History made in Mossel Bay

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MOSSEL BAY NEWS AND VIDEO - History was made today in Mossel Bay when the port segment of the Dias & Port Festival was officially opened.

It is the 30^th anniversary of the annual festival this year and it is the first time that there is a harbour segment, hence the renaming of the Dias Festival to the Dias & Port Festival.

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In his opening speech, Mossel Bay mayor Alderman Harry Levendal said Transnet National Ports Authority in Mossel Bay and the municipality wished to work together to develop communities and he likened the relationship going forward to that of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, which are institutions under the auspices of the United Nations which strive to improve people’s standard of living.

Alderman Levendal commended Transnet’s outreach to the community of Buisplaas, a rural area, for example. He said that although in many ways the port and municipality worked independently, they would work together in relevant spheres.

Stringent international port legislation introduced a decade ago kept people out of ports, Transnet chief executive Shulami Qalinge pointed out in her speech, but on a positive note, she said that since 2015, Transnet’s introduction of port festivals had become highlights in harbour cities in South Africa and embraced and included the community. Business and the community have decried the stringent international laws, but the port festivals have bridged a gap, providing an insight into harbour activities and helping to highlight some of the little-known careers available in the maritime industry.

Each country represented at the Dias & Port Festival was celebrated at today’s ceremony at the harbout. Mossel Bay junior town councillors bore flags of the countries and accompanied a representative of each to the newly set up harbour stage. Countries represented were Portugal, China, Madagascar, Indonesia and Germany. Western Cape MEC for Sport, Arts and Culture Anroux Marais was present.

A highlight which takes place each year on at the festival is the arrival of “Bartolomeu Dias”, dressed up in historic attire, incongruously arriving on a motorbike and then singing a rap song! “Welcome to my castle,” he sang. “Mossel Bay’s my castle.” He sang about people digging the weather, the vibe, the beach and Alderman Levendal got stuck in, approvingly, swaying to the rhythm, nodding his head to the beat.

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