Last Thursday evening I had opportunity to share the background story and vision of The Grahamtown Project at the GBS Business Dinner hosted at The Highlander.
The title of the speech was Grahamstown: Collaborate and Prosper. Or Perish.
The after-speech debate focussed on the pluses and minuses of the Grahamstown economy and the tourism industry in particular. The precise location of the brake and accelerator pedals. The need to traverse boundaries and collaborate with one another. Well, the near-by coastal towns and villages fall squarely into the category of pluses for Grahamstown and the Eastern Cape.
On a clear day one can see the ocean from the Mountain Drive above Grahamstown. My grandfather travelled by ox-wagon to Port Alfred, overnighting in Bathurst.
They holidayed on the banks of the Kowie for a month. As I envy the sedate pace of yesteryear he would have desired our quick getaway to Kleinemonde for the half-term long weekend. A languid spot to escape the bustle of Grahamstown and allow the busyness of the world to pass by.
We visited the grand Fish River lighthouse built in 1898 and relished in the vast play-ground of dual-estuary and beach. Snorkeling, boogie-boarding,
endless walking and fishing. The tail-wagging Spotted Grunter eluded the pumped prawn but we delighted in the monster Musselcracker taken by Ryan Horne, Rhodes student and College stooge.
Kleinemonde is another gem of the Eastern Cape. Lazy lunches. Adventure. 5am beach walk. Afternoon snooze. Our coastline presents something for everyone.
Component of the formula to accelerate the tourism industry in the Eastern Cape and create opportunity and prosperity for all. Thank you to GBS and co-sponsors The Tax House and Pam Golding for hosting the business dinner.
GRAEME HOLMES
Before moving back to Grahamstown in Oct 2017, Graeme was a bank executive based in the big smoke and craziness of Joburg. He has 20 years’ experience in the Payments Industry. He is a Chartered Accountant, has a Masters in Management by Research (MMR) from Wits Business School, and attended an Advanced Management Programme (AMP) offered by INSEAD (The Business School for the World!) in France.
Graeme is the founder of The Grahamstown Project. It’s simple. He says, “Grahamstown is a microcosm of South Africa. If we can’t get this place to function properly then the whole country is stuffed. Many of the troubles we experience as a country today have their roots here in Grahamstown. it is here where black and white people first engaged in conflict on the African continent. It is here where 9 wars of dispossession over 100 years took place and virtually destroyed the amaXhosa nation. But we are where we are. I don’t have a British passport and the boat-trip back to where my ancestors came from is exorbitantly expensive. Furthermore, this is my home. I am a son of Africa. We must work together to redress the injustices of the past and move as one into a brighter future.”
Graeme is an avid historian, writer, vlogger and public speaker. Like and follow the Facebook page. Join him on a tour. Contact him. He would love that.