaf of bread in the middle of St Michael’s Square in Venice with a flock of hungry pigeons hovering in the air.
“You don’t want to walk behind it,” the guide reminds me, as I try to mount the steed.
Osama. That is his name, I am told. Yes I didn’t believe him either. An ill omen for someone with an innate fear of horses. And so my romantic champagne sunset horse ride in the mountains began, more like three hours of hell.
I rode with the grace of a sack of potatoes. Fear kept me rigid in my saddle. My helmet bounced on my head; slapping sweat, horse hair and bugs into my eyes.
True to his namesake, Osama was a force to be reckoned with. Much to the amusement of my fellow travelers, I had no say in which direction or what speed he wanted to go. He was a horse apart. At times he would stop to eat grass, a brief respite for my sore behind, only to leave our company wandering off into the distance. He behaved like a mountain goat leaping from stone to stone with his penchant for the off-road. His attempts to swing me over the edge of deep gullies left others rolling in laughter; me in terror.
As the sun began to set, our mounted troop finally paused. I figured that I had earned more than a glass of bubbly. I sat and admired the trails of smoke rising up in the distance from the bush fires that filtered beams of sunlight. The Drakensberg was bathed in gold. A photographer’s paradise.
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It’s hard to ruin a beautiful sunset accompanied with champagne, but Osama came close.
My far-from-graceful dismount led to a deep breath of fresh mountain air, only something smelled rotten. Beneath my shoes was a mountain of steamy dung, courtesy of my trusty steed. Idiot, don’t walk behind a horse.
I wish I could have stayed on that hill longer.
But alas, as the sun sank over the horizon, Osama decided it was time to leave—this time without his rider. In the fading light, in the shadow of one of Africa’s splendid natural wonders, I ran after him into the sunset. I really don’t get why people like horses, but I can see why riding a horse in the Drakensberg is an unforgettable experience. A short three-hour drive from Johannesburg, it’s truly a beautiful place to spend a weekend away.

Love The Mountain Hate The Horse

In silence and solitude we traverse the scrub-specked grasslands of Kenya’s famed Masai Mara in search of an elusive leopard spotted the previous day.
The rains have begun and newly formed rivers and gorges pockmark a terrain sketched with the region’s emblematic acacia trees. Shuka-clad Masai tend cattle on conservancy land fringing the national reserve and copious wildlife blankets the expanse. But few of the roughly 700,000 tourists who descend annually upon one of  the Seven New Wonders of the Natural World remain. Soon, shuttered camps will reopen and from July through October crowds will return to witness the Great Migration of countless wildebeest, zebra and other game transiting from Tanzania’s adjoining Serengeti National Park.
Navigating the muddy soil, even in a tank-like vehicle, proves challenging. But perseverance rewards us with remarkable sights. A buoyant Thompson Gazelle inexplicably chases a rare Denham’s bustard, lions feast on zebra remnants, the carcass of a newly killed giraffe sadly succumbs to scavengers, while herds of majestic elephants lumber across the plains. Bones and skulls litter the landscape, but rebirth abounds. An endangered cheetah lounges amid camouflaging scrub just meters from her two young cubs. Babies of every endemic breed suckle their mothers’ teats as siblings frolic nearby. It’s the natural order of things and I feel privileged to behold this diverse kingdom without mobs encroaching.
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Unfortunately, serenity masks peril as escalating human-animal conflict and an ivory poaching pandemic threatens survival of the animals we come to see.
Enter the crusaders, one of whom is Kenyan native Richard Roberts, founder of The Mara Elephant Project (MEP). It works alongside government and environmental groups—including the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), American-based Escape Foundation and prominent NGO Save The Elephants. The privately funded non-profit organization was created in 2011 to help communities “combat the increasing human-animal discord” and augment anti-poaching efforts. In 2012, the Mara suffered 149 elephant mortalities, 139 of those attributed to poaching.
“Too many elephants were getting killed. Something needed to be done to help farmers and wildlife coexist Without wildlife there is no tourism… and tourism is wildlife’s savior. There are more eyes on the ground and more incentive to protect the animals,” says Roberts. And as the tourist industry accounts for 14 percent of Kenya’s GDP, raking in $1.2 billion in 2011, that’s a lot of incentive to keep visitors coming.
“A funny disconnect exists. The Masai love tourism but don’t like the wildlife. They don’t see the correlation,” adds Marc Goss, director of MEP and manager of Mara North Conservancy.
But that’s not a universal sentiment, especially amongst the more than 100 Masai, who have thus far benefited from sponsored training at the Mara’s Rekero Camp guide school. For them, the dual crisis is evident as I learn from Teketi “Stephen” Nabala, my ardently well-informed guide from the exclusive Ngerende Island Lodge.
“We [Masai] benefit greatly from tourism, economically and socially. Exposure to more people and increased education is beginning to open eyes to the importance of protecting our ecosystem.”
Recent demonstrations in the Mara calling for stronger government action substantiate changing attitudes.
Since the reserve opened in 1948 on a scant 520 kilometers­—today park and conservancy land spans more than 1,500km2—tourism has exploded. The Masai Mara alone generates $50 million annually.  In the mid-nineties, privately-managed conservancies sprouted on the reserve’s perimeters when Masai began leasing newly-owned parcels of formerly communal land to lodge operators. This arrangement provides income, employment and camp-endorsed community support for residents, while visitor fees ($70 to $100 for non-East African residents) subsidize Conservancy management and preservation efforts.
But it’s a precarious balancing act. Animals don’t recognize boundaries and often venture outside protected areas. In the past two years, farmers increasingly greet encroaching elephants with violence, while the acute resurgence of poaching continues unabated. These are complex and convoluted issues stemming from Kenya’s ballooning population (up from seven to 43 million since 1963), traditional pastoralist Masai culture embracing agriculture, limited arable land and the revitalized, highly profitable, high-demand illegal ivory trade.
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Although the MEP collars and monitors Mara elephants, maintains a network of paid informants and two roving general security teams, “our resources are insufficient,” says Roberts.
Hoping to secure an airplane and additional security teams this year, it all comes down to funding.
“We’re seeing that poachers are becoming more organized and lethal, further emphasizing the need to expand MEP,” Goss interjects.
“The good news is that the KWS has many dedicated employees with whom we share information and resources. Kenya is very lucky to have one central wildlife service, which eliminates the kind of bureaucracy Tanzania has,” says Roberts.
Further encouragement derives from the new constitution that empowers the county rather than local government to oversee the Mara.
“We’re hopeful that things will improve with decentralization and the recent election of Narok County Governor Samuel Tunai. If all private sector revenue coming from Narok was used in a transparent manner it would be the third richest county in Kenya. If that money was used sustainably, we would solve a lot of these issues,” says Goss.
“In the past, administrators ignored anything going on outside their boundaries,” notes Ol Chorro Conservancy Manager James Hardy.
“Everyone is now realizing that we’re in this together and that one region’s problems ultimately affect and belong to all [regions]. We’ve recently established a conservancies forum to address issues and voice concerns on a national level.”
It’s Roberts’ birthday and he’s invited a few friends to celebrate. Pouring rain, snorting hippos and the menacing yelps of hyenas provide the soundtrack. Yet even in the relaxed ambiance of Roberts’ tented camp, conversation turns serious. Will the newly decentralized government be as effective as hoped? Will education help mitigate the human-animal and poaching crises? Will national reserve and conservancy entrance fees get to the right places and be used efficiently?
Before returning to my tent, I’m treated to a bedtime story that hinders any chance of peaceful sleep. It’s the tale of a huge and beloved Mara elephant named Heritage, who, although collared, had twice been wounded and treated for farmer-inflicted injuries. “We thought this elephant was blessed with a cat’s nine lives. Then a few weeks ago he was poached,” Goss laments, clearly taking it personally.
Heritage’s death adds yet another to the toll of seven mutilated bulls discovered in Mara West last December. Since January, 74 elephants have been slaughtered in Kenya. In 2012, a reported 656 elephants were killed (149 in the Mara), up from 578 in 2011. Samburu and Tsavo National Parks are especially vulnerable, the latter having lost 12 elephants, including a two-month-old calf, in March. In total, wildlife organization Born Free estimates that more than 32,000 elephants have been killed since the beginning of 2012.
Fueled by an insatiable Asian appetite for ivory, particularly amongst China’s newly affluent, the “shifta” with suspected links to Al-Qaeda, as some speculate, through Al-Shabaab in neighboring Somalia, are infiltrating Kenya in record numbers. With a kilogram of ivory fetching up to $2,000, this illicit industry nets an estimated $7 billion annually.
Most illegal large-scale ivory seizures over the last three years have originated in Kenya and Tanzania, which, alongside Uganda and five Asian nations were targeted at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) conference in March for failing to adequately crack down on the ivory trade.
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The good guys face tough odds as organized cartels, allegedly unscrupulous officials and outdated Kenyan laws that impose absurdly tame poaching penalties, conspire against them.
That said, notwithstanding a recent poor track record, Kenya has long been at the forefront of wildlife conservation. One of the first African countries to ban trophy hunting in 1973, Kenya vehemently opposed the CITES edict permitting China to purchase non–poached ivory and is currently countering Tanzania’s attempt to remove elephants from the endangered species list. To date, Kenya has allied with 16 African nations (two-thirds of the 23 member African Elephants Coalition) to quash the proposal that will repave the way for legal ivory sales.
Despite international outcry and support, officials and NGOs in Kenya and throughout Africa are fighting an uphill battle. A CITES report last June documented the highest African poaching numbers in a decade and the most ivory seizures recorded since 1989. The contraband ivory trade has more than doubled globally since 2007 and is three times larger than in 1998.
“The new wave of killing elephants in Africa is in many ways far graver than the crisis of the 1970s and 1980s… there are fewer elephants and demand is far higher. Record ivory prices in the Far East are fueling poachers, organized crime and political instability across the African elephant range and the situation shows no sign of calming,” wrote Save The Elephants founder Iain Douglas-Hamilton in the January-March issue of conservation journal SWARA.
Like most visitors, I journeyed to the Mara in pursuit of spotting big game. But, I depart with something far more indelible than beautiful photos, muddy shoes and Masai beaded jewelry. I take with me a profound awareness and renewed appreciation for the consequences of human infringement on our fragile planet. And a fierce desire to do s

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A New Wave Of Killing

Realistic and measurable transformation within certain South African industries has been a long journey. In some sectors it has warped definitions as boxes are ticked mechanically.  In others transformation is non-existent. The agricultural sector unfortunately still carries the stigma of embracing change at an extremely slow pace. Its record on transformation is patchy at best.
The wine industry is no different. With its sterling international reputation  and millions of liters of South African wine exported every year, vexed questions still remain on whether this generational industry has genuinely transformed and if so, to what extent?
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In this industry, broad-based black economic empowerment transactions are usually viewed as façades used to divert unwanted questions from those who are pro-transformation. Despite these realities, there are women who are working tirelessly towards altering the status quo, with passion, to bring about significant change within the wine industry.
Nondumiso Pikashe and Carmen Stevens are two of these women. Ignoring skeptics and forecasts of failure, their professional journeys are the result of meticulous timing, dedication and resilience. Responding to a call from former president Thabo Mbeki in 2004 for active players within South Africa’s economy, Pikashe decided to enter an industry completely foreign to her. “Curiosity was what attracted me to [winemaking],” she explains.
“I was always fascinated by wine because in the townships it was an alcoholic beverage that was associated with shattered homes…, while on the other hand, wine’s other face was one of sophistication, class and elegance.”
Wanting to find out more about the characteristics of wine, the more she researched, the more Pikashe became intoxicated by the industry. And thus, Ses’fikile wine was born.
‘Ses’fikile’ is isiXhosa for ‘we have arrived’.
“My wines symbolize the impact that the growing number of women within the industry are making, regardless of the challenges and obstacles they face,” she says, proudly. Pikashe is frustrated by the pace of change in the winemaking industry. She says little is being done in order to pique the curiosity of young black girls.
“I entered the industry through support from associations and groups which are now collectively known as the Wine Industry Development Agency. The work they are doing is commendable; however, more needs to be done.”
Another player in the South African winemaking industry is Carmen Stevens. Unlike Pikashe, Stevens says it was almost a given that she would enter the industry because of how passionate she had always felt about winemaking. A winemaker at the esteemed Amani estate in the Cape Winelands, her passion for the technicalities behind the process has earned her respect throughout the industry. With 18 years’ experience and two harvest internships – one in California and the other in France – under her belt, Stevens is set to make a significant change in the industry.
“I just knew that I wanted to make wine: the smell of the wine cellar; the enchanting and sometimes majestic process of the art of winemaking was fueled by fantasies I developed from reading through my mom’s romantic novels, which were set in the vineyards,” Stevens recalls.
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Stevens is using her passion for wine to change women’s access to land and promote skills sharing.
“Agricultural land needs to be more affordable within the well-known wine regions to increase both female and black participation. The government needs to look into sustainable strategies in order to bring this into being. Skills transfer and development is another thing. Yes, there has been a visible growth of female winemakers within the industry, however, the growth in understanding of the industry holistically still needs much work,” she argues.
Stevens believes that the South African winemaking industry has the opportunity to increase the percentage of women and black role players.
She is upbeat about her future in the industry.
“Amani has given me the opportunity to make wines that are reflection of me, having a brand that carries my name is the next big step,” she says.
Carmen’s recent association with UK-based brand Naked Wine has inspired her to developing her own blends – Carmen Stevens Wines.
“Watching my brand growing each year has been a great experience; this puts me in a position to develop future winemakers as well, that is something that is necessary and which will be very humbling,” she concludes.

Ses’fikile We have arrived

A couple of weeks ago I went on a real vacation. I didn’t bring my computer, I shut off my phone. The only time I even thought about work was when my mind wondered to topics of long term strategy. I didn’t worry about the day-to-day operations at my company even once. Why? I did not need to. I had a strong and capable team that kept everything moving forward in my absence.
Early in my corporate career, a manager leaving on vacation said to me, “Unless my house is burning down, don’t contact me.”
I was shocked by his brazen disinterest in work while he vacationed. “This guy is not going to last long,” I thought. Instead, it was one of the best leadership lessons I ever received. He had a chance to take a well-needed break. His team members had a chance to stretch their leadership, develop confidence, and grow. His actions were signs of an effective leader. But most leaders balk at the idea that a manager-level employee would even think of telling others that they will not be available during their vacation.
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<h4>Surviving vacation</h4>
In his Forbes article Take A Serious Vacation: A CEO’s Advice To All CEOs, Jim Moffatt, the chairman and chief executive of Deloitte Consulting LLP, says, “If your business can’t survive your vacation, you’ve got a bigger problem.” He suggests that leaders and managers treat their vacations as a “test” – not just of the leader’s ability to take a break, but of what happens to the organization when they are absent for an extended period of time.
However, the inability to take a vacation isn’t limited to the corner office. A recent study by Kelton Research commissioned by the Radisson hotel chain indicates that nearly half of the total American workforce doesn’t use all of their allotted vacation days. From my experience leading HR functions at mid to large sized companies, I can confirm that the core offenders are managers and leaders. And when asked why this group of hard working professionals left vacation days on the table, most sighted their fear of losing momentum or missing quarterly or annual objectives. In other words, they felt that things would fall apart as soon as they left.
Perhaps these managers and leaders are a product of a workforce that simply has too much on their plate. Kelton’s study did find that heavy workloads were one of the primary reasons workers decided not to take more time off. If this is the case, organizations must ask a critical question – who is taking a break from the day-to-day operations to think about the long-term strategy of the business?
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<h4>The problem with doers</h4>
If corporations don’t ask and answer this important question, they may very well find themselves with an organization full of doers and no leaders. While all companies certainly need both, employees need to be able to recognize and respect the difference. An organization full of doers is simply not going to last.
The story of Edwin H. Land and Polaroid is a glaring example of the fate of an organization of doers, brilliant as they may be. As Polaroid grew, Land had teams of people working in shifts at his side. As one team wore out, the next team rotated in to continue the work. Land was at the core of everything at Polaroid and was even accused of wearing the same clothing for eighteen consecutive days because he refused to take a break. Subsequently, his successors mismanaged the company and the once-great organization headed into a downward spiral. In his 2012 book Instant: The Story of Polaroid, Christopher Bonanos tells the story of Polaroid’s competitor Kodak referring to Land’s company as “He” instead of Polaroid. In October 2001, Polaroid declared bankruptcy.
I have worked for both doers and leaders. Despite the hours doers work, I always learned more from the leaders. One of the best leaders I worked for told me that as an HR executive I should be sitting in the lobby greeting employees and reading the paper. This is a bit extreme, but what he was saying is that I needed to spend my time thinking about the big picture – our people strategy to drive our business forward. I shouldn’t be down in the weeds chasing up performance reviews, reviewing improvement plans, or attending every vendor meeting. He encouraged me to build a strong team to do that work.
The other problem with doers is that they frequently don’t lead by example. It is disingenuous when a leader tells me to stop working and take a vacation or recover from an illness, but a week later they show up to work coughing and sneezing. Some doers will boast about not having taken a proper vacation in 10 years. Working for these leaders, I never felt I was allowed to fully unplug despite their encouragement to do so. As with all aspects of effective leadership, walking the talk is the only way to create lasting change.
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<h4>Making yourself redundant</h4>
A leader is not doing their followers, boss, or organization any favors by building a team that can’t function without them. They have a duty of care to teach their followers to fish instead of fishing for them. At day’s end, the true test of effective leadership manifests itself when a leader is absent.
The one thing that all effective leaders do is make themselves redundant so they can move on to even greater challenges and help more people – knowing that the team they built will flourish and carry on the mission. All my personal success as a leader has been a result of living this principle. The only boasting I do is about taking all my vacation each year. I encourage you to do
the same.
As a leader or manager, here are three simple questions you should ask of yourself daily to ensure you are practicing effective leadership and building sustainable teams and organizations:
<ol>
<li>Can I go on vacation without my computer and phone?</li>
<li>If I get sick, can I focus on getting better without working or being in contact?</li>
<li>If I quit today, would my team/organization continue to be successful and grow with minimal disruption?</li>
</ol>
If you can’t answer ‘yes’ to all the above questions, you need to either build a new team, develop the one you have, start trusting your people to work on their own making it okay to fail and learn from mistakes, or move into a role that does not require people management.

Make Yourself Redundant:

In true Japanese hard working fashion, the country has rebuilt rapidly since the earthquake and tsunami of March 2011. The resilience of the people is told in two words: gambaru, to always do one’s best, and gaman, to suffer in silence.
Plan your trip to the Japanese archipelago of 6,852 islands in springtime, during the Sakura cherry blossom festival. It’s part of the Hanami tradition, a celebration of the flowers, that started in the 8th century. The idea is to spend a day picnicking beneath petal showers.
<div id="attachment_2259" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-2259" class="size-medium wp-image-2259" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Japan-2-544-300x201.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="201" />Golden Pavillion, Kyoto</div>
Nara, nearly 40 kilometers south of Kyoto, has 30,000 cherry trees. The former capital is home to eight UNESCO World Heritage sites, vying for your attention: from the 16-meter bronze Buddha in Todai-ji temple to the five-story pagoda at Kofukuji Buddhist Temple. Don’t leave until you’ve visited Kasuga-taisha. The vermillion, wooden, Shinto shrine is located in Nara park, where more than 1,200 deer—the sacred messengers of the shrine’s Shinto gods—roam. Three thousand stone and bronze lanterns are illuminated during the Man-toro lantern festival, which is celebrated in early February.
Kyoto should be at the top of your list if you’re looking for a cultural experience. The city is synonymous with Kinkaku-ji; the zen Buddhist temple also known as the Golden Pavilion. The two top stories are covered in gold leaf. The pavilion ‘floats’ on a pond with 10 small islands. Be sure to take a walk around the splendid garden.
A short stroll away, at the Temple of the Dragon at Peace, is the most-celebrated rock garden in Japan. This life-size version of the zen gardens we have in our homes, contains 15 rocks, surrounded by white gravel that is raked daily by monks. While there are many theories about the meaning of the garden, in essence, its intention is to evoke peace.
At sundown, wander the quieter alleyways of the Gion district; you might see a Geisha. Have dinner at one of the many restaurants along the banks of the Kamogawa River, or unwind at a teahouse.
Nearby Osaka is great for a half-day trip, especially if you’re a follower of popular culture. Visit the Dotombori entertainment district, or the southern districts, for a taste of Japan’s nightlife. If it’s electronic goods you’re after Den-Den Town is the place to go. In the Kita area, take a glass tunnel escalator to the top of Umeda Sky Building, with its twin towers. But Osaka’s most popular attraction remains the 16th century Osaka-jo castle with its memorabilia museum.
Hiroshima is a real-life history lesson; there’s no need for a textbook. The city, and all its monuments, are a grave reminder of the atomic bomb dropped by the Americans on August 6, 1945.
If you’re visiting Japan for a week, or longer, buy a discounted Japan rail pass for the Shinkansen bullet train and travel as far as you can. A day trip to Mount Fuji, en route to Tokyo, is well worth it since it’s only 100km south west. The active volcano, which stands at 3,776 meters, hasn’t erupted since 1708. At the foot of the mountain lie five lakes and Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park.
Once you arrive, you’ll agree that Tokyo is everything you’ve heard about it, and so much more. The multiple subway and train lines that intersect and circle the capital are a worthwhile way to get around. Visit Shinjuku station: the busiest transport hub, according to the Guinness World Records.
Nearby, in Harajuku, you’ll find Takeshita Street. This is where the fashion-conscious youth spend their time, wandering between boutique stores, photo booths and fast food outlets. You’re almost guaranteed to see teenagers engaging in cosplay (costume play). They dress as anime characters, something out of a Halloween movie or in modern Victorian dress.
If you’re a shopaholic, Ginza Street will keep you busy for hours on end or, at least, until your credit card is cut. The Gingko tree-lined street is home to designer and department stores. Rest at a corner cafe or find respite in one of the many art galleries and museums along the stretch.
For sushi, like you’ve never tasted, head to Tsukiji fish market—the world’s largest wholesaler. Be prepared to stand in queues outside the best restaurants, many of which have been featured on Japanese reality TV. It was here that I tried sea urchin for the first time; the delicacy is expensive due to its delicate texture.
As dusk draws near, head up the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. Entrance is free and the panoramic cityscape views, from 200 meters up, are priceless.
While in Japan, I read Haruki Murakami—now my favorite Japanese postmodern author—in the hopes of understanding Japanese way of life. There are some things Murakami won’t tell you, like how to make a peace sign with your index and middle finger, when taking photographs, to gain respect from the Japanese.
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The best place to start: www. japantravelinfo.com

Japan Rising

The picturesque Republic of The Gambia is covered with beach resorts and more than 300 species of birdlife. It’s one of Africa’s smallest countries and is surrounded by Senegal and the North Atlantic Ocean. The former British colony gained independence on February 18, 1965. Incumbent president, Yahya Jammeh, led a successful, bloodless military coup in 1994 and has been in power since winning the elections in 1996. Each term is five years and the constitution has no restriction on the number of terms allowed.
The country has few natural resource deposits and is heavily reliant on foreign aid. A third of the population depends on the agricultural sector, with one sixth of the country’s land being arable, and tourism is big due to its ecosystems, white beaches and close proximity to Europe.
The country wants to become West Africa’s regional center for processing, manufacturing, assembly and distribution. Currently a low income country, it wants to reach middle income status by 2020, using its Vision 2020 master plan.
It’s currently a net importer—exporting peanut products, cotton lint, palm kernels and fish, while importing foodstuffs, fuel, machinery and transport equipment. The majority of the country’s exports consist of re-exports to other African countries.
<div id="attachment_2120" style="width: 211px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-2120" class="size-medium wp-image-2120" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/C3EKDG-201x300.jpg" alt="" width="201" height="300" />C3EKDG</div>
While its human rights record is poor, The Gambia’s contractionary monetary and fiscal policies from late 2003 restored macroeconomic stability after inflation rose to a two-decade high of 17% in 2003—following uncontrolled and unbudgeted expenditures, a decline in tax revenue, a rise in domestic debt and a drought.
The general economic growth outlook for 2013 seems to be positive.
The country began to rebound in 2012; real GDP grew from -4.0% in 2011 to 6%. Growth is expected to continue on the back of recovery in the agricultural and tourism sectors. Inflation has remained in the single digits and is projected to climb to the central bank target of 5%.
The country suffered an agricultural harvest failure in 2011 and implemented the Program for Accelerated Growth and Employment (PAGE) 2012-2013, a new poverty reduction strategy. It takes 27 days to start a new business and the country has now dropped four places in the ease of doing business rankings, to sit at 147. It also ranks at 165 on the Human Development Index.
The Gambian financial system has evolved over the last several years, and is now liberalized. The country has moved to an indirect system of monetary controls using open market operations, increasing competition in the domestic financial system.
Treasury Bill yields are between 12.6% and 16.09% per annum.
Earlier this year, The Gambia introduced a 15% VAT. This led to some confusion among the locals and sharp increases in prices. These increases were also seen in non-taxable items such as rice and sugar. The introduction of the VAT is in compliance with ECOWAS’s tax reforms for its member states.
Structural changes have been made in the country and there are a number of projects underway. The government wants to find ways of enhancing domestic participation in mineral exploitation, improving education and improving infrastructure.

From A Coup  To A Rosy View

Luis Nhaca is as much a diplomat as a doorman. His is the first face you see as you arrive at the collonaded entrance to the Polana Hotel in Mozambique. For three decades, he has marshaled the guests, and their luggage, through the portals of one of Africa’s most famous hotels. Many of those who passed through gave a badge as a memento. Nhaca has 396 of them on his coat to show for years of diplomatic service on the door. His favorite is from his beloved football club in Portugal, Benfica—handed to him by club chairman Luís Felipe Vieira. Benfica has always kept close links with a country that produced many of its legends including: Mário Coluna; Eusébio and Vicente. All three Africans, from Mozambique, played in the 1966 World Cup in one of the greatest ever Portuguese teams.
Their careers were over, but not forgotten by Nhaca, when he started work at the Polana in 1979, aged 12, in the laundry room. Nhaca learned the ropes from his father, Simeão, who had worked at the hotel for decades, on his way to becoming the face of the Polana.
Down the years, Nhaca has greeted them all: Jimmy Carter; Bill Clinton; Thabo Mbeki; Kenneth Kaunda and Robert Mugabe. His favorite guest was Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the former president of Brazil.
“Not only was he always very friendly to me, when he used to dispatch his ministers to Mozambique, he used to instruct them to greet me on his behalf,” says Nhaca speaking in Portuguese through a translator, on the busy steps of the Polana.
By far, the visitor Nhaca misses most is the late Samora Machel, the charismatic first president of independent Mozambique; a man-of-the-people, if ever there was one.
“When he died, it left us with a scar,” says Nhaca.
Legend has it, Machel used to stroll between the marble pillars and under the sparkling chandeliers, in his green cap and army fatigues, greeting everyone from the cleaners to the concierge. Nhaca says Machel always insisted the hotel workers ate when he did at state banquets.
“Machel used to love Mozambican music. He used to sponsor a choir at the Polana and when he came here for dinner, he would ask them to sing for him by the pool. He would get very emotional and would get up and start dancing—his security men would surround him to shield him for fear he would hurt himself or fall in the pool!” says Nhaca with a smile.
The Polana may have been full of good cheer in the Machel years, but the business wasn’t. Independence, in 1975, saw the hotel run by the staff and used as a hostel for foreign workers. Supplies and spare parts were scarce and often staff would strip hardware from one floor to patch up a room on another.
The manager of the Polana, Miguel Afonso dos Santos, who left a five-star hotel in Lisbon to take up the job in Maputo, says in the lean days there were squares of newspaper, instead of toilet paper, in the bathrooms.
“The hotel had its ups and downs, but never stopped operating. When I said I was taking the job almost everyone I spoke to in Lisbon had a good memory to share with me. They would tell me that their grandparents were married in the hotel or their parents spent their honeymoon here,” says dos Santos.
The reality of running 142 rooms on a 10-acre site, so vast that it needs to employ 18 security guards as well as 400 workers, is not so romantic. When the Polana needs food or fittings, it has to import from South Africa, by road; shampoo or linen comes from Portugal by ship, taking up to five months.
“It is a problem because these days people want things now. We always have to keep one step ahead&#8230; I want to buy everything from Mozambique because it would take less time and make more sense. It is much better than it used to be, you can get a lot of things now from the local market, but I don’t know when the day will be when we can buy everything here. I have no idea,” says dos Santos.
Overall, dos Santos appears proud of a hotel that, despite being far from cheap, appears to have given the recession the slip. He says, this year, it is running at a capacity of 75% with plans to build 14 villas, in the expanse at the back that overlooks the sea, for long-stay guests. More than one in five of the guests are businesspeople from Portugal and South Africa. The hotel attracts its fair share of rich pop stars and playboys, but most come for business in a country riding a resource boom. On any given day, you can see the big deals being done in the restaurant overlooking the Indian Ocean.
A $25 million facelift, completed in 2011, shows the proprietors, an arm of the Nairobi-based, Serena Hotels, owned by the Aga Khan, are looking to the future for a building steeped in the past. It modernized the classic architectural lines drawn up by the Polana’s creator, Herbert Baker, nearly a century ago. The English architect also designed the Union Buildings and Pretoria Station, in South Africa.
“This is a demanding job, this is not just another hotel. I am responsible for a big brand. We host people like Ban Ki-moon—it is our responsibly to keep the mirror of the nation shining. When people come here from nations around the world they want to talk to me about what is happening in this country. I am almost a diplomat,” says dos Santos.
The man on the door agrees.

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