Sola Owoloja has been working in the business for five years; he understands how to please. He had to transport a comb from New York to Johannesburg. It must have been a very special comb. He naturally said: “Yes”. You have to.
The patron staying at a Johannesburg hotel had left the comb, given to her by her dying mother, in a hair salon in New York. West Chauffeurs got in touch with the New York hotel and within 48 hours the comb was hand delivered to the patron.
Running around, chauffeuring, catering to and cajoling the rich is what makes concierge services pay. On another occasion, a patron asked to deliver an elephant across the Atlantic to the United States as a gift to his daughter. Luckily, the request was not followed through, again Owoloja would have said: “Yes”.
“Integrity is very important. If you make a promise to your guest, you have to keep that promise. We made a promise to our guests. We will bend, we’re flexible. We’ll do anything to keep them satisfied,” says Owoloja.
In 2008, Owoloja and Kagiso Dumasi saw a gap in the market for a concierge company in South Africa that would cater for the needs of wealthy travelers. Owoloja oversees the operational, financial and recruitment side of the business, while Dumasi looks after the marketing.
West Chauffeurs can make dinner reservations; find scarce theater tickets and presents in a hurry, as well as deliver combs.
Nigerian-born Owoloja learnt early on at home, in Lagos, that you have to do business however you can.
In Lagos, while in his twenties, he dabbled in the supermarket business with a friend. He moved to South Africa with the hope of running an oil services company, but failed. He moved back home but later returned to South Africa to start a business with the little entrepreneurial experience under his belt.
“When the chips are down, in the face of adversity and massive challenges, you need to still inspire people to get them to see beyond the challenges of the day,” says Owoloja.
Their Johannesburg business prospered through a link to Quintessentially, a global luxury lifestyle company, known for its high net-worth clients.
With a little help from the National Empowerment Fund, West Chauffeurs increased its fleet from two cars to eight, after making more than R1 million ($108,800) in its second year.
They relocated from the central business district of Sandton to another affluent suburb, Melrose Arch. This opened up the business meetings market. The company had to swear its drivers to secrecy as many deals were struck on the road.
Towards the end of that year, an opportunity came to run the travel desk for two new five-star hotels in Cape Town but it all went downhill from there. The two found that they had expanded too quickly.
They had entered into unfamiliar territory, in an international tourist city that has well-established hotels. West Chauffeurs found itself exposed, a small business that relied too much on the hotels for guests for business. The two new hotels were unable to fill up enough rooms to secure business for West Chauffeurs. The Johannesburg office had to keep Cape Town afloat.
“For a small company, expansion should be managed very carefully. We were profitable in our first year, but we did not think through that move carefully. We expanded very quickly without the structures to manage the expansion in terms of cash flow, record keeping,” says Owoloja.
At the end of each month the business was short of around 65% of their costs, which they had to source from the profit made during the previous year.
“It dried up very quickly. We tried to get overdrafts, personal funds to pay salaries but it was quite difficult. We picked up heavy losses in Cape Town but yes those are lessons learnt. They were painful,” he adds with a chuckle.
Owoloja says a big mistake was for the company to go without a management account and financial statements for nearly a year.
But that’s all in the past now. In early 2011, West Chauffeurs packed up office in Cape Town and focused on business at its headquarters in Johannesburg, where the company was doing well.
They signed a contract to run the travel desk for the five-star African Pride’s Melrose Arch Hotel located in the trendy precinct. Again, they struggled with being too small and having to run a high occupancy hotel with demanding clients. The hotels patrons were skeptical about making use of their services because they were much smaller than established car rental companies.
Through it all, things started to look up. The company now turns over nearly $800,000 annually.
“We went from nothing to quite a bit. There’s this very nice feeling that comes with making things work,” says Owoloja.
West Chauffeurs currently has twelve cars and employs 17 drivers and consultants. They drive clients from First Bank of Nigeria, Liberty Life and Barclays, to mention but a few.
One of their biggest achievements was beating more established companies to drive members traveling with the British Lions during their rugby tour to South Africa in 2009.
The softly spoken Owoloja says they are wary of leaping without looking, the scars of the Cape Town run deep. For now, their plans are to grow other services within the West Chauffeur brand in Johannesburg and capture the leisure market.
Surely, when the time is right, the answer will be: “Yes”.

The perils of the “yes” business

“And the Oscar goes to&#8230;”.
Five little words that caused writer and director Bryan Buckley to draw a deep breath:
“When you hear those words&#8230; and you happen to be one of the five guys it could possibly go to, it is, in itself, a crazy thought. It simply just doesn’t seem real. All the films could have easily won that night. And mentally you know this going into the evening. If I didn’t think we had put everything we had into our film, perhaps I would have been disappointed in myself and thought about what we didn’t nail in the film when the winner [Curfew] was announced. But I knew this wasn’t the case. It just wasn’t our night,” says Buckley.
<div id="attachment_1690" style="width: 209px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1690" class="size-medium wp-image-1690" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/162620158-199x300.jpg" alt="" width="199" height="300" />Bryan Buckley and Mino Jarjoura with Harun and Ali Mohamed, on the red carpet</div>
He was in Los Angeles, California, at the 85th Academy Awards, where he was nominated for best live action short for ASAD—a tale of refugees, in Somalia. Sitting nervously by his side were the two leads, 14-year-old Harun Mohamed and his 12-year-old brother Ali. The day had flown by, moments before they were walking the red carpet alongside the A-listers—including Ben Affleck, Daniel Day-Lewis and Ang Lee—and doing interviews.
“The BBC was the first to interview the boys. Harun stepped forward to the microphone and began to talk about his journey in English. How far he had come, had never been so apparent. He and Ali were constantly asked what celeb they wanted to meet the most at the ceremony. And without question Harun would say Jackie Chan and Ali would say Jean-Claude Van Damme,” says Buckley.
It was a journey that began with the filming of ASAD in Africa.
Buckley is the last person you would expect to make a film about Somalia. His business is big-budget Super Bowl (American football) commercials for a quarter of a billion dollars with an audience of more than a million. Conversations with Somali refugees motivated him to create the short film with little commercial value or audience.
It all started in Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya, in 2010, where Buckley was shooting a documentary called No Autographs for the UN Human Right’s Council. He left with that feeling of hope in the face of despair. A year later he wrote ASAD.
The film was set in Somalia and shot in Cape Town. It tells the story of a young boy who must choose between life as a pirate or that of a humble fisherman. The entire cast was made up of refugees who had fled to South Africa.
Buckley says the biggest problem in producing the 18-minute short-film was overcoming the language barrier as both leads, Harun and Ali, were illiterate.
“We knew language, with the whole cast, was going to be a barrier by virtue that we were doing the entire film in Somali and I didn’t speak a single word of it. Right off the bat we enlisted in two Somali translators [who helped the boys memorize the script]&#8230; Both the boys are exceedingly bright. They picked up on things so quickly it was crazy. And then I’d act out some stuff and they would study it and follow. Always bringing their own twist. of course, like any Hollywood star would.”
The filming was taxing and Buckley struggled to shoot scenes with the rebels.
“There was just so much emotion there between them [the rebels] and the boys. It was quite clear this wasn’t the first time these refugees had handled guns. I kept thinking what horrible ghosts were haunting them after every take. And how bizarre [it was that] our cameras were recording every second of this nightmare.”
The international acclaim came with praise from Somali musician K’naan.
“He is truly a man who has supported Somalia and its people’s plight more than anyone I know. He said, ‘ASAD is an important film. It makes human the inaccurate caricature of Somalia, showing real people, a community and life beyond a land of pirates and warlords,’” he says.
The film won numerous awards at various international film festivals, including the Tribeca Film Festival and San Jose Film Festival. The Academy Awards nomination was the cherry on top but the leads almost didn’t make their big moment in Hollywood.
“The fact that they [Harun and Ali] didn’t have travel documents and that they were Somali refugees did not help matters. ASAD’s producer Mino Jarjoura worked around the clock with [South African producer] Rafiq Samsodien to get the kids there. It took government officials from both the US and South Africa, along with UNHCR to pull off the task. And they did so, in dramatic and perfect timing.”
Regardless of the outcome the team celebrated making it to the Oscars with a toast. After the ceremony they attended the prestigious Governor’s Ball.
Buckley may have walked away empty-handed but he and his two young leads stood tall for one of Africa’s untold stories.

From Mogadishu to Hollywood

For a better part of the 1990s and the early 2000s, the mere mention of the name Sierra Leone conjured up images of amputees, brutal execution, abandoned children and fleeing refugees.
It is estimated that between 1991 and 2001—a mere 30 years after gaining independence from Britain—more than 50 000 people died in Sierra Leone and over two million were displaced in neighboring countries as refugees. Their country had fallen into the wrong hands of military juntas that had no regard whatsoever for human life, the constitution and accompanying freedoms.
So, few believed the optimism of African Union leaders, and United Nations’ Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who asserted that “a key benchmark for peace” would indeed be achieved on November 17, 2012, the day the six–million-people West African nation successfully took to the polls to elect a president, parliamentarians and local councilors.
Notwithstanding a few eyebrow-raising moments—among them the main opposition’s initial refusal to accept the outcome of the election—Sierra Leoneans have since shown a determination to put one of Africa’s most deadly civil wars behind them, and are now rolling up their sleeves getting ready for reconciliation, national cohesion, infrastructure reconstruction and economic development.
Some skeptics still doubt whether the mineral-rich country has put its past behind it and is now officially open for business. They will get their answer from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), who, following a staff mission to Sierra Leone towards the end of last year, found that economic growth had in fact already “strengthened in recent years, driven by expansion in agriculture, services and construction activities. Real GDP growth increased from 3.2% in 2009 to 6% in 2011. The coming on stream of iron ore production in late 2011 is expected to boost growth and exports significantly in 2012 and beyond. Inflationary pressures have trended downwards since mid-2011, aided by a sharp fall in non-food inflation, a tight monetary policy stance, and stability in the exchange rate. The external position is set to benefit from increased mining exports and reduced iron ore-related imports.”
On a continent that is fast getting global investors drooling, but frustrating them equally by making it tough to do business, Sierra Leone is among those countries that are trying to act fast to rectify that problem.
The recently released Doing Business 2013 report, published by the World Bank and its subsidiary, the International Finance Corporation, finds Sierra Leone to have improved its “ease of doing business” record, from number 148 in 2012 to 140 this year, out of a total of 185 economies surveyed.
But that’s not to say its all hunky dory. As the World Bank observes, “in spite of its remarkable strides and reforms since the war ended in 2002, problems of poor infrastructure—including roads and energy—low capacity, youth unemployment, high maternal and infant mortality, widespread rural impoverishment, impact of the global economic downturns, and lapses in public financial management and governance still persist.
“There is also the daunting challenge of enhancing transparency in managing the country’s vast natural resources,” World Bank economists say.
Following “candid and constructive discussions” with Sierra Leonean decision makers, IMF officials write: “The medium-term prospects are favorable. However, they are subject to downside risks related to the uncertain global economic outlook and potential adverse movements in commodity prices for Sierra Leone. To support broad-based growth and reduce the economy’s vulnerability to exogenous shocks, the authorities would need to sustain efforts to improve the business environment and address impediments to growth.
“Key among these are continued investment in infrastructure to support productivity gains in the private sector, increased economic diversification, and broader access to financial services, particularly for small- and medium-sized enterprises to create employment opportunities. The mission welcomed progress in the preparation of the authorities’ new poverty reduction and growth strategy, the Agenda for Prosperity, which outlines policies and reforms to address Sierra Leone’s developmental challenges.”
Citing as an example the performance of a program the IMF is sponsoring in the country, “the mission found that all quantitative performance criteria and indicative targets were met, and that progress was being made in implementing the government’s privatization agenda. With support from the IMF and other development partners, the authorities prepared legislation outlining fiscal regimes for natural resources.”
Diamonds from Sierra Leone is a Grammy-winning song released in 2005 by American rap musicians Kanye West and Jay-Z. It should be music to anyone’s ears that legislators are hard at work, trying to ensure that the erstwhile “blood” diamonds that the musicians sang about and which were once mined and sold ostensibly by warlords to buy weapons and fuel atrocities, will now benefit the country’s six million people, a great majority of whom remain dirt poor.
Sierra Leone is also endowed with some of the world’s best bauxite, rutile, gold and iron ore, but the country is also diversifying, moving away from a heavy dependence on minerals, although the pace of that diversification is still slow.
The economy is now being led by sectors other than minerals. The country’s official figures put agriculture’s contribution at 58.5% of the GDP, services industries at 10.4%, trade and tourism at 9.5%, wholesale and retail trade 9%, mining and quarrying at 4.5%, government services at 4%, manufacturing and handicrafts at 2%, construction 1.7% and electricity and water at 0.4%.
As to which of these sectors will take the lead in the drive to ensure that Sierra Leone no longer remains one of the poorest countries in the world, the answer may lie in whether the rest of the world sees the enormity of the challenge still facing the country as a hindrance, or an investment opportunity.

The Journey Of A Thousand Miles

In the 1800s, Europeans referred to Africa as the “dark continent”, although the Victorian term has fallen from usage, until recently it accurately described the approach of foreign investors to Africa. Risk was thought to be too high, returns too low. A decade ago, the region’s share of FDI was less than one-tenth of the amount flowing into Asia or Latin America. Until a few years ago, a single company, Exxon Mobil, was worth more than all of Africa’s listed companies put together, excluding those of South Africa.
But what a difference a few years can make. Since the financial crisis hit in 2008, there has been a dramatic shift in how investors view Africa. One of the markets that has best epitomized this change is Ghana.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-1598" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/one-300x199.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="199" />
The West African county was near the top of worldwide tables in 2011 in terms of GDP growth with a rate of more than 14%. 2012 figures were equally robust, coming in at above 8.5% buoyed by strong growth in the non-oil sector of 8%. While the country is largely dependent on commodities for export revenues, increased activity in housing, construction and banking has spurred an expansion of the services sector, which makes up more than half of GDP.
Last year saw a gradual depreciation in the cedi, which fell by around 14% against the dollar, driven by increased demand for imports. While the country’s robust growth also stoked inflationary pressures, at least over the short-term, the CPI fell to 8.8% in December—its thirty-first consecutive month of single-digit inflation.
The country benefited from a statistical rebasing a few years earlier, which dramatically improved data collection and accuracy. As a result, the country was catapulted into middle-income status.
The biggest recent watershed moment for the country is as a result of its newfound oil and gas reserves. The offshore Jubilee field, discovered in 2007, began production in record time, with the first barrel being lifted at the end of 2010. The speed with which Ghana went about capitalizing on its new oil wealth, 42 months from discovery to production, led to a few hiccups. For four months, light, sweet crude flowed without a regulatory framework to determine how the revenue would be channeled and how future production would be handled. Eventually, the Petroleum Revenue Management Bill was put in place. It allocates a proportion of revenue to future generation funds and price stabilization funds and some $444 million worth of oil revenue flowed into government coffers by the end of 2011. The production, in relation to the country’s overall economy, is modest and by some estimates will work out to around $50 per capita annually but the rush of investment into the sector—and ancillary industries, such as construction and services—helped ensure the country was one of the largest FDI destinations in Africa last year.
Associated gas deposits in the field brim with equally promising potential, particularly in terms of domestic industrial and electricity production, although timing has been problematic. Currently, with a ban on flaring and no offtake infrastructure, gas has been re-injected into the deposits but at a certain point this will negatively affect oil production. As a result, the country has been racing over the past year to finalize infrastructure for its gas master plan, which will see the construction of more than $750 million worth of new processing and pipeline infrastructure by China’s SINOPEC. Gas is due to begin flowing to the newly-built Aboadze power plant over the next month or two—and none too soon, given the blackouts last year when the country’s alternative gas supply, the West African Gas Pipeline, experienced supply shortages.
While hydrocarbons dominate the headlines, Ghana’s traditional commodities have provided the bulk of revenues in recent years. Cocoa, which indirectly supports more than one-sixth of the population, had a successful year with an estimated production figure of 860,000 tons, down slightly from the previous year but enough to make it the world’s second largest producer. The distribution of more than 20,000 new hybrid seedlings and efforts to improve the ability of small farmers to tend and replace their crops, looks set to strengthen output over the medium-term.
Similarly, gold, which accounts for roughly 40% of exports, grew by double-digit figures over 2012. Although production fell slightly, higher prices on international markets helped keep prices afloat and fund new exploration in marginal deposits. Ghana has revamped its regulatory scheme, introducing a new bidding system and increasing the fiscal burden for operators, including a windfall tax and higher royalties.
Of course, with all this laudable growth comes a note of caution. This rapid change must be managed carefully, for the downside risks facing the country are sizable. Ghana was the third-largest recipient of FDI in Africa last year, but it remains worryingly dependent on commodities. Gold, cocoa and oil dominate exports and while Ghana is not as sensitive to price fluctuations as it was in the 1980s, when the economy seesawed according to international prices, volatility still impacts overall performance. Furthermore, labor-intensive activities such as manufacturing remain marginalized, exacerbating unemployment and weakening the balance of payments. The benefits of the economic boom have been disproportionately concentrated in the south and development in the north lags significantly.
However, Ghana has the ideal foundation for future growth. It has natural resources, policy stability and reasonable infrastructure and it has benefited accordingly. But exporting raw materials, by sending gold and cocoa elsewhere for processing, is a short-term solution. The country has begun aggressively encouraging increased value-added production in the secondary and tertiary sectors, to improve the sustainability and inclusiveness of growth and to ensure that the country’s current performance is not a temporary blip.

Gas And Cocoa Oils Ghana Growth

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), or as they are more commonly known drones, are the latest technology boom that is growing exponentially across the globe and African skies are seeing an increasing number of them too.
What are drones? And how do they work?  Briefly, they are aircraft without a human pilot flying inside. They are flown either by operators sitting in control rooms hundreds, or even thousands of kilometers away, using satellite feeds or radio signals, or increasingly, many drones are flown entirely by computer.
Most people have a vague idea that the Americans have been flying strange unmanned vehicles, called Predators and Reapers over the skies of Afghanistan and Pakistan to spy on and often kill suspected Taliban or other militants. What is startling is the growth of drones in the military. A decade ago, according to a recent article in Time Magazine, there were only 50 drones in the Pentagon fleet, now there are some 7,500 and more than a third of the US Air Force fleet is unmanned.
<div id="attachment_1594" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1594" class="size-medium wp-image-1594" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Tsepo-Monaheng-pic2-300x217.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="217" />Tsepo Monaheng, CEO, Denel Dynamics</div>
The military use of drones, particularly by the States, is troubling but it is a reality that is not going away. And one which has changed the nature of warfare. The Bureau of Investigative Journalism reports that there have been some 360 drone strikes in Pakistan, killing up to 3,500 people—over 300 of the strikes have been ordered by the Obama administration—while there have been multiple strikes in Yemen and Somalia. The US confirmed, as far back as 2011, that it had been operating Reaper drones alongside Ethiopian forces battling al-Shabaab militias in Somalia. They also have secret drone bases in the Horn of Africa, the Seychelles and Burkina Faso.  The government of Niger recently gave the US the green light to operate surveillance drones to help monitor the movement of extremist groups in the Sahara and Sahel. The US and France are certainly sharing intelligence over ongoing events in Mali, although there are no confirmed reports of drone strikes as of going to print.
The largest manufacturer of drones in Africa is Denel Dynamics based outside Pretoria, South Africa. They have been making drones and other Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) since the 1980s. They make four different drones aimed at both the commercial and military markets.
Their flagship product is the Seeker 400; it is the only long range tactical UAV made on the continent. It is an upgrade on the successful Seeker II, which was exported to two other countries, neither of which can be disclosed, but Denel Dynamics has “Clients in Africa, Asia and the Middle East, South America, especially Brazil. We are not considering entering the market in North America but in Europe there might be some possibilities,” says deputy CEO of Denel Dynamics, Tsepo Monaheng.The Seeker 400 is what Monaheng describes as an entry-level long range UAV.  In the industry, it is known as a ‘MALE’ or Medium Altitude Long Endurance drone. It can remain airborne for 16 hours and carries two payloads so that it can operate different cameras on the same flight, say, a high-resolution optical camera and an infrared one. It has a range of 250 kilometers and relies on line-of-sight communications. It has the potential to be upgraded for satellite links but at this stage, “We cannot hand control of the communications to a third party”.
The Seeker 400 is also designed to carry an armed payload if necessary. “None of our drones carry weapons at the moment but the system can be customized for different client requirements,” he says.
So, South Africa is a potential player in the game of international drone warfare.
“We can sell anywhere that is morally okay. Anywhere our country is okay with,” says Monaheng.
At the moment only the States, United Kingdom and Israel are known to have used armed drones. But as the pressure builds on South Africa to become more involved in continental peace-keeping missions, the questions of who to sell drones to will become a foreign policy dilemma that could have political ramifications. South Africa will, in the near future, have to contend with the growing use of drones by other militaries, especially by Western forces, on the continent and decide what the country’s response to this will be.
Johan Potgieter of the Institute for Security Studies explains that  in the recent conflict in the DRC, after the M23 rebels had taken control of parts of the east, there was renewed interest in the United Nation’s (UN) use of at least three drones to get real-time information for their peacekeeping forces.
“The US had trained the Ugandan forces in the utilization of drones because the UN had agreed to it but then the Rwandans complained.”
What most vexed the Rwandans was their national sovereignty being violated by drones—an issue for which, at this stage, international law has few, if any, precedents or guidelines.
“Africa shall not become a laboratory for intelligence devices from overseas,” says Olivier Nduhungirehe, Rwanda’s deputy UN ambassador.
Where South Africa, as the largest drone manufacturer and exporter on the continent, might place itself on this question is anybody’s guess at this stage.
“Africa is very sensitive about other people interfering in their airspace—as they’ve often got something to hide,” says Potgieter.
The questions raised on the matter in international politics are only going to proliferate, and the military drones themselves are going to get more and more sophisticated. In recent years, however, there has been a rapidly growing parallel development of simpler and far less expensive drones for civilian use.
“There has been an evolution in thinking about UAV technology. They can be used to courier information, blood samples, data of all kinds. They used them at Fukushima to monitor radiation levels. You can use them wherever you don’t want humans to be involved,” says Monaheng.
With this in mind, Denel Dynamics has developed a much smaller drone called the Hungwe, which is small enough to be transported in a single commercial 4&#215;4 vehicle.
“The design concept is for it to be used in civilian airspace. The challenge is to work with the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority).”
Civilian drone technology, both local and international, is developing so fast that it is now prompting a rapid review of South Africa’s aviation laws to integrate drones for civilian use into our air space, as currently there are no regulations for the use of UAVs outside of restricted military airspace.
According to Sam Twala, certification engineer for CAA: ‘This is not a unique problem to South Africa, the whole world is still searching for a working solution.  The UAV interim policy of 2009 is under review and we hope to have something out by the end of this year. But we need to find a solution that not only suits the South African market but harmonizes with the international market”.
There is huge economic potential for both military and civilian drones.
“UAVs are a successful business for us. Our turnover is about R200 million ($22.5 million) and we employ about 90 people. But the industry is growing and we want a big chunk of that and we expect to grow 10% year-on-year.”
At the moment the potential for making money in the civilian drone business is still at a sort of Klondike stage; everyone knows that there is gold out there but no one knows exactly where it is or how to get hold of it.
A 2012 market study by defense consultants TEAL group predicts that global UAV spending will almost double in the next decade from $6.6 billion to $11.4 billion bringing it up to $89 billion over the decade. But really, who knows? It could be even bigger if certain conditions are met: appropriate legislation, enough air space being made available and the technology being safe enough to operate successfully.
The second biggest players in the African market, Advanced Technologies and Engineering (ATE), are currently undergoing cash flow problems but they have over 15 years of experience in the industry and are confident that a turnaround is near.
“The applications for non-passenger UAVs are unlimited. The only restriction is legislation. The CAA is key but so is ICASA [Independent Communications Authority of South Africa]—they have to make bandwidth available to the industry. We need regulation urgently for different classes and types of UAVs.  We can create an airspace where only UAVs operate. There are two types of aircraft: unpressurized planes fly beneath 12,000 feet, most pressurized craft fly over 28,000 feet, so there is a whole band of airspace that UAVs could operate in,” says Jan Vermeulen, programs manager at ATE.
Their main UAV products are the Vulture Tactical UAS used to assist long-range artillery with finding targets and correcting both aim and range. The mobile Vulture is launched by catapult off the back of a truck, while the Sentinel-LE UAS uses a similar flight body but takes off and lands on a runway.
“We don’t make armed UAVs. Definitely not,” Vermeulen points out.
Like Denel Dynamics, they won’t reveal the identity of their clients but Africa, the Middle East and Asia are on the list.
Perhaps their most innovative project is one that is stalled for the moment as the company’s financial position is being considered. Using a tiny UAS called a KIWIT weighing less than 4 kilograms, they developed a system in conjunction with the National Health Laboratory Service. The KIWIT, guided by a PC, would fly from a small rural clinic, carrying a blood sample to a laboratory or hospital with laboratory services. The KIWIT is then programed to drop the sample by parachute and return to the clinic for another load.
“We got a 97 out of 100 success rate but the program is now stalled because of [air space] regulations,” says Vermeulen.
When asked about the future of the company Vermeulen is positive.
“The last two years our turnover was on average R100 million ($11.26 million) a year but we had one big overseas contract who didn’t pay and our cash flow was badly affected. Everything depends on the new owners but we have the potential to do amazing things.”
It’s uncertain exactly how big the UAV manufacturing sector is in South Africa but there are successful smaller companies like Tellumat, which specialize in avionics for UAVs and exhibited at last year’s African Aerospace and Defense show in South Africa.
S-Plane Automation is a Cape Town-based UAV manufacturer, which builds the Swift and Nightingale drones.
“They are both still in development phase. The Swift is a tactical class surveillance UAV, not designed for armaments, that can fly at 18,000 feet. The Nightingale is a much smaller unit, with a wingspan of only 1.5 meters,” says technical director Iain Peddle.
The company’s website explains that they were designed, like ATE’s KIWIT, to transport blood samples.
S-Plane is still working on its UAVs.
“At the moment they are not mature products. We prefer, for the time being, not to compete with the Denels. We are staying in the sub-system market, flight computers, simulators, power managements systems.”
The Swift and Nightingale are elegant machines that are potentially extremely versatile. Peddle won’t go on the record about what their turnover is.
“It’s a sensitive industry but let’s say we’re a growing player. We’ve gone from 6 or 7 engineers to about 20 now.”
Small companies, such as S-Plane, are part of an exploding international market.  A 2012 report by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) on drone proliferation states that the number of countries possessing drones has risen to 76, with over 50 countries developing more than 900 UAV systems.
The South African UAV market faces stiff competition. Potgieter points out that, “Seeker is not necessarily cheap. In an open market it will be relatively easy to find a tested and proven UAV that is much more competitive”.
“China and Israel are our biggest competitors. They put together a whole package where they give a country UAVs and build an airport in exchange for, say, coal. We still operate in a traditional business way, where we have to receive money for our product,” says Monaheng.
Perhaps the most immediately pressing and exciting development for civilian and tactical unarmed UAVs in Africa, is their potential for combatting rhino poaching. Damien Mander, an Australian ex-Special Forces soldier and Iraq veteran, who founded the International Anti-Poaching Foundation has pioneered the use of small drones in tracking elephant poachers in Niassa province, Mozambique. He is developing a scheme to track poachers and watch over rhinos in the Hoedspruit area of Limpopo Province in South Africa.
“There are heaps of drones on the market that have a 20-40 kilometer capability. The drones that conservationists need cost $250,000. The components that go into them cost $100,000 tops. The rest of the price is intellectual property. We don’t have that kind of money so we are developing a UAV that is sold for the cost of its parts,” he says.
Mander has assembled an experienced team that is building the UAVs in Australia.
“You can find the parts on diydrones.com, from all over the place. We want to stay comfortably behind the technology curve. We want them to be affordable, easy to operate in rough remote areas and easy to repair.”
He aims to get five airframes to South Africa by September and pending CAA approval, hopes they will be used against poachers soon.
The unparalleled surveillance capabilities of drones mean that very soon they will become standard equipment for law enforcement. Clearly, they can be used to track criminals, watch borders, guard key installations, help protect VIPs among a number of other uses.
They take us into a 21st century world of Big Brother legal issues. What does their use mean for privacy and entrapment issues? CAA concerns aside, lawyers, legislators and courts are going to have to rewrite a number of laws within the ambit of this new and growing technology. In the very near future, at, say for example, the massacre of miners in Marikana, there will be police drones recording crowd movements; anticipating where they might move next; pinpointing individuals with GPS and face recognition software. Some of them will probably be armed with tear gas or, perhaps, even missiles. At the same time, the mine owners will have their own drones flying overhead, as will the unions and this is not to mention that all the major news companies will most likely have drones too. There will be so many competing streams of information that can be cross-referenced that the whole nature of the investigation will be changed.
The psychological, social and economic effects of this are difficult to predict.  Increasingly, drones will become an indispensable tool of the media. We will expect to watch events across the world in real-time video fed from drones overhead edited in with pictures from cameras and cellphones from journalists and even members of the public on the ground as they are happening. Live broadcasts have been around for decades but drone technology takes it to a new level. Journalists will be able to fly drones over police cordons, prison walls, national borders to be able to bring the events to their audience. Laws might make certain areas or events out of bounds to drones but there will be equally compelling arguments in favor of freedom of expression and the public’s right to know. In purely practical terms, to prevent drones being used, the police might have to shoot them out of the sky or interrupt their flight control signals, which will potentially bring them crashing down. We’ve hardly even begun to imagine what the widespread availability and use of drones will mean for the future.
The unstoppable morphing of drones from the military to civilian worlds and the inevitable growth in their availability and use is not all good news. As Vermeulen points out, “Any guy can buy the components and, with a little bit of technical knowledge, slap them together and then you have a drone.”
The web is filled with sites such as the DroneZone.co.za; www.SMac.co.za (SMart Automotive Components) or even Amazon and Kalahari where you can buy small drones like the Parrot that is operated off an iPhone. The smallest drones available are called MAVs (Micro Air Vehicles) and their designs are inspired by bird and insect wings. In the last month, the British military announced that it was providing its forces in Afghanistan with a 16g Norwegian-designed Black Hornet Nano drone, the size of a weaver bird.
Criminals and killers can all buy these drones and the components to upgrade them for more ominous uses. A recent piece in the Spectator described how in the near future the software will exist for drones to fly autonomously and to make their own ‘kill’ decision based entirely on computer algorithms with no element of human choice involved.
Drones are going to change everything. Soon. Society will have to struggle constantly with their dark, and potentially deadly, aspects but they also represent the next frontier for entrepreneurs. Their potential is enormous. They can be used to courier parcels, monitor flocks of sheep, check the fences on game farms, film aerial shots for movies, find natural disaster victims, monitor schools of fish in the oceans and the illegal trawlers that go after them, survey pirates, rescue yachtsmen in distress, provide live traffic updates, check the quality of soils on wine estates. Their uses are endless.
As Twala says: “UAVs are the future. In the next five years, UAVs will change our lives as much as cellphones did. The list is limited only by one’s imagination”.

There’s One  Flying Near You

Even though Copenhagen is a small city, a mere 88 square kilometers in size, being centrally located is important if you’re on a tight schedule. However, if you do need to use public transport, there is free Wi-Fi on subways, trams and buses. The Lakes, a popular jogging ground, are within walking distance from Nørreport, the main train station.
There is no need to worry if you forgot to pack an umbrella—it rains on average 155 days in a year—need a shirt or want to invest in a well-fitting suit. Copenhagen has the world’s longest pedestrian zone of more than a kilometer, which is lined with shops that sell everything from international brands to Scandinavian fashion. Strøget Street, with its exclusive Illum department store, is the most popular shopping street, while Gammel Mønt, Store Regnegade and Pilestræde have a range of stylish, independent shops.
Take a stroll down Bredgade from here, through one of the oldest parts of Copenhagen until you come to Amalienborg, the home of the Danish royal family, and the impressive Marble Church, built in 1740. Not far from there is the Langelinie promenade and pier, home of the Little Mermaid statue, Copenhagen’s icon, that was donated by Carl Jacobsen, a brewer of Denmark’s famous Carlsberg beer.
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The city’s hour-long canal boat tours will also take you past the mermaid and offer views of the most important landmarks, including the Royal Library, nicknamed the Black Diamond because of its dark glass façade. The library is not only worth a visit because of its modern architecture. Its coffee shop offers free Wi-Fi and one can look out onto the water through the enormous glass façade.
The Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, designed by world-renowned Danish architect Arne Jacobsen, towers over the city center. Its lobby is outfitted with Jacobsen’s original Egg and Swan chairs. To learn more about Jacobsen and his contemporaries, who made Denmark famous for its classic ‘Nordic Cool’ style, visit to the Design Museum and the Danish Design Center. You will get an important insight into the Danes’ mindset: design counts as much as functionality.
The most popular way to get around in Copenhagen is by bicycle. One in three residents use their bike to get to work along the city’s more than 300 kilometers of cycling lanes. Bikes are a great way to explore the city and because Copenhagen is flat, cycling is easy. Arriving at a business meeting on a bike will impress your Danish counterparts. The best part: cycling will cost you nothing, as the municipality provides bicycles free of charge at more than 100 locations throughout the city. They even have a built-in map to show you the way.
If you can’t get yourself to ride a bike, show that you are environmentally conscious by renting an electric car. At $67 a day, it’s cheaper than regular car rentals and parking is free for electric cars throughout the city. It’s all part of Copenhagen’s goal to become the world’s first CO2-neutral capital by 2025.
Surrounded by the North Sea, Denmark is famous for its fish, which makes a seafood restaurant an obvious choice. Fiskebaren, located in the über-trendy meatpacking district Kødbyen, specializes in locally caught fish and shellfish and is as renowned for its minimalist, industrial interior—the aquarium in the center of the space doubles as a fish bar—and its creative dishes. Copenhagen’s restaurants belong to the most expensive in Europe and a 15% service charge is added to the bill.
Noma, voted the world’s top restaurant in 2010 and 2011, is certainly the place to celebrate a business deal. But to get a table at this two Michelin-starred establishment, where Chef René Redzepi only serves produce from Nordic countries, you’ll either have to get very lucky or know far in advance that you will be coming: reservations have to be made as much as a year in advance.
A low-key alternative, ideal for lunch, is Denmark’s national dish, smørrebrød, which are delicious open sandwiches made from dark rye bread and topped with a variety of delicacies, such as Danish meat balls, fried fish, eggs, herring, roast pork or shrimps. Restaurant Schønnemann has been making smørrebrød since 1877; while Ida Davidsen—(with a restaurant of the same name) who is known as the ‘queen of smørrebrød’—has delivered her sandwiches all the way to Hollywood.
The capital’s new culinary hot spot, Torvehallerne, an upscale covered market with more than 80 stalls, gives a good overview of Danish delicacies such as local cheeses, organic sausages, artisanal honey, breads, olive oils, seasonal fruit and vegetables, fresh fish, wines and specialties from small Danish islands. Copenhageners are the biggest consumers of organic produce in the world. Anything fitting the buzzwords: green, sustainable, ethical and social, will sell here.
The city’s best cocktail bar, Ruby Bar, is a great place to relax. Invite your business partners to enjoy a Champagne Figure, a cocktail made from homemade fig puree, bitter chocolate, absinthe and champagne. Another good place to network is the Nørrebro Bryghus, one of Copenhagen’s famous micro-breweries. This beer bar belongs to former Carlsberg master brewer Anders Kissmeyer, who invents a new beer at least once a month. There are dozens of different beers to choose from and most are limited editions.
To show your business partners true commitment to Scandinavia, take them for a drink at the Icebar, Copenhagen’s coolest bar… literally. All its interiors—from the walls to the bar counter, furniture and cocktail glasses—are made from natural snow and ice harvested far above the Arctic Circle. Needless to say, the bar has to be kept at sub-zero temperatures to keep it from melting. But don’t worry, you’ll be given a cozy outfit that will keep you warm.

Glide Through Copenhagen For Free

Over the past two years, Egypt has undergone a significant transformation, not only politically but also economically. The protests in Cairo’s downtown Tahrir Square, in January 2011, have had a wide-ranging impact not only on the country’s political composition, but also on its short- and medium-term economic performance. While the ups and downs since the revolution have been palpable, the downs obviously more so; the long-term fundamentals of Egypt remain just as appealing as they were in the years leading up to former President Mubarak’s ousting. Provided investors are willing to ride out the immediate uncertainty, the prospects for growth are encouraging.
In the pre-crisis days of 2007 and 2008, Egypt was racking up GDP growth in excess of 7% and services like telecommunications were growing by double digits annually; tourism jumped up by as much as 21% in one year. The country’s stock market, one of the continent’s largest both in terms of listed firms and capitalization, attracted significant inflows from foreign institutional investors, while the banking sector—leaner and meaner after several years of consolidation and robust regulation—saw a drop in non-performing loans and an increase in profitability.
But the combination of falling global demand, together with revolutionary instability, meant that GDP growth last year fell to 1.8%. Growth in 2012  was only slightly better, at 2%, while forecasts for 2013 are at a solid but lower-than-needed 3%. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) fell by more than $10 billion in 2011 and key sectors, like tourism, have slumped, contracting by nearly 6% over the most recent fiscal year. Industrial action has depressed manufacturing output in labor-intensive sectors even as official unemployment has risen to 12%, not counting the vast ranks of the underemployed.
Egypt faces problems that have been exacerbated by the revolution—including some very pressing long-term political questions, ranging from the creation of a new constitution to improving institutional trust—but among the more urgent challenges is the lack of inclusive growth. The subsidy debate highlights this most acutely. Government grants and social benefits made up roughly one-third of total expenditure in the 2011/12 fiscal year, which runs from June to June, according to the ministry of finance. Reducing the burden is a priority for President Mohamed Morsi’s new government, yet reforming subsidies carries not only significant political risk but also fails to alleviate the pressure on the most vulnerable portions of the population. As a result, steps have been tentative at best. The focus has been primarily on energy subsidies and the most recent version of the 2012/13 budget from May 2012 sought a reduction in fuel subsidies by some 27%, with consumption-intensive industries seeing the most significant increase in costs. Food subsidies have been left untouched.
The country is also grappling with an increasingly hollow labor structure, which exacerbates income inequality. Figures from Egypt’s Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) show that unemployment among university graduates reached 18.9% in 2010 and a similar study in 2012 revealed that demand for high- and low-skilled workers is outstripping that for middle-skilled employees, dampening social mobility and constraining opportunities for the middle class.
However, for a short period there was a steady stream of more encouraging news, which while not exactly pointing to a full-fledged recovery, hinted at a more hopeful outlook. Growth forecasts for 2013 were pegged at 3%, still far lower than what is needed but nonetheless comparatively robust. Headline inflation, which reached as high as 18% in the pre-crisis years, dropped to a far more manageable 5.4% in August. Similarly, yields on a number of Egyptian bonds had eased to some of their lowest levels in nearly a year in September when the country hawked its first floating-rate bonds. Around roughly the same time, Moody’s reaffirmed its B2 rating for Egyptian sovereign bonds, due in part to an improving political outlook, along with a more stable external payments position, stronger macroeconomic conditions and a restart of International Monterary Fund (IMF) negotiations—all of which spelled good news for the government.
By the end of the year, however, things began to look rocky again, with the pound dropping precipitously, from 6.05 to the dollar to 6.30 to the dollar. Deficit estimates from the current     fiscal year, ending in June, may hit up to 10% of GDP. Combined with continuing political instability in the wake of protests over the constitutional referendum, the spate of worsening indicators is far from encouraging for Egypt’s policymakers.
The IMF loan, which could be worth up to $4.8 billion, is particularly important in terms of strengthening investor confidence, which has been hit hard not only by the broader uncertainty but also by regulatory hiccups and governance scandals, particularly in sectors such as real estate and construction. However, with one of the most attractive price-earnings ratios in the region, Egypt’s firms remain extremely attractive on a value basis and the country’s stock market has rebounded by more than 37% in recent months.
There is still potential for a turnaround for the country’s economy, but if this momentum is to be sustained in the years to come, Egypt will need to better leverage its competitive advantages. Crucially, Egypt benefits from both strong export ties and a vast consumer population, which provides firms with access to large domestic and foreign markets. In spite of rising subsidies and wages, the country is nonetheless extremely competitive as a manufacturing destination. Furthermore, significant upstream gas reserves have the ability to provide feedstock not only for Africa’s largest refining sector but also for the rapidly-growing electricity segment, which is racing to keep up with annual demand growth of 7%.
It is difficult to understate the impact of Egypt’s 2011 revolution, given the economic ramifications of the massive political changes the country has undergone. The past two years have been turbulent but if the country can better exploit its healthy long-term fundamentals, a return to robust growth is virtually assured.

Egypt Rising

Looking out from the fiftieth floor of a skyscraper in the Dubai Marina, with the prismatic city lights bouncing off every reflective surface from the water to the mile high glass buildings, the view seems more like the backdrop of a George Lucas film than someone’s private balcony. The Western world’s perception of Dubai is one of excess and extravagance. Dubai is known around the globe for its soaring skyscrapers, long, sandy beaches, and colossal shopping malls. So when I arrived in Dubai, I expected nothing less than the biggest, the tallest, the most expensive, and the most luxurious. And that’s exactly what the experience has been. I visited the Burj Khalifa, Dubai Mall, Palm Jumeira, and a number of other man-made wonders that are screaming testaments to modern technology and innovation.
<div id="attachment_1476" style="width: 210px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1476" class="size-medium wp-image-1476" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/dreamstime_l_24381041-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" />Burj al Arab</div>
However, after every tour, every drive, and every elevator ride, the one question that I found myself constantly asking was: How? How is this kind of gargantuan development possible? And more importantly, how does this unprecedented infrastructure sustain itself, year after year? Without a doubt, the most eye-opening and noteworthy aspect of my Dubai experience was witnessing the amount of innovation and research that goes into trying to lessen the environmental impact of limitless luxury.
Naturally, as an eager tourist, one of my first sight-seeing stops during my stay was a trip to the top of the legendary Burj Khalifa. After weaving my way through the queues and metal detectors, I made my way towards the surprisingly ordinary looking chrome elevators. My fellow tourists and I were corralled and herded like cattle (as tourists often are) as we awaited the lift to take us up. As we entered the elevator, the attendant pushed the almost comically labeled ‘124’ button and sent us on our way. The moment the doors slid shut, the walls of what I had called an ordinary looking elevator lit up into a polychromatic symphony of moving colors, videos, and facts. Just as my eyes began to adjust and focus on the iridescent words that had unexpectedly appeared on the lift walls, the ride was over. The 10 meter per second elevator trip probably had lasted little over a minute, and we were at the top.
The view from the observation deck was surreal. Jutting out from the flat desert floor, the clusters of shiny skyscrapers combined with the dusty afternoon haze made the city look like something out of a video game. I lingered for a few minutes, taking the obligatory tourist pictures, marveling at the engineering feat that I was standing on.
What amazed me more than the view, the lights or the streamlined design, though, was something called the Burj Khalifa Condensate Collection System. According to the tower’s website, the Condensate Collection System stores the water that is collected from the surface of the Burj, day in and day out. Due to the intense desert heat and the high humidity, a significant amount of water collects on the cool glass surface of the constantly air conditioned goliath tower. Allegedly, about 15 million gallons of water are collected each year through this method and are used to help water the 11 hectares of meticulously manicured greenery at the base of the tower. To me, this is an extremely creative and innovative step towards more environmentally conscious developments. Massive amounts of waste and unregulated consumption are a natural result of building the world’s tallest tower and any attempt at conservation is a much needed step toward sustainability.
Of course, in one of the most visited cities in the world, my exploration and accidental discoveries did not end with the Burj Khalifa. The next stop on my Dubai must-see list was Ski Dubai, located at the Mall of the Emirates shopping center. Though I am no stranger to snow, coming from the northern United States, seeing the famed desert ice-box was too intriguing of an opportunity to pass upon.
The physical structure itself was fairly uninspiring and for someone who spends eight months out of the year buried in the white stuff, the snowy inside was not particularly astonishing either. What was truly amazing to me, however, was how a feat like this was even possible.
The idea of creating an isolated environment that is the polar opposite of Dubai’s natural climate would inevitably take massive amounts of water and energy, to be consumed simply for novel entertainment. To find out how the resort maintains its snowy climate throughout the blistering Arabian summers, I had to do a little research. What I found, however, was once again a testament to the innovative potential of the city. According to Ski Dubai, the walls of the structure are layered with different types of insulation that help maintain the cool inside temperatures. The roof and the ceiling are separated by an empty five meter space of air. The air in this space serves as a cheap and effective means of insulating the ice-box from the scorching sun outside. While it takes endless amounts of energy to keep the industrial coolers running each day, the insulation method helps maintain these cool temperatures at a low cost.
I came to Dubai knowing that I would see luxury and extravagance that I had never been exposed to before. I knew I would be awestruck and amazed by the lights and the sounds and the simple grandeur of every desert gem that makes up the Dubai skyline. What I was not expecting, however, was to be impressed by the engineering and technology that went into building these colossal tributes to wealth and excess. It is clear that Dubai is slowly making the move towards a greener economy. Steps are being taken in places one would least expect in order to make sure the city can indefinitely maintain its glitz and glamour at a realistic cost.
When it comes to building the biggest and the greatest, I learned there are two inevitable byproducts: expected wastefulness, and unexpected innovation. Many of Dubai’s most famous attractions pioneered new and unheard of technologies. Because of this, I have no doubt that Dubai will eventually make the shift from a city of inconceivable extravagance, to a city of sustainable superlatives.

The City Of Superlatives

For many years fashionista Omoyemi Akerele had been pondering the dearth of fashion designers in Nigeria. From her musings, she realized that the issue was not the dearth of designers, but limited platforms through which designers could showcase their works. This was the case for decades despite the efforts of pioneers such as Shade Thomas-Fahm who worked tirelessly throughout the 1960s to bring attention to the industry. Her fervor and creativity laid the foundation for the fashion industry, while she also inspired a plethora of designers to pursue their passion.
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Akerele is one of those stylists that have taken the baton from the pioneer in her commitment to extend the frontiers of the fashion industry. She started a fashion consultancy in Nigeria at a time when little attention was paid to the industry. Her vision is for the industry to flourish and be acknowledged all over the world.
“There is a lot of promise in the Nigerian Fashion industry… So much untapped potential [and] I see my role as a catalyst,” says Akerele.
It was her vision to see Nigeria and Africa take its rightful place in the global fashion industry that drove her to create Style House, a fashion agency that promotes and supports the industry. But this was not enough.
“There was a need for a unified platform that designers could benefit from by showing their work to the industry at large. I thought that if the designers could come together to show under one platform, we would get the press and the whole community involved during this period. There’s more strength in that as opposed to different individual shows at different times of the year”, says Akerele.
Her vision culminated in the launch of the Lagos Fashion and Design Week (LFDW) in October 2011.
Pulling off such an event was no easy feat. After various attempts at securing sponsorship, MTN, the telecommunications company agreed to sponsor the inaugural event.
“What MTN was offering us, was low compared to what we needed to pull off a show of this size, but when you have a vision, you know there’s got to be a way this can work so at least you start,” she says.
In the end, the inaugural Lagos catwalk on the runway set the bar beyond her expectations.
Another challenging issue was scouting for young designers. This was due to certain constraints such as funding, rent textile availability and lack of training and resource centers, which impede the development of the local industry. The average designer has little or no accessibility to funds. Product continuity is stifled by limited supply of certain fabrics. Designers who can afford to produce their own textiles are few and far between and this greatly increases the final cost of the garment.
In other parts of the world, the education sector places emphasis on empowering the fashion entrepreneurs through colleges and resource centers. The industry teams up with upcoming designers who are willing to give their time and energy to teach fashion and its workings. In Nigeria, fashion has no representation in the academic establishment and there are very little collaborative efforts in the fashion industry. The average fashion enthusiast is a graduate of an international fashion school or is self-taught.
“Recently, I got an email from one of our international partners, asking for a list of fashion universities or colleges in Nigeria. I could not reply to the email for two weeks. I was so ashamed. It is amazing to know that about 90% of the industry is self-taught; the other 10% obtained their degrees from international institutions. There are 1% [of Nigerian designers] that probably rely on private people like Ginani or Ituen Basi who run individual fashion courses but in terms of proper institutions that run courses, we have none,” she says.
“I was on the London underground and I saw adverts of British fashion universities. This year, a report was put out for the British fashion industry. As we speak, its contribution to the economy from both retail and the industry brought over £200 million into the economy and they are still focusing on how to make the schools and the industry better to ensure that they produce more. We do not even have fashion universities that function here. That really breaks my heart,” says Akerele.
The visionary founder of LFDW believes that her annual catwalk runway will continue to unearth and support the latent talent in Nigeria. The inaugural event last year brought to the fore names such as Bridget Awosika who received rave reviews from Vogue UK. The fashion magazine described her work as “authentic African design”. This was a proud moment for Akerele. When asked about the event she told Vogue that “the event marks an awakening among some designers here who have been able to gradually evolve from what they come to accept as fashion—let’s call it a more traditional approach—to a place where they now understand that there’s much more we can offer…”
With the amount of effort going into its preparation, LFDW 2012 promises to be even bigger. The event—sponsored by MTN, RIM, Blackberry, Virgin Atlantic Airways, British Council and Porsche­­­—will not just end with the runway. After the event Akerele wants to give designers more exposure in the local and international market.
“The plan is to raise the stakes, not necessarily by doing more things but in strengthening and solidifying the vision. We are just trying to make sure that we do this better and create a better experience for people out there. The pop-up stores come up right after fashion week in London. We believe that it is important for press and buyers to attend. As we speak, Nigeria is not yet a destination for buyers so we decided to take the people to the buyers. We are going for different appointments with buyers to position Nigerian designers to benefit from that. We are also working on the Nigerian market as well so designers can work together. We are working on garment manufacturing companies that can make clothes for Nigerian designers. We are also putting pressure on all the companies that are setting up malls across Nigeria, lobbying for spaces for designers in some of the malls. The more locations the materials can be bought, the bigger the impact on the industry. We want to make a difference in the businesses of these designers.”
Akerele is also the ambassador of the ‘Buy Nigeria’ campaign, an initiative to promote Nigerian made clothes. Her vision for the near future is for the Nigerian indigenous fashion industry to contribute significantly to the GDP and this can only be achieved through indigenous fashion retail.
“Nigerian designers have to think of how to make their designs accessible to the 150 million Nigerians out there. The more people consume, the more people will be aware and the bigger the industry,” she says.
The future of fashion is promising and surely more progress will be made considering the effort industry faithful are putting into its development. Akerele’s tireless task as an ambassador and catalyst for the Nigerian industry has earned her remarkable acclaim with both local and international fashion communities. She has managed to inspire tangible change within the industry in a relatively short period. When asked about her plans for the future, her face lit up and in an alluring response, her reply was ‘Watch this space’.

Why Fashion Breaks My Heart

For three aspiring engineers, our wheels of choice were 150cc Big Boy Scooters. At the start line, in the city of gold, we joined 60 other like-minded crews on a journey labeled as Africa’s greatest social rally—the Put Foot Rally.
The expedition, onboard our three stallions, would take us 7,000 kilometers, through seven countries and six border checkpoints, in 21 days, all in support of Project Rhino KwaZulu-Natal. The rally’s intention is simple: to catapult adventurous spirits into their backyard and in the footsteps of David Livingstone. We set out to prove that Southern Africa can be explored on any wheels you choose.
<div id="attachment_1394" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1394" class="size-medium wp-image-1394" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/P7030297-300x219.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="219" />Our Scooters parked on the beach at Senga Bay Lake Malawi</div>
With frozen fingers, James, Matt and I waved at encouraging hoots, as we cleared Jo’burg on a chilly winter’s morning. Finally, we hit the open road, full steam ahead at 70km an hour, and made our way to the first border post into Botswana. Our first taste of open road biking included: dodging suicidal flamingos and angry ostriches as well as the odd elephant—something extraordinary when on two wheels. For the first couple of days, as we rode towards Etosha National Park, our morning sessions were split into 30km stints interspersed with star-jumps on the open road and warming our hands on the exhaust pipe.
Traveling up to 700km a day, meant we arose early; behind the fog and cold came daybreak, which brought new surprises perched on the horizon.
Out in the wild, we had to constantly monitor our fuel situation. Fuel is gold and with a range of 200km we were bound to run out, somewhere along our adventure. This happened in Namibia en route to Windhoek. With two scooters curb-bound, James slipstreamed a 18-wheeler truck for 40km and returned with a couple of liters.
We learnt that poor navigation in the middle of the night is all part of the experience. The excited faces, accompanied with cold beers, at the checkpoints were moments of accomplishment. These checkpoint parties consisted of a 300-strong group dressed in anything from animal print to luminous polyester, where many a story were shared from the days’ travels.
Desert evolved into mountains, which turned into grasslands and we had made the first leg of the journey to Etosha Park. There are some roads that make your heart beat fast and others that take your breath away. Perhaps the greatest part of riding across Africa is that you see every rolling hill, every river crossing and every bustling village. We learnt to have conversations, while riding, without saying a word and there were many humorous moments while shepherding Matt—who before this trip had never ridden a scooter.
Riding through the Caprivi Strip towards Livingstone was quite an experience. With only a couple of shirts and a Leatherman, we were often invited to dine with hospitable locals. Here the spirit of Ubuntu is real. After breaking down 80 kilometers out of Grootfontein, we hitched a ride back to town in a copper truck, negotiated accommodation in exchange for three beers and had our scooters serviced by a resident mechanic for free. Within one day we were back on the road in Livingstone, Zambia.
Not only does the Put Foot Rally give travellers the opportunity to explore some of Southern Africa’s most beautiful spots but it also facilitates fundraising for a great cause. The crews raised R560,000 ($65,000), which was used to buy 450 new pairs of school shoes for schoolchildren in Livingstone. It also created awareness and raised funds to help fight rhino poaching through Project Rhino.
We had cruised the Kavango, traveled the entire interior of Namibia and enjoyed the crisp taste of a Mosi on the banks of the Zambezi River. On entering Zimbabwe the beaten track led us towards Kariba Dam. We hopped onto a ferry and had a full day of downtime, much of which was spent sipping on Lion Lager and snacking on Kapenta (Tanganyika sardines). Well refreshed, we made our way to colorful Malawi and rode hugging the ‘Lake of Stars’.
Exploring the fleamarket-style villages by scooter was an experience. Traffic was always a breeze and the interest we received from people gave us an opportunity to learn hidden secrets about the country.
A conversation was bound to be fired up at every pit stop, especially with police officials, who asked how we managed to pack everything including a golf club. Officials let us through every roadblock or border post, laughing ‘Hah, silly Mlungus’, a reminder that when traveling Africa always remember to pack a sense of humor.
Next, we rode southwards into Mozambique, which presented us with unique landscapes. The bright lights of Teté; long, white beaches of Vilanculos; the historical architecture and the waving coconut trees of Inhambane made for an atmosphere like no other. As we cruised to Barra lodge, the idyllic finish line of our scooter odyssey, the realization hit that while not everything had gone our way—breakdowns led to nights on the side of the road and a couple of tumbles had depleted spirits—Africa and her people always seem to provide. Traveling across Southern Africa by scooter gave us the chance to take it slow and travel uninhibited. The rally gave us the chance to bond and give back to communities and conservation.
Go ride, Africa is more accessible than you think.

7 Thousand Kilometers, 6 Borders,  Ride For Rhinos:  No Regrets

As I left the airport I was greeted by temperatures of over 35 degrees, it was humid and uncomfortable but within minutes I was seated in an air-conditioned car. My itinerary said that Agra was 205 kilometers away, so I figured it would be a two-hour drive. I didn’t realize the speed limit was 40 kms an hour—the journey took five painful hours. Yes at that speed, I still felt as though the driver was speeding—he kept swerving to avoid the crater size potholes. Driving in India is scary—there’s no adherence to the road markings; overtaking on a solid line is common practice; drivers hoot incessantly and cut lanes. Surprisingly, no one gets upset, no one swears or raises their hands and I arrived safely.
Agra—home of the famous Taj Mahal—is a bustling town, which looks like it had been derelict for a long time and suddenly people rushed back to rebuild it. The streets are filled with rows of abandoned housing complexes, small shanty shops and tangled power lines, which are connected mostly illegally. Cattle paraded the street without a care in the world—these sacred animals are kept like pets; children play alongside them and traffic stalls until they pass. Beef products are not allowed and if you see a steak on the menu, it’s probably buffalo meat. The McDonalds menu consists of chicken, fish and paneer burgers, with the McMaharaj being the equivalent of a Big Mac.
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Another big attraction, without which a trip to India would be incomplete, is the Taj Mahal. The white marble mausoleum was completed in 1649 in honor of emperor Shah Jahan’s favorite wife.
I drove back to New Delhi—the capital of India and home to more than 20 million people. It’s a more contemporary city, which houses the Indian parliament. Beautiful parks and gardens broke the sights of the bustling traffic, which seemed to go on for the entire day.
The food was delicious, we ate like kings, but only in restaurants. The street food looked and smelt divine, with Tikka chicken and roasted paneer on most corners, but horrible stories of ‘Delhi belly’ helped me resist.
From the capital, I travelled to Chennai, formerly known as Madras, where I had more of a culture shock as motorbikes and gas-guzzling tuk-tuks filled the streets. The streets of the densely populated city are busy until late, markets offer great bargains on fabrics and gold jewelry and food stalls, on most corners, fill the pavements with brightly colored, sweet delights.
From city to countryside, I decided to drop the pace a notch and travel to Kerala, further south. I boarded a luxury houseboat, which floated along the quiet backwaters of the Alleppey River. The highlight was stopping on the banks to buy fresh fish and prawns. I had never seen such big prawns before and never had my taste buds enjoyed such flavor. The houseboat cook skillfully prepared the seafood with his special spices. Eating on a houseboat, listening to the small ripples in the water and the crickets near the banks was another highlight.
The next day I caught a flight to Goa—India’s smallest state but a very popular tourist spot. Small windy streets, forest-like vegetation and the white sandy beaches are big attractions for foreigners and Indians alike. The region is known for its large spice plantations and cashew nuts. Gambling is popular here, unlike in the rest of India.
Mumbai, the home of Bollywood, is more liberal than the other Indian states—the people speak English well and are less traditional in their dress. Fancy five star hotels line the beach front. It’s known as a commercial hub and the economic giant of India as it is home to two Indian stock exchanges. Transport services are excellent: busses run frequently; bright yellow and black cabs fill the more affluent parts of town; tuk-tuks do short runs around the market areas and three million people travel through the famous Victoria Train Station every day, which is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
A sharp contrast though are the huge slums deeper in the city—children ran in the streets trying to sell scarves, beautifully woven materials and miniature elephants, when they should have been at school. We visited a massive open-air laundry where 2,000 men—who have taken on laundry contracts from nearby hotels—were washing sheets and towels. The government provides them with clean water and industrial dryers. Water is not safe to drink in India, even Indians drink bottled water.
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While I was there, it was Independence Day, 65 years of independence and yet India looks like it’s battling a dilemma of moving into a new age with the rest of the world or staying with its deeply entrenched traditional and religious existence. India is not easy in many respects—it’s hot and humid, busy and noisy, but wherever I traveled I felt safe and the people were humble. So while India may not be the ideal destination to kick back and relax it is a destination that will offer you a truly unique experience. The people of India prefer quality of life with little focus on materialism. There’s a real respect for tradition and culture. The food is fantastic and the hospitality is superb. India though deserves more than just two weeks.

Incredible India, Flaws And All

Jonathan Liebmann is 29, owns 25 buildings and has lived on five of the seven continents. Now, he has made his nest in a small corner on the east side of the most vibrant city in Africa—Johannesburg.
Johannesburg city was established in 1886, as a farm where gold miners from all over the globe came to make their money. That is where it got the name Egoli—meaning place of gold. In decades to follow, it became the shopping mecca of Gauteng’s elite. Today, all the big banks and businesses have relocated to the northern suburbs and the new tenants are mostly African immigrants looking for a place to make a living; the streets are busy, there are shops at every turn and a multitude of languages in the CBD.
There is a sign that hangs between two buildings on his street, it reads Maboneng— meaning place of lights in Sesotho. It’s a fitting description for a beacon in the middle of a city plagued by crime, dilapidated buildings and grim life. Just down the road, there’s a men’s hostel where even the police are afraid to go.
Liebmann is rejuvenating the east’s run down image one building at a time. The corner coffee shops, restaurants, independent movie house and boutique hotel are abuzz as you walk the streets of Maboneng Precinct.
He has just bought his 25th building, which he will convert into apartments. We stand on the roof of the new building looking down onto another flat roof. Two recycling vendors are having lunch on a two plate stove, they are surrounded by recycled bags containing plastic bottles. This is one of the many facets of Johannesburg hustle.
You could say the streets behind Liebmann are a playground for his entrepreneurial mind.
<div id="attachment_1283" style="width: 210px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1283" class="size-medium wp-image-1283" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/380-380_1-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" />Property developer Jonathan Liebmann, Johannesburg; 19 July 2012 &#8211; Photo by Brett Eloff.</div>
Liebmann’s entrepreneurial spirit is as young as many of the buildings are old. He made his first profit at 18, at a time when most people hadn’t even thought about buying their first car, let alone buy one. He had bought, renovated and resold an apartment and at 21 he turned an old factory into an office for rent.
“When I was 18, I realized I wanted to be involved in property. I went to university but while I was [there] I started investing in property on a small level. I bought my first apartment that I renovated, with the bank’s money, and then I just worked my way up from there… I enjoy being the pioneer and taking the first steps, so for me that risk was an attraction. And at the same time I was completing my accounting degree so I was working and studying as well,” says Liebmann.
Liebmann bought his own apartment at 20, after a year of nomadic life across the world, traveling and doing odd jobs from construction to telesales consulting. Traveling is something he learnt from a young age, as a child Liebmann moved almost ten times with his divorced single mother and older brother.
“I started thinking about how I could do my own large developments of [loft culture] and started looking for old factory spaces that would have the right type of aesthetic to do that and that’s when I found my first buildings in Maboneng.”
“I traveled all around the world after school and that exposed me to a lot to urban culture,” he says.
And since his return to Johannesburg—the city of his birth—he wants to inject new life into the city; artists, business and residents are following him.
While on his travels, Liebmann went from being a construction worker to a telesales person, skills he would later use in his chosen career.
You can tell from the moment you meet Liebmann that he’s driven. He’s sharp and has an air of confidence that could be interpreted as arrogance when he speaks about his work. He’s got that ‘I know what I want and I know how I’m going to get it’ tone as he tucks his brown hair beneath his ears throughout the interview.
Earlier this year, Liebmann was invited to the World Economic Forum in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
“I was selected as a global shaper along with 30 other young people from Africa. I learnt about the common objectives of African countries to collaborate with one another in an attempt for Africa to become the next frontier,” says Liebmann.
While we sit at a corner coffee shop, a number of people greet him as they pass by. Liebmann and his vision are growing in stature in this area of decaying factories and empty buildings, which is a living manifestation of the saying “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure”.
Not only has it managed to attract people and money back into the city but it has also put his family back together.
His mother owns a coffee shop, his father owns a gallery and his step-brother works here too.
It’s a risky investment.
One minute one area could be the trendy spot where the masses flock and in a number of years may degenerate and experience flight.
His architect, Enrico Daffonchio says property goes in cycles in every city of the globe.
“There is a spectrum of different perspective [on its potential], however the spectrum of opinion from the cynics is reducing… Cities get renewed throughout history, it’s not a new thing. There are tax incentives to refurbish those areas. [So] there’s tax incentives and governments copy each other ,” says Daffonchio.
How did Liebmann get people to Maboneng and does he think they will stay?
“I think initially the challenge was changing people’s perceptions of the city. Yes, it’s a continuing struggle but it’s far easier as we grow block by block… I think Johannesburg is at the beginning of its curve of regeneration. There’s a long way to go [but] it’s certainly showing promise… You’ve got to build spaces that attract people back…”
Property economist and University of Capet Town lecturer, François Viruly says it’s not the government’s duty to upkeep the city.
“The role of government is primarily to ensure that an environment is created that encourages private sector investment in the CBD&#8230; I don’t think that there is anything wrong with the private sector owning buildings in the CBD. Urban decay is a problem that local governments have faced across the world. In South Africa, the decentralization of commercial space has invariably left CBDs with high vacancy rates.”
These are vacancy rates which Liebmann is grabbing with both hands—a dream he is creating one building at a time.

One Man’s Trash  Another Man’s Treasure

Picture yourself living in early 19th century Africa. What would you be clad in? Most likely an outfit made of traditional cloth, perhaps Kuba cloth.
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“We have one of the most beautiful art forms in Africa,” says Crown Prince Kwete Kwete.
Prince Kwete is the son of the 125th king of the Bakuba Kingdom, King Kot Mbueki III. Textiles from Africa are said to be one of the most important gifts to the world of art. The Kuba cloth is associated with royalty and has inspired great artists like Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse. Matisse’s appliquéd techniques were influenced by the Kuba cloth displayed in an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Kuba cloth originated with King Shamba Bolongongo and his son, Shaamweky. From the 16th century, the Kuba people have dressed themselves in Kuba cloth, wrapping it around their waists like a skirt. The cloth is made of raffia from the palm tree. The raffia is picked and dried, softened and woven into different lengths and sizes. The process can take three to four weeks or up to a year.
“Textiles are a sign of wealth for us and every king has a cloth that he wears during ceremonies. When a member of the royal family dies, women from the kingdom wear a certain color cloth for six months. Designs are symbolic and used for particular ceremonies,” says Prince Kwete.
When a king dies, his wives wear special red cloth with subtle patterns in velvet on the borders and openwork embroidery in the middle. Specially designed weavings made of leopard skin and shells are reserved for the king, his wives, the royal court and dancers.
The Kuba cloth is made by the people of the Bakuba Kingdom in the Democratic Republic of Congo—formerly Zaire. But it is the Shoowa, a small sub-tribe of the Bakuba who are renowned for making intricate textiles from the palm fiber creating a tuft pile-like effect using the clipped raffia threads. Weaving intricate geometrical designs can take up to a year.
Some of the designs are on display in museums around the world and have been studied by scholars like George Meurant of Belgium. The beauty and complexity of the Kuba cloth has only recently been appreciated at a time when the most elegant designs are disappearing. European collectors of African textiles started amassing collections of embroidered cut-pile textiles towards the end of the 19th century. These pieces often fetch millions of dollars at auctions. Most collectors are private individuals in America, Britain, France and Poland.
Kuba cloth is on the brink of being lost; Prince Kwete is trying to preserve it with the help of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
“The Kuba cloth is displayed in leading museums, but people do not know where the Bakuba Kingdom is located. Kuba is still existent and we are a population of approximately half a million people including immigrants. Congo is bigger than Eastern Europe and Kuba land is three times the size of Belgium,” he says.
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Together with his father, Prince Kwete is working with the central government of Congo to reach out to other Africans through culture.
“DRC is known for war, but there are attractive investment opportunities in the country.”
King Kot Mbueki III is the first king of Bakuba to have travelled to Kinshasa and Europe.
“He ‘broke away’ from the kingdom by preserving tradition,” says Price Kwete who describes the Bakuba Kingdom as democratic.
“The king is there to reign and not to rule. We have managed to maintain our culture and art because each tribe is represented in the king’s court. When selecting a chief of a village, the people of a village have to go to the king and suggest someone. My father then honors the people’s wish by appointing the suggested person. This goes back nine centuries.”
According to Kenyan fashion model Emma Too, the Kuba cloth is one of the most valuable African textiles together with the Ashanti and Kente from West Africa. American fashion designer Ralph Lauren is known to have made several designs using the Kuba cloth and supermodel Iman wore Kuba designs when she modelled for Africa Heritage. The cloth is also used to decorate homes. Because of its growing demand, the market has been flooded by fake cloth.
“You can tell an original Kuba cloth by how it has been sewn, designed and the quality. If you compare a genuine and fake cloth, the quality of material is world’s apart,” says Prince Kwete.
The people of the Bakuba Kingdom use the cloth as a source of income to support their families through school.
“Since our main source of income was farming and that can barely sustain families, you find people selling their valuable pieces,” says Prince Kwete, who regularly organizes auctions to arrange money for projects in the kingdom.
The price of the Kuba cloth depends on the year it was made, how long it took to make, the design and history of the piece. There is a museum in Mshenge—the capital of Bakuba—which is used by the royal family to display valuable pieces.
“Once any society in Africa loses its identity and adopts a new one, your culture disappears,” says Prince Kwete.

The Cloth Of Kings—For Sale

The elephants feeding off the nearby shrub looked remarkably placid as we strolled along the boardwalk that was high enough from the ground for them to pass underneath. But shortly after they kicked up a shindig, trumpeting and rumbling, whether from love and joy or from anger, I could not say.
Sitting, feet up, afterwards on the veranda of my Pafuri Camp tented chalet, I watched a hippo wallow lazily in a still pool of the Luvuvhu River down below. Staring back blankly with heavy-browed eyes, it—every now and then—snorted contentedly. Behind it on a sandbank lay a crocodile, mouth agape, as if dead.
<div id="attachment_1099" style="width: 484px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1099" class="size-large wp-image-1099" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Enos-Mngomezulu-Wilderness-Safaris-head-guide-at-its-Pafuri-Camp-1024x683.jpg" alt="" width="474" height="316" />Enos Mngomezulu, Wilderness Safaris&#8217; head guide at its Pafuri Camp</div>
Waterbuck moved about the reeds and a couple of baboons approached the river for a drink. Then, the peace was shattered briefly by a fish eagle and a purple heron getting into an almighty scrap on the opposite bank.
This is daily life at Pafuri Camp to the north of South Africa. The 24,000-hectare spread of land, within which the Wilderness Safaris tourist facility falls, is a national treasure, which could have been lost had the Makuleke community not decided to keep it as a protected area. That decision has proved as wonderful as the Pafuri.
It was a prescient choice, benefiting Kruger National Park in particular and nature in general by extending the roaming area of the park’s animals and by keeping under formal protection a landscape of extraordinary scenic beauty and biodiversity.
Wedged between the Luvuvhu and Limpopo Rivers at the Kruger’s northern extreme, Pafuri is made up of a rich mixture of wetlands, floodplains, savannah, Mopane veld, riverine and fever-tree forests, rugged hills and dramatic gorges.
Its climate, location and geology combine to make it the southern-most extreme of several tree species, causing it in turn to be a favored destination for botanists; not least baobab lovers who come to admire the exquisite species spread around the veld and by the roadside. Among its exceptionally rich birdlife, there are several species that are found nowhere else in South Africa, making it a favored destination for bird lovers as well.
The Makuleke decision to keep it as a reserve, served a further purpose. It introduced the concept of community-held contract parks that has been applied since in various parts of South Africa; ensuring the formal protection of valuable parts of the natural environment that might have been lost otherwise, as well as giving back dispossessed people a living.
The arrangement did not come easily. It was steeped in the hurt and bitterness of the apartheid era, which, for the Makuleke people, went back to a day in 1969 when government trucks arrived at their village, set among the brooding forests and woodlands of the Pafuri. Livingston Maluleke, a leading member of the community, told me of that painful day. Staring across the Luvuvhu from where we were sitting on the veranda of the Wilderness Safaris lodge, he recalled how villagers were bundled onto the trucks with only what they could carry and transported to a strange new place about 25 km outside Kruger National Park’s Punda Maria gate.
“It was terrible. Our old people, to this day, shiver when they talk about that experience,” he says.
The government’s thinking behind the forced removal was to add land to the Kruger as well as to allow security forces to better counter the anti-apartheid insurgents who were making use of the lush vegetation for moving back and forth between South Africa, Mozambique and then Rhodesia. The borders meet at the confluence of the Limpopo and Luvuvhu rivers. The spot is known as Crooks’ Corner for the way outlaws used it in olden times to skip from one country to another to evade arrest.
The landmark decision to keep the area as a reserve was negotiated with South African National Parks (SANParks), after the community had won back the land in 1998, under newly democratic South Africa’s land-restitution process. It was not an easy choice, Maluleke told me. Some of the old people wanted to move back there. But eventually the deal was negotiated whereby SANParks would continue to run the conservation aspect and the community would benefit in the form of jobs and an income from the concession given a decade ago to Wilderness Safaris. There is another lodge named The Outpost and a guide-training school that operates under similar concessions.
<div id="attachment_1098" style="width: 484px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1098" class="size-large wp-image-1098" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Masingita-Hatlane-deputy-chairperson-of-the-Maluleke-Communal-Property-Association-683x1024.jpg" alt="" width="474" height="711" />Masingita Hatlane, deputy chairperson of the Maluleke Communal Property Association</div>
The concession holders have been contributing to conservation projects as well.
Wilderness Safaris, for instance, has helped with the reintroduction of game to the area, most notably the translocation of white rhino, giraffe and wildebeest from the heavily populated southern region of the Kruger Park. It says its anti-poaching operations have involved 20 game scouts from the community.
The money from the concessions has been going into a trust run by the Makuleke Communal Property Association (CPA). The estimated R3 million ($369,000) that has been generated so far has been going into projects like street lighting for two of the Makuleke’s three adjoining villages; crèches for two others; a community hall for another and improvements to schools. Each of the villages decides how it wants its portion of the income to be used.
In 2007, notable conservation recognition came with the declaration of Pafuri’s string of wetlands situated mainly along its Limpopo River boundary as a Ramsar site of international importance. In 2010, followed the United Nations Development Program’s Equator Prize that recognizes the efforts of local communities to reduce poverty through the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. Last year followed SANParks’ Kudu Award for community contribution to conservation.
Now there are changes in store that could affect the way the contract park is run. Under the arrangement concluded back in the late 1990s, SANParks ran the conservation aspect in terms of much the same rules as applied to the rest of Kruger. Administrative decisions have been taken by a joint management board (JMB) that includes representatives of SANParks, the Makuleke CPA and officials from government’s environmental, tourism and security departments. A few years ago, the concession holders were also allowed to sit in on meetings as a way of streamlining JMB decisions.
According to Masingita Hatlane, deputy chairperson of the CPA, the system has been under substantial review by an independent company. The central idea to have emerged—from what is called the Conservation Development Framework it produced—is that the JMB should be restructured and that the administration of Pafuri should pass to a park manager. How exactly it will work, is not clear though.
“We felt we should co-ordinate the conservation and the commercial side and be better able to implement JMB decisions. But there are many aspects that still need to be sorted out,” smiled Hatlane, a school teacher who is known as Mavis; as we sat at the Makuleke village’s community center, where guests are sometimes treated to traditional dancing, drumming and such cultural events.
A key question is whether the park manager should come from the ranks of the Makuleke, from SANParks or the concession holders, or whether it should be an independent person from outside. Another question is where the manager’s office should be—inside Pafuri, where a lack of communication facilities would be a problem, or in Makuleke village, which is almost a two-hour drive from the park. The most likely site therefore is Kruger’s Punda Maria Gate, which best addresses the various problems.
But then still remains the big question: Who foots the park manager’s salary and his staff and office bill?
Though not spelled out in so many words, the implication of the proposal is that, rather than being run as an appendix to Kruger, the Pafuri should be treated as a park in its own right, with the Makuleke through their CPA taking a more direct hand in its administration. Part of the reasoning is that whereas the community lacked the experience to do so from the outset, it is now in a better position to take charge.
The importance of the Pafuri’s retention as a reserve is underpinned by another factor. Situated where it is, it is the kingpin of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park between Kruger National Park, Mozambique’s Limpopo National Park and Zimbabwe’s Gonarezhou National Park that make up the scheme.
There was even talk of constructing a bridge inside the park over the Limpopo River to provide a direct tourist connection between the two southern reserves with the Zimbabwean park. Apparently, the wetlands inside the park dictate that the bridge should be outside the park boundary. But as the imaginative transfrontier scheme is firmed up, so Pafuri’s part in it and the Makulekes’ decision to keep it as a reserve should keep standing out more prominently for the landmark development it represents in the conservation history of South Africa and increasingly also of the broader region.

Paradise At The Crossroads

If you want to blend with the people, you’d better learn the word ‘Lah’. I mean it-lah. ‘Lah’ is the backbone of Malaysian slang, while the suffix has no standard meaning it’s used colloquially to express emphasis.
You can get to Palau—meaning ‘island’ in Malay—Penang, off the north-western coast of the peninsula by airplane, ferry or bus, over Malaysia’s longest bridge. It is not your typical tropical island. Yet it is home to Georgetown: a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the historical capital of Penang.
<div id="attachment_1045" style="width: 458px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1045" class="size-full wp-image-1045" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/DSC_2702.jpg" alt="" width="448" height="298" />Trishaw Drivers outside Stadyhuys in Melaka</div>
Along the neighborhood’s streets you’ll find quaint cafés, antique stores and narrow alleys which lead to hidden Buddhist temples; yet the highlight is Khoo Kongsi. This walled-off Chinese district was home to the powerful Khoo clan. By the 19th century they were a self-governing community with their own education, financial, welfare and social organizations.
With short distances between the historical landmarks of the colonial district—Fort Cornwallis, City Hall and Victoria Memorial Clock Tower—it is best explored on foot.
The indigo blue Cheong Fatt Tze mansion, which was built in the 1880s and restored more than 100 years later, provides a glimpse into the lifestyle of the Chinese businessman by the same name. You can call this heritage hotel your home during your stay, otherwise take a daily tour.
Take a break from sightseeing by having Cendol for dessert. The green, jelly noodles, made from rice flour, swim in coconut milk and are topped with shaved ice and palm sugar. And for dinner try some Nyonya cuisine, for which the island is well-known: a combination of Chinese ingredients fused with Southeast Asian spices like lemon grass, turmeric, chillies and, of course, coconut milk.
On your way south, go on an eco-tourism jungle trek in the tropical rainforests of the Cameron Highlands, in search of the world’s largest flower, the Rafflesia. Nestled in Pahang province, it’s the ideal retreat for avid hikers, tea-lovers and those who prefer cooler climes.
The capital, Kuala Lumpur (KL), is synonymous with the Petronas Towers, which balance on Kuala Lumpur City Center Mall. If you arrive early, you might get a free, limited ticket for skybridge—on the 41st floor, 170 meters above ground—but expect to wait in line. Kuala Lumpur Tower offers splendid views of the Petronas Towers.
A typical feature of Malaysian colonial cities is an open playing field surrounded by public buildings. Kuala Lumpur is no exception. Merdeka Square, which used to be a cricket field, is where Malaysia’s independence from Britain was announced on August 31, 1957.
<div id="attachment_1044" style="width: 484px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1044" class="size-large wp-image-1044" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/DSC_7773-1024x680.jpg" alt="" width="474" height="315" />Penang City Hall</div>
Getting around by train can be mind boggling because the train systems are like a labyrinth. Once you decipher the metal maze of the KL Monorail, KLIA Ekspres and transit, Light Rail Transit and KTM Komuter trains, you’ll be on your way.
Further north from the capital are the Hindu temples in the Batu Caves, located in a limestone hill. You’ll have to climb 272 stairs to reach them, although the greatest attraction is the world’s largest statue—42 meters high—of Murugan, a Hindu deity, which is painted gold. And just south of the city, on the banks of Putrajaya Lake, is Putra Mosque, near the prime minister’s offices.
You can’t afford to miss out on visiting Melaka, on the southern coast: my personal favorite. The colonial history of Southeast Asia’s greatest trading port is visible at every corner. Take a trishaw—decorated with plastic flowers, Barbie dolls, rainbow-colored fans—trip around the most important historical and cultural landmarks from the red Stadthuys (town square), through Chinatown and Little India to Jonker Walk, where the night life and shopping can be found. The government employed artists to rejuvenate the buildings along the canal.
The Perhentian islands, on the north-eastern coast, are celebrated by tourists for their azure waters and palm-fringed white beaches. Scuba diving by the coral reefs, snorkeling and swimming are the best ways to spend your days. You can do some turtle or shark watching too, but the best thing to do here is, well…nothing. This is a place for the beach and a book. High season is from May to September, the islands are closed during monsoon season, from mid-November to mid-February.
<div id="attachment_1046" style="width: 209px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1046" class="wp-image-1046 size-medium" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/DSC_0297-199x300.jpg" alt="" width="199" height="300" />The Petronas Towers in Kulula Lumpur</div>
Download e-travel guides for the entire country at www.tourism.gov.my.

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