City of Joburg: Back to the stone ages

The City of Joburg has been punted as a “world class” city for years now but the latest news to come out of the government department has sent it straight back to the stone ages.

Joburg residents would have noticed the footnote on their monthly water and lights bills that: “The City of Joburg will de-register as a credit card merchant from 1 March 2008 and credit cards will no longer be accepted at municipal offices.”

Pity, because the ability to use one’s credit/debit card at municipal offices was such a convenience factor, not to mention a boost for security as people no longer needed to carry cash around or write cheques and pay the horrendous bank fees associated with cheques.

I called the Joburg Connect number on the City’s website and asked why the city had decided to drop this convenince from its offices.

A very uninterested contact centre agent on the other end of the phone said that the City has not given reasons for this step backward in its evolution and it was “probably something to do with fraud”.

A likely story. Clearly the people who manage the city need to take a better look at their priorities, especially considering the fact that less and less people are carrying cash around with them and cash-related crime (i.e. heists, armed robberies and hijackings) is on the heavy increase.

With the amounts of money that pass through minicpal offices on a dialy basis, it’s a matter of time before they become soft targets for criminals – especially given the number of people (particulalry the elderly) who go and queue at these offices.

The City does give people lots of other ways to pay their rates and utillites without having to go to municipal offices, but the fact of the matter is that some transactions cannot be done at a Pick n’ Pay or Shoprite Checkers tillpoint or (like paying the deposit on your water and lights).

It’s a bad move and definate step backward for the municipality of Joburg. We can only hope that they come to their senses.

Watch out Woolies, here comes Spar

Woolworths in South Africa has always been the stalwart of quality and the desitnation for unusual and interesting products that you generally cannot find anywhere else.

People did not mind paying slightly more for the perceived “better quality” of Woolies products, particualrly with the introduction of Marks & Spencer products in recent months.

However, Woolies has, undoubtedly, declined in quality and service over the last two years, particulalry with regard to the reduced stock quality, chornically empty shelves and the recent 10 – 15% price increases across its entire range of food products.

(Ed’s note: R52 for 180g of Ostrich biltong is Ridiculous! – That’s nearly R300 a kilo!)

But one retailer, Spar, seems to be chomping at Woolies’ heels when it comes to quality and the overall appeal of its products and stores.

Spar has always been the retailer that never really had a position in the market. Yes, Spar shops are open later than others and their prices are around 10% more expensive than, say Pick n’ Pay or Checkers Hyper, but recent improvements to the chain’s brand, store appearance and range of products are making waves in the market.

Woolworths has always positioned itself in the market as a premium retailer and, until recnetly, succeeded in appealing to a wider variety of people by creating the perception that its products are not that expensive in relation to their quality.

There is no doubt that fruit and vegitables bought from Woolies have been of the highest quality and do seem to last longer.

Even the growing and increasingly-affluent middle class in South Africa almost see it as a status symbol – being able to shop at Woolies and sport additional products such as the retailer’s own store card or Visa credit card.

But ongoing problems that dog Woolworths on a continual basis (poor stock levels and empty shelves particulalry), and the retailers apparent re-positioning in the market as a premium brand (again) in an environment where debt-layden consumers are having to tighten their purse strings, could spell out problems in the future.

That said, if Spar continues along this path of improvement, it is sure to overtake Woolies in the market and attract a growing clientelle who would usually have gone to Woolies for quality or unusual food products.

Make no mistake, many Spar stores have a long way to go in the store-appearence and stock-variety categories, but, certainly, both the new and improved stores that are making an appearance across South Africa are proving to be pleasently surprising to many people.

Watch out Woolies, Spar is coming back in a big way.

(NOTE: I am in no way affiliated to either Woolies or Spar and do not have any vested interest in either company).

The “Big Five” is not everything

The obsession with delivering the “Big Five” (i.e. Lion, Leopard, Elephant, Rhino and Buffalo) in South African game parks to foreign tourists has the potential to marginalise South African tourists’ interests in these very same parks.

The growing number of tourists in South Africa means a growing number or tourist service organisations are increasingly out to deliver “big ticket” game, at the cost of perceived waining interest in fauna and flora seen to be “less interesting”.

South Africans can count themselves lucky that they live on a continent that has arguably the widest array of animal and plant species on the planet. We even sometimes take it for granted.

But, as an avid nature lover and bush-freak, the reality hit home on my recent trip to the bush; that this obsession with the Big Five can ruin a bush experience for South Africans who are interested in other things like birds, plants and antelope, for example.

The resounding (and somewhat predictable) chorus of “Lion!”in a mix of European accents that greets game rangers’ enquiry as to what tourists would like see on a game drive spells doom for any person sitting on the same safari vehicle, hoping to spot a Fork-tailed Drongo or Lilac-breasted Roller.

I have to admit, this is not the general trend at ALL game lodges in South Africa, but it’s a growing trend where lodges lump foreigners and South Africans on the same safari vehicle – much to the dismay of true nature-loving bush-goers.

This was further emphasised on my recent trip where the ranger in charge of driving us for the weekend commented on how happy he was to drive South Africans because the foreigners can get too demanding with wanting to see the Big Five and tended to get quite irate when he couldn’t deliver all the said animals in a single game drive.

The truth is that locals and foreigners have very different needs. Even many locals share the foreigners’ compulsion with seeing the Big Five, which is why it is vitally importnat that game lodges and tourism operators have a clear picture of who their clients are and what these clients expect from an excursion or trip.

I would welcome a game lodge that put like-minded people on the same vehicle to avoid both the frustration for nature-lovers not being able to stop for birds and plants and the equal frustration for Big Five-seekers having to stop for “every darn bird and plant”.

There is also a clear need to market the wide variety of animals and plants available for tourists to see in South Africa. The Big Five is not everything and, while these animals do epitomise Africa, there are hundreds of equally-alluring animals to keep tourists (both local and foreign) interested.

Maybe people should try obessing over “The Ugly Five” or “The Little Five”.

Tourism in SA – a raw deal?

Are tourists paying way too much for their South African experiences? It would seem so.

I was lucky enough to spend a few days at Bongani Mountain Lodge (Ed’s note: Go there, it’s a phenominal bush break!) for my birthday, where my wife and I met some very nice people.

One couple, some newlyweds from India, had been travelling South Africa for the past 15 days and were staying at Bongani for a few nights before ending their 22-day honeymoon road-trip from Cape Town all the way up to Sun City.

Bongani’s very close proximity to the Kruger National Park obviously meant that a trip to the Park was something to explore for them as part of their “total South African experience”.

We told them that on Indian passports, they could drive there and gain entrance for about R140 each in conservation fees. As they did not have a hire car for this particular part of their travels they had to rely on a tour operator to pick take them to Kruger. But the price that they were quoted was nothing short of obscene.

A day trip to the Kruger with a private tour operator would set the couple back R1,500 per person for the day, which many ordinary South Africans would consider highway robbery. Well, we certainly did, considering that they were not going to be the only ones on the tour.

It begs the question, are tourists taken advantage of in SA, particualrly the Euro-, Dollar- and Pound-carrying ones? It seems to be the case.

R1,500 per person for a day trip to the Kruger is 100x more than the regular entrance fee to thePpark for foreigners and, even if you factor in car rental for the day and petrol, you’re still going to be way under that ridiculous amount by a long shot.

Tourism is an industry that is flourishing in South Africa and the growing number of tourists that come to the country means that a lot of people working in this industry are going to do very well for themselves – if they build a good repuation for the industry and contribute to its sustainability.

The 2010 Fifa World Cup finals, to be held here in SA in a few years time, will proably attract even more people to the tourism industry in the hopes of cashing in on unsuspecting foreigners that have many Euros to spend on the possibility of experinceing African culture or seeing the Big Five.

People need to make a living, yes, and before I ignite a flurry of comments from tourism workers who see nothing wrong with this picture, it’s everyone’s right to ask an amount of money for a service rendered. It also costs money to run a business, I concede that.

But ethics play a big part in it too. And quite frankly, this level of exploitation leaves a bad taste in the mouths of everyone involved. It’s just not ethical.

(Ed’s note: Welcome to the world of captalism!)

It could do the industry more harm than good in the long run – overcharging for services. And
the key to developing a sustainable tourism industry here in SA is not milking the rich foreigners of their money while the industry is booming, it’s about making the beauty of our country as accessible to as many people as possible.

Which leads to the next question, which has to be asked: how are the millions spent in the tourism industry used to benefit the very thing that makes the industry so appealing and successful (i.e. the people, the attractions, the parks and the wildlife)?

I don’t have an answer to that, but until somebody gives me the facts, I’d hazard a guess and say not much.

The best advice tourists to South Africa can have is SHOP AROUND. You don’t have to be ripped off to have a very good trip to South Africa.

And the more tourists shop around and demand better deals, the less likely it is that tour operators will get away with asking ludicrous amounts for simple pleasures like trips to the Kruger Park.