Rotary GSE to South Africa 2009

 

What a day!  Let me first start by apologizing if this blog post goes on and on.  It is the end of the day, around 10:30 p.m. here and I am just now settling in at my host family's house after a long and interesting day.

Today was both our first vocational visit and later on, our first presentation to a South African Rotary club.  The way the vocational visits work is that our host district coordinator received a list from each of the GSE Team members on their professional interests and then tried to match us up with relevant visits in South Africa.

For me, I listed local government, land use, water and wastewater management and public relations as my interests.  I guess my true colors come out on that list, as I own a PR company, but love learning about local government, which is why it was top on my list. As an aside, my interest and passion in this subject was validated today by my complete fascination in all things city government on the tour today.  I am starting to wonder about possible fields of graduate study to continue this learning process.

Today's visit was to the City of Capetown.  B.J. Cordova and I were hosted by a man who worked for the city for over 30 years named Kendall, who knew about what seemed to be just about everything in Capetown!  In a span of a couple of hours, we visited with the City staff responsible for building the stadium and infrastructure for the 2010 World Cup, an urban redevelopment project, a biodiversity conservation program and a program to improve the informal settlements in town, as well as going on a drive around Capetown.

In the interest of time, here is a short list of what I learned today:
-Capetown is ruled by the Democratic Alliance, which is a different political party than the rest of South Africa (which is ruled by the ANC party).  This sometimes causes friction between Capetown and the other major cities of Johannesburg and Pretoria.  (sound familiar to those in Tucson?)

-The World Cup is a really big event!  Since I am not a huge soccer fan (thanks mean girls in 7th grade who said they would beat me up if I kept playing), I wasn't aware of what it meant for a country to host the World Cup.  The City of Capetown is investing 2.7B Rand (around 270 million dollars) in stadium and infrastructure development for the 2010 World Cup.  Combined with Provincial (State) and National spending, the total government investment is 8.6B Rand ($860 million).  This does not even include the private investment in hotels, developments, etc.  Soccer = big $$ in the world.

-The City of Capetown today is huge.  Prior to 1997, the City was actually 29 different cities and towns, which were consolidated into 6 cities and towns and one county (metro), then into 1 local government for the whole region.  This was done by order of the national government for several cities, including Johannesburg and Durban and each city had a 4 year time frame for consolidation!  Today, the City has a staff of 25K people and a population of 3.4 million.  I can't even imagine trying to manage the task of melding all of Tucson, Marana, Oro Valley, Sahuarita, South Tucson and Pima County into one government!  Can you?  Who would come out in charge I wonder?

-And finally, this note is for Mayor Skelton and CM Rodney Glassman if you are reading this - the City of Capetown uses rainwater harvesting and greywater re-use.  In fact, the 2010 World Cup stadium will have rainwater harvesting systems on its roof.  There was a major drought here a few years ago, so people in Capetown are very water conscious as well.

Tonight's Rotary Club presentation was to the Rotary Club of Hout Bay, a beautiful area in Capetown.  The club met at a mariner's club near a dock with many fishing boats coming in for the evening.  The smell made me think of my time down the shore in New Jersey, especially when I visit my grandfather's fishing boat.

As with all Rotary Clubs, the Hout Bay group was very hospitable and we had a fun time.  This club had a time for goodwill (cocktails) before the meeting, which was enjoyable and made it seem very social.  The presentation went off without a hitch - I felt especially comfortable presenting here, as it was our first time talking to Rotarians who didn't know anything about Arizona, therefore all of our facts and figures were new and intersting to them.

Tomorrow the group will be touring a Rotary project in a very poor area where there is a family counseling center.  This area has high rates of HIV/AIDS and extreme poverty, so it should be very eye-opening.  It is my understanding that many Rotary clubs in Tucson have supported this project, so I look forward to bringing back information

 


Comments

Beej
04/15/2009 08:15

Hey Barb, thanks for covering a lot of the City of Cape Town info on your blog - I simply haven't had the chance to digest all of that yet, and am very excited to get back in touch with our new colleagues in the Cape Town Civic Center! I definitely see a lot of parallels between our communities.

Go team!
BJ

Reply
Joe Pangburn
04/16/2009 15:51

Hey Barb!

Sounds so great! That's very interesting about the rain water harvesting! I wanted to let you know, whenever you have a chance, the writer has sent you some questions for the profile. I know you're busy but I appreciate you taking the time for her. Our deadline is coming up. :)

have fun!

Thanks!
-Joe

Reply
Lynne Skelton
04/21/2009 14:06

How interesting about their rainwater harvesting. Glassman is coming down to ToS May 18th for a special council study session on rainwater harvesting. I'm excited the Council will finally hear about it and take possible Action. Mr. Sharpe also mentioned to me that he wants to work with us on rainwater harvesting planning.
Miss you, be safe and have loads of fun.

Reply
Nike Air Max 90 link
10/15/2010 02:38

Once owned of, don't forget. Valentine's day has been attracted to cherish; more, Don't give up the things that belong to oneself, Lost memories; for, Want,You must work hard, But most importantly, Good care of yourself!

Reply
Nike Air Max 90 link
10/25/2010 02:08

A truth is better than a thousand gold pieces, warm WanLiHan frost, Can deliver a salute, A sweet greetings to my mind, Madly busy days take good care of yourself and LuBao a way from the grasslands, A greeting, bring me fragrant smell. From the north of blessing, let me feel the p recious friendship.

Reply
buy viagra link
12/16/2010 08:37

AIDS is a problem that is growing day by day, is a fatal disease that is preventable with information on how to avoid and how is this bad. I really think they need a lot of information on this subject with young people.

Reply
costa-rica retirement link
12/20/2010 09:04

In Costa Rica will always find a variety of animals and plants that beautify our landscape. Come and see the beauty of our land

Reply
costa rica rental car link
12/20/2010 09:06

The people of Costa Rica is warm in his dealings, kind and hardworking. Visit our country and will enjoy the natural beauty of the find

Reply
salvatore ferragamo link
12/25/2011 23:51

airline PC Air,

Reply
ferragamo shoes link
12/30/2011 00:36

length of the New

Reply
Moncler Canada link
01/01/2012 19:27

risk factors for memory

Reply
ugg classic tall link
01/01/2012 19:35

Oregon Health & Science

Reply
tisa caps link
04/12/2012 00:54

Very glad to see your blog, thank you share so many interesting things. Hope that in the future can see you day published more interesting! Can see your blog I very happy! Thanks for your sharing, I wish you a happy life!

Reply



Leave a Reply