From the Regional Commissioner – January 2026

Seconds count! As I write this, we are about to kick off the second Senior Scout Adventure Magaliesberg, during which Patrols of Senior Scouts will hike through the wilderness area of the Magaliesberg, participating in activities including rock climbing, water activities and ecology. The first adventure was held early in 2022, when we needed a major event for our older Scouts who had been missing out on such events over the previous couple of years. Four years later, in 2026, as we embark on the second Magaliesberg Adventure, we are establishing the event as part of the regular calendar.

Not that Gauteng Scouts missed out on Regional activities in 2025. We had near record numbers at our flagship KonTiki, Field Day and Kim Shield annual events, and ran an Ubuntu Camp, the invitational Chairman’s Challenge, and three PLTUs within the calendar year (67th Gilten in January, 48th Weston in July, 68th Gilten in December).

KonTiki 2025 proved the old maxim that “the event will take place even if it doesn’t rain”. There was no rain, and not a hint of snow and ice, even though the organising committee tried really hard with a theme of North Pole. Well done to Rolf Ludwig and his team for yet another excellent event. We look forward to seeing everyone’s best take on movie cartoons at KonTiki 2026, 15-17 May 2026.

KonTiki Gauteng remains one of the largest and most impressive events showcasing Scouting in South Africa, and we hosted a number of VIP guests, including the Chief Scout Mr Khonzaphi Mdaka, the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children Dr Najat Maalla M’jid, Chief of Child Protection of UNICEF South Africa Ms Makiba Yamano, and the Head of the Gauteng Department of Social Development Mr Bongani Ngomane.

We also took the opportunity at KonTiki to launch our Regional Listening Ear team, led by Sean White. This team plays an important role in making Safe from Harm a reality at Scout  events, and you will see more of them at events this year.

At KonTiki 2025, the Gauteng Region Marketing team also launched a competition for Scout Group mascots. A growing number of Groups in Gauteng have established a social media presence, especially on Instagram, or Facebook. In parallel, we have seen the emergence of Scouting mascots – usually a fluffy toy that attends every Scout event, seen tied to the back of a rucksack, and wearing the Group scarf. The intersection of these two trends has resulted in Scouting mascots with their own Instagram accounts, posting from Scouting events, and building up followers. So, if you don’t yet have a mascot in your Scout Group that is active on social media, you have a few months until KonTiki 2026 for your mascot to show up and start posting. Don’t forget to follow the Gauteng Region Instagram so that we know your mascot exists, and tag us in your posts. We generally follow Groups and Districts rather than individuals, but we have made an exception for mascots!

Remember that you can also follow what’s going on in Scouting in Gauteng on Facebook, YouTube, and occasionally X, nd of course, our website, with specific details on the following webpages:

2025 was a bit quiet for the Rovers of Gauteng, but it didn’t stop them holding the Rover Dinner Dance, now a regular gala event on the calendar close to St George’s Day (the Patron Saint of Scouting, and a symbol of the knights that we associate with Rovers). The quest continued at the annual Pop Bolton challenge hike run in the Magaliesburg area by FLSS Vikings, and at RoverTiki, changed in 2025 to a Vaal River rafting event aligned with the Chairman’s Challenge.

The Gauteng Region Cub Programme Team went Back to Basics in 2025. We had a great Cub Fun Day held for the second time at the Jo’burg Zoo on 2 August 2025, with a theme of the Bear Necessities. Attendance of Cubs and family members totaled 1,360 on the day.

Our Meerkats continued to go from strength to strength in 2025, with new Dens being added continually. The annual Gauteng Region Meerkat Mob Day took place at Camp Delta on 20 September 2025, and our Meerkats participated in the National Denboree, a multi-venue and virtual event, on 8/9 November 2025.

Gauteng Region hosted the first face-to-face Meerkat Mischief, a national get-together for Den Scouters, on the chilly long weekend 14-16 June 2025. Well done to Rochelle Booyens and her team on an excellent event.

On the last weekend in August, the Pack Scouters of Gauteng got together for Pac Yac, a great opportunity to learn and share ideas. As always, our Pack Scouters had plenty of fun too. Great work by Bronwyn Peake and her team.

It’s not quite so easy to get Troop Scouters together. On our second attempt, we finally got the Gauteng Region’s Troop Scouters’ Adventure off the ground over the weekend of 12/13 April 2025. The event proved to be not only popular, but also a great opportunity for experienced TSs and ATSs to share their knowledge and experience with other Scouters in their Patrols. Congratulations to the winning Sandton District Patrol, who managed to pip the West Rand District Patrol at the post. The event echoed the last similar one, the Transvaal Scouters’ Challenge Hike run 40 years previously, in 1985. With the success of the new event, we plan to run a Troop Scouters’ Adventure every second year, with the next one planned for 2027.

Of course, most Scouting should happen at the Group level, where the learning-by-doing, small group method of Scouting can have the most impact. However, Regional and particularly District events are an important way that we maintain the consistency and standard of Scouting, giving youth members the opportunity to interact more widely, and adult leaders the chance to share ideas and skills by running common activities.

In addition to the annual B-P Day and JOTA/JOTI events, all Districts have a few traditional events – like night hikes, Scout compo camps, Stripes camps, First Aid competitions, or Cub camps – that have been running for many years, some which have origins that are lost in the mists of time. I was privileged in the last year to attend the annual Northern District Night Hike, and North West District’s Googlie night hike. My first experience of Googlie was in the late ‘70s, and it had certainly been going for a number of years before that.

Individual youth members continued to excel in Gauteng in 2025, with 19 Gold Stars awarded to Meerkats, and 109 Leaping Wolves to Cubs. At our annual parade in November, 17 Springboks were presented to Scouts, and only one B-P Award to a Rover.

With the continued support of the Gauteng Department of Social Development, we expanded the Gauteng DSD Scouting project across the Region in 2025. To increase the reach of the project, which aims to start and sustain new Scout Groups, we have defined five Sub-Regions, to better align with the Gauteng Department of Social Development’s structures with SSA’s Districts. We appointed a team of five full-time Assistant Project Coordinators to support Project Coordinator Sakhile Mbatha who oversees the whole project:

In the course of 2026, we plan to expand the team further within the five Sub-Regions to meet the growth targets set for the project. Within each Sub-Region, we are able to coordinate monthly Scouter Skills training with the Development and Scout Programme teams, as well as other activities with the project. Sub-Regions may well prove to be a useful approach for coordinating across Districts more generally.

The Development Team plays a key role in the establishment of new Scout Groups, and is an essential resource to the DSD Scouting project, and more generally to District Commissioners to support any new Groups. In May 2025, we appointed Jason van Heerden as the new Regional Team Coordinator – Development, leading a team of around a dozen Development Officers across the Region. Please reach out to Jason if you are a Scouter with some experience, and are keen to help expand the reach of Scouting.

From our latest census on 30 September 2025, the impact of our various growth initiatives has been spectacular, with a 27% increase in invested members over the previous year, and the addition of 26 new Scout Groups across the 12 Districts. Whilst some of this growth can be attributed to bringing back dormant Groups, the bulk of it is directly the result of the efforts of the DSD Scouting and Development teams – a job well done.

Growth remains the pinnacle of SCOUTS South Africa’s strategy, but not all growth is about creating new Scout Groups in areas with no Groups as the Gauteng DSD project does. In 2026, we are therefore considering adding an additional role in the Region – to focus on growth of numbers within areas with existing Scouting and existing Groups.

Also in May, we appointed Gareth Barberton as the new Young Leaders’ Representative in the Gauteng Region. Gareth is busy formalising appointments of representatives in each District, helping to ensure that we support young people in leadership roles in Scouting, and that they have a voice in decision-making at every level.

We also appointed two new District Commissioners in 2025, Martin Roediger in Northern District, and Prem Heeralal in Jacaranda. Prem unfortunately had to take time off for medical reasons during the year, and we wish him well with his recovery. Special thanks to Roger Rens who filled in during this time.

The “second” that is going to dominate 2026, particularly for our Rovers, is the 2nd Africa Rover Moot, to be hosted by South Africa (in Gauteng) from 1-8 August 2026, an event that is going to require all hands on deck. The Moot is hosting 5 off-site activities to allow visitors to experience South African Scouting, and the organisers are looking for volunteers (of any background in the movement) to assist with planning these events. The activities will run 5 times, from 2-7 August 2026, for 100 people per day. Activities include: hiking, caving, KonTiki, Gig rowing and a safari experience. Interested volunteers can contact Peter le Roux.

Looking forward to – and beyond – the Africa Rover Moot, we are continuing the upgrade of the facilities at Arrowe Park, making it easier to run large events in future, including Regional events like KonTiki. We are allocating some funds held in trust for Scouting in Gauteng to these capital improvements.

The Training Team is also keen to make improvements to Arrowe Park as a Training facility, making it possible to run more courses in the East of the Gauteng Region as we continue to bring Scouting closer to communities across the province. The team has reached out to the global Scouting community through the Scout Donation Platform for financial support for this development initiative. Please share the link.

In 2026, SCOUTS South Africa will also be the official host of Africa Scout Day, celebrated annually across the continent on the 13th of March. The weekend of 13-15 March 2026 has therefore been set aside for local District or Regional events to tie into the theme of Strong Roots, Bright Future.

World Scouting’s current brand tagline, Ready for Life, echoes the Scout motto, Be Prepared. As B-P said, “A Scout is never taken by surprise; he knows exactly what to do when anything unexpected happens.” But it is also a reminder of the long-term difference that we aim to make in the lives of our youth. The soon-to-be-launched National Challenge 2026 – Be Water Safe – invites members to explore, learn, and act safely around all types of water – rivers, dams, pools, and the sea. We encourage all units to participate to help develop practical safety skills, gain confidence, and make a real difference in their Groups and wider communities.

Thank you to the entire Gauteng Regional Team and to the Scouters and other volunteers in Districts and Groups who continue to Deliver an excellent Youth Programme in Gauteng. A particular thank you to the Adult Leader Training Team led by Gareth Watt, which ran courses almost every weekend throughout 2025 to develop our adult leaders.

I would also like to highlight the recent efforts of the those members of the Regional Team that provide the three pillars supporting the strategy: Sustainable Finances and Properties, an Enabling Environment, and Engagement with Stakeholders.

Dave McCullough, our Regional Finance Representative, Desiree Hogan, our Regional Property Representative, Debbie Symons, our Regional Administrator, and Jonathan Webber, our Regional Marketing Representative are part of a Regional Exco that meets monthly. The “non-uniformed” Exco runs the business of Scouting in Gauteng, providing the pillars that support the “uniformed” Youth Programme ,Adult Leader (Training and Support), Development and Young Leaders teams in the Region.

Dave transformed the accounting in the Gauteng Region when he took over the role, migrating us to an online, real-time Sage platform, making both financial management and auditing easier. During 2025, together with the Scout Shop staff – Yvette Baker, Thembela Nogwana, and Linda Martins – Debbie and Dave have helped to implement our new point-of-sale and inventory systems, which bring together the Parkmore and Hatfield shops, and are integrated with the accounting system. The result is a future-proof retail platform that enables us to run a professional retail operation in the Region.

We continue to see administrative issues with properties and local councils across the province. Please contact our Regional Property Representative, Desiree Hogan, as soon as you become aware of any such issues, so that we can provide advice or support early.

Our Scout campsites remain one of the treasures of Scouting in Gauteng. Remember to take full advantage of them:

That brings us to two other unsung heroes who have been supporting the administration of the Gauteng Region over several years: James Vella, our Regional Campsite Coordinator, who has been the driving force behind a number of our campsite upgrades, and Leoné Vella, our Regional Fundraising Coordinator, who has showed us just what is possible selling Scouting merchandise at KonTiki. Thank you!

Every year, I collect a set of new badges to add to my campfire blanket from our regular Regional events, including KonTiki, Kim Shield, Field Day, Pop Bolton, Cub Fun Day, and Meerkat Mob Day (all of which are in the 2026 YATAG). Then there are the rarer, more exceptional events, like the Magaliesberg Senior Scout Adventure about to get underway, or the Cederberg Senior Scout Adventure that will take place again in December 2026. Every now and again, a really special event comes along, like a World Jamboree (next in Poland in 2027), where one badge can encapsulate a life-changing experience.

The campfire blanket is part of a wider tradition of campfires in Scouting. In 2024, we reintroduced the Campfire Leaders’ Course in the Gauteng Region, last run decades earlier, and in November 2025, we ran a second, very successful course. If you are keen to help us improve campfires across the Region, join the next Campfire Leaders’ Course on 14 November 2026.

Campfire date back to the very first camp run by B-P on Brownsea Island, and encapsulated in the Campfire Yarns that are chapters of Scouting for Boys. B-P also originated the tradition of taking the ash from one campfire to the next. He didn’t write much about campfires, but often mentioned the benefits of camping, giving the following advice to Scouters:

      “A week of camp life is worth six months of theoretical teaching in the meeting room.”

 

Robert Baden-Powell

Dr Angus Hay
Regional Commissioner – Gauteng
SCOUTS South Africa
[email protected]