KZN Invest 6

KZN

INVEST

SEPTEMBER 2019

Regenerate

Giving eThekwini inner city a new lease on life

CONNECT COMMUNICATE COLLABORATE

Roads

The billions being pumped into KZN’s highways

Sugar

Ain’t as sweet, but it’s not a bitter pill to swallow

Heritage

Museums could be the province’s future culture kings

Tourism’s Heavy Lifters AEROTROPOLIS SPECIAL

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The city of Durban (eThekwini Municipality) is South Africa’s second most important economic region

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Extensive first-world road, rail, sea and air

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CITY THAT’S

GEARED FOR GROWTH A truly smart city, Durban, KZN, South Africa seamlessly combines an innovative business environment with an exciting, contemporary lifestyle.

Connecting continents, here you will find Africa’s busiest port, the top ranking conferencing city and the home to the continent’s very first Aerotropolis. Boasting world-class infrastructure, manufacturing and industrial concentration that is constantly evolving, isn’t it time to join this progressive society rich in investment opportunities? …We can help you make it happen, now.

web: Invest.durban

Dube TradePort and King Shaka International Airport - 60year Master Plan - driving growth of aerotropolis, or airport city 0 01 00 1

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Rated in top 5 ‘Quality of Living’ cities in Africa and Middle East by Mercer Consulting in 2015

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How can KZN rise again?

From seedy to sensational

Blitzing the city

A bitter sweet story

Roads to riches

Bring it to the table

Economic development specialist Glen Robbins shares his thoughts

Downtown Durban’s regenerated tertiary education campus

Huge investment plans for KZN’s highways

Asiye eTafuleni – empowering informal traders

Homii – making the city safe for youngsters

The sugar industry: getting through the tough times

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Treading into the future

Trade hub of the future

Vusumuzi Mathe – a man on a mission

Dube TradePort: shaping KZN

W H AT ’ S I N S I D E

KZN

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INVEST

EDITOR Greg ArdŽ PRODUCTION EDITOR Lorna King DESIGNER Kyle Griffin ADVERTISING Gaylene Diedericks 081 707 6313 GENERAL MANAGER Doody Adams CONTRIBUTORS Shirley le Guern Shelley Seid Val Adamson Sophie ArdŽ

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Copyright: All material in this issue is subject to copyright and belongs to Famous Publishing unless otherwise indicated.

No part of the material may be quoted, photocopied, reproduced or stored by an electronic system without prior written permission from Famous Publishing.

Disclaimer: While every effort is taken to ensure the accuracy of the contents of this publication, neither the authors nor the publisher will bear any responsibility for the consequences of any actions based on information contained herein. Neither do they endorse any products/ services advertised herein.

Material which appears under ‘Advertorial’ is paid for.

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Restoring the soul The small guys who do tourism’s heavy lifting

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COVER CREDIT: Cover picture

by Stacey Jane Farrell, wildlife photographer and tour guide.

Published by Famous Publishing, 52 Mahogany Road, Mahogany Ridge, Westmead, Durban, 3610.

031 714 4700 www.famouspublishing.co.za Printed by Novus Print KwaZulu-Natal

For more information visit Stacey Farrell Photography

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Fresh & inviting

A love of Africa

Ready to eat

Lest we forget

Ode to home

What tourists to KZN really want

Doing business on the Elephant Coast

The ready meal revolution in KZN

Simmy for the soul

Cultural heritage is gold

Rowan Sewchurran

Local artist Simphiwe “Simmy” Nhlangulela

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ED’S LETTER

Hostages of HISTORY

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t’s a pleasure to write to you on the occasion of the sixth issue of this lovely rag. To have a print publication thrive these days is a blessing. Thanks for your support.

I wasn’t quite so chipper putting this edition together. We live in difficult times. Our days seem consumed by the effects of state capture, the fight against it and the rearguard action against that. The tongue tangled excuses by the rent-seeking looters of the public purse are astounding. All the while the economy is on the skids and many people claw their way through each month to feed families, keep businesses open and jobs in place.

In this edition we didn’t have space to reflect on the closure of what used to be the Masonite plant in Estcourt nor the sale of Whirlpool, suffice to say, they’re concerning. This all got me thinking about hope and to what degree we are hostages to history.

James Baldwin, the US novelist reputedly said: “People are trapped in history and history is trapped in them.”

There was a brilliant column recently on New Frame, an online news and opinion site. It spoke about Johnny Clegg, the “brutality of racial capital ... and simplistic rainbowism.”

I can’t do it justice here but I urge you to look out for it online. It is thoughtprovoking and led me to

“I am what time, circumstance, history, have made of me, certainly, but I am also much more than that. So are we all.”

a handful of other quotes about history and hope.

This publication is stridently critical but also oriented around growth as its name suggests. Our stories hopefully analyse what kind of growth KZN is after and why.

This means constantly unpacking political and business-speak and I’m ever mindful of George Orwell’s line: “Political language ... is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.”

Author Kurt Vonnegut wrote: “History is merely a list of surprises. It can only prepare us to be surprised yet again.”

And British statesman Benjamin Disreali said: “All my successes have been built on my failures.”

This edition is home to interesting reads about economic growth, tourism, the sugar industry, food businesses, big public spend to improve our highways, and a great feature about museums. We explore the opportunities associated with the aerotropolis and parts of downtown Durban that are blossoming. In effect, they cover our past, present and our future.

Which leaves me to end off with another quote by James Baldwin: “I am what time, circumstance, history, have made of me, certainly, but I am also much more than that. So are we all.”

Let’s try and fashion a life in KZN for everyone here that is worth living.

James Baldwin gregarde@gmail.com

MCFAIR HOLDINGS HARVESTING BIG BUSINESS AT DUBE AGRIZONE A high-tech, undercover farming operation located at Dube AgriZone, growing commercialquality peppers and tomatoes, has kicked off its first harvest season in August 2019. The 4-hectare greenhouse farming facility, McFair Holdings, began its farming business operations in May 2019, when the first seedlings of peppers were planted on 2 hectares of greenhouse space leased from Dube TradePort Corporation.

The 8-month-long harvest season is expected to yield in excess of 10 tonnes of peppers per week, with a harvest of tomatoes that were planted on the remaining 2 hectares, also imminent. The growing agri-business currently supplies its fresh produce to the local market via giant retail distributor, Massmart and other major national fresh produce distributors.

McFair Holdings began in 2015 as a business consulting and commodities trading company, by KwaZulu-Natalborn husband and wife business partners, Knox and Lindiwe Nxumalo.

The entrepreneurial couple who share an academic background of business and commerce, first met at a church youth camp in 2011. Lindiwe vividly recalls her first encounter with her then-future husband’s entrepreneurial prowess, when he suggested to the youth committee that they should look to owning their own campsite for future youth camps, instead of paying somebody else to rent theirs.

A few years later, the young, newly married couple committed themselves to focus fully on their shared business goals. McFair Holdings focussed initially on providing business development consulting services to other small businesses. In 2016, on the back of a failed commodity trading deal, the vision for their own agribusiness was ignited. They had been let down by a supplier of sugar beans to meet the quality standards expected on a big order that they had secured with a major buyer in Johannesburg. After spending a few days criss-crossing the city trying to find an alternate source of quality sugar beans to save their deal, they had come up empty-handed and headed back home to KwaZulu-Natal, feeling dejected. They knew then that their future business endeavours would need to focus on them having tighter control over the quality of their produce and a closer involvement in the value chain.

Like many black South African families, farming has always been a part of the Nxumalo’s history. Both partners recall their respective grandmothers supporting the families through subsistence farming and acknowledge that ‘’working the land’’ is in their blood. It was on a family-owned sugar cane field that McFair Holdings first made its agricultural debut when the couple started to research and seriously consider farming as a potential commercial business. In 2017, armed with a clearer vision of what they wanted to achieve in the agri-business space, they applied to be considered as tenants within the Dube AgriZone.

Commenting on this business milestone

AGRIZONE.DUBETRADEPORT.CO.ZA/PAGES/PROPOSALS

INVEST@DUBETRADEPORT.CO.ZA

Chairperson of the Board of Dube TradePort Corporation, Dr Bridgette Gasa, said: “We congratulate McFair Holdings on its first harvest out of Dube AgriZone. McFair Holdings epitomises, in every way, the type of local business that Dube TradePort Special Economic Zone and Dube AgriZone in particular, envisioned. Not only did the company meet the stringent but imperative criteria for commercial sustainability, but they also represent the growing number of black-owned agri-businesses and black industrialists on whose shoulders the future economic growth of our country depends. The tremendous potential for businesses like McFair Holdings to create and sustain jobs within our current depressed employment environment, and to stimulate interest in investment and trade within our region, deserves our sincere commitment and ongoing support.”

Dube AgriZone is Africa’s first integrated perishables supply chain and one of the most technologically-advanced, future farming platforms on the continent. The high-tech agricultural development, which forms part of the Dube TradePort Special Economic Zone (SEZ), is host to the largest climate-controlled glasscovered growing area in Africa. It aims to stimulate the growth of KwaZuluNatal’s perishables sector and affords the opportunity to achieve improved agricultural yields, consistent quality, year-round production and the superior management of disease and pests.

The present phase one development comprises an extensive 16 hectares of greenhouses, dedicated post-harvest packhouses, a central packing and distribution centre, a nursery and a sophisticated plant tissue culture laboratory, Dube AgriLab. In November 2018, McFair Holdings took occupation of a 4-hectare greenhouse farming facility and began farming operations in May. CEO of McFair Holdings, Knox Nxumalo, said: “We see Dube TradePort as a “big brother” to our business when we consider the extent of the support we have enjoyed from Dube AgriZone. Not only are our seedlings grown in the adjacent AgriZone nursery, which reduces our plants’ travel time and the risk of damage, but the feedback we receive from seedling research and the advice and support we receive on crop development is critical to improving our crop quality. Having direct access to the packhouse has also improved our efficiency tremendously.”

The company currently employs 33 fulltime employees including junior and senior managers who are formally trained in agriculture, horticulture and quality

control. The team also includes 26 general workers, many of whom have had no former experience in undercover farming and have been up-skilled by McFair Holdings to meet the requirements of the operations and are continuously trained and mentored on-site. An additional 10 seasonal workers are called in when needed.

Nxumalo adds: “We need to be commercially viable and while Lindiwe and I have significant training in business and commerce and experience as entrepreneurs, we would not be able to do this alone. Farming is a science and it requires specialist skills. We have been fortunate to attract a team of experienced growers who are highly skilled and who understand the science of undercover farming, in particular. The synergy of both commerce and agricultural sciences is what makes McFair Holdings a successful and sustainable business. We have relied on the expertise of our specialist consultants and senior managers and we have built our business operations around their advice in order to ensure that we have resourced the operations to meet the quality and standards that we set out to achieve.”

Celebrating the first harvest of green, yellow and red McFair peppers, Lindiwe Nxumalo credits the couple’s faith in God, their resilient passion towards their business goals and their commitment to the people impacted by their business, including their two children and all their employees, as the key drivers of their ongoing success.

Knox Nxumalo is optimistic about the future: “Being located within the Dube TradePort Special Economic Zone has fuelled and grown our initial vision for McFair holdings. Our first priority is to make our current operations viable and self-sustainable but then we definitely intend scaling, and scaling fast. We are currently negotiating on a piece of land for open-field farming of other fresh produce that we intend using in a range of frozen vegetable that will be packaged under our own brands. The plan is to export globally.

We will also use our past experience and business interests in commodity trading as we expand our operations into other facilities located at Dube TradePort Corporation Special Economic Zone. We want to explore the opportunity of an agri-processing plant at Dube TradeZone and make use of the integrated supply chain services, cold storage facilities and cargo handling services that are currently available to us right here.”

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G U E ST CO LU M N

Glen Robbins, an economic development specialist, outlines some ideas that are core for sustainable growth in KwaZulu-Natal

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he past decade has not been a good one for South Africa’s economy and it is no surprise that KwaZuluNatal, the country’s secondmost populous province, is struggling. The country’s average rate of economic growth was a disappointing 1,5% over the past decade (2008-2018), while for KZN, average GDP growth was only slightly better at 1,8%.

These dismal conditions have seen spiralling levels of unemployment and most KZN households relying heavily on social grants that barely keep them out of poverty. In this context, opportunities for growth have been severely curtailed. A depressing picture, but also one that begs the question: what to do to get us out of this mess?

There are no easy answers, particularly since our capacity to bounce back is curtailed by the burden of shrinking revenue and rising debt. It is a given that the country has low economic growth, poverty, unemployment and inequality, but there is less consensus on why these problems persist. Much publicised statements of a unified approach by stakeholders, are often informed by short-term convenience and do not reflect a shared plan for the future. As a result, societal trust is battered and bruised by a litany of governance and corruption scandals in the public sector, business and even trade unions.

President Ramaphosa has acknowledged the fact that few, if any, stakeholders

can come to the table without some blame for the challenges we face. To plot a way forward for KZN – that is inclusive and translates into meaningful progress – will require a major dose of humility by those with the strongest voices.

Short-cuts will need to give way to more collaborative evidence-based, sustained and predictable actions.

Solutions don’t lie in simplistic notions of stateengineered programmes or a call for government to get out of the way of business.

We need pragmatic steps to make inter-generational

How can KZN RISE AGAIN?

ABOVE: GLEN ROBBINS IS AN HONORARY RESEARCH FELLOW AT THE URBAN FUTURES CENTRE OF DUT, AND WORKS PRIMARILY ON ISSUES OF URBAN AND REGIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.

changes in societal and environmental welfare, and we can’t afford to get lost in narrow, ideological muscle displays.

This reality is full of opportunity and potential pitfalls. It requires new voices around the table, especially those of women and younger people. We need to think about the kinds of living, learning and working environments we need to build in order to thrive. Achieving this will require commitments to strengthening key institutions and recalibrating the kinds

of infrastructure and capacities we will need across the next few generations. Few of those in the rooms of powerful public, private and civil society organisations of today have the capacity – on their own – to plot this path and to set out how it might be best traversed. We have invested too much in the idea that personalities and not institutions drive change.

What then might be some of the issues that could form the core of a new dialogue about plotting a path for KZNs future?

G U E ST CO LU M N

an issue to leave to career politicians, dyed-in-the-wool bureaucrats or teacher unions.

Invest in people and in the institutions that support continuous enhancement of human capacity: KZN, while having made some notable progress on the very narrow indicator of matric passes, continues to underperform around matters of human resource development. Far too many children drop out of school, too few gain access to quality early childhood development, and too many leave school with weak skills and limited prospects of enhancing these. Many of our postsecondary education and training institutions are overwhelmed. Without substantial and farreaching changes, this critical bedrock of positive societal change will continue to evade us. As a society with a youthful population, ongoing failures in education and training will do little to secure a more prosperous future.

This is far too important

Support thriving and inclusive environments for growth: South Africa has, over the years, lost its lustre as a place where businesses can thrive. As opportunities have been curtailed with weaker economic growth, so conflict has increased over the shrinking pie – whether it be criminal “forums” invading construction sites or senior SOE and company directors making disastrous decisions with impunity.

Key KZN stakeholders need to become advocates for a better living and working environment.

It means holding people in the private and public sector to account. Public and private infrastructure spend in KZN seriously lags Gauteng and the Western Cape. This needs attention, alongside steps to improve key institutions to help grow the economy such as those involved in regulatory functions as well as those in critical sectors such as tourism, transport and agriculture.

Ensure our cities and towns advance to better connect citizens in urban and rural spaces to services and future markets: South Africa has been very slow to adopt a national urban policy.

The Integrated Urban Development Framework of 2016 argued unambiguously that for the country to thrive it must harness the powers of urban agglomeration. KZN has been rapidly urbanising, placing major pressure on growth nodes and leaving many rural areas struggling. Caught between

the powerful opinions often voiced against urbanisation, and high levels of governance and delivery failures in both urban and rural municipalities, the social and economic fabric of the province has been undermined. At the heart of any growth and development plan for KZN, has to be a framework that makes cities and towns – and the connections between them – work better. Too often core functions have been neglected, costs of living and doing business have increased, and elaborate schemes – some mooted by opportunistic private sector actors – have replaced pragmatic tasks of building efficient, affordable and inclusive towns and cities.

We are being told that this is the fourth industrial revolution, but our toilets are still broken, we are short of qualified teachers and we have 60 children in a class Take decisive steps to delink KZN’s economic growth from carbon emissions: Although South Africa has been an active supporter of global compacts around climate change, it continues to be one of the largest per-capita producers of greenhouse gasses. The consequences of climate change have started to come home to roost. Compromising water systems, damage to biodiversity, growing levels of emissions and deterioration of areas of

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agricultural potential might well have been seen as a consequence of job creation.

But these same choices are damaging human health and compromising the very basis for future economic growth and job creation.

The poor carry the heaviest burden of these choices, as recent floods have shown.

If KZN remains locked in economic processes, be they forms of property development compromising natural systems, unsustainable natural resource exploitation, or pollution-intensive activities such as those associated with logistics, prospects for prosperity will be damaged.

Ongoing public sector failures and unregulated business processes severely aggravate these problems.

Growing community mobilisation around these matters can be harnessed as a force to help deliver better outcomes. The work associated with these tasks is also a key area of future employment with strong multipliers in urban and environmental management, tourism, recycling and rehabilitation.

Neglecting the medium and longer-term work set out above will severely curtail KZN’s prospects.

However, it is also imperative to look to urgent work that could yield more immediate gains.

Fortunately, some of this is already securing attention, like efforts to grow the number of foreign visitors and their associated spend in KZN have already secured additional international flights and proposals of new investments. This work needs to be backed by action to move rapidly to attend to the sub-optimal state of key tourism assets around the province. Whether it be water outages, litter, poor maintenance or inadequate management and training,

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these all hinder prospects for tourism growth.

Alongside these, fields such as manufacturing, agriculture and the services sector need support beyond quick fixes.

A fast-changing, technologically infused world with a highly-skilled, productive and youthful workforce, is essential to support rising incomes and forms of more complex employment. Alongside skills, such growth opportunities also demand high-quality environments with well managed and competitive infrastructure, good communication systems and co-ordination between universities, the public and private sector.

These activities thrive off networks that in turn

G U E ST CO LU M N

concentrate on quality living and working spaces. They are generally underpinned by high levels of exchange across national borders. These characteristics hold as much for software development as they might for

Often when these kinds of proposals are made, government officials and businesses are under huge pressure to come up with the “next best thing”. But the every day, sometimes mundane tasks ensure a stable and predictable

All too often the rush is to cut the ribbon of the new project, but for new ideas to advance, the edifice from which they are being propelled has to be stable musicians and agricultural or manufacturing entrepreneurs. We need to nurture environments that support a growing profile of more complex services, particularly in light of increased automation.

environment and form the foundation of progress.

All too often the rush is to cut the ribbon of the new project, but for new ideas to advance, the edifice from which they are being propelled has to

be stable. Visiting a periurban primary school near Durban recently, I noted the excitement around tablets for electronically assisted study. A teacher said: “We are being told this is the fourth industrial revolution, but our toilets are still broken, we are short of qualified teachers and we have 60 children in a class.”

This illustrates, in part, the journey we have to travel in KZN: to make sure the basics are given the requisite attention so the most sensible of the many ambitious plans often outlined, become more than mere fireworks shows, glowing impressively for a moment, before disappearing forever in the night sky.

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INNER CITY

From seedy to SENSATIONAL In downtown Durban an oasis has developed around a massive private sector investment in tertiary education. It has happened below the radar – but has quietly regenerated an entire city block where students and academics buzz around a beautiful campus, write Fred Kockott and Greg Ardé

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PICTURES VAL ADAMSON

ou hardly notice it driving down what used to be Aliwal (now Samora Machel) Street, but behind the facade of the buildings is a treasure, a hive of learning where students gather daily for tuition.

The urban renewal was spearheaded by Durban academic, Professor Yusuf Karodia who

founded the Management College of South Africa (Mancosa) in 1997, Regent Business School and other educational enterprises.

Karodia started buying up derelict buildings in the area in 2012 and spent about R500-million buying and transforming them. In 2017 he sold much of his interest to UK private equity firm Actis, who have other campuses in North and East Africa under the brand

ABOVE: FIRING THE MIND – FROM LEFT, ARTIST ANDRIES BOTHA AND ARCHITECT YUSUF PATEL.

Honoris. Karodia’s renewal relied on a multitude of talents, most notably educationalist Ahmed Shaik, artist Andries Botha, and architect Yusuf Patel of Architects Collaborative.

Patel redesigned a myriad of odd spaces, creating sunlit courtyards, cafes, libraries, and study recesses. His team turned drug dens, brothels and

seedy businesses into a world-class campus.

Botha and other artists were commissioned to do fantastic murals, hanging features and other creative work that is a wonder to behold. What used to be dank and filthy is now flooded with light and fascination.

There are atriums, lecture halls and cosy canteens. Adding to this urban renewal – and where the old Aliwal Congregational Church was – they restored a place of worship.

The church, constructed in 1903, was sold for business purposes in the 1990s and became a secondhand furniture store and a photographic studio.

Heritage experts bemoaned how it fell into “chronic disrepair”.

However, the building was purchased and converted into a meticulously crafted mosque, merging the unique aesthetic and the history of both the Christian and Muslim faiths. It still has stained glass windows and a family team of Morrocan crafters were employed to do age-old gypsum decoration to walls and podium providing a unique Islamic character.

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ABOVE: LOVING LEARNING – STUDENTS IN SOME OF THE SANCTUARIES.

Karodia’s office walls are floor to ceiling glass with unrivalled views of the harbour. He has long argued that the world’s most vibrant cities have university campuses at their heart. Hence the creation of Durban’s splendid new educational precinct.

Botha’s artwork includes a “dead languages” installation – a walkway of granite slabs inscribed with symbols from ancient languages. It fires the imagination and provokes

an avalanche of thoughts on the role of public art.

Patel says the project, spanning seven years, has been organic and evolved to respond to the needs and circumstances of education.

“Enrolment increased by about 30% in that time.

The design had to respond to the market. There is an entrepreneurship boot camp, for example, run

by Richard Shewry, that teaches students about 3D printing, laser cutting, augmented reality, EQ and critical thinking.

“The world doesn’t wait for you. You have to be inspired to learn. Ahmed (Shaik) helped us push the boundaries to create appropriate spaces.”

Botha says the entire exercise – like his granite pathway on the campus – is a bridge that cherishes the transfer of knowledge.

“We take tentative leaps of faith when we learn.

The exercise is meant to inspire us. You experiment and it feels like a failure at times, but it’s the process of innovation.”

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The collaboration with Botha and others, says Patel, is most rewarding when he sees students taking selfies with the art in the background and parents visiting their children at the cafes on campus.

Botha says preserving the sanctity of the church in the mosque conversion had poetry to it. “It is a

INNER CITY

place surrounded by a university which pushes the boundaries of belief. And yet the sacred and the secular cohabit comfortably.”

Patel says the urban renewal was an imagination led process: “It planted a seed in the inner city, of what can be done. There are design solutions that respect profit and sustainability.”

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ABOVE: BOTHA’S ARTWORK INCLUDES A “DEAD LANGUAGES” INSTALLATION – A WALKWAY OF GRANITE SLABS INSCRIBED WITH SYMBOLS FROM ANCIENT LANGUAGES. IT FIRES THE IMAGINATION AND PROVOKES AN AVALANCHE OF THOUGHTS ON THE ROLE OF PUBLIC ART.

Cities have always attracted youngsters dreaming of a safe lifestyle where they can live, eat, play and study.

A company with vision, Homii are making those dreams become a reality

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or those in the know, downtown Durban is a groovy spot for youngsters to live and increasingly smart companies are trading on this by converting office blocks into residences.

This applies to some buildings, not all, but slum lords are being muscled out by firms that realise the profit to be made in providing clean, safe, well maintained and trendy facilities to savvy consumers.

KZN INVEST did a walk around with representatives from Homii (a play on the slang word homeboy). The company is chaired by educational entrepreneur Leo Chetty and is run by

managing director Darren de Leur. It has leveraged private investments and loans from the PIC and property firm TUHF to transform city blocks.

The most notable conversion is the old FNB building on the corner of Anton Lembede and Joe Slovo (old Smith and Field) streets where residents have tight security, biometric access, free WiFi,

INNER CITY

Blitzing the CITY

laundries and a rooftop recreational area with spectacular views.

Homii appears to be blitzing its way through Durban, breathing new life into old buildings and creating a community of youngsters who pay around R4 900 for a one-bedroom, en suite apartment with a small living area. In Durban, the company has bought 20 buildings – including the recently acquired Garlicks building above the ground floor retail – though not all the conversions are complete.

Brendan Kader, a design consultant for Homii, says inner-city residents are looking for

lifestyle offerings beyond accommodation.

“Our residents want clean spaces with funky modern finishes. They are discerning. Value add is everything in this market.

We have 100% occupancy and technology plays a key role in tracking future community needs, to create a wider Homii brand by offering lifestyle content.”

Homii has created social media platforms with 30 000 followers, a community interested in fashion, parties, loyalty programmes, yoga studios, study rooms, libraries and DVD exchanges. All are envisaged in the future.

Investments like Homii’s

There has been much hype around the proposed demolishing of the 80-odd problematic buildings and by educational groups like Mancosa appear to have kick-started a revival in Durban’s CBD. According to property data company Lightstone, there were about 450 property transactions in the last three years in the city block bounded by Warwick Avenue, the Embankment,

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Stalwart Simelane Street (Stanger) and Chris Ntuli (Old Dutch) Road.

In this time the average price per square metre has risen from R5 735 to R6 418.

The total value of buildings in the area is R17-billion, of which about 29% are retail, 17% are residential and 11% are offices.

Recently the eThekwini Municipality announced bold plans to demolish bad buildings in the CBD, a move that earned it some derision as critics questioned whether the city was prepared to carry out threats to actually deal with slum lords who appear to have flourished with impunity.

The Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry welcomed the city’s commitment as the “correct first step” to unlock economic benefit.

Sivandra Govender (above left), KZN regional manager at property financing company TUHF, says private sector investment like Homii and Mancosa’s are starting to impact on the inner city.

“But this is merely scratching the surface.

TUHF has funded more than R500-million in property rejuvenation in Durban, including many of the Homii projects.

“We need participation between the city and the private sector to find the best solutions for the inner city.

“There has been much hype around the proposed demolishing of the 80-odd problematic buildings.

Although we believe that some of these buildings are beyond salvaging, we believe the municipality should engage experts with a proven track record, to determine if some of these building can be restored or repurposed.”

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CONNECT GLOBALLY

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SECTORS: AGRICULTURE/ BUSINESS SERVICES/ MANUFACTURING/ ENERGY AND WATER/ MINING AND BENEFICIATION/ TOURISM AND PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT

Trade & Investment KwaZuluNatal is a South African trade and inward investment promotion agency (IPA), established to promote the province of KwaZulu-Natal as an investment destination and to facilitate trade by assisting local companies to access international markets.

TIKZN

Trade & Investment House, 1 Arundel Close Kingsmead Office Park, Durban, 4001, South Africa +27 (0) 31 368 9600 info@tikzn.co.za

Y O U R K N O W L E D G E PA R T N E R I N B U S I N E S S MANDATE SERVICES Trade & Investment KwaZulu-Natal is a South African trade and inward investment promotion agency established to:

Promote, brand and market the province of KwaZulu-Natal as an investment destination

Facilitate trade by assisting local companies to access international markets

Identify, develop and package investment opportunities in KwaZulu-Natal

Provide a professional service to all clientele

Retain and expand trade and export activities

Link opportunities to the developmental needs of the KwaZulu-Natal community

PUTTING KWAZULU-NATAL ON THE MAP Trade & Investment KwaZulu-Natal plays an instrumental role in promoting the province as the premier investment destination through promotion and packaging of investment opportunities as well as providing professional expertise to potential international and local investors.

Tasked with sustainable growth in KwaZulu-Natal for the benefit of all its citizens, Trade & Investment KwaZulu-Natal’s main responsibility is to enhance sector and industrial development through trade, investment and exports.

The strategically-located province is a catalyst for global trade and a portal between KwaZulu-Natal and the world.

GROWING THE PROVINCE THROUGH FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT AND EXPORT TRADE

SERVICES OFFERED

INVESTMENT PROMOTION SERVICES • • • • •

Sector economic data provisioning Backward and forward linkages Joint venture facilitation Capital raising through finance institutions General business advice

AFTERCARE SERVICES • Incentive programme advice • Inward and outward investment promotion missions • Project packaging and profiling • Export training • Business market intelligence

EXPORT ADVISORY SERVICES • Access to international trade exhibitions • KwaZulu-Natal export portal profiling • Decision support model with market intelligence INVESTSA ONE STOP SHOP SERVICES • Specialist investment advisory and facilitation services • Permits • Registration • Licensing • Market intelligence • Advice on business processes and locating in KwaZulu-Natal • Company matchmaking services

REASONS TO INVEST IN KWAZULU-NATAL • In close proximity and within easy access to South Africa’s two largest ports, Durban and Richards Bay, and King Shaka International Airport for air cargo • Access to the large labour pool • Diverse cultures • Gateway to other African countries • World-class transport and telecommunications infrastructure • Investment and export incentive schemes • Mature manufacturing base • Idyllic climate

The agency is equipped with the professional expertise and experience, as well as national and international networks geared to maintaining and growing KwaZulu-Natal’s competitive advantage as a premier investment destination and leader in export trade.

www.tikzn.co.za

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K

waZulu-Natal is known for its rolling green hills of sugarcane.

Yet, despite being a key job creator with about 22 500 sugar farmers supporting 85 000 direct jobs and 350 000 indirect jobs, the industry cannot continue as it has for centuries.

Drought, dumping of imported sugar at prices way below local production costs, and land policy uncertainty have left a bitter taste. Add the recently imposed sugar tax and alleged improprieties within one of the province’s oldest sugar companies, Tongaat Hulett, and pressure is mounting for one of the largest contributors to the provincial economy to reinvent itself.

Dr Kathy Hurly, corporate

SUGAR INDUSTRY

seasons. First the major drought caused the RVprice spike, then it was followed by much better climatic conditions, surplus production, high import volumes, and the Health Promotion Levy, causing the RV-price to fall to levels last seen in the 2014/15 season,” she says.

Cane farming has relatively high cash turnover and is consistent over a nine-month period. It also has a secure market in delivering to the mill with guaranteed payment.

She says that most cane farmers are good at farming cane and have systems in place. Operating in “automatic mode”, they push out the tons required, which enables them to spend time concentrating on and developing new income streams.

A bitter SWEET story

For the sugar industry – one of the largest contributors to the provincial economy – times are tough, and farmers have no option but to reinvent themselves, writes Shirley le Guern executive for the South African Cane Growers’ Association, believes that, although sugar will remain the crop of choice due to cash flow implications, growers are already realising that they need to diversify.

“It is a given that agricultural product prices move through cyclical trends. Looking at the longterm price movement of sugarcane (RV-price), the industry has experienced more volatile movement in the last couple of

SWEET FACTS Sugar industry as % of RSA GDP 0,32% Sugar industry as % of SA Agric sector 14,61% KZN sugar industry as % of KZN GDP 1,52% KZN sugar industry as % of KZN Agric 44,09%

Many are opting for macadamia, citrus, cotton and even vegetables, and might choose to return to cane once it becomes more lucrative.

“Cane farmers are diversifying at a pace never seen before, particularly on the coast. Inland growers have always had a good mixed farming strategy particularly with timber and beef. Macadamia is leading the pack when it comes to diversification,” she says.

While some growers in the Winterton/Bergville

areas are beginning to plant pecan nuts, larger numbers of farmers in northern Zululand and the South Coast are growing macadamias.

“Venturing into macadamia production also involves taking risks, but that is the nature of farming. Managing risk exposure by diversifying into more than one enterprise on a farm makes logical sense,” she notes.

Other opportunities to grow the industry lie in the development of industries like ethanol production, co-generation of electricity, various chemicals and bioplastics. These will take time to develop fully though and government support and major investment will be required to successfully establish them.

According to the South African Sugar Association (SASA) which has lobbied for the sugar industry to play a major role in the production of biofuels such

SUGAR INDUSTRY

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GUY CLARKE RETIRES Group managing director Guy Clarke has retired from Crookes Brothers after leading the expansion of the group into several southern African countries over two decades.

Under his watch, Crookes Brothers reduced its dependence on sugarcane, diversifying into deciduous fruit, expanding its banana operations, and creating an acclaimed world-class macadamia project in northern Mozambique.

Clarke also led the expansion of the group into Zambia and significantly expanded cane operations in Swaziland.

Under his leadership Crookes Brothers today accounts for around 25% of the throughput of Two-A Day, the country’s largest deciduous fruit processor, and for more than 30% of the Lebombo group’s banana sales.

During the last 10 years, Crookes Brothers initiated investment into several highly successful community partnerships, assisting community recipients of land claims to manage their operations and providing an example of land transformation projects in South Africa.

Clarke oversaw the establishment of Renishaw Property Developments, unlocking value from the group’s marginal cane farms on the South Coast and creating what has now become a valuable land development node.

This platform for future growth has been made as Clarke navigated Crookes Brothers through the difficulties created by political and economic uncertainty, a lengthy drought and weak sugar prices, described by one commentator as “the perfect storm” in the agricultural sector.

as ethanol, the local sugar industry has a major role to play in both supplying electricity and liquid fuel.

Bagasse – the fibrous material that remains after the sugar-bearing juice has been extracted from the cane during the milling process – is used by most sugar mills to produce electricity to run production processes. As a result, South Africa’s sugar mills are largely energy self-sufficient.

Many could ramp up this “electricity production” and supply the national grid as happens in countries like Brazil and India where commercial-scale bagasse co-generation plants generate substantial income.

Sugarcane is an excellent feedstock for ethanol production and already accounts for around 60% of production globally.

However, South Africa still has a long way to go when it comes to developing a biofuels policy. No large scale commercial biofuel

project has yet materialised, although soya and maize have been the favoured feedstocks.

Nevertheless, the sugar industry continues to lobby, pointing out that investment in ethanol production from sugar will not only absorb the local industry’s surplus production (40% of the 2,2-million tonnes of sugar produced each year is exported, often at a loss) but would not endanger food security.

A sugar based ethanol industry would also stop growers exiting the industry and, most importantly, preserve jobs within dying rural economies. According to SASA, ethanol production could result in the creation of between 22 000 and 24 000 jobs.

Hurly adds that saving jobs in this labour intensive sector is crucial. SA Cane Growers’ annual labour survey shows that, on average, 3,4 full-time positions are created for every 1 000 tons of cane produced. The current crop is estimated at 19,7-million tons, which would result in 67 000 farm jobs. In addition, there are around 21 000 growers, which makes up the sugar industry’s total 85 000 job estimate.

“Part of the success of the local sugar industry has been its ability to remove surplus sugar to the export market allowing the local market price to keep up with cost of capital and production.

If this surplus removal mechanism does not result in a sustainable price, then an alternative like the establishment of an ethanol market becomes a priority for the survival of the sugar industry. Ethanol would utilise the surplus sugar stabilising the market and averting the current industry crisis,” Hurly says.

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@dbntourism

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ROAD UPGRADES

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massive arch – resembling the one spanning Moses Mabhida Stadium – will be an iconic landmark for vehicles entering Durban and will be just one of 24 projects that are part of a R30-billion upgrade of the N2 and N3 highways surrounding Durban over the next five to 10 years.

It will form part of the upgrades to the EB Cloete – or Spaghetti Junction – Interchange. Because space for expansion is limited, the spectacular arch will support the N3 carriageway as well as the fly-over directional ramps.

This project – expected to ease congestion and convert the junction into a free-flow interchange – comes with a price tag of more than R2-billion. The tender will be advertised by the South African National Road Agency (SANRAL) during the current financial year.

According to Ravi Ronny, SANRAL’s design, planning and construction manager for the Eastern Region, this will be a lengthy project, but already negotiations are underway with provincial authorities to identify

Roads to RICHES

Billions are being spent on KZN’s road infrastructure to help spur economic growth, writes Shirley le Guern and upgrade alternative routes in an attempt to ease the impact.

Also on the list of proposed upgrades is the Westville Viaduct/ Paradise Valley upgrade that will feature the first network arch bridge to be constructed in South Africa, which will span the entire N3 without any support piers, creating muchneeded space for additional lanes.

The Paradise Valley/Mariannhill Toll Plaza upgrade will see the addition of lanes and upgrading of interchanges including the Richmond Road

MATERIALS NEEDED FOR THIS PROJECT Asphalt – 280 000m³ (equivalent to 750 oOlympic-sized swimming pools) Concrete for pavements – 300 000m³ Concrete for structures – 400 000m³ Steel to reinforce concrete structures – 60 000 tons LED freeway lighting – valued at around R600 million.

Interchange which requires a 300m overpass which will add a third level to the existing diamond interchange.

At Key Ridge, identified as a high accident zone, about 11km of the N3 will be widened into a 10-lane dual carriageway.

Turning to the N2 upgrade – from the Lovu River in the south to the KwaMashu and uMdloti Interchanges, SANRAL has factored

The N2/N3 corridor upgrades will have a knock-on effect, creating further opportunities for businesses in the construction of a multi-level interchange, including fly-over directional ramps as well as loops to allow high mobility through the Higginson Highway Interchange which is expected to ultimately carry the majority of traffic from the proposed Durban Dig Out Port.

A complete overhaul of the aged Edwin Swales Interchange –

ROAD UPGRADES

comprising a three-level interchange with fly-over directional ramps and loops to cater for the already infamous high volumes of traffic from the port – is also on the cards.

The overall vision is for the entire 80km long corridor between Durban and Pietermaritzburg to have an additional two to three lanes in each direction.

An allocation of R3,5-billion will form a stimulus package to kick-start some of the critical projects over the next two years. Overall, the project aims to strengthen the logistics and transport corridor between the country’s main industrial hubs and improve access to the Durban port.

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80% of the goods that move through the Durban port leave via this route.

Already the N3 carries more than 75 million tons of freight each year with roughly 45 000 vehicles – including 9 000 heavy vehicles – using the road each day.

The upgraded corridor will be an economic solution to handle the additional 600 000 containers that are expected to come through Durban during the next five to 10 years, requiring an additional 300 000 road trips. The upgrading of the N2 corridor is also becoming increasingly important as the Dube TradePort Special Economic Zone continues to attract high profile investors and air

The total estimated construction cost is approximately R10-billion for the N2 and R18,4-million for the N3 (at today’s prices). This excludes the cost of the N3 realignment around Townhill in Pietermaritzburg

KEY INFORMATION •Project start date – mid-2020.

•Widening will be accommodated

within the existing median and road reserve wherever possible. However, additional land will need to be acquired in some areas.

•The project will involve modification of existing bridges, crossroads and drainage, construction of new infrastructure and demolition of redundant structures.

Raising efficiency and improving safety is essential as the existing N3 is already operating close to full capacity.

Ronny said if the upgrades do not go ahead, time delays and accidents will cost South African businesses about R1-billion a year. Presently, an hour-long road closure costs the economy around R300-million. Given that these figures are based on a study conducted five years ago, estimates are now probably higher.

Because the KZN economy hinges on road-based freight and logistics,

freight volumes increase.

Overall upgrades of the N2 and N3 are expected to create upwards of 15 000 job opportunities.

At the end of June SANRAL hosted roadshows promising the “pie” was large enough for everyone, according to SANRAL transformation officer, Ismail Essa and Whitey Maphakela, chief director: road safety at the Department of Transport.

The mandatory sub-contracting of 30% of all work equates to R4-billion for smaller businesses. Tenders for certain contracts will allow smaller businesses to apply in their own right rather than be relegated to being sub-contractors.

Essa urged SMMEs to look out for opportunities over and above construction, including road-marking, provision of security, the supply of road signage, fencing, precast elements such as curbing, side drains, guard rails and temporary barriers.

The N2/N3 corridor upgrades will have a knock-on effect, creating further opportunities for businesses as local municipalities have to upgrade regional roads that intersect with the new interchanges, according to Bethuel Manthoadi, deputy head of the eThekwini Transport Authority.

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BUSINESS

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s KZN’s largest locally based legal practice, Cox Yeats led the migration of top law firms to the north of the city 10 years ago.

Since then, this firm has more than doubled in size and needed to spread its wings.

Ncondo Chambers, with its mid-century modern architectural theme and state-of-the-art facilities, accommodates this and perfectly reflects Cox Yeats’ mix of traditional values and contemporary expertise.

Managing partner, Michael Jackson, is all too aware of how far the firm has come since it was established more than 50 years ago by Graham Cox. He and partner, Jeremy Yeats, who joined three years later, built a practice that continues to stand on two core principles – integrity and personalised service.

Both are particularly relevant as South Africa’s public and private sectors struggle to extricate themselves from the tentacles of corruption and poor corporate governance.

Despite being regarded as a boutique practice and competing with national firms that have large offices across the country, Cox Yeats has one of the largest commercial legal teams of any law firm in the province. It prides itself in being a medium-sized law firm as this enables it to provide a more specialised and personalised service.

“Central to our approach of doing things differently is an emphasis on building relationships by getting to know our clients, their businesses and the problems they are facing.

We don’t have a one-sizefits-all approach. Instead, we find the best solution

Ready for the FUTURE Homegrown success story Cox Yeats recently moved to its new head office – Ncondo Chambers, a purpose-built state-ofthe-art building within Durban’s premier Ridgeside Office Precinct for each situation,” Jackson explains.

Through looking at the bigger picture, Cox Yeats is able to place solutions within a meaningful and far broader context while still assessing how these will impact each client’s individual business.

The end result is that Cox Yeats has clients who have remained with the firm for over 50 years.

Since moving to uMhlanga Ridge, the company has grown from having 10 partners with a total of 14 lawyers to one with 28 partners and 46 lawyers. Many of its professionals are listed in top legal publications and are regarded as leaders in their fields.

They are backed by a strong professional team and staff turnover is

extremely low.

Newcomers to the firm are recruited at student level and then nurtured within the organisation. Both evolving and experienced professionals make up highly specialised teams.

This allows them to leverage off each other’s different insights, allowing for “vibrant cross pollination” and attention to detail.

Jackson says this makes them true life partners for their clients.

Cox Yeats has eight teams. Two concentrate on construction and engineering, two on property, one on corporate law and natural resources, one on labour, one on business rescue and company restructuring, and on maritime and insurance.

Each team has its own structure and unique approach. What is common to all is quality service, quick response and client confidence.

Jackson says that this dynamic as well as its new location allows the firm to continue to attract top talents as they enter the profession.

Over the past few years, lawyers have adapted to take full advantage of technological changes.

“Cox Yeats is keeping abreast of the times.

The principles of hard work and commitment coupled with young and energetic attorneys who pride themselves on their individuality, innovation and competitiveness and tempered by the experience of long-standing professionals will enable Cox Yeats to embrace our fast-changing and challenging world with enthusiasm and excellence,” he concludes.

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FOR MORE INFO Ncondo Chambers, Vuna Close, uMhlanga Ridge; 031 536 8500 www.coxyeats.co.za

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n the hubbub of Warwick Junction in a tiny office off a side road, a small group of people are doing some amazing work. Asiye eTafuleni (AeT) means “bring it to the table” in isiZulu and is a non-governmental agency, established in 2008 by former city officials Richard Dobson and Patrick Ndlovu.

They, and a handful of staff, are credited with critical work in inner-city urban regeneration, especially in respect of informal workers.

Their participatory approach has helped set the agenda for some of KZN’s poorest and most vulnerable workers and this year saw AeT named as one of the five finalists in the inaugural US-based global competition – WRI Ross Prize for Cities – for its work in Warwick Junction. The competition aims to highlight projects that change urban environments and build thriving, healthier, greener neighbourhoods.

KZN Invest spoke to Ndlovu & Dobson

I N F O R M A L E CO N O M Y

Bring it to

THE TABLE We spoke to Richard Dobson and Patrick Ndlovu from Asiye eTafuleni about their organisation’s work in Warwick Junction to help informal traders prosper to trade. Despite being perceived as dysfunctional, if you look behind what is happening and the emerging trends, there is an opportunity to capture the latent energy and be proactive. Another urban challenge, for example, is homelessness, which is not just about poverty, it is the result of an inadequate range of residential accommodation in the city.

Innovation and embracing change also incorporates risk-taking. There are very few innovations that haven’t involved risk. However, cities are generally risk averse due to the tension between responsibly spending public money and seemingly taking risks.

Q

Q

A

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In the WRI Ross competition you were chosen from a field of nearly 200 applications including finalists with innovative projects from Colombia, India, Tanzania and Turkey. How should cities breed innovation to embrace economic, environmental and social change?

It’s about reading the signs. Often urban challenges are indicators of a deficit the city needs to engage with, for instance, informality. Here citizens are trying to get a toehold in the inner-city economy by occupying the streets

You formed AeT because of the widening gap between eThekwini’s urban agenda and the realities faced by inner-city informal workers. How much has the city’s attitude changed towards a key constituency, if at all, and what do you think informs city thinking on this sector?

From being a city that had an exemplary approach to informality, it has retreated into defensiveness and conservativism.

This is evidenced in the lack of investment in infrastructure following

the initial work in Warwick Junction. There is also a tendency towards reactive management, evidenced by additional bylaws and police enforcement. A dichotomy emerges from the political ambivalence, for example, while the government promotes a green economy strategy,

there are no opportunities for informal recyclers to be integrated into the municipal waste management system – despite being the most efficient sector in salvaging recyclable materials. We think there is an absence of appreciating that the informal economy could be a pillar of the city’s economic

I N F O R M A L E CO N O M Y

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high season. Nationally, the retail and non-agriculture component of informality is 5,1% of GDP. However, beyond the numbers, it’s about a culturally responsive city.

The product mix sold by informal traders is culturally relevant (as well as a taste preference) and not serviced appropriately by formal businesses – for instance, products such as pinafores, limes, impepho, traditional medicine, bovine head meat, indigenous foods such as mealies and amadumbe.

It shouldn’t be seen as a destructive or competitive market but rather contribute to a more inclusive city.

Q

How do the city’s policies and actions towards street traders help or hinder this sector?

Generally, the city’s approach is reactionary and regulation biased, as opposed to proactive and consultative.

For instance, the “abandoned goods” bylaw: the market barrow operators’ preference is to deliver goods to the street traders in the early hours of the morning while the roads (the most efficient route) are quieter and safer. If they transport goods later in the morning they are often subjected to fines for obstructing the traffic. However, the city decided they didn’t want the goods delivered early and being left on the sidewalks until traders arrived to setup. The city then implemented the “abandoned goods” bylaw, meaning that goods can be removed and impounded if left unattended for a period of time. This response is reflective of the city being unaware of the circumstances and their inability to consult informal workers, while the barrow operators have developed a logical and efficient system to perform their work.

A development strategy, and there is adequate evidence that there is a mutual benefit to everyone.

Embracing informality is the greatest opportunity to address radical economic transformation.

Q

Informal workers are a massive contributor to the economy and are huge providers and breadwinners. Has the extent of this been quantified in Durban and is the sector growing or shrinking?

While individual incomes are often still modest, traders support families living in the poorest parts of the city. About 6 000 to 8 000 traders within Warwick Junction provide essential goods and services to nearly 500 000 daily commuters, which is worth about R1-billion a year. Within the mealie cook sector alone, turnover is around R2-million a week during

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Q

The perennial argument against informal traders is that they don’t pay rent and they compete against shopkeepers who have to pay high rentals and comply with a host of regulatory issues, including paying tax. If you designed an ideal city, how much space would informal traders be allocated versus formal businesses and how close is Durban to that?

The question of whether informal traders should pay tax or not is a simplistic comparison. Tax is just one component of operating a business. Certain formal businesses fall within the tax threshold and therefore wouldn’t be liable to pay tax anyway. Also, some formal business setups don’t have to pay for the extent of operating costs that informal traders are responsible for daily, such as storage, transportation of goods, even coercionary costs.

We have witnessed incredible levels of cooperation between formal and informal businesses, largely due to the significant distinction between products sold. (However, formal businesses have tried to mimic products sold by traders because of their popularity, most times unsuccessfully.)

An ideal city would be a hybrid city, that wouldn’t draw an artificial and prejudicial distinction between formal and informal. It would recognise the need for sound economics – but what we do know is that permit fees paid by informal traders could contribute a huge amount if allocated sufficiently, collected efficiently (and spent appropriately).

A

Q

A lot of your work, apart from facilitation and advocacy, seems to boil

I N F O R M A L E CO N O M Y

down to helping design equipment and innovate around infrastructure so it repurposes public space and responds to practical problems that improve the ability of traders to sustained livelihoods. Please give three examples of design solutions that show how innovation changes the landscape for the better.

Trolleys for recyclers: Recyclers often provide their own trolley, which is usually makeshift, has a low aesthetic value, generates prejudice, doesn’t dignify their work and attracts law enforcement who often confiscate these trolleys.

AeT has provided an appropriate and dignified response to informal recyclers; trolleys that are functional and have been ergonomically tested.

Similarly, one of the finalists of the WRI Ross Prize from Pune has incorporated the design of trolleys to support their city-wide waste

A

collection intervention.

Bio-efficient cooking stoves: The current cooking practice of the mealie cooks using makeshift stoves to boil mealies presents a number of challenges – big open fires that consume a large volume of fuel, which generates a large quantity of waste effluent, produces smoke and other volatiles

AeT has prototyped and tested alternative cooking stove designs that increase efficiency and safety, while still utilising the materials and fuel stock currently used. This design has been recognised by SAIA KZN; AeT has recently received a special mention in their 2019 awards for work of social importance.

The city’s design response to create the Herb Market has legitimised the industry which has had local and national impact due to varied fuel sources, and creates extreme levels of heat. This negatively impacts on the environment as well as health and safety conditions of the mealie cooks working close to open fires and boiling water; leading to severe burns and (according to health assessments conducted) has caused serious health issues.

ABOVE: RICHARD DOBSON AND PATRICK NDLOVU FROM ASIYE E TAFULENI.

Herb Market: Local trader committees such as the Traditional Healers Board/Council, has influence in the SADC co-ordination of Traditional Medicine and were instrumental in the act of parliament. The city’s design response to create the Herb Market has legitimised the industry which has had local and national impact.

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A D V E RTO R I A L

FAMILY WEALTH raising the bar

offering limited advice. And the cherry on the top? All under one roof.

For the past 35 years Garach Corporation has evolved to become a multidisciplinary professional practice with one goal in mind: to advise HNW clients and their families on how to achieve financial wellbeing and peace of mind – not just for today, but for generations to come.

One of the primary

With Garach Corporation’s professional team and expertise, creating a legacy for a family has never been easier for High Net Worth clients

T

he firm Garach opened its doors in 1984 as a chartered accountancy practice. Over the years it became obvious that High Net Worth (HNW) clients with complex financial affairs, required specialised advice on tax, financial, estate and succession planning.

“HNW individuals are not sure who to turn to for advice. Is it a lawyer, accountant, insurance advisor or banker? Each of these professionals are competent in their own area of expertise, but are unable

to provide the holistic solution,” says Professor Dilip Garach – CEO of Garach Corporation.

Armed with this knowledge and with more than 40 years of experience in financial advising, Professor Garach and his trusted team had a vision – to offer a suite of professionals of different disciplines to provide a pinnacle service under a “single window” service concept. In other words, a team of dedicated experts able to provide HNW clients an integrated service offering, rather than many segregated professionals

ABOUT GARACH CORPORATION The firm has over 40 staff with about 1 200 business clients from various sectors including farming, manufacturing, wholesale, retail and professionals. These clients have asset bases varying from a couple of million to a couple of billion rand. The firm has drawn up more than 3 000 wills and has successfully administered complex deceased estates. The professional staff in the firm have a combined work experience in excess of 200 years.

BENEFITS TO HIGH NET WORTH CLIENTS ¥Saved millions of rands in taxes for clients with proper planning ¥ Made huge insurance pay-outs within days of a person’s death ¥Made available sufficient cash in the estate to pay for liabilities ¥Set up a succession plan for the family for generations to follow ¥Wound up estates within months of a person’s death ¥Created harmony and built family relationships ¥Ultimately offered peace of mind.

concerns of NHW clients is the payment of taxes, especially taxes payable upon death which includes estate duty and capital gains tax.

“These taxes are considered voluntary taxes, as planning techniques to avoid or minimise these taxes are relatively easy to implement if it is done over a person’s lifetime,” says Professor Garach.

Clients often need advice

A D V E RTO R I A L

on how to structure an acquisition of a business or private asset. In cases like this the professionals who are familiar with the clients affairs can immediately collaborate with other in-house professionals to advise on the best structure for the acquisition.

Garach Corporation’s highly qualified staff include attorneys who serve as legal advisors, chartered accountants, tax specialists,

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certified financial planners, valuators, banking services and foreign exchange advisors, business and succession planning consultants. Working hand in hand with one another, the team provide the ideal professional set of skills to best advise in matters pertaining to finance and creating a legacy for a family, meaning the client can then focus on family relationships and enjoy life.

 ABOUT THE PROFESSOR ¥ Chartered Accountant ¥ Certified Financial Planner (CFP) ¥ SA’s Financial Planner of the Year: 2004 ¥ Professorial positions at various universities ¥ Served on government and commercial boards ¥ Financial coach to High Net Worth families ¥ Innovator of Smart File software

 MEET THE TEAM ¥ Professor Dilip Garach: Specialises in Financial and Estate Planning, Wills and Administration of Estates. ¥ Kiran Garach: Specialises in Trusts, Insurance and Banking. ¥ Rishani Garach: Specialises in Tax. ¥ Abhishek Garach: Specialises in Accounting and Corporate Matters. ¥ The directors together with the team of professionals provide holistic advice. The consultancy and advisory services are offered by various entities under the Garach Corporation umbrella, and are registered within the respective Professional Bodies and Financial Services Board where applicable.

PLANNING AHEAD From experience, Garach Corporation has advocated the philosophy that family wealth is created over generations, however to protect their wealth it may be necessary for HNW clients to ask professionals the following questions: •Are my personal assets structured in the appropriate entities?

•Is my wealth growing over time?

•Are my tax affairs in order?

•Are the trusts that have

been set up properly managed?

•Are my beneficiaries properly reflected in my insurance and investment policies?

•Are my financial affairs all up to date?

•Is my Last Will and Testament structured in a manner that will cater for the needs of my family?

•Will my estate be properly administered when I die?

•Is my tax bill minimised during my life and also upon my death?

•And finally, does my Will,

family trust, insurance policies and personal assets and liabilities all tie up? In other words, there should be no loose ends!

Garach Corporation, in addition to the multidisciplinary professionals under one roof, has designed software known as the Smart File to help HNW clients grow their wealth and create a family legacy. The Smart File concept – the brainchild of Professor Dilip Garach – is an electronic storage of information,

documentation and reports to ensure that the financial well-being of HNW clients is protected both during their life-time and for their family after death.

Wealth planning for the future.

info@garach.co.za

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M A N U FA C T U R I N G

TREADING into the future Shirley le Guern chats to Vusumuzi Mathe, chairman of Hammarsdale-based tyre recycler, Mathe Group

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usumuzi Mathe – below right – is a man with vision who is always on the lookout for partnerships that can add value to his business.

How did you become involved in tyre recycling?

I always dreamt of being in manufacturing. I’m a civil engineer, and in 2006 during one project travelled to China regularly where I visited a tyre recycling plant. In 2009, I decided to create one in South Africa.

My machines arrived in November 2010 and I set up a small factory in New Germany which came on stream in 2012. One of my first customers was Van Dyck Floors who used the resulting rubber crumb to manufacture acoustic underlays for the local and export markets. This relationship evolved into a partnership with Van Dyck’s parent company, PFE International, taking a 49% stake in the business.

A R10-million cash injection funded a new 2 000m² factory in Hammarsdale and a R20-million investment in new equipment to significantly increase production. This came on stream in 2016.

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What is the rubber crumb used for?

Rubber crumb – of varying sizes – has a number of different uses.

In addition to acoustic underlays, it is used by FIFA as stabilisation for soccer pitches utilising

artificial grass. As a partner in this business, Van Dyck Floors has continued to innovate and create new uses and is now producing rubber flooring tiles and rubber paving. Rubber crumb is also included in modified bitumen for road

resurfacing, non-slip paint and ballistic rubber blocks.

Why have you continued to invest as the Mathe Group?

In 2018 the operation doubled production and the factory currently recycles about 150 000 used radial truck tyres a year. We operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week and sell all the crumb we produce, so we have been under pressure to increase capacity. Our primary focus is on sustainability and developing products manufactured from recycled materials.

What is your latest investment?

We have installed a line to recycle the rubber buffing that is removed from truck tyres during the retreading process.

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BE PART OF

South Africa is one of the world’s largest recyclers – an estimated 1,1-million new truck tyres are sold each year and a further 200 000 reusable casings are imported for retreading.

This provided a significant opportunity to increase our output. This will be the first South African factory to process both whole tyres and retreads for various industries.

What have been your main challenges?

Securing a sustainable source of used truck tyres. In the early days, we sourced tyres from empty lots, garages and fitment centres. The government then created the Recycling and Economic Development Initiative of South Africa (Redisa) to collect these from regional hubs and

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deliver them to accredited recycling businesses such as ours. However, this was liquidated two years ago and we now receive our waste tyres directly from the Waste Bureau until a new body is set up. As this is a high volume business with significant operating overheads, we have had to work hard to achieve the necessary economies of scale and efficiencies to make this business cost effective. We have also had to deal with issues such as load shedding and increased electricity costs.

What is your view on the economy?

We expected rocky times during an election year, which was compounded by load shedding, currency volatility and policy uncertainty in the country. The escalating trade war between the US and China is also impacting on developing economies.

But, we have decided to take a long-term approach.

Investments over the past years are bearing fruit and we will continue to develop new products and find new customers. Our priority is to be resilient and build internal capacity for when the economy begins to recover.

What tips would you give to prospective industrialists?

Persevere – being in business is difficult.

Work hard – many people believe that it’s easy to get into business if you have BBEEE credentials, but it doesn’t work like that. You have to show your business is viable and sustainable.

Be a visionary and plan for your future – when you have achieved one goal, look at what you are going to do next – and always be on the lookout for partnerships that can add value to your business.

...

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SEPTEMBER 2019

Bringing together captains of industry, thought leaders from government and the private sector, as well as religious leaders, the Leadership Summit will cover matters of national importance in an effort to find solutions to challenges preventing South Africa from moving forward

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urban’s award-winning International Convention Centre launches its inaugural Leadership Summit at the ICC on September 19. It promises to be a crowd puller and will be addressed by US megachurch leader Pastor TD Jakes (above) and a host of other luminaries.

The Leadership Summit is the Durban ICC’s foray into generating new business and marks a departure from the convention centre acting merely as a venue for hire.

Durban ICC CEO Lindiwe Rakharebe said the entity was vigorously marketing itself as the place for critical conversations, be they national, regional or international.

“The Durban ICC is more than a venue. It is a place to connect.”

She said the decision to kick off with this particular summit was also prompted by the organisation’s desire to advance a discussion around ethical leadership in South Africa.

“This is hosted as a platform to bring together South Africa’s business, government and civil society leaders to engage on issues around ethical leadership, transgenerational leadership and principals to succeed in business.”

Bishop Thomas Dexter Jakes – also known as “TD” Jakes – is an author and filmmaker, and in a filmed message to Durban ICC stakeholders he promised

A D V E RTO R I A L

Durban’s ICC leads the way prospective guests a landmark gathering: a powerful intersection between pastors, business leaders and government.

Ethical leadership, he said, in his deep, gravelly James Earl Jones voice, needs to be “defined and declared”.

Rakharebe said South Africans craved ethical leaders, people of integrity who could advance the dialogue of peace.

Local evangelical preachers, Bishop Vusi Dube and Zanele Mbokazi, said the summit would tap into the huge demand for discussion around the type of leadership required to positively advance South Africa.

The September 19 gathering is a full-day event with a seminar and master class, and will include the following topics: Ethical leadership;

Transgenerational leadership; Women in leadership; Progressive leadership; and Leading in difficult times. Costs range from R500 to R6 900.

To book or find out more about the event call Rivania Govender on 031 360 1370.

Durban’s ICC is a state-funded catalytic development that was built 21 years ago and has hosted a number of global conferences. The centre was opened by Nelson Mandela in 1997 and has drawn famous people like Elton John, Queen Elizabeth II and Yasser Arafat to Durban. In the process the Durban ICC has contributed over R46-billion towards South Africa’s GDP. BELOW: LOCAL PREACHERS BISHOP VUSI DUBE (CENTRE) AND ZANELE MBOKAZI (LEFT), WITH DURBAN’S ICC CEO LINDIWE RAKHAREBE.

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A E R OT R O P O L I S

Trade hub of the FUTURE Dube TradePort could shape the future of KZN, connecting the province to the world. Built around a swish new airport, it is emblematic of our dreams for a brighter future in a modern world, writes Greg Ardé

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ut, can you invest so much hope in economic plans conceived around a futuristic concept called an aerotropolis run by a state-owned entity?

And what the heck is an aerotropolis, anyway? This was the subject of a recent discussion with a team from Dube TradePort, led

by CEO Hamish Erskine, facilitated by KZN INVEST and moderated by Naretha Pretorius, Durban Vega School principal.

An aerotropolis is a rather grand term for an airport city. US business academic John Kasarda has pioneered research into examples of cities that have developed around airports with logistics, global supply chain businesses and developments that often offer great tax rebates. In 2006 when the concept design of Durban’s King Shaka International Airport was being considered, many sceptics wrote it off as a pipe dream. Four years later the multi-billion facility was built with options to double the airport’s size by 2050.

At the time Dube TradePort was a lesser-

known entity, but one that has since grown considerably, acting as a catalyst for R3,2-billion investment around the airport that now accounts for over 3 000 jobs.

Dube TradePort has also been given the mandate to develop the 400ha Automotive Supplier Park, at Illovo south of Durban, and Dube TradePort’s accomplishments mean it could become a victim of its own success: people develop unrealistic expectations about what it can deliver.

This is so because talk of Dube TradePort is often associated with futuristic stuff straight out of The Jetsons.

A cellphone manufacturing plant is being built there. Samsung makes televisions there.

There’s serious talk of a high-speed train connecting Dube TradePort with downtown Durban. Your mind spins with talk of artificial intelligence, the 4th Industrial Revolution and images of drones whizzing overhead.

Hold the bus.

Erskine says there’s only so much you can achieve in a shrinking economy, and Dube TradePort can’t

A E R OT R O P O L I S

thrive in isolation of the economy it serves.

To succeed it must be locally relevant and ensure its public investment helps stay ahead of the global market, which might seem mutually exclusive right now. At the end of the day, Dube TradePort strategic head Owen Mungwe says for it to be inclusive it must advance the cause of a business person or professional in Durban and have future benefits for a child growing up in Nongoma. “Our role,

Our role, as defined by law, is to stimulate economic development and create an environment that is conducive to growth as defined by law, is to stimulate economic development and create an environment that is

conducive to growth. We can’t solve all KZN’s ills, but we can develop the infrastructure that will initiate new operating models that will make it easier for the people to find solutions to the problems they face.”

Investors depend on KZN’s markets, so Dube TradePort must develop routes and infrastructure to widen those. Erskine said for Dube TradePort to grow optimally it needed to build strong structural elements and networks, with proper

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spatial planning, sufficient bulk services and land use plans that fit into a broader vision for the province.

While there is a global move away from manufacturing into service sectors like banking and IT, vibrant economies traditionally developed out of strong manufacturing centres.

Industrialisation and production cultivated and retained deep skills sets through research and development and global competition (think Toyota’s influence on KZN and Durban’s port).

To get KZN’s economic engine firing is likely to see Durban double its population to about seven million. To keep KZN’s engine idling needs more than 3% growth and the current growth of 1% sees vital skills leaving town.

Mungwe said strategic investments lured to KZN via Dube TradePort were aimed at deepening skills sets to help fire the engine.

He said Dube TradePort talk was deliberately around delivery. “We connect people, be that through IT or people flying in and out of Durban ... the aerotropolis (which often sounds like something mythical) is not about centralisation.

It is about connection, communication and developing different nodes.”

Pretorius said the concept spoke to a human-centric value statement. One deeply rooted in environmental sustainability, her colleague Siobhan Gunning noted: the airport’s construction involved moving concrete to accommodate natural waterways. In a world caught up in development, she added, short-term fixes (economic and built-

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environment) were doomed.

Erskine said the future was undoubtedly green.

New aeroplanes are 25% more efficient than older generation planes. Green, he added, extended to work environments where up to 80% of staff worked remotely.

Planning for this and unforeseen economic disruptors in a rapidly evolving world, said architect Andrew Makin, was both daunting and exciting. Mexico, where Makin spends half of his year living and working, was evidence of this. It has a 3,6% unemployment rate (compared to South Africa’s 27%) and the economy is characterised by fluidity and flexibility. “People are growing businesses to support themselves, not to sell them. And they have multiple income streams.”

KZN’s remote location

A E R OT R O P O L I S

was also a challenge.

Compare southern Africa to European countries where the Mediterranean is like a table and food and goods are passed across the table. KZN doesn’t have

this proximity to markets.

The airport is definitely raising location awareness and helping overcome this, but in a world desperate for authenticity, it needs to trade on being culturally

compelling.

Its tourism offering must be unique and top-notch.

Makin said culture was enabled by commercial exchange and had been since the days of the Silk Road.

Erskine said an aerotropolis grew out of a multitude of things, including culture, and it could harness these and other attributes. He cited the example of Gangnam in South Korea, an area fabulously revitalised in one of that country’s greatest civic planning achievements. What used to be a slum was transformed into Asia’s “Beverly Hills”, in part by IT investment. The area was immortalised by the song Gangnam Style by South Korean singer Psy and is one of the mostwatched YouTube videos ever.

Investments in technology that leverage modern industry, like tissue culture labs (which Dube TradePort has), said Erskine, will pay off. The challenge is to demystify the aerotropolis and expectations of Dube TradePort and ensure it best stimulates sustainable growth in KZN. No mean feat, says Erskine, when people are cynical, indifferent or, in an age of immediate gratification, “want their aerotropolis now ... on eBay”.

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A D V E RTO R I A L

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ing Shaka International Airport (KSIA) sits splendidly amid green valleys a stone’s throw from the Indian Ocean, but the beauty of its design and location are quite a contrast to the fact that it is an economic engine, running at full steam.

The award-winning airport opened doors on May 1, 2010 in time for the FIFA Soccer World Cup, but a lot has changed since then. It has become a key economic catalyst for KZN, adding stimulus to other infrastructure projects like the Mount Edgecombe Interchange, Cornubia and big residential developments along the coast.

The airport has been internationally acknowledged through accolades, namely the Skytrax World Airport awards, having been named best regional airport in Africa for the past five years; voted by Airports Council International in the category Best Airport by size and region: five to 15-million passengers in Africa for many years since 2010; rated the 4th Best Airport in the world in its category in the world; and was voted as the 10th Most Punctual Airport in the world in its category by OAG Aviation Worldwide.

These are but some of the accolades, though the facility’s numbers speak best: It cost R7-billion to build and is 35km north of Durban’s CBD.

Ready to TAKE OFF With plans for an aerotropolis around the corner, King Shaka International Airport is more than ready

It was built ahead of the FIFA Soccer World Cup, which saw thousands of tourists flock to the city.

Since April 2010 passenger seat capacity has increased from 6 million to 7,6 million in March 2019.

International passenger arrivals have increased from 50 000 in April

2010 to 179 000 as of March 2019.

There has been huge effort through Durban Direct, driven by the KZN Route Development Committee. The committee has representatives from Durban Tourism, Invest Durban, local and provincial government, Airports Company South Africa (ACSA), Dube

TradePort, Tourism KZN, Trade & Investment KZN, Enterprise iLembe and private partners.

As a result of the committee’s efforts and KSIA’s offering, British Airways flies three times a week directly from Durban to London. Emirates also has seven flights a week with additional seasonal flights during December and January. Other airlines flying to Durban include Turkish Airlines, Qatar Airways, Proflight Zambia and Air Namibia, which also calls into Botswana. Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines fly to Durban four times a week, via Johannesburg, and the hope is to convert these routes into direct ones and increase frequencies. Air Mauritius, which used to operate a twice-weekly service has doubled to four flights.

Seven domestic airlines now fly to KSIA connecting to Port Elizabeth, East London, Nelspruit, George, Bloemfontein, Johannesburg and Cape Town.

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A D V E RTO R I A L

has proved to be very cohesive.

Through our social economic development initiatives, we have made strides within communities, delivering projects within our strategic pillars – Education, Youth and Women Development, Persons with Disabilities, Environmental Sustainability, Employee Volunteerism and Philanthropic Donations.

Q&A WITH KSIA GENERAL MANAGER TERENCE DELOMONEY:

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Your strategy speaks to an aerotropolis, one that impacts on the region’s people and its economy. Please explain how.

The airport is the centre of an aerotropolis, and while the region is preparing for the development of the Durban aerotropolis, KSIA is looking at its readiness to make some incremental improvements to the existing infrastructure and has just reviewed its masterplan. KSIA has a co-operation agreement with DTP and that is the basis of our relationship which has since developed in constant collaboration. We share land ownership within the current precinct and work closely to try and unlock the economic potential of the property for future development. Our relationship

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The increase in passenger numbers is very promising considering the general economy.

Durban Direct’s commitment behind promoting new regional and international air services to and from Durban has been instrumental, providing passengers with more routes which gives them more options and better connection to other countries.

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How does KSIA hope to be the standout SA airport?

We pride ourselves with delivering the best services, and have achieved this through our staff being recognised by Skytrax as the Best Airport Staff in Africa 2017 and 2019. The airport has the advantage of residing in a very progressive developmental node with Dube TradePort which has been declared a Special Economic Zone. The collaboration and willingness between the strategic partners in the city of Durban and the province is making it more attractive and reliable to do business with the region, including the airport. The goal is to create a balance between tourism and business.

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You have 14 airlines operating out of KSIA, consisting of seven domestic and seven international airlines including cargo. What are these figures pointing to?

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The facts and figures around KSIA are impressive. Is the airport’s growth keeping pace with passenger demand and the projected size at ultimate capacity by 2060?

We have identified sub-systems that have been constrained due to capacity, but have however implemented short-term projects to mitigate these constraints. The reconfiguration of current retail in the domestic departure’s terminal, provides passengers with a variety of retail outlets; and the extension of the current Bravo taxiway to ensure more flexibility on and off the runway. Also planned is the construction of two new aircraft parking stands, multi-configured to alternatively accommodate smaller category aircraft mixes. We are constantly liaising with our industry stakeholders and reviewing our masterplan to accommodate future expansions and passenger growth.

SEPTEMBER 2019

How is KSIA leveraging its position, considering SA is a big country and we are a long-haul destination internationally?

We offer good connectivity options to our travellers, and aim to further develop our destinations regionally, within Africa and through key international destinations. The ACSA goal is to become the most sought-after partner in the world for the provision of sustainable airport management solutions.

The pillars that will ensure ACSA’s sustainability is made clear; run airports, develop airports and grow their footprint. ACSA is focused on building skills and continuously training its people which allows them to continue to be well respected within the international aviation industry The pillars that will ensure ACSA’s sustainability is made clear; run airports, develop airports and grow their footprint. ACSA is focused on building skills and continuously training its people which allows them to continue to be well respected within the international aviation industry and has tried-and-tested systems that create a framework within which the company operates. The KSIA strategy is underpinned by the decisions and actions taken by ACSA and is based on the impact on people and society; environmental sustainability and the business contributing to the economic growth of the country.

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TO U R I S M

RESTORING the soul KZN is blessed to have a natural heritage that is just waiting for tourists to explore and appreciate – and for tour guides like Xolani Madela and Cela Manyanga to open our hearts and minds to the beauty around us

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ind, smiling, patient gentlemen of the bush.

That’s the best way to describe Xolani Madela (below) and Cela Manyanga (left). They opened our eyes, ears, hearts and minds to the splendour of the Elephant Coast.

Every year thousands of tourists flock to the region, and for good reason. The bush restores the soul. Everything from the sand forest to the estuaries, rivers, birds, butterflies, bees and Big 5, is deeply calming. It stills the mind in a mad world. You only have to visit the region to realise how critical the preservation of this natural heritage is, and to appreciate what a big business it is.

Every good business has a secret sauce and in the case of successful tourism companies, it is people like

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PASSION FOR HIS KINGDOM Sitting in Xolani’s game vehicle and then wandering through the Bonamanzi bush with him, I thought I couldn’t have existed at a better time in a better place. He was showing me his kingdom, all the while beaming. The passion and authenticity of his stories were incredible, and I thought to myself: “I have never met a man more joyfully driven”.

If we were in a Disney movie, which at times I thought we were, little birds and butterflies would have landed on his shoulders and sang around him as he walked.

He spoke of his village from across the river, but I could tell this was home. How wonderful to see a man who’s job has turned out to be a place of peace and knowing – Sophie Ardé

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TO U R I S M

FACT BOX ■Tourism is regarded as one of the quickest job creators in an economy.

■In KZN, the tourism industry employs 72 000 people directly.

■Every year 2,9 million domestic tourism trips are taken with an average spend of R1 724. The province receives 817 000 international visitors, spending an average of R6 973.

■Tourism’s contribution to KZN’s economy is 4,2% or R21,2-billion.

Manyanga and Madela, both locals from Hluhluwe and trained and seasoned tour guides. According to KZN Tourism, every year guides like Manyanga and Madela show 200 000 tourists around the Elephant Coast.

Madela is a ranger at the fabulous Bonamanzi Game Reserve, a 4 000ha sanctuary with views of False Bay and a true birding paradise which is home to hundreds of bird species – and Madela knows them all. He is a veritable fount of information on trees, game, birds, insects and Zulu culture.

He hails from Nkundusi village on the banks of the Hluhluwe River, and this father of six spent a few years working for a firm in Richards Bay before following a calling to return home.

“Everything here is balanced and it is precious. The trees give us shade and the plants heal us. Yoh, lots of tourists come here on planes and buses and cars and when they first get here they are noisy and busy. And then they calm down. They realise this is a place to respect. Animals are not aggressive.

Humans are. I sleep like a baby every night, and don’t fear the leopards or hyenas. I love the roar of the lion at night. All of it gives me peace.”

Madela says if he could encourage the government to do one thing to enhance tourism it would be to start teaching conservation in school.

“If children are taught this at school they won’t kill animals or pollute the environment. They would understand how important nature is to us and they would protect it. Not many children have the benefit of coming to a game reserve. If they did they would love it and always look after it.”

Manyanga worked in security before studying to be a guide. Now he works for ANEW Hotels and seems to know all the hot spots in Africa’s oldest nature conservancy – the 96 000ha Hluhluwe-uMfolozi Game Reserve that was proclaimed in 1895 to protect the rhino.

Like Madela, Manyanga is a kind man with an uncanny ability to spot animals. He drove us to within metres of a herd of elephant and seemed to quietly commune with the magnificent animals as they sauntered by.

Manyanga can’t hide his satisfaction when he sees the reaction of tourists in the bush. “I understand. My life has improved so much since I became involved in this.

Sometimes I can’t believe how lucky I am.”

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adira Nayagar is an unflappable sort, which is just as well. As the general manager of ANEW Hotel Hluhluwe, she is at the gateway to the Elephant Coast and there’s a steady stream of guests into the establishment she seems to run with ease and good grace.

The hotel is situated on the main road into Hluhluwe town, in the heart of Zululand and a few kilometres off the N2. The facility – South Africa’s first Holiday Inn and built in the 1960s – is barely recognisable, and the recent multi-million upgrade has given it a more modern feel, with natural wood additions to complement its bush setting.

ANEW Hotels & Resorts CEO Clinton Armour believes hotels need continuous upgrading to stay fresh and inviting.

The building itself received a steel modular add-on, with timber cladding added to the walls and flooring to create more balconies, warmth and privacy for guests. The lush subtropical grounds were thinned out to highlight the property’s indigenous Fever Trees, the parking area was increased, and the entertainment area updated to create a “post-game drive, lazy afternoon-by-the-pool” appeal.

Nayagar says business has improved considerably since the refurbishment and average occupancy for the 81 rooms runs at around 67%.

ANEW’s guests are a combination of foreigners, domestic holiday-makers, tourists on bus tours, and conference delegates. She says the integrated market mix means she doesn’t rely on one market sector.

The company has a luxury 5-star lodge adjacent to the hotel that has five en suite rooms. The profile of the guests using that facility is mainly foreign.

“We welcome guests from all over the world to our hotel, whether they are here looking for a relaxing getaway and time in the reserve searching for the Big 5 or business people looking for an out-of-town venue for a strategic workshop or a teambuilding event.”

ANEW Hluhluwe also takes tourists on game drives into HluhluweuMfolozi Game Reserve accompanied by fantastically knowledgeable guides, which, Nayagar says, is a vital component of tourism.

“Our safari team is an extension of our hotel team and as such

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Fresh &

INVITING Ideally positioned at the gateway to the Elephant Coast, ANEW Hotel Hluhluwe ticks all the boxes for foreign tourists, local holiday-makers, and businesses looking for conference facilities with a difference need to deliver the highest levels of customer service, along with an in-depth knowledge of the bush and its inhabitants. Each of our guides is highly knowledgeable and qualified, with years of valuable experience.”

Service and customer ethic in BELOW: KEVIN BURLEY AND SADIRA NAYAGAR HEAD UP THE TEAM AT ANEW HOTEL HLUHLUWE, WELCOMING TOURISTS TO ENJOY THEIR HOSPITALITY ON THE ELEPHANT COAST.

tourism is key, which had a lot to do with the recent appointment of Kevin Burley as ANEW’s group operations manager. Other hotels in the group include ANEW Resort Ingeli Forest near Kokstad and the most recent acquisition, ANEW Hotel Hilton at the gateway to the Midlands.

Burley has spent half his career in hospitality and the other half in professional coaching. He and fellow ANEW staff wear a wristband engraved with the acronym HITEC, that acts as a maxim for the company’s ethos of Honour, Integrity, Teamwork, Excellence and Courage.

“Our business is built on solid family values, which we strive to live by each and every day. All our staff attend programmes and events where we reinforce our values. The wristband reminds them of the importance of living these values from the top to the bottom of our organisation; this ensures the growth of team and business long-term.”

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he Elephant Coast is a potential tourist paradise, home to hundreds of gems that employ thousands of people. It is the heartland of game reserves and the gateway to Isimangaliso.

Why did you invest in Bonamanzi and how is it that you came to assemble a private game reserve of 4 000ha bounded by the Hluhluwe River?

The attraction is the raw beauty of Africa, it’s my passion to share that. I saw the property on an auction and a partner who had been visiting for years convinced me to go for it. The reserve lands had already been consolidated by previous owners. I had other hotels and reserves so this was an opportunity to have both.

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security to protect rhino, for example? Are these challenges shared by the government?

Getting things done.

Working with the government can be slow and difficult. For instance, with the alien plant eradication, the government used to provide the chemicals free. Now we are not getting anything and this sets us back years.

Chromolaena is flowering at the moment. We employ people from the community specifically to eradicate this but we don’t get assistance. We plough every cent we make back into this property, to improve it all the time.

Bonamanzi has a diverse accommodation offering to cater across the spectrum, from caravanners to those looking

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A love of AFRICA KZN INVEST spoke to one private-sector tourism operator, Richard Grantham to get a sense of his experience doing business on the Elephant Coast

Q

How many people do you employ and on average, how many visitors do you get every year?

Bonamanzi employs fewer than 100 people across the farm, a conservation trust and the hospitality divisions, and we open our doors to more than 24 000 guests every year. Our camping and self-catering are booked out, and the international tour buses have their own busy season. Then there are weddings and large conferences.

What are the major challenges to running a private game reserve, beyond the costs of

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for luxury lodges. Your reserve was proclaimed a natural heritage site in 1995 in recognition of the biodiversity of sand forests, savanna and wetlands, with the big four (no lion) and 426 species of bird. What do most visitors want from their experience?

People are here for the same reason I am: the fauna and flora, the peace and quiet, the interaction with the animals. It’s the love of real Africa.

Your reserve seems perfectly positioned on the doorstep of the Hluhluwe-uMfolozi Game Reserve, with views of False Bay and a 30-minute drive

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ABOVE: BONAMANZI OWNER RICHARD GRANTHAM HAS MORE THAN 24 000 GUESTS COMING THROUGH HIS DOORS EVERY YEAR.

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to Isimangaliso Wetland Park. The area is a gateway to an incredibly rich and diverse tourism experience, but the town of Hluhluwe – the front door to this paradise – could do with a lick of paint, to say the least. What support have private tourism operators had from the government in this regard?

Nothing. As far as I know all the beautification (the plants on the islands at the turning circles, the copper Kudu), that’s all done by private property owners in the town. It’s all about the individual passion.

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Leading

THE WAY

T

Meet the new leadership at the helm of Zululand Chamber of Commerce and Industry

he Zululand Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ZCCI), formed in 1926, is rallying members around plans to uplift the economy of the region. New leadership at the helm of the ZCCI are ready to reposition the Chamber as an economic-focused vehicle for the business community.

Richards Bay is the third GDP contributor in KwaZulu-Natal and recently hailed as number five in the country. This places the Zululand Chamber as a fundamental coordinator of business in the City of uMhlathuze.

The past couple of years saw the Zululand region hit by a devastating drought and many issues around community engagement, and the ZCCI has been hailed as instrumental in leading interventions to these challenges.

The ZCCI executive said members had struggled with government’s regulatory framework but they were heartened by President Ramaphosa’s approach, saying it promised to address capacity constraints and improve the ease of doing business.

“We are encouraged by the president’s focus on regulatory issues. Hopefully, it will unleash a lot of investments and make it easy to do business,” the ZCCI said in a statement.

The region has attracted R14-billion worth of investments, besides what is promised through the Richards Bay Industrial Development Zone which is committed to investing R7,5-billion over the next five years, in addition to the R7,5-billion committed by Richards Bay Minerals.

The Chamber has offices in Richards Bay, Eshowe and significant presence

in Nongoma, that are forging relationships with international traders and should result in the growth in inbound and outbound trade missions focusing on Zululand.

With the recent unrests in Richards Bay, the city is back to normal and businesses back in full swing. The ZCCI acknowledges the committed and dynamic leadership of uMhlathuze Mayor Cllr Mduduzi Mhlongo. He, together with relevant stakeholders, swiftly addressed the concerned parties and reached an amicable solution. The ZCCI said it is reassuring for the business sector that the City of uMhlathuze acts with urgency to issues impacting business

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operations and the local economy.

Richards Bay is an industrial hub with major industries such as Richards Bay Minerals, Mondi, Tronox, to name a few, and the busiest port which inject billions of rands in the local economy. The agriculture support sector is huge, but the ZCCI said it was pleased industry was dealing with pressing issues such as the expropriation of land without compensation.

Balanced economic development means jobs and small business development, and the ZCCI said flagship programmes – including a resource centre led by Mondi and other corporations – would assist communities and small businesses.

The Chamber said it was pleased with public and private partnerships that had been forged since 1926, which are still growing and benefitting members.

Recent elections to the ZCCI executive include Thabani Shale (President), Hlengiwe Mvubu (Deputy President), Thami Sithole (Deputy President), Sizwe Khumalo, Paula Leah, Ezra Mlambo, Danny Naidoo, Mike Patterson, Gareth Reeves, Duncan Balmer and Felix Maxwell.

ABOVE: THE ZULULAND CHAMBER LEADERSHIP IS LED BY THABANI SHALE, PRESIDENT (CENTRE), AND ON HIS RIGHT IS DEPUTY PRESIDENT THAMI SITHOLE, AND ON HIS LEFT IS DEPUTY PRESIDENT HLENGIWE MVUBU.

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FOOD

Ready to EAT The ready meal revolution is gaining momentum in KZN and moving from convenience to sourcing good local ingredients with the province’s unique stamp.

Shelley Seid spoke to three local businesses at the forefront of the movement THE FAMILY CHEF Over the years Michael Biassoni has fed most of Durban’s diners, either at his popular Durban North restaurant, The Mad Italian (where empty tables were as rare as hen’s teeth) or at the iconic Angelo’s Trattoria in uMhlanga.

In 2017 Biassoni decided that working nights was for owls and tomcats, so the following year he opened The Family Chef, an online meal delivery business that offered healthy, home-cooked fresh and frozen meals.

This was a carefully considered move backed up by their own research, says his wife and business partner, Naomi.

“Customers often said they wished they could take home a jar of our pasta sauce or a couple of meals.

We looked at trends in Australia and other countries and it was clear that people have less and less time on their hands to cook healthy meals for their families and often turn to a quick takeaway. At the same time, they would prefer to maintain a healthy lifestyle.”

The concept struck gold from the outset. Having started production in January at home, by May they could not cope and moved to industrial premises. “In the beginning, we were primarily delivery based,” says Naomi, “but then we decided to diversify and incorporate a retail outlet at the premises. This has been a huge success; we find that local shoppers like to see what’s available and what appeals to the eye. They enjoy seeing the fresh ingredients that go into the dishes.”

There are around 26 items on the menu, with Biassoni introducing new items every six to eight weeks and discontinuing others. The most popular? His classic lasagne followed by butter chicken curry, pork and

ABOVE: MICHAEL BIASSONI OF THE FAMILY CHEF PREDICTS THAT ONLINE MEAL DELIVERY HAS HUGE POTENTIAL. HERE MICHAEL IS IN THE KITCHEN WITH BONNY NJIYELA AND NELSON JWARA.

bean soup and vegetable cannelloni.

Naomi says the retail/online split is around 75:25. “But both are equally important. We have online customers who live far from here but will pop in because they want to meet us face to face. We have people who are in the area, pop in, like what they see, and thereafter, place their orders online.”

Plans for the future include small, satellite stores in outlying areas.

As it is they are barely keeping up with demand. “It is our greatest challenge. We are growing month on month. As fast as Michael cooks so it walks out the door. Often what was earmarked as frozen stock is bought as soon as it leaves the oven.”

FOOD

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LEFT: WAYNE COLLIN PREDICTS THAT ALTHOUGH THERE IS A GAP IN THE MARKET OF “MR DELIVERY” STYLE BUSINESSES WHEN IT COMES TO THE DELIVERY OF HEALTHY FOOD, HUGE CHANGES ARE IMMINENT.

step – a range of foods, directly linked to his online lifestyle programme.

It has only been four months since he teamed up with Old Town Italy’s Renzo Scribante. Together they have created #BLAST dishes that meld seamlessly with Collin’s commitment to a nutritional lifestyle of organic, unprocessed and alkaline-forming foods. “I was looking after the Scribante’s fitness, and with Renzo’s

All ingredients are high quality and the food is affordable. You couldn’t cook the dishes for less experience, a branded range of #BLAST foods was a natural fit for both of us.

Old Town’s talented chef Brad Wright created the most unbelievably tasty meals. All ingredients are high quality and the food is affordable. You couldn’t cook the dishes for less.”

Currently, Old Town offers a range of 20 meals, the majority plant-based with a few free-range chicken and sustainable fish dishes.

Collin says it has driven Old Town customers to the web and his clients to the shop. “We can see the appeal – the numbers are there. In fact, it’s the best activation Old Town have ever had in their store.”

»

BLAST Sign up with Wayne Collin and you will have a blast – in this case, his #BLASTonline training and nutrition plan which offers a customised regime of healthy eating, endurance conditioning and strength training.

The tragic loss of his sister to cancer drove him to research nutrition and to promote a lifestyle of wellness that is proactive rather than reactive. “I believe in making food your medicine, and want to help propel a general understanding of what to eat and when to eat,” says the ISSA qualified nutrition and endurance coach.

Twenty years in the fitness industry and a further five years with an increasingly successful online presence led Collin to take the next inevitable

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WE ARE FOOD A direct request for tasty frozen meals led to the inception of We Are Food, a family-run, Durban based, female-strong online business.

Mother Didee and daughters Jane and Amy Weare started up in 2013 when Jane was doing her chef’s practical through the International Hotel School. A cousin phoned and begged her to make a couple of homestyle frozen meals.

Says sister Amy: “One thing led to another and within a year we had 11 chef’s freezers lining our garage.”

Although Amy describes the growth of We Are Food as “slow and steady”, it reads more like a business that is growing in leaps and bounds.

In 2015 they moved into a 100m² industrial space; outgrew it within six months and moved into a 200m² space. Initially their core business was online but by 2017 growth and demand led to the opening of a retail outlet. By the end of 2017, they had

FOOD

ABOVE: THE TEAM AT WE ARE FOOD – AMY, DIDEE AND JANE. MEALS CORRECTLY BLAST FROZEN LOCK IN NUTRIENTS, PROLONG THE SHELF LIFE AND CAN BE MORE NUTRITIOUS THAN A FRESH MEAL.

bashed through the wall to take on another 300m². Currently, their operation comprises not only these premises but two brick and mortar stores (in Ballito and Glenashley) as well as a franchise in Johannesburg.

“Many customers want to see the food,” says Amy. Ballito worked from the outset.

“We like the physical presence. It is almost a depot and delivery hub.

We believe that omni-channel retail where customers are offered multiple platforms through which to access what they want stimulates growth between platforms.”

Growth of the business has been between 50 and 100% year on year, but the process could be best described as organic. Up to the beginning of this year, the business had no marketing budget and relied heavily on word of mouth.

Amy attributes much of the success of the business to time-poor yet health-conscious people, families who want home-made, responsibly sourced, good quality food that is also financially viable. “It works because we are owner-operated, and are able to manage production and quality.

“Bestsellers include our butter chicken curry, but low carb vegetarian and vegan is a big part of our market. In the last twelve to eighteen months we have seen a trend among the health-conscious – not only vegan – to move towards a more plant-based diet.”

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A D V E RTO R I A L

F

rom the muchvaunted bunny chow to that immortal, all-purpose lubricant Q20, the list of innovations, inventions and downright smart stuff to come out of KZN reads like a roll of honour.

And here’s another: Network Configurations.

Chances are you’ve heard of this successful IT company, which offers everything from cloud services to software solutions to development and business training.

Plus a whole lot more compliments associated with 75 dedicated and trained staff who live, breathe and eat IT. Which is especially compelling given how IT itself is now beyond an integral part of our daily lives, whether we’re a Luddite or a tech-head.

Netconfig began back in 1999. This was during the epoch-altering Y2K bubble burst, at a time when IT outfits were floundering and flailing globally, and much of the world thought that the computer era would come to an end.

But not Iain Emerson.

Despite being caught up in the bursting bubble due to being with an IT company that liquidated in Gauteng, Iain headed home to Durban and started a “garage” company in his sister’s rented house with five staff.

That company would become Netconfig, with Iain as managing director. And like many great companies, it first did the hard yards.

Moving from his sister’s rented house to Iain’s cottage, Netconfig redefined humble beginnings and boxes served as chairs.

Suppliers sat in the garden with exercise books as Netconfig’s help desk system.

Machines were built at night

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FROM LEFT: DRIVEN BY HUMAN PASSION, PRECISION, AND A QUEST FOR PERFECTION, IAIN EMERSON, ERICA FLOWEDAY AND WAYNE ERRADU ARE THE BACKBONE OF NETWORK CONFIGURATIONS.

Into the

MATRIX As it celebrates its 20th birthday, Network Configurations – or Netconfig, as it’s fondly known – has harnessed energy, innovation, and excellence to become a titan among local IT companies with family helping out.

This all soon paid dividends, a growth spurt came with business booming, and soon a move from that little cottage to offices in Surrey Park followed.

Two decades down the line, Netconfig is a multi-million rand business with an ethos of exceeding client’s needs and requirements. Core areas it focuses on include:  IT services and support.  Cloud services and software solutions.  Networking, cabling and wireless, CCTV.  Custom Microsoft Office and Office 365 training.  Development and business intelligence.

With over 200 clients spread across the continent, Netconfig is not just a KZN success story, but a South African one with branches in Durban and Johannesburg.

Just as it was 20 years ago,

Netconfig is still driven by human passion, precision, and a quest for perfection.

Wayne Erradu – appointed as technical director to mentor the technical team and fulfil the technology goals of the business in 2016 – is one individual brimming with those qualities.

“I joined the team in 2012 as the junior in the senior team. The work kept on coming and I kept on learning. I loved it and enjoyed every minute of making a difference to our customers.

“When I was appointed as director my ultimate goal was reached, and it was sincerely one of the most exhilarating and humbling moments of my life. I have found my strategic importance within the business, and in fact, I have found myself. This enlightenment alone was well worth the wait.”

And the key to the ultimate

success of Netconfig?

Well, according to Erradu, “The real secret to our success is that both Erica (who we’ll meet in a sec) and Iain bring dynamics from different angles, and they fight it out for what’s best for staff and customers.

“I call them the Ying and the Yang of the business.

Such different personalities who want the same thing but from different perspectives. It has been amazing to watch and learn from them.”

Erica Floweday joined the team in 2003, becoming operations director. She says over the years the company migrated from selling Novell to Microsoft and her role in the business evolved from sales to operations which included finance and human resources.

“The next few years I spent learning finance, tax, HR, and what makes the human brain tick. This has been about networking, connecting people, enabling them to function in a world that can be extremely complicated to navigate.

“Creating a business isn’t about how much money you raise or the one path you take to get there. It’s about building a real business with real customers, to create the only thing that matters in the end: value for everyone involved.”

And indeed value – along with energy, innovation and all-out commitment – is what goes towards making Netconfig not just a good IT company, but a great one …

031 266 1563 www.netconfig.co.za

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LO C A L M U S I C

J

ust days after the album’s release at the end of last year she was made Apple Music’s New Artist Spotlight for December. The music company described her as an artist who “channels South African house rhythms and embellishes them with lush neo-soul textures, muted pianohouse flourishes and an airy vocal that floats like the titular Tugela Fairy”.

It has been a quick ascent for the 25-year-old from KZN, who began singing in her school choir in Grade 3.

“As a kid, I was in love with the entertainment industry.

I would set up my own groups; wherever there was art or music I wanted to participate.”

Her father was a great fan of maskandi and also country music, which is part of the reason that Simmy does not want to be boxed into any particular genre. “My audience is everyone,” she says, “I always wanted to impact each and every person who listens to me.”

If pushed, she will say she is part of the world music movement, describing her style as a fusion of neo-folk, maskandi and electrohouse music.

It was as a student at the University of UKZN that she met renowned music producer, DJ and musician Sanele Sithole, known in the industry as Sun-EL Musician. When Sun-EL heard Simmy sing he immediately offered her a contract. “But I was determined to complete my degree,” she says. “It was important to me, so I asked if I could contact him after I had climbed my personal ladder. He agreed, and that is exactly what I did.

LEFT: SIMPHIWE “SIMMY” NHLANGULELA’S DEBUT ALBUM, TUGELA FAIRY.

Simmy for the

SOUL

With the voice of an angel and a debut album entitled Tugela Fairy, there is something more than a little magical about Simphiwe “Simmy” Nhlangulela, writes Shelley Seid I moved to Johannesburg, called him up and said I was ready to begin.”

They began working together at the end of 2016 and by 2018 had completed her first album.

The music videos of her two smash tracks off the album, Ubala and Sonini, have to date racked up an astonishing five million

online views and the release of a third video, Ngiyesaba, is imminent.

“The success of the album really took me by surprise.

I would go to a club and hear my song and think to myself, ‘Wow, that’s me!’ I am naturally shy but I’m getting used to the attention. It’s really a blessing.”

Her schedule is relentless. She has performed around South Africa and in Botswana every weekend since 2017, and invitations have come in from Uganda and Zimbabwe.

“It’s now a full-time job,” she says. “My parents are proud but confused – they understand that I sing on TV but they still struggle with the fact that this is a career and a future.”

Growing up in Tugela Ferry in rural KZN, Simmy has fond memories of weekends at her grandparents’ rural home, surrounded by cousins.

“I always wanted to impact each and every person who listens to me” “I come from a mountainous area where it is hot and quiet. I now live in Johannesburg and miss waking up to a silent house broken only by the sound of a hen. There, people are chilled and everyone greets you.”

She also misses her mother’s cooking. “I miss her cabbage with bones, her tripe, her simple spinach – I can’t find food like that in Johannesburg.”

While Simmy is fundamentally a world artist with universal appeal, she believes in staying true to her roots. “I need to carry the sounds of KwaZulu-Natal and reflect an African vibe. I need to pay respect to my upbringing and my elders.”

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MUSEUMS

Lest we

FORGET To visit a museum is to understand life, writes Illa Thompson

PICTURES VAL ADAMSON

W

ritten at the feet of the dainty stone angel caught in flight with windswept hair and skirt aflutter in front of the Durban City Hall is the timeless inscription, Lest we forget, urging us to honour our past.

With our rich, complicated and fractured history, we would do well to heed her warning. We need to find creative ways to unpack the lessons of our past to better understand our present, to help inform our future.

Twenty-five years into our democracy, this noble concept has become a multi-layered minefield of

ABOVE: DIRECTOR FOR LOCAL HISTORY MUSEUMS, SNOTHI THABETHE.

complexity, because heritage is not a one-size-fits-all kind of notion: it is a many-headed Hydra.

A good way of gauging our relationship with our past and the world around us is to visit museums.

But how many people still visit museums? Maybe they are dusty relics with a nostalgic appeal but little intrinsic contemporary pull? And how relevant are they? Whose history and whose culture are they showcasing?

Can display cabinets with precious relics ever compete with our addiction to devices, and the accessibility of Netflix?

Museums, by definition, should acquire, conserve, research, communicate and exhibit the tangible and intangible heritage of humanity and its environment for education, study and enjoyment.

Museums tend to examine what defines us and show us situational extremes – human nature at its most proud ‌ but also at its most shameful.

Museums are cathartic invitations for reparation, and artefacts of the ordinary. In Durban we commemorate sugar and surfboards; sharks and dinosaurs; forced removals and pass laws; apartheid and genocide; fertility dolls and tugboats.

Sitting in his office in the KwaMuhle

MUSEUMS

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as a counterpoint to contemporary xenophobia and human rights abuses.

In Glenwood, the Phansi Museum is housed in the beautiful late 19th century Roberts family home which features an astonishing collection of southern African artefacts, gathered by Paul Mikula. It now houses the 60-year-old African Arts Centre too. A stone’s throw away is the home of famed poet laureate Masizi Kunene, containing his archives and resource material. A landmark on Durban’s ridge, fondly known as the Killie Campbell, belonging to UKZN is a valuable collection of Africana housed in the Cape Dutch style home, Muckleneuk.

A major museum is about to be opened in an impressive imposing landmark, surely one of Durban’s most majestic buildings. The uMkhumbane Museum looks like an enormous concrete steamship funnel arising Titanic-like from deep beneath the parched earth, shrouded in a filigreelace tablecloth in the heart of Cato

The distinctive building is intended to highlight “the rise and fall and rise again of the Zulu Kingdom”

Museum, once the city’s infamous Native Administration Department where the influx of African people was masterminded, director for Local History Museums, Snothi Thabethe, says he wants the next generation of museums to be rooted within the communities, to decentralise museum spaces by creating a complex cobweb of routes zigzagging across the municipality, punctuated with places of interest.

An ambitious roll-out of potential municipal museums has been identified and are currently in various stages of completion. These include the former library and Senator Campbell’s home in Verulam; the old railway station in Tongaat; a new heritage centre in Mpumalanga/Hammarsdale;

LEFT AND ABOVE: THE FIVE-STOREY UMKHUMBANE MUSEUM AT CATO MANOR IS COSTING UPWARDS OF R80-MILLION OF CITY MONEY.

activist lawyer Griffiths and his wife Victoria Mxenge’s house in uMlazi; ANC youth league founding president Anton Lembede’s home in uMbumbulu; UDF leader Archie Gumede’s home; the old Beer Hall in Cleremont; and Dick King’s house in Isipingo, among others.

All very worthy and if handled diligently, could be the perfect vehicle for social cohesion and civic pride.

The city’s spaces are complemented by various private independent museums.

Notably the state-of-the-art Durban Holocaust & Genocide Centre. The carefully curated permanent exhibition reflects on the horrors of the Holocaust

Manor/uMkhumbane. The distinctive building is intended to highlight “the rise and fall and rise again of the Zulu Kingdom”, the centre-point of which is a simple tomb for the exhumed remains of Queen Thomozile Jezangani KaNdwandwe Zulu – the mother of King Goodwill Zwelithini.

The sense is that the grim, complex and turbulent story of Cato Manor/ uMkhumbane and tumultuous events which took place in this little corner of Durban need to be appropriately remembered – the race riots, beer-hall uprising, the emergency camp station and subsequent forced evictions.

Writers such as Ronnie Govender, Rajesh Gopie, Lewis Nkosi, Kessie Govender, Gladman Ngcobo, Mi Hlatwayo and others remind us of the emotionally intricate, racially volatile and politically complex stories of the area.

This development has been on the cards since 2003 and has fallen behind schedule after various challenges,

»

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MUSEUMS

ABOVE: THE KILLIE CAMPBELL AFRICANA LIBRARY HOUSES AN ENORMOUS BODY OF WORK BY ARTIST AND CULTURAL ARCHIVIST, BARBARA TYRRELL: LITERALLY HUNDREDS OF SKETCHES AND WATER COLOUR STUDIES OF ZULU PEOPLE, CUSTOMS AND DRESS.

BELOW: THE KWAMUHLE MUSEUM, ONCE THE CITY’S INFAMOUS NATIVE ADMINISTRATION DEPARTMENT.

MUSEUMS

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FAR LEFT: THE STATUE OF THE MUCH LOVED WW2 SINGER, LADY IN WHITE (PERLA SIEDLE GIBSON) MADE BY HER ARTIST-NIECE BARBARA SIEDLE, HAS PRIDE OF PLACE IN DURBAN’S MARITIME MUSEUM WHICH OFFERS INSIGHT INTO THE INFLUENCE OF MARITIME CULTURE. LEFT: THE UNASSUMING BERGTHEIL MUSEUM IN WESTVILLE’S OLDEST BUILDING HOUSES EXHIBITS REFERENCING THE FIRST GERMAN SETTLERS WHO ARRIVED IN NATAL. BELOW LEFT: A DISPLAY OF HINDU AND MUSLIM MATRIMONIAL ATTIRE IS ONE OF THE EXHIBITIONS HOUSED IN THE BERGTHEIL MUSEUM IN WESTVILLE. BELOW: MAHATMA GANDHI’S PRINTING PRESS AND SETTLEMENT IN PHOENIX.

including the death of master architect Rod Choromanski and the bankruptcy of contractors. The five-storey museum tower which is due to open this month is costing upwards of R80-million of city money.

Of course, I support investment in culture and heritage, but I stumble on the decision to spend fortunes on bricks and mortar, while hearing nothing about curatorial plans of what will happen inside them. We should prioritise the need to ensure that the existing spaces are effectively resourced, staffed and active.

We have museums, theatres, galleries, community halls and heritage sites which in many cases are neglected and barely functioning. We need to sustain them, invest in them, market them and breathe energy, passion and life into them.

Museums need to be more than static

permanent exhibitions – that doesn’t encourage repeat visits. We need to look at “intangible cultural heritage” knowledge and practices and explore virtual museums and new technology.

As device-junkies, we should be considering mobile apps; digital; 3D; online and downloads to complement buildings and spaces.

And of course, there could be amazing projects happening in our existing spaces.

Consider regular programmes of new exhibitions; launches; workshops; theatre; themed evenings; loyalty clubs; First Thursdays; events; tours and projects at venues throughout our city on an ongoing basis.

Let’s explore enhancing our museums by further tapping into Durban’s international connections.

A combination of creative events; a sense of occasion and clever

integration of technology should lure me to the Anglo Boer War Concentration Camp memorial site by the old airport to understand the atrocities of the Anglo Boer War; to Groutville to learn more about the life and legacy of Chief Albert Luthuli; to Mahatma Gandhi’s Printing Press and Settlement in Phoenix to understand nonviolent civil disobedience; to Mariannhill Monastery to discover one of the biggest Trappist monasteries in the world; to KwaMuhle Museum to appreciate the harsh system of labour control; to the Port Natal Maritime Museum to explore our city’s relationship with the sea; to the Natural Science Museum to imagine the roar of the tyrannosaurus; and to the Old Court House Museum to be shown the evolution of healthcare.

I would love it if Durban’s museums were not just on the to-do list of tourists and school groups, but were a meaningful, alluring, relevant, viable option for all us curious Durbanites to visit. Regularly.

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J U ST LO V I N ’ K Z N

Ode to HOME Durban my beautiful Durban. Former journalist and now Johannesburg businessman Rowan Sewchurran shares his ode to home

S

o much has changed and so much has stayed the same. It’s nearly six years since I left home for Egoli and sojourns to the motherland are short, but oh so sweet. Unlike Cape Town, Durban embraces you immediately, it urges you to drop your ego and just insists you have a good time.

It’s the place to smack “Bunny” with the country’s most eclectic people, and it’s best enjoyed in the place that boasts SA’s warmest winter. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and here are my five favourite spots in Durban. The uMhlanga Promenade is right up there with the best in the world. Walk down the pier, gaze out into the big blue, take a deep breath. Magnificent. There’s something for everyone on Durban’s golden sands. South Beach is another truly Durban experience. If ever you want to fall in love with the city again, this is the spot.

There’s something about chilling there, taking it in as the swimmers and longboarders ride the waves and love the sea. Moyo at uShaka somehow settles you. Maybe it’s the chorus of ladies as they usher you to your seat before the traditional African hand-washing and face painting ceremonies. If that doesn’t calm you, a cocktail will. And the food is delicious.  Florida Road is one of the hippest places in KZN. Kudos to Urban Lime for leading a regeneration that has transformed the urban landscape. A fresh perspective and a serious commitment to getting things done show amazing feats are possible. My best spot? Kaskade, a joint that boasts live entertainment, karaoke and authentic Indian chow like offal, sheep’s head, tripe and trotters, kitchari and chutney, mutton and chicken breyani, fish and prawn curries, and Cornish and gadhra. Cuba Lounge at Moses Mabhida Stadium is a jol! The cocktail lounge is the heartbeat of Durban’s iconic soccer stadium. I dig the trendy music, cocktails and great steak.

It’s a fine hang-out, save for those annoying queens taking ridiculous selfies. When will the pouting stop? This should be outlawed.

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