African Business articles from December 2006

African Business archives from December 2006

Trade figures: is globalisation taking hold?(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2006... In the week that George W Bush travels to Vietnam for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) meeting in Vietnam, and speculation mounts regarding the fate of the Doha round and whether the Apec meeting can kickstart the trade round into...

Africa's energy: east is east, west is ...(THIS MONTH'S PRIZE LETTER)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2006... I am an avid reader of your correspondent Neil Ford's excellent energy articles and usually agree with much of what he writes. But I was surprised by what he wrote in his article Interest rises in East African Oil Prospects (African Business...

Botswana Mining: setting the record straight.(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2006... We would like to draw your attention to an error in the October 2006 issue of African Business magazine within your cover story, Botswana at 40, Africa's Best Economy. In the Mining Overview, entitled Minerals are still the Bedrock, you...

A rail alternative: Nigeria's plans on track?(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2006... I read the article regarding Nigerian government plans for a massive overhaul of the country's rail system with astonishment (Abuja Promises Rail Revolution, November issue, African Business). My shock was that your magazine, which is so...

A deadly trade: fakes cost lives.(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2006... Thank you African Business for raising awareness of a terrible problem that is haunting Africa, the problem of counterfeit pharmaceuticals (The Deadly Scourge of Fake Drugs, October issue, African Business. Bogus drugs are a real...

Our cultural assets: use them or lose them.(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2006... I have just returned from taking part in a three day Pan African Cultural Congress at the headquarters of the African Union in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa. It raised some interesting points regarding the use of one of our greatest assets,...

Pirates strangling Africa's growth.(software piracy)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Over 80% of computer software now in use in Africa has been pirated, costing governments and the high-tech industry billions of dollars in revenue and stunting growth and progress. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A workshop in Nairobi, Kenya,...

There's not an awful lot of coffee left ...(Zimbabwe rejected European Union's grant)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... A [euro]3m grant by the European Union to help rescue Zimbabwe's coffee production in the country's Eastern Highlands, has been rejected by the Zimbabwe government. Coffee growers in the area say that without the money, the industry could...

'Zimbabwe alive and kicking'.(technical education)(Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... The Zimbabwe government has set up an intellectual desk with the aim of reversing the brain drain that is crippling many sectors of the economy. According to the state-owned Herald newspaper the unit, run by the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary...

MDG indicators improve.(Millennium Development Goals)(African Development Indicators published by World Bank )(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Modern day Africa has been described as a continent on the move, making tangible progress on delivering better health, education, growth, trade and poverty-reduction outcomes. Gobind Nankani, the World Bank vice-president for the Africa region,...

SAPP confronts energy crisis.(Southern African Power Pool)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... The Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) has acknowledged that power supplies in much of southern Africa are in a critical state and emergency measures may be needed sooner rather than later. Lawrence Musaba, coordination centre manager for SAPP,...

More nuclear power for Egypt.(starting nuclear programme at the Mediterranean coast)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Egypt will resume its nuclear programme after a 20-year freeze with an atomic power station on the Mediterranean coast, if a project proposal is approved by the Egyptian government. If the scheme is given the go-ahead, the plant should be...

Air Botswana privatises.(South African Airlink (Johannesburg, South Africa) is bidding)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Airlink, a small privately-owned South African airline, was the surprise preferred bidder in the privatisation of the state-owned national carrier Air Botswana. The airline carries 150,000 passengers a year, generating annual revenue of about...

Africa looks east for energy inspiration.(cross-border synergies, India)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... African companies must exploit the synergy happening between Africa and India, says the managing director of Nigeria's Sonidep Petrol and Gas Company. Addressing a bilateral symposium in Delhi, he said Africa wanted to learn from India's...

SA overhauls expatriate worker laws.(South Africa )(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... The South African government has scrapped the two-year limit imposed on skilled foreign staff. Acute skills shortages are threatening to logjam the country's economic expansion and put paid to the targeted 6% growth by 2010. South Africa's...

AB guide to African currencies.(Business Briefs)(Statistical table)
December 1, 2006... AB Guide to African Currencies Country Currency [pounds sterling]STG Algeria (Dinar) 137.03 Angola (New Kwanza) 153.70 Benin (CFA) ...

Global warming and Africa.(Climate Change Conference of United Nations)(Editorial)
December 1, 2006... Africa has the most to lose from climate change. This was the grim message emanating from the UN's major Climate Change Conference in Nairobi mid last month. The irony, as Achim Steiner, the executive director of the UN Environment...

Taking the first steps: while the rest of the world has availed itself of scientific advances to triple its food production, Africa's output is stagnating. It imports more food than it grows and three quarters of its farmland is degraded. But, as Anver Versi reports, the first step has been taken in launching the continent's Green Revolution.(AFRICA LAUNCHES GREEN REVOLUTION)(Cover story)
December 1, 2006... It is self-evident, and history supports this without qualification, that no people can develop themselves to their full capacity without a surplus of food. The earliest civilisations of the world--those centred around the Nile valley, the...

SG 2000: twenty years of Sasakawa-Global 2000.(AFRICA LAUNCHES GREEN REVOLUTION)(Sasakawa Africa Fund for Extension Education )
December 1, 2006... The Sasakawa-Global (SG 2000) programme in Africa marked its 20th anniversary with an international symposium in Mali's capital Bamako, on 31 October and 1 November, aimed at developing a roadmap to encourage smallholder farmiers Africa to...

Symposium: Stimulating African Smallholder Commercial Agriculture--Bamako, Mali; Green revolution inexorable.(AFRICA LAUNCHES GREEN REVOLUTION)(Michael Foster of Sasakaw African Association)(Interview)
December 1, 2006... The most significant meeting on the future of African agriculture after the historic Summit on Fertiliser in Abuja was seminar held in Bamako, Mali in November. It also marked the 20th anniversary of the Sasakaw African Association. African...

Fertilisers--food for a hungry Earth: no continent on Earth is in greater need of fertilisers than Africa and yet, no continent uses fewer fertilisers than Africa. In a bid to understand this paradox, Anver Versi talked to one of the world's leading experts in the field, Amit Roy.(AFRICA LAUNCHES GREEN REVOLUTION)(International Centre for Soil Fertility and Agricultural Development )(Interview)
December 1, 2006... If Africa is to achieve its long sought after Green Revolution, several conditions have to be met. Principal among these is the rejuvenation of its farmlands--which at the moment are in dire straits. Coupled with the efforts to refertilise...

African grain markets.(food production)
December 1, 2006... With 60% of the population of sub-Saharan Africa directly involved in agriculture, it is somewhat surprising they are not capable of feeding the region's 850m population. Each year, Africa imports up to $20bn worth of food as commercial imports...

African growth remains buoyant: over the past three years, Africa's growth has hovered impressively around the 5% mark and per capita income is also rising. The need now is to sustain the growth over the next five years if real change in the standard of living is to be achieved. Report by Neil Ford.(AGENDA)
December 1, 2006... Average economic growth of 5.1% in Africa in 2004 was widely heralded as a breakthrough for the continent. The 5% barrier is regarded as the line above which real improvements in the standard of living can be made in developing countries, given...

'Doing business' climate improving--slowly: the only way for African economies to grow is by expanding the business base in each country; yet, some African countries seem to be doing their best to make it as difficult as possible to do business within their borders. However, as the IFC's recent Doing Business 2007 report shows, improvements are taking place in some countries.(View from the City)(International Finance Corporation)
December 1, 2006... The World Bank expects regional growth in Africa to reach 9% a year within a decade, up from the 5.8% it should record in 2006. This will be reliant on current reforms being sustained. It is widely acknowledged that when international companies...

Taking the nuclear option: the Egyptian government's decision to restart its nuclear power programme has highlighted the possibility of a renaissance for this most controversial of power sources. How important is nuclear in the African power mix? Neil Ford discusses.(Energy)
December 1, 2006... Growing concern over the impact of global warming has prompted a reassessment of nuclear power's future in a number of Western countries and this trend now seems to be affecting Africa for the first time. In addition to Egypt's decision to...

The buzz without the bite.(ringtone which sounds like mosquitoes sound)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Researchers have found that there are sound frequencies that older adults are unable to distinguish, while to teenagers they are quite distinct. They have taken that little known fact and turned it into a ring tone for mobile phones that the...

Have your chocolate and drink it too.(SABMiller PLC planning to develop chocolate beer)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... If you enjoy a beer and a slab of chocolate, you can now have both in a bottle. Global brewer SABMiller has announced plans to launch an innovative chocolate beer, brewed with six different malts, including a dark chocolate one. In line...

Lights of your life.(light emitting diodes headlights)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... The time is close at hand when you might never again have to change the bulbs in your car's lights. The Audi R8 and Toyota's Lexus have presented LED headlights that will last for the car's lifetime. LEDs (light-emitting diodes) are better, the...

Sun shines on Kibera entrepreneurs.(solar panels )(self employment)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... In one of Nairobi's poorest neigh-bourhoods, a group of disadvantaged young people are working together to turn the power of the sun into a wealth creating proposition. Using skills and equipment given to them by a young British volunteer,...

Pumpkin power.(Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson and MTN Group jointly developing biofuels using pumpkin seed oil)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... African pumpkins could become a source of energy if a pilot scheme to replace diesel with biofuels for mobile base stations located far from the electricity grid proves feasible. Palm and pumpkin seed oil are the likely biofuel source in a...

Elephants' awakening self-awareness.(research at New York's Bronx Zoo)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Animal biologists at New York's Bronx Zoo have proven that elephants are able to recognise themselves in the mirror and use their reflections to examine parts hidden to them. The researchers constructed jumbo-size mirrors in the elephant...

Student power rules.(Thuthukani Chonco invented therapeutic Reflex Sox )(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Three particularly innovative ideas emerged at the South African Bureau of Standards Young Designers Awards ceremony near Pretoria. Thuthukani Chonco, a student at the School of Fashion Design in Durban was inspired to invent his...

Recycled off-cuts.(Leigh Ann Groenemeyer designed handbags and cellphone pouches using neoprene)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Leigh Ann Groenemeyer, a fashion design student, found that some people's waste is another person's fortune. In her practical studies she came across neoprene, a versatile synthetic rubber used in making wetsuits and body-boards. "Manufacturers...

Dial up your 2010 game.(Vodacom of South Africa is developing digital broadcasting handheld service for the 2010 soccer World Cup)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Vodacom South Africa is in trials with digital video broadcasting handheld (DVB-H) technology it hopes to have ready in time for the 2010 soccer World Cup. Simply put, it's a digital way of watching World Cup games on your mobile phone in...

Instant diabetes diagnosis.(by Scout )(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... In a major diagnostic development, doctors can now diagnose diabetes by shining a light on the patient's arm. A new device called the Scout has made its medical debut in London and detects the early signs of the disease in under a minute by...

Calm kids with fish oil.(Australian researchers )(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Cod liver oil was, until not so long ago, the daily panacea and body systems protector, before it was overshadowed by newer medicine. Now medical science is discovering that not only cod, but many other types of fish oils, have other benefits...

Think red for a good night's rest.(red wine medical benefits)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... The medical benefits of red wine just keep on rolling in. New findings reveal that a chemical in the tipple will help you sleep a lot better, after only a glass or two. It must be red, however, because it's all in the fruit's skins. The skins,...

Enter the salamander.(regeneration process)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Meanwhile, the salamander newt is being used to demonstrate that some lifeforms, specifically amphibians and some fish, hold the key to regenerative medicine that enables the body to repair itself from even severe trauma. The salamander can...

Livers from stem cells breakthrough.(Medical moments)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... A miniature human liver has been grown from stem cells by medical researchers in London. A world-first breakthrough, it can be used to test drugs, reducing the need for animal experiments. The scientists expect that within about 15 years,...

Slimming spinach?(medical benefits)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Cartoon character Popeye may have misled generations of fans that spinach is a muscle-maker. It may have just the opposite effect, scientists believe. A recently discovered chemical compound in spinach leaves can fool our bodies into feeling...

Maputo Corridor--a qualified success: the Maputo Development Corridor initiative began life 10 years ago. The idea was to provide southern Africa's industrial heartland with a shorter link to the sea in Mozambique and in the process generate wealth all along the route. Has this happened? Tom Nevin discusses.(Focus: Wealth creating corridors)
December 1, 2006... Unlocking the landlocked regions of South Africa's Mpumalanga, Gauteng and Limpopo Province, the Maputo Development Corridor is a transportation corridor in the true sense. [GRAPHIC OMITTED] A system of road, rail, border posts, port...

Gautrain on track.(Bombela won the contract for constructing super train)
December 1, 2006... It may not be ready in time for the 2010 World Cup kick-off and questions about its overall viability continue, but the construction of South Africa's much vaunted super train is at last under way. A consortium to build and manage the...

Walvis Bay Corridor Group--desert pioneers: the Walvis Bay Corridor Group is an ambitious project that links several transport and logistics systems in southern and central Africa all eventually converging on the port of Walvis Bay in Namibia. Tom Nevin describes the system.(Special Report)
December 1, 2006... The decision in 1994 to develop Walvis Bay as a hub port for south-western and central African countries logically led to planning for ways a network of corridors could converge on the Atlantic Ocean port. Known as the Walvis Bay Corridor...

China and Africa tie the knot: one of the biggest gatherings of African heads of state and ministers outside the continent took place in Beijing last month. The summit has confirmed the new relationship between a resurgent China and Africa. Trade is expected to hit $100bn a year by 2010 and a whole slew of new projects are in the pipeline. Neil Ford assesses what this means to Africa.(Focus)(Sino-African Summit)
December 1, 2006... The growing economic relationship between China and sub-Saharan Africa was confirmed by November's grand meeting in Beijing. The Sino-African Summit had been heralded by the Chinese government as a breakthrough in relations between the two...

India, China lead bribery index: Africa's development efforts are being hampered by exporting companies from the developed and emerging markets which continue to bribe their way into winning contracts, says Transparency International. Tom Nevin reviews several comparative reports on the state of Africa's economic health.(Rankings)
December 1, 2006... This is the season, as the year ebbs, for all manner of institutions to field their findings on the state of global and individual economies--their honesty and forthrightness, whether they are worth doing business with and what you can expect...

Drugs syndicates target Africa: crime syndicates are targeting the region as a major transit route, using its airports, harbours and postal systems for shipping all manner of dangerous drugs. Tom Nevin reports.(Spotlight)
December 1, 2006... For the past two decades or more, Africa has been regarded by the international law enforcement community as "a revolving door and a major centre for consumption" for the global drug trade. The narcotics business has become one of the most...

Mo Ibrahim launches world's biggest prize: an inspirational new prize to promote good governance was launched recently in London. It aims to transform the African polity and provide additional momentum for the continent's economic development. Stephen Williams has the details.(Topic)
December 1, 2006... A $5m prize for Africa's most effective head of state was launched in late October by one of the continent's most successful businessmen. It will award one leader a year the princely sum of $500,000 every year for 10 years, thereafter $200,000...

Mining windfall buys critical time: with Levy Mwanawasa back in the driving seat, Zambia is reassessing its fortunes and how best to get on with business and life, neither of which has been particularly easy. Now Zambians will be watching closely to see if he can improve on his first term. Report by Tom Nevin.(ZAMBIA)(Levy Mwanawasa)
December 1, 2006... Economically, Zambia is on an upswing, riding the positive cycle of commodity performance and cashing in on copper prices not seen since the 1960s and 70s. Levy Mwanawasa's most urgent job now is to ensure that Zambia's newfound wealth, coupled...

Ports facelift gathers steam: the recent announcement that China has signed an $8.3bn contract to develop a rail link between the north and south of the country comes as very welcome news to the country's business community. But greater volumes of trade will be generated only if Nigeria's ports are also modernised. Neil Ford reports on Nigeria's determination to upgrade its ports infrastructure.(NIGERIA)(China Civil Engineering Construction Corp.)
December 1, 2006... The grand plans devised for the regeneration of the Nigerian rail sector could have a massive impact on trade both within the nation and between the West African giant and the rest of the world. [GRAPHIC OMITTED] Yet the country's...

Kibaki takes the long view: although the ruling National Rainbow Coalition party has only one year to go before the next elections, President Mwa Kibaki's policies are aimed at the longer term. High on his list of priorities is the proposed East African federation with neighbouring Tanzania and Uganda. Report by Neil Ford.(KENYA)(investigation into political campaigns in Ethiopia)
December 1, 2006... With just one year to go until President Mwai Kibaki's National Rainbow Coalition (Narc) must contest the next presidential and National Assembly elections, it might be expected that the government would opt for short term policies that would...

Business made easy: Ghana has done more than any other country in Africa to improve the ease of doing business over the past year and is now ranked ninth in the world in terms of the efforts that have been made over the same period. Neil Ford reports.(GHANA)
December 1, 2006... Ghana's ranking in the World Bank's annual Doing Business 2007 survey (see View from the City p22) has helped to confirm an increasingly positive view about the country's economic prospects. Higher rates of economic growth have accompanied...

Farming the riches of the sea: Mauritius has the potential to rapidly develop an aquaculture industry by farming marine and freshwater fish in its lagoons. The island plans to export locally grown fish on a large scale in the coming years, Nasseem Ackbarally reports from Port-Louis.(MAURITIUS)(Zablon Karingi Muthaka won the Youth Business International Entrepreneur of the Year 2006 )
December 1, 2006... In a few years, total world production of aquaculture fish, which stands presently at 55m metric tons, would be at par with the production of marine fish, which currently stands at 95m metric tons. Where then would this place Mauritius which...

Rewrite global economic rules: fair deals for a better world.(Making Globalization Work)(Book review)
December 1, 2006... Making Globalization Work By Joseph Stiglitz [pounds sterling]20 Allen Lane ISBN 0-713-99909-8 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Joseph Stiglitz might not be aware of the fact, but he currently holds the record as the most...

A Human Being Died That Night: Forgiving Apartheid's Killers.(Brief article)(Book review)
December 1, 2006... A Human Being Died That Night Forgiving Apartheid's Killers By Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela [pounds sterling]8.99 Portobello Books ISBN 1-84627-053-7 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] With a foreword by Nelson Mandela, A Human Being...

From Our Own Correspondent: A Celebration of Fifty Years of the BBC Radio Programme.(Brief article)(Book review)
December 1, 2006... From Our Own Correspondent A Celebration of Fifty Years of the BBC Radio Programme Edited by Tony Grant [pounds sterling]8.99 Profile Books ISBN 1861977476 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The flagship BBC radio's World Service...

Mandela: A critical Life.(Brief article)(Book review)
December 1, 2006... Mandela--A critical Life By Tom Lodge [pounds sterling]14.99 Oxford University Press ISBN 0-19-280568-1 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Nelson Mandela, the first African politician to acquire a world following, remains in the 21st...

Too Close to the Sun.(Brief article)(Book review)
December 1, 2006... Too Close to the Sun By Sara Wheeler [pounds sterling]18.99 Jonathan Cape ISBN: 0224063804 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Denys Finch Hatton was an aristocrat of leonine nonchalance. He was 6-foot 3-inches tall, and once lifted a...

When a Crocodile Eats the Sun: A Memoir.(Brief article)(Book review)
December 1, 2006... When a Crocodile eats the Sun A Memoir By Peter Godwin [pounds sterling]16.99 Picador ISBN 0-330-43369-5 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] This is the story of the disintegration of a family, set against the collapse of a...

African Snacks: With a Twist.(Brief article)(Book review)
December 1, 2006... African snacks-with a twist By Manjase Banda [pounds sterling]8.99 Esanjam ISBN: 0954-6821-1-4 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] This inspirational book, containing over 70 recipes from all over the continent using a variety of...

AVCA Yearbook 2006.(Book review)
December 1, 2006... AVCA Yearbook 2006 [pounds sterling]200 AVCA ISBN: 10: 0-9551648-4-2 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The African Venture Capital Association (AVCA) is a not-for-profit entity founded to promote, develop and stimulate private equity and...

A deeper shade of blues: Ali Farka Toure's farewell album.(Savane)(Sound recording review)
December 1, 2006... Savane Ali Farka Toure World Circuit Cat: WLWCCD075 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] When the great Malian musician, Ali Farka Toure, finally succumbed last March to the bone cancer he had been fighting, Africa's music scene lost...