Essential The Africa the Media Doesn't Tell You About

[Yehuda]

São Tomé and Príncipe wants to become the “Dubai of Africa” with a port built by China

NOVEMBER 3RD, 2015

FEATURES

After 2014 was marked by an unprecedented visit to China by a president of São Tomé and Príncipe, the archipelago will now receive a huge Chinese investment in order to become the “Dubai of Africa.”

The deep-water port costing an estimated US$800 million and whose construction was awarded to a Chinese group was presented in October by the government of São Tomé and Príncipe to investors in London, where the Prime Minister Trovoada in an interview with the Independent on Sunday, defended the archipelago’s “business plan”.

“What China is offering in a deal like this is a loan, not a donation. What we have is a technically capable Chinese company that has engaged. It’s a business arrangement, not a political one,” said the head of the government of São Tomé.

The China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) will co-finance the construction of the port, with at least US$120 million. The government describes the new port as a “world-class infrastructure to serve the logistics needs of the Gulf of Guinea.”

The first deep-water port on the archipelago will be built in the Fernão Dias area, Lobata district, 12 kilometres from the capital, and should become operational in 2019.

The Prime Minister of São Tomé told the Independent on Sunday that São Tomé had the goal of being the “Dubai of Africa,” a “services platform” that takes advantage of its geographical proximity to some of the largest economies in the continent.

Last year, the relationship between China and São Tomé and Príncipe became less distant with the visit of Manuel Pinto da Costa, the first by a President of São Tomé to China in almost twenty years, despite being in a private capacity.

Also last year, Chinese company Guangxi Hydroelectric Construction Bureau started construction of a housing development on the island of São Tomé, a self-funded scheme worth an expected US$300 million.

To be built between the capital of São Tomé and Príncipe and the Lobata district in an area of 214 hectares, the new development will have just over 100 houses as well as supermarkets, schools, kindergartens and a hospital.

Part of the “Expu Conga” project designed by the Ministry of Public Works of Sao Tome and Principe, the new development will also have buildings for the diplomatic corps accredited in the archipelago as well as various facilities with a maximum of seven floors for public administration services, including tourist, shopping, culture, sports and leisure areas.

In addition to building the new development from scratch, the contract also includes upgrading of the present city of São Tomé, built in the 1950s by the then Portuguese colonial administration. (macauhub/CN/ST)

São Tomé and Príncipe wants to become the “Dubai of Africa” with a port built by China | Macauhub English

 

[BigMan]

better learn Portuguese i guess

 

[Yehuda]

@Kitsch is your father a politician?

 

[Kitsch]

@Kitsch is your father a politician?

No, he works for Immigration.

 

[Red Shield]

better learn Portuguese i guess

you mean chinese/mandarin breh

 

[Yehuda]

Master plan for the province of Luanda, Angola, presented in December

NOVEMBER 3RD, 2015

NEWS

The Master Metropolitan Plan for Luanda Province is due to be officially presented in the second half of December, announced in Luanda the coordinator of the project, Neusa Inglês.

The coordinator, who was speaking at a seminar held as part of the celebrations of the World Day of Cities, announced the plan would be published in book form as well as on the Internet.

The plan projects a population growth of 6.5 million to 12.9 million, and to meet population growth it is based on three fundamental pillars – Luanda becoming easier to live in, more beautiful and more international.

Luanda being easier to live in is related to introducing more essential equipment and services such as schools, hospitals, parks and other community facilities, beautiful Luanda has to do with the preservation of the natural environment, the cultural heritage of the province, as well as its urban character and identity and international Luanda plans to make the city a future economic hub for Southern Africa.

Neusa Inglês said the plan was drawn up over 48 months by a multi-sector team, coordinated by the Urbinvest company.

Present at the lecture, the minister of Territorial Administration, Bornito de Sousa, said that 62 percent of Angola’s population lives in urban areas and the metropolitan area of Luanda is home to a quarter of the country’s 24 million inhabitants. (macauhub/AO)

Master plan for the province of Luanda, Angola, presented in December | Macauhub English

 

[BigMan]

you mean chinese/mandarin breh

Nah fuc that

 

[Yehuda]

Zim-Mozambique trade rises to $725m

November 4, 2015 in Business

Zimbabwe and Mozambique have to capitalise on their proximity amid rising trade between the two countries, trade and export promotion body ZimTrade has said.

BY TARISAI MANDIZHA

Trade between Zimbabwe and Mozambique grew to $725 million, in 2014 as compared to
$570 million in 2013 with Zimbabwe exporting products like tobacco, cement and tea among many other goods.

Zimbabwe’s exports to Mozambique increased to $577 million last year from $369 million in 2013.

Imports from Mozambique declined to $148 million last year from $200 million in 2013.

Speaking at the trade and investment seminar for the Mozambican inward buyer mission, ZimTrade chief executive officer Sithembile Pilime yesterday said there was need to capitalise on the proximity of the two countries to increase two-way trade.

Pilime said both countries should take advantage of the Sadc Trade Protocol and the Zimbabwe/Mozambique Bilateral Trade Agreement that offer preferential market access to qualifying products.

The trade and investment seminar follows two successful outward missions hosted by ZimTrade in Tete in 2012 and 2014.
“… as a result of these two events, a number of Zimbabwean companies established linkages and started doing business with their Mozambican counterparts. Most have not looked back since then,” Pilime said.

“The objective of this mission is to build on the momentum gained from the aforementioned Tete outward missions. We urge participants to use this platform to establish new business networks that are mutually beneficial to both our countries.”
Speaking at the same event, Embassy of the Republic of Mozambique first secretary Custodio Ferreira Ossifo said the trade between Mozambique and Zimbabwe was significantly improving and expected to grow following the trade mission.

Mozambique is among the top 10 fastest growing economies in sub-Saharan Africa with average annual real GDP growth of 8%. In 2014 Mozambique had a population of 26 million with a GDP of $16 billion.

Ossifo said Mozambique was in the process of addressing some of the doing business challenges which are to do away with bureaucratic processes in acquiring licences in setting up a company in Mozambique and to date has established a one-stop business centre to facilitate licencing processes among many others.

Products identified for supply to the Mozambican market include electrical goods and accessories, machinery, engineering, trailers, iron and steel products, cement, protective and corporate clothing, non-alcoholic beverages, fruits, vegetables, dairy products, boilers, twine and ropes, conveyor belts, doors and window frames, among others.

Zim-Mozambique trade rises to $725m

 

[Yehuda]

Lesotho: Free maternal care has an impressive return on investment

3 November 2015

Expectant mothers at the Waiting Mother's Lodge, St. Joseph’s District Hospital, Roma, Lesotho. Photo by Lee Butler/MSF

Johannesburg/Maseru – The introduction of free deliveries at a hospital in Lesotho, the country with one of the highest maternal mortality rate in the world, drastically reduced maternal deaths during labour and delivery, making the intervention a cheap and highly effective public health measure, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said on Tuesday.

The number of women giving birth in the Roma hospital increased by 45 per cent within a year after MSF offered to cover all their expenses. This shows that fees are a huge barrier in preventing women from seeking medical help for delivery in a country where up to 40 per cent of women give birth at home without the help of a skilled attendant.

“Giving life shouldn’t cost a life. But in Lesotho, delivering a baby has either a financial cost for the mother, or a dramatically high human cost for the society. Free maternal health care at both health centre and hospital level is a simple and relatively cheap measure with a huge return on investment in terms of public health”, says Dr Amir Shroufi, MSF deputy medical coordinator for South Africa and Lesotho.

According to the World Bank Lesotho has one of the highest maternal mortality rate in the world with estimates ranging anywhere from 600 to 1,200 deaths per 100,000 live births. Maternal death in Lesotho is frequently due to complications around delivery that can be handled at hospital level: 34% due to sepsis, 20% due to post-abortion complication, 14% due to obstructed or prolonged labour and 12% due to eclampsia.

Hospital fees for delivery cost as little as $10 per birth for each woman, but this fee can represent up to a month’s salary for rural people in Lesotho. The introduction of free maternal care in the country would only amount to a tiny fraction (less than 1 per cent) of health spend per capita according to MSF calculations.

“This strategy shows that removing out of pocket fees for hospital delivery has a very high return on investment. We call on the government of Lesotho to make delivery free also at hospital level for mothers-to-be across the country, and in doing so help ensure that fewer women and infants die around the time of pregnancy”, says Jesper Hildebrandt Brix, MSF’s project coordinator in Lesotho.

MSF has been working in Lesotho since 2006, providing support to the ministry of health on HIV, TB and maternal health. It is closing its Roma project and at the present moment leaving the country by the end of 2015.

Lesotho: Free maternal care has an impressive return on investment

 

[Kitsch]

@Din0can @Yehuda

Spoiler: ....

 

[newworldafro]

Two words you never hear used in the same sentence....

"Africa" and "3-D Printing" ... ok 3 words

Google

'Guerilla manufacturing'; this 3D printing thing might just be Africa's industrial magic wand

This African Inventor Created A $100 3-D Printer From E-Waste
spitting


3D printing could lead industrial revolution in Togo - BBC News
The 3D printing revolution - New African Magazine
Solar-Powered Road Trip Across Africa Relies on 3D Printed Spare Parts
Robobeast | 3D Printer

 

[newworldafro]

Same video as above, but the 2nd part is talks about kids using/learning local languages using tablet apps

This should start @ 2:05....

 

[Red Shield]

@Din0can @Yehuda

Spoiler: ....

thanks for posting man.



proper govt in Libya, yeah they really care about that.

Help reduce wars and conflicts.. when this mfers always instigate shyt

shyt is just the usual feelgood speak the Euro's always do.

 

[Birnin Zana]

thanks for posting man.



proper govt in Libya, yeah they really care about that.

Help reduce wars and conflicts.. when this mfers always instigate shyt

shyt is just the usual feelgood speak the Euro's always do.

LOL pretty much.

Good ideas on paper, but its an eye-roller considering the euro countries actions not long ago.

 

[Yehuda]

China slowdown dims Botswana’s minerals prospects

International demand for Botswana’s mineral dominated by diamonds, copper and nickel will remain comparatively weak in 2016, given forecast of a further slowdown in China’s economic growth, an international authoritative economic report predicts.

Sluggish: Demand for diamonds in he second half of 2015 is expected to be worse than the 2008 crisis

China is the second largest consumer of diamonds while it is the top buyer of commodities such as copper and coal.

According to the report compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), the impact of the softening in international demand was already evident in the first half of 2015, with Botswana’s earnings from rough diamond exports falling by 16.8 percent year-on-year to $1.7 billion (P17.6 billion).

Export of polished stones were worst affected as it declined even more sharply by 32.2 percent to $300 million.

“Although China’s economic growth rate is set to remain relatively lacklustre by its own recent standards, rising demand from other key markets -- including the US, Japan, India and the Gulf -- will help to support a recovery in export revenue in 2017-20. This will be supplemented by the structural shift that is under way in Botswana’s diamond sector -- driven by an expansion in downstream activity, as more local companies provide cutting and polishing services,” read the report.

Weak demand for minerals, particularly diamonds has already forced the ministry of finance officials to cut 2015 growth targets from 4.9 to 2.6 percent while the budget is now seen posting P2.6 billion deficit from a earlier target of P4.03 billon.

Reflecting the dampening effect on economic activity of declining mining production in the face of weak global demand, the EIU has also lowered estimates for Botswana’s real GDP growth in 2015 to 2.8% from 4 percent.

Despite the slowdown in mineral activity this year, the EIU says strong demand for capital goods to develop the burgeoning non-diamond mining sector, together with a recovery in oil prices, will lead to a quickening in the pace of import growth from 2016 onwards.

“We expect transfers from SACU to average $1.3 billion in 2016-20 down sharply from $1.8 billion in 2014. However, there is a risk that the decline could be even bigger if South Africa follows through with its plans for a reform of the current revenue-sharing formula.

“The deficit on primary income will rise, reflecting a pick-up in dividend payments by mining companies although such payments are expected to remain below pre-2011 levels, owing to relatively muted global commodity prices,” added the report.

Non–diamond mining activities that are also seen boosting Botswana’s prospects in the next two years include the recent inauguration of Pula steel plant, as well as continued growth in tourism helped by a recovery in the key European market.

Notwithstanding the continued weakness in global copper prices, a number of developments, such as Khoemacau’s project in the North West, are seen eventually establishing Botswana as a major copper producer. Considerable headway has also been made in uranium-mining prospects as well as monetisation of the country’s 2012 billion tonnes of coal resource.

Looking ahead, the report says the primary risk to Botswana’s growth outlook is uncertain global demand for diamonds, as well as volatile world copper and coal prices. The current regional drought -- which could be further exacerbated by the El Niño weather phenomenon -- also has the potential to cause significant disruption to economic activity, through increasingly severe shortages of water, the EIU said.

Mmegi Online :: China slowdown dims Botswana’s minerals prospects