The African Professional Issue 15

Sophie Ndaba – Generations Star P. Leteka – CEO of SA’s only women-owned N. Mwaura – IPSOS Director O. Bempah – AngloGold private equity firm The Women of Greenpeace Africa C. Onuzo – Young Nigerian Author Ashanti

. African Wo m

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Issue Africa ’s n en

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Women’s an Is ric Af

Rudo Kwaramba Regional CEO World Vision International

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Issue 15

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WE ALL PLAY A PART! WHAT IS YOUR LEGACY FOR THIS PLANET? WHAT DIFFERENCE CAN YOU MAKE?

“T

he environment and the economy are really both two sides of the same coin. You cannot sustain the economy if you don’t take care of the environment because we know that the resources that we use whether it is oil, energy, land … all of these are the basis in which development happens.

And development is what we say generates a good economy and puts money in our pockets. If we cannot sustain the environment, we can’t not sustain ourselves.”

Wangari Maathai

Greenpeace Africa’s vision is “An Africa where people live in harmony with nature in a peaceful state of environmental and social justice”.

We aim to work with individuals such as yourself to foster environmental consciousness whereby Africa’s people seek social and economic prosperity in ways that protect the environment for the benefit of humans, the planet, and the future.

Together we can:

•

Push for a significant reduction in our dependency on fossil fuels, through the adoption of energy [R] evolution to move us from a world powered by fossil fuels and nuclear to one running on renewable energy , which is possible, feasible and viable

• Call for zero deforestation in the world’s intact tropical forests, the destruction of the international market for illegal timber and the lobbying of the DRC and Cameroonian governments to

ensure that the people, the bio-diversity, and the environment are the pillars of sustainable development

•

Advocate for an end to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, as well as the elimination of destructive fishing practices to ensure sustainable levels of marine life while providing food security.

•

Urge our governments to shift funding from industrial agriculture to supporting ecological farming; ‘Healthy farms, healthy Food

for

sustainable livelihoods.’

Join us today, become a volunteer, activists or member and together we can develop solutions we need to protect the most important environmental issues that plague Africa, its people, its rich resources and impede its sustainable development.

Greenpeace relies on donations from generous individuals like yourself to carry out our work. In order to remain independent, we do not accept funding from governments, corporations or political parties. We can’t do it without your help.

Please support us today.

Follow us on twitter @ GreenpeaceAfric, Like our facebook page greenpeace Africa or visit our website on http://www.greenpeace.org/ africa/en/

TABLE OF CONTENTS

6 Editor’s Note 7

Your Feedback

8

Past quarter briefs

15 Cover Story

Rudo Kwaramba, World Vision Regional CEO

18 Sophie Ndaba - Giving back to Zimbabwe 22 Chibundu Onuzo - Young spirited Nigerian author 24 Nanzala Mwaura - Key Accounts Director, IPSOS SSA 27 IDFM Managers

05

South Africa’s only women-owned private equity firm

32 O. Akosah-Bempah - Manager at AngloGold Ashanti 34 Sakutukwa - A parents duty 36 Book review 38 Krensel - The new immigration regulations in a nutshell 41 Gina Essah

Regional Operations Manager at Moneygram

42 TAP Travel - Nigeria, God’s own country 44 Nembudani - Human being lives here 46 The women of Greenpeace Africa 48 Peprah - Relocating to Accra after 31 years 49 Pillay - Choosing the right marriage contract 50 TAP Social - Our events pictorial www.theafricanpro.com

DIRECTOR’S NOTE Different seasons in life Available at

06

O

h wow! A year has flown by since I last wrote the editorial. I am sure that for most, a lot has happened in the past year. Some have got new jobs, others have become entrepreneurs. Some may have experienced something as joyful as a wedding whilst others may have experienced the loss of a loved one.

We all encounter different seasons in our lives. Personally I have had a blessed year. Earlier this year I became the proud mother of a handsome young man. I love my new role as a mother although, like most worthwhile things in this life, it has its challenges. Having a human being who is totally dependent on you can be very daunting. In this role I have also learnt that nothing is permanent. Just as I get the hang of a sleep, eat, poop routine, he gets into a different phase where there is plenty of awake time during which he needs to be entertained.

As advertised on

As verified by

As life changes and as different seasons come our way, we also change and evolve. We do not totally lose who we were; I believe we add on to it. Put simply – we grow. We should therefore not be afraid of the different spells we will inevitably face but embrace them.

Publisher: The Proud African Professional (Pty) Limited Reg. Number: 2010/012428/07 10 Madison Square, 195 President Fouche Drive, Randburg Republic of South Africa Tel: 011 251 6325 www.theafricanpro.com & www.expatriate.co.za

This issue celebrates women who have embraced the various seasons in their lives and grown because of them. It is many years now since Rudo Kwaramba left the halls of a lucrative law practice to pursue a different type of advocacy that has brought her to the helm of World Vision in the region.

Read about Sophie Ndaba, a household name who has grown leaps and bounds since growing up in a Zimbabwean orphanage, and Ophelia AkosahBempah who is integral to the success of an international mining giant.

Director: Carol Malonza – carol@africanpro.co.za Twitter: @mueni8 Managing Editor: KC Rottok – kc@africanpro.co.za Twitter: @africankc Deputy Editor & Content Advisor Leah Maina Edition Writers/Contributors Keith Kundai Wanjiru Waichigo Chionesu Sakutukwa Andreas Krensel Yaw Peprah Meshack Nembudani Narushka Pillay Photography Mzu Nhlabati www.creativenation.co.za Design Mike Obrien mike@obriendesign.co.za Website Drutech Media www.drutechmedia.co.za Advertising Enquiries info@africanpro.co.za

Nanzala Mwaura’s story of reinvention mirrors that of Polo Radebe.

The former began as a journalist and is now a senior research executive while the latter evolved from a salaried employee to an entrepreneur leading the process of financing women and youth entrepreneurs. We further feature four mini-profiles of the women of Greenpeace Africa.

For our travel story in this edition, our editor takes us to Nigeria from where we also bring you an interview with the young female author Chibundu Onuzo. It is our hope that you enjoy our articles and as always we value your feedback Carol Malonza Chesaina, Director Twitter - @mueni8

To subscribe or contribute an article, email us at info@africanpro.co.za All rights reserved. Excerpts may be used as long as this magazine is credited as the source. Longer versions of our content may only be used with the written permission of the Publisher. Neither the publisher nor the editor accept responsibility for any of the information from edition writers or contributors. Whilst we have taken care in preparing this publication, the publisher/ editor does not warrant its completeness or accuracy. The editor retains the right to edit all contributions. Advertisers are responsible for their material. © The African Professional / The Expatriate SA: ISSN 2218 – 757X.

YOUR FEEDBACK

SELECTED TWEETS TO THE EDITOR @africankc

children. All people deserve better.

22.02.2014 (Referring to Chio attempted rape article)

@twigz04 @africankc very inspiring indeed! Hard work does pay off... wish everyone could learn 06.02.14 (Referring to Masiyiwa online article)

@MuleyaM: @africankc Love love love love this mag. I think I need to contribute an article... 11.03.14

John Orji @Joj_Moneybag: @ africankc Nigerians are born hustlers.

They never give up and they always succeed no matter the condition.

@IamBonganiNano @africankc What NERVE! Was a STUPID CALL South Africa for South Africans 20.03.14 (Nigerians voting in SA online story)

@Bruinou2 “@africankc: There r few black female engineering CEO’s , Babs Kagga is one of them.” Interesting. Her father and 4 siblings r all engineers 09.02.14

@adsteedley: @africankc sure but what’s “your own kind” these days?

Seekers, learners, groundbreakers: culture and religion are only part of fuller picture 30.03.14 (Sheila “Date your own kind” article)

@TaleniShimho: @africankc I celebrate your cause and mission :) It has been Africa’s time. Your work allows us to give evidence that such time has arrived 19.02.2014 @alvin_clein @africankc Federal Government says Lamido has contravened the law why not wait to use testimony & order his arrest till then save us the drama! 25.02.14 (Sanusi Lamido online article) Love your insights and Angela Lang 25.02.2014

tweets.

@BridgeAfricaNNA: @africankc ‘Welcome & thank you’ oh .. I look forward to reading the article on PR; Lord knows I’ve had my “moments” with Home Affairs! 02.01.2014 @khulekaniZulu5: African stories, narrated by an African son, inspiration, motivational stories, follow @africankc, always has dope links! 23.02.2014

@PN_EVENTS: @africankc #Nigerian #Abiola, Your dıgı-mag is really great work empowered by technology. Keep it up and thumbs up to ur team 22.03.14 @LCHartmann @africankc the whole concept indigenous companies is wrong from the start: exchange of #capacity needed #Africa 11.04.2014 (Michael Sudarkasa article) @samthevoice: @africankc Thanks for the article, I loved it. How do I contact you? 22.04.2014 (Samantha Tirivacho online article) @ @NdzaviK @africankc DRC should first invest in Eskom projects to guarantee SA power as load shedding is here to stay before any further partnerships. 29.04.2014 (Ambassador Mphoko article) @CDEMutondi @africankc #brilliant publication 01.05.2014

@walkforwarriors: @africankc I pray for the safety of African women and www.theafricanpro.com

SELECTED ONLINE COMMENTS Awesome. I wish they taught financial management in schools. Our education system is broken.

Zunda 06.02.14 (Financial advice article from S. Masiyiwa) This is such a one sided article. No correlation with the statement that unmarried women should not contest elections. The article reinforces the belief that leadership is male centric and ignores any research that has been done of women’s leadership.

Dorothy Ngila (commenting on ‘Why marriage is essential to your CV’ article) So so true Tokiso! It is about time we girls start being fearless when it comes to our careers and stop being passive.

All these things we grow up being taught about how a woman behaves socially are very outdated, it is a different story in the corporate world! We’ve got to move with the times. It is a jungle out there; we need to toughen-up!

Blaque Maipatile 28.02.2014 (referring to ‘Nice girls don’t get the corner office’ article) SELECTED FACEBOOK POSTS Thanks TheAfrican Pro for bringing us African Success stories and Success Stories by Africans abroad.

Census Lo-Liyong 11.02.2014 Keep up the good work....Fastjet is really on the fast lane....

Ng’eno Paps Ole Kissambu 30.04.14 (referring to Fastjet CEO interview article)

07

ARTICLES AVAILABLE ON THEAFRICANPRO.COM Alpesh Patel:

Betty Gikonyo:

Chimamanda Adichie: The danger of a single story Adichie has published several books and received several awards.

In 2009, she delivered a powerful “Ted” talk titled “The danger of a single story” which has received over 6 million video views. Full story www.africanpro.co.za/ professionals

Born in Ugandan bush, now millionaire founder of Africa’s first mobile device 08

Read our profile interview of the founder of Mi-Fone who was born in a Ugandan bush. Full story www.africanpro.co.za/ entrepreneurs

Ben Magara: Is Lonmin’s Zim-born CEO SA’s answer to its mining issues?

Ben Magara is an African professional who is Chief Executive of Lonmin, one of the largest primary producers of platinum group metals. He is doing things differently in a bid to understand and engage a frequently striking workforce.

Full story www.africanpro.co.za/ professionals

Kenyan woman who founded a state of the art hospital Dr. Betty Gikonyo is an African professional and entrepreneur most famous for her role in founding The Karen Hospital in Kenya. It is a ground breaking facility with a capacity of over 100 beds which boasts a number of firsts including having an oxygen generating plant and the country’s first laparoscopic tower. Furthermore, the hospital is believed to be the first in East Africa to perform a coronary artery bypass graft on a beating heart. Full story www.africanpro.co.za/ entrepreneurs

www.theafricanpro.com

Briefs

Dangote:

Discovery’s Gore:

Kenya Airways app:

Why we are building Africa’s first USD9 Billion refinery Aliko Dangote is widely believed to be Africa’s richest man. The listed group he founded is set to make a major investment in a petroleum refinery in Nigeria to be built at a cost of $9 billion.

Full story www.africanpro.co.za/ entrepreneurs

Fastjet CEO:

Why low-cost airlines will work in Africa Sixty-five year old CEO and Executive Chairman of low-cost airline Fastjet Ed Winter says that Africa is an ideal continent for a low cost “no frills” airline like Fastjet to thrive. Full story www. africanpro.co.za/professionals

Kenya Airways has launched an internet timetable app available on Google play. Full story on www. africanpro.co.za/technology story www.africanpro.co.za/ professionals

Why we will invest in China but not the rest of Africa Adrian Gore is a leading South African entrepreneur. He is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Discovery Group. Discovery listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in 1997, and under Adrian’s leadership, expanded its international reach to the United Kingdom, United States and Asia.

He explains why the Group is not ready to invest in the rest of Africa.

Full story www.africanpro.co.za/ entrepreneurs

www.theafricanpro.com

Kwasi Enin: Ghanaian American kid who made Ivy League history He has an academic test score that puts him in the top one per cent of students, competes as a shot putter for his school athletics team and even plays the viola in the orchestra, so it likely came as little surprise to his teachers and family that Kwasi Enin would be accepted by an Ivy League college. What might have shocked them, however, is that he got into all eight. Full story www. africanpro.co.za/professionals

09

ARTICLES AVAILABLE ON THEAFRICANPRO.COM Sanusi Lamido:

Lupita Nyong’o:

World’s Greatest Leaders:

I was ousted for fighting corruption’ The news broke that Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the governor of the Nigeria’s Central Bank had been suspended by President Goodluck Jonathan. He claims that his suspension was in response to his fight against corruption.

Full story www.africanpro.co.za/ professionals 10

Oscar winner, world’s most beautiful woman

Strive Masiyiwa: Advice to aspiring entrepreneurs on raising finance Zimbabwean billionaire entrepreneur who is the founder and chairman of mobile services brand Econet Wireless writes about his early days seeking finance as a budding entrepreneur.

This is his story and lessons offered for aspiring business people. Full story www.africanpro. co.za/entrepreneurs

In the last quarter, we published a prediction that Kenyan actress Lupita Nyongo will claim East Africa’s first Oscar. We were right.

In this quarter we publish on www. africanpro.co.za/professionals three articles: coverage of her win, her father’s views and People magazine naming her the world’s most beautiful woman of 2014.

Full story www.africanpro.co.za/ professionals

Juliana Rotich/Strive Masiyiwa named in CNN’s World’s Greatest Leaders list CNN Fortune magazine is a biweekly magazine and home of the Fortune 500. In the publication’s latest issue, the magazine outlines its list of the World’s 50 Greatest Leaders. Among Africans on the list is Econet Wireless founder and chairman Strive Masiyiwa. Also named in position 47 is Juliana Rotich, the 36 year old founder and executive director of Kenyan non-profit organisation Ushahidi.

Full story www.africanpro.co.za/ entrepreneurs

Briefs

Regina Agyare:

Patrick Quarcoo:

Ugandan professionals:

South Africa Times Media acquires stake in Kenyan media giant Patrick Quarcoo is a founding shareholder and Group Managing Director of Kenya’s Radio Africa Group. He is at the centre of a concluded deal in which South African company Times Media Group (TMG) has bought a 49 per cent stake in Radio Africa Limited.

Full story www.africanpro.co.za/ entrepreneurs

Pioneering a generation of female African techpreneurs Regina Agyare was the first female IT specialist at an international bank in Ghana before quitting her job to start a software development company in Accra.

Regina started an initiative called “Tech Needs Girls” through which she volunteers her time and resources to teach girls in a poor neighbourhood programming.

Full story www.africanpro.co.za/ technology

Hatari Sekoko:

Ugandan professionals grabbing SA headlines for different reasons Two Ugandan professionals in the diaspora in two unrelated stories grab headlines in South Africa.

The country’s leading daily The Star newspaper reports on Dr Paul Semugoma, an openly gay doctor who has escaped deportation, and Philip Ganja, an actor who endured a kidnapping attempt that relieved him of R25, 000. Full story www. africanpro.co.za/professionals

Vimal Shah: Rejected by banks now ‘Kenya’s first dollar billionaire’

Once a refugee now behind Rwanda’s first sky-scraper Hatari Sekoko started his entrepreneurial journey with a small coffee. He spent a significant part of his life in exile including living in a refugee camp but today his major investment in real estate is Rwanda’s first skyscraper, the Kigali City Tower. Full story www. africanpro.co.za/entrepreneurs

According to a report by London based New Wealth World Group, Mr Vimal Shah, Bidco Oil Refineries’ chief executive is Kenya’s first dollar billionaire.

He refutes the claim. Profile story on www.africanpro.co.za/ entrepreneurs

11

ARTICLES AVAILABLE ON THEAFRICANPRO.COM Clayson Monyela:

Mashile-Nkosi:

Video Games:

Move over Candy crush, Africa has its own cool video games Check out our article on African video games from Nigeria including mosquito smasher which hope to rival successful applications like the much downloaded Candy Crush. Full story www.africanpro.co.za/ technology

12

Nigerians cannot vote in South Africa Clayson Monyela is an African professional who is South Africa’s head of Public Diplomacy a BrandSA Board Trustee and Chairman of Ubuntu Radio. He dismissed demands by Nigerians to participate in future South African elections. Full story www. africanpro.co.za/professionals

First SA woman to own manganese mine, Africa CEO of the year Daphne Mashile-Nkosi is the executive chairperson of Kalagadi Manganese. She is responsible for the creation of over 30 000 jobs in the Northern Cape Province, and will go down in history as the mother of the largest mining venture of its kind in the last 30 years. She was named Africa CEO of the year at an event in Switzerland. Full story www. africanpro.co.za/entrepreneurs

Richard Jonah: Remembering Richard Jonah, gone way too soon!

Richard Jonah was a hard-working executive director of Jonah Capital, the investment-focused entity his father founded after retiring from the presidency of Anglo-Gold Ashanti. He was the son of Sir Sam Jonah, former president of Anglo-gold Ashanti. He passed away in a hotel room in London.

Full story www.africanpro.co.za/ entrepreneurs

Briefs

Caroline Mwansa Marsh:

Samantha Tirivacho: Rocking the Barnyard theatre Samantha “Voyce” Tirivacho is a Zimbabwean professional singer and thespian currently a headline performer at the Barnyard Theatre in Cresta, Johannesburg. Her latest appearance is a leading role in the production ‘Battle of the Sexes’ where she takes on various vocal challenges including a song from Tina Turner. Full story www. africanpro.co.za/professionals 13

From Zambian air-hostess to British pound secret millionaire Caroline pens her brief autobiography tracing her journey from working in a defunct airline to becoming a respected property millionaire in the UK. Full story www.africanpro.co.za/ entrepreneurs

Xola Ndziba : Young African develops groundbreaking school portal Xola Ndziba is an African professional and entrepreneur behind the ground-breaking online school management system christened Limu. Full story www. africanpro.co.za/technology

All that hard work deserves a reward.

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RUDO KWARAMBA

REGIONAL DIRECTOR, WORLD VISION SOUTHERN AFRICA

A

ccording to the organisation’s website, World Vision (WV) is a Christian relief, development and advocacy organisation dedicated to working with children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice. It further states that they serve all people regardless of religion, race, ethnicity or gender.

The organisation operates in seven regions, three of which are in Africa: Eastern, Western and Southern. The Southern Africa region comprises nine country offices and is headed by Zimbabwean born Rudo Kwaramba.

She oversees a staff complement of close to four and a half thousand and manages a budget of $360 million a year.

“My role is to lead leaders and to guide and support,” Kwaramba said in an interview with this magazine at her home in Bryanston. “I am in constant dialogue with the national directors to see how the regional office and the global partnership can help them deliver on their strategies. Leadership is about finding excellent people, outlining their expected outcomes and holding them accountable.

When you understand why an organisation exists, it becomes easy to put together the financial and human aspects.”

Academically, Kwaramba holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Zimbabwe. She graduated from the institution in 1991 and completed her post-graduate studies in Humanitarian Law at

Lund University in Sweden. She is currently pursuing an online-based Masters degree in public policy via York University.

“I did not practice law for long; eight months at Masimirembwa GulaNdebele and Manase and two months at Kantor and Immerman. The latter firm was quite prestigious and my family and friends all thought I was crazy to leave a job as an associate there to join what was then a small women’s NGO. But I had realised early on that I did not derive great satisfaction from representing individuals and making lots of money. I am passionate about representing issues and in so doing making a difference.”

The NGO Kwaramba joined is called The Musasa Project. It addresses issues of violence against women including creating shelters for those of them who are abused. One of her first assignments was as a presenter for a thirteen week television programme known as Women Madzimai. The show was broadcast in Shona and presented her as a great spokesperson for women’s issues.

Her job title was Project Officer for Legal and Counselling Services and responsibilities included advising survivors of violence on their legal rights. Kwaramba frequently drew on her faith in seeking to help women see their options in a broader context.

“While seeking legal protection from abuse, they needed to also explore remedies that would not only end abuse but more critically transform their relationships. This often required that both parties submit to counselling.”

At

a more structural level, Kwaramba joined the many activists fighting to transform gender relations in society while upholding the legal rights of women .It was in this

15

context that she was involved in working with the police and the justice system to establish victim friendly processes in the police force and court system.

After three years at Musasa Project, she took a year’s break during which she worked with the United Nations

16

“It was not easy at the time for a Zimbabwean to head a global charity organisation in his or her own country.

People were always keen to assess what side of the political divide you favoured and donors would also question the direction in which their funds would be deployed. There were many who also argued that rather than feed people, we should let them endure suffering which will lead them to rise for permanent change. It was both challenging and

Mission which took a number of English millionaires to Kabale, Uganda with the objective of finding permanent solutions to poverty.

“My heart connected with Uganda on that trip and when the position of National Director for WV Uganda became vacant, I did not hesitate to High Commission for Refugees before apply. I moved to Kampala in 2008 returning to Musasa as National and stayed in the role for four and a Director for a further year. In 1999, she half years before taking up my current joined WV as the post. Ugandans are country director “I did not practice law for long; I had realised lovely people, once for the Zimbabwe they see your heart, early on that I did not derive great satisfaction they embrace you. office. from representing individuals and making lots of I felt that I had the “I was very money. I am passionate about representing issues space to build an reluctant to take amazing team.” and in so doing making a difference.....” up the job,” she admitted. “I was When she replaced very comfortable around issues of American Bruce Wilkinson, Kwaramba exhausting. When a vacancy for violence against women and felt out of became the first black female regional ‘Director – Advocacy, Communication my depth moving outside that arena. leader in WV. She is perfectly poised and Education’ opened in our UK But I am the kind of person who, to be an effective regional leader Office, I decided to apply and moved to once you explain an issue to me and I having served at both ends of the WV England in two thousand and four.” understand it, I will be able to speak its organisation; in the support section language and advocate for it. So it was during her time as communications Both her new role and cultural a natural progression to move to WV director in England and in operations environment were completely different. which addresses a broader number of as the national director for two African She recalled that although it was not issues of social exclusion.” countries. easy to communicate to the British When she took over, there were less public about the issues affecting the KC ROTTOK than a hundred members of staff ‘global south’, they were generally working for WV Zimbabwe. This receptive and are strong believers in increased to approximately 1,400 as a social justice. result of the food crisis that impacted Southern Africa soon after the turn of the century. WV depends mainly In 2005, Kwaramba was a on donor funds from both individuals spokesperson for the Coalition of and government agencies and the NGO’s involved in the “Make Poverty budget that the Zimbabwe office was History” global campaign which called responsible for grew from fifteen to for an increase in aid, cancellation of one hundred million dollars during this third-world debt and free trade. She period. was also involved in a British TV programme known as the Millionaires

17

SOPHIE NDABA

A LIFETIME ON TV, LESSONS IN BUSINESS AND GIVING BACK TO ZIMBABWE

S

18

as I was pregnant so I took a few ophie Ndaba (née Mphasane) Why have you stayed with Generations business courses as well as a certificate was born in 1972 in Soweto and so long? course in television production which completed her early schooling led to the start of my modelling and TV in Zimbabwe. She started modelling I have been on the show for over 20 career in 1992. after high school before becoming an years. Everyone else who was on the actress in various TV productions. Her show has left but I like it because it So is Zimbabwe a thing of the past for big break came when she landed the is my foundation. I have found God’s you? role of Queen Moroka in the soapie favour on the show. I am also loyal; Generations. According to her TVSA. some people get tired and see bigger Definitely not. Zim is an important co.za profile, Sophie has received things out there. I stick by it and some part of my life. I speak Shona and numerous nominations including Best people think am mad for doing so. I have Ndebele fluently and my sister and many Soap Actress in both the 2002 Duku been offered roles on other shows but I Duku Awards declined. Queen is which she won a household name; “I lived with two families growing up, one in for me to go to in 2003, and the Bulawayo and another in Harare. More importantly another soapie and 2004 Children’s M-Net Awards. the orphanage where I grew up is an important part try and re-create a She also received of my upbringing. One of my aspirations through different brand is a nomination just not on. The part my foundation this year is to give back to it. It gave I enjoyed most was for Most Stylish actress in the 2003 me a foundation and I want to inspire the kids there the beginning when Elle/Sunday Times to understand that whatever they dream of, if they we were building Style Awards. the character. The couple it with passion and hard work, they will be transition from the She spent some successful....” time with TAP simple location girl reflecting on her to the sophisticated other family members still live there. I career and life lessons. suburbs was interesting and exciting. lived with two families growing up, one The downside is that Queen does in Bulawayo and another in Harare.

Tell us about your early life not have her own story line; she is More importantly the orphanage where dependent on other peoples so it goes I grew up is an important part of my down at times and then livens later. But As a child I moved to Zimbabwe upbringing. One of my aspirations that is life anyway; you have good days where my maternal grandfather is from. through my foundation this year is to and bad days.

Both my parents had serious kidney give back to the orphanage. It gave me a problems and were unable to take foundation and I want to inspire the kids care of me. We were very poor back How do you handle the fame that there to understand that whatever they then so I was placed in an orphanage comes with being on TV? dream of, if they couple it with passion in Harare and attended Admiral Tait and hard work, they will be successful.

Primary School and Roosevelt Girls People see me as Queen and I don’t judge people for what they do, High School. My Christianity comes acknowledge me as such. I don’t mind I look at how hard they work at it and from there - I used to write letters all it, those are my fans and I am fine with how they change other peoples’ lives the time and sign off God bless you! To that. They are celebrating the brand. doing it. That is what I want to teach this day my family still teases me that I When you’re starting off as a young those kids. As technology is the future, never forget my God in my letters. But person you really want people to know it would be good to put up a little you lose the Lord once in a while. After you. You want to be recognized and to library and computer room for them. high school, I couldn’t go to university be famous. It was exciting back then but

later you mature and understand that your freedom is gone. People who you have not given permission to own you feel like they do. They believe they have the right to say she should be doing this to so and so or she shouldn’t be saying this or saying that. I do not apologise to anyone for being myself. When I look at the trials and tribulations I have been through, I realize I am just a child of God. Knowing God is my true success.

When things go well it is a

blessing and when they don’t it is a lesson.

Other than TV what else do you do?

I lived with the Shambare family in Zimbabwe who had many businesses including butcheries, general stores and flower shops. Their kids and I all worked in those

businesses and that is where my entrepreneurial spirit was cultivated. I learnt a whole load of things including cash management. That is how I started off my catering business a while ago which has morphed into an events and production company today. I named my company Sophla Trading using my nickname because I consider myself a brand. Last year I launched a mobile phone called Sophla in partnership with AG Mobile. It targets the mass market and retails at various stores including Edgars, Pep and Jetmart. I am also an ambassador for the Maslow Hotel as well as for the Cell-C mobile telecommunications network. I consult within the construction industry and do interior design.

The plan within the next five years is to gather knowledge, market and grow this area of my business.

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What lessons have entrepreneurship taught you?

I have learnt to hang onto people who know things that I don’t. I also seek out the areas of business that other people don’t want and exploit that niche. My advice for other aspiring entrepreneurs is to do something you know and are passionate about.

Dictatorship does not apply to business; do something that you can be involved in and have a hands-on approach. Don’t see a franchise and think that you can just buy in and sit back. In my catering business I used to spend the whole

night with my team cooking. You should expect to get your hands dirty particularly in the beginning. Women make good entrepreneurs because of their ability to multi-task.

KEITH KUNDAI

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CHIBUNDU ONUZO YOUNG, SPIRITED NIGERIAN AUTHOR OF ‘THE SPIDER KINGS DAUGHTER’

C

hibundu Onuzo describes herself on her Facebook account as having been born in Nigeria in 1991 and being the youngest of four children.

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Her claim to fame is writing the novel ‘The Spider King’s Daughter’ which was brought to stores by the reputable publishers Faber and Faber when Onuzo was only twenty one. It is an enviable feat that she signed with the UK publishing giant at age nineteen becoming the youngest author to do so ever since its formation in 1929. She is currently pursuing a PhD in history at London’s King College.

TAP editor KC Rottok met with Chibundu for lunch at a Johannesburg restaurant and filed the following interview.

You describe yourself on your twitter account as Igbo, Yoruba, Lagosian, Wazobia. What does this all mean and why such an elaborate expression of your identity?

One problem in Nigeria is that where your father is from supersedes everything including where you grew up and where your mother comes from. I suppose it is important for me that other aspects of my identity are recognised including the fact that I grew up in Lagos. My mother is Yoruba and my father is Igbo so I have both in my heritage. I may have gone to high school in England but I made a conscious decision not to pick up a British accent. I don’t mind repeating myself when the English don’t understand me. I don’t bear an English name because my father always said

he has never met a white man called Emeka. As for Wazobia, Nigerians know the meaning. It is derived from the word ‘come’ in the languages of the three largest tribes; Igbo, Yoruba and Hausa.

What is the book the Spider Kings Daughter about and what informed your writing it?

The book is about a girl called Abike Johnson who grows up in an upper middle class family in a wealthy part of Lagos. Her father is rich and has legitimate sources of wealth but people suspect him of doing shady things in the background. Then there is a street hawker who she meets on the side of the road. He is good looking and well spoken. She decides to stop and speak to him and they become friends. The story evolves from there.

I went to a private school in Lagos and although the book is not inspired by any specific person, we had many of those kids who were like Abike.

Most of them live on the island and are isolated from the rest of the city. So it was interesting for me to explore the idea of one of them crossing the divide.

Has the publishing of the book lived up to your expectations?

Well I think with your first book, everyone is mostly nice to you. It has far exceeded my expectations receiving very flattering reviews from many newspapers. It has been translated into French, Spanish and Turkish. I suppose the reason for the great amount of the publicity is that I managed to get published so young. My friends

are always teasing me that I will be described as the “twenty-one year old writer” even when I am seventy. The book has opened doors for me, giving interviews as far afield as Singapore, being invited to speak at a women’s conference in Bangladesh and doing book readings at a women’s prison in London. I have done work for the BBC and occasionally write for the Guardian.

I am also frequently called up by the media to comment on Nigerian issues.

Has the reception been entirely positive and if not, how do you deal with criticism?

There was one blogger who opined that I was overrated and that all the hype around me and the book was misplaced.

Whereas everyone is entitled to their own opinion, I didn’t give place much weight on it as it was not a very popular or well written blog. There are many of those out there, I am unable to keep up. It is actually my siblings who read them and share them with me. There was also one commentator who posted at length beneath one of my Guardian articles. She provided details from our high school proving that she knew me personally then went on to demolish my article.

None of these have affected me really. It takes a lot to drive me to tears and even then I rarely dwell on the problem. For instance, I cried yesterday when my books failed to arrive for my book reading but I quickly moved on.

What do you seek to achieve with your next book?

I have completed a first draft of it and it is also a fictional piece that is set partly in Lagos and partly in England.

Beyond that I cannot say much more about it. I hope to achieve world domination with it! Only joking. I hope it gets translated into more languages than the first. I also hope that it gets published and widely distributed in America and Nigeria. America is a big and lucrative market and as for Nigeria, I made the mistake of thinking that market will sort itself out given that I am from there.

You have a Masters in Public Policy and you are also on record saying that you would like to be a Nigerian politician, what role do you see yourself playing?

I fear that I may have studied public policy a bit too early. It was more theoretic and probably by the time I am implementing it the concepts may neither be relevant nor

transferable to the Lagos environment.

I say Lagos because I don’t intend to serve at the federal level in Nigeria.

The federal government is gangrenous, no matter how clean a head you put at the top, the rest of the body is rotten and rotting. We have a few credible ministers who are coming to terms with that reality at the moment. I do not mind being a local leader serving an area of two to three million people.

That is actually the size of a European country. But it is not a do or die situation for me, it is not a must that I venture into politics. I have learnt to be realistic with my ambitions as I get older. When I was younger I thought I would have published seven books by the time I was thirty but that seems unlikely now.

I hope my thesis gets published. It is based on the West African Student Union that was instrumental in the freedom struggle. They played a pivotal role in the history of West Africa and it is unfortunate that, unlike say the English, our historical figures are not broadly recorded.

KC ROTTOK

Image courtesy of C. Onuzo

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NANZALA MWAURA Key Accounts Director, IPSOS Sub-Saharan Africa

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“I felt like I had been left in the middle of the highway when my husband died. I realize now that when you have no choice, the resilience and strength to pick up the pieces and carry on are within you….”

N

anzala Mwaura literally stumbled into the research industry and has no regrets

affordable housing for the poor. Her main responsibilities were producing a quarterly bulletin and generating reports for donors.

increasing distribution by not selling it.

The magazine became self-sustaining by the second issue and is still running to date.”

“It is an exciting industry especially now that Africa is developing and growing so fast. You interact with business from an information point of view and you seek to understand consumers and stakeholders giving them a voice through the science that underpins the industry.”

Nanzala always had a natural inclination for the sciences, disciplines that were encouraged by her father who was a medical doctor. After completing high school at St. Bridgids, Kiminini in 1988, she enrolled at Kenyatta University for a degree in Biochemistry and Zoology.

This opportunity was the foundation of Nanzala’s career. It sharpened her writing skills and built her experience as a manager.

The working hours at KIM allowed Nanzala to complete an MBA in Strategic Management through Moi University. It also exposed her to management principles for the very first time.

about it.

By her second year, the hours spent in the laboratory made her realize she would not like to do this long term.

She became open to a different career option.

“When I was invited to write science-based articles for the leading daily newspaper, I obliged” she recalled in an interview at IPSOS offices in Johannesburg where she is Director – Key Accounts Management for the Sub-Saharan Africa Region.

Nanzala fell in love with the media industry and after completing her first degree pursued a postgraduate qualification in journalism at Nairobi University. She joined the PR department of African Housing Fund (AHF), a unit of Shelter Afrique, a non-profit organization that financed

“Ingrid Munro, Chief Manager AHF, was a tough yet nurturing boss,” she informed.

After three years at AHF, she responded to an advertisement in the newspaper and found herself in an interview in front of Roger Steadman, the owner of a budding group of companies in the East African region.

“The job at Steadman managing a team was enjoyable and exciting for a young professional. These were the formative years of the company and the work entailed interacting with clients, writing proposals, implementing projects as well as expanding the company’s footprint on the continent; venturing into countries that had not been covered before.”

In 2003, after six years at The Steadman Group she took up a position at the Kenya Institute of Management (KIM) as Associate Director, Corporate Affairs, where she was responsible for marketing, membership, the Company of the Year Awards (COYA) and the Institute’s magazine.

“When I arrived, the magazine was not doing well. I turned it around by improving the content and design, offering a few free adverts and

“I realized that many of us become managers without the right training. It is important to pursue a management course as soon as you become a manager to be effective.”

Nanzala’s husband passed away while she was at KIM and two months later, Steadman offered her the opportunity to move to South Africa to set up their operations in Johannesburg.

“I initially declined but began warming up to the idea when I realized everything in Kenya reminded me of my husband and the unbelievably painful experience of losing him. People also treated me with a lot of pity which made me feel like I needed to get away.”

She relocated to South Africa with her two daughters. She settled in well in Johannesburg which is as cosmopolitan as Kitale Town where she was born and raised.

The experience in setting up the office in South Africa office was a major milestone in Nanzala’s career. Working in the southern part of the continent had as many challenges as opportunities.

Steadman South Africa was run for three years under Nanzala’s leadership until 2008 when Synovate acquired

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the group. Her role then transitioned to a regional one covering SubSaharan Africa. In 2011, Synovate was acquired by Ipsos to become the third largest research c o m p a n y globally with a solid footprint in Africa.

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“ W h e n I compare working at Steadman to working in Ipsos, I would say with each experience you build a different set of skills.

Within a small organization there was a lot of flexibility and decisionm a k i n g is faster.

However, in our industry, size matters and being in a large organization is beneficial. For instance, we are able to bid and win large multi-country projects; you have access to expertise in almost any field, are exposed to new cutting edge analytical tools and therefore able to offer more to your clients.”

She added that working in a small organization gave her an opportunity to understand business end to end.

Like in most industries, the 80-20 rule applies to market research where

twenty percent of clients provide eighty percent of the revenue. Nanzala’s role is to ensure that these key clients are properly serviced and to build a

to be numerical and to be an effective communicator. With these two skills, it is easy to re-invent yourself. One should also invest in continuous development; degrees and diplomas should have an expiry date in this changing world.”

S h e further advised other women not to get caught up in complaining a b o u t inequalities in the current environment.

partnership and relationship that goes beyond the business transaction.

Nanzala is well-positioned on the corporate ladder and hers is a story of reinvention leading up to this point. From transitioning to public relations after a degree in Bio-chemistry to taking up a management role in a foreign country and settling in the research industry, her story has taken different twists and turns from which she has emerged with a number of life lessons.

“One key lesson is that it is essential

“There is nothing really holding us back.

Sometimes we have this complex that we cannot achieve excellence and yet all that is needed is that one last push. I have also learnt that we are stronger than we think we are. I felt like I had been left in the middle of the highway when my husband died. I realize now that when you have no choice, the resilience and strength to pick up the pieces and carry on are within you.”

KEITH KUNDAI

IDFM MANAGERS

SOUTH AFRICA’S ONLY WOMEN OWNED PRIVATE EQUITY FIRM

P. Leteka S. Sebotsa

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“We not only provide funding but also business support because we realize that a good number of entrepreneurs need a bit of guidance more than financial support.....”

A

young Polo Leteka was instantly influenced by the story of Sindiswa Zilwa that she read in a magazine. The account of South Africa’s second black female chartered accountant led Leteka to pursue the same undergraduate degree - BCom in Computer Science, undertaken by Zilwa.

“This was in 1993 and I did not

have any particular career guidance so my fascination with Zilwa’s story was all I had to go by when I joined the University of Western Cape,” she told TAP at an interview at The Identity Group offices in Illovo. “I changed my major to accounting in my second year after realizing that I was quite good at

it. After completing my degree I joined Gobodo Chartered Accountants as an article clerk in 1997.”

Leteka did not enjoy being an article clerk but stuck it out given the sacrifices her mother had made to educate her. She ventured into corporate finance joining aloeCap Investment and Corporate Advisory for two years before moving to Standard Bank where she was exposed to collective investment schemes as a property fund manager.

“From a young age I always wanted to be an entrepreneur and I recall I went to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in 2003 to find out what business sectors were viable.

A c o nve r s a t i o n ensued with management and I was encouraged to apply for a job at the DTI as the Director responsible for access to finance in the area of Broadbased Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE).”

For a job that she literally stumbled upon, Leteka said her tenure at the DTI

was eye-opening.

“When you work elsewhere, you probably have a single boss. In government, your boss is 52 million South Africans and that reality makes you approach things differently. The decisions you make have far reaching implications for very many people.”

The resonance of Leteka’s decisions and those of her team became even more significant when she was appointed the Chief Director for BEE in 2005 and a trustee of the National Empowerment Fund (NEF). Her team was responsible for drafting the very first codes of good practice on BBBEE. She explained that it was hard work and “whereas certain criticism of the code is not completely unfounded, they cannot be faulted for the role they have played in accelerating affirmative action which could not have happened if left to market forces”.

In spite of the fulfilling nature of her job, the entrepreneurial bug came biting again and in June 2007, Leteka left the DTI to work on the Identity concept. The company was co-founded

by Sonja Sebotsa who Leteka had interacted with on the NEF board.

Sonja holds an LLB (Hons) degree, an MA Economics and Business degree and has completed the Harvard Executive Programme. She has an investment banking background and has served as a director of several prominent companies including Discovery Limited, Anglo American Platinum, Firstrand, Aquarius Platinum Limited and Mr Price Holdings.

“She also worked for Women’s Development Bank,” added Leteka, “an institution that makes investments for the benefit of rural women. We had the view that whereas BBBEE presented us as black women with a financial background with an opportunity to create wealth for ourselves, we also needed a vehicle that will enable us to empower others.”

The Identity Group comprises three companies: Identity Capital Partners (IP), Identity Development Fund Managers (IDFM) and Identity Resources (IR).

IP’s principal activities are making proprietary investments and carrying out advisory work for private and public sector clients. This company is run

by Sonja and its investment portfolio includes investments in Sasol Limited, Foskor Limited, Etana Insurance, EuroDollar and Altech Netstar.

IR is a subsidiary of IP and is run and co-owned by Sipho Mofokeng. It was established in2011 as an investment vehicle focusing on acquiring opportunities in the mining resources sector. It also offers exploration and mining services.

Leteka runs and is the CEO of IDFM, a fund set up to invest predominantly in women and youth owned businesses.

“We don’t only provide funding but also business support because we realize that a good number of entrepreneurs need a bit of guidance more than financial support,” asserted Leteka. “For instance, I was meeting a

lady recently who wanted us to provide her business with funding and yet she had over a million rand owing to her.

That is a cash flow management issue more than a need for finance. We try to provide a holistic response to applicant entrepreneurs.”

IDFM’s first fund had R149 million funds under management with more than fifty clients. They invest, on average, R1.5 million per approved i n v e s t e e company.

IDFM is currently raising its second fund and has already raised more than half its targeted fund size.

“We have a mission to uplift women entrepreneurs.

It has also been proven that women are less risky and every rand spent on a woman goes further.

That said, each investment needs to have commercial merit as we need to provide a return to our investors. Thus far we have not lost money and have made some returns.”

Identity has ambitions of going into the rest of the continent in future.

“It is Africa’s century. There are pockets of excellence where homegrown solutions have been proven - like that of Equity Bank in Kenya.

If something works, I am of the view that we should roll it out quickly. At Identity, we are currently confined by the nature of the funders we have whose focus is empowering South Africa’s previously disadvantaged citizens. But we are beginning to have conversations

with international institutions which we hope will result in them supporting us in rolling out this proven model in the rest of the continent.”

KEITH KUNDAI

MODERN VS. TRADITIONAL: WHAT MAKES ONE AN AUTHENTIC AFRICAN?

A

few months ago, I had the exhausting pleasure of hosting family and friends visiting South Africa for the first time. As any gracious host, I took them around popular tourist attractions, and enjoyed watching their pleasure when exposed to different cultures. As part of the experience we decided to sample a common restaurant that served exotic South African dishes. We met a tourist who seemed to have excessively imbibed that drink that some claim loosens (or is it lessens) one’s thoughts. He stopped at our table and said, “I just love it when I travel to Africa and I get to experience the “Africanness” of Africa.”

We could understand what he meant. Besides the food, he was also referring to a group of young men dressed in traditional regalia entertaining guests with traditional songs and dances.

So powerful were their voices and movements that the ground shook when they stamped their feet. This was the true African experience the gentleman was talking about.

But there was also another performer at the restaurant: a young man dressed in long clean trousers, a well-ironed collared shirt and polished black shoes. He moved around with a newspaper, a bottle of mineral water in his hand and balanced a cigarette between his lips. His task was to entertain the clients with “magic” tricks.

He too is an important and true representation of Africa and “Africanness”; the modern, cosmopolitan Africa.

By Wanjiru Waichigo Njogu, full article available on www.africanpro.co.za/contributors Image - Chris Kirchhoff, MediaClubSouthAfrica.com

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OPHELIA AKOSAH-BEMPAH Manager: Company Secretarial Department, AngloGold Ashanti Limited

Describe your career leading up to your current position?

32

my experience in the corporate world, I probably would have selected for a different career. For example I could have pursued law and still become a company secretary but with a broader scope and better career opportunities.

Having said that, I still love what I do.

I gain a lot of knowledge in different subjects by attending meetings and listening to the myriad of discussions by very learned and experienced individuals. One of the aspects of my job that I wished I did not have to do is writing minutes – summarising the

significant success in building a more cohesive Ghanaian community within Johannesburg and its environs through organising a number of events and other endeavours. We have also donated equipment to a hospital in Ghana from the funds raised from our events.

I graduated from the University of Cape Coast in Ghana with a BA (Hons) Secretaryship in 1988. I undertook my national service in the University as a teaching assistant in 1989 and soon after worked as an Administration Assistant Having lived in SA for so many with an investment consultancy firm years do you consider the country in Accra. In 1990 I joined the Public home?

Relations Office of the Ghana National One must consider wherever he or Petroleum Corporation where I worked she lives as home, but the nostalgia of as a Public Relations Officer until one’s birthplace will always be present.

2001. Whilst at the Living in a foreign GNPC, I completed “Continuous learning and an insatiable quest for land presents an the examinations opportunity to learn knowledge should be a life-long goal. One should a different culture. of the Institute always strive for excellence in whatever one does I have enriched of Chartered Secretaries.

My my perspective on and make oneself almost indispensable...” next career move life through my was with the Company Secretarial proceedings of a five hour discussion, interaction with a diverse culture like Department of the then Ashanti especially in a technical area like the one that South Africa is endowed Goldfields Company Limited (AGC) mining, and deciding what should be with.

It has however not been all where I occupied various positions recorded and presented accurately and smooth-sailing; my family has had to culminating in the position of Company correctly, is not always easy. learn to be security conscious after Secretary and Administration Manager. having been victims of criminal activity.

The journey to my position as Manager Tell us about OBAASIMA Ghanaian of the Company Secretarial Department Club and your role as the chairperson.

What life and career lessons have you of AngloGold Ashanti Limited began gathered over the years? in 2006 when I moved to South Africa OBAASIMA was formed in 2008

from Ghana. This was after AngloGold when a group of Ghanaian ladies met Always try to look at the positive Limited merged with AGC in 2004 to at a funeral. The formation of the side of life. Make maximum use of form AngloGold Ashanti Limited.

Club was a spontaneous reaction to a opportunities that come your way rather statement by one of the ladies to the than spend valuable time complaining Why did you choose to go into company effect that we should not only meet about everything. Continuous learning secretarial and what are the highs and during funerals or at other once-in-a and an insatiable quest for knowledge lows of your job?

-while occasions. We decided there should be a life-long goal. One should and then to meet at a specified date to always strive for excellence in whatever When I was joining university, formalise its formation. I was initially one does and make oneself almost Secretaryship was one of the courses the vice president but assumed the indispensable. held in high esteem and only a handful presidency in 2009. of students who obtained very good What do you do for fun and how do grades at high school stood a chance of OBAASIMA has since become a you achieve a work-life balance? gaining admission for this course. With household name and we have achieved

Not much fun in the conventional sense – I like to watch news channels when I have the time. I also listen to the radio whilst at work as it keeps me relaxed. A reasonable work-life balance is achieved through meticulous time management. When you see me in the kitchen with ear phones in my ears, don’t think it is music; I am listening to recordings of meetings so as to refresh my memory of the discussions and reduce the time I spend drafting the minutes.

Visiting the gym for at least an hour five days a week is also a stress reliever for me. It also provides me with the opportunity to spend quality time with my two younger children who regularly accompany me.

KEITH KUNDAI

33

A PARENT’S DUTY

“P

arents are sometimes a bit of a disappointment to their children.

They don’t fulfil the promise of their early years” said Anthony Powell.

On my way to work the other day, I was listening to one of the more popular breakfast shows on radio. They were discussing eating disorders and whether black children succumb to such conditions and to matters of selfesteem. I was deeply moved by some of the calls that came in.

34

The next call was from a thirty year old woman who explained that she is “the ugly duckling” in her family as she was darkest and chubbiest. She was often teased that she was not as pretty as her sisters. She started trying to lose weight at nine years of age! She would take laxatives and when that did not work she would make herself throw up.

Now she has moved to eating excessive amounts of food or drinks a large quantity of milk to make herself throw

we are busy trying to provide for these children. It is very difficult because we tend to be stretched very thin especially for single parents - but we need to prioritise our children, after all, “life affords no greater responsibility, no greater privilege, than the raising of the next generation.”

Take time out to talk to your children. Find out what your child is thinking about, stressing about, enjoying, hating or loving.

Love is in taking a minute out “In many African cultures we do not of your busy day to hug them In the few African recognise genuine medical conditions long and hard. Sometimes cultures I know enough to love is in the showing and not comment about (there are so like bulimia and anorexia. One is the telling because before we many tribes in Africa as a generally expected to buck up and know it, that foundation will whole I dare not generalise) a deal with it.....” be dry and we will wonder lot of conditions that Western who created these little culture might more easily monsters or that bundle of insecurities. up. Despite all of this, she still calls recognise as a medical issue are not “Each day of our lives we make deposits herself “fat” and says she feels “ugly.” recognised as such. This includes eating in the memory banks of our children.”

When she first started dating she would disorders like bulimia and anorexia, What sort of deposit have you made get so upset when her boyfriend told psychological issues such as low selfinto your child’s memory bank lately? her she was beautiful because she felt esteem and depression in children etc. he was mocking her. She said she has One is generally expected to buck up CHIONESU SAKUTUKWA shied away from seeing a psychologist and deal with it. Sometimes it works Twitter: @chiovictoria as she doesn’t want to deal with the but we fail those for whom it does not stigma associated with it or to be told work. things she doesn’t want to hear.

One girl called in to say her eleven She was failed as a child. As parents, year old last born brother is bulimic our duty is to build up our children. We as a result of endless teasing as he is are charged with moulding a human the chubbiest of his friends. He makes life. To build them by encouraging himself throw up everything he eats them, weeding out bad habits, teaching in order to lose weight. His much them to love themselves in a healthy older siblings have told their mother way, helping them build healthy selfthat he has a medical problem in an esteem, and letting ourselves be their effort to help him. They suggested he place of safety. We are charged with get professional help. Their mother’s helping them build the basis from response was there is no such thing which they will grow forever. We are and he is just stupid. Their mother is charged with getting them help when convinced if they ignore it will go away. it all gets too much for them. I know

JHB 45363

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HOmE Of africaN ENtErt iN ENt

WHICH BOOK?

Njabulo Ndebele’s, Pumla Gqola’s or Chimamanda Adichie’s?

T

36

the patient strong African woman. his being the women’s issue , we We then got wind of Beyonce’s thought it appropriate to review latest surprise album with the song Before settling on Ndebele’s story, a book that focuses on women “Flawless” which features Chimamanda we were distracted by another brilliant as authors or as powerful characters.

Adichie’s sample of the speech, “We book, “A renegade called Simphiwe” The recently released 2nd edition should all be feminists” given in early

by Pumla Gqola. Tracing the inspiring of “The Cry of Winnie Mandela” 2013 at the TEDxEuston in London. yet complex life of Simphiwe Dana,

by Njabulo Ndebele was suggested.

It is said that there was a tremendous Gqola shares her perception of not only The book is a true reflection of the increase in the sales of her latest Simphiwe’s work as a musical artist, but publics’ interpretation of Winnie’s book Americana on Amazon after the of her (the author’s) interpretation of life: a splendid fusion of fiction and release of the song. Everyone wanted different ideas associated with everyday real life. For many years now, Winnie to read the African author influencing living, interactions and relationships.

Madikizela-Mandela has been able to Beyonce’s music.

She embraces the use of art and other maintain an element of mystery about creative platforms as transformative her lived experiences: a “you-said As an author Adichie needs little spaces capable of articulating critical it, I-didn’t” kind of attitude. Ndebele introduction. Born and raised in Nigeria, issues while entertaining. I had to fight creatively takes advantage of this and she has continuously challenged the through the cold feet I developed at the addresses the painful processes of way we frame our thinking. She is thought of reviewing a book whose “waiting” by black women in apartheid proficient in mixing heavy issues loaded author taught me.

South Africa. He explores this through with unsettling realities and emotions, four women and and presenting their imagined cocktails of themes “This being the women’s issue , we thought it and conversations conversations appropriate to review a book that focuses on women in the form of with Winnie Madikizelabeautiful stories as authors or as powerful characters...”

Mandela, the “most that leaves readers unmarried, married stirred if not woman”. shaken. The potency of her cocktails It is a book that refuses to be does not shroud the sweetness of the pigeonholed into mainstream genres; Although Njabulo is insightful in enthralling human stories. hence some may find it confusing, this book, his presentation of female but this is what makes it even more characters is somewhat disturbing. Their Physical and mental movement and refreshing and contemplative. The experiences are consistently described migration characterizes the 21st century. author’s voice is as central as the as a function of, and reactionary to, This broadens our understanding of artist whose story is told, but they do the “other”: father, lover, husband, and culture, and influences how we relate to not compete. They complement and children. Thus begging the question, each other. It encourages us to question moderate each other. It is a beautiful who is she without the “other”? what we think we know about who tapestry of mind-blowing essays and Unfortunately, this is archetypical when we are, and how our identity co-exists stories. If you fancy exhilarating engaging in discourses of nationalism with everything else: the people we conversations on identity, black and liberation struggles. Granted, one meet, and the economies and laws we consciousness, sexual politics, and may rightfully rebut and claim this to can’t escape. This is what Americana is feminism, then this is the type of book be the true representation of women at all about. It is a book that once read, you want in your library. A biography that time. Admittedly, the author does changes the way we look at world with a twist, it is a must read. Maybe tease out uncomfortable but necessary issues. this review should have been of Gqola’s conversations on androcentrism, book. memory, violence and the paradigm of

TAP Book-Review

Set in Nigeria, America and briefly in the UK, the novel tells the story of Ifemelu, and her interactions with the people she loves and associates with.

Ifemelu is born and raised in Nigeria, but moves to America in search of a better quality of life and education.

The book employs popular culture and is grounded

Adichie uniquely incorporates the structural form of popular culture and products of modernity in her writing, such us the use of blog format and emails.

She cleverly intertwines the personal with the public. For instance,

laws that govern foreignness.

movement

and

The common, interesting thread among these three books is their style.

They defy mainstream classification, while giving voice to the experiences of the African woman. When asked about Americana in a recent interview with Huff

37

post,

on your typical romance template; girl meets boy; girl and boy fall in love; g i r l and boy grow apart: girl and boy finally find their way back to each other.

But it is the way the author handles and executes this love story that makes the book a page-turner. The performance of femininity and masculinity by the characters, how they interact with each other sexually, emotionally and intellectually, and how they negotiate their individual identities as they engage with different cultures proves that this is not your ordinary love story.

Obinze who is Ifemelu’s first love grapples with trying to get the elusive national security number in the UK. In a desperate move to avoid deportation, he pays someone to arrange a marriage of convenience with a young woman who has UK citizenship. Ifemelu, also finds herself a victim of desperation.

After trying in vain to get a job when she migrates to the US, she ends up allowing a sexual encounter that leaves her filled with disgust, in order to get some little money. Such private acts of desperation and survival are presented against public and universal concepts/

Adichie p e r fe c t ly captures what African authors are now doing when she responds, “I wanted to break the rules�. All three authors very delicately do.

WANJIRU WAICHIGO NJOGU

THE NEW IMMIGRATION REGULATIONS IN A NUTSHELL

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T

he past quarter has been very eventful with the publishing of the Draft Immigration Regulations, 2014 the end of the public comment period and subsequent meetings of Home Affairs officials with industry stakeholders.

Visa Facilitation Services The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) has appointed a private company (VFS) to act as their “front office” from May 2014. For an additional fee, applications will be submitted at their offices then scanned to Pretoria for adjudication. Home Affairs is hoping to increase service levels and eliminate corruption at the counters and the loss of applications. Immigration practitioners can accompany their clients to VFS offices and can also collect the results on behalf of their clients. There will be a standard appointment schedule as well as the option for VIP appointments.

Pulling of the “travel directive” and re-instatement For a period of about six to eight weeks, foreigners traveling with expired permits who had pending applications were hit with severe fines on exit as a result of the withdrawal of Directive 43 of 2010. Directive 43 allows foreigners to exit and re-enter the country with

an expired temporary residence permit as long as one produces proof from the DHA that the permit application is pending. Its withdrawal meant that applicants who had complied with the Immigration Laws were fined due to delays in the processing of their applications. The Minister realized that this decision was not one of her best and reinstated the directive.

Foreigners must travel with the original acknowledgement of receipt and proof of payment of the application fee of their pending application to avoid a fine.

The major changes according to the new Immigration Regulations When writing this article the final Immigration Regulations had not yet been published and they may deviate slightly from the summary below: All applicants must appear before Home Affairs or VFS in person when submitting applications. For followups, liaising and collection, applicants can continue to be represented by immigration experts.

You can no longer change your status from a visitor visa; first time applications for work or business visas must be submitted abroad. If you wish to change your status from a study to a work visa, you must do so thirty days before your current visa expires. When submitting applications all documents must be part of the application and cannot be submitted later. The requirement of a repatriation fee has been dropped and replaced with severe penalties for overstaying.

There is a new requirement for the Department of Labour to be involved in work permit applications and the Department of Trade and Industry

TAP Immigration:

for business visas which will result in increased processing times. The Department of Labour will request numerous documents designed to check that no South African is able to fill the position for which the work permit is sought. Additionally, the vacancy must be registered with the Department of Labour Employment Services Database. Many multinationals will likely be unwilling to do that.

Further important changes are: Life Partnerships need to be in existence for more than five years to be accepted as a basis for an application for permanent residence; Intra Company Transfer Visa is now valid for four years instead of two; quota and exceptional skills permits will be replaced by the critical skills visa (which skills are considered to be critical, nobody knows yet); Study visa will only be issued for registered institutions; and foreign journalists, visiting professors, artists and certain other professions can get a visitor permit with authorization to work for up to three years in the future.

Permanent Residence stickers Ports of entry will no longer rely on PR stickers and foreigners must travel with their original PR certificate in the future.

Again, a decision I cannot understand.

If you lose your PR certificate you have to wait about one and a half years for a confirmation of PR status.

So, where does it leave us? These changes will lead to much longer processing times for most applications.

Andreas Krensel is the owner and managing director of IBN Consulting (www. ibn.co.za). He is a qualified attorney with an LLM from UCT and has been assisting foreigners in South Africa for many years.

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GINA ESSAH

Regional Operations Manager at Moneygram

Tell us about your background I was born in Kumasi, in the Ashanti Region of Ghana and have a degree in Secretaryship from the University of Cape Coast. I also have a Masters in Business Administration from Management College of South Africa. After my secretarial education, I was employed as the PA to the Managing Director of the National Savings and Credit Bank.

This bank eventually merged with SSB Bank Limited, and I moved to Cape Coast where I was responsible for the back office operations of the bank’s branch there. On our transfer back to Accra, I managed the head office branch. SSB Bank then got acquired by Societe Generale of France. The management of the bank, in wanting to continue with the MoneyGram relationship, moved me to manage the Money Transfer Department of the bank. I was later employed by MoneyGram International in South Africa to manage the Operations Department and I am currently responsible for managing the company’s operations in seventeen countries in South and East Africa, with a compliment of 130 agents.

What career advice would you give to young women professionals?

Don’t stop improving yourself – you are never too old and it is never too late to learn. Take on every task you are given with a positive attitude, and give it your best shot – it could be the best experience of your life. Make time for yourself – you are your best asset.

What are your interests outside of the work-place and why do you find these things to be of interest to you?

I enjoy solving jigsaw puzzles and I find that long drives have a calming effect. It is my way of unwinding at the end of the day. I love to read anything

though we have specific geographical locations we call home; home is actually where we find fulfilment, love and true happiness. Ghana has a special place in my heart because of all the memories and family ties. I moved to South Africa with my husband and children some seven years ago and I love it here. This country is so blessed!

From your own perspective, how do you view MoneyGram as an organisation?

I can lay my hands on – so long as it is not violent or sci-fi. I love to cook; having four sons and a Fante husband (the Fante tribe in Ghana loves good food) inspires me to try new recipes.

I have just enrolled for Thai cooking lessons.

As an expatriate – how connected do you feel to Ghana and how connected do you feel to you adopted home of South Africa?

I recently listened to a speech on Tedtalk about what we call home. It was quite interesting to note that we have become very cosmopolitan and even

Working for the second largest money transfer company is very exciting. The company is people centred and offers equal opportunity to all regardless of gender, sex or race. Over the past seven years, I have had opportunity to work on many different projects; manage different agent relationships and visited many countries across the globe, all thanks to MoneyGram. The future also looks quite promising considering the different initiatives we are rolling out at the moment.

What life lessons have you gathered so far that you live by and would like to share with others?

Love what you do for a living and do it with all your heart; life is too short. In life, you do not harm what you respect and love – you nurture it, treat it gently, and let it be. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick; your friends and family will so make time for them. As Regina Brett said: ‘Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it is still a gift – make the most of it, and enjoy it’.

41

NIGERIA Gods own country

H

42

My British colleague Mike arrived better part of the afternoon. The rest of aving studied auditing, I learnt late and when we spoke at breakfast, the time I was paging through the local the importance of segregation he bemoaned a near heart attack from newspaper, half of which comprised of duties where different being woken up at about two a.m. by full-page advertisements taken out by people perform different functions the activation of the massive generator companies and individuals wishing the as a means of control against fraud located right outside his room.

Minister for Petroleum Diezani Alisonand inefficiency. But the management Madueke hearty congratulations on team at Nigeria’s Murtala Muhammed Our mission in Nigeria was to the “auspicious occasion” that was her Airport have taken this principle to an provide training to about thirty clerks.

53rd birthday. excessive level. At the arrival terminal, They arrived formally dressed in suits there is one guy who checks your arrival and ties with the few ladies in the I later learnt that this was very card, he sends you on to another who group wearing neat white blouses and common for the local elite; in fact many checks your visa, a third stamps your dark skirts. The Managing passport, a fourth will sell Partner began the session you a trolley and as you roll “In the two days we provided with a moment of silence in your luggage out thinking it’s training, there were three things I memory of Nelson Mandela. all over, the last official will sneak up on you at the exit discovered about Nigeria. First, there He then suddenly broke the demanding to see your yellow is African time then there is Nigerian silence by launching into a rather lengthy prayer for the fever vaccination card. time. The latter puts the former day.

The last time I visited squarely in the shade....”

“Welcome to Nigeria,” he this West African country, I told us, “God’s own country.” of them publish photographs of their was only twelve so it promised to be an private occasions in the newspaper. entirely different experience as an adult.

He then parked himself at the front The same outlandishness applies to I was received by a fellow who only of the class and sustained his attention the clothing and accessories Nigerians issued a brief hallo when I identified for the morning part failing to return for wear South African clothing house myself to him. He proceeded to grab the graveyard shift.

Woolworths pulled out of the country my luggage and race ahead of me in the as their target market in Nigeria prefer hot humid air towards the parking lot In the two days we provided to fly to London for their shopping where his left hand drive vehicle was training, there were three things I sprees. parked. He softened up once we were in discovered about Nigeria. First, there the pleasant spray of air-conditioning, is African time then there is Nigerian I tried jollof rice and stew for pointing out the Lagos mainland, the time. The latter puts the former squarely dinner served with plantains, after the bridge to Victoria Island, and Ikoyi in the shade. Secondly, the Nigerians waitress insisted it was ‘not so spicy’. where the office I would be working at love hot food; the mouth-burning kind, Twenty minutes later I discovered how is located. rich with spice and with absolutely no much of a liar she was. mercy afforded to the conduit that is the We cruised down the right hand tongue. Thirdly, God will frequently be

Then as I am lying shirtless in my side of the road as I curiously read the referred to, even in a conversation you room catching a football match, she number plates of the cars all branded will never expect Him to feature in. walks in announced.

“Lagos – The Centre of Excellence”.

I was checked into a four star hotel where the infrequency of WiFi had me on a roller coaster of emotions for the

“Excuse me oga, but you forgot to sign the bill”

The sessions we held were also unbelievably rowdy. One fellow stationed himself outside the entrance

TAP TRAVEL

and decided to follow the entire proceedings by peeping through a gap in the door on both days. Different people would interrupt the seminar passing written messages from the door to intended recipients seated in the group. Then a debate about a cheque consumed the front row; all this happening as we tried to teach. At one point, one lady popped in with sausage rolls and turned the last two rows into a mini-market with ever increasing tones in the heat of negotiation.

That is another thing about Nigeria.

People speak with unconfined volume which to the alien ear sounds like the onset of an aggressive argument. I was told it is as a result of attempting to speak over the loud generators people in Lagos rely on for electricity.

At the end of the training we were presented with a very generous assortment of gifts. The boss instructed all the ladies present to surround us for a photo shoot. Then we proceeded to a mall called Shoprite (named after the South African supermarket chain that dominates the building) to buy a few meters of authentic clothing material.

We retreated thereafter to a hotel by the lagoon in Victoria Island where we braved some spicy suya meat and enjoyed various drinks.

The scenery by the water was breath-taking. We spoke at length about property on the island which is ridiculously expensive when compared to both mainland Lagos and the posh suburbs of South Africa where I reside.

Most businesses are located here and one of our hosts revealed that at times it takes him up to five hours to commute

to work from the mainland where he lives.

“But once the road expansion project is complete, I will be getting here in less than an hour!� he prophesied.

I had been warned that Nigerians are crazy drivers but nothing shocked me perhaps because I hail from Kenya - a country in dire need of divine vehicular intervention.

Similarly, contrary to previously heard reports, I did not need to bribe my way out of the country when it was time to depart.

KC ROTTOK

43

A HUMAN BEING LIVES HERE “I understand that 20 years after democracy there is still poverty, there is still crime, corruption and other social ills. That I understand. What I do not understand is that any human being still lives here....”

A

n aerial view is the worst view one can have of Delmore Informal Settlement. As you travel on the Metro rail train headed to Tshwane or Springs, just after Germiston station, Delmore rears its head. The sight is of shacks crammed together. The shacks look very small.

They are small. On the roof tops of most shacks are various objects such as old tyres, broken beds, bicycle parts and pieces of wood.

44

The best view of Delmore is at night - when it is so dark that you barely see anything.

I have walked around this place and lived amongst its people. In almost every ‘street’ sits an illegal shebeen.

Here, like in many of the poorest parts of South Africa, everyone seems to seek solace in alcohol. There are nights when I stand in the street and just watch what seems to be the whole community dancing.

The beers in the shebeen are not cold, the police can raid them at any time, prostitution is rife, violent crime is normal but everybody seems to be dancing their problems away.

As I stand there, I remember the day two shacks were burnt down. It was a Saturday. That morning I had seen a group of people carrying sticks, stones

and tyres amongst other things. They were loud as they marched to a nearby shack, belonging to a man accused of stealing a cell phone in order to purchase a street drug called nyaope.

They beat him to a pulp - everyone seemed to take out their frustration on him. His mother stood by and watched.

His shack and belongings were burnt down. We all stood by and watched.

As the sound of a train became stronger than the giant radio, I remember the day my neighbour got

shot. It was around 8pm and dark. It is always dark here. There is no legal or illegal electricity in this place. As he stood near the gate, a thug held a gun to his back. He screamed. I heard him. We heard him. We all heard him but no one went out. He was lucky that the shot missed vital organs and he survived.

Many have been shot here. Many have been stabbed. This land is saturated with gallons of blood.

As the ladies dance and a light shines at the nearby Knights station, I remember the day that I was nearly stabbed. I was walking to the nearby hostel to charge my phone. A guy who seemed to be in his early thirties was beating a lady who seemed to be in her late twenties. This was not a fight.

A lady was being beaten. The lady covered her face as he beat her with a belt. Everyone stood, watched, and said nothing. As usual they did nothing. I could not stand that sight, so I moved in and begged him to stop. I pleaded. He took a knife and came for me. I was scared but I didn’t move. With the few extra pounds that I had gained, I could barely run, so I stood. He lunged at me quickly, but I just stood frozen. Suddenly before he stabbed me, the men and women, children, and older people that had been watching, charged at him like raging bulls. Fear had deserted them.

I understand that 20 years after democracy there is still poverty, there is still crime, corruption and other social ills. That I understand. What I do not understand is that any human being still lives here.

After 20 years a child is still born in this place.

MESHACK NEMBUDANI

@Soil_Child

Soil Child Clothing

THE WOMEN OF GREENPEACE AFRICA

Images – From left – Fiona Musana, Hellen Dena, Shanaaz Nel, Suzanne Marie Traore and Prudence Wanko Author – Greenpeace Africa Communications

A

s both a Pan African body, and part of a global organisation, we at Greenpeace draw our strength from the many passionate and highly talented women and men who have joined our environmental cause, not just as staff members, but more importantly as volunteers, activists and members. Not only does our diversity enrich our work, it also lends credibility and consistency to our drive for cleaner, healthier and greener economies across the continent.

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Fiona Musana, Engagement Director

Ugandan,

When I first joined Greenpeace over four years ago, little did I know how much I would enjoy the experience whilst learning so much. Having worked with various international organisations previously, I was quite amazed to see the drive, the passion, the unwavering commitment, and ability to “strive regardless” exhibited by the women and men that are part of this organisation.

I have seen my colleagues from the 40 global offices conquer great odds to highlight

environmental malpractices and remind governments and corporates alike that time is running out for the planet.

The highly-talented team that I work with is responsible for ensuring that conversations are happening on the right platforms; on social media, in the press, and in communities through our volunteer work.

We are unashamedly committed to our campaigns to promote environmental justice in Africa. We do this, not by chasing investment away, but rather by highlighting the operations of unscrupulous organisations as we provide assistance to the communities that should be benefiting from these companies, but all too often bear the brunt of their exploitation and the loss of their livelihoods and legacies.

Prudence Wanko, Cameroonian, Country Coordinator, Oceans Campaign I am proud to have set up the Greenpeace Africa office in Senegal which is required to tackle overfishing in West Africa. This is Greenpeace’s 3rd office on the continent.

The Western Coast of Africa from Morocco to Guinea, shares the same fish stock which urgently needs to be protected. These resources have drastically been declining in the last few years due to threats such as climate change, ocean acidification and overfishing.

Our challenge is to get the decision-makers of these countries to work together as one power to protect

this common wealth for the well-being of the many families that depend on fishing.

Environmental challenges go beyond threats to the Ocean, and I must admit that working closely with the people in the Congo forest, as well as engaging with communities of fishermen along the Senegalese coast to voice their concern about competing against big vessels, has been the most exciting part of my work within Greenpeace. I am really thrilled about being able to mobilise and encourage the voiceless to stand for their rights, and ensure that they are agents of change.

In leading the oceans campaign, I am proud to have led the team that, together with fishing communities in 2012, managed to get Senegal’s government to revoke 29 fishing authorisations of industrial boats that were plundering the country’s rich marine resources at the expense of its people. I believe that women should take more leading roles in the fight for environmental justice. We tend to be seen as a vulnerable group, yet we all know how formidable we can be, and that w e can

actually make a lasting difference in Africa.

Suzanne Marie Traore, Senegalese, Campaigner Having graduated with a degree in Environmental Sciences, I am the oceans campaigner at Greenpeace Africa. I love being part of an organisation that prides itself in being independent. This is the reason we are able to hold governments and corporations to account. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of such an organisation?

Indeed, although environmental challenges are the same for all organisations, Greenpeace has an innovative way of investigating, exposing, documenting and leveraging issues to ensure that people act responsibly for the sake of our environment. I think that this originality makes my work both challenging and exciting. It’s great to be a part of a global organisation that is respected and listened to in many quarters around the world.

Many may say that a woman’s natural role of a mother gives her the ability to deal with environmental justice issues equitably. Consequently, women are at the centre of all development process in Africa. I think this goes beyond gender issues; men and women alike need to take responsibility for what is happening to our continent. The onus is on each of us to make a difference. As a woman I can only urge my fellow women to become e v e n more

involved and to take leadership roles for the development of our beautiful continent Africa.

Shanaaz Nel, South African, Response Campaigner I have over a decade of work experience in the development and communications sector. I joined the Greenpeace team in 2013 and work with various groups, teams, and individuals across the continent to address the major impacts of climate change caused by human interferences with the natural environment.

My role can be very challenging and enlightening but most of the time, fun. I look to the outside world and try to make sense of how Greenpeace communicates and connects with people through its campaigns.

Greenpeace acts fast and is willing to take bold action to highlight the causes of climate change, and that makes me feel that I am at the right place. I know that I work for an organisation that is determined to make a lasting impact for Africa.

Indeed, economic and social development are interdependent on the sustainable use and preservation of the resources available on this continent. As the primary care givers and educators for the next generation, women are essential role players in bringing about changes in attitudes and adopting greener lifestyles that can teach future generations how to value, respect and safe guard our natural environment.

O n l y when even more women and men are given the space and

appropriate support to develop the plan, models and policies on climate change that resonate with their daily lives will we be able to tackle some of the biggest climate challenges and reduce the adverse effects already felt

by Africans sooner.

Hellen Dena, Communications

Kenyan,

I graduated with a degree in BSc. Mathematics and Computer Science and a passion for the environment.

Being a communications assistant at Greenpeace Africa has not only given me the opportunity to experience the environmental crimes happening around us, but also helped me become part of a dedicated and passionate group of people promoting cleaner, greener and healthier solutions for Kenya and the wider continent.

They say when you strike a woman, you strike a rock. This is indeed true as women have the courage, strength and opportunity to inspire and lead others to act consciously about how their actions can help or harm the earth. Look at Professor Wangari Maathai for example. As a Greenpeace Africa woman, I continue to highlight environmental issues so that together we can create a prosperous future for the benefit of humans, biodiversity, and the planet.

Environmental issues such as climate change, clean water, deforestation, pollution and preserving natural resources are important to women and their families. In the modern world, we have seen women fight against global trends, take leadership roles both at the family and corporate levels and standing firm for what we believe in. Together we can!

47

RELOCATING TO ACCRA AFTER 31 YEARS

The Last Word

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48

n many ways Accra is quite different from the city we left in 1983. Although the country has come a long way from where it was, it is my humble opinion that there is no need to be setting off any fireworks. I think as a continent, we are guilty of mistaking mediocrity for greatness and endorsing it by not holding our leaders accountable. Fifty-seven years ago Ghana gained independence and was dubbed a gateway for many companies into West Africa. In 2012, we were rated as the country with the fastest internet on the continent, yet in many places, everything is still written on paper, many roads are crater-filled suspension testers, and roads have open sewers on both sides.

I bemoan the fact that someone holding a position of power would sooner take offence to my handing him a piece of paper with my left hand as opposed to my right, than notice the inefficient driver’s licence conversion process. A country boasting the largest reservoir (Volta Lake) by surface area in the world still suffers days where water does not flow through the taps in urban dwellings. Due to poor planning, indefinite rolling black-out schedules have to be published. I keep wondering why it is that things that seem rather simple to mend (to me of course) are totally overseen by those in power.

Then it dawned on me. Our colonial masters may have left, but colonialism is still very alive in these parts, so too slavery. It is ingrained in our psyche. Couple that with the fact that many of our politicians enter politics primarily to acquire great personal wealth. I recently visited a close, welloff family friend who is in politics. It was very clear that he considered the vast amount of money that he had put behind his party’s election campaign an investment - the rewards of which he hoped to reap plenty fold once his party is in power. The willingness to ease the burden of the masses was a distant secondary objective.

These are certain the things I find colonial - how can 100kg me allow a man older than my dad and half my weight to carry my bag upstairs? Or hoot at 4am so the ‘houseboy’ can come and open the gate? I understand there’s a place for everyone in this life but is it right for me to keep another down

or in ‘their place’ because through some phenomenon, my place in the human eco-system is seemingly ‘higher’ than theirs? In my mind’s eye, this thinking and behaviour breeds superiority and entitlement flanked disgustingly by arrogance and draped with a veil of godliness! It takes our leaders to a place where they believe they have the right to do as they please and who are we to question them. It also breeds a majority enshrined in abject poverty of both means and mind, keeping the masses in a place where they dare not question what goes on ‘above’ them.

It blows my mind that one man can deem it fit and proper - knowing the plight of his people - to build a residential enclave to the preposterous sums that some of our leaders have.

Even if it is allowed by the government, when you open the newspapers do you not read what I read; public service protests, mass load shedding, lack of housing, lack of medical facilities and practitioners. Yet you buy ten range rovers and live in a monstrosity of an abode forgetting those who voted you into power.

I blame myself because I accept this as the status quo; I mean he is an oga in power and who am I to question him.

Same colonial/’slave’ mentality of old.

Until they realize they are there because we put them there and they are there to make our lives better not just theirs, we will stay as we are. Right?

YAW PEPRAH

Yaw Peprah is a self employed entrepreneur pursuing interests in business advisory, consultancy and commodity brokering. www.asitissoitis.blogspot.com Twitter - @yawzie

PROTECT YOUR FUTURE WITH THE RIGHT MARRIAGE CONTRACT Partnering for the future

M

arriage is a partnership and each ‘partner’ plays an equal role in making the marriage a successful one. The day you say I do, your mind may be filled with blissful thoughts, but the reality is that life seldom goes according to plan. Let me demonstrate my point with a story.

Beth was at a party and her eyes were locked in a penetrating gaze with a dashing gentleman across the room. He offered her a smile and after a short lived courtship, they were married. Beth and John were a match made in heaven and lived in marital bliss, with a growing family and a sole proprietorship business.

Tragedy surfaced when the economic crisis struck across the globe. John, overwhelmed with the feeling of failure for not being able to save his business from ruin and for not being able to provide for his family financially, took his own life. After John’s death, Beth tried to find peace but it was almost impossible since they were married in community of property and now she was responsible for all the debt that John had accumulated.

A successful marriage needs effective estate planning which is instrumental in financial planning.

One element of is the process of anticipating and arranging for the disposal of an estate in the event of your death or divorce. This includes prenuptial agreements. As part of one’s premarital contract, there are options of Community of Property and Out of Community agreements. When an agreement is defined, it will determine the way forward in terms of either a joint estate or individual estates.

Marriage Contracts When a couple is married in a community of property agreement, all the assets and liabilities are pooled together, forming a joint estate where each spouse owns 50% of the assets – and the debt.

A marriage not entered into in community of property requires a premarital contract. This contract is known as an anti-nuptial contract (ANC). There are two types of antinuptial contracts - with accrual and without accrual.

In an ANC without accrual, the exclusion must be specifically stated on the contract or it will default to an ANC with accrual contract. If one partner becomes insolvent, creditors cannot claim the assets of the other partner.

The financially stronger spouse does not have to share his or her estate with their partner, except if directed by a court ruling.

An ANC with accrual allows for what a spouse owned before entering a marriage to remain his or hers, and whatever is purchased during the marriage, is shared between both partners. When the marriage ends, either by death or divorce, the partner with the bigger estate will have to give the partner with the smaller estate 50% of his or her estate.

Marriages concluded in terms of our country’s customary laws or religious marriages, such as Muslim or Hindu marriages, could either be in or out of community of property, depending on when they took place or what formalities they followed.

However, even if the marriage is not seen as ‘legal’, one partner may be able to claim some of the assets of the other when the marriage ends, in order to be able to sustain their lifestyle.

In the end, the union of a man and woman is a sacred bond. The journey of life is a mystery. Therefore we should always plan for that which we find difficult to imagine. It is important to discuss the type of marital regime you would consider with the person you will be bound to. A Certified Financial Planner will be an appropriate person to assist with constructing a solid plan to ease the burden of whatever may potentially happen.

Narushka Pillay Financial Planner at Consolidated Financial Planning. *** Consolidated is a national financial planning practice with offices in Western Cape, Johannesburg, Tshwane, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. Narushka is based in Gauteng

For more information please visit: www.consolidated.co.za

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SANLAM HOSTS AFRICAN PROFESSIONALS

1 - Themba Mvusi, Chief Executive of Market Development 2 - Dr. Johan Van Zyl, Sanlam Group CEO 3 - 100 invited guests from The African Professional community 4 - Laureen Rwatirera asks a question 5 - Lebogang Monyatsi, Head of Group Market Development 6 - Group CEO receives a copy of the latest issue of the magazine from editor KC Rottok

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MARCH AFRICAN PROFESSIONAL GOLF DAY

1 - Soilchild stand 2 - Moneygram stand 3 - Lady golfers receive a voucher each 4 - Peter Mureu (left) presents Adrian Lavagna with an umbrella for longest day 5 - Mr. Lester Fynn receives signature wine for the longest drive from Evelynn Doubell of Standard Private Clients 6 - Mr. M. Redgard (left) receives Titleist Pro V prize for nearest to pin 2nd nine 7 - Mr. M. Ndiho (left) receives champagne for scoring a hole in one 8 - 11th position Mr. D. Nyathela 9 - 10th position T. Mnyandu (left) receives a dozen Callaway soft balls

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1 - 9th position N. Nderitu (left) receives a duffel bag 2 - 8th position M. Ndiho (left) receives a duffel bag 3 - 7th position Mr. J. Odame receives a golf ball beer mag set 4 - 6th position N. Ndamburi (right) receives a Taylormade gift pack 5 - 5th position M. Mgobhozi (right) receives a golf shag bag 6 - 4th position Mr. C. Mwaura receives a Callaway golf bag 7 - 3rd position Mr. K. Ndungu (right) receives a return air-ticket to Kenya 8 - 2nd position Mr. S. Zama (right) receives a collection of gifts including sponsored prize from Sun International 9 - 1st position Mr. M. Obrien (middle) receives grand prize - golf clubs from Moneygram presented by Mr. G. Wilson (left) and weekend at Victoria Falls from Mr. T. Mbirimi of Rainbow Tourism 10 - Mr. D. Muller conducts auction for charity - Vincent Tshabalala Trust

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