Visit To South Africa : 23-26 January 2004

I was invited to South Africa to attend the 125th Anniversary commemorations of the battles of Isandlwana and Rorkes Drift in KwaZulu Natal.  

In addition to attending a superb re-enactment of the battle of Isandlwana and the memorial service at Rorkes Drift I undertook a number of business meetings both in Johannesburg and Durban and met a number of political leaders including my opposite number, Dr Lionel Mtshali, the Premier of KwaZulu Natal, South Africa’s most populous province, and Chief Mangosuto Buthelezi.

As with all my overseas visits I take the opportunity of meeting the Commercial Officers that work in the British Consulate which provides the opportunity for me to get a picture of the current economic situation in the country that I am visiting, including prospects for exports from Wales and trade partnerships and inward investment to Wales.

In Johannesburg and the Rand area I took the opportunity to visit Umqhele School in Ivory Park, a sprawling township half way between Johannesburg and Pretoria.  The school has close links with Ysgol Gyfun Llanhari and the pupils have been writing to each other now for some time.  I had the pleasure of handing over ‘pen pal’ type letters and photographs to the pupils at Umqhele which had been sent before Christmas by the pupils from Ysgol Gyfun Llanhari but unfortunately arrived after the school had closed for the Christmas break.

The very talented pupils of the school also put on an extraordinary concert of Zulu choral singing and dance, in which the message against sexual abuse of young teenage girls in the township was conveyed using a traditional dance format.  Mrs Janice Mowlam, the wife of the Director of UK Trade & Investment at the British Consulate in Johannesburg is the key link with both schools and her dedication to the Llanhari-Umqhele hook-up is worth of congratulation.

I also addressed a seminar which was being held by Visit Britain to promote tourism in the UK.  Bill Ishmael who is the Head of Visit Britain in South Africa and a native of Pontrhydygroes asked me to address a group of South African travel agents to encourage them to put Wales on the itinerary when they are arranging travel to the UK.

It was a four and a half hour road journey from Durban northward to reach the battle site at Isandlwana.

The re-enactment attracted thousands of visitors to the site – both local and tourists to see the Zulus gather together with a group of British people that live in South Africa who played the part of the soldiers.  The ceremony was attended by a number of senior dignitaries from Britain and South Africa including Jacob Zuma, the Deputy President of South Africa, Chief Mangosuto Buthelezi, the King ofd Zululand and many Ministers from the provincial Kwazulu Natal Cabinet plus representatives from the British armed forces as well as the Zulu King.

The re-enactment was followed by a wreath-laying ceremony to commemorate the lives of those who died on the battlefield 125 years ago.  I had the privilege of laying a wreath on behalf of Wales to mark the lives of the Welsh soldiers that died there.

Some 1300 British soldiers died at the battle of Isandlwana of which 600 were from the 24th Battalion which later became the South Wales Borderers and eventually the Royal Regiment of Wales.

On the following morning I attended both a church and an on-site commemoration service in memory of those who died at Rorkes Drift.  I again had the privilege of laying a wreath at the memorial that has been built on the original site.

Back in Durban I met senior executives of the Toyota Motor Corporation who run a very successful operation in South Africa and have the majority of the production process on one site.  Tim Williams, Chief Executive of the Wales Automotive Forum also attended the meeting to exchange views and see if there was any way Welsh companies could link in to the supply chain of the operation in South Africa.

Another significant part of this visit to South Africa was the large number of companies that accompanied a trade mission.  This was the second trade mission organised by WalesTrade International to visit South Africa this financial year.  Some 17 companies were represented on this mission – 21 on the mission in August 2003.  WalesTrade International has been very active in South Africa over the last couple of years.  Three trade missions have visited the country in the last 18 months taking some 51 Welsh companies.  The value of deals obtained during these missions is some £1.1m with prospective business estimated at £1.34m.  The next trade mission is planned for September this year.

The trade missions to South Africa have also proved useful in encouraging a mission to Wales from South Africa.  Following my attendance at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in September 2002 an environment trade mission from South Africa visited Wales in March last year.  This was followed by an automotive delegation in June 2003.  Both these trade missions included a strong representation from KwaZulu Natal.  Also in September last year an ICT/Automotive Call Centre mission from the City of Durban visited Wales.

My final engagement in Durban was to visit the Southside Sewage Works which is one of the targets for export sales with some of the environmental specialists in the trade mission, including Odour Control Systems of Hawarden.

I am looking forward to strengthening our relationship with South Africa even further when next month Wales hosts the 4th Conference of the Network of Regional Governments for Sustainable Development (NRG4SD) in Cardiff.