JOHANNESBURG // For nearly three decades, very few people except prison guards and fellow inmates knew what Nelson Mandela looked like.
But his imprisonment and the fight against the apartheid government in South Africa was kept on the world stage by music - from ska and reggae songs to jazz - with one common message: Free Nelson Mandela.
Now, after his death at the age of 95, many of the songs that became a soundtrack to the anti-apartheid struggle in the 1980s are back on the airwaves, adding to the chorus of global tributes to the beloved statesman.
Yesterday’s memorial service for Mandela was also punctuated with song and dance from several performers, including a choir that led the crowd in gospel and anti-apartheid songs.
But it is the old struggle songs that are being played and replayed as South Africa commemorates its first black president.
After his release from 27 years in apartheid jails in 1990, Mandela attended countless concerts held in his honour, and in later years musical events to promote his 46664 Aids charity - named after his old prisoner number.
“It is music and dancing that makes me at peace with the world and at peace with myself,” Mandela said in 1999 after joining South African singer Johnny Clegg - the “White Zulu” - on stage in France.
He urged the French crowd to dance to Clegg’s anti-apartheid song Asimbonanga (We have not seen him in Zulu) and gently swayed doing his trademark dance, dubbed the Madiba Jive.
From reggae singer legend Eddy Grant with Gimme Hope Jo’Anna to jazz great Hugh Masekela with Bring Him Back Home, musicians composed and dedicated songs to Mandela and the anti-apartheid struggle.
Exiled South African musicians like Masekela, and the late Miriam Makeba - or “Mama Africa” as she was known - kept up pressure on the apartheid government through their music.
Makeba, known for songs like Pata, Pata and A Luta Continua, addressed the UN Special Committee on apartheid several times. Before and after Mandela’s release she was one of first performers to be asked to appear at music concerts in his honour.
Before the end of apartheid in 1994, one thing most Mandela songs had in common is they were almost universally banned by the then white minority government.
Despite the bans, songs often became powerful weapons in the fight against racial segregation.
Clegg told Talk Radio 702 that activists copied and distributed Asimbonanga, which he wrote in 1986 at the height of South Africa’s state of emergency when protesters fought pitched battles with police and the army in the black townships.
“It became a very popular song during that period,” Clegg said.
One of the most famed songs was Free Nelson Mandela, written by Jerry Dammers and performed by his band the British ska group the Special AKA Although banned in South Africa, it was played at football matches in the black townships and was an international hit.
Dammers was instrumental in organising the 70th Birthday Tribute to Mandela at London’s Wembley Stadium in June 1988, while Mandela was still in jail.
The event, whose line-up included Sting, Stevie Wonder, Jackson Browne and anti-apartheid campaigner Steven Van Zandt, was broadcast to a global audience of millions and did much to raise awareness of Mandela’s incarceration.
A second Wembley concert was staged in 1990 to celebrate Mandela’s release, featuring among others Lou Reed, Tracy Chapman and Neil Young.
“He went from being in prison to being mobbed. When he came on stage, the standing ovation lasted 10 minutes,” Dammers recalled of the 1990 concert.
“It was reassuring. It made you think the vast majority of human beings aren’t racist and are actually all right,” Dammers told The Guardian.
Mandela quickly won over rock musicians through his charm and quiet dignity.
Ard Matthews, lead singer of South African rock band Just Jinjer, who performed at two of Mandela’s 46664 concerts, told a local radio station that Mandela quickly first charmed the band and then charmed their girlfriends.
“It made him the biggest rock star out of all of us, but just in the coolest way. So sharp, so witty and that smile is just world class.”
Reuters
The End of Loneliness
Benedict Wells
Translated from the German by Charlotte Collins
Sceptre
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A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
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Mia Man’s tips for fermentation
- Start with a simple recipe such as yogurt or sauerkraut
- Keep your hands and kitchen tools clean. Sanitize knives, cutting boards, tongs and storage jars with boiling water before you start.
- Mold is bad: the colour pink is a sign of mold. If yogurt turns pink as it ferments, you need to discard it and start again. For kraut, if you remove the top leaves and see any sign of mold, you should discard the batch.
- Always use clean, closed, airtight lids and containers such as mason jars when fermenting yogurt and kraut. Keep the lid closed to prevent insects and contaminants from getting in.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
How the bonus system works
The two riders are among several riders in the UAE to receive the top payment of £10,000 under the Thank You Fund of £16 million (Dh80m), which was announced in conjunction with Deliveroo's £8 billion (Dh40bn) stock market listing earlier this year.
The £10,000 (Dh50,000) payment is made to those riders who have completed the highest number of orders in each market.
There are also riders who will receive payments of £1,000 (Dh5,000) and £500 (Dh2,500).
All riders who have worked with Deliveroo for at least one year and completed 2,000 orders will receive £200 (Dh1,000), the company said when it announced the scheme.
