African Business articles from November 2007

African Business archives from November 2007

Enterprise: shah an inspiration to us all.(THIS MONTH'S PRIZE LETTER)(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2007... I refer to the article Tanzania's Model Industrialist by Jane Bryce, (African Business, July 2007 issue). Reading this article, I was greatly inspired and felt that I should send my comments to express my appreciation for Himat Shah and his...

Biofuels: more to it than jatropha.(THIS MONTH'S PRIZE LETTER)(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2007... It was an interesting debate that Mr Versi chose to focus upon in his editorial Food is the new oil (African Business October 2007 issue). It is quite correct that there are increasing misgivings regarding the trend for land to be given over to...

Top banks: microfinance to the fore.(THIS MONTH'S PRIZE LETTER)(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2007... Once again, congratulations on piecing together the different strands to complete a superb banking survey (Africa's Top 100 Banks, African Business October 2007 issue). Moin Siddiqi's summary, An Excellent Year for African Banks was...

African Banker: high time.(THIS MONTH'S PRIZE LETTER)(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2007... I was delighted to receive issue two of African Banker with African Business magazine last month. I bought African Business in Paris for the Top 100 Banks cover story and the copy of African Banker was a welcome bonus. It was high time...

South Africa land: control is key.(THIS MONTH'S PRIZE LETTER)(Letter to the editor)
November 1, 2007... Your article Are Foreigners Distorting Land Prices?(African Business October 2007 issue) addressed an issue that, if we are not careful, could brand the Rainbow Nation as a land of xenophobes. We now seem to be experiencing a surge of...

Defeat of the hyacinth?(Environment)(water hyacinth infestation )(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... A solution to the long-standing problem of water hyacinth infestation seems to be at hand. Scientists have announced the success of a biological, pesticide-free method of eradicating the highly invasive and damaging plant from Africa's...

Africa property fund launched.(Real Estate)(Knight Frank )(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... Knight Frank is to launch a $350m African property fund, said to be the first fund of its kind to invest in commercial property throughout Africa. Rutley Capital, the private equity arm of the Knight Frank property agency who will manage the...

Recycling electronics.(Initiative)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... Hewlett-Packard has announced the launch of a project with the Global Digital Solidarity Fund (DSF) and the Swiss Institute for Materials Science and Technology (Empa) to address the growing problem of electronic waste in Africa. This...

Diamond initiative.(Resources)(regulations)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... South Africa has introduced legislation that should see more of the rough diamonds it mines being polished and cut within the country rather than exported for value addition. The legislation will see a 5% export levy being imposed on unpolished...

Sasol opens China office.(Oil & Gas)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... South African petro-chemical giant Sasol has opened an office in Shanghai to market its range of petro-chemical solvents. Sasol Chemicals Shanghai Co Ltd will initially market products from the global Sasol Solvents business that operates...

'Beer, not banks' say analysts.(Investment)(beer industry forecast)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... Investors looking for opportunities in Africa should look to the beer industry, according to the Botswana-based Imara financial services group. Imara says that the current valuations of brewing shares are much better value than Africa's banks...

Former minister joins Renaissance.(Appointment)(Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala)(Renaissance Group)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... Renaissance Group, the emerging markets investment company, has appointed Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the chairperson of its African and Nigerian Advisory Boards. Dr Okonjo-Iweala is currently a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Brookings...

Lighting up Africa.(Competition)(World Bank)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... The World Bank Group recently launched an initiative to provide modern lighting to the 250m people in sub-Saharan Africa who have no access to grid electricity. Jointly managed by the World Bank and IFC, Lighting Africa aims to develop market...

AB guide to African currencies.(Briefs)(Table)
November 1, 2007... AB Guide to African Currencies Country Currency [pounds sterling]STG Algeria (Dinar) 137.74 Angola (New Kwanza) 152.58 Benin (CFA) ...

The obscenity of African wars.(cost of war)(Editorial)
November 1, 2007... Wars have cost Africa at least a staggering $300bn between 1990 and 2005. This does not take into account the millions of lives lost or ruined, the impact on neighbouring countries, the debilitating trauma of war, the unprecedented levels of...

The Ibrahim Index on African governance.(Africa's Top 100 Banks)
November 1, 2007... The Ibrahim Index on African governance is the first comprehensive ranking of 48 sub-Saharan African countries. It is holistic rather than piecemeal in its approach and it eschews subjective criteria for a scientific measurement of the degree...

How we achieved our rankings: Professor Robert Rotberg, leader of the team which prepared the Ibrahim Index, explains how the Index was structured, what assessment and weighting models were used and why it is the most comprehensive and accurate ranking of governance in Africa.(Africa's Top 100 Banks)
November 1, 2007... The accurate measurement of the performance of governments depends upon devising appropriate indicators capable of capturing from the bottom up what citizens regularly look to their nation-state, provincial, municipal, and village polities to...

All change for the NNPC: President Yar'Adua's decision to replace, or restructure the lumbering Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has been enthusiastically welcomed both by oil sector players and the public at large. But how deep will the reforms go?(Energy)
November 1, 2007... Nigeria's President Umaru Yar'Adua has announced that he intends to restructure the country's state owned oil and gas assets. At present, the state's main actor in the sector is the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and its various...

Biofuels for transport: global potential and implications for sustainable energy and agriculture.(Book review)
November 1, 2007... Biofuels for Transport Global potential and implications for sustainable energy and agriculture Edited by Lisa Mastny [pounds sterling]44.95 Worldwatch Institute ISBN: 978-1-84407-422-8 The combination of rising oil...

Have phone, will send cash.(Telecoms)(Industry overview)
November 1, 2007... In Africa, moving money has always been problematic; for those without bank accounts, it is virtually impossible unless it is done physically by hand. But where there is a problem, there is a solution. The canny mobile phone operators seem to...

SMS trading a boon for Zambian farmers: an SMS system which allows farmers in Zambia to compare prices in different locations is creating a revolution in the way farmers can now trade. Without comparative market data, farmers were often short-changed by middlemen who bought cheap and sold expensive. Dominique Magada reports.(Telecoms)(short messaging service)
November 1, 2007... An SMS market information service recently launched in Zambia could be the first step towards creating a mobile phone commodity market for the whole of Africa and link up previously isolated small farmers. After a year of pilot testing, the...

Vodafone seeks control in South Africa: market activity in the African telecoms sector is as frenzied as ever. Recent speculation that Vodafone, the world's largest mobile operator, would increase its stake in South Africa's Vodacom sent share prices spiralling upwards. Neil Ford reports.(Telecoms)(Vodafone Group PLC)(Vodacom of South Africa)
November 1, 2007... The world's biggest mobile operator, Vodafone of the UK, is keen to increase its stake in South African firm Vodacom. At present, the company is jointly owned by the British firm and South Africa's fixed line operator Telkom, but Vodafone is in...

A multi-faceted approach to development.(Special Report: CCA US--Africa Business Forum)(Corporate Council on Africa )(Conference notes)
November 1, 2007... This time around, the biannual Corporate Council on Africa's US-Africa Business Forum breaks with tradition and will take place in Africa instead of the US this month, November. This primary forum on US-Africa trade will examine areas of mutual...

Of yobbos and white elephants: with the euphoria of winning the rights to hosting the 2010 soccer World Cup distinctly a thing of the past, many South Africans are now admitting to World Cup preparation fatigue and asking themselves if it is really worth all the hassle. Tom Nevin reports.(World Cup Watch 2010 watch)
November 1, 2007... Law-abiding football fans and residents of areas surrounding 2010 stadiums are already psyching themselves up for the arrival of hordes of Europe's legendary soccer yobbos. Homeowners, already barricaded in their houses against South...

What is pro-poor tourism? The concept of tourism as a means of poverty alleviation has been around for nearly a decade, but there is a continuing debate over its effectiveness. Tom Nevin examines the issues raised in two new reports.(Tourism)
November 1, 2007... Africa's travel and tourism industry will contribute over 8% to sub-Saharan Africa's gross domestic product (GDP) over the next decade, and yet this could be much higher if more countries upgraded and showcased their natural attractions. ...

Trainspotting, South Africa style: suddenly, rail is becoming the darling of South Africa's transport sector. For decades the Cinderella, trains will soon be the way millions of passengers and tons of goods will be moved. Tom Nevin reports.(SOUTH AFRICA)
November 1, 2007... For trainspotters in South Africa, rail traffic has not offered much variety in the past decades. The best eagle-eyed rail watchers could hope for was a few under-maintained locomotives and rickety wagons as well as, if they were really lucky,...

Yar'adua imposes his authority: despite his reputation as a low-key political actor, president Yar'Adua has moved swiftly to address several outstanding problem issues and if he can get his large cabinet to work together, he could well find himself as the leader who turned Nigeria around.(NIGERIA)(Umaru Yar'Adua )
November 1, 2007... When President Umaru Yar'Adua was elected in April, many expected that he would be controlled from behind the scenes by his predecessor, Olusegun Obasanjo. The former president personally chose his successor and was thwarted in his attempt to...

Kibaki front-runner in December polls: the Kenya presidential and general elections are scheduled for December this year. The incumbent, Mwai Kibaki's popularity has been rising steadily on the back of an economic growth spurt and with the main opposition divided, appears set to win another term of office. Neil Ford reports.(KENYA)
November 1, 2007... During most of a turbulent first term of office, Kenya's President Mwai Kibaki looked unlikely to secure a second electoral victory. Huge divisions within his National Rainbow Coalition (Narc), an unsuccessful campaign for a new constitution,...

Accra seeks power supply solutions: Ghana's chronic shortage of power will adversely affect its growth targets this year and for the near future. However, a spate of new undertakings, some with Chinese assistance, should ease the situation over the next three to four years. Neil Ford reports.(GHANA)
November 1, 2007... Ghana has enjoyed a variable reputation as an electricity producer over the past 20 years. The development of the Akosombo Dam during the 1960s provided the country with more electricity than it needed and turned Ghana into a major power...

Malawi donates surplus food: in 2002, Malawi, hit by drought, urgently needed food aid to avoid disaster; this year it was able to sell some of its surplus grain and also donate food aid to neigbouring countries. Lameck Masine explains how this remarkable change came about.(MALAWI)
November 1, 2007... Malawi, one of those countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) worst hit by the 2002 drought that left about five million people--out of its 12m population--in dire need of food aid, has this year become an overnight donor...

Democratic feat bodes well: just five years after a brutal civil war, Sierra Leone has changed leadership peacefully through the ballot box and now begins the long haul back to economic growth. The omens are good says Katrina Mason, reporting from Freetown.(SIERRA LEONE)
November 1, 2007... Were it not for the dirty exhaust fumes and the rubbish you could almost smell it in the air. The roads look as bad as before, the electricity supply is just erratic. But change is afoot in Sierra Leone. [GRAPHIC OMITTED] When 54.5% of...

Brazil, Nigeria links to boost gas exports: Algeria has been pushed into fourth place as a global gas exporter but new pipeline developments and a possible deal with Brazil could see this North African country regaining its top world export position over the next decade. Neil Ford has the details.(ALGERIA)
November 1, 2007... Algeria is already well established as North Africa's premier gas exporter. It was the world's first producer of liquefied natural (LNG) and has complemented its LNG industry with the development of pipelines under the Mediterranean Sea to...

Free trade fallacies: lessons of history.(Bad Samaritans: Rich Nations, Poor Policies and the Threat to the Developing World)(Book review)
November 1, 2007... Bad Samaritans Rich Nations, Poor Policies & The Treat To The Developing World By Ha-Joon-Chang [pounds sterling]18.99 Random House Business Books ISBN: 978-1-9052-1135-7 Korean-born author Ha-Joon Chang is a Cambridge...

A national treasure: songs of freedom.(Sound recording review)
November 1, 2007... Vusi Mahlasela Naledi Ya Tsela (Guiding Star) Sony Cat: WRASS203 Born Vusi Sidney Mahlasela Ka Zwane in 1965 in Lady Selborne, South Africa, and bought up by his grandmother in Mamelodi Township, where he still lives,...