Ravalomanana présent à titre personnel au sommet du COMESA au Zimbabwe

Même si Madagascar n'a pas été invité à participer au treizième sommet des chefs d'Etat et de gouvernement du Marché commun d'Afrique orientale et australe (COMESA) qui s’est ouvert dimanche dans la ville zimbabwéenne de Victoria Falls, le président déchu de Madagascar y était présent.

Madagascar n'est pas officiellement représenté à ce sommet après que la plupart des pays africains ont refusé de reconnaître la légitimité du président de transition Andry Rajoelina, qui a renversé le président démocratiquement élu Marc Ravalomanana, en mars dernier.

Marc Ravalomanana, le président déchu de la Grande Ile, participe toutefois à ce sommet en sa qualité personnelle et il doit attirer l'attention des dirigeants des pays de la région sur la crise politique qui secoue l'île de l'Océan Indien depuis plusieurs mois.

Toutefois, le temps fort de ce sommet sera le lancement demain lundi de l'union douanière du COMESA, en vertu de laquelle les Etats membres imposeront les mêmes tarifs douaniers sur les marchandises en provenance de l'extérieur de la région.

Il est proposé que les matières premières et les biens d'équipement destinés à l'exportation dans la zone seront exemptés de droits de douane tandis que les produits intermédiaires seront imposés à 10 pour cent et les produits finis à 25 pour cent.

Les dirigeants des 18 États membres du COMESA ou leurs représentants examineront aussi un large éventail de problèmes auxquels fait face le plus grand bloc commercial de l'Afrique qui abrite plus de 400 millions de personnes et se compose de 19 pays.

Les chefs d'Etat et de gouvernement devraient aussi discuter de la menace à la paix et à la stabilité régionales, posée par des pirates au large de la côte est-africaine.

Le résident zimbabwéen, Robert Mugabe, devrait assumer à partir de ce dimanche la présidence de l'organisation en remplacement de son homologue kenyan Mwai Kibaki.

Le sommet a pour thème «Consolidation de l'intégration économique régionale par le biais d'ajout de valeur, du commerce et de la sécurité alimentaire ». A cette occasion, le Président Ougandais Yoweri Museveni a appelé dimanche les communautés économiques régionales africaines (CER) à promouvoir la valorisation des produits, décrivant le continent comme le véritable « donneur » du fait qu’il livre ses matières premières aux pays occidentaux à des prix ‘’ridiculement’’ bas.

Museveni a donné l'exemple de l'Ouganda qui, selon lui, recevait un dollar américain par kilogramme de grains de café exporté vers le Royaume-Uni, contre 20 dollars par kilogramme de café pour le pays bénéficiaire.

« Les pays africains sont les vrais bailleurs de fonds parce que nous donnons nos matières premières à l'Occident qui utilise nos ressources pour ensuite transformer nos produits que nous allons nous-mêmes acheter à un prix plus élevé », s’est désolé Museveni.

La plupart des produits en provenance des pays du COMESA ont pendant longtemps éprouvé des difficultés à pénétrer le marché international en raison de leur exportation dans leur forme brute.

Museveni a exhorté les pays africains à accroître les échanges intra régionaux afin d'éviter les pertes à travers les exportations de produits non finis.

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Ravalomanana promet de revenir bientôt

AFP - 29/03/2009

Le président déchu de Madagascar Marc Ravalomanana a une nouvelle fois promis vendredi soir à ses partisans de les revoir "bientôt", dans un message daté de vendredi soir et relayé par son service de presse hier.

"N'ayez crainte, je reviendrai bientôt. Nous serons réunis pour travailler pour la réussite", assure M. Ravalomanana.

"Poursuivez et renforcez le mouvement que nous menons (jusqu') à ce que le monde entier l'entende parce que les Malagasy (Malgaches) feront tout jusqu'à ce que la légalité soit rétablie", appelle l'ex-président dans son deuxième message public depuis sa démission forcée le 17 mars.

Il a depuis quitté le pays pour le Swaziland [Afrique australe].

Ses partisans ont manifesté quotidiennement depuis lundi à Antananarivo pour dénoncer l'arrivée au pouvoir de l'ex-opposant Andry Rajoelina et réclamer le retour à la légalité.

Mswati III nomme un Premier ministre ultra-royaliste au Swaziland

SWAZILAND - 16 octobre 2008 - AFP

Le roi Mswati III du Swaziland a rappelé à la tête de son gouvernement Barnabas Dlamini, 66 ans, qui avait déjà occupé ce poste pendant sept ans et demi avant de quitter le gouvernement il y a quatre ans pour devenir conseiller royal, a constaté un journaliste de l'AFP.

La nomination d'un homme considéré comme un ultra-royaliste a semé la consternation dans ce petit pays d'Afrique australe où le roi semble ne tenir aucun compte des appels à l'ouverture de son régime, la dernière monarchie absolutiste d'Afrique.

"L'homme est connu pour sa manière forte et son mépris de l'État de droit. Pendant la période où il dirigeait le gouvernement, il a fait de son mieux pour réprimer les organisations politiques et renforcer les pouvoirs royaux" a estimé Jan Sithole, président de la confédération syndicale Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions.

"Nous sommes consternés par son retour", a déclaré M. Sithole à l'AFP.

"Nous nous attendons au pire" a affirmé de son côté Mario Masuku, président du parti interdit Peoples Democratic Movement (Pudemo).

Barnabas Dlamini remplace Absalom Dlamini à la tête du gouvernement.

Le 19 septembre, 55 députés ont été élus au Parlement du Swaziland selon un système qui interdit les partis politiques. Dix autres députés ont été nommés par le roi. Le frère aîné du roi, Guduza Dlamini, a été réélu président de l'Assemblée.

Blue Financial Services invests E8m in Swaziland

BLUE Financial Services has invested E8 million in Swaziland to establish a branch and plans to invest a further E60 million in the next year to expand its operations in the country.

Group CEO Dave van Niekerk said the E8 million was the company's initial capital outlay while they planned to spend at least E60 million in the next 12 months, adding that, however, he hoped they would be able to better this amount.

The new credit services company was officially launched at the Old Barn yesterday and also opened its doors to customers at its office in Mbabane.

The company, which is a Pan-African financial services provider, is targeting to service the unbanked and underserved low to middle income earners in the country. It mainly aims to take Swazis out of debt by assisting them consolidate these as well as educate the public on how to handle debt responsibly.

Van Niekerk said a lot of people were in debt these days and most were in bad debts because they were taking credit for the wrong reasons. "Not all debt is bad, but a lot of people are exposed to debt in Swaziland and we see a big opportunity to consolidate their debt," he said.

"We will be financing that debt and restructuring it for them. We will also be educating people, free of charge, on what a loan is, why they should take a loan and how to take a good loan, among other things."

He said financial education was a big thing for Blue Financial Services, adding that he did not believe other financial institutions educated their customers enough.

The CEO said the company would initially offer services based on personal term loans, such as educational, debt consolidation, home improvement and personal loans, adding that additional services would be introduced in future.

"Blue offers a variety of products, but we will initially be offering personal term loans with other products to follow in the near future. "Should all the terms and conditions be met by the applicant, the loan agreement is guaranteed to be approved within one hour," he said.

The CEO said the company would be working with employers and banks, with whom they would enter into agreements for the servicing of loans.

He said they would either collect through debit orders or direct deductions through employers, however, adding that the company also services individuals. These, he said, would be eligible if they had a bank account.

Van Niekerk said they had chosen to expand the company's operations to Swaziland as part of a simple model of expansion throughout Africa. The company already operates in 12 African countries, with its headquarters in South Africa.

"Our model is very simple. We had an expansion plan to take the big economies first and now we have come to consolidate in the sub-Saharan region, first in Namibia and now Swaziland. Mozambique is on the cards and as it is, we have an investment team looking into things there."

He said their plan was to open four branches in the country, the office in Mbabane being the first while plans were underway for branches to be opened in Manzini, Pigg's Peak and Nhlangano in the next three to four months.

"We want to have an accessible distribution network," said van Niekerk, adding "we're very comfortable with Swaziland, it has a great economy and we've had a very good reception from the Central Bank as well."

The CEO said the company had a lot of international financial backing from reputable agencies.

He said Blue's biggest investors included American International Group (AIG), the sponsors of British club Manchester United; International Finance Corporation (IFC), a division of World Bank; EMP, the largest hedge fund which lends money to Africa and STANLIB. Development partners include the Dutch Development Bank and Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), a development financier for developing markets.

Govt collaborates with textile industry union, employers

The Swaziland Investment Promotion Authority (SIPA) last week led a delegation comprising representatives from the Swaziland Manufacturing and Allied Workers Union (SMAWU), Swaziland Textile Exporters Association (STEA) and the labour department to Lesotho for a series of meetings with their counterparts in the textile industry.

The purpose of the trip was for the local representatives to liaise and share experiences with their counterparts, finding out how that country's textile industry operates as well as how it deals with the global and regional challenges currently facing the sector.

Introducing the delegation - which comprised union executives, shop stewards, employers and a labour official - SIPA Director (Investor Facilitation and Aftercare) Sabelo Mabuza told the hosts, the Lesotho National Development Corporation (LNDC), that government was trying to mend relations between the local employers and employees in the industry so as to achieve industrial peace and stability.

He said this follows domestic, regional and global problems recently faced by the garment industry, adding that the visit to Lesotho was so that the locals could learn and share experiences with their counterparts as the two countries' industries had similar working habits and structures.

"Your country has had very little industrial unrest and strife, that's why we are here to learn how you've been able to maintain a harmonious industrial relationship. The degree of problems we have had, has been a culmination of years of negotiations and at some point, the bubble had to burst," he said, referring to the recent strike that was marred by violence, sending shockwaves throughout the country and international community.

Mabuza said government was worried about the survival and sustenance of the industry, especially in light of the removal of quotas and trade embargoes, thus emphasising the need to share with Lesotho its experiences with regards to the resolution of industrial conflicts and disputes.

"We recently had a strike and some workers were even beaten up. We, therefore, would like to find out how you handle or resolve such issues in your country as well as your law enforcement procedures in this regard," he added.

He pointed out that the country had recorded a 28% decrease in export returns in the last quarter, which he said was very worrying indeed. He added that as such, SIPA has embarked on a number of interventions to try and forge good relations with the union as well as employers and also, to create an understanding of the need to improve the industry, especially now that a collective agreement was about to be signed by the parties involved.

"We felt it would be prudent for all sectors of the industry to be here as they're all involved in the negotiations, while the labour department plays an important role in making sure that the country's laws are followed," Mabuza said.

Master Garments General Manager Brazil Mfumo said employers were also on a learning process and indeed, it was important for them to forge a harmonious relationship with the workers' union.

"The workers' concerns are also our concerns as these could turn into sources of dispute, thus we would like to see further development of the textile industry and be able to sustain it as we don't have a substitute industry," he said.

The Swazi delegation comprised Mabuza, SMAWU President Alex Fakudze, Secretary General Sipho Manana, Assistant Secretary General Subject Ginindza (also shop steward at Tex-Ray), National Coordinator Shadrack Masuku as well as Senior Labour Inspector Sipho Maseko and STEA representatives Brazil Mfumo (Master Garments GM) and Leo Garments Human Resources Manager Charmaine Zeeman.

Others were shop stewards Jabu Shongwe (Master Garments), Lungile Dlamini (Zheng Yhong), Mdumezweni Ginindza (Fashion International) and Ephream Zwane (FTM).

STANDARD BANK EXTENDS ATM SERVICES TO NGWENYA

By Hlengiwe Ndlovu

STANDARD Bank Swaziland yesterday opened its first Automated Teller Machine (ATM) at Ngwenya border post.

This is the only ATM in the area. Over the years, people travelling to South Africa and those entering the country were faced with the challenge of the absence of a financial services provider at the border post. They were expected to travel all the way to Mbabane to get access to a banking facility. The ATM will service the Ngwenya community, tourists as well as the public, which uses the border post as an exit point to South Africa.

Standard Bank's Head of Marketing and Public Relations Sammy Dlamini said the convenience of customers was critical to the operations of the bank. He said the institution was willing to do anything to cushion the needs of their customers and to make banking convenient to them. "Broadening our ATM network to critical areas such as Ngwenya has always been our mandate. We will continue to widen our horizons even to other areas so we reach out to people who are in the remotest areas," he said.

Dlamini explained that for a long time customs officials at Ngwenya and members of the general public had approached the bank with requests of an ATM at the area. He said customs officials were particularly worried with the fact that people entering the country tend to exhaust all their money in South Africa. As a result, by the time they reach the border, they would not have money to pay for their road tax and yet they are obligated to do so.

He said the feedback the bank is receiving from their clientele now that the ATM has been opened is impressive. "Customs officials at the border and members of the public are quite excited about this service. Members of the community at Ngwenya are particularly impressed with the fact that they no longer have to travel to town to get their money," said Dlamini.

He stated that Standard Bank Swaziland has the largest ATM network, by far in the country. "The institution strives to reach all corners of people in society. We want to reach out to the least affluent so that they are able to get their cash whenever they need to do so."

...bank cautious of bombings

Head of Marketing and Public Relations Sammy Dlamini says the bank is cautious and sensitive of the growing number of ATM bombing incidents.

He said the spate of bombings is a concern for all financial institutions in the country, hence the need to meticulously pay attention to such issues when installing ATMs. Responding to questions posed to him during the official opening of the ATM, Dlamini said the safety of customers when using banking facilities was always a priority to the bank. "We want to ensure that our customers are safe. This ATM has been conspicuously set in a bid to counter the common practice of vandalising and bombing our facilities," he said.