of Gauteng Province. The dam is also a very scenic area and is situated 3,000 m (9,842 ft) high up in the Maluti Mountains of Lesotho. The dam is very popular for boating and fishing and is visited by thousands of tourists every year which have to gain access to Lesotho through Ficksburg. The region is also known as the asparagus region of South Africa. Hundreds of tons of asparagus are harvested from September. Other kinds of fruit like peaches, apricots, cherries and apples are also grown in the region. Livestock is also an important industry in the region. There are numerous dairy farms in the countryside. Population Ficksburg is the seat of the Setsoto Local Municipality which includes the towns of Clocolan, Marquard and Senekal. The total population of the entire area is 125,751. Notable residents Many South African figures, like author Marie Warder, were born in Ficksburg. Julius Schuld (* 24 December 1927), Springbok Polo player 1951−54 Roelf Meyer (Politician) schooled and matriculated in 1964 in Ficksburg. Andries Tatane (* 22 February 1978 – † 13 April 2011). Guy Tunmer, one-time Formula One driver. Annelize van der Ryst - Matrone Netta Nortje in 7de Laan. Born in Ficksburg in 1948. Moved away at age 10. Media The Ficksburg News began publication as a community newspaper in the early 1900s and, after a hiatus in the 1970s, resumed in its present form in 1979. The town also has a community radio station that broadcasts to the surrounding towns of Fouriesburg, Clocolan and Ladybrand. Sesoto FM broadcast 24 hours per day in Sesotho. In the 1930s and throughout the "war years" the editor of the Ficksburg News was Harold Lloyd, whose son, Michael, also a journalist, became well known as the editor of The Star, The Natal Mercury and the Diamond Fields Advertiser, among other leading newspapers. After suffering many tribulations as a prisoner-of-war, he became an Anglican priest and, at the time of his death, was the rector of St. Alban's Church in Kimberley. Both Lloyds were responsible for kindling in the well-known writer, Marie Warder, the desire to become a journalist. A rarity for French tourists visiting Ficksburg is that it has a repeater for Radio France International (RFI) in the case of Ficksburg, because of the multitude of French missionaries in the neighboring country of Lesotho. Radiomonde Français International broadcasts 24 hours per day in French and