<<Print>>

Culture defines the way of life of a group of people. Prominent among the culture of South Africans is the Basotho tribe which dates back to the 18th century.

A culture well defined, they had their way of life in the medieval times which gradually transmogrified to their current way of life.

A visit to the cultural museum in Clarence, South Africa, indicated that the Sotho also known as the Basotho are a prominent Sotho-Tswana ethnic group with roots in Southern Africa. They primarily inhabit the regions of Lesotho and South Africa.

The ancestors of the Sotho people are believed to have originated from Ntswanatsatsi (North East of Africa), and migrated south in the fifth century CE.

The Sotho people have split into different clans over time as a result of the Mfecane (a series of wars and migrations that took place in the 19th century) and colonialism.

The British and the Boers (Dutch descendants) divided Sotho land amongst themselves in the late 19th century.
Some of the Southern Sotho speakers who were not part of Moshoeshoe's kingdom when he united some of their tribesmen are living in Gauteng, while some are found in the west of KwaZulu-Natal, the north of the Eastern Cape and most of the Free State province.

In modern times, the Sotho continue to make significant contributions to South African and Lesotho societies.

Visa Free

Travellers between Ghana and South Africa now will no longer need visas. The two countries announced a visa-waiver scheme on 1 November, allowing citizens to travel freely between them.

The visa waiver allows for travel for periods of up to 90 days within a calendar year, for purposes of business or tourism. The 90 days may be used in one block, or in incremental amounts until the 90-day total within a calendar year is reached. 

The two countries hope the agreement will boost tourism and will help to deepen economic cooperation between the two nations. 

Visiting the cultural museum in Clarens Free State province should be on your item list anytime you are in South Africa.


South African Tourism West Africa

South African Tourism West Africa is the national tourism agency responsible for marketing South Africa as a destination across Nigeria and Ghana.

The Agency's objectives are to develop and implement marketing strategies efficiently in the specific market segments, promote South Africa's scenic beauty, diverse wildlife, ecotourism, and variety of cultures and heritage; realise South Africa's potential as a big event destination; engender a travel and tourism culture among Africans; use the more focused, cost-effective and customer-driven approach taken to its international marketing operations in a quest to ‘play smarter' in the increasingly competitive global tourism market; continue including initiatives such as ongoing segmentation research into key spend and volume markets abroad, which highlight international growth areas where South African Tourism's marketing efforts will reap the greatest returns; continue with its aggressive e-Business Tourism Growth Strategy, which incorporates fully-fledged research and a website; create market access by participating in major travel shows, coordinate advertising, public relations and direct mailing campaigns, and conduct familiarising trips with media, tour operators and travel agents to enhance understanding of South Africa as a leisure and business events destination.