There is a huge gap between how South Africans see themselves and how Africa sees South Africa was the farewell message from Christoph Plate to the club at his last Rotary meeting in South Africa.
Christoph and his family are leaving South Africa after six years as Media Director for the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. His next posting is Sofia in Bulgaria, where he will be responsible for 10 Eastern European countries and where he will be joining a new Rotary club.
Christoph is a journalist by training and experience and spent many years covering Africa for publications all over the world. The 1994 genocide in Rwanda left the biggest mark in his career "while my colleagues who were based in South Africa were being swept away in a Mandela and RainbowNation euphoria - and understandably so."
South Africa, he said, has always had a history of estrangement with the rest of the continent. Surprisingly, this continued after the official demise of apartheid when South Africans were free to venture into the interior.
Despite South Africa's economic might, "there is a lot of mistrust and dislike out there. That is caused by the superiority attitude that many South Africans show to the rest of the continent.
"Even at the Africa Union headquarters people say off the record that South Africa is a bully - domineering, selfish and condescending."
After 1994 many South Africans tried hard to trade in countries that had been considered enemies before. Many of these companies got bloody noses. The South African managers were shocked that Kinshasa works differently to Bloemfontein.
They were shocked that in some places they were ripped off. Yet there are examples of successes, mainly in the extractive industries in for example Ghana, MTN in Nigeria and Engen in the DRC. Standard Bank seems to be almost everywhere, he said.
"This continent has 54 countries. I have been to the majority of them. And I can assure you that a Zimbabwean has as much in common with a Sudanese as a man from Southern Italy has with someone from Norway.
"Which is almost nothing. They don't eat the same food, they don't endure the same climate, they don't listen to the same music.
'The history of a country, no matter how small it may be, has always to be taken into consideration. If one sets up business operations in Senegal one needs to be aware that for them France is culturally and mentally much closer than South Africa," was his advice to South Africans trying to take on the continent.
Part of the meeting tomorrow will be a report back from the New Dawn project with the Link Trust for whom New Dawn had arranged a Rotary Foundation Global Grant.
Quite a few New Dawn members volunteer for the project, the latest being Amina Frense, who has joined a team serving learners at three primary schools twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Their champion is Mrs Rowena Edna Reynolds, who has passionately served for three years and is the lead facilitator at the centre.
The Link is currently on a drive to gain more volunteers for their work, so congratulations to Amina and the other New Dawn members for stepping forward.
The Meeting Tomorrow will feature George Purbrick's travels and adventures in Africa.
Dates to Diarise: Thursday (15 June) is the deadline to RSVP for Mbali Zulu's induction as president of the Rotary Club of Johannesburg New Dawn on Saturday, 24 June at midday.
The price is R180.00 per person and that includes a trip by luxury bus to Vuyos Restaurant in Vilakazi Street. The bus departs at 10.30 am from the Park and Ride on the corner of 7th and 3rd Ave in Parktown North. Please RSVP to Barbara Angove on 083 251 0907.
To join in what promises to be a fun occasion, please pay before 20 June. The New Dawn account number at FNB is 62217422609. Reference your name and Induction. The Yoco machine will be available at the meeting tomorrow for credit card payments.
25 August: The New Dawn Golf Day, our major fundraising effort for the year.
Wednesday, 6 September sees the official visit of the incoming District Governor, Riana Pretorius, to New Dawn.
Saturday, 16 September is World Cleanup Day which promises to be a major event in the New Dawn calendar again.
A Thought for the Week: A wise man should have money in his hand, but not in his heart. - Jonathan Swift (1667 - 1745)
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.