AFRICA NEWS BULLETIN @ 20h00 -- 2 February, 2016

AFRICA NEWS BULLETIN @ 20h00

2 February, 2016

Radio XYZ93.1FM

Lead Producer: E.K.Bensah Jr

Assistant Producer/Presenter: Joshua Quodja-Mensah

STORIES

1.       FOCUS: Ugandan Agri-business Expert Says Agriculture Can Help Create Jobs and Wealth in Africa

2.       EAST AFRICA: RwandAir Selects Ethiopian Airlines as Strategic Partner

3.       CENTRAL AFRICA: Newly-introduced Talk-time Tax to Fetch Cameroon CFA10billion

4.       WEST AFRICA: West & Central Africa to Meet over Terrorism

5.       NORTH AFRICA: While Warning Against Military Intervention, AU re-launches Libya Peace Drive

1.                   FOCUS:

Agribusiness Expert Dr.Alex Ariho believes Africans should begin making profit from Africa’s agriculture.

Ariho is Facility Coordinator of UNIBRAIN, which is a system that brings four actors – human capital; research institutions; private sector; and African governments – to work collectively in an enabling environment that will help make money for Africans working in the agricultural sector.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with E.K.Bensah Jr for “Africa in Focus”, he explained the rationale behind UNIBRAIN, and why Africans must be interested. In his view, “the unique value-proposition of UNIBRAIN is the connection of the key four actors that are required to provide the framework and the transitional path upon which agriculture can cause change in terms of jobs and wealth creation.”

Trying to connect the dots on the conversation of Africa’s agriculture for the last four years has been the Accra-based technical arm of the African Union – Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA). Ariho says people are tired of ideas, and now want action – especially on agriculture. This is where FARA has stepped in.

Ariho says “with support from DANIDA…and the institutional framework and support of the African Union, FARA spearheaded the implementation of this model to be able to create a business case to Africans: how do you create jobs, and how do you create wealth?” To this end, incubators were established in the following countries: Zambia; Uganda; Kenya; Ghana; and Mali in 2012 to provide an opportunity on how this can work in Africa.

Since 2011 to date, UNIBRAIN has been able to chalk successes with the six initial incubators, with 10,000 jobs being created.

Pressed to elaborate on what UNIBRAIN actually is, this is what Dr.Ariho said [AUDIO]:

That was Dr.Alex Ariho speaking exclusively to E.K.Bensah Jr.

2.                   EAST AFRICA:

The national carrier of Rwanda – RwandAir – has selected Ethiopian Airlines as a strategic partner.

This follows the airline’s decision to sell the 49% stake for a partner to invest in the airline; manage it; and offer technical assistance.

Only two Airlines – Ethiopian Airlines and Ethihad Airways – were among the international airlines that have shown interest in RwandAir’s offer.  CEO Tewolde Gebremariam told the Ethiopia Reporter that a fortnight ago, a RwandAir delegation went to Addis Ababa and informed the selection of Ethiopian Airlines as a strategic partner.

This strategic partnership by Ethiopian Airlines with RwandAir makes it the third African airline after ASKY and Malawi Airlines. This development also means that Kigali will also become Ethiopian’s fourth hub after Addis Ababa, Lome and Lilongwe.

3.                   CENTRAL AFRICA:

A newly-introduced tax on talk-time in the Central African country of Cameroon could fetch a comfortable FCFA10bn (US$16,317) for the country’s internal revenue.

Established by the 2016 Finance Bill, the tax on telephone communications and internet services for which telephone operators and internet access providers are now liable, ought to generate revenue in excess of USD10, 000 during the first year of its enforcement.

The authorities say in addition to binding Cameroon to the regulatory measures which this tax establishes in the CEMAC regional area, the new telephone communications and internet services licence fee will enable the Cameroonian Public Treasury to obtain more benefits from the development of the telco and internet sectors of Cameroon.

4.                   WEST AFRICA:

Reeling from terrorist attacks in the Sahel, and fearful of his country being one of the next targets, Senegalese President Macky Sall has disclosed to Xinhua news agency that a regional summit will soon bring together ECOWAS States and those of the Economic Community of Central African States(ECCAS).

This meeting will be followed by a tripartite meeting between Africa, China and France to consolidate efforts in the fight against terrorism. Sall disclosed this in a recent interview on the sidelines of the just-ended AU Summit.

This is not the first time both ECOWAS and ECCAS have had a joint summit to tackle mutual concerns. The first time was in June 2013 when the two regions met over maritime insecurity. In 2015, the two regions would meet to discuss Boko Haram.

5.                   NORTH AFRICA:

The Libyan peace drive has received renewed support with the decision by the African Union to appoint a new task force comprising five heads of State, which sole objective will be to push the political process and the formation of a Government of National Accord.

The just-ended AU Summit ended with a call by the continental organisation saying it was deeply concerned that Islamic State was gaining ground in two-State Libya.  While the heads of State in the new Libya Task Force remain unnamed, the AU has appointed a new special envoy to Libya in the name of former Tanzanian president Jakaya Kikwete. He replaces Djibouti premier Dileita Mohamed Dileita.

Libya has been on the back-burner of international peace and security efforts for a one-State Libya for a while. The former President of Tanzania’s appointment could just give the peace process the visibility it so urgently needs.

Let’s take a quick look at who this new AU Envoy is. Kikwete was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1995 to 2005 under his predecessor Benjamin Mkapa. He also served as Chairperson of the African Union in 2008-2009 and Chairman of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Troika on Peace, Defence and Security in 2012-2013.

As of 4 April 2013, Kikwete was the sixth most followed African leader on Twitter with 57, 626 followers. As of today, he has 386K followers.

ENDs

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AFRICA NEWS BULLETIN @ 20h00 -- 29 January, 2016

   AFRICA NEWS BULLETIN @ 20h00

29  January, 2016

Radio XYZ93.1FM

Lead Producer: E.K.Bensah  Jr

Assistant Producer/Presenter: Joshua Quodja-Mensah

STORIES

1.       FOCUS: KENYA CONTINUES ITS WEST AFRICAN INVESTMENT DRIVE WITH THREE-DAY NIGERIA PRESIDENT VISIT

2.       EAST AFRICA:

a.       UNCTAD XIV to be Held in Kenya

b.      RwandAir on the Rise

3.       CENTRAL AFRICA:

a.       President Deby of Chad Most Likely to Succeed Mugabe as AU Chair

4.       WEST AFRICA: UK-based Think-Tank Shines Spotlight on Ghana’s Slums Ahead of Elections

1.                   FOCUS:

After wooing Ghanaian investors here in Ghana in November 2015, Kenya is continuing its West African investment-overtures by welcoming President Buhari of Nigeria for a three-day visit into the East African powerhouse.

The centerpiece of the visit is the proposal for the establishment of a duty-free trade zone between the two countries. This decision comes following trade talks between the two Presidents.

Accompanied by more than forty business leaders and investors, Buhari wound down his three-day visit Thursday, with the expectation that President Kenyatta reciprocates the visit in six months’ time. Chairman of the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry(KNCCI) Kiprono Kittony said that there will be “a unit in Kenya and Nigeria that will be concerned with facilitating all interactions concerning trade between [the] two countries.”

Kenya will house that unit under the KNCCI’s Nigeria-Kenya Business council, while in Nigeria; its counterpart will be chaired by Sani Dangote, who is brother of Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote.

The two countries have identified specific areas for mutual cooperation, including agro-processing; cotton; tea; horticulture and dairy products. Dangote says “East Africa is a market of about 150 million people and we have ECOWAS which is more than 350 million-strong, and we want the Kenya-Nigeria Business Council to have its own office so that it can be dedicated to collecting data and facilitating interactions on this agenda.”

On Kenya’s part, Nigeria needs to ease the cost of doing business and remove barriers to entry for Kenyan firms.

Still on the visit, Kenya is reeling from the al-Shabaab attack on Kenya Defense Forces (KDF) soldiers serving in AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) in El Adde camp a fortnight ago.

As a consequence of the globalized nature of terror that has affected the two countries, Kenya and Nigeria have joined hands with Somalia to unite against terror. Speaking to the press yesterday on KTN Prime, this is what Kenyatta and Buhari had to say. [AUDIO].

Buhari added:
“the importance of KDF in Somalia is beyond words and we are solidly behind Kenya and the world in fighting these terrorists. We are going to win this fight because we have won it before. The attack just strengthens us. Thank you Kenya,” he said.

    

2.                   EAST AFRICA:  

Nairobi is gearing to host the world for the Fourteenth Session of the UN Conference on Trade and Development in July 2016.

The government of Kenya and UNCTAD has confirmed the conference will be held in the premises of the Kenyatta International Conference Centre. There will be two hearings with civil society in Geneva prior to the Conference so as to provide CSOs the opportunity to contribute to the preparatory process and comment on the pre-conference negotiating text.

Still in East Africa,

The national carrier of Rwanda, RwandAir, is expanding its fleet with two new Airbus aircraft that will allow it add medium and long-haul flights to Europe, Asia and the Middle East, the airline indicated in a press release.

With this, the carrier will be the first East African customer of the long-haul A330-300 Airbus airliner. CEO of RwandAir said in a prepared statement “we have found the A330 to perfectly-support our plans to expand into Europe and Asia, to enhance our regional presence, to open up new routes and to grow our market share.”

The aircraft are powered by Rolls-Royce, which is an important factor that will maximize the revenue-earning potential of the new aircraft, Mirenge said.

According to East African Business Week, RwandAir has been quietly building a regional Africa network, with hopes to establish Kigali as a hub for the continent with 40 percent of the airline’s traffic connections.

3.                   CENTRAL AFRICA:  

President Idris Deby Itno has his work cut out for him!

Apart from contesting Presidential elections on April 10, the Chadian head of State is incumbent Chair of the G5 Sahel group (comprising Burkina Faso; Chad; Mali; Mauritania & Niger). In the next Bulletin, we will indicate the instrumentality of Chad in the establishment of a proposed Regional School of War for the G5.

But to matters of the AU now: apart from the fact that Chad has just been elected a member of the AU’s Peace and Security Council that closed a few hours ago, reports by a francophone Tunisian paper confirm what has been circulating in the rumour mill – that President Deby is most-likely to be elected Chair of the African Union, replacing Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe.

The reports indicate that the Chadian Head of State is the only “consensual candidate” from Central Africa. This is as per AU rules, where countries need to put forward a regional candidate that almost-all countries have agreed on.

Deby has been in power since December 1990, but has played important and critical roles in the Mali 2012 civil war, where Chadian troops fought under the AU-led international force AFISMA. Chad has been an observer of ECOWAS since 2011, and has contemplated joining the West African bloc. A major oil-producing country, in 2015, the Guardian’s Celeste Hicks wrote that much of the country’s transformation “is down to oil.”

4.                   WEST AFRICA:

Ahead of Ghana’s elections in Novemnber, the UK-based Africa Research Institute(ARI) has shone the spotlight on slums in Accra.

ARI held an event on 28 January, entitled “Slum Politics in Accra: Understanding Urban Ghana.”

Organised to mark the launch of ARI’s new “Counterpoint” publication, Dr.Jeffrey Paller – a post-doctoral research fellow at the Earth Institute at Colombia University – led a talk about the social and political networks supposed to really govern urban Ghana.

The country is considered one of Africa’s most rapidly-urbanising countries, with the number of city-dwellers having risen from 4 million to 14 million over thirty years.

The event was organized on the premise that as informal settlements will play an increasingly important role in Ghana politics, Ghana needs to understand the voting intentions of these slum-dwellers ahead of Ghana’s elections in November 2016. It sought to unpack how “hidden” informal networks interact with formal politics, and how citizens ought to hold their leaders to account in this environment.

The discussion was live-tweeted under “#Accrapolitics” on the twitter social media network with many of the participants tweeting key points.

Jeffrey Paller, the invited speaker, tweeting @JWPaller, was quoted as saying that “many researchers in development and urbanization studies fail to look at what is happening in slums.”

The discussion further revealed that “local leaders have become highly accountable to locals.” Another tweet indicated a representative of Cities Alliance maintains Ghana has “more houses demolished than built.” Another tweet predicted that “elections in Ghana will be heavily influenced by informal networks.”  

 

 ENDs

COMING UP!>>Ep.37: East Africa Rising(2)

On 17 June, 2014, we initiated a discussion on East Africa.

As part of our “East Africa rising” programme, we are reprising the focus of East Africa on the Show, with a view to reminding listeners about the urgency of catalyzing and capitalizing on synergy with East Africa.

The Southern African country of Namibia recently opened a High Commission in Ghana, but, really, how many East African countries have diplomatic representations here? If not, why not? (Kenya has none in Ghana; Rwanda has a diplomatic representation; Uganda has none at all – never mind, Burundi or Tanzania) .  

In February, Ethiopia tested light rail. Rwanda has bought new planes to fly to Europe. Can it give is lessons on sanitizing our sanitation day? In November 2013, Kenya unveiled a US$13.8bn high-speed train. Is this something we can learn from them? What about Ghanaian businessmen and their ability to take advantage of doing business in Ghana at a time Ghana Tourism Authority are talking about learning from Kenya?

While these are important questions to be asked, one would have hoped we would not be asking them in 2015, when ECOWAS turns 40 and President Mahama is E COWAS Chair.

AIF started in 2014 with a recognition that East Africa is rising. Is Ghana listening?

Join us if you can at 1pm on 31 March, 2015.

Guiding questions

• What is especially vibrant about the ICT sector in Rwanda Ghanaians can learn from?
• Kenya has had its fair shares of challenges, but is considered one of the strongest economies in the region. Apart from its strong and reputable journalism, and its world-class tourism, what can Ghana learn from it?
• Ethiopia now has light-rail; Kenya has high-speed rail. Even Abuja has considered light-rail. What is East Africa doing more seriously than Ghana on infrastructure?

Guests in the studio:

Ø  Arnold Boateng, Author/entrepreneur/youth development advocate

Ø  Azeez Gomda, PRO, Ghana Youth Integrity Initiative

Ø  Chelimo Gertrude, Kenyan national studying in Ghana

On the line:

·        Eunice Marfo, Executive Secretary, Ghana Association of Savings & Loans @13h15

·        Kobby Blay, EbolaWatch @13h30

Podcasts of last 10 Episodes of "Africa in Focus"

22 July, 2014: Energy Security in West Africa

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ba3ahd0ab0jjps4/AFRICA%20IN%20FOCUS%20%2022-07-14.mp3

Kindly find a podcast of the 22 July edition of "Africa in Focus", which interrogated the question that:

"understanding energy security is important because the reliable supply of commercial energy services is critical for growing economies in West Africa. Just like people elsewhere, citizens in West Africa seek a higher standard of living, which is only possible with access to commercially-sustainable energy services.

Yet, most of the region lack the energy infrastructure needed to meet demand, although resources such as oil, gas, hydro and coal are available and there are opportunities for modern use of biomass and other renewables such as wind and solar"

Other Questions answered:
• What is energy security, and how is it prosecuted in West Africa? (ERERA)
• What are some of the threats to energy security in (West) Africa? (ERERA/GIABA)
• How can energy security be maintained? (ERERA)
• What are the regional & continental responses to countering challenges to energy security? (ERERA/GIABA)"

Guests included:

Ø  Uwem Thompson, Communications Officer, Ecowas Regional Energy Regulatory Electricity Authority (ERERA), Accra

Ø  Stella Attakpah, Programmes Manager, Intergovernmental  Action Group Against Money-Laundering(GIABA), Dakar [on the line from Vienna, Austria]

Tune in at 13h10 GMT (1:00pm Ghana Time). We’re also streaming live  www.radioxyzonline.com.