African Business articles from February 2003

African Business archives from February 2003

Letters.
February 1, 2003... Cover story EXPOSE MORE CULPRITS Thank you for the eye-opening article 'Who caused the Malawi famine?' (African Business, January 2003) by Kwesi Owusu and Francis Ng'ambi. For far too long Africans and their leaders have been blamed...

Nelson's column proposed for SA Port. (Tourism).(Nelson Mandela)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... A 215-foot tall statue of Nelson Mandela, bigger than New York's Statue of Liberty (153ft), and dwarfing its namesake in London's Trafalgar Square, is on the cards for Port Elizabeth, South Africa's fourth-biggest harbour and provincial...

Hot prices for Uganda coffee. (Agriculture).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Stronger world coffee prices have resulted in a welcome surge in revenue for Uganda's coffee growers. Coffee exporters earned 130% more in November last year than they did in the same period a year previously. The Uganda Coffee Development...

Africa becoming a better risk. (Insurance).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... New opportunities in sub-Saharan Africa's private sector have meant greater exposure in the region by the insurance arm of the World Bank. According to Roger Pruneau of the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, Miga, the agency's exposure...

Swazi ancestral spirits ban stirke. (Labour).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Fear of disturbing the kingdom's ancestral spirits has led to the cancellation of a strike in Swaziland planned to protest against the purchase by King Mswati III of a R400m personal jet. Unofficial opposition movements and labour unions that...

China encouraged by Africa. (Co-operation).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... China is taking an increased interest in Africa in response to its perceived positive changes in the continent. The swing towards peace and development has created "favourable conditions for African countries to eradicate poverty and to allow...

Moz, Malawi seek technical partners. (Development).(Mozambique)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... New partners to provide additional funding for a new port at Ponta Dobela in southern Mozambique and technical know-how for the privatisation of Malawi Telecom are being sought by the two south-east African countries. In anticipation of South...

A sparkle in Zimbabwe's gloom. (Mining).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... A glimmer of light for Zimbabwe's embattled mining industry is Rio Tinto Zinc's announcement that it is on the verge of opening a $35m open cast diamond mine at Zvishivane in the south of the country. The Zimbabwe subsidiary of Rio Tinto Mining...

AB Guide to African Currencies. (Business Briefs).(Illustration)
February 1, 2003... AB Guide to African Currencies COUNTRY CURRENCY [pounds sterling]STG ALGERIA (Dinar) 126.84 ANGOLA (New Kwanza) 96.34 BENIN ...

Zim's Ferrari currency. (Money).(Zimbabwe)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Zimbabwe's biggest denomination note, the red Z$500 bill, is being spent so fast that it has become known as the "Ferrari". Inflation at 140% forecast to rise to 500% this year, an acute shortage of hard currency and the closure of bureaux de...

SA cuts international aid. (Aid).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Domestic economic pressure has forced South Africa to halve its contributions - from R12.1m to R6m - to regional and international aid programmes over the past three years. South Africa's Foreign Affairs department says donations to such...

SA gets tough on money-launderers. (Crime).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... As money-laundering through South African institutions reaches an estimated R8bn a year, the government has imposed new regulations that come into effect this year. They force bank tellers, estate agents, currency dealers, car sales agents and...

Africans biggest spenders. (Travel).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... South Africa's tourism boom has resulted in a huge hard-currency inflow by visitors from Europe, Far East and US - but it's chicken feed compared to what shoppers from other parts of Africa are spending on shopping sprees, according to South...

Tantalite and gold mines reopen. (Resources).(in Mozambique)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... A major tantalite mine in the Mozambican central province of Zambezia will soon resume production after a 12-year stoppage. The Marropine mine, in Ile district, is being rehabilitated and modernised by a Scottish investor at a cost of about...

Telkom's US listing challenged. (Privatisation).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... A trade union representing 18% of all Telkom employees in South Africa is lobbying the US government and Dick Grasso, chairman of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), to block the listing of South Africa's state owned telecoms company Telkom....

Tractors for Uganda. (Manufacturing).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... The world's third biggest manufacturer of agricultural tractors, Mahindra Inter-trade Ltd of India, is to start assembling tractors and jeeps in Uganda this year. Vincent Musubire of the Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) was part of the...

Seize the Cricket World Cup opportunity. (Editorial).
February 1, 2003... Several billion people will focus their attention on Southern Africa for most of February and March as the drama of the Cricket World Cup unfolds. Although the bulk of the matches, involving teams from 14 countries, will be concentrated in...

Victory to the people. (Cover Story: Kenya).
February 1, 2003... Some have said that Kenya's new government is little more than 'old wine in a new bottle' and that apart from a few faces, little else has changed. African Business editor ANVER VERSI begs to differ and says that the last elections have...

Kenya's new Cabinet. (Cover Story: Kenya).
February 1, 2003... President Mwai Kibaki has named a 'balanced' first cabinet which includes several old faces from Daniel arap Moi's administration. These were former Cabinet Ministers who had either been sacked or had left voluntarily to oppose Moi's choice of...

Private sector vital for economy. (Cover Story: Kenya).
February 1, 2003... After the December elections which saw a new party and a new President at the helm in Kenya, the most important aspect from an international viewpoint will be the management of the economy. With the dust beginning to settle on a dramatic...

Pros & Cons of 'Gulf War II'. (View from the City).
February 1, 2003... The looming US war against Iraq could plunge the world into the worst depression of modern times or, equally, it could lead to a growth spurt with Africa emerging as one of the beneficiaries. Here are some of the pros and cons of Gulf War II....

Bonanza for South Africa. (Sport: Cricket World Cup).
February 1, 2003... This month sees the start of one of the world's great sporting competition - the Cricket World Cup which begins February 9 in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya. Some 800,000 tickets have already been sold and the television audience world-wide...

Turning friends into enemies. (Dateline USA).
February 1, 2003... In its zeal to prosecute its war on terrorism, America is turning former friends into enemies and by seeing a terrorist under every beard, it is helping Al-Quaida win sympathy from quarters where before there was antipathy. Mr. Mohamed...

Local interest remains marginal. (Oil and Gas).
February 1, 2003... Have local Nigerian oil companies fared better or worse one year after the government revoked the exploration licences of several firms? NEIL FORD examines this and other oil related questions in this month's column. The long term impact...

The case of the smiling gardener. (Beverage).
February 1, 2003... It all began with some missing honeybee larvae and pollen, and the tranquil laid-back attitude of a gardener. As it later transpired, the connection between the two was a Xhosa traditional honey-based drink, iQhilika, that induces a state of...

Lifting and stacking made easy. (Industry).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... The stacking of goods is divided by those items you can lift yourself and the forklift that deals with much bigger, heavier objects. Now Hirst Handling has come up with the answer of how to shift and stack packages and crates of in-between...

Malawi farmers go back to their roots. (Agriculture).
February 1, 2003... One of Africa's oldest crops, cassava, is delivering new ways of combating the continent's scourge of famine. As importantly, it is offering a start to the alleviation of poverty and sustainable development. Once a major source of...

Instant knowledge in your PC. (Technology).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Transferring information from a lecturer's whiteboard to personal computer lust became easy and affordable with a new low-cost, high-function and easy to use device. It instantly transforms information written or drawn on a white-board...

Take a card, any card. (Technology).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Keeping information on paper is a habit that will take years to break. A start to transforming the world into a paper-less society is the CardScan, guaranteed by the manufacturers to clean up business card clutter and make more sense out of...

Hope for hay fever sneezers. (Medicine).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Welcome relief could be in the offing for chronic hay-fever sufferers. A simple nose filter that traps pollen and dust on a sticky surface is being developed by Australian researchers. Now, instead of having to take antihistamines and other...

Toyota's new Land Cruiser: it is a motoring icon, standing for strength, reliability and formidable off-road capabilities. Now Toyota is taking the Land Cruiser into the new millennium with fresh premium models. (Wheels).
February 1, 2003... In over 50 years of production, Toyota's Land Cruiser has achieved world-wide sales approaching four million vehicles. The new Land Cruiser Series 100 is the 11th generation of the SUV model which has blazed a trail throughout Africa by...

Pirelli 2003: the Pirelli calendar is one of the most sought after objects in the world - you cannot buy it, you can only be given it. Tom Nevin explains why this calendar has become such an icon of our times. (Trends).
February 1, 2003... Now in its 35th year, the Pirelli calendar is one of the most eagerly awaited happenings in the world of photography, fashion and beauty - as always, an exclusive coming-together of art and seduction. The Pirelli calendar is regarded...

Ghana may opt for harmonised business law. (Law).
February 1, 2003... Although most of Africa's Francophone states are members of the Organisation for the Harmonisation of Business Law in Africa (OHBLA), Ghana is the first Anglophone country to express an interest in joining. DANY HOUNGBEDJI RAUCH * (left)...

Drought slashed Ethiopian coffee output. (Law).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... There are fears that the current drought in Ethiopia could cut this season's coffee crop by almost as much as 30%. This will be a severe blow to the country's 15m coffee farmers who are already suffering from the low global prices. ...

Prices likely to stabilise. (Commodities).
February 1, 2003... The new year begins with global uncertainty about growth and this will have a direct impact on the demand for commodities from Africa. In turn, this will affect incomes and thus standards of living. MOIN SIDDIOI gives his projections for 2003....

EIU forecasts slow recovery for IRM. (Commodities).(Economist Intelligence Unit, industrial raw materials)
February 1, 2003... The Economist Intelligence Unit's price index for hard commodities and industrial raw materials (IRM) is forecast to continue 2002's slow recovery over the next two years, with gains of 4% in 2003 and 5.4% in 2004. Recovery in industrial...

Crackdown on dodgy banks. (Banking).
February 1, 2003... Rampant corruption and a lax business ethic has made the Nigerian banking system a byword for fraud. All that is now changing - thanks to tough new measures the government has been pressured into introducing. At the start of 2002, the Abuja...

Mbeki grows bigger than ANC. (Countryfile: South Africa).(Thabo Mbeki)
February 1, 2003... After the last ANC national conference, President Thabo Mbeki emerged with an almost absolute grip over South Africa's biggest party. However, the party itself, as Tom Nevin explains, has lost a good deal of public credibility. Whether by...

Polls countdown begins in earnest. (Countryfile: Nigeria).
February 1, 2003... The exact date for Nigeria's next general elections has not yet been set in stone but vigorous electioneering by some 28 parties has already begun. Will President Obasanjo's PDP win sufficient support to form a government or are we in for a...

Language conflict. (Countryfile: Cameroon).
February 1, 2003... One aspect of the Bakassi dispute that is rarely discussed is its effect upon the national unity of Cameroon and the chances of secession by the English speaking west of the country. Neil Ford puts forward the arguments. The impact upon...

Reaching out for friends. (Countryfile: Algeria).
February 1, 2003... Algeria, torn by an 11 year old bloody civil strife, is beginning to find a degree of political and economic stability and is gradually opening up to neighbours and the world at large. The ongoing war between government forces and Islamist...

Baa Fula and the Queen of England: Dr Sonko returns to his village of Sintet in The Gambia and is reacquainted with a character from his past who has a long standing problem waiting to be resolved by the Queen of England. (At Large).(Column)
February 1, 2003... A Baa Joof was a hunter and 'warrior'. Whenever a man turned violent in my village, Sintet, he was the lone who was called to physically restrain him. His eyes were red, his skin pitch black, his face smileless. His looks and reputation made...

UN launches Tunisia-style World Solidarity Fund. (At Large).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... The United Nations has created a World Solidarity Fund modelled on the National Solidarity Fund that was set up in Tunisia by President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, "In a few short years, the Tunisian National Solidarity Fund helped reduce poverty...

African tourism review. (Tourism).
February 1, 2003... If present trends continue, Southern Africa will oust North Africa from its perch at the top of the tourist arrival tree on the continent over the next couple of decades. TOM NEVIN examines the future of the African tourism sector. The...

The Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park. (Tourism).(will be world's largest animal kingdom)
February 1, 2003... The first steps in creating the world's largest animal kingdom have been taken by the signing of a deal between South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. MILAN VESELY has the details on an extraordinary tourism venture. Home to 300 species of...

Sensational Senegal. (Tourism).
February 1, 2003... For the essential sun, sea and sand holiday, few African countries offer a better package than Senegal. Tourism is second only to agriculture in economic importance to the country, and new investment continues apace. A combination of...

The Travels of Ibn Battutah. (Reviews: Books).(Book Review)
February 1, 2003... EDITED BY TIM MACKINTOSHSMITH [pounds sterling]20 Picador ISBN 0-330-49113-X Ibn Battutah, the famed Moroccan who travelled for a quarter of a century through medieval Asia and Africa, was just 21 when he set out from his native...

The African Renaissance. (Reviews: Books).(Book Review)
February 1, 2003... HISTORY, SIGNIFICANCE AND STRATEGY [pounds sterling]17.99 Africa World Press ISBN 1-59221-013-9 An intellectual tour de force, here one of Africa's leading intellectuals offers a bold, imaginative and provocative analysis of the...

Dark Star Safari. (Reviews: Books).(Book Review)
February 1, 2003... OVERLAND FROM CAIRO TO CAPE TOWN BY PAUL THEROUX [pounds sterling]17.99 Hamish Hamilton ISBN 0-241-14048-X Paul Theroux, the celebrated novelist and travel writer, born and educated in the US, first travelled to Africa almost...

The Horn of Africa. (Reviews: Books).(Book Review)
February 1, 2003... POLITICS AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS. BY PETER WOODWARD [pounds sterling]14.95 I.B.Tauris ISBN 1-86064-870-3 Nowhere is the crumbling of state structures more self-evident than in Somalia, the Sudan and Ethiopia. Drawing on a...

Waiting for an Angel. (Reviews: Books).(Book Review)
February 1, 2003... BY HELON HABILA [pounds sterling]12.99 Hamish Hamilton ISBN 0-241-14186-9 This book, by Nigeria's 2001 Caine Prize winning novelist Helon Habila, begins with the short story, Love Poems. This was the story that won him that prize,...

Ndebele: The art of an African tribe. (Culture).(Book Review)
February 1, 2003... BY MARGARET COURTNEY-CLARKE [pounds sterling]22.50 THAMES & HUDSON ISBN 0-500-28387-7 For generations, the Ndebele of Southern Africa have produced an art of remarkable richness and vitality. In their ceremonial beadwork and in...

Kar Kar's blues: A voyage to the past. (Reviews: Music).(Sound Recording Review)
February 1, 2003... JE CHANTERAD POUR TOI BOUBACAR TRAORE Marabi 46803.2 This new album Je chanterai pour toi (I'll sing for you) is I the sound track to a new documentary film of the same name directed by Jacques Sarasin and produced by Jonathan...