African Business articles from June 2005

African Business archives from June 2005

Blair commission: a refusal to face reality.(THIS MONTH'S PRIZE LETTER)(Letter to the Editor)
June 1, 2005... I refer to your excellent coverage of the various aspects of the Commission for Africa report. In my opinion the report contains little more than the stubborn old rhetoric, characterised by the 'white man's burden' theme, along with the utter...

Business leaders' interviews: tougher Q & A please.(THIS MONTH'S PRIZE LETTER)(Letter to the Editor)
June 1, 2005... I noticed the cover of the May issue of African Business magazine as I was passing through Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on my way home to Kampala. I just had to buy a copy to read the promised interviews. But I have to say that...

Compliments come calling: a reader's praise.(THIS MONTH'S PRIZE LETTER)(Letter to the Editor)
June 1, 2005... I would like to commend you for the excellent work in compiling your survey of the Top 200 Companies in Africa featured in the April 2005 issue of African Business. Once again you have come up with the goods--bold, incisive reporting on the...

Prize letter: win a free annual subscription!
June 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...

Commodities: a nice cup of cocoa to boost GDP.(BUSINESS BRIEFS)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Ghana's economic growth jumped to 5.8% last year from 5.2% in 2003, boosted by cocoa production that increased by close to a third. Ghana's finance minister, Kwadwo Baah-Wiredo, reports that revenue from cocoa exports grew 42% to more than...

Mining: platinum price stabilising?(BUSINESS BRIEFS)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... A leading British research group says the price of platinum could be bottoming out in the face of oversupply and a weakening in global jewellery demand. Minerals-focused GFMS says in its latest review that platinum's residual deficit narrowed...

Development: MDGs--still a long way to go.(Millennium Development Goals)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Five years after the Millennium Declaration, many countries have made progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals, but many more lag behind. Faster progress is needed in reducing maternal and child deaths, boosting primary...

Mining: De Beers softens deals.(BUSINESS BRIEFS)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... In a rare turnaround, De Beers has made major concessions to the Angola and Namibia governments for exploration and mining rights in the diamond-wealthy countries. In Angola the most significant concession is that Endiama, the state-owned...

Economic growth: Africa to outperform the world.(BUSINESS BRIEFS)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... While the global economy is expected rise by just over 4% in 2005, sub-Saharan Africa will record a GDP increase of 5.2%, according to the IMF. The agency notes in its latest World Economic Outlook report that the region is showing signs of...

Nepad: industrialised nations asked to pay up.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Africa's economic revival initiative, Nepad, needs a further $50bn-$75bn in aid from industrialised nations if it is to achieve its own and UN goals. "We stress the paramount necessity for our partners in development to deliver on their...

Crime: S Africa's deadly legacy.(South Africa)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Nearly half of the people who die from non-natural causes in South Africa do so as a result of violence, a new study has found, making violent death in South Africa eight times the world average. The fifth National Injury Mortality Surveillance...

Agro-economics: subsidies--another view.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Two prominent economists are cautioning that the world's least developed countries will actually be hurt by a reduction of agricultural subsidies in rich nations. In the view of Alberto Valdes, director of the Trade Policy Programme at the...

Safari action: TransAfrica bus.(Actionaid International )(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Non-government organisation Actionaid International has taken to the road to collect the views of Africans, especially the youth, on the G8 Summit to be held in Scotland towards the end of the year. An Actionaid bus is travelling through a...

AB guide to African currencies.(Illustration)
June 1, 2005... AB Guide to African Currencies COUNTRY CURRENCY [pounds sterling]STG ALGERIA (Dinar) 135.56 ANGOLA (New Kwanza) 165.21 BENIN...

Start the science revolution.(EDITORIAL)(Editorial)
June 1, 2005... African Business receives a seemingly endless stream of reports, analysis, opinions and action plans from a staggering variety of sources practically every day of the week. Everybody, it appears, knows exactly what is wrong with Africa and how...

Daughters of Africa step forward.(AWARDS SPECIAL)
June 1, 2005... A huge, continent-wide upheaval had been gathering force right under our noses but most of us failed to notice anything unusual. For more than a decade, the new revolutionaries have been working away day and night--in groups, in workplaces, in...

Major African currencies in good shape: African currencies, once known as 'yo-yo money' for their volatility, have by and large now stabilised. This both reflects and supports strong economic growth on a continental base.(VIEW FROM THE CITY)
June 1, 2005... In recent years African currencies have shown far greater resilience in maintaining their value against the world's major currencies. Principal African currencies such as those of the 14-member CFA franc zone, the Rand Monetary bloc comprising...

Congo-Brazzaville waits on new fields: Congo-Brazzaville's fortunes have been in decline over the past decade with falling oil output and an economy still limping from the impact of a series of civil wars. But several new oilfields which should come on stream later this year are expected to halt the decline.
June 1, 2005... The government of Congo-Brazzaville is banking on new production from Total's Haute Mer permit this year to reverse the slow decline in national oil output over the past few years. Production peaked at 280,000 barrels a day (b/d) in 2000 but...

Is South Africa running out of power? The country's power supply is running dangerously short of its medium-term needs. As Tom Nevin reports, demand will outstrip current supply by 2007 unless something is done now.(POWER)
June 1, 2005... Just 10 years ago, South Africa was so over-supplied with electrical power it was in no hurry to plan for more, in the process missing the ominous signs of future shocks. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Just a decade down the line, the hard...

UN throws weight behind Grand Inga: the United Nations is helping to push through a long-held infrastructural dream--the creation of a giant power scheme that will provide the whole of Africa with an uninterrupted supply of electricity. Neil Ford discusses.(INFRASTRUCTURE)
June 1, 2005... Jumbo-sized infrastructural projects have long been out of fashion in the world of African development. Large dam schemes were a favourite of both investors and donors in the immediate independence period because of the belief that greatly...

Telecoms: discombobulated? Put a dictionary in your phone.(Macmillan, the Gauteng Economic Development Agency )
June 1, 2005... A new mobile phone service in South Africa (and soon all over the continent) acts as a 24-hour virtual dictionary, wherever you are. Discombobulated? No need to be, because now you can look up the meaning of words at the press of your cellphone...

Mobile communications: digital leapfrog.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... By March this year, Africa had some 82m cellular phone users. While this figure might sound impressive, its significance pales in light of the total African population of some 900m. It is also extremely lopsided considering that 25% of all...

Health: new vaccine to fight cholera.(PRODUCTS & PROCESSES)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Could one of Africa's biggest killers have finally met its match? After extensive testing in Mozambique, scientists are giving the nod to a new orally-administered cholera vaccine. According to the New England Journal of Medicine,...

Special brew: would you like a tablet of tea, madam?(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... The ubiquitous tea bag, preferred tea-making method for billions of people for more than a century, is about to be pushed off its pedestal. Prepare to welcome the tea pill, brain child of scientists in India's Assam leaf-growing province....

Hot stuff: if you can't take the heat, take a Testo.(Unitemp)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... The thermometer is a vital instrument in commercial baking. Frequent spot checks of surface temperature are necessary in the baking process and in stores. Infrared thermometers currently in service are accurate and reliable--but large and...

Time to beat crime: the watch that thinks it's a policeman.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... This wristwatch may look like an ordinary timepiece, but it's also a security device on 24-hour duty. The multi-purpose gadget not only tells the time, it can also start or switch off a car, arm and disarm the security system, operate the...

Medical moments: towards designer babies.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Controversy is raging over a British woman who has become pregnant using the gene-screening "pre-implantation genetic diagnosis" technique that weeds out embryos that might develop cancer later in life. Critics fear it is a first step...

Medical moments: lizard bite holds new hope for diabetics.(PRODUCTS & PROCESSES)(gila monster)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... A nip by a Gila monster lizard will be painful and could be dangerous--it's also a key to a new treatment for diabetics. The lizard's saliva contains a substance that copies the action of a human hormone needed to convert sugars in the...

Medical moments: no-more-tears tan.(PRODUCTS & PROCESSES)(Melonotan developed for skin cancer)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... A British research team has produced a wonder pill that takes the sting out of tanning, turns pasty-white to coppery-brown and reduces cancer risks for skin exposed too long to the sun. The pill, Melonotan, increases the body's production...

Light touch: glow in the dark football.(PRODUCTS & PROCESSES)(GloBall for playing night soccer)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Now, theoretically at least, you can play night soccer without the floodlights. A football that glows in the dark has made its debut in Johannesburg, South Africa, thanks to entrepreneur-inventor Noor Mahomed who had the idea by watching...

African Development Bank records its best performance in ten years.
June 1, 2005... The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) recorded its best performance in ten years in 2004, with a net income of $167m or 107m Standard Drawing Right, the AfDB's treasurer, Arunma Oteh, told the Bank's AGM in Abuja last month. "Indeed...

"It was the bullet that brought the ballot".(Overview)
June 1, 2005... Zimbabwe is 25 years old as an independent country. The year-long celebrations kicked off on 17 April (eve of independence) with a state reception where honours and awards were given to Zimbabwean heroes and luminaries of Southern Africa who...

Mugabe: we won't go back to the Commonwealth.(The President's interview)(Robert Mugabe)(Interview)
June 1, 2005... Zimbabwe celebrates 25 years of independence with an uncompromising message for all who want to hear: "We won't go back to the Commonwealth. It is a useless body to start with, and it has treated us in a dishonourable manner," says President...

Zimbabwe honours African heroes.(Honours and Awards)(Dr. Bernard Gibson Chidzero, Solomon Mangwiro Mutsvairo and Dr. Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo awarded)
June 1, 2005... "Through such awards, we reaffirm our African-ness, challenging the false gods who have sat long and heavy on our real heroes, our real history, thanks to colonial education. We proclaim our pan-African spirit, stressing we shall never be a...

Capitulation is not an option.(The Economic Turnaround Programme)(Dr. Gideon Gono, governor of Zimbabwe's central bank)(Interview)
June 1, 2005... "If there had not been a drought this year, given that we are in the closing phase of the land reform programme, the economy would have performed in a manner never experienced in the last 25 years... I will tell you this, by the end of next...

The way forward.(The Fight for Sovereignty)
June 1, 2005... The country is calm but the political fight against attacks from Britain and the West remains. Agrarian reforms are expected to succeed, and when agriculture recovers, the economy will turn around. But the irony of it all is that when this...

"Mugabe is not the problem".(Transparent Elections; Robert Mugabe)(Patrick Chinamasa)(Interview)
June 1, 2005... Patrick Chinamasa, Zimbabwe's minister of justice, legal and parliamentary affairs, says the local opposition has been hoodwinked by the West into thinking that President Mugabe is the wrong person for the country, but he is not. "President...

Grappling with the maize question: Nicholas Goche, Zimbabwe's new minister of public service, labour and social welfare, has perhaps one of the most difficult portfolios. He talked to New African on how he is grappling with the maize and other questions.(The Effects of Drought)
June 1, 2005... Nicholas Goche has responsibility for drought mitigation in a country that has suffered four continuous seasons of drought. So you might think this brilliant man spends hours discussing anti-depressants. Not in his book! Rather, you meet one of...

Land reform is irreversible.(Agriculture: The Engine of the Economy)(Interview)
June 1, 2005... In the next few months, the Zimbabwe government will publish a landmark National Agricultural Strategy Framework to cover the next 30 years (2005-2035). It will be a comprehensive document never before seen in the annals of the country. This...

"What we have done here is like the rabbit chasing the dog".(Interview)
June 1, 2005... "I was asked the other day about the ban on The Daily News. I said it was not banned, it banned itself. Our laws say you register when you want to operate a media outfit, but they said they didn't want to register because they didn't recognise...

"Maybe I came out of the Guinness Book of Records": Zimbabwe's first woman vice president, Joice Teurai Ropa Mujuru, talks to New African and says if her people and party decide that she is the right candidate to carry the torch after President Mugabe, she will gladly accept the challenge.(The Presidium)(Interview)
June 1, 2005... From the outside, Joice Teurai Ropa Mujuru, 50, appears to be the new girl on the block in Zimbabwe. But she is not! Born on 15 April 1955 at Mount Darwin, she has been in the cabinet for 25 unbroken years--in fact since independence in 1980! A...

Don't shoot the messenger: no matter what it does, it seems Kenya just cannot shed off the sticky stigma of corruption--this time in the form of a major diplomatic row with Britain's representative in the country. Neil Ford looks behind the war of words.(KENYA)
June 1, 2005... President Mwai Kibaki and his National Rainbow Coalition (NARC) government swept to power at the end of 2002 on an anti-corruption agenda. [GRAPHIC OMITTED] Many bilateral and multilateral donors had cut financial support to Kenya...

Political tensions grow.(ZANZIBAR)
June 1, 2005... Tensions on the semi-autonomous archipelago of Zanzibar have risen ahead of October's elections. There was an explosion at the main offices of the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party in Zanzibar, which resulted in four arrests, while a CCM...

Shopping made in heaven: Mauritius, the dynamic Indian Ocean island state, is not one to sit on its laurels. It is about to add to its economic lustre by turning itself into a shopping paradise for the whole world. Tom Nevin reports.(MAURITIUS)
June 1, 2005... Deciding it has had enough of the capricious and jittery world sugar market, the idyllic Indian Ocean island of Mauritius is to massively build on its reputation as a favourite global playground by adding another magical ingredient. It plans on...

Bananas wilt under Museveni campaign.(UGANDA)
June 1, 2005... Uganda's President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni's quest for a third term in office is, according to locals, threatening the country's banana crop by helping to spread a bacterial infection that decimates plantations. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ...

Oil money begins to flow in: after years of discussion and delay, the tiny Gulf of Guinea state of Sao Tome and Principe is to receive the first, very substantial income from its nascent oil industry. Neil Ford reports on the likely impact.(SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE)
June 1, 2005... Although exploration drilling has not yet begun and any actual production remains years away, a consortium led by ChevronTexaco and ExxonMobil has paid a $123m signature bonus on the production sharing agreement (PSA) for Block 1 in the joint...

Rutile leads the long path to prosperity.(SIERRA LEONE)
June 1, 2005... According to the latest IMF report on the country, Sierra Leone has made a good start at rebuilding both its economy and national life after a decade of warfare and decay. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The reconstruction of national...

Diversification begins to pay off: Cameroon finds itself in the relatively comfortable position of not having to depend entirely on its oil revenues for economic growth. Neil Ford explains why.(CAMEROON)
June 1, 2005... While other mature oil producers in the region struggle to cope with the impact of falling production, Cameroon is managing to more than compensate by diversifying into a range of other sectors. [GRAPHIC OMITTED] The country has...

Gbagbo lifts Ouattara election ban.(COTE D'IVOIRE)
June 1, 2005... At the end of April, following talks mediated by South African president, Thabo Mbeki, President Laurent Gbagbo of Cote d'Ivoire finally backed down and agreed to allow Alassane Ouattara to stand in October's presidential election. ...

Mboweni's lifeline to exporters: is the South African government having a change of heart on the rand's exchange rate? Hitherto, the repo rate was influenced solely on inflationary concerns, but as Tom Nevin reports, the Reserve Bank is now showing greater flexibility.(SOUTH AFRICA)
June 1, 2005... The pressure on the governor of the South African Reserve Bank to shift his attention from inflation targeting and further unshackle the national currency had been intense over the past five months. The fact that he finally buckled came as...

Inflation--who's the big culprit?(trends in consumer price index )(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... New policy emerging from the economic consequences of an overly strong rand will necessarily focus on a review of inflation-targeting as the principal economy-shaping measure. This might be just as well, because new figures show the...

Debt: can pay, won't pay? Nigeria, staggering under an estimated $35bn of debt, largely accrued by successive military regimes, has embarked on a campaign to have the debt cancelled. Neil Ford gives the details.(NIGERIA)
June 1, 2005... President Olusegun Obasanjo is hopeful of securing debt cancellation under the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) arrangement, but the IMF continues to insist on tighter fiscal policy, more deep seated structural reforms and a greater...

Ssh! He said the 'P' word: a president under scrutiny.(Thabo Mbeki and the Battle for the Soul of the ANC)(Book Review)
June 1, 2005... Thabo Mbeki and the Battle for the Soul of the ANC. By William Gumede $35.00 ZEBRA PRESS (US) ISBN 1-77007-092-3 Journalist William Gumede's bestselling study of the South African president is causing waves both within South...

The Mobile Revolution.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
June 1, 2005... The Mobile Revolution By Dan Steinbock [pounds sterling]25 Kogan Page ISBN 0-7494-4296-4 This book claims to be the first comprehensive account of the explosion of mobile services, i.e. rich voice, internet, messaging and...

Global Call Centers: Achieving Outstanding Customer Services across Cultures and Time Zones.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
June 1, 2005... Global Call Centers Achieving Outstanding Customer Services Across Cultures and Time Zones By Erik Granered [pounds sterling]20 Nicholas Brealey ISBN 1-904838-03-0 Companies around the world have joined the global...

The Arguments against G8.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
June 1, 2005... The Arguments against G8 Edited by Gill Hubbard and David Miller [pounds sterling]11.99 Pluto Press ISBN 0745324207 What is the G8? Every year world leaders convene for their annual summit, accompanied by thousands of...

Africa Beyond the Post-Colonial: Political and Socio-Cultural Identities.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
June 1, 2005... Africa Beyond the Post-Colonial Political and Socio-Cultural Identities Ola Uduku and Alfred B Zack-Williams [pounds sterling]45 Ashgate Publishing ISBN 0-7546-3171-0 The poor economic performance of some African countries...

The African Yellow Pages, First Edition 2004-2005.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... The African Yellow Pages First Edition 2004-2005 Founded by Tesfu Sintayhu Free: Washington DC USA Established in 2003, the African Yellow Pages (AYP) is the first publication of its kind serving the US diaspora as a whole and...

Global Corruption Report 2005.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Global Corruption Report 2005 Foreword by Francis Fukuyama [pounds sterling]19.99 Transparency International ISBN: 0745323960 Worldwide, the construction sector is regularly rated as the most corrupt industry. Even so, the...

The End of Poverty: How we can make it happen in our lifetime.(Book Review)
June 1, 2005... The End of Poverty How we can make it happen in our lifetime By Jeffrey Sachs [pounds sterling]20 Allen Lane ISBN 0-713-99800-8 Currently around 30,000 people around the world die because they are too poor to stay...

Like fathers, like sons: masters of the kora.(musician Ballake Sissoko)
June 1, 2005... Tomora Ballake Sissoko Indigo LBLC 2596 Malian kora virtuoso Ballake Sissoko won critical acclaim for his 2001 album Deli. That album managed to top best world music CD lists all over the world and confirmed Sissoko as a true...