African Business articles from January 2002

African Business archives from January 2002

Letters.
January 1, 2002... WTO SPIN UNCONVINCING The spin from the WTO talks in Qatar last November was that developing nations won major concessions from developed countries over access to epidemic-fighting drugs. I'm not convinced. The highly publicised...

AB Guide to African Currencies.(Brief Article)(Illustration)
January 1, 2002... AB Guide to African Currencies Country CURRENCY [pounds $US Euro sterling]STG Algeria (Dinar) 110.94 77.50 69.04 Angola ...

Groundbreaking SA financial merger. (Business Briefs).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... In a first merger of substance between an international firm and a major black accounting company, black financial services provider KMMT is merging with KPMG South Africa. KMMT is already a member firm of KPMG International. Its merger...

SA support for Mali soccer event. (Business Briefs).(South Africa to provide transportation for)(Africa Cup of Nations)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... The task of transporting by air the players taking part in this year's Africa Cup of Nations in Mali is being picked up by South Africa in terms of a new co-operation agreement between the two countries. The tournament starts on January 19...

Mozal takes 2001 Project of the Year prize. (Business Briefs).(aluminum plant in Mozambique)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2002... Mozambique's massive aluminium project has been voted 2001 Project of the Year by the International Project Management Institute. The $1.2bn Mozal plant - a 50-50 joint venture between Murray & Roberts' and SNC-Lavalin of Canada - was completed...

30m Africans use cellphones. (Business Briefs).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Cellphone (mobile phone) proliferation in Africa grew to 30m users by the end of 200l, an increase of more than 15-fold in just three years. The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) reports that the growth in cellular subscribers has...

Fakes threaten Kenya industry. (Business Briefs).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... The survival of Kenya's manufacturing industry is under threat from a flood of counterfeit imported goods, slipping into the country aided by a corrupt and lax customs department, a survey by the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) has...

Clean up your act, Africa told. (Business Briefs).(advice from Wiseman Nkhulu)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... It's up to African heads of state to hold each other accountable for good political and economic governance if plans to revitalise the continent are to bear fruit, according to Wiseman Nkhulu, economic advisor to South African President Thabo...

Africa: A Wealth of Opportunity.(U.S. - Africa Business Summit)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2002... The third biennial U.S. - Africa Business Summit presented by the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) was held from October 29 to November 2, 2001 in Philadelphia. Industry and government leaders discussed American business opportunities in...

Transport an investment bonanza. (Business Briefs).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... The fact that southern Africa's transport sector is increasingly being run by private and public-private operations bodes well for widened development in the area. Eric Msolomba, director of Southern African Transport and Communications...

Guns are SA's biggest killers. (Business Briefs).(South Africa)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2002... Findings in South Africa's National Injury Mortality Surveillance Study show that more South Africans die in shootings than in car accidents, despite the fact that the country has one of the highest road death-tolls in the world. The study...

New SACU agreement redistributes regional income. (Business Briefs).(Southern African Customs Union)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2002... Eight years down the line, South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland and Botswana were finally due to sign a revised Southern African Customs Union (SACU) agreement in which South Africa would continue to subsidise its smaller neighbours, but without...

DaimlerChrysler support for Peace-Parks. (Business Briefs).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... At a ceremony in Germany last month, the Southern Africa Initiative of German Business (SAFRI) launched a book dedicated to the establishment of trans-frontier conservation areas - so-called 'peace parks' - in the region. The event was attended...

What is Sauce for the Goose. (Editorial).(anti-terrorism legislation)(Brief Article)(Editorial)
January 1, 2002... Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe was quick off the mark to capitalise on US President George W. Bush's 'War against Terrorism'. Following September 11 and the real, military war against Afghanistan, the concept of terrorism became very fluid...

The World Trade Organisation; Doha: A shameless victory for spin.(Statistical Data Included)(Cover Story)
January 1, 2002... The World Trade Organisation summit in Doha was a triumph for spin doctors who would like us to believe that issues of crucial importance to 80% of the world's population were successfully addressed. In fact, as Anver Versi reports, the agenda...

WTO - A Litany of Broken Promises says WDM.(World Trade Organization, World Development Movement)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... It is a shameless public relations 'spin' for the rich nations to describe the outcome of Doha as a Development Agenda, says Barry Coates, Director of the UK-based World Development Movement (WDM). As head of one of the NGOs present at Doha...

Will China Trample developing Nations?(Cover Story)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... After 15 years of difficult, sometimes tortuous, negotiations, history was finally written with the acceptance of China into the WTO during the Doha, Qatar, round of negotiations. It was inevitable that China would eventually take a full...

The new Range Rover: Is this the car for all reasons? (Wheels).(Land Rover)(Evaluation)
January 1, 2002... The launch of a new 4x4 is always important news for Africa since so many people have come to depend on these all terrain vehicles to go about their business and leisure. It is also important news for those in the toursim sector, for NGOs and...

Kenya's steam giant thunders again. (Wheels).(Mount Gelai)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2002... One of the largest British-built steam locomotives ever built, the Mount Gelai, first commissioned in 1955 and rusting away at the railway museum in Nairobi for 20 years, was recently lovingly brought back to life. Ndungu Kibira reports on the...

Bulawayo's Railway Museum. (Wheels).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... For steam enthusiasts visiting Zimbabwe, Bulawayo's Railway Museum has some treats in store. Displaying railway locomotives, carriages, some early engineering equipment and an exhibition of early photographs and ephemera from a bygone age, the...

Oil: OPEC plays high risk poker. (Commodities).(Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries)(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2002... The aftershocks of September 11 and the global economic slow down has wreaked havoc with oil prices. While this is good news for consumers, producers are facing a growing worry. Rafiq Ahmed describes the difficult choices facing OPEC as it...

Unions flex muscles. (Labour).
January 1, 2002... African trade unions, once a powerful force in the continent's political and social landscape, have been sidelined and shunted into the background over the past decade or so. Now, as Neil Ford reports, unions are flexing their muscles all...

Slump in African FDI: Even before the terror attack on the United States, there had been a sharp decline in the volume of Foreign Direct Investment into Africa. Stephen Williams has been investigating why this is so. (Industry).(foreign direct investment)(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2002... According to the World Investment Report 2001, published mid-September by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), global flows of foreign direct investment (FDI) soared by 18% in 2000, to a record $1,270bn. But FDI...

The EU's Private Sector 'Friend in Need'. (Industry).(European Union)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... The Brussels-based organisation, the Centre for the Development of Enterprise (CDE) has been managing the European Commission's new Euro 110m 'Proinvest' programme which attempts to create links among African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP)...

Nigeria most Corrupt in Africa - TI. (Topic).(Transparency International survey)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... There is a worldwide corruption crisis. That is the clear message from the 2001 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), reports Peter Eigen, chairman of Transparancy International. "There is no end in sight to the misuse of power by those in public...

Will money solve the Delta problem? (Oil and Gas).(Niger Delta )(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... The environmental and social condition of the Niger Delta has long been a sore on the reputation of the oil industry in Nigeria. Poverty, environmental degradation and the worst excesses of the country's regional jealousies have all been...

New Contracts Pour Oil onto Troubled Waters. (Oil & Gas).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Oil contracts between the government of Morocco and oil companies TotalFinaElf and US independent Kerr-McGee have been condemned by Western Sahara support groups. The agreements have been signed over the exploration of blocks offshore Western...

Fuel Prices Drop at Last in East Africa. (Oil & Gas).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2002... Retail fuel prices have dropped in Uganda and Kenya in recent weeks. On November 22, most companies reduced the litre price in Uganda from USh152O to USh148O, while similar cuts were made in the prices of paraffin and diesel. The move has...

Campaigners Ask for Continued Pressure on Sudan. (Oil & Gas).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... With pressure growing on Canadian company Talisman to with draw from its operations in Sudan, campaigning has begun to grow in the US for a stronger stance against the Sudanese government. A coalition of more than 100 religious and civil rights...

On the trail of Bin Laden's finances. (Dateline USA).(Osama bin Laden)(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2002... $500,000 was all it cost to mount the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. This included outlays for flying lessons, rental cars and mot accommodations - a small price to pay for the terror bombing's far reaching...

Battle over water privatisation. (Resources).
January 1, 2002... Water has become a political issue in most of Africa as the multilaterals have sought to force through the privatisation of water utilities. Most Africans do not have access to water and sewerage networks, while state-owned companies have...

Analysing the analysts. (Inside Business).
January 1, 2002... As sub-Saharan Africa moves towards a regionally-connected stock exchange, the importance of how listed companies present their financial information, and thus attract investors, is becoming ever more critical. Everything depends on impressing...

Tza's mining dilemma. (Mining NoteBook).
January 1, 2002... Mining has become Tanzania's fastest growing sector. By 2003, it could well outstrip Ghana as Africa's second largest gold producer. But who really gains from this upsurge in mining activity? Herald Tagama has been touring the country's mining...

My hope for this rich, but poor country. (Essay).(Sierra Leone)(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2002... Dr Karamo Sonko, a scholar and businessma, is a Gambian who was raised and educated in Sierra Leone. He recently returned to the country he loves to assess for himself the impact of a 10 year civil war. Here he gives his personal thoughts on...

Africa's Con Men, 2001 style. (Issues).
January 1, 2002... As Africa's economies move closer to the global mainstream, the number of con-men appears to increase exponentially. Time for our annual be-on-your-guard guide to the latest in confidence tricks, compiled by Tom Nevin. Shameful defrauding...

The relentless slide continues. (Zimbabwe).
January 1, 2002... Following Zimbabwe's recent international plea for humanitarian aid to ease looming food shortages, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), says it hopes to raise an estimated $80m from donors. UNDP resident representative, Victor...

Slavery end in sight. (Niger).
January 1, 2002... For the first time in its history, Niger has decided to do something about the problem of forced labour and slavery, two problems endemic to this part of Africa. These problems are intertwined with the history of Niger and the fact that 80% of...

US cuts net lifeline. (Somalia).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Many Somalis believe that they are on the Bush administration's hit list and international press reports detailing a proposed United States military attack planned for January add credence to their fears. Still smarting from the death of...

Privatisation succeeds. (Zambia).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... The privatisation programme in Zambia has been a resounding success. Zambia Privatisation Agency (ZPA) public relations officer Jane Shamwana said in an interview with African Business that approximately $93m plus has been raised from the sale...

Cape Town's 100 year old Malay Carnival revives. (Tourism).
January 1, 2002... It's almost that time of year again, when brightly coloured and satin decked minstrels take to Cape Town's streets to celebrate unity, diversity and music in South Africa. Aman te Water describes this 100-year-old tradition. It's midnight...

Coming to Terms: Zimbabwe in the International Arena. (Reviews).(Review)
January 1, 2002... By Richard Schwarts [pounds sterling]39.50 I.B. Tauris ISBN 1-86064-647-6 This study of Zimbabwe's international relations, from the eve of independence to the mid-1990s, is clearly aimed at an academic readership. For all that, it is...

The Gambia. (Reviews).(Brief Article)(Review)
January 1, 2002... By Craig Emms & Linda Barnett [pounds sterling]12.95 Bradt Travel Guides ISBN 1-84162-040-8 Anecdotally, the furthest frontiers of The Gambia were defined by the range of a British gunboat patrolling the Gambia River. Today this...

Africa's Elephant. (Reviews).(Brief Article)(Review)
January 1, 2002... By Martin Meredith [pounds sterling]14.99 Hodder & Stoughton ISBN 0-340-77081-3 From earliest times, man's relationship with the elephant has been one of wonder and fascination. A symbol of wisdom and power, it features in many myths and...

Baking for Profit: Starting a Small Bakery. (Reviews).(Brief Article)(Review)
January 1, 2002... By George Bathie [pounds sterling]9.95 ITDG Publishing ISBN 1-85339-407-6 Many economists today claim that the best way to drive developing economies is to encourage the establishment of small and medium sized enterprises. There are few...