African Business articles from July 2004

African Business archives from July 2004

Nigeria telecoms: the good old days?(This Month's Prize Letter)(Letter to the Editor)
July 1, 2004... Congratulations on your coverage of the ITU Telecom Africa 2004 conference in Cairo (African Business May 2004). As an investor with nearly 30% of my portfolio in technology and telecom stocks, and unable to get to Cairo myself, I read all the...

Mobile moans: doubts over telecoms.(This Month's Prize Letter)(Letter to the Editor)
July 1, 2004... Your coverage of the ITU telecom 2004 forum in Cairo last May (African Business May 2004) was really fascinating, but it still left me with one question that I have been musing over since the start of Africa's 'mobile revolution'. As Bianca...

Media reaction: the Abu Ghraib disgrace.(This Month's Prize Letter)(Letter to the Editor)
July 1, 2004... Thank you Anver Versi for your editorial (African Business June 2004) The Lessons of Abu Ghraib. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] You are absolutely right; the horrors of Abu Ghraib were exposed by a free press. But I wonder if you have noticed...

A dying business: Zambia's new farmers.(This Month's Prize Letter)(Letter to the Editor)
July 1, 2004... It was interesting to read about the number of Zimbabwean white farmers who have moved north of the Zambezi River to settle in Zambia (Is Zim's loss Zambia's gain? African Business May 2004). The one thing I find puzzling about this trend is...

Prize Letter: win a free annual subscription!(This Month's Prize Letter)(Letter to the Editor)
July 1, 2004... African Business will award a free one year subscription to the reader whose letter is chosen as the Prize Letter for that month. (Existing subscribers will receive a free annual renewal). Your views on Africa and matters affecting Africa are...

Transport: SA's tardy trains in court.(Business Briefs)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... South Africa's giant trade federation, Cosatu, says it's fed up with its workers' wages being docked for being late on the job, and is suing train operator Metrorail "to recover millions of rands owing to Cosatu's members". The union says...

Debt: relief for Ethiopia.(Business Briefs)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... The Paris Club of creditor nations has written off $300m of Ethiopia's debt, prompting other creditors to announce cancellations of the country's debt. Earlier this year the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund cancelled some $3.3bn...

Diplomacy: Israel closes SA trade office.(Business Briefs)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Describing South Africa's position on Israel as "more hardline than some members of the Arab League," the acting Israeli ambassador in Pretoria, Daniel Pinhasi, has announced the closure of its trade office with South Africa. The Pretoria...

Finance: don't dictate our budget--Uganda.(Business Briefs)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... The Ugandan government has reacted angrily to the rejection of its 2004/05 budget by international funders who provide half of Uganda's annual expenditure. A joint statement by the EU, IMF, World Bank, US, Japan and Norway said funds set aside...

Development: uneven progress in global poverty relief.(Business Briefs)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... The proportion of people living in extreme poverty (less than $1 a day) in developing countries dropped by almost half between 1981 and 2001, from 40% to 21% of global population, according to the World Bank's World Development Indicators 2004...

Investment: foreign investors favour Angola.(Business Briefs)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Angola has surged ahead of South Africa as the preferred African country for foreign investors. Foreign direct investment (FDI) in South Africa last year fell by 20% to around $600m as the world's moneymen ploughed $1.7bn into Angola's...

Energy: answer 'blowin' in the wind'.(Business Briefs)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... A big part of the answer to Africa's needs lies in the expansion of renewable energy production. An African Energy Ministers conference in Nairobi was told that poverty alleviation would most reliably be overcome by delivering sustainable and...

Food security: plough more money into agriculture.(Business Briefs)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Southern African states need to plough more of their budgets into agriculture if the region is to start a move towards food security. This was the message from three heads of state in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) when they...

Democracy: name the day, Angola told.(Business Briefs)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... It seems that the final issue holding up further World Bank support for Angola is a date for democratic elections. According to Darius Mans, the bank's director for Angola and Mozambique, the country's economic reforms are on track, but the...

AB guide to African currencies.(Illustration)
July 1, 2004... AB Guide to African Currencies COUNTRY CURRENCY [pounds sterling]STG ALGERIA (Dinar) 130.53 ANGOLA (New Kwanza) 153.89 BENIN (CFA) ...

That winning feeling.(Editorial)
July 1, 2004... During the summer months of June, July and August, Europe goes sports mad. There are particularly rich pickings this year--the European football championships, test cricket, tennis at Wimbledon and of course the Olympics in Greece. Money...

Riding the storms: Anver Versi was appointed African Business editor in 1994. This coincided with massive changes in Africa's modern history and also in the way news was transmitted and distributed. Here Versi describes how African Business itself changed in order to adapt to the new demands.
July 1, 2004... In 1994, I was suddenly asked by the publisher, Afif Ben Yedder, to abandon my duties at New African and New African Life and take over the editorship of African Business from Linda Van Buren who was leaving for personal reasons. ...

Land reform masks power struggle: Zimbabwe's contradictory statements on land nationalisation caused a great deal of confusion inside and outside the country. Was this in fact, Tom Nevin speculates, the starting signal for a power struggle to take over from Robert Mugabe?
July 1, 2004... The public face of a power struggle for presidential succession might have been behind contradictory statements emanating from the Zimbabwe government over plans to nationalise all land in the country. Within hours of each other, two...

The Great Trek north: in an uncanny echo of the Great Trek of 1836, white farmers from Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa are moving north--some going as far as Nigeria. The host governments hope to benefit from the skills of these farmers and the farmers want somewhere safe to settle. Is it a deal made in heaven? Tom Nevin reports.
July 1, 2004... The welcome mat is out for southern Africa's white farmers as an increasing number of African nations seek to fast track their food production by establishing big commercial agricultural spreads. Africa's new agricultural open-door policy comes...

African currencies show resilience: one of the most surprising aspects of international finance has been the resilience of African currencies despite global foreign exchange volatility.(View from the City)
July 1, 2004... Once, extremely fragile currencies as diverse as the Algerian dinar, Nigerian naira, Tanzanian shilling, Mozambique metical, Zambian kwacha and many others, provided a one-way bet for traders. They could make quick profits by speculating on...

Africa can launch final assault against Aids: one of the most effective ways of fighting the spread of HIV/Aids and mitigating its effects on people's lives is through specific work place policies. The private sector is already deeply involved but the public sector is lagging far behind. Anver Versi attended a groundbreaking seminar, convened to tackle this issue, in Dar es Salaam. Here is his report.(Health)
July 1, 2004... The public sector is the largest formal employer of labour in Africa. On average, 60% of the working population formally employed is to be found in the public sector. Here, in each African country, you will find hundreds of thousands of...

The price dilemma: while there are a few African winners from the current high prices of oil, there are many more losers--those countries that import oil to fuel their economies.(Oil and Gas)
July 1, 2004... The current high oil price is something of a mixed blessing for Africa. The major producers will be rubbing their hands in glee at the extra oil revenues flowing into government coffers, while the bulk of the continent that is forced to import...

US money-transfer clampdown dismays immigrants: African and other developing world immigrants have used the tried and tested hawala system to send money back to their families for decades. Now they are under the cosh as US authorities clamp down in a bid to dry up funds for terrorists.(Dateline USA)
July 1, 2004... With large immigrant communities settling in the Washington and New York areas in recent times, the informal money-transmitting business--or hawalas in Arabic--has flourished. Often the only way for immigrants to send money back home, these...

Celtel and KenCell in mega deal: Celtel International, known as Mobitel International until the beginning of this year, has entered into an historic agreement with one of the two major mobile operators in Kenya, KenCell. Adam Jones has the details.(Telecommunications)
July 1, 2004... Celtel International, the leading pan-African mobile communications group, is investing $250m in Kenya to acquire a 60% majority stake in KenCell Communications Ltd--a leading mobile operator in Kenya, formerly owned by Vivendi Telecom...

Africa can seize share of IT outsourcing market: outsourced IT labour has proved a massive boon to developing countries like India and the Philippines. Can Africa grab a share of this growing and lucrative market? Bianca Wright describes why experts think it can.(Technology)
July 1, 2004... With the rising cost of local production and labour in developed countries like the United States, many companies, especially in the IT arena are looking to the developed world for answers--and finding them. Countries like India have...

African leaders gather to measure progress: last month's WEF Africa Economic Summit was a huge success. Omar Ben Yedder reports from Mozambique.(Forum)
July 1, 2004... Set in the welcoming and relaxing city of Maputo, the African Economic Summit (AES), as always, turned out to be a well attended and fascinating affair. This was despite the dominance of participants from Southern Africa and the shortage of...

People-smuggling capital of Africa: the port of Bossaso in the Republic of Puntland has developed into a major transit point for smuggling people from all over the developing world into the Gulf states and Europe. The operators care little about the lives of their 'customers' and the country has few resources to deal with this international crime. Milan Vesely reports.(Topic)
July 1, 2004... With the collapse of Somalia's central government in 1991, the Republic of Puntland unilaterally set itself up as a separate country. Situated opposite the Yemeni coastline on the Gulf of Aden, Puntland's main port of Bossaso has since grown...

South African business schools fail test: thousands of business students in South Africa have been rocked by the announcement from the country's education authorities that their MBA certificates may not be worth the paper they are printed on. now, Tom Nevin reports, shrapnel from this decision has been flying in all directions.(Business Education)(South African Council on Higher Education)
July 1, 2004... At the stroke of a pen, the South African Council on Higher Education (CHE) has negated expensive MBA qualifications earned, or in the process of being learned, at business schools South Africa-wide. It ruled late in May that teaching at 50% of...

Thoughts of Yoweri Museveni: over the two days that he attended the ADB's annual meetings in Kampala at the end of May, Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni spoke twice, both times pertinently, on the problems and challenges facing Africa. President Museveni inspired and made us laugh--but how effective are the Ugandan leader's policies? Asks Omar Ben Yedder.(Spotlight)
July 1, 2004... President Museveni opened the ADB's annual meeting by saying that it is now over 40 years since African countries gained independence and that over this period Africa has been both a failure and a big success. It has failed to transform itself...

Privatisation is dead--official: after a fierce internal battle within the ANC alliance, the trade unions and the communist party appear to have won the first round and forced the government to abandon, at least for the time, its privatisation plans. Tom Nevin explains.(South Africa)
July 1, 2004... Privatisation in South Africa is officially dead, at least for the rest of this year. Incoming public enterprises minister, Alec Erwin, finally squashed speculation about the fate of the country's much-vaunted sale of state assets by confirming...

An unstable triangle: the recent legislative elections in the three main islands that comprise the Comoros were expected to restore a measure of calm in the restive Indian Ocean nation. But, Neil Ford reports, tensions persist.(The Comoros)
July 1, 2004... The results of April's legislative elections have done little to improve stability in the Comoros. The poll comprised a key plank of the Moroni Agreement to return the country to some kind of stability, but parties representing each of the...

Swirling Constitution undercurrents: last year President Kibaki promised Kenyans a new constitution by June 30, 2004. The draft has been completed and passed but the issue has opened deep fissures within the ruling coalition. There is talk of a public referendum. Alnoor Amlani provides the details.(Kenya)(National Constitutional Conference)
July 1, 2004... On the surface, it was all sweetness and light when, on March 15, the long-standing National Constitutional Conference (NCC) talks finally ended successfully with the completion and publication of a draft constitution. This concluded the...

Credits to flow to small businesses: one of the biggest constraints faced by small and medium sized companies in Nigeria is the lack of access to credit. However, new banking regulations aimed at weeding out weak institutions are creating a stronger financial sector, which in turn will enable a greater diversity of credit.(Nigeria)
July 1, 2004... One of the factors which divides industrialised economies from those in sub-Saharan Africa is the lack of access to credit. If a small businessman in the US, UK or Western Europe has a good idea for a new venture, or is seeking funding to help...

S Africa counts World Cup gains: in 2010, South Africa will become the first African country to host the World Cup. But apart from international prestige, what benefits lie in store for the ordinary citizen?(Sporting Business)
July 1, 2004... The tenth anniversary of the end of apartheid has provoked a great deal of retrospective thinking especially in terms of how far South Africa has advanced, both nationally and internationally, since Nelson Mandela became the first truly elected...

Heads Up: How to Anticipate Business Surprises and Seize Opportunities First.(Books)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
July 1, 2004... HEADS UP HOW TO ANTICIPATE BUSINESS SURPRISES AND SEIZE OPPORTUNITIES FIRST. By Kenneth G McGee [pounds sterling]19.99 Harvard Business School Press ISBN 1-59139-299-3 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] From unexpected earnings...

Growth fetish.(Books)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... GROWTH FETISH By Clive Hamilton [pounds sterling]12.99 Pluto Press ISBN 0-7453-2250-6 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] For decades, our political leaders have touted higher incomes as the way to a better future. Economic growth...

The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron.(Books)(Book Review)
July 1, 2004... THE SMARTEST GUYS IN THE ROOM THE AMAZING RISE AND SCANDALOUS FALL OF ENRON. By Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind $26.95 Portfolio (US) ISBN 159-184-008-2 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Until the spring of 2001, Enron...

Death by Meeting: A Leadership Fable.(Books)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... DEATH BY MEETING A LEADERSHIP FABLE By Patrick Lencioni [pounds sterling]14.95 Jossey-Bass ISBN 0-7879-6805-6 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In his latest page-turning work of business fiction, best-selling author Patrick...

Contemporary South Africa.(Books)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... CONTEMPORARY SOUTH AFRICA By Anthony Butler [pounds sterling]47.50 Palgrave Macmillan ISBN 0-333-71518-7 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Contemporary South Africa is a wide-ranging and thought-provoking introduction to the social,...

Plan of Attack.(Books)
July 1, 2004... PLAN OF ATTACK By Bob Woodward [pounds sterling]18.99 Simon & Schuster ISBN 0-743-25547-X [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Plan of Attack is the definitive account of how and why President George W. Bush, his war council and allies...

The big mix: Tunisian star's global stance.(Music)(Take It And Drive)(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2004... 'TAKE IT AND DRIVE' SMADJ Most Records Cat: MOST1001 Smadj (aka Jean-Pierre Smadja) is a product of the Parisian dance scene, though Tunisian by birth. He has successfully blended his roots with his musical tastes to combine...