LeftofWhatsRight

Chennai Trade Delegation by Marlan Padayachee

2011-12-23T06:25:00.000-08:00

By Marlan Padayachee Media & Communications, South Africa

Presentation Paper By The Deputy Mayor, Councillor Loganathan Naidoo, Chairperson Of The Economic And Development Committee, Ethekwini Municiaplity At The Anc Progressive Busines Forum Trade Delegation To Chennai India/ South Africa –India Trade Seminar On The Topic South Africa – Open For Busiuness 13-17 November 2010.
Date: Tuesday 16 November 2010
Time: 10H20,
Venue: Park Sherat0n Hotel Chennai.

Thank You, Director Of Programme.
· Good Morning, Ladies And Gentlemen; Honoured Guests;
· Vannakam;
· Namaste;
· Namaskarumu;
· Sawubona;
· Assalamu Alaikum;
· Sanibonani;
· Goeie More;

· The Honourable Ms Shobana Kamineni, Past President Of The Confederation Of India Industry (Sr) And Executive Director Of Apollo Hospitals Group;
· His Excellency, The Honourable Reverend Harris Majeka, South African High Commissioner To India; And Consular Staff From The South African Missions In India;
· The Honourable Mr Daryl Swanepoel, Co-Convenor Of The African National Congress Progressive Business Forum Of South Africa;
· Mr Rajeev Ranjan, The Ias Principal Secretary, Industries Department, Government Of Tamil Nadu.
· Mr Sujith Haridas, Regional Director, Confederation Of India Industry, Southern Region;
· Members Of The South African Business Delegation;
· Members Of The Indian Business Delegation;
· All Government And Municipal Officials;
· Members Of The Media;
· All Protocols Observed;

Ladies And Gentlemen, Today, The 16TH Day Of November 2010 Is An Important Day In The Longstanding Relations Between The People Of India And The People Of South Africa.
Exactly, One Hundred And Fifty Years Ago, To This Hour, India Gave Birth To One Of The First And Most Formidable Indian Communities Outside What Many Of My Indian Compatriots And Comrades Would Call The Motherland, Thai Nadu, As We Say In Tamil Or Telugu.
Today, Back In My Beloved Country Of Birth, South Africa, More Than 1, 3 Million Indians Will Start Celebrating And Commemorating One Of The Greatest Events Of A Poignant Human Drama Throughout The Cities And Towns Where South Africans Of Indian Origin Reside And Work Cheek By Jowl To Realize The African Dream For All Our Citizens Of More Than 45-Million.

It Is Therefore Appropriate That I Thank Our Host For Your Gracious Welcome And Hospitality Of What Will Clearly Map Out As The Real Indian Experience On Southern Shores Of India Where The First Batch Of 340 Indentured Labourers Were Shipped To The City Of Durban On 16TH November 1860.
Sugar Farming Was Successfully Launched In Our Region In 1855 When Our Sugar Farmers Got Wind Of How The Indian Indentured Labour System Was Giving New Economic Life To The Sugar Industry In Mauritius And Madagascar Sugar Plantations.
Sugar Farming Was Successfully Launched In This Region In 1855 When Our Sugar Farmers Got Wind Of How The Indian Indentured Labour System Was Giving New Economic Life To The Sugar Industry In Mauritius And Madagascar Sugar Plantations.
The Burgeoning Barons Of This Industry Then Lobbied The Government Of Natal To Introduce Indentured Indian Labourers To Work On Their Sugar Plantations.
During Britain’s Colonial Rule, Indians Were Perceived As Suitable Workers For This Job As They Were Already Used To This System In The Indian Ocean Islands, And They Sought After As Skilful Agriculturists And Gardeners.
Buoyed By An Indomitable Spirit Of Survival And Enterprise, They Ventured Into The Darkness, Only To Turn Their Poor Plight Of Indentured Labour Into One Of Lightness That Will Forever Link India To South Africa During The Turbulent Period Of Colonial-Apartheid History That Culminating In Gandhijee Returning To India As A Peace Guru And Mandela Becoming Our New Nation’s First Black President.
It Therefore Gives Me An Incredible Sense Of Pride, Pleasure, Patriotism And Humility To Share With You That This Is Certainly A God-Given Privilege To Be Visiting The Seaport Of Chennai Where The Ss Truro Departed Into The Darkness Of The Indian Ocean To Bring Home Our Forebears Who Would Make Mother India So Proud And This Symbolic Umbilical Cord Will Forever Remain Between Chennai And Durban As We Navigate This Trading Protocol To Take India And South Africa Into The Heart Of The African 21ST Century.

Mr Chairperson, Distinguished Guests, Ladies And Gentlemen.
As The Deputy Mayor Of The Ethekwini Municipality And The City Of Durban, And Also In My Capacity As Chairperson Of Durban’s Economic And Development Committee, I Believe I Won’t Be Out Of Order If I Extend A Collective Bouquet Of Gratitude To Our Distinguished Hosts.
From The Moment Emirates Flight Ek 544 Touched Down On The Runway In Chennai, We Have Been Treated With Exceptional Warmth And Friendship, And This Global Goodwill Is Only Unique To Incredible India.
If The Spirit (If Not High Spirits) And Vigour Was Anything To Go By At Sunday Night’s Welcome And Networking Dinner At Taj Coromandel Hotel Is Anything To Go By As A Social-Business Gauge Or Barometer, Then Our Delegation Must Brace Itself For A Trade Mission That Will Forever Be Etched In Their Minds As One Of The Most Interesting And Fascination Business Experiences.
On Behalf Of Our Delegation, I Say ‘Thank You’ In The Language Of The British Colonialists Who Shipped Us To South Africa, ‘Naandri’ In Tamil And ‘Ngiyabonga’ In The Indigenous Isizulu Language Of The Kingdom Of The Kwazulu, Where The City Of Durban Is Strategically Positioned On The Indian Ocean Rim As The Gateway Into Africa.
On Behalf Of The Ethekwini Municipality And The People Of The City Of Durban, I Extend Warm Greetings, Goodwill And Good Wishes To The Citizens Of Chennai On This Historic Day That Has The Potential To Redefine Our Mutually-Enhancing Relations On The Social, Economic And Political Spheres.
We Hail From A City Of Golden Beaches Where Our Mantra Is The ‘Fun Never Sets’.
So Let Me Assure You That Our Esteemed Representatives From Some Of Our Finest Homegrown Brands Have Much More Than Their Social Stamina To Make This Long Haul Into A Fruitful And Enterprising Sharing And Exchanging Of Business Acumen, Trade Opportunities And Partnerships.
The Anc Ruling Party’s Progressive Business Forum Was Launched At Our Party’s Headquarters In Luthuli House As A New Vehicle To Stimulate The Economic Revolution That The Anc Had Embarked On In Recent Years To Place More And More Business Opportunities In The Public And Private Sectors In The Hands Of Previously Disadvantaged Communities, Of Which Includes The Indian Community.
Many Of These Companies Are Represented Among The 35 To 40 Companies And Consultancies In Our Delegation.
In The Footsteps Of The 1860 Indentured Labourers, We Are Retracing Our Steps To Strengthen A New Era Of Enterprise With Our Province And South India.
The One Of The Purposes Of Our Trade Visit Is To Seek Approval From The City Government Of Chennai To Sign The Sister City Agreement Between Ethekwini And Chennai.
This Memorandum Of Understanding Which Has Been Shared With The Consul-General Of India In Durban Has Been Submitted To Department Of International Relations And Co-Operation And Has Since Been Ratified And Approved.
Also, As The Deputy Mayor And Head Of International Relations And Governance In The City Of Durban, I Wish To Share Some Background With You.
South Africa And India Are Strong Trading Partners And Have Established Mutually Beneficial Relations Through A Number Of International Agreements. South Africa And India Have Signed A National Bi-National Commission And Has Agreed To Cooperate With India Within The Ibsa And Other International Agreements That Strives To Support And Strengthen The Worlds Developing Economies.
In Order To Give Added Momentum And Added Benefit To The Ethekwini Municipality It Has Been Recommended That The Municipality Join A Powerful Business Delegation To Chennai India.
The Delegation Will Seek To Build Strong Business To Business Engagements In The Fields Of Auto-Motor, Computers, And It Hardware Manufacturing And Health Care Industries.
In Order To Strengthen The Business And Political To Enhance Trade And Investment, We Believe That Signing Of A Memorandum Of Understanding And Laying Of A Plaque Within The City Of Chennai To Commemorate The Arrival Of Indentured Indian Labourers In 1860 On The First Ship From India That Departed From Chennai, Will Build Significant Political And Cultural Goodwill Between The Citizens Of The Two Cities, And In So Doing Fast Track Trade, Investment And Cultural Exchanges That Will Benefit Both Cities.

In The Past 16 Years Since Our Relationship Began Bearing Fruit And Blossoming Into A Full-Blown Socio-Economic And Political Partnership, We Have Established Links With Bollywood.
On This Mission, We Want To Promote Trade And Tourism And Continue The Cultural Link That Began 150 Years Ago And Still Continues Between Our Two Friendly Countries.
On This Mission, We Are Ready To Do Business With Our South Indian Counterparts.
We Now Need To Cement Links With This Ancient Seaport Where The Founding Forebears Of The Indian Community Set Sail For Durban.
Our Delegation Is Overwhelmed By The Historic Event That Commemorates And Celebrates 150 Years Of Indian Linkage To Africa.
I Believe The Twinning Of Durban And Chennai Is The Social And Economic Tonic That Will Set Our Romantic Relationship Alight.
Durban Has Twinning Agreements With Chicago, And New Orleans In The United States; Rotterdam In The Netherlands; Leeds In The United Kingdom; Bulawayo And Maputo In Africa; Reunion Island In The Indian Ocean Rim.
Chennai, Or Madras As We Knew It In The Colonial-Apartheid Era, Is The First City In India With Which We Are Proposing A Twinning That Will Build A Bridge For Us Across The Indian Ocean Rim.
With The Twin Cities Agreement In Place, I Can Assure You That The Big Blue Skies Will Be More Than The Limit Of Our Constructive Engagement Of Economic Toes And Social Exchanges.
We Are Confident That In This Heartland Of Tamil Nadu, Iconic Leaders Like Chief Minister M Karunanidhi And The Mayor Of The Chennai Municipal Corporation, His Worship Manickam Subramanian Will Help Us Navigate This Twinning Agreement To Bring Our Economies And Communities Closer Together For The Betterment Of Both Sides Of Our Shared Legacy.
Our Delegation Are Fully Behind Durban’s Initiative Because They Ardently Believe That Chennai’s World Reputation As Being A Strong Hub For Information Technology, Textiles, Motor Manufacturing And The Movie Industry Could Be Matched With The Similar Economic Growth Points And Strengths Durban Has To Offer Chennai.
Our Delegation Will Be Looking At How Business Based In The Port City Of Chennai Could Tie Up Agreements With Our Businesses Based In Durban.
We Are Also Keen To Link South African Companies With South Indian Counterparts.
In The Broader Picture Of Our Socio-Economic Journey, We Look To The South Indian Chamber Of Commerce And The Confederation Of Indian Industries To Join Durban And Chennai In This Brave New Journey Into South-South Trading And Business Synergy And Joint Venture Partnerships.
From Our From Quayside, We Are Ready For An Exciting New Economic Crossing To Chennai.
We Invite Our Indian Counterparts To Also Undertake The Crossing That Chennai And Durban.
As We Relive And Rekindle Our Historic Chapter That Ties Our Destinations And Democracies, Let Me Declare That South Africa Is Open For Business And Full Of Opportunity.
I Am Fortunate That The Durban-Chennai Route Is A Beaten Track For Me.
I Have Been Forging This Journey For Almost A Dozen Years.
Ever Since Consul-General Latha Reddy Raised The Indian Flag, Pre-1994, At The Old Station Building Where Mk Gandhi Set Out On A Historic And Controversial Train Journey To Pretoria That Was To Result In An International Racial Incident In Which Gandhijee Was Thrown Off The ‘Whites-Only Train’ In Pietermaritzburg, And When Ambassador Mangalmurthi Reopened The Indian Embassy In 1994 That Was Shutdown In Protest Against The Apartheid Government In 1940S, I Can Share With This Seminar That Trading Conditions Between Our Two Sister Cities Has Been Brisk.
Some Of The Positive Spin-Offs Of These Pioneering Early-Year Visits Have Been The Information Technology Footprints Of Ramco, An Innovative That Now Loom Large In The City Of Durban At Our It Hub That Ramco Executive Management And It Leaders Had Helped Our Municipality To Develop Since The 1990S.
Today, Ramco Is One Of The Pioneering Companies That Embarked On The Brave New Journey Into Africa.
It Is The Same Big Blue Ocean Where Our Indian Forebears Began A Horrific And Horrendous Journey Of Labour Migration That Was To Culminate In Future Generations Of Indians Tying Their Mast To An African Destiny.
Today, We Have Gathered On A Dateline And Destination That Will Forever Cement This Historic Milestone Between The People Of Chennai And The People Of Durban.
In The Final Analysis Of This Groundbreaking Trade Visit, We Would Have Succeeded In Unifying And Solidifying All Of India And South Africa Around A Commonness Of Our Cultural Diversity, Social Cohesion, Economic Advancement And Political Exchange And Sharing Of Economic Ideas And Strategies.
This Morning, As We Push Back The Frontiers Of A Unique Economic Journey That Began 150 Years Ago, We Are Upbeat And Confident That This Strategic Seminar Will Provide Us With A Fresh, New Route Marker To Narrow The Logistical Challenge Between Durban And Chennai.
Distinguished Speakers And Panelists, Honoured Guests And Ladies And Gentlemen, The Watermark On Any Trade Agreements Or Economic Pacts That We Will Endorse During This Trade Must Forever Be Inspired By The Intrepid Band Of Indian Indentured Visionaries.
As A Son Of The Slaves, I Am Proud To Be Standing Before You By Calling Upon All The Chennai Business Stakeholders To Join Your New Durban Counterparts In Giving New Meaning To The South-South Latitude That Could Encourage Both Sides Of The Indian Ocean Rim To Make This Trade Delegation An Annual Event So That More And More Entrepreneurs Enjoy The Opportunity Of Walking Through These New Avenues Of South Africa-India Business Partnerships And Synergies.
Surely The Success Of This Brave New Journey In Which We Are Chartering New Waters Will Be A Fitting Homage To The Historic Hour When ‘Coolie Number One’ 30-Year-Old Davuram From Madras Stepped Off The Ss Truro And Set Foot On The Shores Of Durban.
The Second Indentured Labourer On The Ship’s Manifest Was 18-Year-Old Naguram, Probably His Wife, And Their Two Children, Four-Year-Old Kubay, And One-Year-Old Elizabeth.
These Stoical Bands Of Indentured Labourers Who Were Followed By Thousands Of Economic Migrant Labourers, Traders, Artisans Were To Lay A Powerful Platform For Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi To Forever Change The Tide Of Oppressive Colonial Politics As We Knew It In South Africa, India And Other Countries Where Sugar Plantations Was The New Gold Of The 18TH Century.
This Historic Date, 16TH Of November 1860, Has Come To Define And Shape The Destiny Of Generations Of Our Indian Citizens In Durban And Other Metropolitan Cities And Towns In South Africa.
Today, More Than 800 00 Of South Africa’s 1, 3 Million Citizens Of Indian Origin Reside In The City Of Durban And Cities And Towns Across The Province Of Kwazulu-Natal.
For Me, As A Son Of Indentured Labourers, I Am Grateful That We Are Sharing This Moment Of History To Cement The Relations Between Durban And Chennai At The Unveiling Of A Commemorative Plaque Later Today.
This Colourful Ceremony, I Firmly Believe, May Forever Stand As A Symbol Of Our Of Past Era Of Adversity And Our Present Journey Of Advantage And Economic Co-Operation Between Our Seaports; As A Lasting Moment Of Our Present And Future Co-Operation.
Closer To Home, An Indian Flag Flying Alongside The South African Outside A Landmark Tyre Manufacturing Company Called Dunlop Outside The Durban Cbd Tells A Remarkable Story Of How Far The Trade Journey Has Come Between India And South Africa.
In The Business Hub Of Johannesburg, The Gupta Family From India Has Established A Best-Known Computer Brand Called Sahara.
The Guptas Are To Launch An Independent National Newspaper Called The New Age That Will Take A Fresh New Look At Politics, A Progressive People-Centred Government And The Social And Economic Revolution That Is Taking Place In Our Rainbow Nation Of Peace And Prosperity Where Indian Nationals Are At Home In The Heart Of Africa’s Economic Melting Pot.
With The Signing Of A Sister-City Relationship With Chennai, We Assure Indian Businesses That You Will Be Flying More Than Your Colours In Our Cosmopolitan City Where East Meets West Across The African Diaspora.

A Uniquely Cosmopolitan City, Durban Can Best Be Described As A Paradise And Its People.
A Visitor To Durban May Struggle To Find A Definite Phrase That Fits The City And Its Suburbs.
For Durban, Or Ethekwini (The City By The Water In The Isizulu Language), As It Is Also Called, Contains Such A Vast Spectrum Of Cultures, Beliefs And Physical And Economic Landscapes, That Is Indeed Difficult To Encapsulate The Place In A Well-Worded Phrase.
But It Is Precisely In This Difficulty Of Finding A Central Metaphor Or Description That The Secrets And Riches Of This Lively African City Reside.
For Durban Is A City Of Fusion, Cross-Pollination, Of Wild Eclecticism.
Here Africa, Europe, America And The East Meet At A Single Geographical Point.
Durban Has A Summery Climate Without Being Sweltering.
As A Beach Paradise, The Durban Golden Mile, Where We Are Planning A Bollywood/Hollywood Type Film Studio, Is A Stretch Of Golden Sandy Beaches As Far As The Eye Can See, Complemented By All Year Round Warm Indian Ocean, Sunny Clear African Skies And As New Arrivals You Will Enjoy All That Tropical Paradise And Vibe Of Our Colourful Continent.
We Are Home To South Africa’s Biggest Port, Is Hot And Sometimes Humid, A Beach Paradise.

Now, You Will Understand Why Indian Business Legacy And Entrepreneurship Reigns Supreme In The City Of Durban, Whether It’s The Food Mecca Of The Jewel Of India That Ensured That The Chennai Super Kings Were Well Fed With Indian Cuisines During Their Recent Cricket Series Tour, Or How The Bank Of Baroda Is Providing Indian Nationals With World Class Banking Services In Our Culturally Diverse Cbds.
There Are Many Other Indian Multinationals Flags Flying High In The City Of Durban.
Durban Is An International Investment Friendly City And The Statistics Speak For Themselves.
Research By Mcgregor Information Services Shows That Since 1993 Indian Investment Has Grown From Nothing To R2, 7BILLION Since 1994 In The New South Africa.
Estimates Now Put The Number Of Indian Companies, Which Are Trading In South Africa At More Than 500, Of Which 20 Have Established Local Subsidiaries And A Further 100 Have Appointed Local Agents And Distributors.
Export-Import Bank Of India Relocated Its Africa Office From Abidjan To Johannesburg And Recently Signed An Agreement With Standard Bank To Extend A $10M Credit Line To Finance Exports From India To South Africa.
Other Indian Banks Active In South Africa Are Bank Of Baroda And The State Bank Of India, Which Has Opened A Branch In Durban To Augment Its Johannesburg Office In The Country’s Commercial Capital.
Distinguished Guests, Ladies And Gentlemen, As The Deputy Mayor Of One Of Africa’s Leading, Debt-Free Cities With One Of The Best City Administrations, Let Me Round Up My Address By Touching On Some Very Attractive Highlights That Will Encourage South Indian Businesses To Invest In The City Of Durban.
Our Municipal Area Is Located On The Eastern Seaboard Of South Africa Within The Province Of Kwazulu-Natal, Covering About 2 297 Square Kilometres.
While Our Total Municipal Area Is Only 1.4% Of The Total Area Of The Province Of Kwazulu-Natal, Just Over A Third Of Our Provincial Population And 60% Of Its Economic Activity Are Concentrated Within Our Ethekwini Municipal Area.Our Region Is Characterized By Diverse Topography, From Steep Escarpments In The West To A Relatively Flat Coastal Plain In The East.
We Have Almost 100KM Of Coastline, 19 Rivers And 17 Estuaries. This Diverse Land Form Supports A Wide Variety Of Terrestrial, Fresh Water And Marine Natural Ecosystems.Our PeopleOur City Is A Mix Of Racial And Cultural Diversity, With Its African, Indian/Asian And European Influences Creating A Vibrant Cosmopolitan Society. Our Municipal Area Has An Estimated Population Of Just Over 3 Million People.The Black African Community Makes Up The Largest Sector (65%) Of The Population Followed By The Indian/Asian Community (21%). The Age Profile Reveals That, The Working Age Group Comprises 68% Of The Population; We Also Have A Relatively Large Youthful Population, With 38% Under The Age Of 19 Years.Our EconomyDurban Is South Africa’s Major Port City With A Diverse A Diverse And Vibrant Local Economy.
Durban Is South Africa’s Second Largest Industrial Hub Behind Gauteng.
Durban Has A Large Concentration Of Manufacturing Activity Directly And Indirectly Linked To Our Status As A Port City.
Durban Is Also The Countries Key Trading Gateway With Access To Important Trading Routes To The East And The Sub-Continent.
Durban’s Proximity To The Gauteng Mineral-Industrial Complex And The Commercial Capital Of Johannesburg, And An Economic Link Into Southern Africa, Makes It An Attractive Investment Destination.With The Four Major Sectors Of The Economy Being Manufacturing, Tourism, Finance And Transport, We Have A Strong Presence In Advanced Sectors Of The Economy.
Manufacturing, Which Contributes About 30% Of The Local Economy, Has Historically Been Located To The South Of Our Cbd In Our Idustrial Basin.
More Recently, This Has Been Spreading To The West And Extent To The North Of The City Where Modern Shopping Malls And Business Centres Serves Our Economic Landscape.Tourism, Another Strong Sector Adds 24% To The Local Economy And Is Concentrated Along The Coast.Durban Is The Home Of The Annual Indaba Travel Trade And Tourism Exhibition That Attracts More Than 20 000 Delegates, Visitors And Investors Each Year.
Commercial Services Such As Banking, Insurance And Other Financial Activities Are Well Developed.
Transport And Communication Is The Fourth Biggest Sector Contributing About 14% To The Economy Of Our Region.
We Have Substantial And Fast Growing Less Formal Economy Although Much Of It¹S Current Growth Is Focused In Lower Income Jobs. We Have A Growing ‘Second Economy’ Made Up Of Street Vendors, Cottage Industries And Bead Making And Handicrafts Run Mainly By Rural Women.The Financial Environment: Local Government Within Our Municipal Region Operates From A Sound Financial Footing With Strong Financial Management Systems In Place.
Our City Council Currently Holds Assets Of Almost R8.8 Billion And Has An Annual Expenditure Of Close To R8 Billion. About R1.3 Billion Of The City Council Expenditure Is Devoted To Capital Investment With The Balance Used For Operating Expenses.The Twinning Of Durban And Chennai Could Mark A Follow Up Journey Akin To The Enterprising Spirit Of The First Batch Of Economic Migrants Who Entered The African Landscape To Ensure That This Everlasting Relationship Takes On A New Meaning Of South-South And City-To-City Socio-Economic Co-Operation.
In My Closing Remarks, I Once Again Thank Our Hosts For Giving Me This Wonderful Opportunity To Address You On Behalf Of Our Delegation And The City Of Durban.
May Our Relationship And Social And Economic Toes Taking Place On This Historic Day Pave The Way For Prosperous Partnerships That Will Create An Enabling Climate Between The People Of Chennai And Durban.
I Thank You.
Presentation Paper Researched And Written For The Office Of The Deputy Mayor And Councillor Logie Naidoo , Ethekwini Municipality, City Of Durban, South Africa On The Anc Pbf South Africa-India Trade Delegation To Chennai, South India From 13-17 November 2010 And The Twinning Of Durban And Chennai And Unveiling Of 1860 Plaque By Marlan Padayachee, In Association With Amanda Cele, Sally Nene-Mbhele, Pinky Naidoo, Sibusiso Ngema, All Of Greengold Africa Communications: Greengold@Mtnloaded.Co.Za/ (031) 266 2134/ 073 625 8247/ 078 076 8121/ 078 2453579/Fax 00 27 31 266 8592.

Don:t let your CV's end up in File 13

2011-12-23T06:12:00.000-08:00

UMAFRIKA GRADUATION – SPEECH BY MARLAN PADAYACHEE, MANAGING PARTNER OF GREENGOLD AFRICA COMMUNICATIONS AT DURBAN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY HOTEL SCHOOL 17.12.2011
THANK YOU, PROGRAMME DIRECTOR.
· ANN SEWLAL, FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR OF UMAFRIKA SKILLS PROJECT.
· THE STAFF AND MANAGEMENT OF UMAFRIKA SKILLS PROJECT.
· COUNCILLOR DIANA HOORZUK, REPRESENTING THE SPEAKER OF THE DURBAN-ETHEKWINI MUNICIPALITY, COUNCILLOR LOGIE NAIDOO.
· ALL DISTINGUISHED DIGNITARIES, GUESTS, PARENTS AND MEMBERS OF THE DURBAN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY.
· AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, THE YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN OF THE MOMENT, THE STUDENTS WHO HAVE SUCCESSFULLY GRADUATED TO BECOME GRADUANDS.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, I AM HUMBLED AND HONOURED TO BE ADDRESSING YOU THIS AFTERNOON AS SOMEONE WHO LEARNT EARLY IN MY LIFE THAT ‘EDUCATION IS YOUR SALVATION’ AND ‘KNOWLEDGE IS POWER’ – THAT IS WHY I AM STANDING BEFORE YOU TO SHARE MY WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY WITH ALL OF YOU.
IF YOU LOOK TO YOUR LEFT AND RIGHT, YOU WILL NOTICE A GRADUATE SEATED NEXT TO YOU: YOUR PARENTS, GUARDIANS, GRANDPARENTS – ALL OF WHOM WORK TIRELESSLY TO ENSURE THAT YOU RECEIVE THE GIFT OF EDUCATION.
ALL OUR PARENTS DESERVE A ROUND OF APPLAUSE AND SOME ACADEMIC ACCOLADES, AS WELL.
THAT’S WHY MANY OF US BELIEVE AND LIVE BY THE ANCIENT AFRICAN MANTRA, UBUNTU (HUMANKIND), WHICH MEANS IN ISIZULU OR INDIGENOUS AFRICAN LANGUAGES, ‘I AM BECAUSE OF YOU’.
THAT’S WHY WE ALSO SAY IN THE AFRICAN VERNACULAR: ‘IT TAKES A VILLAGE TO RAISE A CHILD’.
WE MAY LIVE IN A COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT, WHERE PEOPLE ARE COMPETING FOR EACH OTHER FOR WEALTH, CASH, AND STATUS, AND DREAM FOR A GET-RICH-QUICK SCHEME .
THERE IS NO SHORT-CUT TO SUCCESS;
THERE IS NO SIDE ROAD TO ACCUMULATING WEALTH;
· THERE’S ONLY THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD TO SUCCESS AND ITS CALLED :
· HARD WORK;
· HONESTY;
· HUMILITY;
THE CERTIFICATE YOU ARE RECEIVING TODAY MOST TELL A STORY OF A DINT OF HARD WORK, HONESTY AND HUMILITY.
IF YOU PRESENT FALSE INFORMATION ON YOUR CURRICULUM VITAE, THEN YOUR CAREER WILL BE CONDEMNED FOR LIFE.
IT’S CALLED ACADEMIC FRAUD.
YOUR EMPLOYER WILL SHOW YOU THE DOOR THAT IS SIGN-POSTED AS ‘EXIT’.
SO, VALUE THIS CERTIFICATE YOU ARE RECEIVING TODAY.
IT IS THE START OF A NEW BEGINNING.
LEARNING DOES NOT STOP HERE.
IT CONTINUES AND CONTINUES UNTIL YOU ARE A WELL ROUNDED CANDIDATE FOR CAREER SUCCESS.
TODAY, WE ARE LIVING IN A GLOBAL VILLAGE, WHICH MEANS BY THE TOUCH OF A BUTTON YOU CAN CONTACT ANYONE IN THE WORLD, VIA CELLPHONE, VIA EMAIL, VIA INTERNET, VIA FACEBOOK, VIA TWITTER AND VIA ANY SOCIAL MEDIA.
I STAND BEFORE YOU BECAUSE I BELIEVE IN ANN SEWLAL’S UMAFRIKA SKILLS PROJECT.
IN THESE TRYING TIMES OF ECONOMIC DOWNCAST WHERE JOBS ARE BECOMING INCREASINGLY SCARCE AND POVERTY AND SOCIAL ILLS ARE REDUCING THE QUALITY OF LIFE OF THE CITIZENS OF THE GREATER DURBAN REGION, AND MANY OF THE COUNTRY, GOVERNMENT LED BY THE AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS UNDER OUR MULTIPARTY DEMOCRACY SYSTEM, IS WORKING HARD TO GIVE US ‘A BETTER LIFE FOR ALL’.
JOBLESSNESS IS THE SINGLE GREATEST THREAT TO ALL US – PARTICULARLY OUR YOUTH POPULATION – OUR FUTURE CITIZENS – OUR FUTURE LEADERS.
UMAFRIKA, THROUGH AN SEWLAL’S VISION, OFFERS STUDENTS, SCHOOL-LEAVERS, UNDERGRADUATES AND POST-GRADUATES A PRAGMATIC ANSWER TO A VERY DIFFICULT JOB MARKET – AND THAT IS FOR YOUR TO GAIN NEW SKILLS.
TO DESCRIBE UMAFRIKA, WHICH COMPLIMENTS THE TERTIARY EDUCATION INSTITUTION WITH ITS RANGE OF SHORT COURSES, I WOULD AGREE THAT: ‘
· UMAFRIKA PROJECT SPECIALISTS IS A MODEL FOR COMMUNITY OUTREACH EDUCATION AS A UNIQUE PLATFORM FOR ADVANCED, SHORT COURSES, WORKSHOP-BASED TRAINING PROGRAMME TO COMPLEMENT SOUTH AFRICA’S CRITICAL AND SCARCE SKILLS DEVELOPMENT AND TRAINING CHALLENGES.
TODAY’S JOB MARKET ALSO DEMANDS THAT YOU ARE VERSATILE.
· YOU MUST STRIVE TO BE AN ALL-ROUNDER.
· YOU MUST SAY TO AM PROSPECTIVE EMPLOYER AT A JOB INTERVIEW: ‘I AM MULTISKILLED; I AM A HARD WORKER AND HUMBLE ENOUGH TO MAKE THE TEA OR COFFEE WHILE YOUR COMPANY TEACHES ME THE TOOLS OF THE TRADE’.
· WHILE SERVING THE TEA OR COFFEE, YOU MUST DEVELOP AN APPETITE FOR KNOWLEDGE AND BE WILLING TO LEARN, AND BECOME A TEAM PLAYER WITHIN THE WORKPLACE.
· THERE IS NO ‘I’ IN THE WORD ‘SUCCESS’.
· EMPLOYERS ARE LOOKING FOR JOBSEEKERS WHO CAN ADD VALUE TO THE PROFITABILITY AND VIABILITY OF A BUSINESS, AND IT’S CALLED BOTTOMLINES.
· LEARN TO SPEAK THE ECONOMIC LANGUAGE.
· IF YOU UNDERSTAND SOMEONE’S BUSINESS, THEN YOU WILL GROW WITHIN THE WORKPLACE AND YOU WILL BE A BIGGER ASSET TO THE COMPNAY, AND THAT’S CALLED HUMAN CAPITAL.
IF YOU ARE A SLAVE TO WAGES OR SALARY THEN YOUR CAREER HAS A SHORT SHELF LIFE AND YOU WILL BE WASTING VALUABLE TIME EMAILING AND DROPPING YOUR CV’S ALL OVER.
AND IF YOU CV IS NOT A HONEST STORY OF WHAT YOU CAN OFFER YOUR EMPLOYER, THEN IT ENDS UP IN FILE 13 – THE DUSTBIN.
THAT BRINGS ME TO SOME WORDS OF VISION:
· AN AMERICAN, PHILLIP J KRAWITH, WRITING ABOUT THE FIVE REVOLUTIONS - INDUSTRIAL, TRANSPORT, COMMUNICATIONS, COMPUTER AND INTERNET: “IF YOUR COMPANY HAS PEOPLE WHO ARE SMARTER, BETTER TRAINED, MORE INNOVATIVE AND MORE PASSIONATE THAN THE OPPOSITION, YOU WIN - AND THE IMPLICATIONS ARE PROFOUND.”
APART FROM LEARNING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SKILLS, THE OTHER ASPECT OF SUCCESSFUL CAREER PATHING ARE MENTORING AND COACHING.
REMEMBER THAT ‘WITHOUT A MENTOR, AN INDIVIDUAL WILL LEARN LESS, MORE SLOWLY OR NOT AT ALL,’ SAYS MARIUS MEYER AND LEON FOURIE IN THEIR BOOK, ‘MENTORING AND COACHING’.
· THIS BOOK WAS WRITTEN TO PROVIDE GUIDELINES FOR MANAGERS, TEAM LEADERS, FACILITATORS, MENTORS OR COACHES WHO ARE REQUIRED TO DO SOME FORM OF MENTORING AND COACHING AS PART OF THEIR JOBS.
· THE AUTHORS SAY ‘EMPLOYEE INVOLVEMENT AND CHANGE MANAGEMENT ARE ESSNTIAL REALITIES OF THE NEW BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT’.
· THAT’S WHAT IS WAITING FOR YOU IN THE WORKPLACE – A NEW BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT, A FAR CRY FROM THE WORKPLACE OF YOUR PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS.
· COACHING, MENTORING AND TRAINING IS ALL ABOUT HOW ELL YOU PERFORM IN THE WORKPLACE.
SO, RECEIVING YOUR CERTIFICATES AND BEING HAPPILY PHOTOGRAPHED, IS THE START OF YOU’RE YOUR THOUSAND MILE JOURNEY INTO A LIFE WHICH IS REALLY IN YOUR HANDS.
· YOUR ATTITUDE WILL DETERMINE YOUR ALTITUDE.
· YOUR ATTITUDE WILL DETERMINE YOUR DESTINY.
· TAKE NOTE OF THESE TIPS:
· GOOD COMMUNICATIONS SKILLS;
· RESPECTFUL OF SELF AND OTHERS;
· WILLINGNESS TO SHARE;
· FLEXIBLE;
· ENCOURAGING;
· SENSITIVE TO THE NEEDS OF OTHERS;
· SELF-CONFIDENT;
· COMMITTED;
· SUPPORTIVE;
PUT ALL THE TIPS TOGETHER, IT’S A WORD CALLED ‘UBUNTU’ (HUMANENESS OR HUMANKIND).
WE ALL NEED EACH OTHER, NO-ONE IS INDISPENSABLE, NO-ONE IS AN ISLAND;
BE A TEAM PLAYER.
WE ALL KNOW WHO OPRAH WINFREY IS: WELL, SHE SAYS: “WHERE THERE IS NO STRUGGLE, THERE IS NO STRENGTH.”
ALWAYS REMEMBER: “THERE ARE TWO THINGS NEEDED THESE DAYS; FIRST, FOR RICH PEOPLE TO FIND OUT HOW POOR PEOPLE LIVE; AND SECOND, FOR POOR PEOPLE TO FIND OUT HOW RICH PEOPLE WORK.”
AND WILLIAM SPRAGUE ONCE SAID: “DO NOT WAIT TO STRIKE TILL THE IRON IS HOT; BUT MAKE IT HOT BY STRIKING.”
GOOD LUCK.
NKOSI SIKELEL IAFRIKA.
Marlan Padayachee
Marlan.padayachee@gmail.com/ 073 625 8247/ (031) 266 4293/ 266 2134: PA Pinky Naidoo: 078 076 8121/ Professional coordinator & isiZulu tutor: Sally Nene: 082 686 7561

Miss India Worldwide 2010 in South Africa

2009-02-19T19:26:00.000-08:00

Africa> Southern Africa, South Africa
New accounts : Marketing & Media Accounts

Marlan Padayachee GreenGold Africa Communications gains 2010 Miss India Worldwide Pageant account
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Marlan Padayachee GreenGold Africa Communications gains 2010 Miss India Worldwide Pageant accountMarlan Padayachee GreenGold Africa Communications have been appointed by African Cultural Events and India Festival Committee New York to secure a host-city for the 2010 Miss India Worldwide Pageant, following the success of the 'House Full' 2009 Miss India Worldwide Pageant at Durban's SuncoastCasino Sundeck on Valentine's Day.

Memons Spread Humanitarian Work in South Africa

2009-02-12T21:21:00.000-08:00

Welcome Address by Councillor Fawzia Peer, Chief Whip of the eThekwini Municipality, at the opening ceremony and gala dinner of the of the World Memon Organisation and Board of Management Meeting in Durban on 13-15th February 2009.
Assalamu alaikum. Peace be to you.
Sawubona.
Good Evening to the officials and members of the World Memon Organisation.
I acknowledge the presence of the honourable and distinguished guests.
Assalamu alaikum. Peace be to you.
Within the spirit of the ancient Islamic greeting used by Muslims worldwide, I trust that the three-day get together of the World Memon Organsation will generate a friendly and relaxed atmosphere.
Your conference, taking place in the international convention city of Durban, will bring strangers together on common grounds even when they do not speak each other's languages.
Ladies and gentlemen, I extend an official welcome to all of you from the eThekwini Municipality and the African National Congress that is the ruling party in the City of Durban.
I take this wonderful opportunity to open the three-day World Memon Organisation’s gala dinner and board of management meeting.
At the city hall, we were thrilled when we received information that this international meeting was taking place in Durban in the second month of the New Year.
I am particularly pleased that this historic gathering and important board meeting is taking place at a historic juncture in a city filled with the history of ancient peoples who had traversed this Indian Ocean Rim over the past centuries.
Let me use this opportunity to thank Mr Solly Suleman of the World Memon Organisation, South Africa Chapter, for firstly winning the bid to bring this meeting to Durban, and secondly, for giving me the humble of honour and duty of addressing all of you this evening.
On behalf of the Mayor, His Worship Councillor Obed Mlaba and the eThekwini Municipality and the African National Congress, the ruling party in our democratic city council, I wish to personally acknowledge the presence and participation of the more than 200 delegates.
Among the delegates, I am told, are leading international and local business people and community personalities.
I thank the leadership of the World Memon Organisation for holding its Board of Management Meeting at the Elangeni Hotel, one of the city’s finest hospitality centres.
Durban is indeed honoured to be hosting this prestige annual meeting that rotates every year between chapters across the globe.

We are privileged to be this year’s host city.
Ladies and gentlemen, I stand before you, brimming with a sense of pride that the World memon Organisation will be leaving behind its global footprint and legacy on what we fondly refer to as the “Golden Mile” – a stretch of sun-baked beaches.
Given the organisation’s extensive work around the world, in which you succeed each year in changing the human landscape, the Local Organising Committee has certainly chosen an appropriate venue for this evening’s braai.
The Bay of Plenty has come to represent the collective abundance of human spirit, compassion and goodwill of this vibrant African city where East criss-crosses the West.
Our ancient cultures have merged to produce a unique cacophony of the sights and sounds of our cultural diversity and demographics.
By Sunday when you wrap up your meeting, you would have appreciated the uniqueness of our city, our hospitality and our people.
As I address, the world is facing more than a financial crunch.
Add poverty, starvation, unemployment, diseases and you have a cocktail of horrendous social problems.
Ladies and gentlemen and distinguished delegates, South Africa’s democracy is maturing progressively after 15 years, but yet we face a myriad of challenges that we had largely inherited an apartheid state that was financially and morally bankrupt.
In few weeks, the nation will go to the polls to elect the third government on 22 April, followed by the inauguration of a new president, cabinet, and ministers.
The national elections will impact on our city. There will be changes at the city hall, but I assure you that a democratically elected leadership will be in place to take our dynamic city into the African century.

As Chief Whip of the African National Congress, I believe the vision and mission of the World Memon Organisation falls within the ambit of my party’s slogan that promises a “Better Life for All”.

Having experienced both worlds, the apartheid state and the democratic state, I can assure you that more progress in improving the lives of the impoverished communities have taken place since President Nelson Mandela led the new South Africa in 1994.
Our job as city councilors and politicians at the coalface of our communities, I can share with you that our seven-day week job has its fair share of complexities and challenges as we navigate our work to bring relief and comfort to the poorest of the poor in our city.
Ever since I joined public office, I have embraced a simple and ancient philosophy: “It is better to light a candle, than to curse the darkness”.
Given some of the local and global social and economic dynamics I have briefly alluded to, we need to borrow from the pearls of wisdom of our Blessed Prophet Muhammed (Peace Be Upon Him) when he inspired us with these uplifting words: “When the world pushes you to your knees, you are in a perfect position to pray”.
In South Africa, and particularly in city, we have learnt a culture of volunteerism from our great leaders before us – Mahatma Gandhi, Dr Yusuf Dadoo and many other leaders.
This evening, I am comfortable to be addressing a movement that thrives on volunteerism and self-help.
Your mission and vision is in a perfect position to brighten the bleak human landscape.
This evening, I urge the World Memon Organisation, to keep up your momentum as a leading global social responsibility organisation that encourages businesses and individuals to assist the underprivileged, and may you continue providing leadership vision and empowering our women and youth.
This evening, I urge you to continue building your business networks to fund and sustain this worthy worldwide cause.
I am firmly of the view that government alone cannot solve the social ills of the world. The private sector such as business and your organizations are the catalysts for public-private sector partnerships.
I salute you this evening for having assisted countless families and individuals globally with skills development, scholarships, and bursaries.
The organisation deserves due recognition for providing equipment to empower disadvantaged people to become self sufficient.
The R100 million you have individually and collective invested in this noble humanitarian cause and campaign has not gone unnoticed, at least in the City of Durban.
The city is truly honoured that an organisation of your stature and status has gathered here to map the way forward.
May your organisation of associations, corporate bodies and Jamaats continue to spread your vision and mission across the world.
May your socio-religious calling be heard loud and clear in communities where the sun has to rise.
May the Memon community spread its love and humility to distance lands where people live with hope of a new tomorrow.
I Thank you.

Speech researched and written for the Office of the Chief Whip, Cllr Fawzia Peer of the eThekwini Municipality, City of Durban, South Africa, by Marlan Padayachee Amanda Cele, GreenGold Africa Communications: greengold@telkomsa.net/ www.greengoldcom.com/ www.marlanpadayachee.com/ 083 796 1762/ (031) 266 1762/ Durban South Africa __________________

Tribute to Krishna Naidoo

2009-02-06T20:09:00.000-08:00

Tribute to a Tireless Charity Fundraiser – Krishna Naidoo A TIRELESS fundraiser and philanthropist for many charities, Krishna Naidoo, died at Durban's Nu Shifa Hospital this week of a heart attack after a short illness, aged 82.Mr Naidoo, of Asherville, Durban, raised hundreds of thousands of rands for the construction of the Saiva Sithantha Sungum's temple and community hall, a project that took spiritual head Guru Krishna Naidoo 30 years to complete. The Mother Theresa Foundation, Benny Hinn and the Divine Life Society also benefited from his contribution and humanitarian work."Ever since my father-in-law's audience with acclaimed spiritual icon Sai Baba in India years ago, he had devoted his life to helping charities and impoverished communities, raising funds, and rallying support for socio-religious organisations both here and abroad," said his son-in-law Marlan Padayachee.Mr Naidoo is survived by his widow, Mrs Pappamah Naidoo and children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. His funeral will take place at the Clare Estate Crematorium, where his body will lie in state on Sunday, 8 February 2008, from 1pm to 3.30pm. Ends _____________________________________________________________________________________Issued by Pinky Naidoo 031 266 5599/ 266 1872/ 083 796 1762/ 083... pnpinkynaidoo@gamil.com

Imagine Durban Promotes Tomorrow's Clowns without Borders

2009-01-10T21:29:00.000-08:00

Eureka! Imagine Durban Puts Smiles on Tomorrow’s Homegrown Clowns

Written by Marlan Padayachee
Monday, 22 December 2008
In its quest to make a difference to the city’s environmental and human landscapes, Imagine Durban has transformed the lives of several young people from previously disadvantaged and indigent communities through the drama therapy of simply clowning around for a worthy cause.
Step aside circus institution, Boswell Wilkies. Let the drums roll for a curtain call to Vuka Circus, Durban’s first, homegrown circus road show.
With jobs becoming scarce for young graduates and school-leavers amid a global recession and economic meltdown, Imagine Durban, in an exciting partnership with the internationally-renowned Clowns Without Borders, has successfully harnessed the untapped skills of eight youths from the Durban’s inner-city townships and other areas. After a month-long programme, including workshops in the art of clowning around, twisting a balloon, juggling in pairs and scaling new heights on the shoulders of clowning colleagues, Eureka!
Vuka Circus is the latest red-nosed brigade that’s on the roll to put smiles on the faces of men, women and children throughout Durban, from the historic heritage site of Bhambayi’s Gandhi Settlement to the Valley of 1000 Hills.
The Clowns Without Borders’ mentoring and skills development workshops with Vuka Circus is one of the central themes of Imagine Durban, a project led by the eThekwini Municipality, to celebrate Durban’s cultural diversity, arts and heritage.
Imagine Durban is a Municipality sponsored project being implemented in conjunction with Sustainable Cities, a Canadian NGO and the PLUS Network, a network of 35 cities in 14 countries that has been established to share experiences in sustainability planning, that is funded by the Canadian International Development Agency.
A core element of the Imagine Durban project was to allocate funding for community Demonstration Projects that would directly benefit the citizens of Durban in a sustainable way. There are currently eight Imagine Durban Demonstration Projects that will be implemented throughout the Municipality addressing issues ranging from public safety and food security to art and livelihoods.
With the launch of the first Demonstration Project, Vuka Circus has arrived. Through choreography of colourful antics, juggling, animation, acrobats and even scaling shoulders, Vuka Circus narrates the painful and poignant stories of the deadly scourge of HIV-Aids and the post-apartheid nightmare of xenophobhia that has blighted the new South Africa’s human rights image.
Vuka Circus performed the awareness raising show eleven times in early December. Nine of the performances were followed by workshops in which children were taught some clowning basics after which they were divided into groups and the performers facilitated a discussion about xenophobia.
Through the skilful antics of Busi Biyela or Bongekile Mabuya or Sipho Mdletshe, or Michael Ncayiyana’s red-nosed clowning, the juggling prowess of Sabee Shozi and Mduza Nzuza, Thandile Phoswa’s prancing in hoops of joy and jubilation, the rookie change agents animates the intolerance of humanity towards each other, the desperate scramble for bread crumbs in the shrinking food chain cycle and a dash for menial jobs in the marketplace.
“Clowns are far more than showing how to twist balloons or creating balloon sculpture and Clowns Without Borders, with the excellent support of Imagine Durban, has empowered Vuka Circus with new skills as clowns, acrobats and jugglers,” said Jamie Lachman, Founder and Director Clowns Without Borders South Africa, soon after his protégés delivered their final laugh-a-minute performance at the BAT Centre on the city’s waterfront recently.
“Through juggling, acrobats, games and some clowning, children learn in a fun way how to talk about the recent xenophobic attacks on foreigners and how to deal with the burning question of HIV-AIDS that continues to affect parents and guardians and leaves children orphaned.”
Project administrator Lulu Ngcobo says she has witnessed some “amazing transformation” in the scores of youths who have benefited from the road shows: “Imagine Durban has given us an excellent opportunity to source the best talents from communities that are sidelined from the social and economic mainstream. These free skills development opportunities has empowered youths with professional development and life skills and many of them are now much more versatile.
Eleven performances later, the colourful clown troupe that makes up the Vuka Circus has brought smiles and laughter to the children and adults in schools and communities across Durban, highlighting the pangs of a post-apartheid society caught in a grip of grinding poverty and unemployment. They left their audiences in stitches.
Published on Imagine Durban website on 22 December 2008 Durban South Africa
Marlan Padayachee GreenGold Africa Communications provide journalistic and photographic support for Imagine Durban

Indians A Colourful Community

2009-01-10T21:27:00.001-08:00

A colorful community 08 Jan 2009 published in the Natal Witness, South Africa
Marlan Padayachee

This week local Indians are building bridges at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (Global Indian Diaspora) Convention in Chennai, India, an occasion that provides an opportunity to examine the perennial identity crisis facing the Indian community in South Africa who will celebrate 150 years in South Africa in 2010. This time next year the Indian community will celebrate a plethora of projects marking their 150-year co-existence in Africa, a far cry from the country they refer to as the motherland or Thai Nadu.While older generations are emotional and sentimental about traditional and historical ties with Mother India, the younger generations seek jobs and lifestyles in Western democracies, leaving behind the baggage of the past.On the flipside, the hybrid of labourers and traders has the capacity to fuse this milestone into a continental psyche that will herald the first kick-off of the 2010 Soccer World Cup and throw Africa into a euphoric explosion of football frenzy. Their culture contributes to our cosmopolitan society.A community with a history and heritage can offer much more to a country with the complexities and challenges of economic empowerment, nation-building, poverty, crime and corruption.During the reign of the British Raj, agriculturally skilled Indians were shipped to South Africa and other colonial outposts to turn sugar cane plantations into new economies for the imperial industrialists, hence the term “green gold”. Peasants, faced with grinding poverty, were lured via the colonial expansion to work on the railways, mines, agriculture and domestic services.After the SS Truro dropped anchor in Durban Bay on November 16, 1860 with the first batch, shiploads of semi-skilled slaves, professionals and merchants were ferried in droves. The economic migration ended 50 years later. The pioneers gave birth to a new generation, the largest outside India.While the stoical semi-slaves transformed the green fields into gold for sugar barons, traders and craftsmen gave Indians an economic and capitalist face on this edge of the Indian Ocean rim.It took a visionary, M. K. Gandhi, to change the complexion of how the business and the underclass Indians would map out their survival strategy and destiny in the face of discrimination that was also meted out to indigenous people.In an Indian diaspora of 20 million, the local community stands out for a variety of reasons, with political resistance and an enterprising spirit ranking high.The “uniqueness” comes from the work culture that they inherited from their forebears, always resilient in the face of adversity. Credibility came by siding with the oppressed masses. With this al-liance, they got rid of the colonial-apartheid leg irons.Staving off repatriation, they sacrificed so much for so many people to enjoy freedom, social justice and human rights, making them a cut above the rest in the global village.On the other side of the coin, the grass is no longer greener for working-class Indians, now in a similar position to poorer black workers.Although Indians today are a formidable presence, enjoying social cohesion and economic advantage, and continue to influence business and politics, the legacy of the 1860 descendants has been left behind by change.Or did the winds of an epoch-making transformation push Indians onto the margins of the economically empowered black mainstream, in sharp contrast to the role they played in the resistance to apartheid?With 800 000 Indians in KwaZulu-Natal, 2010 still provides an excellent exhibition to showcase their 150 years.Politically, the Indian swing vote is important to the national ballot, being split between the African National Congress and its dissident Congress of the People formation, and a variety of opposition parties.Conservative by nature, Indians blow hot and cold. Always apolitical, they are cautious and put “place bets” on the political roulette wheel. They need to assimilate themselves into the nation’s heartbeat.Yet of 1, 3 million Asians, two percent of South Africa’s population of 47 million, Indians are in the majority.When they arrived from colonial India, they were termed Indian South Africans. At the Global People of Indian Origin gathering, they were called South Africans of Indian origin. They have evolved via political resistance to Indian-African or African-Indian.Notwithstanding the sentimental journey, emotional bloodlines and poignant history, culminating in the triumphal spirit of humanity, the identity crisis is a post-apartheid challenge. This is further complicated by a strong identification with Bollywood, heart-throbbing ethnic music, spicy cuisines, sweetmeats and saris, demonstrating that the umbilical cord with Mother India is still intact. That’s why a contingent of Indians is lobbying at the Chennai Convention, hoping to sharpen their profiles, forge business opportunities and explore their ancestry. Significantly, Chennai is the port where mainly Tamil and Telugu-speaking labourers from the Madras presidency sailed for the “bay by the water”, and began to push into Africa. Today, a legacy lives in the hearts and minds of a people whose forebears toiled from dawn to dusk under the African sun.Marlan Padayachee

It's lights, camera, action in Durban

2009-01-10T21:25:00.001-08:00

© 1999 - 2009 Sunday Tribune & Independent Online (Pty) Ltd.

Published in The ISSUE Page – © Herald, Durban, South Africa, 11 Jan 2009.
It’s lights, camera, action
Speech Delivered by Deputy Mayor Logie Naidoo, Published speech researched and written by Marlan Padayachee GreenGold Africa Communications, South Africa

Durban is trying to grab a slice of Bollywood action, with the launch of the Durban Film Office and Anant Singh’s plans for a R40 million film city. Deputy Mayor Logie Naidoo revealed this in his paper, “Cultural entertainment and movie industry opportunities between India and Durban”, delivered at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Chennai 7-9 January 2009.
Read more on: www.wordsmith-commissar.blog spot.com

Durban Bids for Bollywood to film in local locations

2009-01-03T06:51:00.000-08:00

Researched and Written by Marlan Padayachee, Speechwriter to Logie Naidoo, Deputy Mayor of the City of Durban, eThekwini Municipality, South Africa.
A PAPER PRESENTED BY COUNCILLOR LOGIE NAIDOO, DEPUTY MAYOR OF THE ETHEKWINI MUNICIPALITY, CITY OF DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA, AT THE ANNUAL PRAVASI BHARATIYA DIVAS IN CHENNAI, INDIA, FROM 7-9 JANUARY 2009.
TOPIC: CULTURAL ENTERTAINMENT AND MOVIE INDUSTRY OPPORTUNITIES BETWEEN INDIA AND DURBAN.
THANK YOU, PROGRAMME DIRECTOR.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN.
DISTINGUISHED DELEGATES AND DIGNITARIES.
AS THE DEPUTY MAYOR OF THE ETHEKWINI MUNICIPALITY AND THE CITY OF DURBAN IN SOUTH AFRICA, I HAVE IMMENSE PRIDE AND PLEASURE IN RECOGNISING THE FOLLOWING PEOPLE ASSOCIATED WITH THIS GLOBAL GATHERING OF PEOPLE OF INDIAN ORIGIN THAT HAS COME TO GAIN PROMINENCE IN THE INDIAN DIASPORA STAGE AS THE PRAVASI BHARATIYA DIVAS.
THE HONOURABLE CHIEF MINISTERS, MINISTERS AND MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT.
THE MINISTRY OF OVERSEAS INDIAN AFFAIRS.
THE STATE GOVERNMENT OF TAMIL NADU.
THE CONFEDERATION OF INDIAN INDUSTRY.
CAPTAINS OF INDUSTRY.
CORPORATE AND BUSINESS LEADERS.
THE PEOPLE OF CHENNAI AND TAMIL NADU.
THE PEOPLE OF INDIA.
ALL STAKEHOLDERS AND ROLE-PLAYERS.
FELLOW PRESENTERS.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, I WISH TO RECOGNISE SOME OF MY COLLEAGUES AND COMPATRIOTS IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN DELEGATION.

I AM ALSO PROUD THAT THEY ALL HAIL FROM THE CITY OF DURBAN.
ON THIS FORUM, I HAVE PLEASURE IN ACKNOWLEDGING THE PRESENCE AND PARTICIPATION OF:
· PROFESSOR DASARATH CHETTY, PRO-VICE CHANCELLOR OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU-NATAL;
· JUSTICE MOHINI MURUGASEN, ONE OF MANY WOMEN JURISTS APPOINTED TO THE BAR IN OUR TRANSFORMING LEGAL SYSTEM;
· MR THOLSIAH P NAIDOO, DIRECTOR OF THE INDIAN ACADEMY;
· MR AMICHAND RAJBANSI, LEADER OF THE MINORITY FRONT AND MEC FOR SPORT AND RECREATION IN THE KWAZULU-NATAL GOVERNMENT, AND MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT, WHO WAS APPOINTED TO THE PROVINCIAL CABINET BY THE RULING AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS.
GOOD MORNING/GOOD AFTERNOON.
HAVING PREVIOUSLY ATTENDED THE PRAVASI BHARATIYA DIVAS IN NEW DELHI, I MUST SALUTE THE JOINT ORGANISERS FOR THEIR FLEXIBILITY IN BRINGING THIS ANNUAL SOCIAL AND BUSINESS NETWORKING PLATFORM TO THE SOUTH EASTERN SHORES OF THIS ANCIENT CIVILISATION THAT IS INEXTRICABLY TIED TO OUR HISTORY, HERITAGE, LEGACY AND DESTINY IN SOUTH AFRICA.
NO ONE WOULD BE MORE THRILLED OR OVERWHELMED THAN ME IF THE PRAVASI BHARATIYA DIVAS IS EXPORTED BEYOND THESE SACRED SHORES TO DURBAN, ON THE SOUTH EASTERN TIP OF AFRICA.
AS A SISTER-CITY OF CHENNAI, ANY INITIATIVE TO FLY THE FLAG OF THE PRAVASI BHARATIYA DIVAS IN DURBAN WOULD BE BEST DESCRIBED AS GROUND-BREAKING AND SYMBOLIC.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, SOUTH AFRICA’S DEFINING YEAR OF 2010 WILL SEE OUR MATURING AND FLEDGLING DEMOCRACY HOST ONE OF THE GREATEST SPORTING SPECTACLES IN THE WORLD, THE FIFA WORLD CUP SOCCER.
IN THE YEAR OF OUR WORLD RECOGNITION, SOUTH AFRICA’S INDIAN COMMUNITY WILL ALSO BE CELEBRATING 150 YEARS OF ITS CO-EXISTENCE IN AFRICA.
THIS WILL BE A NOSTALGIC MILESTONE, IN WHICH INDIA’S FATHER OF THE NATION, MOHANDAS KARAMCHAND GANDHI, HAD A HAND IN SHAPING OUR DESTINY FROM THE SHACKLES OF COLONIAL-APARTHEID RULE.
FOR THIS PRICELESS AND SELFLESS CONTRIBUTION MADE BY GANDHIJI, INDIAN SOUTH AFRICANS, OF WHICH THE MAJORITY LIVE, WORK AND THRIVE IN THE CITY OF DURBAN, ARE INDEBTED AND GRATEFUL TO MOTHER INDIA.
LET ME PAUSE AT THIS STAGE TO SHARE WITH YOU A HISTORICAL TIMELINE OF OUR SHARED EXPERIENCE.
THE AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS, THE MAJORITY PARTY IN DURBAN, AND MOST PART OF OUR REPUBLIC, HAS ENJOYED, AND CONTINUES TO ENJOY, A LONG-STANDING RELATIONSHIP WITH THE CONGRESS PARTY OF INDIA EVER SINCE INDIAN AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS, SHRI SAROJINI NAIDOO DECLARED APARTHEID A CRIME TO HUMANITY IN THE 1940s.
EVER SINCE SHRI LATHA REDDY OPENED THE FIRST INDIAN CONSULATE IN DURBAN IN 1993, INDIA IS REMAINS A KEY STRATEGIC PARTNER FOR SOUTH AFRICA.
THE OPENING OF THE CONSULATE IN THE HEART OF OUR CBD HAS BEEN THE STIMULUS FOR UNPRECEDENTED TWO-WAY FLOW OF PEOPLE, TRADE RELATIONS AND CULTURAL EXCHANGES BETWEEN DURBAN AND MAJOR INDIAN CITIES OVER THE PAST 15 YEARS.
THEREFORE, OUR PRESENCE AND PARTICIPATION DURING THIS CONVENTION AND EXHIBITION IS TO ENSURE THAT THESE UNIQUE TIES ARE STRENGTHENED AND RAISED TO THE NEXT BAR OF MUTUAL CO-OPERATION BETWEEN A PEOPLE TIED BY A COMMON DESTINY.
AS INDIA AND CHINA JOSTLES TO EMERGE AS WORLD ECONOMIC LEADERS BY 2015, LET US JOIN US HANDS, HARNESS OUR SKILLS, TALENTS, RESOURCES AND CAPITAL AND MAKE THE SOUTH AFRICA-INDIA-BRAZIL AGREEMENT WORK BEYOND OUR WILDEST DREAMS.
I CAN ASSURE YOU THAT DURBAN IS READY TO DO BUSINESS.
I SEE THE MEDIA, FILM AND ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY AS THE NEW CATALYSTS FOR AN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RENAISSANCE BETWEEN US.

I HAVE A VISION THAT 2009 IS THE CURTAIN-RAISER AND 2010 IS THE AFRICAN STAGE, THE GATEWAY TO A MULTITUDE OF OPPORTUNITIES.
SO, YOU CANNOT IMAGINE HOW EXCITED WE ARE TO MAKE THE BEST OF THE NEXT 12 MONTHS IN THE LEAD UP TO 2010 WHEN WE INVITE ONE OF OUR STRONGEST ALLIES, INDIA AND ITS PEOPLE, TO JOIN US IN CELEBRATING THE AFRICAN WORLD CUP AND THE 150 YEAR CELEBRATION OF INDIANS IN SOUTH AFRICA.
OUR INDIAN PARTNERS AND VISITORS WILL SOON REALISE THAT INDIANS ARE UBIQUITOUS IN DURBAN AND YOUR HOSPITALITY WILL BE AKIN TO HOME FROM HOME.
DURBAN IS HOME TO MORE THAN FOUR MILLION PEOPLE, OF WHICH MORE THAN 800 000 INDIANS RESIDE IN OUR COSMOPOLITAN CITY.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, I TRUST THAT I HAVE WHETTED YOUR APPETITE THUS FAR.
TODAY, THROUGH THE PAGES OF MY PAPER AND A SLIDE PRESENTATION, I HOPE TO TRANSPORT YOU FROM INCREDIBLE INDIA ACROSS THE INDIAN OCEAN RIM TO A CITY THAT I WILL REFER TO AS AN AFRICAN PARADISE AND ITS PEOPLE.
MY TASK IS TO FOCUS ON THE CULTURAL ENTERTAINMENT AND MOVIE INDUSTRY OPPORTUNITIES BETWEEN INDIA AND THE CITY OF DURBAN.
WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE CONVENTION THEME : ENGAGING THE DIASPORA – THE WAY FORWARD, I INTEND PROVIDING SOME INSIGHTS INTO HOW THE COLLECTIVE SUB-THEMES OF LANGUAGE AND CULTURE, DIASPORA YOUTH IN 21ST CENTURY INDIA, BUILDING BRIDGES, TRADE AND INVESTMENT, DIASPORA PHILANTHROPHY, EDUCATION AND DIASPORA KNOWLEDGE NETWORK AND MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, AS CHAIRMAN OF THE CITY’S ECONOMIC AND DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE, I STAND BEFORE CONFIDENT THAT FILM INDUSTRY’S KEY CATCH-PHRASES: LIGHTS, CAMERAS, ACTION! – HAS BECOME NEW SOCIAL ECONOMIC BUZZWORDS IN DURBAN.
DURBAN IS THE NEW STUDIO OF OUR BURGEONING FILM INDUSTRY.
OVER THE PAST 149 YEARS, WE IN DURBAN AND SOUTH AFRICA HAVE BEEN INSPIRED AND ENTERTAINED BY INDIA’S FILM INDUSTRY, KNOWN WORLDWIDE AS BOLLYWOOD.
EVEN IN THE DARKEST HOUR OF APARTHEID, BLACK AND WHITE FILMS RANGING FROM THE ALL-TIME CLASSIC, MOTHER INDIA, TO A VARIETY OF HINDI AND TAMIL MOVIES FEATURING SOME OF THE BEST-LOVED ACTORS, HAVE AN ENRICHED GENERATIONS OF INDIANS OUTSIDE THE SUB-CONTINENT.
TODAY, BOLLYWOOD IS AN INSTITUTION AMONG SOUTH AFRICANS OF INDIAN ORIGIN.
TOGETHER WITH ALL OUR STAKEHOLDERS IN THIS PROMISING YOUNG INDUSTRY AND OUR PARTNERS IN INDIA, WE ARE DETERMINED FROM CALCUTTA TO CHENNAI TO BRING BOLLYWOOD TO DURBAN. I AM PLEASED TO INFORM YOU THAT THE BUSTLING PORT CITY OF DURBAN IS ENTHUSIASTIC TO PARALLEL THE ESTABLISHED FILM INDUSTRIES IN OUR SISTER CITIES, CAPE TOWN AND JOHANESBURG.

I AM HAPPY TO ANNOUNCE AT THIS FORUM THAT THE ETHEKWINI MUNICIPALITY HAS OPENED THE DURBAN FILM OFFICE, A FORERUNNER TO ENSURING THAT OUR FILM INDUSTRY GROWS INTO A LANDMARK LOCATION FOR INDIAN MOVIE-MAKERS.

AS A CONVENTION CITY WITH A MYRIAD OF NATURAL HERITAGE SITES, WILDLIFE AND BREATHTAKING LOCATIONS, FROM THE BERG TO THE BEACH, A REFERENCE TO OUR SPECTACULR SIGHTS OF THE DRAKENSBERG MOUNTAIN TO OUR SUN-SOAKED BEACHES, I CAN ASSURE BOLLLYWOOD OF THE CITY’S MAXIMUM CO-OPERATION AND SUPPORT.

OUR AFRICAN PARADISE AND ITS PEOPLE HAVE THE CAPACITY TO PROVIDE THE BEST CANVAS FOR FILM-MAKERS TO ROLL OUT THEIR ARTISTIC AND CREATIVE GENIUS.

IN THIS RESPECT, THE DURBAN FILM OFFICE HAS RECENTLY TIED UP STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS WITH THE KWAZULU-NATAL FILM COMMISSION AND THE DURBAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY FILM COMMITTEE TO BOOST THE LOCAL FILM ENVIRONMENT.

BY NOW MANY OF YOU WOULD KNOW THAT DURBAN BOASTS A LEADING MOVIE MOGUL.

I LOOK FORWARD TO THE DAYS WHEN ANANT SINGH AND INDIA’S PROLIFIC DIRECTOR OF THE ‘MIDDLE CINEMA’ SHYAM BENEGAL WILL JOIN FORCES TO COLLABORATE ON A FILM CHRONICLING THE MIGRATION OF INDIAN LABOURERS AND TRADERS TO DURBAN AND A STORYBOARD ENCOMPASSING 150 YEARS IN OUR VERY OWN STUDIO.

BORN AND BRED IN THE CITY WHERE THE FIRST BATCH OF INDIAN INDENTURED LABOURERS SET FOOT ON 16 NOVEMBER 1860, ANANT SINGH HAS BECOME DURBAN’S BEST INTERNATIONAL EXPORT.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, I AM PLEASED TO INFORM YOU THAT OUR FILM AMBASSADOR IS FORGING AHEAD WITH HIS PLANS TO LAUNCH A R40-MILLION OR SIX-MILLION US DOLLAR DURBAN FILM CITY ON THE DOORSTEP OF THE CITY’S GOLDEN MILE STRETCH OF BLUE-FLAGGED BEACH.

THIS MASSIVE PROJECT IS BOUND TO REVOLUTIONISE DURBAN INTO A MAJOR-LEAGUE CINEMA ENVIRONMENT.

THE BENEFITS ARE ENORMOUS FOR ALL STAKEHOLDERS, INCLUDING INVESTORS, AS THIS MODEL ROLLS OUT FOR A CITY THAT IS NOT NEW TO MOVIE-MAKING.

I AM REMINDED THAT IN 1909, ABOUT THE TIME GANDHIJI WAS CHANGING THE LOCAL LANDSCAPE; DURBAN WAS THE FIRST IN THE COLONIAL COUNTRY WITH A PERMANENT BUILDING FOR SCREENING MOTION PICTURES.

OUR HISTORY REVEALS THAT A CINEMA CALLED THE ELECTRIC THEATRE FILMED AND SCREENED THE NEWSREELS OF THE ANGLO-BOER WAR FROM 1889 TO 1902, RECORDING FOR THE FIRST TIME A WAR HAD BEEN FILMED ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD.
THIS LED TO THE PRODUCTION OF TWO FILMS, ZULU AND ZULU DAWN, RANKED AS THE MOST SUCCESSFUL FILMS MADE IN SOUTH AFRICA.

AS I SPEAK ANANT SINGH’S LATEST MOVIE, MR BONES 2 THAT WAS SHOT ON LOCATION IN DURBAN WITH THE SUPPORT OF OUR MUNICIPALITY IS A BOX-OFFICE HIT, TOPPING ALMOST R20 MILLION IN THE FIRST THREE WEEKS.

THE PREMIERE OF THIS DELIGHTFUL NEW EXPORT WAS HELD IN DURBAN, ANOTHER INDICATOR OF JUST HOW SERIOUS WE ARE TO TURN THE FILM INDUSTRY ON ITS HEAD.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, DURBAN’S CINEMATIC WHEEL IS READY TO SPIN INTO A SUCCESS STORY.

BUT BEFORE THAT THE CITY OWES ITS NEW BENCHMARKING IN THE FILM INDUSTRY TO THE DURBAN FILM FESTIVAL.

NOW KNOWN AS THE DURBAN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL IN ITS 31ST YEAR, THE ORIGINAL DURBAN FILM CIRCLE PROVIDED A HOME FOR ALTERNATIVE FILM MAKING.

WHEN APARTHEID LAWS BLACKED OUT SCREENING OF FILMS AND PROHIBITED MIXED-RACE AUDIENCE, THE FILM CIRCLE SCREENED ART HOUSE MOVIES TO MULTIRACIAL PATRONS AT CAMPUS HALLS ON SUNDAY NIGHTS.

RUNNING PARALLEL TO THE LIBERATION STRUGGLE IN THE 1980s, ACTIVISTS LOBBIED TO DEMOCRATISE THE FILM AND TELEVISION INDUSTRY TO UNDERMINE APARTHEID PROPAGANDA.
DURING THIS ERA THE APARTHEID GOVERNMENT SUBSIDISED FILM-MAKING FOR ITS PROPAGANDA PURPOSE.

HOWEVER, TODAY, OUR DEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENT HAS PUT IN PLACE A FILM AND PUBLICATIONS BOARD THAT MONITORS THE INDUSTRY, INCLUDING THE SPECTRUM OF THE ANIMATION INDUSTRY.

IN FACT, THE NEW GOVERNMENT SUPPORTS FILM-MAKING INITIATIVES AND INCENTIVES ARE OFFERED TO ENSURE THAT FILM-MAKERS CAN EVEN SHOOT LOW-BUDGET FILMS AGAINST OUR FASCINATING BACKDROPS, SIGHTS AND SOUNDS.

SINCE OUR MARCH TO FREEDOM IN 1994, WE HAVE MANY STORIES TO TELL AND DOCUMENT THEM VIA OUR FILM STUDIO IN THE MAKING.

DURBAN IS CENTRAL TO THE COLLECTIVE CONTRIBUTION OF FILM-MAKING, PROVIDING AFFORDABLE LABOUR AND INFRASTRUCTURE, AND DIVERSE CANVAS OF LOCATIONS SUITED FOR 320 DAYS OF SUNSHINE AND GOOD WEATHER.

I AM CONVINCED THAT DURBAN IS BECOMING A POPULAR LOCATION FOR INTERNATIONAL DIRECTORS AND PRODUCERS.

WITH DURBAN BOASTING THE BIGGEST AND LONGEST RUNNING INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL IN SOUTH AFRICA, I BELIEVE WE HAVE THE EXPERTISE, KNOW-HOW, PEOPLE AND LOCATIONS TO
ENSURE THAT THE REELS ARE READY TO ROLL.

I THEREFORE WISH TO ASSURE YOU THAT THE DURBAN FILM OFFICE HAS THE CAPACITY AND EXPERTISE TO FACILITATE MOVIE PRODUCTIONS RANGING FROM FULL-LENGTH FILMS TO DOCUMENTARIES AND ADVERTISING PRODUCTIONS FROM LOCAL TO WORLD BRANDS.

THROUGH THE FILMING OF TWO BOLLYWOOD PRODUCTIONS, DOOM 2 AND RACE, FEATURING AMONG THE BOLLYWOOD SCREEN LEGENDS, ASIHWARAYA RAI AND HRITHIK ROSHAN, DURBAN HAD PROVIDED ROAD CLOSURES AND FACILITIES FOR SOME SPECTACULAR STUNTS.

AS PART OF THE CITY’S 2020 VISION TO CREATE A BETTER LIFE FOR ALL OUR CITIZENS, DURBAN ENCOURAGES THE RECRUITMENT OF LOCAL EXTRAS AND STAFF, WHILE PROVIDING CATERING AND THE COST OF PRODUCTION FOR FOREIGN CAST AND CREWS.

WITHIN THE ENTERTAINMENT REALM, DURBAN OFFERS A WORLD-CLASS VENUE FOR LIVE INTERNATIONAL SHOWS AT THE MUNICIPAL-OWNED INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION CENTRE THAT HAS HOUSED HUNDREDS OF WORLD CONVENTIONS SINCE THE 1990S.

EVER SINCE INDIA’S ICONIC FILM LEGEND AMITABH BACHCHAN STAGED THE BIGGEST OPEN-AIR MUSIC CONCERT IN DURBAN, THE CITY HAS NEVER LOOKED BACKED AND HAS HOSTED SUPERSTARS RANGING FROM MICHAEL JACKSON TO UB40.

OUR NEW WORLD CUP STADIUM IS BEING DESIGNED TO HOST THE BIGGEST SHOWS FROM ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD.

I WOULD ENCOURAGE PROMOTERS TO BRING INDIAN ENTERTAINMENT TO DURBAN.

CLASSICAL MUSIC IS HUGELY POPULAR AND I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE BEST OF THE BHARAT-NATYAM AND KATHAK DANCERS PERFORMING FOR OUR CITIZENS.

THE CITY WOULD ENCOURAGE CULTURAL EXCHANGES IN INDIAN MUSIC AND DANCE INVOLVING OUR INDIAN AND AFRICAN STUDENTS.

MORE THAN EVER, WE NEED TO KEEP THE CULTURAL FLAME BURNING AND THIS COULD BE ENHANCED BY FORGING LINKS THROUGH DURBAN’S SISTER-CITY STATUS WITH CHENNAI AND OTHER INDIAN CITIES.

HAVING SKETCHED SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS AS TO WHY INDIA SHOULD BRING BOLLYWOOD OR ITS ENTERTAINMENT ACTS TO DURBAN LET ME SUPPORT MY BID TO OFFER DURBAN AS THE NEW FILM-MAKING AND ENTERTAINMENT MECCA TO THE WORLD.

· AS A SOCIALITE IN A CITY WHERE THE SUN NEVER SETS, I CAN TESTIFY THAT DURBAN HAS A MUSICAL SOIL FOR EVERYONE FROM MUSICOLOGISTS TO THE RHYTHMIC RAPPER TO LEAVE THEIR FOOTPRINTS.

· FIRSTLY, THE CITY CONTIUNUES TO POUR MILLIONS OF DOLLARS INTO BRAND MARKETING DURBAN AS AN INTERNATIONAL TOURIST DESTINATION AND LANDMARK LOCATION SITUATED AS A GATEWAY INTO AFRICA.

· DURBAN IS ONE OF THE GREAT CITIES IN AFRICA, THE THIRD LARGEST IN SOUTH AFRICA, AND AN ECONOMIC HUB AND LINKAGE INTO SOUTHERN AFRICA.

· AS WE PREPARE FOR 2010, THE CITY IS ROLLING OUT MAJOR INFRASTRUCTURAL PROJECTS, INCLUDING OUR R1, 6 BILLION GIANT STADIUM WITH A SEATING CAPACITY OF 70 000.

· OUR INDIAN INVESTORS AND VISITORS CAN EXPECT TO TOUCH DOWN AT A MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT OVERLOOKING THE INDIAN OCEAN.

· TAKE MY WORD FOR IT THAT DURBAN OFFERS VISITORS, INVESTORS AND CITIZENS AN EXCITING GLIMPSE INTO A POSITIVE FUTURE.

· DURBAN’S COSMOPOLITAN PROFILING AND OUR SPECTRUM OF CULTURES, SIGHTS AND SOUNDS, AND AS WELL AS AUTHENTIC INDIAN, AFRICAN AND WESTERN CUISINES, AND HOMEGROWN HOSPITALITY, CONTRIBUTES TO SOUTH AFRICA’S NATIONAL CULTURE.

· OUR TAGLINE, ONE CITY, MANY CULTURES, MAKES DURBAN A UNIQUE METROPOLIS WHERE EAST MEETS WEST AND BLENDS WITH INDIGENOUS AFRICAN CULTURE, RITUALS, SOCIAL COHESION, POLITICAL MATURITY AND ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT.
· IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR RELIGIOUS AND SPIRITUAL INSPIRATION, THE CITY’S STREETS INTERSECTS WITH TEMPLES, MOSQUES, SYNAGOGUES, CHURCHES AND CATHEDRALS.
· THE CITY THRIVES ON PROMOTING INTER-FAITH ACTIVITIES, HARMONY, PEACE AND TOLERANCE.
· AS A MULTICULTURAL REALITY, RELIGION IN DURBAN IS A DYNAMIC MELTING POT OF BELIEFS, THEOLOGIES AND RITUALS.
· AS A YOUNG DEMOCRACY, DURBAN HAS A PROGRESSIVE CITY GOVERNMENT THAT CELEBRATES DIVERSITY THAT IS THE HEARTBEAT OF OUR CULTURAL AND ECONOMIC LIFE.
· THE CITY’S DOMINANT ECONOMIC FACTORS INCLUDE TOURISM, FOOD AND BEVERAGES, AUTOMOBILE AND AUTOMBILE COMPONENTS, NON-FERROUS METAL AND PULP AND PAPER.
· DURBAN IS ACREATIVE BASTION IN THE SUN FOR TO SOME OF THE WORLD RENOWNED ARTISTS, WRITERS AND PERFORMERS.
· THE ETHEKWINI MUNICIPALITY IS PROPELLED BY A 2020 VISION TO MAKE DURBAN AFRICA’S MOST CARING AND LIVABLE CITY WHERE ALL CITIZENS AND WILL LIVE IN HARMONY.
· IT IS BOLD ECONOMIC INITIATIVES, PARTICULARLY TOURISM, FILM-MAKING AND ENTERTAINMENT, THAT WILL ENABLE THE CITY TO ACHIEVE THIS MEDIUM-TERM GOAL OF PROVIDING A WORLD-CLASS CITY AND A HIGH QUALITY OF LIFE AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL OUR CITIZENS, VISITORS AND INVESTORS.
· WE ARE STRIVING TO BECOME A SAFER AND SUSTAINABLE CITY.
FINALLY, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, I THANK YOU FOR BEING AN ATTENTIVE AUDIENCE AND I INVITE YOU TO ENGAGE ME TO EXPLORE ANY OPPORTUNITIES YOU MAY WISH TO PURSUE WITH DURBAN AND ITS PEOPLE.
ALL THAT’S LEFT ME TO DO IS TO WELCOME YOU TO DURBAN, AN AFRICAN JEWEL AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD.
I THANK YOU.
____________________________________________________
Presentation Paper researched and written by Marlan Padayachee GreenGold Africa Communications on behalf of the Deputy Mayor of the City of Durban, eThekwini Municipality, South Africa, on the occasion of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Chennai, India, 7-9 January 2009: greengold@telkomsa.net+00 27 31 266 5599/ 083 796 1762

Indians in South Africa: Lets Bridge the Identity Crisis

2009-01-03T06:39:00.000-08:00

Indians in South Africa: Let’s Bridge the Identity Crisis

Indian South Africans or South Africans of Indian origin? Indians first or South Africans second? MARLAN PADAYACHEE tosses the coin on this perennial identity crisis issue facing the one-million strong Indians in South Africa and glances at two sides of the coin as this colourful community prepares to celebrate 150 years in Africa in 2010.

BY THIS TIME next year, South Africa’s unique Indian community may set off a plethora of projects to celebrate 150 years of co-existence in Africa, a far cry from the country many still fondly refer to as the Motherland or Thai Nadu.

While older generations remain emotional and sentimental about traditional and historical ties with Mother India, the younger generation looks to established democracies for job opportunities and a modern lifestyle without the colonial-apartheid baggage.

On the flipside, just how will the hybrid of indentured labourers and traders fuse this celebration into a continental psyche, heralding the first kick off of the FIFA World Cup in South Africa that is bound to throw Africa into euphoric explosion of football frenzy?

When the British Raj ruled India, agriculturally skilled locals were shipped to the colonies of Trinidad & Tobago, Mauritius and South Africa to turn sugar cane plantations into new local economies for the imperial rulers.

Peasants, faced with poverty in the sub-continent, were lured to Africa as indentured labour via the colonial expansion and worked on the railways, mines, agriculture and domestic service.

Ever since the SS Truro dropped anchor in Durban Bay on 16 November 1860, shiploads of semi-skilled slaves, professional people and merchants were ferried to South Africa, with the economic migration subsiding at the beginning of the 20th century.

While the semi-slaves transformed the green fields into gold for their masters, the traders, craftsmen and fortune-seekers gave Indians the economic face on this side of the Indian Ocean Rim.

However, one visionary, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, changed the complexion of how Indians, both the underclass and the businessmen, would map out their survival strategy within the context of racism, oppression and social, economic and political impediments and the wholesale discrimination of indigenous African people.

In a 20-million strong Indian Diaspora, what makes this community stand out?

The “uniqueness” tag was earned through the stoical nature of the migrants and their work ethos, resilience in the face of adversity and the collective contribution to getting rid of their colonial-apartheid leg irons for a dream of a democratic state alongside their African compatriots.

Nowhere in the world had Indians sacrificed so much for so many people to enjoy freedom, social justice and human rights. That’s what makes this clan with a common culture cut above the rest in the global community.

On the other side of the coin, the grass is not greener for majority of the working class Indians.

While the community has become a formidable minority bloc, enjoying more social cohesion, inter-race integration, economic advantages and equal political status and voting rights, and they continue to play an influential role in business and politics, the majority of the descendants of the slaves have been left behind by the remarkable transition from apartheid to democracy.

The political transition has led to Indians marginalising themselves from the mainstream of the economically empowered black bloc, a sharp contrast to the days of Indian resistance against apartheid.

Precisely, this largely working class sector, estimated at almost 800 000 in KwaZulu-Natal, the birthplace of Indians, has to be brought up to speed to celebrate 150 years of Indians in 2010 South Africa.

Politically, the Indian vote, important as it may be in the national ballot, is split between India’s traditional allies, the African National Congress, and a coterie of opposition parties, including one by dissidents from the ruling elite. But then again, Indians, conservative by nature, tend to blow hot and cold or put place bets in the political roulettes.
Almost a century and a half later, it is arguable whether Indians have assimilated into the national heartbeat of the rainbow republic.

There is about 1, 3 million Asians in South Africa, almost two per cent of a population of 46 million, mostly of Indian origin.

People who arrived since the 1860s from colonial India are termed Indian South African. Even before the birth of the Global People of Indian Origin (Gopio), reference was made to South African of Indian origin.

Through its involvement in the political resistance emerged new terms like Indian African or African Indian.

Given the sentimental journey, emotional blood lines and poignant history of trial and tribulation culminating in the triumphal spirit of humanity, the identity crisis poses a post-apartheid challenge to the community. This may persist for a long time to come.

However, descriptions, terminology, classification and racial profiling apart, what’s important now is that the Diaspora cousins are finding each other through platforms like the trading partnership between Durban and Delhi, the India-Brazil-South Africa pact, the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, Gopio and other initiatives.

Maybe, an era of looming celebration calls for us to move beyond an identity crisis. After all, we now live in a global village with universal challenges of hopes and deferred dreams.

Significantly, Chennai is the home of this global gathering, where almost 150 years ago, the first batch of intrepid indentured labourers, mainly Tamil and Telugu-speaking Indians from the Madras Presidency, had pushed back the frontier into Africa.

Today, their legacy lives in the hearts and minds of a community that can count as enterprising and industrious ethnic group under the African sun, where non-racialism, social and economic co-existence and peace and solidarity shines on the horizon of hope.

It’s time to put our best foot forward ahead of 2010.

The writer, Marlan Padayachee, a British Council Fellow and recipient of the USIS International Visitor’s Award, is a seasoned journalist, former anti-apartheid activist, political commentator and media communications strategist, who covered President Nelson Mandela’s historic State visit to India in 1995, and he continues to keep a close interest on Indian issues. He is the Managing Editor of GreenGold Africa Communications in South Africa: greengold@telkomsa.net +00 27 31 266 5599.

Marlan Padayachee's Moments & Milestones in Words

2008-12-16T22:16:00.000-08:00

Marlan Padayachee's research work and projects are included on under Marlan Padayachee or click on the links below...
KZN Transport officials in plane crashSATHISH JAGGERNATH: TRIBUTE BY MARLAN PADAYACHEE, FRIEND, WRITER AND FELLOWRESEARCHER. It is with great sadness and grief that we received the news of the ...
Political Economy - Bringing Research Power to Democratization of ...... Author: Marlan Padayachee. ... Marlan Padayachee is a political reporter and correspondentfor the Post Newspaper and the Independent Newspapers, South Africa. ...
Hassan HowaPrepared by Marlan Padayachee The new dictionary of South Africa biography Volume2, Vista University, Pretoria, 1999.
MediaChannel.org - REPORTSIn the wake of the South African Human Rights Commission's scathing spotlightreport on "racism in the media," Marlan Padayachee reports on an international ...
A Story of Movers and Shaik-ers [Sunday Argus, 2003-03-09... Sunday Argus Issued: Date: 2003-03-08 Reporter: Farhana Ismail, Marlan Padayachee... Date, 2003-03-09. Author. Farhana Ismail and Marlan Padayachee ...
disinformation african dislocation: flashpoint in zimbabweThis MediaChannel.org special (May 2000) by Marlan Padayachee offers a parallelcase-study to Zimbabwe: the racism embedded in South Africa's media. ...
Highway Africa '98 Conference... Mr Marlan Padayachee - Political Journalist/Union Negociator, Chair: JournalismCommittee: Independent Newspapers, MWASA & ML Sultan Technikon ...
Tamil Language and Murukan Worship in South AfricaMarlan Padayachee, a South African Indian, writes as follows:. "What they knewof their cultural heritage consisted of crude religious observances (without ...
Post - Fourth Column - The media a pillar of our democracy... Martin Matthews; Sunny Bramdaw; Dennis Pather; Strini Moodley; Ronnie Govender;Nagoor Bissety; Subry Marimuthoo, aka Govender; Marlan Padayachee; ...
World Association for Christian CommunicationWe are also indebted to Marlan Padayachee who assisted in Seminar organisation,publicity, reporting of conference activities, and for raising additional ...
[PDF] StudentsreachoutFile Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View as HTMLby Sparkport Pharmacy, Hewlett. Packard, Imperial Car Rentals,. The Pro Shop,Sharp Electronics,. Dulux and Margi Steel Agencies. - Marlan Padayachee and ...
Sri Lanka News UpdateMarlan Padayachee from THE Post, HAS been quoted AS saying THE LTTE HAS been "pushedinto terrorism by circumstances" and that " Sri Lanka should not ...
Political Economy... Telecoms Market. Padayachee, Marlan Bringing Research Power to Democratizationof the Media in Southern Africa. Shepperson, Anorld ...
[PDF] C ‘96File Format: PDF/Adobe AcrobatPadayachee Marlan, "Mbeki engages in battle of words to secure Indian vote",Sunday independent, may 30,. 1999, page 8. ...
[PDF] Caught in the Act:File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View as HTMLMarlan Padayachee. Correspondent, The Mercury. Among the many investigativestories I have written in my career, two of them stand out ...
Untitled... and Danny Schechter asks if reporters Who dig Are dying out Crooked nations,Crooked journalists By Phindile Ngubane and Marlan Padayachee.
RJR 17... Crooked nations, crooked journalists by Phindile Ngubane and Marlan Padayachee.RJR 17: Editorial Stories Contact, Previous Next Back to Top,

A Letter from Jay Nair on Billy Nair

2008-12-16T22:04:00.000-08:00

Hi Marlan

This is Billy's younger Brother Jay, living in Canada. I read the article on Billy and am very touched by your words. I too, together with the rest of the family, have lost a great brother, mentor, guide, educationist and leader. I was impressed by the service afforded him by the State, the Party and all the accolades showered upon him by the various leaders. Yes he was given a great funeral as Black Nationalist Leader of South Africa. I only hope the people , especially the younger generations, do try to emulate what Billy has done for them and keep the struggle going till his dream and that of many before him is fulfilled.
Peace and Solidarity

Jay Nair

Mississauga, Ontario
Canada

The Pulse of Politics in South Africa Blurbs & Standfirsts

2008-12-16T20:51:00.000-08:00

HEADLINE
AUTHOR Marlan Padayachee
DATE2002
PUBLICATION Post
pulse of politics
16 April 2002
Post
issue the pulse of politics politics with marlan padayachee SINCE its spectacular gallop from apartheid autocracy to democracy eight years ago, South Africa, through its high profile political transition, has gained an image as the "darling of demo ... [ Full Story... ]
politics with Marlan
10 April 2002
Post
politics with marlan padayachee IN what appears to be a political breakthrough concerning Durban's proposed King Shaka International Airport, a high-powered delegation led by KwaZulu Natal's Minister of Economic Development and Tourism, Mr Mike Mabu ... [ Full Story... ]
Issue
2 April 2002
Post
issue the pulse of politics politics with marlan padayachee SOUTH Africa's multi-party governance comes under the spotlight in the latest issue of Focus, a socio-political barometer published by the Helen Suzman Foundation. From the arms scandal to ... [ Full Story... ]
Shamilla Batohi outgoing Scorpions boss
19 March 2002
Post
Batohi paves way for women MARLAN PADAYACHEE Political Reporter DASHING legal eagle and outgoing Scorpions boss, Advo-cate Ms Shamilla Batohi (right) believes her appointment as director of public prosecution for KwaZulu Natal is set to pave the wa ... [ Full Story... ]
Papwa award
12 March 2002
Post
Papwa award wins a smile MARLAN PADAYACHEE EVEN anti-apartheid sports icon Mr Sam Ramsamy smiled when President Thabo Mbeki presented a posthumous silver medal to the family of the late golfing hero Sewsunker "Papwa" Sewgolum at a sports award ce ... [ Full Story... ]
Papwa
7 March 2002
Post
Glory at last for Papwa MARLAN PADAYACHEE ALMOST 24 years after the death of golfing legend Sewsunker "Papwa" Sewgolum, his son Rajen, a six handicap golfer, celebrated his 39th birthday yesterday with the news that his father has been honoured po ... [ Full Story... ]
issue the pulse of politics
26 February 2002
Post
issue the pulse of politics politics with marlan padayachee AIDS and politics. Politics and Aids. This dreaded disease is presenting a singular socio-economic challenge to South Africa amid diverse debates and discourses about how to bring the spr ... [ Full Story... ]
pulse of politics
19 February 2002
Post
issue the pulse of politics politics with marlan padayachee A TWINNED political programme, equally of great national and regional significance, is unfolding this week: From Cape Town Finance Minister Mr Trevor Manuel will face the nation when he de ... [ Full Story... ]
Budget
19 February 2002
Post
Air of optimism ahead of Budget report: MARLAN PADAYACHEE pictures: chippy devjee TODAY is Budget day in South Africa, and a nation reeling under a tight economic squeeze will look forward to the tale: Cometh the hour, Cometh the man. Among the ra ... [ Full Story... ]
They said it
12 February 2002
Post
THEY SAID IT ... issue the pulse of politics politics with marlan padayachee "What I know and can say without any equivocation is that during the past year, our country has, in real terms, and within its means, moved further forward towards a soci ... [ Full Story... ]
pulse of politics
12 February 2002
Post
issue the pulse of politics politics with marlan padayachee THEY are calling it the "bouquet and brickbat" presidential speech in whichvoices in the opposition parties and the giant labour federation say President Thabo Mbeki did not go the extra m ... [ Full Story... ]
Dream of one nation
1 January 2002
Post
Dream of one nation out of reach SOUTH AFRICA faced a multitude of problems last year as it struggled to realign its fledgling democracy while beset with poverty, unemployment, homelessness, the rampant spread of HIV-AIDS and violence against women ... [ Full Story... ]

Rockers Rocking South Africa

2008-11-18T18:47:00.000-08:00

Left of What’s Right
Marlan Padayachee jives to a tongue-and cheek sing-along as political dissidents step aside to give way to a babalaas blast of entertaining escapism
DATELINE DURBAN: WITH South Africa’s political drama swirling ahead of the 2009 election, South Africans are taking the arts, culture and entertainment escapism route.
Fourteen years later, there’s growing turbulence in the world’s youngest democracy in the aftermath of the Polokwane Triangle that has changed the political landscape, but take heart because some of the world’s top pop-rockers are heading are to Rainbow Country this sizzling summer.
With the winter of discontent etched the memories of political, crime, social and economic victims, add a spectre of xenophobic violence, compatriots will be letting their hair down as they drown in the soulful and lilting lyrics of Lionel Ritchie. Rod Stewart and marvel at how the Canadian Master of Unusual Comedy, Michel Lauziere, can play Mozart in uptown New York with his skateboard blades tickling the little green bottles.
Soon the sunset clause will be history as the revelers get into the party mood when the big hitters croon and drool on the concert stages.
Maybe, Richie will pop in at the Mandela (P) Residency to say Hello! Is It Me You’re Looking For? As the warring comrades belt out Say You, Say Me to leverage the head-splitting at Luthuli House, the fractured ruling regime may be also toyi-toyiing All Night Long as the breakaway band work out if they could be Truly called counter-revolutionaries.
While Richie croons about Endless Love, hoping Love Will Find a Way, there will be no love lost between the one-time comrades-in-arms as they jive to Stewart’s soulful solos, and declaring that I Know I’m Losing You. With all the parties getting into the voting rhythm from door to door, some may end up Dancing on the Ceiling while looking down on Every Picture Tells a Story with Richie choreographing a famous struggle drowned in sours.
But this is Afrique Du Suid, and the Irish grave-digger will soon grasp there’s Never a Dull Moment as he rubs the political salt into The First Cut is the Deepest before declaring a Three Time Loser by the time Thabo Mbeki is Sailin’ over the Victoria Falls down the Zambezi to have cold turkey with Old Man River. With Richie and Stewart strutting the stages, our own AK-47 dancing president-elect Jacob Zuma declaring It’s All Over Now with Our Endless Love for president-in-waiting Terror Lekota as he takes his gloves off for the Street Fighting Man. Then at the height of the dissensions in the wake of the China Olympics, Katie Malua strummed home the point to Capetonians that There Are Nine Million Bicycles in Beijing to ride to the polling booths without catching the gravy train en route to the Easter election. Broadway musical theatre star Christine Pedi put her foot into politics and gave us a tonic of cabaret, comedy and jazz during a triumphant tour with the ballots re-electing her as the Diva Dame. Then the one-liners took the Mickey Mouse out of us with slapsticks, turning Poetry Africa into a festival of poetic justice. Carlos Gomez put the shutters on the White House as Jitsvinger and Godessa (Three Times A Lady) rapped about rainbowism, leaving Bantu Mwaura probing why Kenyans had lost the political plot. iBushwomen left their footprints about the shifting sands and fortunes of the vanishing Khoi-San tribes while the ink dried on Thomas Mapfumo’s visa before he reached at Beit Bridge. Poet by any name is still a poet as they waxed lyrical about the literary legacy of Mahmoud Darwish, Palestine’s reluctant statesman who died on Poetry Road with his inspiring revolutionary verses. Until I dish out the 2008 Lemons and Naartjies Awards, laugh it off.

Marlan Padayachee, recipient of the British Council Fellow and US International Visitor’s Award, is an independent freelance journalist and socio-political commentator who runs a media-communications strategy consultancy in South Africa: greengold@telkomsa.net

Published in Juluka magazine USA in November 2008

10th Anniversary Message Chatsworth Community Care Centre for Mayor's Office eThekwini Municipality

2008-11-16T01:18:00.001-08:00

Message from Councillor Logie Naidoo, Deputy Mayor of the eThekwini Municipality, on the occasion of the 10th anniversary dinner banquet of the Chatsworth Community Care Centre at the Ocean Conference Centre, Durban, on 28 November 2008.

On behalf of the eThekwini Municipality and the people of the City of Durban, I salute the Chatsworth Community Care Centre on its trailblazing milestone as one of the pioneers of victim empowerment in our city and the new South Africa.

This home-grown community-based organisation, the brainchild of Chatsworth’s stalwart activist, respected community lawyer and chairman of the board of trustees, Siven Samuels, and social-welfare activist and head of secretariat, Marlene Abrahams, and the founding committee members, was launched with a baptism of fire in 1998.

I recall vividly the arrival of a badly needed forum for voiceless victims of domestic violence when the ANC government endorsed the new-wave project with the high-profile presence of the then Safety and Security Minister, Steve Tshwete.

In the spirit of our private-public partnership that we continue to foster in our quest to get companies and communities to support the city government in meeting the delivery rate of the city’s 2020 vision, chiefly to provide a “Better Life for All” by creating jobs, fighting poverty and diseases and providing homes, the Chatsworth Community Care Centre entered the NGO scene at a critical juncture of the nation’s post-apartheid development and transformational phase.

On this tenth anniversary, the Centre richly deserves to celebrate its achievement when all the role-players and stakeholders gather at the Ocean Conference Centre on 28 November 2008 to break bread, pat each other on the back and navigate the two crucial years ahead leading up to 2010.

From humble beginnings in a church hall, the Chatsworth Community Care Centre secured funding from Lotto and other donor agencies and then reached out to people in crisis and provided love and support to the desperate and destitute in impoverished communities.

The city also wishes to salute over 50 volunteers and the 25 people who became functional volunteers. The Centre’s positive leadership resulted in encouraging the Chatsworth SAPS to open a 24 hour service to handle domestic violence, child abuse, wife-battering, drug and alcohol abuse, teenage pregnancy and other social ills.

The Centre’s linkages with Childline provided additional professional support for social workers to attend to sexually- abused children.

This is the hour to honour the Centre for its sterling role during one of Chatsworth’s biggest human tragedies, the death of young people during the Throb nightclub disaster in March 2000. Recognition has to be given for the efforts with the Durban South Doctors’ Guild in the opening of the first “One-Stop Rape Crisis Centre”.

With domestic violence rising daily posing the biggest threat to healthy family lifestyle, right living and communications, the Centre has performed excellently under pressure and amid shrinking resources in its handling thousands of cases on a monthly average of 200-300 incidences.

As the Centre heads for another decade of community upliftment, let me assure one and all that the progressive, people-centred eThekwini Municipality recognises and endorses your valiant efforts in providing relief for all the communities in one of our biggest housing estates and CBDs in the true spirit of Batho Pele (Putting People First).

Have a good one and enjoy your collective achievements and wonderful milestone.

Ends

Researched and written by Marlan Padayachee GreenGold Africa Communications on behalf of the Mayor’s Office, eThekwini Municipality: greengold@telkomsa.net/ 031 266 5599/ 266 1762

Karlen Padayachee SABC Radio on the Obama Presidency

2008-11-15T01:44:00.000-08:00

From: Ashok Ramsarup <ramsarupak@sabc.co.za>Date: Fri, Nov 14, 2008 at 12:54 PMSubject: re; obamaTo: Marlan Padayachee <marlan.padayachee@gmail.com>

obama indians... Indian Americans - people of Indian Origin - have played a pivotal role in supporting President-elect Barack Obama's 21-month presidential election. India-born United States Hindu scholar Varun Soni has made history after being appointed Dean of Religious Life at the University of Southern California. His organisation - South Asian for Obama - made great strides in fundraising events, voter registration, outreach and education for the Chicago Senator's blistering campiagn. Soni is married to former Durban physician Shakti Naidoo. Newsbreak's Maya Jagjivan has asked Media and Communications Strategist Karlen Padayachee, who is studying law at the William Mitchel Law School in Minnesota, whether he has been heartened by the South Asian support for Obama in: out: dur:outtro: that was Media and Communications Strategist Karlen Padayachee talking to Maya Jagjivan

Karlen Padayachee On SABC Obama Presidency

2008-11-14T03:51:00.000-08:00

Zulu Kingdom a domestic tourism leader

2008-11-11T20:16:00.000-08:00

The Kingfisher-Marlan Padayachee
Durban Dateline: Aside from SA's political intrigue and social and economic challenges, I recently revisited beaten track to explore country's domestic tourism leader, the Zulu Kingdom. Tourism is beginning to peak ahead of 2010. Everyone, from the poor vendor selling souvenirs to international tour and hospitality groups, is getting into the act to put their best foot forward to welcome 400,000 football fans from Lima to London. Egoli, Johannesburg's City of Gold and home to 70% of the country's corporate head offices, is the all-year flavor for millions of business visitors and tourists, but KwaZulu Natal is becoming a hugely popular destination "must-see" on continental Africa. Perceptions of a "Cinderella" or "Garden" province and a rural backwater or a "dead-end" Durban are being eclipsed by the skyline of a giant soccer stadium or wide-bodied runway as government and the private sector pour millions into transforming the gateway where the ancient multicultural battlefields and economic success stories of the Zulus, British, Dutch, Germans, Indians or the Portuguese.
Full story in Juluka : www.julukanews.com

Billy Nair - Epitome of an Activist for Change

2008-11-10T01:28:00.000-08:00

PEOPLE

BILLY NAIR – Epitome of the Struggle for Democracy
LATE in 2008 South Africa lost one of its pioneering foot-soldiers for democracy, human rights and social justice. MARLAN PADAYACHEE penned this piece on one of South Africa’s remarkable bridge-builders for peace, progress and prosperity.
Billy Nair finally laid down his arms for a “Better Life for All”, aged 79, culminating in a lifelong sacrifice for the nation’s poorest of the poor as political praise singers chronicled the life of one man and his mission to change a skewed landscape.
Nair was given a state funeral befitting a Black Nationalist leader in Durban on 30 October as his widow Elsie Nair heard speaker after speaker pour praise on her husband’s impeccable integrity as one of the leading catalysts for change during South Africa’s liberation struggle.
His casket was draped in the green, gold and black colours of the African National Congress.
Twenty years on Robben Island alongside the icons of the human drama that engulfed apartheid South Africa, notably Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, and his fellow Little Rivonia saboteurs Zulu Moonsamy, Kisten Dorasamy and Curnick Ndlovu, had transformed a consummate campaigner into a gentleman of new resistance politics.
Nair returned to Durban without rancour. There was no bitterness in his voice when I interviewed him after his release from prison in February 1984. His spirit of forgiveness and hope was overwhelming at a time when state repression was at its worst. Not even a taste freedom stopped this tireless worker from achieving the big political prize.
It was this spirit of political maturity, level-headedness and humility that catapulted the former guerilla commander back into the trenches, this time navigating Operation Vula alongside Mac Maharaj, Pravin Gordhan and other ANC Umkhonto weSizwe operatives, a contingency unit in case the apartheid regime reneged on its détente deal with the ANC in the early 1990s.
By 1994, Nair was taking his seat as an ANC MP in Parliament as President Nelson Mandela ushered the new South Africa. He retired a few years ago to his constituency in Tongaat with his faithful wife Elsie who stood by this remarkable socialist-communist trade unionist throughout his political life.
The resister they called Muna, isiSotho for comrade, or the Cat, because he often landed on his feet during his fighting trade union days, was paid the highest honour by the ANC. A flag draped on his coffin was later handed to his widow, a heart-warming reminder of the life and legacy of one man they called a gallant revolutionary, true hero, legend, principled political activist, outstanding, humble and selfless leader, born organizer, underground operator, keen dancer, punter and someone who also enjoyed a good whisky and chuckle. I will always remember his charming smile, inner strength and the honour of being called Boeti, as if it was yesterday when he walked out of prison into the arms of his wife. Hamba Kahle, Chief.
MARLAN PADAYACHEE is a freelance journalist and media communications strategist, who covered the frontline politics of the anti-apartheid movement from the 1970s to the 1990s.