It’s no small feat to help quench the thirst of 1.5-billion folk across a million villages and 11,000 cities — to build highways and hospitals in a region vast enough to hold the US, China, India and most of Western Europe — and to wire it all so a farmer in Malawi can connect with a trader in Morocco.
Not the sort of gig you’d expect a pretty, Danny DeVito-tall former university maths tutor to take on.
But since Nardos Bekele-Thomas stepped into the large shoes of CEO at the AU’s development arm three years ago, the development economics, infrastructure and policy expert has rolled out a wide range of projects — from irrigation to internet access — and helped build a pipeline of water and sanitation projects across 38 countries.
The Addis Ababa-born Nardos, wearing a long blue shift with a scarf draped over her shoulders, greets me with a warm hug at the Silver Lakes Golf Estate in Pretoria.
The estate’s club house was the venue for the AU Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) annual ambassadorial dinner, attended by diplomats and funders from countries across the continent (they do need to plug a $3-trillion hole in the budget for the next 10-year phase of their development plan for the continent).
Outside on the veranda where guests mingled, I meet André Nzapayeké — the ambassador of the Central African Republic in Southern Africa — who cuts a fine figure in an impeccably-tailored sable suit in the boxy-pocket, lapel-less style favoured by African statesmen.
When I point out that as a former banker he has made the jump from banking to politics, he smiles wryly.
“Anything can happen,” says the former acting president of the CAR.
I also get to catch up with the Saul Molobi, our former consul-general to Milan, who many moons ago played a pivotal role in introducing my label to the Italian fashion capital (no surprise, he now does similar work connecting local brands around the globe through his company, Brandhill Africa).
Inside the venue for the sit-down dinner, we are greeted by Lerato Rikhotso, who sets the tone for the night when she announces: “I am first created in the image of God before I am of this world. I am first of this world before I am a human being. I am first a human being before I am a woman. However, I am first a woman before I am an African. I will always be an African, before I am a South African.”
What follows is a night long on speeches, led by the lady of the hour who explains this year they have extended their invites to ambassadors and high commissioners outside Africa’s borders.
Nardos explains: “This expansion represents a simple truth — Africa’s transformation is not the task of Africa alone. It is a shared responsibility and a shared opportunity to build strong bridges of co-operation.”
We also hear from the natty ambassador of the CAR in his capacity as the dean of African ambassadors, and are privy to a fascinating presentation from an AU Development Agency representative listing their portfolio of successes. But I am relieved when Salih Omar Abdu — the Eritrea ambassador to South Africa — fails to address us as the dean of the diplomatic corps in South Africa because by that stage my tummy is much in need of sustenance.
Thankfully, the buffet we all line up for provides this.
On the other hand, Chef Elias Thobakgale and his team at that hidden hospitality gem, the Southern Sun Katherine Street in Sandton, have taken to heart Julia Child’s dictum that “a party without cake is just a meeting”.
In this case, it was a celebration laden with pink frosted cupcakes, glazed doughnuts and a DIY sundae bar, along with oodles of canapés, rib-eye steaks and grilled chicken, a pasta bar and generous helpings of double-fried chips.
We tucked into the lavish spread the next morning at the “Pause & Celebrate” event, arranged by the hotel and Proudly South African to close off Women’s Month.
While the brunchtime event was thin on the celebs I had been promised would be pitching up, we were treated to a spirited performance by Khanyo Maphumulo, and a keynote address by former UCT vice-chancellor Mamokgethi Phakeng.
The stylish academic has previously taken exception to me describing her as controversial over the nature of her early retirement from the university.
“When a man is outspoken, they call him a good leader, but when a woman is outspoken, she is called controversial,” pointed out the maths professor, who these days is on a mission to promote AI fluency.
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