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Richards Bay is considered the centre of operations for South Africa's aluminium industry. Richards Bay Minerals is the largest sand-mining and mineral-processing operation in the world while The Richards Bay Coal Terminal is instrumental in securing the country's position as the second-largest exporter of steam coal in the world. Richards Bay also has a designated Industrial Development Zone focused on economic development in the export market. |
A busy harbor and a diverse economy make Richards Bay an attractive investment destination.
Established as a harbor to supply British troops engaged in battle against the Zulu kingdom in 1879, the Port of Richards Bay really came into its own nearly a hundred years later when it was converted into a deep-water port and connected to the Highveld by railway lines.
That connection remains strong today, and the export of coal from Mpumalanga is the sole function of the Richards Bay Coal Terminal. RBCT, a privately owned operation, is the single biggest coal export terminal in the world. Delivery by Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) averaged 63.3 million tons (MT) per year for the five years to 2011 but hit a record high of 68.5mt in 2012. Among the owners of RBCT are Anglo Coal, BHP Billiton, Sasol Mining, Xstrata and Exxaro. The owners and TFR are working towards using the full 91mt capacity of the RBCT.
Meanwhile, Transnet is investigating
opening its own coal terminal, with the aim of opening up new markets for
smaller coal mining companies.
Other parts of the Port of Richards Bay are receiving significant capital
injections. Investments by the Transnet Group in freight rail and locomotives
(R200-billion) and the general freight business (R150-billion) will have a
direct impact on Richards Bay.
The rail corridors serving Richards Bay and Durban will receive nearly R40-billion in additional funding between 2011 and 2015, giving a further boost to economic development in the region.
Richards Bay Minerals and Exxaro KZN Sands are major players in the mining industry with titanium slag being produced from ilmenite. BHP Billiton’s two aluminium smelters are the biggest industrial entities in the area. Foskor has a large fertilizer plant in the city and internationally renowned heavy-equipment manufacturer Bell Equipment is also based in Richards Bay.
The hinterland has plentiful supplies of timber and sugar cane where companies such as Sappi, Mondi and Tongaat Hulett are active.
Richards Bay Industrial Development Zone
South Africa's newest operating Industrial Development Zone is boosting Richards Bay's already robust economy. The provincial government of KwaZulu-Natal now holds 100% of the RBIDZ through the Department of Economic Development and Tourism.
The Tata Steel ferrochrome smelter was the first investment in the RBIDZ, with input of more than R700-million that has created 320 permanent jobs.
South Africa has three active Industrial Development Zones (IDZs), which include East London Industrial Development Zone and Coega in the Eastern Cape Province. The idea behind an IDZ is to create attractive conditions under which manufacturing can thrive, thus stimulating foreign direct investment. The provincial government has budgeted R57-million to make the RBIDZ a preferred investment destination.
China has found investment opportunity in Richards Bay - announcing deals this week to ease bottlenecks that hold up exports of coal.
The China Development Bank has agreed to lend South African state rail freight
group Transnet up to $5 billion to revamp ageing track, used to carry
commodities such as coal and iron ore.
China’s Chery Holdings has signed a deal valued at several billion dollars to
build and repair ships at its Richards Bay port according to documents obtained
by Reuters.
The final terms were being worked out at a summit of the BRICS emerging market
powers in the South African coastal city of Durban, a senior South African
government official said.
South Africa has been pushing to expand the port to attract industry and create
jobs in an economy that has seen its unemployment rate stuck at around 25
percent for years.
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‘Linda baby, have you ever been to any of the inland venues in KwaZulu Natal?’ asked Jacques one morning. I need to get away from all of this research and clear my head. Besides I want to spend some quiet, quality time with you, angel’
‘No, yes you do and yummee, in that order’ replied Linda grabbing Jacques around the neck and wrestling him back onto the bed. Sitting on Jacques’s chest with her hands on either side of his face she said ‘Where will we go to B’wana’.
‘I am thinking like Cathedral Peak in the Drakensberg Mountains and perhaps some place in the Battlefields. We can enjoy history and have lounge lizard spa recreation n the same trip’
‘That will be seriously cool Jacques, I will put in for leave at the Bank’
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Jacques duly booked accommodation for he and Linda at the Champagne Sports Resort situated in the tranquillity of the Central Drakensberg, which boasted the most spectacular view of Champagne Castle and Cathkin Peak. The impressive brochure had said: ‘Champagne Sports Resort is more than a hotel in the mountains, it is an experience. From the 18-hole championship golf course to the roaming herds of Blesbok and Impala and the rare birdlife that inhabit the estate, there is something for everyone to enjoy. And, with five dams stocked with either bass or trout, as well as outstanding sporting facilities and cultural activities, this enduring resort provides a balance between recreation for sports enthusiasts and tranquillity for those seeking relaxation'. From the moment they arrived at the hotel’s reception they felt that the stress of the city had been left far behind. The self-contained, free standing thatched cottage provided the finest accommodation and they found delectable fare and sumptuous banquets at the hotel. These delights coupled with every possible creature comfort, made their Champagne Sports Resort stay the ultimate 'berg experience’.
The Resort offered a variety of superb, fully serviced accommodation. The 62 hotel bedrooms were made up of twin rooms, family rooms, and various suites, all with well-appointed bedrooms and either mountain views or garden views. A further 41 Timeshare Units on the estate are used for hotel accommodation subject to availability. The hotel has wheelchair access throughout and all bedrooms are linked to the main hotel buildings by way of thatch covered walkways. They found that the southern end of Africa's Great Rift Valley, the 9,700 kilometer scar that is slowly tearing the continent in two - centimeter by centimeter, millennium by millennium - should actually be a mountain range. The final thrust of the fault is South Africa's formidable Drakensberg, a 200 km arc of jagged mountain peaks that run roughly north-south through Kwazulu-Natal, forming the border with Lesotho. Known to the Afrikaans as Drakensberg - Dragon's Mountain, the Zulu name is perhaps even more evocative uKhahlamba - the Barrier of Spears. Jacques and Linda explored the nearby attractions, from the home of the world-famous Drakensberg Choir, which holds weekly performances, to the famous Ardmore Art Studios. They visited the nearby game reserves of Spionkop and Weenen and the mountain vulture hides. They were also impressed with gentle beauty of Meadowsweet Herb Farm. In the evenings they dined splendidly by candlelight, sipped glorious red wine and chatted lovingly over cheese and biscuits before retiring to the warmth of their hearth fired cottage. They made slow love in the glow of the fire and fell asleep each night exhausted by the excitement of the long day. **************** ‘Zulu wars, Shaka, Isandlwana, Rorke's Drift, Colenso, Spioenkop, Ladysmith, Dundee, Churchill, Blood River, Cetshwayo, Boers ... these are some of the terms which are associated with the internationally renowned KwaZulu-Natal Battlefields area of South Africa.
The brochure had said: ‘Walk in the footsteps of famous military strategists -Shaka, Winston Churchill, Mahatma Gandhi and General Louis Botha - they were all part of the KwaZulu-Natal Battlefields. The wind sighs and whispers the secrets and sorrows of great battles, made visible by lone forts and small graveyards on these undulating landscapes ringed with rocky outcrops. The legacy of our Zulu Kingdom's critical, blood-soaked conflicts today lives peacefully - reconciled in this fascinating region's myriad Battlefield sites, historic towns, national monuments and museums - and in HQs of the British regiments who make a 'pilgrimage' to these fields of bravery and supreme sacrifice’ After a long drive over bumpy roads from Ladysmith the two turned into a large open valley to see the iconic Isandlwana hill – in Zulu - little house. There on the right of the valley nestled into the iconic hillside is the now famous Isandlwana Lodge. Jacques and Linda had chosen this five star establishment as their base for a couple of days of history and relaxation. As Linda was getting the dust of the trip out of her hair Jacques read to her from the brochure: ‘Why
leave all of this to the imagination? Knowledgeable guides will accompany you
on tours of the Battlefields, talking you through each battle, debating the
strategies used, the numbers who perished and the medals and rewards won by
the brave and very heroic departed British soldiers.
If these legends inspire your adventurous spirit, there are more
pleasurable ways of assuaging it than in battle. White-water rafting down the
rapids of the mighty Thukela, sailing on the Chelmsford Dam, and hunting in
the designated hunting reserves - this region offers you all of these
pursuits’. From the private balcony of their room they enjoyed a breathtaking view of the battlefield plain, the mountains in the distance and the village below. They watched the village come to life early and then slow down at the end of the day. They experienced the warm hospitality of the Zulu staff, tasty food prepared by an all Zulu women chefs brigade and enjoyed enthralling, interesting and emotional tours of Isandlwana and Rorke’s Drift guided by resident historian and author, Rob Gerrard, FRGS. Jacques and Linda listened intently as the heard in detail about the massacre at Isandlwana all those years ago. ‘The
main Zulu attack began at 12h30 with 20,000 men, 4,000 being held in reserve.
At first the British line, comprised mainly of the 1st and 24th regiments,
held firm with the two guns keeping a steady fire. However, as many as a
third of the Zulus were armed with some type of firearm, which eventually
began to take its toll and the warriors advanced to within 800 metres of the
somewhat extended British line, due to a shortage of men who had also begun
to run short of ammunition. A simultaneous partial eclipse of the sun during
the fighting added an eerie quality to the battle. The also explored the birding, star-gazing, authentic cultural village tour, horse riding, a photographic safari and short hikes. Before getting ready for supper each afternoon they lazed around the pool that is built amongst the rocks. In the evenings they improved on their waistlines from an endless five star menu. They ended the day sipping Cointreau on the balcony overlooking the haunting plains that had shaped South Africa’s brutal history. Later, at night in bed, they cuddled warmly against the cold eerie breeze which wafted off of those historic, ghostly and blood-stained plains and curled menacingly around their luxurious room on the hill at Isandlwana.
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Chapter 8 The Morality
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Morality refers to the concept of human ethics which pertains to matters of right or wrong used within three contexts: individual conscience, systems of principles and judgements - shared within a cultural, religious or political grouping. A system of standards used to produce honest, decent and ethical results is considered moral.
Albert Schweitzer, author of On the Edge of the Primeval Forest, the Decay and Restoration of Civilisation and Civilisation and Ethics has this to say on the matter: ‘Ethics are nothing but reverence for life. This is what gives me the fundamental principle of morality, namely that good consists in maintaining, promoting and enhancing life, and that destroying, injuring and limiting life is evil’.
Jacques considered the definition before him deeply. ‘….shared within a cultural, religious or political grouping……..’ and it bothered him. It meant that concept of morality could change, as long as you had enough people sharing the same principles and judgements. How many times in history had those principles and judgements been morally incorrect, yet because a great many people believed them to be moral, those ethics became acceptable.
Christianity had perpetrated the most dreadful and immoral atrocities against women, non-believers, foreigners et al but because these deeds were considered moral by the cultural, political and religious orders of the day, that became the prevailing and acceptable morality. Hannibal, Napoleon, Japan’s military leaders in WW II, Hitler, Verwoerd and Apartheid, Mussolini, Saddam Hussein, all came to mind.
He understood that he was dealing here with three conflicting moralities born of different ethnicities and forged in different eras in history – African, Anglo Saxon and Chinese.
He would have to cling to the last remaining tests for morality: individual conscience and reverence for life.
Chinese Morality
The above mentioned evil leaders had their temporary victories and glories, but over time, they incurred the combined wrath of those countries they invaded and oppressed which in turn re-grouped and made the aggressors and their people pay heavily for their meglomanic, oppressive and grabbing ways. Eventually, other countries they had not yet invaded, realized that they could be the next victims. They allied themselves with those similarly situated and went to the rescue of the conquered countries whose citizens also fought from within to defeat the invaders.
Is China heading in the same destructive direction?
With its recent remarkable economic success, China has expanded and re-armed to now be the largest military force in the world in terms of the number of military personnel. Will China’s arrogant behavior and immoral policy decisions, showing no respect for other nations who are much weaker militarily, lead the Chinese people along a dangerous path where, eventually, the entire world will ally to bring China down as a rogue evil nation?
China, with its support of corrupt oppressive governments and disrespect for the patent rights and intellectual property rights of other countries, is fast heading downward road of global opposition.
Anglo Saxon Morality
The changes from colonialism to imperialism must be understood from the historical changes in the colonisers’ home countries in Europe. Capitalism in Europe started as a system of local markets where craftsmen sold their produce, often to specialised traders who were themselves not craftsmen. The traders in turn sold to consumers.
Still lacking was industry, where large factories in which lots of people worked in an organised way to produce something for a wage. Craftsmen operated in a small scale, often in their own house, usually with nothing but a few apprentices. They made cloth, candles, furniture, steel products like knives and ploughs.
Sea trade was practised along the near coasts, Dutch, for instance brought herring to Scandinavia to exchange for wood to build ships and houses. Sailing down the African coast was first accomplished by the