New African articles from August 2007

New African archives from August 2007

Wake up, Africa.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
August 1, 2007... I am privileged to be fathered by a pan-Africanist whose love for Kwame Nkrumah is so great that even though I am a Sierra Leonean, he named me after that great African hero who unfortunately only became a hero in his grave. You can be sure I...

Poor journalism.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
August 1, 2007... On my way through Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, I picked up a copy of the July issue of New African and went cover to cover on my flight to Accra. It was a stimulating issue and numerous points I would like to comment on but will restrict myself...

Thirty pieces of silver.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
August 1, 2007... Although I am sure that you will not print my letter, I am extremely happy that the truth about you and your very poorly written publication has finally come out. It is with much satisfaction that those of us in the UK from Zimbabwe have now...

You give us hope.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
August 1, 2007... Having seen many readers showering you with blessings, I also believe it is African to join in. Your magazine is indeed a leader in driving the development of Africa, our continent. I have also been impressed by your style of writing and being...

The Archibishop and sellouts.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
August 1, 2007... I was very disappointed to see Archbishop John Sentamu reported {NA, June) as saying Toyin Agbetu should share his anger about the slave trade equally between the British establishment and the African chiefs. Is there any evidence that the...

Nuggets--an excellent work.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
August 1, 2007... I wish to register my delight for the above column of your highly reputable and widely read New African magazine. Since the birth of Dr William F. Kumuyis column, Nuggets in a Nutshell, in November 2006,1 have been absorbing the contents which...

Tanzania can only be built by Tanzanians.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
August 1, 2007... The interview with President Kikwete was extremely inspiring in your June edition. President Kikwete wants to create wealth and prosperity for Tanzanians. He can do it no doubt. As a Tanzanian, I would only request him to look towards...

A beef with Baffour.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
August 1, 2007... I found Baffour Ankomah's "wide ranging" interview with the Tanzanian president, Jakaya Kikwete (NA, June) rather eulogistic and obsequious. While Baffour thought it was in the nation's interest for Tanzanian taxpayers to pay for regular...

Mugabe: 'snakes in our midst'.(Robert Mugabe)
August 1, 2007... "If we increase people's salaries today, you see them doubling the prices of goods in shops as if to say we want to drain every last dollar they have. It is in such ways that we see some industrialists here pushing for regime change and we have...

Gideon Gono: 'Zimbabwe will not die'.(Interview)
August 1, 2007... In this wide-ranging interview about the realities in Zimbabwe, the governor of the country's central bank, Dr Gideon Gono, tells the New African editor, Baffour Ankomah: "Let me just say Zimbabwe will not die. We'll have bruises here and...

Seven communication tips an effective leader must have (II): "When I send a man to buy a horse, I don't want to be told how many hairs the horse has in his tail. I wish only to know the points", said Abraham Lincoln. Effective communication calls for painstaking search, selection and stringing of picture-building words.(Nuggets in a Nutshell)(Column)
August 1, 2007... In my last column, I gave two tips for leaders wanting to produce cutting-edge communication. Here are the rest: * Empathise with the audience Leaders who operate aloof of the people, pass the buck but keep the bucks and look for...

Nigeria: a new approach; As the new Nigerian president, Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, pictured, settles into office, Nigerians and watchers of Africa's most populous nation struggle to grasp a clear-cut direction of policy and strategy from his administration. Ola Sheyin analyses the situation.(Feature)
August 1, 2007... It is not very easy to continually find fault with someone who is predominantly perceived to be passive. And for this reason, Nigerians, who are addicted to disparaging their leaders, will have an increasingly frustrating time, with the...

Cote d'Ivoire: 'France played a negative role; Mrs Simone Gbagbo, the First Lady of Cote d'Ivoire, takes no prisoners when defending her country's national interest. She is the president of the ruling party's group in parliament. She talked to our correspondent, Ruth Tete, about what the French did in the Ivorian crisis and other matters.(Interview)
August 1, 2007... Ruth Tete: The Ivorian crisis is gradually coming to an end. What has been the impact on Franco-Ivorian relations? Mrs Simone Gbagbo: I think that France is a bit late regarding the evolution of mentalities in Africa. Some French political...

South Africa: to BEE or not to BEE; After 13 years of ANC rule, the question still persists on how far the government has economically empowered black South Africans. Pusch Coomey reports.(Feature)(Black Economic Empowerment)
August 1, 2007... South Africa today is abuzz with BEE (Black Economic Empowerment), a mechanism to rescue blacks from 350 years of economic exploitation, poverty and social degradation. But there are myriad problems. President Thabo Mbeki put it succinctly...

Ghana: a king of our times.(Feature)(Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II)
August 1, 2007... Eight years ago, the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, pictured above, was enstooled as the 16th king or occupant of the Golden Stool of the Asante people. His many endeavours since then have benefited not only his own Asante people, but many...

Malawi: political lessons from first lady's death.(Feature)(Ethel Mutharika)
August 1, 2007... That "politicians will always be politicians" has been amply demonstrated in Malawi since the death of the first lady, Mrs Ethel Mutharika, in late May. The intense political squabbling in the months before her death disappeared as the nation...

Ethiopia wants its prince back.(Feature)(Alemayehu's remains)
August 1, 2007... Ethiopia's year-long Third Millennium celebrations kick off on 12 September, but it wants Britain to, first, return the remains of its prince, Alemayehu, who was taken away in 1868 when a British expedition looted Emperor Tewodros' fortress...

Sierra Leone: Kabbah's record.(Feature)
August 1, 2007... From the miserable, blood-drenched nation dismissed by many as beyond salvage, Sierra Leone has conducted two successful multiparty elections since the end of the civil war in 2002 and has had an annual growth rate of more than 7% (the highest...

Lighten our darkness, president kufuor! Ghana's main hope lies in solar power. Ironically, the very sunshine that is drying-up Africa's rivers and making it impossible for people to rely on their hydro-electric power supply system is what can save Africans from being perennially plunged in darkness.(Under the Neem Tree)(John Kufuor)
August 1, 2007... I suppose I should be happy over this report in Ghana's Daily Graphic: "The Volta River Authority (VRA) has dispelled media speculations that it is being forced to shut down its hydroelectric power generating plants. The Director of Hydro at...

Corporate social responsibility in the African context: interest in African energy resources used to focus almost entirely on North and West African oil, but while oil still attracts the lion's share of investment, natural gas is steadily catching up in terms of importance. Neil Ford reports.
August 1, 2007... Corporate social responsibility is not a term which resonates in much of Africa. Encouraging the growth of African companies and creating employment can be difficult enough without placing any restrictions on the approach of business. Yet...

2010 is Africa's date with destiny: Pusch Commey reports from Johannesburg of an innovative way of mobilising African support for the 2010 football World Cup to be hosted by South Africa.(Football)(Coalition of Supporters Unions of Africa)
August 1, 2007... As the countdown to Africa's greatest sporting event draws closer, so are plans to make it the best event in the world ever. Three years from this summer all roads will lead to Africa. Kick off is 11 June. The final is scheduled to take place...

The chimera of equality; Inequality bestrides the West. Rich and poor: never the twain shall meet. If Western countries have not combated their huge disparities between rich and poor in income, housing, education, jobs--how on earth do they think they can "make poverty history", or remove other inequalities, in Africa?(Not in Black or White)
August 1, 2007... Equality does not make you equal. "I'm as good as she is." "I can do what he does." But you aren't, are you? You can't, can you? You can only do what you are good at. Do what you're good at. What is that, by the way? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]...

The excision of desire: Ayi Kwei Armah reviews Ramata, a novel, by the Senegalese writer Abasse Ndione. Published n French by Gallimard, Paris.(Books)(Book review)
August 1, 2007... This is the story of a singular woman of tremendous physical beauty. By ordinary standards, Ramata Kaba should be supremely happy. In a neocolonial society where poverty is the norm, while education, work and wealth come only to the luckiest,...

Fill in this questionnaire & win a free subscription.(READER'S SURVEY)
August 1, 2007... Dear Reader, Your opinion is invaluable to help us assess your information needs, as well as help our editorial, advertising and marketing departments to continue to develop the magazine in ways that we hope you find useful, interesting...

Zimbabwe economy: the real story.
August 1, 2007... "The Briton said to the Zimbabwean: "On the way here two days ago, I had read from The Daily Telegraph that Harare had completely shut down because of the lack of fuel. So I thought we couldn't even go out of the hotel when we arrive. But that...

Eric Bloch: 'Zimbabwe business committing hara-kiri'.(ZIMBABWE ECONOMY: The real story)(Reprint)
August 1, 2007... "Since the beginning of February [this year], much of commerce and industry has been pursuing operations in a manner that can only hasten the Zimbabwean economic collapse. The captains of business, and many others, are apparently now driven to...

Morgan Tsvangirai: 'price war is a poor election gimmick'.(ZIMBABWE ECONOMY: The real story)
August 1, 2007... On 9 July 2007, Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of one of the two factions of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), issued a statement in Harare reacting to the government's clampdown on hyperinflation and phenomenal rising prices. "It...

Trudy Stevenson: myth and reality.(ZIMBABWE ECONOMY: The real story)
August 1, 2007... On 7 July 2007, Trudy Stevenson, the MDC MP for Harare North, and secretary for policy and research of the Arthur Mutambara-faction, issued a statement in Harare in the form of "20 questions" aimed at educating the public about the frustrations...

Hunting with hounds, and running with hares: Caesar Zvayi, a Zimbabwean journalist, on MDC hypocrisy. After calling for sanctions to be imposed on the country, the MDC should take its fair share of the blame for the resultant economic problems.(ZIMBABWE ECONOMY: The real story)(Movement for Democractic Change)
August 1, 2007... ZANU-PF stalwarts have bastardised the MDC acronym to mean Movement for the Destruction of our Country, with the ascetic ones substituting 'movement' for 'morons'. Looking at the behaviour of the MDC leadership, their actions and...

Gideon Gono: 'I'm not against price war'.(ZIMBABWE ECONOMY: The real story)
August 1, 2007... The governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, Dr Gideon Gono, has refuted media reports, first carried by the Harare-based pro-opposition weekly, Zimbabwe Independent, and later amplified in various media outlets abroad that he was against the...

Trade unions group ask workers to stand by for strikes.(ZIMBABWE ECONOMY: The real story)(Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions )
August 1, 2007... On 10 July, the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), the country's umbrella trade unions group, issued two statements signed by its secretary general, Wellington Chibebe, asking workers (in the first statement) to "prepare for national...

Lovemore Mushonga: trade union affiliates support price war.(ZIMBABWE ECONOMY: The real story)(Interview)
August 1, 2007... The government directive for businesses to reduce prices to 18 June levels has been hailed by Zimbabweans across the political divide. Surprisingly, it has been condemned by the Zimbabwe Confederation of Trade Unions (ZCTU) whose leadership has...

'Business is not seeking regime change'.(ZIMBABWE ECONOMY: The real story)(business leaders' letter to President Robert Mugabe)
August 1, 2007... On 20 July, Zimbabwe's business leaders wrote to the government, via President Robert Mugabe, assuring him and the government that the business sector did not seek regime change in Zimbabwe. "We, the business leaders from the private sector,"...

The World Bank & others: the World Bank helped Zimbabwe in the past, but no more. It stopped lending to Zimbabwe in October 2000. Tom Mbakwe reports.(ZIMBABWE ECONOMY: The real story)
August 1, 2007... The World Bank has helped Zimbabwe to fight poverty and improve living standards. To date, the Bank has approved 19 International Bank of Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) loans and 14 International Development Association (IDA) credits,...

Commerce without morality ... media reactions to the war on prices: as usual, Zimbabwe's media (both private and state-owned) have been vociferous in their support or criticism of the war against inordinate price increases. Here is a sample of the media reactions.(ZIMBABWE ECONOMY: The real story)
August 1, 2007... "Business gave a hostage to fortune". By Joram Nyathi, Columnist, Zimbabwe Independent, (private weekly), 13 July. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] It was the same in business, the media and the opposition. The response to the government's...

Is it really "voodoo economics" bringing Zimbabwe down?(ZIMBABWE ECONOMY: The real story)
August 1, 2007... America's former ambassador to Zimbabwe, Ambassador Christopher Dell, left on 14 July for his new posting in Afghanistan without bidding President Mugabe the "official" face-to-face farewell as demanded by diplomatic etiquette. Derided by...

Tony Hawkins: 'I don't see the economy collapsing' ... and nobody knows the rate of inflation. It's all guess work. "There is no scientific basis or evidence for making these projections. They are gut-feeling projections. I mean everyone is peering into the dark. Everyone is peering into the unknown. Nobody knows!" Baffour Ankomah reports.(ZIMBABWE ECONOMY: The real story)(Interview)
August 1, 2007... Tony Hawkins is a leading, pro-opposition, rightwing, Zimbabwean economist who doesn't count President Mugabe among his friends. But when you stretch the truth too thin on the ground to be trampled upon, even rightwing, anti-Mugabe economists...

Telecom system cries for investment: Making a call by cellular phone in Zimbabwe is not for the fainthearted, and at peak times such as Friday evenings, it can be quite a harrowing experience. Baffour Ankomah interviewed Christopher Mushohue, the transport and communications minister.(ZIMBABWE ECONOMY: The real story)(Interview)
August 1, 2007... There are three cellular network providers in Zimbabwe--the Stateowned Net*One, and two private ones Econet and Telecel--servicing a mobile population of 1.5m people. What is more, present targets are for at least one third of Zimbabweans...

Dell retreats ... A wee bit.(ZIMBABWE ECONOMY: The real story)(Christopher Dell on United States economic sanctions in Zimbabwe)(Interview)(Excerpt)
August 1, 2007... By the end of June this year, the just departed US ambassador, Christopher Dell, despite completely dismissing the "claim" (in his "voodoo economics" speech in November 2005) that the US and its allies had imposed economic sanctions on...

Callisto Jokonya: 'we are all guilty'.(ZIMBABWE ECONOMY: The real story)(Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries )(Interview)
August 1, 2007... Callisto Jokonya, a successful businessman in his own right and president of the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI), puts the business side of the argument in this interview with the New African editor, Baffour Ankomah. "We totally...

How the IMF fixed Zimbabwe.(ZIMBABWE ECONOMY: The real story)(International Monetary Fund)
August 1, 2007... The IMF, same as the other international financial institutions, like to preach good governance, rule of law, uniformity of treatment, respecting the voice of weaker members and consensus building to developing countries. But, gauging from what...

'Where did you get the money to pay us?'.(ZIMBABWE ECONOMY: The real story)(condition of relations between International Monetary Fund and Zimbabwe)
August 1, 2007... Dr Gideon Gono, governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (the central bank) reflects on Zimbabwe-IMF relations. "It is against the overt bias and unfair treatment we received at the hands of the IMF on 8 March 2006, that Zimbabwe lodged a...

Rhodesian rump capital vs African liberation: Dr Tafataona Mahoso, head of Zimbabwe's Media Commission, on why "African managers" employed by Rhodesian rump capital should declare where they stand--with the people and true African liberation or with the saboteurs of Zimbabwe's economy.(ZIMBABWE ECONOMY: The real story)
August 1, 2007... It is no coincidence that since the beginning of the African land reclamation revolution in Zimbabwe, the US State Department propaganda against Zimbabwe has focused on discrediting the efforts of the government of President Mugabe to construct...

'When the rich catch a cold, the middle class sneezes': Mabasa Sasa went into the streets of Zimbabwe to gauge public feeling about the government's clampdown on price increases. Generally, it was thumbs up for the government.(ZIMBABWE ECONOMY: The real story)
August 1, 2007... The decision by the government of Zimbabwe to slash the prices of goods and services to 18 June 2007 levels--representing a 50% deduction across the board--has sharply divided the Zimbabwean public, largely along class and political lines as...

'The Persian Gulf of strategic minerals of our earth': by landmass, Zimbabwe is twice the size of the UK. By population, Zimbabwe has a 10th of the UK population. So, why does this relatively small African nation attract so much attention from the West to the point of even seeking regime change in Harare? Is it only for the love of the Africans in Zimbabwe?, asks Mabasa Sasa.(ZIMBABWE ECONOMY: The real story)(Unite Kingdom)
August 1, 2007... In recent memory, no country in peace time has ever received as much publicity as Zimbabwe has since the onset of its land reform programme in 2000. Since then, its politics and economy have become a free-for-all, often maligned by commentators...

The truth about Zimbabwe-South Africa economic relations.(ZIMBABWE ECONOMY: The real story)
August 1, 2007... It is often said that the "Zimbabwean crisis" has had a negative impact on the growth of not only the South African economy but the economies of the SADC region as a whole. This has led to calls (especially by Western governments, their...

Mangwana: 'the goal is economic independence'.(ZIMBABWE ECONOMY: The real story)(Munyaradzi Mangwana)(Interview)
August 1, 2007... In this interview with Caesar Zvayi (first published by The Herald in Harare on 14 July 2007), Munyaradzi Mangwana, Zimbabwe's indigenisation and empowerment minister, tells what lies in store for recalcitrant businesses which will not...

Mechanisation to take agriculture to new levels: a new five-year mechanisation programme launched by the government in conjunction with the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe is set to revolutionise farming. Mabasa Sasa reports.(ZIMBABWE ECONOMY: The real story)
August 1, 2007... Over the past few years, a combination of drought, lack of agricultural inputs, and general economic malaise have seen Zimbabwe failing to be adequately food self-sufficient. While commodity deliveries to institutions such as the Grain...

A Chilean example.(ZIMBABWE ECONOMY: The real story)(the 1973 Chile coup d'etat)
August 1, 2007... "Sign no new loans and make no more commitments. Retain Chile in Eximbank's Group D [worst risk] category, requiring all decisions to be made in Washington and raising fees on guarantees... Examine each Chilean request to international...

Chile: Kissinger's letter.(ZIMBABWE ECONOMY: The real story)(Henry Kissinger)
August 1, 2007... On 9 November 1970, Henry Kissinger, on behalf of the US National Security Council, wrote the following "Top Secret, Sensitive Eyes Only" National Security Decision Memorandum 93 to the American secretary of state, secretary of defence;...

Sinning or sinned against; George Charamba, secretary for information and publicity, ties in all the strands that make the real Zimbabwe story: a country under siege by foreign forces who yet accuse it of "digging its own grave". (Please turn the page).(ZIMBABWE ECONOMY: The real story)
August 1, 2007... Standard Western journalism and scholarship depicts Zimbabwe as a country in travail, or in the words of Todd Moss and Stewart Patrick of Harvard University, "a country on the edge". This Eurocentric perspective spews copious evidence in its...