African Business articles from June 2002

African Business archives from June 2002

Letters.(Brief Article)(Letter to the Editor)
June 1, 2002... TOURIST TRIBUTE When my husband suggested a vacation in Africa, I have to admit that I was not too enthusiastic. We're both of African descent, but neither of us had travelled outside of the Americas before. We did honeymoon in Mexico...

AB Guide to African Currencies.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 1, 2002... AB Guide to African Currencies Country CURRENCY [pounds sterling]STG Algeria (Dinar) 116.87 Angola (New Kwanza) 56.91 Benin ...

African security council? (Business Briefs).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... Africa may soon have a United Nations-style Security Council with the power to intervene militarily in continental conflict zones, if recommendations by a 15-member committee of African ambassadors are accepted by the Organisation of African...

SA maize drives Malawians 'crazy'. (Business Briefs).(South African maize)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... South African maize imported into Malawi is apparently driving the locals crazy, but it remains 'a total mystery' to South African producers. Reports have reached grain exporters in Pretoria that hallucinogenic wild black seeds have been found...

SA's burgeoning skills crisis. (Business Briefs).(South Africa)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... The demand in South Africa for people with skills has increased by 230% while the need for unskilled labour has dropped by 39%, underlining an acute skills crisis gripping the country. According to Statistics SA, about one million jobs were...

New international airport for KwaZulu. (Business Briefs).(South Africa)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... After more than 40 years on the drawing board, a new international air port will be built in KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa. The cabinet has finally approved a controversial R2bn plan to move the airport from Durban to the La Mercy site...

Keep your promises. Congo President told. (Business Briefs).(Denis Sassou Nguesso)(International Monetary Fund)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... Congo's President Denis Sassou Nguesso, newly returned to power, been told by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to keep his election pledges. These include more transparency in government, increased accountability from those in charge of...

Nigeria quits IMF monitoring scheme. (Business Briefs).(International Monetary Fund)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... Meanwhile, Nigeria has pulled out of an informal monitoring arrangement with the IMP because Nigeria "does not wish to continue with arrangements where only narrowlydefined macroeconomic considerations come into play," says Finance Minister...

World Bank calls for doubling of foreign aid. (Briefs).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... Rich countries must build on the global war on terrorism by launching a new war on global poverty, says World Bank President James D. Wolfensohn. He has called on wealthy donor nations to double foreign aid, over five years, tear down trade...

Botswana shines in diamond sales. (Briefs).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... Botswana again topped the world list of diamond mining countries with a production value total of $2.125bn, figures just released for the year 2000 show. Russia came in second $600m behind while South Africa holds third spot at $1.llbn. Other...

Stringent Namibian budget. (Briefs).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... The Namibian government intends increasing its spending by nearly 3%, a move that will push its deficit to about N$850m, and bring about tough belt-tightening measures. The increase will rake expenditure to N$10.7bn. Tabling his budget 2002/03...

Zimbabwe targets big foreign investor. (Briefs).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... President Robert Mugabe's ZANU government has seized four ostrich farms be longing to PT Royal Ostrindo of Indonesia, Harare's Daily News reports. The Matabeleland farms are a joint venture between PT and Dollar Bubi company of Zimbabwe. The...

New sub-station for Ghana's Volta region. (Briefs).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... A333MVA sub-station is under construction at Aflao in Ghana's Volta Region. The transformer is intended to serve the new multi-million dollar Diamond Cement factory and to improve power supply in the region and the country as a whole. The...

Nigerian government to privatise mint? (Briefs).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... The Nigerian government is considering whether to privatise the nation's mint - officially referred to as the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company - despite stiff opposition from the national parliament. Mint chairman, Abubakar Rimi,...

More than Z$40bn lost to poaching. (Briefs).(Matabeleland, Zimbabwe)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... Many wildlife conservancy owners in Matabeleland, Zimbabwe say they have lost up to 70%t of their animals to poaching. Game ranchers said the loss of revenue to poaching and farm invasions were estimated to be more than Z$40bn. Bubiyana...

OAU, AU histrionics. (Editorial).(Organization of African Unity)(African Union)(Brief Article)(Editorial)
June 1, 2002... According to the script, the 39-year old Organisation of African Unity (OAU) will peacefully and quietly lie down and die in Durban next month (July) and a bright and bouncy new baby, the African Union (AU) will make its triumphant entrance...

The power behind Africa. (Cover Story: Special Report on Africa's Power Generation).(Cover Story)(Statistical Data Included)
June 1, 2002... In our Special Report this month, we examine the power generating capacity of Africa. Although the current shortage of power is a major stumbling block to Africa's development the continent has a vast natural potential to become power rich in...

Poverty is the root of terror. (View from the City).
June 1, 2002... The US-led 'war on terror must be supported by concerted global actions against widespread poverty. About 20% of the world's population live in severe hardship. The lack of development and socio-economic deprivation can provide new recruits for...

Africa's disappearing fish. (Special Report).(Statistical Data Included)
June 1, 2002... Senegal serves as a serious warning of what can happen to a country's once-thriving fishing industry. Over-fishing by foreign trawlers who have no stake in the country's future has devastated the country's fish stocks. What can be done to stop...

Africa wins conservation awards. (Environment).
June 1, 2002... The largest award in this year's annual BP Conservation Awards went to a project in Kenya. Other African countries also featured strongly. Stephen Williams attended the awards ceremony. The annual BP Conservation Programme Awards, an annual...

Africa's new challenge: crossing the digital divide. (Special Focus: IT Africa).
June 1, 2002... Africa is a developing continent in all respects, and the lack of first world information and communication technology (ICT) is creating a rift between it and the developed world. Some have gone as far to say that there is now a fourth world...

Eye-in-the-sky virus zappper. (Products & Processes). (SatelliteSafe's anti-virus computer system).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... In what is claimed to be a world first, a South African company says it has developed a computer system that uses satellites to protect PCs and networks from destructive viruses. The new company, SatelliteSafe, has been dubbed the 'Virus 911...

HIV immunity breakthrough. (Products & Processes). (Dr Debbie Glencross' CD4 cell test).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... A medical researcher at the University of the Witwaterstand in Johannesburg, South Africa, has made a breakthrough that promises to make the treatment of Aids more universally accessible and affordable. Her discovery tests the immunity of...

DIY web building tool. (Products & Processes). (Internet Solutions).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... Most Internet browsers - individuals and companies - would like to have a website of their own but are somewhat daunted by the fees experts charge to set it up. Few have dared to do it themselves. Now they can, according to South Africa's...

African herbal drink takes America by storm. (Products & Processes).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... It is nothing new in Africa, especially the southern regions, but a brew novel to the northern hemisphere is about to hit the burgeoning American cold tea market. The 'luscious drink' derives from a bush native to southern Africa - as palathus...

New hope for wrinkles. (Products & Processes). (Allergan's Botox).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... Science has harnessed the most poisonous substance on earth in a medical anti-wrinkle breakthrough that is causing more excitement than Viagra. The new life-style drug, Botox, is a by-product of the lethal botulinum bacterium, is said to work...

SAA's bid to settle the DVT enigma. (Products & Processes). (South Africa Airways to study causes of deep vein thrombosis in economy class airline passengers).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... The debate raging over whether or not the cramped conditions for economy class airline passengers is a direct cause of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) will hopefully be settled when the results of an innovative survey are known later this year....

Indigenisation pace to pick up. (Oil and Gas).
June 1, 2002... The Nigerian National Assembly is continuing with efforts to boost the involvement of domestic firms in the oil and gas sector, and to increase the proportion of skilled jobs filled by Nigerian workers. The Assembly's Ad hoc Committee on...

Kili conquers America. (Dateline USA).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... The IMAX documentary 'Kilimanjaro - Mountain of Many Faces' is playing to packed houses in Omni theatres across the United States. Highlighting the climb of a group of amateurs, led by local Tanzanian guide Jacob Kyungai, to the mountain's...

Emerging markets rule the roost. (Investment).
June 1, 2002... One of this years most closely guarded 'open' secrets is that emerging markets have easily outperformed all other asset classes. Tom Nevin discusses why emerging markets are riding the crest. Emerging markets are continuing their incredible...

Brighter outlook for metals. (Commodities).
June 1, 2002... With the spectre of a global economic downturn now fast receding and, indeed growth expected in the near future, the outlook for metals has looked far brighter than it has been for the past few years. African producers of base metals have...

The Jaguar S-Type R: fastest of the big cats? (Wheels).
June 1, 2002... Stephen Williams previews the latest, gadget-filled luxury model from the legendary Jaguar marque. It features the most powerful saloon series production engine the company has ever offered - and will soon arrive in African showroom In...

Ports in privatisation storm. (Shipping).(shipping industry Africa)(Statistical Data Included)
June 1, 2002... In common with the industries and public utilities discussed in last month's issue of African Business, the privatisation of sea ports in Africa is progressing spasmodically with different countries approaching the problem in different ways....

Lessons from an African village. (At Large).
June 1, 2002... The old woman came m dressed in a white and blue boubou. Her headtie was so elaborate, none could compete with it. "Salaam Alaikum," she greeted me, with an unfamiliar voice. "Wa Alaikum Salaam," I responded. That was N'na Sanneh, the...

Battle for real chocolate.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... The first World Cocoa and Chocolate Fair (WCCF), which took place in Brussels at the Palais du Heysel in mid-March was a shot across the bows against an EU directive on the definition of the word 'chocolate'. This was powerful coming together...

Sao Tome & Principe: The oil rush begins. (Countryfile).(petroleum industry Africa)(Statistical Data Included)
June 1, 2002... Although not a current oil or gas producer, Sao Tome and Principe is being mooted as the next big thing in the West African hydrocarbon sector. New deepwater discoveries elsewhere in the Gulf of Guinea, coupled with an interim resolution of the...

Kenya: huge fish farming potential. (Countryfile).(aquaculture Africa)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2002... An increasing demand for protein is spurring Kenyan fish farmers to experiment with hybrid, faster growing fish species. Unlike the crop, livestock and poultry industry however, genetic data on fish rearing is limited. This leaves Kenyan...

The Congo from Leopold to Kabila. (Reviews).(a People's History)
June 1, 2002... A PEOPLE'S HISTORY By Georges Nzongola - Ntalaja [pounds sterling]14.95 Zed Books ISBN 1-84277-053-5 This concise and clear-sighted study of the Congo should be considered essential reading for anyone with an interest in the...

Ethiopia - The unknown land. (Reviews).
June 1, 2002... By Stuart Munro-Hay [pounds sterling]24.50 I.B.Tauris ISBN 1-86064-744-8 This book is something of a departure for the academic publishers, IB Tauris, being part a travel guide and part literary companion. It could hardly have...

Show me the Magic. (Reviews).(Travels Around Benin by Taxi)
June 1, 2002... TRAVELS AROUND BENIN BY TAXI. By Annie Caulfield [pounds sterling]12.99 Viking ISBN 9-780670-91211-5 Annie Caulfield has written an account of her adventures in Benin in the company of Isidore, a taxi driver." Apparently some...

Modern Herbal Therapy for Common Ailments (Vol 1). (Reviews).
June 1, 2002... By Zainab U. Sharrif [pounds sterling]12.95 Spectrum Books (Nigeria) ISBN 978-029-250-0 The author, a pharmacy graduate of the Ahmadu Bello University in Nigeria, is currently a resource lecturer with the West African Postgraduate...