CULTURAL AND HERITAGE TOURISM TRENDS IN THE AMATHOLE
DISTRICT MUNICIPALITY OF THE EASTERN CAPE PROVINCE,
SOUTH AFRICA, 2004 - 2014
by
Mncedi Justice Mboniswa
A Dissertation Submitted in Fulfilment
of the Requirements for the Master of Science Degree in Geography
at the University of Fort Hare
June 2017
Supervisor: Professor. L. Wotshela
Co-Supervisor: Dr. R. Pillay
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DECLARATION
I, Mncedi Justice Mboniswa, do hereby declare that the dissertation
entitled ‘Cultural and Heritage Tourism Trends in the Amathole District
Municipality of the Eastern Cape, South Africa, 2004 – 2014’, is the product of my own investigation except where otherwise stated, and that it has not been submitted for a degree to any other University.
NAME : MNCEDI JUSTICE MBONISWA
SIGNATURE: ……………………………………..
DATE : …………………………………….
PLACE : UNIVERSITY OF FORT HARE, ALICE CAMPUS
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I thank God Almighty who is the source and the strength of my life and without whom this would not be possible. I also pass my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Professor Wotshela and co-supervisor, Dr.
Pillay for their time, dedication, guidance and support throughout this research. A word of appreciation is also extended to Professor
Seethal for organising the supervisor-linked bursary from the Govan
Mbeki Research and Development Centre (GMRDC) and for availing the Geography Department’s resources for this study.
My parents, who nurtured and developed me to be the person that I am today, thank you. My heart-felt gratitude and thanks also goes to my wife, Siyolise Cindy and my children Unako Mangaliso and
Kungentando Ziphozethu; who supported me throughout this project.
Last but not least, I thank all those who spared their precious time during interviews to give me the information I needed to make this research a reality.
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DEDICATION
To my late parents, Langa Howard Mboniswa and Nomasomi Patricia
Mboniswa. You have not lived long enough to see the fruits of your hard labour. This is a token of my gratitude to you.
Also to my daughters, Unako Mangaliso and Kungentando Ziphozethu
Mboniswa. This work must serve as an inspiration to you in your future endeavours.
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ABSTRACT
The promotion of tourism in a country, especially those with high levels of poverty is one of the strategies that can potentially improve socio-economic conditions of citizens. In South Africa, cultural and heritage tourism is seen as one of the ways in which cultural resources can be utilised to benefit marginalised communities and individuals. Such resources can also serve as source of income since both domestic and international tourists can activate industry as they are interested in learning more about other cultures and heritage. There are on-going debates, however on what constitutes cultural and heritage tourism, who it benefits and how this enterprise is located within various communities of South Africa. This research therefore aims to fill this gap through investigating cultural and heritage tourism development trends within the Amathole District
Municipality (ADM) and how this development trend impacts on employment creation and improving the socio-economic conditions of citizens within this area of ADM. To realise this aim, the study looks at the availability of cultural and heritage tourism structures within the ADM and the database records on these structures. This study adopts the community benefit tourism initiatives approach to tourism development in the Amathole District Municipality of the Eastern Cape Province. This qualitative study reveals how the community benefit tourism approach
v encompasses rewards to local communities, in as much as it enhances sustainability of tourism initiatives. In bringing out these aspects, the study also examines efforts of the government and private sector in the up- keeping of tourism initiatives, especially for marginalised communities of
South Africa.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF TABLES xii
LIST OF FIGURES xiii
ACRONYMS xvi
CHAPTER 1
BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
1.1 Introduction ...... 1
1.2 Definition of Cultural and Heritage Tourism ...... 3
1.3 Conceptual Framework ...... 5
1.4 Literature Review ...... 10
1.5 Research Aim ...... 14
1.6 Research Objectives ...... 14
1.7 Research Questions ...... 15
1.8 Synopsis ...... 15
1.9 Research Methods and Techniques ...... 16
1.10 Study Area ...... 17
1.11 Significance of the Study ...... 19
1.12 The Structure of the Dissertation ...... 20
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CHAPTER II
THE STUDY AREA: AMATHOLE DISTRICT MUNICIPALITY
2.1 Introduction ...... 22
2.2 Location of the Study Area ...... 22
2.3 Historical Background of the Amathole District Municipality ...... 25
2.4 Demarcation of the Amathole District Municipality ...... 29
2.5 Population and Demography of Amathole District Municipality ...... 32
2.6 Socio-Economic Status of Amathole District Municipality ...... 34
2.7 Growth Potential of the Amathole District Municipality ...... 35
2.7.1 Enterprise Development ...... 36
2.7.2 Co-operative Development ...... 36
2.7.3 Heritage Resource Management ...... 37
2.8 Amathole District Municipality's Tourism Development ...... 40
2.9 Conclusion ...... 41
CHAPTER III
CONTEXTUAL OVERVIEW OF TOURISM:
3.1 Introduction ...... 42
3.2 Overview of the Tourism Industry ...... 42
3.3 Historical background of the Tourism Industry ...... 43
3.4 Tourism Growth and Global Market Forces ...... 49
3.5 Organization of the tourism industry: ...... 51
3.5.1 The Global Context ...... 51
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3.5.2 The Regional Context (Africa) ...... 54
3.5.3 The National Context (South Africa) ...... 55
3.6 The Role of the National Heritage Council (NHC) in the Development of
Cultural Heritage in South Africa...... 56
3.7 The Role of the South African Heritage Resource Agency (SAHRA) in
the Development of Cultural Heritage in South Africa ...... 57
3.8 Conclusion ...... 62
CHAPTER IV
TOURISM LEGISLATION IN SOUTH AFRICA
4.1 Introduction ...... 63
4.2 The South African Government Three-Tier Spheres ...... 66
4.3 The Role of the Provincial Sphere on Tourism Development ...... 66
4.4 Institutional Arrangements for Tourism Development
in the Eastern Cape…………………………………………………… ...... 69
4.5 Tourism Development at the Municipal Level: The Amathole
District Municipality……………………………………………………… ...... 77
4.6 Challenges Facing the Development of Tourism in the ADM...... 84
4.7 Conclusion ...... 87
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CHAPTER V
EMPIRICAL DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS
5.1 Introduction ...... 88
5.2 Justification of the time period for this research ...... 90
5.3 The study sites ...... 93
5.3.1 The Rharhabe Kingdom: Mngqesha Great Place ...... 97
5.3.1.1 Attractions at the Kingdom ...... 100
5.3.1.2 Ubukhosi Village ...... 102
5.3.1.3 Chalets in the Ubuhosi Village …………………………………. 103
5.3.1.4 Imbali Museum...... 106
5.3.1.5 Sandile Memorial Garden ...... 108
5.3.2 Goshen San (Bushmen) Paintings ...... 110
5.3.2.1 The town of Cathcart ...... 111
5.3.2.2 The San Paintings ...... 112
5.3.2.3 Significance of these Paintings ...... 115
5.3.3 The Steve Biko Centre (Geographical & Historical Context) ...... 118
5.3.3.1 The town of King William’s Town ...... 119
5.3.3.2 Ginsberg Township - A brief historical background ...... 121
5.3.3.3 The Site of the Steve Biko Centre...... 122
5.3.3.4 A Brief Life History of Steve Bantu Biko……………………….. 127
5.4 Conclusion ...... 131
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CHAPTER VI
DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS
6.1 Introduction ...... 133
6.2 An Analysis of the Three Study Sites ...... 133
6.2.1 The Rharhabe Kingdom ...... 134
6.2.2 Goshen San Paintings ...... 143
6.2.3 The Steve Biko Centre ...... 146
6.3 Popularity of the sites ...... 150
6.4 Contribution of the Sites to Employment, Poverty Alleviation and Equality ...... 153
6.5 Conclusion ...... 155
CHAPTER VII
CONCLUSIONS AND CRITICAL INPUTS
7.1 Introduction ...... 156
7.2 Conclusions ...... 156
7.3 Critical Inputs...... 158
BIBLIOGRAPHY …………………………………………………………………………………………………164
APPENDIX A
Questionnaire for the Municipal Officials ...... 178
APPENDIX B
Questionnaire for Cultural Heritage Site Managers ...... 183
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LIST OF TABLES
2.1 Local Municipalities in the Amathole District Municipality Prior 2011 Local Government Elections 23
2.2 Metropolitan Municipalities in South Africa After the 2011 Local Government Elections 30
2.3 Population Groups in Amathole District Municipality 33
4.1 Six Pillars and Priority Programmes of the Eastern Cape Province 75
5.1 Direct and Indirect Benefits at Mngqesha Great Place 101
5.2 Data Analysis: Steve Biko Centre, 2014……………………………….131
6.1 Amounts Transferred by the Eastern Cape District Municipalities To Traditional Institutions within the Eastern Cape 135
6.2 Employment Analysis, Rharhabe Kingdom (2014)……………………139
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LIST OF FIGURES
1.1 Buffalo City Metro within Amathole District
Municipality ……………………………………………. 19
2.1 Eastern Cape District Municipalities with their
Respective Local Municipalities ……………………. 24
2.2 Population Distribution in the Eight Local Municipalities 32
2.3 Amathole Heritage Routes through the ADM ……… 39
5.1 Study Areas Marked in Red ……………………… 89
5.2 Main Transport Corridors in the ADM ……………… 97
5.3 Chieftain Chalets at Ubukhosi Village, Rharhabe
Great Place ………………………………………………. 104
5.4 Emthonyameni Chalets at Ubukhosi Village, Rharhabe
Great Place ……………………………………………….. 104
5.5 Outside Front view of the Sandile Memorial Garden,
Rharhabe Great Place (2013) ………………………. 109
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5.6 Inside Top view of the Sandile Memorial Garden,
Rharhabe Great Place …………………………… 109
5.7 Water used on Rock Art at Goshen (2012) …… 114
5.8 Goshen Rock Art (2012) ……………………………. 114
5.9 Coat of Arms of the Republic of South Africa ……. 118
5.10 Map of King William’s Town ……………………. 120
5.11 Steve Biko Centre at Ginsberg ……………………. 126
5.12 Steve Biko Centre at Ginsberg ……………………. 126
5.13 Reception Area at the Steve Biko Centre, Ginsberg
Township ……………………………………… 129
6.1 Unemployment Rate by Age Groups in
South Africa ………………………………………. 140
6.2 Distribution of the Population by Functional Age Groups
In Eastern Cape District Municipalities: 1996; 2001 and
2011 …………………………………………………. 141
6.3 Unemployment Rate by Province …………………… 142
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6.4 Unemployment Rate by Eastern Cape District Municipalities,
1996; 2001 and 2011 …………………………… 143
6.5 Sources of Product Knowledge …………………… 151
xv
LIST OF ACRONYMS
ADM Amathole District Municipality
ASGISA Accelerated Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa
AU African Union
CBT Community Based Tourism
CBTI Community Benefit Tourism Initiatives
CenTRE Centre for Heritage Training, Research and Education
COPAC Co-operatives and Policy Alternative Centre
DEAT Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
EAP Economically Active People
GDP Gross Domestic Product
xvi
IDP Integrated Development Plan
LHR Liberation Heritage Route
MAP Millennium Africa Recovery Plan
NEPAD New Partnership for Africa Development
NGO Non-Governmental Organizations
NHC National Heritage Council
PHRA Provincial Heritage Resource Agency
TBCSA Tourism Business Council of South Africa
TOMSA Tourism Marketing South Africa
SADC Sothern Africa Development Community
SASO South African Student Organisation
SAHRA South African Heritage Resource Agency
SAT South African Tourism
SMME Small, Medium and Micro Enterprise
TLC Transitional Local Council
TRC Transitional Rural Council
VFR Visiting Friends and Relatives
xvii
VIC Visitor Information Centre
UNWTO United Nations World Tourism Organization
WTTC World Travel and Tourism Council
xviii
CHAPTER I
BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
1.1 Introduction
Governments often use tourism promotion as a strategy to enhance their respective economies whilst creating employment for their local communities, especially in developing countries (Baum and Szivas, 2008; Marshall, 2005; Mearns, 2007). South
Africa resonates with that category of examples. It is a developing country with abundant beautiful flora and fauna, attractive landscapes with rich political and social histories immensed in diverse cultures. These are all critical components for a prosperous tourism enterprise. Moreover, the country has also demonstrated abilities to organize and host major sporting events over the years. It successfully hosted the 1995
Rugby World Cup and the 1996 African Football Cup of Nations. As the country continued to reconstruct national reconciliation, those events were followed by the 2003
Cricket World Cup and the 2010 Soccer World Cup. These sporting events signified growing sport prominence for the continent and this region in the new millennium.
Undoubtedly those events increased the number of visiting tourists into the country.
Equally important, the South African provinces bid enthusiastically for hosting associated activities to the events. Stemmer (2003) maintains that improvement of local economies and people’s quality of life was some of the main reasons the country’s provinces and local governments sought hosting of such events and related activities.
Generally, tourists spend money within visited local areas and such disbursements in
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turn activate local economies’ ventures. They also contribute to the exposure of various
local tourism options to the broader world.
Physical landscapes of countries such as South Africa are not necessarily only features
of attraction. In recent years, it has become noticeable that tourists are attracted to
beautiful beaches and wildlife as they are also interested in local culture and heritage of host destinations (Marshall, 2005). This latter attraction or interest has activated the emergence of cultural and heritage tourism. Boyd (2002) attests to the fact that while the vast majority of travellers still opt for typical conventional ‘mass’ experience best characterized by destinations fulfilling the ‘three S’ type experience of sun, sand and sea, other niche markets have become important and popular. These have stemmed from the enhanced interest in the cultures of others; and that has also generated
popular demand for cultural heritage tourism within a highly competitive leisure industry
environment (Chhabra, 2008).
This study focuses on cultural and heritage tourism in a particular historical regional
area of South Africa: the Amathole District Municipality (ADM) of the Eastern Cape
Province. Tourism development generally was a low priority under apartheid rule because the outside world was restricted from exploring parts of the segregated country. It was even more so in the areas that were part of the South African homelands that included the Ciskei and the Transkei in the inner and further eastern
areas of the Eastern Cape. A major part of those homeland areas form the ADM, will
be examined in this study. The political transition of 1994 resulted in the establishment
of national and provincial governments that prioritized tourism in the country. This
process has also enhanced cultural heritage to become an aspect that can contribute to
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economic development of the new South Africa. The endeavour was envisaged to impact on the lives of poor communities in the country (White Paper on the
Development and Promotion of Tourism in South Africa, 1996; Eastern Cape Tourism
Board, 2003).
This chapter outlines and offers a definition of cultural and heritage tourism, as well as,
a conceptual framework that underpins this study. It also offers a review of appropriate
literature; the overall aim and a set of objectives of the research. The research methods
adopted in this study are also discussed, and, finally, the chapter describes and justifies
the choice for the location for the study.
1.2 Definition of Cultural and Heritage Tourism
Boyd (2002) and Honkanen (2002) contend that “culture” and “heritage” are complex
terminologies, which are not easy to define. The challenge in explaining the meaning of
heritage emanates from its association with the field of culture, and has a dynamic and
not necessarily a static definition. Indeed, Park (2010) made the point that heritage
formed an integral part of culture. Accordingly, he distinguished between heritage that
is ‘intangible’ and that which is ‘tangible’. On the one hand, intangible heritage
manifests itself in diverse symbolic meaning and spiritual embodiments (such as oral
traditions, knowledge systems, games and spiritual beliefs). On the other hand,
tangible heritage refers to material remnants of the nations’ past (museums,
monuments, statues and memorials). This study underlines that the two terms ‘culture’
and ‘heritage’ are not easily defined. Rather, they can be combined, more effectively as
concepts embodied in tourism, in other words, “cultural heritage” or “cultural and
heritage tourism”.
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Cultural and heritage tourism have been defined by Verbeke (1997) as processes or
activities in which participants seek to learn more about as well as experience the past and present cultures of themselves and those of others. That definition brings a close association between heritage and culture and was noted earlier by Mehrhoff (1991) in his writing which described cultural and heritage tourism as an activity whereby visitors experience the unique history and ethos of a locality. In later years, Clarke (2003) also provided a critical definition of cultural and heritage tourism. Clarke further emphasised that it is a movement of persons for essentially cultural motivations – including study tours, performing arts, cultural tours, travel to festivals, visits to historical sites and
monuments, folklore and pilgrimage. South Africa’s White Paper on the Development
and Promotion of Tourism (1996) explained that the definition also includes mission settlements, sites of slave occupation, urban spaces used for ritual purposes, rock art sites, rock formation and natural landscapes, which have national and international cultural significance.
The above-mentioned definitions have some commonalities about cultural and heritage tourism. They concur that it is a purposeful travel that enables the traveller to find out about the history, heritage and lifestyles of others, while contributing to the conservation and restoration of cultural resources, as well as, the economic well-being of communities. In the context of tourism, cultural heritage becomes a commodity that can be packaged and sold much like any other product (Grobler, 2008). Of interest in host countries, it may well entail the extent that such countries will go to attract tourists to areas of cultural and heritage tourism (Hunter, 2010).
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1.3 Conceptual Framework
Various researchers worldwide have adopted different approaches to studying tourism.
One of these has been the ‘Sustainable livelihoods approach’. This gained prominence through the Brundtland Report of the World Commission on Environment and
Development in 1987 (Kadozo, 2009). It acknowledges that in poor communities, people gain their livelihoods through multiple activities instead of one formal job.
Through multiple activities, tourism supplements them as sources of livelihoods (Tao and Wall, 2009). This approach emphasizes people’s inherent capabilities and knowledge, but, it focuses strongly on community level actions. As Rakodi (2002) puts it, the approach recognises that the poor may not have cash or other savings, but they have other material or non-material assets such as their health, labour, knowledge and skills, their kinship ties and friends as well as the natural resources around them. This approach is used in many countries such as those in Asia like Bangladesh, and Sri
Lanka, as well as, in Africa, especially in Uganda, Tanzania, Ghana, Kenya and South
Africa. Other writers such as Murphy (1985) reinforced the community’s sense of ownership, responsibility and practical involvement in tourism and have argued that these are central to the sustainability of tourism in local communities. It is important to note that the sustainable livelihoods approach is compatible with the community-based tourism approach (Mearns, 2010; Ndlovu and Rogerson, 2004). Both these frameworks promote the involvement of local people and communities in tourism developments, which have been emphasised in the case of South Africa (Lahiff and Ntshona, 2003).
They are also both pro-poor focused.
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Pro-poor tourism, as the concept implies, focuses on the generation of benefits and the unlocking of opportunities for the destitute (Ashley, Goodwin and Roe, 2001).
Opportunities often include economic gain and livelihood benefits that can also be
enhanced by participation in decision making. Pro-poor tourism also emphasises
poverty eradication. That is the primary goal of this approach, which encourages
communities to make decisions on all aspects of development. The approach also
promotes the involvement of different stakeholders such as those of governments,
business and civil society, as long as benefits accrue to local communities.
Some researchers have, however, advocated a more business-orientated approach to
studying tourism. They contend that a business - orientated approach would encourage
greater collaboration between stakeholders and that communities would be better
positioned if they allow their actions to be guided by key business management
principles (Murphy and Murphy, 2004 and Prentice, 2007). They argue further that by
adopting an approach based on business principles, communities would be better
placed to develop tourism potential financially and benefit in the global marketplace.
In the same vein, other researchers promote the business model to tourism
development (Prentice, 2007). Others also argue that communities must have a say and
control of the tourism initiative (Ashley, 2000; Beeton, 2006 and Hall, 2003). The
argument that advocates the strengthening of community involvement and livelihoods is
crucial and hence it requires further analysis. It brings forth the involvement and the
role of other stakeholders such as the business sector and the international donor
organisations in tourism development. There are specific needs to look at the
relationship between community control and benefits.
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Moreover there seems to be a gap in analysing the extent of community involvement in tourism initiatives and the measure of benefits. This study therefore adopts a
Community Benefit Tourism Initiative (CBTI) as its conceptual framework. According to
Simpson (2008), CBTI is an approach that focuses on the transfer of benefits to a community regardless of location, instigation, size, level of wealth, involvement and ownership or control. The approach contends that to distribute benefits to a community, the tourism initiative need not always involve the community in any rights, tenure or control of the project (Ahmad, 2001; Li, 2006; Simpson, 2008). Instead, community participation, control or a level of ownership is suggested, if only to ensure delivery of appropriate proportion and type of benefits to the relevant community. It is important that the participation of a community in the conceptualization, planning and operational aspects of an initiative should not be overlooked and communication between all stakeholders such as business; local government and international donor organizations is important.
The objectives of community involvement must not overshadow or denigrate the goal of a successful tourism enterprise. It should be recognized that a tourism initiative that does not have community ownership or control can also effectively deliver benefits to the community (Ahmad, 2001; Li, 2006 and Murphy, 2003). Nevertheless such benefits become difficult to be realised by such communities, especially if control or ownership of resources remains unclarified. CBTI often underlines that it is not essential for a community to be directly involved in tourism management or ownership or governance.
Moreover it offers industry and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) latitude and
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potential to design and deliver benefits to respective communities while minimising their
roles in decision-making.
The inclusion and involvement of communities in the ownership of a tourism initiative
does not guarantee tangible livelihoods, or more importantly, economic gains for them.
Neither is the active participation of communities in a tourism initiative a precondition for
benefits to local employment (Simpson, 2008). Simpson argues further, that potential
problems are likely to occur where communities are heavily involved in tourism
initiatives. In such processes communities may be subjected to external pressures or
issues linked to governance and structure. They may be exposed to conflicting
stakeholder agendas; to jealousies and to internal power struggles. Artificial hierarchies
and elites may also develop. All these aspects may threaten potential benefits for
communities. Moreover contradictory agendas between stakeholders, those of
management expediency and tussles for financial control, as well as, those of legal
constraints and operational constraints may arise. Because of these arrays of potential
threats, investors and industry stakeholders tend to be fearful to include community
representatives as shareholders and as key decision makers in a tourism initiative.
Overall, the contradictory agendas within communities and their leaders pose the main
challenges to the concept and the initiative of community ownership of tourism.
Community Benefit Tourism Initiatives and other approaches such as Pro-poor and
Community Based Tourism have similarities. They all focus on delivering livelihoods and other benefits to the community as a result of a tourism enterprise. Their end results are considered to be for community benefit (Ndlovu and Rogerson, 2004). The
difference among these approaches is on how each approach achieves its end results.
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In other words, how the approach properly benefits local communities. A primary
concern of a CBTI is the action of conveying net livelihood, economic, social and
environmental benefits to the communities in a sustainable manner (Simpson, 2008).
Franchetti and Page (2008) pointed out that the CBTI approach was associated with
innovation, as it aimed to convey benefits to communities. These writers maintained
that innovation was the essence of tourism as a service sector. It was vital to remain
competitive and it ensured continuous improvement for the visitor’s experience. CBTI is
highly relevant to the management and operation of all tourism initiatives. They
emphasize the role of tourism stakeholders in managing tourism in its many different
forms.
In outlining the literature key points of CBTI and how it is expected to be applied within
communities, this study therefore further adopts the CBTI approach. This approach is
adopted as it is envisaged to be encompassing essential elements in the benefit of communities in tourism initiatives. It explains the interaction of communities with governments, businesses, NGOs and policy makers and outlines how the interactions of these institutional bodies are vital in the success of CBTI. The appropriateness and significance of CBTI goes beyond mere community ownership or control and thus underlines regular communication, linkages and prudent commitment of stakeholders for broadened community benefit. CBTI is thus an approach that offers scope for an examination of such linkages, their operations as well as the interactions of various institutional bodies with respective communities.
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1.4 Literature Review
Ample literature and public opinions emphasise the fact that tourism promotion is a
strategy that many governments use to improve their respective economies and create
employment for local communities (Baum and Szivas, 2008; Marshall, 2005 and
Mearns, 2007). South Africa is no exception in this regard. As early as the mid-1990s
government policies and legislation were increasingly directed at regulating and promoting tourism, particularly within the previously disadvantaged communities (White
Paper on the Development and Promotion of Tourism in South Africa, 1996). Cultural heritage became an important economic attraction, encompassing hundreds of thousands of visitors and billions in foreign currency into communities around the world
(Edson, 2004 and Jimura, 2010). In South Africa, and some of the underdeveloped world however, that contention is not universally accepted.
There are some writers who disagree that tourism brings benefits and employment to local communities. Amongst these, Sheng and Tsui (2009) have stated that although the rapid tourism growth generally increases nominal Gross Domestic Product (GDP), it does not necessarily improve the net welfare of host local communities. These writers emphasise that tourism is a double-edged sword, which offers seasonal employment that does not necessarily improve the material conditions of people (Grobler, 2008;
Jeursen, 2009; Mearns, 2007; Sheng and Tsui, 2009). It is evident in a number of cases of cultural villages in South Africa that big businesses initiate and manage resources, and thus take real profits to themselves. Employees who are normally locals
are paid small salaries normalising them to work processes but their remuneration does
not necessarily change their material conditions.
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Leep (2008) has re-endorsed this assertion by using dependency theory, whereby he refers to the western, developed countries as the ‘centre’ and the developing countries as the ‘periphery’. He maintains that tourist destinations in the developing world tend to be located in the periphery. Moreover, he has emphasized that they are dependent on markets, expertise and capital located within the centre, or in the tourist generating west
(developed countries). As tourists move from the centre to the periphery, they often insist upon western amenities and standards of comfort. Typically, these standards and amenities cannot be provided in the periphery without investments and expertise from the centre. Thus, the money tourists spend in the periphery often cycles or leaks back to the investors and the experts in the centre.
Grobler (2008) discusses the influence of politics on cultural and heritage tourism in
South Africa. He gives an example of a speech from Pallo Jordan (the former Minister of Arts and Culture, 2004 - 2009) who said, “If you came from Mars and you went on the evidence of what is there in these public spaces (in line of statues, monuments and memorials), you’d come away with the impression that whites were the original inhabitants of South Africa and Africans were immigrants” (Grobler, 2008). Chhabra
(2008) also gives another example of museums as contemporary cultural tourism institutions that exist to provide an authentic experience rather than just agents of conservation. He maintains that “curators serving as cultural custodians of museums are often influenced and nominated by power groups and generally endorse the corpus of knowledge produced by dominant social groups as legitimate and authoritative”
(Chhabra, 2008). The argument that public spaces often mask the political agenda of governments globally was also emphasised by Marshall (2005). This is especially so
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for the South African public spaces. After the 1994 democratic dispensation in South
Africa, the African National Congress (ANC) aimed to correct this imbalance by
establishing institutions such as the National Heritage Council (NCH). The main aim of
the NHC is to preserve the country’s heritage and to place it as a priority for nation
building and national identity. One of its key objectives is to develop policy for the
sector to meet its transformational goals and this is discussed at length in chapter 3.
Marshall (2005) further contends that apart from the iconic recognition of these
commemorative structures, cultural and heritage tourists often favour a holistic,
politically balanced, or contextualized representation of the past and these allow an
understanding of the complex realities that have shaped a country’s history and its people. In the case of South Africa, there needs to be a balanced exposition of colonisation and land dispossession of the local people. Prior to the democratic dispensation of 1994 this aspect was neither publicised knowledge nor recognised in public spaces. The dominant cultural heritage that was portrayed was the Afrikaner cultural heritage. A balanced view of South African cultural heritage has always been required. However, this too is likely to create some contradictions as the power
(financial) between black and whites in South Africa is still in place. At present, South
Africans celebrate ‘Heritage Day’ on the 24th of September yearly. However, how is this
day celebrated by blacks and whites lives much to be desired, as blacks celebrate by
wearing their cultural attire and traditional functions. Whites on the other hand celebrate
it as ‘Braai Day’. The financial power of whites is evident through much publication of
‘Braai Day’ in media. Most young children, through the power of media understand
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‘Heritage Day’ in South Africa as ‘Braai Day’. This is very serious as future generations
lose the meaning of ‘Heritage Day’.
The role of humorous events (comedy) as sources of attraction for tourists globally was
identified by Pearce (2009). Examples of these events are comedy as well as film
festivals. These are famous amongst locals as well as tourists. Humorous events can
also boost the attractiveness of a destination and can be embedded in contemporary
analyses of destination management studies, where all features of a destination
including its entertainment, festivals and events are seen as contributors to their appeal
(Che, 2008). This also applies to the South African context where international tourists
attend cultural activities such as the Grahamstown Arts Festival; the 100% Xhosa
Comedy Festivals, and many other stand-up comedy festivals that reflect the cultural
heritage of South Africa.
Rogerson and Visser (2006) made the point that Africa, within the international league
table of international tourist flows, ranks poorly, relative to the mature tourism
destinations of North America, Europe as well as those of East Asia and the Pacific
Rim. These writers contend that the development of a host of cultural, heritage and
creative tourism industry segments can significantly enhance the urban experience for
the overseas tourist market as well as maximizing opportunities for urban tourism.
As discussed above, there is a body of literature on tourism which deals with the
benefits of tourism. Conversely, there is also literature that deals with the
disadvantages of tourism and how it does not necessarily change the material
conditions of people. It is also evident from the literature that cultural and heritage
13 tourism tends to be influenced by the dominant groups within society. In some cases research in this field tends to focus either on rural areas or largely on urban areas.
There seems to be a gap in literature on the development trends of tourism within the
South African context. This is the lacunae that this study looks at and tries to address.
Based on this literature, it is debatable whether tourism benefits the majority of the people in local communities. Also, most of the South African public spaces are still not portraying an authentic story of the country’s cultural heritage. Through the South
African Heritage Council (SAHC) the government is trying to address the imbalance in public spaces and in tourism generally. The NHC is promoting cultural heritage tourism and in particular Liberation Heritage Routes (LHR).
1.5 Research Aim
Overall, this study investigates cultural and heritage tourism development trends within the Amathole District Municipality from 2004 to 2014, as well as, how such trends have impacted on employment creation.
1.6 Research Objectives
The objectives of this study are to:
• Identify the availability of cultural and heritage tourism structures within the
Amathole District Municipality (ADM);
• Investigate the registry and status of such structures within the ADM as well as
their coordination strategy;
• Investigate how the ADM records its data base on tourist visits and its frequency
(cultural and heritage tourists);
14
• Assess data on cultural and heritage tourist visits and regularity within the ADM
and
• Investigate whether the trend benefits communities within the ADM through job
creation.
1.7 Research Questions
To achieve these objectives, the research asked the following questions:
• Does the ADM have cultural and heritage tourism structures?
• Is there a registry of such structures available within the Amathole District
Municipality?
• What information is there on these structures and how is that information
coordinated?
• How are the recording of data on cultural and heritage tourist visits conducted
and how are they accessible?
1.8 Synopsis
There were challenges experienced in the process of conducting this research that made the realisation of some of the desired objectives difficult. One of these included the availability of the ADM officials that dealt with tourism in the district, particularly, within the cultural and heritage section. After many unhonoured appointments by district officials, I decided to visit their offices without making pre-arranged appointments and was fortunate enough to find some officials. Whilst several of these were either per chance or unannounced visits, I was requested to leave questionnaires behind. That ultimately enabled me to collect relevant information at subsequent intervals. Securing appointments for one-on-one interviews proved to be equally challenging. Occasionally I
15 relied on chance conversations that arbitrarily developed to semi-formal and to finally structured interviews. On several occasions I was fortunate to secure formal appointments to conduct full interviews.
The second challenge related to accessing data/records on tourist visits to the selected sites for this study and the general tourist sites within the ADM database system. As it turned out, the selected sites do not have records of tourist visits. Local officers who work within this institution and respective offices do not have a system for record acquisition. They assumed that function to be that of the top management of the ADM.
The municipality in turn regarded that task to be that of the Eastern Cape Parks and
Tourism Agency (ECPTA), which has been a division responsible for tourism organisation in the Eastern Cape Province since1994. The ECPTA does not have information for specific heritage and cultural sites in the province. Over the years it has relied on local and district municipalities to collect that data. As it stands, the data on tourist visits remained uncoordinated and unarchived. On numerous occasions I had to rely on electronic information from Statistics South Africa, as well as, the bookings records from the sites. Though these were still useful, they were not necessarily detailed to specific sites.
1.9 Research methods and techniques
This study is grounded in qualitative research methods. Mittman (2006) indicated that qualitative approaches are tools used in understanding and describing the world of human experiences. Qualitative research methodologies seek an objective understanding of social reality (though with challenges) rather than statistical description or generalizable predictions. They are methodologies that are used to build grounded
16
theory, through intensive empirical research, to clarify and interpret meanings through
epistemologies and research processes (Davies, Hoggart and Lees, 2002; and Dwyer and Limb, 2001). The contention that qualitative research goes beyond science since it
comprehends nuances of society (such as culture) and how these relate to its
surroundings, has been critical in the field of humanities and human geography
(Mooros, 2007).
In keeping with the research method chosen for this study, a variety of techniques have been adopted. These include conducting open ended and semi-structured interviews; administration of questionnaires and a perusal of and analysis of municipal records, and different artefacts. Questionnaires were initially used for purposive sampling, and then directed at particular local municipalities, to individuals and groups for specific research enquiry. Open- ended interviews offered scope for the broadening of my tours. That also catered for wider ranging discussions beyond the questionnaire format, a fundamental exercise in expanding the empirical basis (Silverman, 1995, cited in
Flowerdew and Martin, 2005). Participant observation methods have also been used especially to understand and conceptualise selected cultural heritage sites within the
Amathole District Municipality. All of these techniques are major components of a qualitative research method.
1.10 Study Area
The study area for this research is the Amathole District Municipality. It is one of the six
District Municipalities of the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa (Figure 1.1). The
District Municipality lies in the central coastal portion of the Eastern Cape Province and covers a geographical expanse of 23 577 square kilometers. By 2008 it was home to 1
17
635 433 people (Community survey, 2007). At least up to the end of 2010 it consisted
of eight Local Municipalities: Amahlathi, Buffalo City, Great Kei, Mbhashe, Mnquma,
Ngqushwa, Nkonkobe and Nxuba (Nkonkobe Intergrated Development Plan, 2007 –
2014). Significantly from 2011, Buffalo City was constituted as a metropolitan city
outside of the ADM. This study nevertheless looks at Buffalo City when it was still within the ADM as well as beyond that period of 2011 when it attained metro status.
Three key sites are investigated and documented in this study: Firstly, the Rharhabe
Kingdom headquartered in Mngqesha, on what was released farm land in the further
western outskirts of King William’s Town. Secondly, the study looks at the site of the
Goshen San Paintings in the northern hinterlands of Cathcart district, in the midlands
area of what was formerly the Border area between the Ciskei and the Transkei.
Thirdly, the Steve Biko Centre that has recently been established in the Ginsberg
Township, on the western perimeter of King William’s Town grid. As mentioned, all the
three sites fell within the ADM in the period leading to 2011. After 2011, the first and the
third site became part of the new Buffallo City Metro. All three have been chosen on
purpose because they fall largely within rural and peri-urban areas. They also qualify to
be classified as cultural and heritage sites. A full justification for their selection is
explained in chapter five.
The ADM itself was chosen as an area of study primarily because of its rich history. It is
a site of land conflicts and denominational missionary works during colonial conquest.
Due to that rich cultural heritage, the Amathole District Municipality has recently
launched the Amathole Heritage Initiative in honour of the Xhosa Kings that ruled the
area and fought the British colonialists. That historical backdrop is outlined in chapter 2.
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Figure 1.1: Buffalo City Metro within the Amathole District Municipality Source: Katiti (2014)
1.11 Significance of the Study
Tourism has been reported to be one of the fastest growing sectors of today’s world
economy; and in many countries it contributes immensely to the Gross Domestic
Product (GDP). It has been deemed to have surpassed that of the manufacturing sector, at least in South Africa (Hall and Rath, 2007; Harrisson, 2001 and Sharpley,
2006). Moreover cultural and heritage tourism as a sector of tourism has undoubtedly grown globally, and more so, in the South African region as well. It has been noted to have created much needed revenue and employment for communities (Misiura, 2006).
19
Many people today visit other places to experience unique cultures and histories hence countries are engaged in promoting cultural and heritage tourism.
This study thus documents the selected sites and seeks to investigate cultural and heritage development trends within the Amathole District Municipality. Besides documenting the fundamental basis of such sites, it also seeks to understand how cultural and heritage tourism have impacted on employment creation in that locality. It has purposefully sampled three sites in explaining how the ADM and Buffallo City Metro prioritizes tourism development. Indeed the ADM views this industry as a vehicle to address the triple challenges of inequality, poverty and unemployment. Research conducted does assess whether the Municipality is dealing with issues of cultural heritage development within its jurisdiction, and hence has also posed some of the key challenges facing the ADM, the Eastern Cape Province and South Africa at large in the field of cultural heritage tourism.
1.12 The Structure of the Dissertation
This introductory chapter has provided a conceptual framework, literature review, an overall research aim and set of objectives that underpins this study. It has also outlined the study area and its significance. The next chapter (i.e. chapter 2) offers a detailed background and description of the study area. Furthermore, it outlines the key aspects of the Integrated Development Plans (IDPs) that are critical in directing the functioning of the processes of cultural tourism within the ADM. Chapter three gives a contextual overview of the tourism industry globally, in the region of Southern Africa and within our national boundaries. That latter overview is buttressed by a provision of a historical background, as well as, the organization of the tourism industry in South Africa.
20
Chapter four focuses on the tourism developments at the provincial and local levels in this country. The selected sites for this research and their empirical data are presented in chapter five. Chapter six, which follows on the outline of sites, offers the research findings and discussion. The last chapter of this study, Chapter 7 provides critical inputs and conclusions. The overall presentation is rounded up by a set of appendices and selected bibliography.
21
CHAPTER II
THE STUDY AREA: AMATHOLE DISTRICT MUNICIPALITY
2.1 Introduction
This chapter offers a geographical description and historical background of the
Amathole District Municipality. These aspects are presented against the backdrop and
context of the Eastern Cape. They are also presented within the demographic make-up
of the ADM, as well as, within a socio-economic status of that locality. The ADM’s growth potential is discussed with particular reference to the tourism sector.
2.2 Location of the Study Area
The ADM was one of the six District Municipalities created in the post-apartheid Eastern
Cape Province of South Africa. It lies in the central coastal portion of the province and
stretches from the Indian Ocean coastline in the South to the Amathole Mountains in the
North (Figure 1.1) (Amathole District Municipality Draft Integrated Development Plan,
2011/12). The municipality includes large parts of the former homelands of the Ciskei and Transkei, and thus carries large disparities of residential settlements and economic centres within its borders. The ADM covers a geographical expanse of 23 577.11
square kilometres (Amathole District Municipality Draft Integrated Development Plan,
2011/12; www.thinasinako.co.za/files/documents, 05/04/2011).
The natural environment of the ADM is similarly diverse, including moist mountainous,
well watered coastal and semi-arid Karoo, thornveld, succulent and thicket areas. The
ADM is bordered by three other District Municipalities, which are Cacadu, Chris Hani
22 and O.R. Tambo (Figure 2.1). It is made up of eight local municipalities that are all largely rural. These local municipalities are profiled in Table 1 below.
Table 2.1: Local Municipalities in the ADM prior 2011 Local Government Elections Source: Amathole IDP Review, 2010 – 2014
Local Municipality Aerial expanse Towns Description Amahlathi 4266, 21 Km2 Carthcart, Stutterheim, Predominantly Keiskammahoek, Kei Road rural(70,49%) Buffalo City 2515, 98 Km2 East London and King Largely urban (65, 59%) William’s Town Great Kei 1735, 64 Km2 Kei Mouth, HagaHaga, Rural with 48, 08% Cintsa and Morgan Bay urbanization rate Mbhashe 3030, 47 Km2 Dutywa, Elliot dale and Overwhelmingly rural (95, Willovale 41%) Mnquma 3323, 21 Km2 Butterworth, Centani and Predominantly rural (80, Ngqamakhwe 96%) Ngqushwa 2245, 79 Km2 Peddie& Hamburg Overwhelmingly rural (97, 37%) Nkonkobe, lately known 3725, 32 Km2 Alice, Fort Beaufort, Middle Largely rural (65, 07%) as Raymond Mhlaba drift, Hogsback and Seymour Nxuba 2734, 40 Km2 Bedford & Adelaide Predominantly urbanized (71, 17%)
It has to be re-emphasised that in spite the detailed breakdown indicated in Table 2.1 above; Buffalo City Municipality was given the status of a Metropolitan Municipality after
April 2011 and thus became independent from the ADM thereafter. Nkonkobe Local
23
Municipality has since changed its name to Raymond Mhlaba Municipality (Raymond
Mhlaba IDP, 2018/2019).
Figure 2.1: Eastern Cape District Municipalities with their respective Local Municipalities Source: Katiti (2014)
24
2.3 Historical Background of the Amathole District Municipality
Historical accounts, at least from the Iron Age period (200 – 1652 CE), point out that the
early inhabitants of the Eastern Cape were hunter-gatherers who, for millennia, roamed
across vast grasslands. These people (the San, rather than Bushmen, a colonial term
that has pejorative connotations) left thousands of rock paintings on most locations they
inhabited (Peires, 1987; Switzer, 1993). Switzer contends that enclaves of the San
were organized in minimal groups or bands – usually several family households related
by blood or marriage. They occupied specific territories and spoke numerous distinct
languages based on four consonantal “click” sounds. Their bands or groups consisted
of at least ten people who were either actively hunting or gathering food. The division of
labour existed for their modes of production, but neither men nor women within specific
groups were accorded exceptional status. Families consumed all the food they gathered, but products of the hunt were shared equally amongst band members. The extent of land occupied by a single band was dictated by the availability of food and
water, but in times of necessity or in the pursuance of some desirable objects, there
was undoubtedly movement beyond specified territories. Thus ecological factors
influenced the residential settlements of these groups.
The Khoi pastoralists joined the San, whose legacy may be traced to indigenous place
names like Keiskamma, Kei and Tsitsikamma (Legassick, 2010). The word ‘Khoikhoi’
means men of men, or, the genuine people, which is again preferable to the derogative
colonial term Hottentot (Switzer, 1993). Unlike the San, the Khoikhoi were hunters and
foragers who domesticated stock such as cattle, sheep, goats and dogs initially. They
also became skilled in the making of charcoal and tempered pottery. Individual families
25
owned their domesticated animals and related possessions and did not share their
goods to the same extent as the San. Being also livestock farmers, the Khoi settled in
more stable manner than the San. They were organized in larger settlements with
complex social units. Moreover, they wore clothing that was made of animal hides and
sheepskin. They habitually greased their bodies as evidence of their riches. Khoikhoi
men perceived themselves as superior to the San counterparts because of their
personal possessions, particularly livestock ownership. Switzer (1993) contends that
the San and the Khoikhoi had similar views about the universe and adopted the same
religious rites and healing rituals. They also adopted similar medicinal practises. The
two groups are collectively referred to as the Khoisan.
Switzer (1993) and Legassick (2010) suggest that the history of southern Africa before
the colonial era remains inadequate and incomplete, but it does provide a context for
the focal point of this study. Linguists use the term Nguni to refer to the family of Bantu
languages, spoken between the Drakensberg and the Indian Ocean. About 2000 years
ago, the Nguni speaking people entered these hunting grounds, bringing with them a
totally new way of life – cattle and crop farming (Shillington, 1989). The southern Nguni
group who overtime, subsequently used the isiXhosa as a language, became known as
Xhosas. They developed overtime, as groups also consolidated under chiefdoms or
even larger kingdoms and their language evolved and developed (Shillington, 2005). In
fact some archaeological evidence suggests that the Xhosas lived in the Eastern Cape
as early as 1593. There is also physical anthropological evidence indicating that the
Xhosas lived in the area since the Seventh Century AD (Shillington, 1989; Switzer,
1993).
26
This group (Xhosas) was different from the Khoisan in terms of physical traits, language and material culture. The language they spoke stemmed from a different parent family than that spoken by the Khoisan. Moreover they possessed more complex socio- political organizations. Switzer (1993) maintains that the language they spoke originated in the region of south eastern Nigeria and southern Cameroon on the western margins of the equatorial rain forest. They christened the language spoken throughout the area as Bantu, and adopted farming whilst spreading rapidly in the easterly and southerly direction and were known as the southern Nguni by the late Iron Age.
Shillington (1989) notes that by 300 AD iron-working farmers had pushed South into present-day Natal and by 400 AD their settlements were dotted across the Transvaal
Highveld. They also kept domesticated stock, made and used ceramic pottery to store, cook, and serve their food, and lived in permanent settlements. They knew how to smelt and forge iron and other metals or had access to metal tools and weapons. They became the dominant group, absorbing many of the Khoisan in areas of the Western and Eastern Cape, the southern Highveld and within the Natal area – in what became a long iron-age of southern African history.
These people, the southern Nguni groups, established chiefdoms in the 18th century, but in the 19th century British colonizers conquered the region in a series of wars between the southern Nguni, the other enclaves of Xhosa speaking peoples and the colonialists. These wars occurred between 1778 and 1878 (Shillington, 2005; Switzer,
1993). The British colonizers named the land west of the Kei River as the Ciskei, whilst the land across or east of the Kei River was referred to as the Transkei. Both the Ciskei and the Transkei were primarily inhabited by the Xhosa speaking groups. Following
27 colonial conquest in the 19th century, the Union of South Africa was formed in 1910.
Territorial, settlements and administration segregation were gradually introduced and these would underpin the foundations of the Ciskei and Transkei reserves. The 1913
Natives Land Act formalised segregation and the formation of reserves (Ntsebeza,
2012). This act confined the indigenous people to the reserves. Overtime these policies were modified to full segregation and apartheid, following the National Party’s rule in the mid-20th Century. That system divided the black majority according to different ethnic identities and defined them as citizens of separate ethnic homelands or
Bantustans (Butler, 1998; Switzer, 1993). The Transkei was the first to be granted self- governing status in 1963 and on the 26 of October 1976 it was eventually given a spurious independence that was recognized only by the South African government
(Beinart, 2001; Daveport and Ntsebeza, 2012). Ciskei was granted self-governing status in 1972 and on the 4th of December 1982 it was also declared an “independent homeland”, by the South African government (Peires, 1987; Switzer, 1993). These homelands would be dissolved as those of the rest of the country and would be integrated into a post-apartheid South Africa following the historic elections of 1994.
Landsberg and Venter (2011) argue that almost every aspect of South Africa’s current nine-province dispensation has its origins in the constitutional negotiations that preceded the first ANC-led unity government of 1994. The multiparty constitutional negotiations with the African National Congress (ANC) and the National Party (NP) as protagonists, sought a system of governance that would address the demarcation challenges facing South Africa (Lemon, 1995). But simultaneously the negotiations had to forge a strategy of reintegrating what was previously a segregated South Africa. By
28 mid-1993 the Negotiating Council’s Commission on the Demarcation of
State/Provinces/Regions had submitted proposals on the demarcation of nine new provinces for South Africa and these were adopted in August 1993. South Africa opted for a merger between the federal and unitary state and the three layered system, namely national, provincial and local spheres of government as mandated by Section 40 of the Constitution of South Africa. After the 1994 general elections, South Africa modified the four provinces that were established by the Union government in 1910.
Consequently that resulted in nine provinces, namely; (1) Eastern Cape (2) Free State
(3) Gauteng (4) KwaZulu-Natal (5) Limpopo (6) Mpumalanga (7) North-West (8)
Western Cape and (9) Northern Cape (Landsberg and Venter, 2011).
2.4 The Demarcation of the Amathole District Municipality
The demarcation of the Amathole District Municipality in the central region of the
Eastern Cape Province emanated from a lengthy process that was prompted by the
1995 local government elections. At that time the ANC local government framework provided a two way split between urban integrated but elected Transitional Local
Council (TLC) model and a rural based Transitional Rural Council (TRC). By 1998 it had worked hard to modify local government focusing on integrating TLCs & TRCs, ensuring coordinated municipalities throughout South Africa (Fox, 1995; Wotshela,
2009).
The Municipal Demarcation Act No. 27 of 1998 gave way to the formulation of an independent demarcation board which had to redefine the boundaries of 843 municipalities from the apartheid regime. This board reduced the number of municipalities to 283. The South African constitution introduced, for the first time in the
29
history of South Africa, a wall-to-wall local government system by providing that municipalities ‘be established for the whole of the territory of the Republic’. This was directed at removing the racial basis of government and making it a vehicle for the integration of society and the redistribution of municipal services from the well-off to the poor (Wotshela, 2009). Landsberg and Venter (2011) pointed out that the Municipal
Structures Act No. 117 of 1998 makes provision for three categories of municipalities which are:
Category A (Metropolitan municipality) – The category has exclusive municipal
executive and legislative authority in its area. Under its jurisdiction, metropolitan
councils have single metropolitan budgets, common property ratings and service-tariff systems and single employer bodies. Overall in South Africa today; there are eight metropolitan municipalities, namely:
Table 2.2: Metropolitan Municipalities in South Africa after 2011 Local Elctions Source: SALGA (2012)
METROPOLITAN MUNICIPALITY SEAT OF THE METRO YEAR OF ESTABLISHMENT
1. Buffalo City East London 2011
2. City of EThekwini Durban 2000
3. City of Cape Town Cape Town 2000
4. City of Johannesburg Johannesburg 2000
5. City of Tshwane Pretoria 2000
6. Ekurhuleni East Rand 2000
7. Mangaung Bloemfontein 2011
8. Nelson Mandela Port Elizabeth 2001
30
Category B (Local municipality) – This particular group of municipalities shares
municipal executive and legislative authority in its area with those municipalities of
category C. For these types of municipalities, the Municipal Structures Act of 1998
provides for ward committees and their primary tasks are:
• Prepare, implement and review Integrated Development Plan (IDP).
• Prepare, implement and review municipality’s performance-management-system.
• Monitor and review Municipalities performance.
• Prepare Municipal budget.
• Participate in decisions about provision of municipal services.
• Communicate and disseminate information on governance matters (SALGA,
2012).
Category C (District municipality) – This category entails those municipalities that hold
executive and legislative authority in areas that include numerous local municipalities.
They are constituted District councils that are primarily responsible for capacity building and district-wide planning.
As mentioned earlier, the focus in this research is on the Amathole District Municipality.
The ADM carries all the three categories of municipalities that are outlined above. It
has been noted that after the 2011 Municipal elections, the Buffalo City (East London &
King Williams Town) was also given the status of a Metropolitan Municipality, which
stands autonomously from the ADM.
31
2.5 Population and Demography of Amathole District Municipality
Population figures of the ADM given by Statistics South Africa about eight years ago, estimated 1 635 433 people (Community Survey, 2007). This was unevenly distributed among the eight local municipalities of this District municipality. The majority of people resided within the Buffalo City Local Municipality (42, 8 %), now referred to as the
Buffalo City Metropolitan area. The next largest concentration was recorded at the
Mnquma Local Municipality (16, 4 %) and Mbhashe Local Municipality (16, 1 %). The two local municipalities with the smallest population were Nxuba (1, 5 %) and the Great
Kei (2. 9 %) (Amathole Draft Integrated Development Plan – 2011/2012). See also
Figure 2.3 below.
Figure 2.2: Population distribution in the eight local Municipalities: 2007 Source: Amathole Draft IDP – 2011/2012
32
Table 2.3: Population Groups the ADM Source: Amathole Draft IDP – 2011/2012
As expected, the 2007 survey also revealed that the ADM was predominantly populated by Blacks (91, 9 %), then followed by Whites (4, 9 %), at that stage there was a sizeable
Coloured population (2, 9 %). Asians (0, 3 %) completed the various population groups
(Figure 4). South Africans were the overwhelming majority (99, 8 %) and the rest of the population were people from other African countries and beyond. Migration trends in the ADM show that the Buffalo City Metro experienced the highest in-migration rate even before the year 2007. The area that became the Buffalo City metro compared quite highly to other municipalities in the ADM in terms of numbers of other foreign nationals (Amathole Draft IDP – 2011/2012).
In terms of gender, the ADM distribution was 46, 3 % male and 53, 7 % female. The age distribution revealed that 66, 6 % fell within the economically active population
33
(EAP) range (18–60yrs) while 33, 39 % of the population (children and elderly) were largely dependent on the EAP as well as social grants from government.
2.6 Socio-Economic Status of Amathole District Municipality
Statistics also revealed that a substantial number of ADM residents survived on pension or grants from government. Household grant dependence was recorded higher in the
ADM (66%) than the average of the entire Eastern Cape Province (Amathole Draft IDP,
2011/2012). The majority of households in this district earned less than R 6 000 per month. Those who lived below the poverty line of R 3 500 per family, were estimated at
50%. In that context, the percentage of people living under the poverty line were slightly higher than that of the rest of the Eastern Cape. Over the years, low affordability levels in the ADM and the increased levels of poverty have resulted in a further rise of inadequate basic services to households. The common diseases and health problems in the district are related to socio-economic factors such as overcrowding, poverty and illiteracy (Amathole Draft IDP, 2011/2012). Increased levels of poverty have resulted in the majority of schemes that rely on subsidization, particularly through the equitable share from National Government. In that scheme of things sustainability is the main focus but future prospects for cross subsidization are limited as they depend on the improvement of current economic patterns (Amathole Draft IDP, 2011/2012).
Major economic activities within the ADM occur in areas of East London, Bisho / King
William’s Town and Butterworth. These towns function as centres of economic activity for surrounding areas and for other neighbouring smaller towns. They have underpinned the manufacturing, trade, finance and community service sectors, which have dominated the ADM’s economy even historically. A growing modern economy
34 linked to global production chains in East London contrasts acutely with an extremely poor rural economy in former homeland areas of the Transkei and the Ciskei. It is reflected in an unemployment rate of 30 %, recorded in 2009. About half of the population in the district municipality then, was estimated to be living below the minimum living level threshold (Amathole Draft IDP, 2011/2012).
The information regarding population profile used to construct certain sections of this chapter is for the period before the 2011 Municipal elections, which saw Buffalo City become a Metro (Category A municipality). It is therefore important to caution that some of the information and statistics used did change with the new status of the
Buffalo Metro. Nevertheless the Amathole Draft IDP (2011/2012) emphasised that despite the change in the economic profile, links with Buffalo City Municipality would not be fully severed. The link would continue to feature prominently in economic activities that were engaged by those who resided outside of the city. Buffalo City Municipality, and later Metro, would remain the major industrial hub servicing the region. Without this metro, the major socio-economic challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality that characterized the ADM would remain high.
2.7 Growth Potential of the Amathole District Municipality
The economy of the Amathole District Municipality is over reliant on the National and
Provincial governments to provide jobs. Thus there is a need to diversify the economy of this district municipality. Outside of the Buffalo Metro, there is little investment in economic infrastructure that would lead to economic growth and development. ADM then has thus identified priority areas for development to attract investment. These priority areas are: (a) Enterprise Development (b) Co-operative Development (c) Film
35
Industry Development (d) Heritage Resource Management (e) Tourism Development
and (f) Agricultural Development (Amathole Draft IDP, 2011/2012). For the purpose of
this study, attention is given to Heritage Resource Management and Tourism whilst
other priority areas are partly discussed.
2.7.1 Enterprise Development
ADM is mandated to promote Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) within its
area of jurisdiction with the aim of boosting local economic development. In trying to co- ordinate business interests and government goals, the Municipality has established the
Mayoral Business Advisory Forum. This forum endeavours to create a conducive
environment for businesses. It therefore strived to improve livelihoods of the people
and overall contributes to the growth of the district’s economy.
2.7.2 Co-operative Development
ADM believes that this initiative could contribute to the overall economic development of
the district and could address the social and economic ills of the municipality. The
Municipality has identified that many co-operatives are located within the agricultural
sector, followed by manufacturing, and beadwork.
Importantly during 2009, the Amathole District Municipality commissioned the Co-
operatives and Policy Alternative Centre (COPAC) to undertake a study of twenty
different co-operatives within the district, with the intention of assessing their status and
needs (Amathole Draft IDP, 2011/2012). That study found that a number of co- operatives in the district were struggling with numerous issues that included: lack of financial support from banks; non-commitment among co-operatives; absence of market
36
linkages (market research – supply and demand analysis); weak procurement practices that favour co-operative access and limited education and training to nullify dependence
on welfare or state grants.
2.7.3 Heritage Resource Management
In chapter one, it was pointed out that Park (2010) distinguishes between heritage that
is ‘intangible’ and that which is ‘tangible’. Both of these forms are important and need to
be preserved. The objective for Heritage Resource Management within the ADM
therefore is to safeguard comprehensively the available heritage resources for present
and future generations. The approach for heritage management is twofold: heritage
resource management and socio-economic development through heritage.
The heritage resource management activities that the district engages in are governed
by legislation such as: National Heritage Resource Act of 2005; National Environmental
Management Act of 2008; Human Tissues Act; Pan South African Language Board Act
of 1995; Culture Promotion Amendment Act of 1998 and Geographical Place Names
Act of 2006. International legislation also binds South Africa to a number of
international protocols: Ultimately the country affiliates to the United Nations Education,
Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the World Heritage Convention
(www.asapa.org.za/index.php/heritage/heritage_laws/south_africa/; whc.unesco.org,
28/08/11).
The deep historical backdrop of the ADM means that it is rooted in a profoundly rich and
diverse heritage dating back centuries. The Municipality offers a unique history and
heritage as the first area to possess institutions of higher learning: institutions such as
37
Lovedale, Healdtown that were established in the 1800’s, and were products of
missionary churches. The University of Fort Hare that was founded later in 1916,
galvanised their existence. The district is also home to great African leaders who
became influential in many aspects of black lives that ranged from African education to
politics, to religion and to language promotion. Original homes of some of these leaders
exist in various localities though many are dilapidated. For instance, John Knox
Bokwe’s house in Alice is in a horrific state. This is where the draft of the Freedom
Charter was first made by Z.K. Matthews, who in 1950 still worked at the University of
Fort Hare. In Middledrift, there is also the house of J.T. Jabavu who was influential in
Eastern Cape early politics.
The existing and traceable forts in the ADM tell a story of a protracted conflict between
amaXhosa and the colonial forces. These wars have been documented to have lasted
for about 100 years - from 1778 to 1878. Through the Amathole Heritage Initiative a
number of heritage sites and routes have been established namely: the King Phalo
route (Great Kei, Mnquma and Mbhashe - Butterworths & Idutywa), the King Sandile
route (Buffalo City Metro and Amahlathi – on the King William’s Town, Stutterheim and
Keiskamahoek axis), the Chief Maqoma route (Nkonkobe and Nxuba – on the Alice,
Fort Beafort and Kat river) and the Makana route (Ngqushwa Municipality – Peddie
area), (Figure 2.4). In each route, signage, interpretive text and access road have been
done to some of the sites, even though not all. In the same context Visitor Information
Centres (VIC) do exist on some of these routes. However, some of these VICs are not
functional.
38
Figure 2.3: Amathole Heritage Routes through the ADM Source: Katiti, A, 2014. Geography and Remote Sensing PhD candidate, University of Fort Hare: Alice
Despite this rich history in the Municipality, there are no significant heritage projects to develop and promote local cultural heritage hence national initiatives are needed to spearhead promotion and development of cultural heritage (Amathole Draft IDP,
2011/2012). There is also a lack of capacity in Local Municipalities with regard to heritage resource management. Communities also have limited knowledge about certain heritage issues. Lack of funds is among many factors that contribute to major challenges for heritage development within the ADM.
39
2.8 Amathole District Municipality’s Tourism Development
The ADM’s vision is to be “the most accessible, unique and pristine coastal and mountainous environment, and the most authentic heritage and cultural experience in
South Africa”. It endeavours to attract eco-tourists, nature lovers, cultural tourists, adventure seekers, sport and business people (Amathole Draft IDP, 2011/2012).
Overall, the tourism sector continues to contribute significantly to the South African economy and outperforms most economic sectors in terms of entrepreneurial opportunities and job creation. It is thus seen as one of the priority areas for development in the ADM. The good performance of this sector has been further boosted by the various international sporting events that have taken place, including
South Africa’s hosting of the 2010 Soccer World Cup.
According to the ADM’s tourism industry study report 2009 – 2010, the results showed that the municipality was also benefiting through the tourism industry. In terms of employment the industry generated an amount of R 657, 5 million in 2008 and 6 260 annual jobs or work opportunities. On average ADM received 79% domestic visitors while 21% were foreign visitors (ADM tourism survey report, 2009). Domestic tourism in
ADM revealed that VFR (Visiting Friends and Relatives) travel results in high volumes of tourists coming in.
The major challenge facing the Municipality in all tourism sectors was, and is the shortage of a marketing strategy. This was clearly shown during the 2010 Soccer World
Cup when the ADM could not secure to host any international team, even though the country knew as early as 2004 that in 2010 the World Cup would be hosted in South
Africa. Inadequate tourism infrastructure, branding and marketing of tourism events in
40 the ADM due to incapacity of staff were some of the challenges that faced the municipality.
2.9 Conclusion
In summary, this chapter has provided a geographical description and historical background of the Amathole District Municipality. It has also highlighted that prior to the
2011 municipal elections, the ADM was made up of eight local municipalities. The chapter has shown that after those elections, the ADM was reduced to seven local municipalities concurrently with Buffalo City getting its status as a metropolitan municipality. The ADM as a district municipality was classified a category C municipality because of local municipalities that fell under its jurisdiction, and their dependence on the district for their budget.
Crucially the IDP of the ADM revealed that the area was made up of largely rural areas, with most residents surviving on pensions or grants from government. Household grant dependence was recorded at 66% than the average of the whole of the Eastern Cape.
Major economic activities in the ADM occurred in the areas of East London, Bisho and
King William’s Town prior to 2011. Importantly after the municipal elections of the aforesaid year, these areas fell under the new Buffalo City Metro. As mentioned, tourism has been viewed as critical and a priority area of development within the ADM.
It is hoped that cultural and heritage tourism initiatives and projects would change the fortunes of the people living within that Municipality.
41
CHAPTER III
CONTEXTUAL OVERVIEW OF TOURISM
3.1 Introduction
The geographical context of the Eastern Cape, particularly that of the ADM, and a
short description of cultural heritage tourism within the district were offered in the
previous chapter. This chapter takes that latter subject further and provides a broad
contextual overview of the development of tourism, particularly cultural and heritage tourism as it is understood universally. That contextual overview of tourism development is explained in its multifaceted character, especially how it is organized globally, regionally and locally. Furthermore the current South African tourism policy
is examined. That discussion proceeds to the challenges facing the development and promotion of cultural and heritage tourism within the Province of the Eastern
Cape, and more specifically within the ADM.
3.2 Overview of the Tourism Industry
It is on record that the tourism industry is one of the fastest growing sectors in the
world. In many different countries tourism’s contribution to the gross domestic
product (GDP) has surpassed that of the manufacturing sector (Hall & Rath, 2007;
Harrison, 2001 and Sharpley, 2006). Writers like Misiura (2006) and Rogerson
(2007) have also noted that heritage tourism as a sector has undoubtedly grown
globally. They emphasise the fact that it has significantly created much needed
revenue and employment for ‘poorer’ nations. Many countries, including South
42
Africa, promote cultural and heritage tourism to show their uniqueness and their
history. The packaging and selling of diverse cultures and heritages of different
countries to most of the contemporary world has become exceptional. This
however, is not a new phenomenon, but existed as early as the early eighteenth century (Enzensberger, 1996). This therefore shows that tourism is not a new enterprise but has a history of its own. The latter point warrants elaboration. A brief
historical background of the tourism industry is thus offered in the very next section.
3.3 Historical background of the Tourism Industry
There is no precise date as to when tourism started globally, but it can be traced
back as early as 4000 BC (McIntosh et al., 1995). McIntosh et al. stated that, “The
invention of money by Sumerians (Babylonians) and the development of trade
beginning about 4000 B.C., marked the beginning of the modern era of travel. Not
only were the Sumerians first to grasp the idea of money and use it in business
transactions but also to invent cuneiform writing and the wheel, so they should be
credited as the founders of the travel business” (McIntosh, 1995, p. 30).
Enzensberger (1996) however contends that as much as travel was one of the most
ancient and common aspects of human life traceable to the mythical times, it did not
refer to tourism. Rather it was a necessity, ecologically or even economical. Inward
desire to travel without any compelling factors was never a reason for ancient
people. Instead travelling was always prompted by specific tangible factors. Mill
(1990) explains this by highlighting how the Greeks and later Roman empires
sprawled whilst trade was stimulated between these countries, leading to growth of a
large middle class with money to travel. Even during that classical civilisation age,
43
trade and religious pilgrimage were the main reasons for travelling. Some writers
underlined the growing interest among travellers to record places that they reached
and their inscription on these discovered sites. Subsequently, the beginning of the16th century saw a new age of curiosity and exploration that culminated in the
popularity of the Grand Tour and expanded voyages (Mill, 1990).
In Britain particularly, the Grand Tour was based on the notion that human
knowledge came entirely from external forces. Once one environment is
‘exhausted’, it becomes necessary to travel on to another (Mill, 1990; Towner, 1985;
Walton, 2009). This idea was popular amongst university students and
professionals. Young Englishmen often filled their time between a university
education and the beginning of a career with an extended tour of continental Europe.
They were expected to spend one to three years travelling with a tutor in order to
accumulate knowledge and further their studies. Towner (1985) underlines that the
tour was principally but not exclusively for the British, until the nineteenth century
when Americans performed a similar circuit of Europe. Beattie (2006); Corbin
(1994) and Nicolson (1959), cited in Walton (2009), pointed out that Grand Tours
were adjusted to take account of a developing taste for mountain scenery and an
interest in mountain society. It is evident that even during that period of great
education (Grand Tour) there was an interest in travelling to see nature and
aesthetic and the beauty of the world. But the concept of travel as pure pleasure
was still far away (Enzensberger, 1996)
In the course of the 17th and 18th centuries, particularly in Western Europe, the decidedly purposeful nature of travel began to fade. This was due to the expansion
44
of the European Grand Tour from aristocratic rite of passage to the urban middle
classes (Towner, 1985; Walton, 2009). The stereotypical view of the Grand Tour
associated with young aristocrats travelling with a tutor was changing. There were other groups of people travelling around Europe for varying reasons such as cultural changes and changing tastes in fashion. The most contributor to this shift was the
Industrial Revolution. This factor was also emphasised by Enzensberger (1996). His emphasis was that developments in tourism went hand in glove with industrial civilization.
The 18th to 19th century Industrial Revolution in Britain extended to the Americas, as
much as to other parts of Europe. This was also a period of transition of rural
agrarian societies as they became industrialised and urbanised (Ates, 2008; Holden,
2006 and Walton, 2009). Aligned with the Industrial Revolution was transportation
as well as communication expansion. These aligned with the augmentation of
banking and the living standards for the upper and the middle classes. Holden
(2006) contends that the Industrial Revolution also brought about intellectual
paradigms and social systems such as Capitalism, Socialism and Romanticism. It is
important to develop connections between these paradigms, their social systems
and the development of tourism.
The capitalist paradigm was associated with the emergence of entrepreneurs who
produced more to increase their personal wealth. These individuals exploited the
labour of the poor, to maximize their wealth, whilst subjecting labourers to
oppressive conditions. This resulted in societies divided along the wealthy and the
poor. Socialism as an ideology in the late 19th century came as a critique to that
45 class division and abuse of the working class (Curtis, 1997; Holden, 2006). The grim and unhealthy conditions, coupled with vigorous political contestations associated with the Industrial Revolution, resulted in the promotion of Romanticism.
Romanticism in tourism became associated with the ‘elemental’, the ‘pristine’, and the ‘adventure’ (Enzensberger, 1996; Holden, 2006). It prompted the gateway spirit, in which people looked to detach from the harsh realities brought about by the
Industrial Revolution. Flight from the self-created reality was facilitated by the very means of communication with which reality had shaped itself. Thus, Enzensberger
(1996) highlighted that tourism was nothing more than an attempt to realize the dream of Romanticism, projected onto the distant and far away. It is important to note that the first people to escape the gloominess and harsh conditions were the upper and the middle classes. They had disposable income and therefore could travel for pleasure to view beautiful scenery and interesting places around Europe.
Thus many people were travelling to Europe for pleasure, hence the contemplation of introducing a travel tax in Britain in 1792 (Enzensberger, 1996). The British government argued that travellers were spending all their money abroad. This suggested that during that period the volume of travellers was beginning to increase.
Towner (1995) also points out that it was during this period that the word “tourist” first appeared in the dictionary in 1800 and “tourism” in 1811. However, other writers such as Griffiths (1772) argued that the word ‘tourist’ was used long before it even appeared in the dictionary, perhaps as early as 1775.
Importantly, Walton (2009) made a distinction between a ‘traveller’ and a ‘tourist’.
He maintained that a ‘traveller’ was exploring beyond the beaten track and enjoyed
46
the cultural capital to understand and analyse what emerged and transpired,
whereas a ‘tourist’ was an inferior being led by guide-books and guided along well- trodden routes with established infrastructure. Enzensberger (1996) attested to this by referring to tourism as a ‘harmless vacation trip,’ in which a destination has to be both accessible and inaccessible, distant from civilization and yet comfortable.
Another element of the Industrial Revolution era was its introduction of the concept of a ‘tourist’ and ‘tourism’. Many writers concur that the presence of wealthy British travelers stimulated tourism developments in France, Switzerland and parts of Italy.
The transition to a socially broader tourist group, with an associated increase in numbers, accelerated the growth of an organized tourism industry in parts of Europe by the 1820s and 1830s (Towner, 1985). During that period, individuals like Thomas
Cook, John Murray and Karl Baedeker played significant roles in developing tourism
to be an organized international industry (Smith, 1998; Walton, 2005; Whithey,
1997). These became established in Britain and particularly for the Anglophone world. Yet some writers like Towner (1995), Mackenzie (Cited in Walton, 2005) and
Walton (2009) have revealed the recent historiography on the Grand Tour and related themes. Central to its new debate has been a challenge of the iconic roles assigned to figures such as Thomas Cook (so often credited with inventing the
concept of package tours and exchange currency). The new historiography points out that accreditation as myths of origin. It has also revealed the obscured importance of competitors (like American Express &The Castle Line Guides) giving those weight in the discourse of the development of world tours and their organisations.
47
Harrison (2001) was one other person who emphasised a very ‘modern phase’ in the
development of tourism. He argued that mass international tourism developed after
1945. That modern phase of tourism activity which Harrison emphasised coincided
with the rise of mass domestic tourism in Western Europe during the late 1800s and
the climax of industrialization. Following industrialisation and especially in the
twentieth century, tourism expanded geographically ever outwards; from its origins in
Britain and Western Europe, creating a series of “pleasure peripheries”. These new
localities included the colonized world, particularly Asia, Africa and even the
Caribbean. At most times tourism became used by the imperialists to entrench their
position and control of their former colonies.
One key explanation that historically links tourism development in Africa to
colonialism has been offered by Rogerson (2007). He highlighted the fact that
colonial tourism exploited the resources of Africa for the economic growth of the colonists. He also pointed out that the establishment of tourist resorts such as
Victoria Falls was interpreted as the celebration of imperial expansion into the ‘heart of Central Africa’. Notably, in the changed political economy of post-colonial Africa, tourism has been initially embraced as a potential ‘passport to development’ in countries in the north and central parts of the continent such as Egypt, Kenya,
Morocco and Tunisia. It has subsequently spread further to other areas of the continent (Dieke, 2000; Christie and Crompton, 2001; Rogerson, 2007). Among the most important new-comers promoting tourism in national development planning are
Gambia, Uganda, Tanzania, Mauritius, the Seychelles, Botswana, and post- apartheid South Africa (Rogerson and Visser, 2004; Rogerson, 2007). These
48
countries and the world in general experienced an economic recession in the early
2000s, which impacted negatively on their strides to developing tourism as a vehicle
for economic development.
In particular, the year 2008 and the subsequent ones were difficult for economic growth generally. The tourism industry, especially declined as numerous countries’
GDP’s were adversely altered with the downturn of world markets. The impact of that decline however did not adversely affect some of the developing countries, but rather encouraged their tourism growth. Hence a number of writers agree that regardless of when tourism started as an industry, it grew very fast and has continued to grow globally, regionally and nationally. That remains so in spite of the economic and financial recession experienced during 2008 (Papatheodorou,
Rossello and Xiao, 2010; UNWTO, 2011).
3.4 Tourism Growth and Global Market Forces
The economic and financial recession of 2008 affected tourism as a global industry.
As mentioned before, countries were affected negatively. The United Nations World
Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) long-term projections are however currently
positive. They have in recent years pointed towards the stabilization of the industry
at least in the short term with emerging economy destinations expected to surpass
advanced destinations by 2015. UNWTO (2011) in its 2030 vision projects that
global growth in international tourist arrivals will continue to grow moderately
because of lower GDP growth and falling transport costs. The influence of market
forces on issues such as transport costs, employment and information technology
reflect the tourism industry as a global phenomenon.
49
Sharpley (2006), Conrad and Buck (2008) have argued that countries are now part
of a broad tourism system that in turn enhances the economic sector. A linking factor has been the liberalization of air transport and trade in services in the globalization of tourism; and these were also highlighted by Pander and Sharpley
(2005). These writers have also noted the emerging power of information and communications technologies. Due to globalization, the supply of labour from less
developed countries with relatively limited skills get often marginalized by more
qualified and cheaper migrant job seekers. This in turn creates problems for
national governments and regions when it comes to a number of issues such as
employment, immigration laws, cultural heterogeneity and many other issues.
Knowledge and skilled workers become increasingly mobile, so their recruitment is
enhanced within a global pool, rather than the national or local pool. As companies
are increasingly becoming multinationals, global market forces are constantly
changing and having an effect on the countries’ economies and in international and
domestic tourism.
This factor was also emphasized by Fix, et al (2009) who highlighted that
governments, confronted with economic crisis and rising unemployment across the globe during early 2000s embraced a range of policies to make a turnaround. Some suppressed the inflow of migrants and others protected labour markets for the native-born workers. These policies ranged from halting, or at least decreasing, the number of work permits for foreigners to tightening admission requirements.
Immigration control became one of the many means deployed by countries responding to economic crisis.
50
Some European countries, like Italy for example, sought to make it harder for
migrants to live and work illegally by stepping up enforcement and curbing access to
public services like health, other emergency services and education through
legislation. France for example conducted a series of high-profile worksite raids as
part of a redoubled effort to remove illegal immigrants. Fix, et al (2009) speaks of an
interesting policy to curb illegal immigrants. In recent times they speak of a “pay-to-
go” scheme that encourages unemployed migrants to return home. In direct
response to challenges of rising unemployment, countries like the Czech Republic,
Spain and Japan have offered economic incentives such as one way tickets home
and lump sum payments, typically pegged to unemployment insurance benefits in
exchange for migrants promise to leave for some period of time or even indefinitely.
Conversely a country like South Africa, where there are no tight controls of
immigrants and high unemployment rate, local communities and lobby groups have
taken upon themselves to get rid of immigrants through violent means and
protestations (Mail and Guardian, 2010). All of these means are a response to
market forces affecting tourism industry as a global phenomenon. It is important to
note that global tourism is seen in terms of its scale and scope which, typically, are
measured in terms of international tourist arrivals and international receipts, either by
country, region or globally (Sharpley, 2006).
3.5 Organization of the tourism industry: 3.5.1 The Global Context
The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is a global body concerned with the collection and collation of statistical information on international
51
tourism. The Organization encourages implementation of a global code of ethics for
tourism. It ensures that member countries, tourist destinations and businesses
maximize the positive economic, social and cultural effects of tourism. It also
ensures that countries potentially benefit from tourism whilst minimizing its negative
social and environmental impacts (http://www.unwto.org. 12/11/11; UNEP, 2011;
UNWTO, 2011).
The UNWTO is an intergovernmental agency entrusted with the promotion and development of tourism. As of 2007, its membership included 150 countries, seven
territories and some 350 affiliate members. It represents the private sector,
educational institutions, tourism associations and local tourism authorities (UNWTO,
2011). There is also the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), which performs
similar, functions as the UNWTO (WTTC, 2011). For example, it encourages
countries to maximise tourism benefits and ensures that countries render quality
service to tourist within a destination. This organisation also compiles statistical
reports on member countries that relates to tourist visits. On top of these global
organizations, different countries organize summits that serve as platforms for
tourism issues. These global platforms and organizations act as a voice for the
tourism industry and as such, consult with their members to produce policy papers
covering a wide variety of topical issues facing the industry. Papers are produced
with the aim of presenting the WTTC’s collective stance and advancing guidelines
on how to best meet challenges or optimize opportunities (WTTC, 2011).
The policy statements of these organizations, councils and summits can be
regionally specific or globally applicable, setting out strategies for areas of business,
52
which range from corporate social responsibility to the address of infrastructure or
human resources. Not surprisingly most of these global organizations and summits
are initiatives of big businesses and thus tend to address issues of concern to that
particular grouping. It has been noted that the tourism industry has many underlying
challenges such as the encroachment from big companies interested in developing
private trails and holiday resorts at the expense of the survival of local interests and
cultures. Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and other strands of civil society are there to see that tourism is undertaken for the benefit of local people. They also
monitor that it does not exploit the environment and erase the indigenous
population’s heritage and culture (Nelson, 2007; Pender and Sharpley, 2005).
Writers such as Lund-Thomsen (2005) and Nelson (2007) have raised the fact that
many companies are facing increased pressure from different stakeholders to
ensure financial results, market growth and competitiveness for their corporate
governance. They, however, also have to safeguard their ethical, social and
environmental performances. In response to that pressure, concepts of corporate
responsibility and corporate citizenship are moving beyond the boundaries of legal
compliance, public relations and ‘nice-to-do’ philanthropy. Instead they have shifted
to corporate strategy, risk management and accountability. It is important to note
that NGOs/Civil Society globally and nationally are a force to be reckoned with and
are growing in numbers. As with many organizations, better accountability means
better performance. Good intentions do not make NGOs/Civil Society immune to
accountability and the need to understand and learn from their stakeholders. These
53 global organizations and NGOs are also regionally focused, and the number of regions per continent depends on the size of the continent (Lund-Thomsen, 2005).
3.5.2 The Regional Context (Africa)
Tourism operations and activities are organized regionally to provide statistical data about a geographical area. There are policies that look at regional issues and programmes that are developed to promote tourism in those regions. For example, the UNWTO has regional commissions that are the subsidiary organ of the General
Assembly. These regional commissions take issues of interest of a region and address them at the General Assembly (UNWTO, 2011). In Africa, for example, the issue of human resource development in tourism is a point of concern, particularly in the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC). It was also one of the key issues raised by the New Partnership for Africa Development (NEPAD) document and even the earlier version of the Millennium Africa Recovery Plan (MAP) that adhered to African Renaissance and the Millennium goals for the continent.
Indeed Dieke (2001) argued that human resources are an important source of sustained competitive advantage in the international tourism industry. The quality aspect of the tourism product and its labour intensity and the pool of human resources available for tourism in a given country are fundamental factors in the successful development of this industry. The NEPAD document highlights the importance for Africa and its regions (e.g. Southern Africa Development Community;
Economic Community of West African States and other African regions) in taking concrete steps to developing their own ‘home grown’ personnel. Essentially they do not continue to rely on international help to support the tourism development efforts.
54
African organizations such as the African Union (AU) and the New Partnership for
Africa’s Development (NEPAD) are serious about prioritizing tourism and making
African tourism competitive globally. They acknowledge tourism’s potential for contributing to economic and social upliftment (Holland, Burian & Dixey, 2003;
Rogerson, 2007). These organizations have observed that tourism across Africa has performed below international standards. Thus they are keen in developing indigenous ‘home grown’ personnel that are going to set the African agenda for tourism incorporating African cultures, values and heritage. Despite these initiatives, to develop tourism and putting its structures within regions, African tourism is still comparatively lacking behind to other continental regions. This then brings the realization that tourism development does not end at global and regional levels.
Rather it infiltrates down to national governments. In that regard South Africa is no exception.
3.5.3 The National Context (South Africa)
The South African government is ironically mandated by an apartheid age legislation to facilitate conditions conducive to sustainable tourism growth and development for the country. This is clearly stated in the Tourism Act No. 72 of 1993. In order to realize this mandate, two pieces of legislation regulate tourism in South Africa: The
Tourism Act No. 72 of 1993 as amended and the White Paper on the Development and Promotion of Tourism in South Africa of 1996 (National Tourism Sector
Strategy, 2011). The 1993 act provides for the promotion of tourism to and within
South Africa, and for the further rationalization of the tourism industry, while the
White Paper provides a framework and a guideline for the achievement of that
55
objective. After 1994, the government organized tourism operations under the
leadership of the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT) as well
as the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). The departments realized that
tourism was closely related to nature conservation and biodiversity as well as
cultural and historical heritage. They realized that tourists visit a country because of
its natural heritage as well as it cultural and historical heritage. Therefore these
areas needed to be protected through legislation. The following legislation was
designed to protect these areas for conservation purposes and for the benefit of the
tourism industry: The National Environmental Management Act, No. 107 of 1998
(NEMA); the National Environmental Management Act: Protected Areas, No. 57 of
2003; the National Environmental Management Act: Biodiversity, No. 10 of 2004; the
National Heritage Council Act, No. 11 of 1999; the National Heritage Resources Act,
No. 25 of 1999 and the World Heritage Convention Act, No. 49 of 1999 (Eastern
Cape Tourism Master Plan, 2009 – 2014). Of these laws, the National Heritage
Council Act, No. 11 of 1999 deserves a brief special attention as it directly relates to
this study. This act paved the way for the formation of the National Heritage Council
of South Africa, which is the custodian of heritage resources in the country.
3.6 The Role of the National Heritage Council (NHC) in the Development of
Cultural Heritage in South Africa
As mentioned in chapter 1, the National Heritage Council (NHC) of South Africa is a
statutory body under the National Department of Arts and Culture. It was
established in terms of Section 3 of the National Heritage Act No.11 of 1999. It
officially came into existence on the 26th of February 2004 and in the main focuses
56
on the intangible aspects of heritage. This council was created because South Africa
emerged after 1994 from a centuries of a political climate that ensured
dispossession, segregation and apartheid. Institutionalised segregation in the era of
apartheid meant that black groups were not freely appreciated and promoted
(National Policy on South African Living Heritage, 2009). The council therefore came into existence to address some of these imbalances and inadequate portrayal of South African heritage (Mangcotywa, 2011). It focuses on four key areas which are – policy development of the sector and its transformation goals; public awareness and education; knowledge production in heritage subjects that were previously neglected and finally making funding available to projects that place heritage as a socio-economic resource. When one looks at these focus areas, they are intangible in nature. The NHC works hand in glove with the South African
Heritage Resource Agency (SAHRA) and at times their work overlaps (SAHRA
Annual Report, 2012).
3.7 The Role of the South African Heritage Resource Agency (SAHRA) in the
Development of Cultural Heritage in South Africa
SAHRA focuses in the main, on the management of tangible heritage, and is legally based on the National Heritage Resource Act No. 25 of 1999. This Act succeeded the National Monuments Council Act No. 28 of 1969. The Cape Peninsula National
Park Report (2003) describes the role of SAHRA as that of regulating all South
African places and objects of cultural significance or of other special value as part of the ‘national estate’. The principal objective of this agency is to identify, develop, manage, promote and preserve the heritage of national estate and investigate
57
whether these sites should be declared as national heritage sites. Overall, the
SAHRA is entrusted with the mandate of custodianship over all cultural heritage in
the country. The SAHRA Annual Report (2012) contends that this agency has both
a heritage regulatory and a promotional/developmental role.
The SAHRA legislation proposes a three-tier system in the management and
coordination of heritage resources in South Africa. It provides for the communities to
participate in the identification, conservation and management of cultural resources.
The local and provincial authorities form part of the management process. The
Provincial Heritage Resource Authorities (PHRA) are responsible for compilation and maintenance of the heritage register within the province, while SAHRA records
heritage resources of the national state (Rivett and Busgeeth, 2007). According to
the SAHRA Annual Report (2012), before 2010 that resource agency was
disorganised and without any form of council. This created serious backlogs in
terms of policies and control systems. The challenge was exacerbated by limitations
of personnel. The key functions that SAHRA had to do concurrently with the
capacitation of PHRAs were never fulfilled due to the aforementioned challenges
and limitations. In essence before the year 2010, the endeavours of SAHRA were
not realised and that agency was also detached to the communities it was supposed
to serve (Rivett and Busgeeth, 2007).
The current SAHRA recognises the shortcomings and has partnered with major
academic institutions such as Rhodes University in the Province of the Eastern Cape
(SAHRA Annual Report, 2012). A centre for heritage training, research and
education (CenTRE) has also been launched in Grahamstown at Rhodes University.
58
The primary aim of the CenTRE is to build capacity for heritage practitioners,
especially those in the provincial and local spheres, whilst also conducting research
on heritage issues. SAHRA prioritises cultural heritage and the promotion of
Liberation Heritage Routes (LHR).
From 2009 under the presidency of Mr Jacob Zuma, tourism became a stand-alone
Ministry of Tourism. The stand-alone National Department of Tourism (NDT) is an indication that the tourism industry itself has grown in stature and its contribution and impact is clearly taken seriously by government (National Tourism Sector Strategy,
2011). Accordingly, as stipulated in the White Paper on the Promotion and
Development of Tourism in South Africa (1996), the Ministry of Tourism is required
to fulfil appropriate conditions for tourism growth, development and promotion. The
Department also provides support to the public and the private sectors and the
broader community on the growth of this industry.
In 2006, the South African government formed a statutory body, the South African
Tourism (SAT) agency, whose functions include tourism promotion, marketing and
product development (Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism Annual
Review, 2006/2007). South African Tourism became the country’s official
international marketing organization for tourists. It has since marketed South
Africa’s potential and uniqueness promoting the country as a destination of choice.
It also participates in travel shows and presents workshops for members of the travel
trade. It produces a variety of promotional material, initiates and coordinates
marketing campaigns to create a positive marketing climate for effective marketing
of South Africa’s many tourism products. For this purpose, South African Tourism
59
(SAT) also arranges INDABA (Xhosa name meaning news/information), the largest
annual tourism market in Africa, as an opportunity for the South African travel
industry to present its products to the international market (Department of
Environmental Affairs and Tourism Annual Review, 2006/2007). The South African
Tourism agency has yet to expand worldwide. For instance it has only twelve (12)
foreign offices, while the Department of Foreign Affairs has a presence in one
hundred and eighty one (181) countries. SAT’s efforts are to align with foreign
affairs by providing marketing material to foreign affairs outlets and offices.
The South African Tourism (SAT) agency is state owned and it operates within the directives of the South African government. Nevertheless, the promotion of tourism in the country is not solely the responsibility of this agency but also that of the
Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA). TBCSA is the umbrella body
for organized business in the South African Travel and Tourism Industry. TBSA
formed Tourism Marketing South Africa (TOMSA) as its arm for the collection of levy
from businesses registered under TBCSA. This organized body was formed as
early as 1996 in order to establish a unified platform for the private sector to engage
with the public sector and other stakeholders in order to develop and grow the
industry (TOMSA, 2012). This levy is used to help the South African Tourism
Agency to market the country locally and internationally (TOMSA, 2012). Currently
this levy is collected in the accommodation, tour operators and car rental sectors.
These additional funds assist South African Tourism to profile the country as a
preferred tourist’s destination internationally.
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Mitchell and Ashley (2006) (cited in Rogerson and Visser, 2006) pointed out that the leading destinations for African tourism are Egypt and South Africa. In that scheme of operation South Africa is expected to take the major share of the increase in visitor numbers as it is strategically located on the southern tip of the continent. This is also due to the fact that it was to host the FIFA soccer world cup in June 2010.
Rogerson and Visser (2006) also contend that “according to the WTTO (2005) forecast, the Southern African region by 2020 may well experience over 300 percent growth in tourist arrivals” but this does not exclusively include South Africa. These projections help the Ministry and the private sector in their planning for tourism development. Government works with the private sector to promote the country internationally and locally as a premier tourist destination. The public sector utilizes all its agencies and spheres of government to promote tourism development. This is clearly evident in the newly formed Ministry of Tourism which tries to focus entirely on tourism development and marketing across all the three spheres of government in the country.
Crucially, the South African government’s three spheres of governance are national, provincial and local government. These levels of governance are ‘distinct’, interdependent and interrelated, even though they are semi-autonomous. They have to work together when deciding on budgets, policies and activities, particularly in areas that cut across all spheres, including tourism. The next chapter looks specifically at the roles of these government spheres on tourism development in
South Africa and the legislation underpinning them.
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3.8 Conclusion
This chapter gave a historic background of the tourism industry and acknowledged
that there was no definite date as to when this enterprise started albeit it has a very long history. It nevertheless underlined the 16th century as one of the earliest dates in which major developments regarding tourism were noticed. The chapter also looked at the evolution of the Grand Tour in the Western Europe. The Industrial
Revolution was noted as one of the defining periods in the development of the tourism industry. It was during that period of Industrial civilization that concepts such as ‘tourist’ and ‘tourism’ were created.
The late 19th century also saw the emergence and rapid growth of mass domestic tourism in Britain and Western Europe. That too was associated with the climax of industrialization. From that period onwards, tourism was seen dispersing geographically, outwards; from its origins in Britain and Western Europe to other
localities, creating a series of pleasure peripheries. These pleasure peripheries
extended to continents and countries outside Europe that were colonized by the
Europeans, such as Africa (Rogerson, 2007).
During the 20th and the 21st century, tourism grew globally and like any other
industry it became affected by global market forces, such as recessions. Of
particular note was the 2008 financial recession that saw many financial institutions collapsing. Nevertheless, in spite of the recession the tourism industry was not adversely affected and future growth continued to promise. The chapter also discussed the organization of tourism industry globally, regionally and locally.
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CHAPTER IV
TOURISM LEGISLATION IN SOUTH AFRICA
4.1 Introduction
Following the official demise of apartheid in 1994, South Africa adopted a constitutional democracy. All the laws and legislation governing the country are based on an adopted constitution and they must be appropriately consistent. This applies as well to tourism development in the country. Section 24 of the South
African constitution (1996) provides that everyone has the right to an environment that is not harmful to their health or wellbeing and to have the environment protected, for the benefit of the present and future generations, through reasonable legislative and other measures that:
• Prevent pollution and ecological degradation.
• Promote conservation.
• Secure ecologically sustainable development and use of natural resources
while promoting justifiable economic and social development (South African
Constitution, 1996).
The South African constitution (1996) also makes provision for individuals to participate in the cultural life and languages of choice as long as these are not inconsistent with the provisions of the Bill of Rights.
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All acts of parliament and legislation therefore seek to realize these basic rights provided for in the constitution. Acts of parliament give details on how to realize these basic rights of the constitution, and who must administer such rights. It is important to note as well that the South African constitution provides for the separation of powers between, the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary
(Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996). It states clearly that it is the responsibility of the legislature to make laws governing the country and it is the role of the executive to sign these laws into acts of parliament. It is the role of the judiciary, which is independent of government, to see that these acts are consistent with the provisions of the constitution and are administered as such.
Therefore the South African constitution does provide ground for the creation of laws by parliament governing tourism development in South Africa, especially when looking at the provisions for the environment and culture. The White Paper on the
Development and Promotion of Tourism in South Africa (1996), makes it explicit that the South African government prioritizes tourism development. Government also contends that the tourism sector can significantly contribute to the Accelerated
Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (ASGISA), which was launched in 2006 in the country (Tourism Growth Strategy, 2008). ASGISA aims to play a catalytic role in building a sustainable, modern, rural-based economy linked to value chain processing, manufacturing and marketing in agriculture, forestry, tourism, water and power generation. ASGISA in the province of the Eastern Cape (2008) identified tourism as one of its High Impact Priority Programmes (HIPP) and suggested core strategies to realise the tourism potential in the province.
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Some of these core strategies include: identification of bottlenecks that inhibit
accelerated growth and development. They also include the conceptualisation,
design and packaging of high impact (catalytic) projects embedded in communities
and the development of partnerships (Public-Private) that are mutually beneficial. All
these initiatives and the legislation reflect the endeavours the post-apartheid government has to improve livelihoods of communities through managing and coordinating tourism in the country (Rogerson and Visser, 2004; Eastern Cape
Tourism Master Plan, 2009 - 2014). As a result, the South African national
government has introduced legislation and policies that deal directly with cultural and
heritage tourism. These include the Tourism Act (No. 72 of 1993); National
Environmental Management Act (NEMA) (No. 107 of 1998); the Heritage Act (No. 25
of 1999); the National Heritage Council (NHC) Act (No. 11 of 1999) that has briefly
been discussed in the previous chapter, and the World Heritage Convention Act (No.
49 of 1999). In regulating tourism in this country, these acts have resulted in the
formation of statutory bodies such as SAHRA, the NHC, Greater St. Lucia Wetlands
Park and Authority, and many other bodies responsible for cultural heritage
development nationally. For the purpose of this study the Heritage Acts No. 11, 25
and 49 of 1999 are most relevant.
These acts introduced an integrated and interactive system for the management of
the national heritage resources. They empower civil society to nurture and conserve
heritage resources so that these may be bequeathed to future generations. The
acts also lay down general principles for governing heritage resources and their
management. Essentially they introduce an integrated system for the identification,
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assessment and management of the heritage resources of South Africa (Heritage
Act, 1999). The national government also has policies to protect the heritage and
cultural property of South Africa within its nine provinces. For the purpose of this
study, the focus is mainly on tourism development in the Eastern Cape, with particular reference to the Amathole District Municipality.
4.2 The Spheres of South African Government
Chapter three (3) of the South African constitution (1996) makes provision for cooperative government or more specifically, for intergovernmental relations. Local
government is accepted as a basis for service delivery. It is a distinct interdependent and interrelated sphere, or a level of government together with those at provincial and national levels. These levels are semi-autonomous, although their functions can be coordinated. For instance they have to work together when deciding on budgets, policies and activities, especially in areas that cut across them. Tourism is one of those particular areas. In the previous chapter the national government sphere or its
level was outlined. In this chapter the focus is on the provincial and local levels.
4.3 The Role of the Provincial Sphere on Tourism Development
It is important to note that provinces have an important role to play in contextualizing
national imperatives and grounding them within realities and specifics of each
province. It is for this main reason that provinces have Premiers and Members of
the Executive Councils (MECs) to ensure that national imperatives are extended to
provinces. The Premier, as the head of the provincial government is delegated by
the national president of the country to ensure national government priorities are
carried through within respective provinces. It is the duty and the responsibility of
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the Premier to select people (MECs) he/she believes can carry respective mandates
and can implement national priorities within various provinces. Within the nine
provinces of South Africa, there are provincial MECs, responsible for different
portfolios or ministries. These include mainly Health; Education; Safety and Security;
Sport, Arts and Recreation; Defence; Police; Housing; Environmental Affairs and
Tourism; Water Affairs; Science and Technology and Home Affairs. There are other
portfolios that are not specifically carried out by respective members of the executive
councils and at times tend to be intergovernmental. As aforesaid, the primary focus
in this study is tourism, which in the Eastern Cape Province fell under the ministry of
‘Economic Development and Environmental Affairs’ during the period under
investigation.
Provinces do not necessarily emulate the seriousness of the national government
when it comes to tourism. Several provinces in South Africa do not have full-
ministries for tourism as is the case nationally. That suggests different priorities between national and provincial governments when it comes to tourism and its development. The Eastern Cape is a case in point, illustrating a provincial lack of tourism prioritization. Nevertheless several provincial governments do put forward the issue of resources and financial implications as the reason for the merging of
some portfolios or ministries (Provincial Gazette of the Eastern Cape, 2010).
Provincial governments are expected to play leading role during economic planning
and infrastructural investment. They have to ensure that development spending on
these aspects takes place in accordance with the principles set out in the National
Spatial Development Perspective (NSDP). Thus each of the provinces has its
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Provincial Growth and Development Strategy (PGDS), as well as Provincial Growth
and Development Plans (PGDPs) (www.thepresidency.gov.za. 29/12/11; Provincial
Growth and Development Plan, Eastern Cape, 2004-2014). PGDSs and PGDPs are
legislative requirements, and they play a vital role in ensuring effective and
coordinated delivery on the overall development objectives of development. The
PGDS and PGDP are in line with the national policy framework for socio-economic
planning at the provincial level. It is important to make brief introspection of the
PGDS and the PGDPs in order to understand the developments of tourism in the
Eastern Cape Province.
The PGDS is based on a long term view of a province’s development trajectory. The
primary purpose of the PGDS is to provide a collaborative framework to drive
developmental implementation within the province. The PGDS has a prerogative to the provincial endowments and assets, development potential and constraints, along with the long-term driving forces. They should provide direction and scope for province-wide development programmes and projects. All of these have to be placed within the context of a long term perspective, taking into consideration the resources, economic, political, social and natural environment constraints and opportunities.
PGDS is essentially a vehicle to address the legacies of the apartheid space
economy and the promotion of sustainable development. Overall it is an endeavour
to ensure poverty reduction and employment creation (Provincial Gazette of the
Eastern Cape, 2010).
The PGDP conversely provides the strategic framework, sectoral strategies and
programmes directed at rapid improvement in the quality of life for the poorest
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people of the Province. In the short term, the PGDP is an action orientated
collaboration and implementation plan that sets specific annual goals and targets,
including the monitoring and evaluation of their achievements. To do this, the PGDP
sets out a vision with quantified and sequenced targets in the areas of economic
growth, employment creation, poverty eradication and income redistribution for a 10-
year period 2004-2014 (Provincial Growth and Development Plan, Eastern Cape,
2004-2014). The emphasis is that a Province takes up the challenge of
contextualising the implementation and expansion of national development goals
and their direction. While the PGDS and PGDP are Province driven and
championed by the Premier, their realisations are a collaborative effort that brings
different parties to the table. Such parties include government bodies, the private
sector and civil organizations, labour, higher education institutions and international donors (PGDP, Eastern Cape, 2004-2014). As aforesaid, each portfolio or ministry
is headed by the MEC, who ensures that there is collaborative effort from
government to develop tourism in the province to its full potential. The Eastern Cape
Province fits in that example since it has created government agencies or institutions
to develop and promote tourism nationally, regionally and globally.
4.4 Institutional Arrangements for Tourism Development in the Eastern Cape
It has been noted that after the democratic elections of 1994, the post-apartheid government developed legislation and conditions that would be conducive for the development of tourism in South Africa. Provinces also developed their own legislation and institutions that would speak to peculiar and specific challenges. The
Eastern Cape for example developed the ‘Eastern Cape Tourism Board Act, No. 9 of
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1995’, which was aimed at establishing the Eastern Cape Tourism Board as well as
development and promotion of tourism in the Province ( Eastern Cape Provincial
Gazette, 2010). Therefore the Eastern Cape Tourism Board (ECTB) came into
existence as an entity dealing with tourism development within the Province. It was
developed by Mcebisi Jonas, then the MEC of Economic Affairs and Tourism in the
Province. As his portfolio denoted, it had to promote and develop tourism. Thus
there were other entities or institutions with the same focus on tourism development
that were established, and these are listed below:
1. The Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC)
2. The Eastern Cape Parks Board (ECPB)
3. The Eastern Cape Gambling and Betting Board (ECGBB)
4. The Eastern Cape Liquor Board (ECLB)
5. The Eastern Cape Socio-Economic Consultative Council (ECSECC)
6. The Eastern Cape Provincial Arts and Culture Council (ECPACC)
Even though these institutions had important roles to play in tourism development,
they were and are not necessarily entirely focused on tourism development. For example the Eastern Cape Gambling and Betting Board, mainly dealt and has continued to deal with registration and keeping of the database for gambling institutions within the Province. Gambling and entertainment go hand in glove with tourism as some tourists enjoy gambling and betting or prefer accommodation establishments with gambling and betting facilities. That entity has to support tourism development and make revenue to prosper even though it is not really its core business. A similar role has often been played by the ECDC.
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From its inception, the ECDC was focused on loans and property, especially the financing of property developments (ECDC Annual Report, 2003/4). It then gradually shifted its focus to broadening and extending development options to the formerly neglected black communities, whilst addressing their underdevelopment.
Regardless of its other commitments, its main aim of investing on property and financing viable development projects has never changed. The relationship of this entity with tourism is that of investing on tourism development projects, be they global or domestic. For example, the financing for the development of game lodges and tourists accommodations across the province of the Eastern Cape. This means marketing the product as an investment to prospective investors. It has to be emphasised that the endeavour is not focused specifically to tourism development, but to any other investment that can stimulate the economic activity of the Eastern
Cape. This can be reflected on some of the products that are offered by the ECDC, which include Development Finance; Investment Promotion; Trade Promotion;
Enterprise Promotion; Project Development; Property Management and
Development; Special Funds and Risk Capital Fund (ECDC Annual Report,
2012/13)
Sharpley (2006) refers to this network as tourism businesses that are interrelated and interdependent. In their interdependence and interrelatedness, various institutions of the province tended to confuse their roles in tourism development at the beginning of the millennium. This had an impact on the growth of tourism within the province. By the year 2003, the Eastern Cape Province introduced new tourism legislation; the Eastern Cape Tourism Act, No. 8 of 2003.
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The 2003 Act replaced the earlier one of 1995 and it also provided for the Eastern
Cape Tourism Board, as well as the development and management of the tourism industry in the Province. The 2003 Act was also an augmentation of the earlier Act of 1995. The latter also enabled the participation of Small, Medium and Micro
Enterprises (SMMEs) in the tourism industry, as well as, registration and licensing of
tourism establishments. Some of these included accommodation, hospitalities and
tour operators within the Province. Moreover, by the year 2006, the Eastern Cape
Department of Economic Development and Environmental Affairs, under which
tourism fell, decided to rationalise units that dealt with tourism development. It
merged the Eastern Cape Tourism Board (established in terms of the ECTB Act No.
8 of 2003) with the Eastern Cape Parks Board (ECPB, - established in terms of the
ECPB Act No. 12 of 2003) to constitute a single entity called the ‘Eastern Cape
Parks and Tourism Agency’ (Eastern Cape Provincial Gazette, 2010). The latter
started operating as a single - entity from the middle of the year, 2010.
The ECTB was hitherto assigned responsibility of implementing tourism
development and marketing in the Province. The Eastern Cape Provincial Gazette
(2010) argued that the institution was unable to perform to the required standard.
Rather, it focused more on international marketing with little emphasis on domestic
marketing, market research and product development. Overlapping and the
duplication of tourism activities between the ECTB, ECPB and ECDC were also
highlighted. The Eastern Cape Provincial Gazette of 2010 also noted the poor
communication between these entities. In some instances they appeared to be
competing against each other.
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The Eastern Cape Tourism Master Plan (2009 – 2014) looked to these challenges through its strategic assessment of the legislative and institutional framework and programmes on tourism development and promotion. The master plan also indicated that although there was a comprehensive legislative framework, there were many gaps in the actual implementations. These have all resulted in gross inefficiencies and generally poor performance in the entire tourism sector in the province. The failures of the tourism sector were mostly due to poor coordination and lack of tools to monitor the performance of the tourism sector. Therefore the Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency was formed in order to correct and remedy the shortfalls that characterised the tenure of the ECTB.
It has to be underlined that the current Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency
(ECPTA) is a public entity established in terms of the Eastern Cape Parks and
Tourism Agency Act (No. 2 of 2010). Its primary mandate is for the management of provincial protected areas, biodiversity conservation and sustainable use of natural resources inside the Province’s Nature Reserves. It is also entrusted with destination marketing with the primary objective of promoting and developing the tourism industry in the Province (ECPTA Annual Report, 2012/13; Eastern Cape
Tourism Master Plan, 2009 - 2014).
The Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency works in collaboration with other government departments and public entities to develop and promote tourism. It plays a driving role on the entire tourism development within the Eastern Cape
Province. Each government department or entity is expected to pass any tourism related idea through the ECPTA. A practical example is the “Home of the Legends”
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campaign initiated by the Office of the Premier at the beginning of 2013. That
documents key historical figures of the Province and market their contributions,
nationally and world-wide.
The campaign aims to place Heritage and Cultural Tourism at the centre of the
Provincial economy. This is done through celebrating national icons that originate
from the Eastern Cape on Billboards across the Province. These icons are
publicised on these Billboards in recognition of their contribution towards their
resistance of apartheid and colonialism. Their contributions were not limited to the
Eastern Cape or the country but to the entire continent and to the world at large
(Kiviet, 2013). In pursuing this project, the Premier consulted with the relevant body on tourism (ECPTA) to ensure that they collaborate on realizing such an initiative.
The ECPTA as a government entity does not disregard the PGDS and PGDPs but utilises them as roadmaps. According to the Eastern Cape Provincial Gazette
(2010), the PGDS and PGDP are to guide the socio-economic development of the
Province up to 2014. Significantly however, after the 2008 global economic crisis; the Eastern Cape government assessed the PGDP and came out with six core objectives for the PGDP and stretching its vision to 2014. The table below reflects these core objectives.
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Table 4.1: Six Pillars and Priority Programmes of Eastern Cape Province. Source: PGDP, Eastern Cape, 2004 – 2014.
EASTERN CAPE PROVINCIAL GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT PLAN
SIX CORE OBJECTIVES
1 SYSTEMATIC POVERTY Expanded Public Works; Water and ERADICATION Sanitation; Housing; Comprehensive HIV/AIDS and TB Programme; Victim Empowerment 2 AGRARIAN Massive Food Production; Siyazondla TRANSFORMATION AND Homestead Food Production; FOOD SECURITY Comprehensive Nutrition; Integrated Agricultural Infrastructure 3 MANUFACTURING Automotive Industry Development; DIVERSIFICATION AND Industrial Support; Enterprise TOURISM Development Finance; Agro-processing Support; Tourism Development; Timber Industries Development; 2010 Cultural Industries 4 INFRASTRUCTURE Transport Infrastructure Plan; Strategic DEVELOPMENT Rail Infrastructure; Spatial Development Initiatives – Umzimvubu Development Zone 5 HUMAN RESOURCE Scarce Skills for the Public Sector; FET DEVELOPMENT Transformation; ABET Programme; Early Childhood Development; Comprehensive Human Resource Development Strategy 6 PUBLIC SECTOR AND Improved Service Delivery in DoH, DoE, INSTITUTIONAL DSD,DPW; Local Government Capacity TRANSFORMATION Development; Strengthening the Centre of Government
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The above illustration (Table 4.1), indicates that tourism development is highly considered by the Province. Its consideration is due to the general national assertion that the venture has been growing nationally in spite of economic recessions of 2008 (Statistics South Africa, 2010). “The Eastern Cape however still lags behind comparatively with other provinces in terms of international tourist arrivals” (Kiviet, 2013; Tourism Programme Priorities in the Eastern Cape, 2003;
Statistics South Africa, 2010). This is particularly unfortunate in spite of the province’s rich biodiversity and cultural heritage (ECPTA Annual Report, 2011/12).
“Although it is still largely an undiscovered South Africa’s tourist treasure trove, there are programmes in place to reverse that trend and vastly increase tourism income”
(Tourism Programme Priorities in the Eastern Cape, 2003). The Assessment of the
Eastern Cape PGDP (2009) reflects that while there have been improvements in some key socio-economic indicators since 2004, the program has not yet had the desired impact on the lives and wellbeing of people provincially. This has been exacerbated by the inabilities and failures of the former Eastern Cape Tourism
Board to fulfil its mandate and core duties (Eastern Cape Tourism Master Plan, 2009
– 2014). The Provincial sphere of government still has a challenge to ensure that its provincial imperatives and priorities are translated down to local/municipal spheres of government.
District Municipalities have also endorsed the PGDP as a framework for growth and development for their own areas. They have committed themselves to the alignment of their Integrated Development Plans (IDPs) to the PGDP priorities and
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programmes (PGDP, Eastern Cape, 2004-2014; Eastern Cape Tourism Master
Plan, 2009-2014). The Amathole District Municipality is one of the Eastern Cape
municipalities that endeavour to follow a similar path.
4.5 Tourism Development at the Municipal Level: The Amathole District
Municipality
The municipal sphere of government, like the other two, is mandated by the constitution of the Republic of South Africa to provide democratic and accountable government to local communities. Section 152 of the 1996 Constitution describes some of the objectives of local government are to:
• Ensure the provision of services to the communities in a sustainable manner.
• Promote social and economic development.
• Promote safe and healthy environments.
• Encourage the involvement of communities and community organisations in
the matters of local government.
Furthermore a municipality must conduct ‘developmental duties’ to communities. It
must construct and manage its administration, its budgeting and planning processes
to give priority to the basic needs of the community. The basic objective of local
government is service delivery to the communities whilst on the other hand enabling
social and economic growth (Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996).
The Constitution, and, the Acts of parliament on local government place the onus of
service delivery on municipalities. Through their leadership, municipalities are
responsible for the promotion of the social and economic development of
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communities. Other spheres of government can support but not interfere with the
operations and autonomy of local government. The Acts of parliament grant
municipalities a right to manage their own affairs and to exercise their own powers in
executing their duties. The Amathole District Municipality adheres to the same
official mandates.
As highlighted in chapter two, the Amatole District Municipality is largely rural. This
study aptly looks at cultural and heritage tourism development within a rural
landscape. In that context, cultural and heritage tourism constitutes part of rural
tourism. Petric (2003) argued that the distinguishing feature of rural tourism should
be the wish to give visitors personal contact with, or a taste of, the physical and
human environment of the countryside as far as possible. Moreover it has to allow
them to participate in the activities, traditions and lifestyles of the local people. It is
from this perspective that this study is seen as forming part of rural tourism.
Briedenhann and Wickens (2004) provided a number of factors that have led to the
adoption of tourism as an alternative development strategy for the economic and
social regeneration of rural areas. They include an array of declining economic
activity, particularly the collapse of the agricultural sector and dwindling
industrialization. On numerous occasions these have in turn contributed to the out- migration of skilled labour especially that of the educated youth. Their arguments are supported by writers such as Rogerson (2006), who contend that the contribution of tourism to local economic development for both rural and urban regeneration has been realized by government. The White Paper on the
Development and Promotion of Tourism in South Africa (1996) also maintains that
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the prime tourism attractions are not located in the city centres but in rural areas.
Rural locations of many of these attractions provide rural inhabitants with the
opportunities to participate and share in the benefits of tourism development. One of
the ways of participating and sharing in the benefits of tourism development is
through community-based initiatives (Ndlovu & Rogerson, 2004).
A community-based tourism initiative is a contested term since it means different
things to different people. There is no consensus on its meaning. Leballo in Ndlovu
and Rogerson (2004) however notes that a number of authors accept a broad
definition of community-based tourism initiative. It is seen as that in which a
significant number of local people are involved in providing service to tourists and
the tourism industry. Moreover, it is an activity in which local people have
meaningful ownership, power and participation in various tourism and related
enterprises. The South African government across all its spheres of governance
supports community-based tourism initiatives (Ndlovu and Rogerson, 2004).
The Amathole District Municipality supports these community-based tourism
initiatives. The Municipality acknowledges that tourism development in the district
encompasses the active involvement of different stakeholders, including most of its
communities. The Eastern Cape Tourism Master Plan (2009 – 2014) upholds that
district municipalities are expected to have District Tourism Organisations (DTO) and
local municipalities to have Local Tourism Organisations (LTO), but in many
municipalities of the Eastern Cape such organisations are not in existence or are not
functional. This makes the coordination of tourism activities difficult within
municipalities.
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The ADM also supports entrepreneurial opportunities that are community led and
those which focus on priority areas of local economic development (ADM Draft IDP,
2011/12). This study supports a Community Benefit Tourism Initiative (CBTI) approach in dealing with tourism development within communities and the
Municipality. That approach has been detailed in chapter one.
The local government sphere requires proper organisation and its importance in service delivery, local economic development (LED) and community upliftment must be well outlined. As alluded to, a variety of laws have been passed to assume a smooth functioning of their level of governance. Based on a cooperative and constructive relationship between the three spheres, local government is the heart of delivery in the spheres of governance (Mufamadi, 2008). As Mufamadi reiterates,
local government sphere has a key role to play in the fight against poverty, inequality
and unemployment. Pieterse (2008) also reinforces the fact that the ‘local
government sphere’ is regarded as the site of strategic defence against powerful
globalising currents and the front line in the war against poverty. Thus much is
expected from this sphere of government since it is the closest to the people and is
expected to understand their needs. It is at the local municipal level that the
practical realities of the national and provincial legislation must be implemented and
seen. These mandates have not been easily realised by municipalities.
In fact it has been revealed that many municipalities of South Africa are experiencing
problems of capacity and competence (Mufamadi, 2008; Pieterse, 2008; SALGA
Annual Report, 2011/12 and Schmidt, 2008). Such problems make it difficult for them to perform their tasks competently, deliver services competently to a wide-
80 range of people. This is exacerbated by local politics within municipalities (SALGA
Annual Report, 2011/12). On numerous occasions services are not delivered to communities because of internal conflicts between councillors. Some councillors in positions of power fail to deliver to their constituents. There are visible power struggles within municipalities and within political organisations at branch and regional levels. At times these power struggles are reflected in cliques within organisations that try to safeguard individual’s positions. They all translate to non- delivery of services to communities. The role of local government leadership and the responsibility placed upon the institution necessitates ethical values of responsibility, accountability, fairness and transparency (Public Sector Working
Group, 2010; SALGA Annual Report, 2011/12).
The ADM Draft IDP (2011/12) also reveals that the Municipality has strengths related to aspects of heritage tourism. These encompass aspects of cultural heritage, coastal and mountain scenery, with fauna and flora. They also include political heritage, educational institutions, sporting facilities and tourism festivals.
These strengths can be used optimally and fruitfully whenever communities are involved. In some instances the Municipality has to provide the infrastructure needed as well as the guidance and leadership for the enhancement of this heritage tourism.
The ADM is taking advantage of the contentious heritage of ‘frontier wars’ and the rich but diverse Xhosa culture. It has developed the ‘Amatole Heritage Initiative’ that aims to promote and develop the heritage resources of the district. The promotion is endorsed through the establishment of a ‘Heritage Route’, the preservation of
81 heritage sites and raising awareness of Amathole’s cultural and historical assets
(Amathole Draft IDP, 2011/12). Briedenham and Wickens (2004) fittingly argue that the clustering of activities and attractions stimulates co-operation and partnerships between communities in local and neighbouring regions. They serve as a vehicle for the stimulation of economic development through tourism. These writers have noted that areas with a rich resource base of pristine natural and cultural treasures hold significant comparative advantage in their potential to attract tourists in search of authentic new experiences. The Amatole Heritage Route is made up of four sub- routes namely; the Maqoma, Sandile, Phalo and Makana routes. These routes named after Xhosa chiefs and leaders, have a deep-rooted history and heritage.
That status quo affords routes intangible significance for different people at various levels. The four routes, aligned with magisterial towns have been introduced in chapter 2. The promotion and marketing of these heritage routes is best realized through the hosting of mega sports events and global conferences.
Walker, Kaplanidou, Gibson, Thapa, Geldenhuys and Coetzee (2012) argued that nations around the world have competed to host mega sports events because they perceive them as potential for re-imaging opportunities. They contend that the 2010
FIFA Soccer World Cup held in South Africa was an opportunity for the country not only to achieve its domestic goals of social cohesion and economic impact, but also to establish higher international prominence. Through that mega sporting event, the country benefited through tourism, infrastructure, social upliftement and cultural exposure. Yet it has also been highlighted that infrastructural development was costly. Tourism industry works as an interrelated and an interdependent system and
82 tourists come to the country for a main reason but end up exploring other tourism offerings (Kim and Petrick, 2005).
For example, the sports tourists who were in South Africa were accommodated at various establishments such as the Hotels, Bed & Breakfasts and Hostels.
Nevertheless they also visited other important places in the country, including events exposing local culture, art, cuisine and wildlife, which were not necessarily hosting soccer matches. Their overall experience of South Africa and image depended on other areas of tourism. The overall economic gains in the tourism industry were huge. Many tourism sectors in South Africa during the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup reported massive profits. It is the duty of the local government to capitalize on such mega events and to develop infrastructure suitable for them so as to boost the competitive advantage for tourism development. Nonetheless, in many cases the visions of the national and provincial government are not aligned with those of the local government.
In its analysis of the Eastern Cape district/local municipalities, the Eastern Cape
Tourism Master Plan (2009-2014) found that tourism is subsumed under economic development and is not recognised as a priority sector – a complete contradiction to the national and provincial strategic imperatives. Many municipalities argue about insufficient budgets to prioritise tourism development (SALGA Annual Report,
2011/12). That argument may be true in the light of smaller rural municipalities but it also poses lack of knowledge on the potential of tourism to develop local communities and as a local economic development strategy. Cloete (2001) points out that the capacity to drive tourism development and produce results is dependent
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on a chain reaction of appropriate attitudes, will, commitment, decision, actions and events within and outside an organisation.
In its tourism vision, the ADM strives to be the most accessible, unique and pristine coastal and mountainous environment. It wants to be an authentic heritage and
cultural experience in South Africa attracting all kinds of tourists from eco-tourists to
adventure to sports and to business tourists (Amathole IDP Review, 2010 – 2011).
In order for cultural and heritage tourism (Heritage Routes) to be of benefit and change, the socio-economic status of local communities in the Amathole District
Municipality, needs to be packaged and sold competitively to the rest of the country, the continent and the world. The packaging and selling of these routes and other routes within the Eastern Cape is not happening due to the challenges facing tourism development in the Province. This poor marketing of the Amathole Heritage
Routes was clearly evident during the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup, when the
District Municipality could not secure any international team to base in its jurisdiction.
4.6 Challenges Facing the Development of Tourism in the ADM
The Tourism Programme Priorities in the Eastern Cape (2003) identified marketing, branding, capacity building, cooperation with stakeholders, research, education and awareness as well as access. The Provincial Growth and Development Plan,
Eastern Cape of 2004-2014 also identified the following challenges:
• Sub-optimal economic growth estimated at 2,4% from 1995 to 2000 and the
stagnation in key labour absorptive sectors such as agriculture.
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• The geo-political and economic bifurcation between the western former Cape
Provincial Association’s region of the Province and the former Bantustans in
the east.
• Constraints on Provincial expenditure, with some 83% being allocated to
social services and only 17% to economic programmes and infrastructure,
compounded by an extremely weak revenue base at municipal level.
• Tourism demand can be seasonal and variable over a weekly cycle, which
impacts significantly on employment. Tourism destinations can rise and fall in
popularity driven by external and internal forces such as political unrest,
natural catastrophes, demand and supply side problems. Thus communities
or businesses that are dependent on the tourism industry are often vulnerable
(Tourism Toolkit for Local Government, 2009).
• Tourism is a diverse sector and co-ordination is complex, fluid and on-going.
There also continues to be a lack of integration and co-operation between
tourism stakeholders.
• Primary tourism nodes exist (e.g. Gauteng, Western Cape and KZN) and
therefore not all regions benefit from the industry. Visser (2004) contends
that the prevailing pattern of tourism development reveals that the benefits of
tourism are distributed in a spatially uneven manner, with few benefits and
opportunities flowing outside major tourism nodes. The reason given for this
uneven distribution is a lack of tourism-supporting infrastructure. Tourism-
support infrastructure is the duty of the local government.
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• There is an increasingly competitive market and increasingly sophisticated
competitors. The industry requires people who are innovative, creative and
who are knowledgeable about the industry. Rogerson (2008) contends that
looking across the sweep of the developing world, the overriding impression
today is of the weakness of local governments and localities in responding to
the challenges posed by local economic development, of which tourism is a
strategy that municipalities need to bear in mind when dealing with local
economic development.
These are major challenges that are facing the Eastern Cape government in tourism development. The government needs to make sure that they meet some of their objectives of poverty alleviation and improvements in the quality of life of the people, particularly the previously marginalized communities. These challenges are merely mentioned in this chapter and are discussed later on, in chapter VI of this study. For tourism to develop successfully in the Province and at the ADM, the government must address these challenges. Local authorities have to capitalize on the unique resources that distinguish them from other municipalities.
The morphology of cities and buildings tend to be the same globally, but culture and heritage differentiate one city from the other. Nel and Rogerson (2005) contend that in an economy increasingly dominated by tertiary and quaternary activity, leisure related activities can have profound impacts on local level economies, becoming catalysts, which indirectly assist in local economic development.
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In the next chapter, certain sites are selected purposefully and presented as
empirical data. Sites are explained on these routes to look at cultural and heritage
development trends in the Amathole District Municipality. They are also discussed
to illustrate how that trend impacts on employment creation. This is done through
examination of the registry of tourism structures/establishments (cultural and heritage) in the ADM as well as ways in which the Municipality keeps its data base on tourist’s visits and frequency.
4.7 Conclusion
This chapter dealt with the constitutional mandate as well as legislation underpinning
development of tourism in South Africa. It explained the organization of the
bureaucracy related to this field within the country. As noted, governance in the
country is divided into three spheres namely National, Provincial and Local. It is at
the Provincial and Local spheres that this chapter has focused on, by looking closely
at the work of these government levels towards the development and promotion of
tourism nationally and provincially. Pertinently the chapter focused closely on the
two, the Province and the District. It also focused mainly on the PGDP and PGDS of
the Province, as well as the IDP of the Amathole District Municipality, regarding
tourism development. In explaining these levels of government and their
programmes, the chapter also expatiated on overall challenges facing the Eastern
Cape Province and the ADM.
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CHAPTER V
EMPIRICAL DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS
5.1 Introduction
The contextual overview of tourism development in South Africa, with particular reference to Provincial and Municipal tourism was presented in the previous chapter.
Both the Provincial, as well as the Municipal plans, and their initiatives on tourism development within the Amathole District Municipality indicate the richness of the area for tourism development. It has been highlighted that, despite that great potential that the Eastern Cape is still behind the rest of South Africa in terms of tourism development. The tourism industry in the province and its overall activity are yet to impact on lives and wellbeing of people of this region (Assessment of the Eastern Cape
PGDP, 2009; Tourism Programmes Priorities in the Eastern Cape, 2003). That draw back and some key challenges facing tourism development in the province has been discussed in chapters 3 and 4. This chapter, which also presents key data on empirical research, interrogates that weakness and associated challenges by looking at tourism development trends within the ADM, for the years 2004 to 2014. Three (3) cultural heritage sites within the ADM are the main focus of this study, they are: the Rharhabe
Kingdom located at Mngqesha, in the western hinterlands of King William’s Town; the
Goshen Bushmen Paintings located in the northern proximities of the Cathcart district and thirdly the Steve Biko Centre, at the Ginsberg Township on the western outskirts of
King William’s Town.
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The first and the third of these sites are currently located within the newly delineated
Buffalo City Metro that was constituted in 2011 (Refer to figure 5.1 below). For much of their earlier investigation period prior 2011, the sites were within the ADM and were governed within the ambits of this municipality.
Figure 5.1: Study Areas marked in Red (2013) Source: Katiti, A, 2014. Geography and Remote Sensing PhD candidate, University of Fort Hare: Alice
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For their respective locations, the three sites are indicated in red in figure 5.1 above. All
three are within a triangular arrangement that encompasses the towns of Cathcart, Alice
and King William’s Town. These three towns are highlighted in blue ink.
5.2 Justification of the time period for the empirical research
The period of focus that underpins this study has been influenced by several factors.
Firstly, the choice of the period, of between 2004 and 2013, coincides with the institution
of the Amathole Heritage Initiative. That initiative was formally launched on the 22nd
October 2004 (Speech by Executive Mayor of ADM, 2004). The underlying thinking
behind the Amathole Heritage Initiative stemmed from the fact that much of the terrain
of the ADM is symbolically connected to the conquest and the liberation history of the
country. Secondly, as noted in the previous chapters (2 and 3), the region was the
scene of wars of conquest, which resulted in many Xhosa warriors losing their lives defending their lands, chiefdoms and sovereignty. Thirdly, the ADM bounded region also became the site of many denominational mission stations, which are still prevalent in contemporary times. Fourthly, memorials of modern struggle victims have in recent times been re-evaluated. Indeed, many of our country’s political leaders today and those who fell in modern political struggles have their roots in the Eastern Cape.
The ADM officials planning heritage tourism envisaged then that tourists would come to this area to discover the landmarks and follow footprints of liberation struggle icons.
Several of these could be traced from so many years of the past, especially from about two centuries previously. Indeed, they could be traced in the protracted conflict between the Xhosa people and the expanding colonial regime. Of more concern, historical sites linked to these epochs remained neglected. Those that were initially
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marked have been crumbling and thus require restoration, as well as maintenance.
Furthermore most have to be integrated into routes that would promote tourism and local economic development within the ADM. This research partially explores that
opportunity to synergise this period of focus with that of the institution of the Amathole
Heritage Initiative or the Liberation Heritage route particularly the process this
municipality embarked on from 2004 to 2013. It also highlights some of the
fundamental challenges faced by the municipality in driving that endeavour at particular
sites.
The potential for tourism routes has long been realized in developed countries and as
noted earlier, that venture has been pointed out by Briedenhann and Wickens (2004).
They have argued that the clustering of activities and attractions stimulates co-operation
and partnerships between communities in local and neighbouring regions. Such
aspects serve as a vehicle for the stimulation of economic development through
tourism. Chapters 2 and 3 of this study have illustrated how developing countries with a
rich resource base of pristine natural and cultural treasure hold significant comparative
advantage in their potential to attract tourists in search of authentic new experience
(Bridenhann and Wickens, 2004; Kim and Patrick, 2005 and Wahab, 1974).
Many of the ADM routes are named after the great Xhosa Kings in an initiative to
commemorate and celebrate their heritage. The presentation of the making of modern
South Africa or certainly the conquest of the Eastern Cape is often contentious. Certain
narratives have portrayed Xhosa Kings as provocateurs and cowards, who gave their
land away to the colonists (Cory, 1965; Theal, 1964 and Parker, 2010). Mentjies (1971)
contends that the character assessment of these leaders was not flattering. Many of
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them were judged on their encounters and dealings with the colonists and their
addiction to the colonists’ liquor beverages. The revision of South African histography
from the 1970s and onwards provided a reinterpretation of the conquest of the Eastern
Cape region, ushering in narratives of heroic deeds of many chiefs who defended their lands and their chiefdoms. Individuals such as Walter Rubusana, Pambani Mzimba,
William Gqoba and others who were among early writers who also contested authority
constitutionally after receiving missionary education became frequently documented.
Through the Amathole Heritage Initiative, they and others are consistently
commemorated. Historical processes that were linked to their actions are also
frequently honoured. Moreover the dignity of traditional leadership, albeit initially
overlooked has since been re-evaluated. This latter initiative has partly attracted
criticism within a constitutional democracy. There are many struggle sites that are yet
to be identified. Not only designated routes enlighten international inbound tourists
about these sites and the region’s traditional leaders, but, they also educate young
domestic tourists, who aspire to learn about the region’s history. The initiative is not
only for the justification of history or that critical epoch, but, it has also been linked to
contemporary high profiled events of the country. For instance when South Africa won
the bid to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup in 2004, the Eastern Cape and particularly the
ADM was partly used to showcase its rich heritage even though the region couldn’t host
a single game of that tournament.
It has been noted that South Africa’s hosting of the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup was a
momentous occasion since it was the first African country to host such an event in the
history of the competition. Many on the African continent were excited about the event
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in 2010, especially the platform to showcase South Africa’s cultural heritage, its
peaceful transition, its wildlife and the diversity of the people. The number of inbound
tourists to South Africa before and during the world cup period potentially increased.
Job opportunities were expected to rise (Rogerson and Visser, 2006) despite numerous
challenges following the event after 2010. Among many aspects, this study partially
assesses that build-up and the course of the World Cup within the ADM. It is the
purpose of this research to assess tourism growth from this time period and onwards
within the ADM.
5.3 Study sites
The three chosen sites that are within the ADM and recently the Buffalo City Metro offer
an opportunity to assess cultural heritage tourism development within this Municipality.
All the three sites are within the Sandile Heritage Route that encompasses the Buffalo
City Metro and the Amahlathi Local Municipality within the ADM. The Sandile Heritage
Route is the product of the Amathole Heritage Initiative, which is the brainchild of the
Amathole District Municipality. The Amahlathi Local Municipality is within the northern- central precinct of the ADM encompassing the old magisterial districts of Stutterheim,
Cathcart, Keiskammahoek and parts of Tsomo in the former Transkei.
In chapter 2, different heritage routes that form the Amathole Heritage Initiative were explained and the Sandile Heritage Route is one of those. As mentioned, it was formally launched on 22 October 2004 (Speech by the Executive Mayor of Amathole
District Municipality, on the occasion of the Amathole Heritage Initiative Launch, 2004).
Its overall aim was highlighted for the preservation of heritage sites and raising awareness of Amathole’s cultural and historical assets. Parts of these historical assets
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are of the Xhosa Kings who played a significant role in the frontier wars. The Sandile
Heritage Route bears its name from one of these Kings: King Mgolombane Sandile who
ruled a much truncated remnant of the Ngqika chieftaincy during the mid to late 19th
century. His chieftaincy was overshadowed by colonial overlordship that coincidentally terminated his reign.
Mgolombane Sandile, the son of Ngqika (father) and Suthu (mother) was born in 1821.
He was known for his physical disability since he had a withered left leg that may have been the result of a club foot or childhood illness. Mgolombane took over the chieftainship of Nqgika and the Rharhabe paramountcy in 1841, but was despised by his brothers because of his disability despite being loved and respected by numerous followers and other chiefs. He led remnants of the Ngqika people in the wars of 1846 –
1847 (Seventh Frontier War), 1850 – 1853 (Eighth Frontier War) and the 1877 – 1878
(Ninth Frontier War) and was killed in the latter. Conquest had consistently made
incursions on the material gains of the Ngqika Xhosa people but it was during Sandile’s
reign that major losses of cows and wealth were experienced. Even so, he managed to
keep his people as a unit, until his chiefdom was fully conquered during the 1877 – 78
war (Mentjies, 1971).
Sandile remained the central traditional authority associated with the contemporary
Ciskei. Conquest of his chiefdom in 1877 – 78 rapidly enabled the expansion of colonial
boundaries west of the Kei River. Sandile had remained the only stumbling block to the
eastwardly expanding colonial government after it extended its rule beyond the Fish
River in 1847. The fledgling colonial coastal town of East London and the outpost of
Queenstown, which emerged following the eighth frontier war (1850 – 1853) had
94 engulfed much of Sandile’s territory in the south and in the north. His conquest and assassination in the 1877/78 war, completed what would be the birth of three magisterial districts: Komga, Stutterheim and Cathcart in the early 1880s. These connected East London and Queenstown to constitute what would be a contiguous block of white owned farms on the western reaches of the Kei River. Symbolically, through these internal districts of Stutterheim and Cathcart became associated with the
Sandile family heritage. Importantly, he was killed and buried in 1878 within the present
Stutterheim western precincts, in the locality of Isidenge at the foot of the Amathole
Mountains (Wotshela, 2014; 2001)
In constituting its tribal authority system nearly a century later (1951), the National Party government had recognised Sandile’s heritage by erecting a monument on his death site near Stutterheim in1973. Ironically, the National Party government had earlier in
1958 revived Sandile’s chieftaincy as part of its constitution of the Rharhabe (or Ciskei
Xhosa) paramountcy. New headquarters were constructed on a further flung western site of Mngqesha. Clearly apartheid planners saw the tribal authority system and associated chieftaincy rule as the fulcrum of rural administration at the time. In that scheme of things however white farming could not be compromised. The new Sandile chieftaincy site of Mngqesha had to be within an emerging Ciskei territory. The post
1994 government would also embrace such a site through its reconstruction of the
Sandile Heritage Route, despite being ironically an apartheid vestige (Wotshela,
Forthcoming).
As highlighted, the three selected sites are within the precincts of the Sandile Heritage
Route. Geographically, they are located in largely rural environments. They have been
95 within segregated areas of South Africa and are characterized by poverty and unemployment (ADM IDP Review, 2010-2011). Nevertheless they are strategically placed along the friendly N6 route linking East London to Bloemfontein (Goshen San paintings) and the R63 from King Williams Town to Alice road and the University of Fort
Hare (Rharhabe Kingdom) (Refer to figure 5.2, below). This makes them easily accessible to members of the public and by tourists, who travel on these main routes.
They are also not far from the East London airport for those travelling into the Eastern
Cape Province by air. Potential accessibility of these three sites could change lives of many local people in their proximities, through tourism generated revenue (ADM IDP
Review, 2010-2011).
Each of the three sites has its unique background that requires contextualization. Their respective importance to tourism development and especially to cultural heritage tourism renders special focus. This study pertinently focuses largely on heritage tourism.
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Figure 5.2: Main Transport Corridors in the ADM. Source: Amathole Economic Development Agency Annual Report, 2006/7.
5.3.1 The Rharhabe Kingdom: (Known as the Mngqesha Great Place)
The Rharhabe Kingdom with a seat at the Mngqesha Great Place on the outskirts of
King William’s Town is one of the noted chieftaincy palaces in the Eastern Cape. The great place or headquarters has a controversial history in the sense that it was created by the National Party (NP) government on Released Land or Trust Land during the late
1950s. As noted it was neither spiritually connected to the early Rharhabe stronghold that was further west within the Amathole Mountain range nor the death place of
Sandile near Stutterheim. The post-apartheid government however has embraced
Mngqesha as the Rharhabe headquaters or the paramountcy seat in the early 2000
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(Wotshela, Forthcoming). There have been simmering debates in recent times about
the existence of the two Xhosa Kingdoms or paramountcies. In fact the Ntlapho
Commission Report (2010) did not recognize Rharhabe as a legitimate Kingdom.
Historically Rharhabe was proven to have splintered from the Phalo house and the
Kingdom of Gcaleka in the late 18th century and expanded west of the Kei River (Peires,
1987). The following discussion does not, however, focus on the legitimacy of the
Kingdom as seen by the Ntlapho Commission, but on the history of chieftaincy and its
role in tourism development within the ADM region.
The remodelled Rharhabe Kingdom at its peak during the late 18th to early 19th century
was a vast territory that stretched from the Kei River in the East to the reaches of the
Gamtoos River in the West (Mostert, 1992). Mngqesha in the midlands of the present
Eastern Cape is adequately located about 70 Km west of East London and about 20 Km
west of Bisho, the capital of this province. It is also strategically located within other
historical and symbolic sites. For instance it is some 50 Km east of the historic
University of Fort Hare in Alice, on the R63 road and about 150Km north-east of
Grahamstown. The R63 road connects the colonial villages and towns of King Williams
Town, Middledrift, Debe Nek, Keiskamahoek, Alice and Fort Beaufort. Importantly it
encapsulates these settlements. Thus, it is essential in providing a brief backdrop of the
Rharhabe Kingdom as a prelude to an outline of the cultural heritage tourism offerings
at the Mngqesha Great Place.
According to Peires (1987), Rharhabe was together with his brother, Gcaleka, who are
both sons of Phalo. Phalo had two wives who then had two sons; Gcaleka, the heir from the Great House and Rharhabe of the Right Hand House. When Rharhabe came
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of age, he moved to the territory west of the Kei River where he reconstituted his own
chiefdom. From that epoch the Xhosa Kingdom became split between the Gcaleka
(Transkeians) and the Rharhabe (those west of the Kei River).
The Rharhabe self - modelled paramountcy perished with the defeat of Mgolombane
Sandile in the 1877 frontier war, but the National Party (NP) government revived its paramountcy in the late 1950s for its Bantu self-governance system, which orbited around the Bantu authorities system. Over the years the apartheid state invested in the
Rharhabe Kingdom as it fulcrummed on the creation of the Ciskei homeland. It was also noted that the post-apartheid government also invested in this Kingdom in recent
years although its status was since downgraded by the Ntlapo Commission, that recognised only the Gcaleka (or Transkei Xhosa) House as the sole legitimate paramountcy. In spite of the downgrade the Eastern Cape invested on the Rharhabe chieftaincy. Not only the Sandile Heritage Route was launched in the early 2000, the government also subsidized developments at King’s residence and chambers in
Mngqesha (Mahlangeni, 2005).
Importantly, the Rharhabe Kingdom was one of those highlighted to have faced the brunt of British colonial conquest in the Eastern Cape. Thus it is deemed to be the nucleus of liberation movements in the country. The Rharhabe were regarded as the people of fortitude. Many colonial forts in the province were erected on their premises and most of the nine frontier wars in this region were within their locality (Peires, 1987).
Genealogically, Rharhabe’s eldest son was Mlawu who in turn was the father of Ngqika.
Ngqika’s eldest son was Sandile whose eldest son was Gonya. Gonya’s eldest son
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was Faku who in turn fathered Velile. It was Velile Sandile who was re-appointed the
Rharhabe paramount chief in 1958 when the NP government revived the Rharhabe house for a fledgling Ciskei homeland (Wotshela, 2014). In recent years the Kingdom passed on to Velile’s grandson, Maxhoba Sandile who also passed on in 2011 in his mid-age of just over 50 years. Currently the Kingdom is under an acting regency of
Maxhoba’s wife, Queen Noloyiso Sandile.
5.3.1.1 Attractions at the Kingdom
There are a few attractions at the Mngqesha Great Place and these were developed by the ‘King Sandile Development Trust’ (KSDT), which was established as the development arm of a reconstituted Rharhabe Kingdom. The Sandile Trust came into existence in 1999 and it has embarked on numerous projects in the Kingdom to exploit opportunities for community development. These include agriculture and forestry; awareness of HIV/AIDS; arts; cultural and heritage tourism. The initiative on cultural and heritage tourism is also located at the Great Place at Mngqesha and is driven by the KSDT as part of a tourism development venture. KSDT has taken tourism as its main business to sell to visitors and the King has always been leading in the marketing tourism potential of the place wherever he goes. Like many people and organizations, the KSDT believes that tourism is the key to unlocking benefits and development to impoverished communities. The Trust also believes that tourism would enhance employment and investment opportunities to the local people.
Attractions that are linked to the cultural and heritage tourism at the Rharhabe Kingdom showcase the rich heritage of the Rharhabe Kingdom in an endeavour to expose it nationally and globally. The KSDT has the responsibility to ensure that endeavour is
100 also entrenched in local community. Indeed as highlighted earlier, communities often package and market their own cultures and heritage in an attempt to exploit opportunities in that growing industry. In exploiting such opportunities, this study has emphasised that the Community Benefit Tourism Initiatives (CBTI) approach is essential. The approach emphasises the involvement of community in tourism initiatives. Such involvement ensures the tenure or control of the tourism project locally.
Ideally, community participation which includes the control or level of ownership should be sought to ensure delivery of appropriate proportions and types of benefits to relevant communities (Ahmed, 2001; Li, 2006 and Simpson, 2008). It is difficult, however, to ascertain the real benefits that accrue from tourism initiatives specifically for local communities within the Rharhabe Kingdom in Mngqesha. The following direct and indirect benefits to the local community of Mngqesha seem to underpin the tourism initiative in that great place.
Table 5.1: Direct and Indirect Benefits at Mngqesha Great Place, 2013. Source: Chairman of King Sandile Development Trust, 2013.
DIRECT BENEFITS INDIRECT BENEFITS
• EMPLOYMENT: 11 people employed permanently • INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES:
in different posts at the Great Place. There is great potential for investment
• SEASONAL JOBS: About 10 more casual jobs in from tourists who visit.
peak season. • MARKETING: The Xhosa culture is
• INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT: sold to the world and the local dancers
Community benefited in the development of a are invited in other countries to
tarred road. perform.
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The Rharhabe Kingdom as defined in Mngqesha is theoretically built on the territorial
expansions of the late 18th to early 19th centuries. Thus its current boundaries are defined loosely to extend from the Kei River to the reaches of the Sundays River. This territory covers much of the Amathole District Municipality; the Buffalo City Metro and
the eastern section of the Cacadu District Municipality that has recently been named
Sarah Baartman (Chairman of the King Sandile Development Trust; Personal
Communication; Mngqesha Great Place; 29 November 2013). The area of coverage is
deemed to be under the leadership of Rharhabe chiefs, who make up a Royal council of
42 chiefs. These chiefs meet four times a year to discuss developments in their
respective areas of jurisdiction. They discuss potential community projects and aspects
of heritage initiatives.
Tourism attractions and benefits mentioned through interviews for this research are found within close proximity of the King’s Residence or the Mngqesha village.
Communication of their initiatives and the spreading of benefits are detailed in the next chapter. The sub-section below is devoted extensively to some of the attractions at the
Mngqesha Great Place.
5.3.1.2 Ubukhosi Village
Ubukhosi village is the accommodation establishment at Mngqesha Great Place. The
village is designed in the form of chalets representing the King and the 40 subordinate
Chiefs of the Rharhabe Kingdom. That architectural style of these chalets is African
inspired with high thatched roofs made of grass. They are intended to accommodate
tourists, especially those who aspire to study and understand the cultural dimensions of
102 the Mngqesha area. Moreover the chalets serve as lessons on the Xhosa culture, the
Rharhabe genealogy and the local history.
5.3.1.3 Chalets in the Ubukhosi village
There are different chalets in the Ubukhosi village and the whole collection is designed as follows:
• 1 King Chalet – This is a very big rondavel located at the centre and it is
encircled by other rondavels. The king chalet is furnished with a king - sized bed,
a bathroom and an ensuite. The interior is very modern and high class with
television sets. The outside is painted in traditional African ambience with
thatched roofs. The king chalet is for any visitor / tourists who can afford to pay
for it, as it is a luxurious rondavel than the other chalets (Interview with Jack,
2011; Vazi, 2013)
• 8 Emthonyameni Chalets – These are smaller than the King chalet and are
furnished in queen sized beds and a bathroom. They are also very modern with
television sets. Their outer walls are painted in African art, which also
incorporates the Ndebele style of painting. The Ndebele style of painting is more
of an appreciation of other South African traditions and art forms that emanate
from the Nguni culture.
• Two sets of 16 Chieftain Chalets – These are smaller than the chalets of
Emthonyameni but equally comfortable. Each of the chieftain chalets has a
single or double beds, bathroom and a television set. A visitor has an option of
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booking either a single or a double bed chalet. Their outer walls are painted with
African ambience (Interview with Jack, 2011; Vazi, 2013).
Figure 5.3: Chieftain Chalets at Ubukhosi Village, Rharhabe Great Place (2013)
Figure 5.4: Emthonyameni Chalets at Ubukhosi Village, Rharhabe Great Place (2013)
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All chalets surround the King chalet represents the King’s status and the various categories of his subjects. As indicated, the chalets are different from each other despite the similarity of their outside appearances. Unfortunately these chalets did not seem to be well maintained even though they were supposed to accommodate domestic and international tourists. Wall paintings and those of their doors looked dull thus rendering their standards less palatable for tourists of national and international scales.
These chalets are informative in the illustration of hierarchal authority in the history of the Xhosa nation. As expected, Kings hold the position of importance and power.
Hierarchy within Xhosa society superceded other external influences and even knowledge acquisitions such as education. Authoritatively and symbolically, the King was and is awarded the highest hierarchy. The chalets in Mngqesha largely symbolize the Xhosa hierarchical order whereby the King remains central in the jurisdiction’s decision making. However the entire facility is still reflective of public space of public dialogue. In addition to chalets or accommodation facilities, there are also catering and conferencing facilities.
Ubukhosi village offers various meal options for visitors or alternatively self-catering services. Cuisines of different varieties are offered for either meat lovers or vegetarians on bookings, and thus the facilities are supplied with open barbeque (or braai) places and dining halls. Overall Mngqesha and its Ubukhosi village is an apt rural establishment that is accommodative of modern cuisines and hospitality standards.
Tourists frequently experience the culture and different cuisines and these experiences
105 provide the uniqueness to the place. On many occasions there are no fixed menus and thus tourists often make their own requests. There are no bar facilities on offer at the village. Traditional beer or other beverages are often prepared on request by tourists.
Conferencing facilities are spacious and modern, to accommodate between 250 and
300 delegates. These are equipped with the state of the art technology that includes overhead projectors and presentation boards as well as sound systems. Buildings are also equipped with air conditioners and alarms. The facilities also offer breakaway areas for relaxation after conferences and functions. Such services benefit businesses that need the state of the art facilities around inspiring natural landscapes. There is a belief that the tranquil setting at Ubukhosi village guarantees the invigoration of the mind and the inspiration of creative thoughts but it could be counter argued that tranquillity and the setting are akin to holidaying and thus disruptive to creative thinking.
There is scope to argue that the closeness to the mountains is ideal for team building exercises. Businesses, institutions and families who want to develop strong bonds have beneficial prospects from this environment. Ubukhosi village combines the hospitality with other leisure and social functions that include weddings and schools farewells.
These are all conducted and offered at the Mngqesha village at reasonable asking rates.
5.3.1.4 Imbali Museum
The Imbali Museum serves as a living treasure to many people within the Rharhabe
Kingdom and beyond. Aptly the museum contains photographic displays and artefacts of traditional Xhosa customs and culture. It supports and displays the cultural structures
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and values of the Xhosa people in the region. From the ritual at birth (inkaba) to the
showing of the newly initiated (abakhwetha) and various traditional healers
(Amagqirha). The museum has pictures and artefacts of dressing codes for single and married women in the Xhosa tradition, which the people of the Rharhabe Kingdom have
used over the years. These are part of beliefs and practices since the beginning of time. Some of these beliefs and practices have however been modified over time
(Interview with Jack, 2011; Vazi, 2013).
Chapter 1 of this study mentioned cultural heritage villages/institutions that illustrate
facets of cultural practices in order to appeal to the tourism industry and generate income. These focus more on entertainment and educational exhibitions that often enlighten and excite tourists. The intention and the underpinning philosophy is to excite and thus culture is normally packaged for the consumption of tourists (Clarke, 2003;
Chhabra, 2008 and Grobler, 2008). This commodification of culture has created some confusion among other people who call themselves the Xhosas. Some alterations that are made in order to excite and interest tourists are often taken as authentic and are practiced within certain settings whilst in other circles of Xhosa people are not known.
For instance the lobola tradition has gradually changed: in olden days cows were taken as bank cards. Other Xhosas feel that the emphasis on money and bank cards is not the real or authentic reason for lobola. Cows had a significant value amongst Xhosas.
Institutions that uphold authentic Xhosa culture and traditions for future generations are essential. The Imbali museum contributes in re-emphasising that essential function.
Imbali museum also contributes in the sharing and upholding of sets of beliefs and practices with the Xhosa society and also benefits tourists. Its significance cannot be
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overemphasised since strands of urbanisation and commodification of good have swayed many young people to aspire to forms of western social lives at the expense of their own cultures. The museum focuses on educating both the young and old about
the significance and importance of their cultures. In doing so it instils pride in the
evolution of the Xhosa society and its people. Some tourists also visit these cultural
heritage sites in order to learn and document activities for academic purposes. In those
instances accurate reflection of culture is warranted. In cases that involve cultural
presentation for entertainment, tourists have to be cautioned.
Imbali museum also showcases traditional cuisine, traditional attire, bead work, art and
recording of the oral history of the region. Since food is perishable, these cuisine are not always available but are prepared on request especially when there are visiting groups of tourists.
5.3.1.5 Sandile Memorial Garden
The memorial garden is regarded as one of the sacred places revered by the Royal family and the Rharhabe people. It is the grave site up in the Amathole Mountain for the departed Royal family members and departed Kings. The Amathole Mountain is in close proximity to the King’s chambers. The latter is strategically located to reflect the position and the value of the people who have passed on in the Xhosa culture. As mentioned before, Mngqesha Great Place was not the original paramount home of the
Rharhabe Kingdom. Nevertheless as the Sandile’s home was re-established in
Mngqesha, the remains of the dead Kings have over the years been exhumed and reburied at the memorial garden in that locality (Nienaber, Steyn and Hutten, 2008).
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Figure 5.5: Outside Front View of the Sandile Memorial Garden (2013)
Figure 5.6: Inside Top View of the Sandile Memorial Garden (2013)
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The memorial garden is a sculpture of a lion on top of a small amphitheatre overlooking
the village. This is symbolic of the value of the departed elders and Kings in the Xhosa
tradition. Departed elders in Xhosa culture are believed to be spiritually watching their
relatives even after death. Their spirits are believed to have power to influence the
fortunes of families and communities. The spirits of the dead are deemed to be alive
and are referred to as ancestors (Izinyanya). In the case of the Sandile family the spirits
are believed to be giving guidance and protection to the whole Kingdom. On visiting this site, tourists are encouraged to show some respect (Ukuhlonipha) in the form of
wearing formal attire. Men are expected to wear long trousers and a jacket while
women are expected to wear dignified skirts and robes or drapes to cover their
shoulders and heads (head wrap). Such attire is regarded to be respectful to the past
Kings and respective authorities.
5.3.2 Goshen San (Bushmen) Paintings
“Goshen Bushmen paintings” as they are known by local people are found in the
eastern outskirts of the town of Cathcart, in the Moravian mission church village of
Goshen. Goshen, a 19th century mission was initially proclaimed a ‘black spot’ and
scheduled for relocation to the Ciskei during the apartheid era. Other adjacent black
residential areas in the far west such as Whittlesea had by time fallen under the Ciskei
but Goshen being in the heartland of a white magisterial district was only scheduled for
transfer to the Ciskei by the late 1970s. Whilst Whittlesea essentially became the
Northern part of the Ciskei, Goshen and other ‘black spots’ in the Border successfully
resisted removal to that homeland (Wotshela, 2004).
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Before colonial conquest, the area that became the Northern Ciskei was not extensively settled but more used for grazing by Khoikhoi, Xhosa and Thembu chiefdoms
(Wotshela, 2004). Most Khoikhoi that resided in that area migrated while others were absorbed into vestiges of the Xhosa and Thembu extractions. Conquest was itself aided by the infiltration of the area by various denominational missionaries. One of these, the Shiloh mission station was established on the lower Klipplaat River by the
Moravian Missionary Society in 1828. It became the first major settlement and later developed outstations such as Goshen on its eastern reaches. Following that development, a new magisterial district of Cathcart emerged in the early 1880s following the collapse of Sandile’s chiefdom. Goshen then became the main African settlement of the district of Cathcart. Shiloh in the far west became a major residential area within the Northern Ciskei area of Whittlesea. Thus whilst Goshen’s historical and geographical context are linked to Shiloh that developed in the Ciskei, it on the other hand cannot be detached to that of the town of Cathcart and the overall Border districts.
5.3.2.1 The town of Cathcart
Cathcart, a magisterial seat of a larger farming district is a small town situated on the foothills of the Windvogelberg Mountain, between the present day Stutterheim and
Queenstown. Initially Cathcart was established as the Windvogel Military Post in 1856, after the eighth Frontier War (Mostert, 1992). In 1876, Windvogelberg was renamed
Cathcart, after George Cathcart, a Govenor of the Cape Colony from 1852 to 1854. At that time the area was part of Sandile’s Ngqika land, which fell under conquest following the 1877/8 war. The town of Cathcart was established in 1883 and it administered vast farms that fell under settler control (Wotshela, 2005).
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Currently Cathcart is on the major N6 route connecting East London to Bloemfontein. It is located some 120 kilometres north of East London just south of Queenstown, and it is about 80 kilometres further north of King William’s Town. Its locality is closer to another small town of Stutterheim that is about 40 kms south on the N6 route. Following the
2000 local government elections, Cathcart together with Stutterheim, Keiskammahoek and parts of Tsomo in the Transkei fell under the Amahlathi Local Municipality within the
ADM. The Goshen village itself developed in the valley of the Waqu River as a discrete
African residential settlement engulffed by white owned farms in the northern parts of the Cathcart district about 20 kms North West of the town. In the pre-colonial period the
Waqu valley as part of the Northern Ciskei was occupied by Khoisan people (Wotshela,
2004). As a result there are remnants of paintings on the hills and rocks that surround the Goshen residential area. These paintings are referred to by the local people as the
‘Bushmen’ paintings. The word ‘Bushmen’ is derogatory and problematic terminology that prevailed in the old South African historiography. In the course of revision of South
African history during the twentieth century, it was replaced by the term ‘San’.
5.3.2.2 The San paintings
Writers on rock art paintings and the early history of South Africa tend to agree that the
San people were the early inhabitants of parts of the Eastern Cape (Lee and
Woodhouse, 1970; Switzer, 1993; Willcox, 1963). San were known to have inhabited the rock shelters in which their paintings typically occurred. These paintings are generally found throughout Southern Africa; on rock shelters, inside caves, or on overhangs that provided resting places, habitually for hunting parties or more permanently for clans. The greatest concentrations are in the foothills of the
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Drakensberg and the mountain ranges of the Cape Province (Lee and Woodhouse,
1970). These writers note that it is difficult to date rock art due to difficulties in dating
techniques and methods (Lee and Woodhouse, 1970; William-Lewis, 2011; Willcox,
1963). They classify two major time periods in rock art images: the early period and the
late period of rock art. Both these periods are in the pre-colonial and the early colonial eras of Southern Africa.
The writers also highlighted that whilst the early period or the first rock art paintings are difficult to pinpoint, the other end of the time-scale (late period) can be approximated.
They argue that the late period images were made in the south-eastern mountains of
Lesotho, KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape mainly towards the end of the nineteenth
century or probably in the first few years of the twentieth century. It was the makers of
these images that the early colonialists encountered. Many images depict aspects of
conquest, which included horses and rifles. These were key elements in the Eastern
frontier during the nineteenth century that witnessed the entrenchment of white settler
society (Refer to Figure 5.7 and 5.8 below).
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Figure 5.7: Water used on rock art (2012)
Figure 5.8: Goshen rock art (2012)
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As mentioned the Goshen San paintings being in the district of Cathcart fall under the
jurisdiction of the Amahlathi Local Municipality, within the northern reaches of the ADM.
These paintings are located on the mountains that overlook the Goshen Village. The
mountains have small rock caves and are not far from the village, just about 3 kms in distance. Cattle and goats feed daily on these mountains or shelter on them during
rainy days. The site is full of depictions of cattle and goats as well as goat fur on some
rocks. There is no security or signage to the site and overall it is not too big, as it is
about 2 kms in length and about only 100m in height from the base of the mountain.
The area is open and people have access to the paintings without any control. The
local municipality (i.e Amahlathi LM) is aware of the site even though it does not
manage it. Therefore the site with paintings is neither under the administration of the
local municipality nor under the district municipality.
There is no precise information as to when were the paintings discovered. Amahlathi
Local Municipality does not have any record of that kind of information. In fact the site
is not even recorded on the database of both the local and district municipality.
5.3.2.3 Significance of these paintings
William-Lewis (2011) maintains that the people (San in general) who made rock art
paintings were the very first inhabitants of South Africa, from whom we owe our being.
The images pay tribute to the country and the continent as the cradle of humanity. They
are indicative of creative abilities of people to record historical events through images.
The images tell a story of a way of life, as well as, the inhumanity faced by the San
people. Those aspects of life are reflected in the San paintings at Goshen. As noted,
the paintings on the caves depict pictures of cows, goats, and other creatures such as
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dogs. Some depict running men carrying bows and arrows. Other pictures illustrate
people sitting around the fire and sketches of men and women facing one another in
close proximity. These pictures seem to tell localized stories of the area or the
humanity of this particular region.
The people of the area for the period depicted appeared to be subsistence farmers of
livestock interest. Depictions are largely for cattle and dogs. As some of the San
people lived among the Xhosa people it could be argued that they assimilated to some of the Xhosa traditions and beliefs. Some of the San paintings reinforce the value of cattle among Xhosa people and other chiefdoms in Southern Africa. The San and Khoi
used dogs for herding domesticated animals and for watching against wild animals just
as the Xhosa communities or groups did. Dogs were and are great asset for hunting.
That assertion in the San paintings is reinforced by the images of people chasing
animals with pointing bows and arrows. Hunting therefore has been portrayed to have
been the main activity in the area and the fire was pivotal in the cooking or preparation
of the spoils. The pictures also seem to suggest that people ate as groups in solidarity
but also in jovial settings. Pictures are mainly of women and men facing each other
closely in confined spaces. Of course there may have been cross cultural marriages in
that area populated by San, Khoi and Thembu groups (William-Lewis, 2011). These pictures however summarize more of the habitual life of the San groups at the time.
Over the course of time some paintings have faded away due to the absence of conservation mechanisms in the area. For instance the depictions of people with rifles
seem to be unclear. Nonetheless there are sporadically interrupted or punctuated by
less legible depictions of men with rifles. The absence of conservation mechanisms by
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the local municipality and the Cathcart community is a concern regarding the survival of
the aforesaid paintings. That aspect is dealt with in the next chapter.
Overall, the value of these paintings seems to be under appreciated at least at local
municipality level. Ironically on the day of the launch of the new South African Coat of
Arms on 27 of April, 2000, the former president of South Africa Thabo Mbeki
emphasised that it reflected government’s aim to highlight democratic change and
sense of new patriotism. He expressed regret and a tragedy for the extinction of the
language of the San/Khoisan people. The only surviving lineage of their great heritage which could be preserved to commemorate and honour their history is their paintings.
As recognition, the motto of the South African Coat of Arms is written in the Khoisan language of the /Xam people. The human figures are also derived from images on the
Linton stone, a world-famous example of the South African rock art in display at the
South African Museum in Cape Town (Refer to Figure 5.9 below). Tourism is one way of making sure that the San paintings in Cathcarth/Goshen are showcased to the world and are also preserved for our future generations. Through cultural and heritage tourism the local site of the Goshen paintings could be preserved for the benefit of the country and the local people. It could contribute in the alleviation of the challenges of
unemployment, and inequality through tourism.
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Figure 5.9: Coat of Arms of the Republic of South Africa Source: National Department of Tourism (2012)
5.3.3 The Steve Biko Centre (Geographical and Historical Context)
As mentioned in chapter 1, the Steve Biko centre is located at Ginsberg Township on
the western outskirts of King William’s Town. With the integrated municipal system, the
township also forms part of a newly formed Buffalo City Metro. The history of the area
(King William’s Town), like the many Eastern Cape towns, is associated with the arrival
of missionaries in the Cape. Ginsberg became the first native location of King William’s
Town and it emerged in the late19th Century. Some of its early residents were textile industry workers and King William’s Town council labourers. They were joined in the late stages by the relocatees of a Congregational church mission station (Brownlee
Mission) which was established in the Northern part of the town grid, during the first half
of the 19th Century. By the early 1930s, Brownlee station was deemed heavily
congested so much that it was declared a slum area by the King William’s Town
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Council. In the early 1940s the entire Brownlee Mission residential site was relocated to the western end of King William’s to expand the Ginsberg original residential site
(Msumza, 1993).
5.3.3.1 King William’s Town
The general history of King William’s Town has been provided inter-alia with that of the
Cape Colony and is documented in a number of texts. The first settlement in the present urban area of King William’s Town was the Brownlee Mission station or the
Buffalo Mission which was established in 1826 by Reverend John Brownlee of the
London Missionary Society (Webb, 1989). King William’s Town developed as the administration centre of the British Kaffraria, a territory between Keiskamma and the Kei
River that was established by the Cape Colony between 1847 and 1866. The town had developed as one of the key trading centres of the Colony by mid-nineteenth Century and became one of the attraction areas for prosperous Africans, some of whom were peasants trading in crops and livestock. It also became the key meeting point for the educated African middle class (Jabavu, Rubusana) with Cape liberals such as Merriman leading to the birth of popularised opinion Xhosa newspaper – Imvo-Zabantsundu.
Overtime the town continued to absorb immigrants and a few of these were Germans who came into the British Kaffraria after 1857 and became part of the Settler population.
Some Africans displaced from land and collapsing chiefdoms also drifted in to work as labourers in the emerging King William’s Town or within the public works of the growing colonial bureaucracy (Wotshela, Forthcoming). Others were drawn into the early textile industry from the banks of the Buffallo River. Some members of these particular groups became tenants of the Brownlee Mission station that was established as early as 1826
119 but suffered repeatedly in the course of the early frontier wars to take firm root by the second half of the 19th Century. By the late 19th Century, the spill overs of these groups had become numerous residents/settlers of the first African location (Tsolo) on the western outskirts of King William’s Town. Tsolo would be the basis of the settlement named after one of the key textile traders, Ginsberg, by the early 1900s.
Figure 5.10: Map of King William’s Town (1960). Source: Zituta M, 1997.
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5.3.3.2 Ginsberg Township – A brief historical background
As mentioned, the township of Ginsberg grew significantly after its absorption of the
Brownlee Mission station relocatees in the early 1940s. The Brownlee Mission station’s removal warrants its own documentation and is not examined in this study.
Nevertheless it is worth emphasising this was already a residential settlement threatened by the King William’s Town municipality because of its sheer density by the
late 19th Century. By 1880s the Municipal Council of King William’s Town saw it as a
menace to the sources of water on the Buffalo River. The municipality wanted Brownlee
Mission removed, and that was seen as a solution to ease up pressure on the water
resource. A typical ‘location’ for local Africans on an elected site was proposed and that
illustrated an early form of urban segregation in the area (Msumza, 1993). Initially, the
intentions of the Municipal Council of King William’s Town to relocate Brownlee Mission
residents was met with resistance by the London Missionary Society on behalf of local
residents. Once the Brownlee Mission station and its residential area was declared as a
slum area in the late 1920s, the King William’s Town municipality moved to segregate
different racial groups in the locality.
Two black locations, Bidhli and Tsolo on the west bank of the Buffalo River had already
emerged in the early 1900s (Zituta, 1997). Tsolo the forerunner of Ginsberg was the
larger one, and was named after a councillor cum industrialist, who was a proprietor of a
leather/hides factory in King William’s Town. By the early 20th Century Ginsberg ran a
sizeable textile enterprise in the locality. His labourers were the first occupiers of the
wattle and daub huts acquired by the council from Bidhli and Tsolo location residents.
Only people working in King William’s Town were allowed to get houses or permits to
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stay in these two locations. Msumza (1993) who provided an early outline of this
residential area made a critical observation that Tsolo was initially a separate entity to
Ginsberg. From as early as 1891 to 1895, the Xhosas were the first inhabitants of Tsolo
Location that was later absorbed by Ginsberg. Many of Tsolo inhabitants were people
displaced from land and others through material losses of the 1856/7 cattle killing.
Remnants of these groups had to sell their labour and thus were a working class. By
1905 due to the proclamation of the Native Location Act, residents of Bidhli and Tsolo were then resettled in a fledgling Ginsberg which in turn absorbed the spaces of the two locations. Concrete dwellings and well over hundred wattle and daub huts constituted the Ginsberg location by 1910 (Zituta, 1997). New housing scheme of two, three and four-roomed houses developed later during the early 1940s, coinciding with the relocation of the Brownlee Mission station into Ginsberg. As Ginsberg continued to grow then allocations to specific types of houses became determined by sizes of
families. It also became customary that the three and four-roomed houses were mostly
given to the semi-professionals such as teachers and clerks. Most of these
professionals were encouraged to move out of the Brownlee Mission station, which was
within the town-grid (Msumza, 1993). The Steve Biko Centre that is located within
Ginsberg is thus a third heritage tourism site looked at in this study.
5.3.3.3 The Site of the Steve Biko Centre
The Steve Biko Centre at Ginsberg forms part of the Steve Biko Heritage Trail (SBHT).
The SBHT was officially launched on September 1998. Overall this is an endeavour to
honour the contributions of Steve Biko in the country’s political struggle. His heritage
trail highlights critical sites that commemorate his legacy on his anti-apartheid
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campaign. These sites are found within the Eastern Cape (in particular East London
and King William’s Town) and have been declared National Monuments by the South
African government in 1997. They include: The Steve Biko Bridge, which connects the
East-bank and West-bank in East London; the Steve Biko Statue at Oxford Street that is
also in the East London innercity; the Steve Biko Office and the Steve Biko Monument
in Ginsberg. There is also the Zanempilo Clinic and the Steve Biko Garden of
Remembrance in Ginsberg (Steve Biko Foundation, 2012). As noted, all of these sites
are in close proximity to Steve Biko’s hometown. They are strategically located
especially to both East London and King William’s Town and they are around transport
routes.
For example, the Steve Biko Bridge on the Buffalo River in East London, previously
known as the John Vorster Bridge, links other SBHT sites in a strategic way. It is quite
close to the notorious Fort Glamorgan prison, one of the incarceration centres for
political prisoners. The prison is infamously known as Kwa-Nongqongqo and was aptly
portrayed in the lyrics of Miriam Makeba’s political struggle songs of the 1960s
(Wotshela; 2014). Steve Biko served time in this prison during the mid-1970s. The
bridge which is close to the East London harbor serves as an important link between
East London City (CBD), the West Bank and the local airport. Tourists from the East
London airport pass through this bridge to the city centre and the coastline. They are shown the notorious Fort Glarmogan prison on their way to the city centre. At the city centre in Oxford Street, there is the Biko statue in front of the city hall. Through to King
Williams Town on the N2 route, the history of this struggle legend unfolds. Tourists are able to view sites of historical significance celebrating Steve Biko along the way from
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East London to King Williams Town. All of these encompass the Steve Biko Heritage
Trail. The trail promotes and celebrates the cultural heritage of the area.
The newly opened Steve Biko Centre at Ginsberg is the cornerstone of the Steve Biko
Heritage Trail. It brings together all the discrete heritage sites under one roof (Refer to
Figure 11; 12 and 13 below). The Centre coordinates the celebration of a life that was dedicated to the political liberation of black people in the country. It narrates the history of Biko through arts, drama, music, education and tourism. The Centre comprises of conference facilities; the exhibitions; training rooms; a museum; an archive and a library area. These are fully enhanced by cultural performances and production theatres; a commemorative garden honouring human rights activists; a media centre; a memorabilia shop; a restaurant and a bar lounge. All these resources are central to the enhancement of tourism to the area and thus they are all relevant for the promotion of cultural heritage. Tourists often visit the area to watch cultural performances; they are able to source archives and attend some of the cultural heritage conferences, which are held at the Centre on heritage and identity celebrations.
According to one of the Programme Managers of the Steve Biko Centre (Personal
Communication at Steve Biko Centre, Ginsberg; 29 November 2013), the Centre is an embodiment of what Steve Biko stood for and believed in: ‘Pride in being black and the betterment of a black person’. The Centre seeks to improve the socio-economic conditions of the people of Ginsberg and the Eastern Cape at large, through skills development, job training and entrepreneurship. It focuses mainly on the development of young people’s talents (investing in young people) and showcasing the Steve Biko
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Heritage Trail (Programme Manager; Personal Communication, Steve Biko Centre,
Ginsberg; 29 November 2013).
Through its focus on the young people, it groups them into three categories; Imbewu
(seeds), Izithole (seedlings) and Abelusi (shepherds). Imbewu group consists of young children between the ages of seven years and thirteen years. This group attends free classes on the basics of arts, visual arts, theatre and dance. They do all forms of dance from traditional dance to contemporary dance. The Izithole group consists of older
children between the ages of 14 and 18 years. They do the same dances but in
advanced forms. The Abelusi group then consists of practitioners and professionals
who have graduated from the aforementioned groups, as well as, those who have
auditioned from drama schools such as Lovedale Further Education and Training
College. The Abelusi group gets monthly stipends and its members are responsible for
the professional performances at the Steve Biko Centre. This is the group that
entertains tourists and members of the public who visit the Centre. The group have
schedules of performances where the public and tourists buy tickets to watch shows.
The revenue that is generated from these performances helps to pay their stipend and
tour fees across the country. Shows are marketed in newspapers and the Foundation’s
website. Young people are encouraged to do things for themselves and not to wait for
free offers. This is one of the principles that Steve Bantu Biko preached.
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Figure 5.11: Steve Biko Centre at Ginsberg Township, King William’s Town (2013)
Figure 5.12: Steve Biko Centre at Ginsberg Township, King William’s Town (2013)
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5.3.3.4 A brief life-history of Steve Bantu Biko
Steve Bantu Biko became a renowned political activist and a writer in his student years.
Born on 18 December 1946 in Tylden, just north of Cathcart in the Eastern Cape, he
attended primary school in King William’s Town and proceeded to secondary and
tertiary education in Natal. In 1966, he enrolled as a medical student at the black
section of the Medical School of the University of Natal. Early on in his academic
studies at the University of Natal, Biko showed a deep interest in search for knowledge
that far exceeded the realm of the medical profession. In 1968 together with other
university students like Barney Pityana, he founded the South African Student’s
Organization (SASO). He was then elected its first president at Turfloop in 1969 (Biko,
1978). At the time he was already regarded the father of Black Consciousness based
on his calls for blacks to unite against the cause of their oppression (Mangcu, 2012).
This was evident early on as a student at the University of Natal.
His student organization, SASO, called on black students to refrain from being non-
participants in the ideological battle in the country. SASO aimed at addressing the
inferiority complex that was deemed to be the main reasons for passivity within the ranks of black students. The organisation became a formidable force, spreading across campuses in the country and beyond. He became a formidable voice around the late
1960s and the mid - ‘70s as organizations such as the African National Congress (ANC) were at that time banned. Steve Biko wrote extensively in publications that were under
SASO, motivating black people to unite under a common cause (Biko, 1978).
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In his writings, Biko wrote extensively on Black Consciousness, an ideology that became relevant to promote under apartheid South Africa. He maintained that Black
Consciousness was an attitude of mind and a way of life for the betterment of the human race. He believed and popularized the rhetoric that: “the most potent weapon of the oppressor was the mind of the oppressed” (Biko, 1978). Influenced largely by apartheid politics of the 1970s, he strongly preached that whites must be made to realize that they were only human but not superior. In the same breath, blacks must be made to realize that they were also human but not inferior (Biko, 1978). His writings and political activism resulted in him being expelled from the University of Natal and later he was banned from addressing public gatherings by the authorities (Mangcu,
2012).
By 1976, he was restricted to his home town of Ginsberg where he set up the Black
Community Programmes (BCP) offices and among other achievements built Zanempilo
Clinic and the Ginsberg crèche. He believed that black people needed to stand up and improve their social conditions without waiting for hand-outs. He continued holding numerous gatherings and lobbying meetings although he was banned. After being arrested near Grahamstown on the 18th of August, 1977, he was tortured by the security branch police in Port Elizabeth and sustained a massive brain haemorrhage. He died in detention on the 12th September 1977 (Biko, 1978; Mangcu, 2012).
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Figure 5.13: Reception area at the Steve Biko Centre, Ginsberg Township (2013)
The Steve Biko Centre, named after this martryer of the political struggle is located in
one of the early townships with rich history. The early liberals of the adjoining King
William’s Town area such as Forbes Grant, James Weir and Charles Morgan together with early inhabitants of Ginsberg such as A.M. Jabavu, B.B. Xiniwe and G. Mangcu saw the need to invest in the education and upliftment of African children (Msumza,
1993). They motivated for the building of schools for formal education, community halls for recreation and entertainment and the development of creative arts. Msumza (1993) has pointed out that the opening of Weir Hall turned King William’s Town and Ginsberg in particular into a Mecca of entertainment. Ginsberg became known for its creative arts and drama all over South Africa. The Steve Biko Foundation and the Steve Biko Centre are a follow up on these early initiatives of developing creative potential of local
129 children. In the process, the development of cultural heritage of the Ginsberg and King
William’s Town areas became enhanced.
Since the formation of the SBF and the plans for the opening of the Centre in 1998, nothing much has changed in the township of Ginsberg and King William’s Town. At least by 2014, there was no data available and recorded on the Steve Biko Centre’s past projects with young people since their inception. No data or memorandum of understanding existed between the Centre and the Amathole District Municipality, in which the Centre fell under the previous municipal arrangement. Even under the current Buffalo City Metro, there seems to be little assistance on the collection of data and its importance for future projections and comparisons. There appears to be no recorded data on tourist visits (both domestic, regional and international) on their database since the inception. The most common complaint was the limited space for the Centre to operate and perform its functions and activities. These weaknesses require attention and have to be addressed by the time new premises are added into the Centre. It is difficult to assess if the establishment of the Centre will make an impact in developing the creative arts potential of young people in the area and in bringing in robust tourism into the town of Ginsberg and King William’s Town.
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Table 5.2: Data Analysis: Steve Biko Centre, 2014 Source: Steve Biko Centre, 2014
KEY AREAS OF ASSESSMENT YES / NO COMMENT
1. Record of database on tourists visits No No record available at the time of (Domestic & International Tourists Visits) conducting this research 2. Available assistance with data collection No No assistance available at the time methods from the municipality of conducting this research. The centre only had a manual register to record visits. No classification in terms of ‘Domestic’ or ‘International’. 3. Is there working relations/coordination No No working relations as the Centre is strategy between the Centre and the an independent entity. It runs its own Municipality? programmes outside those of the municipality. The municipality is however aware of their existence as a centre 4. Is the centre growing and making an impact Yes The centre has grown tremendously on the local community (Employment since its inception. By 2014, more creation) tourists frequented the place and more cultural and entertainment activities were conducted. No clear indication in terms of its impact on employment creation.
5.4 Conclusion
In summary, this chapter presented three cultural and heritage sites that fall within the jurisdiction of the ADM and most recently (2011), the Buffalo City Metro. The three sites were chosen deliberately to outline and assess the development trends of cultural heritage tourism within the Amathole District Municipality. All of these selected ones fall within the Sandile Heritage route, which encompasses the Buffalo City Metro and the
Amahlathi Local Municipality that is also located within the ADM. The historical background and importance of each site have been provided. Most importantly, two of these sites are found in the rural environments characterized by high unemployment and poverty whilst the other in a lesser developed township. Their importance, as well
131 as their strategic location were assessed, providing prospects on how they could contribute in alleviating poverty and unemployment within these rural environments.
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CHAPTER VI
DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS
6.1 Introduction
The preceding chapter set out an exposition of purposefully sampled cultural and
heritage tourism sites within the Amathole District Municipality (ADM) and most recently,
the Buffalo City Metro. A historic background, significance and value of each site were
provided. In this chapter that discussion is thus taken further by presenting the
research findings on data collected from the research conducted on the three selected
sites. The data collected focused on the nature of sites (including ownership); their popularity in terms of visitations (domestic, regional and international) and their relationships with various stakeholders (government, business, non-governmental organizations and local community). The chapter also focused on the contributions of selected sites to the triple challenges of unemployment, poverty and inequality. In presenting these findings, three critical issues have been discussed. Firstly, an analysis of the three study sites with specific reference to ownership and stakeholder involvement has been duly offered. Secondly, the popularity of chosen sites in terms of visitations and lastly, their contributions to the government’s triple challenges.
6.2 An Analysis of the Three Study Sites
As highlighted the ADM is rich in cultural heritage that depicts the history of the Ciskei
Xhosa or the remodelled Amarharhabe people. This cultural heritage is seen through
structures that have been built to commemorate and celebrate people, who have
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contributed immensely to sharing the history of the country and the province. The three
sites were chosen for this research thus a discussion and presentation of findings on
each, is given below.
6.2.1 The Rharhabe Kingdom
The Rharhabe Kingdom is an institution of traditional leadership that occupies an
important place in the history of chieftaincy and systems of governance in South Africa.
Whilst it embodies the preservation of culture, traditions, customs and values of the
Xhosa people, it also represents early forms of societal organization and governance.
Historically the Kingdom is an old pre-colonial institution but has been remodelled over the years and in recent years to play an important part in the development of rural communities. As a result, since the dawn of democracy, the Rharhabe Kingdom has been funded by government; initially by the Public Works budget; and later by the Local
government and Traditional Affairs (Mahlangeni, 2005; The White Paper on Traditional
Leadership and Governance, 2003). Of course the government finances the institution
to ensure that projects aimed at repositioning this entity are successfully implemented.
Funds are notionally transferred by the Provincial government to District Municipalities,
who in turn act as implementing agents (Refer to table 6.1).
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Table 6.1: Amounts transferred by the Eastern Cape District Municipalities to Traditional Institutions within the Eastern Cape (2003/4) Source: Mahlangeni, 2005.
Mahlangeni (2005) contends that these institutions of traditional authority cannot
succeed in their duties and functions without the support of government. That working
relationship between the Rharhabe Kingdom and the three spheres of government is
mandated by a White Paper on Traditional Leadership and Governance (2003).
As traditional institutions are deemed to be connected to the local people, it is in the interest of government to use a combination of multi-sectoral approaches, to ensure
efficient delivery of services. Traditional institutions are an example of such a multi-
sectoral approach. This helps to reduce the burden on the three spheres of
government, especially the local government sphere. The good working relations
between the government and this institution ensure that there is adherence to a
common national vision between traditional leadership structures and government
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structures. The vision is that of developing local communities to overcome the triple
challenges of unemployment, poverty and inequality. In the previous chapter it was noted that the Rharhabe Kingdom established ‘The King Sandile Development Trust’
(KSDT) in 1999 to achieve that development goal (Mahlangeni, 2005).
Information was also given on the KSDT in the previous chapter. This chapter provides a deeper and detailed analysis of this Trust. It has to be mentioned from the onset that
KSDT is officially and legally a business, established in terms of Section 6 (1) of the
Trust Property Control Act of 1988 (Act No. 57 0f 1988). Its main objective is to
administer assets or monies as may be settled on the trust and to conduct all business
pertaining thereto in the best interest of beneficiaries. The trust is run as a business
and has competent and qualified people as its directors and assistants who are
employed to run and manage its day-to-day operations. They have Annual Financial
and Audited Statements as well as Trustee’s Reports, which are all available at the
Rharhabe Kingdom, just like any business establishment and public entity. The
Kingdom contends that its operations and management are open to the local
communities and government. As an institution that is state subsidised, the board of
director’s accounts its operations and costs to the Minister of Cooperative Government,
Local and Traditional Affairs.
The Kingdom also acknowledges that there are challenges in its working relations with
other stakeholders and moreover the relationship is not necessarily straight forward. In
an ideal world the Buffalo City Municipality has to market the establishment as a cultural
heritage site and has to organize businesses to visit the Rharhabe Kingdom. Also, the
local stakeholders (Municipality, Business Community and Local people) have to
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support the Kingdom through giving businesses (booking accommodation and
conference facilities) and introducing tourists to the area (Site-seeing). The Buffalo City
Municipality under which this establishment falls, does not have any form of scheduled
programme that focuses directly on monitoring the progress and developments
happening at the Mngqesha Great Place. Capacity to run the tourism establishment of
this nature and magnitude is shortfall, which is identified in this establishment and it is
the role of the local municipality to support and capacitate tourism SMMEs.
As mentioned earlier, Simpson (2008) contends that Community Benefit Tourism
Initiatives (CBTI) focus on the transfer of benefits to the community regardless of location, instigation, size, level of wealth, involvement, ownership or control. It has been noted in chapter 1 that the primary concern of a CBTI is mainly the action of conveying net livelihood and economic, social and environmental benefits to the communities and their members in a responsible and sustainable manner. That enterprise is what is envisaged and practised by the Rharhabe Kingdom. The tourism initiatives that are pursued in this Kingdom ought to help and benefit local people through employment, skills transfer, education and environmental protection. All the people that work at the cultural and heritage tourism establishments at the Kingdom are local residents from the village of Mngqesha within its close proximity.
As mentioned in the previous chapter, it is important to note that only the immediate village of Mngqesha benefits from this establishment. All other areas that fall within the jurisdiction of this Kingdom do not benefit. The chairman of KSDT at Mngqesha Great
Place maintains that their area of jurisdiction covers a great geographical expanse and therefore it is impossible to employ people from all the various villages and townships
137 under their jurisdiction in one project. He also contends that there are different projects that are done in other areas within their jurisdiction to help local communities to sustain livelihoods, through other means such as agricultural projects. He mentioned for example the plantation of Macedonian nuts that is located at the Ncera location under
Chief Jongilanga (On the further western outskirts of East London). That project employs many people (no exact number of people employed was given) from the village of Ncera and the surrounding villages. Moreover the KSDT does employ people from within its jurisdiction and that remains the case in its cultural and heritage tourism establishments at Mngqesha. All of these ventures are operated as business that can make profit and be able to sustain themselves.
The key issue according to Simpson (2008) is to sustain this beneficial tourism initiative through business support from stakeholders of the Kingdom. The Rharhabe Kingdom appears to be addressing the triple challenges of unemployment, poverty and inequality even though at a smaller scale (Refer to table 6.2 below). Also casual workers are employed during peak seasons for tourism. Of great concern, however, there has been the tendency to employ more of the older people at the expense of the younger ones within the Kingdom. According to Statistics South Africa (2011), the majority of the unemployed people in South Africa are the youth (Refer to figure 9 and 10). This is even worse for the Eastern Cape Province and in particular the ADM (Refer to figures
10, 11 and 12).
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Table 6.2: Employment Analysis, Rharhabe Kingdom (2014) Source: Rharhabe Kingdom, 2014
ASSESSMENT CRITERIA YES / NO COMMENT
1. Employment Benefits Yes but limited • Employs few adult people within close proximity to the Great Place. • Ncera Project, under their jurisdiction in Ncera employs many people (No exact number given) • The Ncera Project is also claimed by the department of Agriculture. It is important to note that this project is not really based at Mngqesha Great Place. • The Great Place employs casual workers during peak season and when there are frequent bookings. • No real employment benefits are visible 2. Working Relations with Yes but limited • Receive funding from other stakeholders provincial government • No record of assistance from the local municipality • No record of marketing & skills development offered by the local municipality • No record of working relations with the private sector • Local communities use the establishment for weddings and farewell functions. 3. Record of Data collection No There is no record of data collection on the number of tourists and the type of tourists visiting the establishment.
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As noted in table 6.2, the Rharhabe Kingdom employs mostly old people who head homes in the village as cleaners, cooks, drivers, administrators and managers. Very few young people, males in particular, are employed to heard livestock. The challenge of unemployment in South Africa mostly affects young people (Statistics South Africa,
2012). It is important for government, non-governmental organisation and the private sector to create job opportunities that would translate to young people.
Figure 6.1: Unemployment rate by age group in South Africa. Source: Statistics South Africa (2011)
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Figure 6.2: Distribution of the population by functional age groups in the Eastern Cape District Municipalities: 1996, 2001 and 2011. Source: Census 2011
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Figure 6.3: Unemployment rate by Province in South Africa. Source: Statistics South Africa (2013)
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Figure 6.4: Unemployment rate by Eastern Cape District Municipalities - 1996, 2001 and 2011. Source: Census 2011
6.2.2 Goshen San paintings
As it has been noted, the Goshen San paintings are in a tragic state of despair and destruction. They reflect ignorance of local communities and local government on the value of these paintings towards cultural heritage tourism. The Goshen San paintings site, as it is presently, is symptomatic of how little understanding is placed on cultural heritage tourism as a potential contributor to livelihoods change and job creation.
Currently, the Amahlathi Local Municipality at Cathcart does not have a tourism officer.
Viljoen and Tlabela (2007) emphasised in their writings that cultural heritage is seen as
143 a way in which marginalized communities and individuals can benefit from tourism on the basis of their cultural heritage resources.
The Goshen site is not officially registered on the database of the Amahlathi Local
Municipality or of Amathole District Municipality. Nevertheless both municipalities are aware of its existence, but they have done nothing to preserve and protect it. As early as 2005, the Amahlathi Municipality had a Local Tourism Organization (LTO) dealing with tourism in the area, including Goshen San paintings. Funds were allocated for the improvements and the protection of the site. Due to change of councillors and internal political conflicts, however, that LTO ceased to function. Important documents on the history of the site were lost and tourists had difficulties in accessing the site (Van
Heerden, 2013: Personal Communication, Cathcart office of Amathole Municipality).
Pertinently, at the time of conducting this research, I had difficulties getting people to comment on tourism in the Amahlathi Local Municipality because of fear of victimisation.
Overall, the developments of cultural heritage tourism at Goshen village are dysfunctional and worrying. As a historic Moravian Church Mission station, the village has a potential cultural heritage site that can change the prospects of local communities through tourism but the incompetence of the local stakeholders remains an issue.
Simpson (2008) made reference to potential problems that can occur where communities are heavily involved in tourism initiatives. As pointed out in chapter 1, he argued that communities may be subject to external pressures, issues of governance and structure, conflicting stakeholder agendas, jealousies and internal power struggles.
They may also experience growth of artificial hierarchies. All of these aspects have the potential to diminish and undermine the potential benefits to respective communities.
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The Goshen site appears to be compatible to those assertions as the area is
dysfunctional due to conflicting stakeholder agendas and power struggles. The major problem for the development of that site lies with the ignorance of councillors and the
Municipality on the significance of its resources. The councillors and the Municipality
appear to be more interested in positions and securing jobs for pals and associates at
the expense of competent people who understand the importance and the value of the
site. Employees are easily removed, with the change of councillors since they are
employed on contract basis.
Yet the CBTI has a solution for this challenge. It proposes initiatives that can either be
led by government, communities, businesses or all of different stakeholders
amalgamated. It proposes that the initiative must be led by an autonomous board of
directors who should invest and manage ventures strictly on business principles. In that
scheme of things, the board should appreciate its capital and resource investments, and
should therefore seek returns. That would compel it to employ competent people based
on their expertise and the ability to manage a project. Even if the project is at a village
level, it would not be compulsory to employ local people who could be less qualified or
less equipped to manage and run a proper business.
The basic idea of CBTI is to benefit the community through respective projects and
therefore once a project ensues, its infrastructure would be required with the intention to
benefit the community. It is expected that the project would have a ripple effect on the
development of trained personnel as tourist guides as well as the establishment of
entrepreneurial businesses by local people such as Beds & Breakfasts (B & B), outdoor
sport and many others. The Goshen San paintings site as it stands holds a bright future
145 if only the Municipality can take a lead in exploiting the opportunity. Local Economic
Development (LED) is a buzz word in many municipalities and the Goshen San paintings site offers an opportunity for that. It is the responsibility of the local municipality (in this case Amahlathi Local Municipality) to take the lead in attracting investors to buy into the idea.
6.2.3 The Steve Biko Centre
The operations at the Steve Biko Centre on the other hand, seem to be different to those at Goshen. The Steve Biko Centre at Ginsberg focuses on youth development through cultural heritage and arts and that initiative is aptly located in an urban area of
Ginsberg. The Centre is an initiative of the Steve Biko Foundation and is managed by it. The foundation is a non-governmental organization (NGO) that is focused mainly on community development. As mentioned, it is inspired by the legacy of the late anti- apartheid movement leader Steve Bantu Biko. As an NGO, the foundation fundraises and is sponsored by various government departments as well as private sector companies such as the National Department of Arts and Culture, National Department of Tourism, Buffalo City Metro, National Lottery and Transnet. The foundation is sponsored by public and private funds. Therefore it needs to be transparent and account for its income and expenditure. It is for this reason that the foundation has employed qualified personnel to run and manage its affairs at the centre in Ginsberg.
The Foundation has its head offices in Johannesburg. As a community development organization, they have a clear plan and programme of action of what they want to accomplish within set timeframes.
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The Biko foundation was formed in order to fill the void that existed in promoting the
intangible aspects of development such as identity, culture and values. These are
regarded to be issues that speak to the soul of a nation (The Steve Biko Foundation,
2012). Steve Biko espoused the philosophy of Black Consciousness, which
emphasized the link between consciousness of self and social action (Mangcu, 2012).
It is due to this reason that the foundation decided to take an active role in uplifting the
lives of the previously disadvantaged individuals through arts, culture, education and
tourism.
Mangena (2012) emphasised that the centre was designed as both a destination for
tourists as well as a vehicle for greater cultural awareness and economic development
of the local community. He noted that the consciousness-raising opportunities rarely
happen however hence the “lost generation” socialized by the media to identify with values, habits, lifestyles and attitudes detached from the centres of their own lives and
African personality. In his writings, Biko (1978) spoke of unacceptable conditions, in which oppressed black people wait for the outside forces to change and improve their circumstances. He spoke of change of consciousness and psychological freedom among the oppressed black people by initiating self-help initiatives. Thus the oppressed had to have a burning desire to fight for their rights as a collective and respective individuals. Memela (2012) contends that this decade of our freedom and democracy needs a revolutionary mind-set. That mind-set does not have to accept the material conditions of poverty and inferiority that many of the black people face at this day.It is an approach that needs a collective of people who can take a stand and fight for particularly the betterment of the black person.
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It was for that reason that the centre initiative received active endorsement from the
community, local authorities and the national government. Due to the depth of the
vision behind the formation of the Steve Biko Foundation, the national government has
adopted and classified it as the National Legacy Project (NLP). The NLP is an initiative
of the South African government that celebrates and commemorates places or
institutions of national historic and cultural significance such as museums, monuments,
plaques, outdoor arts and heritage trails (Pocket Guide to South Africa, 2011/12; The
Steve Biko Foundation, 2012). It is clear from these endorsements of the national
government, the sponsorships from the private sector and the enthusiasm of local
people that the initiative has the support and involvement of a broad stakeholder body.
That enthusiasm is reflected in how the centre is organised and managed.
The decisions on how the centre is run and managed are the prerogative of the board of directors of the Foundation that appoint staff within its premises. The board of directors advertise positions in national newspapers and the Foundation’s website. They appoint qualified and capable staff for management for the continuity and longevity of the centre. According to the centre’s operations manager, the important thing about the initiative is that the local community and the youth at large are benefiting through this project. The project is designed so that young people are equipped with skills and practical experiences. They then use the practical experience for income generation.
Money is invested in the initiative by donors and sponsors and therefore the initiative is expected to yield positive results. If there are failures in the initiative, there must be people who account and take responsibility. Not everyone can account but the people
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who are employed to produce results. This view point concurs with the CBTI approach
(Personal Communication with Operations Manager at Ginsberg, 18 September, 2013).
As noted in chapter 1, CBTI stresses that it is not essential for a community to be directly involved in tourism management or ownership. In this way governments, industry and NGOs have the latitude and potential to be able to design and deliver benefits to a community without the baggage that can come with community involvement in decision-making processes. Due to reasons relating to management expediency, financial control, legal constraints and simplicity of operation, some tourism investors may be wary and others may be concerned and even fearful of including a community and its representatives as decision makers in a tourism initiative (Simpson,
2008). It is important to note as well that the involvement of communities in decision making in a tourism venture does not always guarantee tangible livelihoods and economic gains to members of the community. At times benefits are secured by a selected few at the expense of local initiation and control. At other times community control of tourism initiative results in prejudices and internal conflicts within community members. These in turn result in the failure and collapse of initiatives.
These conflicting interests seem not to be at play at the Steve Biko Centre. All the stakeholders involved appear to understand the value of this centre and how it can transform the fortunes of the community, and in particular that of the young people. At present most of the cultural and theatre performances are done by young people who have been trained at this centre. These young people are earning monthly stipends, and others generate income during public performances at the centre. Their performances also act as draw-cards for cultural heritage tourism in the area. Before
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any performance the audience is given a brief historic background of the centre, key
activities and programmes done by the centre. The centre management is currently
busy training young people on being tour guides. Such prospects benefit the young
people of this township and beyond immensely.
The formula for management is to combine all aspects of art, culture, heritage, theatre and film looks promising for the future of this township and outlying areas. It is more
promising when people at the forefront are clear of the direction they are taking the
centre to for its long-term benefits.
6.3 Popularity of the Sites
It is difficult to measure visitations to all of the aforementioned sites in the absence of
statistics or recordings of visits within respective sites. None of the municipalities,
including the Buffalo City Metro have the statistics. Even the ADM conceded that they
were supposed to be supplied with appropriate statistics by the respective sites. As the
administrative Municipality it nevertheless is supposed to initiate leadership and source
records or statistics. Statistics do indeed help municipalities and government to
understand the development trends for future programmes. It is important for local
municipalities to employ researchers who would thus deal with records management.
Researchers would be able to deal with sites and collect the necessary information. If
the information on statistics cannot be found, the personnel at the site would be trained
on recording. Overall currently municipalities claim to be in the process of recruiting
qualified personnel to carry out such tasks.
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The management at the sites (Rharhabe and Biko centre) however, acknowledged that there were tourists, particularly domestic tourists that regularly visited. Group tours were sometimes brought by the Municipality although that was not always a common
occurrence. Moreover few tourism companies were involved in bringing tourists to the
area. The tourism businesses (tour guides) in the Eastern Cape were still by 2013 monopolized by white businesses, who seldom featured traditional institutions on their itineraries. In the case of Goshen, there was no certainty as to whether tourists still visit the area and there were no records of such continuing visits.
In many cases in domestic tourism people visit friends and relatives (VFR) and through those visits, they are able to be shown by family members or friends new interesting sites in the area. Visitors or tourists visiting Goshen Bushmen paintings are usually of that category and are normally displayed by family members and friends who reside within the area who are knowledgeable about them (Refer to figure 6.5 below).
Figure 6.5: Sources of Product Knowledge Source: Department of Tourism (2012)
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Some visits to the Goshen site are by researchers. These visits are not institutionally
arranged as the Municipality does not have a tourism officer. A question has to be
asked: does the absence of local or site centre statistics mean that one cannot measure
the cultural and heritage tourism development trend in the ADM and recently Buffalo
City Metro?
National statistics, Census reports and other reports contend that cultural heritage
tourism has been growing in the Eastern Cape Province and in the ADM and recently
Buffalo City Metro (Census, 2011; Department of Tourism, 2012; Eastern Cape Tourism
Master Plan, 2009 – 2014; Rogerson, 2008). In spite of this general growth, the
Eastern Cape Province receives fairly small amounts of international tourists when compared to its provincial counterparts. In 2006, it received only 7,6 % of foreign tourists and this decreased by 1 % in 2008 (Department of Tourism, 2012). Whilst that
points to significant gaps in marketing, product availability, access and use of
competitive advantage, it also provided the scope for extensive expansion of the provincial and district tourism sector. Census Statistics (2011) contends that the
Eastern Cape retained its prestigious position as the second most preferred destination in the country among domestic tourists as it retained a 17 % market share of the domestic market by 2008. There was evidence of an upward trend in domestic tourism.
The cultural and heritage sites were highly valued and mostly visited by domestic tourists who wanted to experience the distinct natural, cultural and stories associated with such sites (Department of Tourism, 2012).
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6.4 Contribution of the Sites to Employment, Poverty Alleviation and Equality
Tourism initiatives, when managed properly and competently do bring benefits to local
communities as indicated in the case of the Rharhabe Kingdom and the Steve Biko
centre. Arguably, people from the local communities were employed in various tourism
related initiatives at both sites (Even though there is no exact number given). The
respondents of this research praised the initiatives pursued by those managing the sites as having contributed to changing their fortunes for better. They attested to having stable incomes to support their families and educating their children. The Steve Biko
Centre which is still fairly new, has contributed positively to employment creation and the lessening of poverty in the area.
Indeed the centre started small in the year 1998, but with professional staff employed to run operations, it engaged on many community projects on arts, culture and drama that seasonally and permanently employed many young people. Many people were able to develop further and through these projects became professionals in their own right.
From Ginsberg the Centre has seen huge numbers of local people being employed during the construction phases as well as in its cleaning and maintenance. More professional personnel such as drama teachers, micro projects managers and actors have also been employed from the surrounding areas. Even with these strides there are aspects of the Centre that are yet to be fully functional. These included features such as film making and restaurants and these are still recruiting. More people are expected to be employed when these are fully functional. Overall, these endeavours do speak to direct employment and constant access of livelihoods.
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Indirect employment could be created in the form of skills transfer through Sector
Education and Training Authorities (SETAs). These SETAs were developed by the
Minister of labour in the early 2000s to develop the skills needed by various industries in
South Africa and target mainly young people. They function in such a way that learners
get remunerated while undergoing training on various skills. Various SETAs such as the Whole Sale & Retail SETA (W & R SETA); the Culture, Arts, Tourism, Hospitality,
Sports Education & Training Authority (CATHSSETA); Bank SETA and others aim to equip young people with the skills needed by contemporary industries. The manager at
the Steve Biko Centre also mentioned the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP)
for young people of Ginsberg (Personal Communication at Ginsberg, 18 September
2013).
The Steve Biko Centre manager reiterated in 2014 that they were in talks with the
Department of Public Works and the Department of Tourism on the Expanded Public
Works Programme (EPWP). The latter programme endeavours to provide job training
and placement to young South Africans between the ages of 18 – 35 in various sectors
of our economy. It offers in-service training opportunities to young people for twelve
months. They are remunerated and are gaining the necessary experience needed by
employers whilst they are in in-service training. For the Goshen San Paintings
however, it is a different story.
That site does have the potential to be developed into an initiative that can benefit many
members of the local communities. It is however not properly utilized and does not bring benefits to local communities. The ADM contends that it was still in the planning stages for initiatives that would benefit local people. It is uncertain how long that
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planning stage would take for such sites to be exploited to benefit local communities.
Some young people within the Goshen village did not even know that there are valuable
San paintings in their surroundings by 2014. It is not clear if the research conducted on
the area made them aware.
6.5 Conclusion
The analysis reveals that two of the three sites (Rharhabe Kingdom and the Steve Biko centre) have a management structure that is professional and run on business principles. The involvement of local communities in management and control of these sites is very minimal. Nevertheless local communities are involved in the conceptualization and the planning phases of the sites. The day-to-day running is the duty of the professionally employed management personnel. In spite of that absence of community control and management of those initiatives, they do bring benefits to local communities in the form of employment and poverty alleviation. Such initiatives appear to benefit communities; and local municipalities have to play their role in capacitating and supporting the sites. There is a major concern in the absence of data collection on the number of tourists visiting these sites. There is also an absence of classification
(whether foreign or domestic tourists) in the arrivals of those who visit. Despite such challenges, the sustainability and future prospects of the two sites appear to be promising. In spite of the absence of data on visitations, the management of sites contended that cultural heritage is developing within the ADM and that a number of communities are beginning to realize this potential. The ADM plans to develop more sites of cultural heritage within its jurisdiction. The revival and conservation of sites such as that of Goshen San Paintings appear to be among them.
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CHAPTER VII
CONCLUSIONS AND CRITICAL INPUTS
7.1 Introduction
The previous two chapters have detailed the three selected sites and the key research findings on the three sites. These findings have provided fundamental details including the way in which sites are managed. Furthermore they dealt with the involvement of stakeholders in the funding and management of sites. They also dealt with visitations coordination, as well as the contribution of these sites to employment and poverty alleviation. The findings crucially revealed the lack of or the absence of measuring tools to ascertain tourists’ visits to the sites. As underlined earlier, measuring tourists’ visits is very important for planning purposes, as well as, for support by either the Local or
District Municipality. It is an essential tool for the determination of the development of trends of heritage tourism industry within the ADM, in the Eastern Cape Province and in
South Africa in general. Such data is important for the tourism sites themselves. Direct and indirect employment can be measured through the collection of such necessary and relevant information. This process does not only benefit tourism sites alone but the country as a whole. It therefore requires the co-operation of broad role players and particularly the leadership of the ADM.
7.2 Conclusions
This research highlighted some important aspects of cultural and heritage tourism within the ADM. It acknowledged the difficulty in measuring cultural and heritage tourism
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trends within this municipality in the absence of data collected on tourist visits. Indeed,
since the inception of the Amathole Heritage Initiative, there has been no information on
tourist numbers visiting these routes weekly, monthly, seasonally and over the years. In the absence of that data, it is difficult to plan for the present and make projections for the future. It has been revealed through this study that some sites do bring benefits in the form of employment and poverty alleviation. The sustainability of those jobs depend on the marketing of sites and the involvement of a local Municipality. The precarious state of the San paintings and the non-involvement of Amahlathi local municipality in managing them has been documented. The lack of marketing potential and innovation
in some sites (Rharhabe Kingdom) are other concerns and these require assistance
from the ADM. A site such as the Steve Biko centre for instance shows great prospects
for growth and is attending to the immediate challenges of unemployment and poverty
among the youth, but this too has to overcome a challenge of day-to-day operations
management.
Some of the critical inputs that are discussed in the last sub-section of the previous
chapter included the ADM working hand in glove with established businesses and
agencies, to activate skills on data collection on tourist visits. These in turn, have to be
transferred to local municipalities and tourism site managers. In that scheme of things
the ADM has to form linkages with established business sectors for the benefit of the
SMMEs within its jurisdiction. The ADM has to capitalize on global sporting events to
grow tourism and the recognition of SMMEs. That it must form relations with tertiary
institutions such as the University of Fort Hare, which is globally positioned and currently celebrating its centenary in 2016. That publicity is an important partner in
157 realizing tourism growth, particularly cultural heritage tourism. Cultural heritage tourism growth among domestic tourists, essentially depends on the word of mouth.
All of the critical inputs (that are discussed below) require leadership from the ADM and a conviction to change the socio-economic conditions of the people particularly within its geographical locus. It is paramount that political in-fighting and personnel stability are addressed in order for municipalities to move forward and make an impact on the lives of the majority and the disadvantaged.
7.3 Critical Inputs
Rogerson (2007) indicate that one of the roles of the local municipalities is to promote
Local Economic Development (LED) through tourism. In such cases local government has to create conditions necessary for investment in order to achieve certain policy objectives. It has to provide leadership and guidance to all its stakeholders. Leadership is key in the promotion and development of tourism and in bringing innovation to the tourism businesses (Franchetti and Page, 2008; Keane and Zhang, 2008). If the municipalities are to lead LED through tourism, then they require competent and qualified personnel with a vision and ability to implement policies and plans. They have to put systems and processes in place, and be able to see those through, within set time-frames. In the absence of leadership and timeous interventions from local government, tourism prospects tend to be reduced.
In South Africa, for example, political infighting and the often inharmonious leadership changes in municipalities after elections often cause major tourism stagnation. Many people who are competent are sometimes forcefully removed because of political
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differences at the expense of tourism development for the benefit of local people. This was the case at Goshen in Cathcart, within the Amahlathi Local Municipality in 2006.
People who were running and trying to develop the Goshen San paintings were
forcefully removed after the 2007/8 Municipal elections. This left the Municipality
without competent people to initiate and run tourism projects and that has continued being the case in present times. According to the Institute for Security Studies (2011) this is a reflection of what happens in many local municipalities. Surely municipalities need to look at the main focus of improving the livelihoods of people through tourism development as one of the many options, rather than narrow political self-interests.
District municipalities such as the ADM are responsible for the failures that happen
within their local municipalities.
The leadership mentioned above has to be reflected in the success stories of their local
municipalities. The ADM initiated the Amathole Heritage Initiative to support cultural
and heritage development within the Municipality since 2004. From the inception of that
initiative, the ADM contended that cultural and heritage tourism was growing and
developing within the District Municipality. This was possibly through the identification
and development of a multiple of cultural and heritage sites most of which are not
necessarily examined in the study of this nature. Evidence is needed to support the
contention of that growth and classification, through research and statistical database.
ADM has to lead that endeavour and set an example for local municipalities, by giving
training and support to the latter. In turn, local municipalities have to train and equip site
management on the importance of database collection and classification. There are
well established tourism companies and research agencies which collect that data.
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ADM must partner with such institutions and extend its associations to academic
institutions and the private sector. On the evidence of findings of this study, this is one
key area that the ADM and some of its local municipalities like Amahlathi local
municipality have to address.
Kirsten and Rogerson (2002) acknowledged that tourism is most successful when the
industry is driven by the private sector. They also caution governments to be aware of
primary reasons for companies to be involved in any businesses. In that particular
case, profit making at the expense of local people can take precedence. Thus
government has to legislate to regulate the private sector. The successes of these
private companies on tourism lie in their management structures and innovations
(Franchetti and Page, 2008; Keane and Zhang, 2008 and Kshetri, 2007). The private
sector employs qualified personnel, who work within time-frames and who are innovative. They use current technology (Internet and social networks) that enable
traditional forms of culture to be reinvented with value. In that process old forms of
knowledge become accessible to newer generations. The ADM has to adapt
accordingly and form partnerships with the private sector to learn and establish
business linkages. Those business linkages would help new forms of tourism such as
cultural heritage tourism, eco-tourism and agri-tourism, which are usually small and
classified as Small, Medium & Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) (Kirsten and Rogerson,
2002).
There are many tourism businesses within the ADM which are classified as SMMEs.
These could in turn attend to the challenge of unemployment through multiple linkages.
There however remain many challenges. Visser (2004) noted, for instance, that the
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prevailing pattern of tourism development reveals benefits that are distributed in a
spatially uneven manner. He identified few benefits and opportunities flowing outside
major tourism nodes to outlying areas. It is therefore the responsibility of the ADM to
market and promote tourism businesses that are outside those major nodes through
innovation and creativity. They must also engage, well established tourism businesses,
in marketing the outlying areas or the least known nodes. A great opportunity was
missed by the ADM and Buffalo City Municipality to put their respective areas on a
global stage during the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup.
As emphasised, global events such as the soccer world cup are a great platform to put
municipalities on the world map based on what they can offer on tourism. Many writers
concur that during those events, tourists also want to explore local cultures and
cuisines, local heritage and local scenery (Briedenhann and Wickens, 2004; Pillay and
Rogerson, 2012 and Walker, Kaplanidou, Gibson, Thapa, Geldenhuys and Coetzee,
2012). The ADM missed and still continues to miss opportunities such as these. That
deficiency continues to entrench tourism vibrancy within certain nodes in South Africa.
In readdressing such challenges, the ADM has to be pro-active and be determined to
support its local municipalities to change fortunes of local communities. The District
Municipality needs to work with local tertiary institutions on cultural heritage promotion and development.
There are other prospects on the horizon. As mentioned, the University of Fort Hare
celebrated its centenary in 2016. Many people who studied at this institution across the
globe descended on to the town of Alice. The University’s main campus and satellite
campuses are located within the jurisdiction of the ADM. It is important that the ADM
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liaise closely with the University of Fort Hare as there is scope and need to regenerate
the town of Alice and support local businesses. The university continually hosts events
that could benefit local accommodation establishments such as the Rharhabe Kingdom.
The marketing of local accommodation establishments within the area close to the
university remains paramount. The ADM has to expand its focus from larger centres
such as King William’s Town and East London and endeavour to promote local establishments much closer to the Tyume River valley and the University of Fort Hare.
The municipality has to ensure that such local establishments meet the acceptable standards as stipulated by the Tourism Grading Council of South Africa (TGCSA). That gives the ADM an opportunity to work towards exposing the cultural heritage of the district, linking key attractions with those established within the Buffalo City Metro. All those prospects dictate that the ADM must train personnel on tour guiding, for the value and experience of the true heritage and history of the area, going forward.
In these preparations, the media has to play a leading role in promoting cultural heritage within the ADM. Local and national newspapers have to promote cultural heritage and take ownership of this aspect of tourism. These agencies have scopes for newspaper features on certain cultural heritage sites, documentaries as well as competitions on different service provisions and providers. Overall, the media has a role to connect domestic tourists with sites that they never explored. Together with global visitors they have an opportunity to localise and globalise the heritage of the University of Fort Hare.
All forms of media communication that range from newspapers to electronic forms, with social networks have potential to contribute to the growth of the ADM heritage tourism in the context of the centenary celebrations and beyond. These communication networks
162
can be complemented by the word of mouth, through open dialogues, addresses, radio
and television messages, which can all be channelled to convey good tourists prospects
and existing experiences. The ADM has to accept that this is a dynamic process that
has to continue evolving but remains critical in its development of its cultural heritage
tourism. These are not easy initiatives and may not necessarily make an immediate
impact. Nevertheless, they can contribute not only in the promotion of what is one of the most imperative heritage resources of this municipality (i.e. University of Fort Hare)
but also in defining what would be the long-term future of the Tyume River valley or the
town of Alice. By the same token, all the three sites examined in this study are
fundamental in the long-term prospects and welfare of the ADM and its people. Thus
they require appropriate and constant attention.
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7.4 BIBLIOGRAPHY
This listed bibliography is divided into primary and secondary sources:
7.4.1 PRIMARY SOURCES
• Government Documents / Papers
Amathole District Municipality Intergrated Development Plan Review, 2010 – 2011.
Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, (1996). White Paper on The Development and Promotion of Tourism in South Africa.
Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, (2010). Report On Paramountcies, Disputes and New Kingship Claims – 2. South Africa.
Eastern Cape Provincial Government. (2009). Assessment of the Eastern Cape Provincial Growth and Development Plan. Bisho, South Africa.
Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency Annual Report, 2012/13.
Eastern Cape Tourism Master Plan, 2009 – 2014.
National Department of Tourism. (2011). National Tourism Sector Strategy. Pretoria, South Africa.
National Department of Tourism. (2012). Domestic Tourism Growth Strategy, 2012 – 2020. Pretoria, South Africa.
National Department of Tourism. (2012). The Experiences, Perceptions and Expectation of Consumers of Heritage Tourism Products: An Exploratory Study. Pretoria, South Africa.
164
Nkonkobe Intergrated Development plan, 2007- 2012.
Nkonkobe Intergrated Development Plan, 2007-2014.
Pricewaterhouse Coopers, (2010). Local Government and King III: Public Sector Working Group Position Paper-2. South Africa.
Provincial Growth and Development Plan, Eastern Cape: 2004-2014.
South African Heritage Resource Agency Annual Report, 2012/13.
South African Local Government Association Annual Report, 2011/2012
South Africa Local Government Association Annual Report, 2012/13.
Statistics South Africa (2012). Census 2011. Pretoria, South Africa.
Tourism Business Council of South Africa Annual Report, 2012/13.
Tourism Marketing South Africa Annual Report, 2012/13.
Tourism Programme Priorities in the Eastern Cape, 2003.
United Nations Environmental Programme. (2011). Towards a Green Economy: Pathways to Sustainable Development and Poverty Eradication – A Synthesis for Policy Makers. France.
• News Papers
Daily Dispatch. The Guardian. Mail & Guardian. Eastern Province Herald.
165
7.4.2 SECONDARY SOURCES
• Books and Chapters in Books
Beinart, W. (2001). Twntieth-Century South Africa. Oxford Paperbacks.
Beeton, S. (2006). Community Development through Tourism. Collingwood: Landlinks Press.
Davenport, T.R.H and Saunders, C. (2000). South Africa: A Modern History, Fifth Edition. Macmillan Press Ltd.
Davies, A; Hoggart, K and Lees, L. (2002). Researching Human Geography. Arnold Publishing, London.
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Hall, C.M. (1994). Tourism and Politics: Policy, Power and Place. Chichester:
Wiley.
Flick, U. (2002). An Introduction to Qualitative Research. SAGE Publication, London.
Flowerdew, R.A & Martin, D. (2005) (Eds).Methods in HumanGeography: A guide for students doing research project. Harlow, England, Prentice Hall.
166
Lee, D.N. and Woodhouse, H.C. (1970). Art on the Rocks of Southern Africa. Purnel and Sons Publishers, London.
Legassick, M. (2010). The Struggle for the Eastern Cape, 1800-1854: Subjugation
and the Roots of South African Democracy.
Limb, M and Dwyer, C. (2003). Qualitative Methodologies for Geographers: Issues
and Debates. Arnold Publications, London.
Meintjies, J. (1971). Sandile: The Fall of the Xhosa Nation. Cape and Transvaal Printers Limited, Cape Town.
Mittman, B. (2006). Using Qualitative Research Methods. Department of Veterans Affairs, United States.
Misiura, S. (2006). Heritage Marketing. Elsevier Limited, United Kingdom.
Mostert, N. (1992). Frontiers: The epic of South Africa’s Creation and the Tragedy Of the Xhosa People. Pimlico Publishers, London.
Nel, E and Rogerson, C.M. (2005).Local Economic Development in the Developing World: The Experience of Southern Africa. Transaction Publishers, London.
Nelson, J. (2007). The Operation of Non-Governmental Organisations in a World Of Corporate and other Codes of Conduct. Working Paper 34, Havard University.
Ntsebeza, L. (2005). Democracy Compromised: Chiefs and the Politics of the Land
167
in South Africa. Brill Publishers.
Peires, J. (1987). The House of Phalo – a History of the Xhosa People in the Days of their Independence. Ravan Press, Paris.
Picard, D and Robinson, M. (2006). Festivals, Tourism and Social Change: Remaking Worlds. Channel View Publications, United Kingdom.
Pieterse, E. (2008). Regional Development: Strategies for the Future. State of the
Province Report, 2008.
South African Democracy Education Trust. (2004). The Road to Democracy in In South Africa: 1970 – 1980 (Vol. 2). UNISA Press.
Switzer, L. (1993). Power and Resistance in an African Society: the Ciskei Xhosa and the making of South Africa. University of Wisconsin Press, USA.
Theal, G.M. (1917). History of South Africa from 1795 to 1872, Vol. 2. G. Allen and Unwin Ltd, London
Van Donk, M. (2008). Consolidating Developmental Local Government: Lessons
from the South African Experience. Juta and Company Ltd.
Willcox, A.R. (1963). The Rock Art of South Africa. Nelson Publishers, London.
Wotshela, L (2014). Wiseman Nkuhlu: A Life of Purpose. KMM Review
• Journal Articles (Periodicals)
168
Baum, T & Szivas, E. (2008). Human Resource Development in tourism: A role for government? Tourism Management, 29, 783-794.
Binns, T and Nel, E. (2002). Tourism as a Local Development Strategy in South Africa. The Geographical Journal, 168(3), 235-247.
Boyd, A. (2002). The Goals, Questions, Indicators, Measures (GQIM) Approach to the Measurement of Customer Satisfaction with e-commerce Web sites. Aslib Proceedings, 54(3), 177-187.
Briedenhann, J and Wickens, E. (2004). Tourism Routes as a Tool for the Economic Development of Rural Ereas – Vibrant Hope or Impossible Dream? Tourism Management, 25 (1), 71-79.
Busgeeth, K and Rivett, U. (2002). Design of a Heritage Register for the South African Heritage Resource Agency using a Spatial Information Systems Approach. International Archives of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, 34 (6), 193-196.
Che, D. (2008). Sport, Music, Entertainment and Destination Branding of Post – Fordist Detroit. Tourism Recreation Research, 33(2), 195-206.
Chhabra, D. (2008). Positioning Museums on an Authenticity Continuum. Annals of Tourism Research, 35(2), 427-447.
Cros, H; Bauer, T; Lo, C &Rui, S. (2005). Cultural Heritage Assets in China as
Sustainable Tourism Products: Case Studies of the Hutongs and the
Huanghua Section of the Great Wall. Journal of Sustainable Tourism,
13(2),171-193.
169
Dredge, D. (2006). Policy networks and the local organization of tourism.Journal
ofTourism Management, 27(2006), 269-280.
Edson, G. (2004). Heritage: Pride or Passion, Product or Service? Journal HeritageStudies, 10(4), 333 – 348.
Enzensberger, H.M. (1996). A Theory of Tourism. New German Critique, 68 (1), 117 – 135.
Galla, A. (1998). The Tshwane Declaration: setting standards for heritage tourism InSouth Africa. International Museum Journal, 50(4), 38 – 42.
Grobler, J. (2008). The Impact of Politics on Heritage and Cultural Tourism in SouthAfrica. Journal of Heritage Studies, 22(1), 163 – 185.
Gu, H, & Ryan, C. (2007). Place attachment, identity and community impacts of tourism – the case of a Beijing hutong. Journal of Tourism Management, 29(06), 637 – 647.
Harris, J. (1998). South Africa: The Cape of New Hope. Travel Journal, 12(6), 24-31.
Honkanen, A. (2002). Churches and Statues: Cultural Tourism in Finland. Tourism Management, 3(4), 371-379.
Jeursen, B. (2009). Cultural Tourism in Eastern Bushman land.Journal of Culture and Media Studies, (volume and page no. not there).
Jordan, Z.P. (2004). Arts and Culture Budget Speech 2004/2005 in the National
Assembly, Cape Town as cited in Grobler, J. (2008). The Impact of
Politics on Heritage and Cultural Tourism in South Africa. South African
170
Journal of Cultural History, 22(1), 163 – 185.
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Kim, S.S and Petrick, J.F. (2005). Residents Perceptions on Impacts of the FIFA 2002 World Cup: The Case of Seoul as a Host City. Tourism Management, 26(1), 25 – 38.
Kong, L. (2007). Cultural icons and urban development in Asia: Economic imperative, national identity, and global city status. Journal of Geography, 26(2007), 383 – 404.
Lepp, A. (2008). Tourism and dependency: An analysis of Bigodi village, Uganda. Journal of Tourism Management, 29(2008), 1206 – 1214.
Li, W. (2006). Community Decision making: Participation in Development. Annals Of Tourism Research, 33(1), 132-143.
Marshall, S. (2005). Making Money with Memories: The Fusion of Heritage, Tourism and Identity Formation in South Africa.Historia, 50(1), 103-122.
Mearns, M. A. (2007). The Basotho Cultural Village: Cultural Tourism Enterprise or Custodian of Indigenous Knowledge Systems? African Journal of IndigenousKnowledge Systems, 6(1), 37-42.
Nienaber, W; Steyn, M and Hutten, L. (2008). The Grave of King Mgqolombana Sandile Ngqika: Revisiting the Legend. South African Archaeological Bulletin, 63 (187), 46-50.
171
Ntsebeza, L. (2012). African Studies at UCT: An Overview. African Studies in the Post-colonial University. Cape Town: University of Cape Town in Association with the Centre for African Studies.
Nuryanti W. (1996).Heritage and Postmodern Tourism.Annals of Tourism Research, 23(2), 249-260.
Papatheodorou, A; Rossello, J. and Xiao, H. (2010). Global Economic Crisis and Tourism: Consequences and Perspectives. Journal of Travel Research, 49 (1), 39-45.
Park, H. (2010). Heritage Tourism: Emotional Journey into Nationhood. Annals of Tourism Research, 37 (1), 116-135.
Philander, D. E and Rogerson, C. M. (2001). Rural Local Economic Development and Land Restitution in South Africa: The Case of Schmidtsdrift, Northern Cape.Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography, 22(1), 74-89.
Rogerson, C.M and Visser, G (2006). International Tourist Flows and Urban Tourism in South Africa.Urban Forum, 17 (2), 199-213.
Rogerson, C.M. (2002). Tourism-led Local Economic Development: the South African experience.Urban Forum, 13, (1), 95-119.
Rogerson, C.M. (1997). Local Economic Development and Post-Apartheid Reconstruction in South Africa. Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography, 18 (2), 175-195.
Schmidt, V.A. (2008). Discursive Institutionalism: The Explanatory Power of Ideas and Discourse. Annual Review of Political Science, 11.
172
Shackley, M. (2001). Potential Futures for Robben Island: shrine, museum or theme park? International Journal of Heritage Studies, 7(4), 355-363.
Simpson, C.M. (2008). Community Benefit Tourism Initiatives – A Conceptual Oxymoron? Tourism Management, 29 (1), 1-18.
Song, H and Li, G. (2008). Tourism Demand Modelling and Forecasting – A Review of Recent Research. Tourism Management, 29 (1), 297-333.
Stiebel L. (2004). Hitting the Hot Spot: Literary Tourism as a Research Field with Particular Reference to KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.Literary Tourism, 18(2),31-42.
Tao, T.C.H. & Wall, G. (2009).Tourism as a Sustainable Livelihood Strategy. Journal of Tourism Management, 30(1), 90-98.
Towner, J. (1985). The Grand Tour: A Key Phase in the History of Tourism. Annals of Tourism Research, 12 (1), 297-333.
Towner, J. (1995). What is Tourism’s History? Tourism Management, 16 (5), 339-343.
Walker, M; Kaplanidou, K; Gibson, H; Thapa, B; Geldenhuys, S and Coetzee, W. (2012). “Win in Africa”: Social Responsibility, Event Image and Destination Benefits. The Case of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Tourism Management, 1, 1-11.
Walton, K.J. (2009). Prospects in Tourism History: Evolution, State of Play and Future Developments.Journal of Tourism Management, 30, (1), 783-793.
Wotshela, L. (2009). Land Redistribution Politics in the Eastern Cape Midlands: The
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Case of the Lukhanji Municipality, 1995-2006. Kronos, Southern
African Histories, 35 (1).
Wotshela, L. (2004). Territorial Manipulation in Apartheid South Africa: Resettlement, Tribal Politics and the Making of the Northern Ciskei, 1975-1990. Journal of Southern African Studies, 30 (2), 317-337.
Wotshela, L. (2005). Asiyi eCiskei [We are not Going to Ciskei]: Removals and Resistance in the ‘Border’ Region, 1972-1988. South African Historical Journal, 52 (2005), 140-169.
Wotshela, L. (Forthcoming). Capricious Patronage and Captive Land: A
Socio-Political History of Resettlement and Change in South Africa,
1960 – 2005. Unisa Press
Ying, T. & Zhou, Y. (2007). Community,Government and External Capitals in China’s Rural Cultural Tourism: A Comparative Study of Two Adjacent Villages. Journal of TourismManagement, 28(1), 96-107.
Zamani-Farahani H & Musa G. (2008). Resident’s Attitudes and Perception Towards Tourism Development: A case of Masooleh, Iran. Tourism Management,29, (1), 1233-1236.
• Dissertations / Thesis and Conference Papers
Kadozo, N. (2009). Sustainable Livelihoods Approaches: The Future of Income Generating Projects in Urban Areas?: An Evaluation of Five Income Generating Projects in Tembisa. University of South Africa, Pretoria.
Katiti, A. (2014). Geography and Remote Sensing PhD Candidate, University of
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Fort Hare, South Africa.
Mahlangeni, B.M. (2005). The Role of Traditional Leadership Institutions in the Development of their Communities with Specific Reference to the Rharhabe Kingdom, Mngqesha Great Place, King William’s Town. An Unpublished Master of Public Administration Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University.
Mearns, K. (2010). The Sustainability of Community Based Eco-tourism Ventures In South Africa. An Unpublished PhD Thesis, University of Portsmouth.
Msumza, L. (1993). From Half-way Station to Permanent Settlement: A Study in the Evolution of Ginsberg Township, 1939 – 1964. An Unpublished Honours Thesis, University of Cape Town.
Webb, D.A.. (1993). King William’s Town during the South African War, 1899-1902: An Urban Social, Economic and Cultural History. Unpublished Masters Thesis, Rhodes University.
Webb, D.A. (1989). From Garrison Town to Dormitory Town – Aspects of the History Of King William’s Town. Unpublished Documents, Amathole Museum, King
William’s Town.
Wotshela, L. (2001). Homeland Consolidation Resettlement and Local Politics in the Border and the Ciskei Region of the Eastern Cape, South Africa, 1960-1996. An Unpublished PhD Thesis, Oxford University.
Zituta, M. (1997). The Spatial Planning of Racial Residential Segregation in King William’s Town: 1826-1991. An Unpublished Master of Arts Thesis, Rhodes University.
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7.4.3 INTERVIEWS
Ayanda Sondara: Tourism Officer, (13 September 2013). Amathole District Municipality, East London.
Bonile Jack: Former Chairman of the King Sandile Development Trust, (18 March 2011). Rharhabe Kingdom, Mngqesha.
Christine Van Heerden: Administrator, (06 September 2013). Amahlathi Local Municipality, Cathcart Office.
Jongile Thole: Community Development Worker, (06 September 2013). Amahlathi Local Municipality, Cathcart Office.
Jongi Hoza: Arts and Culture Programmes Officer, (23 September 2013). Steve Biko Centre, Ginsberg.
Kholoza Tshandana: Arts and Culture Programmes Assistant, (23 September 2013). Steve Biko Centre, Ginsberg.
Mlandeli Vazi: Chairman of the King Sandile Development Trust, (03 November 2013). Rharhabe Kingdom, Mngqesha.
Nobuntu Smallpox: Kitchen Staff and Community Member, (10 November 2014). Rharhabe Kingdom, Mngqesha.
Nunu Dlungwana: Assistant Manager, Heritage Department, (13 September 2013). Amathole District Municipality, East London.
Sandile Zikalala: Tourism Officer, (23 September 2013). Steve Biko Centre, Ginsberg.
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Simon Kahla: Heritage Department, (13 September 2013). Amathole District Municipality, East London.
Temba Diko: Local Resident (06 September 2013). Goshen Village, Cathcart.
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APPENDIX A
QUESTIONNAIRE FOR MUNICIPAL OFFICIALS
1. Details of the respondent
Name ………………………………………………………………………………………
Age………………………………………………………………………………………….
Place/country of birth……………………………………………………………………….
Clan name…………………………………………………………………………………..
Position in the Municipality………………………………………………………………..
Number of years working in this Municipality…………………………………………..
Responsibilities in the Municipality
………………………………………………….………………………………………………
………………………………………….………………………………………………………
………………………………….………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………….
2. Questions on tourism in the Municipality
Does the Municipality have a tourism officer? Y/N
If Yes, Can you please explain his/her duties?
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…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………….
If No, Can you explain how does the municipality deal with issues of tourism development in the ADM?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
Does the Municipality have any Cultural or Heritage tourism structures? Y/N
How long have these structures been operating?
...... ……………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
If Yes, please explain how they are organized and structured (composition)?
………………………………………………………………………….………….…………
…………………………………………………………..…………………….………………
………………………………………..………………………………….……………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………….
Is there any registry of these structures available in the ADM?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………......
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What information is there on these structures and how are they coordinated?
……………………………………………………………………..…………………………..
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
Is the information readily available on each of the Cultural Heritage sites? Y/N
If N, which sites do not have the supply of information and why is that the case?
……………………………………………………………………………...………………….
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
How is the recording of data on Cultural and Heritage tourist visits and their
frequency conducted?
…………………………………………………….……………………………………………
………………………………………..………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
Is the information on Cultural and Heritage tourist visits and frequency accessible to
any member of the public?
……………………………………..…………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………….
How frequently is this data updated?
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…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
Are there any job opportunities created through the initiatives of Cultural and
Heritage tourism?
………………………………………………………….…………………………..…………
………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………..
How do you measure employment opportunities on Cultural and Heritage tourism
within the ADM? (Direct or indirect employment)
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
What are the challenges facing the ADM on Cultural and Heritage tourism activities?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………….
How do you assess and forecast tourism development in the ADM for the next five years? Please explain.
………………………………………………………………….……..………………………
……………………………………………………..………………………….………………
……………………………………………………………….…………………………………
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…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
General comments in relation to Cultural and Heritage tourism within the ADM?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………..
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE IN FILLING IN THIS
QUESTIONNARE!
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APPENDIX B
QUESTIONNAIRE FOR CULTURAL HERITAGE SITE MANAGERS
1. Details of the respondent
Name………………………………………………………………………………………………
Age…………………………………………………………………………………………………
Country of birth/Nationality
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
2. Details about the cultural heritage site
Name of the site………………………………………………………………………………….
Why the choice of name?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Where is it located/situated?
………………………………………………………………….…………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………
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Accessibility of the site to the public
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………..………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Why this particular location/area?
…………………………………………………………..…………………………………………
………………………………………………………..……………………………………………
……………………………………………………..………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………….
What product does the site show case?
…………………………………………………………….………………………………………
………………………………………………………….…………………………………………
……………………………………………………….……………………………………………
…………………………………………………….………………………………………………
………………………………………………….…………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………
The vision behind showcasing the product
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………..……………………………………………………….
…………………………………………..………………………………………………………….
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………………………………………..…………………………………………………………….
……………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Can you provide a historical background of the area where the site is located?
……….……………………………………………………………………………………………
…….....……………………………………………………………………………………………
………..……………………………………………………………………………………………
………..……………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………..……………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………..
……………………………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
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3. Relationship with Local/District Municipality
Is the site registered with the Municipality? Yes/No
Is there proof of registration with the Municipality?
……………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Is there a working relationship between the site and the Municipality?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Can you describe the nature of the relationship and how you work together?
…………....………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
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Is there any assistance concerning the business/site that you get from the Municipality?
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If yes, can you describe the type and the nature of assistance?
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4. Relationship with the Local Community
Is there a working relationship between the site and the local community? Please
elaborate.
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Does the local community benefit in any way from this site? Yes / No
If yes, how?
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Does the local community contribute in any way to the development of this site? Please elaborate.
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Is there any additional information you would like to add to this questionnaire? Please specify.
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THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME AND CONTRIBUTION TOWARDS THE
SUCCESS OF THIS RESEARCH!
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