South Africa’s Sustainable Future
How to increase the living standards for the people of South Africa in a sustainable way?
Report for WM0922TU Technology in Sustainable Development
Written by:
Maureen Gribnau Tina van Houten Bouke de Jong Bertolt de Vos van Steenwijk Rinske Wessels
Index
Index Abstract Introduction Current Situation
2 3 4-5 6-11
General information Historic development Colonization Apartheid Current situation Economy Tourism Problems Unsustainable situation: Governmental actions and legislation
Future Vision
12-14
Interview Cape Town Radio How far are the living standards increased? So in 2057…
The way to get there
15-19
The actors Tourist industry Government UN NGO’s Tourists Inhabitants + Economical refugees Industry Gangs Police Timeline Implementation Why responsible tourism and support entrepreneurship? What will happen after the World Football Cub? Why management? Why education? How do these three topics contribute to a better living standard in a sustainable way?
Conclusions & Recommendations Consulted Literature Appendix A: Interviews
21 22-23 24-59
Dr. P.V. Kandachar Martyn Keus Geert Geut Hlengiwe Mkinze
25-29 30-37 38-49 50-59
Appendix B: Living Standards Indicators
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60-61
Abstract
In this article a closer look is taken at South Africa and sustainability. This is done within the theme of global North-South relations, which has topics as poverty and inequality. This theme may seem as if it has nothing directly to do with sustainability, however nothing is further from the truth, as one of the most important definitions on sustainability, by Brundtland in 1985, refers directly to the ‘essential needs of the world’s poor’ which should have ’overriding priority’. In this article, the problem is further narrowed down to the country of South Africa with as main question: “How to increase the living standards for the people of South Africa in a sustainable way?” Within the current situation of South Africa, the recent history of the Apartheid (segregation between black and white) plays a significant role. This racial segregation was effected after the Second World War and lasted until the end of the eighties. After the abolition of apartheid, the ANC -the political movement of the black population- came into power and the economy developed to one of the strongest and most stable in the African continent. Very important sectors for the economy are the mining industry (of precious metals) and the tourism industry. The tourism industry is the fastest growing industry both in South Africa as worldwide. Despite the relatively well working economy, South Africa still has to deal with large problems as strong inequity of income, unemployment and lack of education. These problems affect the lower classes quite harsh. The HIV/AIDS epidemic is a humanitarian disaster which hardens the aforementioned problems even more. With these problems and the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDG) in mind, a future vision of a sustainable South Africa is given in the form of a scenario. In this scenario an ideal situation is described in which the cultural heritage is fostered, small businesses flourish, basic and higher education is available for everyone, as well as tourism, clean water, health care and housing. But most of all a strong economy and a government, capable of managing development processes, are present. With both our future vision and the current situation as basis, a time path is presented. This time path keeps in mind the needs for education and economic and managerial development. It uses the football world cup in 2010 as an incentive for entrepreneurship and (management) education. Several actors are involved in the path towards the sustainable future and need to be motivated to take action; these are also discussed in the article. Furthermore, the presented themes within the development time-path are elaborated and an explanation is given how these development themes will help to solve our main research question. Finally, conclusions and recommendations are presented as a summary of the presented path towards South Africa’s sustainable future. Key-words: South Africa, Sustainable Development, Living standards, UN Millennium Development Goals, Education, Management and Entrepreneurship
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Introduction
This article deals with Sustainable Development in South Africa and is the outcome of a project related to the Colloquium ‘Technology in Sustainable Development’ of Delft University of Technology. A further narrowing down has been made to the theme of North-South relations in Sustainable Development. As we speak of sustainability, we speak about it with one of the oldest definitions of Sustainable development in mind, the definition of the Brundtland report: "…Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It contains within it two key concepts: • The concept 'needs'. In particular the essential needs of the world's poor, to which overriding priority should be given; and • The idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organization on the environment's ability to meet present and future needs" Sustainable development can be further categorized in social sustainability, ecologic sustainability and economic sustainability (3P principle: People, Planet and Profit). In this report we build on the first key concept of the Brundtland definition and focus on the social aspect of sustainability. Within the theme of global North South relations, very common subjects are poverty, hunger, extreme inequality and lack of healthcare. The main question in all this is concerning righteousness. A sustainable North-South relation is a subject which has drawn a large amount of attention in recent days, here in the Netherlands with regard to the 165th anniversary activities of our own university and on a global scale with large media campaigns like 'Make Poverty History' and 'Live8'. These last two campaigns emphasize the importance of and attention to the Millennium Development Goals, a set of goals where most of the UN countries agreed upon. These goals postulate to eradicate extreme poverty and improve living standards before the year 2015. The standard of living refers to the quality and quantity of goods and services available to people and the way these services and goods are distributed within a population. It is generally measured by standards such as income inequality, poverty rate, real (i.e. inflation adjusted) income per person. Other measures such as access and quality of health care, educational standards and social rights are often used too. (Please see Appendix B) The Millennium Development Goals formulate a basic human level of living standards, but achieving only these is not sustainable yet. A sustainable level of living standards includes a fair distribution of wealth among the people, with a limited income inequality. This wealth is primarily a sustainable wealth with environmentally and socially sound products and services. Furthermore these living standards include a good (higher) education and health care system which are accessible to the whole population. South Africa is one of the best performing countries in the African continent. It has a relatively well going economy, moderate incomes and a stable and democratic government which 4
Millennium Development Goals Goal 1: Eradicate Extreme Hunger and Poverty Goal 2: Achieve Universal Primary Education Goal 3: Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women Goal 4: Reduce Child Mortality Goal 5: Improve Maternal Health Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other diseases Goal 7: Ensure Environmental Sustainability Goal 8: Develop a Global Partnership for Development
is a precondition for development. In that sense it is in part a first world country. On the other hand South Africa is also a third world country. It is known for its history of Apartheid, poverty, HIV/AIDS and townships. Besides the townships, South-Africa also knows a lot of informal settlements in which the situation is often worse than in the townships. These settlements arise by the influx of people from rural areas to the cities. These settlements are erected without governmental planning and are therefore without basic services such as electricity, sewage and clean water. The same goes for the rural areas, where the basic services mostly are underdeveloped too, as well as access to education and health care. To reach a sustainable future for South Africa within fifty years, we will mainly focus on (the development of) social sustainability. The environmental aspect will not be discussed in this report, although we realize that is it very important to ensure environmentally sustainable development, while developing socially sustainable. But to frame our research, we decided to focus on one main question, which is:
How to increase the living standards for the people of South Africa in a sustainable way? We aim for an increase of the living standards up to fulfilment of the determinants formulated by Chrisna du Plessis (please see Appendix B). The answer to this question will be given in four chapters. The content is obtained by interviews with several experts and stakeholders who are presented at the end of this report. In the first section ‘Current Situation’, a closer look will be taken into the current situation and the history of South Africa, from early colonization to Apartheid. Furthermore a look will be taken at townships and the economy of South Africa. As was discovered, tourism provides a good opportunity for improvement. In the section following the current situation, a more detailed exploration of a sustainable future is given by the use of a scenario. The MDG goals define a basic level, but acquiring only these will not yet give a sustainable or righteous situation. Equity and true equality are also part of this sustainable future. With both the current situation and the desired situation defined, a plan to attain this sustainable future is presented in the fourth section of the article, in which a timeline is given with targets on the path to a sustainable future. In the final section the article will be closed with conclusions and recommendations.
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Current Situation
General information South Africa has about 46.8 million inhabitants, but this number is declining due to the AIDS epidemic. The life expectancy at birth lies only around 43 years. The country is divided in nine provinces that all have their own capital and parliament. There are eleven official languages, with English and Afrikaans as nonnative languages. There • • • • There • • • •
are four official ethnic groups: black people (79%) white people (10%) couloured people (9%) Indian people (3%). are four different religions: Christians (68%) Muslims (2%) Hindu (1.5%, 60% of the Indian people) Nature religion (28.5%)
Figure 1: Geography of South Africa
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Historic development Colonization South Africa knows a complex history that is marked by the colonization, which started in the 17th century. In 1652 the Dutch East India Company (the VOC) established a permanent settlement at the southern cape of Africa. Their first intention was to supply passing trading ships with fresh food and water, not to colonize the land. When the settlement grew, Dutch people immigrated to The Cape and started farms to provide food for the station. Also the VOC started to import large numbers of slaves, which mixed with the Dutch settlers. Their offspring was known as Cape Coloureds. The expansion of the settlement caused conflicts with the local inhabitants and a lot of them were murdered in a number of wars. At the end of the 18th century the power of the Dutch began to decline and the British took over the Cape colony, with 20.000 white colonists, 25.000 slaves, 15.000 Khoisan (the native inhabitants) and 1.000 freed black slaves. The white high class was then in power and there was already a clear differentiation on racial grounds. The abolition of slavery in 1835 started a conflict between the farmers and the British. The farmers moved into the inlands to start their own republics. Around the end of the 19th century gold and diamond were found in South Africa, which increased the number of colonists and with this also the suppression of the native and black population. There were two wars between the farmers and the British, where the British eventually conquered in 1902. Therefore the official language became English with Dutch as second. Afrikaans was not yet approved, neither the original South African languages. There was a law that prohibited black people to vote, with exception of the black people in the Cape colony.
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Apartheid After the Second World War the racial segregation was carried out in South Africa, which was called Apartheid. The black majority was suppressed, but also coloured people lost a lot of their rights. In the sixties 3.5 million black people were forced to move to special places, called homelands or townships. After this forced migration the ANC (the largest political organization of the black people, which was officially forbidden) started with offensive actions. In 1976 there was a large demonstration of students in one of the townships (Soweto) to object Afrikaans as the only official language. This demonstration in Soweto caused riots between the inhabitants and the police and after a few days the riots also started in other townships. The police slaughtered unarmed people in these riots, which caused the boycott of South Africa on the world market. The United Kingdom and the United States did not join these sanctions, as their economies were depending on the gold, platinum and diamonds from South Africa. Around 1980 the international pressure on South Africa increased and when in 1989 De Klerk became the new president, he announced the abolition of apartheid. Nelson Mandela, who was imprisoned because of offensive actions, was released in 1990. In 1993 a new constitution was formulated and nine native languages were added to the two official languages English and Afrikaans. In 1994 the ANC won the elections and Nelson Mandela became the new president. In 1994 the new ANC government started with political and social transformations, under the name Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP). The next government started with a more conservative policy: Growth, Employment and Redistribution (GEAR). This focuses more on the growth of the economy and foreign investments. [17]
Current situation Economy Under the ANC government the South African economy has developed to one of the most stable and strong economies on the African continent. According to estimations of the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) the Gross Domestic Product is the third highest in Africa. In comparison with the world market the income is average. The backbone of the South African economy is the mining industry. The country is the largest producer of platinum, gold and chrome in the world. Because of the large reserves South Africa will be an important player on this market in the future as well. In 2004 this industry produced 7.1% of the Gross National Product (Chamber of Mines). Although South Africa has a stable economy, it stays dependent on the western countries like Martyn Keus explained us: “For example, South Africa is really rich on minerals, but there are these crazy trade barriers from the West onto South African products. You can export ore with hardly any trade tariff, but as soon as this raw material is beneficiated, when value has been added to it, the trade tariffs just go up exponentially, because they want to stop these countries from developing their own intellectual property.” Tourism The fastest growing industry in South Africa is the tourism sector. In 2005 the profit of this sector was even higher than the profits of the gold industry. Not only the number of foreign tourists is growing, also their spending is rising. It is interesting to see that 68% of the 6.7 million international tourists that visited South Africa in 2005 came from other African countries. The domestic tourism of South Africa is growing too, because of the rising of the black middle class. South Africa is a popular
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destination, not only for vacations, but also for conferences and events, the so called business tourism. The government sees the tourism sector as one of the most important sectors, which can create employment, especially for the disadvantaged people. (people suffering from the racial policy of the past; apartheid, )Estimations of the South African Tourism say that every 8 tourist equals the creation of one job. [26] The government is supporting Responsible Tourism. Responsible Tourism is a tourism management strategy embracing planning, management, product development and marketing to bring about positive economic, social, cultural, and environmental impacts. For tourism operators it is about providing more rewarding holiday experiences for guests whilst enabling local communities to enjoy a better quality of life and conserving the natural environment. Responsible tourism, which is underpinned by sound environmental, social and economic principles, offers a way to minimise ecological impacts, benefit local communities and reduce poverty. It is undoubtedly the way of the future. [14] Problems Division of prosperity Although the economy is relatively stable, there are still a lot of problems in South Africa. With the abolition of Apartheid the differences between black and white have diminished, but there is still an enormous gap between the rich and the poor. South Africa has the highest Gini-index (which expresses income inequality) of the world. The poorest 50% of the population receives only 11% of the Gross National Product, while the richest 7% receives 40%! [36] This can also be found in the sociological composition of the population. In the book 'SA Tribes, who we are, how we live, what we want from life in the new South Africa' by S. Burgess, the author describes that a large amount of people live in the lowest classes. He based his division on income and access to employment. Rural survivalists: Emerging consumers: Urban middle class: Urban elite:
43% 36% 12% 9%
The most of the black and coloured people are in the lower two classes, where the Indian and the white people are in the higher classes. After the abolishment of the Apartheid the part of the black people that was educated gained advantages of the growing economy and entered the urban middle class. During the interview with Martyn Keus it became clearer that life of the poorest people still didn’t got that much better. The low incomes are concentrated in the rural areas, but also in the urban areas there is poverty, especially under the black population. [26] Unemployment and education Another big problem in South Africa is the large unemployment, which is stable at 30% of the working population. In the times of the Apartheid entrepreneurship under the black people was opposed: the government supplied a job (for example in the mines) and a house in one of the townships. This has affected the mentality of the people and made them dependent. They are waiting for the government to provide employment and housing [43]. The government is stimulating employment for the disadvantaged with the program called Black Economic Empowerment and the follow-up Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment by measuring the level of black (or coloured) people in a company. Where the first program only counted the management representation and the ownership, the following program has a broad scorecard, which also measures employment equality.
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A critique is that companies are now more or less forced to select on racial characteristics in stead of qualities. In times of the Apartheid the role of the black people was as a labourer or a servant. They did not have to participate in education. The policymaker H.F. Verwoerd of the Bantu Education Act of 1953 said: ‘There is no place for ‘the African’ in the European community above the level of certain forms of labour. It is of no avail for him to receive a training which has as its aim, absorption in the European community’ [20] Because of the apartheid policy only 24% of the population older then 20 had taken primary education and 19.3% did not have education at all. This is why (vocational) education of the disadvantaged people is very important. This is realized by the government and a large part of the budget, around 20%, is invested in education. A lot of this money is invested in vocational and adult education. [26] Migration Because of the poor circumstances of the rural areas in South Africa, two million people per year move from the rural areas to the cities. In Africa in total and in Asia, the amount of people living in cities increases weekly with one million. From next year, half of the world population will live in cities and in 2030 it is expected to be 60%, then probably 5 billion people. [13] This migration has its problems. One of the main problems is the existence and erection of informal settlements, as explained in the introduction. As most countries that perform better in a region, South Africa also deals with the problem of economic refugees from other countries. These refugees are mostly coming from Zimbabwe, a neighbouring country of South Africa, and are willing to work for little money. They take the low-paid jobs, e.g. car-guard. This causes the lower educated South Africans to react xenophobic, because they are afraid that the refugees will ‘take their jobs’. AIDS The combat against HIV/AIDS also plays an important role in the development of South Africa. At this moment AIDS is the most important cause of death in the SubSaharan Africa. The number of people dying by this disease in this area is still increasing (see figure 2). In South Africa 21.5% of the population is infected with the HIV-virus, which is about 5.3 million people. Besides the humanitarian disaster waiting with so many HIV infected people, the HIV epidemic will also have its toll on the economy whilst AIDS affects people in the most productive phase of their live, reducing the labour force of South Africa significantly. [2]
Figure 2: Development HIV in sub-Saharan region [2]
Housing and facilities South Africa is the first country in the world that names the constitutional right for everybody on an environment that is not harmful to health or well-being. This is why the policy of the government focuses on the development of basic facilities for everyone in South Africa (e.g. the largest governmental expenses go to education and free housing for the poorest). When the new ANC government began in 1994, one of the targets was to construct one million houses in five year. At that time there was a shortage of 1.5 million houses, due to the townships-policy and the increasing immigration of people from the rural areas to
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the city. By the end of 2006 2.4 million houses were constructed, which is a remarkable achievement. Nevertheless the present shortage is estimated at 2.5 million houses. Although a large amount of houses was built, this is not the solution to the housing problem. Often the quality of these houses is not very good, and the location is too far away from the city. [36] The government is also investing in connecting the townships to the water, electricity and telephone network and in the infrastructure around the townships. Also facilities as new hospitals and schools are built. The goal is to connect all households to the water network in 2008. And good sanitation should be available for everyone in 2010. These goals will not be reached at the given deadline. Especially the rural areas and informal settlements form a problem.[26] According to Geert Geut (see interview 3) one of the biggest problems is the implementation of the policies. With exception of the highest governmental level, there is not enough capacity and knowledge to accomplish the new plans, because the shortage of well-educated people. South Africa has the goodwill, but it lacks capacity. Unsustainable situation: Governmental actions and legislation From the former description we can extract the main problems regarding the unsustainable situation of the people in South Africa. In the table you will find the problems, the cause and the consequences of these problems. Also the current governmental actions are mentioned.
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Problems
Cause
Consequences
After-effects of Apartheid
Racial segregation between white and black people (Apartheid)
Lots of following problems are caused by the Apartheid policy. Other important consequences: Attitude black people is expectant: lack of entrepreneurship, depending on government
Special program to stimulate employment for black people: Black Economic Empowerment
Unequal division of prosperity
Colonization and apartheid: lack of education under black people, causes unemployment.
South-Africa is a first and third world country in one
Free housing, water, electricity and education for the poorest people
Lack of education
In time of apartheid black people were not educated
Shortage of well-educated people
Investing 20% of the budget in education: primary and adult education, as well as vocational education
Unemployment
Apartheid: lack of education People do not have and attitude of people: they possibility to get a good job are again waiting for job offered by government
Pointed some industries as important to create jobs: e.g. tourism and waste industry Investing in Education
Migration of economic refugees
Strong economy SouthAfrica in comparison with other countries
Migration to South-Africa people of surrounding countries, causes xenophobic reaction SouthAfricans
Tries to discourage migration of people of other countries
Migration from rural areas to cities
Facilities and opportunities in urban areas are better than in the rural areas
Erection of informal settlements, growing of cities
Tries with special programmes to improve situation, like developing local tourism projects
HIV/AIDS
Lack of good information about causes HIV/AIDS (AIDS was not admitted for a long time by government)
High number of population infected by HIV (20%) and number of people dying because of AIDS is still increasing
Implementation and accomplishing policies
Lack of well-educated people on secondary management level
Goodwill, but there is no capacity to accomplish the good plans
Investing in education and healthcare specialized on AIDS/HIV. Within five years every municipality has service-point for medicines and healthcare There are exchange programs with the Netherlands to train civil servants on management level
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Governmental actions
Future vision
Interview Cape Town Radio - Cape Town – 28 June 2057 – An interview with Gcina Mhlope [2], who just as her grandmother is a well-known South African storyteller and author. Storytelling is a deeply traditional activity in Africa. Her grandmother was by then one of the few female storytellers in a country dominated by males, but lucky nowadays more women are telling the African stories. She does her most important work through charismatic performances, working to preserve storytelling as a means of keeping history alive and encouraging South African children to read. She tells her stories in four of South Africa's languages: English, Afrikaans, Zulu and Xhosa. D: M: D:
M:
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Miss Mhlope Good morning, we’re really happy you could come to our studio! Good morning Miss Direko [3], I’m very honoured to be invited by Cape Talk! Your Grandmother was a great storyteller and activist in the beginning of the century. You just finished your book “living in South Africa”. Did your grandmother teach you the skills for storytelling and writing? Since I was a small girl my grandmother told me stories about being African. She really made me realize how important it is to pass on the old stories. It is a cultural heritage witch would be a pity to lose! I went to school and also to high school, but every day after school my grandmother gave me extra classes in storytelling and performing. Can you tell us a bit more about your new book? Well, two years ago I published a book “Stories of my grandma” where I wrote down the stories my grandmother always told me. After that it became time that I start to write about everyday live. The way of living changed so much if I compare it with the stories from my grandmother. The last few years I wrote a lot of stories about the development of rural areas, informal settlements and townships of South Africa. All these stories are now gathered together is this new book. Nowadays you live in Dundee, a small city in KwaZulu-Natal. Can you tell us a bit more about your life there? Dundee is lovely, nestled in a valley of the Biggarsberg Mountains. In the 19th century rich coal deposits attracted merchants and fortune hunters. Soon Dundee emerged as a boomtown, graced with stately homes and the first theatre north of Port Natal-Durban. Pioneer traders from the Indian subcontinent settled here during the following decade, when Dundee became the meeting place of seven roads into the hinterland and coast of Africa. It remains a convenient central base for exploration of this corner of KwaZulu- Natal. [4] After the Apartheid the town started to become less attractive, because all the landowners disappeared. Therefore the workers where forced to move to the cities to find a job. Only memories kept the village alive. By then I lived together with my parents, my brothers and sisters and my grandmother in one of the townships, because also my grandparents thought that the city could bring us a better future than our village. Finding a job for my parents was very difficult. We were able to eat because my grandmother was earning a bit of money. We went to school, but we always had to be careful. A lot of gangs were active and could beat us up! When I was eight we moved back to Dundee because my grandmother believed times were changing and she was right! The government started to support responsible tourism. My father started a small hotel [5] and my mother became a teacher at the governmental school. My grandmother told stories, during the day to the tourists and in the evenings to all the children of the village! We also went to school and I still remember that a High School was constructed! The times really 12
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were changing. My parents and my grandmother were earning enough money to travel through Africa. When I was twelve for the first time I saw the sea, amazing! Dundee nowadays is a nice little city. My husband and I started a small printing office, where we publish not only books but also a local news paper. I’m travelling a lot through KwaZulu-Natal to collect interesting life stories, but also to stimulate people to read and to continue our cultural development. I’m also happy that all my children stayed in Dundee. All the facilities for developing their lives are also here. My oldest son is an architect and he develops houses which have their own power generators with solar panels. I’m still amazed what these techniques can bring! The houses he develops are paid for by the government and meant for the people who don’t have a house. The government really made a great effort to provide all the South African people with a house and drinking water. In the beginning it caused a lot of migration from other countries, but the governmental structure of South Africa functions as a good example, which a lot of other African countries took over. My oldest daughter is a nurse in the hospital of Dundee. Once a year she gives sex education at the primary school. I’m so proud of her, when I was her age I would have felt too ashamed to talk about this! As everybody knows the influence is huge! We lost so many of our brothers and sisters to AIDS! I’m so happy we conquered this disease! Our other two children took over the hotel. The youngest daughter is managing the hotel and the youngest son is a chef at the restaurant they added. They prepare typical meals from this area, which I learned from my grandmother. Wow, what an amazing story! Does your family have a large influence on your stories? Yes, for sure, but not only my family! Almost every week I make a tour through a part of KwaZulu-Natal. I talk a lot with the people. Most of them are happy, they have a job, food, education and have the feeling that they are able to develop. These stories and dreams I try to catch. Your grandmother was always very critical on what the government did, are you also watching them in the same way? Well, we grow up to be critical to them and I am always updated and curious what their developments are. I don’t think I see the government in the same way as my grandmother did. In my grandmothers days the government didn’t care about them at all. Things changed a lot and they did a lot for South Africa and made us what we are now. The government is stable and together with a lot of small entrepreneurs they made the economy grow and stable as it is now. And last but not least, in every decision taken, the environmental impact will be taken into account. It is even part of our countries constitution! Did you ever go back to the township where you were living when you were a child? Yes, I went there a couple of months ago. They just finished building a big factory on the land were once stood our neighbourhood. This factory will burn the garbage from the city and processes it to new materials. The heat generated by the factory will be transmitted into power, which will be used for the surrounding households. Besides that, it created a lot of new jobs for the unemployed people. Well Miss Mhlope, I would like to thank you for this interview! You’re welcome, it was my pleasure. This was Cape talk with Miss Mhlope, if you would like to listen to this interview another time, you can download it at www.capetalk.co.za.
What are the goals we want to achieve? • Development of the economy to equalize the division of prosperity by promoting entrepreneurship. • Develop good education and skills to get more people into entrepreneurs by building schools who will also function as community development centres • Inform people better about the causes of AIDS and vaccinate people against it. • A government which is capable of implementing and executing policies regarding sustainable development, by practical experience and training
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How far are the living standards increased? • • • • • •
All people have access to housing of good quality All people have access to clean water, electricity and sewage All people have access to good healthcare All people have access to good education (primary, secondary, vocational/practical and university) Division of prosperity is more equal, due to the development of education and increasing employment rates Also see Appendix B
So in 2057… … almost 70% of the world population lives in cities (50% in 2008, 60% expected in 2030, so 70% in 2057 is a logical follow-up on this expectation) … everyone in South Africa has a good house and access to clean water, electricity and sewage … everyone has access to education … everyone has access to good healthcare … everyone has possibilities to get a job, due to stimulation of entrepreneurship in for instance the tourism industry … circumstances in rural areas are better… … schools there serve as community centres: education (children and adults), basic healthcare and internet access … AIDS/HIV is under control, because of education, information and better health care
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The way to get there
The actors In order to address the problems at hand, a good look should be taken at the viewing points of the different stakeholders or actors. In figure 4.1 a scheme is shown of the connections of the different actors which are involved in setting up sustainable tourism.
UN
Government
MDG Executive
Research
Authority
Welfare Economical grow
Police (corrupt)
Industry
“Protection”
Possibility to act on small scale
NGO’s
Profit Votes
Help the local people
Tourist Industry
Salary
Inhabitants + Economical refugees Gangs
Information Tours Inequality
Tourists
Existing connections Desirable connections
Figure 3: Scheme of connections between different actors in sustainable tourism.
Tourist industry Main objective is making profit. A distinction can be made between large multinational tourist companies and small locally owned ones. Government The welfare of the population is the objective of the government. With the new policy ‘Black Economic Empowerment’ it is easier for the disadvantaged black people to get a job. Also in the tourism industry, that is seen as very important in increasing employment. UN Through the Millennium Development Goals the UN aims to increase the living standards of the people at ‘the bottom of the pyramid’. NGO’s Organizations aim to help the people of South Africa on their own specific field. Tourists This group can be divided: South Africans on vacation in their own country mostly want to be with family and have a relaxing time near the beach. Tourists from Western countries are more interested in the unique wildlife and cultural aspects of South African life. Tourists from other African countries are more interested in leisure. (see interview 2 with Martyn).
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Inhabitants + Economical refugees Through the tourism industry the inhabitants seek to find working opportunities. Industry When a larger number of inhabitants have a job, the industry will have a larger group of potential clients, which is positive for their own future prospects. Gangs Township tours, which at the moment are a large part of the sustainable tourism, are in several cases controlled by gangs inside the townships. Police The police is responsible for supplying a safe stay for tourists. In townships the power of the police is small with respect to the gangs.
Timeline Now that we have a view of the current situation, our future vision and the actors, we will give a forecast for the timeline of future events. This timeline can be used as a future reference to see to what extent the goals for the future vision are met.
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Plan to increase living standards for the people in South Africa in a sustainable way Year Education • Building schools 2007 • Learning skills at companies in SA • Exchange programs for universities • Courses “How to be a good host during the WFC” are given 2010 • Schools are not only used for education, but also for AIDS prevention classes
2013 • Every South African child
2015 2020 2025
2030
2035
2040 2045 2050
2057
Management • Internship program for management experience in the Netherlands
Entrepreneurship • Initiatives for responsible tourism industries • Entrepreneurship is stimulated by micro financing
• Entrepreneurs in responsible tourism are numerous and a big success • 80% of the World Football Cub tourists make use of Sustainable tourism • Health care institutes are • Due to the successful set up. World Cup, a lot of new companies are (being) set up in South Africa
has access to basic education • High school education has been developed Millennium Development Goals in South Africa are realized • Schools for learning skills • MDG regarding townships • The unemployment has are started are also realized declined • Every South African has • Western countries give up • On local level a lot of had basic education their trade barriers on entrepreneurs start small beneficiated materials businesses focused on cultural heritage • Every South African can • Government has sufficient • Lot of South African develop himself in higher own people who are industries develop to add education as well as in capable to realize the value to raw materials skills education. governmental plans. • Due to good education, • Government starts to • Economy grows due to information and good develop environmental new companies health care AIDS is impact programs to decreased to a illness that stimulate sustainable is under control solutions Some small towns are developed into cities, due to new companies Government can anticipate on the growing inhabitants and therefore the need for enough housing, health care, infrastructure, water, nutrition and work. No new informal settlements are constructed. • Sustainable development is • Government has some • The industries have an a regular course at primary really good sustainable entirely sustainable and high school programs that are production and functioning very well sustainable products South Africa has a sustainable society supported by a sustainable economy
The timeline contains several kinds of data. It includes events (e.g. the football World Cup), targets (e.g. halving extreme poverty by 2015) and actions (e.g. regulations by the government). Obviously, the timeline should not be interpreted as a rigid frame, but rather as a guideline as to see at which stadium the development has reached and what is the next course of action. As you can see there are three focus points: Education, Management and Entrepreneurship. Every focus point will be explained in the next subchapters. But before explaining these, first a review of existing programs will be given. The future plan for fifty years builds on these existing plans.
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Current Implementation At this moment some programs are set up by the government, which has a high willingness and ambitious goals for development and international politicians which we find very positive for a sustainable development of South Africa. First of all South Africa developed an Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative (AsgiSA)15 AsgiSA is an essential pillar of their democracy which alleviates poverty and uplifts the social community in a sustainable way. The AsigiSA contains development on the next topics; Macro-economic Issues, Infrastructure Investment, Education and Skills Development, Industrial and Sector Strategies, Second Economy Initiatives and small, medium and micro enterprise (SMME) development and Governance and State Capacity Issues. For the development of skills they introduced the JIPSA [16] program, the Joint Initiative on Priority Skills Acquisition. In this program the ministry of foreign affairs of the Netherlands is involved as well. They offer three programs for South Africa: • • •
Higher education programs for South Africans in the Netherlands Internship programs for management experience in the Netherlands Promote Dutch companies in South Africa to accommodate skills trainings at their companies.
The government does not only recognise the previous necessary developments, also for the tourism industry guidelines are made by the Ministry of Environmental Affairs and Tourism of South Africa. In the tourism handbook they write: “Tourism is now the world’s largest economic sector. In South Africa, the tourism sector achieved growth of 20.1% in overseas arrivals during 2002 and currently accounts for one in every eight jobs. South Africa has launched an international tourism marketing strategy that focuses on high yield source markets that will increase revenue for tourism. The sector’s growth has, accordingly, placed a heavy burden on local economies, cultures and environments, which calls for responsible management. Responsible tourism, which is underpinned by sound environmental, social and economic principles, offers a way to minimise ecological impacts, benefit local communities and reduce poverty. It is undoubtedly the way of the future.” [14] In this document these developments are supported and further developed over the next 50 years. We formulated three thematic directions in which these developments should take place, which will be explained in the next three sub-sections: why do we think these directions are key in the development process?
Why responsible tourism and support entrepreneurship? Tourism is a relatively easy way of drawing foreign money into the economy. The money coming from this should benefit the poorer part of the population, to lessen the wealth gap inside South Africa. So when you apply the tourism in a responsible way the money will stay local and the people will have a job and prosperity. South Africa offers considerable, albeit partly untapped, potential. Not only for seaside tourism but also for environmental tourism and ecotourism, cultural tourism, sports tourism and discovery tourism. [6] Compared to other industries, a smaller financial investment is necessary and there is not a high emphasis on the educational level of the employees. Furthermore, with the upcoming World Football Cup, a tourism boost is expected. Not only will there be a large number of people coming to South Africa to visit the matches, but more importantly is the unique opportunity to show the world what great possibilities lie in South Africa. 18
A successful organization of this enterprise shall also give a positive boost to the confidence of the South African people. To channel that momentum and use it in a positive and lasting way, it is of importance to start supportive action towards sustainable tourism start-ups now. Regarding this, the UNWTO (United Nations World Tourism Organization) underscored the importance of large sporting events as an increasingly important part of today’s tourism supply and for their potential to foster sustainable development. Also the UNWTO has a new partnership with FIFA to promote tourism related aspects of the 2010 World Football Cup across Africa, to help reducing poverty. UNWTO noted that, amongst the principle issues that emerged in relation to major sporting events were: •
• • •
The importance of building both quality and sustainability standards to meet visitor expectations and to ensure the continuing economic and lifestyle values for local communities. The opportunities for securing infrastructure to provide lasting improvement to the tourism offer. The intense global media and internet exposure that can affect a country's tourism competitiveness, its visitor appeal and its entire international image. The increasing public interest in long term sustainability for tourism generally with climate impacts as a growing factor and the specific interest around travel to major sporting events. [7]
If the tourism is organised in a proper way, it can become an important, substantial and long lasting part of the economy. An essential point in this is that the tourism should be responsible. This responsibility covers several subjects. First of all it means that the tourism will provide jobs for the people in the bottom of the pyramid who live in townships, informal settlements and rural areas. The start-up projects are small scale and owned by locals, not by multinationals. Secondly, careful attention should be given to not destroying the attractions for which the tourists are now drawn to South Africa. These assets are not to be compromised. Third of all, these projects should be supported by the local citizens and the government. In this way a lasting and broad support for this kind of tourism can be secured. To support these developments the government already takes action. The tourism industry has to interact on these supports and the inhabitants have to become entrepreneurs. Even NGO’s could lend a hand to activate the inhabitants. This could be done for example by: • Branding the entrepreneurs in one district, like is done in Cacadu: www.cacadu.co.za/tourism/index.asp • Make a start kit “How to be a good host during the WFC?” for community based tourism operaters. What will happen after the World Football Cub? Because of a good WFC, entrepreneurs together with local people start new companies. This causes a decline of unemployment and the local people start to learn better how to be an entrepreneur. In combination with good education the South Africans start to realize and learn how to exploit the value of the products of their own culture. Therefore a lot of small businesses begin. In 2025 something very important happens: as a result of political pressure of NGO’s and critical people the United Nations and the World Bank force the Western countries to give up their trade barriers. Now finally South Africa can erect their own industries for processing raw materials. In 2050 all factories have a sustainable production line and sustainable products due to good education and good governmental programs for sustainable development.
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Why management? As explained in the implementation paragraph already quite some programs are developed to support the development of the management skilled people in South Africa. Good management is needed to develop the country further. A country needs people who are able to realize good government plans. Every industry needs management to oversee the complete structure of the company and to develop it in the good direction. Last but not least, a good implementation of sustainable development can not be realized without a good management strategy. The government, the NGO’s, the industries and the United Nations should realize the lack of these skills in South Africa as a problem and take action.
Why education? To develop a country the first step to social sustainability is education. The government is already working hard to achieve the UN millennium goal that every child should have access to education. The plans are there, but again the problem is the implementation of the plans. By schooling the South African people in the Netherlands on management level, the plans will be realized better and faster. When primary education is developed, higher education should also be erected. Because when you start to have people on a ‘track’ you should ensure they can continue on that track. Besides developing higher education in South Africa, it is important that exchange programs are developed. For instance a person who has got a good culture of learning, will realize that even in developed countries, countries where everything is taken care of, people still have to work hard to get things done, they are not just given it. So it will become a challenge and exchange programs are very good to help people see the bigger picture.
How do these three topics contribute to a better living standard in a sustainable way? If you want to upgrade the quality of life, you have to make sure that the people grade it up to their way of living. Don’t do the upgrade yourself, but help them do it themselves! First help them to develop education. This makes it possible for everyone to get information and become more aware of the world we are living in. Then help them in developing management skills end entrepreneurship. In this way they learn how to organize their countries and how to get the economy rolling. When these goals are achieved the living standards will be able to start rising because people are aware that they have a problem and can solve it themselves.
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Conclusions & Recommendations
For this report we focused on South Africa. The choice for South Africa was made, because it recognizes its problems and works hard to solve them, but the problem still grows while it is taken care of. Some major changes in dealing with the problems should be made: focus on the (governmental) management and education today, to make sure that solutions and development programs can be implemented sustainable in order to still enjoy the results in the future. The surrounding countries could look at South Africa as an example for their own path of development. From this research can be concluded that the problem of low living standards in South Africa involves a lot of domains; the topic is very broad and therefore the solutions are presented in a fairly high level of abstraction. Furthermore, since there are already many good initiatives and the will to develop and improve is there, we found that we needed to ‘tap into’ these programs, instead of developing a complete new path. We conclude that South Africa is already on a good way to become sustainable, but still a lot needs to be done. On a short term, developments should be pushed with immediately starting to create opportunities in the three fields of education, management and entrepreneurship. On the long term, a vision is needed to be able to place the achieved developments into a broader context and to see which next steps should be taken. In short, important conclusions and recommendations are: • • •
•
Start now! Rather today than tomorrow, as the problems encountered are not to be left waiting. Always have a long term vision in order to reach short term goals successfully and directed towards it. Think locally, act globally: it is important that developments take place in the country or region where it is needed itself; that the people gain knowledge and experience by achieving the set goals themselves in order to, increase there own living standards, use those acquired skills in the future and to be able to pass it on to next generations. Focus on achieving governmental capacity in order to set up education and support entrepreneurship
This research is one that could continue for a long time. Recent developments are important to keep this report up-to-date (for example the just recently published UNFPA report about the potential of urban growth). Therefore this report should be seen as a current view on the future, which does not change the relevance of the future vision and the path towards it, but it should be seen as flexible so that important positive developments are absorbed easily.
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Consulted Literature
Poverty, Urbanism, Sustainability & Millennium Development Goals 1. 2.
3. 4.
5.
6.
7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14.
15.
16. 17.
18.
Jeffrey D. Sachs, Investing in Development, a practical plan to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, Earthscan UK and USA, 2005. United Nations, The Millennium Development Goals Report, New York, June 2006. Published by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs DESA. Chris Hails, Living Planet report 2006, WWF International, Institute of zoology and global footprint network. Department of Housing, commission for sustainable development twelfth session of UN, South Africa’s progress report on human settlements, 14-30 April 2004 Mark Shaw and Antoinette Louw, South Africa’s Urban Poor; Major Victims of Crime, safety and Governance programme, Institute for security studies in Johannesburg. Chrisna du Plessis, Analysing the sustainability of human settlements in South Africa, challenges and methods, CSIR Building and Construction Technology Marjolein C. Acherkamp and Janita F.J. Vos, Making Sense of Sustainability in an Innovation Context, University of Groningen Scott Mason and Emmanuel Baltsavias, Image-Based reconstruction of informal settlements Marie Huchzermeyer and Aly Karam, Informal settlements; a perpetual challenge?, Cordaid and JUTA academic, August 2006 Bruntland report AsgiSA committee, the deputy president report, Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (AsgiSA), February 2006 Jipsa task team, The Joint Initiative on Priority Skills Acquisition (Jipsa) Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, UNFPA United Nations Population Fund, State of world population 2007: Unleashing the Potential of Urban Growth, 27 juni 2007 World Tourism Organization, Specific Programme for Africa: Seminar-Workshop on “Sustainable Tourism Development and Poverty Reduction” 5-7 July 2006 Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies & Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, Land Management and Informal Settlement Regularisation 2006, 1 August - 31 August 2006 A quick guide to dealing with common informal settlement problems United Nations, Commission for sustainable development, 12th session, 14-30 April 2004, South Africa’s progress report, Human Settlements, compiled by the department of housing Chrisna du Plessis, Analysing the sustainability of Human Settlements in South Africa – Challenges and Methods, CSIR Building and Construction Technology, Pretoria
Sustainable Tourism 19.
20.
Khanya research team, Stimulating Sustainable tourism in South Africa; The Addo Tourism System, International Institute for Environment and Development, South Africa, 2000 Pranill Ramchander, Towards the responsible management of the sociocultural impact of township tourism, PhD report, faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, University of Pretoria, April 2004
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21.
22.
Greening the WSSD, Responsible Tourism handbook, 2003, published by the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT), Gauteng Department of Agriculture, Conservation, Environment and Land, Affairs (DACEL) the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Conservation Union (IUCN). Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, National Responsible Tourism Development Guidelines for South Africa, provisional guidelines, march 2002
Websites 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42.
Geschiedenis van Zuid Afrika, www.wikipedia.org Duurzame ecologische voetafdruk, www.sustainablefootprint.org Ecological footprint, www.wikipedia.com www.southafrica.info en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gcina_Mhlope www.capetalk.co.za/profiles.asp?id=97 battlefields.kzn.org.za/battlefields/about/9.html www.royalcountryinn.com/attractions.htm www.unwto.org www.evd.nl/info/landen/land.asp?land=zua www.tourism-intelligence.com/case01.htm www.zuidafrika.nl/consular www.suidafrikareise.nl/start.htm?verantwoordtoerisme.htm www.unwto.org/regional/africa/events/events.htm www.wegwijzer.be/ww/context/millenniumpraktijk.html www.fairtourismsa.org.za/index.html www.wikipedia.org www.africafiles.org/article.asp?ID=4564 www.ncdo.nl/flashatlas/index_large.htm www.habitatplatform.nl/regios/zuidafrika/subjects/vervolg_samenwerking_nederl and_en_zuidafrika
Interviews 43. 44. 45. 46.
Dr. P.V. Kandachar, 23 mei 2007, M. Gribnau en B. de Vos van Steenwijk Martyn Keus, 28 mei 2007, M. Gribnau, T. van Houten, B. de Vos van Steenwijk en R. Wessels Geert Geut, 12 juni 2007, M. Gribnau, T. van Houten en R. Wessels Hlengiwe Mkinze, 14 juni 2007, M. Gribnau, T. van Houten, B. de Jong en R. Wessels
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Appendix A: Interviews
Dr. P.V. Kandachar (Professor and Researcher at the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering) 23 mei 2007, M. Gribnau en B. de Vos van Steenwijk
Martyn Keus (South African Student in The Netherlands) 28 mei 2007, M. Gribnau, T. van Houten, B. de Vos van Steenwijk en R. Wessels
Geert Geut (clustercoordinator within the Direction Sub-Sahara Africa at the Dutch Ministy of Foreign Affairs ) 12 juni 2007, M. Gribnau, T. van Houten en R. Wessels
Hlengiwe Mkinze (South African Ambassador) 14 juni 2007, M. Gribnau, T. van Houten, B. de Jong en R. Wessels
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Interview met Dr. P.V. Kandachar Woensdag 23 mei 2007 M. Gribnau en B. de Vos van Steenwijk
Verstedelijking Toename blijft In afgelopen 50 jaar heeft de verstedelijking een grote vlucht genomen. Ik zie geen signaal dat die verstedelijking niet doorgaat, dus ik verwacht dat de groei van townships alleen maar toeneemt. Oorzaak: Aantrekkingskracht van steden De reden dat townships groeien, is de aantrekkelijkheid / aantrekkingskracht van de stad (cultureel, infrastructureel, onderwijs, gezondheidszorg, werkgelegenheid, water, afval / riolering, etc.): veel betere voorzieningen dan op het platteland Kandachar: “Heeft Zuid-Afrika beleid om dit tegen te gaan? (In verband met de aanslag op de beperkte stedelijke faciliteiten)” India: Beleid voor tegengaan van verstedelijking In India is er een beweging om de verstedelijking tegen te gaan. Steden zijn onderverdeeld in categorieën, waarbij de eerste categorie de grootste steden vertegenwoordigt (5 à 6 steden, elk ongeveer 10 miljoen inwoners), die in principe de meeste mensen trekken omdat daar de meeste / beste voorzieningen zijn. Als dit zo doorgaat, zou het kunnen dat over 10 jaar die steden 20 miljoen mensen omvatten. Door deze enorme groei zijn de steden niet in staat de voorzieningen op eenzelfde tempo te laten meegroeien. Het zou dan beter zijn om de aantrekkingskracht van de tweede categoriesteden (2 tot 5 miljoen mensen) te vergroten, bijvoorbeeld door het opzetten van een industrie, een belastingparadijs te creëren, of een groot ondergronds spoorwegnetwerk neer te leggen, etc. Hierdoor krijgt de overheid veel belastinggeld van de eerste categoriesteden, om dit vervolgens te gebruiken voor investeringen in de tweede categoriesteden. Dit is een beleidsmatige aanpak. Platteland aantrekkelijk maken Een volgende fase is om het platteland aantrekkelijker te maken. Dit is vaak technologisch en economisch gezien kostbaar, i.v.m. het schaalgrootteverschil (de investering in een school of ziekenhuis op het platteland, in verhouding tot het aantal mensen dat er gebruik van maakt, is veel groter dan in een grote stad). Bovendien leven in de stad mensen met relatief meer geld. Dus een ziekenhuis als economische eenheid is daar beter. Nederland: Geen verschil tussen dorp en stad Nederland is een goed voorbeeld van het bewust tegengaan hiervan. Wat wij hier een ‘dorp’ noemen, is niet te vergelijken met bijvoorbeeld een ‘dorp’ in Afrika. Een dorp hier is voorzien van alle denkbare faciliteiten die een stad ook heeft. Er is nauwelijks verschil tussen een stad en een dorp hier. In heel veel landen is deze situatie anders, wat de stad dus zo aantrekkelijk maakt. Een stad in een ontwikkelingsland heeft ongeveer evenveel faciliteiten als een dorp hier. Koopkracht: India en Brazilië Dus het aantal mensen is belangrijk, maar dat is niet de kwestie, hun koopkracht is ook belangrijk. Bijvoorbeeld: de shanty towns van Mumbai. Daar wonen arme mensen, die rijk zijn. Ze wonen in sloppenwijken, maar hebben wel een televisie, een koelkast en elektriciteit (die ze gratis aftappen). Zo ook in Brazilië in de favelas. Ze hebben
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gemakkelijk toegang tot gezondheidszorg, maar ze hebben een slechte riolering, slechte drinkwatervoorzieningen, enz. Kleinschaligheid Je kunt de verstedelijking tegengaan door kleinschalig iets op te bouwen. Op dit moment zijn alleen grootschalige voorzieningen economisch aantrekkelijk. Als je nu lokale productie en lokale consumptie kunt regelen (bijvoorbeeld waterproject in de favelas van Brazilië), dan hoeven mensen niet meer naar de stad. Basisfaciliteiten die nodig zijn, zijn water, energie, gezondheidszorg en onderwijs bijvoorbeeld. Als je de productie en consumptie centraliseert op dezelfde plaats, kleinschalig en betaalbaar maakt, dan hoeven mensen niet meer naar de stad. Werkgelegenheid op het platteland Zorg dat je het werk naar hun toe brengt. In India wordt bijvoorbeeld het werk van grote steden via internet naar het dorp gebracht (bijvoorbeeld administratief werk).
Cultuur en basisbehoeften Maslows basisbehoeften Over de volgorde van basisfaciliteiten; wat komt eerst, kijk dan naar het Maslow diagram. Uitzondering hierop bestaan. Westerse producten zijn interessant, waardoor bijvoorbeeld iemand Nike schoenen koopt terwijl hij niks te eten heeft. Nog een voorbeeld: Surinamers in Nederland zijn relatief armer dan Nederlanders, maar rijden wel in een Mercedes of een BMW bijvoorbeeld. Kortom: hun prioriteiten liggen anders. Kandachar: “We moeten voorkomen dat wij onze prioriteiten aan hen opdringen. We moeten weten wat ZIJ willen, niet wat WIJ denken dat ze nodig hebben.” Cultuurverschillen: Kenia vs. Tanzania Voorbeeld: Vanaf ’60 zijn Tanzania, Kenia en Uganda, 3 buurlanden, ongeveer in dezelfde tijd onafhankelijk geworden. Kenia heeft het kapitalisme omarmd: mensen werken en willen het beter doen. In Tanzania is het anders, er rust een heel andere cultuur. Mannen doen niet zoveel, alle winkels worden gerund door buitenlanders, Indiërs, terwijl Afrikaanse vrouwen wel werken. (Bijvoorbeeld: een ondernemer met een houtzagerij, voornamelijk zwaar mannelijk werk. Hij kon geen mannen vinden die daar wilden werken, dus hij heeft de hele fabriek omgebouwd tot een vrouwvriendelijke fabriek en vrouwen in dienst genomen. Mentaliteit Maar waarom moeten we eigenlijk zo hard werken? Hier heerst een instelling die zicht richt op groei: meer en nog meer. Het is moeilijk om het moreel wat we hier hebben zomaar daar los te laten. Dat is denk ik een vergissing. Wat betreft townships, waar voornamelijk mensen naar toe komen die willen werken; die groeien dus wel in Kenia, maar in Tanzania niet.
Ontwikkeling Goldman Sachs investeringsbank: BRIC landen Zuid Afrika is één van de’ betere landen’ op wereldschaal. De Goldman Sachs investeringsbank in New York investeert geld in grote bedrijven, maar kan ook voorzien in kredietwaardigheden (financiering) voor (hele) landen. Hun researchafdeling ontwikkelde een computermodel op basis van ontwikkelingen van de afgelopen 50 jaar, en maakte een model voor de komende 50 jaar, met daarin voorspellingen voor de toekomst. Ze concludeerden dat de BRIC landen (Brazilië, Rusland, India en China) een grote toekomst hebben. Later is daar ook Zuid Afrika aan toegevoegd. Kandachar: “Heeft de relatief sterke positie van Zuid Afrika te maken met de activiteiten van blanke mensen de afgelopen 50 jaar? Of met die van zwarte mensen? Wat is ieders
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aandeel? Wat is de invloed van de zwarte leiding op het welzijn van Zuid Afrika? (En het na-ijlende effect van de blanken en hun mentaliteit) Bijvoorbeeld de bestaande president die het bestaan van AIDS ontkent. Had de vorige president dat ook gedaan? De economische situatie van Zuid Afrika is op een bepaalde manier gestegen. Hoe is de positie van de zwarte mensen in diezelfde tijd verlopen? Wat is de vergelijking hiertussen? Heeft Zuid Afrika zelf een toekomstvisie over waar ze willen zijn in 2050?” Aanname: Duurzaam toerisme onderdeel van centraal beleid van Zuid Afrika Jullie uitgangspunt moet zijn dat toerisme een onderdeel is van een veelomvattend beleid / centraal plan van Zuid Afrika zelf, waarvan het duurzame toerisme is afgeleid. Daar kunnen jullie gewoon van uitgaan en het aannemen. Want er kunnen natuurlijk allerlei tegenstrijdige belangen ontstaan tussen bijvoorbeeld duurzaam toerisme en duurzame industrie, of duurzame watervoorziening. Dit gebeurt vaak in ontwikkelingslanden, maar ook in rijke landen, waar bijvoorbeeld afdelingen niet samenwerken. (Voorbeeld: Nederlands Parlement met verschillende ministers voor Ontwikkelingssamenwerking, Milieu, VROM, Buitenlandse Zaken, Economische Zaken, Onderwijs, etc. Zouden meer onderling moeten samenwerken.) Neem dus maar aan dat Zuid Afrika zelf al bekeken heeft dat er geen tegenstrijdige belangen (meer) zijn. Jeffrey Sachs: Economische zekerheid is de basis voor verdere ontwikkeling Met alle respect, ik geloof Jeffrey niet. Zijn theorie is gebaseerd op ontwikkelingsmodellen. Er is tot nu toe geen enkel ontwikkelingsmodel waarvan bewezen is dat het succesvol is. Vanuit die optiek geloof ik Sachs’ model niet, en dat van Prahalad ook niet, welke ik propageer omdat het dicht bij het vakgebied van Industrieel Ontwerpen ligt (intensieve betrokkenheid van ondernemers). Dus om terug te komen op Tanzania, heb ik grote twijfels of dit model daar zou werken. Het is niet gemakkelijk om Afrikaanse ondernemers te vinden die bezig zijn zichzelf te helpen; die zijn er niet zoveel. Maar als er ondernemers zijn, heb ik meer geloof in Prahalads model. Sachs gelooft zijn model niet; zijn visie gaat meer richting ontwikkelingssamenwerking: geld geven. Mijn probleem hiermee is dat het je afhankelijk maakt. Maar zij moeten zichzelf helpen. We kunnen en moeten ze wel een helpende hand bieden, maar ze moeten het zelf doen. En daarvoor heb je ondernemers nodig. Kandachar: “Waarom is ondernemerschap er wel in Kenia en niet in Tanzania: Kenia heeft het kapitalisme omarmd en Tanzania het socialisme, maar hoe is de situatie in Zuid Afrika?”
Zelfvoorziening, ondernemerschap en handel Lange termijn: Voorkomen is beter dan genezen Het mooist zou zijn als men in Zuid Afrika, voordat er townships ontstaan, in de dorpen zelf activiteiten zou ontwikkelen, bijvoorbeeld duurzaam toerisme. Maar de townships zijn er nu eenmaal al. Als je iets wil veranderen, moet je beginnen met kleine kinderen; dan heb je over 20 jaar een verandering. Dus nu zou je kunnen zeggen: we beginnen in de dorpen met duurzaam toerisme. We bieden alle mogelijkheden en faciliteiten, en zorgen ervoor dat de mensen daarheen komen. We verhogen de aantrekkingskracht van een dorp, in plaats van een stad. Voor de townships die er al zijn, zou je een andere oplossing moeten vinden. Vrije internationale handel Samenvattend is belangrijk: lokaal produceren en consumeren, en de mentaliteit voor ondernemerschap. Daar komt nog bij dat als er iets geproduceerd wordt, de internationale handel vrij moet zijn; dat ze hun producten kunnen verkopen, en niet alleen in het binnenland.
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Handelsbarrières Toerisme is maar een onderdeel, het verschaft beperkte werkgelegenheid. De problemen zijn dusdanig omvangrijk: 80% van de wereldbevolking woont in arme landen. Landen als India en China hebben een grote eigen markt, dus daar zijn handelsbarrières minder belangrijk. Maar neem bijvoorbeeld de tarweproductie in Amerika, waar er subsidie is voor boeren, die daardoor hun product op de wereldmarkt kunnen aanbieden voor een lagere prijs dan de eigenlijke basisproductieprijs. Als gevolg hiervan hebben meer dan 20.000 boeren in India zelfmoord gepleegd, omdat ze hun product niet meer konden verkopen en daardoor geen inkomsten meer hadden. Dit gebeurde in de afgelopen 3-5 jaar, allemaal door handelsbelemmeringen. Een ander voorbeeld is een Nigeriaan die zei: het is beter een koe te zijn in Europa, dan een Nigeriaan te zijn in Nigeria. Een koe krijgt 3 keer zo veel subsidie als een Nigeriaan verdient per jaar in zijn eigen land. Kortom: de internationale handel is erg belangrijk. Lokaal vs. internationaal / globaal Als ik praat over lokale productie en consumptie, bedoel ik van basisbehoeften: water, energie, etc. Dit kan in principe voldoende zijn. Maar als ze nog meer willen, als ze meer produceren dan dat ze lokaal kunnen consumeren, dan zullen ze dat kunnen verkopen. Om dit te kunnen verkopen, moet de markt open zijn. De interne markt is meestal open. Kandachar: “Hoe is de situatie in Zuid Afrika m.b.t. de vrijheid van handel? In het land zelf, maar ook internationaal (bijvoorbeeld t.o.v. Ghana) en zelfs globaal?” Het spaghettimodel Wat jullie voorleggen is een veelomvattend probleem. Het is een soort spaghetti, je kunt niet alleen één onderdeel eruit lichten, dan beweeg je de rest ook mee. Als je een land wil verbeteren, moet je de hele kluwen spaghetti omhoog tillen, dus zorgen voor verbeteringen ten aanzien van allerlei facetten.
Toekomst en planning 50 jaar: Grote mogelijkheden In 50 jaar kun je heel ver komen. Neem bijvoorbeeld Singapore, Thailand en Vietnam. Singapore was veel armer dan bijvoorbeeld India in 1950. In 2000 was Singapore veel rijker dan India. Daar zijn veel redenen voor. India dacht geruime tijd: ik heb niemand nodig. India was gesloten en socialistisch, tot 1990. China was gesloten tot 1980. Ze hebben het land altijd zelf willen opbouwen, ze geloofden niet in een open wereld en globaliserende markten. Inmiddels hebben ze dit ontdekt en willen ze een inhaalslag maken. China is hierin verder dan India; en Singapore ontdekte dit al veel langer geleden, in 1950. Singapore was toen misschien even arm als Vietnam nu. Dus in 50 jaar is er heel veel gebeurd. Eén van de meetparameters voor zulke discussies is het cijfer m.b.t. kindersterfte. In 1970 was de kindersterfte in Vietnam 10 keer zo groot als in de Verenigde Staten. Nu is deze in Vietnam even groot als in de Verenigde Staten in 1970. Nogmaals: er kan in een periode van 50 jaar heel veel gebeuren. Educatie: Nummer één in ontwikkeling Er zijn verschillende aspecten die belangrijk zijn in de ontwikkeling van de mens en zijn land. Het belangrijkst vind ik educatie. Niet alleen om te kunnen lezen en schrijven, maar ook voor de ontwikkeling van het bewustzijn om zichzelf te kunnen helpen. Onderwijs geeft mensen een kans om hun eigen problemen op te kunnen lossen. Men kan bijvoorbeeld erkennen dat AIDS gevaarlijk is en mensen daar bewust van maken. Op dit moment kun je het grote aantal AIDS patiënten moeilijk ‘verhelpen’, dat is meer ‘brand blussen’. Maar om de oorzaak aan te pakken vanaf het begin, is onderwijs nodig. Afgeleid van onderwijs is gezondheid; heel veel dingen kan men zelf oplossen. Bijvoorbeeld: men heeft laatst een groot aantal doctoren gevraagd naar de meest belangrijke en innovatieve ontwikkeling van de afgelopen 50 jaar, op het gebied van de 28
verbetering van de gezondheid. Het antwoord was een publieke infrastructurele voorziening: de riolering. Dit benadrukt het aanpakken van de bron van het probleem en de bewustwording hieromtrent. Een ander voorbeeld: voor de verkeersveiligheid is dit de riem of de helm, niet de snelheid bijvoorbeeld. Dus de oplossing voor het AIDS probleem ligt eerder in de voorlichting dan in medicijnen. Belangrijk: Inzicht in lokale behoeften Een belangrijk punt wat ik nogmaals wil benadrukken is het gevaar dat je aanneemt dat wat wij onder verbetering verstaan, ook voor hen geldt. Bijvoorbeeld: waarom laten we Tanzania niet los? Laat ze maar genieten, laat ze maar slapen, als ze dat willen. Waarom niet? Wij hebben een zeer energie- en materiaalintensieve maatschappij hier, waarom zouden we dit aan ze opleggen? Er zou een massale beweging moeten ontstaan om hun te vragen wat zij willen. Misschien willen ze zich helemaal niet ontwikkelen zoals wij ons ontwikkeld hebben. Dan moeten we ze met rust laten.
Vervolg Interview met Martyn Keus. Hij is Zuid-Afrikaan, woonde in Sandton, vlakbij het township Alexandra. Wellicht kunnen we aan hem vragen waar men daar nou eigenlijk écht behoefte aan heeft… 29
Interview with Martyn Keus Monday 28 May 2007 M. Gribnau, T. van Houten, B. de Vos van Steenwijk and R. Wessels
Desire for self-development South Africa is an interesting country. The president refers to ‘two countries in one’; the population can be divided into two segments, the rich and the poor. This partition is less and less based on race. Since democracy in 1994, sectors of the black population are becoming wealthy, but there is still a vast amount of black and white people that live in poverty. Everybody wants to develop, they want to alleviate poverty, but the question is obviously ‘How?’. The vast education deficit is an issue here. In order to create a better future, an arena should be created where people will be economically uplifted. People want to have a better future. Xenophobia towards African immigrants South Africa is the richest African country. There are millions of immigrants coming from the poor African countries, especially Zimbabwe, which is our neighbour. They are taking the bottom-level or ‘low’ jobs. For example, a way of income for people that have nothing is to become a car-guard: people that look after your parked car and ask money for this service. These Zimbabwean immigrants can be found living in the major centres. There is a bit of xenophobia happening at the moment, because the local inhabitants feel that the immigrants from the rest of Africa are taking away their opportunities for jobs because they are willing to work for less money and they are willing to do things that the local inhabitants are not willing to do for that little money. For example, all the car-guard jobs are now taken by people from e.g. Nigeria and Ghana. There is a lot of urban decay; if a building is really cheap or even derelict, you may find fifteen people living in a threepeople apartment. These people are often scared to go into the townships, because if they do so, the local people will beat them up and tell them to get lost. Roots in township: Everlasting commitment Market research has showed that black people that grew up in the townships and managed to get enough money to live in the white suburbs, that have middle class jobs and are doing quite well for themselves, actually still feel connected with their roots in the townships, so they will still go back in weekends. In African culture, if one person of a family earns money, he or she has to support the rest of the family, no matter how big the family is. Township differences Each township is different. For example, parts of Soweto are actually very rich; it is its own kind of city with its own culture. There are really poor townships and more equal ones. I have been to Alexandra, where parts are more like a shanty town: local people who find a piece of land, put up a shack and start living there, tapping electricity from street lamps for example. So these kinds of shanty towns, called ‘informal settlements’, are badly organized and lack planning; people are poor and live in very bad conditions. Governmental commitment Our government has committed to build every person in South Africa a house, which is actually written down in the constitution: everybody has the right to a free house, free water, free electricity and free education. South Africa is the first country in the world with this kind of initiative. This goal was meant to be reached a couple of years ago, but this is where the problems come in, problems with delivery. They did deliver already a big amount of houses, over a million. People really want these houses, but they are unhappy with the standard they actually came at. The government invested a huge amount of money to be able to deliver proper houses, but corruption among the contractors is the main problem in realizing this quality. 30
Informal settlements The start of townships was regulated. The Apartheid government basically made segregation in white, black and colored people’s areas (including Indian people). But the problem is, there are areas that are not planned. They are called ‘squatter camps’ or ‘informal settlements’, like mentioned before. There are lots of problems in these areas. For example, sometimes these settlements are built next to the edge of a river, which could cause serious problems when a natural disaster like a flood would occur. Furthermore, the people use paraffin stoves, which is on the first hand very unhealthy because of the fumes and secondly dangerous because the shack could catch fire.
http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwher/about/2005.southafrica.html Social responsibility: Taxes Townships are places that are designed for people to live; in South Africa you are never going to get rid of them. That is why the government is building houses in these areas. These houses are often built on the spots where the shacks used to stand and are allocated to local people by the government.
http://architectafrica.com/bin1/news-bua-housing-southafrica-001.html This initiative for free basic needs is totally financed by taxes. But the issue is that the formal economy is not that big, even though it is growing. In the past there were about 4 to 5 million white people, while the total population of South Africa is about 45 million people. So about 10% of the population is white; the total middle-class might be 10 million people. They are the people that pay tax, so they have to carry the other 35 million people as well, which obviously is difficult, but is it accepted by the people. The feeling of social responsibility is quite strong. It is interesting to see that before the elections almost only white people paid tax, but now more and more people are registering themselves to pay tax, so it seems to be generally accepted that you’re helping the country. Policy of Affirmative Action The government has a policy of ‘affirmative action’, which means that when you have a company in South Africa, a certain percentage of your employees have to be black. This is also called ‘Black Economic Empowerment’. In the state owned enterprises, which form quite a big sector of the economy, this percentage should actually represent the 31
population dynamics. This is very difficult, because in the past education was very skewed towards the white population, which makes it almost impossible to have a completely representative company, since there are around 35 million black people, compared to 4 million white people. It is a matter of equity as well; it is not only about black people working in the organization, but also in the direction, it covers the whole spectrum. BEE means that 25% of your company must be owned by black people and that figure is changing to 50%. There is a difference between small and large companies; in small companies with 15 employees or less and a turnover below 500.000 euros a year, you are except from those rules. But for large companies, for which these rules are important, there is no clear indication of what happens when they do not obey these rules. Besides, the deadline for implementing the regulation got extended and now a clear deadline for implementation is missing. So it is a law but nobody knows the details exactly. If you need government contracts, for example if you want to sell electronic equipment to the electricity department, you have to have BEE in your company. There is a whole scoring system which is quite complicated; if a company wants to improve its status as being a BEE company, it also needs BEE suppliers etc. There is a whole scorecard for measuring this; a better score will gain the most chance for tenders from the government. It can be seen as a marketing tool. The problem of passive attitude Talking about the changes in South Africa since 1994; this has not affected the whole population. The population is now slightly better of than they were, but there is a certain segment of the black population that has suddenly become really wealthy (around 5 million), which are the educated black people. Every company wants well-educated people, not just any (black) person. But the problem is that still on the bottom levels there are a lot of poor people. They are slowly having a slightly better standard of life, now they are getting free water and electricity and so on. But this passive attitude is a problem. People are waiting for a house etc. and they get really upset when they don’t get it. So the free provision of these basic needs could also be seen as a negative influence on the people’s attitude towards self-development. Quite some people are sitting around and waiting for help. In the poorer areas, where the people are mostly disempowered, they feel like there is nothing they can do. There are no jobs available locally and they are just waiting for something to happen, waiting for a house and so on. But there are also people that are more go-getters who actually do make things happen, for example built companies and start to do really well, these are the success stories. The drive to work The shanty towns around the cities are mostly full of people that have the drive to work, they want to improve their situation, which is mostly the reason they came to the city. The tradition in South African culture is that the men in the rural villages needed to leave their families in order to earn some money by working in the mines or digging for gold for example. The start of the townships by the Apartheid government made black people live on land that was miles away from anything, these were places in the middle of nowhere, hundreds of kilometres away from the cities. This is where the families lived, while the males went to the cities to work and built their own place to live. This is still the situation nowadays. So if there would be work near these villages instead of only in the city, this could help prevent the slums from growing further. Young vs. older people I did some work for a district municipality in South Africa, which controlled 9 different districts. We found that it is an enormous problem that all the young people move out of the rural areas to the cities, so that all the older people were left there. This big amount of young people in the cities leads to crime because they need money. The people over let’s say 35 are left in the rural areas where there are no opportunities, people are sitting there and waiting for something to happen. The younger people are more driven and because they leave, a passive population is left in these rural areas.
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Sustainable tourism: Expensive About sustainable tourism and the danger to become ‘green colonialism’, there are some issues there. As a white person living in South Africa, I see these products and tourism spots for the international people that I even would never go to because it is too expensive. With the municipality we actually worked on an exclusive five-star game reserve, where nobody I know would ever go to because of the high prices. People that start these kinds of tourist facilities are normally South African people themselves. The rise of game reserves I worked on a sustainable tourism project together with a guy who started a famous game reserve named Shamwari. He started this 20 years ago in the Eastern Cape, which is one of the poorest areas in South Africa. He had a trucking company and he bought a goat farm in the middle of nowhere and he had this crazy idea to turn it into a game reserve and everybody thought he was mad. But he bought this place and actually managed really well, so he bought the farm next door, and the one next door to that, etc, until he had this huge amount of land for his game reserve. He marketed it incredibly well, presenting eco-kind of adventures. He marketed it by returning the land to its natural state, and it should be a very exclusive game reserve. There were also some famous people like Margaret Thatcher, Brad Pitt and Tiger Woods that visited this place. Everybody saw how successful his project was, and he created this industry almost by himself. The local farmers saw how this was much better then farming sheep of goats and they actually created their own game reserves. Nowadays there are many of these game reserves existing, all very successful. They are all based on international tourists.
http://www.shamwari.com/ Allicedale: Employment of local people The game reserve that we worked on, conceptualised by the same guy, was actually focused on both international as well as South African tourists. This guy was quite a visionary. He used to drive past this little town, called Allicedale, right next to Shamwari, lying on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere. This place used to be a railway stop and there were around 7000 people living there. On a certain moment the train did not stop at this point anymore, which caused the crumbling of the town, there was nothing to do there anymore: 7000 people were stuck there. And this guy conceptualised restoring the whole town and develop tourism there. In a three-way partnership, together with the government and the community, he started to buy up the town. Huge amounts of money were invested in this project. They rebuilt this school-hall into a hotel, which is actually a five-star hotel but they branded it as a four-star to make it more accessible. Also they organized a big game reserve in this area. There is a championship golf course designed by a World cup-winning South African golf player. The idea of this tourism facility, which was actually quite difficult, was to provide the local people that already lived in that town, with the jobs generated by the tourism. It would have been much easier to import skilled people from the cities, who have more experience in these kinds of jobs, but this was not the intention. The local people needed to be educated and so a training program and a school were developed in order to train these people for a year, before they started their jobs and the tourism facilities were opened. Part of this education was to teach the
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local people how to deal with guests that are used to four or five star service. This was a quite remarkable project and it turned out to work well.
http://www.grahamstown.co.za/alicedale/index.html Townships and the loss of traditional culture The culture in this town, even before the start-up of the tourism industry there, was not traditional African at all. It was kind of ‘stamped out’ until this ‘residual nothingness’ was left, with a kind of Westernized culture; everybody had TV and so on. This is actually a real problem with the townships as well; the people’s culture is gone, the local African culture has been destroyed. And this is a problem with migrant labour, when people used to live with their families somewhere. And traditionally, in for example the Zulu culture, people have a lot of cows and people buy wives with their cows, called ‘labola’. When you have lots of cows, you are really rich, and you can have many wives. People live on a piece of land and have a farmland, just as big as they need for their family. The wives do all the farming. When the men are actually pulled out of this situation, to work in the mines etc, this completely messes up the situation. The chief used to be in control of this society; if you were caught in adultery or something like that, you would be killed. This whole system is now breaking down. Township culture is its own distinct culture, developed through time; it is not traditional, it is a sort of mix. But ‘labola’ is still a tradition that is being upheld in the rural areas. People have only one wife now, but they still negotiate with the parents how many cows they should deliver for a wife. South African tourists A big focus regarding the tourism sector in South Africa has been on the luxurious tourism facilities. Now increasingly there is a focus on less luxurious tourism. There are figures that 60% of the tourists in South Africa are actually South African. South African tourists desire other things compared to international tourists. International people are looking for the Africa-experience: traditional dance and crafts and so on. South Africans would not specifically come for these kinds of activities, but research explored that South Africans want beach and they want to spend time with friends and family. Many people go to places where their family lives, which could be the rural areas or small towns. A lot of the tourism is actually to cities: Durban, Port Elizabeth, Cape Town, etc: the major beach cities. They are interested in adventure sports as well. Trade and export South Africa decided to adopt the free trade route, trying to integrate with the rest of the global economy, so trade barriers are very low. South Africa is the main exporter into Africa. We import a lot of products like electronics and export them then into the rest of Africa. This is one of the horrible situations that the more powerful always export. Unfortunately when you look at the trade agreements worldwide, it is always the wealthier countries that abuse the less wealthy countries by means of regulations and trade laws. For example, South Africa is really rich on minerals, but there are these crazy trade barriers from the West onto South African products. You can export ore with hardly any trade tariff, but as soon as this raw material is beneficiated, when value has been added to it, the trade tariffs just go up exponentially, because they want to stop these countries from developing their own intellectual property. This indirectly forms a loss of job opportunities. Another problem is the European farm subsidies; South Africans cannot produce crops for the same price while having no subsidies for farming.
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Townships vs. rural areas There are many differences between townships and the rural areas. For example the need of water; while people in the townships will be provided with free water, the infrastructure to bring this also to the rural areas is still missing. This also counts for electricity. Government: Trade unions as political vehicles Nowadays in the government you have the so-called ‘tri-apartheid’ lines, which are three political parties that got together. The ANC existed since 195? but they were banned, so they moved headquarters to Zambia. They were responsible for organizing demonstrations. A lot of South Africans supported the ANC. The political parties were banned and the trade unions were not banned and so trade unions actually became political vehicles in South Africa. You could not join a political party as a black person, but you could join a trade union. These trade unions became incredibly powerful as political vehicles. The biggest one is COSATU. This is enormous; millions of people belong to this trade union, for political reasons. Then there is the South African Communist Party. So COSATU has immense political power even though it is not a political party. Instead of becoming a political party, they are all linked in into one government. So you have the ANC, the South African Communist Party and COSATU, all being part of one government, but each has their own leaders. Power struggles are always happening. Trade liberalization What is really argued at the moment is that the government had embarked this free trade, trade liberalization; opening up for companies to come in. There is reduced exchange control, so if you want to invest there is nothing stopping you. So it has really become a kind of Western approach, a liberal economy. And so there is very little control over that. They want to privatize all the big state enterprises, for example telecommunications, electricity and steel manufacturers, which used to be state owned. They have certain ways of looking after their employees and so on, but when they become privatized, those are likely to disappear. So COSATU at the moment is saying that it is great that the government has embarked onto this trade liberalization, also called GER: growth, equity and distribution (privatization). The government is trying to bring the trade deficit down to levels accepted by the World Bank, who says they should bring their budget deficit down to 3%. So, they did all the right things, economically, but that has not resulted in the poor people getting jobs. And that is what COSATU is talking about, saying: “You had this great plan and now there is this group of black people getting wealthy, but what about the poor people?”, and essentially this is a political platform which they have embarked on. There are a lot of unhappy poor people, saying: “We are promised this great future, but we still haven’t got jobs and we still haven’t got houses”. Jeffrey Sachs Is economical development a good basis to start other developments from? It depends how. Obviously it has to happen. What South Africans want is jobs. Unemployment is one of the biggest problems in South Africa. People generally do want to work. But in terms of entrepreneurship it is difficult to turn uneducated people into entrepreneurs. This needs education. What you usually see is that the poor people who become entrepreneurs are informal traders; they buy and sell bananas for example. But then they are stuck at that level; they cannot really expand. They make enough money to just survive, so they cannot really invest in their little ‘company’. Education So education can be the basis of sustainable development, with sustainable tourism as a medium. Obviously it depends where. The major cities are well-developed, the infrastructure is there, people are educated and people can talk English perfectly, so there are not many issues with education really. But if you start in a rural area and you want to use local people, then you definitely need some form of education. But who could provide this education? The education sector is under great pressure; everybody is guaranteed a free education, but the quality of teachers is a problem. But education is 35
the first thing that should help South Africa to get running; you have to get the next generation up to speed. World Cup 2010 The World Cup event in 2010 will have a positive influence on South Africa. But South Africans are interesting people; we have this kind of negative view of ourselves, we are complaining and do not trust ourselves in terms of preparation for an event like this. We think it will be a disaster. A previous example was the Rugby World Cup in 1995, when everybody was so amazed when it actually went well; there were huge celebrations and so on. The Soccer World Cup will be a success too I think, but an obvious issue is crime, which needs to be solved. They already put a huge amount of time in infrastructure to be able to actually host this World Cup. Economically it will be very interesting, to have many tourists there. But on the other hand, generally this means that the real estate prices go up, which makes it more difficult for average South Africans to buy nice houses because the international people are going to buy the best ones. Entrepreneurs in tourism Maybe I made it sound that South Africans are not really entrepreneurial, but there are actually quite a lot of entrepreneurial people and now especially with the World Cup in mind, a lot of tourism businesses have been set up. And these definitely include local people and organizations. But international tourists mainly come to the major cities of South Africa; it is the nature of the world to do so.
District municipality branding: Cacadu This project for the district municipality I worked for was about economically developing the whole district municipality by branding. They wanted to develop a brand for this area and came to us to develop it. It is in the Eastern Cape and one of five district municipalities, called Cacadu. We did research amongst all the towns in this district; we went there and had three stakeholder meetings in each town with different people, from the major of the ‘dorp’ in the middle of nowhere, to local people and people involved in tourism. What we found is that there was a huge lack of information for people outside, 36
about what actually was interesting there; a blank slate. If you want to get people into the area you have to tell them what they can do there. You cannot just say: “Come to this little town, it’s great”. You have to get the information out. But there is no database or anything for this. So part of our strategy to brand the area was to develop a kind of traveller’s journal. So people that went to the area could all clip some experiences or photographs onto the website, with their personal stories. So people could share information about the area with others. You can search on the website and find for example all the hotels in the area, or the places where you can do adventure sports, etc. For more information I refer to http://www.cacadu.co.za/tourism/index.asp
Follow Up Interview with Geert Geut. He is clustercoordinator within the Direction Sub-Sahara Africa at the Dutch Ministy of Foreign Affairs. We hope to get informed about governmental issues regarding regulation and implementation of sustainable plans… 37
Interview met Geert Geut Dinsdag 12 juni 2007 M. Gribnau, T. van Houten, B. de Jong and R. Wessels
Directie Sub-Sahara Afrika Geert Geut Ik ben Geert Geut en ik ben beleidsambtenaar voor Zuid-Afrika. Dat is mijn belangrijkste beleidsmatige land van focus en Lesotho en Swaziland horen daar natuurlijk bij. Daarnaast ben ik ook clustercoördinator voor de landen en ambassades in Zuidelijk en Oost Afrika. Er zijn andere mensen die daar het beleidswerk voor doen, maar dat coördineer ik dan. We hebben het hier over Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique Tanzania en Kenia. Regionale Directies en Thematische Directies Wij zijn het scharnierpunt. Dit is de directie Afrika, een regionale directie, maar we hebben hier ook nog allerlei thematische directies, die zich met mensenrechten bezig houden, met veiligheid, milieu, consulaire zaken, persoonsvervoer, economische zaken, culturele zaken, onderwijs: allerlei thematische directies die gespecialiseerd zijn en die op een of andere manier, in de landen waarmee wij een bilaterale betrekking hebben, actief zijn. Ontwikkelingssamenwerking Wat betreft ontwikkelingssamenwerking hebben wij dus 36 landen waarmee wij een speciale ontwikkelingsrelatie hebben en Zuid Afrika is daar dus één van. Daar zijn die thematische directies dus extra bij betrokken en die proberen de doelstellingen die de regering zich gesteld heeft en de verplichtingen die wij zijn aangegaan in internationaal verband, door het ondertekenen van internationale verdragen enzovoort, te realiseren in de landen waarmee wij die betrekkingen hebben. Dat wordt uitgevoerd in onze ambassades in die landen. Wij als regiodirectie zijn het schakelpunt, het scharnierpunt tussen al die thematische directies en onze ambassades in de landen waar we betrekkingen mee hebben. Wij proberen dus de doelstellingen die al die thematische directies hebben, die de minister dus aangegaan is in het parlement (die in de Memorie van Toelichting op Prinsjesdag worden gepresenteerd samen met de begroting en waarin wordt gezegd hoeveel procent we geven aan Ontwikkelingssamenwerking en aan Buitenlandse Zaken, en welke resultaten moeten worden behaald op het gebied van onderwijs, cultuur en al die thema’s die ik net heb genoemd) te vertalen naar de landen toe; wij zijn zegmaar het vertaalbureau. Wij zorgen er dan voor dat die doelstellingen die de themadirecties hebben, vastgelegd worden in samenwerking met de ambassades, die dan vervolgens autonoom zijn in hoe ze in hun land die doelstellingen willen bereiken. Dus die maken een eigen plan en zeggen: “Op het gebied van onderwijs willen we dit bereiken, op het gebied van HIV/AIDS-bestrijding dat…”, daar krijgen ze dan budget voor en dan is vervolgens de ambassade in de Nederlandse setting autonoom in het bepalen hoe ze die doelstellingen willen bereiken. Ze maken dan een plan met doelstellingen en wij zeggen dan of dat past binnen de doelstellingen die we voor het geheel hebben, en dan krijgen ze het geld en dan moeten ze over een jaar laten zien of ze hun doelstellingen ook hebben gehaald. En dat controleren wij, maar daar is dus heel veel afstemming voor nodig, heel veel ‘handjeklap’: de één wil meer geld, de ander wil minder doelstellingen. We kunnen niet overal alles doen. Politiek Dossier En dan is er natuurlijk nog het politieke dossier. Als we het over Zimbabwe hebben gebeurt daar op ontwikkelingsgebied niet heel veel, maar de situatie daar baart ons wel zoveel zorgen, dat we daar wel heel actief voor zijn. Bijvoorbeeld op het gebied van 38
mensenrechten. Dat doen we niet alleen op het bilaterale gebied, dus tussen Nederland en Zimbabwe, maar dat doen we dan vooral in EU-verband of in VN-verband, dus daarvoor hebben we dan weer veel overleg met Brussel en New York, om ervoor te zorgen dat we samen met gelijkgezinden -de landen die er net zo over denken- een extra push kunnen maken en invloed kunnen uitoefenen op de ontwikkelingen daar. Dus zowel de politiek als de ontwikkelingssamenwerking, daar houden wij ons mee bezig. Bezoekt u die landen ook zelf? Ja, ik kom ongeveer vier keer per jaar in Zuid Afrika. Zimbabwe komen we wat moeilijker in de laatste tijd, maar ik ben er nog wel geweest vorig jaar.
Huidige Situatie U houdt zich voornamelijk bezig met onderwijs en HIV/AIDS-bestrijding begrepen we. Hoe is de situatie in Zuid Afrika nu met betrekking tot deze onderwerpen, en wat zijn lopende projecten die jullie initiëren? Transformatie Op het gebied van onderwijs is de situatie nog heel ernstig. Zuid Afrika is een land wat getypeerd wordt door enorme tegenstellingen. Als je in Johannesburg, Pretoria of Kaapstad landt, denk je dat je in een ontwikkeld land bent: skyscrapers en mooie wegen, veel auto’s, files, etc. De goede voorzieningen die we in Europa hebben, zie je daar ook. Loop je, in sommige gevallen een kilometer, de andere kant op, dan zit je middenin de beelden die we ook uit Sudan krijgen, of uit Tsjaad, of uit Nigèr, waarvan we denken, nou dat is dus typisch Afrika, waar mensen in het zand zitten zonder een huis of nauwelijks een dak boven hun hoofd, werkloos met nauwelijks uitzicht op werk, op onderwijs of goede voorzieningen voor gezondheidszorg, ondanks het feit dat Zuid Afrika met zichzelf heeft afgesproken, dat hebben ze dus in de grondwet gezet, dat elke Zuid Afrikaan daar recht op heeft. Maar Zuid Afrika draagt een gewelddadig verleden met zich mee, en is eigenlijk nog maar 13 jaar bezig om te zorgen dat de situatie van schrijnende en onbeschrijflijk onrechtmatige verhoudingen, waarin eigenlijk in wezen alle voorzieningen voor de blanken waren, en de zwarten officieel wel hetzelfde recht hadden maar de facto daar dus geen toegang toe hadden. Sinds 1994, sinds de nieuwe grondwet is aangenomen en een democratische regering in Zuid Afrika aan het bewind is, zitten we in een proces van transformatie, waarin we proberen de onrechtvaardigheden uit het verleden te herstellen. En dat probleem blijkt dus veel moeilijker te doorlopen dan we in eerste instantie hadden gedacht. Dweilen met de kraan open Het is dus niet zo dat je daar tien jaar lang geld tegenaan gooit en dan opeens het probleem hebt opgelost; het is nog steeds zo dat overgrote delen van de zwarte bevolking geen toegang heeft tot schoon water, nauwelijks toegang heeft tot goede huisvesting, onderwijs, gezondheidszorg, enzovoort. Met name in rurale gebieden is dat nog steeds onder de maat, ondanks dat er honderdduizenden huizen zijn bijgebouwd, er tienduizenden scholen zijn bijgebouwd, er tienduizenden onderwijzers zijn opgeleid, de persen dag en nacht staan te draaien om schoolboeken te drukken, dus dat is het niet. Er wordt een geweldige inspanning gepleegd om die inhaalslag te maken, maar de omvang van het probleem was zo groot, en het probleem, terwijl het er is, groeit ook nog, omdat er nieuwe mensen bij komen. Primaire en Aansturende Processen Behalve dat je dat primaire proces van het onderwijs geven aan kinderen, het huizen bouwen voor mensen, het ervoor zorgen dat er mensen water krijgen, daar ook een bestuurlijk proces boven is, die al die primaire processen moeten aansturen: dan kom je dus op hét grote probleem van Zuid Afrika: er is niet voldoende capaciteit om al dat soort complexe besturingsproblemen aan te pakken. Dus men heeft 13 of 14 jaar geleden besloten, dat er zoveel mogelijk decentraal zou worden gewerkt, dus er is heel veel 39
uitvoeringsplicht zou je kunnen zeggen bij de gemeentes gelegd, maar die gemeentes die kunnen niks, daar zijn geen ingenieurs, daar zijn geen bouwkundigen, maar er zijn ook geen bestuurskundigen, en ook geen mensen die in staat zijn administratief bestuurskundig al die ingewikkelde processen aan te sturen. Onderwijs Staan gebouwde scholen dan soms leeg? Nee, die worden wel gebruikt, maar dat is dus niet genoeg om al die mensen te absorberen die nog in de rij staan om te worden geschoold. En wat je dan vervolgens ook ziet, is dat er heel veel mensen wel naar school gaan, maar daar eigenlijk niks leren, omdat de docenten in een half jaar durende crash-course zijn opgeleid, maar die zijn dus niet voldoende opgeleid om iedereen van voldoende onderwijs te voorzien. Dus je ziet heel veel uitval: mensen zijn niet gemotiveerd om dan door te gaan met school. Maar mensen die dan wel de eindstreep halen zijn dan niet voldoende geschoold om naar de middelbare school te gaan en komen dan op de arbeidsmarkt zonder dat er goede kansen voor ze zijn, aangezien er geschoold personeel nodig is in de redelijk ontwikkelde economie van Zuid Afrika. Dit leidt tot het verval tot secundair analfabetisme.
Ontwikkelingshulp Bestuurlijk niveau verbeteren Wat Nederland daaraan probeert te doen, samen met de Zuid Afrikanen, is juist dat bestuurlijke niveau van de gemeentes en daarboven de provincies (provincies zijn autonoom in Zuid Afrika; je hebt 11 provincies die een eigen parlement en kabinet hebben, met een eigen minister van onderwijs, een eigen minister van gezondheid etc.) in Kwazulu-Natal, North-West-Provence en Freestate, te ontwikkelen. We zorgen ervoor dat het Zuid Afrikaanse Ministerie van Onderwijs in staat is om die onderwijsplanning goed ten uitvoer te brengen. Ook bieden we steun in het primaire proces: we helpen bij het bouwen van scholen, bij het opleiden van mensen en met name bij het ontwikkelen en produceren van studiemateriaal. Hoe moeten we ons die hulp voorstellen? Zuid Afrikaans Probleem De tijd ligt achter ons dat we mensen uit de eerste wereld naar de derde wereld stuurden om daar het probleem te gaan helpen oplossen. Zo één was ik zelf ook 25 jaar geleden. Ik reisde af naar de Ivoorkust om daar landbouwcorporaties op te richten. We zijn nu 25 jaar verder en dat soort dingen zijn dus niet meer nodig; er is nu voldoende technische kennis in de landen om dat te doen, maar er is heel veel ‘braindrain’. Mensen die voor een vak geleerd hebben gaan naar de eerste wereld, omdat ze daar meer geld kunnen verdienen. Vaak komen ze in zo’n bestuurlijke context terecht, dat ze hun deskundigheid niet optimaal kunnen aanwenden. Dus die kennis daar gebeurt verder niks mee, omdat dat besturingssysteem niet goed werkt. Vandaar dat wij het heel belangrijk vinden, dat we niet alleen in dat primaire proces ingrijpen, maar ook in dat bestuurlijke proces. En wat wij dus tegenwoordig doen, dat is de nieuwe manier van ontwikkelingssamenwerking bedrijven: dat we in het budget van de Zuid Afrikaanse minister van onderwijs gewoon geld storten en zeggen: “Voor die provincies kunt u dat geld gebruiken voor scholenbouw, het opleiden van personeel etc”. Dus het is daarmee een Zuid Afrikaans probleem geworden. Dus de Zuid Afrikanen moeten ervoor zorgen dat het geld daar ingezet wordt, waar het voor bedoeld is, en moeten daar dus uiteindelijk ook de resultaten van leveren. Hoe zit het dan met de afhankelijkheid van die landen van buitenlands geld? Afhankelijkheid van Buitenlandse Donoren In Zuid Afrika is dat niet echt een probleem, want ondanks alles is Zuid Afrika een rijk land geworden. Het gemiddelde inkomen is vrij hoog. En als je kijkt naar de verhouding 40
van het overheidsbudget en welk deel buitenlandse donoren in dat budget storten, dan kom je uit op 2%. Dus of wij er veel of weinig geld in storten maakt voor dat nauwelijks verschil. Het verschil zit in de kwaliteit, de doelgerichtheid waarmee we dat doen en de expertise die we erin stoppen om ervoor te zorgen dat het geld ook goed wordt besteed. Als je genoemd percentage vergelijkt met een land als Mozambique, wat ernaast ligt, waar het deel van buitenlandse donoren 50% van de overheidsbegroting is, kun je constateren dat die afhankelijkheid veel groter is. Maar omdat we met elkaar in de internationale gemeenschap hebben afgesproken dat we de Millennium Goals willen halen, hebben wij gezegd: gedurende een zekere tijd zullen wij die kosten daarvan voor onze rekening nemen. En tegelijkertijd worden er wel afspraken met die landen gemaakt over het toenemen van de overheidsinkomsten. De redenering daarachter is dat door die investeringen in onderwijs en gezondheidszorg het nationaal inkomen zal stijgen, waaruit een bepaald percentage terug zal vloeien naar het overheidsbudget, dus dat budget zal groeien. Als dan de buitenlandse stortingen nominaal gelijk blijven, dan nemen die procentueel gezien dus af. Voor Mozambique moet je nog zeker uitgaan van 20–30 jaar, dat ze afhankelijk zijn van buitenlandse stortingen, maar voor Zuid Afrika is dat dus veel minder een probleem. Hoe lang werkt u nu met Zuid Afrika? En ziet u verschil met bijvoorbeeld tien jaar geleden? Nederlandse Onvoorspelbaarheid Het is een proces van vallen en opstaan. Ook omdat Nederland niet altijd even voorspelbaar was: we hebben de eerste 6-7 jaar heel veel gedaan, dat was een soort noodhulp om de eerste nood te ledigen. Toen hebben we gezegd dat we niet meer met Zuid Afrika verder wilden werken. Nu hebben we een minister die vindt dat we dat wel moeten doen… ja dat is de politieke realiteit van Nederland dan. En sinds 2001-2002 hebben we weer besloten om wel die bilaterale ontwikkelingssamenwerking met Zuid Afrika aan te gaan. De beslissing of we daarmee doorgaan wordt in 2008, dus volgend jaar, opnieuw genomen. Waar is de keuze voor welk land je steunt op gebaseerd? Landenkeuze voor bilaterale betrekkingen Dat is een heel ingewikkeld verhaal, daar zijn allerlei indicatoren voor. Nederland heeft gezegd: de mate van armoede geldt, de graad van goed bestuur, en de afhankelijkheid van donoren: in hoeverre er zicht is dat die afhankelijkheid van externe donoren minder wordt. Dat ‘goed bestuur’-thema is natuurlijk heel breed, dat heeft te maken met: is een land in oorlog of komt het net uit een oorlog tot hoe goed beheersen ze hun openbaar bestuurssysteem: in hoeverre kun je zekerheid hebben, dat als je geld in het budget van het ministerie van onderwijs stopt, dat daar dan ook scholen van worden gebouwd. Zijn daar zodanige mechanismen, zijn die ambtenaren daar zo aan het werk dat dat ook inderdaad gebeurt, of verdwijnt het geld in de zakken van de aannemers, of van de ambtenaren, of… nou ja we kennen de verhalen wel over corruptie of het mismanagement van geld. Daar zijn allerlei tests voor die je kunt uitvoeren en daar worden dus ook allemaal scores van bijgehouden. Daar zijn internationaal allerlei systemen voor, want Nederland doet dat niet alleen, dat doen we in geharmoniseerd verband zoals dat heet. De OESO, de Organisatie voor Economische Samenwerking en Ontwikkeling, welke na de Tweede Wereldoorlog is opgericht om de Marshall-hulp in West-Europa te begeleiden (wat een geweldig succes is geweest in Europa, binnen tien jaar stond Europa weer op de kaart) koos voor het vervolg een derde-wereld-oriëntatie, waar al de ontwikkelde landen lid van zijn. Die hebben al die criteria afgesproken, waar een land aan zou moeten voldoen, wil je op deze manier verantwoord geld storten. We zouden natuurlijk ook door kunnen gaan op de ouderwetse manier: we sturen een Nederlandse puttengraver naar Mali om daar in Timboektoe putten te graven, dat kan natuurlijk nog steeds als je absoluut geen vertrouwen hebt in de lokale bestuurlijke infrastructuur, maar dat is dus een methode waar we dus niet meer voor kiezen, we kiezen alleen voor landen die zo’n graad van goed bestuur hebben, dat we daar met een 41
redelijke mate van vertrouwen geld in de begroting kunnen stoppen, wat dan vervolgens moet leiden tot deze ontwikkelingseffecten. Er zit een heel meetsysteem achter, wat een ‘Performance Assessment Framework’ heet, waarbij de donoren gaan kijken in hoeverre er scholen gebouwd zijn, de kinderen naar school gaan, hoeveel schoolboeken er zijn, enz. Er zijn allerlei indicatoren om te kijken of het geld dat erin gestopt is ook inderdaad de afgesproken resultaten heeft opgeleverd. U zegt dat er naast geld er ook expertise gestuurd wordt, hoe moeten we dit zien? Lokaal Uitgangspunt Dat is allemaal een lokaal systeem. Maar als er ondersteuning nodig is, technische assistentie vanuit Nederland, hebben we honderden instituten op het gebied van technologie, bestuurskunde, noem maar op, die dan kunnen worden ingezet om de ontvangende landen zo efficiënt mogelijk met het geld te laten omgaan. Maar dat is altijd op vraag van het ontvangende land. Zijn de ontwikkelingsdoelen die deze jaren aan Zuid Afrika gesteld worden al veel verder dan tien jaar geleden? Millenium Development Goals haalbaar voor Zuid Afrika Ja, ik denk dat we de ontwikkelingsdoelen in Zuid Afrika wel gaan halen. Van de acht zijn er twee of drie, afhankelijk van hoe je met de definities omgaat, die op de relatie tussen Nederland en Zuid Afrika slaan. En die zullen we wel halen, behalve dan de Millenium Development Goal 8, die over HIV/AIDS gaat. Want dat is natuurlijk een hoofdpijndossier; behalve dat het één van de landen is met de hoogste prevalentiecijfers, is het ook het land met ongeveer het slechtste beleid op het gebied van AIDS-bestrijding.
Gezondheidszorg en HIV/AIDS AIDS-beleid Maar is dat verbeterd de afgelopen jaren? Ja, zonder meer. Maar er is dus nog steeds een soort van ‘denial’, ontkenning dat het probleem er is. Er is nog steeds een minister van Volksgezondheid in Zuid Afrika, die wel zegt dat mensen met HIV besmet kunnen zijn, maar die dus niet gelooft dat je van HIV AIDS krijgt. Is dat misschien doordat ze iedereen gratis gezondheidszorg willen bieden, en als AIDS erkend wordt, er geen geld is om iedereen met die ziekte te helpen? Dat geloof ik niet, ik geloof dat ze het echt geloven. Dat zie je ook elders in Afrika, dat ze vinden dat het niet zo kan zijn dat er voor elk probleem dat we hebben, er uitsluitend een Westerse oplossing is. Dan kan niet zo zijn, er moeten ook Afrikaanse oplossingen zijn. Dus wij willen laten zijn dat als je maar goed eet, of dus zij zeggen dat ‘AIDS is in principe een onderontwikkelingsprobleem’. Dus mensen worden ziek doordat ze niet goed voor zichzelf kunnen zorgen, of omdat ze ondervoed zijn, of omdat ze weerstand nodig hebben, of omdat ze te eenzijdig eten. Dus als je dan maar aan de voedingskant voldoende doet zodat ze voldoende weerstand krijgen, dan is dat HIV er wel, maar dan Zuid-Afrikal dat HIV niet AIDS kunnen veroorZuid-Afrikaken. Nou dat wordt dus door geen énkel onderzoek ondersteund, maar dat is dus het grote vooroordeel is waar we tegen op proberen te boxen en waar Zuid Afrika dus de de risee van de internationale gemeenschap is, en wat de grote AIDS conferentie van vorig jaar in Toronto, als je dan naar het standje van Zuid-Afrika keek, daar stonden dus letterlijk knollen, citroenen, rode bieten, knoflook. Dat was het Zuid Afrikaanse antwoord op het AIDS probleem. Nou daar hebben ze zich wel zóó geweldig belachelijk mee gemaakt, dat de minister daar ook geweldig onder druk is komen te staan, en gezegd is van; we moeten dus op grote schaal die HRV’s gaan, dus die AIDS RetroVirals gaan introduceren. Waarvan zij dan steeds zegt dat ze toxisch zijn, en dat is ook zo, die hebben toxische bijeffecten. 42
Waarvan zij dus zegt, ja zijn wij dus bezig onze mensen te vergiftigen, dus ik wil eigenlijk helemaal niet dat die mensen HRV’s krijgen. Nou heel lang verhaal, heel ingewikkeld en na heel veel politiek en handjeklap, is er dus nu een nieuw beleid ontstaan waarin onomwonden staat: van HIV krijg je AIDS. En om HIV te bestrijden, moet je natuurlijk goed eten maar als de t-cell count noemen ze dat dan, dus de hoeveelheid t-cellen in het bloed, beneden de 200 komt dan moet je HRV gaan slikken, dat is gewoon het zelfde protocol als we hier in Nederland hebben, dus dan moet je aan zo’n coctail En het gaat er dus onder andere om om zoveel mogelijk mensen aan die HRV’s te krijgen. Dat neemt een geweldige vlucht, dus dat gaat eigenlijk heel snel maar de hoeveelheid mensen die de HRV’s nodig hebben groeit eigenlijk sneller dan de mensen die ze krijgen, dus het verschil wordt steeds groter, want op het moment dat ze begonnen met de HRV’s uit te delen hadden 700000 mensen in Zuid-Afrika hadden die behandelig nodig, binnen een jaar hadden ze 200000 mensen aan die HRV’s, wat internationaal gezien een óóngelovelijke prestatie is, want het is dus niet eenvoudig, het is niet zomaar even een pilletje geven, AIDS behandeling is zeer ingewikkeld, op het moment dat ze 200000 mensen aan de pillen hadden was die 700000 natuurlijk al gestegen naar 900000 dus dat doel dat raakt steeds verder weg. En dat is dus nog een van de grote problemen waar we zo mee zitten, is men in staat om die roll-out zoals dat dan heet van die HRV’s zo snel uit te voeren dat de mensen die het nodig hebben ook daadwerkelijk aan die medicijnen komen. Internationaal zijn hiervoor grote inspanningen, bijvoorbeeld het Global Fund to Fight AIDS Malaria and Tubercoloses, stopt daar ook ontzettend veel geld in. Het hele gezondheidzorgsapparaat in Zuid-Afrika is daar gemobiliseerd om dat te doen, maar ja er zijn natuurlijk meer ziektes dan alleen AIDS, dus dat is nog het volgende probleem, hoe krijg je met het bestaande apparaat al die zorg bij de mensen die het nodig hebben, nou daar hebben ze in Zui-Afrika gekozen voor wat men noemt community based healthcare of ook vaak family based healthcare, zodat je zo veel mogelijk zorg legt bij de gezinnen en de dorpen waar de zieken wonen, dus dat je zeg alleen maar in de diagnostische fase van het proces echt profesionals nodig hebt, dan heb je nog een fase waarin mensen moeten worden ingesteld, want niet iedereen heeft dezelfde cocktail van AIDS medicijnen nodig, dus dat moet vanwege resisentie en medische gevoeligheid voor dit en voor dat, worden ingesteld. Op het moment dat dat ingesteld is dan moeten mensen die pillen gaan slikken, en dan moeten er allerlei follow-up metingen worden gedaan, vanaf dat moment kan dat buiten in het vrijwillligerscircuit probleemloos oplossen, en daarop is het hele gezondheidssysteem, nee het AIDS zorg systeem op gebaseerd, en daar is nederland dus heel erg actief in dat community based en dat family based managment in Zuid-Afrika van de grond te krijgen. Community based tourism Wij gaan ons richten op economische ontwikkeling als begin punt en dat willen we op een bepaalde manier doen, namelijk via sustainable tourisme, en kunt u daar misschien iets over vertellen, Nou dat is niet iets waar wij ons geweldig veel mee bemoeien, maar het is nu wel een hot-topic in Zuid-Afrika ook in de run up naar 2010, waaneer ze het Wereld Kampioenschap voetbal gaan organiseren. Dan komen er natuurlijk miljoenen toeristen, extra toeristen naar Zuid-Afrika toe, en waar ze nu voor gekozen hebben; we gaan niet allemaal grote hotels meer bouwen en zeker niet, als we al hotels gaan bijbouwen laten we dat ook zeker niet doen door grote internationale ketens, maar laten we dat door Zuid Afrikaanse hotelketens doen. Maar een groot deel van de opvang van die toeristen wordt gedaan bij Bed and Breakfast, Mam and pap shops noemen ze dat dan, waar gewoon mensen een kamer in hun huis ter beschikking stellen aan toeristen en een inkomens genererend effect daarvan ook veel meer voelbaar is in de communities zelf. En ik weet niet of jullie wel eens in Zuid-Afrika zijn geweest, maar als je in een van de steden in Zuid-Afrika, stikt het van die Beds and Breakfast dus je kunt eigenlijk voor 10 euro per dag onderdak en overleven, dus het is even duur om er te komen, maar voor de rest een heerlijk land om op vakantie te gaan, Maar dat is in de stad zelf?
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Ja dat is in de stad, op het platteland is het natuurlijk iets moeilijker, maar het bestaat wel. Je hebt natuurlijk een hele hoop websites, en boeken, en je hebt allerlei gidsen per profincie waar al die Beds and Breakfast in staat, je ze zitten natuurlijk niet in de allerkleinste plaatjes maar in elke plattelandsgemeente kun je wel community based ook tourism bedrijven. Het African Toursim Buroo, ook een goeie tip, zou ik eens naar toe gaan, zit hier in A’dam, heel actieve mensen, die zijn dus ook heel erg mee bezig om dat te promoten. Dus dat mensen naar Zuid-Afrika gaan en dan niet zeg maar in de beschermde koker blijven van vliegtuig uit, de bus in , mooi hotel en dan met een weer een bus om de olifanten en de leeuwen te bekijken, maar ga gewoon in een gezin of ga gewoon in zijn kleine Beds and Breakfast en ga dan met die mensen mee, en loop dan gewoon de natuur in, probeer door zoveel mogelijk deel uit te maken van local communities ook kennis te maken meet een andere cultuur en Zuid-Afrika. Nou daarvoor moet je natuurlijk wel mensen leren wat het betekent gastheer te zijn, want je kunt wel een kamertje bouwen aan je huis en daar een bed in zetten, maar de westerse toeristen zijn toch ook wel weer een beetje gediend van een beetje privacy, dus er moet misschien wel weer een apart toilet bij, of een aparte douche, en ja dan moeten ze natuurlijk wel water hebben, en is dat er wel overal, nou ja dus en als je dan vevolgens de mensen mee wil nemen een township in of de natuur in dan moet je daar ook wel iets van weten, dus de mensen moeten iets weten over de geschiedenis van townships in Zuid-Afrika, en ze moeten iets weten over de natuur, over de biodiversiteit van Zuid-Afrika en ja ze moeten toch ook producten aan bieden waar toeristen ook op zitten te wachten, en ze hebben daar natuurlijk nog wel wat training voor nodig, Ondernemersmentaliteit dan komt het weer terug op educatie, hoe belangrijk dat is Ja, en vooral natuurlijk dat die mensen een bredere horizon krijgen, dus dat je in een township geboren wordt en je ziet alleen maar ellende om je heen, en je gaat naar een school waar nauwelijks schoolboeken zijn en je leraar is niet gemotiveerd, en er elke dag overvallen zijn, en je vader aan de drank is, ja ik noem het allemaal maar, maar effin dat is voor veel kinderen de realiteit, en dan groei je niet op tot een zelfstandige burger die in staat is om plannen te maken voor zijn toekomst en zegt van nou ik ga een bedrijf beginnen, en die zegt van dan ga ik eerst leren en dan sparen en investeren en dan.. dat gaat natuurlijk niet gebeuren dus dat is dus op een heel elementair niveau moeten de mensen de ogen opengaan dat de wereld groter is dan de vierkante kilometer waar ze geboren zijn en willen ze deel uitmaken van de globaliserende wereld, dat ze dan ook deel moeten uitmaken van die wereld, nou ja daar komt informatietechnologie wel bij kijken. Het feit dat internet steeds goedkoper wordt en informatie steeds toegankelijker wordt. Wat je dus overal ziet zijn dus van die containers, die ook hier in de Rotterdamse haven liggen, van die scheepscontainers, daarin zijn dus daarin kun je mobiele telefoons opladen, kopen, huren, en dat zijn dan ook vaak internetcafe’s. En die containers worden dan gewoon, whop overal daar in het land neergezet en dat betekent dus dat vrijwel idereen nu toegang heeft tot allerlei informatie En dat zijn dan kleine ondernemers die dat doen? Ja, dat is allemaal, ja de infrastructuur die is die antennes en zo dat heeft de ZuidAfrikaanse PTT gedaan, maar de mensen die zo’n lokaal postkaantoortje zou je kunnen zeggen, of mail kantoortje of internetcafetje beheren dat is allemaal eigen initiatief, en wat je dus ook wel ziet is dat mensen gewoon een mobiele telefoon hebben, en als jij geen mobiele telefoon hebt, dan kom je bij mij en voor een kwartje kun jij dan bellen, en die man , of vrouw, vrouwen zijn het vaak, die zijn dan gewoon ondernemer. Die investeren in een mobiele telefoon en nemen dan een kredietje van 10 of 20 euro om een telefoon te kopen en wat beltegoed en die verdienen daar dan twee euro mee, zo gaat dat eigenlijk.
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HIV en man-vrouw relaties En dat zijn dan vaker vrouwen dan mannen, hoe komt dat, omdat de mannen al werken of? Ja dat is een ander lang verhaal, mannen in Zuid-Afrika zijn afwezig. Zuid-Afrika is een economie die gebaseerd is op mijnbouw dus in de vorige eeuw, twee eeuwen daarvoor, in de 19e eeuw is er platinum, titanium gevonden in Zuid-Afrika. Wat er dus gebeurde is dat er een enorme trekarbeid ontstond. Vooral mannen gingen naar die mijnen toe en aan het eind van een seizoen, een week of een jaar gingen ze dan weer terug. Dit had twee gevolgen: aan de ene kant werden de gezinnen die achter bleven gedomineerd door de moeder. Die waren verplicht om voor de kinderen te zorgen en ervoor te zorgen dat het huishouden bleef draaien. En aan de andere kant zaten die mannen alleen in die mijnbouw en moesten ervoor zorgen dat er inkomen werd verdiend. Dit moest terug worden gestuurd om de gezinnen in leven te houden. Maar de mannen verveelden zich natuurlijk ook, waardoor er allemaal randverschijnselen rond die mijnbouw ontstonden, zoals alcoholmisbruik, prostitutie, enzovoort. Eén van de redenen die wordt aangevoerd waarom de HIV/AIDS epidemie zo groot is in zuidelijk Afrika en niet zozeer in westelijk Afrika, is het feit dat de verhouding tussen mannen en vrouwen in zuidelijk Afrika gewoon heel anders is. Omdat die mannen er gewoon nooit zijn. Ze hebben veel meer contacten met prostituees, worden daar natuurlijk ziek van en infecteren dan vervolgens hun vrouw. Maar ze hebben eigenlijk ook geen normale familieverhouding in dat gezin, ze zijn een passant. En in die verhouding komt relatief meer geweld voor, ook seksueel geweld, dan in zeg maar wat meer stabiele relaties waar de man wel permanent aanwezig is. En dit zou onder andere, niet helemaal, een verklaring zijn voor het feit dat het aantal HIV-infecties in zuidelijk Afrika zoveel groter is. Een andere, belangrijke verklaring die tegenwoordig veel opgeld doet, is het feit dat in zuidelijk Afrika de mannen niet besneden zijn en in de rest van Afrika wel. Er zit dus ook een biologische, fysiologische kant aan, waardoor dat virus kennelijk langer bij die mannen blijft en gemakkelijker overgedragen wordt. Dat is weer een ander verhaal.
Stad en Platteland Informal settlements, townships, rural areas Om weer even terug te komen op ons onderzoek: je hebt de townships, die zijn ontstaan vanuit de apartheid, waar de levensstandaard steeds beter wordt. Vervolgens zijn er nog de ‘informal settlements’ die heel snel opkomen, waar de levensstandaard eens stuk lager ligt. Ten derde zijn er nog de ‘rural areas’, het platteland, waar de levensstandaard een heel ander verhaal is, waar eigenlijk helemaal niets is. De mensen uit deze gebieden trekken naar de stad en vormen eigenlijk de informal settlements. Over de levensstandaard van de townships: de overheid heeft daar ook een hele duidelijke moderniseringspolitiek op. Dat zijn natuurlijk al gewoon settlements die al bestaan en waar al redelijke infrastructuur aanwezig is. Als je nu door Soweto rijdt, één van de beruchtste wijken uit de apartheidtijd, daar heb je hele stukken dat zijn van die slaapsteden, zoals we die nu hier hebben. Daar zijn mooie huizen, met goede wegen en allerlei voorzieningen die je daar hebt. En dat is echt yuppietown. Er zitten natuurlijk ook wel marginale gebieden aan, die informal settlements. Maar er zijn dus hele grote stukken van Soweto echt up-town, waar de ontroerend goed prijzen echt stijgen. Komt dit door de inspanningen van de overheid of ook door de ontwikkeling van de mensen zelf? Beide, de overheid heeft dit natuurlijk wel heel erg bevorderd. En ze hebben natuurlijk ook geweldig veel huizen bijgebouwd, maar het probleem is zo groot dat nauwelijks 45
gelijke tred kan worden gehouden. Dit betekent ook weer dat veel mensen ongeduldig worden, wat ook weer voor politieke spanningen zorgt. Verstedelijking en globalisering Een van de dingen waar we op focussen is de trek van het platteland naar de stad. Een van de opties die wordt aangedragen in een interview is om de verstedelijking tegen te gaan, door de rurale gebieden meer interessanter te maken. Bijvoorbeeld door het plaatsen van een industrie of het verbeteren van de voorzieningen, om zo te zorgen dat mensen niet wegtrekken naar de stad, maar op het platteland blijven. Ziet u daar een mogelijkheid in? Dit is een zeer oud thema uit de ontwikkelingseconomie. Ik weet niet of u bekend bent met de marxistische ontwikkelingstheorieën, maar in de tijd dat ik studeerde was dat zeer grote molen: het onderscheid tussen stad en platteland, dat moet worden opgeheven. Dus de ideeën over het tegengaan van urbanisering zijn al heel oud. Ik heb zelf ook heel lang geloofd in het feit dat je het platteland aantrekkelijker zou moeten maken en daardoor de trek van het platteland naar de steden tegen zou gaan. Maar ik denk dat je toch moet vast stellen, wat je ook doet, de beweging toch richting urbanisering is. Trends in Nederland Als je ziet wat de Nederlandse regering heeft gedaan om Oost Groningen en Zuid Limburg aantrekkelijk te maken voor wonen en werken, enzovoort en dat ondanks alles de Randstad toch maar bleef groeien. Ook door te verplichten: de PTT ging naar Groningen, de mijnen werden gesloten in Limburg, maar daar kwam de universiteit en allerlei andere overheidsdiensten werden daar naar toe gebracht, om ervoor te zorgen dat er arbeidsplaatsen waren. Want de trek moest uit de Randstad weg. En als je dan kijkt wat er de afgelopen 20 jaar gebeurd is, blijkt dat de trek van het Nederlandse platteland naar de grote steden toch gewoon is doorgegaan. Ook in ontwikkelde landen is het gewoon heel moeilijk dat soort trends te doorbreken. De vraag is dus ook of je dat wel zou moeten willen. Er zal altijd een bepaalde groep mensen op het platteland blijven, maar in de globaliserende wereld ziet de wereld er toch in eerste instantie urbaan uit. Ik denk niet dat je daar erg veel aan kunt doen. Toekomstbeeld van het platteland Wat je dus wel kunt doen is ervoor zorgen dat de mensen die er wel blijven in ieder geval fatsoenlijke sociale voorzieningen hebben. Dus dat die betaalbare gezondheidszorg en onderwijs binnen redelijke afstand hebben. Maar dat je daardoor het proces van urbanisatie zou kunnen tegengaan, dat denk ik niet. En het voorbeeld dat je noemde, laten we dan maar industrie op het platteland brengen, daar is ook heel veel studie naar gedaan en heel veel mee geëxperimenteerd. Maar als je kijkt naar de manier waarop bedrijven beslissingen nemen waar ze zich gaan vestigen, dan is al heel snel het platteland niet meer aantrekkelijk voor vestiging. Dan komen toch in eerste instantie of de stad of de semi-urbane gebieden in aanmerking. Dus daar is het verleden veel over nagedacht en mee geëxperimenteerd, maar ik heb nog niet echt overtuigende voorbeelden gezien, waar je van zou kunnen zeggen dat je daarmee het urbanisatieprobleem zou kunnen tegengaan. De toekomst van de mensheid ligt in de steden en we moeten er dus voor zorgen dat de steden daarop voorbereid zijn. Dat wil niet zeggen dat je niets aan het platteland zal moeten doen, maar niet met het doel om de mensen daar te houden. Want ik denk niet dat dat gaat lukken. Tenzij je dus een soort Stalinistisch regime gaat handhaven, maar dat waren we niet van plan geloof ik. Toekomstbeeld van de stad Zou u toekomstbeeld dan zijn dat iedereen in een stad woont?
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Daar zijn dus allerlei studies naar gedaan, wie doet dat: het Wereld Demografisch Instituut, er is ook wel een Nederlands Demografisch Instituut. Als je vanaf de industriële revolutie tot nu kijkt, dan zie je dat toen 1% van de wereldbevolking in de stad woonde, waar dat nu meer dan de helft is. En dat proces is nog niet gestopt. Dat zal natuurlijk nooit 100% worden, maar ik denk dat dat wel richting de 90% zal lopen. Ik ben geen deskundige op dat gebied, maar dat denk ik dus wel. Er zal altijd tien procent op het platteland blijven wonen. Er zal natuurlijk voedsel geproduceerd moeten worden, er moeten daar ook diensten worden aangeboden natuurlijk. Een bepaald gedeelte blijft daar wel, maar ja, dat optimum ligt ergens rond dat percentage. Ik denk dus niet dat het zin heeft om proberen dat kunstmatig tegen te gaan. De Sovjets hebben dat geprobeerd. Een prachtig voorbeeld in Siberië: Perkroetsjov heeft ooit geprobeerd om varkens in flats te gaan houden. Want de tegenstelling tussen stad en platteland was allemaal onzin. En die vond dus dat iedere burger een varken moest gaan houden. En dus in die enorme stalinistische buitenwijken van toen, daar moest iedereen een varkentje gaan houden. En dat was natuurlijk een regelrechte ramp. En in Siberië moest maïs verbouwd gaan worden. Dat het daar 300 dagen per jaar vroor, was een verwaarloosbaar detail. Het communisme was in staat dat soort kleine probleempjes natuurlijk op te lossen. Op de meest krankzinnige manier is daar iets aan gedaan. Ik heb zelf in ieder geval de overtuiging opgegeven dat je dat zou kunnen voorkomen. Liever arm in de stad dan arm op het platteland Kun je deze trek in ieder geval niet verminderen door deze maatregelen? Er zijn in Nederland ook veel mensen die niet in de Randstad willen wonen. Ja, ze zeggen wel dat je soms beter arm kunt zijn op het platteland dan arm in de stad. Want op het platteland kun je altijd nog ergens je eigen eten verbouwen ofzo. Maar onderzoek wijst weer uit dat heel veel mensen liever arm zijn in de stad dan op het platteland, omdat er altijd wel in stedelijke gebieden ergens iets afvalt, er is iets over, mensen vinden daar dus sneller hun weg om te overleven. ‘Coping mechanisme’ wordt dit ook wel genoemd, dat je nog nét kan overleven. Dat doen ze dus liever dan dat ze op het platteland wonen. Ook omdat er op het platteland daar verder geen andere voorzieningen zijn, maar omdat daar veel sociale controle is, men wil weg uit die enge communitaire banden. Heel veel mensen zijn dus liever arm in de stad, dan arm op het platteland. Focus stad of platteland? Het verhaal over verstedelijking, ervoor zorgen dat de stad deze urbane groei kan opvangen wat betreft voorzieningen, daar zou volgens u op gefocussed moeten worden. Maar nu geldt die 90% verhouding natuurlijk nog niet. Wat dan te doen met de rurale gebieden? Wat is volgens u de strategie, waar moeten we op focussen, binnen welke termijn? Je moet natuurlijk een redelijke schatting maken, als 2050 je planningshorizon is, zou je een redelijk beeld moeten hebben hoeveel mensen er in 2050 er op het platteland wonen. En daar zou je dan de infrastructuur moeten gaan plannen. Er wonen nu 45 miljoen mensen in Zuid-Afrika. In 2050 is dit misschien wel 70 miljoen of zelfs verdubbeld, en woont er misschien nog ongeveer 20% van de bevolking op het platteland. Je zou dan voor 14 miljoen mensen op het platteland voorzieningen moeten hebben. Wonen die dan allemaal in kleine dorpjes, of in semi-urbane gebieden of in grotere dorpen waar je in ieder geval een minimum aan voorzieningen kunt hebben. Als je allemaal gehuchten hebt, waar maar 10 huizen staan is het moeilijk om een schooltje te bouwen. Dus hoe groot moeten dan die dorpen zijn en kun je mensen dwingen van een gehucht naar een dorp te verhuizen. Dat zijn dan allemaal vragen waar je dan een antwoord op 47
moet geven. Of gaat dan vanzelf? Wat je dus in Nederland hebt gezien dat heel veel van die processen vanzelf gaan. Hoewel je ook weer niet kunt zien dat gehuchten echt verdwijnen volgens mij. Als je naar het Nederlandse platteland kijkt geloof ik niet echt dat je dat gezien hebt. Wel de voorzieningen, een geweldige verschraling van de voorzieningen heeft plaatsgevonden. De voorzieningen zijn eigenlijk alleen nog maar in de semi-urbane dorpen, hoe moet je dat noemen. Die echte dorpen, ik ben in zo’n klein dorp in NoordGroningen geboren. Als ik daar nu terug kom, dat is dus gewoon een slaapstad. Dat is een plek waar mensen slapen, ze kunnen er nog net eten kopen, er is nog een supermarkt, maar er is dus geen postkantoor meer bijvoorbeeld. Er is nog wel een dokter, omdat het nog net iets groter is, 3000 mensen wonen daar. Er is nog een groenteboer. Maar die heel rijkgeschakeerde middenstand, die je er had toen ik vijf was, die is er niet meer. Dat is in die zin wel verschraald.
Overheid Extreme armoede, sociaal vangnet U vertelde net dat alle millenniumdoelen voor Zuid-Afrika wel gehaald zullen worden, behalve de achtste (AIDS/HIV). Kunt u vertellen wat voor programma’s of initiatieven er zijn voor het eerste doel (‘extreme poverty’) om dit te halen? Er is hier wel heel gericht beleid op geweest. Er is een actief werkgelegenheidsbeleid, ook dat ‘previously marginalized groups’, de mensen die onder apartheid niet meededen, die hebben nu voorrang bij het vervullen van functies. Dat heet Black Economic Empowerment. Maar dat is vooral voor professionals en niet zozeer voor ongeschoolden. Maar wat je dus ziet, is dat mensen die echt niet kunnen rondkomen, bijvoorbeeld de ‘female headed households’, waarvan de man weg is, omdat hij overleden is aan AIDS of weg is in de mijnen en niet meer voor zijn kinderen zorgt en de vrouw er alleen voor staat, daar is een soort van bijstand geregeld, waarbij er een soort van inkomensoverdracht hebt. Daardoor kom je niet meer in die armoedeval terecht, zoals in zoveel Afrikaanse landen. Dat kunnen ze dus betalen, doordat het een relatief rijk land is. Je hebt wel een soort vangnetconstructie waardoor mensen niet onder dat niveau zullen vervallen. Maar, in Nederland hebben we natuurlijk ook de bijstand en toch lopen er bedelaars op straat. En ook in Zuid-Afrika heb je mensen die zich onttrekken aan dit vangnet of daar niet fatsoenlijk mee om kunnen gaan en die dan toch bij de stoplichten staan te bedelen. Het is niet een 100% vangnet, die opvang. Maar in ieder geval die ‘extreme poverty’ van 1 of 2 dollar komt in Zuid-Afrika niet meer voor. Landeigenaren en lijfeigenen Ook niet in de rurale gebieden? Soms hoor je nog wel eens verhalen van mensen die dus eigenlijk nog in de 19e eeuw leven, die nog steeds een in soort van feodale verhouding met een landeigenaar leven. Die gewoon lijfeigenen zijn van hun grondeigenaren. Dat komt nog wel voor, ondanks dat dat natuurlijk niet mag. Soms hoor je dat soort verhalen, dat die mensen geen loon krijgen, maar betaald krijgen in natura. Zou je dat bijna slavernij kunnen noemen? Ja, maar niet in de zin dat je de slaven zou kunnen verkopen. Het is meer in de zin van feodaal, in de zin van dat iemand hoort bij die landeigenaar. De landeigenaar kan hem ook niet ontslaan. Die is in zekere mate ook nog verantwoordelijk ervoor. Hij moet zorgen dat zijn kinderen naar school gaan, dat hij gezondheidszorg krijgt, dat hij kleren heeft. Die zijn dus in zo’n context van afhankelijkheid opgegroeid, dat ze niet het initiatief hebben hier zelf uit te ontsnappen,
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En de mensen die in de informal settlements wonen, worden die ook opgevangen in dat sociale vangnet? Ja, wat zo lek is als een mandje en wat slecht beheerd wordt, maar de poging om dat allemaal goed te regelen is er. De wil is er, maar het ontbreekt aan capaciteit. Dit zie je ook op het lokale niveau, hoe moeilijk het is om het goed te regelen. De wil is er, maar de capaciteit ontbreekt Hoe lang duurt dat nog? Dat weet ik niet, een generatie. Een van de meest schrijnende dingen is dat bijvoorbeeld het ministerie van Sociale Zaken, dat verantwoordelijk is voor dit sociale vangnet, dat dit ministerie zijn geld niet uitgegeven krijgt. Gewoon omdat het fysiek gewoon niet lukt. Niet omdat er geen geld is, maar omdat ze niet weten hoe ze dat moeten aanpakken. Dat is heel pijnlijk. Dat is het probleem dat ik dus net noemde. Het niet alleen dat primaire proces, maar je hebt ook nog allemaal bestuurlijke processen nodig om dat goed te regelen. Dat kunnen wij ons eigenlijk niet voorstellen, want wij hebben voor elk probleem toen ambtenaren. Maar in Zuid Afrika is dat nog steeds een heel groot probleem. Wat voor concrete projecten zou je daar voor kunnen uitvoeren? Het ‘Ministry of Local Government’wat je hebt in Zuid Afrika komt iedere vijf jaar met een nieuw masderplan om het oprobleem nu echt op te lossen, en elke vijf jaar komen ze tot de conclusie dat het weer niet gelukt is. Ik ben niet zo heel goed thuis is de lokaal-bestuur problemen, maar daar zou je met het ‘Ministry of Local Government’ wel over kunnen spreken.
Onderwijs Basisonderwijs Plannen die wij maken, die zijn beperkt in de tijd en in de ruimte. We werken maar in drie provincies, specifiek op basis onderwijs. Het is een landelijk probleem en in het middelbaar, beroeps en hoger onderwijs zijn ook allemaal problemen, maar wij kaderen het op dit onderdeel in. Je moet ergens beginnen, dus je lost dus niet het hele probleem op, maar een klein onderdeel. Omdat wij dachten dat we op basisonderwijs in deze gebieden het meest te bieden hadden, hebben we het op deze manier ingericht. Scholen als “Centers of Social Development” Waar we nu mee bezig zijn is in die gebieden onze doelen te halen. Alle kinderen naar school en een leraar hebben die over adequate lesmateriaal beschikt. Tegelijkertijd proberen we de scholen te gebruiken als “community development centers”, want de scholen zijn er, de leraren zijn er en die kunnen een heleboel andere dingen betekenen voor al die andere mensen die in die communities wonen. De scholen worden “Centers of Social Development” genoemd. De scholen worden bijvoorbeeld gebruikt om HIV/AIDS voorlichting te geven. Tevens in de avonduren wordt de school gebruikt voor mensen die nog nooit naar school geweest zijn of zich opnieuw willen laten bijscholen. Ook worden veel scholen gebruikt als internetcafé, deze aanwezige infrastructuur wordt dan gebruikt voor de “Community at Large”. Dat is eigenlijk de bedoeling, de school niet alleen voor kinderen van 6 tot 12 te laten zijn, maar een centrale plaats in de gemeenschap te laten innemen. Daar werkt de school samen met de burgemeester, de kerk en niet gouvermentele organisaties. Evaluatie en Onafhankelijkheid Twee jaar geleden is het geëvalueerd, de doelstellingen worden dan mooi omschreven in cijfertjes, blijkt het toch wel dat we redelijk op schema zitten en redelijk succesvol zijn in 49
het behalen van onze doelen. Dat betekent dus ook dat we de bestuurlijke capaciteit op een hoger plan hebben kunnen brengen. Er zijn nog steeds wel grote achterstanden. Ik hoorde vorige week nog dat de EU twintig tot dertig miljoen euro wilde investeren in onderwijs, maar dat ging gewoon weer terug naar Brussel, omdat het niet was uitgegeven. Om het adequaat te besteden, missen ze de bestuurlijke kwaliteiten. Dan zou je kunnen zeggen, dat doen we dan wel even voor jullie. Daar is dus voor gekozen niet meer te doen. Het is heel erg een Afrikaans probleem, de afrikanen moeten hiervoor dus met je oplossing komen. Juist om te zorgen dat met niet afhankelijk wordt van de steun. Heeft u een idee hoe zij dat aan gaan pakken en ontwikkelen? Sense of Urgency Daar heb je dus ook weer capaciteit voor nodig, dus het probleem suddert wel voort. Er is niet de “Sense of urgency” waardoor dit probleem wordt aangepakt. De “Sense of urgency” is er wel bij het allerhoogste niveau. Dus als je met de president spreekt of de vice-president of de minister die willen van alles net zoals de directeur-generaal en de secretaris-generaal. Maar als je met de ambtenaren van het ministerie van onderwijs spreekt, die kunnen niets. Ze hebben wel de wil, maar niet de management kwaliteiten om ervoor te zorgen dat er bijvoorbeeld het voornemen om in provincie X 26 nieuwe scholen te bouwen, dat twee jaar later ook gebeurd is. Daarvoor moet je kunnen plannen, kunnen managen, juridische kennis hebben en technische kennis hebben. Wij hebben voor ieder probleem tien ambtenaren en zij hebben ze niet. Je kunt wel meer mensen aannemen, maar als die ook niets kunnen heeft dat ook geen zin. Het heeft tijd nodig en een geweldige investering in niet alleen formele training, maar ook “learning on the job”. Nationaal Ontwikkelingsplan Je hebt het nationaal ontwikkelingsplan dat heet ASGIZA, Accelerated and Sheared Grow Initiative for South Africa. Dat is het grote macro economische ontwikkelingsplan. Daarin is gezegd om de grote verschillen in onze economie weg te werken, moeten we om een gemiddeld groeipad van 6% GDP per jaar komen. Hoe komen we daar en wat zijn de knelpunten om daar te komen. Een van de knelpunten is gebrek aan capaciteit. Er is een subprogramma binnen het ASGISA dat heet JIPSA, The Joint Initiative on Priority Skills Acquisition. De Vice-president is hiervan de aanvoerder, hij heeft gezegd, het capaciteitsprobleem is de grote bottleneck om het goede pad te bereiken. Hij heeft daarvoor Nederland, de Verenigde Staten, Verenigd Koninkrijk, en de hele Europese Unie benaderd met de vraag: “Hoe kunnen wij hier iets aan doen?” Nederland heeft binnen dit programma drie sub-programma’s lopen. Drie Nederlandse Sub-programma’s Eén waarin mid-career professionals naar Nederland kunnen komen om stage te lopen, aangezien heel veel mensen wel de formele training hebben gehad, maar hebben nooit gewerkt of geleefd in een efficiënte managementomgeving en dat is heel erg belangrijk. Het Nederlands bedrijfsleven heeft in samenwerking met VNO-NCB (Verbond van Nederlandse Ondernemingen- Nederlands Christelijk Werkgeversverbond) en de kamer van koophandel zich hiervoor ingespannen dat de mensen stageplaatsen krijgen. Hierdoor kunnen zijn management ervaring opdoen. Een andere groep mensen komt naar Nederland om bijgeschoold te worden in het kader van het beurzenprogramma, dat door de NUFFIC wordt beheerd. Dat bestond tot nu toe alleen uit een formeel trainingsprogramma aan een “institute of high learning”. Dat zijn dus de hoge scholen en universiteiten in Nederland. Wat we er nu aanvast gebreid hebben is een stage periode bij een Nederlands bedrijf, volgend op de formele training. De derde activiteit is voor schoolverlaters. Die hebben van alles op school geleerd, maar niet echt praktisch werken. Daarnaast is er een geweldig tekort aan praktische werkervaring. De Nederlandse bedrijven dat actief is in Afrika hebben stage plaatsen gecreëerd, waardoor schoolverlaters concrete werkervaring daar kunnen opdoen. 50
Voor de eerste twee groepen zijn de activiteiten wel in Nederland, want die rationele managementervaring moeten ze wel hier opdoen. Maar voor de schoolverlaters is het in hun eigen land, Zuid Afrika. Dat is dus onze bijdrage aan het JIPSA programma en de minister aankomende zaterdag ook zal noemen wat wij al doen voor de “participation of youth initial development”.
Follow Up Interview with Hlengiwe Mkinze. She is South African ambassador in The Netherlands. We would like to get concrete feedback on our plans for a sustainable future and examples of success in the past… 51
Interview with Hlengiwe Mkinze Thursday 14 June 2007 M. Gribnau, T. van Houten and R. Wessels
Hlengiwe Mkinze I’m the ambassador of South Africa. I have been here since the first of august 2005. Before that I was in the capital, in South Africa, involved as a commissioner of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which was a commission which looked at the past and came up with policies for taking the country forward, basing it on reconciliation, good policies, the culture of human rights and strengthening democracy. So we emphasized those aspects in our recommendation. Because we thought, having come out of apartheid, one needed policies which will not again create a situation were there is abuse of power by any government. So when I finished I came here, but before that I had some academic experience. That’s why I am interested in research regarding the question of sustainable solutions.
Current Situation Sustainable Africa As you know not only South Africa, but the continent as a whole, we are really working harder to say: “What is it that we need to do to ensure that Africa is sustainable?” As you know for instance, this year we were celebrating fifty years of the independence of Ghana. But we are also fully aware of other countries who attained independence from colonization a long time ago, but today who are in their worst form, for example Zimbabwe. So the question is: “What do we do to ensure that the people don’t repent back to the kind of leadership and governance which leads to violence or wars and destruction?” So questions of sustainable solutions are close to our hearts. They are real, they are not academic. They are: “What do we do?” And I think South Africa. We think we have something to share within the continent: that it’s important not to base the future on the past. In other words; what went wrong in the past shouldn’t inform your planning, like revenge, wanting to do negative things because you are sorting the past. You are trying to say: “Let’s look at principles which have made other parts of the world sustainable.” The African Parliament & Human Rights Court And we are working hard within the African union, to start with. South Africa likes playing an important role in ensuring that the African union gets stronger and stronger, hence we are hosting the African Parliament, which aims at helping that there’s skills transverse across continent as to how to protect interest of civil society. Because the parliament is supposed to be the eye, ear and voice of civil society. The president of the African Parliament is a well respected woman from Tanzania: doctor Gertrude Mongella, and off course parliamentarians are taken from different countries. So they are picked by their own countries. So hosting that parliament is a huge investment on the part of South Africa and a commitment to strengthening model parliament. We are also participating in the African human rights court. One of our judge presidents is a judge there, because again we believe it is important for Africa to fight impunity by holding those who violate human rights accountable. They could be rights, environmental issues on the part of companies, animal rights, human rights, the abuse of young people, children, using them as cheap labour, across the board those leaders of government using state resources to violate the integrity of citizens. We have very strong feelings about those issues. Those are some of the things we are doing.
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Entrepreneurship But also with companies, we have moved very close in companies. We are looking at their role in fighting poverty and helping the government to meet the targets of the Millennium Development Goals. Without the support, dedication and commitment of the private sector, governments alone can not meet the MDG’s. So the government is trying to mobilize them, set targets for them, how they can use their companies to skill people. Skills Acquisition and Education We have a very strong drive for skills acquisition it’s spearheaded at the highest level, by the deputy president. We even here have some Dutch companies who are participating in that, to assist in skills. Just on Saturday will there be a lecture. So we thought with the arch bishop Desmond Tutu we must target that university. Of course that university is of interest to us, given the history. You know that the mastermind of apartheid was a graduate of that university. He came from university of Amsterdam so, but now, over time the relationships are good, we are turning it around in a positive direction. So we will have that lecture there, we hope to make an appeal for youth exchange programs. We hope we to make an appeal to ensure more and more people think of South Africa if they want to take a sabbatical. So really, education is key in coming up with sustainable solutions. Technical knowledge is essential. We are looking at the kind of technical solutions that are not out there in the sky for top scientist only. But things that are needed for people to survive. South Africa: First and Third World In South Africa we have both the first world and the third world. The majority of people still need solutions for clean water, electricity, modes of travelling. If you drive along our roads there will be this 20% including now the black elite which will have cars, one person in a car. But we will need a good transport system for everybody even those who can’t afford a car. We don’t have the privilege of buying a bicycle which is affordable. The roads are not meant for that. So we still are looking for basic solutions, technical solutions for survival. I mean, I have been talking to universities like Wageningen, food manufacturing companies. We still need to do more research to look for a kind of food that could be manufactured and be highly nutritious for people who don’t have the luxury of too much food.
Education Cooperation with InHolland In the interviews we had before education came up as one of the first things to develop. Education is very, very important. Yesterday I was at InHolland, the university. I was in a discussion with them, because we are trying to get them to basic training. We’re looking at micro credits/finance. That people need to be trained: basic training to help them to develop entrepreneurship: to understand the basics of finance, financial management and budgeting. The ability to see opportunities, as against waiting for employment, opportunities that are getting fewer and fewer in the world, is very important. We are talking to them about short, intense training programmes, especially for the youth. This would be in South Africa. We are hoping that if they are interested, they could partner with similar universities in South Africa. When they start with these training programmes, it becomes a training train-up program and supervision is closely done with the local institution. Even those that leave school, they are not lost and end up getting involved with crime and so on. But they have an opportunity to acquire skills, to be economically active, even if it is on a small scale. Transfer of technology is key Of course training and transfer of technology is the key. Without that, opportunities are not sustainable. We have had an opportunity since 1994, where we relied purely on hand-outs. Even within the development-cooperation with for affairs here, we are talking 53
more and more for instance about this support for our skills-development programme. So that young people are skilled and there is transfer of technology, by placing them in some institutions. Because we believe that is the only way, whatever they acquired could be sustainable. Without that, people would be perpetually dependent on foreign aid. And foreign aid is not guaranteed forever. Definition of sustainability Is that how you define sustainability? What is sustainable? There are two aspects of it. One of it is really purely social, cultural, and political. Sustainability in politics is determined by the foundation you lay, the parameters. For instance in South Africa we have a good constitution, based on the culture of human rights. Nobody can wake up in the morning and change it. It is locked. It has been put above parliament. In that way, it is a building block. There are building blocks of sustainability. Constitution Our constitution defends the rights of all citizens. And all rights are protected. If you have property in SA, you are protected, whether you’re a minority or a majority. That is important for sustainability. It is clear in tense of governance, again because people can’t change it. It doesn’t depend on a good or bad governor or leader. It is likely to be sustainable. It will cause almost a revolution in the country to change it, so it is sustainable. Education and entrepreneurship The question is with business, what building blocks then do we put in place? The first and the most important one is education. Education is important on all sides, but when it comes to business it becomes crucial. Because it means that people have to come up with solutions that could be replicated or improved upon a long period of time. Something as simple of this (the cake), you need a certain degree of perception ability to make sense of the design. Otherwise you ignore it, because you don’t have the eyes to see that there is something in there. So it becomes very, very important to have technical know-how, based on good, solid education. If entrepreneurs are to continue and grow stronger and stronger, they have to be able to connect with the world at large. Otherwise the people selling along the streets remain selling along the streets forever. So again one needs technical knowledge to understand logistics, to und what the markets require, to understand the quality assurance, to understand the customs, to understand demands. Because if you don’t appreciate the value of that, you are not going to be compliant, and nobody will keep you as a client. So for sustainable solutions and coming up with quality goods that are of interest to even the continent, not to mention the world at large, people are need to be skilled. So those are building blocks which I think are not negotiable, if we are thinking about sustainable solutions. Hand-outs I see it in a slightly different way from hand-outs. Hand-outs, I can go and ask you for money to say I want to go clean cups. You can give to me today, but it is up to me whether I use it to lend or to do whatever, but a hand-out is a hand-out. The conditions might be it must be given to the poorest of the poor. But there is no requirement, that whoever benefits from it, must be able to produce it tomorrow. See it as an incubator that moves out tomorrow. So that other people come in, but be supervised, that they don’t disappear on their own. So I haven’t given you an exact text-book definition, but I indicated the building blocks of sustainability. Partnership: transfer of knowledge and globalization For instance here we have organized business people who are looking in South Africa. And I say to them many times, whatever you do make sure that it’s sustainable. And of course the first question is: why? What’s important, what is it? 54
And in their case we’ve said: if you’re working in a developing context, make sure that your partners acquire skills. Because what the private sector tends to do if they go to developing countries, they learn the policies quickly, because they are skilled, they are educated, they have capacity. If the conditions say: you must have a local partner, they will meet that condition. If they for instance say, we want to manage the ports, they will learn the conditions and they will get a local partner. And in the business plan they do not build in capacity-skills transfer, capacity-building management, ability on the part of the South African partner. So that is not sustainable. The day China is attractive to that company and they think we will be better of in China, the South African initiative will collapse. So we’re beginning to engage them in those terms as well. Globalization is good, but people should bear the responsibility that goes with it. If you go global it’s because you’ve succeeded in your country, otherwise you wouldn’t even think of going outside of your country. But then there are certain responsibilities that you have to be conscience of. That’s sustainability of the relationships you have established. For instance here, many people run family companies, which have been in existence for hundred years. When you say, you’ll get a local partner in SA, they say: What? It means other people will make a decision about my family business. We say: no, in the beginning you have to find a way including a local partner, even if at a certain point the partner will go his own way. Otherwise why benefit from a country if you are not going to assist in terms of making it sustainable? So skilling is very, very important. Technical transfer, technical know-how is very, very important. Time path 50 years How much time does it take to develop education, entrepreneurship and knowledge transfer between here and South Africa? In which timeframe can we work? What we have learned from South Africa is that we should avoid a lost generation. In 1976 South Africa had a crisis. Young people said NO to Apartheid polices in education. The apartheid government responded by being violent. The police started to shoot and to kill. It was almost a civil war from 1976 till the early nineties. Witch means two decades of chaos. People who used to go to school, stayed there for five minutes and than came out and said we’re striking and fighting. In 1994, before Mandela took over as the president, there was a conference, evaluating, accessing the status of youth. Where are they? what are there consequences? Do they have skills? We all knew that those who have been on the streets since 1976 had nothing, except the gun. That is all what they required and became good at, almost on a daily basis. So now it is important to make a consorted effort that each generation is adequate equipped. We may not have engineers today, but we have to make sure that if a young person finishes high school, he’s kept within the system, through entrepreneurship and skilling. Being a good aeronautical engineer may take 15 years, but you must be in the system. If we don’t have strong institutional support today, it means we are creating a gap, witch will be almost impossible to close. We have learned that opportunities lost between 1976 and 1994, witch is really two decades. This is the legacy we are facing today, because there are too many people. You know in the country usually young people build op 75% of the population. If the significant people that are not skilled, so this 75% are not requiring any skill, is hardly to catch up with you. That’s why in South Africa we don’t want to leave anything to chance. We should do everything to make sure that they come abroad and young students from here they go to South Africa and really have an ongoing dialog, because that helps a lot. International exposure becomes a challenge! For instance a person who hasn’t got a good culture of learning, will realize that even in developed countries, in countries where everything is taken care of, people still have to work hard, they’re not just given. So it becomes a challenge and exchange programs are very good to help people see a bigger picture.
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So rather today than tomorrow. How soon can things be organized en implemented? You see education is politics priority. There are countries in the world that prioritize education; if I was a policy maker I would do the same. I would take a big risk and put everything I have in education. Whether it is to costly for a country, but each and every cabinet minister will have to account to me what they are doing to make sure that their child is at school. The transport and logistic ministry will tell me what are they doing to make sure that children are protected and they get to school save. Health, they will tell me what are they doing to make sure that their nurses are at school to look after the health children while at school. I can go to each and every ministry. Agriculture will have to tell me what are they doing to make sure that children while at school they are fed, that they acquire skills during summer vacation they visit farms and see how, wake up in the morning at four o clock and take out the animals. So It is really a policy priority. For me any country that is surviving from a war or a genocide or anything, if I would be an advisor I would say education, education, education and of course to companies I would say skill, skill, skill people. Sometimes when I talk to people I say If your child has the opportunity to be in a company, even if they don’t pay that child, just give the child money to get there and to come back home. Once the child has a even only the basic skills there will be somebody who will pick that child up. For me education and skilling people is something that has to be done on day one by any new cabinet. They have to look at it and say what are we doing, it is a basic foundation. It is fundamental, as far as I’m concerned. Implementation of good policies Implementation is management of your programs, witch is very important. If you’ve got good polices and you don’t know how to manage programs that had developed out of that, than you suffer, you pay a prize. Everybody would say these policies are good. Something as simple as the labor relations act, which protects relationships between management and employers, is not meant that people mustn’t have a good work ethic, but if that is not managed it can be exploited by people not realizing who showing commitment to work to be done will say in name of the labor relations act nobody can fire me. You see it becomes a challenge. That’s why with good education everybody should be ready for leadership and management, because you do it all the time. Compete on the factory floor, or whether you’re in the government you have to manage your portfolios. As an ambassador I have to manage it, otherwise I could run around every day and when I look for outcomes, they are not there. At least companies if the employee can not produce good results, the board will fire that person. It is a question of really skilling people on those aspects as well. Not saying, your en engineer, don’t worry about management, leadership and so on. How do you look at management skills in the current situation in South Africa? I’ve seen the analysis from the departure president’s office where even public administration they have said they must do a skills audit and make sure that people are assisted to acquire skills. That is what the government has said publicly and that’s why they are looking for skills outside. The question is; how does de government make sure that there still is a culture of productivity? Especially in the management of the culture of productivity in the public sphere. In the companies I know that it is there, because the commission interest the private sector leaves nothing to chance. They want money, that is why they are in business. If workers are not disciplined, management takes action. It is this culture that I think we have to have courage in South Africa and make sure that it is in our government sector as well. Where people know that outcome is important. If you are a secretary for instance, you should know that you just can not forget. An important document put in the basket for ever! If you’re not held accountable for that, there is no reason why you should change. And I think that in South Africa what has happened, government has inherited staff who where in this transition period of the apartheid area. For instant people who were here in the embassy. There was nothing they could do, because the anti-apartheid group was very strong outside here. I remembered one time I came one time trough Amsterdam we drove her with some 56
activist. There was no employee who could go outside this gate, so the culture was do nothing. And now we want to organize events, workshops, we want to write reports, so you can see the intention. That intention will be broken by a clear language of productivity that you remain in public services as long as you are productive. So again it is a question of leadership. Those are choices which leaders have to come up with. People learn quickly, they know what went well with their leaders. If they know that in this ministry, if I do this the minister will take action, they will draw a line. But if the language is ambiguous, not clear, the situation will deteriorate. 50 Years Where can we get in 50 years? What can we expect about how far we can come in this period of time? I think 50 years is a long, long time. If you take yourself, for instance, if one can turn the question around and say: “where do you see yourself in 50 years time?” Surely having come out of Delft University with a network share, you have no reason not to be a great person in 50 years time. So, if we do the right things on a daily basis, steadily, not being unrealistic, for instance for South Africa, I don’t expect that people will be engineers that will come up with aircrafts and designs today, but if we do the right things continuously, certainly in 50 years time, we should be able to say: if you want to set up any plant, go to South Africa, you’ll find the people with the right skills, the work culture is right, the country is safe, etc. 50 Years is a long period of time. If you have been doing the right things, consistency is very, very important. That is why I said we just have to avoid gaps and loosing momentum, because that’s too risky, you loose people, it’s like your workforce. If today the government is easy, you finish school, you think ok, the government really is ok, nobody will ask me whether I finished typing that one page, whether I made five mistakes, it’s unfortunate, because in 50 years time, you’ll be older, you’ll be making even more mistakes, you’ll be even more rigid. And you’ll be even slower, physiologically. So you rather invest in development skilling. Skilling, it becomes institutionalized, it becomes a culture, it just multiplies itself. It becomes a natural thing, to a point where people are doing things differently; they see themselves as somehow old. So I think, especially for South Africa, if we continue, and we take stronger positions of management, we are on the right track. Our effort that we have put in promoting a common identity: I see it as a plus, because you have people pulling together, as against where we come from, where people were pulling in all sorts of directions, Africans education, English, like education, the resources were wasted, and it was also not equal, and people did not find each other, there was no common goal: that was not sustainable. Even as a young person could see that nobody could sustain that, so I think the roots were taken. Day to day plans Besides exchange program, what are concrete day-to-day plans that could be implemented. Do you have more examples? You see, there are things that are doable. Especially around partnerships. I think that is doable. Now that business people are moving all over, say for instance with South Africa winning the Soccer World Cup of 2010, it is possible to develop all sorts of partnerships. Sports. Young people, visiting each other, and on the side of tourism, establishing leisure, events and…there are many small things that could be done, partnerships that could be developed. Of course with an aim of achieving a particular goal. That is different from long-term, high-tech strategies. Of course The Netherlands, I must say, you come across all sorts of innovative approaches. The churches, you find them saying: we’re organizing an arrangement, with a church in South Africa. The question is: how to ensure that those independent civil society driven initiatives are also sustainable? To for instance that two cities agree on a water management project, who is coming to learn from this country, because of the arrangement. More and more we ask even municipalities, and municipalities are trying to do the same. Through a “tweening” arrangement, they will say, okay we can share information on government, use of ICT. SO there are small
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things that people are beginning to do together, which I think can grow bigger and bigger, with support. Sustainable Tourism Sustainable tourism, how could that help? How could this be a method, besides other things, to develop the country and the living standards of the people? You see, that needs to be looked at from two sides. In South Africa we need a culture, from school on, where each and every child is taught, and they know, that each person they meet on the streets, is important. In other words, welcome foreigners, embrace them, protect them, tell them about yourself and the culture. There are countries which have developed around tourism, and that is doable. I mean to use plays at school, poetry, to really go all out. To install a culture of protecting foreigners, because that’s one point which makes people to think of the country, to go to, if they know: I’ll be safe, people will be warm towards me. That needs to be developed more and more from the South African side. We know those visits will lead to business interest, people investing in the country, maybe buying a house, or establishing a business; they are very, very important. They are more than just leisure, for consumers, but they are long-term benefits for the country. But then also, the tourism industry, more and more we’re saying to them, attract people towards local tourism. The tendency of people that come here is to go to Kurhaus, think of Kurhaus. You see, in South Africa there are very important international hotels, of course it is convenient to go there, there are nice places. But there is still a large number of tourists which could be attracted to areas where local entrepreneurs could be utilized in terms of serving indigenous food, for people to appreciate the culture of the people more and more, there are areas where you go to, they’ll be dancing, singing, cooking indigenous food, so that needs to be promoted more and more. Attracting people with modern arts and crafts in order things that they don’t easily get in Europe or America. African Tourists How do you see the African tourists? International tourists come to Africa to see the traditional culture, what about African tourists? Are they looking for the same or so they want something else? You see, I am told that there is a growing number of African tourists, mainly looking for business opportunities. But also, since South Africa has opened their gates, there is a huge number of people who have other motives, sometimes a criminal element, as supposed that can happen anywhere in the world. But the large number of people they think it is cheaper to get goods from South Africa than to get them from Europe. South Africa has been very strong in terms of saying: If you finally establish relationships within the continent, don’t colonize them. Assist to carry the values and culture of business, as allowed in South Africa. So our president is very strong, when it comes to that. There are opportunities to go there as well for South Africa, this country has a lot of mineral resources all over. But their message is: establish relationships that will benefit all partners. What about South African tourists? Aren’t they looking for beaches instead of culture? I am not sure. In terms of my language, I am Zulu, in terms of my ethnic tribal identity. But I’ve been to some special resorts, where I find special hats, which are supposed to be something I know, but they are designed for tourists. There will be traditional people, with music and dance, which although I am supposed to know it, it is done in such a way that it’s professional. We had Arts in Daba, here in the residence last month, we had Umoja, the group. I am Zulu, I am supposed to be grown up in that culture, but the way they are doing it, I can see modern dance is built into it now. I don’t think that there would be any person saying: ah, I know this. It’s always different then, it’s mashed with other cultures, it’s dynamic.
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Tourism and African culture Do you perceive this as positive or as a loss of traditional African culture? No, it’s positive. It’s very, very positive. For instance with African clothes, I wear this today maybe because I am having lunch with the African ambassador, but the things I buy, maybe I have something from Japan, or Thailand, and I will have a patch of Africa… people like ethnic...people like to see or to mix different cultures. If I go to Nigeria, Nigerians they do things differently. There is so much interest in their dance in their music. It is more or less the same but it’s different. It’s influenced by the evolving culture, there is always so exciting, you know. I went to the UK in April, there was this young woman from Namibia, we talked with Africans in diaspora, and she stood up, she was talking and talking and she said: Africa Moto! Everybody was jumping, saying: Moto! Moto! I come from South Africa, where we know about slogans and so on, but the way she did it was different. So exciting, and I’ve shared that with so many young people I am in touch with. What does it actually mean? It was just mobilizing. Just like when in a political party, people would say: Power! Power to the people! So it’s really something to energize, an energizer. I haven’t asked any Namibian, but it sounded like an energizer. But you wouldn’t say: I know it. It’s always different. It’s like singing, African people sing. But when you go anywhere you’ll find that it’s different. Rural Areas Development of rural areas as opposed to the growth of cities? In South Africa, how are the rural areas developing now? This thing of rural urban dichotomy will always be a problem, everywhere. Especially for young people, because when young people acquire education, then they get curious. This is the kind of curiosity which you can’t stop. It’s a question of managing it: How do you manage it? In South Africa, they came with a program that doctors who work in rural areas, they’ll get an incentive. I don’t exactly know what it is today, whether they get more money or more privileges or whatever. I really think you have to have incentives, even companies. If people set up a company, in a rural area, you give them an incentive. Maybe if it’s a foreign company, you say: for the next 10 years, you won’t pay tax here, or we give you land free of charge. Otherwise people are not going to do it, because there are cost implications. For instance, Heineken, the Dutch company, they are setting up in South Africa. And all of a sudden, there is a question of a factory, where to locate their factory? What they are looking at, is logistics, if our plant is too far from where the concentration of consumer is, we’re not goanna make our money. They are not government, they are private, so it’s either government who will come up with irresistible incentives and then Heineken may say well we pay a little more for logistics, to get or goods to the cities, but it’s worth it. So it’s really a question of thinking outside the box. How to do it. And of course even then, I still think it’s a question of planning in such a way that people have a reason to find their needs there. Artists for example, they get crowded in big cities. And you don’t know why, because maybe they can do better in a farm, where they make noise the whole night, feeling free, having other artists. So, one has to plan. I know there are numerous problems in rural areas. You hear people say: this land belongs to the chief. So then people don’t want to touch it, because there is uncertainty. It’s a question of leadership. How do you attract people to rural areas? For instance with universities. If you think there will be something of interest to students maybe you encourage one university in a rural area to specialize in it. For instance drama. You might say students who are interested in music and drama, they will get it in a university in a rural area. Of course you have to attract the best professors. So it’s something which has to be managed continuously. Because the rural areas, with limited resources, are always in competition with big cities. Companies, government, local people, have to offer good life to attract people.
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Migration Migration towards the city. Focus on rural areas. More people to cities. Start at cities, or rural areas to prevent moving, or attract. Like I said, young people with good education, they get curious. So you can never stop them, from leaving the rural areas to look for better opportunities. But you can make rural areas very rich by having certain resources that you can only get there. I remember, as a young academic, in America, they had the university of Illinois in Chicago, and they had a branch at [Ebana Sabay] (?), which was a place with nothing. It developed around the university. So in that way, they thought in a creative way, outside the box, to have this institution. And then you got a drugstore there, it’s coming out of the university, and a bookshop, a church, and so on. You can do certain things to make sure that there is good life, because you will never stop people from migrating, especially those who are educated. People with education will always make a choice, sometimes they may choose not to. Development of the Rural Areas Do you then suggest that those rural areas could actually be developed into sort of small cities and later on larger cities? Over time, they will grow, at their own pace. But we mustn’t say that they could compete with big cities. If you’re in South Africa you know Johannesburg is a big city, the Western Cape is big, so rural areas should develop at their own pace. The problem of informal settlements is a problem of a lack of transformation. You find that one farmer, who has removed people forcefully, during Apartheid years, is sitting with five farms, a farm is anything from here to Central Station. Some people are old, but they have so many farms to themselves. And the people who work on the farm, I don’t know how many, it’s a village. They are in informal settlements. The government will approach the farmer and say: can you give away something, we will buy it. And people will still say no. So it is really a lack of transformation in society. Otherwise social housing could be a solution, in the sense that poor people could be assisted to rent affordable but decent places. And again you will hear something which I haven’t heard of anywhere in the world. People will say: In this suburb we don’t want houses for poor people. And again that’s the big problem because the government has many people who are landless, but there is land. Some people are saying, that will make our houses cheap. Some people who got property rights during the Apartheid years, are holding onto it, irrespective of what the neighbourhood looks like. And they actually go to court to challenge the government. Let’s say this is an empty land, and this is a suburb of rich people, then when you try to come up with social housing they go to court. They say, you are making their houses cheap. You see, maybe in some areas you can do it if you are thinking of fewer people, but you can’t do that against 80% of the population! That is crazy. In the sense that it is almost like creating a holocaust where you lock yourself in. I mean some of us who saw 1976 we were running around, each time I think about it it’s scary. There was so much courage. People said: We have nothing to loose. South Africans are like they forgotten what happened. I would never create a situation where people say I am alienated I have nothing to loose I don’t belong here. Because it’s too risky to do that. So the problem is not because they are moving with ease from rural areas, it’s because we have to transform our society. But transformation unfortunately is a very difficult thing, because people resist. Politically, it has reached a point where there was no option with the campaigns of the international communities and so on, but I don’t think, all South Africans have got it right in their minds, that we have to live together. Because it belongs to all who live in it. Transformation of peoples minds, to accept and see the values and the good of accommodating other people, without giving away anything. I mean if you own diamonds and your family has been digging for hundred years, no person will compete with you, and the laws have not taken anything away from you, so it’s really a question of good will. During the life of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, archbishop Tutu used to make calls, one call after the other, calling for good will among South Africans, and saying: South Africans, it’s in you interest, to make sure that this
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country belongs to all who live in it, and they share the world, resources, everything. That is the only way in which it could be sustainable. Development of living standards Main question: development living standards, movement of people from rural areas to cities, ending up in informal settlements. Could you mention some incentives to cope with this migration? First of all, we need to say: Is it right to try and control the movement of people? I don’t think it’s right. Because once you allow the government to control people, they graduate from one control or repression measure to another, so you have to be very careful. If we are in democracy, we have to open our society. But then it is a question of making sure that peoples basic needs can be met anywhere. People shouldn’t fly into the cities out of desperation. Because at the moment that’s what happens. They leave rural areas out of desperation, irrespective of if they know where they’re going, because there’s nothing. They will go and sleep in the kitchen of a friend or a relative. You need to avoid these kinds of situations and make sure that there is life on both sides, and allow freedom of movement. I mean, I believe, there are people everywhere who like rural life, if it can give them everything they want. Some students choose to go to a rural university, and they choose to go and teach there. Like in America, you ask people why are you in New York, because I miss the city life, and they go to Florida, because they miss something else. They go for all means, so people move around all the time. Then because of curiosity and because they had education, and not so much the lack of those things? Yeah, it’s not desperation. For instance, Zimbabweans, if they are coming to South Africa because they are starting, it’s a problem, because they come with many, big numbers, with no plan. But if they come because they think it’s a good thing, they have skills and maybe someone wants to set up a saloon, it’s good. An open society is good. It takes away fear and it’s really good for the country.
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Appendix B: Living Standards Indicators
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Source: Chrisna du Plessis, Analysing the sustainability of Human Settlements in South Africa – Challenges and Methods, CSIR Building and Construction Technology, Pretoria
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