Making me dizzy: South Africa straightens up rebel motor of spinning

FRANCE 24 English

FRANCE 24's Georja Calvin-Smith brings you a round-up of society, culture and hot topics from the continent. This week, the race to rebuild the Libyan city of Derna continues, and South Africa is in a spin over the potential professionalisation of previously outlawed motorsports.  Visit our website: http://www.france24.com  Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FRANCE24.English  Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/France24_en

Transcript

00:00Thanks for staying with us. It's time now for Across Africa, a weekly look at stories

00:07from across the continent. I'm Georgia Kelvin-Smith and this week, a year on since a dam collapse

00:12caused devastating flooding that swept away thousands of lives and wiped out about a quarter

00:17of the Libyan city of Derna, the race to rebuild continues. Also, South Africa's culture ministry

00:23is hoping that spinning can drive the motorsports sector forward. The once banned pastime involves

00:30skillfully skidding cars in circles at dizzying speeds. And worth the cost of a pricey ticket,

00:39Madagascar's pristine waters make it one of the best kite surfing spots in the world

00:44and locals want more fans of the sport to know it.

00:48But first, it's been a year since deadly floods overwhelmed the eastern Libyan city of Derna.

00:56Thousands died, many more are still missing and the city is still coming to turns with the

01:01devastation. Belgesem Haftar, the son of General Khalifa Haftar, who runs that part of the city,

01:07is overseeing the race to rebuild. Results have so far been mixed, as our team found out.

01:12The sounds of building have echoed throughout the eastern Libyan city of Derna for months now,

01:17the result of 155 reconstruction projects financed by a special 1.9 billion euro fund.

01:24Derna was devastated by floods on September 11, 2023, but restoration has made progress

01:30and reconstruction of landmarks like the Al-Sahaba mosque is almost complete.

01:42We are trying to ensure that it is rebuilt as new while preserving its authenticity. The

01:50urgency lies in the fact that it is very important that the people of Derna find their place of prayer.

01:59There are some concerns about the lack of transparency over how reconstruction

02:02contracts have been awarded. Authorities want results and fast. Housing is a priority.

02:082,000 apartments have been built for victims deemed to be most in need.

02:12Others can apply for financial aid to repair their homes. This woman, still overwhelmed by

02:16uncertainty, didn't want to share her name, but said that she and her son received about

02:2010,000 euros in help. The money allowed me to redo the floor and doors a little, that's all.

02:29It was really chaos when I got home. Halal, my son, was there during the flood. He called me to

02:35tell me that he was on the roof, that nothing was working, that the car was underwater.

02:39Today, luckily, things are starting to get better.

02:46Some have blamed politicians and military officials for the disaster. An official

02:50inquiry still has not been launched. NGOs are trying to care for the displaced,

02:54and the dead are still being counted.

02:58We are still finding bodies. During construction, some were uncovered as the debris was cleared.

03:03We hand over the remains each time to the agency, searching for the missing,

03:06so that it can identify them.

03:084,500 people were killed in the flooding. Unidentified victims have been assigned

03:13numbers in the hope that DNA tests can perhaps someday offer closure to grieving families.

03:19Now, not being able to read can stop people in literate societies from having access to

03:24opportunities that others may take for granted. In Cote d'Ivoire, only about 13% of women can't

03:29read, many of them in rural areas. One group of teachers is trying to close the gap.

03:35Our correspondents report.

03:37There are no classrooms here, but there is learning. Paul Marie moves between the

03:42stalls to help these traders to read, write, and count. This method is based on a mobile

03:47phone application called Alphati.

04:00Since 2017, UNESCO has trained some 2,500 women under this program.

04:13When you go to buy in bulk, you have to calculate the price. You're told that it's such and such

04:17a number, and you have to work out the total so you can then make the payments.

04:21If you don't know how to calculate, you have to ask someone to do it for you.

04:25UNESCO says 90% of children whose mothers can read and write will also be able to read and write.

04:34Charlotte, who has completed the training,

04:35hopes that this new skill will be useful for her daughter too.

04:43As it's the end of the holidays, every morning when I go out,

04:46I give her exercises to do, to learn to read and write.

04:50It's very important to me. It's very, very important.

04:54It's what motivated me the most to follow the courses.

04:58In Ivory Coast, 47% of the population is illiterate. Two-thirds of this number is made up of women.

05:10Ivory Coast has a large rural population,

05:13so access to education can be difficult because there aren't enough local schools.

05:18And there's a lack of qualified instructors.

05:20That's to say, a lack of teachers who have specialized training in literacy.

05:28To address these challenges, the Ivorian authorities have allocated a fund to promote literacy

05:33and have recently dedicated a ministry to the issue.

05:39People in Lagos spend an average of 30 hours in traffic every week.

05:42Congestion is an unwelcome part of life in the vibrant city.

05:46But where there's a will, there's a way.

05:48And that way is sometimes the waterways.

05:51Clem Valla tells us more.

05:55What was once often a three-hour nightmare drive to work with a pre-dawn start and dense traffic

06:02has become a half-hour sprint across the waters of the Lagos Lagoon by boat.

06:07For Ivy Genade, who works on one of the islands off the coast, the ferry has changed her life.

06:13You actually get out of bed when you need to.

06:16You have breakfast at home, strut in here, strut into the boat,

06:21and 30 minutes across the water, you're on the other side.

06:24It's way easier.

06:26Flanked by the lagoon and the Atlantic Ocean,

06:28Lagos has long used its waterways as an alternative to the megacity's chaotic roads.

06:34However, with over 21 million inhabitants,

06:37the city is set to become the world's largest by the end of the century.

06:41Hence the urgent need to adapt to the river traffic.

06:44Over the next three years, a project partially funded by France and the EU

06:49aims to develop 15 ferry routes as well as upgrade the jetty system and the dredge routes.

06:55The state ministry of transportation is now developing very actively

06:59the rail and the water transportation services.

07:02We believe very strongly that this will boost

07:06the current percentage of water transportation from about 2% to almost about 10%.

07:11For experts, the Lagos government will have to take important measures

07:15in order to make the water traffic environmentally and financially sustainable.

07:20Nigeria is currently facing its worst cost of living crisis in decades,

07:24with inflation at more than 30% and fuel costs tripling over the last 18 months.

07:33Well, South Africa's new minister of sport and culture

07:36wants to literally fast-track his sector's development.

07:40The loud, exhilarating, dangerous, flamboyant motorsport of spinning

07:46is in line to be taken up again.

07:47Originally born in poorer townships in the country,

07:50the scene is set to go mainstream.

07:52Our team has more.

07:55It's called spinning.

07:59The drivers look like stuntmen.

08:02Spinning started during apartheid when gang members would spin tyres to honour fallen members.

08:08But nowadays, it has become a family-friendly sport.

08:17For this motor enthusiast who organises competitions across the country,

08:21it's time to make the sport professional.

08:24It's been growing and growing and just been snowboarding so fast.

08:28We would like to see more corporates get involved to back,

08:31because the sport does cost a lot of money.

08:33You're using actual vehicles that you need to build,

08:35like any race car, any race competition.

08:39Amateurs believe that legalising these competitions

08:42will enable them to help vulnerable young people.

08:46This is something that we were supposed to do years ago.

08:49At least our kids will now be off drugs and off the street and busy with drag racing.

08:55And there'll be so much for the youth to look up to, so much for the youth to do.

09:01Spinners are gaining traction on social networks.

09:04The French TV network Canal Plus even came to South Africa to make a series about them.

09:09The new Minister for Sport and Culture, who himself has a past as a gang member,

09:13said he was proud to see the international spotlight on a South African sport.

09:18I'm going to make it a national sport.

09:20We've already been doing it.

09:22I'm going to make it a national sport.

09:24We've already budgeted money for it.

09:26The Federation has already been registered.

09:29It's going to be one of our exports.

09:31According to the minister,

09:33this motorsport will be officially recognised before the end of the year.

09:38Madagascar's pristine waters make it one of the best kite surfing spots in the world.

09:43And locals want more fans of the sport to know it.

09:46Seaside communities are banking on the promotion of their watersports

09:49credentials to boost the local economy.

09:51Gaël Bourgeois went along to take a look.

09:55Sakalava Bay has everything a kite surfer could dream of.

09:59Winds that average 25 knots almost all year round,

10:03beautiful reef breaks and a flat shallow lagoon.

10:06Despite these uniquely perfect conditions,

10:08the site is little known among practitioners of the sport.

10:12Today, two of kite surfing's biggest stars

10:15have been invited to promote Sakalava Bay in a bid to draw more visitors.

10:19I would compare Sakalava Bay to Brazil or Hawaii or Gran Canaria.

10:28And I think it's also almost better than those world-class spots.

10:31It's amazing here.

10:32You've got flat water and beautiful waves, wind every day.

10:35So definitely one of my top.

10:38There are just a few hundred kite surfers who take to the waves here each year,

10:42most of whom are residents.

10:44Better known destinations like Brazil

10:46attract some 320,000 kite surfers annually.

10:51Despite this, the 20-odd kite surfing schools in the bay

10:54have proved a valuable source of income and inspiration for the local village.

11:03My aim is to represent Madagascar in international competitions.

11:10We watch videos of champions like Stig Hoffnagel,

11:13Kohan Van Dijk and Jamie Overbeek.

11:16We improve by imitating their style.

11:22Madagascar won't be sending kite surfers to the Olympics anytime soon.

11:26Its national federation doesn't even organize competitions.

11:29In 2022, three Malagasy instructors took it upon themselves

11:33to create the country's first annual kite surf contest in a bid to drive up tourism.

11:39But they hit a major obstacle, the price of plane tickets.

11:43When people see that getting here costs 2,000 euros

11:46while going to Morocco costs 300 or 400 euros,

11:48of course they go to Morocco.

11:51We would be able to improve things if the plane tickets were less expensive.

11:58A 10-hour training course here costs some 2,500 euros per person,

12:03including flights from Paris and accommodation.

12:06For some kite surfers, the perfect conditions and chance to kite surf

12:09in a lagoon with no one else around is well worth the price.

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