When South Africa started experiencing power outages in 2007, a young South African started thinking about what he could do. Michael Mcebisi Msizi thought about his time as a political exile in Denmark, and he thought about his family’s home in the Tsitsikamma — and the wind that blew there.
In 2016 the Tsitsikamma Community Wind Farm (TCWF) will start producing electricity from the 95 megawatt capacity installation.
This book tells how Mike’s ambitious idea was shaped into a remarkable reality. Cleaner energy company Cennergi, the lead developer and majority shareholder in the TCWF, is the publisher of Just Imagine. The story of Mike Msizi, the Tsitsikamma Mfengu and the Tsitsikamma Community Wind Farm.
Mike tragically did not live to see the wind farm operating so the book is a tribute to him. Just Imagine also tells the fascinating and little-known story of how the Tsitsikamma Mfengu came to live where they do in the Lower Tsitsikamma. They gained the land under colonialism, lost it under apartheid and gained it again just before the democratic era. It is a story of perseverance and courage in the face of adversity.
In telling the three stories, Just Imagine shines a spotlight on traumatic aspects of South Africa’s past, but also shows that South Africans are capable of achieving great things when hard work is applied to ambitious dreams.
The book was the winner of the 2016 John Kannemeyer Award for Biography, awarded by the SA Independent Publishers’ Association.
“John Young captures the tragedy of our history but also the excitement of what Mike Mcebisi Msizi contributed to his people and their future. A must read for anyone interested in history or in the future of our country.”
Thomas Garner, Cennergi Chief Executive Officer and Chairman, Tsitsikamma Community Wind Farm.
