Africa Fails Blood-Soaked Burundi

ON JANUARY 30, the African Union (AU) had an opportunity to etch its name in human history at its summit in Addis Ababa, but it failed to take up that opportunity.

 

On December 17, the AU’s Peace and Security Council agreed to deploy 5,000 troops to Burundi following an increase in violence in the country. To actualise the plan, a two-thirds majority of African leaders voting in favour of the intervention was required at the summit.

Sasol seeks to fuel performance in Africa

SASOL has held discussions with various entities in Africa outside of SA on the long-term potential for a chemicals plant, the group’s executive, vice-president for chemicals Fleetwood Grobler, said on Thursday.

The chemicals and energy group has production facilities in SA, Mozambique and North America. It is investing $8.9bn in the state of Louisiana in an ethane cracker and processing plant that will treble its US chemicals capacity.

 

Mr Grobler said in its last financial year Africa, the Middle East and India contributed just under a third of the R105bn turnover of Sasol’s chemicals business. The short-to medium-term focus in Africa was on improving the performance of agents and distributors and selecting the best locations for a sales office.

Actress Stella Damasus, Daniel Ademinokan launch ‘Mon Afrik TV’

Renowned Nollywood thespian, Stella Damasus, has partnered with award-winning filmmaker and director, Daniel Ademinokan to launch the test transmission of their online television station called “Mon Afrik TV.’’ According to Stella, Mon Afrik TV is a blend of BET, MTV, E-ONLINE, NBC and CW Network all rolled into one but with 100% per cent African content.

 

She said, “that is what we have created and we want Africans all over the world to see this as their own medium of expression, not just another TV station,’’ she said. On his part, Ademinokan said Mon Afrik TV will fill a big vacuum, and also serve as respite for less content providers who can’t afford the fee of other television stations.

Nurturing Talent is Difficult in Africa

Africa  is hailed as a major growth market for global businesses, but as global companies expand there, they are having a tough time finding leaders to run their operations.

Nurturing Talent

That is the conclusion of a new report on executive talent by Russell Reynolds Associates, which surveyed 230 senior leaders and recruiters in Africa. Recruiters say companies are eager to recruit good hires in the region, but find that candidates with traditional management skills — such as the ability to drive change or build teams — are in short supply.

The report focused on the talent markets of Kenya and Nigeria, whose economies are growing rapidly, and SA, the continent’s most developed economy, yet the issues are common to many nations in sub-Saharan Africa, the authors note.

The issues will become more acute as more businesses expand in Africa, where gross domestic product growth is projected to strengthen to 4.5% this year and 5% next year, according to the African Economic Outlook 2015 report.

Driving the talent shortage is Africa’s dearth of high-quality business schools, according to Simon Kingston, who leads the global development practice at Russell Reynolds. In countries such as Kenya and Nigeria, many with management aspirations tend to leave for school or work abroad, and persuading them to return home for their career is a challenge, recruiters said.

Lagos to launch online platform state laws since 1967 till date.

The Lagos State Government has perfected plans to launch an online platform where people all over the world can access the laws enacted by the State since 1967 till date.

The State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, who made the announcement on Tuesday at the formal launch of Laws of Lagos State 2015, said the online platform would not only enable investors and would-be investors to make informed decision about investing in the State, but would also help them to appreciate the various legal protections available for their persons and investment.

L-R: Governor Akinwunmi Ambode (2nd left); his Deputy, Dr. (Mrs.) Oluranti Adebule; Managing Director, Thomson Reuters Africa, Sneha Shah; the State Chief Judge, Justice Olufunmilayo Atilade; Chairman, House Committee on Judicial Commission, Olufumilayo Tejuosho and Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Adeniji Kazeem, during the launching of the Lagos State Laws at the Adeyemi Bero Auditorium, Alausa, Ikeja, on Tuesday, December 08, 2015.

The Governor said that the Law Reform Commission of the State was saddled with the task of developing the online platform, adding that the development was geared towards promoting a platform for accountability and responsibility thereby fulfilling the obligation of the government to create easy access to the laws of the State.

South African Revenue Service pair fights back in ‘rogue unit’ case

Advocate Rudolf Mastenbroek, who formed part of a committee appointed by Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene to advise him on the South African Revenue Service (SARS), was severely conflicted, an explosive affidavit lodged with the Press Ombudsman has revealed.
Mr Mastenbroek was part of retired judge Frank Kroon’s committee mandated with fixing the problems at the revenue service.
The committee has since found that the contentious "rogue unit" at the revenue service was illegal.

Ivan Pillay.

The explosive affidavit, lodged by former senior investigative reporter Pearlie Joubert was read out on Tuesday during a press ombudsman hearing initiated by counsel for former deputy commissioner Ivan Pillay and former SARS head of investigations Johann Van Loggerenberg.
It said Advocate Mastenbroek had tried to get damaging stories — falsely implicating the two officials — published before his appointment to the committee.
Mr Pillay and Mr van Loggerenberg have complained to the ombudsman about a story published in the Sunday Times last month, containing further developments in the long-running saga surrounding the "rogue unit".

ANALYSIS: De Beers polishes image in Botswana

 

DE BEERS has adjusted the tone of its engagement with Botswana — making it more about the people than its relationship with the government — to manage the risk of being perceived as too close to the ruling party. This perception could cost it dearly if the opposition wins the next election.
De Beers used last week’s Connecting Resources to Society in Botswana conference organised by Chatham House, itself and the mines ministry to highlight its contribution to the country’s prosperity, development and economic growth.

De Beers forged the Debswana partnership with the Botswana government in 1969, shortly after the discovery of diamonds there. Since then, 708-million carats of diamonds have been mined and the partnership is the linchpin of the entire country’s economy.
De Beers, the world’s largest producer of rough diamonds by value, last week issued a 50-page book outlining the financial and social contribution its partnership has generated. This could be seen as an effort to broaden its engagement with society outside its relationship with the government and, by extension, the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP).

KEEXS: The First Innovative and Social Footwear Brand in Africa

KEEXS footwear is exciting and the first of its kind from Africa! It is Urban, Afrocentric, Sporty, Innovative and Social oriented. 

Good day to you. We are beyond excited to introduce KEEXS a

Companies shy away from Long-Term Debt as Economy Sags

South Africa companies are becoming reluctant to raise long-term funding as the country’s economic outlook deteriorates, according to Standard Bank Group, Africa’s biggest arranger of corporate bonds.

 

About 74% of corporate bonds issued in South Africa had maturities of three years or less, compared with 42% in 2014, Standard Bank data showed. Debt with maturities of five and seven years dropped to 26% of total sales excluding issuance by banks, from 54% last year.

Alhaji Dangote loses N1trn net worth in one year

BUJA — Nigeria’s Alhaji Aliko Dangote lost N1 trillion ($5 billion) in one year  as a result of drop in prices of shares at the stock market in Dangote cement even as he retains his position as Africa’s richest man.

 According to Forbes’ Africa 50 richest 2015 released, yesterday, Dangote is still the number one richest African for the fifth year in a row, but his $16.7 billion net worth is nearly $5 billion lower than a year ago, a result of a drop in the stock price at his Dangote Cement and a weaker Nigerian currency.

The future for Africa depend on Agribusiness– Adesina

 

Dr.  Akiwumi Ayodeji Adesina, the President of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) has said Africa’s future depends on agriculture as a business and, therefore, urged African governments to focus on building the agribusiness industry.

He said the three key ways to reign in poverty on the African continent were to ensure inclusive growth; increase education; and ensure productivity in agriculture.

Coffee production drop to 62% of sub-Saharan African's output

graphy for coffe consumption

You saw it last year with oil: When prices began to fall, Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest exporter, ramped up production to protect its market share, instead of going the conventional way and holding back production to drive prices back up.
Now the same scenario is unfolding in the coffee market – coffee futures fell the most in seven months after Colombia announced that it would increase exports in the face of low global prices, to protect local farmers’ earnings.
The ongoing El-Nino drought in South America has lowered the quality of Colombian coffee, the third-largest producer after Brazil and Vietnam, and Colombia is trying to sell off as much as it can of the remaining good harvest.

Percentages of Africa living in Poverty gone down..........

The percentage of Africans living in poverty has gone down since 1990 but the numbers have gone up due to population growth, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said in Accra on Friday, October 16.

 

Poverty

Dr Kim who was in Accra to launch a World Bank report “Poverty in a rising Africa” as part of activities to mark ‘End Poverty Day’, remarked that the news concerning poverty in Africa over the past two years “is both encouraging and sobering.”

“Half of all people living in extreme poverty live in Africa. Compared to 1990, the percentage of people living in poverty in Africa has dropped significantly but the overall number of people living in extreme poverty has gone up 63 million”, he said.

Dr Akinwumi Adesina, the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB) said the story of a rising Africa “not a complete story” though Africa is rising and is home to six of the ten fastest growing economies.

He noted that while there is growth in Africa, the growth “is underlined by high

Private Equity Firm KKR To Invest $100 Million In Africa, Nigeria Regional Base.

KKR & Co, one of the largest private equity firms in the world, plans to invest as much as $100 million in Africa within the next one year, according to Reuters.

Henry Kravis, co-chairman, co-chief executive officer a

During a visit with a French business delegation to Nigeria, Dominique Lafont, a senior advisor at KKR, said the private equity firm is looking at investing in the agriculture and energy industry as well as in infrastructure projects.

Western Countries lead FDI into Africa

Much has been made of China’s growing interest in Africa and of Chinese investment in the continent. Certainly, China has spent a lot of money there, predominantly on infrastructure projects. But when it comes to greenfield investment — direct investment in physical facilities by foreign companies — it is in fact western companies that are most active in Africa. 

 

Chinese companies are growing in both importance and volume as drivers of outbound greenfield investment globally but to date have preferred investing in developed markets in Europe and North America. This is because their motives for investing overseas are usually centred on access to new technologies and tie-ups with prestigious brands.

Nigeria ISTI's Convention to address exports impediments

Nigeria’s first International Sea Trade and Investment Convention is set to identify and address impediments to export trade restrictions, facilities and regulations within the maritime sector.

The Convention with the theme “Exploring New Trade Frontiers” will hold in Lagos between October 5 and 6, 2015. Also, the convention is aimed at identifying impediments to export trade restrictions, facilities and regulations within the maritime sector. It is planned to create the platform for stakeholders to develop a roadmap to address issues of products, standardisation, financing, incentives and the lack of infrastructure plaguing the industry.

 

Dj Cuppy end Nation Tour In South Africa -

 

Popular Award winning Disc Jockey, DJ Cuppy ended her ‘Cuppy Takes Africa’ Tour with a refreshing final show in Johannesburg, South Africa on the 29th of August.

Intend 47 Million Investment in Euro, Sub-Saharan Africa by DHL

Frank Appel, Chief Executive Officer of Deutsche Post DHL Group), visited South Africa and Nigeria last week.

 

The visit demonstrated the overall importance of emerging markets in the Group’s Strategy 2020, and in specific the encouraging development of Sub-Saharan Africa.

During his stay in South Africa and Nigeria, Frank Appel met with employees and customers, and visited several logistics facilities.

Insurance Industry Loses $750m to Premium Flight Annually

The nation’s insurance industry is losing over $750 million annually to premium flight as result of shortage of capacity to retain most of the risks emanating from the local market, BusinessDay investigations reveal.

This is moreso in the volatile oil and gas sector, energy and aviation, where barely 30 percent of the risks are retained locally, in spite of opportunities presented by the National Content Development Act.

Bosch opens Nigeria’s outlet to Boost Economic Activities

Bosch, a leading global supplier of technology services, on Tuesday opened a regional subsidiary in Nigeria to address the nation’s infrastructure challenges and boost economic activities.