African Business articles from March 2006

African Business archives from March 2006

Heroic entrepreneur: lifeline funds.(THIS MONTH'S PRIZE LETTER)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2006... I read with great interest the editorial in the February issue of African Business, 'Africa's heroic entrepreneur' which described how the African telecom company Celtel's chairman Dr Mo Ibrahim was setting up a trust fund to fight poverty and...

False hopes: here comes Cassandra.(THIS MONTH'S PRIZE LETTER)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2006... I recently came across this fascinating argument in a document posted anonymously on the internet. I thought your readers would be interested in reading it--and for the sake of brevity I have edited it a little. Essentially, it is an...

Nigeria's achievements: a new rating.(THIS MONTH'S PRIZE LETTER)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2006... Thank you for your coverage of Nigeria's Central Bank governor, Charles Soludo, and the award he has won from The Banker magazine as Global Central Banker of the Year (Soludo scoops highest award, African Business February 2006). ...

Potent statement: a significant transition?(THIS MONTH'S PRIZE LETTER)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2006... It is clear that the funeral and memorial service for Coretta Scott King last February marked a major turning point in the history of the US, the civil rights movement and black history at large the world over. That President George W Bush...

AU on the carpet: democratic principals?(THIS MONTH'S PRIZE LETTER)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2006... Can anyone explain to me just what the African Union (AU) thinks it is playing at? If it were not so bitterly disappointing it would be laughable. Here we have the spectacle of an African institution--reinvented less than four years ago as a...

Prize letter: win a free annual subscription!
March 1, 2006... 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...

Energy: China takes a $2.4bn stake in Nigerian oil.(BUSINESS BRIEFS)
March 1, 2006... China continued its uptake in African energy resources with a $2.4bn cash buyout by CNOOC for a 45% stake in Nigeria's OML 130 offshore oilfield. Chinese oil companies are on the energy resource acquisition trail to meet the demands of the...

Investment gains: strong African growth after FDI surge.(BUSINESS BRIEFS)(foreign direct investment )(Brief article)
March 1, 2006... A UN report says Africa grew by around 5.5% last year following an unprecedented 65% leap in foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2004. According to the UN's World Economic Situation and Prospects Report, FDI in Africa climbed from $18bn to more...

Commodities: bright outlook for Zambian copper.(BUSINESS BRIEFS)(Brief article)
March 1, 2006... Had it not been for strikes, accidents and fuel shortages, Zambia would have exceeded its 2005 finished copper production target of 550,000t. Mining minister Kalombo Mwansa reports, however, that output amounted to some 500,000t with a target...

Investment: the unkindest cut?(tax reports)(Brief article)
March 1, 2006... Zambia risks the ire of its neighbours by increasing tax breaks and lowering the cost of doing business for new investors. The SADC, especially, has been at pains to keep a reasonably uniform tax regime throughout the region as member countries...

International trade: strong shilling hits Kenya exports.(BUSINESS BRIEFS)(Brief article)
March 1, 2006... A strong shilling, eating into the export revenues of Kenya's manufacturers and agricultural goods producers, should be devalued to save those sections of the economy from collapse, the country's trade minister, Mukhisa Kituyi, has urged. ...

Development: don't waste money on expats says bank.(banking services)(Brief article)
March 1, 2006... Snowy Khoza, knowledge management executive at the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), says Africa is wasting large amounts of money by using foreign consultants when the required skills and expertise exist on the continent. ...

Capital flight: Namibia closes the money tap.(BUSINESS BRIEFS)(Brief article)
March 1, 2006... Namibia has slapped restrictions on the outflow of capital from the country, mainly to neighbouring South Africa. The cash stream, mainly from pension funds, life insurance and commercial banks has been attracted by boom investment conditions...

Economics: Lesotho maintains steady GDP growth.(BUSINESS BRIEFS)(Gross domestic product)(Brief article)
March 1, 2006... The reopening of Letseng Diamond Mine, recently found to have substantial, previously undiscovered deposits, helped to offset a slowdown in manufactured goods exports and hold Lesotho's growth steady at 3.4%. The Central Bank's annual...

Anti-corruption: Mozambique's new graft fighter.(President ethical behavior)(Brief article)
March 1, 2006... Determined to stamp out corruption and ward off allegations that he is not keeping to anti-corruption promises made in election speeches, Mozambique's President Armando Guebuza has approved the creation of a new anti-corruption unit. It will...

AB guide to African currencies.(Table)
March 1, 2006... AB Guide to African Currencies Country Currency [pounds sterling]STG Algeria (Dinar) 127.87 Angola (New Kwanza) 140.21 Benin (CFA) ...

Africa needs new models.(to rise from poverty )(Editorial)
March 1, 2006... Recently, London has been awash with conferences and seminars on Africa's development. The approaching first anniversary of the British inspired Africa Commission report seems to have galvanised the city's academic and development circles into...

Is apartheid still alive and kicking?(South Africa)
March 1, 2006... Apartheid in South Africa was officially declared dead 12 years ago but a growing number of critics say that far from being dead, apartheid is alive and well; it has simply gone underground. A series of horrifying cases involving white bosses...

High growth marred by unemployment: the African enigma is that poverty and joblessness continue to rise even though economic growth is at a 10-year high says a new UN report. Tom Nevin explains the reason for the anomaly and describes remedies prescribed.
March 1, 2006... Despite significant improvement in the growth of Africa's gross domestic product (GDP) in recent years, poverty on the continent is higher than in other developing regions. The share of the total population living below the $1 a day threshold,...

Is Africa a poor trader? Just why is Africa's international--and internal--trade at such a dismally low level? Is market access the problem or is it what we take (or don't take) to market that is the real culprit?
March 1, 2006... The example of China during the 1980s clearly illustrates that increased external trade and inward foreign direct investment (FDI), by raising living standards, has a vital contribution to make towards poverty reduction. [ILLUSTRATION...

Angolan oil moving into Africa's No 2 spot: heavy investment in Angolan deepwater oil sources is now bearing fruit as the country is likely to leap-frog other African oil producers and secure its position as Africa's second largest oil producer over the course of the next few years. What bearing will this have on the economy?(ENERGY)(Company overview)
March 1, 2006... Angola's emergence as a serious player in the global oil sector has been underlined by the publication of its latest production figures. After several years of slow output growth--from 800,000 barrels a day (b/d) to 900,000b/d--the fruits of...

Investment with a human face: is the foreign direct investment going into Africa currently the right sort of investment? Can it help raise the general economic standards in African countries or does it have little or no impact? Neil Ford discusses the ideas of an Irish businessman who says investors need to change their perspective and help themselves by helping Africa.
March 1, 2006... Many explanations have been given for sub-Saharan Africa's failure as a region to take off economically. Colonialism, the harsh environment and the impact of the Cold War have all been cited but fail to adequately explain why other developing...

Boom time for African tourism.
March 1, 2006... Despite the threat of international terrorism and high aviation fuel costs, recent figures from the UN's World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) and the Word Travel and Tourism Council (WCCT) indicate that sub-Saharan Africa's tourist sector is...

CBC as catalyst for African growth: although we have all heard of the Commonwealth Business Council, many of us are not quite sure what it does. Editor Anver Versi went to find out.(Editorial)
March 1, 2006... The Commonwealth Business Council (CBC) is one of those international organisations that keeps popping up in news releases on a wide diversity of business activities but it remains something of an unknown quantity to the average business person...

Will bank reforms trigger golden era? Will the successful reform of Nigeria's banking industry--an exercise which had been considered 'impossible' before it actually happened--now prove to be the catalyst this country needs to establish an economy worthy of its size and talent? Neil Ford discusses.
March 1, 2006... The government of President Olusegun Obasanjo has promised a great deal but delivered rather less over the past seven years. A comprehensive package of economic reforms has been formulated but the government has struggled to implement it in the...

Perils and exhilaration of a strong rand: as we reported in last month's issue, South Africa is enjoying a boom even if the benefits are not evenly spread. But worries are growing over the effects of a strong rand. Tom Nevin reports.
March 1, 2006... South Africa is currently experiencing what is euphemistically being called a mini-boom, although no-one's all that keen to say it out loud. Not only because of the small percentage of the population that are recipients of the flow of wealth,...

Maestro Gaolathe's good fortune budget: Botswana's canny finance minister, Baledzi Gaolathe, has presented a 'people friendly' budget for 2006/07, cutting taxes and raising public sector wages on the strength of a healthy surplus. Barry Baxter reports.
March 1, 2006... Presenting the 2006/07 budget, Botswana's finance minister Baledzi Gaolathe called upon Batswana to use what he was giving them to build an innovative and more productive economy. The budget, which found favour with the public, reduces personal...

Trading technology for land: Madagascar, the huge Indian Ocean island state, has plenty of land but not enough land use; Mauritius its tiny neighbour has the capital and expertise to use land profitably but not enough land. Nasseem Ackbarally reports on initiatives to dovetail the two needs.
March 1, 2006... Ten years ago, Mauritius obtained 100,000 hectares of land in Mozambique for agricultural and economic development. But, with the exception of some sugar farmers, the country's entrepreneurs failed to make use of this opportunity. Now...

Distractions hide economic slide: while allegations of graft and corruption are grabbing all the headlines, a far more insidious force is at work undermining the economy. Neil Ford analyses why the anticipated economic turnaround is not happening.
March 1, 2006... The massive national and international furore that has erupted following publication of a report on corruption by the former transparency czar, John Githongo, has distracted attention away from Kenya's economic ills. [GRAPHIC OMITTED] ...

Pragmatism is the winning formula: a pragmatic rather than dogmatic approach to economic growth is proving a winning formula for Egypt as the country nudges new growth records. Neil Ford reports on Egypt's new approach to economic health.
March 1, 2006... While economic growth in Libya and Algeria is largely being fuelled by oil and gas revenues, Egypt is following the Tunisian model far more closely. High oil prices have made its sizeable oil sector more valuable and the growing gas sector has...

Grand Prix racing returns to Africa: although Formula One racing has been shunning South Africa, a brand-new and far more exciting event gave motor sports fans in Durban plenty to cheer about. Stephen Williams describes Dubai's Sheik Maktoum Hasher Maktoum Al Maktoum's latest sporting venture.
March 1, 2006... Grand prix racing returned to Africa in January when, for the first time since 1985, a grand prix race was run in South Africa. The country was once a fixture on the Formula One (F1) grand prix circuit, until the French government forbade the...

The Pareto efficiency: towards a new world-trade order.(Fair Trade for All: How Trade Can Promote Development by Joseph E Stiglitz and Andrew Charlton)(Book review)
March 1, 2006... Fair Trade for All How trade can promote development By Joseph E Stiglitz and Andrew Charlton [pounds sterling]15.99 Oxford University Press ISBN 0-19-929090-3 In a brief forward to this new study of the WTO and the...

Khartoum: The Ultimate Imperial Adventure.(by Michael Asher)(Book review)
March 1, 2006... Khartoum [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Ultimate Imperial Adventure By Michael Asher [pounds sterling]25 Viking ISBN 0-670-87030-7 The British campaign in the Sudan in Queen Victoria's reign is an epic tale of adventure...

The Greed Merchants: How the Investment Banks Played the Free Market Game .(by Philip Augar)(Brief article)(Book review)
March 1, 2006... The Greed Merchants [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] How the investment banks played the free market game By Philip Augar [pounds sterling]20 Penguin ISBN 0-713-99785-0 Early in the new millennium the investment banks were on...

Messages to the World: The Statements of Osama bin Laden.(Book review)
March 1, 2006... Messages to the World [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Statements of Osama bin Laden Edited by Bruce Lawrence Translated by James Howarth [pounds sterling]12.99 Verso ISBN 1-84467-045-7 Despite the saturation of global...

In Ethiopia: A Game Warden's Adventures in Haile Selassie's Medieval Kingdom.(by John Blower)(Brief article)(Book review)
March 1, 2006... In Ethiopia [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A Game Warden's Adventures in Haile Selassie's Medieval Kingdom By John Blower [pounds sterling]14.99 Librario Publishing ISBN 1-904440-67-3 In 1965, when Haile Selassie decided...

Slow Man.(by J M Coetzee)(Brief article)(Book review)
March 1, 2006... Slow Man [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] By J M Coetzee [pounds sterling]16.99 Secker and Warburg ISBN 0-436-20611-0 The latest novel from the South African J M Coetzee--two times Booker Prize winner and winner of the Nobel Prize...

Rwanda's Genocide: The Politics of Global Justice.(by Kingsley Moghalu )(Brief article)(Book review)
March 1, 2006... Rwanda's Genocide [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Politics of Global Justice By Kingsley Moghalu [pounds sterling]25 Palgrave Macmillan ISBN 1-4039-7081-5 In Rwanda's Genocide, Kingsley Moghalu provides an engrossing...

The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Globalized World in the Twenty-first Century .( by Thomas Friedman)(Brief article)(Book review)
March 1, 2006... The World is Flat [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A Brief History of the Globalized World in the 21st Century By Thomas Friedman [pounds sterling]20 Allen Lane ISBN 0141022728 When scholars write the history of the world 20...

The seething pot of rhythm: tradition meets modernity.(Boulevard De L'independance from Toumani Diabate )(Video recording review)
March 1, 2006... Boulevard de l'Independance Toumani Diabate and the Symmetric Orchestra World Circuit Cat: WCD074 Toumani Diabate, the acknowledged master of the West African kora, has been in a headlong flurry of recording activity for the...