African Business articles from May 2006

African Business archives from May 2006

New development models: we must learn self-confidence.(THIS MONTH'S PRIZE LETTER)(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2006... Thank you for the two brilliant editorials Africa needs a new model and Harnessing our wounded pride (African Business March and April issues respectively). It reinforces the fact that what is required, if Africa wants to change its lot, is a...

Glorious Africa: why I love the continent.(THIS MONTH'S PRIZE LETTER)(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2006... I returned from South Africa last week and was fortunate enough to find your magazine in the rack of the Emirates flight on which I was travelling. I have not encountered your publication before. I shall not, intentionally, miss any further...

African tourism: the other side of the coin.(THIS MONTH'S PRIZE LETTER)(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2006... I read your special report Boom time for African tourism (African Business March 2006) with great interest--but also, I have to admit, with considerable dismay. For in an otherwise wide-ranging feature article, the downside of Africa's tourism...

African Business: more focus on business people please!(THIS MONTH'S PRIZE LETTER)(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2006... Of all the magazines on the newsstand, African Business is the business magazine I turn to, to learn about economic developments on the continent. However, I believe your magazine requires more focus on that which is driving and accelerating...

Banking blitz: the reform agenda.(THIS MONTH'S PRIZE LETTER)(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2006... I was delighted to read about the success of Professor Charles Soludo's reform (Will bank reforms trigger golden era? African Business, March 2006). It gives me real hope to learn that Nigeria's financial sector is finally receiving the...

Prize letter: win a free annual subscription!(Brief article)
May 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: solar for Botswana villages.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Botswana has launched an 80% subsidy scheme to bring solar power to remote villages. The project, launched in 1991 as a feasibility study to judge the performance and social acceptability of photovoltaic power for heating and lighting in remote...

Agriculture: harvest shortfall for Zim.(BUSINESS BRIEFS)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... According to the US-based Famine Early Warning Systems Network (Fewsnet), Zimbabwe faces a 1.1m ton shortfall in maize production this year. The country will harvest about 700,000 tons in the 2005/06 season against an annual consumption of some...

Economy: strong rand hammers Swazi growth.(BUSINESS BRIEFS)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Economic growth in Swaziland will slow by almost 50% as the tiny southern African kingdom suffers further declines in export revenues. Estimates by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) say GDP growth will slow to about 1% against 1.8% last...

Investment: Moz to make doing business easier.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... More than $1bn has been set aside by the government of Mozambique to upgrade its business facilitation. The money will be spent on developing roads, redenominating its currency and overhauling commercial legislation--all aimed at making the...

Mining: S Africa's gold crown slips.(gold production reports)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... A steady increase in China's gold production means it will overtake annual output in South Africa and Australia and by 2009 could rank as the world's number one gold miner. According to US-based CPM Group MD Jeffery Christian, South Africa's...

Finance: reinvest oil revenues, Africa urged.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Africa needs to urgently bring about policy changes that will channel funds earned by oil into infrastructure and other economic development. Such expansion will diversify economies and reduce risk of oil revenue being squandered through...

United Nations: Human Rights Council has more teeth.
May 1, 2006... The United Nations' ineffectual Human Rights Commission has been replaced with the Human Rights Council, a body with more teeth to tackle HR transgressions globally. "The Council gives the UN a much-needed chance to make a new beginning in its...

Nutrition: malnutrition is Africa's big enemy--World Bank.(economic factors)
May 1, 2006... Malnutrition is costing poor countries up to 3% of their yearly GDP, while malnourished children are at risk of losing more than 10% of their lifetime earnings potential, says a new World Bank study. According to the report, Repositioning...

Fisheries: Namibian industry in deep water ...(BUSINESS BRIEFS)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Drastic cuts in fishing quotas are spelling more trouble for the sector, already fighting a financial crisis brought about by an overheated Namibian dollar and oil price hikes. Fishing is one of Namibia's three major currency earners and has...

AB guide to African currencies.(BUSINESS BRIEFS)(Table)
May 1, 2006... AB Guide to African Currencies Country Currency [pounds sterling]STG Algeria (Dinar) 127.48 Angola (New Kwanza) 139.92 Benin (CFA) ...

Is China Africa's best friend?(Editorial)
May 1, 2006... On the surface, China's President Hu Jinto's visit to the US last month appeared to be nothing more than a friendly 'getting to know you' trip during which a few key issues, such as the value of the country's currency the yuan and its human...

The management conundrum.(Management)(Cover story)
May 1, 2006... Businesses make national economies; a multiplicity of good businesses produces sound, growing economies. But to get strong, healthy businesses, you need excellent management at all levels. To compete effectively on the global stage, you need...

A single African currency in our time? The goal of a single market underpinned by a common African currency remains an ultimate objective of African unity. But wishing for a common African currency and achieving it are two very different things. Moin Siddiqi looks at the benefits and pitfalls of a common currency.(currency value)
May 1, 2006... The concept of greater regional integration--in both political and economic affairs--was the long-term aim of the Organisation for African Unity (OAU), formed in 1963. Its successor, the African Union (AU), formed in 2002, retains this vision....

New W Bank fund to reward results: the World Bank has launched a new fund for Africa which aims at capacity to achieve rather than need. The fund will be disbursed in the form of grants rather than loans. Will this fund really make a difference? Neil Ford discusses.(SPOTLIGHT)
May 1, 2006... The World Bank has unveiled a new form of investment in Africa, termed the Africa Catalytic Growth Fund (ACGF). Born out of the Africa Action Plan, which itself was only approved last September, the new fund will be considered by many as a...

World on the move: the world has never seen the movement of people from one place to another on such a scale as at present. Africans are in the thick of it. Can it be a positive force for Africa's development, or will Africa lose out as the brain drain draws away the continent's more skilled workers? Tom Nevin reports on the issues.
May 1, 2006... Migration, the restless movement of people from one place to another, more often than not in search of a better life, is as old as mankind itself. It is doubtful, however, if the world has seen as intense and sustained migration as is happening...

Africa's great lakes are drying up: Africa has more than 30,000 cubic kilometres of water in its 677 lakes, more than anywhere else in the world. Vast numbers of people depend for their livelihoods on African lakes but there has been an alarming drop in the water levels of some of the most famous such as Lake Victoria. Neil Ford examines the causes of this new water crisis.(electric supply management)
May 1, 2006... As African Business reported last month, water levels on Lake Victoria have fallen alarmingly, resulting in both lower electricity production and power rationing in Uganda. Explanations for the fall have largely focused on the use of water by...

World Cup: a fan for football fans.(PRODUCTS & PROCESSES)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Getting ready for South Africa's 2010 soccer World Cup are a host of gadgets that'll make watching the spectacle a little more comfortable. Most promising is a baseball-style cap that has a small fan attached to the underside of the peak. ...

Invention: easy swimming pool maintenance.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... There are about 100m residential swimming pools worldwide, and a South African pool-cleaning company wants a slice of them. APMI Holdings has developed a system called PoolCop to take up the hard work required to keep garden swimming pools...

Computers: mini laptops for African children.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Nigerian, South African and Egyptian school-children will be among about 10m others who will be receiving new low-cost laptops as a means of widening computer literacy and internet access in rural areas. An initiative spearheaded by...

Getting the measure: lasermeter tackles even the most awkward shapes.(PRODUCTS & PROCESSES)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Laser Measurement is a South African company that produces equipment which quickly and accurately provides the vital statistics of irregularly shaped articles. Its latest offering, the lasermeter, has application in mining, agriculture, food...

Handy helper: want to quit smoking? Just rub your hands.(PRODUCTS & PROCESSES)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... For smokers who have tried everything to stop, something new might just do the trick. It is a revolutionary new gel that you rub on your hands, like liquid soap from the dispenser, which could help puffers cut down on the habit or even stop....

Alarming warning: timely chimes.(PRODUCTS & PROCESSES)
May 1, 2006... Nearly 3m people are killed by malaria every year in Africa and billions of dollars have been spent over the years in researching preventative measures. Of particular interest to doctors and government health departments is a wristwatch-like...

Chemicals: grow your own pesticides.(farmers materials usage)
May 1, 2006... A plant protein that has broad biocidal properties against insect pests as well as fungal and bacterial pathogens could be the next best thing in crop disease and pest control. Not only is it just as effective as its chemical equivalent, but it...

Bet on this anti-gambling drug.(drug therapy)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Punters addicted to taking a bet on just about everything may find the odds in their favour with a pill that appears to suppress the urge to gamble. Researchers at the University of Minnesota say the key to compulsive betting is the thrill it...

If you're chubby, blame it on viruses.(Medical moments)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... There are twice as many obese people in Britain than there were 10 years ago, and the number of overweight children has tripled in 20 years. And scientists are beginning to question whether the phenomenon is due solely to bad eating habits and...

Spare part surgery.(Achievements in transplanting human organs)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... In an organ transplant breakthrough, US scientists have successfully grown entire human organs and transplanted them into patients in what is being hailed as a new era of "spare part" medicine. Using patients' own cells, seven people...

New convenience for diabetics.
May 1, 2006... The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), America's medicine watchdog, has approved the first inhaled version of insulin, offering a welcome alternative for some of the daily shots millions of diabetics use to control blood sugar. Exubra,...

Poverty gets a hammering: according to the biggest investigation in living standards ever carried out in Africa, Namibia has reduced poverty levels by around 10% during its decade-and-a-half of independence. But could more have been achieved? Neil Ford reports.(economic conditions)
May 1, 2006... Recent studies of the Namibian economy have yielded mixed results. While the country has had a solid start to independent life following the break with South Africa, some analysts and economic bodies feel that a great deal more could be...

World Cup: a mission impossible? While there is huge excitement over the 2010 soccer World Cup to be staged in South Africa, there is also considerable unease. The form of the national side is a big worry; but an even bigger worry is that the huge infrastructure development needed might be falling behind schedule. Tom Nevin reports.(world cup football tournament)
May 1, 2006... South Africans do not like talking about the World Cup right now; in fact a good many of them are wondering whether the country should host the 2010 games at all, so disenchanted are they with their team's performance in the recent Africa...

Third term factor casts a shadow: Nigeria's economy is on the mend and both national and international confidence in the country's progress has been increasing. President Olusegun Obasanjo's second term has been a success but will it all go awry if the constitution is amended to allow him to stand for a third term next year? Neil Ford discusses.
May 1, 2006... Controversy over whether Nigeria's parliament should amend the constitution to allow President Olusegun Obasanjo to stand for a third term is threatening to overshadow the administration's steadily improving economic record. [GRAPHIC...

Kufuor wants talking to end and action to begin: with the considerable strengthening of Ghana's banking sector, the country, according to President Kufuor, is ready to transform itself into a financial centre for the whole continent. Neil Ford reports.
May 1, 2006... President John Kufuor has characterised 2006 as the Year of Action for Ghana. Following a meeting of the Ghana Investment Advisory Council (GIAC) in Akosombo, Kufuor told journalists that the time for talking was past and that this would be the...

Economic recovery gathers pace: the Algerian economy, driven by an upturn in oil and gas earnings, is posting a strong recovery that looks set to continue for the foreseeable future. Stephen Williams reports from Algiers.(economic development report)
May 1, 2006... Algeria's minister of financial reform, Karim Djoudi, reported in early April that exchange reserves had reached a new high of $61bn at the end of February 2006. This is an indication of the renewed strength of the Algerian economy. ...

Horns of a dilemma? A superpower's role in a pivotal region.(Book review)
May 1, 2006... US Foreign Policy and the Horn of Africa By Peter Woodward [pounds sterling]50.00 Ashgate ISBN 0-7546-3580-5 Once again, the world's TV screens are carrying images from the drought-stricken region of the Horn of Africa as...

2006: Country by country.(economic reports)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... 2006: Country by country [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Edited by Daniel Franklin [pounds sterling]355 Economist Intelligence Unit ISSN 1475-1321 2006: Country by Country, the well-established annual forecasting guide from the...

Globalisation: Non-formal Education & Rural Development.(Book review)(Brief review)
May 1, 2006... Globalisation Non-formal Education & Rural Development [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] By Albert D K Amedzro [pounds sterling]16.95 Ghana University Press ISBN 9964-3-0342-4 This book reviews the results attained by non-formal...

Chapman-Andrews and the Emperor.(Book review)(Brief review)
May 1, 2006... Chapman-Andrews and the Emperor [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] By Peter Leslie [pounds sterling]19.99 Pen and Sword ISBN 1-84415-257-X This is the previously untold story of the remarkable relationship between a young British...

Cool Hotels: Africa/Middle East.(Book review)(Brief review)
May 1, 2006... Cool Hotels Africa/Middle East [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Edited by Martin Nicholas Kunz [pounds sterling]12.50 teNeus ISBN 3-8327-9051-9 The Victoria Falls rush to the depths in the distance; the Zambezi flows right in...

The Revenge of Gaia: Why the earth is fighting back--and how we can still save humanity.(Book review)(Brief review)
May 1, 2006... The Revenge of Gaia Why the earth is fighting back--and how we can still save humanity [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] By James Lovelock [pounds sterling]16.99 Allen Lane ISBN 0713999144 Lovelock's unique authority and...

We Won't Budge.(Book review)(Brief review)
May 1, 2006... We Won't Budge [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] By Manthia Diawara [pounds sterling]9.99 Ayebia ISBN 0-9547023-4-4 In this searing memoir, Manthia Diawara revisits his early years as an emigrant in love with Swedish girls and...

Africa Dances.(Book review)(Brief review)
May 1, 2006... Africa Dances [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] By Geoffrey Gorer [pounds sterling]9.99 Eland ISBN 0-9078-7118-6 In Africa Dances, the author Geoffrey Gorer takes the reader on an odyssey across West Africa in the company of one of...

Writing Feature Articles.(Book review)
May 1, 2006... Writing Feature Articles [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] By Brendan Hennessy [pounds sterling]21.99 Focal Press ISBN 0-240-51691-5 "A writer lurks in all of us; all it needs is a little nudge to bring it out," says Brendan...

Devotion and celebration: Senegal's maestro returns.(Audiobook review)
May 1, 2006... Lamp Fall Cheikh Lo World Circuit Cat: WCD073 Senegal's musical maverick, Cheikh Lo, is a unique figure. He constantly surprises by transcending genres and cultures to produce unmistakable music, and this, his third album, is...