Nbr. 347, November 2008

Index

• A continent ascending.
• Chinese the new black?
• Yearning for stability.
• In the nation's interest.
• Super sorghum.
• $1bn boost to combat malaria.
• AfDB lends $32m to Tema power.
• Giant entertainment centre to be built.
• Is GM the answer to Africa's needs?
• Orange to cut mobile costs.
• Zimbabweans use cows for school fees.
• 2010 soccer stadiums seriously over budget.
• ABN Amro support for Botswana gem industry.
• Cassava-based fuel project for Nigeria.
• Lifestyle diseases increase in Africa.
• Private sector shuns infrastructure.
• Zimbabwe hotel group targets South Africa acquisition.
• Reminder - government is a public servant.
• Can Africa survive? The massive and unprecedented intervention by many governments around the world appears to have halted the financial meltdown just in the nick of time. But while global banks were crashing all around it, the industry in Africa remained firm. Is it really stable or are there so far invisible tremors building up? Tom Nevin reports.
• Anatomy of the global financial crisis; How did the global financial crisis begin and what is the latest situation? African business editor Anver Versi provides some answers.
• Private equity flocking to Africa; The growth of private equity funds in Africa is now on a par with Latin America and Russia and is expected to triple in size over the medium term, making it the fastest-growing asset class. Why has Africa suddenly become a magnet for international funds?
• What will Obama do for Africa? Are Barack Obama's blood ties with Africa cause for hope that he might be more sensitive to the continent's needs than his predecessors? Tom Nevin investigates.
• Credit crunch threat looms over African boom.
• North Africa; Targeting European markets.
• Changing fortunes.
• East Africa joins the party.
• CDMs can be Africa's energy development lifeline: after 11 years, Africa still has less than 2.5% of the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism's largesse, yet it is the perfect solution to financing much of the continent's urgently needed energy infrastructure development. What are we doing wrong, and how do we fix it to get our rightful share? Tom Nevin reports.
• Africa-wide pool of winners scoops the 2nd African Banker; The 2nd edition of the African Banker Awards was held at the Willard InterContinental Hotel in Washington, DC on the 10th of October. A glittering array of Africa's top financiers attended the event.
• When it pays to be poor (sometimes!); Has Kenya been penalised for diligently repaying its international debt obligations, while its East African neighbours have lived beyond their means are being rewarded for their folly?
• More local content, broadcasters told: although television is spreading all over the continent, most of the non-news content is still imported from outside. African film producers are still handicapped by a number of factors but, as became clear at the first Africa Broadcast and Convergence Conference held in Nairobi. there is a huge demand for local content. Andrea Bohnstedt reports from Nairobi.
• How big a hole has Mbeki left? Over a stunning few days when Thabo Mbeki shocked the world by standing down from the presidency, South Africa's political landscape changed forever. Several top-ranking ministers followed his lead and left the government. What happens next?
• Quiet man of the revolution.
• Jumping the technology gap: Africa can bypass the cumbersome process of intensive industrialisation deemed essential to its sustained growth by leapfrogging technology - as it has done in the telecoms sector. Neil Ford argues that many other sectors are equally ripe for this treatment.
• Blatter finger-wagging causes offence: Fifa supreme Sepp Blatter has been laying into South Africa's World Cup organisers, accusing them of being lax on marketing. He has also blasted the performance of the local team, Bafana Bafana. Is he justified or trying to make a meal of normal glitches? asks Tom Nevin.
• Pirates rule the waves; The hijacking by Somali pirates of a Ukrainian cargo ship carrying military weapons triggered strong activity by US and Russian warships. But, argues, the long-standing problem of piracy in this region has often been ignored by the international community.
• Sasol hit with huge anti-competition fine: South Africa's synthetic fuels giant, Sasol, together with other international energy companies, was heavily fined by the EU for breaching competition rules. This, says Tom Nevin, comes in the wake of tighter anti-competitive behaviour policing.
• New JICA is born.
• Nairobi's housing boom: while the financial crisis gripping Western markets has its origin in the housing market's sub-prime debt, and is being keenly felt by homeowners facing falling house values, in Kenya a housing boom looks set to continue. John Thuo reports.
• Mutharika initiative gains favour; the agricultural revolution initiated by Malawi's President Bingu wa Mutharika has continued to prove his international critics, led by the UK and US, completely wrong. It has also now won him a prestigious Southern Africa award. Lameck Masina reports.
• Provinces of plenty: crude's conundrums.
• Rare tracks, traditional rhythms; Secret recordings from Benin.