African Business articles from July 2003

African Business archives from July 2003

Letters.(Letter to the Editor)
July 1, 2003... THIS MONTH'S PRIZE LETTER Tourism LEARNING THE LESSONS Your tourism feature (Small Can Be Beautiful - African Business, May 2003) certainly made interesting reading, but in my opinion glossed over many of the problems that tourism...

Open the gates for African trade.(African Development Bank report on African economics)(Editorial)
July 1, 2003... The good news, according to the African Development Bank's annual continental report, is that Africa's growth will increase from the low 2.6% in 2002 to a modest 3.6% this year; the bad news is the number of 'ifs' and 'buts' attached to this...

Connecting with Africans abroad. (Diaspora).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Foreign ministers of 53 African countries have resolved to find ways and means of using Africans in the Diaspora to stimulate the continent's economic and cultural fortunes. The move follows a directive by the AU leaders in Durban last July to...

Iraq puts Africa on the back burner. (Development).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Africa will be put on the back burner by the US and Europe for at least another year following the war in Iraq, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in London. The institute's annual report says the shift in...

Action can prevent can wars - World Bank. (Strategy).("Breaking the Conflict Trap: Civil War and Development Policy")(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... A new World Bank study says international action to prevent civil wars in poor countries could avert untold suffering, spur poverty reduction, and help to protect people around the world from negative spill-over effects, including...

Tap Africa's new oil sources- UN. (Energy).(United Nations Conference on Trade and Development )(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) says that the uncertainty "hanging over the Middle East energy sector have led the international community to consider Africa as a source of new oil reserves and resources". Africa...

Stats bungle could cost SA billions. (Finance).(South Africa's inflation calcuations investigated)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... The South African government, business and ordinary citizens may collectively have lost billions of rands through an error in the statistics used to calculate inflation. Maria Ramos, director-general of the national treasury, said the...

SA murders, road deaths - seriously misreported? (Statistics).(South African Medical Research Council)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... A new study by the South African Medical Research Council (MRC) reveals that the country's road death toll is more than double the number claimed by the department of transport. The department says 7,635 people were killed on South African...

$10BN apartheid trial begins in New York. (The Law).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... A trial has opened in New York in which 34 multinational corporations are being accused of 'aiding and abetting' South Africa's apartheid government. They face allegations that they ignored human rights contraventions under an obscure 18th...

Ghana a golden place to do business. (Mining).(Gold Fields of South Africa Ltd. plans expansion)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... South African mining giant, Gold Fields, is investing R1.2bn on expanding its Tarkwa operation in Ghana to expand the mine's output from 540,000oz this year to an annual 700,000oz when full production is reached in about three years' time. The...

Go ethnic, says Mwanawasa. (Tourism).(Zambia's Levy Mwanawasa promotes ethnic tourism)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Zambia's President Levy Mwanawasa has challenged African states to exploit their vast ethnic tourism potential "so that Africa can have an advantage on the global market". Mwanawasa told the Africa Travel Association Congress in Lusaka that...

AB guide to African currencies.(Illustration)
July 1, 2003... AB Guide to African Currencies COUNTRY CURRENCY [pounds sterling]STG ALGERIA (Dinar) 130.64 ANGOLA (New Kwanza) 125.21 BENIN ...

Diamonds not forever. (Land Issue).(Nama people land ownership battle)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Last month we reported that the diamond-rich Richtersveld region in South Africa was about to be given back to the Nama people, its ancestral owners. It appears we jumped the gun; the legal ownership battle is far from over. In March, the...

Small cap market in the offing for JSE. (Stock Market).(Johannesburg Securities Exchange)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... An alternative market for smaller companies seeking to raise capital cheaply is to be launched on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange (JSE) later this year. The "small-cap" market will target companies not big enough to qualify for a listing...

A tale of two currencies. (Money).(Zimbabwe has no foreign currency to print money)(Kenya's Central Bank reissues bank notes)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... In Zimbabwe the government has no foreign currency to pay for printing its money. The state-controlled Herald newspaper reports that no budget has been approved to allow the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to import the ink and special paper needed to...

Petra returns to Angola. (Diamonds).(Petra Diamonds Ltd.)
July 1, 2003... Petra Diamonds Limited ("Petra"), the AIM listed mining group, has redeployed an exploration team on the Alto Cuilo concession in the Lunda Norte province of Northern Angola and has completed reconstruction of its base camp on the concession....

SCB to expand in Nigeria. (Banking).(Standard Chartered Bank PLC)
July 1, 2003... Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) have announced plans to further expand its presence in Nigeria, The bank currently has three branches in the country, and will double this number over the next 18 months. It is also considering other...

Diamonds are not forever: Botswana's status as the one of the world's most successful economies has largely been built on the revenues of its diamond mining industry. Now the country wants to broaden its economic base. (Botswana).
July 1, 2003... Botswana has long been regarded as one of Africa's most successful economies. Prudent fiscal policies, targeted international assistance and the benefits of a diamond industry have all transformed what was one of the poorest countries in...

Is a common currency for West Africa feasible? (View from the City).(Ghana and Nigeria plan single currency)
July 1, 2003... Ghana and Nigeria are leading the charge for a single currency for the entire West African region - but is this an economic reality or a pipe dream inspired by the euro? The elimination of a national currency and its replacement by a...

Size hampers growth of African stock markets. (Stock Exchange).
July 1, 2003... Despite the presence of stock exchanges in several African countries, public enthusiasm for stocks and shares is, at best, lukewarm. Neil Ford looks at the reasons why African exchanges have yet to really takeoff It has long been...

New technology for an old continent. (Technology).(African Information Technology Exhibition & Conference, Ghana)
July 1, 2003... In terms of high technology, Africa is a continent divided. Modern, young entrepreneurs cannot do without hi-tech; the rest are bogged down with outdated systems. MILAN VESELY discusses how a technology fair in Accra, Ghana, tried to bring the...

Doing business in Africa. (US - Africa Business Summit).(United States Corporate Council on Africa's Stephen Hayes )(Interview)
July 1, 2003... Stephen Hayes is in charge of one of Africa's lifelines. He is president of the United States Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) and represents most of the American companies investing in and doing business with Africa. As the man in the driving...

The beginning of a beautiful relationship. (US - Africa Business Summit).
July 1, 2003... Several different strands, including strategic and security considerations are being woven together to create the US' new approach to Africa. This could be the beginning of beautiful friendship. Upon assuming power, US President George W....

Nepad-MCA on collision course? (US - Africa Business Summit).(New Economic Partnership for Africa's Development - George Bush's Millenium Challenge Account)
July 1, 2003... George Bush's Millenium Challenge Account will reward countries with good governance while Nepad wants all African countries to develop economically. Is a collision in the offing? In the wake of the Iraq war, Africa is understandably...

Africa's model economy. (Tunisia: Africa's Bridge to the World).
July 1, 2003... Tunisia has been hailed as the model for other African and Middle Eastern countries to follow in their quest for modernisation and growth. But, as Anver Versi reports, the country's road to success has been long and arduous. In a recent...

Tunisia's African dimension. (Tunisia: Africa's Bridge to the World).
July 1, 2003... Tunisia has been intimately involved in the affairs of the rest of the continent from the era of the fight for independence to the current thrust for economic development. Tunisia's relationship with the rest of Africa is deeper and more...

2003 gains offset 2002 pains. (US - Africa Business Summit).(international trade)
July 1, 2003... A sharp rise in US-Africa trade in the first quarter of this year has come as a welcome relief after a dramatic decline last year. The US' 30-month decline in trade with sub-Saharan Africa took a sudden upswing in the first quarter of this...

Mauritania steps forward. (US - Africa Business Summit).
July 1, 2003... Mauritania is rapidly emerging from the shadows. With an encouraging growth rate and the prospects of finding oil very promising, this West African country is going places. Mauritania has long been regarded by the West as one of Africa's...

Renault's new espace. (Wheels).
July 1, 2003... Although the MPV market is now crowded, Renault's new Espace still has the edge over its competitors. Twenty years ago, the Multi-Purpose Vehicle (MPV) concept was unknown. Then, in 1984, Renault presented Europe's first MPV, an exciting...

Trabant: the car for Africa? (Wheels).(Sachsenring Automobiltechnik AG to build AfriCar)
July 1, 2003... The low-tech East German Trabant, regarded as the simplest car in the world, may soon rise from the dead and resurface in Africa as an all- purpose, cheap car for the masses. Last month, at an economic forum in Frankfurt, Germany, plans...

UK's 'Black Oscars' to honour Spike Lee. (Events).
July 1, 2003... One of the United Kingdom's most glamorous show business events, the annual awards for Black film and television personalities, promises to be bigger and better this year with the cream of Hollywood stars in attendance. One of the world's...

Nigerian production on target. (Oil and Gas).
July 1, 2003... A record number of exploration wells are planned by all oil and gas companies operating in Nigeria this year. It is further evidence that the country looks set to meet its ambitious production targets. As the Nigerian government's target of...

Getting the balance right. (Uganda).
July 1, 2003... Uganda has transformed itself from one of the most devastated countries in the world into one of the fastest growing African economies. While problems remain in the form of regional conflicts and the devastating impact of HIV/Aids, the...

The steam giants roll again: after seven years of 'self-help' renovation work, the first phase of the Eritrean Railway Project, a 117km stretch of the line between Massawa and Asmara, is operational. (Eritrea).
July 1, 2003... In 1995, tour years alter Eritrea won its struggle for independence, the Eritrean government decided to put its railway line back into operation. But they immediately hit a problem, a lack of funds for the project. First, they asked a US...

Cracking down on corruption: Government officials in Kenya have been given an ultimatum. They must declare all their assets, or risk confiscation by the State. (Kenya).
July 1, 2003... Government workers in Kenya were given until the end of June to either declare their wealth or forfeit it to the state. In a terse statement, Kenya's Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Kimitu Murungi, said that all cadres of the...

Blasts fail to shake trade confidence. (Morocco).
July 1, 2003... In the months preceding the Casablanca bombings, Morocco has made considerable progress on trade agreements with both the EU and US. Although shaken by the terror attacks, the country is busy forging stronger economic links with the West. ...

Kenya 'punished' for terror alert. (Kenya).
July 1, 2003... Kenya's honesty in reporting the possibility of an al-quaida terrorist strike in the region led to a potentially devastating impact on its tourism. Milan Vesely argues that the West now has the moral responsibility to compensate Kenya for its...

Removing the shackles: strategies to tackle Globalisation. (Reviews).
July 1, 2003... UNBINDING AFRICA MAKING GLOBALISATION WORK FOR GOOD GOVERNANCE EDITED BY PHOEBE GRIFFITH [pounds sterling] The Foreign Policy Centre ISBN 1-903558-29-3 The editor of this book, Phoebe Griffith, runs the Foreign Policy Centre's (FPC)...

Tradition triumphs: the return of Kasse Mady. (Music).
July 1, 2003... KASSI KASSE - MANDE MUSIC FROM MALI KASSE MADY Hemisphere Cat: 54371325 Kasse Mady's family, the Diabates of Kela, were the traditional singers for the emperors and their descendants of the royal Keita lineages. They are...