Page | 1 PRO-POOR TOURISM IN ALEXANDRA SINCE 1994: A CASE STUDY OF ST MICHAELS CHURCH AND SA JEWEL SHARIEFA ALLIE-NIEFTAGODIEN Student Number: 0216693A Page | 2 PRO-POOR TOURISM IN ALEXANDRA SINCE 1994: A CASE STUDY OF ST MICHAELS CHURCH AND SA JEWEL SHARIEFA ALLIE-NIEFTAGODIEN A research report submitted to the School of Arts, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Tourism Studies. February 2013 Page | 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to extend my sincere thanks and gratitude to those who assisted me in writing this report. To all the people who gave me their valuable time to conduct my interviews, for their insight and suggestions and their ongoing patience with me. To my supervisor, Prof. Philip Bonner, for his guidance throughout this process. Page | 4 DEDICATION To my partner, best friend and husband who always encourages, guides and supports me. Page | 5 DECLARATION I hereby declare that this research report is my own unaided work. It is submitted for the degree of Master of Arts at the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. It has not been submitted before for any other degree at any other University. ______________________ ________day of, __________2013 Shariefa Allie-Nieftagodien Page | 6 CONTENTS Abstract Page 7 Chapter 1: Introduction Page 8 1.1 Research Objectives Page 12 1.2 Research Rationale Page 13 1.3 Methodology Page 16 1.4 Chapter Outline Page 17 Chapter 2: Tourism Development - Impacts and Debates Page 19 2.1 The Tourism Economy and LDC’s Page 19 2.2 Tourism and Local Economic Development Page 21 2.3 Sustainable tourism Page 24 2.4 Pro-poor tourism and poverty reduction Page 26 2.5 Pro-poor tourism and development in democratic South Africa Page 30 2.6 The Role of Women in Tourism Development Page 40 2.7 Conclusion Page 42 Chapter 3: Alexandra: Urban Renewal and Township Tourism Page 43 3.1 Alexandra - History and Background Page 43 3.2 Development of Alexandra post 1994 Page 46 3.2.1 Alexandra Tourism Development Project Page 47 3.2.2 Approaches to Tourism Development in Alexandra Page 52 3.3 The Role of Women in Alexandra Page 56 Chapter 4: Case Study: Bead Craft and Pro-Poor tourism Page 59 4.1 The History of Bead Craft Page 61 4.2 Promoting Entrepreneurship Page 63 4.3 Bead workers at St Michael’s, Alexandra Page 65 4.4 SA Jewel: pro-poor tourism or marketing exercise Page 72 Chapter 5: Conclusion Page 78 ABREVIATIONS REFERENCES WEBSITES Page | 7 ABSTRACT Tourism has increasingly been viewed as an important means to challenge poverty, especially in developing countries. Since the beginning of democracy in South Africa, the ANC government has emphasised the importance of overcoming poverty, and identified tourism as an important intervention in pursuit of this objective. The study will assess “pro-poor” tourism initiatives in Alexandra Township since 1994, with particular focus on the arts and crafts at St Michaels Church and SA Jewel. It will investigate whether projects similar to bead craft, initiated at the same time with the same objectives have benefited the residents of Alexandra. Finally, the study will consider if tourism initiatives being implemented in Alexandra conform to ‘sustainable development’ objectives. The research report reviews the literature on Tourism Development domestically and Local Economic Development. Furthermore the report extends to literature reviews specifically in Sustainable Tourism and Pro-Poor Tourism, its definitions and its examples in the tourism industry. It examines the various arguments for tourism development and alleviating poverty through these initiatives. The research findings that follow provide my opinion and those of the different stakeholders involved in tourism in Alexandra and those who were affected by the initiatives in Alexandra. Page | 8 CHAPTER 1 Introduction South Africa’s political transition, diversity of culture and natural beauty has made the country a much sought after destination for tourists. The country’s liberation struggle has been celebrated as a major achievement and iconic places linked to the struggle, such as Robben Island, the Apartheid Museum and the Hector Peterson Museum have become major attractions. Since 1994, tourists from across the globe, including from other parts of Africa, have flocked to the country in increasing numbers. Under the circumstances, tourism appears to hold the potential as a major source of income, employment and generally as a source of economic growth. South Africa has established itself as one of Africa’s primary destinations for international visitors. The 2011 Tourism Report from Statistics South Africa reveals a steady increase of travellers to South Africa (see Figure 1) which shows the travel trends from 2000 to 2011. 1 1 Statistics South Africa: Tourism Report 2011, Report No. 03-51-02, Pretoria , 2011, p.10 Page | 9 If one breaks that down to foreign travel trends over the same period the picture is more than positive (see Figure 3).2 What can thus be ascertained from these trends is a steady flow of tourists despite the adverse international economic climate. According to Statistics South Africa, in 2011, a total of 34 105 393 travellers to South Africa were recorded compared to only 19 185 135 recorded in 2000. These figures show an impressive increase of 81, 3% in arrivals between 2000 and 2011.3The overall pattern observed is that over the twelve year period, there were more arrivals than departures in the country. Despite a slight decline from 2000 to 2001 and a noticeable drop in volumes in 2003 and 2004, from 2005, the annual volumes have been increasing steadily.4 Over the past two decades, tourism has consolidated its contribution to foreign exchange and economic growth. In 1996, the sector was the fourth largest earner in foreign exchange, 5 a position that has largely remained the same up to the present. Perhaps more importantly is that tourism has contributed more to employment than key economic sectors such as mining. Sandy Lowitt, an economic strategist, remarked that the tourism industry offers South Africa significant job creation opportunities 2Ibid, p.12 3 Ibid, p.6 4 Ibid Page | 10 because it employs a large number of unskilled and semi-skilled workers, and has a an easier entry level than manufacturing, which makes it attractive for Broad Based Economic Empowerment (BEE) and Small, Micro and Medium Enterprises (SMME) operators. Tourism also tends to have a wide geographic spread and hence can provide job opportunities in areas where other types of economic activity are limited.6 The promise of employment generation is important due to the high levels of unemployment in the country. After 1994, the new democratic government implemented strategies for economic development that attempted to alleviate the plight of the poor. The ANC addressed the development of the country by launching the Reconstruction and Development Programme ( RDP) in 1994 which was built around the following objectives of an integrated and sustainable programme, a people driven process, peace and security for all, nation building and reconstruction and development of the country,7 The RDP recognized that the numerous problems facing the country (lack of housing, a shortage of jobs, inadequate education and health care, a failing economy) were connected, and thus had to be addressed in an integrated plan. It proposed job creation through public works — the building of houses and provision of services would be done in a way that created employment. The five key programs were: meeting basic needs, developing human resources, democratizing the state and society, building the economy and implementing the RDP. 8 In 1996, the government adopted the Growth, Employment and Redistribution (GEAR) strategy, which aimed at strengthening economic development, broadening of employment, and redistribution of income and socioeconomic opportunities in favour of the poor.9 Government set targets aimed at achieving 6% economic growth per annum and employment creation of 400 000 jobs.10 What was required in post 1994 was to enable South Africa to grow its tourism via entrepreneurships, and giving previously disadvantaged people, many of them who were living in poverty, an opportunity for employment within the developmental framework. 5 Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism: White Paper: The development and promotion of Tourism in South Africa, Pretoria,1996, p.2 6 Lowitt,S.: Foreign tourism’s contribution towards growth and job creation in South Africa: Oct 2006 ( HSRC) 7Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism: ‘Tourism in Gear”, 1998 8 Ibid 9 Ibid Page | 11 It is in the context of these major economic and developmental programmes that the new tourism should be understood. This was done through the aims of the Tourism White Paper. The sector’s growing prominence in the economy prompted the government to produce policies to incorporate tourism into its overall poverty alleviating strategies. The Tourism Act was approved by cabinet in 1996 and would lay the foundation for tourism development bringing about changes in tourism and enhancing growth through empowering of the previously disadvantage people and women in South Africa. The 1996 Tourism White Paper reflected the government’s new approach to tourism. The developmental objectives set out in these plans and pieces of legislation shaped the way in which local economic development and tourism initiatives were formulated. The government’s tourism policy states clearly that, assistance will be provided for the development of small, micro and medium enterprises, particularly those which stimulate local community involvement and capitalise on the attractions and products which are indigenous to their areas.11 In the White Paper, government emphasized the need for poverty alleviation, through empowerment of previously neglected communities to create sustainable employment opportunities. Empowering of women features prominently in the legislation on tourism not only because this sector of society suffered especially harshly under apartheid, but also because women are recognized as the building blocks of our society. Prior to 1994, townships we seen as ‘no go’ areas and thus tourism was not encouraged to these places. The democratic government opened the doors to township tourism.12 Visits to historical sites and museums were encouraged and the locals used this opportunity to open pubs, restaurants and the selling of crafts around these sites. Soweto flourished with tourism visits and Alexandra was seen as another option for this kind of development.13 It was in this spirit that the most significant urban renewal plans have been implemented over the past decade and became an important site of experimentation of these processes. The role of women was 10Ibid 11 Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, White Paper: The development and promotion of Tourism in South Africa, Pretoria,1996, p.2 12 Rogerson, C.M.: Urban tourism and small tourism enterprise development in Johannesburg: The case of township tourism, GeoJournal 60, 2004, p.250 13 Ibid Page | 12 highlighted through this document and its encouragement in participation in the various tourism opportunities which would become available post 1994. There has been intense debate over whether the government’s macro-economic strategy will in fact alleviate poverty. It is not the intention of this research project to delve into that debate, although it will take into account some of the arguments that have arisen, especially in relation to local development. A key focus of the research will be to consider the impact of the government’s tourism policies on social and economic development at the local level. 1.1 Research Objectives The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of tourism on local community development and to critically assess its intended contribution to the alleviation of poverty. Specific attention was paid to the efforts to address poverty and the unemployment of women. The study assesses “pro-poor” tourism initiatives in Alexandra Township since 1994, with a particular focus on the arts and crafts activities, which were deemed as important creators of employment, especially of poor and under-skilled women. Pro poor Tourism is defined by Ashley, Roe and Goodwin as interventions aimed to increase the net benefits for the poor from tourism, and ensure that tourism growth contributes to poverty reduction.14 The study investigated the bead craft activities at two sites in Alexandra, namely, St Michaels Church and South African Jewel(SA Jewel) to investigate the promotion of local economic development in the context of tourism. It asks whether these projects benefited the women who were employed there. Finally, the study considers whether the tourism initiatives being implemented in Alexandra conform to ‘sustainable development’ and pro-poor tourism objectives. Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.15 Pro-poor tourism may be defined as an approach to tourism development that aims to create opportunities for the poor such as employment creation, generation of income, as well 14 Ashley, C., Roe, D. and Goodwin, H.: ‘Pro-poor Tourism Strategies: Making Tourism Work For the Poor – A Review of Experience’, Pro-Poor Tourism Report No.1, Overseas Development Institute, London, 2001, P viii Page | 13 as investment in poor areas. Tourism is seen as one facet in pro-poor economic growth. Many developing countries, including South Africa, have adopted tourism policies designed to generate economic growth and to enhance potential pro-poor programmes. 16 The objective is to develop tourism for the benefit of the poor so that they become less vulnerable. Previously the tourism sector aimed mainly at promoting the private sector investment, macro-economic growth and foreign exchange earnings with investors often being international companies and the local elite.17 Analysis of tourism data shows that in most countries where poverty levels are high, tourism has grown at a rapid pace. It is important to note that tourism is an additional option for the poor and not a substitute for their core activities. The poor maximise their returns by avoiding the industry that requires capital investment and choosing forms that complement their livelihoods. Since 1994 the tourism industry has undergone important changes. Amongst other issues, new tourism policies have aimed to challenge the dominant position of the white minority in the tourism industry. The government seems also to have hinged its intervention on the promotion of black empowerment and SMMEs. The government has set the tone for a growing tourism industry that, if regulated, could alleviate unemployment and poverty in general. This was envisaged by the then Chief Executive Officer of South African Tourism, Cheryl Carolus: "All South Africans must feel that they have a stake in tourism" (The Star, 30 April 2002)18 1.2 Research Rationale According to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) Travel & Tourism accounts for 10.4 per cent GDP globally and over 230 million jobs. Set to grow at more than 4.3 per cent per annum over the next ten years, this industry has attracted a great deal of attention.19 In March 2012, the WTTC forecast that Travel & Tourism is 15 One World; Sustainable Development, http://uk.oneworld.net/guides/sustainable_development 16 Swarbrooke, J.:Sustainable Tourism Management, Wallingford,1999 17 Shah, K. and Gupta, V.: ‘Tourism, the poor and Other Stakeholders: Experience in Asia’, Overseas Development Institute, London, 2000 Freitag, T.G.: Enclave tourism development: for whom benefits roll?, Annals of Tourism Research, 1994 18 The Star: 30 April 2002 19 World Travel and Tourism Council, 2007 – Breaking Barriers Managing Growth Page | 14 set for a milestone year as the industry’s direct contribution to the global economy is expected to pass $2 trillion in GDP and 100 million more jobs.20 Since the early 1990s ideas and policies related to ‘pro-poor tourism’ have gained momentum. The Rio Summit of 1992 marked an important turning towards emphasising the alleviation of poverty in the developing world. The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) took place in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Government officials from 178 countries and between 20,000 and 30,000 individuals from governments, NGOs and the media participated in this event to discuss solutions for global problems such as poverty, war and the growing gap between industrialised and developing countries. A core issue was also the question of how to relieve the global environmental system through the introduction to the paradigm of sustainable development.21 Central to the debates at this historical summit was how to strike a balance between economic growth and the global environment, which most people agreed was under threat. “Sustainable Development” became the key phrase that indicated a paradigm shift towards the formulation of new policies that would be sensitive to the environment and the worlds’ poor, especially in the global South. 22 Tourism has also been one of the fastest growing sectors of South Africa's economy, its contribution to the country's gross domestic product (GDP) increasing from 4.6% back in 1993 to 8.3% in 2006.23 Directly and indirectly, tourism constitutes approximately 7% of employment in South Africa. Ideally placed to create new jobs and to add value to the country's many natural and cultural resources, tourism has been earmarked by the government as one of SA's growth sectors.24 The successful hosting of mega events has augmented the country’s reputation as a tourism destination. These events include hosting the World Summit on Sustainable Development, International Cricket Cup and the FIFA World Cup. During these events efforts were made to promote Alexandra as an alternative tourist destination. South Africa performed strongly in the 2007 World's Best Awards survey by international 20 World Travel and Tourism Council, 2012 – Travel & Tourism forecast to pass 100m jobs and $2 trillion GDP in 2012 21 World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), Johannesburg, August 26 - September 4, 2002, http://www.worldsummit2002.org 22 Ibid 23 South Africa Tourism Information , http://www.southafrica.info/business/economy/sectors/tourism- overview 24 Ibid Page | 15 travel magazine Travel + Leisure; with nine establishments listed among the world's top 100 hotels and Cape Town voted the 10th best holiday city in the world.25This made the outlook for the industry extremely positive; particularly with the further exposure of the country to the world's biggest sporting event, the Fifa World Cup, in 2010- and the accompanying massive upgrades to transport and accommodation infrastructure. During this event Alexandra was selected to showcase the township. The tourism industry creates links to many other sectors of the economy, for example accommodation, restaurants, transport, leisure facilities, museums, etc. and therefore has a wide economic impact.26 As tourism’s contribution to the GDP has grown it is routinely presented as a remedy for the socio-economic woes faced by the country.27 Each year we are treated to reports of the spectacular successes of tourism as hundreds of thousands of overseas visitors flock to our shores and spend millions in Dollars, Euros and Yen. This research project aims to look beyond the glitter of the national statistics on tourism. It precedes from the premise that empowerment and economic development through tourism can best be achieved at the local level. Ordinary, poor people should benefit. Moreover, the alleviation of poverty, the creation of jobs and training should not be short- term objectives. They should be sustainable. Often the premises made in development policies and in documents motivating the importance of hosting mega events provides data (statistics) about the numerous benefits of tourism to poor people. What tends to be missing from these glossy proposals and reports are the actual experiences of poor and marginalised people living in townships and other poor communities. Alexandra was selected as the research area where sustainable tourism development initiatives by government would be studied through the Alexandra Renewal Project (ARP). This research is in part an assessment of one aspect of the much bigger and more ambitious Alexandra Renewal Project, which aims to liberate Alexandra from its history of poverty and underdevelopment. The focus is on tourism and development, which in fact featured rather prominently in the initial objectives of the ARP. This research focuses on the lives of a small group of women in Alexandra who imagined their lives would be transformed as a result of the promised tourism boom in the township 25 Ibid 26 http://www.southafrica.info/business/economy/sectors/tourism-overview Page | 16 Alexandra is a township with a rich history, whose residents have contributed immensely to Johannesburg’s development. The upliftment of that community is crucial for Egoli’s overall emergence as a world-class city. Tourism and Heritage are eagerly looked to, especially by the youth of Alexandra, as important sources for economic development. Many of them want to find employment in those sectors. A critical assessment of the impact of tourism in reconstruction and development is therefore crucial. It is to this wider set of concerns that this research hopes to make a modest contribution. Through this case study, the role of women will be explored. The study also shows that various from of development took place. However, the interviews did not all share the same view of growth in this sector. Thus a questionnaire to get various perspectives would not be effective, neither circulating various types of questionnaires with different questions as this would not ideally answer the objectives or would not give an explorative opportunity to gain better insight into the interviewees’ experience. 1.3 Methodology Information was sourced through primary documents which were consulted, for example, Department of Tourism, Alexandra Renewal Project (ARP), Gauteng Tourism Authority (GTA), and various reports. These gave the insight into national and provincial policies regarding tourism, debates about pro-poor tourism and sustainable development in the context of general economic and development programmes. The various ARP documents, where local plans were formulated for the development of tourism in Alexandra were sourced. These provided important insights, but did not contain any information on the implementation and functioning of local tourism plans. There was little documentary and archival material on these specific groups of women or past research of similar projects in other townships. The research was conducted through various interviews between 2003 and 2011. Interview options were selected as some content questions were specific but also open enough to give freedom to add information. The interview questions were semi-structured with a set of guideline questions focused on the issues of importance for this study and also allowed 27 World Travel and Tourism Council, 2012 – Travel & Tourism forecast to pass 100m jobs and $2 trillion GDP in 2012 Page | 17 interviewees to express their views on a range of matters related to tourism and arts and craft sector in Alexandra. As there were little information on the two case studies, it was imperative to gain insight from those who were witness the events first hand. Some of the interviewees were interviewed more than once as they were part of the Alexandra Renewal Project ( ARP) at the initial stages of this project and were interviewed then and again towards the end of the project. There were some samples of the research where interviews were declined but a response to a set of written questions was preferred. This research was chosen because it was new to township tourism which in itself was a new concept. Alexandra was unique in this instance as it was township to be developed with specific objectives in mind like sustainable tourism, poverty alleviation initiatives whilst promoting township tourism. The case study is unique as it is based on urban tourism development within a township experience that include the employment of poor people and the most marginalised in our communities, the women. The sample of interviewees selected include a variety of people ; those close to the bead craft industry in Alexandra from entrepreneurs to those connected to SA Jewel and all the people connected to the tourism industry directly and indirectly as contributors to its growth and sustainability. The interviewees included those directly involved in tourism that would promote Alexandra and all its touristic attractions including bead craft. Through the initial identification of the possible interviewees, it was evident that the sample would not be significant to truly capture a quality specimen to bring value to the study. Thus it was decided to extend the sample to include other similar touristic areas within Alexandra that existed during the same time as the bead craft enterprise and were perceived as similar in exposure and development during the ARP time frame. This sample would give better insight in the perceptions, dreams and realities of those connected within tourism development and its challenges in an urban tourism environment. There were thirteen people interviewed for this research. The second interviews were primarily done as a reflection of the beginning of the project in 2003 to the ending of the project in its current form in 2012. Eighteen interviews were conducted over the research period. Some of the interviewees were detailed in their responses and gave additional information and suggestions to assist in the research. Others seem reluctant due to the unhappiness experienced in their participation within the ARP. Some interviewees insisted that the research questions be sent prior to the agreement of an interview or the Page | 18 decline of an interview and only responded in writing to some of the questions. All interviewees were cooperative with suggestions of other potential interviewees who would be able to shed more clarity on certain areas around the ARP, Tourism development within Alexandra and general community people who have the developmental interest of Alexandra at heart. 1.4 Chapter Outline The research report is divided into five chapters. Chapter one forms the introduction which focuses on the objectives and the reasons for doing the research. Chapter two examines tourism development through pro-poor initiatives and the challenges it faces in tourism business as well as focus on initiatives to alleviate poverty in our society and the role of women in the informal sector. Chapter three focus on Alexandra Township and the tourism development strategies as initiated by the Alexandra Development Project (ADP) and Gauteng Tourism Authority (GTA). The case studies of the research are examined in Chapter four. The findings and concluding remarks on the research are in Chapter five. Page | 19 CHAPTER 2 TOURISM DEVELOPMENT – IMPACTS AND DEBATES The main aim of this chapter is to briefly review the relevant literature on tourism and development, its impact on the economy of Less Developed Countries (LDCs), as well as the body of literature that has been critical of conventional views on the relationship between tourism and local economic development, especially that which has emphasised sustainable and pro-poor tourism. The expansion of global tourism over the past two or three decades has attracted considerable interest from scholars and commentators, many of whom have demonstrated the positive impact of tourism on the global economy.28 Industry insiders have especially argued that tourism has benefited LDCs, including poor communities. However, since at least the early 1990s a growing number of authors have pointed out that the impact of tourism is uneven. They have suggested that different questions should be asked when assessing the relationship between tourism and development. While GDP growth is important, the issue remains whether the most marginalised people in society benefit from this. Based on shifts in development literature, tourism’s benefits for LDC’s have thus been assessed in terms of its contribution to sustainable and pro-poor development. 2.1 The Tourism Economy and LDCs The potential of tourism as a stimulus for economic development has been widely acknowledged. In 1992 it was the third largest item in world trade and formed 7% of all world exports.29 In 2011, international tourism generated US$ 1.030 billion in export earnings.30 Current research by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) shows that tourism contributes 5% of the world’s GDP and accounts for 6% of the world’s exports in services. Although this indicates a slight decline from the early 1990s, the sector still remains the fourth largest export sector after fuels, chemicals and automotive products. Globally about 235 million people are 28 United Nation World Tourism Organization: 2011,UNWTO Tourism Highlights, http://www2.unwto.org/ ( Dec 2012) 29 Harrison, D.: ’International tourism and the less developed countries: The background, 1992 30United Nation World Tourism Organization: 2011,UNWTO Tourism Highlights, http://www2.unwto.org/ (Dec 2012) Page | 20 employed in the sector, either directly or indirectly, which means it accounts for about one in every twelve jobs.31 Job creation has consistently been a key focus of tourism bodies. The recent Global Summit on City Tourism held in Istanbul spent some time exploring how the tourism industry could be revived in the context of global economic uncertainty, especially by concentrating on generating jobs.32 Consequently many countries view tourism as an important part of their strategies to attract investment and to stimulate economic growth.33 Developed countries are generally characterised by strong economies and relatively high standards of living, and while they may derive substantial income from tourism, these countries are generally not dependent on tourism to stimulate or sustain their economies.34 In contrast, Less Develop Countries (LDCs) generally have weak and uncompetitive economies, which place them at a distinct disadvantage to the northern economic powerhouses of the world in terms of industrial output and trade. As a result they have to look to other sources to generate development. It is in this context that tourism-led economic development strategies have assumed such importance for LDCs. 35 The impact of tourism-led strategies in these countries therefore requires special attention. An increasing number of LDCs, especially those that possess rich environmental and cultural capacities, have turned to tourism as a panacea for their economic woes. According to Oppermann and Chong, LDCs face multiple socio-economic adversities, including population pressure, rapid urbanisation, high unemployment, mono structured economies and export products, declining agricultural productivity, minimal industrialisation, low per capita income, insufficient infrastructure and low literacy rates.36 Cater has argued that tourism appears, (to LDCs) as an attractive proposition in earning much needed foreign exchange, stimulating employment and investment and contributing to the balance of payment.37 Thus, the reasons behind the growing emphasis on tourism are numerous and cover virtually the entire spectrum of economic difficulties confronting LDCs. 31 Ibid 32 Ibid 33 Cater, E.: Tourism in the least developed countries, Annals of Tourism Research,14, 1987 34 Ibid 35 Sinclair, M.T.: Tourism and economic development: a survey, Journal of Development Studies, 1998, p.14 36 Oppermann, M. and Chong, K-S.: Tourism in Developing Countries, International Thomson Business Press, 1997, p.106 37 Cater, E.: Tourism in the least developed countries, Annals of Tourism Research,14, 1987 Page | 21 The positive effects of massive private sector investment in local tourism and the consequent development of local infrastructure and modernisation have received considerable publicity. Examples of success stories have also abounded. For example, Tunisia’s beach destinations were regarded as major successes by the government because over 90 000 jobs were created directly in hotels and the local economy was stimulated through sourcing food and beverages, as well furnishing for the hotels. In the mid-2000s it was estimated that about $140 million per annum was generated by these activities.38 Another example is Sun City in the Rustenburg area of South Africa. This privately owned resort was reported to have made a significant contribution to local job creation by supporting SMMEs that are based within a 50km radius of the resort. Some of these include, hospitality staff, crafters who use discarded hotel linen to create soft furnishings and local goods purchasing of R120 million per annum.39 Thus tourism-led economic strategies aim to develop transport, accommodation, catering, entertainment, natural resources and services such as shops and currency exchange.40 However, while not dismissing the potential contribution of tourism, scholars have posed critical questions about the character of the sector’s contribution to development. 2.2 Tourism and Local Economic Development ( LED) Tourism-led strategies, it has been argued, aim to stimulate local economic growth through investment, the earning of foreign currencies and by creating employment. However, even when these objectives are met, they are not without controversy. Oppermann and Chong have aptly captured the contradictions and tensions inherent in tourism: 38 Ashley, C.: How Can Governments Boost the Local Economic Impacts of Tourism? ; Options and Tools, Overseas Development Institute, London, 2006, p.8 39 Spenceley, A. and Seif, J.: Strategies, Impacts and Costs of Pro-poor Tourism Approaches in South Africa, PPT Working Paper No.11, p.17-25 40 Sinclair, M.T.: Tourism and economic development: a survey, Journal of Development Studies, 1998, p.14 Page | 22 Tourism has many facets and apparently generates as much criticism as praise: tourism as an economic development agent, a job generator and a white industry, but also as an evil industry, a destructive force, etc.41 These contradictions have been the subject of intense debate over the past two or three decades. In particular, the often difficult relationship between private investors in tourism (both local and foreign) and the governments of LDCs has received considerable attention. Evidently, a principal objective of the governments of the LDC is to attract foreign investment in the hope that it would not only reduce trade deficits but that such investment would also ‘trickle down’ to ordinary citizens. In reality however, such investment is limited and not sustained over long periods.42 In order to kick-start tourism development the already cash-strapped governments use public funds for research to ascertain the viability of tourism projects, set up tourism information centres, provide basic infrastructure such as roads, electricity and sewage systems and often erect the first hotels. Government needs financial assistance to initiate the tourism development programme. In practice tourism development is heavily dependent on state investment and there tends to be little foreign private investment in the establishment of the basic infrastructure to support tourism.43 Governments are responsible for many functions that are fundamentally important to the sustainable development of tourism, such as land use planning, labour and environmental regulations, and the provision of infrastructure and social and environmental services.44 In order to attract private investment, especially from foreign-owned companies, governments of LDCs often make generous concessions. Thus the private sector is offered tax relief in return for investment into tourism development. But these companies tend to invest in tourism enclaves and in the development of hotels belonging to international chains. Tour Operators which are largely based in northern countries sell external packages (flights, accommodation and tours) and have the 41 Oppermann, M. and Chong, K-S.: Tourism in Developing Countries, International Thomson Business Press, 1997, p.106 42 Curkier-Snow, J. and Wall, G.: Tourism employment: perspectives from Bali, Tourism Management, 1993 43 UNEP, WTO : Making Tourism More Sustainable; A Guide for Policy Makers, 2005, p.23 44 Ibid Page | 23 packaged pre-paid by the tourist before they depart to tourist destination. 45 As a result, the foreign tourist spends a considerable amount of their cash in home countries. An example of this is the Nepal trekking, where the packages are sold and paid for outside of Nepal. The Tour Operator hires the porter, cooks, guides and other support staff at a much lower rate, but sells the package tour outside Nepal at a much higher rate. 46 This model of selling tourism packages applies globally. Freitag has thus argued that land earmarked for tourism development should be regulated to avoid potential losing of prime property and development to foreigners, such as happened at the Luperon Beach resort– Dominican Republic 1989.47 Due to the fact most LDC economies cannot carry the funding for tourism development; it has become common for governments to form partnerships with northern tourism giants to ensure better returns for the host countries. An example of this is the marketing of the Ilocandia Region in the Philippines. Lagman’s study reveals that the government sought investment opportunities in tour operators, car rental service, kiosks at the airport and seaport, and souvenir shops, cruises, ferries, travel agencies, tour operations, and land transportation. The government provided the support infrastructure and amenities suitable for international tourists.48 Joint ventures are often used in the development of the air transport as the developed countries have the infrastructure to develop the LDCs airline service and upgrade or build the airport required to handle the flow of tourists. An example of this is the change of Bangladesh Investment Policy of 1974 whereby private companies and foreign investment were granted greater power which led to the 1986 decision for further privatisation of government entities. This led to the 1987 Bangladesh Industrial Enterprise Ordinance which allowed for private companies to own up to 49% of shares in government entities including air.49 Dieke’s study showed that some LDC governments changed their traditional role of primary 45 Shah, K. and Gupta, V.: ‘Tourism, the poor and Other Stakeholders: Experience in Asia’, Overseas Development Institute, London, 2000, p.41 46 Ibid, p.19 47 Freitag, T.G.: Enclave tourism development: for whom benefits roll?, Annals of Tourism Research, 1994, p.548 48 Lagman, O.: The Philippine Tourism Industry: Adjustments and Upgrading, Manila, 2008, p.23 49 http://www.country-studies.com/bangladesh/joint-ventures-and-foreign-investment.html Page | 24 tourism developer to that of facilitator to allow private companies and foreign investment to handle the development. 50 Authors such as Oppermann and Chong have also focused their critical analysis of tourism on three key areas: the economic effects, the social-cultural and the physical effects of tourism development.51 One of the key concerns they have raised in terms of local economic development and tourism is that investment is often heavily concentrated in specific localities, depending on the presence of natural or cultural sites. Within such areas investment is confined to tourism activities, often to the exclusion of large sections of local communities. Furthermore, investment in tourism enclaves sometimes happens at the expense of other parts of poor countries, which in fact leads to uneven development.52 Oppermann and Chong have also argued that it is necessary to consider the socio- cultural effects of tourism. For example, tourism is typically packaged for the benefit and consumption of foreigners, which can have a negative impact on the cultural and heritage resources of LDCs. In other words, certain aspects of culture are promoted if there is a demand by tourists. The recent increase in sex tourism has resulted in the exploitation of women and increasingly of young girls. From a health perspective concerns have been raised about the contribution of this kind of tourism to the spread of HIV/Aids.53 Ryan has also argued that it is necessary to acknowledge that tourist enclaves become sites of crime, which affect not only tourist but also the local community.54 Finally, Oppermann and Chong, insist that for all its supposed economic benefits, tourism can have adverse effects on the environment. Popular sites may generate money but the influx of huge numbers of tourists contributed to the degradation of these places. 55. Of course the impact of tourism varies from country to country, depending on many factors. Nonetheless, the potential dangers are quite similar, which has resulted over time in scholars and practitioners calling for a common approach to remedy the historically negative practices of tourism. 50 Dieke, U.C.: The Political Economy of Tourism Development in Africa, Glasgow, 2000, p.11 51 Ibid 52 Oppermann , M. and Chong K-S: Tourism in Developing Countries, International Thomson Business Press, 1997, p.112- 116 53 Oppermann, M. and Chong, K-S.: Tourism in Developing Countries, International Thomson Business Press, 1997, p.118-119 54 Ryan, C.: Crime, Violence, Terrorism and Tourism: An Accidental or Intrinsic Relationship. Tourism Management, 1993, p.173-83 55 Ibid Page | 25 2.3 Sustainable Tourism Swarbrooke has defined sustainable tourism as “tourism which is economically viable but does not destroy the resources on which future tourism will depend, notably the physical environment and social fabric of the host community”56 Sustainable tourism was put on the agenda at the United Nations Conference on Environmental and Development, popularly known as the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992. Inskeep argues that this Summit was significant as the role players of the tourism industry realised that sustainable tourism approaches were necessary to ensure that future tourism growth strategies included policy frameworks that consciously aimed to benefit the host communities on a long term basis.57 As a basis for identifying the policy considerations, the view of Kofi Annan, the Secretary- General of the United Nations, on the African development challenge (which also includes tourism), is instructive: The basic strategy for achieving sustainable development through economic growth is now well established. The core components of the strategy include macroeconomic stability and a stable investment environment; integration into the international economy; a reliance on the private sector as the driving force for economic growth; long-term foreign direct investment, especially in support of export-oriented activities; adequate investment in human development areas such as health and education; a fair and reliable legal framework; and the maintenance of basic physical Infrastructures. ...Long-term success can be achieved only if African Governments have the political will not just to enact sound economic policies but also to persevere in their implementation until a solid economic foundation has been established (cited in ECA, 1999: 1)58. Annan points to a general problem faced by Africa and other parts of the developing world in terms of the unequal relations with foreign investors. As a general rule, foreign investors follow a policy of minimum investment with maximum capital growth. It is a practice copied by private investors in the global tourism sector. In the 56Swarbrooke, J.: Sustainable Tourism Management, Wallingford, 1999, p.13 57 Inskeep, E.: Planning Sustainable Tourism in Ghana, The Political Economy of Tourism Development in Africa, 2000, p.77-97 58 ECA.: The ECA and Africa: Accelerating a continent is development, Addis Ababa, 1999 Page | 26 case of Urgup (Turkey), local people lacked the financial resources to invest in hotels and shops. Tosun and Jenkins show in their study that foreign investors stepped in to provide some funds, but generally excluded local entrepreneurs from developing small businesses. Although tourism developed, the local economy hardly experienced any growth.59 Diamond, et al, have therefore asserted that LDCs do not reap the rewards of the tourist as the revenue earned mainly stays in the hands of the foreign investors and a small elitist group within the LDC. Among the latter are local politicians seeking power and financial gains and businessmen who negotiate deals for their personal benefits rather than for the broader development of their countries.60 One of the central elements of sustainable tourism is the aim to create stable employment. The type of employment created can also determine the growth within the tourism communities. This is especially important because the sector has been associated with informal and casual work. For example, in the informal craft sector, locals typically sell arts, crafts and other curios at tourism sites, side roads, hotels and places where the tourist will pass through.61 Jobs in this sector are characterised by ease of entry, reliance on local resources, family ownership, skills acquired outside the formal school system and unregulated competitive markets. On the one hand, there is a sense of entrepreneurship and the creation of employment opportunities. Successful local entrepreneurs may establish a foothold in the tourism market by creating small businesses such as airport shuttle companies and local tour operators, among others. On the other hand, informal employment is insecure and dependent on seasonal tourism. Small businesses also operated in a highly competitive environment over which they have little control. For these reasons, some critics have argued that it is important to increase formal employment in the sector. Formal employment is seen as secure and generally offers better incomes than the informal tourism sector. Hotels, car rental companies and airports are regarded as some of the key creators of such jobs. However, a large percentage of these formal jobs are in companies owned by the major international tourism supplier players. If sustainable tourism allows for the 59 Tosun, C. and Jenkins, C.L.: The evolution of tourism planning in third world: A critique. Progress in Tourism and Hospitality Research, 1998, p.601 60 Diamond, L., Linz, J.J., Lipset, S. M.: Introduction: What makes for Democracy? Politics in developing countries, 1995, p.1-66 61 Swarbrooke, J.: Sustainable Tourism Management, Wallingford, 1999, p. Page | 27 growth of the host communities in the various aspects of tourism, the opportunity can thus be created for approaches that measure the alleviation of poverty. 2.4 Pro-Poor Tourism and poverty reduction Ashley, Goodwin and Roe have defined pro-poor tourism as tourism that is specifically aimed at creating economic opportunities for poor people in order to improve their livelihoods and for them to engage meaningfully in decision-making about development projects.62 In their view, it has become crucial to insert the challenge of poverty into tourism because the sector is one of the world’s largest industries and has a significant impact on poor countries. Not only can it contribute to overall GDP and employment growth (especially in poor communities and among women), but also has the potential of promoting pro-poor development.63 Such an approach, argues Swarbrooke, can counter the practice of tourism being driven by business interest and not by an agenda to alleviate poverty. 64 Rather than merely being a coincidental outcome of the sector, pro-poor outcomes could be seen as instrumental in a general programme to reduce poverty, as illustrated in the diagram below. 62 Ashley, C., Goodwin, H. and Roe, D.: ‘Pro-poor Tourism Strategies: Expanding Opportunities for the Poor’, Pro-Poor Briefing Paper 1, Overseas Development Institute, London, 2001 63 Ibid 64 Swarbrooke, J.: Sustainable Tourism Management, Wallingford, 1999, p.162 Page | 28 Figure: Linking tourism and poverty reduction65 The above figure shows the various options and opportunities that can be used to link tourism development to poverty alleviation. Perhaps the most significant factor suggested by the pro-poor tourism partnerships its potential to be a form of ‘pro-poor growth’66 There has been huge growth in the international literature on sustainable development in developing countries, which has helped to shed new light on ‘pro-poor’ tourism initiatives. 67 Old tourism practices have been strongly criticised as the challenge to end poverty has become more central to the policy framework of tourism. The new emphasis in the literature has been on the alleviation of poverty and the building sustainable tourism development within developing countries. In the early literature the focus was on community-based natural resource management, which reflected a 65 Pro-Poor Tourism: Sheet No3: Tourism and Poverty Reduction – Making the Links, Pro-Poor Tourism Partnership, 2004 66 www.propoortourim.org.uk 67 Ibid Swarbrooke, J.: Sustainable Tourism Management, Wallingford, 1999, p.162 Shah, K and Gupta, V.: ‘Tourism, the poor and other stakeholders: Experience in Asia’, Overseas Development Institute, London, 2000 Ashley, C., Goodwin, H. and Roe, D.: ‘Pro-poor Tourism Strategies: Expanding Opportunities for the Poor’, Pro-Poor Briefing Paper 1, Overseas Development Institute, London, 2001 Page | 29 non-urban bias in the field. 68 Economically the studies argued that the critical issues of whether and how the locals participated in the industry. Formal employment was measured in the accommodation sector, whereas informal employment was in the arts, crafts and vending sectors. Shah and Gupta analyses on the impact of tourism on the natural resources like water, forests and the coastline beaches signalled the growing attention given to the intersection between economic growth and the environment. 69 These interventions deliberately looked beyond economic benefits or cultural/social damage, and concentrated on a full range of sustainable livelihood issues. These approaches laid the foundation for the emergence of the current concentration on pro- poor tourism. Internationally there has been a boom in the pro-poor tourism literature, which has been encouraged by events such as the World Summit for Sustainable Development in the 1992 ‘Earth Summit’ in Rio established the triple bottom line of environmental, economic and social sustainability. The establishment of the Pro Poor Tourism Partnership in the United Kingdom around 1998 would lay the foundation for researchers to publish and store on a central website all Pro-poor and Sustainable tourism studies. The World Tourism Organisation ( WTO) defined sustainable tourism as early as 1988 as ‘leading to management of all resources in such a way that economic, social and aesthetic needs can be fulfilled’70 The end result being the overall sustainability of each component in the industry. Expansion of pro-poor tourism research literature into Southern Africa post 1994 was inevitable. 71 For example, Ashley’s influential work on Namibia and Kenya placed the poor at the heart of tourism development in this region.72 Pro-Poor Tourism (PPT) Pilot programmes were expanded over various areas within Southern Africa. These studies include research sites in Sun City, the Sandton Complex of Southern Sun, Rocktail 68 Shah, K and Gupta, V.: ‘Tourism, the poor and other stakeholders: Experience in Asia’, Overseas Development Institute, London, 2000 69 Ibid 70 Ashley, C., Roe, D. and Goodwin, H.: ‘Pro-poor Tourism Strategies: Making Tourism Work For the Poor – A Review of Experience’, Pro-Poor Tourism Report No.1, Overseas Development Institute, London, 2001, p.2 71 Ashley, C.: ‘The Impacts of Tourism on Rural Livelihoods: Namibia’s experience’, Working Paper No 128, Overseas Development Institute, London, 2000 Ashley, C.: ‘Applying livelihood Approaches to Natural Resource Management Initiatives’: Experiences in Namibia and Kenya’, Working Paper 132, Overseas Development Institute, 2000 Roe, D., Grieg-Gran, M. and Schalken, W.: ‘Getting the Lion’s share from Tourism: Private Sector- Community Partnerships in Namibia, International Institute for Environment and Development’, June 2001. Poultney, C. and Spenceley, A.: “Practical strategies and pro-poor tourism, Wilderness Safaris: Rocktail Bay and Ndumu Lodge’, Working Paper 1, Overseas Development Institute, London. 2001 72 Ashley, C.: ‘Applying livelihood Approaches to Natural Resource Management Initiatives’, 2000 Page | 30 Bay Lodge, Spier Village and Ker and Downey Safaris Tanzania.73 These initiatives were aiming at developing good practice on pro-poor approaches. According to Ashley pro-poor tourism focuses on three core areas: increased economic benefits, positive non-economic impacts and policy reform.74 The economic benefits pertain to expanding business opportunities and employment opportunities for the poor as well as enhancing the collective social benefits. An example of this is the improvements in roads, water and other infrastructure and the positive impact on skills, education and health through training. The positive non-economic benefits refer to capacity building, training and empowerment, mitigating the environmental impact of tourism on the poor and addressing the social and cultural impact of tourism. The strategies focussing on policy reform are based on building a more supportive policy and planning framework, promoting participation and bringing the private sector into pro-poor partnerships. In her work on tourism in Namibia, Ashley has suggested that the success of pro-poor tourism projects should also be measured by how monetary income- through wages, casual earnings and collective income – is distributed to those who need it most. Poultney and Spenceley have followed this route by measuring the financial benefits enjoyed by all members of a single community involved in pro-poor tourism initiatives. They have also urged that employment benefits that arise from tourism be further scrutinised by, for example, asking what type of job opportunities were created.75 Mahony and Van Zyl have underscored the importance of the management and conservation of natural resources through pro-poor initiatives in rural communities.76 For all these writers the reduction of poverty and inequality has become a crucial goal with the promotion of tourism in the developing world. Pro-poor tourism has emerged as a key concept in this literature. Ashley and Haysom are also critical of the blanket promotion of tourism because it does not specify approaches to pro-poor initiatives. They argue that different types of tourism should be looked at in view of their contribution to positive development. Strategies for pro-poor tourism should focus on developing 73 Ashley, C. and Haysom, G.: ‘From Philanthropy to a different way of doing business: Strategies and Challenges in integrating Pro-Poor approaches into Tourism Business’, 2005 74 Ibid 75 Poultney, C. and Spenceley, A.: “Practical strategies and pro-poor tourism, Wilderness Safaris: Rocktail Bay and Ndumu Lodge’, Working Paper 1, Overseas Development Institute, London. 2001 76 Mahony, K., Van Zyl, J.: The impacts of tourism investment on rural communities: three case studies in South Africa, , Development South Africa, Volume 19, Number 1, March 2002 Page | 31 opportunities for the poor rather than simply expanding the overall size of the sector.77 Mahony and Van Zyl acknowledge that there is an assumption that in the tourism industry that government intervention is not required to ensure pro-poor tourism as growth in the tourism industry will eventually trickle down to the poor.78 Such as assumption is clearly based on conservative economic models and has proven to be flawed within the tourism industry internationally. Strategies for PPT concentrate on policy reform and the enhancement of economic and non-economic impacts. These are only possible with participation and partnerships. The existing literature on pro- poor tourism is primarily based on case studies conducted on rural, community-based tourism. Nonetheless, the approach adopted by those writers who have championed pro-poor tourism is valid for urban studies. The basic principles of sustainable development in tourism hold true in rural and urban areas. 2.5 Pro-PoorTourism and Development in democratic South Africa South Africa in post 1994 saw a change in government structure. The government wanted to ensure that development of South Africa would redress the discrimination of the past and poverty. Thus the combination of the two was seen as a strategy of new development options in the tourism sector. 79 Development would now be led by local governments. Active local economic development (LED) would be a key factor to address the plight of the poor and tourism was seen a key growth factor to this initiative.80 The Tourism White Paper of 1996 would identify the need to promote community participation in tourism and local authorities would look at pro-poor tourism development strategies.81 In 1995, The Economist reported that South Africa is one of the world’s fastest growing tourist destinations.82 As South Africa embraced its new democracy, the world’s eyes were observing with keen interest to see change, development and 77 Ashley, C. and Haysom,G.: ‘From Philanthropy to a different way of doing business: Strategies and Challenges in integrating Pro-Poor approaches into Tourism Business’, 2005 78 Mahony, K., Van Zyl, J.: The impacts of tourism investment on rural communities: three case studies in South Africa, , Development South Africa, Volume 19, Number 1, March 2002 79 Binns,T., Nel, E.: Tourism as a local development strategy in South Africa, The Geographical Journal, Vol 168, No 3, September 2002, p.235-247 80 Rogerson, C.M.: Local economic development in an era of globalisation: the case of South African cities, Tijschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, 91, p.397-411, 2000 81 Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism: White Paper, Pretoria, 1996 82The Economist, 20 May, 1995 Page | 32 growth in Southern Africa. In this view, the global tourist had found a new “must see” destination and it showed in the initial tourism statistics. Some key challenges on development at that stage were; identifying the various heritage and touristic sites that would be targeted for tourism development and funding of the various community tourism projects. The Tourism White Paper leaned on private funders as leading the development process but these funders would still need to be identified; the project areas would have to develop in such a way that it redress the apartheid legacy. In the meantime, tourism increased to South Africa. Below is the estimation of tourism to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in South Africa.. 1992 (R bn) 1993 (R bn) 1994 (R bn) 1995 (R bn) 2000 (R bn) Foreign Tourism 4.4 5.4 6.9 8.9 29.7 Domestic Tourism 8.4 10.3 12.4 13.9 22.8 Estimated Total 12.8 15.7 19.3 22.8 52.5 Ratio of GDP 3.75% 4.09% 4.45% 4.9% 7% Source: Calculated from Satour, 1996, South African Reserve Bank, Kessel Feinstein (1996) In 1994, the year of South Africa's first democratic elections, only 3.9 million foreign visitors arrived in the country. By 2004, international arrivals had more than doubled to 6.7 million. And in 2007 a total of 9.07 million foreigners visited South Africa; an 8.3% increase over 2006. Tourism’s estimated contribution to GDP increased from 4.6% in 1993 to 8.3% in 2006. It is expected to increase to 12% by 2014. The development of SA’s policies on tourism and development was premised in the first instance on the belief that it would contribute significantly to economic growth, based on these projections from 1992 to 2000. The South African Tourism Board (SATOUR) was established in 1994 to function as a national and statutory body and duties would include grading and classification of hotels, licenses, research, training, marketing, promotions and product development. A very tall order at the time as lack of staff was a key challenge. 83 SATOUR became the body that would initiate the foundation of rules and regulations to guide establishments, supplier licenses and national guidelines for training in various tourism areas. Over the years, SATOUR 83 Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism: White Paper, Pretoria, 1996, p.11 Page | 33 has evolved and primarily led the tourism marketing strategy. SATOUR no longer exists as it was restructured to the South African Tourism. Other aspects of its goal were entrusted to other organisations, for example, South African Grading Council, whose sole purpose is the grading of hotels and guest houses in South Africa and the South African Tourism Business Council, who develop initiatives between tourism and business. The establishment of SATOUR laid the basis to implement tourism development through the ideals of the White Paper. The White Paper noted, among other things, that tourism has the potential to achieve the objectives of the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) of the new government.84 The five key objectives of the RDP were: meeting basic needs, developing human resources, democratising the state and society, building the economy and implementing the reconstruction and development projects.85 So, from the outset new tourism policies were directly linked to a particular developmental agenda. The White Paper led to adoption of the Development and Promotion of Tourism in South Africa by cabinet in 1996.Various initiatives were launched by the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism to implement the White Paper. These included a draft implementation strategy. The formulation of specific tourism programmes coordinated by the Minister of Trade and Industry, specific agreements reached with the Tourism Business Council of South Africa, other bilateral and multilateral initiatives with countries in the region and the World Tourism Organisation and the implementation of various “fast track” programmes aimed at improving the efforts of the various role players.86 In 1998, the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT) produced the Tourism in GEAR (Growth, Employment and Redistribution) as a follow up to the White Paper, and set out the strategy for the development of tourism between 1998 and 2000 .The economic growth targeted would be 6% per annum by 2000 with a growth of 400 000 new employment envisaged per annum87 in the whole economy or in the tourism sector. GEAR set the following objectives for tourism development: to attract substantial sector investment, to accommodate SMME development and to stimulate development of the tradable goods sector. Examples of tradable goods were 84 Ibid, P4 85 Koch, E. and Massyn, P.J.: Domestic Tourism in South Africa, Pretoria, 1998, p.22 86 Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism: ‘Tourism in Gear”, 1998, p.1 Page | 34 jewellery, curios, etc.88 The strategy was to aggressively promote entrepreneurship and community shareholding in tourism, focussed on the promotion of sustainable management of tourism natural and cultural resources. Government acknowledged that GEAR should lead in the development of tourism within communities, yet it saw the process being driven by the private sector. Critically, the White Paper promoted the notion of ‘Responsible Tourism’ as the guiding concept for tourism development. The explanation behind this form of tourism is given as government recognition that the tourism industry had to create entrepreneurs, new services (for example, handicrafts, local entertainment) to strengthen communities and create employment.89 Government defined ‘Responsible Tourism’ in terms of promoting a pro-active approach to tourism whilst managing and marketing in a responsible manner, responsibility to the environment, the promotion of sustainable tourism, the involvement of local communities and the development of meaningful economic linkages. It also implied the responsibility of local communities become actively involved in the development and sustainability of tourism.90 Since 1994 there has been a steady growth in tourism and by 1996 the tourism expenditure in South Africa by tourists was approximately R26.8 billion.91 South Africa offers various positive aspects in tourism development. These are diverse attractions, unique selling features, and infrastructure to handle high volume accommodation, deregulation, privately operated suppliers, competitive airspace and good value for money. There are various areas where employment and entrepreneurial opportunities allows for income generation. The World Travel and Tourism Council estimated that the South African travel and tourism economy employed 3.2 percent of the total workforce (approximately 280 000 people) in the late 1990s.92 In 1994 it was estimated that in South Africa as a whole, 810 000 people were directly or indirectly employed in tourism, representing just over one in 20 economically active people, including both formal and informal sector workers.93 87 Ibid 88 Ibid,p.2 89 Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism: White Paper, Pretoria, 1996, p.4 90 Ibid, p.19 91 Ibid, p.3 92 World Travel and Tourism Council, 1999 93 Koch, E. and Massyn, P.J.: Domestic Tourism in South Africa, Pretoria, 1998, p.33 Page | 35 Tourism’s Contribution to Employment, 1994 Industrial Sector Employment Figures Percentage of Total Economically Active Manufactured Goods 1 399 513 9.8% TOURISM 810 000 5.8% Agriculture 982 616 6.9% Mining 613 584 4.3% Source: Koch and Massyn: Domestic Tourism in South Africa, Pretoria, 1998, P34 Travel & Tourism generated 513,000 jobs directly in 2011 (3.9% of total employment) and this is forecast to grow by 4.7% in 2012 to 536,500 (4.0% of total employment). This includes employment by hotels, travel agents, airlines and other passenger transportation services (excluding commuter services). It also includes, for example, the activities of the restaurant and leisure industries directly supported by tourists. By 2022, Travel & Tourism will account for 681,000 jobs directly, an increase of 2.4% pa over the next ten years.94 Source: WTTC, Travel & Tourism Economic Impact 2012, South Africa, 2012 95 Percentage of Self-Employed- 1994 Activity African Coloured Indian White All M F M F M F M F M F 94 WTTC, Travel & Tourism Economic Impact 2012, South Africa, 2012 95 WTTC, Travel & Tourism Economic Impact 2012, South Africa, 2012 Page | 36 Selling on Streets 17 35 17 21 12 37 6 10 15 31 Taxi Operator 12 0 8 - 2 - - - 9 0 Restaurant, Hotel and Entertainment 1 - 6 - 2 - 6 6 3 1 Source: South Africa Labour and Development Research Unit (SALDRU), 1994 In 1996, Wood undertook a study of the local craft markets in north-east KwaZulu- Natal and found that the craft market is predominantly the domain of women (94% of participants) with low levels of educational and formal training.96 The total contribution of Travel & Tourism to employment (including wider effects from investment, the supply chain and induced income impacts,) was 1,188,000 jobs in 2011 (9.0% of total employment). This was predicted to increase by 3.2% in 2012 to 1,226,000 jobs (9.2% of total employment). By 2022, Travel & Tourism is forecast to support 1,498,000 jobs (9.4% of total employment), an increase of 2.0% pa over the period. Source: WTTC, Travel & Tourism Economic Impact 2012, South Africa, 2012 97 Based on the aforementioned data, the impact of tourism on employment appears to be positive. But the analysis thereof should be measured against the local economic 96 Wood, E.: ‘ An Economic Assessment of Local Community Craft markets near Protected Areas In KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa’, Masters in Environmental and Resource Economics, UCL, 1996 97 WTTC, Travel & Tourism Economic Impact 2012, South Africa, 2012 Page | 37 development of the tourism areas to ascertain sustainability in tourism and employment. The local economic development (LED) of the government has been implemented since 1994. In South Africa the tourism industry has been seen as one of the industries that can drive economic development and transformation. 98 LED is an integrated, multi-disciplinary approach aimed at poverty alleviation through pro-poor economic growth.99 The purpose of LED is to build economic capacity of a local area in order to improve the economic future and quality of life or all. This process included the public, business and government to work collectively to create the environment to for economic growth and generate employment.100 Ashley suggested that the following approaches and tools be used by governments in Southern Africa: boosting local inputs into the hotel supply chains; stimulating micro and small tourism enterprises; boosting local craft and tourist shopping; boosting employment opportunities for the poor; facilitating destination-level partnerships; diversifying the destination, including more products for the poor; use government roles to influence private sector behavior; facilitate joint venture partnerships, private sector and community; other ways to channel financial flows to communities; addressing cultural, social and physical impacts; pro-poor policy making and strategic choices to markets, segments and investors.101 The National Guidelines for Responsible Tourism developed in South Africa were published by the Department for Environmental Affairs and Tourism in 2002 and they were adopted as the national sector planning guidelines for tourism. The guidelines cover the economic, social and environmental agendas for responsible tourism. The section on Guiding Principles for Economic Responsibility is a specific checklist of actions that people in the industry could take to increase the positive impact on local economic development.102 Local economic development and the reduction of poverty is achieved where hotels and resorts maximise their employment 98 Rogerson, C.M.: Driving development tourism in South Africa, Africa Insight 32, 2002 99 Rogerson, C.M.: Tourism and spatial development initiatives – the case of the Maputo Development Corridor. South African Geographical Journal, 83, 2001 100 Ramukumba, T.: The Local Economic Development in the Eden District Municipality, western Cape, South Africa : A Case Study of emerging entrepreneurs in Tourism Industry.,American Journal of Tourism Research, 1, 2012 101 Ashley, C.: How Can Governments Boost the Local Economic Impacts of Tourism: Options and Tools- for SNV East and Southern Africa, ODI, London, 2006 102 Goodwin, H, Stuart, R.: Tourism and Local Economic Development , How can businesses in travel and tourism increase the contribution of the industry to local economic development and pro-poor growth?, London, 2004 Page | 38 of local labour and through management and training interventions, by investing in people and ensuring that increasingly senior posts go to local employees; work with local communities and micro enterprises to ensure supplies of food and beverages, so furnishings, maintenance, arts and crafts and entertainment are locally sourced.103 Various interventions have been researched and concerns raised of some failures and reasoning for some successes of the different forms of LED. 104 Mahoney and Van Zyl found that government emphasized community benefits but failed to differentiate between the rich and the poor in the community. Unemployment figures have remained high with effective job creation remaining the most elusive objective for the government to date. Tourism investment remains a high risk despite the general optimism. Private investors are not yet fully behind government when it comes to pro-poor investments. The Private sector mainly invests in established urban areas of Gauteng and Cape Town. These investors are interested in short-term benefits and are largely linked to the allocation of casino licenses. Government interventions have been drawn from this to explore the nature of the intervention and the suggested implementation of these interventions. The role of small, micro and medium-enterprises (SMMEs) was a central focus of economic development in South Africa’s tourism post 1994. The White Paper clearly mentions this in the investment strategy.105 These SMME’s consisted of small scale businesses and entrepreneurs selling tourism products like local tours, bed and breakfasts, transport companies, tour operators and craft/cultural villages and centres. Evidence of this is found in the significant applications for funding received by the Local Economic Development (LED) Fund to support tourism ventures which are essentially a poverty alleviation vehicle.106 In urban South Africa, the concentration our tourism development and SMME’s remained largely with initiatives in the previous disadvantage communities or townships, such as Soweto and Alexandra. Structurally, South Africa’s tourism industry is highly dominated by a small elite 103 Ibid 104 Wood, E.: ‘ An Economic Assessment of Local Community Craft markets near Protected Areas In KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa’, Masters in Environmental and Resource Economics, UCL, 1996 105 Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism: White Paper: The development and promotion of Tourism in South Africa, Pretoria,1996, p.35 106 Binns,T., Nel, E.: Tourism as a local development strategy in South Africa, The Geographical Journal, Vol 168, No 3, September 2002, p.235-247 Page | 39 group.107 Although identified by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) as on of the strategic priority sectors for promotion, there has been little attention devoted around development of tourism SMMEs.108 Policy makers and researchers in South Africa have over the past decade measured the nature and role SMMEs to ascertain if they are successful within the government’s policy of expansion of tourism through enterprises that support the various SMMEs.109 As tourism expanded in South Africa so did the SMMEs. In this way SMMEs have featured strongly in tourism policy decisions so as to create more employment opportunities. However, most policy responses failed to bring these two key elements together for maximum benefit in LED. Despite the popularity and growth of LED studies in South Africa, the tourism- led LED has failed to make a sustainable mark on many communities especially the poor.110 Rogerson argues that the greatest attention so far has centred on issues concerning production or manufacturing activities and on questions relating to the retention of business and the attraction of new investment.111 The private sector has proven rather reluctant to invest in poor areas of South Africa citing the uncertainties of land ownership, poor infrastructure support, limitations of the tourism market and largely risk-averse financial community. 112 The government have highlighted three broad transformation objectives for tourism –led strategies. These are “the need for increased ownership of tourism businesses by previously disadvantaged individuals (PDIs); increasing effective and direct participation by PDIs in the management of tourism establishments; and affording PDIs increased business opportunities linked to the tourism industry” 113 According to Leballo from the Land and Agricultural Policy Centre (L&APC) “community-based tourism” means different things to different people. To some it 107Nemasetoni, I., Rogerson, C.M.: Developing Small Firms in Township Tourism: Emerging Tour Operators in Gauteng, South Africa, Urban Forum, Vol 16, Nos 2-3, 2005 108 Visser, G., Rogerson, C.M. : Researching the South African tourism and development nexus, GeoJournal, 60, 201-215, 2004 109 Bourgouin, F.: ‘Information communication technologies and the potential for rural tourism SMME development: the case of the Wild Coast, Development Southern Africa, 2002 110 Ibid 111 Rogerson, C.M.: ‘Tourism and local economic development: the case of the Highlands Meander”, Development Southern Africa, 19, 2002 Bloch, R.: ‘Subnational economic development in present-day South Africa.’ Urban Forum,11, 2000 112 Mahony, K. and Van Zyl, J.: ‘The impacts of tourism investment on rural communities: three case studies in South Africa’, Development Bank South Africa, Midrand, 2002 Page | 40 refers to the geographical location whilst others see it as a type of tourism within a “community”. Some people see community tourism as community ownership of the tourism products within their community. Community tourism is both the ownership and management of tourism products within a community but emphasis should be on how the tourism gets the poor involved of a community.114 Local community tourism is important because it includes the concept of empowerment of local communities, local skill development, the community decision-making and management structure and a sense of ownership by the local community members. According to Leballo, it is crucial that community tourism projects are sustainable and to survive long-term benefits financial viability is a very important factor. It can be even more effective if the initiatives involve benefits for the poorest of the communities. Whilst the projects do not have to make enormous profits they have to be sustainable in order to accrue the long-term benefits. The benefits within the community based tourism projects would potentially come in the form of business and enterprise development opportunities, via equity participation in the tourism developments and operations, via employment in the form of construction or operation of tourism facilities. The establishment of co-operatives and community business gives rise to development corporations. It is also essential that the business skills of the community be developed as part of the sustainable growth of the group. 2.6 The Role of Women in Tourism Development Women, especially in rural communities, have a particularly important role to play in the development of responsible tourism. The employment of women can be a fundamental determinant of the development impacts of the tourism industry. In a survey conducted among women farm workers in the Lowveld, it was demonstrated that a strong correlation exists between salaries and household welfare among employed women. The potential employment impact of the tourism industry on both men and women in rural areas will considerably improve family life. The urban drift among men who migrate to cities and mines in search of employment has had a deleterious impact on rural women who continue to suffer not only from hard labour in the rural fields, poor access to infrastructure and basic necessities such as water, but 113 Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism: ‘Tourism in Gear”, 1998 114 Leballo, M.: ‘The study of the best practice in community-based tourism initiatives’, Unpublished report prepared for the land and Agriculture Policy Centre, Johannesburg, 2000 Page | 41 also from the impact of AIDS.115 The special roles that women can play in the new tourism drive of South Africa are identified as follows: as teachers, mothers and mentors, to generate awareness of the potential of tourism to stimulate community growth and development; to actively assist in shaping a responsible tourism industry in South Africa as policy-makers, entrepreneurs, entertainers, travel agents, tour guides, restauranteurs, workers, managers, guests house operators and other leading roles in the tourism business environment ; organize themselves and lead the implementation of community projects that will have positive environmental, social and economic impacts; and to ensure equality in the conditions of employment of women. Too often, women are seen as a "cheap" alternative to employing men, with no security of tenure, maternity leave or investment in career development; promote and where possible ensure respect for and dignity of women in the development, marketing and promotion of tourism. This can be done through: lobby the support of developers and local authorities for the provision of services and infrastructure to enhance the position of women in communities; secure the provision of craft training and other opportunities to expand the skills base of rural women; give special attention to the needs of women tourists, with a particular emphasis on safety and security. 116 These divisions amongst the labour within the tourism industry is significant as it is often determined by the culture, class and conservatism practiced within the specific country. For example, in ethnic arts production, Swain showed that most of the Kuna and Sani women, who produced handicrafts for tourist markets, increased the power within the household, but not within the wider society, where traditional gender roles persisted.117 In Greece, traditional Greek women are frowned upon if they appear on their own in coffee houses and tavernas, whilst in Spain, women who work in catering for tourists who stays on farms is seen as an extension in their domestic roles.118 Sinclair also notes that in West Java, many women work in the accommodation sector and the informal sector (selling fruit and food) whilst their male counterparts work as tour guides.119 115 http://www.info.gov.za/whitepapers/1996/tourism.htm 116 Ibid 117 Swain, M. B.: Women producers of ethnic arts, Annals of Tourism Research, 1993 118 Sinclair, M.T.: Issues and theories of gender and work in tourism, , 1998 119 Ibid, p.4 Page | 42 In various countries, the role of women, have be highlighted in various researches. Women in Street Vending, is one such category where Women in Informal Employment Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO), has found in their research that street vending is one of the largest categories of informal work employing women. The low costs of entry and flexible hours make street vending an attractive option for poor women; for many, it is the only option they have.120 The above are just some examples of women of how women position themselves within the tourism industry. The inclusion of women within tourism is vital as they fill many informal and formal areas of industry, the latter being done with the financial support of key drivers like governments and private sector. In the South African context, women have been identified as previously disadvantaged by the government and were specifically included in the objectives of the 1994 development of South African tourism121 The role of women in tourism was given a bolster with funding being made available for female entrepreneurs who could not be on equal footing with their male counterpart in the application. 2.7 Conclusion The recent literature on tourism and development demonstrate the importance of integrating tourism into strategies for economic growth, local economic development and poverty alleviation. In South Africa, the democratic government has been eager to initiate the policies that would form the basis for local economic development, empower of women and built sustainable growth through tourism. However, as the critical literature has pointed out, it remains necessary to analyse precisely how these policies are implemented at a local level, and especially in poor communities. The following chapter focuses on the development of policies for the promotion of tourism in Alexandra Township, which the authorities identified as a site of strategic tourism due to its rich history and its location, which is next to Sandton, the business mecca of Johannesburg. 120 WIEGO : Informal Workers in Focus : Street Vendors , www.wiego.org 121 Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism: White Paper, Pretoria, 1996 Page | 43 CHAPTER 3 ALEXANDRA: URBAN RENEWAL AND TOWNSHIP TOURISM The aim of this chapter is to discuss the introduction of tourism initiatives in Alexandra Township in the context of its rich history, its challenges, its people and its reaction to the various development initiatives its inhabitants experienced after 1994. With democracy came new hope for Alexandra, which was identified as one of the areas which would receive priority attention to overcome the ills of the past, including giving attention to overcome the lack of infrastructure, housing as well as poor living conditions. In 2001 the Alexandra Renewal Project (ARP) was launched to carry out this arduous task of combining the various components within Alexandra and rebuild and develop each of the identified areas. The ARP was one of the first major urban renewal projects that also contained a strong emphasis on the promotion of heritage and tourism. Unlike Soweto, which was already fairly well established as a place for visitors, Alexandra had to strive to overcome its reputation as place of crime and grime, while attempting to introduce developmental projects that could also serve as a means to promote tourism. Tourism development in Alexandra was not formally developed before 2001, let alone the pre-1994 era. Although there were some individuals who attempted to develop tourism in Alexandra in the mid-1990s, few of them had the experience or qualifications to do so successfully. As result heritage and tourism remained undeveloped and poorly co-ordinated. The ARP promised to change all of that and brought excitement to the small tourism sector. This chapter thus looks at how the tourism sector evolved from the late 1990s and especially in the context of the ARP. 3.1 Alexandra – History and Background It is important to understand the history and background of Alexandra in order to understand the arguments and challenges faced by tourism development in this area. The section will show how Alexandra Township has been neglected over the years. Its history will expose the growing overcrowding, underdevelopment and controls imposed during various times on Alexandra. Page | 44 Alexandra Township is located next to one of Johannesburg’s most affluent business districts and residential areas, namely Sandton. The contrast between the two areas is stark and the history and lives of Alexandrans could not be more different to those of Johannesburg’s affluent white residents. Alexandra was established as a residential township in 1904 and its owner, Mr Papenfus, hoped to sell plots to white people. When this plan failed, he had the area proclaimed as a freehold township for ‘Natives and coloureds’ in 1912. This was important because the following year the government passed the infamous 1913 Land Act which prohibited African people from owning land in white areas, especially the urban areas. Alexandra was therefore one of only a handful of places where black people could buy and own land under freehold title. This gave it a special character. Furthermore, the township also enjoyed some measure of independence in its administration. In 1916, the Alexandra Health Committee was established to manage the affairs of the township.122 The Johannesburg City Council was unwilling to take responsibility for Alexandra claiming that it was out of its jurisdiction.123 Many of the new immigrants who initially bought land in Alexandra were formerly prosperous sharecroppers and labour tenants forced from white owned farms. They came with skills and often had some capital, which were used for entrepreneurial opportunities within the community.124 Due to its position as a freehold township and because it had some independence, Alexandra was like a magnet for black people wanting to live in Johannesburg. The township experienced rapid growth from the 1930s, due to the drought in rural areas that forced many African labour tenants off the land. Those who had the capital bought properties, and others became tenants in Alexandra.125 With the outbreak of the Second World War, many more black immigrants descended upon Johannesburg’s already overcrowded black locations, such as Alexandra and Sophiatown.126 Overcrowding and neglect by the authorities caused conditions in Alexandra to deteriorate. The Health Committee, which administered Alexandra up to 1958, did not have the authority or the means to improve the quality of life residents. 122 Morris, P.: A History of Black Housing in South Africa, South African Foundation, Johannesburg, 1981 123 Ntlanjeni, L.: Tourism Development in Alexandra: The Role of Small-scale Informal Enterprises, Masters Research Report, University of Witwatersrand, 2003 124 Bonner, P. and Nieftagodien, N.: Alexandra A History, University of Witwatersrand, 2008, p.25 125 Ibid 126 Morris, P.: ’Alexandra Township – A History, lessons for urban renewal and some challenges for Planners’, Paper presented at SA Planning History Study Group, Planning for Reconstruction and Transformation Conference: University of Natal, Durban, 2000, p.5 Page | 45 Nelson Mandela remarked of his short experience of living in Alexandra; “In that first year, I learned more about poverty than I did in my childhood days in Qunu.”127 Throughout this period the township also became well-known as a place where many important struggles took place. This was where bus boycotts, squatter movements, marches and defiance against apartheid laws were common.128 Mandela experienced his first mass campaign when he lived here. The township was also home to other leaders of anti-apartheid organisations. Although Alexandra served as a source of labour for the northern suburbs, some white residents from these areas campaigned for its removal from the 1930s. They found support among sections of the Johannesburg Council. However, these campaigns did not succeed until the late 1950s when the Peri-Urban Board replaced the Health Committee in the administration of the township. Alexandra was seen as a ‘black spot’ that had to be removed. The Peri-Urban Board decided to resettle people to reduce the overcrowding and the population of Alexandra was reduced to 40 000 by 1973 as 56 574 people were resettled in Soweto and 15 089 people were resettled in Tembisa.129 At that point the government also proposed to convert Alexandra into a ‘hostel city’. This plan aimed to remove people who owned property and turn the township into a place for migrant workers who worked in the surrounding areas. By the early 1970s two big hostels were built, one for men and another for women. It seemed then that the ‘hostel city’ plan was on track. However, over the next few years the government faced problems in completing this scheme. One of the main reasons for the survival of Alexandra was the renewed struggle against apartheid. The student struggles of 1976 encouraged young people across the country to fight the system. Alexandra was no exception and by the late 1970s this new spirit of resistance was focused on saving the township from removals. In 1979, much to the joy of the residents, the government agreed to stop its removal plans and also promised to undertake development in the area.130 In 1980, a Master Plan was initiated for Alexandra by the then Minister of Co-operation and Development, Dr Piet Koornhof. The main objectives of the plan were to acquire all properties and to 127 Mandela, N: Long Walk to Freedom, The autobiography of Nelson Mandela, 1994, p.89 128 Ibid 129 Jochelson, K.J.: 'Urban Crisis: State Reform and Popular Reaction: A Case Study of Alexandra,' thesis, 1988, p.22 Page | 46 rebuild the township into seven suburbs with a central business area, containing supermarkets, shops and administrative buildings. Schools, sport complexes and parks were supposed to be built to make the area resemble a ‘garden city’.131 But by 1982, the plan was put on hold due to lack of finance. Alexandrans were dissatisfied with the failed promises of service delivery. In the mid-1980s, as the national struggle against apartheid, grew rapidly, Alexandra was again at the centre of militant campaigns. The ‘Six Day War’ put the township in the forefront of the battle against apartheid forces. The government responded by arresting many leaders and by introducing a new development plan. A new urban renewal plan was launched, but it was merely a modification of the early Master Plan.132 In the meantime, the population of the area grew rapidly: by the late 1980s Alexandra was very overcrowded and desperately short of housing and infrastructure. Pressure for more land increased which led to the construction of more shacks, with the total number of shacks increasing from 7352 in July 1987 to 20 000 in Oct 1991.133 In the 1990’s Alexandra remained a densely populated city with a high unemployment rate and a sad example of extreme poverty. It is against this backdrop of despair that the government decided to launch R1 billion Alexandra Renewal Program in the early 2000s. 3.2 Development of Alexandra post 1994 In 1998, nearly 10 years after the abandonment of apartheid’s last renewal scheme and various failed attempts to upgrade Alexandra, another development plan was proposed.134 This plan was different from the previous plan as it was based on the very clear objective of overcoming the legacy of apartheid and all the ills it brought to 130 Ntlanjeni, L.: Tourism Development in Alexandra: The Role of Small-scale Informal Enterprises, Masters Research Report, University of Witwatersrand, 2003 131 Morris, P.: ’Alexandra Township – A History, lessons for urban renewal and some challenges for Planners’, Paper presented at SA Planning History Study Group, Planning for Reconstruction and Transformation Conference: University of Natal, Durban, 2000, 132 Ibid 133 Abbott, J.: Evaluation of Alexandra Urban Renewal Project: Phase B: Investment project: Component 2: Management on the project (and in the same volume): Component 3: Implementation of the contract. Report prepared for the Development Bank of Southern Africa, 1992 134 Morris, P.: ’Alexandra Township – A History, lessons for urban renewal and some challenges for Planners’, Paper presented at SA Planning History Study Group, Planning for Reconstruction and Transformation Conference: University of Natal, Durban, 2000, Page | 47 Alexandra. The new development included a new housing programme in the East Bank area, the building of Riverside Park next to Lombardy East for refugees from the ‘Beirut’ area, which suffered heavily during the violence of the early 1990s, and the construction of the athletes’ village adjoining N3 highway for the All Africa games in September 1999- now called Tsutsumani.135 Despite these important interventions by the state, it became clear that the challenges facing Alexandra would not be overcome by these small-scale projects. Therefore, In February 2001, President Thabo Mbeki launched the Alexandra Renewal Project (ARP) with an estimated budget of R1, 3 billion.136 With this massive injection of funds, the hope for a better life for Alexandrans seemed possible. An immediate and primary aim for the ARP was to eradicate the poor state of the township’s infrastructure. Some of the ARP’s developments included the construction of a water reservoir, the upgrade of the sewage system, the improvement of the road network (including tarring of roads and widening London Road), electricity supply upgrade (and the electrification of households) and the upgrading of schools, clinics and the cemetery. In order to ease overcrowding, about 8500 families were relocated to other parts of Johannesburg.137 The ARP’s proposed development plans were huge, each with its own timelines and objectives and more challenging, all these projects were happening at the same time in Alexandra. Perhaps the greatest social challenge facing Alexandra was that of unemployment, so every development plan had very clear job-creation targets.138 3.2.1 Alexandra Tourism Development Project Local Economic Development and the creation of SMMEs were seen as the main ways in which to create jobs and develop skills among Alexandra’s unemployed and unskilled population. Tourism was seen as one of a number of interventions that could contribute to achieving these aims. Development Initiatives which sought to facilitate the development of skills amongst Alexandra’s residents facilitate opportunities for 135 Ibid 136 Rogerson, C.M.: Urban tourism and small tourism enterprise development in Johannesburg: The case of township tourism, GeoJournal 60, 2004 137 www.alexandra.co.za 138 ARP: The Development of SMME’s in Alexandra, www.alexandra.co.za, 2008 Page | 48 job creation within Alexandra and surrounding areas, promote the creation and growth of small enterprises owned by local entrepreneurs and foster productive economic linkages between Alexandra and the regional economy. The ARP would enhance the stability and growth prospects of Alexandra with the broader economy.139 The World Summit on Sustainable Development held in Johannesburg in 2002 afforded an important window of opportunity for Alexandra to emerge as a new focus on the township tourism map of South Africa.140; the promotion of a new tourism linked to heritage initiatives anchored upon the township’s rich history.141 Kaplan believed that skills development in support of tourism development in Alexandra was the key to driving an effective local economic development project in Alexandra.142 Alexandra had the ability to draw tourists to its township using its history, hospitality and township experience. In November 2001, the Alexandra Tourism Development Project (ATDP) produced the objectives that would guide the development of tourism in Alexandra, which were incorporated into the ARP’s plans for tourism. 143The ARP endeavoured to promote investment opportunities in Alexandra. This formed part of the marketing plan which was pegged at a period of one year and included a collective strategy from GTA, Sandton Hotels Association, SATOUR and possibly Johannesburg Tourism. Two Alexandrans was trained and mentored as part of these initiatives. The enhancement partnerships for development of tourism in Alexandra was envisaged with The Tourism and Hospitality Education and Training Authority ( THETA), The Sandton Tourism Association on marketing Alexandra and Gauteng Tourism to assist in getting the stakeholders together. What is evident is that this was a strategy based on how the ‘outside’ wishes to market and portray Alexandra with little evidence that Alexandra’s residents would be partaking in the marketing of its township. The time- frame given for marketing was a challenge in itself as there was minimum material of information to work from and no long term alternative process was considered. 139 Ibid 140 Rogerson, C.M.: Urban tourism and small tourism enterprise development in Johannesburg: The case of township tourism, GeoJournal 60, 2004 141 Kaplan, L.: Skills Development for Tourism in Alexandra Township, Johannesburg, Urban Forum, Vol 15, No 4, 2004 142 Ibid 143 Alexandra Renewal Project: Summary of projects to be implemented, Heritage Agency,2002 Page | 49 The ARP would enable previously disadvantaged communities to participate in tourism. Alexandrans would be given the necessary skills to equip them to participate in the tourism sector. This would include the Bed and Breakfast Training Programme, Event Management Training Programme, the Craft Development Programme, and the Taverners Training Programme. The Tourism Awareness Programme would be added to gain an understanding of tourism through plays.144 There have been no selection criteria proposed to ascertain who would be trained and on what and how the integration from these programmes would interface with the tourism agenda for Alexandra within the broader context of tourism development in the region. Furthermore the ARP was offering training and employment opportunities for the unemployed women and youth. This objective extends as part of the White paper’s aims. The Craft Development Programme was one of the leading programmes to focus specifically on this. SA Jewel’s, Dianne Wolhurter, took it trainees (female and unemployed) to be formally trained in bead craft by the ATDP’s SA Jewel project.145 The redressing and correct the history of the people of South Africa was another primary aim of the ARP. These initiatives would work closely with the Heritage Agency and would include the History Workshop at the University of the Witwatersrand and the MTN Art Institute’s Young Curators Programme. Through the various interventions of identified areas, the works and experiences of Alexandra would be portrayed in entertainment, music, theatre, historical tours, the arts, cultural and heritage activities and the Story of Alexandra through exhibitions.146 This was challenging as historical data was minimal and took a long time to collect and capture. The vision of the ARP was to develop a high quality tourism experience for both local and international visitors and for the current as well as for the future generations. This would be linked to the marketing strategy of the GTA intervention. GTA would ensure that the marketing would preserve, promote, present and celebrate the rich and varied history and heritage of Alexandra for the benefit of the local residents and 144 Ibid 145 Interview with Ms Dianne Wolhurter, Kramerville, 22 October 2003 146 Alexandra Renewal Project: Summary of projects to be implemented, Heritage Agency,2002 Page | 50 visitors147 The Heritage Agency of the ARP would be the primary role player in this intervention and formed a separate project to the rest of tourism development initiatives. Various tourism projects had already been initiated in Alexandra and the GTA saw a need for these projects to be brought together in a cohesive manner.148In February 2002, The Alexandra Tourism Development Project gave a summary of the projects to be implemented. These included focusing on the needs and expectations of identified key target markets, branding the Alexandra experience, identifying a range of products and experiences, prioritizing music as a key attraction, creating a sound information base for the development of heritage activities and attractions, developing craft products and developing a marketing strategy that would be cost effective, empowering with a feedback loop. 149 The ATDP key intervention was building a strong community base to support the tourism projects. This intervention was done through managing and coordinating tourism activity, promoting and marketing Alexandra as a tourist destination, providing information for tour operators and visitors, building strategic partnerships with other tourism industries and role players, representing Alexandra tourism stakeholders in local, regional, provincial and national forums, raising and disbursing funds to support tourism and tourism enterprises, promoting and leveraging events to draw visitors to Alexandra and offering support and advice to tourism and related enterprises150 The above envisaged that the Alexandra Tourism Association (ATA) would play a key role in implementing the process. The ATDP recommended that the ATA be established to register itself, develop a business plan; establish and equip an office; identify and employ and office administrator; develop and distribute a marketing and publicity brochure; and identify potential partners with whom to form business linkages with.151 It is evident here is that ATA was not yet established but had been the implantation arm of the ARP. Phasa and Sechoaro raised this as a major challenge 147 Summary Report: Alexandra Tourism Development Project for the Gauteng Tourism Authority, Johannesburg, 2001 148 Kaplan, L.: Skills Development for Tourism in Alexandra Township, Johannesburg, Urban Forum, Vol 15, No 4, 2004 149 Alexandra Tourism Development Project : Summary of Projects to be implemented, Johannesburg, February 2002 150 Ibid 151 Summary Report: Alexandra Tourism Development Project for the Gauteng Tourism Authority, Johannesburg, 2001 Page | 51 at the time. 152ATA would form a partnership with Sandton Tourism to great a broader scope of marketing within the Sandton area so as to ensure the sustainability of tourism in Alexandra was maintained. 153 Another integral component for ATA was the establishment of a Tourism Help Desk and linkages to the ARP’s proposed Business Service Centre. The Help Desk would be staffed by a Tourism Help Desk Officer who would be responsible for key aspects of the ATA’s mandate, namely to maintain a database of tourism enterprises in Alexandra, assist tourism enterprises with targeted business development assistance, maintain linkages with large enterprises and associations such as the Sandton Hotels Association, in order to broker business linkages between these enterprises and micro-enterprises in Alexandra, develop strategic partnerships with training providers, business support organisations such as the Tourism Enterprise Programme ( TEP) and mentors.154 The key focus was on positioning of the gateways between Sandton and Alexandra to connect these two areas and facilitate movement through Alexandra to the East. A clearly defined tourist route was mapped connecting the various tourist attractions within Alexandra. The attractions earmarked for development in partnership with the Heritage Agency were proposed .All these attractions would be developed with provision for parking, information nodes and exhibition facilities. 155 What is not clear is how the infrastructure of this plan would fit into the greater needs of Alexandra where basic services and road infrastructure were badly neglected. No timelines we set to complete the project or to evaluate the progress of each implementation. The creation and stimulus opportunities for jobs and income generation around Alexandra was proposed through the development of key skills in tourism training into the following three areas; Taverners’ Skills Programme, a Bed and Breakfast Operators’ Skills Programme and Tourist Guides’ Learnerships.156 These programmes were supported through the Nsika-accredited Local Business Service Centre which was the support centre for the business owners. A separate Heritage- 152 Interview with Rachel Phasa, Alexandra, 16 Oct 2003 Interview with Abbey Sechoaro, Alexandra, 16 Oct 2003 and 19 Nov 2012 153 Kaplan, L.: Skills Development for Tourism in Alexandra Township, Johannesburg, Urban Forum, Vol 15, No 4, 2004 154 Summary Report: Alexandra Tourism Development Project for the Gauteng Tourism Authority, Johannesburg, 2001 155 Alexandra Renewal Project: summary of projects to be implemented, Heritage Agency,2002 156 Ibid Page | 52 specific training would to ensure the specialist skills in this area was addressed. This plan did not specify which Alexandrans would be selected for these programmes, what the criteria for selection were or if any minimum educational or experience requirements would be focussed for acceptance on the programme. The other dilemma is the type of programmes envisaged for Alexandrans were general hospitality programmes which might not necessarily relate to the specific challenges of tourism development in Alexandra. The ARP further aimed to create, strengthen and enhance the entrepreneurial capacity of the community, thereby facilitating the socio-economic empowerment of local people. The plan would be to create a business centre, called the Business Place, where assistance in business skills would be offered to entrepreneurs or newly trained candidates from the various tourism training programmes. As this initiative was largely a follow up to the various tourism skills programmes, the expectation was that the two would be closely connected. But the Business Place was only developed by the ARP in 2006; long after the skills training was completed.157 3.2.2 Approaches to Tourism Development in Alexandra The model of building tourism in Alexandra was largely based on the development of ‘township tourism’, which emerged after 1994158 As townships became more accessible, opportunities emerged for the development of a tourism niche as there was a demand internationally and locally for people to experience township life and also to visit places that were important in the anti-apartheid struggle. Soweto became crucial, not only because it is the largest African township in the country, but due also to its central role in the student uprising of 1976. Soweto was seen as a key township for tourism development as it offered ‘township tourism’ for entrepreneurs to engage in a range of activities, including tour guiding, providing accommodation, food, services and local entertainment.159 The development of SMMEs in this sector of tourism created empowerment opportunities and job creation to the people of the township. Township tourism consists of small tourism businesses that collectively 157 The Development of SMME’s in Alexandra, www.alexandra.co.za, 2008 158 Rogerson, C.M.: Urban tourism and small tourism enterprise development in Johannesburg: The case of township tourism, GeoJournal 60, 2004 159 Nxumalo, M.: Challenges facing black entrepreneurs in the South African tourism industry: a study on bed and breakfast establishments. MA Research Report, University of Witwatersrand, 2003 Page | 53 service visitors to the township. Soweto was well advanced in the tourism plans with a new tourism information centre which was seen as a venue ‘where tourists will be able to get a multi-faceted overview of Soweto in a world-class multi-media format’.160 The ARP envisaged that Alexandra would follow in the footsteps of Soweto. Soweto has a rich heritage with the Hector Peterson Museum, the Mandela Family Museum, Vilakazi Street precinct and Kliptown. Alexandra residents believed that it had an equally rich struggle heritage, which could also be mobilised to promote tourism.161 Among the sites initially identified were the Nelson Mandela Yard, the Cemetery Precinct, Kings’ Cinema and the Roman Catholic Church.162 The difference in Alexandra was that none of the heritage sites identified was developed for tourists to visit. Therefore, an important component of the ARP’s development project was the promotion of a set of new tourism and heritage initiatives based on the township’s rich history.163 The heritage plan aimed to transform existing historical sites to attract external visitors and to build additional struggle sites, plus create a tourism route map that would connect these various sites. As these plans evolved in discussions among various sectors in the township, there was considerable excitement about the possibilities of local entrepreneurial development. For example, the local taxi service offered transport to the business hubs of Sandton and central Johannesburg, the famous Joe’s Butchery formulated plans to convert into an upmarket shebeen and jazz venue, the small tour operator, Bosele Tours, began to sell Alexandra tours of the township to foreigners staying in Sandton and the local craft market prepared for to increase production for the expected influx of tourists. 164 Joe’s Butchery is set under a block of flats at the corner of 11th Avenue & Alfred Nzo Street, the butchery is a little over sixteen years old. Although the main idea was to supply meat to the residents of Alex, people grew fond of its homely vibe, good food and great company, so within time it became a regular chill spot in the township.165 Over the years, its popularity grew until it cemented 160 Majola, B.: Decade of democracy tour, www.joburg.org.za, 2003 161 Alexandra Tourism Development Project for the Gauteng Tourism Authority: Summary Report, Johannesburg, Nov 2001 162 Alexandra Tourism Development Project for the Gauteng Tourism Authority: Summary of Projects to be Implemented, Johannesburg, Feb 2002 163 Kaplan, L: Investigation the role of skills development in South Africa’s tourism-led development strategy, thesis, 2003 164 Interview with Mr Abbey Sechoaro, Alexandra, 16 October 2003 and 19 November 2012 165 BMP Newsletter: Joe’s Butchery, The heart and rhythm of Alex, Dec 4, 2012, http://bpmlife.co.za Page | 54 itself as the leading entertainment spot in Alex. Gauteng Tourism Association and the Department of Tourism and Environmental Affairs (DEAT) undertook to co-ordinate these activities and to distribute funds to deserving small businesses. Abbey Sechoaro has been one of the key figures in the development of tourism in Alexandra from the start. As the owner of Bosele Tours, he had high hopes of becoming a successful tourist entrepreneur.166 Sechoaro operates in the field of tour guiding and at the time of the launch of the tourism plan insisted that his business could only survive and thrive if other sectors were also developed. These would include bed and breakfasts, guesthouses, and good shebeens with entertainment, good restaurants, and other forms of entertainment like live shows. Although Sechoaro has probably been more committed than most to promoting tourism in Alexandra, his enthusiasm about the prospects for the growth of township tourism and potential economic benefits were shared by many people. In fact, in the first few years of the launch of the ARP, there were several activities related to tourism that gave the impression of commitment to the official objective. For example, the Alexandra Tourism Business Association was established by June in 2003 167 and in September 2003 a Tourism Indaba was held where the Alex Steering Group emphasised the need to build ‘a business tourism vehicle for Alexandra’. Open Afrika route map was launched to promote township tours. The key figures in these initiatives were Jacques Stoltz of GTA and Themba Bona from the ARP LED Strategy and the Alexandra Tourism Steering Group. Their main objective was turn around the tourism business sector in the area. At the time, an uneven picture emerged in terms of the trajectory of tourism businesses in Soweto and Alexandra. Business performance indicators in 2003 showed that in Alexandra only 8 tourism SMMEs were growing; 6 were stable but 11 were in decline. By contrast in Soweto, 21 were growing, 10 stable and only 4 in decline.168 Soweto had an established tourism sector that was way ahead of Alexandra, which was only at the beginning of this process and SMMEs were more challenged as infrastructure development and supplementary 166 Ibid 167 Interview with Rachel Phasa Alexandra, 16 October 2003 168 Rogerson, C.M.: Urban tourism and small tourism enterprise development in Johannesburg: The case of township tourism, GeoJournal 60, 2004 Page | 55 tourism suppliers were not in alignment with each other.169 Marketing of Alexandra as a township tourist destination required sites to be developed for the acceptance of tourists, for example parking facilities, enough bathrooms and the supplementary suppliers are active, like a coffee shop, curio shop and arts and craft producers selling their wares. At the same time the GTA launched an awareness and information campaign in the township in order to persuade residents of the need to support tourism. One example of this strategy was the SA Host programme which aimed to improve service standards through training and a change of attitude towards visitors by creating awareness of the value of the visitor industry to the country, and the role played by each resident.170 The SA Host Programme facilitated by THETA in cooperation with the then Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism and consisted of a two day course with an objective to train around 300 Alexandrans.171 The ATBA with the ARP initiated an “Ambassadors programme” which would have two people selected per nominated ward to promote tourism in their area by focussing on visitors and supplier intervention. Developments by 2005 to encourage tourism directly or indirectly include: the Auto Cluster, The Construction Cluster and The Retail Cluster. In 2009, in preparation to showcase the Soccer World Cup in Johannesburg, ten learners were trained through the collaboration of GTA, Johannesburg Tourism Company (JTC) and the City of Johannesburg 2010 office, on the Alexandra Student Ambassador Programme. The learners used their skills during the Football of Hope Festival, which took place in Alexandra from 3 July to 10 July 2010.172 Another training project was the Gold Reef Guides whereby a series of guides in Alexandra were trained.173 However, training in the tourism sector remained uneven. In 2003 the Alexandra Steering Group reported that only 365 local residents had received some kind of training in activities related to tourism: SA Host Training – 250 people , The Craft Development training- 60 sewing and beading, Events coordinating – 35 learners, Tourism awareness play – Alexandra Theatre Organization, Taverners 169 Ibid 170 Alexandra Tourism Development Project for the Gauteng Tourism Authority: Summary Report, Johannesburg, Nov 2001 171 Ibid 172 Alexandra Tourism Learners benefit from GTA- backed initiative, www.gauteng.net/media 173 Fourie, E.: Alexandra Tourism Indaba Presentation, Alexandra 2003 Page | 56 and B&B training – 15 taverners and 5 B&B owners. 174 No official reasons were provided for the low numbers but lack of capacity in implementation of the various development trainings was evident in the discussions which followed after the presentation of the statistics.175 Similar skills training programmes occurred in other programmes of the ARP. In fact, by 2005, about 2000 people had received some form of training. 176 However, these training programmes contained one serious problem, namely, that there was no guaranteed employment at the end. So, while such programmes improved the skills of relatively large numbers of residents, especially among the youth, the lack of employment eventually contributed to a decline in interest in these programmes, including in the tourism sector. Efforts were also made to improve the co-ordination of the tourism development. The tourism component of the Alexandra Renewal Project aimed to bring together the various pre-existing tourism initiatives in Alexandra in a well planned and cohesive manner.177 It was aptly described by Kaplan that in some way this was a reaction to the development of Soweto which had happened in a relatively adhoc manner.178 In the first two years a weekly formal information session was held in the various areas of tourism whereby stakeholders were invited to attend. This group also became the reference group to GTA and HA in the planning process of the information sessions. On the informal process of reaching the Alexandrans, GTA used the local newspapers, distribution of pamphlets and whatever opportunities came along to promote the Alex Renewal Project, in the form of training opportunities, work opportunities and employment opportunities. Jacques Stoltz advised that they always used the local media to get the word out. Thus, the bottom line he reiterated was that the community of Alexandra had to be involved in the development and the renewal project in Alexandra.179 174 Ibid 175 Ibid 176 Ibid 177 Rogerson, C.M.: Urban tourism and small tourism enterprise development in Johannesburg: The case of township tourism, GeoJournal 60, 2004 178 Kaplan, L: Investigation the role of skills development in South Africa’s tourism-led development strategy, thesis, 2003 179 Interview with Jacques Stoltz, GTA offices, Johannesburg, 04Nov2003 Page | 57 Stoltz admitted that GTA is a small Agency with the Alex project having only five people from GTA with a project of R35 million to manage, if seemed like an enormous task. Thus GTA appointed a consortium made up of architects, heritage specialists and tourism specialists and called it the Heritage Agency.180 3.3 The role of Women in Alexandra The Alexandra Renewal Project afforded women the opportunity to have more options for employment in the township as certain projects were open to women only. Prior to the ARP many women in Alexandra were street traders, selling fresh food, like meat and vegetables.181 Due to high unemployment, lack of funds, the informal trade was a necessary choice for survival for most traders in Alexandra. By 2008 there were an estimated 500 informal traders in Alexandra. The Alexandra Chamber of Commerce did not keep an accurate database of the informal traders and saw their role as being taken over by the ADF with the advent of the ARP.182 Many of the informal traders did not advertise, had little or no business skills to improve on their profits. Some of them traded in crafts, sewing and hair braiding. However, some women found a niche market in the making of beaded jewellery items and costumes that were used as traditional wear at weddings, festivals and other traditional celebrations. This bead work is a tradition and the skills were passed on in the families. Bead workers formed part of the community’s design. As unemployment grew within Alexandra, many of the bead workers looked outside of Alexandra to increase their income. This opened the door to different buyers as they became part of the street vendors. This new opportunity brought its own challenges. Women were selling their items at traffic intersections in the hope of getting sales from the passing motorists. Informal trading was restricted around hotels and designated selling areas were either too far from the tourist or the area allocated for street vendors was a rented option which was not always affordable for the bead workers.183 With the advent of the ARP the following options for women was provided: being part of the 180 Ibid 181 Moyo, A.: Local Economic Development in Alexandra: A case study of women in the informal sector, Masters Report, University of Witwatersrand, 2005 182 Ibid 183 Interview with Dolly Mdhluli, Alexandra , 16 October 2003 Page | 58 ARP through its various committees as members; aligning their current businesses to an ARP project; skills development through its various training programmes and fulfilling positions previous seen as male positions. One of these was the Alex Tourism Node where the first node on the banks of the Jukskei River was completed in August 2008. These opened opportunities to have formalised trading for women including bead workers. The other area of development for women was in construction. The construction cluster was initiated in 2005 and over 7000 people were trained in various aspects of construction work. Construction was part of the Alexandra Renewal Project and an indirect contributor to tourism development. Quite a few women have been involved in this training which included a two day workshop on tender handling for those wanting to grow their own businesses.184 The Retail cluster was established in 2004. A survey was conducted to get everyone in retail and the service business on a database. The ARP responded to the needs analysis to handling the training which was done in collaboration with the Department of labour and SETA and 350 people were trained. 185The National Trust and Umsobomvu supplied funding from 2006 to those requiring funding for their businesses. By 2007 the Alex Business Forum was formed with many women members included in its various associations: Alex Spaza Association, Alex Hair and Beauty Association, Alex Fruit and Veg Association, Alex Caterer’s Association and the Alex Sewing Association. 186 The development of tourism for Alexandra through the Alexandra Renewal Project brought new energy and fresh ideas to the informal sector and was thus positively received. Implementation was one of the areas least concentrated on with no definitive timelines indicated. The strategy to plan the process and progress was fragmented and projects were running in silos causing a sense of isolation from the big picture envisaged for Alexandra. As the research unfolded, it is evident that the project was on paper a wonderful achievement and opportunity, but the plight of Alexandra with its history of ills in infrastructure, overcrowding, poverty and unemployment would make the ARP a challenge before it even started the project. 184 The Development of SMME’s in Alexandra ,www.alexandra.co.za, 2008 185 Ibid 186 Ibid Page | 59 CHAPTER 4 BEAD CRAFT AND PRO-POOR TOURISM At the turn of the century it appeared that prospects for pro-poor tourism were very good. Alexandra Township was identified as a site for major state investment, informed by ideas of sustainable development. Tourism policy had shifted to pay greater attention to implementing plans that would benefit poor communities. South Africa continued to experience significant growth in tourism, aided by the country’s successful hosting of mega sports and other events. Alexandra had already benefited from the hosting of the All Africa Games by the City of Johannesburg. Township tourism was booming and it appeared that Alexandra was set to benefit from local and international interest in townships. This chapter discusses how two contrasting beadwork initiatives operating in Alexandra attempted to benefit from the supposed boom in tourism and explains their different origins and development. In so doing, the experiences of ordinary women are highlighted in the context of the promises by the authorities to implement pro-poor tourism objectives. South Africa’s hosting of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in 2002 seemed to open the possibility for the implementation of a new marketing approach for tourism growth and employment opportunities. The WSSD created Page | 60 excitement about how tourism could support local economic development, especially of the informal sector. There was a perception that tourism could generate employment particularly in related sectors such as entertainment, the provision of traditional food and local tours.187 Additionally, the desire by foreigners to experience the magic of South Africa: Madiba, the peaceful political transition, township struggles and the country’s multiple cultures. As elsewhere in the developing world, the sale of cultural artefacts was regarded as having significant economic potential for the poor, especially women. 188Thus the production and sale of beadwork emerged as one of the most promising sectors for tourism-led local economic development. It was regarded as an ideal example of pro-poor tourism: unskilled and poor local women would be employed to produce cultural artefacts, which would be sold to foreign tourists and, with the support of the authorities, would create small scale sustainable enterprises. Tourism development in Alexandra through the Alexandra Renewal Project ( ARP) aimed to develop the following local tourism areas: the redevelopment of the Alexandra Arts and Craft market, tour guiding opportunities through training, skills development for bed and breakfast owners and encouraging entrepreneurial capacity to strengthen the tourism areas by facilitating the empowerment of local people189 According to Kaplan various other objectives were set, including linking the development of local tourism projects with national plans.190 It is evident that the outcomes envisaged were very broad with no measurable guideline put in place. Local tourism development plans were aligned with provincial objectives, the implementation, of which was managed by the Gauteng Tourism Authority (GTA). In Alexandra, the Alexandra Tourism Development Project (ATDP) and the Heritage Agency were given the responsibility for ensuring that specific local objectives were aligned to both GTA and the ARP’s objectives. Primary among these were: job creation, promotion of small and medium enterprises owned by Alexandran entrepreneurs and skills development programmes for the vast number of unemployed, especially women and youth. Thus, pro-poor tourism was central to the 187 Interview with Abbey Sechoaro, Alexandra, 16 October 2003 188 Interview with Rachel Phasa, Alexandra , 16 October 2003 189 Gauteng Tourism Authority: Project Brief: Alexandra tourism development, Unpublished report, GTA, Johannesburg, 2001 Page | 61 tourism plans formulated for Alexandra. At the start of the implementation of the new tourism plans, the ATDP conducted a survey to ascertain what type of informal activities that could be related to (and thus benefit from) tourism existed in Alexandra. The main findings are represented in the table below.191 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% Tourist Guiding and Operations 5% Leisure and Entertainment 18% Arts and Crafts 35% Food , Beverage and Lodging 29% Others 13% One of the main findings of the survey was that Arts and Crafts was a leading source of income for the informal traders and reflected the existence of certain skills that could be utilised in the development of local economic development. Immediately after the launch of these plans, there was much excitement and activity around local tourism, (which was also enhanced by the prospects of benefits from the Confederation Cup and the World Cup.) Investment by the government through the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism’s (DEAT) Poverty Relief Fund saw the launch of several initiatives. The fund was largely spent on training the residents of Alexandra in various skills in tourism aspects, mentorship and business skills development. Training was provided by Tourism and Hospitality Training Authority (THETA) who received funding for Alexandra training through the private sector’s Business Trust as part of the Tourism Learnership Project.192 Direct tourism training, like tour guiding, site-guides and site management, were identified as key training areas required in Alexandra. Secondary training for the spin-off businesses was craft retailers, souvenir sellers, entertainment and cultural group while public awareness training would be those residents being trained as tourism ambassadors of 190 Kaplan, L.: Skills Development for Tourism in Alexandra Township, Urban Forum, Vol. 15, No. 4, 2004, 191 Ibid 192 Kaplan, L.: Skills Development for Tourism in Alexandra Township, Urban Forum, Vol. 15, No. 4, 2004. TABLE: Alexandra Tourism Development Project: Breakdown of respondents - 2002 Page | 62 Alexandra193 A Tourism Helpdesk was established as a support of the Business Center which was for Alexandran entrepreneurs. The Business Center was established in 2006 with funds from the Norwegian government.194 According to Rogerson and Kaplan the assistance provided to the local community in the form of accessing loans and grants for businesses to broader tourism grants and marketing initiatives could be regarded as important contributions to promoting pro-poor tourism.195 The Arts and Craft sector, in particular bead craft, is one of the areas where the survey results of ATDP showed that it was one of the leading employment spaces Alexandrans occupied. 4.1 History of Bead Craft Bead Craft was identified as one of the potential growth areas of local economic development arising from the expected boom in tourism. It contains important elements by which local pro-tourism could be measured: it is labour intensive, employs mainly women and draws on indigenous knowledge and culture. Thus the fortunes of the bead craft sector in Alexandra’s tourism plans reflected in crucial ways the success or otherwise of pro-poor tourism in the township. Bead craft is embedded in the culture of societies across the world and thus has a long history. The sale of beads has also developed with the evolution of local economies and indeed of the integration of the global economy. It is therefore important to understand the historical background of this creative craft and how it came to occupy an important niche in local tourism, particularly in developing countries. Sciama and Eicher have bemoaned the general lack of interest by scholars in bead craft outside of the discipline of archaeology. In their view beads are highly significant to many cultures around the world.196 Beads have been used in various forms throughout the ages in cultural dress, festivities and as markers of identity. And 193 Ibid 194 www.alexandra.co.za 195 Rogerson,C.M.: ‘Urban tourism and small tourism enterprise development in Johannesburg: The case of township tourism’, GeoJourna,l 60, 2004 Kaplan, L.: Skills Development for Tourism in Alexandra Township, Urban Forum, Vol. 15, No. 4, 2004. 196 Sciama, Lidia D. Eicher, Joanne B, eds: Beads and the Bead Makers: Gender, Material Culture and Meaning, 1998 Page | 63 while beads are used in various societies, research conducted in traditional African societies has produced some of the most interesting insights on the cultural and economic uses of this artefact.197 Different kinds of beads signified social status, but were also commonly used as adornments. For example, the monarchies of Ghana, Songhai, Mali, Nigeria (for example, the Yoruba Kings) and Cameroon used extensive bead work on their thrones and head gear. Among the Ndebele beads distinguish young girls from older women and are used to identify girls who were engaged to be married. Also young brides wore certain beads or young mothers after the birth of a first child. Beads occupy similar significance in traditional Zulu society. Their size and colour often hold different meanings. For example, large and colourful beads symbolize wealth and social status. 198Blue beads are thought to enhance fertility. Red beads are reserved for ceremonies like festivals, funerals, circumcisions of young boys and harvest dances. Black implies age and wisdom. Yellow means high rank and gold indicates a long life. Beads can also convey identity and cultural significance--for example, if a woman is married or a man is a warrior or an elder. The Zulu beadwork is unique and colourful and indicates messaging between male- female relationships in their traditional woven design. Other traditional societies also attach significance to beads. 199 Traditionally this craft has been passed down through generations and as improved in creativity and uniqueness over times due to various material availability providing income to many families. Bead craft is also traditionally sold by woman and has formed part of the informal trade for generations. Over time, the cultural and social significance of beads assumed further value in trade between different societies, and in the early colonial period as a means of exchange. Thus Venetian Trade Beads were often referred to by their pseudonym “slave beads” due to the high value they realized in exchange for slaves. African beads have been exchanged for food and livestock.200 Early evidence of trading in beads in South Africa can be traced to the eastern coastline. Henry Francis Fynn, who came from Port Natal as a trader in 1824, is seen as possible the first Englishman to have offered glass beads as standard merchandise to the Zulu. Further south in the former Transkei region of the Eastern Cape, British 197 Ibid 198 Ibid 199 Ibid Page | 64 traders operated from Delagoa Bay and traded with beads as part of their merchandise. It was popular to trade with glass beads as it was not as available as the shell and metal used for traditional beading and seen as precious stones in an era where money was seen as an option in trading and not the norm. Trading of beads became a common item along with weapons, animal skins and food. The combination of beads as cultural artefact and means of exchange facilitated their development as an enduring and sought after tourist curios and memento. Tourists through the ages have been drawn to bead craft as it differs in every region and various type of beads are used in this craft. It is to these matters that the chapter now turns, especially in relation to contemporary South Africa. 4.2 Promoting Entrepreneurship The relationship between bead craft and tourism is complex and problematic, and has a long history. Trade in cultural artefacts, including beadwork, experienced significant growth after 1994 due to the combination of the boom in tourism and the active promotion of indigenous cultures. This resulted not only in a mini-boom in the traditional rural-based bead industry but also in the proliferation of urban curios markets. Thus, entrepreneurs saw an opportunity to sell their beaded products for touristic value but also as a means to generate income for those unemployed in cities and towns. As a result, traditional bead work made way for innovative beaded products to cater for a wide ranging urban market.201 For example, the following are now found in beaded format; key rings, coasters, wine glass stems; flower pots, modern style jewellery, Christmas trees and decorations and beaded flowers, animals and toys. Although bead craft has maintained aspects of traditional cultural value, it has also been transformed into an industry catering mainly to non-traditional markets, namely, urbanites and international tourists. Increasingly it has been come to be viewed as a source of employment and income, which was recognised by the democratic government. In the mid 1990s The Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology (DACST) initiated projects to enhance the economic and social benefits of the arts, crafts and cultures which were viewed as part its contribution to 200 Ibid 201 Ibid Page | 65 GEAR. In 1998 the Cultural Industries Growth Strategy (CIGS) was launched with the explicit objective to promote various forms of art and culture including the craft industry. Research undertaken revealed the importance of the craft industry in South Africa, which it viewed as an entry point into the economy. Its report also showed the industry’s potential for job creation.202 Craft in this instance refer to all jobs in the craft industry and not specifically bead craft. The CIGS research also established that women dominate the craft industry, due to their skills, traditional involvement in the sector and the generally low levels of income. It noted especially that women entrepreneurs, especially black women have limited access to capital, technology and resources and thus the craft industry offered the only real opportunity for income generation.203 In the context of high levels of unemployment among black women, the ease of entry into the craft industry has made it a reasonably attractive source of informal employment and income. The craft industry offers a flexible alternative to the corporate world’s standard work times as the craft industry is mainly home based and can be integrated into household duties. In rural areas women often have to participate in agricultural activities which have to be integrated with their bead craft. Reducing unemployment has been high on the agenda of the post-1994 government, with various initiatives launched to generate employment. Historically, women have been more likely to be unemployed than men, a trend that has continued to the present. For example, in 2008 official unemployment among women was 27, 1% compared to 22% among men.204 From the late 1990s the DAC began to pay serious attention to the craft industry as a potential source of job creation for African women in rural areas and urban townships. Thus, between 1998 and 2008 the department invested in the development of micro- enterprises as well as in education and training in the field of craft work. A report on achievements of this program revealed that more than 6000 people benefited, of which 45% were for women. 205 It is in this context of concerted support for the craft 202 Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology: Cultural Industries Growth Strategy, The South African Craft Industry Report, 1998 203 Ibid 204 Ibid 205 Department of Arts and Culture: Annual Report 2007/2008, Department of Arts and Culture, 2008 Page | 66 industry that the development of the bead industry in Alexandra needs to be understood. 4.3 Bead workers at St Michael’s, Alexandra Bead craft was practiced in Alexandra for a long time and, as the survey above suggests, was sold locally by informal traders. It was largely due to unemployment that women began making and selling these items to fellow Alexandrans and later at various traffic intersections, flea markets and craft markets. What started as production and selling of mostly traditional beaded items for cultural events was transformed over time to respond to a broader and more diverse market, involving the production of jewellery and corporate gifts. However, the tourism and development plans rolled out in the late 1990s and early 2000 led to a relatively sharp increase in these activities. A crucial and almost immediate effect was establishment of small to medium sized enterprises to respond to the new circumstances. The first important initiative of this kind was located at St Michael’s Church. Located at number 45, Eighth Avenue, St Michael’s is an important historical site in the township. Since its establishment in 1929 the church has played a vital role in various aspects of residents’ lives as a place of worship, an educational centre and as a haven for the destitute. 206Rapid population growth in the 1940s led to expansion of the building. In the 1980s and early 1990s many people who were affected by political violence sought refuge in the church. As levels of poverty increased, the church provided food to the hungry. Due to the serious lack of facilities in Alexandra, St Michaels has been used as a community centre for a long time. It has been used as a food kitchen, clinic for the elderly, a recreation centre for youth and as a venue for meetings, conferences and concerts.207 Thus, St Michaels is seen by residents as a place of social upliftment. It is under this umbrella of hope that beadwork was born at the church. The development of beadwork at St Michaels is integrally tied up with the entrepreneurial efforts of Dolly Mdhluli, who came to Alexandra in the early 1970s and was employed as a knitting machine operator for close to twenty years. She was 206 Interview with Thami Mkwalo, Alexandra, 21 November 2003 207 Ibid Page | 67 forced to leave her job because the wool aggravated her asthma. In order to make ends meet Mdhluli made doilies (crochet decor place mats) and beadwork from home. She enjoyed intermittent and limited success in the sale of beaded jewellery, but remembers that from the mid-1990s there was an increase in the demand for ‘ethnic jewellery’.208 By 2001 she owned a very modest but reasonably successful one- person operation and was co-opted onto the Alexandra tourism steering committee, in recognition of her entrepreneurship and to be part of the co-ordination of tourism- based activities in the township.209 It was at this point when she, like other tourism entrepreneurs, imagined their fortunes would change forever. In 2002 the World Summit for Sustainable Development (WSSD) was held in Johannesburg and attracted thousands of foreign visitors. The authorities raised local people’s hopes that many of these visitors would spend time in townships, especially Alexandra, as the venue for the meeting was in nearby Sandton. This was perhaps a key moment when the idea of pro-poor tourism would be tested in one of the country’s poorest townships. After all, delegates to the WSSD would be debating precisely these issues and it seemed almost logical that they would put into practice their commitments to sustainable local development by supporting en masse pro-poor initiative in Alexandra. This international event was regarded as the launch pad for a tourism-led local economic boom in the township. The state actively promoted this idea and there was widespread excitement that Alexandra was on the verge of a sustained revival. Those involved in tourism – tour operators, guides, owners of Bed & Breakfast establishments and bead workers – imagined a boom time ahead. Mdhluli was ideally placed to benefit from the expected influx of tourists. 210Her major break came when the provincial government requested that she produce 20 000 beaded badges with the South African flag and HIV/Aids symbol on them, which would be sold during the summit. This was a huge order and required a different scale of operation. Being an entrepreneur, Mdhluli immediately recruited eighteen local women and trained them to make beads. The St Michael’s- based bead group seemed to tick the right boxes of pro-poor tourism: unemployed women were given skills to produce goods that would generate income for them and 208 Interview with Dolly Mdhluli, Alexandra , 16 October 2003 209 Interview with Rachel Phasa, Alexandra , 16 October 2003 210 Interview with Dolly Mdhluli, Alexandra, 16 October 2003 Page | 68 the state offered support in terms of the provision of material and access to markets. Moreover, as massive and long –term investment was about to start, small scale enterprises such as these apparently had a good chance of further financial and logistical support. Unfortunately, the St Michael’s bead group soon faced numerous difficulties that undermined the viability of the enterprise. A combination of factors contributed to the problems during the WSSD. First, the government delivered the beads very late which meant that Mdhluli and her team were only able to produce half of the badges in time for the summit.211 This meant that they only received half of the work expected and thus a considerable drop in their anticipated income. Second, the overseas visitors simply did not arrive in Alexandra in any significant numbers. Instead, the bead crafters were allocated a stand at the Altrek sports ground on the eastern boundary of the township. The choice of venue was obviously ill-conceived as it required special transport to get delegates from their meeting in Sandton to where several residents waited to sell their wares. According to Mdhluli the provincial government and tourism authorities did very little effectively to market Alexandra as a site for ‘township tourism’ and even less to persuade potential visitors that it was safe to enter the township. In the end the bead crafters (as well as other informal entrepreneurs) were disappointed by lack of trade. Yet, at the time, Mdhluli remained optimistic and believed the WSSD would at least bring bead crafters exposure to bigger local and international markets. Even if they did not generate sufficient income during the event, it was hoped a foundation was laid on which to build a strategy for the further development of bead craft. However, the WSSD was proven to be a one-off event, with apparently no long term plans and initiatives being proposed by the government or tourism authorities. For the St Michael’s group this was nothing short of a disaster. Mdhluli did not receive any further support, which meant the eighteen people who were trained found themselves back in the ranks of the unemployed. Together with the priest of St Michael’s, it was decided to continue with a small scale bead crafting operation at the church and to create opportunities, such as the weekly market organised by the church for the crafters to sell their wares. The church also 211 Interview with Dolly Mdhluli, Alexandra, 16 October 2003 Page | 69 hoped the presence of the bead crafters would attract more people to its cultural events and market, which were staged as fundraising activities. What this meant was that the bead craft was immediately separated from any tourism initiatives and again had to rely almost entirely on local support. Despite the disappointment of the WSSD experience, Mdhluli remained optimistic about the long terms prospects of tourism.212 As explained in the previous chapter, the Gauteng Tourism Authority had established the Alexandra Tourism Development Project, whose vision for tourism in Alexandra was to create a vibrant sustainable industry based on the rich resource of arts, culture and heritage, to encourage local entrepreneurship in order to improve the quality of life of the residents of Alexandra.213 However, the translation of these objectives into successful programmes in the community fell short of meeting the expectation of the women who put their faith in bead work as way out of their poverty. The first set of problems that affected the realisation of the pro-poor tourism agenda was the establishment of various bodies to oversee its implementation, which caused fragmentation in the co-ordination of the programme. There were simply too many organisations attempting to do the same thing. In the first period of the history of the ARP too much time was spent on creating tourism bodies that seemed to have the same objectives. By the time funding was made available there were three major bodies claiming to co-ordinate tourism and development in Alexandra: the Alexandra Tourism Development Project (ATDP), the Alexandra Tourism Business Association (ATBA) and the Alex Tourism Association (ATA).214 Furthermore, these organisations had to liaise with the Heritage Agency on any matters related to heritage and tourism and had to have the approval of the ARP before any plans could be implemented. Finally, local tourism plans had to be aligned with the objectives of the GTA. A couple of years into the life of the ARP, the ATA appeared to be inactive and the ATDP began to take over some its responsibilities. But the ATDP’s activities were dealt a blow when it lost a computer during a break-in and could not pay its suppliers. For its part, the ATBA spent considerable time sorting out its constitution and 212 Ibid 213 ARP : Alexandra Tourism Development Project, Summary of projects to be implemented, Heritage Agency, September 2002 Page | 70 registration and was not actively promoting any skills training or marketing of tourism for Alexandra at the time. The picture that emerges is of lack of commitment to the ideals of pro-poor tourism. Instead, those who became key role players in the sector seemed more interested in heading organisations that would have access to resources, rather than facilitating and supporting the involvement of poor people in the local tourism industry. Abbey Sechoaro’s approach to these bodies was very revealing. 215He became involved in tourism in the early 1990s and was instrumental in launching Alex Tourism. One of his main successes was as a small scale tour operator. As a member of the ATDP and ATBA, he was keen supporter of SMME’s in Alexandra. Despite his involvement in the various tourism bodies, Sechoaro seemed sceptical of how they could assist him and other tourism entrepreneurs. His opinion at the time was that these bodies were still in their infancy and faced too many challenges to be effective. As result he would rather ‘going it alone’ when promoting tourism in Alexandra and only request assistance from these bodies and the Heritage Agency when it became absolutely necessary. A similar frustration was expressed by Rachel Phasa, who has been one of the most consistent promoters of tourism in Alexandra since 2000 and serves on the key tourism bodies. In her view there was a definite absence of co-ordination of the different facets of tourism and development. The main plan of the local bodies was narrowly focused on promoting township tours and thus emphasised training of tour guides, at the expense of other potential income generating activities. Moreover, the ‘township experience’ appeared to be confined to taking tourists to established restaurants in the area. This was clearly an attempt to copy the success of Soweto tourism but the result was that local entrepreneurial activities were ignored. 216 Despite their reservations Phasa and Sechoara’s motto became that, ‘We need to get tourists into Alex first’.217 It was undoubtedly crucial to do so, and became the pre- occupation for people like Phasa and Sechoaro. Both of them believed that the main stumbling block was people’s perceptions on safety and security in Alexandra. While Sechoaro was very optimistic about the ARP, he was also concerned that while the 214 Interview with Rachel Phasa, Alexandra , 16 October 2003 215 Interview with Abbey Sechoaro, Alexandra, 16 October 2003 216 Interview with Rachel Phasa, Alexandra, 16 October 2003 Page | 71 reconstruction was underway, the township did not yet appear sufficiently attractive or safe for tourists.218 There was a growing view that the township had to resolve its various internal problems first before it would be possible to persuade many tourists to venture into the area. Sechoaro and Phasa’s attitude to bead work and tourism is very revealing. Both believe that bead crafters could benefit from tourism and be a source of job creation. Sechoara’ claims that he tries to take tourists to places where the bead workers sell their wares. However, they are also critical of the state of the sector in the township. Sechoaro’s tours invariably end up at Pan Africa Square, the busiest shopping area in Alexandra, where several bead workers operate on an informal basis. In his view, the bead sellers are not well organised and that there are simply too many of them, which limits the profitability of the enterprises. Phasa adds that many of the bead workers are not properly trained, resulting in the production of poor quality products. Informal traders are also on their own and seem to have little faith in tourism bodies and have spurned efforts by the latter to run business courses. The result has been a fragmented and poorly organised sector. Despite these adverse conditions, several women continued trying to make a success in the bead craft sector. Linky Ramodike was one of the first tour guides from Alexandra to be trained with funding from the GTA. When tourism plans for the WSSD were announced she added the sale of beaded jewellery to her portfolio, achieving a reasonable degree of success.219 Ramodike joined the other bead crafters at St Michael’s where she acquired further skills in the craft. Unlike the majority of crafters based at the church she did not focus on the production of ‘traditional’ items, choosing instead to create ‘modern jewellery’. Following the WSSD, Ramodike seemed to be in a slightly better position in terms of sales of her products compared to her colleagues at St Michael’s. But she too found it difficult to sustain and build her operation. In her view there was little support from the ATDP, whose offices were generally closed. Plans to attract tourists or to market local bead craft seemed completely non-existent. Her hopes were raised, however, when the new Alexandra 217 Ibid 218 Interview with Abbey Sechoaro, Alexandra, 16 October 2003 219 Interview with Linky Ramodike, Rosebank, February 2005 Page | 72 Museum building was completed. This was presented as the main hub for heritage tourism and was designed in a way to facilitate informal trading around the building. The building was imagined as the equivalent of the Hector Pieterson Museum in Soweto, which is a magnet for tourists and therefore an ideal place to sell cultural and other artefacts. Ramodike managed to find employment at the museum in the hope that she would be in a good position to establish her bead craft once the opportunity became available. However, due to a lack of funding the museum remained undeveloped, scuppering all plans for it is a centre of tourist-related local economic development. Ramodike was again left disappointed and abandoned the bead industry to return to her original job as a tour guide.220 Phasa, Ramodike and Mdhluli have over the years mooted various ideas to support bead craft in the township, including the establishment of an association led by local crafters. For Phasa, such a plan would involve training local women to run their own enterprises, provide skills in the production and sale of their crafts and, importantly, to market the bead crafters among tourists. None of this has come to pass because the sector is fragmented. But it is the lack of support from provincial and local tourism bodies that has, in their view, been the main stumbling block to the success of initiatives to place bead work on a different footing. Their disgruntlement was partially borne out by the different experience of another bead work enterprise, SA Jewel, which is the focus of the next section. 4.4 SA Jewel: pro-poor tourism or marketing exercise The origins and development of South African Jewel (SA Jewel), a prominent bead craft company that specialised in the production of beaded jewellery, differed markedly from bead crafting entrepreneurs that were based at St Michael’s. From the early to mid-2000’s SA Jewel established itself as the leading bead jewellery company in Alexandra, with financial support from the Gauteng Tourism Authority and endorsement from the ARP. However, the success of this company raised serious 220 Ibid Page | 73 questions about the authorities’ commitment to utilising bead craft as a sector to generate sustainable local economic development in Alexandra. The founder of SA Jewel, Dianne Wolhuter, was driven by a commitment to employ and provide opportunities for skills development for unemployed women. She believed that bead craft held the possibility of achieving these aims, as well as to build a company controlled entirely by women. When SA Jewel was founded in 2001, Wolhurter ensured that it was compliant with the relevant Sector Training Authority (Seta) to give it the licence to train unemployed African women from rural and urban areas. In fact, it was one of the first companies to offer training in Bead Craft. Wolhurter’s first recruits were bead sellers who she encountered at the Pretoria Zoo and who were persuaded about the potential of the company. Soon thereafter, Caroline Mahlangu ( Production Director), Julia Nkabini (Quality Control Manager), Maria Nkabini (Design Director) and Martha Ndlala occupied leading positions in SA Jewel. Kholofelo Mabusela joined SA Jewel in 2002 as the Marketing Director to assist in the growth of sales and help with the management of the company. Initially the company struggled to survive. Wolhurter recalled that,” In the first two years, we funded ourselves. We lived on nothing, struggled like mad, it was not easy.”221 The bead workers worked from home and Wolthurter had to drive to their villages to place and collect orders. Like Dolly Mdhluli, Wolthurter’s fortune changed during the WSSD Summit, but with much greater success. With the summit on the horizon Wolhurter applied to Gauteng Tourism Authority (GTA) for funding to assist in the setting up of the business and the training of the women (which would be called Di-Kholo Africa Training). Unlike Mdhluli’s group who was confined to a secondary sports field in Alexandra, SA Jewel was allowed to set up a stall at Wanderers, one of the designated areas for the Summit visitors. They were also allowed to sell in Alexandra but when that proved to be disappointing, Wolthurter moved her beaded jewellery stall to the Gateway area where a tourist market including a craft market. This area proved to be successful as SA Jewel doubled its sales. 221 Interview with Dianne Wolhurter, Kramerville, 22 October 2003 Page | 74 The WSSD proved to be a turning point for SA Jewel. GTA awarded the company funding for three years to train bead workers from Alexandra and to assist in the marketing of their products. Jacques Stoltz from the GTA acknowledged that bead workers in the community preferred to have their own businesses and were desperately short of funding. But in his view, they were not producing good quality items that could be sold to tourists. SA Jewel, he argued, was an established enterprise, producing marketable beaded jewellery and had a plan to train unemployed women, which plans were aligned with the GTA’s strategies for tourism and development. The GTA grant ensured that SA Jewel selected thirty women to participate in a one- month training programme, after which only twenty would be selected to move to the NQF level of skills development. The latter course lasted six months and after qualifying the women would be employed at SA Jewel where they would earn a salary of between R600 and R1000 per month. Since August 2002, around 50 previously unemployed women were trained in bead craft, the majority of them coming from Alexandra.222 By 2003 there were 40 women working for SA Jewel, which in the context of the industry was significant. According to Wolthurter the ARP took notice of her company because of her initial success in training fifteen unemployed women from the area.223 She also managed to raise additional funds from the South African Breweries and ECI Tourism Enterprise Programme. As a result, Wolthurter was convinced that SA Jewel was successful in its objectives to train the unemployed and to give them an opportunity to be employed, self-sufficient, confident and creative. Julia Mametse was arguably representative of the experience in SA Jewel at the time. Before being selected by SA Jewel to be trained in bead craft, she was unemployed for six years.224 Julia saw an advertisement in the Alexandra local newspaper and went to sign up at AlexSan Kopano. She went for training for two weeks in Bramley where they were taught the art of selecting and differentiating between beads. There were two groups of twenty people with some leaving in between as they did not like the bead craft. Julia was fortunate that she completed her training just before the WSSD, which afforded her an opportunity to produce 222 www.alexandra.co.za/ media article : Beadwork uplifts Alex women 223 Interview with Dianne Wolhurter, Kramerville, 22 October 2003 224 Interview with Julia Mametse, Kramerville, 22October 2003 Page | 75 jewellery for foreign visitors. Although she had acquired the basic skills in production and to a lesser extent in sales, Julia realised she did not have sufficient capital to start her own business. As a result she remained with SA Jewel in order to ensure a stable income. Nonetheless, she was concerned about merely being a worker who was discouraged from producing their own designs, suggesting that Wolhurter maintained strict control over production. This top-down approach was also evident in the process she put in place for the recruitment of women to her training programme. She insisted that only unemployed women who had not previous formal bead craft training could join the programme. ‘The problem with taking women that have beaded before’, she argued, ‘is like taking a driver and teaching them how to re-drive ... Bead craft is skills transferred from mother to daughter, or from aunt to niece, where they have been taught to bead in a certain way and if you try and change that … firstly, it is an insult because they have been taught by their superior, and we are insulting the person who taught them … so it is very cultural.’225 Whatever the merits of her argument might be Wolthurter, perhaps unwittingly, tried to project herself as the promoter of ‘African culture’. There appears to have been little consultation about this method of operation but Wolthurter’s success in raising funds and endorsement from the tourism authorities gave her the authority to impose her views. According to Stoltz SA Jewel’s success could also be measured in terms of its marketing activities in South Africa and abroad, which cast the GTA in a positive light and also exposed local bead craft to a wider audience. In fact, SA Jewel achieved considerable marketing success, due in large part to Wolthurter’s efforts. It participated in SA Fashion Week of 2003. Wolhurter secured several corporate clients and with the support of GTA and the DTI, was able to market SA Jewel products at shows held in Japan, Washington, Kuala Lumpur, Dubai, Paris, Frankfurt, New York, and Baltimore between 2003 and 2005. This was a major success for SA Jewel who won local awards as SMME BEE Exporter of the Year 2005 and Finalist in the National Institute Awards in 2006. The irony of this success is that none of the workers, including those from Alexandra, attended any of the shows or were recognised as partners in the success of the company. Wolthurter’s admitted this was a problem but cited lack of funds for additional air tickets and the lack of experience 225 Ibid Page | 76 of the workers in marketing the beaded jewellery as the reasons for excluding them from these events. Rachel Phasa was an enthusiastic supporter of SA Jewel and actively promoted the company through her contacts in Alex Tourism and local media. SA Jewel’s privileged status was revealed when it was the only local bead crafting company invited to showcase its products at the important Alex Tourism Indaba in 2003. According to Phasa, GTA insisted on this arrangement because SA Jewel was funded by the association. In so doing, however, other local bead workers were excluded by the provincial and local tourism leaders. While Mdhluli and Ramodike were aware of the Alex Tourism Indaba, they were not informed about the bead craft display at the event. Clearly SA Jewel enjoyed success due to the efforts of those involved in the company and because of the financial support given by the GTA. When the company was founded, its operation was mainly based in the peri-urban areas around Pretoria. However, when GTA issued the grant to SA Jewel, the company was compelled to relocate its main operation to Alexandra. This was absolutely crucial because Wolthurter’s commitment to achieving the objectives of tourism and development in Alexandra was arguably wholly dependent on funding from the GTA. Once that source of funding began to dry up, so too did the promises of providing sustainable employment through training. Undoubtedly, SA Jewel achieved important successes. However, it arguably did not meet the pro-poor tourism objectives to which the GTA and ARP were apparently committed. SA Jewel was effectively a one–person operation despite the verbal commitment to the empowerment of unemployed African women. Wolhurter’s took key decisions marketing, selection of women participants, the incoming orders, the designs, the international trips and showcase of events. She decided who to employ and how much to pay them. It may be argued therefore that SA Jewel remained a private company, run by a boss. Skills development and the contract employment created by the company could be counted as important achievements, but virtually everything depended on Wolthurter and support from the GTA. There was apparently no plan to develop a sustainable local bead craft sector in Alexandra, to train unemployed women not only to produce pre-designed jewellery but to facilitate the use of their creativity or to empower them to run their own bead Page | 77 craft enterprises. Sustainability of SA Jewel did not necessarily mean sustainability of pro poor initiatives for Alexandra. Wolhurter admits that she only used Alexandrans because it was a requirement of the fund and felt restricted because she wanted to employ whoever she felt was suitable, including men. Stoltz hoped that the initial success of SA Jewel in training and then employing women in the bead craft sector would act as a catalyst for the development of the sector in Alexandra. He also believed the women who passed through this programme were much better positioned, due to the superior training received, to make a success of their own businesses. 226 Despite continued, but limited, marketing support offered by SA Jewel, the bead craft sector regressed for the same reasons that caused the failure of the bead craft operation at St Michael’s, namely, the lack of continued support (funding, training, marketing, etc) from the ARP and GTA, as well as the failure of the tourism plans. Forever the optimist, Stoltz tried to make local entrepreneurs aware of potential funding opportunities through the community radio stations, pamphleteering and the production of a funding book. More recently, Stoltz has offered a more forthright analysis of the challenges that faced the development of a pro-poor tourism plan in Alexandra. In his view, there were too many competing pressures on the ARP and as a result tourism was continually sliding down the pecking order of priorities. It simply could not compete with the dire need for housing and other infrastructural projects. As a result too little attention was given to investing in sustainable local economic projects among the most marginalised sections of the township’s population. 227 Furthermore, community participation in the project appeared to be limited to those who were connected to the original employees and trainees, which resulted in local people being trained in bead craft, but often they were not particularly interested in the sector or in tourism. It was also evident now that the hopes built around township tourism was attainable before but as the process of development slowed down considerably due to the winding down of the ARP, the possibility of reinventing the bead craft sector may be lost. Township tourism has also faltered, with only a few places managing to maintain interest in it. Soweto, which offers great infrastructure, entertainment and historical value to tourists remains far ahead than any other area in this regards. Alexandra remains in this shadow and is now competing with other townships in funding for development. 226 Interview with Jacques Stoltz, Rosebank, 04 November 2003 227 Interview with Jacques Stoltz, Parkwood, 20 August, 2012 Page | 78 CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION SA Jewel closed its door fours year ago and its website was finally shut down in 2012 when Wolhurter found that she had no further avenues available to explore in her Page | 79 efforts to resurrecting the company.228 The research has shown that the closure of SA Jewel was destined to happen under its current operational processes. It was only one person who ran all facets of the company and no development in empowerment and skills transfer to grow the business was done. As state funding and support dried up bead workers had to market themselves, a skill never taught to them. The independent bead workers of St Michaels’ are still around and working from the same premises and moving within Alexandra where events are taking place. The ARP has been integrated with other township projects under the Department of Economic Development. Mr Soza Simango, Deputy Director Tourism Development for the city of Johannesburg, is tasked to ensure that basics services and infrastructure is developing to ensure tourism growth is increased to various areas in Johannesburg’s touristic sites.229 Alexandra is but one township under Simango’s wing and the funding previously received under the ARP will not be repeated. Funding will be allocated as required to all areas of Johannesburg. At the last meeting of Alex Township of Rhythm- Open Africa Cooperative Ltd (ATROAC) in September 2012, Simango reiterated the Department of Economic Developments’ commitment to Alexandra’s tourism development. ATROAC is a travel and tourism entity that was established in 2003 under the auspices of Open Afrika Route. Its purpose is to develop, promote and sustain the Alex Tourism route and its activities. 230 This entity is a replica of the ATA and it office bearers and senior members are the same members as the ASA of 2002/3. Its membership consists of sixty establishments/people. On the day of the meeting only 6 was present. Phasa remarked that this was the general sign of demoralization of the tourism businesses within Alexandra and they are not moving forward. They need government to assist in marketing campaigns or up skilling in this area. Mr Simango agreed to arrange this training within a month. No one attended this session. Many of these people have already moved on to other forms of work outside tourism as they require a job and thus the lack of attendance at the time. There is also a certain amount of frustration 228 Interview with Dianne Wolhurter, 13Jun2012 229 Interview with Soza Simango, 11Sep2012 230 Interview with Rachel Phasa, 25 June 2012 Page | 80 that was evident in regard to training. Some members remarked that training was always offered but no work followed. The Business Centre has been inactive for the last four years. The only other training and area open to assistance is Edward Nathan Sonnenberg’s (ENS), Pro Bono work in Alexandra. Training is offered in Labour law, employment contracts and small claim courts assistance. ENS also runs a small claims court in Alexandra to make accessibility to the law easier. 231 ENS also does training in business skills and attendances are increasing since ENS established in the area in 2008. Lindie feels that ENS is reaching Alexandrans at the right time as legal understanding and business is an important aspect for an entrepreneur. This component was never before offered and Alexandrans welcomed this learning experience being offered in Alexandra. Mr Mpho Moeti, Senior Manager Destination Management at Gauteng Tourism Association GTA) , advised that GTA worked closely with ATA in the development of the tourist route that included a Mandela Yard and currently GTA is in the process of publishing the Alex Tourism route that will highlight key attractions around history and heritage. 232 GTA offers route development, training and skills development and enterprise support to various projects. According to Mr Moeti, GTA promotes poverty alleviation through their youth employability programmes and skills development that leads to placements in part time and fulltime positions. GTA is no longer part of the ARP as this project is now part of the Department of Economic Development. The research has shown that funding did not reach the projects that were aimed for and that a breakdown of direction between the funders and the implementation was key in the demise of the craft development in Alexandra. No evaluation processes was put in place to cross check implementation with objectives. The ARP was a huge project and rolling out of various aspects of the projects all at the same time was cumbersome, disjointed and unmanageable. Tourism growth in Alexandra remains uncertain and bead craft as one aspect of tourism is dependent on the tourism growth 231 Interview with Lindie Saunderson, 10 Sep 2012 232 Response to Questions :Mpho Moeti, 04Sep2012 Page | 81 for sustainability. Alexandra struggles with population growth due to rapid urbanisation. The findings on this case study are almost an exact picture portrayed by Isobel Frye’s reflection in her work, “What is Poverty?” In her focus group a broad agreement that living in poverty negatively affect one’s ability to determine or control your life, or achieve your goals233. Frye’s analyses saw control as follows “When you are poor, you become a victim of politics because your life depends on politics; your life depends on people who are above you. They tell you how much you will get on a grant and how you will spend it”234 This argument holds water if one looks at this case study as only a poverty alleviation issue. However, this case study is also trying to find answers to sustainable options in tourism that is pro-poor. Government through GTA has put the money forward for the development of Alexandra through its Renewal Project. Many previously unemployed people benefitted from this project through the Tour Guiding Training, Event Management Training and the bead craft training through SA Jewel. But these noble projects which had pro-poor elements were not sustainable. As in the case of Mdhluli who the fund did not reach as she wants to work for herself and not be aligned to SA Jewel and thus no other option was made available to people like her. If Frye’s poverty analysis is true, then one can argue that the women employed through SA Jewel was “controlled” as they can only survive on the work supplied to them from SA Jewel and thus they have an income controlled by someone who makes the decisions for them. SA Jewel is not a company that encourages entrepreneurial goals, so that the women under its wings can be empowered to start their own companies. It is purely a training facility with a marketing division that keeps the women employed. Whilst this is not a bad thing, it does not provide a long term sustainable solution to the unemployed or promoting a pro-poor tourism approach where the nett benefits ends up in the pockets of the poor. The role of women in both cases is very significant. The independent bead workers were more prepared to survive their poverty by selling things as a primary income or as a supplementary income whilst remaining independent and being the decision 233 Frye, I.: What is Poverty?: A qualitative reflection of people’s experiences of Poverty, 2006 234 Ibid, p.36 Page | 82 maker. It appears that this was seen as the general accepted norm within this society of economic struggle for the poor. International studies concluded that women suffer higher levels of poverty than men. For a variety of reasons, women are disproportionately represented in informal employment, which accounts for 60 percent or more of female employment in developing countries.235 Alexandra is thus not unique in this manner whereby many women are working in the informal sector. The ARP initiated many forms of training. However, with all these people being trained, there has been no guarantee of work. Only SA Jewel retained its bead crafters. We now have a situation whereby trained people are unemployed as there are either too many trained in the same field or no effective marketing done to keep employment coming to the trained people. The Alexandra Renewal Project was to be a seven year project costing government R1.3 billion. Alexandra has changed to become a big construction site with various projects running at the same time, for examples, building of parks, schools, refurbishing of the hostels and the Alex Plaza which is an 80-million project on its own.236 With sixteen months to go before the initial proposed end of the Alexandra Renewal Project in July 2006, Julian Baskin, the Director of the project, comment came at no surprise, “A total overhaul of Alexandra will not take seven to 10years. Alexandra is a long journey; a lifetime project of the City – and the ARP can only do what is possible within the stipulated seven years.”237 Baskin words held truth as government announced the ARP to extend to ten years with a budget of R1.9 billion in total spent over the ten year period. The ARP has opened a chapter of economic and social debate but after ten years and the ever changed hands of leadership of the ARP, it has now found a home at the Department of Economic Development. The Mail and Guardian reported that in 2011, almost half of South Africans were living below the poverty line, surviving on just over R500 a month. 238 This is seen as an improvement to pre 1994. 235 Beneria, L., Floro, M.: Distribution, gender and labor market informalization: A conceptual framework with a focus on homeworkers, 2006 236 www.alexandra.co.za – Media Article 237 www.joburg.org.za/2006/july/jul6_alexrenewal.stm - Dlamini, N.: ‘Alex renewal needs a lifetime’, 2006 Page | 83 The pro-poor pilot projects in South Africa have been interpreted by Ashley as potentially significant across the tourism industry. She suggests that South Africa should concentrate its tourism policy to encourage more domestic tourism so that the tourism expenditure is stimulated across a wider industry, particularly in the low season. 239 Thus if we increase our domestic tourism, by marketing our local destinations to our own people, we would make both SA Jewel and Entrepreneurs, like Mdhluli, more sustainable. However, although government means well with the ARP and have high hopes of its success, there is still the element of crime and safety that keeps domestic tourism away from Alexandra. Alexandra’s infrastructure requires ongoing improvement and people’s lives are improved through proper housing, sanitation and creating a proper platform for social development. Communication with the people of Alexandra remains a key link with tourism and the ARP. Communication via the local paper and the radio and the church proves to be very limited. A bigger platform is required to reach the Alexandrans as many of the advertising of funding and projects did not reach all the people of Alexandra. Another option is to get the private sector involved in the ARP and other government projects. This can make for a better marketing tool and also make business aware of their social responsibility. Ashley suggests that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Corporate Citizenship should be part of the Pro-poor tourism debate.240 She suggests that corporate reputation and producing economy in tourism is welcoming to the customer. Business needs to adapt their business practice to improve social, economic, or environmental impact in some way. Furthermore she advises that Companies should move beyond donations and participate in change. Ashley also advocates, that Black Economic Empowerment (BEE), a key part of post apartheid restructuring, can be used to redress the past, increase employment and as a tool in pro-poor initiatives.241 238 Mail Guardian : Poverty and Inequality in South Africa, www.m&g.co.za , Sep 2011 239 Ashley, C.: How can Governments boost the local economic impacts of tourism, ODI, November 2006, p.45 240 Ashley, C.: From Philanthropy to a different way of doing Business: Strategies and Challenges in integrating Pro-poor approaches into tourism business, Pretoria, 2004 241 Ibid, p.3 Page | 84 Government attempts at breaking down the inequality of apartheid with democratization through its various initiatives in particular the White Paper and GEAR, gave some form of solution towards alleviating of poverty in Alexandra through the Alexandra Renewal Project. There was no example government could follow or improve on to make an unquestionable blueprint to decrease poverty or to initiate pro-poor solutions and more importantly to turn the tables and empower the women in the society. Thus, there would be challenges in guideline and implementation. In the case of Alexandra, the case studies were not meant to highlight the role of women in urban tourism development. However, it is pure co- incidence that the women’s role became a welcoming highlight in this research. Page | 85 ABBREVIATIONS USED ACT-Alexandra Centenary Trust ACTSA – Action for Southern Africa ADF-Alexandra Development Forum ARP-Alexandra Renewal Programme ATA-Alexandra Tourism Association ATDP – Alexandra Tourism Development Project ATBA – Alexandra Tourism Business Association CBO-Community Based Organizations DEAT-(National) Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism DSRAC-(Gauteng Provincial) Department of Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture FIT-Foreign Independent Traveller/Tourist GDP- Gross Domestic Product GNP- Gross National Product GRG- Gold Reef Guides GTA- Gauteng Tourism Authority JMC- Joint Management Committee JOWSCO- Johannesburg World Summit Company LAPC- Land Agricultural Policy Centre LBSC- Local Business Service Centre LED-Local Economic Development LDC – Less Developed Countries MEC- Member of the Executive Committee NGO-Non-Governmental Organization RCA- Reconstruction Area RT- Responsible Tourism SALDRU – South African Labour and Development Research Unit SMME-Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises SSC-State Security Council TEP-Tourism Enterprise Programme TGA-Tourist Guides Association Page | 86 THETHA- Tourism and Hospitality Training Authority WIEGO – Women in Informal Employment Globalizing and Organizing WSSD- World Summit on Sustainable Development WTTC- World Travel and Tourism Council BIBLIOGRAPHY Primary sources Alexandra Tourism Development Project for the Gauteng Tourism Authority: Summary Report, Johannesburg, Nov 2001 Alexandra Tourism Development Project for the Gauteng Tourism Authority: Summary of Projects to be Implemented, Johannesburg, 2002 Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism: Tourism in Gear- Tourism Development Strategy 1998-2000, Pretoria, 1998 Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism: White Paper, Pretoria, 1996 Domestic Tourism Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology, Cultural Industries Growth Strategy, The South African Craft Industry Report, 1998 Deloitte & Touche, International Institute for Environment and Development and the Overseas Development Institute: ‘Sustainable Tourism and Poverty Elimination study’, Report Prepared for the Development for international Development, London, 1999 Department of Arts and Culture, Annual Report 2007/2008, Department of Arts and Culture, 2008 Department for International Development: ‘Tourism and poverty alleviation: untapped potential’, London, 1999. 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