Thailand Consortium Proposes $2 Billion Investment in Country
July 21, 2008
20 July 2008
Posted to the web 21 July 2008
Betrand Nwankwo
A consortium of Thailand companies made up of Rainbow Energy Limited, PTT public company and Transglobal Energy Funds (TRC) has set aside $2 billion to be invested in Nigeria’s energy sector if Federal Government approves their proposal. The targeted areas are the power sector, gas, petrochemical, and agriculture.
The company, under the umbrella of Rainbow Power Limited has also pledged to assist the Federal Government in addressing the epileptic power generation and supply through construction of three new power stations which will generate 1000 mega watts of electricity.
The group made the disclosure when they presented their proposal to the minister of energy for gas, chief Emmanuel Odusina at the weekend in Abuja.
The consortium which has earlier met with the vice president, Goodluck Jonathan, finance minister, Shamsudeen Usman, minister of state for energy (Power), Fatima Ibrahim, said they planned to set up a petrochemical company in Brass, build fertilizer plan in Delta State and equally build three new power plants in Ajaokuta, Abuja and Kano that will generate 1000mw of electricity for Nigeria.
Currently Nigeria requires over 10,000mw of electricity. However, it generates less than 1000 with Federal Government planning to increase the generation capacity with massive investment in the sector which will be revealed by the long awaited state of emergency in the sector.
The group who pledged to deliver on the projects within two years of approval disclosed that 1000mw which is 16 per cent would help in a log way in addressing the current shortfall between generation capacity and generation requirement of electricity in Nigeria.
In his presentation, a member of the group, Mr. Taz Meerovich said the consortium would be a critical development in the power generation capacity of Nigeria. Explaining further, Meerovich said if approval is granted to their proposal, the company would immediately commence the construction of the proposed power stations.
According to him, the power plant that will be sighted in Ajaokuta will generate 500mw of electricity while the ones in Abuja and Kano would generate 250 mw of electricity each.
Speaking further, the group’s leader said the consortium was willing to acquire 20 per cent shares of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in Brass LNG. He disclosed that the group is seeking at least 20 per cent proportional LNG off-take from Brass LNG for Thailand national needs as part of the equity.
"The consortium will assist the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to acquire a Thailand based strategic energy interests such as equity in a refinery and work towards the development of Thailand as a base for LNG from NNPC targeting Asian market", he promised.
At the moment, NNPC has 49 per sent equity shares in Brass LNG, with ConocoPhilips, Eni S.P.A, and Total S.A controlling 17 per cent shares each but the consortium is proposing to acquire 20 per cent shares from 49 per cent being held by NNPC.
In addition to the power sector, the consortium is planning to invest in the gas. It also intend to build a petrochemical company in Brass. According to the group, when completed, the petrochemical company would be capable of generating power for its consumption and for the host community. Meerovich said the company would generate additional revenue for the Federal Government, create jobs and assist in energy transfer.
In the area of agriculture, Meerovich said the consortium would also establish a fertiliser plant in Delta State. The group’s leaders who observed that 80 per cent of the raw material needed for the fertiliser production are available in Nigeria, however stated that Nigeria has what it takes to be a great nation.
Senator May Be Prosecuted Over Power Deals
July 21, 2008
21 July 2008
Posted to the web 21 July 2008
Chuks Ohuegbe
There are strong indications that the embattled former Governor of Cross River State, Senator Liyel Imoke, may be prosecuted over his involvement in the $16 billion power sector scam.
LEADERSHIP investigations confirmed that the House of Representatives adhoc committee report that investigated the power sector, whose report would be laid on the table tomorrow, will among other recommendations call for Imoke’s prosecution.
Until last week, Imoke was the Governor of Cross River State on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), but the Court of Appeal, in its ruling, nullified his election and ordered for a rerun.
With the loss, the ex-governor lost the immunity, which Section 88 of the 1999 Constitution conferred on him.
Imoke, served as the Minister of Power during the second term of former President Olusegun Obasanjo Administration.
The Hon. Ndudi Elumelu-led adhoc committee report also indicted another one-time Minister of Power and serving governor of one of the South-western states.
Our checks revealed that the indicted governor would escape prosecution because of the immunity he presently enjoys.
As at last night, there were still pressures from interest groups to sway the House leadership to defer the laying of the adhoc committee report on the table.
The thinking is that if the report is not laid on the table, it would be difficult to debate or make public its contents.
LEADERSHIP also confirmed from the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) last night that the the labour group plans to stage a peaceful demonstration tomorrow at the National Assembly, wherein they would impress it on the leadership of the House not to suppress the power sector adhoc committee report.
The labour planned protest is coming on the heels of pressure being mounted by the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) that called for the prosecution of the former governor.
The CNPP had warned that agencies of government, especially the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should not schedule the Cross River governorship rerun election so quickly in a bid to shield Imoke from prosecution.
Insulate Niger Delta Problem From Politics - Onosode
July 21, 2008
21 July 2008
Posted to the web 21 July 2008
Lagos
Boardroom technocrat, Mr Gamaliel Onosode, has advised that the programmes envisaged for the resolution of the Niger Delta problems should be insulated from politics.
Onosode told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Asaba that what was needed to deal with the challenges in the Niger Delta was sustained infrastructure development.
Speaking on the seemingly intractable problems in the region, he called for a change of attitude in dealing with them.
"Everybody, all the stakeholders, must work together in order to deal with the challenge, which the environment presents to us in terms of infrastructure".
"The progammes that should be put in place must be prioritised in ways that will dramatise to the people that there has been a change of attitude".
" Such programme should be transparent enough to convince the people that we are not just playing politics, that we are really concerned with the challenge."
He said the problem in the Niger Delta involved not just the people of the region, but all Nigerians.
"There is no one who can rightly extract himself as not being part of the problem. So by the same token, this is our challenge," he said.
Onosode said the problem in the Niger Delta had inherent challenges to other Nigerians.
"The problem in the Niger Delta is our challenge, that is, the people of Nigeria, not just the people of the Niger Delta. It is a national issue," he said.
Redefining Micro Financing Banks
July 21, 2008
OPINION
21 July 2008
Posted to the web 21 July 2008
Boniface Chizea
Lagos
I do not know how many of our compatriots have been following the revolution quietly going on in banking in this country as a result of the activities of the Micro finance banks which were recently licensed by the Central Bank to extend credit to the dominant but active poor in our country.
The airwaves are now dominated by news of Micro finance banks which are extending credit to women mechanic or you read of products which would require patrons to develop a relationship by opening accounts with initial deposits which are as low as 200 to 500 Naira and daily repayment which is as low as 20 Naira per day. I should guess that it has never been contentious that a predominant proportion of our population is poor and very poor indeed. Various estimates of the poor in our society have varied from 50 to 65 per cent of the population. Often this incidence of poverty from the perspective of global relative positioning is benchmarked by the estimation of the percentage of the population that lives with less than one dollar a day. But from the perspective of access to institutional credit it is estimated that the totality of the poor averaging 65 per cent cannot avail themselves of credit from the banks and other related formal institutions. Therefore the only recourse for credit by the poor has been the informal market where money lenders and other organized informal channels such as; isusu, etc rule the waves.
But in the context of this realization we cannot realistically be talking of making any meaningful impact on poverty alleviation if such a dominant proportion of our population cannot be mainstreamed into accessing institutional credit. And this situation no doubt constrains the capacity of the monetary authority to deliver on its mandate of regulating money supply and the much sought after price stability. For the interest of the reading public we would like to seize the opportunity of this discussion to shed some lights in lay man’s terminology on what really is a micro finance bank, what are there antecedents? What are the imperatives for the establishment of a micro finance bank that avert our minds to some of the noticed incipient challenges of this category of banks.
Micro finance banks as already indicated are distinguished by the quantum of deposits they accept, the smallness of the loans they extend, the simplicity of their operations and the fact that they are not expected to do asset based collateral lending which is a proven impediment that had marginalized the poor from accessing institutional credit. The authorities in an attempt to mitigate these constraints to access to institutional credit have involved various schemes over the years some of which are well thought through and some from there conceptualization were ab initio not designed to be sustainable and long lasting. In this regard one would recall the introduction of the People’s Bank during the Babaginda era which had as its pioneer managing director, my friend of blessed memory, Mrs Maria Shokenu, and which pulled the feat of having that irrepressible iconoclast, also of blessed memory Tai Solarin as the pioneer Chairman. The People’s Bank from its modus operandi was like an attempt to give some handouts to the poor. There was no concerted effort made to put robust structures in place and from the perspective of the quality of management, the systems and procedures and the quality of internal control it was obvious that sufficient home work was not done before the establishment of the Bank and therefore it was little wonder that this effort before long came a cropper!
Then the concept of community banks was introduced which on inception in 1990 had an initial mandatory capitalization of N 250,000 but which had been raised to five million Naira at the onset of the Micro finance banks. The community banks were essentially supposed to be unit banks which were owned by the community hence the name of this category of banks, and which were meant to operate, catering to the needs of the community and eschewing sophisticated aspects of banking operations such as dealing in foreign exchange and the finance of international trade. They were in fact not supposed to be involved with clearing arrangements and where they used checks it was that of their correspondent commercial banks. But the reality was that the management of community banks in their pursuit of the profit motive could not but breach the requirement regarding the scope of services they could render. They were soon into offering products and services that were the exclusive preserve of the regular banks. In the hey days of community banks the country witnessed the establishment of 1,308 community banks in 1996 which had reduced to 1,014 by 1999 due to incipient incidence of distress. Before long the community banks were affected by problems which arose because of their weak capital base and poor quality management which resulted in pervasive distress. The community banks that survived until the commencement of the micro finance banks have been mandated to transmute to micro finance banks having satisfied the basic requirements for operation.
The Micro finance banks which were meant for cater to the needs of the active but dominant poor segment of our population were licensed by the Central Bank in two distinct categories. There are the unit micro finance banks that would operate from just one location which were licensed to commence operations with a minimum capitalization of 20 million Naira but which could expand based on their ability to muster additional 20 million Naira for each subsequent location. And there is the other category which is allowed to commence operations statewide but which would need an initial minimum capital of one billion Naira. All the micro finance institutions must have the words "micro finance" attached to their name. Like most things in this country the race is on to license micro finance banks and they are beginning to proliferate. In fact someone has argued that this a clever way for the Central Bank to respond to the criticism of the consolidation exercise, that of one size fits all, from the perspective of the uniform capitalization requirements for all banks in the country.
Some of the criticism of the operations of Micro finance banks so far stem from some of the operators who decry the fact that the regular banks are also reaching back to open micro finance banks making the playing field unleveled for those who do not have such pedigree. Well, the Act allows such banks to do so and therefore unless the Act is reviewed there is not much anyone can do about that. My particular concern is the question of mindset! Can the leopard change its spots? Will these banks establishing micro finance banking be able to cultivate a mindset that would enable them to play according to the rules? Or would it be another opportunity for contamination through the perpetration of sharp practices? There are also complaints regarding the level of interest charges by micro finance banks. My view is that we must put things in perspective. Where are we coming from? What rates prevailed in the particular markets that hitherto catered for the needs of this category of borrowers? I am sure that whatever the charges are currently, they must represent a fraction of what prevailed in the market hitherto. The operators have justified the charges based on the rationalization of lack of economies of scale in their operations and the need to make a profit to make the sector attractive and vibrant and most importantly to sustain a going concern. We commend the efforts of some of the operators who have been quite aggressive with attracting concessional resources and we hope that the operations of the micro finance banks would successfully mainstream the dominant poor but active segment of our population in their access to institutional credit, facilitate the deepening of the financial sector and contribute to the rapid growth and development of the national economy.
Saraki Condemns NUT Strike
July 21, 2008
21 July 2008
Posted to the web 21 July 2008
Funmi Komolafe and Demola Akinyem
Lagos
Governor Bukola Saraki has condemned the four-week old strike of the Nigeria Union of Teachers and called on all well-meaning Nigerians to do the same.
The governor who spoke through the Secretary to his Government, Alhaji Saka Onimogo at a Stakeholders Summit on Labour Administration and Employment Generation held at the Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies in Ilorin, Kwara blamed government, employers and labour for increasing labour disputes in the country.
He said, " Labour leadership would not seem to appreciate that strike (or its ancillaries) is an anachronism. Indeed, it is because of its antithesis to desired development that strike has been dumped as a weapon of resolving industrial conflicts , elsewhere in the world".
The governor continued, " It is against this backdrop that all well-meaning Nigerians must condemn all on-going strike actions in Nigeria, including that of the Nigeria Union of Teachers ( NUT) and the picketing threat by the Nigeria Labour Congress".
Governor Saraki said, " Government as a regulatory body, has not mustered and exerted enough and firm political will on labour issues. Government , as employer of labour and NECA have not been able to initiate and institutionalise ready mechanisms to preempt industrial conflicts arising from all wages and remuneration- related issues".
He said, " Labour is nothing better. It glorifies in venting grievances through strikes or threats of strike and picketing."
Governor Saraki said neither government, employers nor labour have given any serious thought to the "quantifiable and unquantifiable economic, social and security costs of industrial conflict resulting in strike."
However, labour minister, Dr. Hassan Lawal in his message read by his permanent secretary, Alhaji Suleiman Kassim emphasized the need for the dialogue among the social partners.
The minister said, " the principle of collective bargaining in labour and industrial relations has dialogue as its hallmark. This simply implies that between the labour and employers of labour, there should be a meeting point".
Dr. Lawal said " the era of table banging is gone and gone for good" and urged stakeholders to always try to resolve issues by dialogue.
He advised, " As stakeholders, in the project Nigeria, the survival of this country should be of paramount concern to us".
Gimba, Maduka in War of Words
July 21, 2008
21 July 2008
Posted to the web 21 July 2008
Dayo Thomas
Abuja
The National Sports Commission (NSC) Chairman, Abdulrahman Hassan Gimba and Table Tennis Federation (TFN) Chairman ,Chief Cosmos Maduka were at each other’s throats at the Abuja National Stadium during the official handling over of the nation’s athletes to the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC).
The war of words started when Maduka, descended on the NSC boss for keeping his directors, athletes and journalists waiting for over eight hours and then after arriving admonishing the athletes to be good ambassadors of the country in Beijing, China.
Though he apologised for his late arrival Maduka in response to the Minister/Chairman NSC said such behaviour were the bane of development in the sporting circle.
He said: "The NSC discourages people like us from investing in sports in the country. I funded a trip after I got approval from the NSC for table tennis to go to Zagreb, Croatia to the tune of N13 million up till now the NSC has not refunded me.
"I took Nigeria to India, Egypt and several other places. Olympics gold is not picked on the streets. We need encouragement but we are treated like jobless people. Things need to be streamlined.
"I’m ready to resign. It’s disheartening. I cannot continue to be treated like this anymore!"
Gimba quickly requested for the microphone and replied: "In a civilized clime if I say I’m sorry, I’m sorry. The FEC is meeting I have also been travelling. You’re a great beneficiary of the contract system in the National Sports Commission (NSC).
"In fact several of my directors are under interdiction because of you," Gimba said before sitting down.
Apparently furious because of the allegations Maduka immediately after the short ceremony rushed to confront the NSC boss but was restrained by the Edo State Sports Commissioner ,Brown Ebewele to the consternation of the crowd that was at the venue of the ceremony which included the Beijing-bound athletes and their officials.
Zimbabwe - Where Nigeria Stands
July 21, 2008
DOCUMENT
21 July 2008
Posted to the web 21 July 2008
Ojo Maduekwe
Nigeria has no apology to offer for any special interest it may have in the speedy resolution of the electoral/political crisis in Zimbabwe, not only because of a historic reference to my country as a frontline state from faraway West Africa during the long liberation struggle in Southern Africa, but because the bitter Nigerian Civil War of 1967 - 1970 that nearly saw the demise of the Federal Republic and whose scars are still with us was directly traceable to the electoral failure of 1964. We cannot wish that tragedy even for an enemy.
And Zimbabwe is a worthy friend and ally of Nigeria.
Considering the Draft Resolution which has just been circulated, we would first commend SADC, particularly the facilitation initiatives of the South African President, President Thabo Mbeki, for the excellent, and often courageous inputs which they have made on the Zimbabwe’s electoral debacle.
The quality of their intervention and engagement provides a useful model for the rest of Africa. And speaking of intervention, it is Nigeria’s position, especially as the continent embarks on the challenging but necessary journey towards a Union Government, and ultimately, a United States of Africa, that no African state be allowed any longer the use of the fig leaf of sovereignty to cover its nakedness on good governance and human rights issues, including electoral integrity. Here, as in many other matters, we have to be truly our brother’s keeper. That is what the entire philosophy of NEPAD and Peer Review Mechanism concept is all about.
Nigeria as the largest contributor to Peace-keeping Operations in Africa is a legitimate stakeholder on this issue, because the greatest threats to continental stability and security in the new millennium are intra-state conflicts, usually arising from political succession obstacles, far more than conflicts between states. And when it results in humanitarian crisis of avoidable destruction and deaths, my country gets drawn in by sending in peace-keeping troops, placing our young men and women in harm’s way.
Leadership in Africa must therefore be more proactive, more courageous, and more engaging on the legitimacy challenges of free and fair elections.
The key principle here is respect for the will of the people. And the evidence of that will, can be difficult to establish if the process is incontrovertibly marred by serial violence, intimidation and genocidal threats, whether by the ruling party, or by Opposition groups. In taking a position, the Nigerian Delegation therefore wishes to rely substantially on the findings of the SADC Statement on the Zimbabwe Presidential Run-off Elections held on June 27, 2008, namely:
"The pre-election phase was characterized by politically motivated violence, intimidation, and displacements. The process leading up to the Presidential run-off elections held on 27th June, 2008 did not conform to SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections. However the Election Day was peaceful. Based on the above mentioned observations, the Mission is of the view that the prevailing environment impinged on the credibility of the electoral process. The elections did not represent the will of the people of Zimbabwe ".
Nigeria, together with several other AU member-states and even the UN had called for a postponement of the Presidential Election Run-off. The SADC findings, has sadly vindicated our position. We therefore, do not consider the outcome of that Election as a basis for moving forward. It will be counter-productive and unduly provocative to suggest so, and far more facilitative of a much needed political dialogue and enduring peace to proceed from the status quo ante the Presidential Run-off. Anything to the contrary, will erode and undermine the moral, and indeed political authority of AU and cripple it against future effectiveness.
So, where to start is to adopt the findings of SADC on the Presidential Run-off Elections, express our strong displeasure on the outcome consistent with those findings, even before proceeding to approve the recommendation of the Mission Statement which has been adopted by the SADC Draft Resolution on Zimbabwe circulated by Angola especially Resolutions 2 and 3:
"RESOLUTION 2: To support the call for the creation of a Government of National Unity;
RESOLUTION 3: To support the SADC facilitation and recommend that SADC mediation efforts should be continued in order to assist the people and leadership of Zimbabwe to resolve the problems they are facing. In this regard, SADC should establish a mechanism on the ground in order to seize the momentum for a negotiated solution."
While we fully endorse the principle of negotiation and political dialogue following our condemnation of what happened on June 27, we are obliged to caution that the Kenyan model of Government of National Unity must not be seen as ONE SIZE FITS ALL contraption. The unique features of the Zimbabwean crisis present a fresh challenge that is not beyond the creativity of AU Leadership.
Furthermore, the AU must not succumb to any blackmail implied in some unfortunate remarks, such as have been made about many AU member-states living in glass houses. Well, in the case of Nigeria, whatever glass house we may be perceived to have lived in for part of our difficult history has been adequately protected and reinforced by judicial independence and President Yar’Adua’s awesome and unprecedented initiative and commitment to electoral reforms. His seminal intervention yesterday during the Peer Review Mechanism Report on Nigeria is the ultimate proof of that commitment.
All of Africa is in this business together. There are hardly any saints here. Yet, must we continue in sin? We must each assist one another to accelerate our movement on the good governance objective and democratic track so that voices outside Africa will not find the justification to give us those interminable lectures on how to conduct ourselves which we rightly find quite irritating and often paternalistic.
-Remarks by Nigerian Foreign Minister, Ojo Maduekwe, on the Draft Resolution on Zimbabwe at African Union 11th Ordinary Assembly recently held at Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.
Agenda Set for Crucial Talks Between MDC And Zanu-PF
July 21, 2008
21 July 2008
Posted to the web 21 July 2008
Tichaona Sibanda
The five-page Memorandum of Understanding deal signed by the MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai and Robert Mugabe in Harare on Monday lays the groundwork for formal negotiations on forming a power sharing government aimed at ending the country’s 10 year political and economic crisis.
Analysts said the stage was now set for the toughest issues to be addressed between the deeply opposed and mutually hostile political figures, seen by many analysts as unlikely partners in any power-sharing agreement.
Hostilities run deep between Tsvangirai and Mugabe despite reports that Thabo Mbeki is working on a power sharing deal similar to the one that brought peace to Kenya after that country’s disputed elections. The MDC is pushing for the creation of a transitional authority leading to new elections in 2010, while Zanu-PF is urging for a government of national unity.
Eddie Cross, the MDC policy coordinator said although the situation in the country is desperate and the gulf between the parties is immense the MOU gave both sides a chance to start afresh and negotiate a deal acceptable to all parties.
‘The preamble of the document looks at the broad objective of extricating the country from a deep political and economic crisis. The second section of the document deals with pre-conditions set out by both parties,’ Cross said.
The third, key section, will handle constitutionality issues ranging from the rule of law to provisions for a new constitution. The land issue and targeted sanctions will also be looked at in the section.
A source said Zanu-PF are demanding that the land reforms they introduced in 2001 should be irreversable and they also want the Western countries to remove all targeted sanctions on Mugabe and 120 of his close associates in the party.
Cross said according to the MOU, each party will appoint an expanded negotiating team, ideally five from each side. In addition, each party would be allowed to bring a technical team comprising lawyers, other experts and security staff.
The final section deals with general arrangements like the time and venue of the talks. Cross believes the talks, are most likely to be held at a secret location in South Africa away from the media and the public in general. This will come as a huge disapointment to the country’s civil society groups who have been actively advocating for all Zimbabweans to be involved in resolving the crisis in their country
Mass Starvation Looms for Zimbabweans
July 21, 2008
21 July 2008
Posted to the web 21 July 2008
Tererai Karimakwenda
Global media reports have said mass starvation is looming for millions of Zimbabweans this year, following recent poor harvests and the ongoing food shortages in the shops.
But people on the ground are using a different language. They say they are already starving. The government’s chaotic ‘Land Reform’ programme has resulted in poor harvests, even though there were heavy rains this season. Government policies have produced an economy characterised by hyperinflation and severe food shortages in the shops. With experts estimating that inflation is currently between 10 and 15 million per cent, prices for some goods are more than doubling every day.
An estimated five million people in the country will be in need of food assistance very soon and hundreds of thousands who harvested very little this season will require food aid immediately. This is according to the United Nations, who also said that one third of the population suffers malnourishment. An increased number of children are now suffering from kwashiorkor, a serious disease linked to malnutrition.
Renson Gasela, an official in the Mutambara MDC and former head of the Grain Marketing Board, said starvation is very, very visible these days. He said in a country where everyone depends on maize as their daily food, it is a serious problem when there is no maize at all. A 20-kg bucket of maize meal now costs up to Z$ 1 trillion.
Gasela said he worries about going to his constituency because people expect him to do something about the food shortages. A woman that he knows showed up on his farm last week, selling a large bag full of her family’s clothing. Gasela quoted her as saying: "We can always buy more of these in the future, but right now we need to eat."
Gasela angrily criticised the current government ban on humanitarian aid agencies, that is stopping them from feeding people in the rural areas. He said: "When you remove NGOs from feeding children, what are you saying? You are saying that they are condemned to die."
Our Harare correspondent Simon Muchemwa said many people are showing up in the capital after leaving their rural homes because they did not grow enough food to keep them alive. The shortages have been worse since the presidential runoff election when ZANU-PF handed out bags of maize meal to supporters with party cards.
The government recently announced what they call ‘People’s shops,’ where the food is subsidised. But the exercise has been criticised as nothing more than a publicity campaign. Muchemwa said even one of these shops that he went to have empty shelves, and only soldiers, intelligence agents, police and prison officers have access to the food. In one shop last week, soldiers argued over supplies of sugar that had just been delivered, threatening to pull out guns if they did not get any.
Even if you have money there is another problem. Banks have a maximum withdrawal limit of Z$100 billion per person a day, and it costs more than that for a soft drink.
Muchemwa said cross border traders are reporting that Zimbabwe’s shortages are now causing price increases in South Africa and other neighbouring countries. Supplies across the borders are reportedly getting scarce as Zimbabweans buy in bulk to sell at home.
Karisimbi Project Set to Go Digital Next Year
July 21, 2008
19 July 2008
Posted to the web 21 July 2008
Bosco Hitimana
Kigali
Rwanda’s Karisimbi tower project is set to go digital by March next year, the coordinator has revealed. Digitisation is the process of converting information into a digital format.
"We have finished the pilot phase of digitisation and we are now going into the final phase", Mr. Agustin Iyako, project coordinator told East African Business Week in Kigali.
He said the digitisation is set for March next year while Communication Navigation Surveillance -Air Traffic Management (CNS-ATM) needs thirty months to be in place. CNS-ATM requires about $80million investment to satisfy Comesa region.
However, digitisation and content development for Rwanda can be calculated in phases depending on the need of the project.
Karismbi project is an ICT infrastructure on the Peak of Karisimbi Mountain at 4,507 meters above sea level in Rwanda’s Northern Province.
The project was put in place by the government in 2005 to enhance electronic communications and broadcasting capabilities in the country and in the neighbouring countries.
The infrastructure seeks to provide low cost, high-capacity communications capability for both rural as well as urban areas, and expand coverage for mobile phone, Internet, TV and FM radio coverage and access.
One of the crucial tasks of the project is to provide sky safety and surveillance capability through a Communication Navigation Surveillance - Air Traffic Management (CNS-ATM), already endorsed by the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) in 2006.
The success of the project could mean lowering the cost of international bandwidth from about US$3,500 per megabyte/month to only US$1,500 per megabyte/month.
However, the officials say that the project can provide an output of about 30 to 40Mbps of bandwidth. Once fully operational, it is expected that the cost of communications in Rwanda will come down on average by of about 50%.
With the help of the project, a number of selected rural schools and hospitals have been connected with Digital Video Broadcast Return Channel Terrestrial (DVBRCT) and Broadband Internet services as a proof of concept.
Through the project, various e-application services on its network like virtual tourism, e learning, e-health, e-commerce, e-government, tracking and surveillance of goods on transit are expected to be available.
Currently the tower has been light up and other supportive infrastructure like houses and helicopter pad for landing are in place. By partnering with COMESA, the coordinator is optimistic that the project stands more chances of being financed on the regional level.