THE one-person, one-vote elections of 1994 were a historic step in South Africa’s march to democracy. We refer to this day as our Freedom day, but in reality it is far more important than that — it ended one of the most horrific systems of apartheid, hatred and discrimination the world has ever seen, and gave back to our people their dignity, it restored justice, and gave our people hope for a better life.
The year 2017 marks the centenary of the late Oliver Reginald Tambo, who played an integral role in the liberation of South Africa. He dedicated his life to the pursuit of equality and justice for all South Africans and was one of the founding fathers of our constitutional democracy.
Oliver Tambo is viewed by many as South Africa’s premier diplomat. He went into exile in 1960 during the turbulent period when the apartheid government had begun clamping down on political organizations and the individuals who led them. It was during this period that the Sharpeville riots and the formation of uMkhonto we Sizwe, the ANC military wing occurred.
While O.R. Tambo was in exile, Nelson Mandela was captured by the security police in South Africa and was sentenced to life imprisonment on Robben Island along with Ahmed Kathrada, Andrew Mlangeni, Govan Mbeki, Raymond Mhlaba, Walter Sisulu, Elias Motsoaledi and others. It was at this juncture that Tambo became the de facto President of the ANC. Sadly, a few months ago, we also said farewell to Ahmed Kathrada. May his soul rest in peace.
Over the next 30 years O.R. Tambo traveled the globe in a successful effort to secure international solidarity for the anti-apartheid movement. Tambo united the people of the world against apartheid by establishing and maintaining strong international ties. He also demonstrated what can be achieved when people work together.
His example inspires us to build positive and strategic relations with the nations of the world. We know that with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia we have a strategic and committed partner. Our relations are growing rapidly in all areas. The best indicators of this growth in relations are the numbers of Saudis traveling to South Africa and the number of business partnerships that have developed. In the past year we recorded a growth of more than 45% in tourism numbers on the back of a steady 10% year-on-year increase over the period from 2010-2015.
South Africa is now a regular major participant at the Jeddah Travel and Tourism Expo and the Riyadh Travel Fair. We anticipate signing a joint marketing agreement with a local tourism agent in the next few months to deepen our tourism drive. Furthermore, in the next week we will launch the first of two Familiarization Trips for Tourism agents to South Africa, while four other agents will attend the South African Tourism Indaba (expo) in Durban during May.
We also thank EDUCON and Call of Culture for their excellent videos on South Africa and South African Culture. These help to inform the people of Saudi Arabia about South Africa but through the eyes of Saudis themselves.
We hope that our cultural exchanges will continue and through it a dialogue between our peoples will grow. During the year the Consulate also expanded its outreach within the Kingdom visiting Abha, Al Jouf and Taif; these are such wonderful opportunities where we experienced the wonderful hospitality and generosity of the Saudi people. We also learnt so much more of the rich cultural history of the Kingdom.
South African businesses in the Kingdom have also grown in the last year…….in addition to the food franchisers such as Ocean Basket, The Butcher Shop & Grill, Mugg ‘n Bean, Marcels Frozen Yogurt and Nandos, South African companies continue to find opportunities in the Kingdom in many exciting areas. Barloworld (a logistics company), Iluba (fresh flower preservation), Jacobs Parker (Architecture and Interior Design), The Training Room On-line (e-Leaning systems), Point (printing technology) and several others are all establishing themselves within the Kingdom. At the same time companies like Siafa Holdings, Sharbatly, Basamagh, IDB and other businesses from this region have established relations with South Africa. The future looks promising.
We thank the government of Saudi Arabia for the increase in the number of Hujaaj for South Africa to 2,500. The effort of the Kingdom to improve services and facilities for pilgrims is noted with sincere appreciation. May Allah reward all those involved. We are very optimistic that this relationship with the Kingdom will continue to bear fruits for both our nations.
We take this opportunity to wish all the readers of Saudi Gazette and all Muslims a wonderful and enriching Ramadan. May Allah accept all our good deeds.
It is a pleasure and a privilege to serve this relationship through the Consulate General in Jeddah.
Shoayb Casoo
Consul General of South Africa
