African Business articles from March 2009

African Business archives from March 2009

Tsvangirai's trump card?(The Zimbabwe settlement)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2009... I refer to your article "How Mugabe split the continent" (African Business, August/September 2008 issue). Tom Nevin describes how Zimbabwe's President Mugabe ran rings around his detractors at the African Union summit in July last year. Mugabe...

The Zambia model.(A strategy for food security)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2009... There were many pertinent points raised in your feature on the emergence of Sudan feeding the Gulf (African Business, February 2009 issue, "Sudan as Middle East food basket"). While it was an attempt to focus on the more positive aspects of...

The blood diamond issue.(An unrecorded trade)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2009... MJ Morgan's article on value chains provided a useful explanation of the way Africa's raw materials are manufactured to produce highly desirable consumer goods for the West's markets ("Understanding Value Chains'" African Business, January...

The profits and pitfalls.(Tourism in Africa)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2009... I greatly enjoy your "Letter from East Africa" section by Wycliffe Muga, that seems to have become a regular feature of your excellent magazine, but I should just like to make a comment or two about his recent column "Why Africa needs more...

Satellite to aid Namibia Disaster Management.(Space technology)(Brief article)
March 1, 2009... The UN Office for Outer Space Affairs is helping the Namibian government to access satellite photography to support and prepare for a national flood emergency. The world body's agency, UN-Spider (UN Platform for Space-based Information for...

Africa has more subscribers than America.(Mobile phones)(Brief article)
March 1, 2009... Nigeria has a higher mobile subscriber base than South Africa, making the West African nation Africa's largest telecoms market, says Dr Ernest Ndukwe, deputy chairman of Nigeria's National Communication Commission. A recent report by...

US military aid for SADC.(Defence)(Southern African Development Community )(Brief article)
March 1, 2009... Just four days before he left office, US President George W Bush decreed that the 15-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC) regional bloc could receive US military aid for peacekeeping efforts in Africa. His decision came in a...

No easy fix for climate change.(Science)(Brief article)
March 1, 2009... Critics have poured cold water on claims that say dumping fertiliser into the ocean can 'fix' climate change. It's "crackpot science", say some top scientists. For the perpetrators, it was a case of good intentions gone awry. It began with...

Nigeria and Dubai in historic Delta deal.(Oil and gas)(Brief article)
March 1, 2009... In a major step to address militants' grievances in the restive Niger River Delta Province, Dubai and Nigeria have agreed on a $16bn deal that will see massive upgrading of oil and gas infrastructure in the region. The Delta Province...

Seychelles takes a hit.(Tourism)(Financial report)(Brief article)
March 1, 2009... "Seychelles' tourism revenue will unfortunately be down, I would think by between 7-10% this year," says the island archipelago tourism board's CEO Maurice Loustau Lalanne. "We have brought down our rates--not as substantially as...

Africa-wide broadband feasibility study begins.(Telecommunications)(Brief article)
March 1, 2009... After holding on for more than a year, the feasibility study for Nepad's e-Africa Commission terrestrial network has finally begun. The study is a key component in the development of broadband infrastructure for the continent. "The purpose...

Resumption of rating process for Zambia.(Credit rating)(Brief article)
March 1, 2009... Zambia is to receive its long-awaited sovereign credit rating, completing the accreditation process that stalled partly through the death of President Levy Mwanawasa in August, according to central bank governor Caleb Fundanga. Mwanawasa, whose...

Somali piracy is self-defence--Ghaddafi.(Maritime)(Brief article)
March 1, 2009... The Libyan leader and African Union chairman Muammar Ghaddafi says Somali piracy is a way of counter-defending against greedy Western nations. He told AU officials on a recent visit to Addis Ababa that "it is a response to greedy Western...

New IFC fund will support private sector.(Investment)(Brief article)
March 1, 2009... The International Finance Corporation has approved a package of crisis-response initiatives to support the private sector in emerging markets hit by the global financial crisis. It has also approved a Sovereign Funds Initiative, a measure...

Uganda won't export uranium.(Mining)(Brief article)
March 1, 2009... Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni says his country will not export its uranium until it develops its capacity to produce nuclear energy. "In Uganda, we have discovered oil recently and uranium. I have allowed foreign companies to exploit the...

China's demonstration of strength.(Editorial)
March 1, 2009... Last month China's President Hu Jintao made another visit to Africa and declared, "I feel very much at home here." This is hardly surprising as this was his sixth visit over just a few years. On this journey he also visited Saudi Arabia, before...

Will South Africa be ready?(COVER STORY)
March 1, 2009... Press reports in some of the world's leading newspapers have been claiming that the majority of the stadiums and other infrastructure for the 2010 world Cup in South Africa are so far behind schedule that there is no way they will be ready for...

All systems are at 'go', say Blatter and Jordaan: the announcement by Fifa boss Sepp Blatter that there is no 'Plan B' since 'Plan A' is still very much on track should silence all those doubting Thomases around the world who keep maintaining that South Africa will not be ready for next year's World Cup. ......(COVER STORY)
March 1, 2009... All systems are at 'go', say Blatter and Jordaan: the announcement by Fifa boss Sepp Blatter that there is no 'Plan B' since 'Plan A' is still very much on track should silence all those doubting Thomases around the world who keep maintaining...

Obama presidency lifts us-Africa Roundtable to new plane: with Barack Obama as President of the US, the annual African Presidential Roundtable organised by the US-based APARC now takes on critical significance. The event, bringing former and current heads of state together to discuss vital African issues, will be held in Germany in April. Anver Versi has the details.(SPOTLIGHT)(Conference news)
March 1, 2009... One of the more significant annual events that appears to have somehow passed under the radar in terms of media coverage is the African Presidential Roundtable, organised by Boston University's African Presidential Archives and Research Center...

What can Africa expect from Obama's recession-hit America? Expectations are running high over a new era of closer US-African political and commercial ties under president Barack Obama's tenure, because of his Kenyan roots. However, given the state of the US economy and other urgent priorities, there is unlikely to be much appetite in Washington for increased participation in Africa.(VIEW FROM THE CITY)
March 1, 2009... As President Obama puts it: "The recession is deepening and the urgency of our economic crisis is growing. This isn't just an economic concept--this is a continuing disaster for America's working families." So far, 11m US citizens are jobless....

African softs likely to withstand economic downturn; The agricultural sector may escape the worst of the global economic crisis. There is little evidence that consumers in developed and emerging countries are cutting back on coffee, tea, cocoa, sugar, maize, rice and Soya bean consumption, or will do so in the near term.(COMMODITIES)
March 1, 2009... Cocoa In crop year 2007/08 (ended 30 September), total world production of cocoa beans was estimated by the International Cocoa Organisation (ICCO) at 3,684,000 tonnes (t), up 9% on the previous season. Global cocoa grindings, a proxy...

Gold remains solid as other metals melt; The collapse in metals prices has already had a severe impact on the fortunes of major exporters. With a recent major IMF report slashing its expectations for global growth from a modest 2.2% to a mere 0.5%, there seems to be little hope of a swift recovery in demand. M J Morgan examines the causes, effects and the likely consequences for African producers.(METALS)
March 1, 2009... At the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, former UN Secretary-General, Ghanaian Kofi Annan, warned, "Africa had nothing to do with the sub-prime crisis but we are all going to be affected." The impact of falling commodities...

Silver lining to dark clouds.(FDI SPECIAL REPORT)(foreign direct investment )
March 1, 2009... The global economic crisis is bound to hit Africa economic growth and levels of investment over the next 12 months. All analysts predict lower foreign direct investment (FDI) in the continent as a whole, whole many national budgets are having...

How to attract foreign investment.(FDI SPECIAL REPORT)(Column)
March 1, 2009... Many African countries are expending large amounts of money, effort and time in often-futile bids to attract foreign direct investment, while paying little attention to those factors that not only create healthy economies at home but...

A tale of two forests: this month, our East African columnist describes the impact on the environment, and consequently on the economy of Kenya, of two different approaches--one destructive and the other constructive--towards the country's forest cover.(LETTER FROM EAST AFRICA)
March 1, 2009... Just slightly over one year ago, Kenya faced a political crisis ignited by a deeply compromised presidential election. And one of the key issues which the resulting violence and anarchy brought into focus was that the country has too many poor...

Has Africa escaped the economic storm? Opinion is divided across the business and economics spectrum over whether Africa escaped the global economic storm or is yet to feel the worst effects of it. Tom Nevin discusses.(TOPIC)
March 1, 2009... A reader of Africa's business and financial press would be forgiven for wondering if Africa has been significantly hit by the global economic crunch or not. Most Africans are measuring the effects of the developed world's financial tempest...

Politics versus people: After many stops and starts, a unity government of sorts has been created, but it will be a while before the two bitterly divided parties can begin to function together as a government. But time is not on the side of the suffering people of Zimbabwe and the two parties will have to choose between the welfare of the nation and political one-upmanship.(ZIMBABWE)
March 1, 2009... Zimbabwe's hard-fought-for political settlement was in danger of running into a wall of intransigence at the inaugural meeting convened of the opposing government officials of President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF and opposition leader Morgan...

A clutch of Davids face ANC giant: the emergence of the Congress of the People party (Cope) from within the ANC is nicely spicing up the momentous elections expected in April. But do Cope and other parties gearing up for the polls pose any sort of real threat to the ANC? Tom Nevin discusses.(SOUTH AFRICA)
March 1, 2009... If a Clutch of recent municipal by-elections is an indication of the outcome of South Africa's 22nd April general elections, then the ruling African National Congress (ANC) has nothing to worry about. If, however, you buy the assessment of...

Festus Mogae--pure diamond of a leader; The second Africa Prize awarded by the Mo Ibrahim foundation went to the former president of Botswana, Festus Mogae. This is the largest cash award in the world and it is awarded to an African leader who has shown outstanding qualities during his tenure as head of state.(BOTSWANA)
March 1, 2009... It is a cool Saturday evening at a popular club on the outskirts of Gaborone. Nothing seems to be out of the ordinary as people drink and socialise. Then a small, black BMW sports coupe rolls into the parking yard. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]...

Battle plans drawn up against the economic meltdown; While the economic outlook does not look particularly promising given the current oil price, President Yar'Adua is nevertheless optimistic that Nigeria can seize the moment to redirect the economy and begin the path to greater prosperity. Williams Ekanem reports from Lagos on the latest developments.(NIGERIA)
March 1, 2009... Financial analysts are continuing to speculate on how Nigeria will fare in the current global economic turmoil. Ray Echebiri, an economist and media manager, takes a pessimistic view. He argues that the speed at which the national currency, the...

Aid--the silent killer of growth.(Book review)
March 1, 2009... Dead Aid why Aid is not working and how there is another way for Africa By DambisaMoyo [pounds sterling]14.99 Allen Lane ISBN 978-1-846-14006-8 Author Dambisa Moyo is an alumna of Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government...

Ending Aid dependence.(Brief article)(Book review)
March 1, 2009... Foreword by H E Benjamin Mkapa [pounds sterling]7.99 Fahamu Books & South Centre ISBN 978-1-906387-29-7 Developing countries reliant on Aid want to escape from this dependence and yet they appear unable to do so. This book shows...

The development charade: empowerment, and other myths.(Book review)
March 1, 2009... Missionaries, Mercenaries and Misfits An Anthology Edited by Rasna Warah [pounds sterling]11.95 AuthorHouse ISBN 978-1-4343-8603-8 Rasna Warah provides an interesting explanation of how this anthology got its curious...

A joyful return: Mali's Star of Stars.
March 1, 2009... Seya By Oumou Sangare World Circuit Cat WCD081 Seya (Joy) is the first album in six years from Mali's Oumou Sangare and it reaffirms her position as one of Africa's greatest female vocalists. Adored by her public, Bamako's 'Star...