African Business articles from July 2005

African Business archives from July 2005

Science initiative: a global effort for Africa.(THIS MONTH'S PRIZE LETTER)(Letter to the Editor)
July 1, 2005... I would like to add some comments to the editorial in the June issue of African Business entitled 'Start the Science Revolution'. Although this article addressed the status of science in Africa it did not mention one of the most exciting...

Zimbabwe: smith did better.(THIS MONTH'S PRIZE LETTER)(Letter to the Editor)
July 1, 2005... Your editorial in the May issue was a pretty dismal apologia for the oppressive misrule of President Mugabe and his ZANU PF government. A more appropriate by-line would have been the one used in January, Lessons in How to Wreck a Thriving...

Zimbabwe: West does not understand Africa's pain.(Letter to the Editor)
July 1, 2005... Thanks for your editorial, 'Zimbabwe must look ahead,' in the May 2005 issue of African Business.. Undoubtedly, injustice was done to indigenous Zimbabweans long ago by the white settlers' seizure of land which President Mugabe is now trying to...

Prize letter: win a free annual subscription!(African Business Competition)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... 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...

Miscellany: snakes in the bank.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Miffed at having his car repossessed, a disgruntled client tossed venomous snakes into the banking hall of a Johannesburg financial institution causing pandemonium amongst staff. There were no clients in the bank at the time. Answering charges...

Agriculture: Africa must change policies to survive.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Africa's agricultural sector must be revived if the continent is to save 200m of its people, according to Prof Richard Mkandawire, agricultural advisor the New Economic Programme for Africa's Development (Nepad). With many African...

Energy: power shortage hits Mozal expansion.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Mozambique's Mozal aluminium smelter is keen to expand its operations in Maputo, but is being stymied by a shortage of electricity from doing so. According to Mozal general manager Carlos Mesquita, a feasibility study has shown the proposed...

Finance: S Africa needs $2bn to go nuclear.(Pebble Bed Modular Reactor Company's Project Forecast and Trends)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... South Africa's on-again, off-again pebble bed nuclear programme is on the hunt for R11.3bn ($1.9bn) to get the power-generating project underway. The Pebble Bed Modular Reactor Company (PBMR) needs the funding to complete the pilot fuel plant...

Legislation: property rights 'staircase to development'.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... "The absence of legal title in Africa has stunted economic development," says Hernando de Soto, an international expert on poverty alleviation. De Soto told an investment conference in Johannesburg, that legal ownership of property spearheaded...

Trade: SACU to fire up US trade ambition.(Southern African Custom Union)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... The governments of Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland are seeking to revive talks with Washington over freer trade between US and the five southern African countries that make up the Southern African Custom Union (SACU). ...

Procedure: red tape undoes SADC free trade efforts.(Southern African Development Community)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... While the Southern African Development Community (SADC) strives to bring about a regional free trade environment, much of its work is being undone by a preponderance of red tape. A study by the Association of SADC Chambers of Commerce shows...

Aviation: Lagos to be Virgin's Africa hub.(Murtala Mohammed International Airport )(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Nigeria's Murtala Mohammed International Airport at Lagos is to be a key African aviation hub for Virgin Group when the British airline begins operations later this year. "All our flights, even international ones, will operate from the domestic...

Textiles: African industry battles the dragon.(BUSINESS BRIEFS)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Africa's embattled textile industry has called on the US and the EU to help limit China's burgeoning textile exports and allow regional manufacturers breathing space to develop their own industries. Faced with continent-wide closure of...

AB guide to African currencies.(BUSINESS BRIEFS)(Illustration)
July 1, 2005... AB Guide to African Currencies COUNTRY CURRENCY [pounds sterling]STG ALGERIA (Dinar) 132.93 ANGOLA (New Kwanza) 162.55 BENIN...

The fall of a good man.(EDITORIAL)
July 1, 2005... It was both a sad and a proud day for South Africa last month when President Thabo Mbeki told a hushed parliament that he was sacking his deputy, Jacob Zuma because of his alleged implication in a corruption case. "In the interest of the...

Justice for Africa.(Cover Story)
July 1, 2005... Gleneagles G8: doing the right thing at last? The G8 Gleneagles Summit in July was the beginning of the most significant change in the economic relationships between the rich world and Africa. Apart from pledges to double the volume of aid...

Volatility is the enemy: economic, social and political volatility are the enemies of growth as a new report from the IMF sets out to prove. And Africa is the most volatile region of all. Can something be done about this negative trend?(VIEW FROM THE CITY)
July 1, 2005... Several empirical studies show that periods of extreme output volatility adversely affect long-term economic growth, welfare, income inequality and poverty reduction, especially in the developing world. Therefore, reducing such volatility can...

Mobiles made in Africa? The market for mobiles in Africa has grown around 1,000% in five years and is still growing. But, can Africa imitate countries like Finland and China and go into producing its own branded versions for the ever-growing global market? Dan Steinbock* thinks it can.
July 1, 2005... In 1998, there were some 200m mobile customers worldwide. Towards the end of 2004, the figure had climbed to some 1.6bn. By 2006, it is expected to be close to 2.6bn. Since the late 1990s, the industry has been characterised by increasing...

The ballot and the bullet: last month [June] the strife-torn central African state of Burundi held its first elections in over a decade. Tristan McConnell was there as the shooting and voting both took place. This is his exclusive Eyewitness report for African Business.(EYEWITNESS REPORT)
July 1, 2005... From the southern Rwandan city of Butare to the Burundian border, the road is perfect. Industrious communal work gangs are still sealing the new tar and there is neither a single pothole nor a disintegrating verge as the road winds its gum tree...

Equatorial Guinea: facts and figures.(Illustration)
July 1, 2005... President: Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo Prime Minister: Miguel Abia Biteo Borico Government: Multiparty democracy, universal suffrage. Legislative and...

The long road home.(Overview)
July 1, 2005... 2005 will go down in history as the 'Year of Africa'. Never before in modern times has so much world attention focused on the continent and so many commitments made to change the status of Africa. It is therefore also fitting that 2005 exposed,...

Creating the country of tomorrow.(The Economy)
July 1, 2005... Over the past decade, Equatorial Guinea has experienced economic growth on a scale rarely seen in Africa or indeed anywhere else in the world. The combination of a string of oil discoveries and the country's limited population has resulted in...

Rise of a new maritime power.(Construction)
July 1, 2005... The rapid growth of the oil sector has resulted in a construction boom in Equatorial Guinea. New oil sector facilities have been required, while new hotel capacity has had to be provided. Bioko in general and Malabo in particular are likely to...

The star of the Gulf of Guinea.(natural resources of Gulf of Guinea )
July 1, 2005... The explosion in oil exploration and production in the Gulf of Guinea has been one of the main developments in the global oil and gas sector over the past few years. New discoveries have triggered a re-evaluation of the region's prospects and...

A magical and mystical country: Omar Ben Yedder interviews Bacar Abdouroihamane the UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Equatorial Guinea.(Development)(Interview)
July 1, 2005... African Business: What is your role here? Bacar Abdouroihamane: We assist the Government in implementing projects aimed at improving livelihoods as well as encouraging rural community development. We advise the Government on administrative...

The world comes calling.(International relations)
July 1, 2005... The government of Equatorial Guinea is today involved in a number of public-private partnerships with companies from many countries. American companies are predominant in the oil and gas sector; a Yugoslav firm is involved in building some of...

Visitor's guide.(Building the dream)
July 1, 2005... Getting there The first step is to contact the nearest Equatorial Guinean diplomatic mission to get a visa. US citizens do not need a visa to go to Equatorial Guinea. A visa costs approx $95. There are embassies and consulates in the...

Medical: meet Dr Robot, cardiac surgeon.(PRODUCTS & PROCESSES)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... A revolutionary heart surgery technique in London could change the way open heart operations are performed. Performed by a robot remotely manipulated by a surgeon, the operation is conducted using a miniaturised camera to peer into the chest...

Crime: new programme confronts child kidnapping.(reports)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... "We have 50 reported cases of kidnapping in South Africa every month. We are losing our children to sex exploitation and murder," says Cape Town designer of a system that that he hopes will stop the abduction of children from the country's...

Roads: another pair of eyes for drivers.(Warning System in Roads)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Alert drivers know to expect the unexpected on the road. Now they can be warned of upcoming dangers with Road Angel, essentially an extra pair of (far-seeing) eyes. Available to South African drivers, and soon others in the region, is the...

Aviation: it's not too late to take part in the Battle of Britain.(PRODUCTS & PROCESSES)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Every actual and aspiring pilot today fantasizes what it was like to fly Second World War fighter aircraft like Spitfires, Hurricanes and Mustangs. You could if you lived in Johannesburg by visiting Rand Airport where aircraft designer and...

Surgery: medical moments.(product introduction of ClozeX Medical LLC)( ClozeX )(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Devices provide better, quicker wound healing. Clinical tests on a new method of wound closing after surgery support the US maker's claims that its devices produce superior early wound healing in comparison with other methods such as tissue...

Health: blow away high BP.(interactive device )(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Sufferers of high blood pressure can now find relief simply by breathing into an interactive device for 45 minutes a week, the makers claim. The developers, British company Intercure, say use of the device slows patients' breathing rate from 20...

Welcome to the age of pragmatism.(Infrastructure Reform In Africa)
July 1, 2005... Economic activity and investment is hugely dependent on reliable, adequate infrastructure. The current stock of infrastructure in Africa as a whole is generally very poor. The question is: what is the best way to upgrade, expand and create new...

Will Nigeria break Opec shackles? Nigeria is set to almost double its oil output and revenue over the next five years--unless it is halted in its tracks by Opec quotas. The question is: should it remain within the organisation or abandon it now?(ENERGY)
July 1, 2005... The first of a spate of Nigerian deepwater oilfields is expected to be brought into production over the next three months. By 2007, over 1m barrels a day (b/d) will have been brought on-stream, providing a massive boost to the Nigerian coffers,...

The jatropha miracle: a quiet revolution is spreading through Africa that could have enormous economic consequences and yet is attracting very little attention. It means, in fact, that anyone with a few arid acres can become an oil baron. Tom Nevin unravels the mystery.(services and contracts of D1 Oils)(cultivation of jatropha)
July 1, 2005... Two years ago, African Business reported on the jatropha bush and how its seed oil can be refined to produce biodiesel to power all manner of things, including electricity-generating plants. At the time, the bush's cultivation was confined to a...

Obasanjo restarts green revolution: despite being the largest employer, Nigeria's agriculture sector has been neglected by successive government, until now. A wide range of measures is in place to vastly increase the volume of food and cash crops produced by the country. Neil Ford has the details.(NIGERIA)
July 1, 2005... Grand schemes for economic restructuring and accelerated growth usually pay very little heed to agriculture, despite the fact that the sector employs the bulk of the African working age population. Nigeria has been no exception to this trend,...

Deathtrap taxis head for the scrapyard: South Africa's notorious 10-seater minibus taxis have had their day and are outlawed from the 1st of this month (July). They will be replaced by safer, more regulated taxi-buses. But not everybody is pleased with this. Tom Nevin explains.(SOUTH AFRICA)
July 1, 2005... It's difficult to imagine the bustling streets of Johannesburg without their horn-blaring, exhaust fume belching, bashed and battered minibus taxis. But now, after nearly five years of argument, protest, rethinking, tendering and the spending...

Water concession goes down the drain: private concessions were supposed to be the answer to decades of underinvestment and poor service provision in the African water sector. But Tanzania has now pulled the plug on the idea by cancelling a 10-year contract with the City Water consortium. What happens next, asks Neil Ford.(TANZANIA)
July 1, 2005... The 10-year contract awarded to b the City Water consortium to manage the operations of Tanzania's Dar es Salaam Water and Sewerage Authority (DAWASA) was expected to herald a series of such deals across the continent. Yet the government of...

Unity constitution offers fresh hope: the vast Democratic Republic of Congo has never really functioned as a united country. Now there is hope that the temporary peace can be made permanent if a new constitution is accepted by all parties. Neil Ford reports.(DR CONGO)
July 1, 2005... The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has adopted a new federal constitution in an effort to transform the current temporary peace agreement into a more long lasting solution. [GRAPHIC OMITTED] The document...

Zambia's economy back on the rails: Zambia's economy seems finally to have turned the corner. Economic growth has been better than forecast, a large chunk of external debt has been cancelled and a new railway link with Angola will help boost exports. Report by Neil Ford.(ZAMBIA)
July 1, 2005... The Zambian government is attempting to build on the recent debt agreement by investing in new transport links. Although a planned rail outlet to the sea will not provide copper mining companies with another export option, it should help to...

Opposition gains ground in watershed elections: despite the political violence and ongoing crisis in Addis Ababa following the parliamentary election, the landscape of Ethiopian politics looks to have changed forever. While complete results had not yet been announced at press time, the opposition, for the first time, has made substantial gains. Neil Ford reports.(ETHIOPIA)
July 1, 2005... Prime Minister Meles Zenawi's Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) had been largely unchallenged on the political front since taking power in 1991 and indeed faced just 12 opposition representatives in the previous...

Pure, white and deadly? A bitter-sweet story.(Sugar : The Grass that Changed the World by O'Connell, Sanjida )(Book Review)
July 1, 2005... Sugar The Grass that Changed the World By Sanjida O'Connell [pounds sterling]20 VIRGIN BOOKS ISBN 1-85227-034-9 Very early in this book, author Sanjida O'Connell makes a remarkable claim. "More than any other crop," she...

Seeing Double.(by Wilmott, Patrick )(Book Review)
July 1, 2005... Seeing Double By Patrick Wilmott [pounds sterling]10.99 Jonathan Cape ISBN 0-224-07439-3 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] All is not well in the state of Niagra, the America of the African continent. The General--the Unique Miracle...

Africa in the World: Past and Present.(book by Burt, Ben )(Book Review)
July 1, 2005... Africa in the World Past and Present By Ben Burt [pounds sterling]7.99 The British Museum ISBN 0-7141-2571-7 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] This lavishly illustrated slim volume challenges attitudes towards Africa by tracing...

Africa and the World Trading System, Volumes 1-3.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
July 1, 2005... Africa and the World Trading System Volumes 1-3 Selected Issues of the Doha Agenda Edited by Ademole Oyejide and Williams Lyakurwa [pounds sterling]21.99 Africa World Press ISBN 1-59221-133-X [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]...

The neighbourhood band: sounds of a bygone era.(Kita Mata ABC: Retro18CD Bembo Gaby Lita and Orchestre Stukas du Zaire)(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2005... Gaby Lita Bembo & Stukas du Zaire Kita Mata ABC RetroAfric Retro18CD Thirty years ago one of the most popular bands in Kinshasa was Gaby Libekk Lita Bembo and the Orchestre Stukas--more informally known as the Stukas Boys....