World

On the Eastern side last night there was a tornado aroundby the Durban coast, but we’re in the sunshine – that’s theimportant thing.On Wednesday 20 January, he referred again to theadverse weather conditions:In Kwazulu Natal on Monday night a tornado killed20... on the North East side. But this is all the Cape ofGood Hope.TownshipsOn day two GMTV moved away from the beaches andtourist attractions for part of the programme, to visit thetownship of Soweto. This edition also included the onlyreference by the central presenter to the history ofapartheid in the country. Pointing to the stunning viewfrom the Table Mountain, he referred to the view ofRobbin Island, which he said has been described as themost notorious prison island, now a museum. “NelsonMandela was to serve a life sentence; he served 19 years,as did most of the present government.”Following from this, the female presenter took up herinvitation to lunch at the home of a black South Africanwoman. This item, which lasted approximately oneminute, was sandwiched between a canoeing/abseilingtrip and an elephant rescue park. The woman wasdescribed as:One of millions of black South Africans living intownships – a legacy of the apartheid years. Many don’thave electricity or running water. But as times change,they’re inviting tourists home, to educate and buildbridges.Further discussion of life in the townships followedwith the feature from Soweto, which was introduced asfollows:Twenty years ago I’d have been banned by thegovernment from coming to this place – they didn’t evenhave signposts telling where it is. Add the populations ofGlasgow, Birmingham and Manchester, and the total isprobably smaller. There are 3.5 million people in a placethey call a township. It is in fact the biggest city in Africa.Every day there is an exodus of humanity from Soweto –people leave on Zola Budds for the office blocks ofJohannesburg – the minibuses so called because of theirspeed. Just because they’re going to the office, most are notin managerial positions. Five years after Mandelacoming to power, only 11% of managers are black people.The presenter joined a Soweto resident, Isaac, whomakes a living as a tour guide in the area. He informedthat Isaac was involved in the student riots of 1976,which ‘led to Soweto’s name becoming synonymous withblack unrest.’ Isaac commented on the job situation:In terms of jobs, we’re seeing African being employed byother Africans, we’re seeing companies giving blacks anopportunity. We’re positive about changes.Isaac took the presenter to meet his aunt Daly in a‘typical township house’. In fact, she described it as goodhouse by Soweto standards. They then visit a much lesswell off area of Soweto. Keeping a distance, on advice thatit would be too dangerous to go into the area with theircameras, they filmed standpipes where local peoplegather water. A comment was made that although thereare no inside toilets and no running water, the childrenwear school uniform. This comment was accompaniedby shots of smartly uniformed township children. Headded that a lot of children get no education, describingthem as ‘a lost generation of youth.’ This comment wasfollowed by shots of young males playing football, whenFrizzell informed: “Sport gets them away from carjackingand burglary.”The visit to Soweto was concluded as follows:Despite the violent reputation and the raw deal they’vehad in the past, the Sowetans we met were friendly. Butmore than that, they were patient, waiting for Mandela’spromises of five years ago to come true.”While this report sympathetically portrayed thehardship faced by many of those living in South Africa’stownships, it remained the only significant representationof black South Africa.CrimeTowards the end of the week, the focus of GMTV inSouth Africa shifted again, with part of Thursday’sprogramme devoted to the issue of crime in the country.The question of security had been raised on the Monday,as the presenter advised, “People have questions oversecurity. The security forces tell us they’re on top ofeverything – we haven’t seen anything.” However, apresenter in the London studio said that viewers hadcontacted GMTV to ask for alternative information onthe country:Lots of people have been phoning wanting to see the otherside (of South Africa). We’ve seen the sun, we’ve seen thewonderful sites.The discussion on crime in South Africa was coveredby both presenters, one in Johannesburg to discuss theimpact of crime on residents who had settled fromBritain, while the other interviewed the manager of theWaterfront complex, scene of recent terrorist bombings.The continuing promotional theme was referred to in72 DFID – July 2000