African Business articles from December 2008

African Business archives from December 2008

The consequences for Africa.(Obama's victory)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2008... Your writer, Tom Nevin, took a sensible and timely look at what an Obama presidency will mean for our continent (What will Obama do for Africa? African Business November 2008 issue). The article struck me as coolly objective. It also provided a...

Dear betty.(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2008... Thank you for taking the time to respond to my article. Well-written feedback is always appreciated and vital to fostering debate around important issues. You mentioned alleviation of hunger in Africa, a valid point--sadly, however, the context...

Ahead of the curve.(An island's vision)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2008... With reference to African Business' June 08 issue, it was very interesting to read your Mauritius Country file report on the property development sector on the island that is being encouraged by the government's Integrated Resorts Scheme (IRS)....

Frank amazement.(The Global Crunch)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2008... I have to say that I read your current issue's main story The Global Crunch--Is Africa Safe? (African Business November 08 issue) with, quite frankly, amazement. For not once did the writers consider the possibility that the very financial...

Why Somalia suffers.(Pirate's paradise)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2008... Your article in the latest issue (African Business November 08 issue) entitled "Pirates rule the waves" which discussed the hijackings by Somali pirates on the high seas of the Ukrainian cargo ship Faina, failed to mention that this was just...

2010, here we come!(Football crazy)(Letter to the editor)
December 1, 2008... Your magazine manages to remain topical and relevant with each issue. I was particularly struck by your review of Elephants, lions and eagles--A journey through African football by Filippo Maria Ricci. (African Business, October 2008 issue)....

A United States of Africa?(Trade)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... In what is widely seen as the next step towards the creation of a United States of Africa, 26 countries, mainly south of the Sahara, have agreed to merge into one trading bloc. The hope is that more vigorous interregional cooperation in trade...

No marks for Zimbabwe's school children.(Education)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... According to The Times of London, Zimbabwe's 4.5m pupils had had just 23 days of uninterrupted tuition. As a result, the government has cancelled the 2008 academic year to avoid the humiliation of total failure. "It would have been...

Jatropha losing its renewable fuel lustre.(Bio-fuels)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... Is Jatropha all it is cracked up to be as the miracle bio-diesel resource? Kenyan growers are beginning to have their doubts. Once hailed as the perfect "poor people's resoponse" to high fossil-fuel prices, farmers are finding that Jatropha is...

Festivals can attract tourists.(Tourism)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... Nigeria can bring its tourism industry to life by promoting the country's many carnivals and festivals, says researcher Ebere Onwudiwe. Writing in Lagos's BusinessDay newspaper, Onwudiwa says Nigeria's hospitality industry is in the doldrums...

Corruption in S. Africa's prosecutorial ranks.(Crime)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... Over R500m ($50m) in corruption involving tender rigging and financial irregularity has been uncovered at a South African government department that should know better. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has been castigated in...

S. Africans scorn energy saving.(Energy)
December 1, 2008... South Africans have failed dismally to cut the energy consumption called for by state-owned utility Eskom and now face a dark 2009. Newly-installed public enterprises minister Brigitte Mabandla says energy savings have fallen "woefully below...

South Korea and Africa's win-win opportunity.(Cooperation)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... "The continent of Africa and South Korea can engage in win-win cooperation to promote sustainable development," says South Korean Minister of Finance and Strategy, Man-Soo Kang, "and joining forces to prioritise infrastructure development is...

African socialists call for slavery reparations.(Conference)(African People's Socialist Party )(Conference news)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... Africa's socialists have issued a new call for reparations to be paid to Africans for 400 years of slavery. Delegates at the first West African conference of the African Socialist International in Freetown, Sierra Leone, insisted that it is...

Rethink solutions to problems-world bank.(Economics)(Steering Group )(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... The way the world tries to solve its economic problems needs to be rethought amid today's global crisis, including turning the Group of Seven into a Steering Group that empowers rising economic states. This is the view of World Bank Group...

African research 'neglected' by donor policies.(Agriculture)(Report)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... A lack of emphasis on agricultural research in development policy over the last 25 years is a major reason for the deterioration of African farming, says a new UNCTAD report on Africa's economic development. It cites the small size of each...

Obama--the leader the world has been waiting for.(Editorial)
December 1, 2008... The outpouring of joy which erupted world-wide following confirmation that Barack Obama had become the next US President, while thrilling for us because of his African connections, has also been disquieting. I cannot recall any election...

African cities: heaven and hell.(4th World Urban Forum, Nanjing)
December 1, 2008... Half the world's population now lives in urban areas and this number will grow over the next decades. About one third of Africa's population is now living in cities and towns, but the urban population is growing faster than anywhere else in the...

The clean brigade win $100,000 award.(Awards)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... A collective of 1,200 women who set out to clean up the streets of Ougadougou in Burkina Faso became the first winners of the Shaikh Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa UN Award. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The women, armed with brooms and...

Norway fund will finance youth development.(Funds)
December 1, 2008... One of the most inspiring aspects of the Nanjing WUF was the unexpectedly large turnout for the youth section of the event. Young people from all countries of the world engaged seriously and articulately on urban issues, including youth...

How to create harmonious cities.(4th World Urban Forum, Nanjing)
December 1, 2008... Although African cities are the fastest growing in the world, Africa itself is the least urbanised region in the world. In 2008, only 39.1% of Africa population lived in cities and towns. Africa's urban population is highly unevenly...

African cities need clarity of thought.(Anna Tabaijuka speaks on African urbanization)(Interview)
December 1, 2008... Anver Versi: What is the rate of African urbanisation compared to other developing regions? Anna Tabaijuka: It is the fastest in the world. There several causes, including the pull-push factors, and let's not forget the refugees and...

Is Africa about to go nuclear? As the power crunch hits an increasing number of African countries, to be gaining favournuclear energy appears in a number of states, including large oil producers such as Nigeria and Algeria.(TRENDS)
December 1, 2008... With an eye on dwindling fossil based energy resources and still bearing the scars of energy dependency, governments of countries across Africa have made it their ambition to harness the atom and include nuclear in their energy mix. For some,...

Looking beyond the storm: the current economic crisis is in a league of its own and few markets, emerging and frontier, will escape the consequences unscathed. But there is light at the end of the tunnel and the future may even become sounder.(VIEW FROM THE CITY)
December 1, 2008... Financial upheavals have worsened dramatically in recent weeks, biting into the real economy. Although there have been earlier crises in Latin America and South East Asia during the 1980s and 1990s, as well as the 2001 dot.com crash, today's...

South African solar panels can solve power dilemma: as South Africa plunges deeper into darkness induced by power cuts, and loses economic productivity, the search is seriously on for alternative, yet clean and affordable, sources of energy. New developments in solar panel technology pioneered in South Africa look very promising, as Khadija Sharife reports.
December 1, 2008... For the 80% of South Africans relying on the national energy grid to power their homes, businesses and vital amenities like schools and clinics, everyday life became an unrelenting challenge when Eskom, unable to meet demand, started power...

A joined-up transport strategy.(Transport and Logistics)
December 1, 2008... After years of road, rail and port projects being developed in isolation, a far more strategic attitude towards logistics is now being adopted in Africa. Rail and port capacity is being brought on stream in tandem to enable the movement of dry...

Low-cost airlines thrive in hard times.(Aviation)
December 1, 2008... High aviation-fuel costs have certainly created a difficult trading environment for African airlines over the past four years. The recent fall in oil prices is certain to feed through into lower fuel costs, but the international banking crisis...

PPP and donors lead new funding.(investments of public, private sectors )
December 1, 2008... The main driving force behind the generally high levels of investment in African rail, road and port projects is the current mixture of public, private and donor funding. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Deregulation and liberalisation have...

Africa can ride out stormy seas: as Africa sails across seas still choppy in the aftermath of November's financial tempest, the skies remain cloudy and the horizon is fogged with uncertainty. However, the outlook brightens considerably when it comes to Africa, says Safmarine's Africa regional executive Jonathan Horn.(Transport and Logistics)(Interview)
December 1, 2008... Safmarine is one of the world's biggest merchant marine shipping lines. Its primary focus is the world's trade with Africa. We talk to Horn on the medium-term prognosis for Africa. African Business: The anticipated big fall-off in the...

White Liners fleet to grow.(Projections)(Safmarine Container Lines)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... Africa-focused Safmarine will continue to grow its fleet into 2009 and beyond and "we will continue to invest in new tonnage to serve the needs of our customers," says Jan Scheck, Safmarine's liner director. The fleet, known as the 'White...

No point reinventing the wheel: instead of African nations spending scarce resources on research institutions of dubious quality, they should look to capitalise on the vast store of academic excellence that is available in Western centres of learning.(LETTER FROM EAST AFRICA)(Column)
December 1, 2008... The word 'technology' is often spoken with a mystical awe and reverence in much of Africa. This is due to the widespread belief on the continent that it is technology--in the broadest sense of that word--that always gave the West an upper hand...

Ecobank Group celebrates 20th Anniversary: an historic ceremony took place in Lome, Togo on 7th November. When the Ecobank Group, celebrated its landmark 20th anniversary and also held a special gathering for the laying of the foundation-stone of its new headquarters building.(BANKING)
December 1, 2008... Presiding over the laying of a foundation stone ceremony as the guest of honour, Togo's President Faure Essozimna Ggnassingbe commended the Ecobank group for its unqualified success in providing banking services to so many millions across the...

Prices plummet but could rebound: the meltdown of the US economy has already impacted on commodity markets worldwide. Is the panic set to continue or will underlying demand reinflate prices? M J Morgan provides an analysis.(COMMODITIES)
December 1, 2008... Understanding and interpreting the consequence of economic events, even in the most normal of circumstances, is something that is usually only possible in hindsight. Just as few saw the financial meltdown of the last few months, so too nobody...

Minister's U-turn stops big titanium venture: was it coincidental that soon after the putsch that unseated President Thabo Mbeki and a clutch of his closer cabinet colleagues, a highly controversial beach-mining venture was halted by the minister of energy and minerals resources? Tom Nevin investigates.(MINING)
December 1, 2008... The deal to strip mine a beach deposit of titanium dioxide at Xolobeni in the heart of South Africa's fabled Wild Coast was all but cut and dried when the order for a rethink appeared to come down from the new socialist-leaning administration....

Where is the razzmatazz? A massive publicity campaign has proclaimed South Africa's staging of the next soccer World Cup, meeting the call from Sepp Blatter for more "razzmatazz". Tom Nevin reports.(WORLD CUP WATCH)
December 1, 2008... When Fifa chief Sepp Blatter swung through South Africa in September to check on preparations for the 2010 soccer World Cup, he ruffled feathers and bruised egos by saying that while work on the ground seemed to be progressing satisfactorily,...

SA taxis shown the 2010 red card.(Communication)(Taxicab services)
December 1, 2008... South Africa's minibus taxis have been shown the red card by Fifa management, who claim that the newer, Chinese-made models do not meet its standards of quality or safety. The Taxi Association itself immediately called a foul, protesting that...

Cable offers hope for Africa's ITC: it is just possible that Africa's long-awaited submarine optical-cable network, tied up in political and financial knots for years, might be set for splashdown. But, Tom Nevin cautions, do not hold your breath.(TELECOMS)
December 1, 2008... The cost of telephony imposed by African governments has probably done more to retard the continent's development than any other single factor. In more competitive societies, broadband has been allowed to proliferate and drastically bring down...

Botswana, Namibia look for Angola connectivity.(Communication)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... Southwest African countries are ready to jump onto the SAT3 bandwagon as long as they can be convinced it is "a cost-effective and reliable broadband access to global information and communication technology networks based on competitive rates,...

Banking on growth.(Country Profile)(Djibouti's GDP growing )
December 1, 2008... Djibouti, located at the southern end of the Red Sea has enormous strategic significance. It is the entry and exit point from the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal, thus controlling one of the world's busiest shipping...

Subscribers profit as mobile wars intensify: these are great times to be a mobile phone subscriber in Kenya as operators slash prices in an intense battle to dominate the market. Andrea Bohnstedt, reporting from Nairobi, provides the details.(KENYA)
December 1, 2008... East Africa, and Kenya in particular, has become a pioneer in mobile telecommunications services with two global innovations. In September 2006, Celtel (now Zain) launched the One Network across Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, removing all...

Nigeria reveals buffer strategies: until now, the escalating financial crisis is not thought to have had a direct impact on developing economies, but they could still suffer serious consequences from a prolonged tightening of credit, or future financial turmoil. Williams Ekanem reports how Nigeria is preparing for the worst.(NIGERIA)
December 1, 2008... In Nigeria, businesspeople are jittery. These are anxious times, especially for the financial sector, where globalisation has been the watchword in recent years. While the ability to be an active player in international markets once constituted...

From Gold Coast to "Coke" Coast.(Ghana)(drug trafficking)
December 1, 2008... The current chairman of Ecowas, President Blaise Compaore of Burkina Faso, has warned that the West Africa region is being threatened by drug-trafficking. Speaking at the opening ceremony of a conference in Praia, capital of the island state of...

Working around the clock: to remain competitive as a service-oriented economy, Mauritius cannot afford to work just nine to five. This is the argument put forward by the island's private-sector leaders, who are demanding a labour force prepared to work 24/7 to keep the economy running. Many others disagree. Nasseem Ackbarally reports from Port-Louis.(MAURITIUS)
December 1, 2008... Production cannot stop at some point in the day, insists Vinod Seegoolam, director of the Human Resources Development Council (HRDC). He is trying to persuade Mauritians to accept the need to work day and night so that the island can meet the...

Going green adds to profits.(Environment)(environmentally sustainablility )
December 1, 2008... After decades of polluting the island's environment, including burning fossil fuels to generate the power to produce garments for EU and US customers, the Mauritian textile industry has launched a "sustainable green business policy". Patrick...

Boom time in Southern Sudan: Juba, the capital of Southern Sudan, enjoying peace after a bitter 22-year civil war, is now considered the fastest-growing city in the world as traders and investors flock in to take advantage of the new opportunities the semi-autonomous region represents. Rachel Zedeck reports.(SUDAN)
December 1, 2008... Juba is a small town with big plans. Without much of the physical infrastructure necessary to describe it as a modern city, it is nevertheless being described as the fastest-growing city in Africa. Anyone visiting the Customs Market on Yei...

The muscle boys move in.(Security Industry)(private military security companies peacekeepers forces)(training of )
December 1, 2008... There is a plethora of what are termed private military security companies (PMSCs) currently penetrating Southern Sudan. The PMSCs are eager to pursue both commercial opportunities as well as the $1bn in AFRICAP contracts funded by US...

Banda marches to familiar beat: Zambia's new head of state seems determined not to rock the boat as the country begins to enjoy some of the fruits of a sound and growing economy. Tom Nevin profiles Rupiah Banda.(ZAMBIA)
December 1, 2008... For Zambians, anxious for glim pses of the future under their incoming president, the inaugural speech handed down by Rupiah Banda sounded like many they'd heard before: it could have been copied from Kaunda, Chiluba or Mwanawasa. And it...

Zambia's diplomat president.(Profile)(Rupiah Bwezani Banda, career diplomat )
December 1, 2008... Rupiah Bwezani Banda (71) takes his place at Zambia's helm as the country's first career diplomat to have ascended to the presidency. During the presidency of Kenneth Kaunda, Banda held important diplomatic posts and was active in politics...

Where the wild things are: a growing number of Africans, from the diaspora as well as different parts of Africa, are becoming tourists on their own continent, seeking out adventure and a change from the city jungles. Amanda Hemmingway checks out the wild side not far from Johannesburg.(TRAVEL)
December 1, 2008... For the average executive on a business trip to Southern Africa, the ca]l of the wild can seem well out of earshot. You go from svelte modern hotel room to svelte modern office, and the people you meet, whatever their race, creed or colour, all...

A continent explored Africa's many facets.(Book review)
December 1, 2008... Africa Altered states, Ordinary Miracles By Richard Dowden Foreword by Chinua Achebe [pounds sterling]25 Portobello Books ISBN 978-1-84627-154-0 Richard Dowden's compelling book puts together a highly personal...

African electronica: Dance-floor beats.(Sound recording review)
December 1, 2008... Mali Koura By Issa Bagayogo Six Degrees Cat: 657036-1151-2 Issa Bagayogo may seem like an unlikely candidate for an international dance-floor success. His home country of Mali is one of the 10 poorest countries in the world,...