Nelson Mandela and Bishop Desmond Tutu; the home turned museum that was once shared by Nelson and Winnie Mandela; and a youth cultural facility. We lunched at Wandies, the most famous shebeen (a residential dwelling turned into a bar, restaurant, or nightclub) in Soweto. On Monday evening, our delegation attended a reception hosted by Peter Vundla, chairman of the African Merchants Bank, where DENTIM key players, Gin Butler, Deputy Director of Colorado Office of International Trade; Happy Haynes, Denver City Council member; and Carl Bourgeois, business manager of Civil Technology, explained the purpose of the mission, thanked our hosts, and introduced the remaining DENTIM delegates. The visit on Tuesday morning to Pretoria provided some contrasts to the urban experience in Johannesburg; which is a large bustling city of several million people a mile above sea level that serves as the banking and industrial heart of the nation of South Africa. Pretoria is strikingly beautiful, not as hectic, and is the administrative capital of the nation. Here, our delegation visited South Africa’s Reserve Bank where reserve bank officials gave us an overview of the South African economy.
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e visited the American Embassy, a stand-alone fortress on a hill in the upscale neighborhood of Pretoria that contains the embassies of many nations, most of which are housed in attractive unimposing large Victorian structures. Due to aggressive contract security personnel, we were discouraged from taking pictures of our embassy. Inside, embassy staff members briefed us on economic, political, and security matters. Embassy staff advised us to exercise a high degree of caution in our travels, especially in “Joburg” because of the high level of poverty and drug-induced crime. Those of us who know life in the big cities felt the dangers were no more or no less than those in comparably sized cities in our own country. Picture taking opportunities at the Union Buildings, the seat of the government’s administrative activities in South Africa, were special because the beautiful gardens provided a panoramic view of Pretoria’s spectacular world-class skyline. With the foothills in the background many of the delegation commented on the similarities to our views in Colorado. Re-boarding our motor coach, we drove through Pretoria as we headed to the first-class highway that would take us to lunch. Arriving at the Caroza Rose Farm, about 15 miles outside of Johannesburg, and home to our hosts Mr. and Mrs.
Peter Davidson, was a treat. Our luncheon was held under a beautifully decorated tent with gorgeous white tablecloth settings and rose displays. After lunch, the delegation retreated to one of the farm’s meeting rooms where we watched a Power Point presentation of the plans for Masekela’s cultural and heritage center. Afterward, we toured the Caroza Rose Farm – seven acres of large green houses that contain varieties of roses that are sold around the world.
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n Wednesday, I met an old friend, Buzz Cooper, who I last saw almost 15 years ago in Los Angeles. Buzz, a musician “back in the day,” now lives in Sandtown, South Africa, as an ex-patriot. He owns a manufacturing plant that produces hair curling irons and the electric ovens used to heat the curling irons. After touring Buzz’s facility, we understood the scope and issues facing his business. Previous funds obtained through international development funding organizations earmarked for Buzz’s factory apparently didn’t filter down in their entirety to the designated recipients. As a result, workers had to continue manufacturing the products by hand, which created quantity and quality control problems. In addition, securing the plant from theft was a serious issue. Just days before our visit, thieves made off with specialized tool-and-die machinery, and Buzz had to lay off most of his staff until replacement equipment could be purchased. While the thieves can’t use the tools, selling them would mean more food for their families. I don’t know how things will work out for my old buddy, but visiting him gave me another view of the everyday life of a person I could easily identify with. That night, we were guest at the palatial estate of the gracious Felicia Mabuza Suttle, the African TV talk show host, often referred to as the Oprah Winfrey of South Africa. Later we went to the fabulous Gold Reef City Casino for a theater performance of the musical production African Footprints, which, hopefully, would travel to the States. A late night private dinner reception with live music was held for us in the casino’s five-star restaurant, Back of the Moon. Hugh Masekela joined us and accompanied the band on trumpet and piano as we danced and dined the evening away. On our last day in Johannesburg, I met with Logan Govender of Consolidated Travel based in Durban, in the offices of Ebony Consultants, Inc. Here, with ECI’s Sonny Tarr and Penrose Nconco, we obtained the information and requirements for developing tour products that would fulfill A
Private Guide’s long-held desire to provide socially responsible tours designed to re-unite Africans of the Diaspora with Africans on the continent. It is abundantly evident to me that African Americans collectively are neither different, nor incompatible with continental Africans. We differ only in location. Incredibly beautiful does not begin to describe Cape Town. Vibrant, clean, and exotic, graced by mountains and two oceans – the South Atlantic and the Indian. In stark contrast, I discovered during a subsequent tour of the area while “window shopping” for investment property, this feeling does not apply to the bleak windswept plains just a few miles to the east of the city where the squalor of the million-plus African inhabitants living in the townships provide a lasting indictment to apartheid’s legacy. At the Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry, we were met by Sam Montsi, chairman of the board; Professor Thomas, local economy expert; and Peter Golding, property expert for Pam Golding Properties, a large international realtor of upscale properties. They presented an overview of the local economy, and they set the stage for an afternoon session where local business people provided us with additional networking opportunities. Our morning itinerary included a visit to the American Consulate office. Our briefing with Larry Farris, Counselor on Commercial Affairs, who is originally from Pueblo, Colorado, and with Mary Leonard, our consulate’s Political and Economics Office, was casual and informative. Briefings complete, we ate lunch at a new mall that would raise the envy of the affluent shoppers at our own Park Meadows and Cherry Creek malls. Afterward, we finished our afternoon round of meetings with local African entrepreneurs at the Cape Chamber. Our final reception was held at the lovely home of Sam Montsi and his wife, where we again engaged in networking amid the ambiance of lush mountain greenery that enclosed our host’s property.
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ater, several delegation members visited a local nightclub, “Marco’s Place,” where African food, music, and dance provided a perfect end to an exhilarating day. With our mission winding down, and no official business to conduct, most of our delegation toured Cape Towns’ fine wine country on Saturday morning. Delegation representative and financial consultant Darrell Barnes received an invitation to an
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awards presentation, where he met and dined with Nelson Mandela. For me, one of the most magical moments of our trip happened when Dr. Wil Miles, Happy Haynes, and I visited Camps Bay Beach, just over the mountain from our hotel. While sitting at our pavement table along Victoria Boulevard adjacent to the magnificent beach, we saw a Black man in a Denver Bronco football jersey heading our way with a woman. A few seconds later, who should appear but Terrell Davis, on holiday and just “chillin” in Cape Town with his mother and business manager, the guy in the Bronco shirt! We Denverites created quite a scene as we laughed and joked, took pictures, and remarked on what a crazy world we live in.
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n Sunday, we were scheduled to leave Cape Town for home. Some of the group opted to do a motor coach tour of area highlights, including an African game preserve and Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for more than 20 years. Others shopped for African jewelry. Back from his memorable meeting with Nelson Mandela, Darrell and I explored the real estate market with Peter Golding and then go sightseeing – looking for investment properties. On the flight back to the States, I reflected on how this journey fulfilled a sacred task and was a sincere emotional response induced by the spirit of Africa’s call to return home. It is unreasonable to expect all of us to heed the voice of the African spirit, but for those who feel it, A Private Guide, Inc. was prepared to develop innovative and social responsible tour products to merge the psychic needs of the Afro-centric traveler with the vitality of the re-emerging South African nation. What else can a brother do? Editor’s note: Special thanks to Carl Bourgeois, Happy Haynes, Gin Butler, Joel Boyd, Leroy Smith, Dan Muse, and the pioneering, efforts of Mayor Wellington Webb for leading the way.