Why Somalia suffers Mahmoud Abdelrashid Your article in the latest issue (African Business November 08 issue) entitled “Pirates rule the waves” which discussed the hijackings by Somali pirates on the high seas of the Ukrainian cargo ship Faina, failed to mention that this was just one of 30 piracy incidents this year alone. Rather than […]
Have phone, will send cash Bohnstedt, Andrea In Africa, moving money has always been problematic; for those without bank accounts, it is virtually impossible unless it is done physically by hand. But where there is a problem, there is a solution. The canny mobile phone operators seem to have come up with another winning innovation […]
African bourses: Top performances reveal hidden potential Siddiqi, Moin African bourses, shielded from the sort of global turbulence that has affected more mature stock exchanges, have performed exceptionally well. But, MOIN SIDDIQI says, South Africa apart, there is still plenty of room to improve. The turbulence of the mainstream Western stock markets, and the low […]
Nigeria after Abacha Versi, Anver For one week in June, Nigeria must have felt that Christmas had indeed arrived very early. On June 8, General Sani Abacha died, and one week later the Nigerian national team beat Spain 3-2 in the World Cup tournament. “God, He dey listen to we prayer!” chanted a delighted Nigerian […]
Mboweni’s lifeline to exporters Nevin, Tom SOUTH AFRICA Is the South African government having a change of heart on the rand’s exchange rate? Hitherto, the repo rate was influenced solely on inflationary concerns, but as Tom Nevin reports, the Reserve Bank is now showing greater flexibility. The pressure on the governor of the South African […]
Angry as hell Angry as hell A demand for change Rise Up Thomas Mapfumo & Blacks Unlimited Real World Cat: CDRW136 For around three decades, Thomas ‘Mukanya’ Mapfumo has been the most politically influential entertainer in Zimbabwe. Now living in selfimposed exile in the US, he continues to articulate a demand for justice, a call […]
Towards designer babies Medical moments Controversy is raging over a British woman who has become pregnant using the gene-screening “pre-implantation genetic diagnosis” technique that weeds out embryos that might develop cancer later in life. Critics fear it is a first step towards manufacturing designer babies allowing parents to predetermine their offsprings’ gender, hair and eye […]
Libya: End of the socialist experiment Badcock, James As Libya prepares to rejoin the world economic order, its charismatic leader Muammar Ghaddafi has announced a complete overhaul of the domestic economic model. James Badcock has the details One by one North African countries have abandoned the ideal of state-controlled industry generating wealth to be distributed […]
MAURITIUS: Tourism to lead economic revival Ackbarally, Nasseem With the price of sugar tumbling and the market for textiles being squeezed, Mauritius is facing a precarious economic future. As Nasseem Ackbarally reports from Port-Louis, the island is now looking to tourism to revive its fortunes. Mauritius is looking forward to tourism, ‘the only bright spot […]
S Africa raps Botswana, Namibia on tax Finance Botswana has reacted with surprise to strong criticism from the South African government that its corporate tax rate of 15% is too low. Both Botswana and Namibia have structured the rate into their packages of incentives aimed at luring foreign investors. This compares with the South African […]