{jcomments on}Omar,AGNEWS, BXL,17/02/2010 – ABIDJAN (Reuters) – Ivory Coast’s prime minister delayed on Tuesday the announcement of a new government which had been expected as a step toward easing a political crisis in the West African country. Guillaume Soro said after meetings with President Laurent Gbagbo in the capital Yamoussoukro that consultations on the government were continuing.
BURUNDI :
RWANDA
UGANDA
Who will stand against Uganda’s brutal anti-gay law?
www.washingtonpost.com/By Kathleen Parker/Wednesday, February 17, 2010
In a time of constant calamity and crisis fatigue, proposed legislation in Uganda to execute gays passes through the American consciousness with the impact of a weather report.
Corrupt politicians count on the brevity of the American attention span, but certain items demand a tap of the pause button. How exactly does the idea of executing gays evolve in a majority-Christian nation? Interesting question.
Gays in Uganda already face imprisonment for up to 14 years. Under a bill proposed last October by David Bahati, the government could execute HIV-positive men and jail people who don’t report homosexual activities.
We are officially appalled, of course. President Obama called the proposed legislation “odious” in remarks at the recent National Prayer Breakfast. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also mentioned Uganda at the breakfast. Even evangelical mega-pastor Rick Warren made an impassioned Christmas video plea to Ugandan pastors, declaring the measure “unjust,” “extreme” and “un-Christian.”
Warren’s message wasn’t prompted by outrage at the treatment of gays, however, but by accusations that he had helped create the bill. Warren’s Saddleback Church has hosted a Ugandan pastor who supports the legislation, but the purpose-driven pastor insists he has had no role shaping the proposed law. Though Warren deserves to be taken at his word, other comments he made in his defense are problematic.
In a statement to Newsweek, Warren said: “The fundamental dignity of every person, our right to be free, and the freedom to make moral choices are gifts endowed by God, our creator. However, it is not my personal calling as a pastor in America to comment or interfere in the political process of other nations.”
I’m not so sure about that. It may not be Warren’s personal calling to comment on “political process.” But is neutrality really an option for one of the world’s most powerful Christian leaders when state genocide of a minority is proposed in the name of Christianity?
If we decide that genocide is too political for interference, then what good is moral leadership?
Other evangelical Christians operating in Uganda are less easily excused from responsibility in the country’s increasingly hostile attitudes toward gays. Often cited as having stirred the pot are pastors Scott Lively, Caleb Lee Brundidge and Don Schmierer, who last March worked with Ugandan faith leaders and politicians to help stop the “homosexualization” of the country.
No, nobody “made” Bahati write the bill. But these three pastors, known for their conviction that gays can be “cured,” have been spreading their particular brand of gospel in Uganda, and it seems to have found traction. The three have distanced themselves from the proposed law and say they never encouraged punishment for gays.
This may well be the case. In fact, let’s assume it is. Let’s further assume that these missionaries have only the purest of intentions and want only to help strengthen the traditional family. Dear Sirs: Uganda isn’t Connecticut. A country where gays are routinely harassed, rounded up and incarcerated doesn’t need stoking by American fundamentalists on a mission from God.
In an interview with Alan Colmes, Lively said he was invited to the African nation because Ugandans were worried about American and European gays trying to export homosexuality to their nation. Given that Uganda was already rather unwelcoming to gays, it seems unlikely that they needed advice from American preachers. Instead, it seems more the case that Uganda has became a laboratory for zealots who have found a receptive audience for their personal cause.
The proposed law is a case study in the unintended consequences of moral colonialism.
Meanwhile, one would think that Uganda, given its history, would have had enough of executions related to homosexuality and religion. In the 1880s, the martyrs of Uganda were burned to death by Mwanga II, the king of Buganda, who was miffed, by some accounts, when his own homosexual advances were declined by recent Christian converts.
And now Uganda’s Christians wish to make martyrs of gays?
Not all do, of course. Some pastors are opposing the bill, and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has said the proposal is too tough. Human rights watchers predict the bill will be toned down to exclude capital punishment, but imprisonment is also unacceptable — and no American should find difficulty saying so.
In a “Meet the Press” interview last November, Warren said he never takes sides, but one wishes he would. To borrow his own words, it is in certain cases extreme, unjust and un-Christian not to.
Uganda’s oil deal fuels concerns
www.independent.co.uk/By Daniel Howden, Africa Correspondent/Wednesday, 17 February 2010
Secret agreement with British company does not offer adequate safeguards
The gas flares that have blighted the Niger Delta are set to arrive in Uganda in the next year under the terms of a secret deal between the East African government and a British oil company.
Uganda is believed to be sitting on the largest onshore oil reserves in sub-Saharan Africa but there are mounting concerns that the influx of petrodollars could encourage corruption and degrade the environment.
Leaked documents released yesterday by the oil watchdog Platform have done little to dampen those concerns as the production-sharing agreements between London-based Tullow Oil and the government in Kampala contain few environmental safeguards while guaranteeing the company what the NGO calls “excessive profits”.
“The confidential documents we have published make clear that the corporations and the government cannot be trusted to protect the Ugandan people from the negative impacts of oil extraction,” said Platform’s Kampala researcher Taimour Lay.
The production-sharing agreements (PSAs), which the Ugandan government had refused to publish, pave the way for the controversial practice of gas flaring, which has repeatedly been outlawed but continues around the clock in Nigeria. This is the process in which unwanted natural gas tapped during production is burned.
Article 19.3 of the PSA, leaked by Platform, reads: “Associated gas which is not used in petroleum operations, and the processing of which, in the reasonable opinion of the licensee, is not economical, shall be returned to the subsurface structure or may be flared.”
In the last three years, oil finds thought to total 1.7 billion barrels have been made in western Uganda’s Lake Albert region, with production due to begin within the next 12 months. Oil exploration specialists Tullow and their partner Heritage Oil, who between them control the majority of Ugandan finds, are thought to be close to a deal to sell on their holdings to one of the oil majors such as the US giant Exxon.
The impact of large-scale oil production in sub-Saharan Africa has come to be known as the “resource curse” as massive, centralised earnings from export have proved easy to siphon off for corrupt officials. A list of major oil producers from Nigeria to Sudan, Equatorial Guinea and Angola reads like an index of corruption and human rights abusers.
Uganda’s long-serving president Yoweri Museveni has rejected the example of Nigeria, whose oil wealth has helped to spread poverty, destabilise the country and destroy the natural habitat in the Niger Delta, instead promising to follow in the footsteps of Norway.
However, a confidential audit of foreign oil operations carried out last year by Ernst and Young warns of companies inflating their costs and avoiding responsibility for oil clear-ups. Typically oil companies could expect a return on their investment of between 12 and 20 per cent but the Ugandan deal promises profits of up to 35 per cent.
“It is unfortunate that the Ugandan government chooses to emphasise the risks of the operations to justify the contracts it has signed, rather than renegotiate a fairer deal,” Platform says.
“Uganda is heading towards oil production in 2010/11 with no oil legislation yet in place, no revenue management system, and is locked into contracts that undermine the country’s sovereign control over its own natural resource.”
Tullow has refused to discuss the specifics of its agreements with Uganda but continues to insist that it upholds international and industry accepted standards in its dealings.
TANZANIA:
Tanzania gem saga nears end as buyer eyes profit in break-up
By Jonathan Guthrie in Birmingham /www.ft.com/Published: February 17 2010
One of the strangest tales in the history of company accounting reached a closing chapter yesterday when the Gem of Tanzania, a stone once valued in a building company’s accounts for £11m, sold for just £8,010.
A company controlled by a Birmingham entrepreneur and philanthropist bought the large purple rock, once touted as a ruby of unparalleled value, from the administrators of failed builder Wrekin Construction
Tim Watts, the entrepreneur, believes the uncut stone could be worth up to £2m but plans to “smash it up” into smaller jewels at a party where he will serve “the best ruby port we can get”. Administrators at Ernst & Young announced the sale yesterday, shortly after they were approached by the Financial Times on behalf of a bidder anxious to know the outcome of the auction.
The bidder, who requested anonymity, said: “Fuelled by the promise of an excessive City bonus, I boldly bid more than £5,000 on the basis that it might be a rubbish gem, but it had [a provenance] that was a world-beating piece of bull.”
An FT investigation last year established that the gemstone was mined in Tanzania and brought into the UK by a South African entrepreneur later involved in a scheme to cure Aids with goat serum.
David Unwin, a Derbyshire businessman, bought the gem, which weighs 2.1kg, from an intermediary for about £300,000. Revalued at £11m, it then supported the creditworthiness of Wrekin, Mr Unwin’s business, which collapsed last spring with debts of £40m. But the Italian gemmological institute credited on the valuation certificate later denied having issued it.
A Hatton Garden gemmologist had dismissed the Gem of Tanzania as being worth as little as £100 . Mr Watts, who owns Pertemps, a group of recruitment companies, is more impressed with the gem: “We expect to sell it at a very substantial profit . . . there are at least 20 significant smaller rubies on its surface.”
Network Group, an Aim-listed company controlled by Pertemps that is owed several hundred thousand pounds by Wrekin has acquired the gem. So far, only a local jeweller unable to offer a reliable valuation has inspected the gem for Network. Mr Watts believes it could be worth anything from £200,000 to £2m when broken up.
“We won’t be putting it on the balance sheet, though,” he said.
Midlands Announces Granting of Options
Feb. 17, 2010/www.marketwatch.com
TORONTO, ONTARIO, Feb 16, 2010 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) — Midlands Minerals Corporation (“Midlands” or the “Company”) (TSX VENTURE: MEX) announces granting of options in accordance with the TSX Venture Exchange Policies, and consistent with the Company’s Stock Option Plan as approved by the shareholders of the Company on June 25, 2009.
3,755,156 options, valid for a period of sixty (60) months, have been granted with an exercise price of $0.33, to directors, officers, consultants and employees of the Company.
ABOUT MIDLANDS MINERALS
Midlands is a growth oriented and value based gold exploration company operating in Ghana and Tanzania, two stable countries with a history of gold mining. Midlands’ top priority project is the fully permitted Sian gold project in Ghana. The Sian property contains Esaase and Ampeha, two previously producing open pit mines with a resource with significant growth potential. Midlands’ contiguous Kwahu Praso project, which was once part of Sian, contains extensions of the Esaase and Ampeha trends. Sian and Praso are just 30 kilometres northeast of Newmont Mining’s +8.7 million ounce Akyem gold deposit. Midlands also holds highly prospective licences for gold and diamonds in the Lake Victoria Goldfields in Tanzania.
The Company has a highly qualified management and technical team with broad African experience and extensive experience in the countries in which the Company operates. For more information on the Company, please visit Midlands’ website at www.midlandsminerals.com.
On behalf of the Board
Kim Harris, President and Chief Executive Officer
For more information, investors should review the Company’s filings that are available at www.sedar.com.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
CONGO RDC :
Rwanda: U.S. Senator Wants FDLR Leaders’ Names Published
James Karuhanga and Agencies/The New Times/allafrica.com/17 February 2010
Kigali — A senior US Senator has suggested that Rwanda publishes the names of leaders of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) accused of violating human rights in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Senator Richard Durbin from Illinois, Assistant Senate Majority leader, made the call Monday while in Goma, the provincial capital of North Kivu in the eastern DRC.
Durbin further called upon the international community to be instrumental in solving the security problems caused by the FDLR.
“The question of FDLR should be resolved by the Congolese government, the Rwandan government and the international community,” Durbin told the French news agency AFP.
“Opportunity should be given to people who were not involved in horrific crimes to go back to Rwanda. There are some who have already been back to Rwanda. They live quite well, because they were not involved in horrific crimes,” Durbin added.
The FDLR are what remains of the ex-Far and Interahamwe militia accused of having masterminded the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi and later fled to eastern DRC.
Durbin, who arrived Monday in Goma, is accompanied by Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown.
Congo-Kinshasa: Watchdog Wants UN Action On DRC Mineral Exploiters
James Karuhanga/The New Times/allafrica.com/17 February 2010
Kigali — Global Witness, a rights watchdog, has urged the UN Security Council to start using targeted sanctions against companies that have failed to clean up their act and continue to support armed groups in eastern DRC via the illicit trade in minerals.
In a statement released on Monday to mark the Mobile World Congress opening in Barcelona, Spain, Global Witness said such minerals come from the volatile Eastern part of the DRC, where mines are controlled by the army and armed militias, including the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR).
Given what it considers as the reluctance of multi-national firms to face up to their responsibilities, the watchdog has urged the Security Council to adopt tougher measures.
“It is time for electronic companies to show their seriousness about eliminating conflict minerals from their supply chains,” Global Witness campaigner Daniel Balint-Kurti is quoted in the statement as saying.
“This means requiring suppliers that source minerals from DRC to declare exactly which mine the minerals come from, and carrying out spot checks and audits to back up these declarations. If companies cannot be sure that their minerals are conflict-free, they should not be buying them at all.”
The group stresses that metal found in everyday electronics items, such as mobile phones and computers, are being mined illegally in the Eastern DRC and funding a conflict that has caused millions of deaths.
UN experts’ reports have documented the links between minerals like tin, tantalum, tungsten, as well as gold, and the largely FDLR-stimulated conflict in eastern DRC.
According to the group, the UN Security Council recently passed a resolution paving the way for the imposition of asset freezing and travel bans on companies that support armed groups in eastern Congo via the illicit mineral trade.
“Consumers have the right to know that the products they are buying are not fuelling crimes against humanity,” said Balint-Kurti.
“Electronics brands and other companies that use conflict minerals now have a clear choice between showing leadership, or facing a public backlash.”
The watchdog body noted that the armed groups “regularly commit horrific abuses against the civilian population, including mass murder, rape, torture and forced recruitment”.
AngloGold Ashanti Posts Record Fourth Quarter Profit, Boosts Dividend
www.marketwatch.com/Feb. 17, 2010
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA, Feb 17, 2010 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) — AngloGold Ashanti /quotes/comstock/13*!au/quotes/nls/au (AU 39.22, +1.14, +2.99%) posts record fourth quarter profit, boosts dividend.
AngloGold Ashanti said it would increase its final dividend after fourth-quarter adjusted headline earnings rose to a record $228m on a higher gold price and increased production from Continental Africa and South America.
“There’s a strong level of confidence in our ability to generate cash over the long term as we continue to make improvements to the operational side of our business,” Chief Executive Officer Mark Cutifani said. “The increased dividend is a sign of that growing confidence.”
The final dividend of 70 South African cents a share is 17% more than the interim dividend of 2009 and the total dividend declaration of 130 South African cents, a 30% improvement on 2008’s final declaration. Adjusted headline earnings rose to $228m, or 62 US cents a share for the three months to December 31, compared with $162m, or 45 US cents in the previous quarter. The figure for the third quarter excludes the cost of buying back hedge contracts.
AngloGold Ashanti has over the past year reduced net debt by a third to $868m and cut its hedge commitments by more than two thirds to 3.9 million ounces in order to increase exposure to the gold price. Now, with the financial platform in place, the company is implementing its Project ONE business improvement initiative to lower costs and increase production in coming years.
“The hedge book is now less than a year’s production and about 5% of reserves,” Cutifani said. “We’ve taken the rump of the hedge out and will continue to look for the right opportunities to increase our exposure to the gold price.”
After accounting for the depletion in 2009 and the sale of Boddington, AngloGold Ashanti’s reserves increased by 5% to 71.4 million ounces. This includes a 2.3 million ounce contribution from Tropicana and 4.2 million ounces from the Kibali gold project in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The company improved its safety performance in key areas during the fourth quarter. The lost time injury frequency rate improved by 7% to 6.54 per million hours worked during the quarter. Regrettably, two of the company’s employees were fatally injured in separate incidents in Guinea and South Africa.
Production of 1.182Moz during the quarter was ahead of guidance of 1.16Moz. Total cash costs of $598/oz were marginally above guidance of $590/oz because of stronger-than-expected operating currencies in South Africa, Australia and Brazil and non-cash deferred stripping charges.
The South American division, with mines in Argentina and Brazil, increased production by 8% from the previous quarter to 170,000 ounces at a total cash cost of $386/oz. Production from the Continental Africa division increased by 3% to 401,000 ounces at a cost of $665/oz.
AngloGold Ashanti’s South African mines were affected by safety-related stoppages, with production declining 7% to 448,000 ounces and costs rising 10% to $575/oz. The two-month stoppage at TauTona to complete a shaft inspection and associated infrastructure repairs was concluded on schedule at the end of December and the mine restarted as expected in early January.
In order to accelerate the improvements from the South African operating division Robbie Lazare, formerly the executive vice president in charge of human resources, has been appointed executive vice president of South Africa after completing the design and rollout of AngloGold Ashanti’s human resources model. Lazare will assume his new responsibilities immediately and has already begun work on developing strategies to mitigate cost inflation at the South African division, which faces the effects of higher power tariffs and a strong currency.
“There are a number of quick wins we can get in South Africa in the short term while we work to address a sustainable long-term future,” Cutifani said. “We’ll provide an update on Robbie’s progress in May, when we release our first quarter results.”
Richard Duffy will continue to oversee the growing portfolio in Continental Africa, which includes the Kibali and Mongbwalu projects in the DRC, the Sadiola Deeps project in Mali and continued improvements sought in Ghana and Tanzania.
Production in 2010 is anticipated to be between 4.5Moz and 4.7Moz at a total cash cost of $590/oz – $615/oz. These figures account for the sale of Tau Lekoa, the ongoing leach-pad issues at CC&V and safety stoppages in South Africa. They also assume an exchange rate of R7.70/$.
Certain statements made in this communication, including, without
limitation, those concerning AngloGold Ashanti’s strategy to reduce its
gold hedging position including the extent and effects of the reduction,
the economic outlook for the gold mining industry, expectations regarding
gold prices, production, cash costs and other operating results, growth
prospects and outlook of AngloGold Ashanti’s operations, individually or
in the aggregate, including the completion and commencement of commercial
operations of certain of AngloGold Ashanti’s exploration and production
projects and completion of acquisitions and dispositions, AngloGold
Ashanti’s liquidity and capital resources, and expenditure and the outcome
and consequences of any pending litigation proceedings, contain certain
forward-looking statements regarding AngloGold Ashanti’s operations,
economic performance and financial condition. Although AngloGold Ashanti
believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking
statements are reasonable, no assurance can be given that such expectations
will prove to have been correct. Accordingly, results could differ
materially from those set out in the forward-looking statements as a< br />result of, among other factors, changes in economic and market
conditions, success of business and operating initiatives, changes in the
regulatory environment and other government actions, fluctuations in gold
prices and exchange rates, and business and operational risk management.
For a discussion of such factors, refer to AngloGold Ashanti’s annual
report for the year ended 31 December 2008, which was distributed to
shareholders on 27 March 2009 and the company’s annual report on Form 20-F,
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in the United States on
May 5, 2009 as amended on May 6, 2009. AngloGold Ashanti undertakes no
obligation to update publicly or release any revisions to these
forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after today’s
date or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. All subsequent
written or oral forward-looking statements attributable to AngloGold
Ashanti or any person acting on its behalf are qualified by the cautionary
statements herein.
AngloGold Ashanti posts information that is important to investors on the main page of its website at www.anglogoldashanti.com and under the “Investors” tab on the main page. This information is updated regularly. Investors should visit this website to obtain important information about AngloGold Ashanti.
SOURCE: AngloGold Ashanti
KENYA :
Kenya’s Odinga Says Coalition Will Resolve Dispute (Update1)
February 17, 2010/By Stuart Biggs/Bloomberg
(Adds Odinga denies Agriculture Minister Ruto will be replaced in fourth paragraph.)
Feb. 17 (Bloomberg) — Kenya’s Prime Minister Raila Odinga said he’s confident a dispute with the president over the suspension of two Cabinet ministers will be resolved.
Odinga on Feb. 14 announced the three-month suspension of Agriculture Minister William Ruto and Education Minister Sam Ongeri to allow for corruption probes into a corn re-export program and alleged misappropriation of funds for primary schooling. President Mwai Kibaki overturned the decision, saying Odinga lacked the legal authority to suspend ministers.
Kenya’s attorney general warned the government may collapse unless the political parties resolve the dispute. Odinga and Kibaki formed a power-sharing government two years ago to end ethnic violence sparked by an election in December 2007 that incumbent Kibaki said he won. An estimated 1,500 people died and 300,000 were driven from their homes in two months of fighting.
“Disagreements will arise in coalition governments but that doesn’t mean the coalition will collapse,” Odinga told reporters today in Tokyo during a visit to Japan. “I’m confident we will find a solution” through negotiations, he said.
Odinga said Kenyan media reports that Ruto’s replacement has already been chosen are false. A minister will act in Ruto’s place pending the result of the corruption probe, he said. Members of parliament allied to Odinga are choosing Ruto’s replacement, Kenya Broadcasting Corp. reported yesterday, citing members of parliament it didn’t identify.
Kenyan Shilling
The Kenyan shilling fell today for a third consecutive day because of the dispute. The shilling traded at 77.53 to the dollar as of 8:09 a.m. Kenyan time compared with 77.38 late yesterday.
The unity accord between Odinga and Kibaki, brokered by former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, called for political revision, a new constitution and changes to the police and judiciary in order to prevent violence in the next election in late 2012.
Odinga asked Annan on Feb. 15 to intervene to resolve the dispute following the ministers’ suspension.
Eight officials, including the top bureaucrats in the ministries of education and agriculture, were suspended for three months over the maize and education corruption scandals, Kibaki said in a statement on Feb. 13.
The joint decision by Kibaki and Odinga to remove permanent secretaries and other senior government officials being investigated over graft charges is an “important first step” in the country’s war on corruption, U.S. Ambassador Michael Ranneberger said yesterday in Nairobi.
Odinga said today his decision to suspend the Cabinet ministers was intended to show “there are no sacred cows” in the corruption probes.
–With assistance from Antony Sguazzin in Johannesburg. Editors: Paul Tighe, Dave McCombs
Lobby faults MPs over draft law
BY SARAH WAMBUI/www.capitalfm.co.ke/Feb 17
NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 17- The Center for Multiparty Democracy Kenya (CDM-K) now says the Parliamentary Select Committee on Constitution Review overstepped its mandate and mutilated the Harmonised Draft Constitution.
CMD-K Chair Larry Gumbe which says the PSC watered down the Bill of Rights from the draft is now demanding that it be restored before Parliament makes its final decision on the draft.
“The PSC veered off and discussed things they were not supposed to discuss coming up with a draft which is a complete and total disaster which if implemented would mess us up,” he said.
Prof Gumbe added that the PSC’s decision to have the Bill of Rights withdrawn from the draft was out of tandem and that it would take action if the Bill was not re-included in the draft.
“We shall for sure mobilise Kenyans to carry out a programme of mass action on the Bill of Rights until this chapter is restored without amendments; not even a comma. The Bill of Rights is a non negotiable chapter and the PSC was out of order to touch that chapter,” he said.
He also added that Kenya should get a leaner National Assembly on the basis of Mixed Member Proportionate Representation (MMPR) system and that the Senate be reinstated as the Upper House.
“The current 210 parliamentary constituencies should be maintained. Women elected from 47 counties should add to this to make the seats total to 257. An extra 43 seats should be filled through the party lists to cover the youth, workers, persons with disabilities, minority communities, women and Kenyans in the Diaspora,” he said adding that the 47 women seats from the counties be retained for three consecutive elections commencing 2012.
“Parliament shall consider what other measures may be taken to ensure that Parliament has no more than two thirds of one gender in Parliament after the expiry of the 20 year period.”
Prof Gumbe also asked the government to educate the masses on the draft constitution before the referendum and also force Kenyans to vote on it saying it would reduce cases of corruption.
“Civic education should be done for at least three months before the referendum so that people are briefed on what is going on in the referendum. And we are recommending that in line with what happens in Australia and other places, voting should be made compulsory because we feel that if voting is not compulsory people will be induced by bribes and so on. If they must go there by law anyway then bribery will be reduced,” he said.
“A President who nominates his own ministers and sits with them in Parliament needs to have enough checks and balances. The Senate should be properly elaborated in the Constitution. It should be chaired by the Vice President and shall have the mandate of undertaking impeachment procedures whenever they occur,” he said.
Prof Gumbe also proposed that the Committee of Experts restores the MMPR system so that a more proportionate electoral system was put in place. He explained that through a compensatory system each political party would get seats equal to the votes cast for that party in the elections. Under MMPR, he explained, it would be irrelevant to increase the current geographical constituencies.
On devolution CMD-K called for at least 30 percent of the national resources be devolved to the counties and that the Provincial Administration be merged under the County governments with immediate effect.
“We should not as a country develop cold feet. The CDF funds as part of the 30 percent should be administered by the County governments and not the MPs-controlled committees,” he said.
The organisation also asked the CoE to restore the land chapter as was to ensure that the National Land commission was entrenched in the constitution saying the issue of land was emotive.
ANGOLA :
SOUTH AFRICA:
AngloGold, Freeworld, Truworths: South African Equity Preview
February 17, 2010/By Carli Lourens/Bloomberg
Feb. 17 (Bloomberg) — The following is a list of companies whose shares may have unusual price changes in South Africa. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names and prices are from the last close.
South Africa’s FTSE/JSE Africa All Share Index gained for a second day, rising 238.44, or 0.9 percent, to 26,939.80.
AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. (ANG SJ): The world’s third-largest producer posted net income of 3.18 billion rand ($415 million) in the fourth quarter compared with a loss of 8.25 billion rand in the prior three months. The stock climbed 6.60 rand, or 2.3 percent, to 297.60 rand.
Distell Group Ltd. (DST SJ): South Africa’s biggest wine and liquor maker releases interim earnings. Distell’s shares fell 1 rand, or 1.5 percent, to 68 rand.
Emira Property Fund (EMI SJ): The fund releases first-half earnings. Emira was unchanged at 11.20 rand.
Freeworld Coatings Ltd. (FWD SJ): The South African paint manufacturer said it’s in talks that may affect its shares. Freeworld declined 5 cents, or 0.5 percent, to 9.30 rand.
Liberty Holdings Ltd. (LBH SJ): The South African insurer controlled by Africa’s largest bank said it expects to report full-year profit before one-time items and accounting charges of as much as 148 million rand. The stock gained 84 cents, or 1.2 percent, to 68.35 rand.
Truworths International Ltd. (TRU SJ), Mr Price Group Ltd. (MPC SJ), Foschini Ltd. (FOS SJ) and Woolworths Holdings Ltd. (WHL SJ), among the country’s largest retailers, may move after Statistics South Africa releases December retail sales data. November retail sales fell for a 10th consecutive month as job losses curbed consumer spending.
Truworths rose 45 cents, or 1 percent, to 44.79 rand. Mr Price climbed 11 cents, or 0.3 percent, to 36.45 rand. Foschini fell 65 cents, or 1.1 percent, to 57.60 rand. Woolworths slid 16 cents, or 0.8 percent, to 19.67 rand.
Shares or American depositary receipts of the following South African companies closed as follows:
–With assistance from Nicky Smith in Johannesburg. Editors: Alastair Reed, Vernon Wessels.
Gordhan May Stick to South Africa Budget Goals (Update1)
February 17, 2010/By Nasreen Seria/Bloomberg
Adds latest bond yield in seventh paragraph.)
Feb. 17 (Bloomberg) — South African Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan will probably leave his forecast for the fiscal deficit next year little changed today as he keeps a tight rein on spending, economists said.
Gordhan, who gives his annual budget speech in Cape Town at about 2 p.m., will predict a shortfall of 6.5 percent of gross domestic product in the year through March 2011, according to the median estimate of 14 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. He forecast 6.2 percent in October.
The fiscal deficit widened to its highest level since at least 1961 this year as the economy’s first recession in 17 years slashed tax revenue and President Jacob Zuma pledged to create more jobs for the one in four South Africans without work. In his first main budget speech since taking office in May, Gordhan will probably defy calls from labor unions for extra spending as government debt surges.
The budget requires a “a delicate balancing act,” said Johan Botha, an economist at Standard Bank Group Ltd., Africa’s biggest lender. “Room to maneuver is limited and it is expected that the minister will take a relatively conservative stance.”
Gordhan, 60, will probably forecast a fiscal deficit of 7.7 percent of GDP for this year, compared with his October estimate of 7.6 percent, according to the survey of analysts. Including state-owned companies such as Eskom Holdings Ltd., state borrowing will surge to 11.8 percent of GDP and 11.2 percent in 2010/11, from 3.8 percent last year, Gordhan said in October.
Growth Forecasts
Government bonds have slumped as the deficit widened. The yield on the R157 bond, due 2015, has increased 17 basis points, or 0.17 percentage point, to 8.30 percent in the past year.
Africa’s biggest economy exited recession in the third quarter, with GDP expanding an annualized 0.9 percent, as manufacturing exports rebounded. That recovery will probably strengthen this year, prompting Gordhan to raise his economic growth forecast to 2.9 percent for 2010 from the 1.5 percent estimated in October, according to the median estimate of 13 economists surveyed by Bloomberg.
Gordhan is betting that 846 billion rand ($110 billion) of government spending on roads, railways and power plants over the next three years will help support the economy. Growth will probably accelerate to 3.4 percent in 2011, according to the survey, compared with 3.2 percent forecast by the government.
“Economic activity is rising in South Africa, and we expect growth going forward,” Zuma said in his state-of-the- nation speech on Feb. 11. “It is too soon, though, to be certain of the pace of recovery. Government will therefore not withdraw its support measures.”
Zuma pledged in elections last year to cut the unemployment rate to 14 percent by 2014 from 24 percent currently. That target has been undermined by the recession, with almost 900,000 jobs lost last year as miners including Anglo Platinum Ltd. and manufacturers such as Sappi Ltd. fired thousands of workers.
–Editors: Philip Sanders, Peter Hirschberg
AFRICA / AU :
For Bharti, Africa Potential Outweighs Hurdles
online.wsj.com/FEBRUARY 17, 2010
By ROBB M. STEWART in Johannesburg And WILL CONNORS in Lagos, Nigeria
In Africa, Bharti Airtel Ltd. appears determined to wade into a market loaded with poverty, promise and major legal tussles—just like home in India.
Bharti, headed by Indian billionaire Sunil Bharti Mittal, has seized on a potential $9 billion deal with Kuwait’s Zain, or Mobile Telecommunications Co., that, if completed, would catapult the company into the ranks of major telecom operators in Africa. Combined with operations in India, Bharti would have significant footholds in two continental markets. The deal would include the assumption of $1.7 billion in debt.
Bharti isn’t the only telecom operator eager for a piece of Africa. On Tuesday, a consortium involving China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd. bid $2.5 billion for the former state telecoms monopoly in Nigeria, according to the National Council on Privatization. The government privatization body said that the China Unicom-led consortium outbid four other contenders by more than $1.5 billion for Nigerian Telecommunications Ltd., or NITEL.
China Unicom officials Wednesday declined to comment.
Bharti’s own moves for Zain’s African assets have surprised some industry watchers. While Bharti is an adept operator in India—a big, messy emerging market—it confronts a number of hurdles in Africa, from vicious price wars to bitter legal battles.
Zain’s assets are hard to resist, say analysts. Acquiring the operations, which cover 15 countries, would give Bharti a head start over those trying to buy scattered operations or acquire licenses in different African countries. Bharti’s bid also comes at a time when new undersea cables are reaching Africa, connecting the continent to the rest of the world.
“Zain’s operations in Africa will always be attractive because of their footprint there,” says Badii Kechiche, a senior analyst in London at Pyramid Research.
Zain also appears to be a keen seller. Kuwait’s Kharafi Group, one of the biggest shareholders in Zain, has pushed for the disposal of the Africa assets since 2009, in order to raise cash as the global financial crisis hit its diverse businesses. Zain said Tuesday that after the deal it expects to pocket about $5 billion and use the remainder to repay debt. Zain’s operations in Morocco and Sudan aren’t part of the deal.
In July, Zain said talks with France’s Vivendi to buy most of its Africa operations fell through. The next month, Zain said it was in talks with three potential buyers, including an Indian company, to sell some or all of its African assets.
Still, the prize asset in Zain’s stable, Zain Nigeria, is also among the most contentious. Lawyers for privately held South African telecommunications operator Econet Wireless Holdings have an agreement from Zain that states the ownership of the Nigerian operation won’t change hands until an ownership dispute dating back to 2006 is resolved, said founder and Chief Executive Officer Strive Masiyiwa. The dispute wasn’t mentioned in statements that the companies submitted to their stock exchanges.
“I am surprised these groups [Bharti and Zain] got together and announced a deal of this scale and didn’t even disclose the dispute,” said Mr. Masiyiwa. He said the case is before a court-appointed tribunal in Nigeria and hearings are likely to begin in September.
Antoine Aboukhalil, a spokesman for Zain, said the company couldn’t comment on any matters that are before a court.
.The talks mark the third attempt by Bharti’s Mr. Mittal to gain a foothold in Africa, the world’s poorest continent but with a population of about one billion and home to several fast-moving economies. Bharti has failed twice before to merge with Johannesburg-based MTN Group Ltd. The most recent setback in September came after four months of talks, where the two sides explored a complex deal known as a dual listing, in which the companies could be able to combine cash flows but maintain separate identities. Such a structure would have required changes to Indian law. Bharti could soon be competing against MTN, which is the continent’s largest operator, with business in 21 countries in Africa as well as in the Middle East.
For global telecom companies, Africa offers strong growth potential. Cellphone penetration rates remain among the lowest anywhere. Zain has close to 42 million customers in the 15 countries the deal will include, with most markets having shown double-digit subscriber growth in recent years. There’s room to grow: Cellphone penetration in these markets averages less than 40%, according to data from industry researchers Onda Analytics.
For Bharti, coming to Africa may seem like a coming home. Like Africa, India boasts high subscriber growth rates and large rural populations with little fixed-line infrastructure. There are common aspirations for owning a mobile phone, both as a tool for business and as a means to contact far-flung family members. And with growth has come aggressive competition.
Nigeria perhaps best highlights the potential pitfalls Bharti may face in entering the African market. With a population of nearly 150 million people and over 70 million GSM subscribers, Nigeria is Africa’s largest mobile market.
Operators compete for billboard ad space along the highways of Lagos and Abuja, and phone scratch card sellers line every street, no matter how busy or remote. And because of frequent network problems, many Nigerians, even those without high-paying jobs, have two phones and use two different GSM providers. Zain has worked hard to expand its network base beyond the cities where most of those subscribers are.
But Zain’s market share has declined with intensifying competition. In the third quarter of 2009 privately held Nigerian company Globacom overtook Zain as Nigeria’s second-biggest operator behind MTN, according to Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Pyramid Research.
Despite the competition and headaches related to corruption and weak infrastructure, Nigeria continues to draw potential investors. The bid process for NITEL, for example, attracted wide interest from companies from Dubai, New Zealand and South Africa, among others, despite years of mismanagement and diminishing market share for the Nigerian company.
In another sizable market, Kenya, Zain has similarly hit competitive headwinds. In the third quarter of 2009, Zain’s market share was static at 17%.
The market is dominated by Nairobi-based Safaricom Ltd. Kenyans have been loyal to Safaricom since it introduced M-Pesa, a mobile banking service that has eight million registered users and has become the most popular means of money transfer in Kenya. Zain’s more recently introduced alternative, Zap, isn’t as widely used.
Zain also has had to overcome the perception among Kenyans that the brand is exclusively for upper-income consumers. It has emphasized pre-paid options and dropped airtime costs to woo mass-market consumers.
Says Havi Murungi, the director of Consumer Insight in Nairobi: “It’s always going to be a price war.”
—Sarah Childress in Nairobi and Dania Saadi in Dubai contributed to this article.
Write to Robb M. Stewart at robb.stewart@dowjones.com
Ivory Coast PM says new government not ready
Feb 17, 2010/Reuters
ABIDJAN (Reuters) – Ivory Coast’s prime minister delayed on Tuesday the announcement of a new government which had been expected as a step toward easing a political crisis in the West African country.
World
Guillaume Soro said after meetings with President Laurent Gbagbo in the capital Yamoussoukro that consultations on the government were continuing.
Gbagbo dissolved his government and the electoral commission on Friday in a row over voter registration, inducing a crisis that is certain to delay an election scheduled for March in the world’s top cocoa grower.
“I met the president in Yamoussoukro and we talked about forming a new government,” Soro told journalists upon his return to Ivory Coast’s main city of Abidjan.
“Very soon, that government will see the light of day. As it is, I am in consultations to determine the names of the ministers.”
The election, postponed repeatedly since 2005, is needed to heal rifts left by a 2002-2003 civil war and spur investment in one of the region’s leading economies. Half the country remains under rebel control.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) regional bloc called on Ivory Coast’s political parties to find a swift resolution to the electoral register dispute and set a final date for elections.
The U.S. State Department said it was “concerned” about the move to dissolve the government and described the decision to disband the electoral commission as “particularly disappointing.”
“We encourage all parties to renounce the use of violence and call upon Ivorian leaders to fulfill their responsibility to the people of Cote d’Ivoire by allowing them the expression of their will through elections,” the department said in a statement.
PROTESTS
Gbagbo had accused the electoral commission head of illegally registering voters loyal to the opposition while opposition parties have called for massive protests at Gbagbo’s actions.
There were protests in the main city of Abidjan and central Ivory Coast and protesters told Reuters by phone that 500 people had blocked the road between the capital Yamoussoukro and Bouake, the main city of the rebel-held north.
“No cars can pass this road,” said Seraphin Kwame in the town of Tiebissou.
“We are against the dissolution of the electoral commission and government. Laurent Gbagbo must go.”
Police dispersed around 150 protesters in the Abidjan suburb of Marcory, protester Martial Assouan said.
The protests followed others on Monday in east Abengourou city, which forced the closure of several cocoa warehouses.
Rising tensions in West Africa’s former economic powerhouse threaten to disrupt a cocoa industry that accounts for about a third of global supply, and could prevent an election the World Bank this month warned is necessary for debt relief.
Cocoa exporters fear an interruption of supplies if the political unrest worsens, although cocoa has flowed to Ivory Coast’s ports during even the worst of its protracted crisis. (Additional reporting by Kwasi Kpodo in Abuja; Writing by Tim Cocks; Editing by Jon Boyle)
W.African bloc concerned over region’s slide into chaos
By Joel Olatunde Agoi (AFP) /17022010
ABUJA — West African leaders on Tuesday lamented the slide into chaos and the lack of democracy in crisis states such as Niger and Guinea as they met for a one-day summit.
The heads of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) “expressed concern over the relapse in the democratic process of the region” and regret at the “little progress” in the inter-party dialogue in Niger.
It urged the African Union (AU) to play a more active mediating role.
“ECOWAS is requesting the AU to associate closely with the mediation efforts … in the spirit of close cooperation that exists between the two institutions by designating a special envoy to Niger,” the leaders said at the end of the day long summit.
The 15-nation ECOWAS last year suspended its French-speaking members – Niger and Guinea – for subverting democracy after Niger President Mamadou Tandja extended his grip on power and a military junta seized power in Guinea.
While commending the nomination of an acting president and the appointment of a transitional prime minister and government in Niger, the leaders urged all involved in the interim adminstration, including the military “not to put themselves up as candidates in the next elections”.
Cocoa-rich Ivory Coast also came under the spotlight at the Abuja summit after a fresh crisis cast doubt over long-delayed elections there.
In a statement the leaders said they were concerned “over the recent dissolution of the (Ivorian) cabinet and the independent electoral commission which they said would further delay the elections”.
Earlier, the outgoing president of ECOWAS Mohammed Ibn Chambas had urged the leaders to be firm with their wayward peers if the region is not to lag behind in economic development and integration.
“The summit should take firm decisions to resolve those problems confronting some countries in the region, so that our region can be fully integrated into the global political, social and economic system,” Chambas told AFP.
The twice-postponed Abuja summit elected Nigeria’s Acting President Goodluck Jonathan to head the bloc for another year, giving Nigeria two consecutive terms of the rotating chairmanship.
It also named Victor Gbeho, a Ghanaian to replace his compatriot Chambas as ECOWAS commission president.
Chambas, who steps down from the bloc after nine years of service, said the creation of ECOWAS in 1975 has reaped positive dividends for the region, previously notorious for military coups and civil wars.
“The founding fathers of ECOWAS showed great foresight in establishing our organisation and providing us the platform today for working together to build on integration in west Africa,” Chambas said in a speech.
Earlier Jonathan vowed: “The march towards democracy and good governance … will no more be allowed to suffer”.
“Let it be stated again that no place exists in this sub-region for such rape on the rights and indeed dignity of our people. No more will there be comfort zone for such political misadventurers,” Jonathan said.
The ECOWAS groups Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo.
UN /ONU :
UN chief warns against violence in I.Coast ahead of polls
Feb 17 /AFP
16/02/2010 UNITED NATIONS,
UN chief Ban Ki-moon called for calm Tuesday in already tense Ivory Coast where presidential polls are being repeatedly delayed, warning against a return to internal unrest.
“The Secretary General urges the Ivorian people to remain calm and avoid resorting to any action that could cause renewed violence,” a UN statement said.
“He also calls on the Ivorian political leaders and other national stakeholders to exercise restraint, avoid measures that could return the country to instability, and resolve the current challenges related to the already repeatedly delayed elections through dialogue,” it added.
The statement noted that Ban and his special envoy to Ivory Coast, Choi Young-jin, were pursuing consultations with stakeholders after Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo’s shock decision Friday to sack the government and ask Prime Minister Guillaume Soro to form a new administration.
Gbagbo also dismissed the head of the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI), alleging that more than 400,000 names had been fraudulently added to the electoral rolls.
The opposition said most of them are from northern ethnic groups who would not have supported Gbagbo.
But Tuesday Ivory Coast delayed the expected announcement of a new government to allow Soro extended consultations with political parties, his spokesman told AFP.
The announcement of a new ministerial line-up is expected “before the end of the week,” said Sindou Meite, contradicting Gbagbo who said earlier that a new government would be unveiled at 4:00 pm (1600 GMT) Tuesday.
Soro is meanwhile set to continue consultations on forming a government which will be tasked with ushering in long-delayed elections in the world’s biggest cocoa producer.
Soro’s former rebel New Forces (FN) on Tuesday reaffirmed their commitment to a peace pact signed in 2007 and backing for their leader at a meeting in their stronghold of Bouake, attended by the prime minister.
The FN seized northern Ivory Coast in 2002 before hammering out a peace deal with Gbagbo giving them a share of power.
Gbagbo has remained in power for 10 years without seeking a second mandate after five, deferring elections six times.
Climate-Research Controversies Create Opening for Critics
online.wsj.com/FEBRUARY 17, 2010
The spate of recent controversies about climate research has given fresh voice to a group of scientists who question the mainstream view that human activity is warming the planet to dangerous levels.
Very few scientists disagree that the earth’s climate has warmed since 1850. But some have long argued that there are too many uncertainties about man’s role in the warming, and that other factors, such as solar activity and the greenhouse effect of clouds, could account for a large part of the observed warming trend. Among this group are researchers who have criticized the limitations of past temperature records and mathematical models used to forecast future effects.
Such views are getting a fresh airing on the heels of two recent controversies dogging climate researchers. A United Nations group, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or IPCC, has been heavily criticized for publishing an unsubstantiated claim that Himalayan glaciers would entirely melt away by 2035. A recent report also included several other claims later found to lack a scientific basis, including predictions of the impact of climate change on agriculture in Africa and the retreat of Amazonian rain forests, among others.
News of those discrepancies followed a scandal in Britain where the publication of hacked emails of climate scientists suggested they had declined to share their data with fellow researchers and tried to squelch dissenting views about climate change.
It’s too soon to tell whether the critics’ views will force the scientific community to revisit the prevailing view of man-made climate change. Many of their colleagues remain resolute in their stance that global warming is caused mainly by humankind. The IPCC in recent interviews has said its errors, while serious enough to make the organization re-examine its procedures, do not change the central point of its influential 2007 report, which concluded that evidence for the human role in global warming is “unequivocal.”
“It’s important to say that the scandals we’ve had don’t change the fundamental point that global warming is man-made and we need to tackle it,” says Bjorn Lomborg, a Danish academic and environmental writer. In his view, “the standard message—that we need to cut a lot of emissions right now or doom is upon us—is not correct.” He advocates investments in green technology instead of cutting emissions.
The political fallout from the IPCC’s mistakes was evident Tuesday when Texas authorities announced the state was taking legal action against the Environmental Protection Agency’s efforts to curb greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act. In its filing, the state argued that the information the EPA used to make its decision is based on data from the IPCC. Alfredo “Al” Armendariz, EPA regional administrator for Texas and other nearby states, said he expects the agency’s efforts to withstand a court challenge. Virginia’s attorney general Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II said Tuesday he has also asked the EPA to delay final consideration of that finding so “newly available information” can be reviewed, reported the Associated Press.
Among the most vocal of the cadre of scientists who have questioned some of the IPCC’s recent work is John R. Christy, director of the Earth System Science Center at the University of Alabama-Huntsville and a former contributor to a big 2001 IPCC report. He, like several other of the critics, was repeatedly criticized in the hacked emails.
Dr. Christy spent years comparing temperature data from satellites with ground stations. He concluded that the reliance on a few well-known ground-based measuring stations may vastly overstate how much temperatures have risen. He suggests that surface temperatures are actually measuring an increase in human development—more and bigger cities, more asphalt, more air-conditioning—and not rising temperatures in the atmosphere. Most climate scientists, by contrast, ascribe rising temperatures largely to man’s introduction of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
Some dissenters have focused on the complex effect of clouds. Richard Lindzen, a professor of meteorology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a past contributor to an IPCC report, says that the role of clouds and water vapor—the main greenhouse agents in the atmosphere—is one of the least understood factors in climate science. It’s a limitation that the IPCC acknowledges.
Prof. Lindzen says the key issue is “climate sensitivity”—how much will temperatures rise when carbon-dioxide levels double. He asserts that current climate models include a “positive feedback” effect whereby clouds and water vapor act to amplify CO2’s greenhouse effect. In response to a doubling of carbon-dioxide levels, the IPCC has found climate sensitivity to be between 1.5 degrees and five degrees Fahrenheit. Prof. Lindzen says those figures, derived from models, overstate the case.
Prof. Lindzen recently published a study based on radiation measurements taken from satellites—not models—and concluded that climate sensitivity as a result of clouds and water vapor was more likely in the 0.3 degrees to 1.2 degrees range, much lower than the figure accepted by most climate researchers. “The observational analysis implies that the models are exaggerating climate sensitivity,” he concludes in a second, yet-to-be published paper on the same subject.
Dr. Willie Soon, a professor at Harvard University, believes that changing levels of solar radiation, especially the amount that hits the Arctic, are driving huge, slow changes in the earth’s climate—much as they did in past centuries. The theory rests on the fact that the sun emits different amounts of energy at different times.
George Kukla, a retired professor at Columbia University, says even longer-term climate cycles explain the current warming trend. His work is based on the idea that ice ages and warmer interglacial periods are driven by periodic variations in earth’s orbit around the sun, known as the Milankovich cycle after the scientist who studied them.
24 killed in new Mogadishu clashes worrying UN
Wed, 17 Feb 2010 /www.presstv.ir
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says a fresh wave of fighting between government forces and militants in the Somali capital of Mogadishu has left 24 dead.
According to UN officials, the fighting also injured 40 people and displaced thousands of civilians in recent days.
Mark Bowden, the UN humanitarian coordinator for Somalia, expressed concerns Tuesday over the recent climb in violence in the war-ravaged Horn of African nation that has led to a massive exodus.
“I am alarmed by the large number of casualties emanating from recent fighting,” he said in a statement released today, adding that “civilians continue to bear the brunt of conflict and insecurity in the country.”
He appealed to the warring sides to respect the international humanitarian law and minimize civilian casualties.
Mogadishu has seen thousands of its residents fleeing in recent days as reports of a major military build-up and a possible government offensive against the armed and powerful militants spread around.
Since the beginning of February, more than 8,000 people have left the city to escape the fighting that is said to be raging in several areas, especially in the northern districts of Haliwaa, Yaaqshiid and Wardhiigleey, according to the UN.
The UN refugee agency says it is stepping up its efforts to deliver the much needed emergency relief to the millions of affected population but lamented about the deteriorating security situation in the country.
More than 1.4 million people have been displaced internally while half a million others have fled to the neighboring countries.
Somalia has been without a central government since the ouster of Mohammed Siad Bare in 1991.
JR/MB
Gambia orders UNICEF representative to leave
Wed Feb 17, 2010 /Reuters
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Gambia has ordered the representative of the U.N. children’s fund UNICEF to leave the West African country, a spokeswoman for the New York-based aid agency said on Tuesday.
“The government of Gambia has indicated that the UNICEF representative in the country, Ms. Min-Whee Kang, is no longer welcome,” a UNICEF spokeswoman said in a statement.
“No reason has been given for this and clarification is being sought,” she added. “Ms. Kang has left the Gambia.” Kang is South Korean.
UNICEF, which provides humanitarian and developmental aid to needy children and mothers worldwide, is one of the United Nations’ main aid agencies.
Gambia was one of a number of African countries that were criticized last month by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) as being Africa’s most repressive for reporters to work in.
Other African states the IFJ criticized included Eritrea, Somalia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Last year the media watchdog Reporters Without Borders said Gambia had the worst track record for press freedom in West Africa.
Last year Gambian President Yahya Jammeh threatened to kill people who work with human rights groups in the former British colony, a popular tourist destination on the West African coast.
USA :
Irby: February is Black History Month for reason
By Shay Irby/www.dailytoreador.com/ Published: Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Recently I had what turned out to be a very insightful conversation regarding Black History Month and its importance with a very enthusiastic young man. We discussed the importance of not only African-American history, but the history of all Americans.
It was my understanding I was engaged in a well-articulated conversation up until he made the one comment regarding Black History Month that seems to consistently come up despite the truth being so readily available: “It’s messed up that they gave African-Americans the shortest month of the year.”
For those of you who don’t follow, “they” refers to Anglo-Americans who he believes saw themselves as manipulating outside critics of the United States’ handling of its race issue by granting African-Americans a month during which time they are allowed to celebrate their heritage while simultaneously undermining the goal of such an allowance by establishing it within the shortest calendar month.
Upon hearing this colorful assertion I sat in complete silence, unsure of how to respond.
Many of you might see his point. His rant may have been passionate enough to encourage some of you to fight the man and demand a new month of celebration. Maybe January or May or any month with 31 days would suffice. Perhaps even I would have been moved to join the movement had he at least been in the ballpark of the truth.
It was difficult to believe such a champion for a cause had such unfounded beliefs. Surely there was some logical explanation for his radical account of the evolution of Black History Month. So I asked him what he thought Carter G. Woodson would think of his theory on the establishment of what is also known as Black Heritage Month.
If it wasn’t clear black history should be a part of every curriculum in education prior to his response, it was overtly apparent following it: “If Woodson is black, he probably agrees with me.”
I highly doubt the African-American founder of Black History Month would agree his Caucasian counterparts chose February to shorten the amount of time the importance of blacks in the United states are highlighted.
For those of you who do not know, Woodson was, among other things, an advocate for the inclusion of African-Americans in the history of the United States. If you’re interested, I’d encourage you to read CNN’s article “History of Black History Month.” You’re likely to learn several interesting bits of information.
For instance, did you know Black History Month actually began as a one-week affair in 1926 that wouldn’t expand into a month of recognition until 1976?
Were you aware Woodson earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Chicago and his doctorate from Harvard?
Most importantly, you’d be likely to learn the selection of the month of February for the celebration of African-American contributions was deliberate, but not for the reasons mentioned by the passionate yet off base young man previously mentioned.
Woodson initially chose one week in February as the host week for two specific reasons: Fredrick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. Viewing these two men as key players in the advancement of African-Americans, Woodson believed it was only fitting to use their birthdays (Lincoln’s on Feb. 12 and Douglass’ Feb. 14) to designate a week of celebration.
So as you can see, there was no “man” who chose this short month in which we celebrate the history of those who at one time weren’t allowed to celebrate their own culture. There was no conspiracy to satisfy foreign interests while continuing the subordination of a specific race.
The moral of this story is simple: History is important for several reasons. Not only does knowing the history of others help us relate to and understand different cultures, it also helps us stand united in a country that consists of such diversity and it prevents us from making complete idiots of ourselves.
The young man I’ve made reference to throughout this column had the passion needed to change the world, but he was lacking in the area of knowledge. Although it is important to remember and acknowledge the ideologies and contributions of historical figures such as Martin Luther King Jr., Thurgood Marshall and Carol Moseley Braun, it is equally important to understand why we celebrate these individuals when we do.
Remember, Black History Month didn’t originate in the month of February to discourage or mock but to celebrate and acknowledge.
End of the road for Corolla?
Wednesday, 17 February 2010/By Independent Team and Agencies
No way. Toyota recall unlikely to stop growth of the 19bn Euro empire
Toyota, the world’s largest automaker, has recalled more than 8 million vehicles around the world for problems with accelerators. Episodes of unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles have been linked to up to 19 crash deaths in the United States over the past decade.
The 77-year-old Toyota Motor Corporation has been praised for its lean production, quality control and continuous improvement.
The affected cars are the Prius manufactured between 2004 and 2009, Rav 4 (2009-2010), Avalon (2005-2010), Camry (2007-2010), and Sequoia (2009-2010).
Toyota was also forced to stop some sales and production of eight models. The cost may be up to $2bn (£1.25bn) in lost output and sales.
Toyota East Africa Managing Director Hylton Bannon, at a press conference, said cars sold his region were not affected. He said they were manufactured in Japan and South Africa while those in question originate from Europe and the US.
He said vehicles sold in the region are built for African conditions which are totally different to those elsewhere primarily due to road and fuel conditions. Most of the cars sold in the region are of earlier models.
Toyota takes into consideration environmental factors, such as humidity which contributed to the problem of sticky accelerators, when designing components.
The recall expanded to the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. About 180,000 vehicles imported from the US and sold in those regions were affected. Toyota said that condensation – which contributes to the pedal problem – was less likely to build up in hot climates than in the US and Europe.
The recall – up to eight million cars worldwide – is roughly equivalent to the group’s entire 2009 global sales.
Some Toyotas were recalled from Botswana. Most were supplied by Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM).
Some Corollas recalled in Europe is also produced in South Africa.
Toyota Motor Corporation is fixing the accelerator pedal problem by installing a precision-cut steel reinforcement bar into the accelerator-pedal assembly that creates a space to reduce the surface tension between the friction device and a component called the pedal arm.
The bar also strengthens the reaction force of the spring that returns the accelerator pedal to its non-pressed position.
Toyota makes Corolla, the best-selling nameplate in automotive history. It is among the most popular models in Uganda. Corolla started in 1966 when Toyota decided to build a small compact car that was of high quality, stylish and more cost-effective than the more prestigious models. Todate, over nine generations of Corolla have been produced. In 1997 Corolla became the best selling car of all time. Up to 35 million Corollas have been sold worldwide.
Toyota’s forte; reducing complexity from their products and using common parts across different products, has proved its Achilles. It means one faulty component affects many different models.
The accelerator problem was blamed on parts produced by an American supplier. But the Prius, Toyota’s top-selling hybrid, was recalled for a braking problem that was manufactured in Japan.
Toyota has switched back to its domestic supplier Denso Corp.
The fault is being seen as the failure of Toyota’s attempt to foreign transplant its “Toyota Way” or kaizen of eliminating waste, producing zero defects and continually improving line performance. Toyota chose CTS as a supplier partly to contribute to the local economy. CTS have solid technology and Toyota approved the design of the defective accelerator. The accelerators supplied by Denso have no problem as they have a different structure.
Under kaizen, factories employ teams whose sole job is to find problems and save time and money and responsibility for production shifts from managers back to the shop floor. Toyota workers are praised for spotting problems, according to Yozo Hasegawa, author of Clean Car Wars: How Honda and Toyota are Winning the Battle of the Eco-Friendly Motors.
Toyota’s days are far from over. It’s not for nothing that its nickname is “Toyota Bank”. Last year, it had over 19 billion Euros stashed away.
CANADA :
Iraq’s oil revival could be a gusher for Houston firms
By MONICA HATCHER/ www.chron.com/Feb. 17, 2010
With Iraq poised to begin the first major overhaul of its energy sector in decades, Houston stands to benefit in a big way from the multibillion dollar effort to redevelop the country’s battered oil fields, a project one analyst described as the greatest opportunity in the oil patch today.
A 23-member delegation from the country’s oil ministry visited Houston this week, meeting with officials of engineering and oil field services companies and other businesses likely to play a major role in the reconstruction efforts.
Iraq is finalizing contracts for 10 new development licenses recently awarded to foreign oil companies as it looks to convert its tremendous, yet neglected, oil reserves into wealth for rebuilding the war-ravaged nation.
While only one U.S. oil major, Exxon Mobil Corp., has finalized a contract so far, experts say U.S. oil field services companies should gain handsomely when Iraq begins ramping up production. Many of them have principal offices, headquarters or manufacturing facilities in Houston.
Those companies were among numerous corporate sponsors of a panel discussion Tuesday hosted by the Bilateral U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce. The session drew a standing-room-only crowd of more than 150 at the downtown law offices of Bracewell & Giuliani.
‘A lot of jobs’
In an interview afterward, Sabah Abdulkadhum Shibeeb Al-Saidi, deputy director of Iraq’s directorate for petroleum contracts and licensing, said that oil operators should significantly ramp up production outlined in their service contracts after three years. Iraq has the world’s third-largest proven oil reserves with 115 billion barrels, behind only Saudi Arabia and Canada.
To meet its goal of more than doubling production in the next five years, Iraq will need technical services provided by Houston firms, as well as equipment such as wellheads, blowout preventers, pipelines, pumps, and drill bits.
“It’s going to mean a lot of jobs for Houston and a sizable amount of income for these major services companies,” said Wayne Kelley, managing director of RSK [UK] Ltd, an oil and gas advisory firm in Houston.
Iraq’s ambassador to the U.S., Samir Sumaida’ie, was supposed to have joined the Houston delegation, but fell ill. He spoke to the group at the law offices via live video from Washington.
“The Iraqi budget is entirely dominated by oil revenue and oil revenue is still relatively limited and it is going into stabilizing Iraq by trying to pay people salaries across the country,” Sumaida’ie said. But as production increases, excess revenue will go into building the infrastructure. “This opens up a huge amount of work and opportunity,” the ambassador said.
The timetable for that is still uncertain, however. Security, while significantly improved over the past 18 months, remains a serious risk.
Oil operators also are expected to hold back major investments until it becomes clearer whether future Iraqi governments will honor contract terms, pass a hydrocarbon law and defuse other political mine fields.
Sumaida’ie said parliamentary elections March 7 will be pivotal in delivering the country into “a more sustainable period of politics.”
While analysts are skeptical of the country’s ability to meet its stated targets, RSK’s Kelley estimates that even an increase in production of 1 million barrels per day over a 10-year period could mean an additional $4 billion in yearly revenue for services companies, at least half of which could reasonably be expected to flow through Houston.
The estimate assumes what Kelley said is a conservative $5 per barrel development costs, and assumes it takes 8 billion barrels of reserves to support production of 1 million barrels per day.
Houston oil field services will be scrambling for a slice of the action to be sure. Halliburton CEO Dave Lesar has said he expects new drilling will spark a “land rush.”
Halliburton tour
On Sunday, the Iraqi delegation toured Halliburton’s Edgar Ortiz Real Time Center in Houston, where the company monitors, measures and controls reservoir development.
“If all the licenses that were awarded actually get signed into contracts, the amount of spending will be staggering,” said Richard Ruggiero, an area manager for the Americas for Gaffney, Cline & Associates in Houston.
Gaffney, Cline, acquired by Baker Hughes in 2008, is advising the Iraqi oil ministry on negotiating contract terms .
James Williams, an energy economist with WTRG, said Iraq presents the “greatest opportunity that exists” in the oil business today.
But he noted that high-tech Houston firms will still have to compete in the global marketplace when bidding on work in Iraq, particularly because initial reconstruction efforts will likely require basic tools and services rather than state-of-the-art equipment.
AUSTRALIA :
EUROPE :
Jonathan Elected ECOWAS Chair
•Talks tough against undemocratic change of govt
From George Oji and Etim Imisin in Abuja/ www.thisdayonline.com/02.17.2010
Nigeria’s leadership of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) was extended for another year last night as Acting President Goodluck Jonathan was elected the new chairman of the sub-regional body.
Ailing President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua had steered the ship of the association for a year until he fell ill, a development which had twice forced the postponement of the 37th Summit of the body.
Meanwhile, in his address at the summit of ECOWAS Heads of State and Gover-nment at the Hilton Hotel Abuja, Jonathan talked tough, condemning what he described as the undemocratic efforts by some elements at carrying out political change in the sub-region.
He warned that henceforth the West African sub-region would no longer tolerate any acts of political mis-adventure.
The re-election of Nigeria to chair the West African sub-region for the next one year, according to a communique read at the end of summit by the out-going President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas, was in solidarity with the country and in recognition of her significant contributions to the survival of the organisation.
The Heads of State paid glowing tributes to President Yar’Adua for displaying great qualities of a statesman, particularly his total and ready disposition to the ECOWAS causes and positive contributions to the consolidation of the regional integration process as well as to the entrenchment of democratic culture in West Africa.
The leaders also wished Yar’Adua speedy recovery.
While welcoming Jonathan to the helm of affairs of ECOWAS, the leaders expressed their conviction that under Jonathan’s guidance, Nigeria would continue to demonstrate her interest and leadership in deepening the regional agenda.
In a seeming reference to the unconstitutional change of government in the Republic of Guinea in 2008 and the killing of about 300 protesting civilians by the Guinean soldiers in 2009, Jonathan said: “Your Excellencies will recall that we were confronted with a number of most undemocratic efforts at political change. In a few of our countries the will of the people and their genuine aspiration for democracy were trampled upon with impunity.
“Let it be stated again that no place exists in this sub-region for such rape on the rights and indeed dignity of our people. No more will there be comfort zone for such political mis-adventure.”
On the emerging trend of terrorism and drug trafficking in the sub-region, the Acting President appealed to the ECOWAS Heads of State and Government to evolve joint strategies to stem the ugly trend.
Jonathan called on the leaders to take advantage of the summit to explore ways and means of harnessing their collective energies in partnership with the international community to put a halt to the ugly tide.
The Acting President in addition expressed concern at the deliberate breaching of the full implementation of the sub-region’s protocol on free movement of persons, goods and services and the right of residence by his colleague presidents in the region.
He warned that ECOWAS might be compelled to sanction any of the countries’ officials found to be deliberately flouting the letter and spirit of the protocol.
On the issue of the proposed ECOWAS common currency, the ECO, Jonathan said he was optimistic that all hands would be on deck to ensure that the project, which he described as long overdue would soon be actualized.
On the Customs Union for the sub-region, the Acting President expressed delight that the Common External Tariff (CETT) had witnessed substantial progress, particularly in the re-classification of products that will fall under the 5th band tariff classification.
He said the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) negotiation with the European Union (EU) offers ECOWAS countries an important platform to re-state the need for a firm financial commitment from the EU on funding the EPA development programmes.
He said it was gratifying that regional and national agricultural investment programmes had been finalized, which culminated in the international donors conference that held in Abuja in November last year.
He expressed confidence that all the stakeholders would fulfill the pledges made at the conference.
Out-going President of ECOWAS Commission who was last year elected Secretary-General of the 79 member countries of African Carribean Pacific (ACP) was replaced by a fellow country man, Ambassador Victor Gbeho as the new President of ECOWAS Commission.
The Heads of States congratulated Chambas for the outstanding achievements recorded in the sub-region during his tenure in office, particularly the impressive and brilliant contributions he made in opening the ECOWAS integration avenues.
Those who attended yesterday’s summit included Dr. Thomas Boni Yayi of the Republic of Benin, Blaise Compare of Bokino Faso, Pedro Pres of Cape Verde, Professor John Evans Atta Mills of Ghana and Malam Bacai Sanha of Guinea Republic.
Others are Mrs. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia, Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria, Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal, Ernest Koroma of Sierra Leone and Faure Gnassingbe of Togo. Three countries including the Republic of Gambia, Cote d’Voire and Mali were represented.
EU biofuels target will starve the poor, says anti-poverty group
mongabay.com/February 17, 2010
The European Union’s biofuel targets could starve up to 100 million people, warns a report from an anti-poverty charity.
ActionAid estimates the E.U.’s plan to source 10 percent of transport fuels from biofuels would increase competition for agricultural lands, spurring a sharp rise in food prices. Dearer food would disproportionally affect the world’s poorest people.
“Biofuels are conservatively estimated to have been responsible for at least 30% of the global food price spike in 2008,” states Meals per gallon. “It was estimated in 2008 that the food crisis had already pushed a further 100 million people into poverty and driven about 30 million more people into hunger.”
“If all global biofuel targets are met, it is predicted that food prices could rise by up to an additional 76% by 2020. An estimated 600 million extra people may be hungry because of industrial biofuels by this date.”
Beyond food scarcity concerns, ActionAid says biofuel targets will increase conflict over land and exacerbate environmental problems.
“The scale of the current land grab is astonishing,” the report states. In just five African countries, 1.1 million hectares
have been given over to industrial biofuels – an area the size of Belgium… EU companies have already acquired or requested at least five million hectares of land for industrial biofuels in developing countries – an area greater than the size of Denmark.”
The report argues that cropland expansion (17.5 million hectares will be needed in developing countries to meet the E.U.’s 10 percent target) will come at the expense of tropical forests and peatlands, worsening climate change.
“[Industrial biofuels] are the least cost-effective way of saving GHG emissions compared to other uses of the feedstock (the crops that go to make biofuel),” states the report. “Industrial biofuels are therefore a red herring in the fight against climate change, and will compound hunger and poverty for the poor in the future.”
Meals per gallon comes as biofuel industry lobbyists are making progress in their efforts to retain targets and relax environmental standards. Earlier this month a leaked document showed the E.U. is considering language that would classify industrial plantations as natural forests, allowing large-scale conversion of rainforests for biofuel production. Biofuel supporters claim conventional biofuels would boost economic activity in poor rural areas, but critics say the biggest beneficiaries of industrial plantations are corporations and expansion will deprive some already-disadvantaged populations of traditional access to land. Due to social and environmental concerns, some biofuels experts are now pushing biofuel feedstocks that will not compete with food crops, including woody grasses in temperate regions, oil palm and other crops on degraded lands in the tropics, and freshwater algae.
Tim Rice (2009). Meals per gallon [PDF]. ActionAid.
CHINA :
China Unicom in bid for stake in Nigeria’s Nitel
www.marketwatch.com/17022010
By Chris Oliver HK:762 CHU HONG KONG (MarketWatch) —
A consortium involving China Unicom Ltd. /quotes/comstock/22h!e:762 (HK:762 8.99, +0.09, +1.01%) /quotes/comstock/13*!chu/quotes/nls/chu (CHU 11.51, +0.13, +1.14%) has bid $2.5 billion for a majority stake in Nitel, Nigeria’s former state telecoms monopoly, according to reports Tuesday. The China Unicom-led consortium reportedly beat out four other contenders by more than $1.5 billion, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal which cited the Nigerian government’s privatization council. China Unicom’s shares in Hong Kong were up 1.8% in mid-morning trade Wednesday. The deal is among China’s biggest investments in Africa to date, reports said.
China-U.S. Rivalry Intensifies
Simon Roughneen/ www.worldpress.org/February 17, 2010
With the Dalai Lama set to meet President Obama on Thursday, more political fireworks can be expected just days after the Chinese New Year. U.S.-China relations have been stormy over recent weeks, with Beijing and Washington trading barbs over Taiwan and Google, disagreeing over policy on Iran, North Korea, and bickering over exchange rates, among a range of contentious political and economic issues.
But the officially atheist politburo in Beijing might take it as an auspicious sign that this is the Year of the Tiger. China has fared relatively well amid the global economic downturn, and with the United States bogged down with wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and Obama’s domestic reform agenda running into sand, Beijing might want to test American mettle as the perceived gap between the two countries narrows.
Obama dodged a bullet when shunning an opportunity to meet the Dalai Lama last year. But one year into an administration that has been dogged by accusations of softness and conflicting signals in foreign policy, a meeting with the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader will add to Obama’s attempt at an image makeover. With his healthcare reform program stalling, he needs some public display of foreign policy backbone, just weeks after Republican Scott Brown took the Massachusetts senate seat left vacant after the death of Ted Kennedy.
Obama was the first U.S. president to visit China during his first year in office, and he spent 2009 trying to charm or accommodate or appease (depending on your viewpoint) China’s Hu Jintao.
However, Obama was largely rebuffed on issues such as the value of the yuan, North Korea, human rights in China and dealing with Iran. The year culminated in the farcical Copenhagen climate summit, when Hu Jintao sent minor officials to meet the U.S. president, who then had to barge into a meeting led by Hu and involving the leaders of India, Brazil and South Africa, which the Chinese sought to stage without the Americans knowing.
The United States recently sold Taipei $6.4 billion worth of military equipment in a deal that was lined up for months in advance. Contrived verbal exchanges ensued, with the Chinese foreign minister telling the American ambassador in Beijing that the United States would be responsible for “serious repercussions” if the sale was not cancelled, and China’s state-backed media laying into the United States for its perceived transgressions.
Meeting the Dalai Lama will garner Obama some kudos from across the American political spectrum, from conservatives who want to see him stand up to China, to liberals and activists who work on Tibet advocacy.
China regards the Dalai Lama as a separatist politician, and Tibet ranks alongside Taiwan as a non-negotiable issue for Beijing. A spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington reacted to the Taiwan arms deal and the mooted Obama-Dalai Lama meeting as follows: “China’s positions on issues like arms sales to Taiwan and Tibet have been consistent and clear,” Wang Baodong said, “as these issues bear on sovereignty and territorial integrity, which are closely related to Chinese core national interests.”
China upped the ante, however, by mooting sanctions for American firms doing business in China, a somewhat pointed response alluding to American attempts to prompt Beijing into backing sanctions on Iran, fresh from marking the 30th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution. China quietly sanctioned several U.S. companies for participating in such weapons sales in the past. However, it would mark a major change if China makes the list public and includes companies such as Boeing, which sells billions of dollars of airplanes in China each year.
With China riding out the global economic storm better than the United States, a newfound confidence is being exhibited in Beijing, with more strident rhetoric implying that China should challenge the United States coming out of state-funded think tanks and media. This type of talk is contrary to the posture advocated by Deng after 1989. He counseled, “Observe developments soberly, maintain our position, meet challenges calmly, hide our capacities, bide our time, remain free of ambitions and never claim leadership.”—similar words to those in “The Art of War,” the classic Chinese handbook on military strategy that advises that success comes not simply through brute, military force, but through oblique means, using stealth and even deception.
China recently overtook Germany to become the world’s biggest exporter and may have already overtaken Japan to become the world’s second largest economy. Last May, Australia’s defense white paper analyzed Canberra’s options in the Asia-Pacific region in the coming decades, as U.S. power declines relative to that of China. Arms spending is up in Southeast Asia, as Asean countries react to growing Chinese influence and assertiveness and wonder about the long-term U.S. commitment to the region.
China is exerting a growing influence across Africa and in Central Asia, funding infrastructure projects and providing cheap grants and loans, in return for preferential access to natural resources and running a parallel diplomatic and economic track to the Western, aid agency-driven “development” paradigm, which has not improved conditions in much of Africa.
It is not just the United States that is getting the sharp end of Chinese diplomacy. In autumn 2008, China canceled a summit with the European Union after French President Nicolas Sarkozy met with the Dalai Lama. Before that, it had denounced German Chancellor Angela Merkel over her contacts with the Tibetan spiritual leader. Smaller countries have been humiliated: China suspended ties with Denmark after its prime minister met the Dalai Lama and resumed them only after the Danish government issued a statement saying it would oppose Tibetan independence and consider Beijing’s reaction before inviting him again.
A recent report by the U.S. National Intelligence Council concluded that the world is witnessing the rise of “major global players similar to the advent of a united Germany in the 19th century and a powerful United States in the early 20th century … [and they] will transform the geopolitical landscape.”
Chief among those is China. But while Chinese geo-political weight is bound to increase in coming decades, the facts show that it is a long way from challenging the United States, even though Deng-style obfuscation could mean that China is downplaying its defense spending and military capabilities.
On the other hand, various analysts have written about how Chinese officials at local levels routinely lie about economic production, giving inflated numbers to keep bosses in Beijing happy. It is hard to know the real story, and therefore it is difficult to analyze the true nature and implications of China’s rise.
To assume that China will overtake the United States in 20 to 30 years, as some speculate, is to presume that the impressive Chinese economic growth of the past three decades can be maintained. Growth comes easier when coming from the relatively low base of late-70s China, reeling from the Mao era and destruction wrought by the Cultural Revolution.
China’s aging and imbalanced population—the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington D.C. estimated that China will have to support 400 million elderly by 2040—means Beijing will find
it hard to maintain the magic 8 percent target number for annual growth, seen as necessary to maintain social stability. With an estimated 90,000 annual “mass incidents,” as Chinese security forces label protests, this cannot be taken for granted.
The depth of animosity between the two countries can be overplayed. Both need each other to ensure that the global economic crisis is overcome. But talk of the emergence of “Chimerica”—a sort of mutual dependency between the United States and China that means both sides will cherish stability over rivalry—is Panglossian. There are fundamental differences between how the two countries are governed and how they see the world.
Most notably, the idea that China can be somehow cajoled into becoming a “responsible stakeholder,” as mooted by World Bank President Robert Zoellick, seems unlikely. To a greater or lesser extent, countries see the world in terms of national interest, and the same applies to the United States, even if the Obama administration has spun its “return to multilateralism.”
China will work within the existing international order such as it is, to the extent that it suits China. But where this conflicts with Chinese interests, Beijing will look for an alternative. The recent Copenhagen climate summit was case in point. To some extent, China sees Western exhortations to act “responsibly” in Africa or with regard to Burma, Iran or North Korea, as cover for the West asking China to emasculate itself.
Rising powers do not usually allow themselves to be constrained by the norms and institutions set up by those they are trying to rival or even replace.
And amid the struggles in the West to cope with the global economic downturn, China now can portray its authoritarian state capitalist model as one to be emulated, irrespective of the implications for human rights and democracy in China and beyond.
Just ask Google, which has threatened to leave China due to censorship and alleged state hacking of its email service. And just ask Liu Xiaobo, the Chinese dissident whose 11-year jail sentence was upheld last week, for his role in organizing the Charter 08 plea for democracy in China.
This article was originally published by The Irrawaddy: http://www.irrawaddy.org/.
African expatriates savor festival China
english.people.com.cn/Source: Xinhua/ February 17, 2010
When in Rome, do as the Romans do. This well-known saying gives a just right depiction of what African expatriates are doing in this southern economic hub bathed in festival joy.
As all trading centers in the downtown Dongfengjie Neighborhood have been closed in observance of the Lunar Chinese New Year which fell upon Sunday, Africans who used to been seen rushing back and forth to procure goods with huge bags on their back suddenly got leisure.
Some sit in street corner shops, sipping tea while others turned up in farmer markets, choosing vegetable and fruits.
“This is time to have a good break. We are usually too busy,” said Mohamed Issifi, a Malian merchant who celebrated the eve of the Year of Tiger with Chinese friends at home.
Like most Chinese, he was glued to a TV set for the annual live broadcast Spring Festival Evening Party which has become a national highlight on the New Year Eve since it was first held by the Chinese Central Television Station in 1983.
But not every African wanted to recuperate at home. Said Issa, a student at the Zhongshan University from Burkina Faso, always used his winter vacations to travel and to learn more about the diversity of China.
In the previous two years, he had gone to Zhanjiang of Guangdong and Mianyang of Sichuan. This year, he headed for Shenyang, a northeastern city in frigid zone.
“I am eager to know more about the Chinese, especially to know how they get along with one another,” he said.
Recalling red wrappings as one of his festival shocks in China, Issa said he was completely at a loss when he received the first red wrapping with cash in his life from his classmate’s father in Zhanjiang.
When he was about to put down the red wrapping and leave, one of his friends stopped him and told him such a gift from the elder would invite good luck for youngsters. Happily he obeyed and received more at that Spring Festival.
Experts say the custom, at least 1,800 years old, conveys new year greetings and aims to protect youngsters from ill luck. It also makes children happy because they get red wrappings of pocket money from their parents, grandparents and other relatives.
Unlike Issa who is here for education, his brother Bachir Issa came to China for business. Normally, he would stay for two weeks at one time to procure goods in need back home.
When factories stopped production and trade centers closed however during the Spring Festival holiday, Bachir had to prolong his stay in China. “There is no way for me to place an order at the moment. But I get candies from Chinese friends. They say having candies will predicate a sweet life in the new year,” said he with a broad smile.
A major distribution center for the Pearl River Delta which produces the goods much needed in Africa especially clothes and electric household appliances, Guangzhou has seen an influx of Africans since late 1990s.
The city now has 16 air flights to the African Continent per week, the highest among all Chinese cities.
Official figures from the provincial public security department showed that in 2008, about 80 percent of the 163,000 Africans with temporary residence in Guangdong live in the capital.
Trade volume between China and the Africa declined 15 percent to 91.07 billion U.S. dollars last year due to the global financial crisis. But through the longer time period from 2000 to 2008, Sino-African trade has maintained an annual growth rate of 30 percent.
6 top iron ore exporters to China in 2009
Wednesday, 17 Feb 2010/steelguru.com
According to the General Administration of Customs, Australia, Brazil and India remained the largest iron ore suppliers to China in 2009, but China imports from South Africa, Ukraine and Canada more than doubled last year from a year earlier.
According to the report, iron ore imports from various countries are
1. Australia rose by 42.9%to 260 million tonnes
2. Brazil rose by 41.5% to 140 million tonnes
3. India rose by 18% to 110 million tonnes
4. South Africa rose by 140% YoY to 34.1 million tonnes
5. Ukraine rose by 150% YoY to 11.6 million tonnes
6. Canada rose by 130% to 8.7 million tonnes.
China imports of iron ores in 2009 rose 41.6%YoY to hit 630 million tonnes a record high. The average price was USD 79.9 per tonne down by 41.7% from the previous year.
The document attributed rising ore imports in 2009 to quick recovery of China’s steel production, insufficient domestic supply and increasing iron ore stockpiles by importers. In 2009, China iron and steel output rose 18.5% to 692.4 million tonnes. Crude steel output increased 13.5% to 567.8 million tonnes.
INDIA :
India Ready to Help Bharti Airtel in Zain Deal
By PRASANTA SAHU /online.wsj.com/ FEBRUARY 17, 2010
NEW DELHI — The Indian government will help Bharti Airtel Ltd. in its bid to buy most of the African assets of Kuwait’s Mobile Telecommunications Co., or Zain, if the Indian mobile-phone operator seeks any assistance, the federal corporate affairs minister said Wednesday.
Bharti Airtel, India’s largest mobile-phone company by subscribers, though hasn’t approached the corporate affairs ministry for any help, Salman Khurshid told reporters on the sidelines of an industry conference.
He also said that there aren’t any apparent policy issues in the Bharti-Zain Deal as of now.
“We have matured enough to see multinational companies emerge out of India. We are very happy to see an Indian company expand its footprint overseas,” Mr. Khurshid said.
Bharti Airtel is in exclusive talks until March 25 to buy Zain’s African assets, except in Morocco and Sudan, in its latest bid to enter a fast-growing market overseas as intense competition and price wars are hurting growth in India.
Write to Prasanta Sahu at prasanta.sahu@dowjones.com
Ford India to export its Figo to South Africa, Asia-Pacific markets
www.vicky.in/February 17th, 2010
under Auto News.
As the focus is now shifting on the new Figo, Ford India is diverting its small cars to South Africa and Asia-Pacific regions. Once the car, with 1.2 lit engine (optional 1.4 lit engine), gets its launch in India in March, soon it will enter these markets, said its Executive Director. The car is crafted in the Chennai plant of the company which has the capacity of 2 lakh annual units at an investment of $500 million.
There will also be production of petrol and diesel engines coupled with 4-cylinder engines of 1.6 lit (which are meant for export). The engines will see the landing in South Africa, Asia-Pacific, Ford Europe, Ford North America and ASEAN. For marketing this Figo next month, the company has fixed 28 new dealers spread across 24 cities in India to provide total sale and service network for the entire range of cars. This addition of dealers make the tally to 164 in 97 cities in the country with an increase of 30% dealerships in the last two years. To promote this Figo vigorously, Ford India is targeting the Tier-II and Tier-III areas.
Jet Airways Announces New Daily Non- Stop Service to South Africa
www.prlog.org/Feb 17, 2010
Jet Airways, India’s premier international airline, today announced that it will commence daily non-stop flights from Mumbai to Johannesburg from April 14th, 2010.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PR Log (Press Release) – Feb 17, 2010 – INTRODUCES DIRECT MUMBAI-JOHANNESBURG SERIVICE EFFECTIVE APRIL 14, 2010
Jet Airways, India’s premier international airline, today announced that it will commence daily non-stop flights from Mumbai to Johannesburg from April 14th, 2010. The airline will introduce services to the Rainbow Nation using a new state-of-the-art Airbus 330-200 aircraft.
The launch of this new international route marks the first time that Jet Airways is adding destinations to Africa on its international route network.
Flight 9W 242 will depart Mumbai at 0205 hours, arriving in Johannesburg at 0735 hrs. On the return leg, flight 9W 241 will depart Johannesburg at 1100 hrs, arriving in Mumbai at 2330 hrs.*
According to Mr. Nikos Kardassis, CEO, Jet Airways, “Jet Airways is delighted to enter Africa with its daily Mumbai-Johannesburg service. South Africa’s reputation as a leading tourist and business destination and the fact that it will play host to the 2010 FIFA World Cup also presents a huge opportunity for Jet Airways. We are confident that our airline will soon emerge as one of the first choice carriers on this popular route given our unparalleled domestic network in India and ever expanding international footprint. South Africa, as indeed the African region is an important market for us and we are confident of capturing and growing the market”.
“Given the strong linkages between India and South Africa, and the large number of people of Indian origin living in and/or working in South Africa, we believe that there is untapped potential and this new route promises to serve the needs of our discerning corporate and leisure flyers”, added Mr. Kardassis.
A truly diverse rainbow nation with 11 official languages, South Africa is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. From the deserts of the Kgalagadi to the lush green forests of Tsitsikamma to the unspoilt beaches of the wild coast to the vibrant nightlife of Cape Town, the country has something for every traveler.
It is also emerging as one of the leading business tourism and conference destinations in the world, and ranked 18thon the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Index as an attractive foreign investment destination.
Configured in two classes, with 30 seats in Première (Business Class) and 190 seats in Economy, the spacious full-length wide-bodied twin aisle cabin of the A330-200 will truly make for a more pleasurable flying experience. The airline’s Première guests will enjoy a 180 degree flat bed with lumbar support and massage systems, oversized table, laptop power, telephony, SMS, Email and live text news to deliver a flying office, state-of-the-art On-Demand Panasonic In-Flight Entertainment (IFE), as well as the finest in-flight dining and service, among other amenities.
Return Economy fares from various Indian cities start from INR 35,595 while return Premiere (Business Class) fares start from INR 1,16,020.**
Johannesburg will be the twenty-second destination in the airline’s international network. Jet Airways currently flies to New York (both JFK and Newark), Toronto, Brussels, London (Heathrow), Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Colombo, Bangkok, Kathmandu, Dhaka, Kuwait, Bahrain, Muscat, Doha, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Jeddah, Sharjah and Riyadh.
*Subject to receipt of requisite approvals
**Base Fare, excludes applicable taxes. Fares are subject to change without prior notice.
About Jet Airways
Jet Airways currently operates a fleet of 89 aircraft, which includes 10 Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft, 12 Airbus A330-200 aircraft, 53 next generation Boeing 737-700/800/900 aircraft and 14 modern ATR 72-500 turboprop aircraft. With an average fleet age of 4.66 years, the airline has one of the youngest aircraft fleet in the world.
Flights to 61 destinations span the length and breadth of India and beyond, including New York (both JFK and Newark), Toronto, Brussels, London (Heathrow), Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Colombo, Bangkok, Kathmandu, Dhaka, Kuwait, Bahrain, Muscat, Doha, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Jeddah, Sharjah and Riyadh.
About Jet Airways Konnect
Jet Airways Konnect is Jet Airways’ all-economy service on key domestic routes, designed to meet the needs of the low-fare segment with value-for-money fares.
Jet Airways Konnect links five major metros- Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Bengaluru and Kolkata – with several destinations across India, operating over 195 flights daily.
Jet Airways and its all-economy, no-frills Jet Airways Konnect service together operates over 300 flights daily.
About JetLite
JetLite is a wholly owned subsidiary of Jet Airways India Ltd. and was acquired by Jet Airways in April 2007. Positioned as an all-economy, no-frills airline, JetLite operates a fleet of 23 aircraft, which includes 16 Boeing 737 series and 7 Canadian Regional Jets 200 Series. The airline flies to 28 domestic destinations and 2 international destinations (Kathmandu and Colombo), operating over 110 flights a day, on average.
Jet Airways, Jet Airways Konnect, its all-economy, no-frills service, and JetLite have a combined fleet strength of 112 aircraft and operate over 410 flights daily.
India’s Stocks Rise on Optimism Government Will Boost Spending
February 17, 2010 / By Rajhkumar K Shaaw/Bloomberg
Feb. 17 (Bloomberg) — Indian stocks rose for the second day after comments by Reserve Bank of India Governor Duvvuri Subbarao increased optimism the government will announce plans to spur expansion in its annual budget next week.
Housing Development Finance Corp., the biggest mortgage lender, rose 1.4 percent after Subbarao said yesterday it isn’t advisable to target inflation as policy makers need to consider the need for economic growth as well. Tata Steel Ltd., the nation’s biggest producer of the alloy, jumped the most in more than two months after its European unit returned to profit.
“This is a pre-budget rally,” said Niraj Shah, an analyst with Centrum Broking Pvt. in Mumbai. “The government needs to balance growth, inflation and fiscal deficit. It would also like to keep the stock markets happy. Metal stocks are likely to lead today as there is strong demand in the Indian economy.”
The Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensitive Index, or Sensex, gained 199.06, or 1.2 percent, to 16,425.74 at 2:35 p.m. in Mumbai. The S&P CNX Nifty Index on the National Stock Exchange rose 1.3 percent to 4,918.95. The BSE 200 Index increased 1.1 percent to 2,080.43.
Investors should buy Indian stocks amid any drops as earnings growth counters the impact of accelerating inflation and a possible decline in global risk appetite, Morgan Stanley said. The macroeconomic environment in India is similar to 2004, when an increase in interest rates prompted a “temporary” decline in the stock market’s valuations, analysts Ridham Desai and Sheela Rathi said in a report yesterday.
Inflation
Housing Development climbed 1.4 percent to 2,462 rupees. India won’t see “double-digit” inflation, Chakravarthy Rangarajan, chairman of the prime minister’s Economic Advisory Council, told reporters in Mumbai late yesterday. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is scheduled to announce the government budget in parliament on Feb. 26.
An index of wholesale prices rose 8.56 percent in January from a year earlier, the fastest pace in 15 months, a Feb. 15 government report showed.
ICICI Bank Ltd., the country’s second-biggest lender, increased 1.4 percent to 843.70 rupees. HDFC Bank Ltd., the third biggest, advanced 2.4 percent to 1,645.35 rupees.
Tata Steel soared 6 percent to 583.05 rupees, poised for its biggest one-day gain since Nov. 30. The company climbed after posting a group profit for the first time in four quarters and predicting a revival in demand at its European business.
Higher Prices
Steel demand is expected to rise this quarter because of a recovery in the automobile and industrial sectors in Europe, Tata Steel Europe Chief Executive Officer Kirby Adams said yesterday in Mumbai. Corus, the U.K.-based unit that contributes two-thirds of Tata Steel’s global output, raised prices of long products by at least 60 pounds ($97) a ton, Tata Steel said on Jan. 28.
“Steel prices have been rising since January, so we expect further improvement in the fourth quarter,” said Rakesh Arora, an analyst with Macquarie Group Ltd. in Mumbai. “The market was surprised by a higher-than-expected Ebidta of Corus.”
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization is a measure of a company’s profitability.
Hindalco Industries Ltd., the biggest aluminum producer, jumped 5.2 percent to 152.9 rupees after its North American unit Novelis returned to profit in the third quarter.
Return to Profit
Novelis posted a third-quarter profit of $68 million, compared with a $1.8 billion loss in the year-earlier period, Hindalco said in a statement late yesterday.
Sterlite Industries (India) Ltd., the largest copper and zinc producer, gained 3.5 percent to 789.1 rupees after copper advanced to a three-week high in London.
Hindustan Unilever Ltd., the biggest household products maker, advanced 1.4 percent to 240.5 rupees. The stock was raised to “neutral” from “sell” at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., which said it expects a “gradual recovery” in volume growth in the next fiscal year.
Earnings for companies on the Sensex may rise at a compound annual rate of 18 percent to the fiscal year ending March 2012, a forecast that offers “upside risks,” Morgan Stanley said.
The Sensex has fallen 5.9 percent this year on the prospect of higher borrowing costs as economic growth and inflation accelerate, and as budget shortfalls in Greece, Spain and Portugal prompted investors to flee emerging markets for less risky assets.
‘Good News’
“The good news is that the market is already aware of most of the risks but needs time to settle the debate,” the Morgan Stanley analysts wrote in a report. “The near term is likely to continue to be volatile, but we think investors should be buying the dip rather than selling the rally.”
Overseas investors bought a net 2.18 billion rupees ($46.9 million) of Indian stocks on Feb. 15, paring the total outflow from equities this year to 21.8 billion rupees, according to the nation’s stock market regulator.
Foreign fund inflows into India’s stock market rose to a record 834.2 billion rupees in 2009, beating the previous high set two years earlier in local currency terms, as the biggest rally in 18 years lured foreign investors. They sold a record 529.9 billion rupees of shares in 2008, triggering the biggest- ever annual decline.
The following were among the most active on the exchange:
Indo Tech Transformers Ltd. (INDT IN), a maker of power transformers jumped 17 percent to 322.9 rupees, the most in almost six months on speculation a venture partly owned by General Electric Co. may buy all the stock it doesn’t already own.
Dabur India Ltd. (DABUR IN) lost 1.5 percent to 168 rupees. The maker of products ranging from beverages to shampoos was cut to “neutral” from “buy” at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., which said the shares may be set for a “period of consolidation” after recent gains.
Indian Overseas Bank (IOB IN) advanced 1.9 percent to 92.65 rupees. TCI Cyprus Holdings Ltd. sold most of its stake in the bank to Life Insurance Corporation of India, the Financial Express reported, citing people it didn’t identify. Managing Director S.A. Bhat couldn’t immediately be contacted for comment on the report.
–With assistance from Abhishek Shanker in Mumbai. Editors: Margo Towie, Sam Nagarajan
BRASIL:
EN BREF, CE 17 février 2010 … AGNEWS / OMAR, BXL,17/02/2010
