Africa: Namibia celebrates 24 years of independence

The Namibian

WINDHOEK- Namibia celebrated 24 years of independence at the Independence arena in Windhoek today. The President of Nigera, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan along with his Nigerian delegation graced the celebration with their presence.

The stadium was filled with colourful celebrations and different tribes from all over the country, dressed in traditional attire entertained the guests and TV audience with their traditional dances. President Hifikepunye Pohamba said Jonathan’s presence is testimony to the strong bonds of friendship and excellent bilateral relations existing between Namibia and Nigeria.

The president further said the ensured peace and stability in this country provided a conducive environment for socio-economic development and progress. “In this context, we are facing the future with confidence and determination.” He said this country will always celebrate and give requisite honour to its proud history.
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March 21, 2014

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry issued a congratulatory message to Namibia as it celebrates its National Day on March 21

UPI

The U.S. Department of State sent its congratulations to Namibia on the occasion of its 24 years of independence on Friday.

Secretary of State John Kerry issued the following congratulatory message:

“On behalf of President Obama and the American people, I congratulate the citizens of Namibia as you celebrate 24 years of independence on March 21.

“The United States remains committed to building on the strong legacy of partnership between our nations.

“I am proud of the work we have undertaken in the battle against HIV/AIDS. The success we have achieved in agriculture, education, and conservation is laying the foundation for a more prosperous future.

“Together, our countries are creating new opportunities for the Namibian people by working to improve public health and promote sustainable economic growth.

“We will continue our close partnership with Namibia to achieve our mutual goal of a stable, healthy, and prosperous society for all Namibians.

“As you celebrate this special day from Oshakati to Oranjemund, I offer all Namibians warmest wishes for continued peace, security, and lasting prosperity.”
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Video: Namibia’s 24th Independence Celebration

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In Namibia and Botswana, brand new heavy duty rail line is planned

The bilateral agreement between Namibia and Botswana for the new Trans-Kalahari Railway line was signed, but for a start of construction of the multi-billion Namibia dollar project is not enough. Now the search begins for a financier and developer.
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Video: “Our Voices” From Windhoek to Washington- An Oral History of the Struggle for Namibian Independence

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Video: Holocaust You NEVER knew -Germany’s first genocide -Africans in Namibia

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Namibia

The area now known as Namibia was originally occupied by native Africans. The first European to set foot on Namibian soil was the Portuguese Diogo Cão in 1485.

In 1793 the Dutch authority in the Cape took control of Walvis Bay. The United Kingdom took control of the Cape Colony (in South Africa) in 1797 and also took over Walvis Bay.

Some of the first Europeans to show interest in Namibia were Christian missionaries. In 1805 the London Missionary Society began working in Namibia, moving north from the Cape Colony.

German South-West Africa (Deutsch-Südwestafrika) was a colony of the German Empire from 1884 until 1915.

In 1915, during the First World War, German South-West Africa was invaded by the Western Allies in the shape of South African and British forces.
The Union of South Africa (part of the British Empire) occupied the German colony of South-West Africa during World War I and administered it as a a League of Nations mandate until after World War II, when it annexed the territory.

In 1966 the Marxist South-West Africa People’s Organization (SWAPO) guerrilla group launched a war of independence for the area that became Namibia, but it was not until 1988 that South Africa agreed to end its administration in accordance with a UN peace plan for the entire region.

Namibia has been governed by SWAPO since the country won independence in 1990.

Windhoek is the largest city in Namibia

Size:
Namibia slightly more than half the size of the U.S. state of Alaska.

Ethnic groups:
black 87.5%
white 6%
mixed 6.5%

Languages:
English (official) 7%
Afrikaans (common language of most of the population and about 60% of the white population)
German 32%
African indigenous languages (includes Oshivambo, Herero, Nama) 1%

National Assembly has passed amendments legalizing polygamy

By Wilfred Ayaga
The Standard (Kenya)

NAIROBI- The National Assembly has passed controversial amendments that would strengthen the male hand within the family and other social relationships.

Male MPs ganged up to pass the amendments that would have far reaching ramifications on the family. The Committee of the Whole House allowed an amendment that denies a jilted lover the right to seek damages and another that gives men a free hand to take second wives to go through. The amendments have split the House since they were introduced into the House. Priscilla Nyokabi (Kiambu) said that it was important that the amendments be defeated for the sake of family unity.

“If you choose to marry, it is important you inform your wife that you are taking another partner. For the sake of cohesion, it is important to inform all the parties,” she said. Supporting the amendments, Benjamin Washiali (Mumias) said he was a product of a second wife. “I am a child of a second wife. If this law was there, I would not have been born,” he said. Moving the amendment, Justice Committee chairperson Samuel Chepkonga (Ainabkoi) said that African men were expected to be polygamous. “Marriages are potentially polygamous,” he told the House. But Regina Muia (Kilome) vowed to mobilise other female members to shoot down the Bill.

Another amendment that roped in women in the sharing of maintenance costs for children in case of a divorce also sailed through the Committee stage. Jakoyo Midiwo (Gem) claimed that women opposed to the amendments were only interested in seizing family property.

“Men are jittery because women want to take our wealth. I don’t want to die poor,” he said. An amendment that had been introduced by Majority Leader Adan Duale that would have allowed Islamic Law a greater say in determining the marriage age for girls was defeated. Among those who opposed the amendment were Nyokabi (Kiambu), who argued that it would expose underage girls to exploitation. “We cannot allow minors to be legislated by other cultures. We must protect the rights of children,” she told the House.

In a telephone conversation with The Standard, lawyer Judy Thongo’ri said despite any shortcomings that the Marriage Bill may have, it was good that the country eventually has a law on marriages. Maendeleo ya Wanaume Chairman Nderitu Njoka supported the amendments.
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Kenya’s marriage bill

• Bans marriage for those under 18
• All marriages – even customary unions – must be registered
• Legalizes polygamy, allowing men to marry without consulting other spouses
• A woman entitled to 30% of matrimonial property
• Specifies that marriage is between a man and a woman, but does not explicitly ban custom of an infertile woman marrying a younger woman
• Proposals dropped: Banning bride price payments, recognising cohabiting, or “come-we-stay”, relationships

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Polygamy bill poses dilemma for Kenya

By Reuben Kyama
Agence France-Presse (AFP)

NAIROBI- The adoption by Kenya’s parliament of a controversial bill that legalizes polygamy has provoked a fierce national debate pitting modern secular values and Christianity against local traditions.

Opponents are already lobbying President Uhuru Kenyatta not to sign off on the legislation, saying it threatens family values in a Christian-majority country, with female deputies also arguing that it also undermines women’s rights.

Supporters, however, argue that the bill merely recognises multiple customary unions which are still common in many Kenyan communities.

“The bill is a threat to our family values, considering that the majority of our people are Christians,” fumed Wanjiku Muhia, a female MP and one of many women deputies who stormed out of parliament last week in protest.

“Women of today have been empowered and they know their rights,” she said, accusing male MPs of blatant sexism. “I’d urge the president not to sign the bill into law, but to consider sending it back to parliament.”

The bill, passed last week, is designed to formalise customary law on marrying more than one person. The proposed bill had initially given a wife the right to veto her husband’s choice, but male members of parliament pushed through a text that dropped this clause.

Polygamy is common in Kenya, especially for those who can afford to maintain multiple wives, Nationwide, an estimated 1.8 million women and 700,000 men are classed as living in polygamous relationships, according to the Standard newspaper.

In many cases a man will have one legal wife, married in a lavish church ceremony and registered with the state, while subsequent wives are married in traditional tribal ceremonies.

“When you marry an African woman, she must know the second one is on the way, and a third wife… this is Africa,” one MP, Junet Mohammed, told the house.

According to Muhia, “this kind of language is… unacceptable because it amounts to abusing Kenyan women”.

“We walked out of the chamber because we felt that the language some of the male MPs were using was disrespectful to women, and was in bad taste,” she said.

The National Council of Churches in Kenya (NCCK), which groups more than 40 churches and Christian organisations from across the East African nation, has also spoken out against the bill.

“The debate in the National Assembly was extremely demeaning to the women of our country and the bill itself does not respect the principle of equality of spouses in marriage, especially with regard to polygamy,” it said in a statement issued this week.

The Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) has also vowed to mount a legal challenge if the president signs the bill into law.

Kenyatta has so far refused to publicly declare what his position is on the issue, but it could present him with a difficult dilemma in which he has to reconcile his Christian faith and his espousal of African values.

“As President Kenyatta makes up his mind on what to do with the bill, we would want to urge him to put a premium on the place of family in national stability,” the influential Standard newspaper also wrote in an editorial that argued Kenya’s social fabric could be undone.

But Sam Chepkonga, chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs and a supporter of the bill, said the legislation merely acknowledges something that is already widespread.

“The bill consolidates all marriage types. It’s intended to bring civil law, where a man is only allowed one wife, into line with customary law, where some cultures allow multiple partners,” he told AFP.

Judy Thongori, a prominent family lawyer, agreed that Kenya need to provide a modern legal framework for traditional practices — whether among Kenya’s many tribes or its Muslim community, which make up 20 percent of the population.

“One big difference is that the new bill provides recognition and registration of customary unions, and we cannot wish away these customary marriages,” she said.

Margaret Mutua, a 27-year-old university graduate, said that regardless of the legislation, most Kenyan women accepted their husbands would be looking elsewhere.

“I don’t really care much,” she said, “because either way our men are likely to marry more than one wife, whether legally or not.”
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Video:Kenya Marriage Bill Controversy

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Video: Polygamy in Kenya in September 2013
Traditional, Islam and Christianity
Part 1 of 2

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Video: Polygamy in Kenya in September 2013
Part 2 of 2

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Africa
Polygamy remains common in much of Africa.

Polygamy has existed all over the African continent long before Europeans brought Christianity to what is now Ethiopia.

Ethiopia (Axum) was converted to Christianity, in 380 AD/CE, through the efforts of Saint Frumentius. Frumentius was a Syrophoenician (Syria and Phoenicia) Greek born in Tyre. This is the origin of the Christian Coptic Orthodox, Ethiopian Orthodox, Eritrean Orthodox.

Under Islamic marital jurisprudence, Muslim men are allowed to practice polygyny (the state or practice of having more than one wife). Men are allowed to have four (4) wives.

Only after the European colonial era in Africa was polygamy perceived as taboo in many African cultures.
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Video: Why are Muslim men allowed to have four wives?

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South African president Jacob Zuma, on a visit to the United Kingdom, has been criticized by some in the British press for having three wives.
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Video: President Zuma and his wives

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Video: South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma weds for 6th time

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Video: In 2011 an 87-year-old Nigerian man with 86 wives was arrested

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Christianity in Africa
Ethiopian Orthodox Christians

Ethiopia (Axum) was converted to Christianity through the efforts of St. Frumentius around 380 AD (or CE/Common Era)
Frumentius was a Syrophoenician (Syria and Phoenicia) Greek born in Tyre.
Coptic Orthodox, Ethiopian Orthodox, Eritrean Orthodox
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Video: The views that some have of what St. Frumentius means to Africans who follow traditional African religion

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The Dual Mandate in British Tropical Africa

Frederick John Dealtry Lugard, the colonial administrator of Hong Kong and Nigeria for Britain, pushed for indirect rule in colonial Africa. Lugard outlined the reasons and methods that should be employed in the colonization of Africa by Britain. It included spreading Christianity and saw state sponsored colonization as a way to protect Christian missionaries and foreign powers. Although the Protestants Christian faith was brought by the British into Africa other European powers adopted some of these principals to convert Africans into Catholic Christians.
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Religions in Africa as of 1913

Europeans refered to Africans that followed Islam (Muslims) as “Mohammedans” and those Africans who followed traditional African religion “heathens” in 1913 -Christians mainly lived in Southern Africa where the Dutch, Germans and British colonized and in Abyssinia (Ethiopia) that had long converted to Christianity in 380 AD (or CE/Common Era)

Click map to enlarge

Africa  religions post European colonial era and the expansion of Christian missionary missions

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How non-Africans make huge profits from Africa’s oil

By Mark Jenkins
NPR

There are three categories of schemers in Big Men, Rachel Boynton’s illuminating documentary about the oil business in West Africa: businessmen, politicians and bandits. Sometimes, though, it’s hard to tell the types apart.

Filmed over about five years, the movie follows the seesawing fortunes of Kosmos Energy, a small Dallas oil company. Small, that is, by the standards of ExxonMobil, the massive firm that briefly enters the story as a potential partner. At one of its high points, Kosmos was valued at $6 billion, which is enough money to attract attention, especially in an impoverished land.

Kosmos’ principal asset is a lease for Jubilee Field, an oil reserve off the coast of previously undrilled Ghana. When Boynton’s tale opens in 2007, oil futures are regularly hitting new highs, and Kosmos CEO Jim Musselman is on great terms with his well-connected Ghanaian intermediary, George Owusu.

That connection is necessary because Ghana’s oil officially belongs to the country. Such a system can work if the government does. At a conference hosted by the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, Norway’s oil minister explains how his country claims much of oil drillers’ profits for the public good.

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Video: Big Men – Trailer – POV 2014 | PBS
A documentary about an American oil company’s involvement in Ghana from executive producer Brad Pitt

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Video Link: ABC/Yahoo News interviews Rachel Boynton
See how deals are made with Ghana’s Asante/Ashanti kings

http://news.yahoo.com/video/ceos-vs-warlords-inside-competition-232932917.html

A new documentary juxtaposes the story of a U.S. oil company in its venture to reap profit from an oil field it discovered off the coast of Ghana with the tale of Nigeria’s oil industry. In telling the story, “Big Men” director Rachel Boynton takes her audience from the boardroom negotiations of U.S.-based Kosmos Energy to the boats of militant groups in Nigeria, as they try to claim a piece of the Niger Delta’s vast petroleum riches.
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SCREENINGS

New York, NY, IFC Center
Dallas, TX, Angelika Dallas
Plano, TX, Angelika Plano
Los Angeles, CA, Sundance Theater
Washington, DC, E Street Theater

COMING SOON TO THEATERS

April 5 & 6: Portland, OR Hollywood Theatre
April 18: Chicago, IL, Facets Cinémathèque
April 18: Seattle, WA, Sundance Cinemas
May 9: Santa Fe, NM, Center for Contemporary Arts
May 23: Lincoln, NE, Mary Riepma Ross Media Center

AWARDS
WINNER- Grand Jury Prize

International Environmental Film Festival (FIFE), Paris France

WINNER – International Green Film Award 2014

Cinema For Peace

Official website

http://bigmenthemovie.com

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Video: New oil discoveries discovered in Africa
Rolake Akinkugbe, ‎Head of Energy, Oil and Gas Research at Ecobank, speaks with Bloomberg’s Nejra Cehic about shale oil and gas production increases, new oil and gas listings and the significance of new oil discoveries discovered in Africa.

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Controversial oil drilling in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Virunga National Park (French: Parc National des Virunga) is located in the far eastern side of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It’s home to a greater variety of wildlife than any other protected area in Africa, but oil exploration could start soon.

In 2010 British oil company SOCO International PLC planned to explore for oil in the Virunga National Park.

In late 2013 UK government, Parliamentary Undersecretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Mark Simmonds reiterated that the country is against SOCO’s oil activities in area.

SOCO continues with its exploration.

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PRELIMINARY RESULTS
Wednesday 5 March 2014

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Video: Virunga – Africa’s Most Beautiful and Diverse Oil Field

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Video: AFRICA- America’s New Oil Target
National Security- US AFRICOM, China, India and the European Union

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Video: Can Oil, Gas and Minerals Fuel Development in Africa?
School of Public Policy-Central European University
Recent discoveries of oil and gas reserves in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Mozambique have the potential to greatly transform economies in East Africa.

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Nigeria set to overtake South Africa as Africa’s biggest economy

REUTERS

Nigeria will rebase its GDP on Sunday, the statistics office said, in a move that will boost its estimated size by anything from around 40 to 70% and is almost certain to push it ahead of South Africa to become Africa’s biggest economy.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) will change the base year for calculating Nigeria’s GDP to 2010 from 1990 to reflect changes in the economy of Africa’s most populous nation, and more accurately assess the size of its current output.

Most governments overhaul GDP calculations every few years to reflect changes in output and consumption, but Nigeria has not done so since 1990, meaning sectors such as the Internet, telephones and even the “Nollywood” film industry have had to be newly factored in to give a truer picture, sources say.

When Ghana rebased in 2010, output jumped 60%. For Nigeria being the continent’s number one economy could prove an irresistible magnet for investors.

Nigeria’s GDP only needs to go up by a quarter from a current IMF 2013 estimate of $292 billion to hit $365 billion, which would enable it to overtake South Africa, currently estimated by the fund at $353 billion.

“The impact of a rebasing would likely have a positive impact on perceptions … this would come at time when most investors are fairly downbeat on South Africa,” because of its high combined fiscal and current account deficit, London-based economist for CSL Stockbrokers, Alan Cameron, said.

“GROWTH STORY”

Nigeria has been growing as a destination for foreign investors owing to the size of its consumer market and increasingly sophisticated capital markets. Analysts say higher GDP means more consumption per capita, boosting its allure.

“The globe is still looking at the next strong growth story outside China and India, and Africa is on their minds,” said Abri Du Plessis, chief investment officer at Gryphon Asset Management, which has investments in Nigeria.

“We are seeing good growth in the … Nigeria story.”

It is already a growing market for consumer goods firms like Nestle, Heineken, Cadbury and Unilever, as well as construction material firms like Lafarge and Dangote Cement, owned by Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote.

Much increased interest would be in manufacturing and service companies, which could further help Africa’s top oil producer move away from its over-reliance on the black stuff.

It certainly won’t be the wonder cure for Nigeria’s economic ills. For one thing, being bigger means expansion will slow.

“The rebasing exercise will result in an increase in the country’s market size, but it is likely to lead to a slower rate of real GDP growth,” said Ecobank economist Gaimin Nonyane, from its current rate of 7% for the past five years.

It will be mixed for Nigeria’s fiscal stance as well, improving the debt-to-GDP ratio, currently less than 20%, but expose a weaker tax base, so debt investors won’t be moved.

“Fixed income investors will probably not pay much attention to the GDP dynamics,” said Standard Bank’s Samir Gadio.

Despite roaring growth in recent years and a bigger GDP, Nigeria will continue to trail South Africa in terms of basic infrastructure – power and roads – necessary to lift the bulk of its population of 170 million out of absolute poverty.

And its legendary dysfunction – abysmal telephone and Internet quality, clogged roads, ports and airports, obstructive police and reliance on diesel generators for most of its power – mean it won’t be replacing South Africa as a hub very soon.

“South Africa is going to stay the entry point for funds into Africa. I don’t think (it will move to) Nigeria,” Rigaardt Maartens, a portfolio manager at PSG Online Securities, said.
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Video:Nigeria’s economy expected to become Africa’s biggest

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Lagos, Nigeria

Abuja, Nigeria

Nigeria is now the largest economy in Africa
Nigeria’s economy surpassed South Africa’s as the largest on the continent

Tolu Ogunlesi
The Guardian (UK)

After months of delays and mounting anticipation, Nigeria’s economy has been officially “rebased”. It is now worth $510bn (2013 figures) – an 89% rise, far in excess of analysts’ predictions. Nigeria is now Africa’s largest economy, pushing South Africa to a distant second place.

It’s long overdue. The United Nations Statistical Commission recommends a statistical rebasing every five years, to

a) account for changes in the patterns of economic activity (consumption and production), such as a country discovering new mineral wealth or getting an infusion of broadband or launching a local car manufacturing industry or seeing an industry lapse into obsolescence

b) update base prices to a more recent year, to account for inflation.

In Nigeria’s case we have not rebased since 1990 – a whole quarter of a century ago. By updating the base year from 1990 to 2010, apart from the necessary adjustment for inflation we have also had to take into account all the changes that have taken place – the impact of the internet and the telecommunications industry, Nollywood, the music industry, the sizeable expansion of the services industry, etc.

The implication of this complicated recalculation is that what we thought was a $270bn economy is actually worth $510bn. It’s the equivalent of suddenly discovering the existence of six Ghanas within Nigeria.

The change is noteworthy for, in the words of finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the “psychological impact” it will have on foreign investors. They will pay greater attention to Nigeria now that its economy casts a larger shadow than South Africa’s and display new confidence that will potentially be rewarded with lucrative gains, especially at a time when value-laden sectors such as power are opening up in unprecedented ways.

Business will also boom for hotel owners, travel agents, airlines, and events planners as the number of Nigeria-focused trips and investment conferences (already a booming industry since 2013) swell. Scammers might even be expected to cash in as well. (“Good Day dear friend, I am Lamido Sanusi, governor of the central bank of the newly rebased west African nation of Nigeria…”)

And you just wait to see what will happen as the rebasing placebo begins to take effect in the government’s bloodstream. The president’s 2015 re-election campaign has just been swelled by a stand-alone chapter. Even though the story worth celebrating here is really the one about the boldness demonstrated by the National Bureau of Statistics in finally facing up to the long-overdue challenge of revising the country’s near-useless economic data, in the weeks ahead traditional Nigerian praise-singing will predictably morph it into an economic miracle for which the credit belongs to the president’s “Transformation Agenda” (pdf).

The one class of people who have nothing to gain will be ordinary Nigerians: the market woman in Ibadan, the itinerant shoe cleaner in Lagos, the motorcycle taxi rider in Makurdi, the cattle merchant in Potiskum, the shoe maker in Aba, the newspaper vendor in Abuja; the sprawling class of ‘bottom millions’ condemned by their country to extreme poverty).

The $1,200 by which Nigeria’s per-capita income has suddenly risen will not somehow magically appear in their pockets. For this crowd the news is the sort of sleight of mouth that they’ve since grown to expect from the government. In the aftermath of protests against the removal of fuel subsidies in 2012, President Jonathan announced, in a public broadcast, the creation of 370,000 jobs. Just like that, because everyone knows jobs are created when well-meaning presidential words mix with faith in the hearts of job-hungry citizens.

As one person tweeted at me: “Our rebasing story is like the story of a woman that decided to give her husband four pieces of meat by dividing the tiny one into four.”

Even the positive implications of better quality statistical information, which should support, in the words of one analyst, “better decision-making” by the government means little when one considers the track record of the Nigerian government.

In March, more than 700,000 applicants registered online for a recruitment exercise into the immigration service. Knowing that they were expecting 700,000 candidates did nothing to influence the preparation levels of the test’s organisers. Stampedes ensued. By the end of that day, at least 18 people lay dead. Interior minister Abba Moro, the brain behind the scheme, blamed the dead for being “impatient”.

Which is why no one should be surprised when, weeks from now, a Moro-type (Nigeria’s bureaucracy is laden with them) is quoted as quipping, again predictably – and not tongue-in-cheek: “Nigerians don’t have money? Let them spend the GDP!”

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/07/nigeria-south-africa-largest-economy

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Video: Nigeria overtakes South Africa to Become Africa’s Largest Economy

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Guinea-Bissau holds first poll since 2012 coup amid hopes for stability

Xinhua

BISSAU- The first presidential and legislative elections since a 2012 military coup in Guinea-Bissau was held on Sunday amid hopes for a return to stability, as nearly 800,000 voters cast ballots at polling stations across the west African country.

Voters will elect a president from 13 candidates and 102 lawmakers from candidates fielded by 15 political parties vying for parliament. More than 500 international observers are monitoring the voting process to ensure it is free and credible.

It was the first election in the impoverished country after a military coup in April 2012 ousted interim President Raimundo Pereira and threw the country into chaos.

Former finance minister Jose Mario Vaz, candidate of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) , Abel Iamedi Incada of the Party of the Social Renovation and independent Paulo Gomes, a renowned economist who has long lived and worked abroad, were among the favorites for the presidency.

If no candidate wins an outright majority, a second round run- off, which analysts say is likely, will be held in May between the top two candidates.

In Bissau, capital of the country, voters formed long lines at polling stations set up in schools before the polls opened at 0700 GMT.

At a school in Bissau, presidential hopeful Jose Mario Vaz posed in the shade of a mango tree before casting his vote as a group of photo journalists scrambled to take shots.

The national electoral commission said the vote began without any delay and in calmness, with a strong turnout of the voters, most of whom were voting for the first time. The polls are due to close at 1700 GMT.

The United Nations, which has been helping Guinea-Bissau to restore stability, hopes that the election, which has been postponed several times, will go a long way towards building constitutional order, economic growth and development.

The world organization is also calling on the political parties, their supporters and other stakeholders in Guinea-Bissau to respect the result of the election.

On the eve of the polls, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on the people and institutions of Guinea-Bissau to ensure the conduct of peaceful and credible elections, adding that the candidates and their supporters, the transitional government, election management bodies, civil society and the population at large all have an important role to play in this regard.

Guinea-Bissau, a former Portuguese colony which gained independence after a war ended in 1970s, is one of the poorest and most unstable countries in Africa.

More than two-thirds of the population lives below the poverty line, according to a World Bank report issued in May 2013.

No elected president has completed a five-year term and the last election attempt two years ago failed after a military coup upended the country days before a scheduled presidential run-off.
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Video: Guinea-Bissau holds 1st post-coup election

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Video: Guinea-Bissau holds elections

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Angola to grant De Beers new diamond exploration license

BY Shriesh Laxmidas
Reuters

LUANDA – Angola, the world’s fourth-largest diamond producer by value, will approve a new concession to De Beers to explore for diamonds, Geology and Mines Minister Francisco Queiroz said.

London-based De Beers, majority-owned by global miner Anglo American (AAL.L), previously explored in Angola between 2005 and 2012 but relinquished its concession.

“The company made that big investment in prospecting, and unfortunately it didn’t have great results, but it is making a new bid, and another investment will be approved,” Queiroz told the Reuters Africa Summit on Thursday.

De Beers Chief Executive Philippe Mellier said last month the company hoped talks with Angola would be successful, with a view to starting early stage work this year. ID:nL6N0MI406]

“De Beers has been negotiating with (state-owned diamond firm) Endiama, and it is welcome in Angola as it has been in the country for a long time, even before independence from Portugal in 1975,” Queiroz said.

The government of Angola, the world’s sixth-largest diamond producer by volume, is keen to boost a sector in which few companies are currently drilling.

Russia’s Alrosa (ALRS.MM), De Beers’ main competitor, already operates the Catoca mine in Angola, the world’s fourth-largest, in a joint venture with Endiama.

Queiroz said a new deal between Endiama and Alrosa, announced in February, to explore in eastern Angola could produce huge results, with the Russian firm to spend $15.5 million on rights and over $150 million if deposits are found.

“De Beers and Alrosa could help contribute to a boom in Angolan production in a short space of time.”

Even before those projects begin, Angola already plans to boost production to 9.5 million carats in 2014 from last year’s 8.5 million, because of three mines that opened recently.

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY STARTS

Angola is Africa’s second biggest oil producer and has grown rapidly after a 27-year civil war ended in 2002, but the government wants to reduce reliance on crude oil output, which brings in over 95 percent of export revenues.

It plans to tap other mineral resources, which analysts say are extensive, but has been held back by a lack of data.

The government has set up a $405 million survey to find deposits of iron, copper, gold, manganese and other minerals.

“The preparation work is done, and now one of the three companies hired to do the survey will start mapping this month, with the other two no later than June,” Queiroz said.

The results, due in three to five years, will allow investors to make informed decisions, while a more competitive mining code approved in 2012 will help.

The minister said giants such as Rio Tinto (RIO.L), Brazil’s Vale (VALE5.SA), and Anglo American had shown interest,

“I am sure they will end up working here.”

Queiroz said that in the meantime, Angola is pushing ahead with projects to explore for iron ore, copper and phosphate.

But the $900 million Cassinga iron project, a joint venture between state firm Ferrangol and private operators including trading house TrafiguraTRAFG.UL, has hit financial problems and may have to proceed more gradually, the minister said.

“The total investment for the project will perhaps be even higher than that figure, and the investor has had financial trouble in this launch phase,” the minister said.

“The solution might be to do it by bits, start with what has already been identified, lower the budget needs and only then do the rest of the project.”

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Video: Diamonds mining in Angola

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Video: New De Beers mine to create thousands of jobs in South Africa – October 22, 1023

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Zimbabwe celebrates 34 years of independence

By Hebert Zharare and Lloyd Gumbo
The Herald (Zimbabwe)

Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and US president Barack Obama yesterday congratulated Zimbabwe on the occasion to mark its 34th Independence Day today as hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans from all walks of life gather at various centres across the country to commemorate the event.

In a statement sent through the British Embassy in Harare yesterday, Queen Elizabeth II wished the country happiness and prosperity.

“It gives me great pleasure to send the people of Zimbabwe my congratulations on the celebration of your National Day, together with my best wishes for your happiness and prosperity in the coming year,” she said.

The Queen sends congratulatory messages to Zimbabwe every year.

Quoted in online newspapers Mr Obama said: “The United States remains committed to the people of Zimbabwe and will continue to support them as they work to build a society that responds to their needs and honours their democratic choices. May the coming year bring progress toward a healthy and prosperous Zimbabwe.”

The main independence celebrations would be in Harare at the National Sports Stadium where President Mugabe will address the nation.

Ministers of State for Provincial Affairs in the other nine provinces will deliver President Mugabe’s speech at provincial celebrations while district administrators will do so at district level with some wards also gathering to commemorate the event.

This year’s celebrations will be held under the theme: “Zimbabwe @34: Defending Our Sovereignty and Providing an Enabling Environment for Sustainable Economic Empowerment and Social Transformation.”

Chairman of the Independence Organising task force, who is also Local Government, Public Works and National Housing Minister Ignatius Chombo yesterday, said all was set for the celebrations.

“Our teams are busy putting final touches on the preparations as we speak,” he said.

“The Ministry of Information, Media and Broadcasting Services is putting in place a PA system that should be able to get everyone in and around the stadium to hear clearly.
“The place has been spruced up, repainted and it’s looking ready for the big bash tomorrow (today). We have three huge generators on standby just in case Zesa acts up. We also have engineers from Zesa who are on standby just in case something occurs.”

He said sungura ace, Alick Macheso and Suluman Chimbetu among other popular artistes would entertain the anticipated bumper crowd at the National Stadium.

Minister Chombo urged Zimbabweans from all walks of life to attend the celebrations throughout the country as a way of honouring and respecting gallant sons and daughters who sacrificed their lives so that the country would be independent.

Photos The Herald (Zimbabwe) by Lloyd Gumbo

Part of the uniformed forces marching

President Mugabe lights the Independence flame

President Mugabe arrives at the National Sports Stadium in Harare
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Video: Prime Minister Harold Wilson in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) 1965
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1964 to 1970 and 1974 to 1976.

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Video: After the Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI), the British government petitioned the United Nations for sanctions against Rhodesia pending unsuccessful talks with the Smith government in 1966 and 1968.
Ian Douglas Smith served as Prime Minister of apartheid Rhodesia from 1964 to 1979. Ian Smith’s formation of a republic in 1970 was recognized only by South Africa’s apartheid government.

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Video: Life in apartheid Rhodesia 1976

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Video: Prime Minister of Rhodesia -Ian Smith rejects black rule of an independent Rhodesia.
Rhodesia would remain and apartheid government until its independence of Zimbabwe April 18, 1980

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Video: Prime Minister of Rhodesia -Ian Smith talking about black rule and his opposition to it

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Angola is moving into oil’s big leagues

By Meagan Clark and Kathleen Caulderwood
International Business Times

After decades of sporadic growth and political turmoil, Angola is on the verge of catapulting to the top ranks of the world’s energy economy following major deep-water production investments by several top global oil companies.

France’s Total announced that it planned to proceed with a $16 billion ultra-deep-water project 160 miles off Angola’s northern coast to begin production in 2017. About 185 pipelines located 6,200 feet beneath the ocean will connect 59 wells in six oil fields. Advances in drilling technology have enabled primarily large oil companies to produce oil and gas from reserves 4,000 to 5,000 feet underwater, an impossible task a mere generation ago.

Better known for its four decades-long civil war during the last century, the former Portuguese colony and now third-largest African economy, just behind Nigeria and South Africa, is touting optimistic production forecasts of 2 million barrels per day, or roughly 3 percent of world crude production in coming years.

That could drive the south-western African country ahead of its 2012 ranking as the world’s 15th largest oil producer and ahead of Algeria, which produced 1.9 million barrels per day in that year. Angola pumped 1.8 million barrels a day in 2012, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Nigeria, Africa’s largest oil producer, ranked 11th in the world and produced 2.5 million barrels per day in 2012, while the world’s top oil producers Russia, Saudi Arabia and the U.S., produced more than 10 million barrels per day.

“With plans for frequent licensing rounds, including onshore and deep water rounds for 2014 and 2015, we expect Angola to retain its position as major destination for investment within the industry,” according to a December MarketResearch.com report. “That said, regulatory changes and political risks remain trends given their potential to slow the busy pace of activity offshore.”

Total accounted for 600,000 barrels a day production in 2013, a third of the country’s production that year, according to the company, and has a 30 percent stake in Kaombo. Angolan national oil company Sonangol has 30 percent, Chinese-Angolan joint venture Sonangol Sinopec International holds 20 percent, Esso Exploration & Production Angola Ltd. and Portuguese company Galp Energia (GALP.LS) round out the partnership with 15 percent and 5 percent stakes, respectively. Angola exports 46 percent of its crude to China, according to EIA.

Total has 60 years of operating experience in Angola, which has 9.06 billion barrels in crude oil reserves according to OPEC, and Africa is already Total’s highest -producing region. The country was Total’s fifth-largest producer last year, behind Nigeria, the United Arab Emirates, Norway and Russia. It expects Kaombo will eventually produce a 230,000 barrel per day mix of light and heavy crudes, or about 13 percent of Angolan output.

U.S. oil giants ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) and Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX), as well as the UK’s BP (NYSE: BP) and Angolan Sonangol operate other offshore oil projects in the country while Peru’s PlusPetrol and private Angolan-owned Somoil operate two different onshore projects. The American firm Marathon Oil (NYSE: MRO), Italy’s Eni (NYSE: ENI) and Brazilian firm Petrobras (NYSE: PBR) each own various stakes in projects there as well.

Chevron, which drilled its first well in Angola more than 50 years ago, told investors last week to expect lower first-quarter earnings this year compared to the fourth quarter due to foreign exchange losses and struggling assets, but Angola’s LNG production, which began exporting to Brazil last year and is majority owned by Chevron (36.4 percent), helped offset the losses. Sonangol owns a 22.8 percent share, followed by Total (13.6 percent) and Eni (13.6 percent).

Total, Eni, Chevron and BP are planning to operate a combined nine new projects, not including Kaombo, beginning this year. Combined peak production would total nearly a million barrels per day, according to EIA data, beginning with Total’s Cravo-Lirio-Orquidea-Voleta (CLOV) deep-water project to start production the second half of this year.

Angola’s rise to the big leagues as the continent’s No. 2 oil producer has not been without challenges.

Dependence on crude production leaves the country vulnerable to global oil prices. Despite an IMF-supported Sovereign Wealth Fund and positive outlook for the next few years, governance problems and a lack of other sector development will continue to challenge development and has some observers dubious.

“Virtually their entire export base is oil, and that’s generally the concern with Angola, and there tend to be significant delays to when these projects actually start pumping oil,” said Shilan Shah, Africa economist at Capital Economics. That’s no small caveat because, “There isn’t another country that’s as reliant on one industry as Angola,” he said.

Natural resources account for 95 percent of Angolan exports and more than 60 percent of Angola’s $114 billion gross domestic product.

Though Nigeria exports more oil, the country is less dependent on the commodity thanks to a more diversified economy. When Nigerian officials rebased their GDP calculations earlier this year, the oil sector fell from 32.4 percent to just 14.4 percent of their economy, which is now dominated by the service sector.

The recent deal with Total represents a positive swing for now, but a few years away the heavy focus on oil could be a problem.

“Especially with these projects, there is going to be huge amounts of foreign direct investment into the country, but over the medium-term there’s reason to be concerned,” Shah said.

Angola’s seen its economic promise stymied before. Between 2009 and 2011, GDP growth stagnated as global oil prices declined along with domestic production.

“The resulting drop in oil revenues impacted the non-oil economy through diminished private consumption, cuts to public spending and the accumulation of substantial arrears to domestic firms, particularly in the construction sector,” according to the latest International Monetary Fund Angola Economic Update.

“Despite its favorable near-term outlook, Angola’s reliance on oil revenues and imports leaves the economy highly vulnerable to economic shocks,” the IMF report said.

http://www.ibtimes.com/angola-moving-oils-big-leagues-it-leaves-decades-war-behind-1572751

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Video: Invest Africa- Angola

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Video: Oil and Natural Gas Exploration in Eastern Africa

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Video: Pending Oil Wealth -Ghana: Doing Business In Africa

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Video: The British company Tullow Oil’s 2013 Annual Report and Accounts and the impact from Africa’s oil

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Luanda, Angola

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Video: Luanda skyline

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Video: Luanda aerial views

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World leaders to attend World Economic Forum on Africa in Nigeria

Xinhua

LAGOS-Ten heads of states and no fewer than 900 delegates have registered to participate in the World Economic Forum on Africa to be held in Abuja in May, the organizer said on Friday.

The Media Coordinator of the forum Ogho Okiti said participants from 70 countries, including 30 African countries will attend the forum themed “Forging Inclusive Growth, Creating Jobs” from May 7 to May 9, 2014.

Okiti said more than 50 top chief executive officers of big global firms would participate in the forum and described the number as “unprecedented”.

“It is the first time the summit will hold in West Africa and it is an unprecedented opportunity for both cultural and economic diplomacy for Nigeria and the region,” he added.

“The summit is also holding in the year that Nigeria marks its centenary and coincides with the celebration of the country being the largest economy in Africa,” he said.

The Nigerian Minister of Finance Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, had on April 15 written to all confirmed delegates to the forum, assuring them of adequate security in the federal capital.

“In total, over 6,000 security personnel consisting of police and army will be deployed to secure area of about 250 square kilometers,” she said in the letter.

Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday also reassured the international community of the safety of participants to the forum.
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Forging Inclusive Growth, Creating Jobs

“For Africa to remain relevant, we need to adequately educate our people, as it is through education that we can unlock the potential of our youth to enable Africa to compete globally, and create jobs in the new knowledge economy.”
– H.E. Dr Goodluck E. Jonathan, President of Nigeria
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Video: Abuja, Nigeria

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May 7 Election: A defining moment for the ANC
South Africa commemorates 20 years of democracy with elections on May 7, 2014

Jedi Ramalapa
SABC News

Political analysts say the upcoming national elections will signal a watershed moment for the ruling party which has so far assumed a character of arrogant entitlement as the country’s ruling liberation movement.

Professor Tinyiko Maluleke from the University of Johannesburg says should there be a downward trend post elections, questions should be asked of how the ruling party manages to win votes despite its controversial rule over the past 20 years.

“We must begin to ask how does the ANC do it, post Marikana and post Nkandla.”

A number of public opinion polls indicate that the ANC is likely to win this election by at least 50 percent. Maluleke said it would be interesting to see how the ANC would then consolidate gains made in the “miraculous” elections of 1994, including its watershed win of 70% of the national vote in 2004.

Independent political analyst Michael O’Donovan says the burgeoning black middle class is also a defining new feature, which could change the voter behavior for this year’s elections.

“Where in the past there were divisions between race groups, now we’re seeing growing inequality within the race groups themselves.”

O’Donovan says the growing black middle class will vote to preserve their privileged positions. “How people will vote will depend largely on how they define themselves, and the black middle class defines itself as middle class and not just black. They will vote to preserve what they have.”

Public intellectual Lebogang Pheko says there’s been an internal crisis of democracy within parties leading up to these elections, which has led to the formation of a number of break-away parties such as the National Freedom Party (NFP) in Kwazulu-Natal, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) which is considered to be a “dark-horse” in this election and AGANG SA led by Maphela Mamphela.

Pheko say it would be interesting to see whether the new parties would have staying power post elections and not suffer the same fate as the Congress of the People (COPE) which failed to sustain momentum after it’s historic break-way from the ANC in 2009.

She added that social movements have also been demobilized and have largely lost credibility in the lead up to these elections, which has left the country’s electorate with no viable alternative.

Despite current opinion polls predicting a clear and undisputed win for the ANC at the polls, Professor Piet Croucamp of the University of Johannesburg says it is not possible to argue that the ANC is a monolithic power.

“I think there will be more black people who will vote for the DA in this election than white people who will vote for the FF Plus,” he says.

Somadoda Fikeni says political parties should focus on consolidating their political message to their supporters in the last day before the polls to ensure that all their supporters and party agents come out to vote.

He says voter turn-out cannot be determined by public attendance of political rallies as seen at the weekend.

“Political rallies are not a good indicator of voter turnout; political parties will have to intensify their messaging over the next few hours to ensure that their supporters go out and vote.”

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Video: Small political parties risk big money to compete in South Africa’s 2014 Elections

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Video: South Africa Elections

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Video: ANC head for victory in South Africa election

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Video: South Africa marks 20 years of multiracial democracy

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Video: South Africa commemorates 20 years of democracy

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Video: Reflecting on 20 years of democracy and elections

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Video: South Africa

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Chinese premier calls for closer cooperation with Angola
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, on May 9th, held talks with Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos and called for concerted efforts to reach a bilateral investment protection agreement as soon as possible.

Xinhua

LUANDA- China is ready to promote greater development of relations with Angola, visiting Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said here Friday.

In a meeting with Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, Li said China is willing to work with Angola to further strengthen the role of the two governments in coordinating and leading bilateral cooperation, enhance cooperation in development planning, and sign a bilateral investment protection agreement as soon as possible.

The two sides, Li said, should steer their cooperation into an industry-driven mode, and continue to expand the program of preferential loans, and deepen practical cooperation in energy, infrastructure, finance, agriculture, urbanization and manufacturing.

The premier also suggested that China and Angola explore the possibility of building an Angola-centered regional aviation network, so as to promote regional interconnectivity, Li said.

On investment, the Chinese government encourages Chinese enterprises to invest in Angola, and hopes Angola will continue to offer convenience to Chinese investment and ensure the safety of Chinese institutions and personnel, Li said.

Moreover, China is ready to promote closer people-to-people exchanges and increase the mutual understanding between the two peoples.

During their talks, Li stressed that China highly values bilateral ties with Angola, and views the African country as a close friend and important partner within China-Africa cooperation.

China supports Angola’s national governance plan focusing on development, stability, and employment, stands ready to support each other, increase exchanges between the two countries’ political parties, and share experiences in national governance, Li said.

In addition, China is willing to maintain closer coordination with Angola in regional and international affairs, he said.

For his part, dos Santos said China is an important force in safeguarding Africa’s and world peace and development, and a reliable friend and partner for Africa.

Noting that the two countries have enjoyed fruitful cooperation in the past and share broad prospects in the future, the Angolan president said that strengthening bilateral cooperation is vital to the sustained development of Angola.

Angola thanks China’s long-standing support, and stands ready to further expand mutually-beneficial cooperation and enhance unity and coordination with China in regional and international affairs, the president said.

Angola welcomes increased investment and active participation by Chinese enterprises in the African nation’s economic and social development, said dos Santos, pledging that his country will offer convenience to such investment.

After their talks, the two leaders witnessed the signing of a series of cooperation deals on economy, technology, health care, finance, and personnel exchanges.

Angola is the third leg of Li’s four-nation Africa tour, which has already taken him to Ethiopia and Nigeria. He will then travel to Kenya.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (2nd L, front) is welcomed by students of a vocational school during his visit to the school in Luanda, Angola, May 8, 2014.
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Video: Chinese Premier Li Keqiang Official Visit In Angola

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Video: Li Keqiang addresses 2014 World Economic Forum on Africa

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South Africa: Jacob Zuma begins second term as president

Xinhua

PRETORIA – Thousands of people from all walks of life converged at South Africa’s Union Building to witness President Jacob Zuma’s inauguration on Saturday.

The cheering crowd started arriving as early as 4 am local time. The swearing in of Zuma for his second and last term was attended by heads of state and government, deputy heads, and former heads from 47 countries.

A fleet of planes formed in the shape of number “20,” representing 20 years of freedom and democracy at the presidential inauguration.

Zuma was sworn in by Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng. In his oath, Zuma said, “I solemnly and sincerely promise that I will always promote all that will advance the Republic and oppose all that may harm it.”

After swearing in, Zuma addressed the gathering saying, “We mark 20 years since Nelson Mandela took the oath of office at this very amphitheatre. Economic transformation will take center stage during this new term of government.”

He stated that the country has achieved economic transformation, social cohesion but said more works still needs to be done. He emphasized that radical economic transformation and improving the lives of South Africans will be his missions.

The infrastructure improvement will be accelerated. “We will continue to build schools, railways, ports, universities, clinics, colleges, power stations, broadband, roads and more infrastructures around the country,” he said.

By 2030, the South African government wants to ensure that people would feel safe at home, school or work.

“The end result of all these transformative economic programs is a growing inclusive economy which creates jobs and provides opportunities for all, especially the youth,” Zuma said.

Acting Zimbabwean ambassador to South Africa Samuel Mhago told Xinhua that his country is looking forward to continuing with good relations with South Africa.

“We have good relations with South Africa and we hope to continue building on this as we congratulate President Zuma for his second term,” said Mhago.

South Africans from all walks of life witnessed the event. Thato Modumedi, an African National Congress member, travelled from Limpopo province.

“I am happy with the President and my party. We rule again as expected. We liberated this country and we are happy that South Africans have shown faith in us,” said Modumedi.

More than 4,000 guests were seated in the amphitheatre while about 20,000 watched the proceedings from outside on the lawn before the Union Building through televisions.

African Union Commission Chairperson Nkosaza Dlamin-Zuma and former South African President Nelson Mandela’s former wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela attended the event. Celebrities and foreign ambassadors residing in South Africa also attended.
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The 2014 Presidential Inauguration in the Nelson Mandela Amphitheatre at the Union Buildings

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Video: Jacob Zuma sworn in as president of South Africa

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Video: President Zuma addresses the nation
SABC News

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Mozambique-IMF “Africa Rising” conference in Maputo

Xinhua

MAPUTO- The “Africa Rising” conference, co- hosted by the Mozambican government and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), opened on Thursday in the country’s capital city Maputo to discuss the challenges facing the sub-Saharan Africa as it builds upon the strong economic gains made since the 2008 global economic crisis.

The Chair of the Africa Progress Panel, former UN Secretary- General Kofi Annan, said in a video remarks that the gathering is important, “because Africa rising is a reality.”

He praised Africa’s gains in recently years as “impressive, and make us proud,” and called on the countries in the region to work on to create more job opportunities, reduce imparity and poverty.

“We should also not forget, for some countries in Africa, the main challenge, is to overcome fragility, and develop economic and social policies that will strengthen their institutions, to foster growth, and poverty reduction,” Annan said.

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton said in his video remarks that the Africa economic development in recent years is “remarkable”, and called on “more should be done to ensure that the prosperity is broadly shared.”

Christine Lagarde, the IMF managing director, said in her opening speech that her institution has always been side-by-side with Mozambique in its development process and so it will continue in the coming years.

“Over 2/3 of the countries from the sub-Saharan region benefited from a constant economic growth, there was progress in education sector, reduction of child mortality though in low scale but worth to be mentioned,” said Lagarde.

The head of IMF said that her institution has been supporting African countries in the economic progress even during the crisis.

“This year there was a record in direct foreign investments in Africa and it’s no surprise. This is the good side but unfortunately poverty levels are still very high, the percentage continues high,” added Lagarde.

According to Lagarde, general economic growth in Africa this year is expected at more than 5 percent but there are risks the countries must be ready to assume in order to bring them down when they emerge.

In a long term period for instance, Africa should have 1 billion active people, more than China and India, and to take advantage of that it will need a strong education. That is where the technology comes in, and that must be included in the agenda of African countries, said the IMF chief.

The other challenge was in the environment, infrastructure, energy and fundamentals sectors so that economic growth can be sustainable for jobs creation and to help supporting regional integration.

More than 300 people attended the opening ceremony, including policymakers from Africa and beyond, the private sector, civil society, academics, and private foundations.

The event is intended to follow up on the 2009 Tanzania Conference, which helped galvanize international support for Africa after the 2008 financial crisis.
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Video: Africa Rising: Road to Mozambique

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Video: International Monetary Fund “Africa Rising”- Christine Lagarde visits Maputo Port
On May 28, Christine Lagarde, IMF Managing Director visits Maputo Port as part of her visit to Mozambique to participate in the 2-day high level conference Africa Rising.

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Video: Bill Clinton -Keynote speech – Africa Rising Conference

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Video: Kofi Annan -Keynote speech – Africa Rising Conference

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The Government of Mozambique and the IMF will convene a high-level conference in 2014 to take stock of Africa’s strong economic performance, its increased resilience to shocks, and the key, ongoing economic policy challenges. The Africa Rising conference will be held May 29-30, 2014, in Maputo. The event is intended to follow up on the 2009 Tanzania Conference, which helped galvanize international support for Africa after the 2008 financial crisis. The conference will bring together policymakers from Africa and beyond, the private sector, civil society, academics, and private foundations with the goal of sustaining the current growth and sharing its benefits among African populations.

The 2009 Tanzania Conference was held against the backdrop of global financial and economic crisis. Five years later, much of Sub-Saharan Africa has demonstrated remarkable resilience thanks to progress on economic reforms over the previous decade. The region quickly bounced back from the global slowdown, and several countries have grown rapidly, including Mozambique. Their key challenge now is to maintain high growth, while boosting job creation and accelerating structural transformation. But for others, notably the fragile states, the first priority remains to establish sufficient political and economic stability to join the ranks of the “African Lions.”

International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde (R) delivers the opening speech at the Africa Rising Conference as Mozambique’s President Armando Guebuza (L) listens May 29, 2014 at the Chiasson Conference Center in Maputo, Mozambique. Lagarde is in Mozambique to attend the Africa Rising Conference. IMF Photograph/Stephen Jaffe
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Mozambique

Ethnic groups: African 99.66% (largest African ethnic groups: Makhuwa, Tsonga, Lomwe, Sena, and others), Europeans 0.06%, Euro-Africans 0.2%, Indians 0.08%

Population: 24,692,144 (July 2014 est.)

Maputo

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Known Natural Resources of African Nations

Africa is the center of focus by the world’s military powers due to individual security issues of non-African countries. Africa’s natural resource have long been used to advance and support the economies of non-African nations, specifically European nations and China.

The only natural resources in United Kingdom are: coal, petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, lead, zinc, gold, tin, limestone, salt, clay, chalk, gypsum, potash, silica sand, slate, arable land

The only natural resources in France are: coal, iron ore, bauxite, zinc, uranium, antimony, arsenic, potash, feldspar, fluorspar, gypsum, timber, fish

The only natural resources in Germany are: coal, lignite, natural gas, iron ore, copper, nickel, uranium, potash, salt, construction materials, timber, arable land

The only natural resources in Spain are: coal, lignite, iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, uranium, tungsten, mercury, pyrites, magnesite, fluorspar, gypsum, sepiolite, kaolin, potash, hydropower, arable land

The only natural resources in Portugal are: fish, forests (cork), iron ore, copper, zinc, tin, tungsten, silver, gold, uranium, marble, clay, gypsum, salt, arable land, hydropower

The only natural resources in Italy are: coal, mercury, zinc, potash, marble, barite, asbestos, pumice, fluorspar, feldspar, pyrite (sulfur), natural gas and crude oil reserves, fish, arable land

The only natural resources in China are: coal, iron ore, petroleum, natural gas, mercury, tin, tungsten, antimony, manganese, molybdenum, vanadium, magnetite, aluminum, lead, zinc, rare earth elements, uranium, hydropower potential (world’s largest)

Japan has negligible mineral resources and fish. With virtually no energy natural resources, Japan is the world’s largest importer of coal and liquefied natural gas, as well as the second largest importer of oil.

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In Africa most of the: oil, petroleum, natural gas, diamonds, gold, platinum, copper and uranium leave the continent to support the economies of non-African nations. While Africans, in Africa, tend not to gain the economic advantages from living in these mineral rich nations.

Algeria
petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, uranium, lead, zinc

Angola
petroleum, diamonds, iron ore, phosphates, copper, feldspar, gold, bauxite, uranium

Benin
offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber

Botswana
diamonds, copper, nickel, salt, soda ash, potash, coal, iron ore, silver

Burkina Faso
manganese, limestone, marble; small deposits of gold, phosphates, pumice, salt

Burundi
nickel, uranium, rare earth oxides, peat, cobalt, copper, platinum, vanadium, arable land, hydropower, niobium, tantalum, gold, tin, tungsten, kaolin, limestone

Cameroon
petroleum, bauxite, iron ore, timber, hydropower

Cabo Verde
lacking natural resources and fresh water, Cabo Verde has become a global leader in solar and wind energy and has sought expanded ties with American companies to develop these renewable resources

Central African Republic
diamonds, uranium, timber, gold, oil, hydropower

Chad
petroleum, uranium, natron, kaolin, fish (Lake Chad), gold, limestone, sand and gravel, salt

Comoros
few natural resources

Congo, Democratic Republic of the
cobalt, copper, niobium, tantalum, petroleum, industrial and gem diamonds, gold, silver, zinc, manganese, tin, uranium, coal, hydropower, timber

Congo, Republic of the
petroleum, timber, potash, lead, zinc, uranium, copper, phosphates, gold, magnesium, natural gas, hydropower

Djibouti
potential geothermal power, gold, clay, granite, limestone, marble, salt, diatomite, gypsum, pumice, petroleum

Egypt
petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, manganese, limestone, gypsum, talc, asbestos, lead, rare earth elements, zinc

Equatorial Guinea
petroleum, natural gas, timber, gold, bauxite, diamonds, tantalum, sand and gravel, clay

Eritrea
gold, potash, zinc, copper, salt, possibly oil and natural gas, fish

Ethiopia
small reserves of gold, platinum, copper, potash, natural gas, hydropower

Gabon
petroleum, natural gas, diamond, niobium, manganese, uranium, gold, timber, iron ore, hydropower

Ghana
gold, timber, industrial diamonds, bauxite, manganese, fish, rubber, hydropower, petroleum, silver, salt, limestone

Guinea
bauxite, iron ore, diamonds, gold, uranium, hydropower, fish, salt

Guinea-Bissau
fish, timber, phosphates, bauxite, clay, granite, limestone, unexploited deposits of petroleum

Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast)
petroleum, natural gas, diamonds, manganese, iron ore, cobalt, bauxite, copper, gold, nickel, tantalum, silica sand, clay, cocoa beans, coffee, palm oil, hydropower

Kenya
limestone, soda ash, salt, gemstones, fluorspar, zinc, diatomite, gypsum, wildlife, hydropower

Lesotho
water, agricultural and grazing land, diamonds, sand, clay, building stone

Liberia
iron ore, timber, diamonds, gold, hydropower

Libya
petroleum, natural gas, gypsum

Madagascar
graphite, chromite, coal, bauxite, rare earth elements, salt, quartz, tar sands, semiprecious stones, mica, fish, hydropower

Malawi
limestone, arable land, hydropower, unexploited deposits of uranium, coal, and bauxite

Mauritania
iron ore, gypsum, copper, phosphate, diamonds, gold, oil, fish

Mauritius
arable land, fish

Monaco
none

Mozambique
coal, titanium, natural gas, hydropower, tantalum, graphite

Namibia
diamonds, copper, uranium, gold, silver, lead, tin, lithium, cadmium, tungsten, zinc, salt, hydropower, fish.. suspected to have deposits of oil, coal, and iron ore

Niger
uranium, coal, iron ore, tin, phosphates, gold, molybdenum, gypsum, salt, petroleum

Nigeria
natural gas, petroleum, tin, iron ore, coal, limestone, niobium, lead, zinc, arable land

Rwanda
gold, cassiterite (tin ore), wolframite (tungsten ore), methane, hydropower, arable land

Sao Tome and Principe
fish, hydropower

Senegal
fish, phosphates, iron ore

Seychelles
fish, copra, cinnamon trees

Sierra Leone
diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite

Somalia
uranium and largely unexploited reserves of iron ore, tin, gypsum, bauxite, copper, salt, natural gas, likely oil reserves

South Africa
gold, chromium, antimony, coal, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, tin, rare earth elements, uranium, gem diamonds, platinum, copper, vanadium, salt, natural gas

South Sudan
hydropower, fertile agricultural land, gold, diamonds, petroleum, hardwoods, limestone, iron ore, copper, chromium ore, zinc, tungsten, mica, silver

Sudan
petroleum; small reserves of iron ore, copper, chromium ore, zinc, tungsten, mica, silver, gold; hydropower

Swaziland
asbestos, coal, clay, cassiterite, hydropower, forests, small gold and diamond deposits, quarry stone, and talc

Tanzania
hydropower, tin, phosphates, iron ore, coal, diamonds, gemstones, gold, natural gas, nickel

Togo
phosphates, limestone, marble, arable land

Tunisia
petroleum, phosphates, iron ore, lead, zinc, salt

Uganda
copper, cobalt, hydropower, limestone, salt, arable land, gold

Zambia
copper, cobalt, zinc, lead, coal, emeralds, gold, silver, uranium, hydropower

Zimbabwe
coal, chromium ore, asbestos, gold, nickel, copper, iron ore, vanadium, lithium, tin, platinum group metals

Natural Resources Source: CIA The World Factbook

Tanzania, China to enhance ties

BY Rose Athumani
Tanzania Daily News

DAR ES SALAAM- Tanzania will next week receive yet again a high level visit from China to foster ties between the two countries and also to commemorate 50 years of excellent cooperation and relationship.

Addressing a press conference, the Tanzanian Ambassador to China, Lt. General (rtd) Abdulrahaman Shimbo, said Vice- President Li Yuanchao will arrive on June 21 this year at the Kilimanjaro International Airport.

“The objective of the official visit by Vice-President Li Yuanchao is to foster the brotherly relationship between China and Tanzania which this year reaches 50 years since 1964 when the cordial relationship started between the two countries,” Ambassador Shimbo explained.

He said while in Arusha Region the Chinese VP will visit tourists’ attraction sites such as Ngorongoro Crater on June 22 before flying to Dar es Salaam in the evening.

“The Chinese Vice- President’s visit comes at the right time as we mark 50 years of diplomatic relationship between the two countries. His visit is also at the heels of leaders’ visits from the two countries which have been a catalyst for economic development.

While in Dar es Salaam, Vice-President Yuanchao will hold high level discussions with government leaders and attend a series of important events including the second Tanzania- China Investment Forum, Ambassador Shimbo noted.

On June 25 the Chinese VP will visit Zanzibar where he will hold discussions with Zanzibar Second Vice-President Ambassador Seif Ali Iddi, before returning to Dar es Salaam on June 26 ready for his departure to China.

On his part, the Chinese Ambassador to Tanzania, Dr Lu Youqing, said the visit by the Chinese Vice-President will further enhance China- Tanzania experience sharing in the fields of economic development and poverty reduction.

He said the visit precipitated by an invitation from Tanzanian Vice-President Dr Mohamed Gharib Bilal will continue to implement the outcome of President Xi Jinping’s visit last year.

“The focus will be experience- sharing of good governance, restructuring of the economic cooperation and enhancing people to people exchange,” he said.

He added that the Chinese Vice- President will also have bilateral talks with President Jakaya Kikwete, Vice- President Dr Bilal, Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda and attend a series of events.

Dr Youqing said China and Tanzania are both developing countries which have encountered similar difficulties and problems and could learn from each other’s experience towards attaining mutual and sustainable development.

“During his visit to Tanzania, Vice-President Li will not only exchange ideas on development and poverty reduction with Tanzanian officials but also will encourage Chinese investors and companies to connect with Tanzanian local government and private sector to explore cooperative opportunities for mutual benefit,” Dr Youqing explained.

Dr Youqing said Tanzania in the 60s and 70s was in the frontline fighting for liberation of other African nations and in the 21st century Tanzania has once again become an example in development and poverty reduction.

He added that the Chinese VP will also lay a foundation stone to a new landmark of the country where an investment of US 77 million dollars will see the construction of a 29-storey Mwl. Nyerere Foundation Square.

He said the project is cooperation between the government of China, Tanzania and the World Bank. Vice-President Yuanchao will also attend a joint Conference of Confucius Institutes, the reception of the 50th Anniversary of the establishment of China-Tanzania diplomatic relations and visit several China-Tanzania cooperative projects.

The High level delegation will stay in the country for six days and attend more than 20 events, which have special significance in promoting China-Tanzania relations.

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Video: From 2013 Background- A long history of friendship between China and Tanzania

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Video: Tanzania’s budget expectations
June 12, 2014

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Tanzania

Population:
Population: 49,639,138

Racial Diversity
Mainland – African 99% (of which 95% are Bantu consisting of more than 130 ethnic groups), other 1% (consisting of Asian, European, and Arab); Zanzibar – Arab, African, mixed Arab and African

Religions:
Mainland- Muslim 35%, Traditional African Religion 35% and Christian 30%
Zanzibar- more than 99% Muslim

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Dar es Salaam
Population: 3.588 million (2011)

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Video: Dar es Salaam skyline

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Video: Dar es Salaam

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Equatorial Guinea hosted the African Union’s 23rd Ordinary Summit 20 – 27 June 2014
Theme: Agriculture and Food Security

Sahara Press Service

MALABO — The 23rd Ordinary Session of Heads of State and Government of the African Union kicked off June 20th in Malabo, capital of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, under the theme “Agriculture and Food Security”, the main topic for the year 2014.

Special guests of the summit are UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon and Spain’s Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy Brey, along with other invited guests.
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African Union says progressing to military force by end-2015

Reuters

MALABO- Africa is making progress towards a regional military force by the end of next year, a senior African Union official said on Wednesday, as local leaders urged less reliance on foreign intervention.

Delays in implementing the African Standby Force (ASF) forced African states to request French intervention to tackle crises last year in Mali and Central African Republic.

African officials have voiced scepticism that the 5,000-strong force, under discussion for more than a decade, would be ready by next year’s delayed deadline, prompting African leaders to approve a stop-gap rapid reaction force last year.

Smail Chergui, the 54-nation African Union’s Commissioner for Peace and Security, said four of the five regional brigades due to make up the Standby Force were in an advancedstate of readiness, including the North African one.

At a meeting to mark the tenth anniversary of the founding of the Peace and Security Council, he said “progress is being made to have (the Standby Force) fully operationalised by December 2015.”

The Peace and Security Council was providing analysts to regional blocs in Africa for a continent-wide early warning system for conflicts, aiming at improving prevention, he said.

Chadian President Idriss Deby said a series of conflicts across Africa – from South Sudan to Central African Republic – were a reminder its leaders that the continent needed to do more to strength its own security institutions.

Ahead of a two-day summit of the African Union, which officially opens on Thursday in the capital of Equatorial Guinea, Deby called for more resources to be channelled into the AU’s Peace and Security Council.

“It is time for us to take our destiny into our own hands,” he said, noting the rise of armed Islamist groups like Boko Haram in Nigeria presented a new kind of challenge for the continent’s security.

However, South African President Jacob Zuma urged closer cooperation between the AU’s Peace and Security Council and the U.N. Security Council, in light of the continent’s limited resources to tackle crises on its own.

“We need to do more to address the root causes of conflict on this continent,” Zuma said, urging the African Union to work more on crisis prevention and do work in post-conflict countries to prevent relapses into violence.

More than 90 percent of the AU’s peace and security efforts, including its AMISOM mission in Somalia, are funded by external actors such as the European Union and United States.
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Video: Equatorial Guinea: 23rd Au Summit Held at The Sipopo Conference Center

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Video: African Union Summit: Leaders to focus on peace & security in Africa

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Video: 25th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council in Malabo
Statement of the AUC Chairperson, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma during the opening of the 25th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea 23 June 2014

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25th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council opens in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea,23 June 2014.

Programme of the 23rd AU Summit

Zimbabwe: Tobacco farmers pocket US$650 million

George Chisoko
The Herald (Zimbabwe)

Tobacco growers this year pocketed US$650 million from the sale of 200 million kg (200,000,000 kg = 440,924,524 lbs) of the crop that has gained popularity countrywide.

Unlike in the past when much of the crop was produced by white former commercial farmers, this year’s output came from 106 439 growers registered by the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board.

During the year under review, nearly 33 million kg (33,000,000 kg = 72,752,547 lbs) of tobacco was exported to countries across the world, earning the fiscus US$142 million.

As at the end of last month, farmers had sold 204 million kg (204,000,000 kg = 449,743,015 lbs) of tobacco, earning US$647 million, which went directly into their pockets.

The crop volume and earnings should increase by the time mop-up sales close this month.

The boom in tobacco earnings and the expected bumper maize crop harvest bode well for Zim-Asset — the country’s economic blueprint — whose food security and nutrition cluster identifies agricultural productivity as a major pillar of economic revival.

Farmers last season produced 153 million kg (153,000,000 kg = 337,307,261 lbs) and pocketed US$566 million.

What the communal, small-scale and commercial farmers produced this season falls short by only 37 million kg (37,000,000 kg = 81,571,037 lbs) of the record crop that the white former commercial farmers produced in 2000 when they dominated the commercial farming landscape.

In less than 14 years after land reform, tobacco farmers have managed to hit the 200 million kg (200,000,000 kg = 440,924,524 lbs) mark, which the white former commercial farmers achieved over decades when they produced 236 million kg (236,000,000 kg = 520,290,939 lbs) in 2000.

The Minister of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development Dr Joseph Made last night said: “We have been vindicated as a country. Our detractors thought we would fail to work on the land and that crop production would fall to embarrassing levels. We are indeed endowed as a country from a human resources point of view and have shown to the world that we are a determined people.

“We need to congratulate the farmers, the TIMB and the research board (TRB) for single-handedly producing the crop that has given us great pride.’’

In 2008, tobacco production tumbled to 49 million kg (49,000,000 kg = 108,026,508 lbs) as farmers struggled in an operating environment riddled with sanctions and drying up of funding from banks that had for years assisted white former commercial farmers.

The determination in the farmers to rebound the tobacco sector and push the volumes to three digit figures, saw them working with the TRB, TIMB and contractors to register gradual increases in production over the years.

“The production that our farmers have achieved has broken the myth that our people did not have the farming skills to grow tobacco and that they needed to be commanded by whites. We have shown that we can grow the complicated crop on our own, drawing advice and knowledge from our research and extension teams. There is no doubt that production will reach 210 million kg (210,000,000 kg = 462,970,751 lbs) or more by the time the mop-up sales close,’’ Minister Made said.

The output could have been much more than 204 million kg (204,000,000 kg = 449,743,015 lbs) had farmers been more meticulous in handling the crop.

The poor curing infrastructure, coupled with power losses resulted in the loss of a substantial volume of tobacco.

“We must bear in mind the fact that our farmers produce with little or no irrgation at all yet white farmers produced under 100 percent irrigation. Imagine what would happen to production if all our farmers; communal, small-scale, A1 and A2 would produce under full irrigation; there is no doubt that we would reach 300 million kg (300,000,000 kg = 661,386,787 lbs) or more in tobacco output,’’ Minister Made said.

It was the wish of President Mugabe, Minister Made said, to see the success scored in the tobacco sector being replicated across all crops and the livestock sector.

It is instructive to note that while some parts of the world seemed united in their opposition to the land reform programme almost all the countries in the world bought Zimbabwe’s tobacco.

Zimbabwe National Farmers Union president Mr Garikayi Msika said it needed no economist or rocket scientist to know that given the right operating economic environment “our farmers can never fail the nation when it comes to crop production.’’

“What the farmers have achieved in less than 14 years speaks for itself in terms of their determination to succeed. They have been operating in an adverse economy. They are poorly mechanised and poorly funded yet they are able to rebound the tobacco crop to such commendable levels,’’ he said.

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Video: Zimbabwe Tobacco Farmers Disappointed By The Returns In Profit

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United Nations: 2015–2024 Decade for People of African Descent

The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution on December 23, 2013. The International Decade for People of African Descent will take place from Jan. 1, 2015, through Dec. 31, 2024, and will include celebrations throughout the world.

“People of African descent have for centuries been victims of racism, racial discrimination, enslavement and denial of their rights,” said Verene Shepherd, Chair of the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent, as she presented that body’s report for the Committee’s consideration. She expressed support for designating the period 2014 to 2023 as the International Decade for People of African Descent.

Bruno Santos de Oliveira, from Brazil, noted that “In a 2010 national census, more than 100 million Brazilians, more than half the population, had declared themselves African descendants”, he said, reaffirming his country’s commitment to make all necessary efforts for the prompt proclamation of the International Decade for People of African Descent, now long overdue.

International Decades

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Museu Afro Brasil/Afro Brazil Museum
Located in Ibirapuera Park, (located in São Paulo, SP, Brazil) the Afro Brazil Museum holds a collection of over 5000 works of African cultural universes and african-Brazilian.

Nigeria: Abuja public transportation light rail on track to open in 2015

BY Lara Adejoro
Daily Times

The Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has promised that the Abuja Light Rail Project would be completed in the third quarter of next year.

The minister, who made the promise during an inspection tour of the rail project, said the $500 million borrowed from China to execute the project in 2012, is been judiciously appropriated.

The minister questioned the progress made so far as she made her way to the rail car used for test running, from Ringroad to the Idu main station.

Officials promised Nigerians a luxurious mode of transportation when the main train is assembled and in operation.

Nigeria had in 2012 signed an agreement with the China Exim Bank for a $600 million facility to finance the Abuja Light Rail project and the Galaxy Backbone information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure.

The loan agreement was signed in Beijing, the Chinese capital, on behalf of Nigeria by the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and the Managing Director of China Exim Bank, Mr. Sun Ping.

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Nigeria: Abuja public transportation light rail on track to open in 2015

The Guardian (Nigeria)

In 2015, Abuja in Nigeria will see the opening of a light railway. Now that the age of the train has arrived, what impact will it have on the country’s development?

The age of the train has arrived in Nigeria. In Lagos, formerly the world’s only mega-city without an urban rail system, work has started on the first of two lines which will cost $3.8bn and eventually connect the four corners of the city. In Abuja, 2015 will see the opening of a light railway which will connect the airport and satellite towns with the nation’s capital.

In April, Nigeria celebrated the revival of the Lagos to Kano long-distance rail link, the first operational rail route in the country since the late 1980s, and a vital method of easing congestion and boosting trade along the key artery between the two largest cities in the nation. At 1,126km (699.7 miles), the route provides a regular and safe method of transferring people and goods, as well as acting as a symbolic tie between the southern and northern halves of the country.

With work now underway to rehabilitate stretches of the disused railway line between Port Harcourt and Maiduguri in the North, as well as ambitious plans to eventually provide a link to neighboring nations of Niger and Cameroon, it is apparent that long-distance rail is an important part of national transport thinking over the coming decade.

Less celebrated, but equally transformational, is the work currently underway on the two urban railways in Lagos and Abuja. Both of these projects showcase what is possible given ambitious political leadership, high quality technical support, and application of global best practice.

This is evident in Abuja, where visitors will have noticed the hard infrastructure foundations necessary for bridges and stations being assembled as they complete the 30 minute drive into the city centre.

Originally mooted in 2006, Abuja’s light railway aims to provide an affordable way for the city’s workers to commute from the satellite towns surrounding it. As a result of the rapid growth of Abuja, now thought to be home to over 3,000,000 people in the wider metropolitan area, the central stock of housing is neither sufficient for the workforce, nor affordable, forcing many to endure long commutes using a combination of the city’s new bus service, and informal transport from bus terminals. The first minister of the FCT, senator Bala Mohammed, has estimated that 700,000 commuters will eventually use the new light railway each day.

The first stage of the project consists in lots 1A and 3. These amount to 45kms (27.9 miles) of double-track rail lines which will connect the centre of Abuja with the international airport, and run from the satellite town Idu to Gbazango. The lots will be the first of an eventual six, bringing safe and affordable transport to commuters who travel to work in the capital.

The project is a good example of how British technical assistance can complement Nigeria’s drive for change. Adam Smith International’s DfID funded Nigeria Infrastructure Advisory Facility (NIAF) has played a key role in advising the Federal Capital Transportation Secretariat as it manages its contract with the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) which is responsible for the construction of the track, stations, signalling equipment, depot and training facility.

In conjunction with CCECC and the FCT, NIAF is helping deliver advice which will result in infrastructure built to international standards, complete with the training and capacity building which will ensure that it endures for decades to come. With greater accessibility, and shorter journey times, the result will be a safer, economically dynamic and more equitable Abuja.
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Video: Nigeria’s Federal Executive Council approves N1.3bn (US $7.94 million) contract
for feasibility studies for 6 standard gauge railway corridors across the nation

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Chinese funded standard gauge railway nears completion in Nigeria linking Abuja to Kaduna

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Video: New rail corridor nears completion
A Chinese funded standard gauge railway construction project that connects the Nigerian federal capital Abuja with the country’s central commercial hub Kaduna, is nearing completion and is expected to reduce road congestion and the time it takes to travel between the two points. The Abuja Kaduna line, scheduled to be completed by December 2014.

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Related past articles:

March 2014

Port Harcourt monorail of controversy

By Daniel Abia – Senior Correspondent Port Harcourt
Daily Independent

PORT HARCOURT, RIVERS STATE- The original intention of government for the construction of the monorail was “to address the growing traffic problems encountered in the city of Port Harcourt”.

The 21-kilometer (13 mile) monorail was to go through Kaduna Road down to Olu Obasanjo Way to Waterlines and then return to Garrison Bus Stop. While that is completed, another phase would have commenced up to the Air Force base to complete the circle.

It was discovered that the cost of the monorail, as planned by government, could go as much as N150 billion (US $917.21 million), an indication that lack of funds would definitely stall the pursuit of the project to its logical completion. To save cost, the government decided to prune the length of the project to 6.5 kilometers (4.0 miles). At the moment, 2.6 kilometers (1.6 miles) is being embarked upon from the UTC Junction to the Lagos Bus Stop deep in the city of Port Harcourt, the state capital.

The Rivers State government had committed N11 billion (US $67.26 million) into the project to show its readiness or willingness to get it done.

In February 2013, the commissioner told the visiting team of the National Good Governance Tour, (NGGT), led by the Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, that for the project to have reached the level it is now with the construction of the mega stations, it has gulped N19 billion (US $116.18 million) already.

Besides the controversy generated by the actual cost of the project, another point of great concern is the consistent shifting of goal post on the completion date of the project. Governor Amaechi, in 2013, told Labaran Maku (Minister of Information) that the phase 1a and 1b of its 6.5 kilometres (4.0 miles) mass transit monorail system in Port Harcourt would be completed by September of 2013. Amaechi assured that the state’s N150 billion (US $917.21 million) monorail project will be completed before he vacates office in 2015. Governor Amaechi disclosed that the phase A will be completed before January 2014, while Phase B which will runs from the city centre and terminates at Water Lines would be completed in 2015. As it stands now, people are already wondering when they will witness the completion of the project just to admire the beauty of it and not necessarily for the economic advantage, if it has any.

The controversy surrounding the completion of the project has further justified the fears of people of the state who are now want it stopped due to cost incentive and “the manner the whole exercise is shrouded in secrecy”.

Also, the Secretary General, Watch-Dog of Niger Delta (WND), a Niger Delta group, Sam Epiye, corroborated the position of Bipi when he said that the “monorail is obviously of no economic value to the people of the state.

Continuing, the youth leader explained that “the Rivers’ monorail project has no economic value to the state, the multibillion Naira expended can be used to open up more roads and construct bridges that would ease the cost and means of transportation in the state.

In his response, George Tolofari (Commissioner for Transport) said “I don’t blame anybody for what they say about the monorail project. If I were not in government, maybe I would probably be talking the same way people are talking. But now that I am an insider and understand the situation better, it is my place to keep educating and explaining to them the added value the monorail project will bring to Rivers people. “The monorail is designed to take a large number of people from point A to point B at a time. Port Harcourt is a big metropolitan city and one of the things you expect to see is the different modes of transportation,” said Tolofari.
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Lagos light rail project

Lagos light rail tracks within the expanding Lagos-Badagry Expressway

Lagos elevated light rail tracks

Nigeria: Lagos light rail Phase I Lagos Rail may begin operation in 2014 -West Africa’s first public rail transit system

http://dilemma-x.net/2013/01/09/nigeria-lagos-light-rail-phase-i-will-be-ready-in-june-2013-west-africas-first-public-rail-transit-system/

2014 U.S.-Africa Leadership Summit

President Obama in August will welcome leaders from across the African continent to the Nation’s Capital for a three-day U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, the first such event of its kind in the United States for African leaders.

This Summit, the largest event any U.S. President has held with African heads of state and government, will build on the President’s trip to Africa in the summer of 2013 and it will strengthen ties between the United States and one of the world’s most dynamic and fastest growing regions. Specifically, the August 4-6 Summit will advance the Administration’s focus on trade and investment in Africa and highlight America’s commitment to Africa’s security, its democratic development, and its people. At the same time, it will highlight the depth and breadth of the United States’ commitment to the African continent, advance our shared priorities and enable discussion of concrete ideas to deepen the partnership. At its core, this Summit is about fostering stronger ties between the United States and Africa.

The theme of the Summit is “Investing in the Next Generation.” Focusing on the next generation is at the core of a government’s responsibility and work, and this Summit is an opportunity to discuss ways of stimulating growth, unlocking opportunities, and creating an enabling environment for the next generation.

Source: The White House
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Video: Late to the party, President Obama seeks bigger U.S. Africa role -July 30, 2014

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Video:US-Africa summit: is Obama too late?

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Video: First Lady Michele Obama: ‘Blood of Africa Runs Through My Veins’

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Video: Susan E. Rice: Previewing the U.S.- Africa Leaders Summit

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Video:Assistant Secretary Thomas-Greenfield Previews the U.S.-African Leaders Summit
Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Linda Thomas-Greenfield previews the U.S.-African Leaders Summit at the Atlantic Council on July 31, 2014.

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Africa: U.S. Summit Seeks to Play Catch-Up in Africa

By Jim Lobe
Inter Press Service

Washington — Despite worsening crises in Ukraine, Gaza, and elsewhere in the Middle East, the administration of President Barack Obama hopes next week to focus at least some more positive attention on Africa.

The U.S.-Africa Leadership Summit, which will bring presidents, prime ministers, and other top officials of some 50 African nations here, is designed to demonstrate Washington’s continued interest in the continent, particularly in matters affecting its pocketbook.

In speeches and briefings leading up to the three-day meeting, whose centrepiece will be Tuesday’s U.S.-Africa Business Forum Tuesday, U.S. officials have highlighted the economic opportunities offered by increased trade and investment in Africa.

“(W)e hope to see increased U.S. investment as one of the Summit’s key outcomes,” said Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Linda Thomas-Greenfield at the Atlantic Council Thursday in previewing the Summit whose theme is “Investing in the Next Generation”.

“When we talk about the fact that most of the world’s fastest-growing economies are in sub-Saharan Africa, we’re also seeing a burgeoning middle class of African consumers and an expanding market for U.S. direct investment. This means enormous growth opportunities for American business and new jobs for Africans and Americans,” she told the group.

Washington is being playing economic catch-up in Africa, a region where its military engagement has grown far more quickly, largely due to its efforts to counter the proliferation of radical Islamist groups in North Africa, Somalia, and the Sahel.

As noted by the Council on Foreign Relations recently, the U.S. has gone from a leading trading partner with Africa “to being far surpassed by the European Union and China.”

The EU’s trade over the last decade has more than doubled to more than 200 billion dollars last year, while China’s trade with the continent has mushroomed from some 10 billion dollars in 2000 to more than 170 billion dollars in 2013.

By contrast, U.S.-African bilateral trade has actually declined – from about 100 billion dollars in 2011 to only 60 billion dollars last year.

Most of that trade consisted of imports from Africa – mainly oil and other natural resources – while exports to the continent have largely stagnated at around 20 billion dollars annually over the past five years, despite the rapid growth of the continent’s consumer market extolled by Thomas-Greenfield and featured in a front-page analysis in the New York Times earlier this month entitled “Africans Open Fuller Wallets to the Future.”

The explosion in Chinese involvement with Africa is of particular concern to policy-makers here for strategic reasons, although they routinely go to great lengths to insist that they welcome Beijing’s commitment to promoting development in the region.

“President Obama has made clear that we welcome other nations being invested in Africa infrastructure, and, frankly, China can play a constructive role in areas like developing African infrastructure,” Benjamin Rhodes, Obama’s deputy national security adviser, told reporters earlier this week.

At the same time, Obama himself offered words of warning appeared designed to resonate in some African nations that have witnessed recent protests over Chinese labour practices.

“(M)y advice to African leaders is to make sure that if, in fact, China is putting in roads and bridges, number one, that they’re hiring African workers; number two, that the roads don’t just lead from the mine, to the port, to Shanghai,” he told The Economist magazine.

All but a handful of the region’s heads of state have been invited, and most, including the presidents of the region’s two economic powerhouses, South Africa and Nigeria, are expected to attend.

Omitted were Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, the subject of U.S. diplomatic sanctions, Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir, who has been indicted for crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court (ICC), as well as the leaders of the Central African Republic (CAR), Eritrea, and the Western Sahara, which, despite its membership in the African Union (AU) is occupied by Morocco, a close U.S. ally.

Despite his indictment by the ICC, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta was included, in part because Nairobi is seen as a “key regional partner” of Washington’s, according to Rhodes.

Sierra Leone President Ernest Bai Koroma and Liberian President Ellen Sirleaf Johnson, the region’s only female head of state and a long-standing Washington favourite, will reportedly be staying home in order to deal with the Ebola outbreak which has killed more than 700 people in recent weeks and which U.S. officials hope will not overshadow the “good news” of African economic growth and opportunity that the Summit will spotlight.

Given his African roots, Obama’s 2008 election spurred hopes that he would give the region unprecedented attention.

During his first term, however, he spent less than one day there – in Ghana – and offered no major new initiatives, although he maintained multi-billion-dollar funding levels for – and eased restrictions on – George W. Bush’s highly popular President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). He also played a key role in securing independence for South Sudan and supporting UN and AU peacekeeping efforts across the region, especially in Somalia.

Last summer, he travelled to Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania where he unveiled his “Power Africa” programme – an initiative designed to increase access to electricity to some 20 million households and businesses in six countries by leveraging some 14 billion dollars in private investment from seven billion dollars in federal aid and guarantees.

Congress has yet to authorise the programme, and officials hope next week’s Summit will boost its prospects, as well as those for the renewal of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), a trade initiative launched under Bill Clinton that provides duty-free access for some 6,000 products from sub-Saharan Africa. It is due to expire next year.

In addition to the Business Forum, Obama will participate with the other leaders on panels at the State Department Wednesday covering investment, “peace and regional stability” and “governing for the next generation.”

The Summit will also include an all-day conference at the National Academy of Science Monday for civil-society representatives, an event that was added to the agenda in response to criticism from human-rights, development, and anti-poverty activists here who complain that the Summit is too heavily weighted toward business interests.

“There’s no doubt that this is a continent that is rising in economic terms,” said Emira Woods, an Africa specialist at the Institute for Policy Studies here. “But it’s also rising in terms of inequality and environmental damage, and these aren’t on the main agenda.

“This is really a very high-profile photo-op to better position U.S. stakeholders to compete for the continent’s natural resources, particularly in oil, gas, mining, and biofuels, without regard to the basic human needs of its people at a moment when they lack even the basics of a health-care infrastructure that can effectively halt the spread of the Ebola virus,” she told IPS.

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Program of Events
Click image to enlarge. Click your return arrow to return to this Dilemma X topic

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July 28, 2014
Video: The President Holds a Town Hall with Young African Leaders

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China and India have both have held international African leadership summits
Both China and India are growing economic powerhouses. Both China and India have nuclear weapons and space programs. China and India have been investing financially in Africa at the same time these nations have great needs for Africa’s natural resources. Europe has traditionally been the main region that has unfairly extracted Africa’s natural resources without the people and nations, of Africa, benefiting. Europe, on the other hand, has gained a lot of its wealth from Africa. Europe’s wealth extraction occurred greatly during the colonial period and continues within the post colonial era.

Forum on China–Africa Cooperation
The first ministerial conference was held in Beijing from 10 to October 12, 2000.

There have been 5 summits held to date, with the most recent meeting having occurred from July 19-20, 2012 in Beijing, China.

Previous summits:
2000 Beijing
2003 Addis Ababa
2006 Beijing
2009 Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt
2012 Beijing

India–Africa Forum Summit
The first India–Africa Forum Summit was held from April 4 to April 8, 2008 in New Delhi.

Previous summits:
2008 New Delhi

2011 Addis Ababa

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See timeline on events in Africa since 1993

The United States of Africa and African Diaspora’s remittances in 2012

http://dilemma-x.net/2013/02/10/black-history-month-the-united-states-of-africa-the-diasporas-remittances-in-2012/