Having grown up between Canada,
the UK and South Africa, Angus Begg has
been travelling for fair chunks of his adult life too. Working as a
photojournalist and a broadcaster, his travels have taken him through
the fields of current affairs and travel, from the genocide in Rwanda
to the Serengeti migration, tea with Buddhist monks in Darjeeling,
hiking New Zealand and reflecting on Poland’s Auschwitz. As news editor
he helped set up SABC Africa (DStv) and today works as a
producer/director for MNet’s Carte Blanche and columnist for South
Africa’s Business Day weekly newspaper, The Weekender. He also
contributes to various magazines; Getaway, Travel Africa and CNN
Traveller.
(The Interview follows:)
ECOCLUB.com:
You have travelled and worked
in many African countries. Which of these have in your view developed a
tourism model that approaches ecotourism ideals such as minimising its
own environmental impact, funding environmental conservation, reducing
poverty, respecting human rights, promoting knowledge &
understanding, and why?
Angus Begg: The first
project I saw of significance was outside Zambia’s South Luangwa
National Park, involving tourists staying in a village, amongst the
villagers. The only concession was that option of a 'real'
bed, (as
developed-world westerners understand them) as opposed to the local,
harder options. This was in 1992, and tourists then paid US$40 for the
experience. Encouraging was the fact that the lodges at which they were
staying encouraged this interaction – they knew how important it was
for conservation and wildlife tourism to be seen to be working for the
villagers. Since then I have come across two of the most fantastic
ecotourism models:
One is a place called Bulungula Lodge, on
South
Africa’s Wild Coast (Eastern Cape province). It’s officially in the
poorest district in the country, Elliotdale, where service delivery
hasn't improved one iota since the election of SA's first democratic
government – children still die of diarrhoea because of filthy water,
clinics too far away and roads so bad they're impossible to make use of
in an emergency. Against this background financial services graduate
Dave Martin and his wife, Rejane – chief economist for a major
insurance group – have established a backpacker lodge that has been
voted by Lonely Planet as one of the top ten places to see in SA. What
distinguishes this from other ecotourism ventures (a loosely
used term) is the extent to which local people are involved; they work
at the lodge, they have a share in it (virtually part of the village,
there is no theft, and the guests and visiting villagers share space in
the main building) they run tourist-related businesses that supply
services to guests such as fishing and cultural tours. It also runs on
solar and
wind-power, uses compost toilets, and has a remarkable water-saving
shower device driven by paraffin – bit like a rocket!
The second is
Grootbos Private Nature Reserve. At the other end of the luxury scale,
with five stars, its impact has been huge. It all starts with caring
for the smallest and most diverse floral kingdom in the world – the
Cape Floral Kingdom (it has 1,300 plant species per 10,000 km2 - the
nearest rival, the South American rain forest, has a concentration of
only 400 per 10,000 km2). It boasts an on-site college that enables
kids from surrounding impoverished areas, who haven't even finished
school, to qualify for further studies at a Cape Town technikon
(technical university). They sell plants from the college nursery,
raising considerable funds, and the best students every year go to
Cornwall’s Eden College for practical work. From that has grown a
soccer project, looking forward to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa,
which has attracted serious international sponsorship and developed
into a community centre serving all sports and with (apparently) the
only soccer astroturf pitch in Africa.
ECOCLUB.com: What share of tourism
accommodation facilities in Africa is actually in the hands of locals
and communities as opposed to foreign-controlled companies? Does it
matter?
Angus
Begg: I believe the vast majority are locally
owned. Provided the ethics and business practice are sound and that
money is ploughed back into the country, I see no problem with
it.
ECOCLUB.com: And
does domestic tourism also play a significant part in South Africa? In
what way is it different than international tourism?
Angus Begg: Domestic
tourism is the bread and butter of any country. Look at how America had
to look inwards post 9/11. With South Africa susceptible to an often
misinformed international population - people who actually think a
disturbance or conflict in Kenya or a plane crash in Cameroon has
something to do with SA, and book their travels accordingly – South
Africa has to be locally aware.
ECOCLUB.com: As
a winner of the 2006 CNN Africa Journalist Awards, how satisfied are
you with the quality of Journalism and Travel Journalism in particular
in Africa - investigative or picture perfect? and in which countries?
How easy is it really for a travel journalist to write a negative
review and not suffer the consequences?
Angus Begg: The
South African government has since a few years into independence been
taking shots at the independent media, which continued holding
government to account – as it did with the previous government. But as
with the Sandinistas in Nicaragua (post the Somoza dynastic autocracy),
the African National Congress (ANC) government doesn’t like to be held
to account. The standard of journalism has dropped, I believe,
especially in the electronic media, where disinformation and government
propoganda has once again become the order of the day. Travel
journalism: it’s very much about sunsets and cocktails, with the
‘freebie mentality’ still ruling, especially in newspapers and
magazines. The notion that travel touches every part of daily life,
from politics to religion and the condition of our roads, is unpopular
(and caused me to lose my drive-time travel slot on national 'public
service' radio).
If I am hosted by a company etc, I put it to
them that
I have to write it as I see it – my take is that they have the
opportunity for pure editorial, if they screw it up it’s their fault.
Some people find that fair, others just want advertorial. The major
problem is that publishers and broadcasters, despite generally making
huge profits, aren’t interested in paying for decent content (I’m paid
the same rate today as I was 7 years ago by the biggest publishing
group in the country, which is still chaired by a former trade unionist
/ senior ANC office-bearer). They'd rather be offered a trip and give
it to someone in the office who deserves a trip; there is no cost to
the company, the journo feels happy as he gets wined and dined and he
will produce what often turns out to be inane product. I could give
many examples!
ECOCLUB.com: What
is your take on the blogging phenomenon, and anonymous journalism? Is
it a fad or here to stay? Does it liberate/emancipate or degrade/erode
the journalism profession?
Angus Begg: I’m
embarassed to say that I’m not that familiar with it. I have yet to
enter the world of blog (which sounds like a dirty, dark planet)! It
can both liberate and erode the profession, but I suppose it does offer
choice, and if people don’t like it, they won’t search it out. I reckon
it must be here to stay – what do you think ? Should I have one
??!!
ECOCLUB.com: You
were there, when the Rwanda genocide took place. Can it happen again?
Has Tourism recovered? Has it played a meaningful role in
reconciliation, equal to the one Paul Rusesabagina - immortalised by
the Hotel Rwanda film - played during the events? Briefly
surveying official and private Rwandan tourism websites, we did not
find any reference to the massacre. Is it best kept a taboo, or should
tourists (and locals) never forget through museums and monuments, as is
the case with massacres in other countries and parts of the
world?
Angus Begg: It
can, and has happened again - in Kenya. Africa is an essentially feudal
environment, and many of its rulers have no real interests in changing
things, because unfortunately many of them seem to enjoy the notion of
eternal power. Look at speeches by such leaders – and I think it’s
relevant for the whole developing world – and you will notice unusually
common reference to the term ‘power’. Tourism is in the process of
recovering in Rwanda, and the big investment by East African hotel
giant Serena (owned by the Aga Khan) speaks volumes, especially with
general instability continuing in DRC and Burundi. A number of
international NGOs are helping to resurrect the industry in Rwanda, in
some cases – like Nyungwe Forest – creating tourist infrastructure for
the first time. It’s pioneering stuff, and an amazing place to visit.
Taboo subject? ‘m not sure if I met many Hutu’s, as everyone refers to
themselves as “Rwandan, not Tutsi or Hutu” - I was looking because all
the new restaurants and coffee shops and tour operators I spoke to were
children of the Tutsi exiles of 1959, who had returned to their country
with money after 1994. I would like to know how Hutus feel about the
reconciliation process, and the ‘oneness’, but nevertheless didn’t
encounter any hostility from the people I met. There is a strong sense
of discipline around, and government is simplifying legal requirements
for foreigners wishing to come in and do business and help get the
country on its feet again. With the highest population per capita in
Africa Pres Paul Kagame knows he has to make tourism work.
ECOCLUB.com: Mandela,
still going strong at 90, is considered by many as the world's greatest
statesman alive. Has South Africa, with reference to its Tourism
sector, and in the light of the recent anti-immigrant events, made an
equally great progress over the past 15 years, in tackling racism,
poverty & disenfranchisement? Could the Tourism sector generate
more jobs for locals in the cities?
Angus Begg: For
good reason Mandela was just too late for us, with government now beset
by corruption and a general lack of leadership. The tourism industry in
SA has made strides, with some – like Dave at Bulungula –
doing
their best to help the less privileged. Some top-end lodges and hotels
blow the horn of 'ecotourism' and providing employment louder than
others, often facilitating access to capital through international
connections. This can be a good thing, such as the example of Dr X from
Boston or Zurich building an eye-clinic in a rural province. But the
negative is that such establishments inevitably charge more per night
than the cleaner will earn in six months, which I feel does nothing to
do away with the generally black and white - 'us and them'- divide (as
opposed to the Bulungula example). Increasingly you find 'black
diamonds' - the newly-monied black class, who often (but not always)
arrive at their news status courtesy of government patronage – also
frequenting such establishments, as a way of announcing their
'arrival'. This further entrenches the feudal notion still prevalent in
Africa, that he with the money and economic power (no matter how it was
gained) - more importantly he who is seen to have it - is king.
Government
has failed the industry dismally in many instances, especially the Wild
Coast, where long-term sustainable tourism operations willing to pump
in tons of cash have been put on hold for years, eventually chasing
away the potential, well-intentioned investor. This has cost countless
jobs in a woefully poverty-stricken, beautiful province. It turns out
in this particular instance that various interested government
officials have been holding up the process, hoping to pave the way for
an Australian mining firm to step in and plunder the resource-rich
coastline. How do I know? A colleague produced the investigative TV
programme on it recently, and I've followed the story for years; four
years ago (that's how long the story's been happening) I walked that
coastline while seeing what had become of the EU's R84 million (abut
US$10 million at the time) that had been pumped into the area. It just
vanished. Today it's more about greed - one black brother stealing from
another - than racism.
The
wave of xenophobia sweeping the country needs to be put in some form of
context: it has been a long-time coming. In a nutshell: South Africa's
borders are porous, and with much of Africa still ruled by despots
('democracy' is a very qualified concept in this part of the developing
world) the continent's beleagured citizens and refugees
head south
in search of both security and opportunity. Zimbabweans and Malawians
especially are hired easily in South Africa, as they are known for
pleasant and willing dispositions; Zimbabweans are often well-qualified
(roughly three million having fled their own country), meaning –
whether illegal or not - they get jobs quickly. The local workforce
remains highly politicised. Many can't differentiate between being 'of
service' to servitude (historical legacy), and thus would sometimes
rather work only begrudgingly. So when economic times are tight, as
they are now, and jobs are scarce, ignorance and intolerance reign –
and black Africans turn on their brothers.
Just yesterday, I was at a
top guest-house in Cape Town, that has long had Congolese French
waiters (the owner is originally French). They tell me that locals will
target them because they have a different (darker) look, don't speak
English well and dress in a particular fashion, thus they prefer to
live in largely white areas – for safety's sake. Government has sat
idly and watched (only lately sending in troops to help police in
troubled areas), with our President overseas and even our
president-in-waiting preferring not to get involved. They dare not be
seen to be even vaguely sympathetic towards foreigners as it will cost
them votes among the masses. That people have died, the same people who
came to our country fleeing violence, poverty and persecution – seeking
safety - is tragic beyond words. Luckily for the industry – although
international TV news has flashed coverage of the events around the
world - these incidents have been taking place light years from the
tourist beds. Tourism still has great potential in South
Africa,
and billions are being spent on infrastructure for the World Cup in
2010, so more jobs will be created. My worry is that we lack both
visionaries in government, and competence in key areas; to
ensure
that our electricity networks will always work, that such xenophobia is
dealt with.
My
hope is that once the 'magical' date of 2010 has passed, with the smoke
and mirrors and the image of the feel-good parade having moved on, we
will have a sustainable tourism industry to work with. Government and
private tourism departments are almost entirely politically appointed
and inefficient (generally speaking), with employees joining the
industry to go shopping at international trade shows and backhanders
being the order of the day. But at the proverbial end of the day we
have three things going for us: a phenomenal natural environment,
strong private sector, packed with experience and knowledge, that
drives the industry and draws the tourists, and - despite the pockets
of intolerance in the urban, underprivileged areas – a largely warm and
welcoming people out in the country. That's what people come to see.
ECOCLUB.com:
In
what was a milestone for African environmentalism, Wangari Maathai won
the Nobel in 2004. However many think that the environment is still a
luxury in Africa, that rapid progress is paramount in the light of
abject living conditions. If that is so, is high-end eco-friendly
tourism, even though it may be elitist and a form of tourist apartheid,
an honourable & useful compromise, or is it a drop in the
ocean?
Angus Begg: It's
one form of making it work, as in Botswana's Okavango Delta, but is it
right if it deprives locals from the experience altogether? I believe
how people are treated is key to such operations, whichever end of the
scale they may be on. My jury is still out on this one, although the
experiences of Bulungula and Grootbos again refer...
ECOCLUB.com: In
the light of frequent air disasters and arduous flight connections, it
has been argued that Africa needs a dense network of subsidised, safe
air routes. Do you agree?
Angus Begg: What
about cheap, reliable, ecological public transport (trains, buses) for
the masses? Viva! The masses wish for reliable public transport, but it
aint comin' anytime soon. We decided to spend R21 billion (at the time
about US$3 billion) on an arms deal - which has both our future and
existing presidents implicated in corruption – instead of exactly the
proposal you raise.
ECOCLUB.com: What
is your evaluation on the new scrummage / cold war for Africa and its
resources between the worlds superpowers? Should Africa be given a fair
chance through the removal of subsidies in the west, and then left
alone to heal its wounds and stand on its own feet, or does it forever
need the peace & war corps of investment, aid, ngos,
bureaucrats, arms-traders, missionaries, preferential arrangements,
cheap imports...?
Angus Begg: Take
a peek at China's scramble for Africa's resources. It is providing
infrastructure all over Africa in return for much of its energy
resources. Some call it looting, and their attitude to labour rights is
indeed questionable to westerners, but they are nevertheless providing
Africa with what Western aid has for decades failed to deliver
effectively (money goes into corrupt political pockets or its tied to
sometimes unsustainable World Bank targets). Yes, subsidies should be
removed in the west – traditional western powers made fortunes by
looting Africa, now they have to let Africa play too, by playing fair.
Although internal political power plays in the likes of the US and EU
make such a prospect unlikely. As for that list of parties you
mentioned, they are often an industry in themselves – sometimes more
important than the 'cause' they claim to be interested in.
ECOCLUB.com: From
80's South Africa to Palestine and Rwanda, you have covered politics
& strife but also tourism and the environment and been through
places & situations most of us only see in the movies. 'Wise as
you
will have become, so full of experience', as the poem goes,
have you ever considered crossing the street and participating in
politics, or are you gradually finding your way back to your 'Ithaca'?
Angus Begg: I'm
not sure about 'wise', although 'experience' I will concede I have
gained. I'm a touch of a malcontent right now, frustrated by worsening
corruption and displays of power in a country that had the chance to
choose the high road after the '94 elections, but didn't, instead
choosing to support the morally reprehensible Zimbabwean despot, Robert
Mugabe, and turn a blind eye to corruption locally. Just this past
weekend it has been announced that – despite overwhelming public
sentiment to the contrary – that the highly effective National
Prosecuting Authority will be disbanded. This is largely because it has
been successful in investigating senior ANC (government) figures. I am
fast realising through my TV work that we live here in a qualified
democracy, and that inefficiency, greed and corruption won't see the
ANC government removed from power. That's our legacy – the masses will
vote according to colour because they were largely deprived of
education and stick with what they know – even if it's a perspective no
greater than over the hill in the neighbouring village - which
perpetuates the feudalistic existence. So politics is not on the
horizon (as is working as a political journalist in such an
environment)! Being just post 40 and a white male doesn't help finding
work in South Africa, no matter personal history and experience, so
let's say I'm looking around for opportunities, whether in travel,
photography, commentary or some related business. Somewhere therein
perhaps lies my Ithaca. I've just moved to Cape Town, so at least I'm
looking at this amazing mountain (Table) as I write, ocean and
vineyards just a little further away ... pondering an uncertain future!
ECOCLUB.com: Thank you very much!
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complete list of ECOCLUB Interviews here