Welcome to the new Consumers International Office for Africa

Robert Michel, Head of CI Office for Africa, introduces the new office space in Pretoria, South Africa.

There is good news from Africa as we have finally received our registration as an African NGO. With that we can not only open a bank account, but much more importantly is that it should be easier to approach funders and donors in Africa. It means that Consumers International (CI) has legal status within the country and that we are part of a formal system, allowing us to develop the office, build our presence in the region and strengthen the consumer movement across Africa.

It took a long time - a very long time indeed, but today I am happy to say that CI has its own office in Africa once again - not only in a legal sense but with a physical space too. I know that some of our members in Africa thought that this moment would never come. However, we were determined not to just open any office, but an office that would offer us the right mixture of positioning, publicity and long-term affordability. I genuinely believe that we have found the right combination with our Park Corner Office.

Consumers International's new office in Pretoria, South Africa

The new CI Office for Africa is in the heart of the Hatfield suburb of Pretoria, where you can find hotels, and some 200 pubs and restuarants. It is in walking distance not only to the University of Pretoria but also to embassies and foreign-donor and development agencies alike. The Canadian High Commission is just 200m away, GIZ of Germany 400m, Irish Aid 400m, and SDC from Switzerland is on the same road. Our building houses the Colombian Embassy on the second floor while Consumers International will be on the fourth floor.

The cherry on the top, however, is that the fastest and most modern rail link on the African continent links Johannesburg's international airport with Johannesburg and Pretoria. The end of the "Gautrain" link in Pretoria is Hatfield station, a mere 5 minutes walking distance away from our new office. So whoever comes to South Africa or transits via Johannesburg can easily access our new office!

Some refurbishment of the office is currently under way but I hope that Cathy Rutivi and myself will be able to move in during the first week of October 2011 and start to grow our consumer-rights work in Africa.