Traditional Courts Bill under the knife in EC

East London - Masimanyane Women’s Support Centre, in conjunction with the Legal Resources Centre (LRC) and the University of Cape Town’s Law, Race and Gender Unit, hosted a two-day workshop on the Traditional Courts Bill at the Esplanade Hotel last week.
Amongst the attendees were community leaders from various rural areas in the Eastern Cape who wanted to learn more about the Bill.

According to Nomfundo Gobodo of the LRC, the aim of the gathering was to make attendees understand the Bill and encourage them to educate their communities about it.
“Before it becomes law we must make sure it is in line with communities’ needs. It is up to them to make a decision about what they want in the Bill.”

However, Gobodo said the Bill remains pending due to a number of inconsistencies.
“It has defects such as the rule that there should only be one presiding officer,” she said.

Traditional courts are supposed to give families and communities the power to resolve their own disputes but having one presiding officer present does not allow this.
“If you centralise power then you take it away from the families,” said Gobodo.

Though the Bill allows women to represent themselves in court, Gobodo said that this right is removed because of one major contradiction.
“It says that either men or women can be represented in court but only according to customary law. This already throws the idea out because in some cultures women cannot go into kraals.”

There was outcry from the public when the Bill was introduced earlier this year because they felt communities were ignored when it was being drafted.
“The National House of Traditional Leaders was consulted but not the communities,” said Gobodo. “The public did not know about the Bill. They were not given the opportunity to provide input.”

The South African Law Commission, a body specialising in law research, was also neglected.
“Their research was done and they made recommendations but they were disregarded,” said Gobodo.

However, she said the Bill has its advantages.
“Community courts will help in getting rid of backlogs. It is not a bad idea but the way it is drafted will not help anybody.”

Micky Xanywa, Masimanyane’s human resources manager, remains optimistic about the outcome of the Bill.
“Let’s hope the research done will be taken into consideration,” she said.

- Article courtesy of Eastern Cape Today

Think Smart - Marlene's Golden Rules

Think Smart is a column meant for those readers looking for advice on starting or growing their business. It will feature successful entrepreneurs who are willing to share their expertise with you. And we are honoured to present you with our first guest advisor, the indomitable Marlene Emslie.

It’s been thirteen years since Marlene Emslie started the Oakhampton Bed &Breakfast. Little did she know it would be voted South African Tourism’s best B&B two years in a row.

But she has not been complacent since being awarded the accolade. Instead, she is working even harder to maintain its austere image.

Evidently, when I first met her, she was putting up new curtains and covering the beds with fresh linen. And amidst her busy schedule, she was still generous enough to speak about how to survive in East London’s business environment.

Now exclusively on Seer Media's blog, Marlene Emslie will bestow unto you the alpha and omega of business.

W Service is important. One-on-one contact is needed. “Good service attracts people to the place.” Oakhampton goes as far as baking bread and crumpets for breakfast. She sticks to a quote she’s heard before, “A bed and breakfast is about the senses”. “You smell the coffee and the bread baking and it’s like being at your mom’s home.”

W Don’t be complacent. Always grow, evolve and look for new things.

W East London needs better marketing, then it will thrive. In turn all businesses will prosper through the influx of tourism. Right now the city is looked upon by the rest of the country as a stopover whereby tourists stay for one night on their way to Cape Town or Durban. It should be marketed in a way so that tourists make East London a destination instead of a stopover. “There needs to be a change of perception for tourists,” she said. By opening up your own business you are already doing your bit in marketing East London.

W Treat your customers with care. “You need to love people as they come in all different shapes and sizes. If you want to give the personal quality business, it needs to be hands on. Always go the extra mile. Look after your guests.”

W Know your surroundings. This is specific to B&B’s. “You need to have knowledge of your area.” You build trust with your clients if you know where and what places they need to go. It adds to your customer service. Know that there is a shop around the corner if they want quick snacks or that there is a service station close by if they need to fill petrol.

W “Do your homework.” Research is vital in having a sure footing at the beginning of your venture.“You’ve got to get compliance from neighbours and municipality.” Some people do these things last when it should be the first thing you do. “It can be a very costly exercise if you don’t do it.” If your neighbours are unhappy with your B&B idea or the government doesn’t approve of your plans, then you would have wasted too much time preparing for nothing.

W “Location is very important.” If you are opening an Italian restaurant in the middle of Chinatown, it just may not work.

W Don’t expect a baker to know about jewellery. “Make sure the people doing the changes for you are qualified.” Be certain that they are competent so they don’t do half the job and then run away.

W Maintenance has to be done all the time. If you have a handyman around the house whether it be your husband or son, get them to do some maintenance work like putting up shelves and fixing leaking taps. It can save costs. “Otherwise, rent a husband,” she quipped, while laughing.

W Get insurance. If you’re not covered you could lose your business.

W “Have adequate signage; like ‘Parking at own risk’ and ‘floors slippery when wet,’” or else you could face hefty lawsuits from customers.

W “Advertise” she emphasised. “A lot of people slip up when it comes to advertising. It normally is a big chunk of your budget.” When she first opened the Oakhampton, her marketing budget was as much as R30,000, and this was in 1996. “You have to go out of your way to advertise so you can break into the market.”

Dreaming of good vibrations

As patrons we hardly notice how a business takes on the characteristics of its owner and yet it’s the entrepreneur’s vision embedded in that business. To get an idea of the owner's personality, just look at the image of his or her business.
This is evident at Ocean Dreams Bed and Breakfast owned and run by the exuberant Antoinette Lalla. After the tour of the house I realised its vibrancy wasn’t born from the pastel colours that decorate each room. It came straight from the heart of its owner. She is an optimist, an enthusiast, a visionary and a dreamer.Ocean Dreams, a four star resort situated on Gonubie’s Main Road, started a year ago but she carried the dream of opening up her own B&B long before she could even realise it.

It all started when Lalla's creative energies were getting restless. She went to a life coach for personal growth as she felt stagnated by a day job she held for 22 years.
“I felt I was drowning in quicksand” she said of the time before opening the B&B.
Even though her previous job was stifling, she is grateful for what it had taught her over the years.

“It gave me the confidence and insight that I have right now. The challenges I took on at the company helped shape who I am now.”

But in her frustration, the idea of running her own B&B was accentuated. She recalls the time when she was convinced by an estate agent to take a look at a vacant premises in Gonubie. She was reluctant to take the drive there.

“I didn’t like Gonubie at the time. It was too far. But when she convinced me to come to this house I was smitten. When I found this place I felt it was a gift.”
Nowadays she cannot get enough of the area. “When I come here

it’s my happiest moment.”

The resort possesses a vibrant mixture of absorbing colours and natural light which creates the luxurious atmosphere. The B&B has four standard rooms and one self catering room, each with DSTV. It has a deck on the roof where patrons can sit and relax while viewing the ocean.

What gave the B&B its four star status is Lalla's attention to cleanliness and detail.

“All the small things need to be checked. Everything has to be fresh. The cutlery ha

d to be hotel-ware. We have excellent linen that is cleaned every day.”

She even goes as far as preparing full English breakfasts for her guests on her own.

During the conversation she often touched on customer service, which in this industry counts

more than mere stars.

“I interact with the guests all the time. There’s this personalised service I’m offering,” she said.

What impresses her clients most is her genuine interest in their personal lives.

“I always talk about things that interest them such as their family.”

She believes that every person should be treated with dignity and

respect no matter what their

job title is.

“It doesn’t matter what they look like, each person is treated like a king when they come here.”

A comment made by a previous guest on a website stated that he happened upon Ocean Dreams while searching for accommodation at a ridiculous hour of the morning. When he rung the bell he was greeted with a smile.

Since Lalla focuses on attracting corporate clients, she has helped forge new business relationships between guests.

“I introduce two guests to one another and they get chatting at the breakfast table. It’s wonderful to wake up to laughter and I get the impression people want that at the B&B no matter how miserable they are when they wake up.”

Lalla maintains good relationships not only with her guests but with other B&B owners around her. She sometimes sends her overflow to them. At first it was a practice considered unusual but once Lalla began referring guests to other resorts due to a lack of rooms, it became an unwritten agreement amongst B&B owners in Gonubie.

She owes her success to a fairly aggressive marketing strategy. She is grateful to the Eastern Cape Tourism Board who is always handing out brochures to tourists looking for accommodation.

However, creating and handing out brochures on her own proved to be costing her time and money. Instead, most of her advertising is done online. Both local and international guests learn of Ocean Dreams from the SA Venues website. For Lalla, the internet is the best tool to market her B&B effectively and at a minimal rate.

Lalla emphasised the importance of family support which is key to launching your venture successfully.
“I had full family support in the beginning,” she said.

Her brother, Shaun Sam, encouraged her to put an offer for the premises when she first saw it. And even though her husband, Bhupin Lalla, was reluctant to spend any money at first, he later spurred her on to make it happen. He helped in negotiating for the property and then put his heart into the preparations.

Over the year, Lalla learnt how to manage her time between the B&B and her personal life.
“In the beginning, I would just get home and then I would get a call from someone asking if there was accommodation. Then I would run back there and book them in.”

Now she realises that she cannot please everybody at the expense of her personal life. Instead she refers those very clients to B&B’s situated nearby.
“Some people say they want to do this [starting a B&B] but it’s a lot of work. The running costs are heavy.” she said of the maintenance going into the B&B.

However, she has the ability to overlook such obstacles. She credited her life coach for making her realise material things did not matter.
“This is such a rewarding business. It’s not for the money.”

Lalla also felt that she could not make her venture work without the assistance of a higher power.

“When you surrender to and trust God, things will work out. I don’t feel He has made this happen. Instead, I was given the opportunities and took it.”

Though such a business is taxing on her energy, she is able to cope and is not looking to expand just yet.

“I don’t need more than five rooms. I’m content with what I have.”

For more information visit www.oceandreams.co.za

or check out www.sa-venues.com/visit/oceandreams/

Any enquiries, contact Antoinette Lalla:

Telephone: 043 740 5509
Mobile: 072 418 6885
Email: oceandreams@isat.co.za