AFRICA INFO, GENERAL INTEREST & RISK ANALYSIS February 18, 2009
Posted by sdaco3 in Uncategorized.Tags: Africa analysis, Africa Info, Africa risk, African General interest, Burundian blog, Risk & Analysis in Africa, Tenders
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TENDERS
BURKINA FASO: Land Services Technical Assistance Assignment Request For Expressions of Interest
Publication Date: Feb 12, 2009 Deadline: Mar 6, 2009
Funding Agency: Millennium Challenge Account
Buyer: MCA – Burkina Faso
Original Language: English
Assignments
98110000 – Services furnished by business, professional and specialist organisations
Côte d’Ivoire: Abidjan: technical assistance assignment for the executive secretariat of the OCAB
Prior Information Notice
City/Locality: ABIDJAN
Publication Date: Feb 10, 2009
Buyer: ETAT DE COTE D’IVOIRE, REPRESENTE PAR L’ORDONNATEUR NATIONAL SUPPLEANT DU FED EN REPUBLIQUE DE COTE D’IVOIRE
Original Language: French
Goods, Works and Services
98300000 – Miscellaneous services
ETHIOPIA Management and Administration (MAP) Capacity Development Design Study
Request For Expressions of Interest
City/Locality: Addis Ababa
Publication Date: Feb 11, 2009 Deadline: Mar 6, 2009
Funding Agency: World Bank
Buyer: General Education Quality Improvement Project – Ministry of Education
Original Language: English
Assignments
79400000 – Business and management consultancy and related services
79411000 – General management consultancy services
79410000 – Business and management consultancy services
79411100 – Business development consultancy services
73220000 – Development consultancy services
ETHIOPIA: Procurement of Information Communication Technology (ICT) Equipment
Request For Proposals
City/Locality: Addis Ababa
Publication Date: Feb 11, 2009 Deadline: Mar 31, 2009
Funding Agency: World Bank
Buyer: Post Second. Educ. Cap. Build
Original Language: English
Goods, Works and Services
32500000 – Telecommunications equipment and supplies
30100000 – Office machinery, equipment and supplies except computers, printers and furniture
30200000 – Computer equipment and supplies
32200000 – Transmission apparatus for radiotelephony, radiotelegraphy, radio broadcasting and television
32400000 – Networks
ETHIOPIA: General Procurement Notice Prior Information Notice
City/Locality: Addis Ababa
Publication Date: Feb 12, 2009
Funding Agency: World Bank
Buyer: Africa Stockpiles Programme – Project 1
Original Language: English
Goods, Works and Services
90400000 – Sewage services
90500000 – Refuse and waste related services
90600000 – Cleaning and sanitation services in urban or rural areas, and related services
90700000 – Environmental services
90900000 – Cleaning and sanitation services
KENYA: Consultancy Services for Supervision of Expansion Works for Eldoret Treatment Plant and Transmission Mains Extension Request For Expressions of Interest
Country: Kenya
Publication Date: Feb 12, 2009 Deadline: Mar 3, 2009
Funding Agency: World Bank
Buyer: Kenya Water and Sanitation Service Improvement Project
Original Language: English
Assignments
71520000 – Construction supervision services
LESOTHO: Establishment of Aquatic Monitoring System and Environmental Flow Guidelines and Procedures
Request For Expressions of Interest
Publication Date: Feb 11, 2009 Deadline: Mar 2, 2009
Funding Agency: World Bank
Buyer: Lesotho: Second Water Sector Improvement Project – Commissioner of Water
Original Language: English
Assignments
71621000 – Technical analysis or consultancy services
MALAWI: Lilongwe: EDF — rural feeder roads programme — supervision services for the upgrading of Mchinji–Kawere (S118) road Prior Information Notice
City/Locality: LILONGWE
Publication Date: Feb 10, 2009
Buyer: THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF MALAWI
Original Language: English
Goods, Works and Services
71247000 – Supervision of building work
71356200 – Technical assistance services
MALAWI: Lilongwe: EDF — rural feeder roads programme — upgrading of Mchinji–Kawere (S118) road
Prior Information Notice
City/Locality: LILONGWE
Publication Date: Feb 10, 2009
Buyer: THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF MALAWI
Original Language: English
Goods, Works and Services
45233120 – Road construction works
MOZAMBIQUE: ASSESSMENT OF PERFORMANCE OF EDM UNDER ITS PERFORMANCE CONTRACT AND EVALUATION OF TARIFF METHODOLOGY Request For Expressions of Interest
City/Locality: Maputo
Publication Date: Feb 10, 2009 Deadline: Feb 27, 2009
Funding Agency: World Bank
Buyer: Energy Reform and Access Program – Direcção Nacional de Energia
Original Language: English
Assignments
79311000 – Survey services
RWANDA: CONSULTANCY SERVICES TO DEVELOP RDB’S FINANCIAL, PROCUREMENT, ADMINISTRATIVE, HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT, LEGAL PROCEDURES, INTERNAL AUDIT MANUALS AND RDB’S PERSONNEL STATUTES Request For Expressions of Interest
City/Locality: kigali
Notice/Contract Number: 022/S/EOI/09/RDB/GS/GOV
Publication Date: Feb 13, 2009 Deadline: Feb 27, 2009
Buyer: OFFICE RWANDAIS DE TOURISME ET DES PARCS NATIONAUX
Original Language: English
Assignments
79410000 – Business and management consultancy services
79420000 – Management-related services
79100000 – Legal services
79140000 – Legal advisory and information services
79110000 – Legal advisory and representation services
RWANDA: RECRUTEMENT OF A MARKETING AND ADVERTISING FIRM IN GERMANY
Request For Proposals
Notice/Contract Number: REF: 035/S/ICD/RDB/TCD/GOR
Publication Date: Feb 11, 2009 Deadline: Mar 31, 2009
Buyer: OFFICE RWANDAIS DE TOURISME ET DES PARCS NATIONAUX
Original Language: English
Goods, Works and Services
79400000 – Business and management consultancy and related services
79410000 – Business and management consultancy services
79421000 – Project-management services other than for construction work
RWANDA: RECRUTEMENT OF A MARKETING AND ADVERTISING FIRM IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Request For Proposals
Edition 2: Feb 11, 2009 (shown)
Notice/Contract Number: REF: 034/S/ICB/RDB/TCD/GOR
Publication Date: Feb 11, 2009 Deadline: Mar 31, 2009
Buyer: OFFICE RWANDAIS DE TOURISME ET DES PARCS NATIONAUX
Original Language: English
Goods, Works and Services
79300000 – Market and economic research; polling and statistics
79400000 – Business and management consultancy and related services
79310000 – Market research services
79340000 – Advertising and marketing services
RWANDA: CONSULTANCY SERVICES- DESIGN AND PRINTING OF INFORMATION PACKAGE FOR RDB
Request For Proposals
City/Locality: kigali
Notice/Contract Number: : 016/S/NOC/RDB/OSC/GOV
Publication Date: Feb 13, 2009 Deadline: Mar 10, 2009
Buyer: OFFICE RWANDAIS DE TOURISME ET DES PARCS NATIONAUX
Original Language: English
Goods, Works and Services
79400000 – Business and management consultancy and related services
79500000 – Office-support services
79800000 – Printing and related services
SOUTH AFRICA: AIR-CONDITIONING MAINTENANCE AT THE SARS ALBERTON CAMPUS
Request For Proposals
Publication Date: Feb 9, 2009 Deadline: Mar 6, 2009
Funding Agency: South Africa
Buyer: South African Revenue Service
Original Language: English
Goods, Works and Services
45331000 – Heating, ventilation and air-conditioning installation work
SOUTH AFRICA: CONSTRUCTION 900 WATERBORNE TOILET STRUCTURE Request For Proposals
Publication Date: Feb 9, 2009 Deadline: Feb 24, 2009
Funding Agency: South Africa
Buyer: Bojanala Platinum District Municipality
Original Language: English
Goods, Works and Services
45000000 – Construction work
SUB SAHARA AFRICA: CONSULTANCY FOR TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR GEOTECHNICAL STUDIES AND ENGINEERING DESIGN FOR THE REHABILITATION OF JEBB A HYDROELECTRIC POWER PLANT SPILLWAY STILLING BASIN AND AUXILIARY DAM NO.3 Request For Expressions of Interest
Publication Date: Feb 11, 2009 Deadline: Mar 26, 2009
Funding Agency: World Bank
Buyer: 3A-Niger Basin Water Resources
Original Language: English
Assignments
71356200 – Technical assistance services
SUB SAHARA AFRICA: Architectural, construction, engineering and inspection services
RECRUTEMENT D’UN BUREAU D’ETUDES TECHNIQUES POUR LE CONTROLE DES TRAVAUX DE CONSTRUCTION DES CLOTURES DE SURETE ET DES ROUTES D’ENCEINTES AUTOUR DES AEROPORTS INTERNATIONAUX DE DOUALA ET DE YAOUNDE NSIMALEN – Request For Expressions of Interest
Publication Date: Feb 9, 2009 Deadline: Feb 23, 2009
Funding Agency: World Bank
Buyer: 3A-West &Central Afr Air Tran TAL (FY06) – World Bank
Original Language: French
Assignments
71000000 – Architectural, construction, engineering and inspection services
71520000 – Construction supervision services
SUDAN: Upgrading Works of Damazin – Kurmuk Road Project Lot B (km. 55.5 – km. 93.5)
Prequalification Notice
Publication Date: Feb 11, 2009 Deadline: Mar 29, 2009
Funding Agency: World Bank
Buyer: Sudan National Emergency Transport Rehabilitation Project – Sudan Railway Corp, River Transport Corp.
Original Language: English
Goods, Works and Services
45233100 – Construction work for highways, roads
45233120 – Road construction works
SUDAN: Business Development Training – Request For Expressions of Interest
Publication Date: Feb 11, 2009 Deadline: Feb 28, 2009
Funding Agency: World Bank
Buyer: Adolescent Girls and Young Women
Original Language: English
Assignments
79411100 – Business development consultancy services
80500000 – Training services
TANZANIA: Dar es Salaam: EDF — upgrading programme for urban water supply and sanitation
Request For Proposals
City/Locality: DAR ES SALAAM
Publication Date: Feb 14, 2009 Deadline: Mar 19, 2009
Buyer: MINISTRY OF WATER AND IRRIGATION
Original Language: English
Goods, Works and Services
71356200 – Technical assistance services
TANZANIA: POSITION OF PROCUREMENT SPECIALIST Request For Proposals
City/Locality: Dar es Salaam
Publication Date: Feb 8, 2009 Deadline: Feb 27, 2009
Funding Agency: World Bank
Buyer: Tanzania Energy Development and Access Project (TEDAP) – TANESCO & the Min of Energy and Minerals
Original Language: English
Goods, Works and Services
65310000 – Electricity distribution
TANZANIA: CONSULTANCY SERVICES FOR A STUDY ON THE LEGAL AND INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT OF MARINE MANAGED AREAS IN MAINLAND TANZANIA AND ZANZIBAR
Request For Expressions of Interest
City/Locality: Dar es Salaam
Publication Date: Feb 12, 2009 Deadline: Mar 11, 2009
Funding Agency: World Bank
Buyer: TANZANIA MARINE AND COASTAL ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PROJECT (MACEMP)
MINISTRY OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND TOURISM (MNRT)
Original Language: English
Assignments
90713000 – Environmental issues consultancy services
79140000 – Legal advisory and information services
70331100 – Institution management services
UGANDA: Consultancy Services for Review of Road Safety Management Capacity
Request For Expressions of Interest
Notice/Contract Number: wb:ec100020601
Publication Date: Feb 9, 2009 Deadline: Feb 18, 2009
Buyer: World Bank Trust Funds
Original Language: English
Assignments
79417000 – Safety consultancy services
71317210 – Health and safety consultancy services
EARLY WARNING & PROSPECTIVES
SADC
ANGOLA: Malanje government invests in infrastructures repair Malanje – The governor of the northern Malanje Province, Boaventura Cardoso, announced last Thursday that his government is committed to rebuilding the main social and economic infrastructures of the region, the improvement of the Malanje Province’s image depends on the rehabilitation of public and private buildings, basic sanitation and the creation of appropriate rubbish dumps; it will be developed a work to improve green spaces, public street lighting, drinking water supply, as well as the creation of a system for thorough collection of solid residues.
Botswana: PHK Warns Mines On ‘Unauthorised’ Layoffs The Minister of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources, Ponatshego Kedikilwehas sent a strong warning to mining firms that are retrenching workers without following the proper legal channels. LOVES LABOUR LOST
Botswana: Boteti Exploration Chiefs Step Up Cash Hunt Shareholders of Boteti Exploration, the holding company for AK06 Diamond Mine, say they are still surveying various funding channels for the mine, which is scheduled to start production in 2011.
Botswana: African Queen to Start Drilling Okavango Prospect African Queen Mines has awarded a contract to Botswana-based Discovery Drilling Africa for the first phase of a core-drilling programme on its Okavango diamond property, in the north-west.
Botswana: About Sekaka Diamonds MMEGI 9 February 2009 Sekaka Diamonds has approximately 48,500km2 of highly prospective diamond exploration ground in Botswana.
Sekaka has more than 30 known kimberlites in its licence areas. By 2004 Sekaka held 104 prospecting licences with a further 9 licences in negotiation. The company has announced that as part of their program for 2009 they will, among other things, focus on the DK4 and DK6 in the Jwaneng area. Kimberlites DK4 and DK6 (Jwaneng) – interpretation of modeled data points to possible surface areas of +- 1.5 ha (previously 0.4) and +- 2.5 ha (previously 0.9) respectively. DK4- was first discovered by De Beers in 1973 or 1974. Early this month Petra Diamonds, who own Sekaka Diamonds, announced in a release that they will focus on their projects in Botswana this year.
However due to the global financial crisis the company is scaling back its Botswana program, reducing its budget to $500,000 for the period until June 2009. “Botswana still offers an exceptional basis for exploration, in that it ranks highly with regards to diamond prospectivity and very favorably with regards to operating costs and ease of logistical operation,” Petra noted. The company added that it will not relinquish any license areas of interest in the country.
Botswana: Massive Diamond Find Perplexes Jwaneng Planners MMEGI Monkagedi Gaotlhobogwe 9 Feb 2009
The new huge diamonds discovery south of Jwaneng is giving town council officials headaches. A P65m project to service virgin land at Unit 8 is in limbo after Sekaka Diamonds, a subsidiary of Petra Diamonds, announced the amazing discovery at its DK4 and DK6 sites, located in the service land. The company made the discovery last year.
The new diamond discovery issue has now pit the Ministries of Local Government, Lands and Housing, and Minerals, Energy and Water Resources against one another, accusing each other of poor consultation. The minister responsible for minerals, Ponatshego Kedikilwe, was requested this week by his counter-part at the Ministry of Lands and Housing, Nonofo Molefhi, to explain how Petra Diamonds came to be allocated exploration rights without Lands and Housing Ministry knowing.
The PS indicated that he would like developments to give way to mining. “It will be undesirable for us to build a town on top of a kimberlite pipe really, but we are still looking into the matter,” said the PS. Jwaneng officials are worried that the new diamond mine is not only going to disrupt the P65mn project going on at the site but its fence will also extend into some parts of the town centre where the diamond belt runs. A number of developments in the town like the Choppies mall, Spar mall and the town council are said to have been built on top of the diamond belt as well.
However the town council is furious after kick starting the P65m development project at the Unit 8 service land last year. Construction continues at the site where roads, storm water drainage, water pipes and electricity connections are currently on going. The Jwaneng Town Council last year appointed NMA consulting engineers, Tswelelo Electrical Consulting Engineers, CSC & EC-Landmark Projects joint venture civil contractors to start servicing the land. The Botswana Housing Corporation is also ready to start building houses there to solve acute shortage of accommodation in that town.
The councillor, also a miner with Debswana says he has always been skeptical about building a town on top of a kimberlite tunnel. “When the plan for the land was presented to us at a full council, it was clearly shown that there is a kimberlite pipe in the area, and I think we should have shifted developments to areas like Unit 9, 10, and 11, which don’t have a kimberlite pipe running through them. There was nothing that compelled us to go for Unit 8. There is bad planning in this town. Almost the entire town is built on a kimberlite pipe, which is sad really,” the councillor told the Monitor.
Botswana: Country Sees Coal Alternative to Diamonds BOTSWANA will soon launch a study into a 1,500 km rail link from its multi- billion tonne coalfields to a port in Namibia as part of efforts to diversify the economy away from its heavy reliance on diamonds, said Kgomotso Abi, director of Botswana’s mines.
Botswana: Rescue Plan for Mines in the Offing A British company, LEK Consulting, is to undertake a strategic mineral market review of Botswana’s mining sector with a view to padding affected mining houses and processing companies against the financial crisis garrotting them.
Botswana: Mining Crisis Cripples Property Market Demand for high cost and executive houses is expected to fall here after one of the major customers, Tati Nickel Mine Company, (TNMC) returned a number of units to landlords recently.
Mozambique: Gloom And Doom From the IMF AIM 13 February 2009 Maputo — The effects of the world financial crisis on the prospects for investment and development aid have led the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to review its projections for Mozambique’s economic growth for the next two years downwards. The IMF’s forecast is that the Mozambican economy will grow at 5.5 per cent in 2009 and 5.4 per cent in 2010. This contrasts with the Mozambican government’s target of a 6.7 per cent growth rate this year, rising to seven per cent in 2010 and 2011.
Speaking at a Maputo press conference on Friday, the IMF resident representative in Mozambique, Felix Fischer, said that the forecasts are preliminary, and have not yet been discussed with the Mozambican authorities.
“The economic crisis will result in a decline in investment, and will increase the uncertainty about the provision of official development aid”, said Fischer. He predicted a sharp drop in aid and investment from those countries which have poured vast sums of money into rescuing financial systems ruined by their bankers.
Fischer noted that many development projects were approved at a time when commodity prices (for oil, aluminium or coal, for example) were high, and when donor countries could finance them, thanks to the apparent stability of the financial system. But today commodity prices have fallen, while the costs of financing credit have risen, making it difficult for donors to maintain the pre-crisis levels of investment. So Fischer proclaimed that Mozambique could rely on less international support and will have to “reprioritize its plans”, and divert funds to new priorities, in an exercise which would be marked by public expenditure cuts.
Thus the IMF has returned to its traditional recipe of slashing public expenditure in poor countries – something which is quite impossible to square with its support for the Millennium Development Goals, which will require more, not less, public expenditure. Rich nations, such as the United States, intend to spend their way out of the recession, but the IMF will not allow countries such as Mozambique to follow suit.
A year ago, IMF predictions for Mozambique were rosy, now they are full of gloom. In reality, none of Mozambique’s main donors has announced any cut in aid for the next year – though certainly the recent decline in value of the British pound and of the Euro will affect the contribution of European countries when expressed in US dollars.
The Sunday TimesFebruary 15, 2009
MOZAMBIQUE: Mozambique unsatisfied with Zimbabwe electricity debt Songo Mozambique (PANA) , Despite promises to clear its debt, the Zimbabwean electricity company, ZESA, still owes large sums of money to Hidroelectrica de Cahora Bassa (HCB), the company that operates the Cahora Bassa dam on the Zambezi river, in the western Mozambican province of Tete. 13/02/2009
Mozambique: New Maputo Mayor Promises Improved Infrastructure The new mayor of Maputo, David Simango, on Saturday pledged that his governance will centre on improving the quality of urban infrastructures. MAYBE SHOULD CENTRE ON IMPROVED CONTRACTOR PAYMENTS
MOZAMBIQUE: Mozambique’s graphite mine resumes production in 2010 Maputo, Mozambique (PANA) – Contrary to expectations, the graphite mine at Ancuabe, in the northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado, will not resume product i on until 2010, PANA reports, quoting a report in the country’s news agency, AIM. 09/02/2009
MOZAMBIQUE: Australian mining coy to export Mozambican coal by late 2010 Maputo, Mozambique (PANA) – Despite the harsh international financial climate, t he Australian mining company, Riversdale, is pushing ahead with its plans to min e and export coal from the western Mozambican province of Tete. 10/02/2009
NAMIBIA: Namibia’s diamond miner not asking for govt bailout Windhoek, Namibia (PANA) – Namibia’s largest diamond miner, Namdeb, Monday maintained that its balance sheet was healthy, dismissing speculations that it had requested a bailout from government to strengthen its cash flow. 09/02/2009
Namibian Namibia: Namdeb in N$650 Million Overdraft GOVERNMENT has provided a N$325 million surety to Namdeb to renew its N$650 million revolving overdraft facility with local banks. IS THAT NOT A BAILOUT THEN…..
Namibia: NamWater Unveils Plans for a Desalination Plant NAMWATER intends to have a desalination plant up and running north of Swakopmund within the next two years, but this plan depends on a water supply agreement with uranium mines in Erongo.
Namibia: Commercial Agreements Hamper Development of Kudu Gas Field Efforts to develop the Kudu gas project off the southwestern coast of Namibia near Oranjemund is hampered by the failure to reach commercial agreements with gas buyers.
Namibia: Hydropower Plan in Spotlight Again NAMIBIAN Brigitte Weidlich 11 February 2009
A CONTROVERSIAL plan to build a large hydropower scheme on the Kunene River near the Baynes Mountains has gained new momentum with the appointment of a British company to conduct the environmental impact assessment.
“The governments of Angola and Namibia have – through the Joint Permanent Technical Commission (PJTC) – appointed Environmental Resources Management (ERM) with headquarters in London, Britain, to undertake the environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the proposed Baynes hydropower project,” the PJTC announced on Monday. “The ERM team for the EIA includes substantial local expertise, especially in the environmental and social fields,” according to the PJTC statement.
“The EIA will include public participation that will include communities in both Angola and Namibia and affected parties in the project area to voice their concerns, opinions and ideas about the project.” The PJTC said “it should be noted that no decision about the Baynes project will be taken until all the studies and consultations have been completed and thoroughly analysed and discussed at many different levels”.
Tenders via the Namibia Tender Board of the Finance Ministry for the EIA closed on October 22 2008, but no bids were received. As a result, the deadline was extended to November 3 2008.
Parallel to the EIA, a technical and economic viability study for N$80 million is under way. It is being conducted by the Cunene Consortium comprising of the four Brazilian companies Odebrecht, Electrobras, Furnas and Engevix. The proposed Baynes hydropower project would generate 480 megawatt of electricity and was originally planned further east near the scenic Epupa waterfall. The Epupa site would have submerged the entire valley and the waterfall and was vehemently opposed by the Himba community and environmentalists. Their fierce opposition made international headlines. It was seen as potentially destroying the Himbas’ way of life. It was also predicted that it would cause immense damage to the Kunene’s ecosystems.
The Baynes project, which includes a hydropower station and a storage dam, will cost approximately N$8 billion. Costs will be shared by Angola and Namibia. The 1995 feasibility study on Epupa cost N$40 million – the most expensive study of its type ever undertaken in Namibia then.
South Africa: Gold Fields Solves Outage Woes With R140 Million Generators GOLD Fields last week unveiled stand-by generators worth R140m to ensure continued safe operating conditions at three of its mines in case of power cuts.
South Africa: Diamond Prices to Fall on Supply The price of rough diamonds could fall 59%-63% this year because of structural problems in the diamond pipeline, even though demand from consumers has not changed fundamentally, Tacy Consultants principal Chaim Even-Zohar said yesterday.
South Africa: Simmer Expects Huge Increase in Output Gold and uranium company Simmer & Jack is expecting to more than treble gold production over the next two years after a five-year development programme.
South Africa: Arcelor Mittal Shelves Expansion STEEL giant ArcelorMittal SA has put growth plans on ice as global recession wreaks havoc in steel-using sectors.
South Africa: City Lodge on R1 Billion Growth Trail CITY Lodge Hotels is to spend nearly R1bn developing 10 hotels in the next two years, its biggest capital expenditure programme to date.
South Africa: Queensgate Expects Rise in Earnings ALTX-listed Queensgate Hotels & Leisure said yesterday earnings and headline earnings a share for the six months to end-February would be 420%-440% higher than in the previous comparable period.
South Africa: Eskom to Issue Bonds to Help Fund Growth POWER supplier Eskom said yesterday it planned to issue R150bn worth of bonds to help fund its multibillion-rand capital expansion programme. MORE LIKELY TO BE BAIL BONDS
South Africa: Ipsa’s Gas Turbines Become a Hard Sell THE global financial crisis was frustrating independent power producer Ipsa’s efforts to sell the four gas turbines previously intended for its Coega project near Port Elizabeth, the company said yesterday.
South Africa: De Beers to Reduce Production, Cut Costs De Beers Group would have to reduce production “significantly” this year in line with demand from its clients and would also have to cut costs to match lower revenue, De Beers Consolidated marketing director Stephen Lussier told the Mining Indaba yesterday.
South Africa: Consultancy Gets Guns Out for Land Bank THE Land Bank faces a R123m lawsuit after refusing to honour a controversial contract with international management consultancy Knox D’Arcy.
Zimbabwe: Retired Train Drivers Recalled as Strike Cripples NRZ Operations The National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) has recalled retired train drivers following massive resignations by employees disgruntled over low pay and poor working conditions.
Zimbabwe: High Fees Drive Out Small-Scale Miners ONLY about a quarter of the estimated 1,5 million small-scale miners who were affected by the government’s 2006 clean-up operation codenamed Chikorokoza Chapera have resumed operations due to high registration fees and Environmental Impact Assessment consultant costs, the Zimbabwe Miners’ Federation (ZMF) said this week
Zimbabwe: Zesa, Rautenbach Strike U.S.$800 Million Deal MINING magnet, Billy Rautenbach’s Zimbabwean-registered investment vehicle, Clidder Minerals, has struck a US$800 million joint venture deal with power utility, ZESA Holdings to extract coal and increase the power-generation capacity at the parastatals’ thermal plants, The Financial Gazette established this week.
Zimbabwe: Outcry Over Illegal Panning At Closed Mine MANAGEMENT at Golden Valley Mine in Kadoma has come under fire from the community for failing to prevent illegal panners from plundering the shutdown mine.
COMESA
DJIBOUTI: France to help transform Djibouti to economic hub Paris, France (PANA) – France wants to help Djibouti to become “an economic hub” connecting Africa to the rest of the world, said the president of the Frence-Dji bouti Group of friendship, Louis Duvernois in Paris. 10/02/2009
Rwanda: KCC Defaults On 10 Million Euro Payment to German Investors Kigali City Council owes a group of German investors-operating in Rwanda under the company name African Development Cooperation-10 million Euros (Frw seven billion and two hundred and fifty million) that they should have paid four months ago.
Uganda: Govt to Set Up Road Construction Company The Government is to set up a road construction unit following the high cost of road construction and allegations of price fixing cartels by private contractors.
Uganda: AFDB Doubles Funds to Country THE African Development Bank (ADB) has doubled its funds to Uganda in a move to accelerate development.
Uganda: Soroti Bosses Reject Road Contractor SOROTI Municipal Council has refused to extend the period for Omega Construction Company to complete tarmacking a road in the municipality.
Uganda: Kampala Sewerage System to Be Expanded A sanitation project worth 61m euro (about sh152.5b) will start in Kampala district soon.
Uganda: ‘Saudi Investor Still Interested in Shimoni Land’ The Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, who expressed interest to build a five-star hotel ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) 2007 at the 15-acre land where Shimoni Demonstration Primary School and Shimoni Teachers College stood is hell-bent on retaining his land.
Uganda: Kenya Cancels RVR Contract THE Kenya High Court has allowed plans by the Uganda and Kenya governments to terminate the Rift Valley Railways (RVR) 25-year deal to run the two railway corporations
Uganda: Hoima Gets 500 Million Devt Funding HOIMA district has received over sh500m for road maintenance and the rehabilitation of health centres and water sources.
Uganda: Developers Raise Sh64 Billion for Old Taxi Park Malls THE plots around the Old Taxi Park developers have acquired sh64.8b to build modern shopping malls, their chairman, Dick Kizito, was obtained from various banks as loans. Kizito said construction work would start on February 15.
Uganda: NWSC Needs Sh202 Billion for Expansion THE National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) requires 86m euros (about sh202.1b) for network restructuring and expansion, the managing director has said.
ECOWAS
Benin: Rural Areas Still in the Dark IRIN 11 February 2009 Cotonou — Despite almost two decades of donor-funded reforms in the energy sector, Benin still faces “enormous” challenges providing electricity, particularly in rural areas, according to the government Benin Society for Electrical Energy (SBEE). Less than 25 percent of the country has electricity, according to SBEE’s deputy director of planning, Célestin Dangbédji. About half of urban areas do not have electricity while in rural zones – home to more than two-thirds of the eight million population – less than two percent of people have electricity, he told IRIN. “In rural zones, even some areas in cities, there are zones completely deprived of electricity,” said Dangbédji. Dangbédji estimated that electricity covers only three percent of the country’s energy needs. “It is an extremely weak sector. We cannot say the country has electrification.”
SBEE currently generates 50 megawatts per year, less than half of what it would take to power the country, he said. Over the past 18 years, 130 million donor dollars have gone toward energy sector reforms in Benin, according to a listing of World Bank-assisted energy investments.
The World Bank helped launch a US$95-million multi-donor energy reform project in 2004 to alleviate Benin’s energy problems. Goals included privatising the state electricity company, improving in-country transmission, and linking the country to electricity networks in neighbouring countries, according to project documents. The project financed a connection between Benin and Nigeria’s electrical grid. But using Nigeria’s energy puts Benin at the “mercy” of neighbours, said Dangbédji. “We have a terrible dependence and get only [energy] that people give us,” said SBEE’s planning official. “When Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana – our suppliers – run low [on electrical energy], our situation worsens.”
The World Bank has called neighbouring Nigeria’s unreliable electricity coverage the country’s biggest “infrastructure bottleneck”, saying it has increased the cost of doing business there by 10 percent. Some 85 percent of businesses in Nigeria use generators. The World Bank announced on 7 February a $30-million grant to Benin, some of which will go to energy improvements. Plans were underway as of late 2008 for SBEE to become partially-privatised, according to the trade group Council of Private Investors in Benin. [ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations ]
Cameroon: CUD Destroys Illegal Constructions The Proprietor and population around Douala Bercy have complained bitterly towards the reaction of the Douala City Council police who destroyed a structure that was under construction. According to the Director, they were surprised to see the council police guys coming to start destroying without any notification or any document showing authorisation.
Chad: Cameroon, Chad Energy Inter-Connection Project – Inter-State Technical Committee Unit Created The Cameroon-Chad Electric Inter-Connection project, a component of the Energy Inter-Connection and Electrification of Cross Border Localities Project agreed upon between the two countries on 23 October, 2007 through a protocol agreement, went into an important phase last Tuesday, 10 February, 2008, following the creation of an Inter-State Technical Committee Unit to pilot the project.
GAMBIA: Briton docked in Gambia over fake travellers’ cheques Banjul, Gambia (PANA) – Michael Gerald Sheehy, a British national, was Tuesday arraigned before Magistrate Sagarr Jahateh of the Kanifing Magistrate Court, Gambia, for allegedly issuing false travellers’ cheques. 10/02/2009
Gambia: Gamworks Officials Tour CRR Project Sites The Gamworks officials last Friday visited Kaur and Wassu in the Central River Region, where they proposed to construct twenty canteens.
Ghana: US to Provide 1.1 Million Dollars for KIA Projects The United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) will provide 1.1 million dollars to upgrade the capacity of the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) and help Ghana regain its Category 1 status under the International Safety Assessments (IASA).
MALI: Foundation stone for Mali’s new cement plant to be laid Sunday Bamako, Mali (PANA) – Malian President, Amadou Toumani Toure, will on Sunday lay the foundation stone of a cement plant in Diamou, a locality in the Kayes region , western Mali, official sources told PANA here. 13/02/2009
MALI: IFC vows to improve Mali business environment Bamako, Mali (PANA) – The International Financial Corporation (IFC), which promotes sustainable private sector investment in developing countries as a way of reducing poverty, has said it will make its impact better felt in Mali by promoting a better business environment in the country. 12/02/2009
NIGER: Saudi Fund grants US$20 million to Niger for Kandadji dam Niamey, Niger (PANA) – The Board of Directors of the Saudi Development Fund (FSD) has granted US$20 million to the Niger government towards the funding of the Kandadji dam project, a communiqué from the Saudi Arabia embassy in Niamey said on Tuesday. 10/02/2009
Nigeria: Minister Chides Consultants on Abandoned Projects The Minister of Works and Housing, Mohammed Hassan Lawal has called on all contractors and consultants handling Federal Government projects to return to site or be blacklisted. He made this known yesterday during an interactive session with the consultants, contractors and stakeholders of the ministry which took place yesterday in Abuja.
Nigeria: Delta Plans $5.6 Billion IPP DAILY INDEPENDENT (LAGOS) Bassey Udo 9 February 2009
The Delta State Government says plans are in top gear for the execution of 350 megawatts (MW) independent power project (IPP) that would take care of the power supply needs of its people and investors.
The project, which he said would be undertaken through a joint funding arrangement with some private sector players, particularly local and international consortium of banks, will see the state government holding specific equity in the assets. The 350MW capacity project, he explained, would be executed in two phases, first with 150MW in the short term, to take care of the immediate needs of the state, while the balance of 250MW in the long term would be for the captive market, to be injected into the national grid for distribution to other customers. “About 40 percent of the gas produced by the oil companies in Nigeria resides in the State,” he said. The governor said the state has already invested about N2.6billion in the procurement of the turbines and other components of the first phase of the project, which is expected to be delivered within the next two to three years to take care of the demand of consumers in the state estimated at 143MW.
Nigeria: Cash Crunch Hits Oil Sector The current nose-dive in the price of world oil is now impacting Nigeria’s oil sector negatively. Intelligence reports indicate that the decline in oil price has created a cash crunch, which has made it difficult for both foreign and local oil workers to carry on with oil trade in the country.
Nigeria: Cocoa Processing Sector Faces Collapse Fears about the vulnerability of the Nigerian economy heightened weekend with the announcement of the imminent collapse of the close to N40 billion cocoa processing sector.
Nigeria: FG Partners Luftansa Technik on Hangar Facility The Federal Government of Nigeria has concluded arrangements to establish an aircraft maintenance facility in Abuja, the federal capital.
Nigeria: Governors Are Delaying Inland Container Depot Projects – NSC Scribe The Nigerian Shippers’ Council has accused some governors of the six states where the inland container depots (ICD) are to be located in the country of refusing to cooperate with the operators of the ICD thereby delaying the take off of the project.
Nigeria: Govt to Spend N9 Billion On Power Minister of State, FCT, Chief Chuka Odom, yesterday said Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) will spend N9billion on improvement of power supply in Satellite Towns in 2009.
Nigeria: Country Loses $17.8 Billion to Oil Thieves – Agbakoba NIGERIA loses $17.8 billion on the average, annually, to crude oil theft as a result of lack of security in the nation’s territorial waters.
Nigeria: N30 Billion Steel Factory for Zamfara The foundation laying stone of the multi-billion naira Integrated Steel Mill and Solid Minerals Processing Factory in Gusau in Zamfara State will be formally performed President Umaru Musa Yar’adua next month.
Nigeria: Justice Ministry Threatens Contractor Over Road Project VANGUARD 13 February 2009 Owerri-Imo State Ministry of Justice, yesterday said arrangements are in top gear to force a contracting firm, ROMIX, to either continue work on the four kilometres of road in each of the 27 local government areas of the state or refund money it collected from government for the project.
Nigeria: Repair of Locomotive Engines Begins in March Transport Minister, Ibrahim Bio, yesterday said repair of the 100 locomotive engines of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) by the Federal Government will commence in March.
Nigeria: FG Approves N2.4 Billion Contract For Communication Centres The Federal Executive Council (FEC) yesterday approved contracts for the construction of buildings for emergency communications centres in all the 36 states of the federation and FCT.
Nigeria: Oil Companies Withdraw Expatriates From Niger Delta Citing the heightened insecurity, coupled with the threat by the militant Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) to declare “sweeping assault” on the Nigerian oil and gas industry, companies operating in the region may have suspended further deployment of expatriate workers in the area pending when normalcy returns.
Sierra Leone: Freetown-Conakry Highway Soon CONCORD TIMES (FREETOWN) 9 February 2009
Freetown. — The contract to ensure the construction of a modern motor highway joining Sierra Leone and Guinea within two years has been signed by the government and the contractors, Compagnie Sahelienne d’Entreprises (CSE). The process was witnessed by a delegation from the European Commission, funding the project.
AFRICA
AFRICA: Almarai deal with PepsiCo will target Africa, East Asia, Mideast Reuters February 14, 2009,
Riyadh: Saudi-based Almarai Co, the Gulf’s largest dairy company by market value, said yesterday an investment joint venture with PepsiCo Inc will not cover Gulf Arab markets. The two firms formed a joint venture to invest in dairy and juice processors in Southeast Asia, Africa and the Middle East, Pepsi said on Friday. The venture will be called International Dairy and Juice Ltd and will be 52 per cent owned by PepsiCo.
AFRICA: OFID to finance five projects in Africa Feb 13, 2009 WAM Vienna, Feb 13th, 2009 (WAM): The OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) has extended five new loans in support of public sector projects in Mozambique, Niger and Zambia. AFRICA: African banking vigilance sought over deepening financial crisis Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) – African central banks must urgently increase their supervision of foreign banks operating within their territories to prevent the risk of the global financial crisis affecting Africa’s banking sector, officials said. 10/02/2009
AFRICA: China’s Hu vows to increase Africa investment AFP – Friday, February 13BAMAKO, Mali (AFP) – – President Hu Jintao promised Thursday that China would step up its investment in Africa as Beijing looked to his whirlwind tour of Africa to shake off accusations it exploits the continent. China stressed the trip would focus less on securing energy supplies — as others in the past had done — and more on shoring up political ties, boosting aid, and working with Africa to fight the impact of the global economic crisis. “We will increase our investments in the continent,” Hu said in Mali, the first step of a tour that will also take him to Senegal, Tanzania and Mauritius.
“China will ask the international community to honor their promises to the developing countries,” he said, adding that China would take the lead by reducing the debt owed to Beijing by African nations. China is often criticized for its alleged drive to secure natural resources from African states, including from regimes spurned by the West like Sudan.
Africa is an important source of raw materials for China as well as a growing market for Chinese exports.
Mali is Africa’s third biggest gold producer and is one of the continent’s biggest cotton producers and has recently discovered uranium deposits. China’s state-owned aluminium firm Chinalco announced earlier Thursday a 19.5-billion-dollar (15.2-billion-euro) investment in troubled mining giant Rio Tinto, Beijing’s biggest investment ever in a foreign company. Rio Tinto has significant mining interests in South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe, as well as huge projects in Guinea and Madagascar.
Several hundred Malians had gathered outside the presidential palace in Bamako waving Chinese and Malian flags for the official welcoming ceremony. After the ceremony Hu and Toure signed several agreements but the contents of the deal were not disclosed. In a short declaration to the press Hu said China would expand its relations with Mali “in the field of agriculture, telecommunications and new technologies”. In the past few years China has ramped up its cooperation and aid efforts in Mali and Senegal spending on large infrastructure projects, health care and education.
On Friday Hu is set to lay the first stone of a new bridge in Bamako and open a malaria centre. Both projects were made possible by Chinese aid.
AFRICA: Oil price too low to attract investment, says UAE Crude oil prices of around $40 a barrel are too low to attract enough investment in new supplies, the oil minister for the UAE said. Mohammed al-Hamli, speaking at a conference in London, said the current crude oil price is about half the level needed to attract adequate investment in the industry, reported Reuters.
AFRICA: Gaddafi wants Caribbean in Africa 11 February 2009 Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi has said he would like a United States of Africa to include “Caribbean islands with African populations”.
BUT THEN ON THE OTHER HAND……Col Gaddafi also raised eyebrows with another AU speech last week
Col Gaddafi, speaking in Tripoli as the African Union’s (AU) new chairman, said this could include Haiti, Jamaica and the Dominican Republic. The Libyan leader also sympathised with Somali pirates, describing their actions as self-defence. Last week he said that multi-party democracy was not right for Africa.
The BBC’s Rana Jawad in the Libyan capital says Col Gaddafi’s critics believe he is too erratic to be chairman of the 53-nation AU. A week into his appointment his agenda for Africa is expanding and his views remain as controversial as ever to some people, she says.
Praise for pirates
Celebrating his new role at his compound in Tripoli on Tuesday, Col Gaddafi suggested Caribbean islands should join the AU and become a bridge between Africa and Latin America. He went on to tell a gathering of some 400 guests that Somali pirates were only hitting back against other countries stealing marine wealth from the region’s waters. Col Gaddafi said the United Nations should protect Somali waters from the piracy of other countries.
He also said he would use his 12 months at the helm of the AU to try to resolve Africa’s conflicts, including Darfur and Somalia. Last week, the Libyan leader used his inaugural address as rotating head of the AU in Ethiopia to push his long-cherished pet project of a United States of Africa. He envisages a single African military force, a single currency and a single passport for Africans to move freely around the continent. But the response from many of his fellow African leaders was lukewarm, with some saying the proposal would add an unnecessary layer of bureaucracy.
He also raised eyebrows by saying that multi-party democracy only led to bloodshed in Africa and that the best model for Africa was his own country, where opposition parties are not allowed.
AFRICA: Infrastructure Projects ‘Show Way Out of Crisis’ BUSINESS DAY Charlotte Mathews 11 February 2009 Cape Town — Encouraging infrastructure growth in developing countries would stimulate global demand for commodities and promote the growth of a prosperous consuming middle class, Walter Mead, US foreign policy senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, said yesterday. He told delegates to the four-day Mining Indaba, which attracts about 4000 from around the world, that infrastructure projects such as those SA was embarking on were the most hopeful path for the world to recover from economic crisis.
The least severe economic crises of the past 350 years were caused by “stupid bankers” lending incautiously in prosperous times, he said. But this latest crisis could be more serious because of structural changes in the world economy arising from implementation of information technology on financial markets and the rise of Asian economies.
China‘s industrialisation was far greater than Europe’s due to the number of people involved and the rapidity of growth. It was unlikely that fiscal stimulus measures would pull the world out of this crisis, although they would help, Mead said. Export-oriented economies had to stimulate domestic consumption.
Minerals and Energy Minister Buyelwa Sonjica, who opened the conference, described SA’s investment in road and power infrastructure. About 38000km of national and provincial roads would be upgraded in three phases at a cost of R22bn. In the first phase, R15bn would be spent on upgrading existing freeways. In the second, R7bn would be spent on developing new roads from 2010 to 2020. The third phase would be one of long-term freeway development.
Mpumalanga coal haulage roads, which carry 800 or 900 trucks a day, would be rehabilitated for R3bn-R3,5bn. Eskom had contributed R550m for design and maintenance of priority sections of the road network. The minerals and energy department had asked for R1bn to help in building road infrastructure around the two new power stations. Port and airport infrastructure would be upgraded. To keep pace with SA’s expected economic growth, it was working towards adding 40000MW of electricity capacity. Sonjica said measures in place would ensure there was no electricity shortage by 2018. The effect of the global economic crisis on the minerals sector was short term and companies could make plans to respond quickly to another commodities boom, she said.
Anglo American SA head Kuseni Dlamini said World Bank projections were that Africa would grow 3,4% this year compared with the 5% of the previous four years, but it was still faster than the global average. Growth next year was projected at 4,9%. “I believe the current downturn gives Africa the opportunity to position itself as the next frontier of growth and prosperity,” he said. Africa’s population recently topped 1-billion. It had 90% of the world’s platinum resources, two-thirds of its diamonds and 40% of global gold reserves. It was in a better position to manage economic crises as it had strengthened its financial institutions and political governance and resolved some of the long-standing conflicts.
INTERNATIONAL: WB chief launches US$500m microfinance facility Dakar, Senegal (PANA) – World Bank President Robert Zoellick and German’s Development Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul have launched US$500-million facility to support microfinance institutions, in view of the global financial crisis, the bank said in a statement received here by PANA Sunday. 08/02/2009
AFRICA INFO, GENERAL INTEREST & RISK ANALYSIS
AFRICA: African financial executives train on managing public funds Tunis, Tunisia (PANA) – Chief executives of financial institutions in 16 African countries will begin a training session here from Monday on how to manage public funds, organizers told PANA Saturday. 15/02/2009 IT STARTS WITH….ONE FOR YOU, TWO FOR ME………
ANGOLA: Fishermen catch 13 Marlins on competitions first day Luanda – Fishermen teams participating in the third edition of the tournament “Big Game” of fishing sport Saturday, first day of the competition, caught 13 Marlin and 40 golden fish. Held at Luanda’s bay, the event marks the 85th anniversary of the Luanda Island Sea Club (CNIL), on February 28. Eleven of the 13 caught Marlins, were marked and returned to the sea, in line with the competition’s regulation, while the other two came on board dead. The two fish weighed 221 kg and 181 kg respectively, while the golden ones weighed over 8 kilograms.
Botswana: Sales Plummet As Levy Hurts KBL’s Profits Three months after the slapping of a 30-percent levy on alcohol, Kgalagadi Breweries Limited (KBL) is reeling under a 20-percent decline in sales, its ability to operate profitably, provide employment and contribute to the economy compromised.
Botswana: Witness Narrates How CMS Lost Millions Through Fraud An accomplice witness yesterday shocked a court when he revealed how he masterminded fraud at Central Medical Stores (CMS) by faking government orders and invoices. The fraud resulted in the loss of nearly P20 million.
AFRICA: The dragon bares its claws in eastern Africa February 11, 2009 Xinhua – To protect its commercial and maritime interests while projecting its superpower status, Beijing is modernising and expanding its military with major implications for Africa, writes Patrick Mutahi. China released its sixth biennial Defense White Paper on 20 January 2009 marking a double-digit increase in its budgetary allocation to $58.8bn in 2008 for the 20th year in a row.
In tandem with the emerging power’s rising influence and security vulnerabilities, the 2008 Chinese Defence white paper elevates the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) into echelons of power and decision-making in foreign policy. Now, this has security implications for the way Africa is going to relate with its biggest trading partner. The rapid economic expansion of China has not only afforded Beijing more leverage around the globe, but also expanded its vulnerabilities. Sino-Africa trade volume hit an all time high in 2008, reaching a historic new level of $106.8bn despite the global economic downturn.
Chinese engineers killed.
According to Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming, the Asian power has for the past eight years witnessed a super fast growth of 30 per cent annually since Sino-Africa trade volume reached more than $10bn (Shs19.5trillion) in 2000. This means that the bilateral trade exceeded $100bn (Shs195 trillion) two years earlier than predicted. China had expected trade to hit that mark by 2010.
The People’s Republic also plans to increase oil and gas imports from Africa by up to 40 per cent in the next five to 10 years. The trend is attributed to increasing shipments of natural resources to China, especially crude oil, mainly from Sudan, Chad, Nigeria, the Republic of Congo and Angola.
Beijing is also importing metals from Ghana, Gabon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, and South Africa, as well as cobalt and other minerals. At the same time, goods manufactured in China are increasingly sought after by African consumers.
But this has also exposed the Asian country to various security challenges. In April 2007, nine Chinese and 65 Ethiopian oil engineers were killed in an assault on an oil exploration site operated by Sinopec’s Zhongyuan Petroleum Exploration Bureau in the Ogaden region of Ethiopia. The militia group Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) also kidnapped seven Chinese men who it later released. The ONLF has repeatedly warned foreign oil companies to leave the region bordering Somalia. In February 2007, four assailants raided a Chinese building materials plant in Kenya and killed one Chinese employee. In April 2006, the militant Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) condemned China for taking a $2.2bn (4.29 trillion)stake in the delta’s oil fields. MEND detonated a car bomb and warned that Chinese investors would be “treated as thieves.”
Anti-Chinese sentiments have ballooned in Zambia since 2005 when an explosion at a Chinese-owned copper mine killed at least 46 workers and spawned complaints of unsafe working conditions and poor environmental practices. Despite the mounting insecurity to its investments, China unlike other major powers has not established a military presence in Africa. Likewise, China does not train African soldiers to deal with threats to its national interests. Instead of using a military presence to counter-balance other major powers, the People’s Republic joins collective security efforts within the framework of the UN and African regional organisations. Over the past few years this has evolved from passive support to active cooperation. However, Beijing is now bringing the PLA back to the forefront in foreign policy after being confronted with social, economic and security problems, from counterterrorism and anti-piracy operations to humanitarian and peacekeeping operations.
But Beijing’s military build-up is not exceptional. Most external powers, for which Africa’s mineral wealth has become indispensable to their growth, have backed up their economic forays with a projection of military might. This is aimed at suppressing local resistance in their dominions or fending off their realms from other imperialist competitors.
Nevertheless, this expanded role may be constrained mainly by China’s traditional view of state sovereignty and non-interference, which will continue to be an important factor for Chinese action. Released when President Barack Obama was being inaugurated and “intended to clarify afresh its defence policy principles at America’s historic turning point,” the nearly 100-page security document contains signs of efforts by Beijing to explain the objectives behind its nuclear strategy and naval deployments. In addition, it projects that future conflicts will be brought about by increased competition for energy and food.
The restructuring of China’s military to be more mobile and flexible with a longer reach was already under way, but the 2008 Defence White Paper makes it clear that this capability is intended not just for contingencies in China, but also abroad. Beijing has been modernising its military in ways that give it options for launching surprise attacks on targets far from its borders according to America’s Defence Department Annual report released in May 2007.
The report cites the Army’s acquisition of long-endurance submarines and warships, unmanned combat aircraft, additional precision-guided air-to-ground missiles and long-distance military communications systems.
“The People’s Liberation Army is pursuing comprehensive transformation from a mass army designed for protracted wars of attrition on its territory to one capable of fighting and winning short-duration, high-intensity conflicts against high-tech adversaries,” the Pentagon report said.
The deployment of the Chinese Navy (PLAN) to Somalia thus should be seen in this light and as a sign of things to come. The 2008 defence white paper indeed announced intention to bolster China’s ability to carry out maritime operations on the open seas. It says the country will “gradually develop its capabilities of conducting cooperation in distant waters and countering non-traditional security threats.” This proves that in the years ahead, the PLA intends to be every bit as global in its operations as other world powers.
China’s 2008 Defence White Paper emphasises Beijing’s response through Mootw — an acronym for “Military Operations Other Than War,” writes an analyst with Stratfor, a think-tank that tracks political, economic or military developments worldwide.
Dramatic expansion
Mootw serves as euphemism for a range of operations that fall short of outright war including deterring war, resolving conflict, promoting peace, and supporting civil authorities in response to domestic crises
Expanding Mootw on an international scale builds on prior years of shifting personnel and training, improving technology and communications, streamlining logistics and extending the range of Chinese military systems. It also fits in with China’s expansion of its overall global policy, where the military plays a role in tandem with economic and political tools as stated in the defence paper.
One of the most high-profile aspects of this trend is the dramatic expansion in Chinese peacekeeping deployments to UN operations. As of November 2008, China was the 14th largest contributor to UN peacekeeping operations, providing more personnel than three other permanent members of the UN Security Council—Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. China has 1,949 military peacekeeping personnel serving in nine UN mission areas and the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations. Among them, there were 88 military observers and staff officers; 175 engineering troops and 43 medical personnel for the United Nations Organisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (UNMONUC); 275 engineering troops, 240 transportation troops and 43 medical personnel for the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL); 275 engineering troops, 100 transportation troops and 60 medical personnel for the United Nations Mission in the Sudan (UNMIS); 275 engineering troops and 60 medical personnel for the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL); and 315 engineering troops for the African Union/United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID).
The paper also states that China’s submarine force now possesses a nuclear counterstrike capability; the military has focused on information and electronic warfare and has accelerated the introduction of third-generation technologies into the PLA. Moreover, the paper says that China has more precision-guided weapons, and that the military is expanding operations beyond China. It also lays out the process by which the Second Artillery Force, which oversees China’s ballistic missiles, would respond to a nuclear threat or attack.
To achieve blue water capability, China has been expanding its naval force. It now boasts 57 attack submarines, a dozen of which are nuclear-powered, 74 major surface vessels (destroyers and frigates) and 55 large and medium-sized amphibious ships.
A few nuclear-powered strategic submarines are armed with long-range ballistic missiles. A significant portion of this naval force has been built since 2000. China is now the world’s third largest shipbuilder — building one fifth of the world’s ships — and thus has a considerable industrial basis for further naval expansion. This maritime strength establishes China as a force to reckon with while dealing with piracy along the Somali coast which has disrupted a key trade route with Africa. “China’s military participation sends a strong political message to the international community, that a China with improved economic and military strength is willing to play a larger role in maintaining world peace and security,” Li Wei, Director of the Anti-terrorism Research Centre at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, told the China Daily last month.
A fifth of Chinese ships attacked
Around 1,265 Chinese commercial vessels passed the Gulf of Aden last year, including tankers carrying 60 per cent of China’s imported oil from the Middle East, as well as shipments of raw material from Africa. Also, Europe is now China’s largest trade partner, with much of the goods passing through the Red Sea and Indian Ocean. In December 2008 the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said that Somali pirates had attacked one fifth of Chinese vessels passing through Somali waters from January to November last year, hijacking 15 vessels.
The US, Japan, India and Europe are watching the development with unease. The London-based Times summed up the concerns in the West: “In an era when China is playing a much larger global role in commerce and politics, the deployment (of warships to the Gulf of Aden) redefines it as a nation prepared to spill blood protecting its diverse stakes in the world economy.”
A strategic report published this month by a US think-tank, the American Enterprise Institute, pointed out that the rapidly expanding Chinese submarine force had taken “American intelligence experts by surprise”.
Throwing in aircraft carriers
Since 1990, China has initiated five submarine programmes. As from 1995, the state has added 37 submarines to its navy, including nuclear-powered ones. By adding three new subs a year, China could have up to 85 submarines in eight years. “Never, since the period between the two world wars, has a nation undertaken a comparable level of submarine development,” the study concluded.
Another major concern for China’s rivals is recent preparations to build aircraft carriers. At the news conference announcing the dispatch of warships to Somali waters in November 2008, Chinese Defence Ministry spokesman Huang Xueping said Beijing would use aircraft carriers to “defend sovereignty over coastal areas and territorial seas”. His comment came just after Chinese general Quan Lihua told the Financial Times in November 2008 that China was considering the construction of one to two aircraft carriers. (The republic has already ordered 50 Su-33 fighters from Russia, specifically designed for carriers.) The Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun reported on December 31, 2008 that the People’s Republic would start building an aircraft carrier at the Shanghai shipyard this year, to be completed by 2015. The two 50,000 to 60,000 ton carriers are to be conventionally-powered vessels and therefore much smaller than the US makes. They will be assigned to the Southern Fleet in the South China Sea and possibly to the Indian Ocean to protect oil shipments from the Middle East.
Reacting to the news of Chinese warships heading for the Gulf of Aden, Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso instructed the defence ministry to “quickly participate in counter-piracy measures”. It is currently preparing to dispatch Maritime Self-Defence Force destroyers to protect Japanese commercial vessels from pirates off Somalia as early as March 2009. However, this deployment has already faced political opposition from the Liberal Democratic Party’s junior coalition partner, New Komeito. In addition, the country’s pacifist Constitution restricts the activities of its military. However, Hamada said that a new law would have to be passed to authorise the maritime force to pursue the anti-piracy mission off Somalia. India, another Chinese rival, is also concerned about Beijing’s Somali mission, fearing that the Asian power is seeking to patrol the Indian Ocean, long regarded by New Delhi as its sphere of influence.
Controlling the Indian Ocean
India is expected to spend about $40bn (Shs78 trillion) on military modernisation from 2008 to 2013. With its recent and ongoing upgrades and inductions, independent analysts expect that the Indian Navy may soon become a fully accomplished blue-water force. It is already powerful and with further upgrades in the future, the world’s fifth largest navy aims to control the Indian Ocean Region, from the coast of East Africa to Australia. Like its rivals that already have warships patrolling the strategically vital sea lanes through the Gulf of Aden connecting Asia and Europe, China’s naval presence is not so much about fighting the pirates, but protecting its own economic interests. While the 2008 Defence White Paper is not directly threatening to operationalise a more aggressive and confrontational Chinese military, it does suggest that the capabilities for a cooperative PLA are equally applicable to a confrontational one.
IRAN: Satellite Launch for Technology Not Missiles – Iranian Envoy Following apprehension over the recent launch of satellite by the Islamic republic of Iran, the Iranian ambassador to Nigeria, Khosrow Rezazadeh, has said the satellite is for research technology and also for monitoring of disaster and not for the purpose of using it for missiles.
KENYA: Bribe claims over Kenya tribunal A Kenyan MP accuses the government of blackmailing and bribing lawmakers to vote for an election violence tribunal.
Libya Stock Exchange takes a plunge Benghazi, Libya (PANA) – Libya Stock Exchange closed lower by 11.1% on Tuesday compared to the previous session, ending at 776.32 points. 10/02/2009
MADAGASCAR: Deadly power struggle lays Madagascar low 9 February 2009 By Jonny Hogg Former BBC Madagascar correspondent [AND OTHERS EDITED] – Madagascar’s opposition, which had seemed to be running out of steam, is likely to be given fresh impetus by the shooting dead of 28 of its supporters on Saturday. The government now has blood on its hands. Such bloodshed is not unheard of in Madagascar but it is rare.
People had hoped that the political crisis in 2002 which brought Marc Ravalomanana to office represented the last rites of the bad old days. Stability and growth would follow. That will seem a fairytale in the wake of these killings.
‘Red zone’
The presidential palace, a beautiful French colonial building perched on a hillside in the very centre of Madagascar’s capital Antananarivo, has always been heavily protected. Each morning when you walk past it you must remember to cross to the far side of the road, or be tersely redirected by the security forces who stand outside. Everyone knows it is what the Malagasy call a “red zone” – forbidden. It was always likely to be highly provocative for supporters of opposition leader Andry Rajoelina to try to take the palace. It is a potent symbol of President Marc Ravalomanana’s power.
But these tragic shootings have already claimed their first political casualty. Defence Minister Cecile Manorohanta has resigned, saying she wants no part of a government that kills civilians. The path to a solution looks tortuous.
Dwindling numbers at Mr Rajoelina’s rallies and a lack of support from the international community should perhaps have ended his hopes of setting up and leading a transitional government. He seemed to have overplayed his hand, pushing for too much power too quickly in the face of what is, after all, a democratically elected government.
Harmful
The tragedies of recent weeks could have acted as a wake-up call for the president, who has become increasingly isolated from his people. Now though, public support for him is likely to shrink still further without there being any practical alternative to replace him. The damage to Madagascar’s international reputation could be equally harmful. Under President Ravalomanana the country had been taking its first tentative steps into the global market after decades of socialist stagnation. Multinational corporations including Rio Tinto and Exxon Mobil have arrived, pouring millions of dollars into government coffers. The president himself has seen his own business interests – anything from dairy products to cooking oil – rise and rise. However, in appealing to foreign investors the government alienated many Malagasy people. Food and fuel have become more expensive whilst the foreign funds have not improved the quality of life for most people. President Ravalomanana’s reputation in the eyes of his critics has not been helped by his aggressive business approach and the fact that as his wealth continued to grow, the population was becoming poorer.
Proud
The final straw for many was the mooted plan to lease one million acres in the south of the country to the Korean firm Daewoo for intensive farming. Malagasy people have deep ties with their land and this was seen by many as a betrayal by their president. Now, with its fledgling reputation as a stable investment prospect in tatters and a population that feels both poor and disenfranchised, the country’s future looks gloomy once again. If Madagascar is not to spiral further out of control it will take the two men at the centre of this increasingly bloody stand-off to talk.
Both are proud. President Ravalomanana is not renowned for his largesse when dealing with opponents. It is likely that Mr Rajoelina’s popularity is all that has saved him from arrest. Furthermore there is speculation that he is being supported by political heavyweights from the country’s past – groups keen to topple the current government but lacking the charisma or popular appeal to do it. Unless a compromise can be reached the bloodshed could continue.
Thousands gathered Wednesday for a pro-government rally in Antananarivo, as President Marc Ravalomanana seeks to counter opposition protests and re-affirm his grip on power. Mahamasina stadium was packed as government supporters flocked to back the president, whose authority has recently come under fierce attack from 34-year-old opposition leader Andry Rajoelina. A huge banner inscribed with the slogan “We don’t need TGV,” a reference to Rajoelina’s nickname, welcomed 30,000 pro-government demonstrators who came to listen to some of the regime’s stalwarts.
“You should see this demonstration as the means of expression chosen by a majority that had so far remained silent, to show that it exists, and that there is a large part of the population which does not condone any form of anarchy,” The gathering was the first of its kind initiated by Ravalomanana since opposition protests began earlier this year, mainly on the capital’s May 13square, a symbol of democratic struggle in Madagascar.
“The strong message of this rally is to show Madagascar and the international community that the people’s voice is not the one heard on May 13 square and that the people are squarely behind the president,” a member ofparliament from the ruling party told AFP.
“I’m here to support the regime. I want to work and I don’t want any interruptions. At this rate, we’ll all be jobless and Rajoelina isn’t going to pay me a salary, is he…,” said Lalah, a 43-year-old driver.
Marc Ravalomanana, Madagascar’s president, addressed at least 35,000 supporters on Saturday in what was his first public appearance since violent clashes began in late January. Ravalomanana insisted he would remain president despite the challenge to his leadership by Andry Rajoelina, the capital’s former mayor. “I am president of the republic and I intend to remain so until the end of my mandate” in late 2011, he told supporters gathered in the capital’s municipal stadium. “Every problem in Madagascar can be resolved through discussion. We will do everything to restore peace.”
Namibia: Minister Warns Against Strikes LABOUR Minister Immanuel Ngatjizeko has called on unions and employers alike to find alternative ways to settle their differences, warning that the continuous presence of labour unrest undermines efforts to attract investors.
Namibia: Credit-Card Fraud Widespread – Tourism Industry THE theft of about N$96 000 from a Portuguese couple who visited Namibia last year is but the tip of the iceberg as far as credit-card fraud in Namibia is concerned, sources in the tourism industry say.
Nigeria: Three Estate Agents Arraigned Over 68 Million Fraud Three estate agents have been arraigned before Yaba Magistrate’s Court for allegedly swindling their customers of over N68 million.
Nigeria: P & G Group President Visits Nigeria The Group President for Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East including Africa (CEEMEA) Procter & Gamble, Laurent L. Philippe is expected to arrive Nigeria on a working visit today ( Monday, February 9, 2009.)Philippe, who will be accompanied by a team of P&G’s top executives, is scheduled to call on the Vice President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan to discuss important issues KIND OF TELLS A STORY ABOUT THE WORLD ECONOMY IF P&G HAS TO MIGRATE INTO NIGERIA
Nigeria: Makarfi’s Achievements are Overblown – Politician – No Comment, Says Ex-Governors Aide The funds received by the erstwhile administration in Kaduna State are not commensurate with the projects executed in the eight years it spent in power, former state co-ordinator of the Obasanjo/Atiku campaign has said.
Nigeria: Firms Coalesce to Develop African Businesses Pan-African communications consultancy, Africapractice, has signed a partnership agreement with Rosebank Consulting Nigeria, to strengthen the capacity of African businesses to identify, implement and effectively communicate their environmental management processes and policies. WHAT ABOUT JUST THE CAPACITY TO DO A DAY’S WORK….
Nigeria: The Financial ‘Prostitutes’ Like Titanic, the ‘ship that cannot sink,’ the Nigerian Stock Exchange touted to be immune from the global financial tragedy, has hit a huge iceberg and it’s on its way to the bottom of the ocean as over N2 trillion was lost in January alone.
TANZANIA: Air Tanzania Debts to South Africa Airways Stand at $13 Million The Tanzanian government has said by the time Air Tanzania Company Limited (ATCL) revoked its partnership with the South African Airways (SAA), its debts stood at TShs13.1 billion (US$13 million).
UAE: Oil tanker ablaze near Dubai An oil tanker is ablaze and close to sinking off the coast of Dubai following a collision with a container ship. The tanker is about 8km offshore from the Palm Jebel Ali. No casualties have been reported so far, but two crew members were rescued from the water, said a spokesperson for the port operator DP World. INSURANCE IS GREATER THAN HOLDING PRICE COLLAPSED STOCK ON SEA – ADDING RISK TO THE BANKING WOES; OR PUT ANOTHER WAY, THERE WERE NO FIRES AT $148 A BARREL
Oil tanker ablaze off the coast of Dubai (Photo courtesy of Seawings)
The tanker, called Kashmir, was carrying around 30,000 tonnes of petroleum products worth $9m from Iran to the Jebel Ali Port when it collided with a mid-sized container feeder vessel around 12:20pm on Tuesday, DP World spokesperson Sarah Lockie told Emirates Business. Officials said there had been no leakage from the tanker into Dubai’s sea waters. Any leak would have been a blow to the emirate, which has this week announced it was applying to join the Blue Flag Programme, which highlights clean beaches and marinas. Dubai recently suffered from having illegally dumped sewerage leak into its waters, but its waters were recently declared safe and clean again.
Uganda: PWDs Cautioned Over Wheelchairs PERSONS with disabilities (PWDs) have been cautioned against selling wheelchairs donated to them.
SOMALIA: Somali ‘pirates’ face Dutch court Five suspected Somali pirates are to appear in a Netherlands court over an alleged attack in the Gulf of Aden, say Dutch prosecutors.
Somalia: Pirates Try to Seize Another Six Ships Pirates in the Gulf of Aden made six attempts to hijack merchant ships during this week, but all the attacks were successfully repelled, maritime shipping agencies have reported. GADDAFI’S MEN?
South Africa: The Market is in Charge WOOLWORTHS’ decision to cut the prices of 245 food lines has to be a good thing, no matter how you look at it, even if, as some cynics suggest, the retailer has been forced to follow the lead of its competitors to recover market share lost since the world food price crisis hit SA.
Zimbabwe: Soldiers And Police Lead Invasion of Mazoe Estates As the new unity government between the MDC and ZANU PF continued to take shape this week, it has emerged that one of the country’s biggest commercial farms has been taken over by soldiers and police. HAVE TO DELIVER MORE FARMS TO THE NEW GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS AND QUIET DIPLOMATS
Zimbabwe ‘treason case dropped’ Zimbabwe authorities drop a treason charge against politician Roy Bennett, replacing it with lesser charges, his party says.
ZIMBABWE: Caution rules in the new Zimbabwe 14 February 2009 Andrew Harding evades Zimbabwe’s restrictions on foreign journalists to assess the country’s new power sharing arrangement.
It has been a strange few days in Zimbabwe, it is hard to sum up the mood here. Everything has changed and nothing has changed. I drove into Harare late on Monday, or rather, slalomed round the potholes. The city is looking shabbier than ever. Unkempt grass along the roadsides as tall as a man. Derelict factories. Listless crowds on littered pavements. The place reminds me of the Burmese capital, Rangoon. That same sense of decay and, frankly, fear. People are wary about catching your eye, or talking too long on the phone. Or talking at all.
‘Momentous’ change
And yet, on paper at least, Zimbabwe is now a different country. No longer run as what you might call President Robert Mugabe’s feudal gangster kleptocracy. Instead after months of painful labour, a new unity government has been borne this week. Morgan Tsvangirai, the new prime minister, stood at an outdoor stadium on Wednesday and, between rain showers, told a rapturous crowd that this was Zimbabwe’s “yes we can” moment.
It was the 19th anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s release from jail in South Africa and Mr Tsvangirai was keen to stress the historic parallels, saying that Zimbabwe too was at the start of a momentous political transformation. And yet, as he acknowledged, just like in South Africa, the path to democracy here will be neither straight nor inevitable. The crowd seemed to recognise that. I wandered round the stadium.
Two young men holding beer cans said they had no illusions, all this they said, was the just the start. “The aim is new and legitimate elections, as soon as possible. Then we can get rid of Mugabe at last.”
Power struggle
Roy Bennett does not seem the type to be easily intimidated. But on the phone he was sounding cautious. He is a prominent figure in the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). He has spent eight months in Harare’s notorious Chikurubi prison, and he had just come back from South Africa to take part in the new government as a deputy minister. But when I called him on Thursday, he said he was in hiding. Robert Mugabe’s security services had, it seemed, just put out an arrest warrant for him. Mr Bennett was in no doubt that Zanu-PF hardliners were trying to scupper the new coalition.
“They want us to walk away from this deal,” he said. “We’ve just got to be smarter than them.”
But Robert Mugabe, just shy of his 85th birthday, is not an easy man to outsmart. It feels, one prospective MDC minister said to me, “like we’re about to get into bed with a snake”. And, sure enough, just yesterday afternoon Roy Bennett was arrested by the police and driven as far from the capital as possible. It was an act, as one fuming diplomat put it to me, of supreme bad faith by Robert Mugabe.
‘Secret administration’
The men who have plundered and wrecked this country certainly seem unlikely to relinquish power without a struggle.
There is every chance they will try to co-opt or corrupt Mr Tsvangirai’s ministers and MPs, or simply bypass them altogether and run a secret parallel administration. They may well succeed. Then again, history sometimes happens when you least expect it. Maybe this unlikely political experiment will actually work. It could be months before we know for sure. Although an early sign will be whether or not dozens of MDC supporters and activists are finally released from prison. On Friday morning I went to meet Zimbabwe’s new prime minister. Well, actually, he came to meet me. Like most foreign journalists, I am here illegally, sneaking around, hopping between safe-houses in Harare. It is hard to tell if things are getting safer now for us. I suspect they may be. But we are still being cautious and so is Mr Tsvangirai.
And so we met, somewhere, shall we say, in the suburbs. He came, tellingly, in his own personal convoy with his own personal guards. He could have used the official state motorcade but clearly he and his team do not yet feel comfortable entrusting their safety to the same security services that have tortured, abducted and terrorised members of the MDC for years. State security came along anyway. Sixteen officers. We hid discreetly in a bedroom, waiting for the prime minister to arrive, savouring the absurdities of Zimbabwe’s new political landscape.
Grounds for optimism
Mr Tsvangirai was bullish, feistily defending his shotgun wedding to Mr Mugabe. “Mugabe may be part of the problem,” he said. “But he’s also part of the solution. We have to have a negotiated settlement for the sake of the people.” He promised that the next time we met, it would be legally and in his own office. Reassuringly, state security kept their distance. No funny business. “It’s a process,” said one of Mr Tsvangirai’s own guards, with a broad grin. “Sure, there have been some frictions. But actually it’s going pretty well so far.”
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From the Desk of Paul S Rogers
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Issue 100-5, 2009
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