The South African, Issue 527, 13-18 August 2013 by The South African

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13 - 19 August 2013

Issue 527

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| Shocking Carte Blanche investigation into immigration company operating in London and Cape Town is a warning to prospective migrants to proceed with caution or be ‘none the visa’… By AMIRAH KHAN

VISA applicants are encouraged to “do their homework before signing over thousands for a visa to nowhere,” South Africa’s consumer rights show Carte Blanche has warned after exposing the suspicious practices of a visa services company based dually in in London and South Africa. Following months of complaints about visa firm Global Visas, last month the show carried out an undercover investigation into its office in Cape Town. With the help of hidden cameras and researchers posing as potential applicants, it appears that the company has been selling migration packages to people who would never qualify for them. The show’s researchers consulted migration expert Andy Kerr to find out what would exclude them from moving to Canada. Kerr specified that Canada has very strict criteria limiting certain occupations; teachers and recruitment consultants were found to be jobs that did not rank too highly on the criteria. The producer and cameraman went into the company’s building posing as 45-year-old applicants with jobs that were not considered to be on the ‘most sought after’ list. Despite their deliberate poor presentation as inadequate candidates for a visa, Global Visas still proceeded with their application. “Canada doesn’t have a cut-off age,” was the statement made by one of the staff. The consultant also stated that Global Visas would help to find accommodation for the applicants in Canada with the support of

UK Immigration • UK Visas • Permits • EEA visas • Residency • Citizenship • Appeals • Sponsorship Licences South African Immigration

lettings agency Pam Golding. However, when the researchers checked with Pam Golding they denied having any relationship with Global Visas and confirmed that they did not even have an office in Canada. Shortly after leaving, the ‘applicants’ were emailed a case number and account details to send their deposit, despite the fact that they should not have qualified. Carte Blanche interviewed several customers who said they were conned by the company, as well as a South African employee of Global Visas who claimed the business was all about meeting their daily R300,000 target, so he would ‘make’ people qualify who did not. Carte Blanche followed their experience with an email asking Global Visas for an interview regarding their actions; the company responded to say they were deeply disappointed by the complaints and that they always act within a code of ethics. Global Visas argued that they provide a professional advocacy and advice service but cannot guarantee applicants a visa. They asserted that they have millions of successful clients and the allegation that their clients don’t get jobs was unfounded. However, in their terms and conditions they lay all the risk at the consumer’s door, in contravention of the Consumer Protection Act. Carte Blanche discovered that the company was started by Liam Clifford, a British national who in July 2008 according to UK consumer sites was barred

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WOMEN IN CHARGE: Jenny Knott, the Chief Executive Officer of Standard Bank Plc with UK-based South African businesswoman Pily Mirazi at the SA Chamber of Commerce Women’s Day celebration in London on Friday. Knott was one of the event’s high profile panellists who discussed the issue of gender balance in the corporate world.

from being a company director in Britain for five years. The ban ended on 31 July 2013. When The South African asked readers whether they had used Global Visas, the responses included the following: “Yes they are useless. £1500 later and they tell me to download application forms from the immigration website and submit all my paperwork to them, I could have just gone directly to the website myself.” “Global Visas are disgusting. Stay away. We tried to use them Continued on page 2

INSIDE:

p3 | Justice minister promises new resources to fight gender-based violence

p7 | Cathy O’Dowd, first SA woman to scale Everest, releases e-book p9 | SA’s top 10 broadband towns versus the world

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News

South Africans warned against widespread visa fraud

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Our Team Each week we profile one of the many writers who contribute to The South African.

Tyron Barnard

Continued from front page for my husband to obtain a South African spouse and then relative permit and they had no idea what they were talking about, we had to tell them what the rules and regulations were as they still wanted to charge us. Terrible experience.” Typing ‘Global Visas scam’ into a search engine brings up several online forums where unhappy customers describe the company as ‘unprofessional’, ‘disorganised’ and ‘scam artists’. Following the investigation The South African tried to contact

Clifford to respond to these allegations but could not get hold of him on several occasions nor was there a response to an e-mail sent out to him regarding the matter. Although some customers claim Global Visas has taken thousands of pounds from them, a number of satisfied applicants have posted on South African customer service site Hello Peter. “I wish to recommend Global Visas to everyone. They have been exceptionally efficient and helpful with the application of my South African visa – which I have now

finally received. Throughout the entire process from Kevin Williams, to Michael Abrahams and lastly with Luzzane Rooskrantz, it has been awesome. Thank you guys,” wrote one person. “I am very happy with the service I received from my immigration agent. I received all the necessary attention for my process to be a success. A big thank you, as now I have been given the opportunity to be with my family. The service was kind and hands-on. It has been quite a process, but it would never have been possible without the help of Jayson, my agent.”

Citizens enraged by design proposals for giant Madiba head on Table Mountain | Dutch architecture firm releases designs for a proposed monument dedicated to Nelson Mandela on the side of Table Mountain – masterpiece or monstrosity? by CLAIRE HORN

A DUTCH firm’s proposal to build a monument resembling Nelson Mandela’s face on the side of Table Mountain has met with mass disapproval from South Africans. Rotterdam-based WHIM architecture, which describes itself as producing modern, whimsical, sculptural architecture, has teamed up with the obscure ‘Mandela on the Bike’ foundation to design the huge structure. Launched in celebration of Madiba’s 95th birthday, the proposed 12-storey building which will stand at 60 metres high and 30 metres wide is set to include a restaurant, theatre, panorama terrace, conference centre and exhibition area -all encased in the shape of Nelson Mandela’s head. Aart Bak of the Mandela on the Bike fund said he first came up with the idea of honouring the former president and Nobel Peace Prize winner on a visit to Cape Town, when he envisaged something similar to the Mount Rushmore American presidents monument. The foundation’s inspiration for constructing a memorial monument on the cliff face of the city’s most beloved and prominent natural landmark is

Left: Architectural section of the proposed monumental bust on Table Mountain; right: Artist’s impression of the bust

to educate future next generations about Mandela’s legacy through a heritage centre. Furthermore, the organisation claims the sculpture will boost employment and the tourist industry in the area. The building would have views over the historic area of District Six and Robben Island, where Mandela was famously imprisoned. The design also takes into account the importance of sustainability as the facade will have two different appearances in order to profit from natural

resources. The building will be covered in vegetation and look green from below, while solar panels will provide sufficient energy for the building as well as some surrounding neighbourhoods. A standing statue of Nelson Mandela in the interior of the building also ensures he will be at the core of the building. The concept has mainly received negative responses as people fear the building will destroy the natural beauty of the mountain, while others believe the humble anti-apartheid hero would

Mandela ‘slowly, steadily improving’ Tyron “Jabu” Barnard, is a South African based blogger who writes the popular All Things Jabu column for TheSouthAfrican.com. Barnard is the current SAB Sports Media Sports Blogger of the Year. His website allthingsjabu. co.za has won numerous awards including the SA Blog Awards. All Things Jabu is a proudly South African blog, about all things sport! allthingsjabu.co.za Twitter: @TyronBarnard

The UK Border Agency encourages prospective emigrants to be cautious when dealing with immigration services providers. If you believe you have been a victim of a fraudulent act the UK Border Agency advises victims to inform Action Fraud either through www.actionfraud.police. uk or call 0300 123 2040. The Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner, a body regulating immigration advisers, can also be contacted on 020 7211 1500. Watch the ‘Visa to Nowhere’ documentary on http://beta.mnet.co.za/ carteblanche

by STAFF REPORTER

NELSON Mandela is making a “slow but steady improvement” in hospital in Pretoria, the Presidency said on Sunday in its first update in two weeks on the former president’s health. Mandela, who turned 95 on 18 July, has now been in the MediClinic Heart Hospital in Pretoria for over two months. He was admitted on 8 June, and has been receiving treatment since for a recurring lung infection. The Presidency said in a

statement that Mandela’s doctors “have indicated to President Jacob Zuma that the former president is making a slow but steady improvement. “The medical team also reiterated that although his health was improving steadily, Madiba still remained in a critical condition.” Zuma once again thanked South Africans for their ongoing prayers and for keeping Mandela in their thoughts, adding: “Let us continue to pray for Madiba’s recovery and good health.” - SA.info

disapprove of the idea. The University of Cape Town’s Head of Architecture Professor Alta Steenkamp said, ‘That might be one of the most inappropriate things that you could do and I would imagine that [Mandela] personally would find that absolutely excessive.’ Many mistook the plans as a belated April Fools joke and Table Mountain National Park manager Paddy Gordon said he nearly fell off his chair when he saw the artist’s impressions. However, he added that due to the mountain’s legal status as a national park and World Natural Heritage Site, the design would not be approved if officially submitted. Funds are being raised for the project on crowd-funding website indiegogo – but so far only $150 of the $100,000 goal has been gathered. Judging by the unfavourable reactions of the public, not to mention the fact that the proposal requires a vast amount of funding before the organisation can even contemplate submitting their idea to the authorities, many people will be relieved to hear that the project will probably not become a reality.

thesouthafrican.com | 13 - 19 August 2013 |

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New measures to combat sexual violence bring hope but face challenges | Dedicated sexual offences courts and policing initiatives aim to reduce sexual and domestic violence in South Africa – but they face obstacles such as a lack of funding and societal attitudes by SARAH WARD

JEFF Radebe, South Africa’s Justice Minister, has announced that 22 sexual offences courts will open this year. Another 35 will open over the next three years, he said. Citing an increase in sexual violence as the reason the courts will open, Radebe explained, ”We have seen a rise [in] sexual violence against women and children and we cannot remain unmoved as government, but we can take steps to ensure that all those perpetrators of these heinous crimes must be brought to book and this is one of the ways of dealing with it.” He went on to say that many magistrates find dealing with cases of sexual violence “traumatising”, and that due to the high turnaround within these positions, the care provided to victims has not been adequate because the magistrates and prosecutors have not stayed long enough to become specialised. These courts seek to correct this, although they are not a new introduction: South Africa had courts such as these up until 2006 when it was decided that they diverted resources away from other victims of crime. There are currently 15 courts operating as “dedicated courts”, and five that specialise only in sexual offences. Radebe said, “These dedicated courts are necessary. When there are these dedicated courts, the conviction rate goes up but when we stopped them the conviction rate went down.” To reduce the “trauma” experienced by prosecutors working in such an environment, they will now be rotated more frequently. Speaking on behalf of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), Bulelwa Makeke said, “The issue of rotation was part of the proposed resolution for those prosecutors who felt that the exclusivity of focus that was entailed by the specialisation required for dedicated prosecutors was limiting their career aspirations in the legal field.” owever, some doubt has been cast on the likelihood that these special courts will be established by the proposed date of September 2013. According to Dr Lillian Artz,

Justice Minister Jeff Radebe has vowed to do more to stamp out violence against women & children

a criminologist at the University of Cape Town, “There is a lot of confusion about the courts. There is no framework for what the courts will look like, and you can’t draw up a budget if you don’t know what you’re paying for.” Questions have arisen too about funding, with the NPA suffering from a budget shortfall of R200 million, and staff shortages. Makeke said that the NPA “would not be sufficient to resource all dedicated courts as envisaged”. These courts are among a series of new measures being introduced to combat sexual violence. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, a part of the United Nations, records that the number of rapes reported to the police in South Africa is the highest in the world. In 2012, it was estimated that 175 rape cases were reported to the police per day. To deal with the prevalence of sexual violence, police stations in South Africa began to stock “rape kits.” Invented by Louis R. Vitullo, a Chicago police investigator, in the 1970s, these kits are a way of taking DNA evidence from the body of a victim after an assault and are effective in increasing rates of prosecution. However, a shortage of these has caused controversy. Annelize van Wyk, Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Police National Assembly, said, “It is because of the shortage of the rape kits that many perpetrators end up not being convicted of rape even though they are guilty and this has ripple effects on society as the rapists strike again. Without rape kits, we lose crucial evidence which is key to the successful prosecution of rapists,”

Accusations of police using expired kits to collect evidence have done little to assuage the situation. The Law Society of South Africa has promised to provide attorneys free of charge to help train police officers dealing with incidents of gender-based violence. Martha Mbhele, chairman of the LSSA family law and gender committees said, “We are committed to doing what we can to break the cycle of violence being experienced by the more vulnerable members of our society.” How effective these changes will be has yet to be seen. President Jacob Zuma launched the “Stop Rape” campaign in February, aimed at teaching children about their rights, and in particular trying to engage men in ending gender violence. Even Playboy South Africa has started its own campaign. However, doubt has been cast over the government’s commitment, due to the absence of many government figures during parliamentary debate on the topic. Commenting on the continuing trend of gender violence in South Africa, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga suggested that putting an end to it would be more complicated than these campaigns suggest. “There is an entitlement that men have. It starts much earlier, when boys are born they are celebrated and the power and sense of entitlement starts there,” she said. ”It is just about men’s attitude and the way we socialise them in this country, and the structure of patriarchy which gives men the sense that they have the right to harm, to an extent of killing, women. That is the key issue.”

return to the Edinburgh Fringe. At the heart of their shows are Zulu songs full of rhythm, style and spirit. Africa-entsha.weebly.com

13-17 August 2013 ‘Mies Julie’ at Oxford Playhouse: Following sell-out runs and sensational reviews at the Edinburgh Festival and London’s Riverside Studios, highly acclaimed South African dramaMies Julie receives its Oxford premiere and plays its only regional dates at Oxford Playhouse from Tuesday 13 to Saturday 17 August. £10-26.50. oxfordplayhouse.com Until 30 Sept 2013 Africa Entsha UK Tour: South African a capella quartet Africa Entsha are touring the UK over the next three months, including a

13 September 2013 The Nedbank South African Charity Golf Day: Spend the day with friends while supporting the outstanding work being done by all our benefitting charities in South Africa. Packages available from £225 (individual) for 18 holes, shirt, braai, gala dinner, Saracens ticket sponsored by Saracens Rugby for 18th October 2013 Heineken Cup match. Foxhills, Surrey sagolfday.com For more events and details: www.thesouthafrican.com/events For the latest news, and to have your say on issues affecting you, visit thesouthafrican.com/news

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| 13 - 19 August 2013 | thesouthafrican.com

Community

Shaka Zulu celebrates third birthday in style

by STAFF REPORTER

LAST Saturday, Camden restaurant Shaka Zulu celebrated its third birthday with a bang. The venue was decorated with hundreds of balloons, ice sculptures and the champagne and cocktails were flowing when hundreds of guests joined the venue for a momentous celebration. The evening began with dinner including exotic dishes such as Zebra Fillet, Crocodile and Springbok Potije and Chicken and Apricot Sosaties. At the same time upstairs, the drinks were flowing at the Founderâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Drinks Party where a number of VIPs and loyal customers joined staff for an intimate reception.

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Butchery ‘A Cut Above’

Grant Hawthorne’s recipe for duck liver parfait with toasted brioche

For the brioche

Ingredients: • 15g fresh yeast, cut into small pieces • 500g plain flour, plus more for dusting • 1 tbsp salt • 45g caster sugar • 6 large eggs, beaten • 200g unsalted butter For the glaze:

• 1 egg • pinch of salt • a little granulated sugar Method: • Dissolve the yeast in a little warm water and leave for 5 minutes • Sieve the flour and salt into a mixing bowl and add the sugar. Make a well in the middle, add the yeast and mix together well. • Beat in the eggs, a little at a time, until all the ingredients are completely incorporated. The dough should be slightly sticky, but not too soft. • Flour your hands, then knead the dough slowly and steadily for about 6 minutes, lifting it towards you with one hand, then flipping it back quite firmly on to the work surface. When you knead, put your whole body behind it, not just your hands. As you work, keep sprinkling flour on the surface and continue kneading until you have a dough which feels elastic and no longer sticks to your fingers. • Soften the butter to the same consistency as the dough, then spread it over the dough with one hand and knead it in with the other in the same way as before.

Nelson Mandela’s Living Legacy

1963 – Raid on Lilliesleaf ON 11 July 1963, police raided Liliesleaf Farm, arresting those they found there and uncovering paperwork documenting MK’s

• When all the butter has been worked in, dust a large bowl with flour and put in the dough. Cover with cling-film and secure with an elastic band. Leave in a warm draught-free place at about 20-22 degrees C/68-72 degrees F, until doubled in size. Knock back. • Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C/350 degrees F/Gas Mark 4. Oil 16 brioche tins or muffin trays well (you can bake the brioche in batches if necessary) and put a ball of dough in each. Cover with cling-film and leave in a warm draught-free place until doubled in size.

• 1000g unsalted butter • 15 whole eggs • 1 whole garlic • 200g shallots sliced • ¼ bunch of thyme • 6 bay leaves • 2kg liver (chicken or duck) • 8g ground white pepper • 20g Maldon salt • 250g unsalted butter clarified • 1l whole milk

Ingredients: • 350ml port wine • 350ml brandy • 350ml pedro ximenez

Method: • Put all alcohols with herbs, garlic, and shallots into pot, flambe and reduce it by 2/3, soak livers into milk for 4 hours, and leave it out of the fridge, so it can come up to room temperature. Melt butter (1kg), and let it cool down to room temperature. All ingredients must be at room temperature. • Once everything is prepped, divide all ingredients into half for blending purposes, then blend everything in the Thermomix, adjust seasoning. Pass it through on a fine chinois, than portion it out into 4oz ramekins.Should gain about 40-42 portion. • Put the ramekins into a large 1/1 gastronorm, and bain-marie cook the parfaits in a steamer for 15 minutes, or until it is cooked. Blast chill it straight after cooking, than cover them with clarified butter for conservation.

activities, some of which mentioned Mandela. The subsequent Rivonia Trial began at Pretoria Supreme Court on 9 October, with Mandela and his comrades charged with four counts of sabotage and conspiracy to violently overthrow the government. Their chief prosecutor was Percy Yutar, who called for them to receive the death penalty. Judge Quartus de Wet soon threw out the prosecution’s case for insufficient evidence, but Yutar reformulated the charges, presenting his new case from December until February 1964, calling 173 witnesses and bringing thousands of documents and photographs to the trial. With the exception of James Kantor, who was innocent of all charges, Mandela and the accused admitted sabotage but denied that they had ever agreed to initiate guerilla war against the government.

They used the trial to highlight their political cause; one of Mandela’s speeches – inspired by Castro’s “History Will Absolve Me” speech – was widely reported in the press despite official censorship. The trial gained international attention, with global calls for the release of the accused from such institutions as the United Nations and World Peace Council. The University of London Union voted Mandela to its presidency, and nightly vigils for him were held in St. Paul’s Cathedral, London. However, deeming them to be violent communist agitators, South Africa’s government ignored all calls for clemency, and on 12 June 1964 de Wet found Mandela and two of his co-accused guilty on all four charges, sentencing them to life imprisonment rather than death.

Make the glaze:

• Beat the eggs with the salt and glaze the brioche carefully. • Using a pair of scissors, make little cuts in the top of the brioche and sprinkle over a little granulated sugar. • Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown (do not open the door for the first 6 minutes, until the brioche have fully developed). • Remove from the oven and leave to cook on a rack. Liver parfait

Our staff pride themselves on the level of personal service they offer. We have the best matured steaks top class cuts at very affordable prices. We season your meat for free and even offer cooking advice and ‘take home’ cooking instructions. We look forward to seeing you soon! Where to find us Snoggy’s – The Butchers 367 Upper Richmond Road, Putney, SW15 5QJ Call us on: 0208 876 2050 ALSO AT Wimbledon Station, SW19 7NL

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| 13 - 19 August 2013 | thesouthafrican.com

Community The OPTIMIST

KAREN DE VILLIERS

In looking back, is Lot’s wife my lot? | Starting again meant letting go and I was having none of that.

MEN never seem to do it. Look back, I mean. Sometimes I see them trip over something and glance around accusingly, but in the big issues, the major roads, highways, it’s face forward and onward ho! If only it were that easy for me. As a child I spent my life wishing time would fly, the only acceptable path was the one ahead. Desperate to get into ‘big school’, then ‘high school’, only to chomp at the bit to leave and be in the big world, find Robert Redford and get married. Am trying to remember when that wheel began to turn. Life happened a little too fast I guess, marrying someone better than Robert Redford, raising children and fussing about swimming lessons and them going to school. I guess the definitive point must have been leaving South Africa. Oh my, my neck took the shape of an owl, flipping around all the time, but mostly backwards . ‘Back home’ became my mantra – I could not see the wood for the trees on this leafy

island, but life back then took on a life of its own. Everything seemed so much better; I seemed so much better than being here. Starting again meant letting go and I was having none of that. Rather than be a pioneer of the New World, I became a ghost of the Christmases past, haunting everyone with what used to be (romantic notion) without the slightest concern of the impact my nostalgia would have on my family. Little chance of my children having a future when mother and wife were doggedly clinging to the past. I mentioned the book ‘Scatterlings’ in my last column. Still haven’t read it, but snippets reveal deep loss and looking back. Primarily from women. Giving up the known, animals, families ties … so sad, but in saying that… I thought, what are we doing? Is that me? Have I drowned in the eddy of yesterday? Have we women become puddles of tears rather than amazons ready for the new battle? It is scary to admit, but I am guilty. In so I think I have distanced a number of those close to me who are getting a little tired of the history chapters and are now pulling at the chains to get on with the future. Mostly the men in my life. Put me in the stocks if you will, I deserve it. I am very close to the lot of Lot’s wife, looking back and being turned into a pillar of salt, mine mainly in the crying for what is behind me. We women are silly like that. Remembering first loves, Valentine cards, babies first cry. First dates. Wallowing in memories of ball gowns and bouquets. Our lips quiver at sad letters and funerals. Saying goodbye, love lost. Sentimental fools wanting one last look. In the admission, how then to change this? I need a man to tell me. An optimistic fellow. Who is kind to my condition.

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Pannekoek om Middernag

| Ooit Suid Afrika so baie gemis dat dit oomblikke van malligheid veroorsaak? Baie kere om middernag as die nostalgie erg raak, gaan ek saggies te werk in die kombuis om vir myself ‘n paar pannekoeke te maak…

by BIANCA PIENAAR MY familie het vir my kaneel gestuur want die kaneel hier in Ingeland proe regtig nie dieselfde nie. Vir maande lank moes ek dik pannekoek saam suiker en suurlemoen eet! Nie dat ek kla nie, dit is ook lekker. Maar niks kom naby ‘n lekker kaneel en suiker pannekoek nie. Spesiaal as die suiker soos stroop tussen jou vingers af loop! Ek is so lief vir ons kos in Suid Afrika! Weet ons net nie hoe om lekker te eet nie? Ek voel nie geïnspireer as ek Sainsbury’s binne stap nie. Ek soek my Ma se trifle en my Pa se hoender potjie. Ek meen, waar kry mens pampoen in Engeland? Sukkel my roer af! Behalwe na aan Halloween, dan is hul ewe skielik vol op! Botterskorsies is net nie dieselfde nie of hoe? Maar ek het my bed gemaak soos Ma sal sê so ek moet maak doen met wat ek het. Die komende week is ek opsoek na ‘n botterskorsie om my sussie se pampoen tert resep te maak. Ek kan nie wag vir Oktober nie! Pannekoek is nie die enigste lekkerny wat ek geniet as ek die huis mis nie. Een week was dit so erg dat ek twintig porsies aarbei konfyt tertjies en ‘n dosyn plaatkoekies gebak het. Ek moes dit als oor ‘n week selfs op eet of vries want my Ingelse man het nog nie die palet vir ons kos ontwikkel nie. Kerries is my gunsteling om by die huis te maak, maar my man stem ook nie hier saam nie. Volgens hom is dit glo ‘n

tradisie; Almal ontmoet by ‘n kerrie huis waar poppadoms tussen die skare uit gedeel word as ‘n voorgereg. Cobra’s (bier) word bestel en sodra die kos aankom spoor die manne mekaar aan om ‘n lepel vol Vindaloo te eet! Vyf pond word oor gegee aan die een wat nie sy gesig snaaks trek as hy die warm sous sluk nie! Maar as ek kerrie by die huis maak is dit nie dieselfde nie? Ek probeer ook verduidelik dat jy die poppadoms saam jou kerrie moet eet. Maar ons het uiteindelik

op een gereg besluit wat jy nie in ‘n kerrie huis sal vind nie… bunnychows! Af en toe ontvang ek ‘n versoek van my man om dit maak. As dit kom by konfyt tertjies dan kry ek ‘n oor vol as ek die laaste een geëet het! Daar is hoop vir die Engelse! Ek het in 2008 op ‘n skaap eiland gewerk oorkant Mull of Kintyre in Skotland. Daar was ‘n lieflike klein kroeg op die eiland, ‘The Byron Darnton Tavern’. My bestuurder vra of ek nie weet wat om met ryp piesangs te maak nie, sy het baie oor en hulle sal weg gegooi moet word. Ek stel voor piesangbrood vir middag ete en skryf gou ‘n resep neer van die internet af. Twee ure later kom daar ‘n heerlike piesang brood uit die oond uit. Ek is baie in my skik en vergader gou botter, bordjies en messe vir die tafel. Eers was daar stilte soos hulle die broodjie bekyk en ruik. Dit was ook die eerste keer in my lewe wat ek Skotte ontmoet en leer ken het so ek was maar bietjie bangerig! Die eerste paar snytjies saam botter word af gewas met heerlike vars melk en die Skotte lyk heel gelukkig met die snaakse piesang gereg van my! Die oom wat die eiland besit staan op en ek sien hy is doenig in die yskas. ‘n Paar oomblikke later kom hy terug met vla! Hy vra omverskoning maar glo die piesang brood sal lekker wees saam vla. Ek sê ek gee glad nie om nie en help myself ook met ‘n bietjie net om te wys dat ek ook nuuskierig is! Mmm, dit was lekker maar ek verkies defnitief nog botter! Ek stel voor almal moet ‘n bietjie probeer om die Britte aan te spoor om Saffa kos te eet. Ons kan dalk nog ‘n rewolusie begin!

thesouthafrican.com | 13 - 19 August 2013 |

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Cathy O’Dowd’s extraordinary Everest adventures released as e-book

| Cathy O’Dowd, the hugely successful South African mountaineer, has recently re-released her brilliant book Just for the Love of it in e-book format with Crux Publishing. by STAFF REPORTER AT 8am on 29 May 1999 Cathy O’Dowd, a 30-year-old mountaineer from South Africa, stepped onto the summit of Everest and into history. She had become the first woman to climb the highest mountain in the world from both its south (Edmund Hillary) and north (George Mallory) sides. To achieve this, Cathy has had to face the ultimate risks of Everest. During her first ascent from the south in 1996, she and her team were trapped in the killer storm described in Jon Krakauer’s best seller Into Thin Air. They finally reached the summit, only to have the thrill of success snatched away when a team member disappeared on the descent. In 1998 Cathy, attempting the north side of Everest, stopped only a few hundred metres from the summit to try and help a dying American climber. The woman’s first words

were ‘Don’t leave me’. Yet Cathy eventually had to leave her to save her own life. Cathy captured the drama of her Everest climbs, her passion for the challenge of climbing mountains and her love of wild places in her brilliant book Just for the Love of it. The huge controversy surrounding Cathy’s Everest climbs make for riveting reading and her unique position as a female climber in a male dominated sport is inspirational. In this book Cathy tries to answer the question of why, if climbing Everest can be so dangerous, people still want to do it. Now Just for the Love of it has been re-released in e-book format with Crux Publishing. Featuring a new chapter exclusive to this electronic edition, Cathy shares the previously untold story of her fourth Everest expedition, an attempt to climb a new route

on the seldom visited and very risky east face of Everest. Storms, avalanches and crevasses all contributed to an expedition fraught with difficulty. This is a book of challenge, of adventure, of love and life and death. This is Everest, the world’s highest mountain, climbed ‘just for the love of it’. “How refreshing…when there are still so many challenges left in the world, at a time when these very qualities [endurance and courage] need to be developed in our youth, to find a young modern explorer in Cathy O’Dowd pushing her limits ‘just for the love of it’. A reason that seems as good as any, and probably better than most,” says British Explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes in the foreword to the book. The e-book costs £4.99 on Amazon.

African treasures in London | The highlight of the British Museum's African Galleries is ‘Throne of Weapons’ by Mozambican artist Cristóvão Canhavato. by JEREMY ASTFALCK OK so you saw the photo and thought Africa was going down the tubes again. Not so, in fact we have finally found the cure to the instruments of death traded in by the various lords of war and warlords in Africa. But first let me put this into perspective. On the hottest recorded day this summer, London was warming to 32 degrees and I was on my way to visit the British Museum.

According to the sign outside the Russell Square tube station it is only 885 yards down the road and proved easy to find. As it says in The British Museum Little book of Treasures it “is one of the world’s greatest treasure houses and at the same time one of its most respected academic institutions” The reason for my visit was to research a piece that had come into stock and for the world’s art and antique dealer’s, museums such as this are the place to go. On my way in I spotted this sign showing the location of The Sainsbury African Galleries, which with great air conditioning was a blessing. Here one finds not only historical objects but contemporary works as well. The highlight for me turned out to be the ‘Throne of Weapons’ by Cristóvão Canhavato who produced this in Maputo, Mozambique in 2001. Made from scrapped weapons such as the notorious AK 47 these instruments of death have been reborn as art and make a very powerful statement. Driven by Bishop Dinis Sengulane who initiated a project called ‘Arms into Tools’ in 1995,

the primary aim was to encourage the local populace to swap their guns for tools. Artists were then given access to turn these into works of art. Of these the throne is truly engaging, focusing the mind on how crude armaments have been reformed into a traditional symbol of power. The only thing the international art trade has to do now is to convince the world that these contemporary art works will surge in value and maybe we can then sell them back to the countries that made them in the first place. It is indeed a strange world we live in and seeing the impact this had on all the visiting tourists I am sure this is exactly what will happen. Who knows but maybe we could give the arms trade a ‘gun’ for their money. Follow Jeremy’s column ‘Antiques in Africa’ on www.thesouthafrican.com/columns

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| 13 - 19 August 2013 | thesouthafrican.com Follow us on Twitter: @TheSAnews

Blimps across the savannah: blue-sky thinking for broadband | While governments guard their telecoms monopolies, local entrepreneurs and Silicon Valley giants are competing to bring fast, cheap broadband to African consumers by BRETT PETZER

The Oasis Group is a dynamic wealth management business operation formed in 1997. The Group is comprised of multiple companies; each specialising in contributing towards Oasis extensive product range that is designed to meet the needs of the Shari’ah and socially responsible client markets. Product offerings include collective investment schemes, retirement funds, endowments and pension annuities for the retail client and segregated portfolios and pooled policies for institutional and high net worth clients.

The Oasis Group is looking for Financial Advisors to be based in London Knightsbridge. The core function of the position is to provide sound financial advice and meet agreed targets and deadlines.

TRAINEE FINANCIAL ADVISOR /FINANCIAL ADVISOR Reporting Structure : Head of Global Operations Qualification Requirements : Degree / Diploma in Financial Planning (Should be a certified financial • • •

advisor, recognised by the FCA to give regulated advice) 1-5 Years of regulated financial advice experience. Should be familiar with the broad range of investment and retirement savings options including the UK Financial Services Regulations, Personal Taxation Ethical Investment Risk Financial Protection and Retirement Planning.

Job Requirements: Key Performance Areas of the candidate would include to: • Promote the Oasis brand of collective investment schemes within the UK • • • •

as a savings vehicle of choice either directly or via a retirement savings option such as an ISA. Travel to various parts of the UK to meet with retail and institutional clients. Application of the full advisory role to retail clients including a full needs analysis and financial planning as and when required by the clients. Employee will be required to generate his own leads effectively with potential clients to ensure he / she meets the agreed targets and deadlines. To ensure all associated administration is completed in an effective manner to meet the group's compliance and regulatory requirements.

Remuneration: Negotiable How to apply : Please email CV, Identity Document, Academic Transcripts and a Motivational Letter to recruitment@oasiscrescent.com. If you do not receive a reply within 6 weeks, please consider your application unsuccessful. For more information please contact us on +44 (0) 207 530 0550 or visit www.oasiscrescent.com

ONE of the great unexpected successes of the late 1990s in Africa was the continent’s rapid and total embrace of mobile technology, predicted by practically no one in technology circles. ‘Leapfrogging’ the lack of fixed-line telephony to embrace mobile voice and, later, basic data was an approach born of necessity in Africa that became widely copied in the global South. The revolution wrought by mobile technology, from cash transfers to the transmission of weather data to farmers, is now well-known in the mythology of Africa’s rapid reentry into world markets in this century. What is less understood is the promise of a new kind of leapfrogging for Africa’s second technological leap: the provision of broadband internet beyond coastal cities and deep into the African hinterland by technologies currently in development. Now that sea cables have relieved the worst of Africa’s data isolation from the rest of the world, coastal cities and major capital cities of Western, Southern and Eastern Africa have reached a workable level of broadband penetration for those who most need it. However, penetration beyond major cities has been slow, and prices and speeds inside major cities are still extortionate by Asian or European standards. In the African context, broadband means that expertise – whether in the field of preventative medicine, dealing with drought or teaching higher-level science to learners without school laboratories – need no longer be trapped inside large cities in Africa. The countries that most need to share their skills base have until now been least able to do so, but entrepreneurs from across the technology spectrum are at last stepping into the breach. Satellite broadband holds perhaps the most promise for delivering the amounts of data that meaningful internet access now demands. A new satellite system, launched in July 2013, aims to bring highspeed internet access to far-flung communities in Africa and elsewhere. The risk, at this point, is as great as the promise: the project, dubbed

Google’s Project Loon, currently being tested in Cape Town, offers broadband satellite via unmanned airship for both humanitarian and commercial applications

‘O3b’ for ‘Other Three Billion’, took off from the European Space Agency’s French Guyana base at a cost of 3 billion USD. Later this year, O3b’s first 8 satellites will enter a lower orbit and go live. In South Africa, which has the richest geostationary satellite coverage on the continent, a forerunner of this continent-wide market is already manifest. Companies like Skywire have taken note of the buying power of that part of the South African public still locked out of both Telkom’s 140 000 km of fibre-optic network and the leading cellular operators’ 3G networks to launch a competitively-priced satellite broadband system. According to Jaco Visagie, codirector of Skywire, “Dismal or no Web connectivity...is a huge obstacle in the way of economic and educational advancement in those rural areas…Many of South Africa’s major tourist attractions, such as game lodges, are also situated in isolated areas, where rough terrain and distance often make deployment of any fixed-line infrastructure too costly. [Businesses] that can offer...fast and reliable Internet will differentiate themselves as ideal sites for conferences and for hosting corporate guests, and it will give them a competitive edge.” The benefit of satellite broadband, apart from the leapfrogging of physical fibre-optic infrastructure, is the lack of last-mile connectivity issues that are inherent in ADSL lines – as well as the cable-theft problem these

give rise to. Farming communities, game lodges, rural schools, libraries, health clinics, remote construction sites and road maintenance site offices will no longer as far from knowledge as they are from cities. On the near horizon of African technology and ICT, however, the most invigorating ideas may be Google’s Project Loon. The project, currently being tested in Cape Town, would see blimps (helium-filled unmanned airships without internal frameworks – essentially balloons) bringing lowcost connectivity to rural Africa. The blimps would also be a smart way to bring extra wireless bandwidth to cities, provided they fly low. Initial results of the Cape Town project have been successful, leading speculation that the friendly white balloons may one day be as much a part of the savannah as nimbus clouds in the rainy season. Not to be outdone, Microsoft already running a sophisticated app creation and coding programme in Africa – has set up the 4Afrika TV white spaces internet project in rural Kenya. ‘Mawingu’ (cloud) takes unused TV spectrum and fills it with high-speed broadband at very low cost. As countries like South Africa migrate from analogue to digital TV broadcasting, white space opens up where TV signals once operated. Using this liberated spectrum has the advantage that it’s an immediate and extremely cheap method of delivering the internet to those who need it most and are least likely to get it any other way. As the world’s premier internet and software giants compete with local entrepreneurs to bring the internet to rural and urban Africans at meaningful speed – and as the immense creative energies of millions of people are optimised as a result – it is motivating to note that, while governments squat on telecoms monopolies, the message that the status quo is no longer acceptable has hit home at the grassroots.

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SA’s Top 10 broadband towns versus the world | Africa’s largest economy still languishes far behind the African and Indian Ocean frontrunners when it comes to broadband speed, trailing behind most of the SADC

by BRETT PETZER THE 2013 Ookla Net Index, a fairly major ranking of internet speed, seems at first glance to make bad morning reading for technology investors interested in South Africa. However, the meaning of the South Africa’s slow and costly broadband internet is double-edged. While it may dismay business process outsourcing and offshoring investors who had hoped to depend on local internet providers, our ranking also highlights the magnitude of the opportunities available to broadband entrepreneurs in Mzansi – and, crucially, in the rest of Africa. In world rankings for uploads, South Africa steams in at #120, with an upload speed of 1.86 Mbps. This puts Africa’s largest economy behind Tanzania (#93) and Kenya (#92, at 2.54 Mbps). Angola (#88) and Mozambique (#89) rank even higher. Tiny Namibia, at 2.87 Mbps, ranks just behind Germany at #82. Africa’s upload leader is Mauritius, a rapidly-diversifying economy that has moved away from tourism and agriculture to make serious inroads into light manufacturing, services and banking. Ranked 24th in the world, its 9.32 Mbps upload speed is a full 5 times faster than South Africa’s. Ethiopia, which has the fastest continental broadband upload, ranks one above the United States of America at #41. Its broadband speed of 5.50 Mbps is almost three times as fast as that in Cape Town, despite the fact that the average South African earned 22 times as much as the average Ethiopian in 2011. Moving on to Net Index’s Download Index does not improve the outlook much. The usual suspects cluster near the top – all the large, sophisticated service economies as well as the niche tech-savvy minnows. For broadband downloads, South Africa languishes

at 120th with a speed of 4.11 Mbps, behind Zimbabwe (#107) and fully 60 places behind Mauritius. This means that the broadband internet in Gauteng, which generates 7% of Africa’s GDP – or, put another way, every 14th US Dollar in Africa’s GDP – is 2.5 times slower than that in Port Louis. As for the top broadband towns in South Africa, know that your business rent is worth it if you find yourself in the following municipalities: Top Broadband Towns in South Africa (with country equivalent) 1. Midrand – 10.92Mbps (as fast as Mauritius) 2. Edenvale – 8.48Mbps (as fast as Kyrgyzstan) 3. Sandton – 7.00 Mbps (as fast as Cape Verde) 4. Meyerton – 6.15Mbps (as fast as Belarus) 5. Bryanston – 5.83Mbps (nearly as fast as Namibia) 6. Hermanus – 5.66Mbps (as fast as Bhutan) 7. Johannesburg – 4.63Mbps (just slower than Angola) 8. George – 4.36Mbps (as fast as Laos, 133rd in the world for GDP/capita) 9. Benoni – 4.14Mbps (just faster than SA’s average) 10. Randburg – 4.09Mbps (faster than Kenya) Not a single suburb in South Africa outranks the global average of 13.64Mbps. For comparison, the world’s fastest internet (at 82.10 Mbps) is currently in Timișoara, Romania, a city about as large as Bloemfontein in a country a third poorer than SA, can access the Internet about 800 percent faster than businesspeople in Midrand. Top Ten Broadband Towns in the World 1. Timisoara (Romania) – 82.10 Mbps 2. Central Hong Kong – 58.23 Mbps

Targeted investments by countries like Mauritius in ICT have produced broadband speeds in increasingly stark contrast with those overseen by South Africa’s Department of Communications and parastatals like Telkom and Sentech

3. Vilnius (Lithuania) – 53.42 4. Paris (France) – 53.37 Mbps 5. Kowloon (Hong Kong) – 47.81 Mbps 6. Helsinki (Finland) – 43.18 Mbps 7. Tokyo (Japan) – 41.99 Mbps 8. Den Haag (Netherlands) – 40.56 Mbps 9. Marseille (France) – 39.03 Mbps 10 10. Bournemouth (UK) – 38.24 Mbps

Timisoara, a remote city in western Romania, offers broadband internet 8 times faster than Midrand, one of South Africa’s most dynamic growth hubs

Business

FOOD & DRINK NO1 SOUTH AFRICAN SHOP Lots of lekker stuff for a taste of home. Including fantastic biltong, droewors and boerewors. 5 Marlow Drive, St Catherines Hill, Christchurch, Dorset, BH23 2RR. The shop is about 2 miles north-west of Christchurch town centre and 6 miles north-east of Bournemouth town centre. There’s loads of free parking and the shop is easy to get to from the A338. Tel: 01202 496041 10’ish to 6pm 7 days a week. www.no1southafricanshop.co.uk

| 13 - 19 August 2013 | thesouthafrican.com

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THE CHICHESTER BILTONG COMPANY www.biltongcompany.co.uk The best of British from a friendly bunch of South Africans who made Sussex our home. But there was one thing we couldnt live without from our native land..Biltong! So we made our own using traditional recipes handed down through generations. We only use the finest prime British beef! Get our “readers 10% EXTRA FREE” offer by using the VOUCHER CODE ‘SA10’ CRUGA Home of CRUGA biltong. Cruga’s factory shop offers a full range of South African and Zimbabwean groceries plus boerewors, droewors and of course biltong. Tel: 01908 565 432 Email: biltong@cruga.com Web: www.cruga.com Address: Tilers Rd Kiln Farm, Milton Keynes, MK11 3LH CAMBRIDGE & VILLAGES Toft Shop – Village Shop & Post Office With a South African section selling all your favourite tastes from home! Pop in and pick up your treats – Biltong; Boerewors; Koeksisters; Rusks; Sweets; Chips; Groceries etc. Web: www.ToftShop.co.uk Tel: 01223 262 204. CB23 2RL

THE AFRICAN CORNER Three miles off Junction 26 of the M5 in the centre of Wellington, Somerset, TA21 8LS. A family run business for your Padkos. Biltong, Boerewors, Droewors, Rusks and other Nik Naks. Pull in if you’re in the West Country or find us online at www.theafricancorner.co.uk and we’ll come to you. Email: theafricancorner@yahoo.co.uk Tel: 01823 619184

LIMPOPO BUTCHERS We believe in small, well run family businesses, where quality is the number one priority. Come and try our delicious traditional recipe biltong, drywors, and boerewors, as well as aged beef steaks, chicken flatties, and succulent lamb. 9 Horn Lane, Acton, W3 9NJ Tel: 020 8993 8823 www.thesaffashop.com

SAVANNA Good friendly customer service is Savanna’s core principle. Our standards are high, and our rapidly-expanding network of shops are clean and bright and well-laid out, with friendly first-rate staff. Find us at: 20-22 Worple Road, Wimbledon London SW19 4DH Call us at: 0208 971 9177 Online: www.thesavanna.co.uk wimshop@thesavanna.co.uk

CHICHESTER BILTONG COMPANY BILTONG doesn’t get any better than this ! Arguably the best and most authentic South African biltong in the UK. WE ONLY USE ORGANIC SPICES. Our FINEST range has no e’S , gluten, sugar or preservatives. Use promo code SAFFA10 for 10% EXTRA FREE. www.biltongcompany.co.uk / 01243 699 722

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ST MARCUS One of the most amazing emporia the capital offers to the carnivorous gourmet. People have been flocking to St. Marcus for their amazing range of Biltong & Boerewors Visit us at: 1-3 Rockingham Close, Priory Lane, off Upper Richmond Road West, Roehampton, London SW15 5RW Call us at: 0208 878 1898 Online: www.biltongstmarcus.co.uk sales@biltongstmarcus.co.uk

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BILTONG DIRECT Biltong Direct, in the business of making superior South African meat products since 2004. Online or from our shop (directions on website – www.biltongdirect.co.uk). Retail and wholesale sales. We manufacture Biltong, Droewors, Snap Sticks, Boerewors & Gluten and MSG free products, offer quick dispatch and a 100% Satisfaction guarantee. Call 01268-685728

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SNOGGY’S Our staff pride themselves on the level of personal service they offer. We have the best matured steaks top class cuts at very affordable prices. We season your meat for free and even offer cooking advice and ‘take home’ cooking instructions. We look forward to seeing you soon! www.snoggys.com snoggyswebsite@gmail.com

KALAHARI MOON The Southern African Shop in Bristol. Wide range of stock including excellent boerewors and biltong. Centrally situated, friendly service. Connecting South Africans. Tel: 0117 929 9879 Address: 88 - 91 The Covered Market. st Nicholas Market, Corn Street, Bristol, BS1 1JQ Email: Info@kalaharimoon.co.uk Website: www.kalaharimoon.co.uk

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Rand recovers from midRoad infrastructure of SA’s economic hub endangered as SANRAL goes broke week high on slipping Dollar

| While 89% of the country’s freight continues to move by road, the fully-finished e-tolling gates over Gauteng highways remain shuttered and drivers wonder who will blink first by BRETT PETZER

ACCORDING to a report by Bloomberg, the long-running campaign against e-tolling – a cause that has united traditional rivals Cosatu and the DA, as well as mainstream opinion – has now placed the South African National Roads Agency Ltd (Sanral) in dire straits. Sanral embarked on the ambitious Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP) before South Africa won its 2010 World Cup bid, and the project was substantially complete by late 2010. Now, Gauteng has 34 upgraded freeway interchanges and a remarkably improved traffic situation at peak times, but bills are falling due and there is no money to pay them. As Sanral spoksperson Vusi Mona said to Bloomberg news this Wednesday, “SANRAL has almost totally depleted its available cash. We’re not able to fund ourselves any further, due to investors not feeling comfortable with our risk profile.” What Mona refers to is the unprecedented level of public opposition to e-tolling, which for complex reasons has managed to unite a broad coalition of powerful opponents, many of which are from opposite sides of the political spectrum. Cosatu, for example, opposes e-tolling chiefly because, by the regressive nature of a flat tax, it falls hardest on working people. The DA oppose e-tolling as an inefficient platform for funding road improvements – for which they propose fuel taxes instead – and a likely source of future patronage for the state and ruling party. This opposition, which has rapidly gained legal force as OUTA (Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance), has waged a number of legal challenges against e-tolling. While courts deliberate, all of South Africa’s roads edge closer to precarity as Sanral’s financial position worsens by the week. According to Bloomberg’s figues, Sanral borrowed R20 billion (£1.3 billion) to fund the project. Its debt now approaches R65 billion, R1,5 billion of which is in bonds that mature at the end of October, a mere 13 weeks away. Sanral cannot find investors willing to lend to it, or to take over its debt, since it is far from clear that its chief proposed source of income – e-tolling – will ever succeed in becoming law. Mona said, “We’ve requested further assistance. The government is not in a position to provide any further assistance, other than the guarantee…Treasury said it hasn’t been approached for further financial assistance for SANRAL.

Such assistance would be hard, if not impossible, given the difficult economic environment we’re in.” Given the results of the CSIR’s 2011 “7th State of Logistics™ Survey”, which showed that South Africa’s logistics sector was a chronic underperformer in terms of costs and efficiency, and the glacial pace of the comeback in rail freight , Sanral’s financial woes are immediately concerning to anyone interested in Gauteng’s future as South and Southern Africa’s preeminent economic hub. As Hans Ittman of the CSIR

report team says, “Supply chain performance will be mediocre unless the organisation, people, skills sets, and culture are world-class. If we settle for such mediocrity, South African business will be sluggish, generating sub-standard economic growth… Our logistics sector needs to outperform its historic highs.” While 89% of the country’s freight continues to move by road, the fully-finished e-tolling gates over Gauteng highways remain shuttered and drivers wonder who will blink first.

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| Gains limited by monthly highs for GBP, EUR by DAMIAN SUTHERLAND

THE South African Rand has managed to firm against the Dollar towards the end of the week, this was due to weak data results and the Dollar beginning to slip late on Wednesday. With the rate at R9.95 dropping to a low of R9.73 before coming to a steady R9.81 at close of trade Friday, clearly showing the effect of the Dollar losing some ground. These gains were limited however as other major currencies reached monthly high points; R15.42 to the British Pound and 13.29 to the EUR, this follows concerns around lower commodity prices and labor disputes in the mining sector. This was short lived as major currencies retreated around twenty cents before close; this gain in the Rand follows the increase in Chinese exports being larger than expected as South Africa’s largest trading partner over the last four years.

Statistics SA released mining and manufacturing data late on Thursday; these results boded positively for the Rand with manufacturing increasing 3.8% this year, this contributed to the gains shown before the weekend close. GBP / ZAR: 15.1869 EUR / ZAR: 13.0634 USD / ZAR: 09.80268 NZD / ZAR: 07.87714 Exchange rates as of 07:45 (GMT), 12/08/2013 :: Note: The above exchange rates are based on “interbank” rates. Make use of a Rate Notifier to send you alerts when the South African exchange rate reaches levels you are looking for. For expert financial advice on tax, foreign exchange and more, make ‘first contact with us at 1stcontact.com Brought to you by

Call 0808 168 2055

Business

| 13 - 19 August 2013 | thesouthafrican.com Follow us on Twitter: @TheSAnews

SA ceramic designer wins UK small business funding contest | A graduate of the University of the Arts London and originally from Durban, London-based creative Victoria Mae has won funding for her ceramics design business. by STAFF REPORTER A South African ceramics designer has won Enterprise Nation’s Funding101 competition, a British small business competition offering entrepreneurs and SMEs the chance to win start-up funding. Victoria Mae Designs is a London-based ceramic design business founded in 2012 by South African designer Victoria Mae. In the past her designs have appeared in a range of British retailers, from John Lewis to Paperchase, and her ceramic objects are now available through online retailers and a number of high street boutiques. VictoriaBecause Victoria’s designs will be featured in forthcoming issues of interiors and lifestyle magazines Living Etc and Country Homes and Interiors she entered the Funding101 competition to buy stock for the expected increase in demand. A graduate of the University

of the Arts London with a BA in Surface Design, Victoria Mae is originally from Durban, KwaZuluNatal. With textile design experience in both fashion and home furnishing prints, her work has been sold around the world from North and Central America to Europe, South Africa and Australia. Her unique range of mix & match ceramics are now available to buy both in the UK and abroad. green-jacobean-plate (Medium) Speaking of her win, Victoria said, “Enterprise Nation is hugely supportive of small businesses in the UK, and I am thrilled to be a winner of their Funding101 competition. Most small businesses don’t need lots of funding to get off the ground, and the funding I have won from Enterprise Nation will go a long way towards helping my design business grow. I was also really pleased and flattered by how much support I received during the competition on social media and

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from bloggers.” Enterprise Nation founder Emma Jones MBE, added, “We launched Fund101 to help businesses just like Victoria’s. She put in a great submission and went to work on courting the public vote after being shortlisted as one of five finalists. I hope the money helps Victoria take her business to the next level and that she will remain part of the Enterprise Nation community, helping others who dream of following in her footsteps.” Details: www.victoriamaedesigns.com

Long residence and settlement in the UK

by STAFF REPORTER

A NUMBER of clients approach BIC in order to find out whether they qualify for indefinite leave to remain, based on a very long stay in the UK, although often not on visas that can lead to permanent

residence. Under the UK immigration rules, there is indeed provision under the Immigration Rules that allows one to apply for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) after 10 years continuous lawful residence

in the UK. Where an applicant has overstayed their visa, there is provision in the Home Office guidance to disregard one small break. However, it is vital that professional advice is taken if this is the case. It is also possible to apply where an applicant has left with a valid visa and returned to the UK with a valid visa, providing the absence was for less than six months. An applicant must also not have had absences totalling 18 months over the 10 year period. Previously the option was available that allowed for settlement in the UK after 14 years, irrespective of whether or not an applicant had been in breach of the Immigration Rules. This option was, however, abolished on 9 July 2012. There are now immigration rules in place based on long residence for those applicants that have been in breach of the rules. These consist of a 20-year long residence rule, and a 7-year rule for children - those with half their lives spent in the UK and those with no ties in the country they would be returned to. Please contact our offices for more advice in every individual case. JP Breytenbach Director of BIC, Breytenbachs Immigration Consultants Limited www.bic-immigration.com or info@bic-immigration.com

thesouthafrican.com | 13 - 19 August 2013 |

Travel

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Marvellous Marrakech

| The capital of Southern Morocco, Marrakech is not exactly a secret travel destination. Its enticing attractions have been known to the Arab world since the 11th century and to Western visitors since the late 1920s, when the famous La Marmounia hotel was created. by MARIANNE GRAY THE capital of Southern Morocco, Marrakech is not exactly a secret travel destination. Its enticing attractions have been known to the Arab world since the 11th century and to Western visitors since the late 1920s, when the famous La Marmounia hotel was created. Built in sumptuous Art Deco style in the garden of the palace of an 18th century prince, Moulay Marmoun, the rich and beautiful of the West flocked to La Marmounia to take the winter sun. Churchill and Clemmy stayed there every year for two decades. Rita Hayworth, Arletty, Paul Valery, the Rothschilds and Erich von Stroheim also came. Maurice Ravel brought his piano with him on holiday – it still stands in the lobby – and it is reportedly Mick Jagger’s favourite holiday destination. Marrakech is at the foot of the snowy Atlas Mountains, inland from the Atlantic coast between Casablanca and Agadir and stands behind ochre-orange mud brick rampart walls that have been there since the 12th century. Known as El Hamra, the Red City, it sparkles under a crisp blue sky in sunlight so pure it reflects Marrakech’s colours like jewels – shining marble, glazed green roof tiles, golden courtyards and astonishingly bright flowers and trees. Purple jacarandas, pink oleanders, pomegranates, bougainvilleas, orange trees and palms, the famous Marrakech rose. The timeless city is compact within the walls. Inside the Medina, with its winding passages, palaces, carpeted courtyards and museums, are several souks (marketplaces) where Berbers and Arabs come with the finest craftsmanship that seems to have hardly changed in the past thousand years. Things are still cheap to buy but only after a bit of friendly bargaining, when your top price rises to meet their bottom price. In the centre of town is the massive square of Jemaa el Fna where people sip mint tea at pavement cafés and stroll in the shade of tall trees. On the marketplace everything from snake-charming and apothecary and fortune-telling jostles for space with hot food stalls and political debaters. Just when you think you have found a tiny spot of calm in which to compose your photograph and take stock, someone will rustle up a cobra or an amber and silver necklace and you’re back in the swing of it all. There are now many smart restaurants in Marrakech complete

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with belly-dancers and, for the foreign market, alcohol. Dar Yacout, at 79 Rue Sidi Ahmed Soussi (tel 00 212 44 38 2929) is the best-known and most lavishly decorated restaurant in Marrakech, but there are also many little cafes with names like Jamal and Laksur, with terraces on the roof or courtyards tangled with jasmine and honeysuckle, where you can eat an excellent kebab, cous-cous, omelette or salad. It’s easy to get around Marrakech – walking, by horse-drawn

taxis, buses or taxis. Taxis are everywhere – Peugeot 205 taxi’s for three passengers and Mercedes for bigger loads – and they have meters but you need to request for them to be switched on. Like everything else, fares are negotiable. It would be true to call Marrakech a haven of beauty and peace. It is a place I would rush back to at the drop of a rose petal. For more information, see www.visitmorocco.com.

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Zimbabwe Community

| 13 - 19 August 2013 | thesouthafrican.com Follow us on Twitter: @TheSAnews

‘Zuma has failed Zimbabwe’ by congratulating Mugabe: DA | Democratic Alliance condemns President Jacob Zuma for congratulating Robert Mugabe on winning last week’s Zimbabwean presidential election, while international pressure mounts to re-examine results of the ‘farcical’ poll

PRESIDENT Jacob Zuma has come under fire for congratulating Robert Mugabe on his victory in last week’s Zimbabwean elections, despite international concern that there were ‘serious irregularities’ in the poll. Zanu-PF, led by Mugabe, squared up against Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission on Saturday announced that Mugabe won the presidential election with a ‘landslide’ 61 percent of the vote, compared with 34 percent for Tsvangirai. Zuma extended his ‘profound congratulations’ to Mugabe on

his re-election as President of the Republic of Zimbabwe following the ‘successful harmonised elections’ on 31 July. He commended the people of Zimbabwe for conducting a peaceful election and encouraged the people of Zimbabwe to ‘seize this opportunity to collectively contribute towards building their country driven by a common desire for peace, stability and prosperity.’ Zuma urged all political parties in Zimbabwe to accept the outcome of the elections as election observers reported it ‘an expression of the will of the people.’ Zuma noted that South Africa

and Zimbabwe enjoy ‘strong, solid and cordial historical relations’ and expressed South Africa’s ‘readiness to continue to partner with Zimbabwe in pursuit of a mutually beneficial cooperation.’ However Democratic Alliance MP Ian Davidson, Shadow Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, condemned Zuma’s support for Mugabe. “By congratulating Robert Mugabe on his stolen election, President Zuma has failed Zimbabwe, failed Zimbabweans and failed the Southern African Development Community (SADC) by not providing the leadership that the region desperately required,” Davidson said “Zuma’s congratulations are not only extremely premature, given the very serious irregularities that have been noted in the elections, but shamefully legitimises undemocratic practices during elections, and sends a message that significant irregularities will be tolerated by his administration. “Both observer missions and civil society noted irregularities with the voters’ roll and voting process. Parties were denied timely access to the roll and the roll itself was clearly flawed. The DA’s observer also saw people being allowed to vote with registration slips which opens the process to abuse and fraud,” he added. “Zuma has failed Zimbabwe and allowed Mugabe to get away with

a farce of an election, instead of taking a tough stance at SADC to ensure that reforms such as free media and a change in the security apparatus were in place and that Zimbabweans were ensured a free and fair democratic election, especially in his position as facilitator of the monitoring group of the Global Political Agreement.” Davidson called on Zuma to exercise leadership in SADC by seeking an urgent meeting of all heads of state to discuss the serious concerns that had been noted. Tsvangirai says his party will exhaust all legal remedies to challenge the results of the elections while Britain, Germany, the United States and Australia have called on SADC and the African Union (AU) which last week gave their seal of approval to the election, to revisit their conclusions. Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, the AU’s election observer, declared the poll ‘free, fair and credible’. He said, “There are incidences that could have been avoided, but all in all we do not believe that these incidents will amount to the results not reflecting the will of the people.” According to The Telegraph, independent monitors claimed that as many as 750,000 voters were prevented from casting their ballots on Wednesday because of irregularities in voters’ lists.

They also allege thousands of unregistered voters were allowed to vote. A total of 3 480 047 voters cast their ballots. Foreign Secretary William Hague said Britain had “grave concerns” about the conduct of the election. Although the United States, along with other western countries was barred from monitoring these elections, John Kerry, US Secretary of State, said he was concerned by delayed provision of the voters’ roll and allegations that it had been tampered with, the biased state media and security forces and a failure to implement key reforms before the poll. He said the United States did not believe the results represented “a credible expression of the will of the Zimbabwean people”.

New Players Wanted Kingston Rugby Club is a friendly successful rugby club that welcomes players from all over the world. We have excellent coaching, training, player support and facilities. This season we are expanding the number of teams we run and are looking to recruit new players of all abilities. We are also looking to recruit additional team managers.

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thesouthafrican.com | 13 - 19 August 2013 | Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/thesouthafrican

Sport

All nations square up for the World Cup of Social Touch Rugby

| It’s a cool, crazy, beautiful world of rugby at the Social Touch World Cup by MIKE ABROMOWITZ

IF you happen to be wandering past King George’s Park on Saturday the 31st of August and see a mash of cultural stereotypes running around a pitch – don’t be alarmed! It’s just that time of year again – THE IN2TOUCH SOCIAL TOUCH WORLD CUP time! Adorning items of clothing along the lines of a plaid kilt or hula skirt, teams will be dressed to impress, representing 20 of the world’s countries. From the classic underdressed ‘wife beater and stubbies’ for the Aussie team to the more traditional and respectful Kimono for the Japanese team, the title of best dressed team will be as highly sought after as the winners gold medal. With spaces filling up quickly, this year’s In2Touch Social World Cup is set to be bigger and better than ever, with events continuing well into the (as the Scottish team would say) ‘wee hours of the morning’. With this being not one of, but the BIGGEST social event of the year in UK touch, you’d (as the Aussie team would so delicately put) ‘have a few kangaroos loose in the top paddock’ if you didn’t get amongst the sure fire action that is set to take place. ‘Seeing a whole lot of super Mario’s chasing around a team

of Togas sure does cement that you’re exactly where you’re meant to be in life’ said one of last year’s participants. From a day of seeing world class touch with New Zealand taking on Kazakhstan or England defending themselves against Samoa, that night will see local bar GJ’s filled with those rowdy sports fans singing along with the nights entertainment of a ‘Edinburgh Fingers Style’ sing-along piano man and later on a DJ to really see the night through. With maximum 20 teams playing that day, and less than 10 spaces left, register NOW to avoid missing out. Team entry is £195.00 per team (teams of up to 12 players). Please note: This is a mixed SOCIAL tournament played with at least 2 girls on the pitch at all times. NB: If your team has more than 4 England NTS, National Representative or London Super League players in it, then they need to play with 3 girls on the pitch at all times. To get involved in the day, why not drop an e-mail to info@in2touch.com or call the In2Touch London office on 020 85420827. For more information about this and other great touch events and leagues happening near you, go to www.in2touch.com/uk

South London rugby club on lookout for new players by STAFF REPORTER

KING’S College Hospital Rugby Club is recruiting new players for the 2013-2014 season as it pushes for promotion. Based in Dulwich, the club’s 1st XV is aiming for promotion to major London leagues whilst the 2nd XV enjoys success in the metropolitan leagues. King’s new Ladies XV will be playing its first matches this season. One of the oldest clubs in the world and one of the founding members of the RFU, King’s is currently celebrating its 145th

season. With a proud history including 2 Lions captains and many internationals, King’s is an open, social but competitive club looking to welcome new members whilst maintaining historic links to the hospital. The club is based at Dulwich Sports Ground on Turney Road (SE21 7JH), a short walk from Herne Hill, North Dulwich and West Dulwich stations and 15 minutes by bus from Clapham. Contact Marc for more details (play@kchrfc.co.uk) or visit www.kchrfc.co.uk

SPORT

13 - 19 August 2013

RUGBY PLAYER IN SOUTH LONDON? KCHRC WANTS YOU! -P15

NEWS FOR GLOBAL SOUTH AFRICANS

NATIONS GATHER AT IN2TOUCH WORLD CUP -P15

www.thesouthafrican.com

SEAN’S VERY LONG SWIM

| African-British ‘endurance adventurer’ Sean Conway is halfway through his record 1,000 mile swim up the coast of Britain from Lands End to John O’Groats, braving jellyfish, cold seas and huge ships to raise money for charity by SARAH WARD

SEAN Conway is a professional adventurer. He is aiming to be the first man to swim the length of Britain, from Lands End to John o’Groats, a journey that started on 30 June and is estimated to take two months to complete. Accompanied by a small crew, and sponsored by brands such as Speedo and MyProtein, the nutrient shakes that make up a large proportion of his diet, Sean stops off along the way to give motivational talks in his breaks from swimming. He blogs frequently about his Swim Britain adventure and hopes to make a documentary about it afterwards, while regular updates on Twitter have provided him with an avid support network, ready to welcome him into their homes, or give him a lift if he needs it. Conway was born in Zimbabwe and brought up in KwaZuluNatal. He refers to his childhood in southern Africa as a “fuel” for the life he has made for himself: as well as a thrill-seeker, Conway is a professional photographer and a published writer. He is involved with Solar Aid, a charity working to abolish the use of kerosene lamps in Africa, and with War Child, the charity Swim Britain is fundraising for. This is not Sean’s first trip across Britain, which has been his

home for many years. In 2008 he made a trip by bike from the same starting point finishing at the same destination. It must have been good, because four years later he took the premise and magnified it in a bid to be the fastest person to cycle around the world. It took him 116 days. In the blog entries on his website, Conway’s experiences range from being stung in the face by a jellyfish, to ploughing through storms, or deciding on the spur of the moment to detour via Ireland. “Night 3 was one of my favourite swimming experiences to date. To get a good tide I needed to swim from 8pm to midnight. This meant some swimming in the dark. I jumped in as the sun was setting and before I knew it, it was pitch black. Then the most amazing thing happened. With every stroke, a shower of sparks would run off my fingertips.” “Initially I thought they were my bubbles lighting up from Em’s head torch in the kayak next to me but then soon realised what they really were – phosphorescence. I fell into an imaginary world of underwater Avatar. It was incredible. I was falling deeper and deeper into a trance when suddenly I felt a shock to the face and my nose started to sting. Damn it – my

first jellyfish sting. It wasn’t too bad and once I wiped the mucus off my face and my crew jokingly offered to pee on me, I carried on and soon fell back into a trance with my sparkly fingers. 10 minutes later I got stung again on the face. There were loads of jellyfish out. This one was a lot worse and I decided to call it a night,” he wrote. Sean’s writing focuses on the endurance aspect of his journey, but he clearly finds Britain a beautiful and inspiring place — from the puffins on Lundy Island and the dolphins and seals he encounters, to the hidden shipwrecks and beaches only accessible from the sea. His articles are accompanied by photographs that illustrate beautifully the stories Sean writes. They are lonely looking, one man in a vast expanse of cold sea. Sean has 6,517 followers on Twitter. Something about doing something unlikely, uncomfortable, and challenging captures people’s imagination. Conway writes that his talks share, “The stories, the challenges, the hardships, the goals, the defeats and, the not giving up.” He wants his audience to use these to make their lives adventurous. Follow Sean’s blog on swimmingbritain.co.uk or on Twitter @Conway_Sean

Sean Conway’s swim from John O’Groats to Lands End will take two months and raise money for the charity War Child. The adventurer has also previously cycled around the world.

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