Dame Judith Macgregor, Britain’s outgoing head of mission in South Africa, sees her term in the country as having been “bookended” by two big and moving events.
In December, 2013 she accompanied Prince Charles to the funeral of Nelson Mandela in Qunu, and in February this year she travelled to the UK to take part in the memorial of the sinking of the SS Mendi troop carrier 100 years ago, with the loss of 646 lives - 607 of them black soldiers.
In between has been what she described at a farewell media lunch at her official Pretoria residence, “a very busy and rewarding time” as high commissioner to South Africa, with a highlight in October 2015 being the UK-SA bilateral forum in London, chaired by Britain’s then foreign secretary, Philip Hammond, and South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Maite Nkoana-Mashabane.
The forum celebrates what has become a very big relationship (between the two countries), particularly in science and research development with South Africa one of the leading beneficiaries of UK development assistance through the Newton, Ross and Fleming funds and, recently, the Global Challenges Research Fund.
While the Newton Fund uses science and innovation partnerships to promote economic development and welfare, Ross and Fleming operate in the health field.
This relationship does not end with Brexit (the UK’s decision in a referendum last year to withdraw from the EU).
“The UK has since stabilised and the economy is doing well. One thing to come out clearly for southern Africa is it has sharpened our focus on what an important market this is for the UK,” she said.
A matter of pride has been progress made during her three-and-a-half year term to “regularise and create a more structured foreign policy dialogue” with South Africa. Macgregor is confident that foreign direct investment will continue and even grow in the future.
Others, she notes, were seeing the work being done by the British Council with the ministries of Basic Education and Higher Education and witnessing the achievements of education projects by Warwick in Africa and Partners for Possibility, a programme which links school principals with mentors in the business community - and an increase in the number of scholarships available to South Africans to study in the UK.
Mcgregor has been impressed with the can-do attitude of South Africans, demonstrated on a visit to a school near Johannesburg which has no running water or electricity. Yet, the headmistress is determined to make the school function for its 900 pupils.
Also noted has been “the resurrection of civil society (in South Africa) over the past 18 months.
Macgregor does not mention one other achievement of this term, but a photograph in the reception area is a reminder of the honour of Dame (Dame Commander of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George), which was bestowed on her by Queen Elizabeth II in recognition of her exemplary service to Britain as one of its most senior diplomats.