Nigeria: Strike - Muslim Youths Urge FG, NUT to Save Education
July 21, 2008
21 July 2008
Posted to the web 21 July 2008
Abdulraheem Aodu
Kaduna
The Federal Government, teachers and other stakeholders in the education sector have been urged to resolve the lingering impasse over the Teachers Salary Scale (TSS) in order to save the education system.
The National Council of Muslim Youth Organisations (NACOMYO) gave the advice in a press statement signed by its national president, Alhaji Mohammed Lawal Maidoki made available to Daily Trust in Kaduna after its NEC meeting in Jalingo, Taraba State.
NACOMYO noted that the future of the coming generation could be jeopardized if nothing was done about the teachers’ strike which has crippled the education sector, while urging the Federal Government to show serious commitment in resolving the Niger Delta problem through a well-articulated development plan.
"The NEC meeting lamented the ongoing teachers’ strike action in the country as it portends danger to the education of Nigerian children and called on government and other stakeholders to quickly address the demands of the teachers including the TSS in the overall interest of the education system. NEC also acknowledged the new Federal Government initiative to address the plight of the people of the Niger Delta.
The Islamic youth organisation also urged government not to remove its subsidy on Hajj operations as reported, saying the only benefit enjoyed by intending pilgrims was in terms of exchange rates. It however lauded the rejection by the House of Representatives, of the bill seeking to commute death sentence for armed robbery cases to life imprisonment. NACOMYO further called on the National Assembly to accelerate the passage of the bill on indecent dressing, saying it is anti-social and a degeneration of the Nigerian value system.
"The reported plan by the federal government to remove subsidy on Hajj is uncalled for as the organisation believes that government has a duty to ensure that Muslims as citizens of the country are supported in fulfilment of their religious obligations. The proposed declaration of state of emergency in the power sector is a welcomed development as issues of power failure has brought untold hardship to the citizenry and has led to economic ruins of artisans. Government should employ genuine and realistic approach to power supply in the country", the group said.
Kenya: Govt Plans to Reverse Privatisation of Tea Authority
July 21, 2008
19 July 2008
Posted to the web 21 July 2008
Cedric Lumiti
Nairobi
The Kenyan government plans to reclaim ownership of the cash-strapped Kenya Tea Development Authority (KTDA) a few years after its privatisation.
The move is aimed at boosting production and halting the mass exodus of farmers from the crop that has seen the tea sector face its worst times in years.
Agriculture Minister William Ruto has said plans for the takeover are in advanced stages adding that the Government would not watch as the multi-billion shilling sector stares at collapse.
Ruto said that the move to change the Authority back to a parastatal body was to enhance product marketing and enable government to protect tea farmers from exploitation.
The minister, while on a tour of former tea plantation farms that have now been changed to maize plantations, said it was disheartening that the Government’s privatisation programme was becoming counter-productive as businessmen and brokers exploit the public.
Tea has in the past been among the major foreign exchange earners of Kenya and the sector’s collapse could have serious repercussions for an economy struggling to recover from post-election violence.
He said that as part of the plan to restructure the Authority, the number of directors will be reduced. He also called on farmers to change their managerial election methods so they elected two or three directors instead of nine per factory, and to elect those who were in touch with modern farming technology.
Ruto also called for regulation of the KTDA rules by omitting some clauses, which gave the directors more powers where finances were being used without the farmers’ knowledge, saying this would give farmers more say.
The minister said that the five agricultural sectors were planning to create an Agricultural Development Fund to cater for farmers needs naming research, irrigation and modern methods of farming like artificial insemination.
The Government had decided to work on value addition of products especially on tea and coffee to improve on their marketing abroad to ensure farmers get enough profits.
The minister said that plans for the Agricultural Finance Co-operation (AFC) had been prepared to increase loans, which will be disbursed through co-operatives and Saccos.
He took issues with the agricultural extension officers who he says must be results oriented and the Government would ensure that they checked their performance in terms of how many farmers they had helped within their jurisdictions.
The minister cautioned farmers not to uproot their plants and urged them to be patient as the government was addressing the problems facing the sectors.
Rwanda: Kigali Set to Get Urban Network
July 21, 2008
19 July 2008
Posted to the web 21 July 2008
Bosco Hitimana
Kigali
Completion of work to build Kigali metropolitan network based on the national backbone fiber optic has been set for December this year.
This will be followed by extensive works to build the cable across the country covering 30 districts, which will come to completion by November 2009, according to the officials.
"What we are looking at doing with the national backbone is enabling the country to be connected," the executive director of Rwanda Information Technology Authority (RITA), Mr. Kubito Bakuramutsa said.
RITA is the government’s agency that nurtures and oversees the wide implementation of the ICT projects in the country especially in the government’s institutions.
The government will first lay down a huge array of cables that will be followed by building of an access network going exactly to the government institutions and the private entities.
This, according to Bakuramutsa will allow Rwanda to be connected internally and support services like digital libraries to be accessed by different schools.
Currently Rwanda is building Kigali metropolitan network expected to be ready by December this year.
This is the first step to building the national backbone that is scheduled to be completed by November 2009.
The country is now engaged with Korea Telecom, Korea’s leader in network installation to come up with a document detailing the cost of the project. However, Bakuramutsa said that some studies estimate the cost at $20million while others put it close to $40million for the entire connectivity work to be done.
"The government is committed to build the best network that is going to help accelerate our development in e-education, e-health, and e-government to promote efficiency," Bakuramutsa said.
The national backbone is estimated to roll down between 1600Km and 2000Km but the actual length will be shown from a study being undertaken by KT to be out by October.
The government wishes to put the infrastructure that is also open to the private sector as well. However, in the long term, the government would also wish the cable to be managed by the private sector.
The private sector will be charged some money for the service to access the fiber and in the meantime, the government is engaged with the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) to develop a price tag showing how the private sector would be charged to access the fiber.
"It will be an open infrastructure-whoever wants to use it, will be able to use it. What you need to do is to enter into an agreement with entity that will be managing it," Bakuramutsa noted.
The cable, according to Bakuramutsa will support creation of the private sector especially the Internet Service Providers (ISPs).
South Africa: Developing an Approach to Geneva Trade Maze
July 21, 2008
OPINION
21 July 2008
Posted to the web 21 July 2008
Brendan Vickers
Johannesburg
TODAY, as trade ministers from 30-plus leading member countries of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) begin negotiations at the Geneva mini-ministerial conference, developed and developing nations are still far apart in their positions.
Developed countries are offering little in agriculture (where the greatest trade distortions reside), while making excessive demands in industrial tariffs directed at "advanced developing countries", including SA.
After seven years of protracted negotiations, trade ministers finally aim to conclude "modalities" in the agriculture and non-agricultural market access (Nama) negotiations. Guidance will also be sought on other key "horizontal" issues, notably services, intellectual property rights, antidumping and geographical indicators.
Speculating on the possible outcomes, three scenarios seem plausible.
The first is complete failure: the meeting is premature and the political climate is simply not right. This means that some trade ministers may have travelled to Geneva armed with an exit strategy - how to not get blamed for further impasse.
The second - and most likely - scenario is that trade ministers will record further "progress" towards modalities, but not reach a complete conclusion. As happened in July 2004 in Geneva and in Hong Kong in 2005, ministers will claim "victory" by issuing a declaration, with all details annexed to the declaration. Negotiators may then decide to reconvene after the WTO’s summer break.
The third scenario is the conclusion of the modalities and an attempt to finalise the round before WTO chief Pascal Lamy’s mandate expires next year.
Whatever transpires in the Geneva negotiations, there are high expectations from developing countries that SA will continue to push for an equitable, proportional and balanced "developmental" outcome that rebalances the trading system more in favour of the south. Thus far, our negotiators are to be commended for the principled positions they have adopted, as part of the G-20, demanding fairer global agricultural trade and as co-ordinator of the Nama-11, which promotes tariff "policy space" for developing countries.
In terms of the Doha negotiating trajectory, South African industries — and aspirant industrialisers in the Southern African Customs Union (Sacu) — are particularly vulnerable in Nama. The Swiss formula to be used to prise open this sector will see deeper cuts in higher tariffs than in lower ones. This immediately places developing countries at a marked disadvantage and flouts Doha’s core principles for a developmental outcome.
To give effect to Doha’s original spirit and mandate, the Nama-11, led by SA, has called for a 25-point spread between coefficients for developed and developing countries. It will be a bruising battle to formally win this position.
SA is in the invidious position of having adopted deep "developed country" commitments during the previous Uruguay round. Sacu’s bound tariff rates are almost half the average for comparable developing countries. To illustrate this trend: Sacu’s average bound rate is 17% and the applied rate is 8%. By contrast, Brazil’s is 30% and 11%; Argentina’s 30% and 10%; and India’s 40% and 19% respectively. Without additional flexibilities for Sacu, SA and its partners will effectively undertake applied tariff cuts on a scale far greater than any commitments made by the other WTO members in either Nama or agriculture.
There has been some sympathy from the WTO membership for the "historical injustice" of SA’s misclassification as a developed country in the Uruguay round. Our negotiators have argued for at least six additional points in flexibility to shield sensitive sectors.
This will be one of the issues up for negotiation in Geneva. In doing so, we must maintain support for Sacu’s position and ensure that our industries do not pay excessively in Nama for small benefits elsewhere.
But in some respects our trade policy also seems unbalanced. While the emphasis on Nama is appreciable, agriculture is given a greater priority than it deserves, while services — which account for 70% of gross domestic product — often appear to be neglected (or may become the proverbial "sacrificial lamb" in trade-offs).
SA’s services regime is largely open, with deep commitments undertaken during the Uruguay round. In our initial offer to the WTO in 2006, SA undertook further liberalisation in the environmental, financial, legal, telecommunications and transportation sectors. The crucial question is whether our negotiators fully understand and appreciate the far-reaching implications of undertaking further binding commitments in these sectors, particularly finance. There are still many elephants in the room, particularly in the wake of the sub-prime crisis.
Some commentators argue that our domestic services sectors (particularly economic infrastructure) could benefit from greater competition. In addition, the reality is that our Sacu partners are mostly importers of services, and further liberalisation would introduce a measure of competition in these trade-facilitating fields.
The alternative argument holds that we have already given away too much and must preserve our "policy space" to develop a national and regional services strategy.
Our trade negotiators are thus advised to balance the demands of competitive domestic, regional and global production with the fundamental right of access to essential or basic social services. In the WTO’s mercantilist trade-offs, it is imperative that we do not bargain away the right to regulate services in the public interest.
As an advanced developing country, SA’s position in the WTO is a complex one. Finding a balance between pragmatic self-interest and seeking greater access for the country’s intermediate manufacturers and service exporters to markets in the region, the continent, and abroad on the one hand, and politically supporting the more defensive, dependent and developmental interests of the poorer developing world — represented by the G-90 — on the other, remains a major challenge.
Dr Vickers is senior researcher: multilateral trade at the Institute for Global Dialogue.
Kenya: Subsidies Not the Answer, Says Scholar
July 21, 2008
19 July 2008
Posted to the web 21 July 2008
Nairobi
Increased productivity rather than subsidies could boost Kenya’s competitiveness in the global market, a leading scholar has said.
Prof Michael Porter of the Harvard Business School said Kenyans should strive to increase productivity in all sectors of the economy if the country is to develop.
Noting that productivity is a long-term process and not an event, Prof Porter said an end to the suspicious relationship between the public and private sectors could boost productivity and lead to faster economic growth.
High standards
"The government cannot be against each other if Kenyans hope to create a prosperous country," Prof Porter, an expert on competitive strategy and international competitiveness and economic development, said.
Speaking at a dinner held at a Nairobi hotel to mark the launch of the Strathmore Business School’s Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness on Thursday evening, the don called on businesses to set and achieve high standards of productivity.
"It is only through increased productivity that firms can be able to create jobs and pay high salaries for Kenyans to invest for the prosperity of the country," he said.
The academic, who later flew to Kampala, Uganda for the ongoing East African Business Summit for over 350 CEOs, called on the government to implement policies that enhance productivity by increasing investment in critical areas such as infrastructure.
Making decisions
He challenged the business community to try and enlighten political leaders on the importance of making decisions that create a favourable environment for business to thrive.
"Political leaders are rational people and if they can be shown how to meet the needs of their constituents, they could do so," said the professor who is an advisor to Rwandan President Paul Kagame.
The dinner also marked the graduation ceremony for a workshop for East Africa’s business, public sector and academic leaders.
Angola: Country’s Exports With Spain Surpass 400 Million Euros
July 21, 2008
20 July 2008
Posted to the web 21 July 2008
Luanda
Angola’s exports for Spain reached 441.2 million euros in 2007, while in the same period the importations from Spain to Angola amounted at 164 million euros.
The information was given to ANGOP at Luanda International Fair (FIL2008), by the Spanish commercial attaché in Angola, Ernesto Giménez-Burgos.
According to him, in this commercial relationship between both states, his country imported oil, fish and black granite, while Angola imported industrial mechanical instruments, vehicles and electric material.
Ernesto Giménez-Burgos referred also that in the first semester of 2008 there was an increment in Spanish export to Angola, amounted at 82, 4 percent and an increase of 152,6% in exportations from Angola to Spain.
The source added that besides this commercial exchange, Spain granted a credit of 200 million euros to Angola this year.
Gimenez-Burgos made a positive assessment of FIL/2008, compared to last year and due to the fact that companies of his country got many contacts, as well as witnessing good presence of people.
Spain participates in the 25th edition of this trade fair, happening until this Sunday, with 17 companies in the Agriculture and industrial sectors.
The event counts on the participation of 550 companies, among national and foreign ones, from countries like Botswana, Zimbabwe, Egypt, Brazil, Portugal, Pakistan, Spain, Germany, China, Singapore and Turkey, among others.
Kenya: Country Set to Import 50,000 Bags of Maize From Neighbour
July 21, 2008
20 July 2008
Posted to the web 21 July 2008
David Mugonyi
Nairobi
The Tanzania government is to sell 50,000 bags of maize to Kenya to help meet a major deficit expected from next month.
Agriculture minister William Ruto said on Saturday that Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, whom he met on Thursday, had lifted the ban of food exports to allow Kenya to buy the staple.
Mr Ruto said: "The maize will be here by the end of this week. Although it is not enough, we expect they (Tanzania) will agree to sell more to us."
After the first batch arrives, the minister explained, the Tanzania government will assess its stocks with a view to selling more to Kenya.
Kenya has decided to buy the produce from its neighbour because it is the cheapest option, Mr Ruto added.
Tanzania is selling the maize to Kenya at $250 (about Sh16,000) a tonne. "We decided to buy maize from Tanzania because it is cheaper if you add transport costs, and this is the best value for our money," he said by telephone.
Mr Ruto pointed out that although South Africa has enough stocks of maize, it is too expensive to import. The Government is re-evaluating its stocks so that it does not flood the market with imports at the expense of local farmers, he added.
Although the Government has authorised the importation of 3 million bags to fill the gap expected between August and September, the minister said, 1.5 million bags should be enough.
He said the crop currently on farms could meet the remaining expected shortfall once farmers start harvesting it in September.
The shortage is caused by post-election violence which saw maize stocks destroyed and delayed planting in some areas, as well as left farms idle due to displacements of growers.
Mr Ruto was in Tanzania on Thursday to finalise the deal.
Africa: World Trade Talks Reach Crunch Point
July 21, 2008
GUEST COLUMN
20 July 2008
Posted to the web 20 July 2008
Nkululeko Khumalo
Johannesburg
Negotiations to free up international trade culminate after seven years in a round of talks this week which will be crucial for Africa. Success would be in African countries’ long-term interests, writes AllAfrica guest columnist Nkululeko Khumalo, while a failure would collapse the process for years.
The meeting of trade ministers which begins in Geneva on Monday presents the last realistic opportunity for member countries of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to salvage something out of the Doha Round of trade talks and register at least a modest success.
But what are the key issues at this stage and what could the outcome mean for Africa?
When the Doha Round began, there was a general understanding that progress depended on whether members strike agreements in four major negotiating areas: agricultural trade between nations, access to one another’s markets for non-agricultural goods; the right of citizens of member countries to sell their services in one another’s countries; and development issues which have a particular impact on the world’s poorest countries, otherwise called poor country concerns.
Though negotiations on services are generally complex, it appears there are no serious blockages. So members are basically waiting to see what happens in the negotiations over agriculture and non-agricultural market access before they make new offers in the talks.
On poor country concerns, developed countries offered to developing countries a lot of pledges of support and market access during the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference at the end of 2005. Least developed countries (LDCs) were offered duty-free, quota-free access for 97 percent of their exports. More importantly, cotton exports from LDCs would receive duty-free, quota-free treatment which should boost the ability of West African cotton growers to export their product to developed countries.
It is therefore clear that WTO member countries must broker a deal on agriculture and non-agricultural goods if this week’s meeting, which in WTO parlance is called a "mini-ministerial," is to be successful.
Agriculture remains the most heavily protected and distorted area of international trade. Developed countries have continued to subsidize their farmers to the tune of over U.S.$300 billion a year in addition to levying high tariff duties on agricultural imports. Substantial liberalization in this sector is needed to enable competitive exporters from the developing world to realize gains that could fuel economic growth and poverty reduction.
The Doha Round negotiations are expected to result in an agreement to eliminate export subsidies; to reduce greatly the payments wealthier countries make to support certain of their constituencies, such as farmers; and to cut import duties.
This week, the WTO is seeking consensus to deal with cuts on certain types of tariffs and overall trade-distorting subsidies. Accordingly the revised draft agricultural text which will be the subject of the talks aims to secure consensus on a range of outstanding measures in the field of tariffs. Against the backdrop of the current food crisis, the talks will also seek consensus on special safeguard mechanisms that developing countries need to ensure that opening up freer trade does not prejudice their people’s food security.
However, it is important to note that in most African countries, agricultural trade liberalization will not in itself immediately result in windfall gains: they just do not have the capacity to supply enough produce to take full advantage of lower tariffs and duties.
In fact, some countries depend on single commodity exports and stand to suffer serious economic and social shocks as a result of losing preferential treatment for those products. Moreover, LDCs and developing countries which have to import food – many of which are in Africa – will be threatened by increases in the prices of food imports when subsidies paid in developed countries are cut, forcing up the prices they will charge.
Nevertheless, a positive outcome at this week’s conference would create favourable international incentives for increased domestic production and is definitely in African countries’ long-term interests. A failure of the talks would just keep the status quo, which would harm their interests.
The area of access for non-agricultural products is one in which developed countries hope to make major gains and will go on the offensive in negotiations. They aim to force developing countries – especially the emerging economies with lucrative markets, such as Brazil – to reduce their often-high industrial tariffs.
However, the actual tariffs applied by many developing countries are lower than the "bound tariffs" formally reflected in their schedules of commitments in the WTO. So even if this week’s conference results in reductions of tariffs in this area, they are unlikely to be substantial enough to lower applied tariffs.
Botswana: Standard Charter Discusses Risk Management
July 19, 2008
18 July 2008
Posted to the web 18 July 2008
Standard Chartered Bank recently hosted a seminar to discuss Risk Management to its Wholesale Banking clients at Gaborone Sun.
The event attracted about 80 Directors and Chief Executive Officers from a wide spectrum of corporate and parastatal entities, and was arranged in partnership with the Botswana Institute of Directors.
In his opening remarks the CEO David D Cutting said: "We live in turbulent times and the success of our business as well as yours will depend on how well we manage the risks we see and prepare for the ones that are not so easy to see.
Standard Chartered Bank believes that we are the Right Partner to have in times like these. Our solutions provide you with the necessary tools to help you weather these storms, protecting the value of your assets and benefiting your business through a proactive approach to the management of uncertainty."
Briefing the guests on the state of global financial markets, Steve Brice, the Regional Head of Global Markets indicated that the storm is far from over, explaining that the effects of the credit crunch have not abated yet, evidenced by the declines in the performance of stock markets around the world, and a significant slowdown in the U.S economy, with threats of a recession. Global inflation has also significantly been on the rise, mainly fuelled by record high crude oil and food prices, which have defied all efforts by major economies to curb them.
Central Banks around the world have responded to this rising inflation through increases in interest rates; however Brice challenged the audience to consider the effectiveness of interest rates as a measure to control Botswana inflation, which is largely imported from our trading partners.
Giving the key note address, Eric Pascal, from Standard Chartered Bank’s Risk Management Advisory team, emphasized the changing role of Directors and Boards, with risk management now becoming an important responsibility of Directors of companies.
He gave a brief outline of the process of putting in place a structure that adequately identifies, measures and manages key financial risks faced by corporations in these turbulent times.
Pascal highlighted the need to acknowledge and recognize these financial risks, with the aim of stabilizing earning streams. Financial risks, which arise as a ‘by-product’ during the execution of core business need to be reduced to acceptable levels.
The risks that Pascal identified as relevant to entities all over the world including the Botswana market include, but are not limited to, the following: market risk, which is the risk of volatility in foreign exchange rates, interest rates and commodity prices, which are all key inputs in the execution of core business, credit risk which may be caused by counterparty default, liquidity risk, which is the risk that the company working capital will not be able to meet commitments or payments as they fall due, and the risk inherent in operational processes.
He highlighted Standard Chartered Bank’s capabilities in helping companies through the entire risk management process, and recommended hedging solutions to mitigate these risks.
Phole, The Chairman of the Botswana Institute of Directors commended Standard Chartered Bank for assisting the Institute in its efforts to sensitize local Directors on the changing landscape of governance, and restated the Institute’s aim to work with nurture local companies to attain world class status in compliance and governance. The Head of Financial Markets, Olebile Makhupe, closed the seminar, reiterating Standard Chartered Bank’s commitment to continue their efforts towards contributing to the economy of Botswana and development of the Financial Markets by offering world class, tailor-made solutions to its Wholesale Banking clients.
Standard Chartered Bank is a recognized leader in the provision of end-to-end, award winning and innovative financial services, offering a range of financial hedging tools that can be customized to meet specific risk management needs of clients.
Liberia: Int’l Bank Launches New Branch
July 19, 2008
18 July 2008
Posted to the web 18 July 2008
The International Bank Liberia Limited has launched a new branch at the Caldwell Junction on Bushrod Island. The launching of a news branch is part of the bank’s expansion of banking services across Monrovia.
In remarks, the Chief Executive Officer Mr. Thomas S. Jeffrey III, says the growth of any nation is dependent upon economic and private sector growth.
Speaking at the official launching program of the Caldwell Branch of International Bank Wednesday, Mr. Jeffrey said without economic growth, there can be no national development.
"We will accelerate the banking sector; IB has a history of being here since 1960. We are going to stay and grow with the country," Mr. Jeffrey told his audience.
He noted that his banking institution will always serve the Liberian people hoping that their services will be extended throughout the country adding that IB will continue to grow as Liberia grows.
He indicated that the launching of the Caldwell Branch is one of six branches earmarked. The IB Chief Executive Officer disclosed that another branch will be launched in Kakata, Margibi County on July 26, 2008.
He thanked staff of the Bank for their dedication and commitment to duty adding "we hope to do more for the country." In his keynote address, the Assistant Manager for Bank Supervision at the Central Bank of Liberia, Mr. Michael Ogun lauded IB for opening a new branch that would help Liberians.
He said the CBL has encouraged that expansion of commercial banks as a way of bringing competition. Mr. Ogun urged the management of IB to expand its services to other parts of Liberia aimed at enhancing economic growth.