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19 March 2019 | Story Dr Cinde Greyling
Dr Mutana and Prof Mukwada
Many people enjoy spending time in the mountainous Drakensberg region. Prof Geofrey Mukwada’s involvement with the UFS Afromontane Research Unit (ARU) sparked an interest in sustainable tourism in the area. Pictured here are Dr Sarudzai Mutana with Prof Mukwada.
Not only is the Qwaqwa Campus situated in a beautiful region – its researchers also contribute to keeping the area pristine. Recent research by Prof Geofrey Mukwada and his PhD student, Dr Sarudzai Mutana, focused on indicators monitoring sustainable tourism development in the Drakensberg region.

Dr Mukwada is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geography on the University of the Free State (UFS) Qwaqwa Campus. 

Our majestic mountains are fragile

Many people enjoy spending time in the mountainous Drakensberg region – either as adventure seekers exploring the many trails, or just relaxing and reconnecting with nature. Prof Mukwada’s involvement with the UFS Afromontane Research Unit (ARU) sparked an interest in sustainable tourism in the area. “Mountains are fragile but attractive environments which continue to attract tourists,” he said. “Tourism is one of the major business sectors in the Drakensberg region, with promising growth opportunities and proving to be an anchor of green economy in the future – if practiced correctly.” Unfortunately, the issue of monitoring sustainable tourism has not been widely researched in African mountains. 

According to international standards

“We specifically looked at the Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria (GSTC), which is an international best-practice framework to help destinations monitor and ensure that tourism is developed in a responsible manner,” Prof Mukwada explained. “South Africa’s Manual for Responsible Tourism was designed according to some of the recommendations of the GSTC. But we found that, while the tourism and hospitality operators in the Drakensberg region appreciates the need to monitor and ensure sustainable tourism in the area, there is limited use of indicators as a tool for monitoring.” 

Forward together

There are competing demands between land-use and development practices and alternatives in the region – unless the focus shifts to sustainable practices, the short-term gains could be followed by dire consequences. “We suggest an integrated monitoring of tourism development, with a pro-poor focus that involves more local community leaders. Going forward, we would like to see the industry adopt the indicators proposed in our study.”

News Archive

Martie Miranda one of only 10 SATI accredited sign language interpreters in South Africa
2015-04-23

Martie Miranda
Photo: Stefan Lotter

The University of the Free State is privileged to have one of the top South African Sign Language (SASL) Interpreters as a staff member at the Unit for Students with Disabilities (USD).

Martie Miranda recently passed the accreditation exam of the South African Translators Institute (SATI), joining Dr Philemon Akach, previous HOD of the South African Sign Language Department of the UFS, in becoming one of only 10 SASL interpreters to be SATI accredited.

SATI is a professional association for language practice professionals in South Africa. Voluntary accreditation is offered at a professional level, ensuring a high standard of language practice. The system has become widely recognised, and is used as a recommendation or prerequisite for job applications by a number of institutions, including the South African government, particularly after the infamous ‘Jantjies incident’ with the funeral service of the late President Nelson Mandela.

Martie, a proud Child of Deaf Adults (CODA), has 18 years’ experience in SASL interpreting, lip speaking interpreting, and community interpreting as well as 15 years’ experience of conference and seminar interpreting. She boasts a Level 2 Advanced Interpreting qualification, and she has been mentoring Level 1 SASL interpreters for the past six years. Her extensive interpreting experience on a national and international level also includes Deafblind interpreting as well as Court and Legislature interpreting. She has interpreted three theatre productions, and has been coordinating the SASL services at the UFS since January 2009. She is responsible for the student management of all the hearing-impaired students at the USD.

Martie completed her BML degree (cum laude) at the UFS Business School in 2013, and received the award for top achiever in the programme during her final year. She will enrol for her MBA at the UFS Business School in July 2015.

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