Southern Africa: Trade Growth, Diversification Go Together - Swazi Premier

The Times of Zambia (Ndola), 2 August 2008

Swaziland Prime Minister, Absalom Dlamini, has said countries in the region cannot realise growth without diversifying their economies.

Mr Dlamini said this when he opened this year's Agricultural and Commercial Show in Lusaka whose theme is 'growth and diversity.'

Mr Dlamini who was representing King Mswati said trade, growth and diversification were intertwined hence the need for the countries in the region to work towards diversifying their economies.

"Trade promotes diversification, while diversification is a catalyst for trade. When these two work together smoothly, growth becomes an inevitable outcome," he said.

He said it was imperative that as the global trade evolved, all countries should be on the alert so that they became part of the global movement.

Mr Dlamini said this year's theme had come at the time when the world was engaged in numerous economic activities that included the non-ending trade negotiations.

He said through these negotiations, all countries in the world were working tirelessly to ensure that their economies achieved diversified growth.

Countries that were strong in the production of agricultural goods wanted to diversify into production of industrial goods and those in trading wanted to diversify into trade and services.

Mr Dlamini said this year's show was very strategic as both the public and private sectors were showcasing the best ever.

Mr Dlamini said this year's show was a landmark in the history of trade, particularly growth and diversity in Southern Africa and beyond.

He said this year, the region was progressing towards deeper market integration.

He said at regional level, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) was envisaged to become a customs union while the Southern African Development Community (SADC) would this month launch a Free Trade Area.

Mr Dlamini said at multilateral level, the region was hopeful that the Doha negotiations would be concluded amicably.

Mr Dlamini said these and other global activities were opening up for the micro, small, medium as well as large scale enterprises to interact and conduct trade smoothly and more freely with each other.

He said he was pleased to note diverse products that were exhibited at the show which reflected the Government of Zambia had invested heavily in building entrepreneurial skills of her people.

He said the merchandise being showcased showed the high level of expertise of exhibitors.

Mr Dlamini wished President Mwanawasa a quick recovery on behalf of King Mswati.

He said the whole Swazi nation expressed their prayers for the quick recovery of Dr Mwanawasa.

"As a SADC family, we hope that the doctors in France will get divine wisdom from above while attending to the President," he said.

And Zambia Agricultural and Commercial Show society president, Paul Mumbuluma said this year's show was special in that it was concurrently held with the just ended Smart Partnership Dialogue.

Mr Mumbuluma said Zambia's economy was growing in various sectors as evidenced by the growth in the Gross Domestic Product of five per cent.

He commended the Government for working hard in trying to improve the living standards of the people.

He said there was however need to work hard to reduce the poverty levels.

And Zesco yesterday emerged as winner with the best overall exhibition.

The best interpretation of the theme award went to Zambia National Service (ZNS) while Zambia Seed Company won the best agricultural exhibit award.

Best export commercial exhibit award was scooped by Ndola Lime Company with Zambeef getting the best environmental exhibit award.

Kenya got the best international exhibitor award.

And during the Agricultural and Commercial Show Society of Zambia (ACSZ) guest of honour's luncheon hosted by his bank, Stanbic Bank Zambia managing director, Joseph Chikolwa said the theme for this year's show tied up with the bank's focus on providing relevant financial solutions to enhance growth.

Mr Chikolwa said Stanbic Bank Zambia was continually investing in the economic sectors, especially in the agricultural sector, that accounted for 25 per cent of the bank's loan portfolio.

He said while the bank had taken the lead in reducing interest rates to the sector, it was also committed to diversifying investments and introducing new products in other key sectors.

"At Stanbic, we believe the country shall continue on its growth path in the various sectors of the economy. Therefore, our bank will continue to be innovative and provide new products and financial solutions to our esteemed customers," he said.

SADC launches long-awaited FTA

THE Southern African Development Community (SADC) yesterday officially launched the free trade area (FTA), ushering in a new era of economic integration in the region.

The FTA was launched under the theme “SADC Free Trade Area for Growth, Development and Wealth Creation.”

The launch is supposed to lead to the establishment of a Customs Union by 2010, Common Market by 2015 and creation of a Monetary Union by 2016.
The free trade zone is aimed at giving the region economic muscle.

Only 11 countries in the 14-nation SADC agreed to the pact, which the region hopes will boost trade and investment opportunities and create jobs.

The FTA will exempt 85 per cent of trade from tariffs and the aim is to fully liberalise by 2012.

Addressing the summit of SADC on Saturday, South African President Thabo Mbeki said the launch of FTA was much more than a simple acknowledgement that the majority of traded goods in the region are duty-free.

“Rather we should view the achievement of this milestone as a major step towards addressing the fundamental challenges of poverty and underdevelopment through deeper integration and economic development.

“Regional economic cooperation and integration offer us the opportunity to pool our limited resources and build an economic base to address the challenges of economic growth and development,” President Mbeki said.

Yesterday’s launch of the FTA market was a historic event that will usher in a new era of economic integration in the region.

The political situation in the region has remained relatively calm although some of the member states are currently facing some challenges in the area of peace and security, namely the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Malawi, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

SADC first mooted the idea of a free-trade zone in 1996 but progress has been slow and some economies continue to lag behind in developing infrastructure and policies which are crucial for integration.

[Times of Zambia]

«Le monde a encore beaucoup à apprendre de la Chine»

QUESTIONS A KEE CHONG LI KWONG WING, ECONOMISTE ET PRESIDENT DE L’AMICALE MAURICE-CHINE
Article publié le Mercredi 13 août 2008.

La Chine s’affirme comme une puissance économique d’envergure, au point de faire trembler les puissances traditionnelles. Le système politique dirigiste et l’ouverture contrôlée du pays sont à la base du développement chinois. L’économiste Kee Chong Li Kwong Wing confie sa perception du parcours chinois.

● Au risque d’être subversif, ne peut-on pas dire que le dirigisme et l’autoritarisme politiques chinois ont été des clés de la réussite économique du pays ?

On dit que la Chine a réussi à cause de son exploitation éhontée de la main-d’œuvre, du non-respect des droits humains, de ses règles opaques et chauvines, de la dégradation dramatique de son environnement, et quoi d’autres encore ? Manipulation du taux de change ? Piratage des inventions ? Le facteur capital, c’est que la Chine n’a pas commis l’erreur d’engager une ouverture débridée dans tous les sens, comme l’a fait par exemple l’ex-URSS en renversant ses systèmes politique et économique à la fois. Le Parti Communiste Chinois est resté maître de la politique de libéralisation, en introduisant l’économie de marché tout en gardant le contrôle du système politique.

On peut certes s’insurger contre la mainmise étatique, voire le totalitarisme du régime. L’autorité du Parti est restée suprême, mais sans qu’il y ait eu perversion ou éclatement de l’Etat par des cliques mafieuses comme dans d’autres régimes autoritaires. Au contraire, le Parti a pu donner un dynamisme à l’économie, en assurant une croissance soutenue dans l’ouverture et en répondant aux besoins de stabilité sociale. D’où l’importance que donne le gouvernement chinois en ce moment au contrôle de l’inflation, aux subventions des denrées alimentaires, et aux aides sociales. Je crois que le monde a encore beaucoup à apprendre de la Chine.


● On dit souvent que la puissance chinoise fait peur. C’est un poids lourd démographique et commercial aux demandes gigantesques. Est-ce l’extraordinaire demande chinoise ou l’érosion d’un ordre mondial «occidentalo-centré» qui fait peur ?

Nous vivons dans un monde unipolaire dominé par les Etats-Unis, qui agissent tel le sheriff de la planète. Cela ne constitue-t-il pas déjà un danger pour la paix mondiale ? Certes, la Chine a les moyens de devenir une superpuissance économique et militaire. Mais faut-il faire à la Chine un faux procès, quand c’est bien elle qui contribue à maintenir dans les pays développés un niveau de vie et de consommation confortable grâce à ses produits des plus abordables ?

Les Chinois ont un sens du pragmatisme dans les affaires et, à l’évidence, ne sont nullement intéressés à dominer le monde. Leur pays est déjà fragilisé par tous ces soubresauts que sont les catastrophes naturelles, les contestations sécessionnistes, les inégalités économiques, etc. On est encore loin d’un quelconque «péril jaune» que veulent propager certains paranos qui ont plutôt peur de l’effondrement de l’influence occidentale. Il est trop tôt, je pense, pour dire que la Chine est une menace comme on ne cesse de l’entendre.


● Quels sont les principaux défis de la Chine aujourd’hui ? Doit-on s’attendre à un net ralentissement de la croissance chinoise, ou plutôt à ce que la Chine se hisse au premier rang des puissances mondiales d’ici 2035, comme l’écrit l’économiste américain Albert Keidel ?

La Chine est devenue aujourd’hui un net food importer et un consommateur insatiable de pétrole. Son économie subit de plein fouet les effets inflationnistes des prix des aliments et du pétrole. Le cours des matières premières ne cesse de grimper. La récession ambiante dans les marchés occidentaux réduit ses exportations et la crise du crédit immobilier rétrécit les investissements étrangers. D’autre part, la demande domestique est comprimée par une politique monétaire restrictive et anti-inflationniste, qui sert aussi à refroidir les marchés boursier et immobilier. Pour la première fois, la Chine ne fera pas son taux de croissance rituel à deux chiffres. Et l’écart entre les riches et les pauvres s’agrandira.

Les défis aujourd’hui sont donc nombreux. Il faut contenir l’inflation par des contrôles de prix, des subsides et des restrictions monétaires sans trop d’interventionnisme. Il faut aussi réduire les inégalités sociales et l’écart entre les villes et les campagnes. Ce qui exige des transferts sociaux et surtout un ajustement salarial qui affectera la compétitivité dans les industries à forte intensité de main-d’œuvre. La consommation locale et les dépenses budgétaires demandent à être dopées pour contrebalancer la chute des exportations et des investissements. Les perspectives de rentabilité des entreprises sont à la baisse. Tout cela demandera vigilance et toutes les ressources excédentaires commerciales, courantes et budgétaires, de la Chine seront mises à disposition pour gérer ces défis.

South Africa: Trade conditions still tight, but improving – Sacci

Trade levels continued to reflect tight trade conditions, despite the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry's (Sacci's) Trade Activity Index indicating a climb to 43 points in July, up one point from the 42 points registered in June.

Trade activity had reached an all-time low in June, after the index had started a steady decline from 50 points in February.

Similarly, a subindex on sales volumes had also improved slightly to 45 points in July, up from 42 points in June, but still down from the 55 points recorded in February.

Sacci said in a media release on Friday that the new orders subindex had also confirmed a slightly improved mood in a depressed trade climate, increasing to 42 points in July, compared with 40 points in June.

Further, the Trade Expectations Index (TEI), which explores trade conditions six months ahead, had increased to 50 points in July, after it had gradually declined from 58 points in February to 46 points in June.

The TEI had previously been in a rapid downward trend, declining from 70 points in January 2007 to 46 points in May and June this year.

This implied somewhat better trade prospects towards the year end, with salary increases for public servants in July and wage settlements in excess of 10% having contributed to a better-off feeling among some consumers, which lead to a possible improvement in retail trade in July, Sacci said in the release.

In addition, the chamber expected trade conditions to level out further if financial conditions and cost pressures did not tighten further, and although trade prospects could remain subdued over the short term, an improvement in the medium to long term was possible.

Meanwhile, the TEI subindex on sales expectations had increased to 56 points in July, up from 51 points in June and 52 points in May. The index on expected new orders had also improved by five index points to 51 in July, compared with 46 points recorded in May and June.

Sacci noted that inflationary pressures had eased as the index on selling prices had declined to 68 points in July, down from 74 points in June. The input price index had declined to 81 points in July, compared with 84 points in June.

Further, the expected input and sales price indices had remained the same, which Sacci said suggested that rising prices would still be a strong possibility over the next six months, as fuel and food prices, although rising at a slower pace, were increasing faster than average inflation.

In addition, the employment index remained on 44 points in July, while employment prospects in the trade environment had increased to 46 points in July, and although this was up from the 45 points recorded in June, it remained in negative territory.

Réunion aims to go 100% green on power and transport by 2050

By Ed Harris - August 17, 2008

Ringed by volcanic rock, sandy beaches and the blue swell of the Indian Ocean, the French territory of Réunion is hardly a major polluter.

Nevertheless the small island nation, hit by rising fuel costs and worried about the impact of global warming, particularly on its delicate flora and fauna, has set itself the ambitious goal of cutting its greenhouse gas emissions to zero.

The self-governing department of France wants to use renewable energy sources to produce 100 percent of its electricity by 2025 and to power all of its transport by 2050.

"We have water, sunshine, we even have an active volcano. We have more energy than we need for our development," said Paul Verges, the president of Réunion's regional council, after Group of Eight (G8) leaders agreed to cut carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in half by 2050.

Speaking at a biodiversity conference last month, he said: "We will be fighting 100 percent against CO2 at the same date that you [the G8 rich nations] will be at 50 percent."

Réunion already generates 36 percent of its power from renewables, mostly hydroelectricity and sugar cane fibre, or bagasse. It wants to boost that figure by expanding its existing sources, cutting inefficiencies and exploring new technologies.

"What's possible in Réunion should also be possible in France, and … for the planet," said Yves Jego, France's minister for overseas territories.

Jules Dieudonne, the head of the Regional Plan for Renewable Energies and the Rational Use of Energy, said Réunion was expanding its solar, hydro and wind energy projects to produce up to 750 megawatts, 120MW and 60MW, respectively.

"Our ambition is to have 750ha of [photovoltaic] panels installed."

To reach the targets, €115 million (R1.35 billion) of public money would be spent between 2007 and 2017, he added. Preferential costings meant private energy firms would get paid more to produce power from renewable sources than from fossil fuels.

Serge Borchiellini, the Réunion representative for renewable energy firm Aerowatt, said wind energy already produced up to 16MW.

Dieudonne said the temperature difference between sea water at the surface and at a 1km depth was about 22°C. "This difference can allow us to make electric energy," he said, also citing possible kinetic energy from the ocean swell.

But as in other places, the island's rapidly growing energy demands threaten to delay the targets.

Réunion's population is set to grow more than 20 percent to exceed 1 million people by 2030. The average energy consumption per person is growing at 5 percent a year.

"The big problem in Réunion is the summer heat - everybody wants air conditioning," said Pierre-Yves Ezavin of the Regional Energy Agency of Réunion (Arer). Air conditioning accounted for about 80 percent of office electricity bills.

While traditional homes made good use of wood and windows, recent low-cost housing was built of concrete using methods that trapped heat inside. "We have to take care of construction," Ezavin said.

Arer is running a drive to encourage green technologies such as better construction methods and materials, solar water heaters and bicycles.

But attitudes are slow to change.

"We've heard about it [renewable energy]. I don't know what to think," said Jean-Francois Sery, a taxi driver. "It hasn't yet entered people's thinking."

Accounting for nearly 75 percent of Réunion's energy use, transport is the key issue for reducing emissions.

Seeking to counter the 30 000 new cars that appear on its congested roads every year, the island was set to complete the first 34km phase of an electrically powered tram by 2013 for €1.4 billion, Dieudonne said.

With tourism a major source of jobs and income, airplanes are not part of Réunion's energy targets.

"Our ambition is not to invent a new [carbon neutral] airplane. Our ambition is to do everything we can do in Réunion to become independent of fossil fuels," Dieudonne said.

Biomass will be part of Réunion's power future, while scientists are testing the potential of hydrogen, ocean energy and geothermal energy from La Piton de la Fournaise, one of the world's most active volcanoes.

SA welcomes EU tariff proposal as plan to boost agriculture comes into spotlight

By Donwald Pressly - July 22, 2008

The department of trade and industry has cautiously welcomed the EU's announcement yesterday that it would slash farm tariffs by 60 percent as part of a new global trade pact.

Tsediso Matona, the department's director-general, said "any improvement" on the offers by the EU - which had previously offered a 54 percent cut - would be welcome.

He added that the offer was made at the start of the ministerial round of the Doha development round of trade talks. He had not yet been briefed on the details of the deal.

Matona said his department, along with the department of agriculture and land affairs, was considering a new domestic plan for agriculture.

The plan could include interventions to stimulate a sector that had been declining in recent years. Subsidies "could be one of the ways" of intervening in the sector.

The offer was made by European trade commissioner Peter Mandelson in an attempt to kick-start the stalled Doha trade round, which started in 2001.

The offer "showed promise" that there would be meaningful integration of developing economies into the global trading system, Matona said.

Exported South African agricultural products faced protectionist measures in Europe, although to a lesser extent than products from countries such as Brazil, Australia and New Zealand, which are major exporters of agricultural products.

Matona acknowledged that the South African agricultural economy - which contributes about 4 percent of gross domestic product, or about 12 percent if one includes cross-cutting linkages - had been "fairly depressed" for a number of reasons. One of these was the lack of sufficient government support, which was removed in the 1990s - more quickly than in many of the country's trading partners and in its peer group of developing nations.

Asked whether the removal of government support had been a mistake, Matona said he did not think so.

He believed producers had been able to develop competitiveness during the democratic period, but it was now time to consider stimulating the sector.

Emphasising that proposed interventions were in the early stage of discussion, he proposed support for small-scale farmers in particular.

This, he said, would involve basic support in infrastructure, water and machinery, such as tractors, as well as agricultural extension services. He did not mention strengthening protective trade barriers or tariffs.

Peter Draper, a trade expert at the SA Institute of International Affairs, said the EU announcement appeared to be an improvement, but it might conceal more than it revealed.

The negotiations in Geneva this week had only just begun.

He said that although South Africa was seen to have made progress in reducing about 12 000 tariffs on industrial goods to 7 000 since democracy was established, he believed it still had to go "the extra mile" on this front.

Seacom on schedule with two-thirds of 15 000-km cable manufactured

About 10 000-km of the 15 000-km Seacom fibre-optics undersea cable, set to run along the East coast of Africa, has been manufactured in the US and Japan, and project contractors Tyco Communications would begin shipping terrestrial equipment this month, with the cable expected to be loaded on the first ship in September.

Seacom on Thursday also reported that laying of shore-end cables for each of the landing stations would also proceed from September. This process would include the cable portions at shallow depths ranging from 15 m to 50 m where large vessels did not operate.

“We are very happy with the progress made over the past five months. Our manufacturing and deployment schedule is on target and we are confident that we will meet our delivery promises in what is today an incredibly tight market underpinned by sky rocketing demand for new cables and resulting in worldwide delivery delays,” said Seacom president Brian Herlihy.

The Seacom cable has been structured to meet the policy objectives of governments and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development, and would be the first to launch services with a planned ready for service date of June 2009.

The cable’s two fibre pairs would have a capacity of 1,28 terabits a second, to enable high-definition television (TV), peer to peer networks, Internet protocol TV, and surging Internet demand on the African continent, as well as lower prices. Once completed it would connect Southern and East Africa with Europe and South Asia.

From October 2008, the first of three Reliance Class vessels would start laying the actual cable. The final splicing, which involves connecting all cable sections together, will happen in April 2009, allowing enough time for the testing of the system before the commercial launch in June.

The company indicated that the final steps of the environmental social impact assessment process were advanced and all archaeological, marine and ecological studies, which required scuba diving analysis, were completed, as well as social consultations with the affected parties.

The cable, including repeaters needed to amplify the signal, will be stored in large tanks on board the ships. The branching units necessary to divert the cable to the planned landing stations would be connected into the cable path on the ship shortly before deployment into the sea. The cable would then be buried under the ocean bed with the help of a plough along the best possible route as shown by the marine survey.

The cable is planned for service before the 2010 FIFA World Cup kick-off and Seacom said it has been working with key broadcasters to meet their broadband requirements. The team was also trying to speed up construction in an attempt to assist with the broadcasting requirements of the FIFA Confederations Cup scheduled for June 2009.

The undersea fibre-optics cable system would provide African retail carriers with access to cheaper bandwidth, remove the international infrastructure bottleneck, and support East and Southern African economic growth. Broadband to countries in East Africa currently relies entirely on more expensive satellite connections.

Seacom is privately funded and over three-quarter African owned, and would assist communication carriers in South and East Africa through the sale of wholesale international capacity to global networks through India and Europe.

Southern Africa: Regional Integration to Move a Step Further

BuaNews (Tshwane), 14 August 2008

The integration plan for the SADC region will move a step further with the launch of the Free Trade Area this weekend.

Heads of State who will gather in Johannesburg on Friday for the South African Development Community (SADC) Summit are to launch the SADC Free Trade Area (FTA).

The launch of a free trade area is the second phase of a comprehensive regional integration plan that aims to set up the region as a customs union by 2010, a common market by 2015 and achieve monetary union by 2016.

Speaking at a media briefing ahead of the Meeting of the SADC Council of Ministers to be held on Thursday, Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, said the launch of the FTA was one of the highlights of the summit.

"As the council starts its work (on Thursday), we are really hoping that by the end of the summit, as the incoming Chairperson of the Council of Ministers of SADC, we would definitely have a clear mandate of what SADC needs to focus on in the following year," the minister said.

SADC Executive Secretary, Dr Tomaz Salomao, said there was a need to have the right infrastructure in place as the FTA is launched.

"We need to have the right infrastructure, and free movement of people and, on the other hand, free movement of goods to make our region more effective," said Mr Salomao.

The SADC Heads of State Summit is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.

With regard to the economic situation in the region, Mr Salomao said the economy was doing well with member states managing to control their debt.

He said in terms of inflation, negative growth was a reality in Zimbabwe, and it was critical for the SADC to assist Zimbabwe in this regard.

"We believe that sooner or later Zimbabwe can go back to playing its role in terms of economics in our region...You may recall that Zimbabwe was the second economy in this region.

"We need to go back to that state," Mr Salomao said.

On the social front, he said progress has been made in the area of HIV and AIDS but the SADC could be the most affected region in the continent.

"It is therefore important to remind our Heads of State that we need to push hard to ensure that the appropriate measures were are in place to ensure an extension of the lifespan of those who are infected and we avoid infection among the youth in particular," said Mr Salomao.

On the overview political situation in the region, Mr Salomao said despite the challenges faced by the region, there was stability.

"So far, we do not have conflict or war, SADC continues to be a reference on how we move from confrontation to peace, stability and security," he said.

Mr Salomao, however, mentioned challenges in Zimbabwe, Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi and Lesotho where he said the summit will have a chance to look at, including the recent violent attacks on people of other countries in South Africa.

Rather no WTO trade pact than ‘inequitable’ deal, says SA’s Carim

Seven years of talks and negotiations, millions of miles flown between countries and hopes for uplifting trade agreements broke down as the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO’s) Doha round of Ministerial trade talks “collapsed” in Geneva this week.

Pressure was on to see the process continued before the US elections, so as not to lose the hours of work and the progress that was made.

South Africa’s chief negotiator Xavier Carim said on Thursday that it would have been good to have an agreement, but only if South Africa’s issues were addressed properly.

“It would have been good for everyone, but in terms of what was on the table, it was not a deal that was balanced for [South Africa], it would have been an inequitable deal for us. Because our issue was not addressed. It's better that we didn’t come out with a deal that was going to place such an onerous burden on us,” he said in an interview with Engineering News Online from Geneva.

Carim said that South Africa would like to see the negotiations restarted, but that a fundamental shift and rethink of the non-agricultural market access (Nama) proposal would be required.

He added that there would probably be consultations in September, after the WTO holiday, where, after countries had some time to reflect, they could decide when to get started with discussions again, and what the basis for these discussions would be.

“What we were looking at was nothing more than moderate reforms in agriculture, and at the same time, for South Africa in particular, what was on the table for us was very heavy and disproportionate tariff cuts on industrial products. So for us, we were looking at quite a bad bargain,” stated Carim.

The breakdown in the main talks among ministers centred largely on disagreements among the “group of seven” (consisting of Brazil, China, India, the US, the European Union, Australia and Japan) over the Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSM), and particularly the situation where the SSM raises tariffs above commitments countries made in the 1986 to 1994 Uruguay Round, or the ‘pre-Doha Round bound rates’.

WTO DG Pascal Lamy said that members should consider how to overcome the obstacles, with new ideas and new solutions. “One of the targets is how to do better next time. I am convinced that there will be a next time, which is why I said yesterday [Tuesday] that I was not throwing in the towel.”

SOUTH AFRICAN DETERMINATION

From a South African perspective, it was felt that there was an overall imbalance in the process, and what was currently being proposed for the country under Nama was “simply a non starter”, said Carim.

“At the one level there were important potential gains and even though we are saying that moderate reforms were proposed in agriculture, it's not to say that those were unimportant. But what we are saying is that the price, at least for South Africa, that we were being asked to pay for it was too high,” he added.

In fact, the depths of the cuts that South Africa was being requested to take in the industrial tariffs, were the deepest cuts of any developed or developing country, in this round.

“If anybody looks at it objectively, it's clear, the numbers speak for themselves - the price was just exorbitant,” commented Carim.

To establish the architecture of an agreement, formulas and coefficients were used, and these did not take into account the specificities of particular countries. “So in trying to get everyone into a kind of ‘one-size-fits-all’ category, some countries end up having to make a much bigger contribution and much bigger payments, and this goes back to the fact that South Africa during the Uruguay round took bigger cuts,” emphasised Carim.

It was felt that if South Africa got a ‘special deal’, or more flexibilities, other countries would request the same. “But I think that argument was flawed, it was not confronting the central issue, which was not that we were getting a special deal, but a deal that would ensure that South Africa did not pay disproportionately more. Some of the others didn’t want to face up to that issue,” stated Carim.

Although this was not the main issue of the negotiations, and a South African-specific issue, it certainly would have become a critical issue in the negotiating process, had the other negotiations been settled.

South Africa had a multi-sector delegation present at the negotiations, with representatives from government, Nedlac, business, labour, and nongovernmental organisations. Thus, the party was interacting with a broader constituency throughout the process, and it gave the delegation a great deal of strength in representivity, and it could remain firm on its positions. “For South Africa that is a source of strength in the way we participate in these complex processes,” concluded Carim.

Mozambique minister sees 8% GDP growth

Mozambique's economy grew by 6,7 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2008 and is still on track to achieve a targeted 8 percent expansion for the year, a government minister said on Wednesday.

Aiuba Cuereneia, Mozambique's Planning and Development Minister, said growth was expected to accelerate from the 7,5 percent achieved in 2007, despite flooding that hit the country's central and northern regions at the beginning of 2008.

"The economy grew by 6,7 percent in the first six months this year and it will be possible to achieve the 8 percent growth projected for this year considering that the government has taken measures to mitigate external shocks ... during the second half of this year," he told Reuters in an interview.

The southern African nation was one of the poorest in the world at the end of a 17-year civil war in 1992, but has enjoyed rapid growth over the past decade.

Cuereneia said inflation quickened to an average 10,4 percent in the first half of the year, spurred by higher food and fuel prices, after running at 7,5 percent in 2007.

The surge in global fuel costs has driven up prices across the board in Mozambique, he said, while the price of rice has risen to $331 a tonne this year from $115,5.

Mozambique's central bank said last month economic growth had slowed to 3,5 percent in the first quarter of 2008, weighed down by a 9 percent decline in manufacturing production.

Mozambique 2008 sugar output to rise 21%

Mozambique's sugar production will rise to 295 000 t in 2008, a 21 percent increase from 243 000 in 2007, due to favourable weather and widespread investment, a senior agriculture official said on Tuesday.

About 165 000 t of output is earmarked for domestic consumption and the remainder for export, Roberto Albino, director of the government's Agriculture Promotion Centre (CEPAGRI), told Reuters in an interview.

"Sugar production will this year reach 295 000 t ... this is a good harvest for us as we aim to produce 500 000 t the next four years", Albino said.

In 1972, Mozambique was the world's fourth largest sugar exporter after Mauritius, South Africa and Egypt, but 16 years of a devastating civil war wrecked the entire infrastructure, drastically cutting production.

Officials say the country's sugar sector is in the middle of a revival, and more than U$500-million has been invested in the industry, much of this by South African firms.

"We are having perfect weather and additional investments and our plans are to double production by 2012, and we are confident that this year's projections would be reached because we do not have any weather related problems," Albino said.

"We don't have drought and the four mills are operating at full throttle."

The four operational sugar plantations and mills are at Xinavane and Maragra in Maputo province, and at Marromeu and Mafambisse in the central province of Sofala.

Two other mills, Luabo in central Zambezia province and Buzi in Sofala are awaiting results of negotiations over funds for rehabilitation.

"Once funding is secured Buzi will start producing sugar again but mostly for ethanol production and there will be a major turnaround in the fortunes of the sugar industry, which had stagnated for years following acts of sabotage during the civil war", Albino said.

EU HASTENS TO CLOSE DEAL BEFORE AFRICAN STATES BACK OUT

Jul. 27, 2008 (IPS/GIN)

Brussels is seeking to skip the process of translating the interim economic partnership agreements into the 23 official European languages because of concerns that some African, Caribbean and Pacific countries may change their minds about signing the final agreements.

An internal European Commission document dated July 17, 2008, reveals that "translating and legally verifying the languages of the interim [trade deals] that were initialed last year is proving more burdensome and time-consuming than originally foreseen."

The document adds: "With a view to speeding up the signing of all interim agreements in 2008 we suggest, exceptionally, to move away from the traditional way of establishing authentic texts in all official languages at the time of signature while agreeing to adopt them at a later stage."

According to the document, the commission is concerned that translating the bulky interim economic partnership agreements (EPAs) into the EU's 23 official languages will cause delays. The commission has adopted the position that, without the EPAs, a trade regime is perpetuated with the African, Caribbean and Pacific countries that is not compliant with World Trade Organization rules.

"The commission has estimated that if we follow the generally accepted approach prior to signature, the process could well take us past Easter 2009. Such delays would have repercussions regarding WTO notification and legal security," it said.

But beyond the time and effort needed to translate thousands of pages of trade agreements into 23 languages, it appears the commission has a more far-reaching concern.

Translating the interim EPAs "may also increase political risks that certain African, Caribbean and Pacific countries change their mind and decide not to sign the interim EPAs," the document said.

By cutting short the time European Union members have to debate in their national languages whether they support EPAs, the commission hopes that the agreements will be signed by the European Council before African, Caribbean and Pacific countries are able to amend their position.

The European Council consists of the heads of state or governments of the European Union and the president of the commission.

Should the European Council indeed decide to sign the EPAs in their current form, the commission would then be able to notify these interim agreements to the WTO. Once "notified" in this fashion, the trade deals would be much harder to renegotiate for African, Caribbean and Pacific countries.

According to Jean-Denis Crola, who is responsible for the economic justice campaign with Oxfam France, "from day one, the commission has used the issue of conformity to WTO rules as an excuse to cover up the real reasons it wants the agreements to be signed as soon as possible.

"This is not the real issue, as all commercial relations between the EU and African, Caribbean and Pacific countries have been WTO-compatible since Jan. 1. Even those countries that did not sign interim EPAs are covered by the Everything But Arms trade regime," Crola said.

"The real motivation behind the commission's approach is the fear that some countries may change their position and reject any form of agreement," he said.

Under the pretense of saving time, the proposed strategy is in act to rush through the approval process and set in stone interim commitments from African, Caribbean and Pacific countries.

In order for member states to be fully informed of the matters on which the commission requests their approval, the European Union's usual protocol is to translate treaties into all member states' official languages.

In a 2005 press release, the commission's own directorate general for translation acknowledged that "the scale of [the EU's] multilingual regime makes it unique in the world, and to some the extra work it creates for its institutions may seem at first sight to outweigh the advantages."

However, the directorate general for translation defended this policy as a prerequisite for democratic debate.

"There are special reasons for it. The Union passes laws directly binding on its citizens and companies, and as a matter of simple natural justice they and their courts must have a version of the laws they have to comply with in a language they can understand," it said.

The commission document specified that this is an exceptional departure from the protocol, "which was already tested in the Passenger Name Records Agreement signed by the EU and the U.S. last year." This is an agreement on the exchange of passenger name records.

This document's strategy is in direct opposition to the approach Christine Taubira, a French Member of Parliament representing Guyana, recently advocated in a report on EPAs commissioned by French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

It offered recommendations aiming at restoring confidence in a negotiating process which has often been marred by accusations of bad faith from both the EU and African, Caribbean and Pacific countries.

One of these recommendations urges the EU to lift all linguistic ambiguities in order to foster increased clarity of the EPAs. It insisted that being informed in one's native language is a basic principle of international law.

France, which is currently holding the rotating presidency of the EU, seems to have agreed that this recommendation was an essential step in a successful and equitable negotiation process.

However, as the recent spat between Sarkozy and EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson has shown, the European position on the EPAs is still far from unwavering.

Sarkozy attacked Mandelson for pushing EPAs that will lead to a reduction in EU agricultural production and for EPA negotiations that "influenced" the Irish vote against the EU reform treaty.

Le Lesotho va adhérer à la Zone de libre-échange de la SADC

Le Lesotho signera un accord pour rejoindre la Zone de libre-échange (FTA) des pays de la Communauté de développement d’Afrique australe (SADC), qui sera lancée le 17 août lors d’un sommet de l’organisation sous-régionale à Sandton, en Afrique du Sud, a révélé mercredi soir le ministre lésothan des Affaires étrangères, Timothy Thahane.

«L’initiative de lancer la zone de libre-échange, qui concerne un groupe de pays ayant accepté de supprimer les droits de douane, les quotas et les préférences sur la plupart (sinon toutes) les marchandises entre eux, va profiter à des pays comme le Lesotho », a-t-il noté.

Le ministre a indiqué que les avantages seront sous forme d’augmentation du volume des échanges, du fait que le Lesotho n’a que l’Afrique du Sud comme principal partenaire commercial.

Avant que chaque pays ne puisse atteindre le statut d’un accord de libre-échange, il a fallu que les Etats membres participants s’engagent dans le processus d’élimination des tarifs et des barrières non tarifaires au commerce, a estimé M. Thahane.

Selon le ministre lésothan, l’adhésion du Lesotho à cet accord permettra d’étendre l’actuel marché sud-africain de 40 millions de personnes à un marché régional de 170 millions de personnes, soit environ 360 milliards de dollars.

Le marché régional doit atteindre 237 millions de personnes, lorsque l’Angola et la République Démocratique du Congo (RDC) auront rejoint la zone de libre-échange.

Le programme d’intégration régionale de la SADC comprend l’établissement de la zone de libre-échange d’ici à 2008, d’une union douanière d’ici à 2010, un marché commun d’ici à 2015, une union monétaire d’ici 2016 et une monnaie unique d’ici à 2018.

La mise en œuvre de la zone de libre-échange de la SADC a commencé en 2000, après la signature du Protocole de la SADC sur le commerce en 1996.

La libéralisation des tarifs a eu lieu à différents taux. De nombreux pays développés avaient généralement réduit leurs droits de douane plus rapidement.

Le Botswana, le Lesotho, la Namibie, l’Afrique du Sud et le Swaziland ont supprimé la plupart de leurs tarifs en 2000. Les pays à revenu intermédiaire, telle que Maurice, réduisaient progressivement leurs droits de douane chaque année, entre 2000 et 2008.

Toamasina [Tamatave], future capitale économique de Madagascar

Le président Marc Ravalomanana a annoncé que Toamasina sera la future capitale économique de Madagascar.

Située à 320 km à l'est de la capitale malgache, Toamasina abrite le premier port de Madagascar, classé 3e port dans l'Océan indien et de l'Afrique australe.

De plus, l'installation, depuis septembre 2007, de la firme Sheritt International (un investissement de 3,3 milliards $), dans cette partie Est du pays, pour exploiter l'important gisement de cobalt et de nickel, a augmenté l'intérêt économique pour cette ville.

L’Afrique du Sud devient le principal débouché des exportations du Zimbabwe

L’Afrique du Sud a supplanté la Zambie comme destination principale de productions industrielles zimbabwéennes, estimés à 27% des exportations totales du pays en 2007.

Selon une étude du secteur manufacturier, menée par la Confédération des Industries zimbabwéennes, les exportations vers l’Afrique du Sud s’étaient accrues de 19,6% en 2006 à 26,8% l’an dernier.

Viennent ensuite des pays de la Communauté de Développement de l’Afrique Australe (SADC) tels que le Botswana, le Malawi et le Mozambique avec respectivement 12,5, 10,7 et 7,1% des exportations du pays.

SADC Heads of State to launch Free Trade Area

As part of the Southern African Development Community’s (SADC) efforts to deepen long-term regional economic integration, the organ will on Sunday launch the Free Trade Area (FTA).

To be held under the theme, “Free Trade Area for growth, development and wealth creation,” the 28th summit will be held in Sandton, on Saturday and Sunday.

It will be preceded by the Council of Ministers meeting on Thursday and Friday, and the meeting of the Ministerial Task Force on Regional Economic Integration on Wednesday.

Briefing reporters on Tuesday, at the Union Buildings ahead of the summit, Trade and Industry Minister Mandisi Mphahlwa said the launch of the FTA would formalise the elimination of trade tariffs among SADC member states, enhance economic integration and create bigger regional markets.

“The launch of the FTA is the beginning of a process we need to embark on to build both our productive and trade capacity, improve competitiveness of our industries and address the supply-side constrains that inhabit us from benefiting our agriculture and industrial base to promote intra-regional trade,” said Mphahlwa.

The launch of the FTA comes after the adoption of the 1996 Maseru Trade Protocol, which entered into force in January 2000 that paved a way for the FTA over a period of eight years.

Mphahlwa told reporters that the FTA has been noted to the World Trade Organisation and an examination was done during the meeting of the WTO Committee on Regional Trade Agreements held in May 2007 in Geneva.

He noted that more work needed to be done to consolidate the FTA and make it work by addressing non tariff barriers, including trade facilitation measures, harmonising industrial and competition policies and liberalising of trade in services.

“The focus going forward should be on addressing the real economic constraints that hinder deeper integration in our region,” Mphahlwa explained.

He added that infrastructural development was also an essential element for creating conditions that would advise the integrating agenda and would need to be prioritised.

SADC comprises Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

In the economic front, the performance was satisfactory in 2007and prospects for 2008 are generally good.

Considerable progress has been made in attaining reasonable levels of economic growth in the region with economic growth remaining strong while inflation continued to go down.

According to the organ’s Secretariat, most countries have recorded positive growth for five consecutive years, and substantial economic growth is registered in Angola with 19,8 percent, followed by Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania.

However, the level attained in economic growth falls short of the regional target which was set at 7 percent for 2008.

Real GDP increased on average by 5,9 percent in 2007, the same growth rate achieved in 2006.

The majority of the SADC member states have witnessed improvements in fiscal performance with declining fiscal deficits, which are the results of pursuing prudent fiscal policies and the initiative of the Highly Indebted Poor Countries, which are benefiting the member states.

The region has also witnessed substantial improvement in debt position but the current accounts of the balance of payments got worse in 2007 amid rising imports despite reasonable boost in exports.

Elaborating on some of the issues to be on the agenda during the summit, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Aziz Pahad said other issues to be discussed include electricity availability in the region as power deficits would persist between 2008 and 2012; social development especially relating to AIDS/HIV initiatives in the region and gender development.

He said the summit will also discuss the financing and construction of the new SADC headquarters.

The summit will also see President Thabo Mbeki taking over the Chairmanship of the regional organisation.

President Mbeki takes over from Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa for a year.

BuaNews - August 12, 2008

Reliable infrastructure needed to boost SADC region

A reliable infrastructure network is needed to further promote economic development and integration in the South African Development Community (SADC) region. This emerged at the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD)/Southern African Development Community (SADC) Infrastructure Projects conference held in Johannesburg on Friday, 8 August.

Delivering the keynote address on transport, Minister Jeff Radebe emphasised the need for market integration to be premised on the availability of efficient border infrastructure and services to allow for the free movement of persons, goods and services.

Developing networking infrastructure and its human resources is a must for the smooth movement of goods and services to enhance the region's competitiveness in Africa and the world.

"This will ensure the elimination of all the inconveniences brought about by inefficient infrastructure and services as our border posts will thus pave the way for a more economically-productive region," the minister told the delegates.

For this to happen, the minister said the southern region governments must put in place various infrastructure projects pertaining to the networking industries, transport, energy and ICT as well as basic infrastructure such as water, sanitation and shelter.

Hosted by the NEPAD Business Foundation, the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Trade and Industry, in partnership with the NEPAD and SADC Secretariats, the conference was aimed at analysing regional integration.

According to Thembekile Simelane, marketing and project co-ordinator at the NEPAD Business Foundation, the conference forms part of a consultative process and will explore mechanisms to promote investment in cross-border infrastructure and enhance trade opportunities.

"The conference provided a unique opportunity for stakeholders to find out what prospects are available for infrastructure projects in Africa and which funding institution best suits a project."

Under the theme "Addressing the significance of regional integration," the conference looked at some of the of the infrastructure developments to link some of the SADC countries.

These developments include the Maputo Development Corridor and the North-South and Central Development corridors.

Providing the delegates with some of the information and progress on the Maputo Development Corridor which Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Maputo province with the Mozambican harbour, programme co-ordinator, Dave Perkins said the project was progressing well.

"The corridor which is a true transportation corridor comprising road, rail, border posts, port and terminal facilities is well in place and once completed it will boost trade investments between the two countries," said Perkins.

He said the primary focus of the pact will be on creating institutions and maximising investments opportunities.

Other subjects under discussion included the prioritisation of infrastructure projects for immediate action, and defining modalities for the establishment of effective and action-oriented Public Private Partnerships (PPPs).

Article published courtesy of BuaNews- [11 Aug 2008]

La zone de libre échange de la SADC sera officiellement lancée le 17 août prochain en marge du sommet de ce regroupement en Afrique du Sud, à Pretoria.

Une cérémonie spéciale est prévue à cette occasion en présence des chefs d'Etat et de gouvernement dont le Premier ministre, Navin Ramgoolam, du secrétaire général de la SADC et du président sud-africain, Thabo Mbeki.

Le sommet sera précédé d'une réunion du SADC Task Force on Regional Economic Integration qui sera consacrée à la feuille de route de la SADC Customs' Union.

La création de la zone de libre échange permet l'ouverture d'un marché régional d'une valeur de 360 milliards de dollars et disposant d'une population de quelque 170 millions d'habitants.

COSATU to protest if Mugabe attends SADC summit

Zimbabwe and Swaziland cannot continue to be islands of dictatorship surrounded by a sea of democracy in our region. We demand freedom and democracy for citizens of both countries. We want democracy for the citizens of our neighbouring countries today and not tomorrow.

For the freedom of workers in those countries we will fight until the last drop of blood in our bodies is dried up. We shall, with the same determination as we fought against the apartheid monster, continue to wage a struggle until all of us in the region can proclaim that we succeeded to free human kind from not only the bondages of oppression and repression but from the clutches of poverty.

As I said to the preparatory meeting for this conference, to us international solidarity is the lifeblood of trade unionism. To us there are no borders when it comes to practicing the universal slogan of the working class - an injury to one is an injury to all.

The need for this conference is underlined by deepening crises in both countries. The human rights abuses in Zimbabwe have scaled new heights. The beatings of ordinary people, the burning down of their property, the killings and torture continue as though the current negotiations means nothing to the illegal Mugabe regime.

Let us again state that we support the ongoing efforts to negotiate a political settlement to the Zimbabwe crises. We accordingly wish President Thabo Mbeki and the other facilitators of these negotiations together with all parties involved good luck and success as they try to find lasting solutions to the Zimbabwe crises. We must however hurry to say we will not give these negotiations unconditional support. To us the following issues are not negotiable.

Any settlement that does not recognise the will of the people as expressed in the 29 March elections will not be acceptable. It will represent an elite accord that can never enjoy legitimacy in the eyes of the ordinary people of Zimbabwe.

The June elections were illegitimate and therefore the outcomes must not be recognised.

The government to be formed should be an interim government whose main task should be mainly limited to preparing for a fresh round of elections that will strictly adhere to the SADC elections protocols.

Violence, intimidation and use of state of institutions in a factional and partisan fashion must come to an end.

Whilst all these negotiations proceed and whilst we wish these talks success, we know that we cannot let up the pressure on the Mugabe government.

There is no contradiction between negotiations to find a peaceful settlement and the mass struggles and pressure. There is no settlement. There are rumours to the fact that the settlement is near. We shall accordingly continue to pile pressure until a settlement is reached that is based on our demands.

In the meantime we do not recognise Mugabe as the President of Zimbabwe. We insist that he should not be invited in the SADC heads of state summit that takes place in South Africa on 15-17 August 2008. We shall accordingly protest his presence here. We call on COSATU members in Gauteng, as well as all progressive civil society formations and other freedom lovers to join us to register our disgust at his presence through a march we are organising for 16 August 2008.

In this summit we shall present the draft programme we developed in the preparations meeting for discussion and adoption. We want a total isolation of Mugabe and his cronies.

This is an edited extract of the opening address by COSATU General Secretary, Zwelinzima Vavi, to the Zimbabwe and Swaziland Solidarity Conference, August 10 2008

World's largest waste-to-energy plant opens in SA

South African thermal processing specialists Prestige Thermal are leading the way in the global waste-to-energy conversion industry, having opened the world's largest conversion plant last month.

"There has been a lot of global competition towards this technology, but ours is the world's first commercially-viable full-scale waste-to-energy conversion plant," says Mark Potgieter, Prestige Thermal's sales and marketing director.

The company has been at the forefront of conversion technology research for over six years, says Potgieter. Their work has led to the development of specialised autoclaving technology through which waste is reduced to cellulous fibre and pyrolysis - a process whereby solid waste material is converted into clean gas.

Employing these new technologies, Prestige Thermal's R28 million plant in Wadeville, has the capacity to produce 3MW of electrical energy from three tons of municipal solid waste (MSW).

Potgieter says there are currently no agreements in place with Eskom that would see Prestige Thermal's technology contribute to the national electricity grid. However Potgieter says he is encouraged by the growing local interest in their equipment.

In the meantime, the company has received considerable attention from Europe. According to Potgieter, the company is recognised as a global industry leader particularly in the area of waste management best practice.

European countries are increasingly looking to alternative non-landfill solutions for the management of municipal waste, says Potgieter. "Where our technology is being used in the UK, we are reducing landfill sites by up to 70%."

Zambia hikes fuel prices

Zambia's Energy Regulation Board (ERB) announced in a statement released in Lusaka lats week that it has increased prices of all petroleum products.

ERB executive director, Sylvester Hibajene announced that the price of diesel had been increased by K953, petrol by K1,103 and kerosene by K641 per litre respectively.

“The upward adjustment had been necessitated by the high oil prices on the international market which has reached an all time high of US$147.27/bbl on the New York mercantile exchange last month,” said Hibajene.

“The [Zambian] Kwacha had registered depreciation against the US dollar trading at an exchange rate of K3,404 last month, in comparison to the June rate of K3,264,” he added.

Hibajene said the increases are in line with the cost plus model which takes into account the cost of importing feedstock on cargo basis, among other things.

He said the adjustment is applicable to the current cargo, which docked in Dar-es-Salaam which enabled Indeni Petroleum Refinery to resume operations after it had shut down on 9 July, 2008 due to lack of feedstock.

Despite the hiking, Times of Zambia reported of an erratic supply of diesel that has hit Ndola in the last week forcing filling stations to give priority to account orders.

The paper further quotes Energy Permanent Secretary, Peter Mumba who, on Friday said the diesel situation would normalise the following day as the commodity was adequate to satisfy the consumers.

Islamic reinsurer seeks opportunity in SA

August 12, 2008

Malaysian Islamic reinsurer MNRB Retakaful was keen to tap the market for sharia-compliant reinsurance in the Middle East, Pakistan and South Africa, chief executive Ismail Mahbob said yesterday.

MNRB aimed to do business in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates from Malaysia by year-end, he said. So far its foreign markets were Indonesia, Brunei and Sri Lanka.

Mahbob said: "Takaful [Islamic insurance] in these countries is still new, even [in] the Muslim countries. But as far as the non-Muslim countries, there are countries that already have takaful operations, places like South Africa, so we are also focusing on them."

Industry data estimate the size of the market for Islamic reinsurance at $1 billion (R7.7 billion).

Global premiums in Islamic insurance total about $2 billion to $3 billion and are expected to reach $7.4 billion by 2015, according to industry figures.

Islamic scholars frown on conventional insurance, saying the use of interest-bearing investments and the lack of certainty in the size of policy payments violate sharia principles.

Under Islamic insurance, members contribute to a pool of funds used to indemnify participants who suffer a loss. Malaysia is a leading global centre of Islamic finance.

Mozambique Telecoms Seeks Chinese Funding

Mozambique’s state-run telecommunications company, TDM, said on Friday it was negotiating a US$25 million loan from China for its expansion programme to the country’s rural areas.

TDM chief executive officer Joaquim de Carvalho told reporters in Maputo that the fixed line network currently covers only 82 districts of the country´s 128 districts, and it is expected that the remainder will be covered by 2010, just in time for the 2010 FIFA World Cup contest in South Africa.

"We will this year sign an agreement with a Chinese funding institution to get a US$25 million cloan to expand our network to rural areas, we are also focusing our attention on expanding the optic-fibre network to provincial capitals, namely Tete, Pemba and Lichinga by the end of this year”, he said.

The government recently said it is ready to license new operators in the fixed phone network to end TDM’s monopoly in the field. Mozambique has 78,000 fixed line subscribers and 3,330,000 cellular phone subscribers.

(Source: Cellular News)

Mozambique says Brazil firm signs agreement on $3bn dam

August 5, 2008

Mozambique's government said on Monday a Brazilian firm had signed a memorandum of understanding to invest $3,2-billion in a new dam that would provide energy to southern Africa.

Mozambique's Planning and Development Minister Aiuba Quereneia said private engineering and construction firm Camargo Correia would build and possibly operate the dam in northern Mozambique's Tete province. But the company still needed to find funding for the project, he said.

"We would want the building of the dam to begin at least by July next year as part of our strategy to secure Mozambique and the region´s energy needs," he said, adding he expected a final contract to be signed shortly.

The dam would have production capacity of 1 500 MW of electricity, about 1 000 MW of which will be exported to countries in southern Africa, including South Africa, the continent's biggest economy.

It will lie 60 km from Mozambique's major dam, the Cahora Bassa Hydroelectric (HCB) plant, which produces 2 075 MW of electricity and sells most of it to South Africa and Zimbabwe.

The government has invited foreign investors to build hydropower projects in 100 locations with a total estimated hydroelectric potential of up to 14 000 MW.

Mozambique hopes the new plant will be finished in 2013.

$47m package approved for big Malawi water programme

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a $47,5-million financial package for the implementation of the second phase of Malawi's multimillion-dollar national water development programme.

The continenal lender says that the package includes a $24,658-million loan and a $17,387-million grant from its African Development Fund and another grant of €3,520-million from its Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Initiative Trust Fund.

"The AfDB has made available the funds to complement the Malawi government's efforts to achieve sustainable development and poverty reduction," says the bank.

It says the funds will finance three components of the national water development programme, which include rural water supply and sanitation, water resource management, capacity building and programme management.

"For the rural areas, this translates into improved water supply and sanitation for 4,45-million people . . . the bank financing will serve 1,21-million of these people."

The national water development programme is aimed at improving water supply services in all areas of Malawi, but the AfDB will focus on four districts, namely Malanje, Zomba and Machinga in the southern region of the Southern African country, and Lilongwe, in the central region.

The other component of the programme, the urban water supply project, involves the rehabilitation and extension of water supply systems in the major cities of Blantyre and Lilongwe and in other urban centres.

In Blantyre, funds are being pumped into projects to increase the pumping and treatment capacity and to expand off-peak water storage and distribution.

In Lilongwe, the programme is focused on the construction of a substitute pipeline, the procurement of customer meters and network expansion.

The World Bank is the lead financier for the second phase of the national water development programme, with the other financiers being the European Union and the government of the Netherlands.

The programme has a duration of five year project that is meant to ensure that a total of 500,000 people have new or improved water supply services, 4,040 connections are rehabilitated, 1,700 new community water points are established, 3,700 new water connections are installed, and about 2, 25-million people have improved sanitation.

Through the programme, Malawi aims at having over 80% coverage for improved water supply and sanitation by 2015.

Malawi has already implemented the first phase of the national water development programme at a cost of $850-million, which was sourced from the World Bank and other financiers.

Grinaker-LTA to complete building works of Heineken's SA brewery by June '09

The construction of international brewer Heineken’s first South African brewery would be accelerated, building contractor Grinaker-LTA said on Thursday.

The company, which formed part of the JSE-listed Aveng group, has been awarded the R549-million contract to build the brewery South East of Johannesburg.

Grinaker-LTA contracts director Richard Amm said in a media statement that it was working on a “fast-track construction programme” and that the new brewery would be completed by June next year.

Amm said that Grinaker-LTA’s building and civil engineering business units were undertaking the project in a 50:50 joint venture.

“The programme is very tight as process contractors are required to be given access to each building and sections of each building on sectional completion dates,” he stated.

The brewery would comprise production buildings and cool cellars, as well as a bottling and distribution warehouse for Heineken SupplyCo, the brewing and distribution company for beer brand Amstel.

Amm noted that Grinaker-LTA would be using local labour wherever possible, and a community liaison officer would be employed to help source workers from the surrounding areas.

SA to assume SADC chair

August 10 2008

SA President Thabo Mbeki will assume the chair of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) next weekend, the department of foreign affairs said on Sunday.

The department said SA will assume the chairmanship when it hosts the ordinary SADC Heads of State and Government Summit in Sandton, Gauteng next Saturday and Sunday.

The aim of the summit is to strengthen regional political and economic integration and development.

The summit will discuss political developments in the region, food security and the financing and construction of the new SADC headquarters.

Next Sunday, SADC will launch the Free Trade Area (FTA) of the Community.

The FTA will formalise the elimination of trade tariffs amongst SADC members, and enhance regional economic integration and the growth of bigger regional markets.

Preceding the summit, a SADC Council of Ministers meeting will take place on Thursday and Friday.

Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma will lead the South African delegation.

African economies collectively world’s fifth largest

6 August 2008

The aggregate of the combined economies of the 53 countries in Africa collectively represented the fifth largest economy of the world, Ernst & Young Ethiopia managing partner Zemedeneh Negatu told a surprised Africa Investor Summit in Johannesburg on Wednesday.

Negatu added that, excluding Africa’s ten largest economies, the combined gross domestic products of the remaining countries collectively still represented the tenth largest economy in the world.

He told the initial public offering (IPO) summit that the challenge currently was to ensure that Africa obtained its fair share of positive global comment and sought ways of increasing growth through stock market listings.

“In the nine years or so I have been working in Africa, I have never been more bullish than I am right now,” said Negatu.

Speaking on the same podium, Johannesburg Stock Exchange GM Noah Greenhill said that each jurisdiction in Africa could either go it alone, or opt for collaboration, which held out far greater benefit for Africa as a whole.

“I think that Africa is the land of opportunity at this moment in time. If we stand together, we can go forward and conquer,” Greenhill said.

Africa Investor vice chairperson Hubert Danso, the organiser of the IPO summit, said that record volumes of private capital were flowing into Africa.

He said that investors were being attracted by the strongest African growth in decades as well as the potential for higher yields than could be obtained in developed markets.

Addressing the state of Africa’s equity markets, Danso said there was a need to adopt a new way of approaching opportunities collectively with the stock exchanges and the investment banking community working together innovatively.

While the market capitalisation of African stock markets had reached a record $870-billion earlier this year, African stock exchanges needed to do far more to position themselves for greater liquidity and growth through the facilitation of IPOs.