Essential The Africa the Media Doesn't Tell You About

[Poitier]

Cote d’Ivoire knocks Nigeria out of top prospect for investors in Africa
WESTERN AFRICA
by Tendai Dube Last Updated: Tue, 08 Mar 2016 10:33:18 GMT0

Cote d’Ivoire is top prospect for investors in Africa. Photo: Wikimedia

Cote d’Ivoire has jumped ahead of Nigeria to the top position of Nielsen’s second Africa Prospects Indicators (APi) report, based on favourable economic growth and stable inflation climate in the country.

The report aims to give a comparative view of a country's opportunities across the continent.

Nigeria topped the list in the first quarter of 2015, while the recent research shows the largest economy in Africa plunged to fourth place.

This was primarily due to "deteriorating macro-economic indicators as a result of a slump in commodity prices, in particular oil. In addition, the consumer indicators and overall confidence levels have followed suit”, reads the report.

Despite these findings, and strained pockets, Nigerians are the most optimistic consumers in Africa , expressing optimism for job prospects and personal finances.

“Cote d’Ivoire’s position has improved based on its business outlook dimension, and it continues to rank top in terms of retail sentiment. Despite the fact that it comes in third position on broader macro factors, its favourable economic growth and stable inflation climate and recent elections, provide a fertile investment environment,” said Allen Burch, Managing Director at Nielsen Africa.

East Africa’s Kenya and Tanzania made notable improvemenst on the macro ranking, which according to the research considers the economic growth performance in relation to the size of the economy. Business sentiment for Kenya remains a little more sceptical, as the ranking declines amidst slower consumer sales offtake impacting company performance.

Africa’s most advanced economy, South Africa, peer ranking improved by two positions, it also accounts for the most consumer spend in the Sub-Saharan region “and has one of the most favourably priced common item baskets” according to the research as well as the highest concentration of modern trade on the continent.

According to the World Bank, growth deceleration for Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) as a result of difficult global conditions and domestic challenges has the region slowing from 4.6 per cent in 2014 to 3.3 per cent in 2015.

“With SSA being a net exporter of primary commodities, and oil being the most important commodity traded in the region, the countries hardest hit by the slump in commodity prices are understandably SSA’s oil exporters, led by top-producers, Nigeria and Angola,” said Burch.

BUSINESS PROSPECTS INDICATOR - Country Priorities for 2016

Business executives across Africa scored 26 Sub-Saharan Africa markets based on their view of growth opportunities for the next 12 months. Ethiopia, Cote d’Ivoire, Mozambique and Kenya remain unchanged from the previous business survey, and are considered ‘good’ with regards to growth prospects.

Angola, previously ranked fifth dropped to 16th place, Nigeria replaces Angola in 5th position and South Africa soared up five positions to 14th.,

The report looks at other indicators, consumer prospects and retail prospects for the regions, read here for more.
Cote d’Ivoire knocks Nigeria out of top prospect for investors in Africa

 

[Poitier]

Angola's dos Santos says to quit after 36 years in power

AFP By Daniel Garela-Pensador
1 hour ago
Jose Eduardo dos Santos has been president of Angola since 1979

Jose Eduardo dos Santos has been president of Angola since 1979 (AFP Photo/Alain Jocard)
Luanda (AFP) - Angola's iron-fisted ruler Jose Eduardo dos Santos, Africa's second-longest serving leader, on Friday said he would quit in 2018 after his current mandate ends, but experts were sceptical about his latest pledge to step down.

"I have taken the decision to quit political life in 2018," he told the ruling Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) party politburo in the capital Luanda.

It was the 73-year-old's third such announcement since he came to office in 1979. He has been in office just one month less than Africa's record-holder, Equatorial Guinea's Teodoro Obiang Nguema.

The president's tenure ends in late 2017, but he did not elaborate why he would leave the year after. Analysts suggest he may run for re-election, leaving only once he feels secure about the future.

In power for almost four decades as president, dos Santos has consolidated political power while his family has amassed a vast business empire.

He added another five years to his reign by taking a large victory in a disputed election in 2012, but since has faced growing discontent from the nation's youth.

Critics accuse dos Santos of overseeing corruption, misrule, arbitrary arrests and intimidation.

Paula Roque, expert researcher on Angola with the University of Oxford, believes that the announcement offers "no assurance that one of Africa longest heads of state will finally step down."

"What he is saying by announcing that he will step down in 2018 is that he will run in the next poll and then decide if the country is stable enough to step down," said Roque.

Dos Santos came to power in 1979, following the unexpected death from cancer of Angola's liberation president Agostinho Neto.

As head of the military, police and cabinet, the leader has an iron grip on all aspects of power in Africa's second biggest oil producer.

He names the senior judges and has MPLA allies in all public agencies, including the supposedly independent electoral commission.

Analysts believe that Dos Santos could be grooming one of his children to succeed him, or will ensure that whoever succeeds him protects his family interests and will not go after him or his family for looting state coffers.

- Iron fisted rule -

Few publicly criticise him. Independent journalists who express their opinions risk criminal charges.

A group of youth activists are currently standing trial on charges of "rebellion" and attempting to carry out a "coup".

Dos Santos's lengthy term in office has been marked by tense relations between his MPLA party and war time rebels turned opposition, the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA).

UNITA has been significantly weakened since the killing of its founder Jonas Savimbi by MPLA forces in 2002. His death paved the way for a peace deal that brought an end to one of Africa's longest and bloodiest conflicts.

In 2014, UNITA voiced concern over what it called the deteriorating state of democracy under Dos Santos's rule.

"Dos Santos was never elected, he will leave a negative legacy, having led Angola to an alarming crisis," said Makuta Nkondo, a former UNITA opposition lawmaker.

Although he shuns the spotlight, the elderly leader's family has built up a vast business empire, with his daughter Isabel dos Santos ranked Africa's richest woman.

Despite the country's oil and diamond riches, the majority of the population live in abject poverty, with an enormous gap between the rich and poor.

The fall in oil prices has hit the economy, with the kwanza currency losing 35 percent if its value against the dollar this year.

Angola's dos Santos says to quit after 36 years in power

 

[Poitier]

East Africa’s pipeline politics
EAST AFRICA

by Jacques Nel, senior economist at NKC African Economics Last Updated: Fri, 11 Mar 2016 07:43:25 GMT0

The pipeline route has been a point of contention for numerous years, and has been the primary stumbling block. Photo: Wikipedia.

There have been some conflicting reports coming out of East Africa, with some suggesting that Uganda and Tanzania have come to an agreement on the construction of an oil pipeline from the former through the latter.

The Tanzanian presidency has reportedly stated that it and its Ugandan counterparts have agreed on a $4bn, 1,120 km oil pipeline stretching from Ugandan oil fields to the Tanzanian coastal city of Tanga.

However, the Kenyan government has dismissed these claims, stating that negotiations are still underway, and that a pipeline stretching from Uganda through Kenyan oil fields is still on the cards.

The pipeline route has been a point of contention for numerous years, and has been the primary stumbling block (although subdued international energy prices should also be considered) preventing more rapid development of the East African hydrocarbons sector.

Uganda (which currently boasts more than six times the estimated oil reserves in Kenya) has shown some indecision regarding the preferred route for the country’s oil export pipeline.

There are currently three routes under consideration: a northern route through the Lokichar basin in Kenya (favoured by Tullow Oil); a more southern route through the Kenyan capital Nairobi; and a third route though Tanzania (favoured by Total). Some companies have highlighted security concerns with regard to the northern route as this would expose the pipeline to war-torn Somalia, but the northern route would also improve economies of scale as the pipeline would cross through Kenyan oil fields.

In August last year, Kenya and Uganda reportedly agreed on a route with the $4.5bn, 1,500 km pipeline cutting through northern Kenya and the Lokichar Basin from Hoima in western Uganda, before reaching the port city of Lamu. The two countries even negotiated the creation of an oil company to be owned by all the stakeholders with the purpose of guiding the development and management of the pipeline project.

However, there were still numerous differences that needed to be resolved before the project could commence in earnest.

Specifically, Uganda demanded that Kenya meet its preconditions relating to financing, security guarantees, and transit fees/tariffs before construction could commence. At the time, the head of the Northern Corridor Integration Project Authority in Kenya stated that there was a slight misunderstanding with Kenya thinking that the conditions would be met as the project went on, while Uganda demanded that the conditions be met upfront.

Furthermore, the precariousness of the situation was exacerbated when authorities from Tanzania and Uganda, the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation and Total signed a memorandum of understanding to explore a southern route for the pipeline.

It now seems that there has been some progress regarding the Tanzanian route, which, if implemented, would be a considerable set-back for Kenya’s hydrocarbon ambitions.

Kenya and Tanzania are competing to become the preferred gateway into the East Africa region, with both countries investing heavily in transportation infrastructure.

A key aspect of Kenya’s growth strategy is the development of the flagship Lamu Port Southern Sudan-Ethiopia Transport (Lapsset) project, which aims to fortify Kenya’s leading economic role in the East Africa region.

However, the project continues to face numerous setbacks, from both economic and political perspectives.

A crucial element of the Lapsset project is the oil pipeline, which will notably improve the transport corridor’s feasibility. Tanzania, in turn, remains in Kenya’s shadow in terms of economic size and sophistication, but becoming the region’s energy gateway while also pursuing its own hydrocarbon ambitions could change this dynamic over the medium to long term.

Tanzania is perceived to have less corruption than Kenya, fewer security risks, and presents encouraging political prospects following recent elections.

Overall, there is still much uncertainty regarding the pipeline route, and oil companies will be in no rush to make investment decisions in the current energy price environment

East Africa’s pipeline politics

 

[Misreeya]

Volume of Egyptian investments in Sudan reaches $11bn


Egyptian Ambassador in Sudan Ossama Shaltout asserted Egypt's keenness to participate and cooperate in economic development projects in Sudan.

In an exclusive interview with MENA on Monday, Shaltout said the number of Egyptian investment projects approved by the Sudanese Investment Ministry reached 229 projects which are worth US$11 billion.

Egyptian investments in Sudan are cumulative since 2000, the ambassador said, adding that they are distributed across various fields in which 122 projects in the industrial field are worth $1.372 billion, 90 projects in the service field are worth $629 million and 17 projects in the agricultural field are worth $89 million.

The number of Egyptian projects implemented in Sudan reached 78 projects worth $800 million in which 42 projects are in the industrial field and are worth $505 million, 29 projects in the service field are worth $189 million and seven projects in the agricultural field are worth $105 million.

The largest percentage of Egyptian investments will be implemented in the Khartoum state, which exceeds 70 percent of the volume of projects in all Sudanese states.

He added that Egypt and Sudan are depending on the inauguration of new crossings to contribute to increasing the volume of trade between the two countries.

He also underlined that the volume of joint investments will increase after facilitating measures of the transportation of goods and services.

Egypt discussed with Sudan the establishment of a joint free zone at the borders that will contribute to increasing the volume of trade and industry between the two countries.

Meanwhile, the ambassador stressed that Egypt's keenness to surpass all obstacles is hindering the drug industry in Sudan, adding that there are five companies that are specialized in the drug industry in Egypt and working in various Sudanese states with investment that equal $120 million.
aches $11bn


Volume of Egyptian investments in Sudan reaches $11bn | Egypt Independent

 

[Misreeya]

This is old news, but i have not heard of any implementation of this endeavor recently from both sides.


10,000 Sudanese acres ready for Egyptian farmers: Sudanese Investment Minister


Sudanese Minister of Investments, Moustafa Othman Ismael, met a number of Egyptian investors looking to introduce their investments projects to Sudan.

In a meeting with an Egyptian delegation of 35 investors to Sudan in the fields of industry, tourism and agriculture, Ismael welcomed Egyptian investors expressing that “Sudan is actually their country”.

During the meeting, Ismael told Head of the Egyptian Farmers Association Mohamed Barghash, one of the attending agricultural investors, that there are 10,000 acres available in Sudan’s Northern State for Egyptian cultivation. Ismael said that, under Bargash’s supervision and selection, small-scale Egyptian farmers will receive 10 acres each.

“Egypt and Sudan are one country, and I believe if we achieve the unity goal in the economical and industrial fields, we can make a big turn and enhance our economy by exchanging trade, and secure our nutrition stock,” Ismael said. “Sudan is now adopting the open door policy in the field of investments; we are very welcoming to all investors, especially the Egyptians, and I want to create fruitful cooperation and success between the two countries.”

Bargash expressed his happiness towards Ismael’s statements, adding that this will return with many benefits for both the Egyptian and Sudanese sides.

“I have spent nearly 40 years in agriculture, and I will always defend farmers’ rights everywhere,” Bargash said. “I will work to transfer the great experience of the Egyptian farmer to implant in Sudanese land.”

Topics: Daily Daily News Egypt DNE

http://www.dailynewsegypt.com/2014/...gyptian-farmers-sudanese-investment-minister/

 

[Misreeya]

 

[Yehuda]

Uranium mining in the Karoo - South Africa's new gold?

• SOUTH AFRICA
• Friday 11 March 2016 - 4:55am
• Contributors: Bianca Ackroyd

The entrance to the Cameron shaft, an old uranium trial mine 40km from Beaufort West. The old shaft has been fenced off by Tasman RSA mines, who plan to use the property for a new uranium mine. Photo: eNCA/Bianca Ackroyd

This story is part of an interactive web documentary.

*Click here to explore the Yellow Cake multimedia feature.

BEAUFORT WEST – A job creation opportunity or a potential environmental disaster?

That’s what residents of the central Karoo could face in the next five to thirty years, should plans for large-scale uranium mining go ahead.

The central Karoo district municipality spans 38,000 square kilometres and is home to more than 71,000 people.

Australian mining company Peninsula Energy, through local subsidiary Tasman Pacific Minerals Limited and local investment partner Lukisa JV Company, plans to build a large-scale uranium mining operation over 7,000 square kilometres.

Click here to read more about the group behind the new mining plans.

Residents have until 15 March 2016 to comment on the proposal covering land in the Eastern, Northern and Western Cape provinces.

These comments will form part of the group’s mining rights application, which will be submitted to the Department of Mineral Resources for review.

The mine is expected to operate over thirty years, split into two phases: open pit and underground mining.

PHOTO: This map shows the all the areas proposed for the Tasman RSA mines uranium project. Credit: Tasman RSA mines.

In South Africa, uranium is more available than gold and is produced as a by-product of gold mining in the Witwatersrand Basin. The Tasman RSA mines operation would be the first uranium ore mine in the country.

Uranium oxide is a key component of the nuclear energy process. According to the World Nuclear Association, the “uranium ore requires first for the uranium to be extracted from the rock in which it is found, then enriched in the uranium-235 isotope, before being made into pellets that are loaded into assemblies of nuclear fuel rods.”

For Peninsula Energy’s Karoo Projects, as they are known, a central processing plant will be set up at the Ryst Kuil site, just 40 kilometres from Beaufort West.

The group has already purchased a large amount of land where the first phase of mining will take place. This will include a processing plant and a tailings dam.

Uranium was first discovered in this area in the 1960s. Click here to watch a video.

The uranium ore will be crushed and converted into uranium oxide, also known as “yellow cake” on site. The yellow cake will then be transported by rail from Beaufort West to Cape Town before being exported to utilities in Western Europe and the USA.

It will then be made into the uranium-enriched fuel rods, needed to generate nuclear power at reactors around the world.

Click here to read 10 things you didn’t know about uranium.

Nuclear energy in SA

In 2015 the Department of Energy signed inter-governmental framework agreementswith South Korea, Russia, China and France.

At the State of the Nation Address in February President Jacob Zuma said nuclear energy was still an integral part of the country’s energy mix.

“Our plan is to introduce 9,600 megawatts of nuclear energy in the next decade in addition to running Koeberg nuclear power plant.”

Uranium beneficiation

The uranium needed for South Africa’s new nuclear power plants could come from South Africa if a beneficiation utility was available locally.

CEO of Peninsula Energy, Gus Simpson, says the plan for the Tasman RSA mines is not dependent on the country’s plans for nuclear procurement.

The uranium ore from the Karoo could supply the country’s planned reactors if South Africa opens a uranium beneficiation operation.

During the Apartheid-era the Valindaba facility was able to convert uranium for nuclear weapons but South Africa voluntarily dismantled its nuclear weapons in 1991, along with other countries.

The Nuclear Energy Corporation of South Africa (Necsa) already has a business plan to set up a conversion and fuel fabrication plant.

Necsa CEO Phumzile Tselane says it could take three to five years to set up.

“In my view, uranium is South Africa’s new gold.”

Whether or not South Africa forges ahead with its nuclear build programme, the plans to mine uranium will continue.

Job creation

With 30% of people in Beaufort West dependent on social grants, the mine projects will bring much-needed employment to the area said Edward Njadu, Executive Mayor of the Central Karoo District Municipality.

According to the mine’s plans, approximately 1,000 jobs will be created in the three-year construction phase. A further two hundred and fifty people will be employed over the next seventeen years.

“From a labour perspective we look forward to developing the Karoo Projects because it will provide the residents of Beaufort West with a lot of opportunities for employment, and good careers with us,” said Simpson.

But, will the job creation opportunities be worth the risk?

Dangers of uranium contamination

The Environmental Impact Assessment Report and Environmental Management Programme document submitted to the Department of Mineral Resources on 25 January this year states that the risk of uranium contamination is high.

PHOTO: A map showing the Eastern block where uranium mining could begin if an application for mining rights is approved by the Department of Mineral Resources. Credit: Tasman RSA mines.

Dr Rudy Boer with Ferret Mining, independently conducted the study on behalf of the local investment firm Lukisa JV Company.

It states that accidental contamination of water systems with potentially radioactive material is possible.

Plans to reduce the impact of the spread of dust and regular monitoring of catchment areas are included in the document.

Billy Steenkamp, co-founder of the Indigenous People’s Association for Community Economic Development of South Africa (Ipaced SA) says the fact that the Karoo is already a water scarce area is a huge concern.

PHOTO: Representatives of the Indigenous people of Southern Africa father and son Billy (left) and Ulrich (right) Steenkamp walk down a koppie on the outskirts of Beaufort West.The father and son are opposing plans for a new uranium mine in the area. Credit: eNCA/Bianca Ackroyd.

Steenkamp says there can’t be enough water for the mines if there isn’t enough water for the people.

“Look at our dams; they’re empty. There’s no water here – these people are lying to us,” said Steenkamp.

“It’s important that our land stays protected as is, for future generations that will come after us,” he said.

PHOTO: This sign marks the start of the fossil trail at the Karoo National Park in Beaufort West. The central Karoo is the location where many fossils from the triassic period have been discovered. Credit: eNCA/Bianca Ackroyd.

The nearby Karoo National Park employs more than 50 people and received more than 30,000 visitors in 2015. It’s home to a number of diverse plant, mammal and bird species.

Clean water is a vital resource needed to ensure the survival of the ecosystem, which is a service to the farmers and people that live in the Karoo said Dr Angela Gaylard, regional ecologist for the frontier cluster of SANParks.

Click here to read more about the water risk.

At a public participation meeting in Beaufort West on 22 February, residents were conflicted over the proposed mine, with some saying they wanted jobs while others protested about the environmental threat.

*Return to Yellow Cake - an eNCA.com web documentary.

- eNCA

Uranium mining in the Karoo - South Africa's new gold? | eNCA

 

[Premeditated]

the buildings on this project look quality too. They're not just typical shytty Chinese architect

 

[Poitier]

the buildings on this project look quality too. They're not just typical shytty Chinese architect

Senegal and Ivory Coast are so slept on but would be my 2 places to live in West Africa.

 

[Poitier]

Letter from africa: Ghana opens doors to other Africans

• 13 March 2016
  

Image Zimbabweans crossing the border to Mozambique after visas were no longer required to enter the country in 2007

In our series of letters from African journalists, Ghanaian writer Elizabeth Ohene reflects on Ghana's decision to remove visa requirements for citizens of all African countries.

After President John Dramani Mahama delivered his State of the Nation address two weeks ago, most of the discussions were on local and internal affairs, and this being an election year in the country, the debates were heated and will continue for a long time.

But hidden somewhere in the speech and lost in all the discussion was a major foreign affairs initiative which slipped by without media reporting or analysis and it seems likely people may have missed this completely.

Image copyrightChris Stein/AFP/Getty Images
Image captionPresident Mahama slipped the announcement into his State of the Nation address
Ghana's new visa-on-arrival policy for citizens of African Unity member states, to be introduced from July, only came to light after an announcement from the African Union.

Nationals from African countries complain loudly about the humiliations they go through to get visas for Europe and the United States but the process for African visas is often just as frustrating.

Anyone who has tried to cross borders on the African continent will have experienced the difficulties with travelling in Africa.

Air fares cost more than anywhere else and few roads or railways connect the countries to each other.

The immigration and police check points turn the journeys into veritable obstacle courses.

Image copyrightAFP
Image captionSouth Africa is one country where other Africans do not always receive a warm welcome
We no longer have to go through Europe to fly to each other's countries, but flight connections are so few and so random, you are tempted to resort to the old routes through Europe to go to the country next door.

However, this is nothing compared to the hassle one has to go through to get visas for another African country.

Business people trading in the continent felt frustrated in the past at spending weeks trying to get visas for each country.

They pointed out that once armed with a European Schengen visa, they could travel through many European countries and conduct business without hassle.

Pointless bureaucracies
Unsurprisingly Ecowas, the West African regional body established in 1975 was at the time considered an attractive union due to the introduction of visa-free travel among member states.

Continental organizations like the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), formed to foster cooperation between African states and its successor the African Union (AU), launched in 2002, have few passionate supporters these days in Ghana as they are seen as pointless bureaucracies that have no bearing on the lives of people.

President Mahama's policy could boost AU's significance once again.

African unity was taken very seriously here in Ghana. It was our first President, Kwame Nkrumah, who was the driving force behind the establishment of the OAU back in 1963.

Image copyrightGetty Images
Image captionPresident Kwame Nkrumah was a firm believer in African unity
During the struggle for independence, Ghana provided a place of refuge for many freedom fighters, especially from South Africa with many being given Ghanaian passports.

As countries gained independence, Ghanaians were dismayed to discover they were not particularly welcome in these countries.

In the early years of Ghana's independence, and before the establishment of Ecowas, there were visa exemptions for "persons of African descent" born in the neighbouring west African countries, and members of the Casablanca group, which consisted of Guinea, Tunisia, Mali, United Arab Republic, Morocco and Algeria.

But these arrangements were scrapped after the overthrow of President Nkrumah.

With the new visa policy, Ghanaians will be watching to see if the number of non-Ecowas African nationals coming to Ghana will rise.

We in Ghana have a reputation for restless feet and are always trying to find new destinations to get to.

Obtaining visas for travel is often the greatest obstacle to travel and any country that makes it easier for us to enter becomes very attractive.

Whilst many here will be feeling that Ghana is taking a lead in implementing an AU directive, there will be greater interest in knowing how many other African countries will be allowing Ghanaians to enter their countries on a visa-on arrival policy.

Letter from africa: Ghana opens doors to other Africans - BBC News

 

[Red Shield]

Senegal and Ivory Coast are so slept on but would be my 2 places to live in West Africa.

let's make sure they stay slept on..

 

[Yehuda]

THIRSTY .. A boy helps himself at a public tap in one of the suburbs of the city.

News - National | 2016-03-16

Lessons from Namibia's innovative water system

A CONVOY of fuel trucks blocks the single-lane road, moving in a close herd. Warm air floods through the window. The scenery drags past mountains and thorny acacia.

A gravel road leads to the S Von Bach Dam. It is one of three dams supplying Windhoek with water, and it is nearly empty.

For Windhoek, home to Namibia's industry and 20% of its 2,3 million people, this is an intractable problem.

The national utility NamWater says the city has six months' supply of water left. After that, it will be up to people's ingenuity to keep the taps dripping. But drought is nothing new in Namibia.

The only consistent rivers form the country's northern and southern borders. Its ephemeral rivers only flow when it floods, looking like lazy brown snakes with full bellies lounging on a parched and cracked countryside.

South of Von Bach dam lies Windhoek, encased in a lumpy basket of hills. The dry riverbeds, overwhelmed by reeds and rubbish, are crossed by drifts. Red and white metre sticks give an idea of how deep they are during flash floods which bash Windhoek.

“When you have no other options, people will accept anything you put on the table,” says Pierre van Rensburg, one of the City of Windhoek's chief water engineers, as he cancels incoming calls to talk about his city's relationship with water.

“It was decided that we would reuse our wastewater.”

The 30-minute drive to the jewel in Windhoek's water supply system starts in the original city centre, which is characterised by wide boulevards and old, large-brick offices, and ends next to the fields of zinc settlements to the north where people have to queue with buckets to get water.

In Namibia, water scarcity and environmental realities are taught from a young age. “If you can get one student interested, they will go home excited and talk to five family members,” Van Rensburg says.

INNOVATION OUT OF NECESSITY

The Goreangab Water Reclamation Plant was born out of Windhoek's water emergency in the 1960s. It was the first in the world to take municipal wastewater and turn it into municipal drinking water, Van Rensburg adds.

Older and lagging behind technologically, it has been turned into a plant for irrigation water. While the technology is accepted globally, drinking water which was once wastewater is not done, except in Windhoek.

From the top of Goreangab, gravity pushes the wastewater through large flotation ponds and aeration tanks.

These disturb, swirl and bubble the sewage until the last few pollutants are caught up in membranes.

The filtered water which comes out is clean.

“People are always trying to catch us out so they can say that reusing water does not work. They have not succeeded,” Van Rensburg says, his voice a shade removed from smug. He has the same air of confident pride that Namibians have when talking about their unique water system.

He says being a world leader places incredible pressure on everyone involved.

“We cannot have one slip-up because just one illness will have serious repercussions,” he adds. This has not happened to date.

From the plant, water is piped to the centre of Windhoek, where it is mixed with water coming from NamWater.

A quarter of all the water coming out of taps in the city had once left the city in a sewage pipe. That water costs N$11 (about US$0,70) per cubic metre to supply. NamWater charges about US$1.

Van Rensburg — who first came to the plant as an intern expecting to make coffee and instead got to work with its chief engineer — criss-crosses the world talking about the plant.

South Africa has been a frequent destination.

But nobody seems to be listening.

A multi-million dollar plant in Australia was stopped after a referendum.

Only Malaysia and Texas in the United States have plants working on a large scale. South Africa has one working plant in the Western Cape town of Beaufort West. It did not look across the Orange River for tips.

Van Rensburg says Namibians are used to being snubbed by their neighbour. “People will only change when they have no other options, so let's see if you then realise there's a technology that works next door.”

INFLUENCE OF TECH PERCEPTION

The technology works, but perception is key. In South Africa, eThekwini in KwaZulu-Natal tried to get 10% of its water from two re-use plants. But a community petition objected, citing religious objections and a belief that other sources of water could be found.

Municipal engineers have previously told the general public that there is really very little they can do about “irrational fears”.

Thus, national government has had to turn to desalination plants - producing water at double, sometimes triple, the cost of other sources.

The worst drought in a century, a precursor of a climate-impacted future, is moving the discussion to a point where there are few solutions on the table.

That future is unfolding in Namibia. Windhoek's three dams overflowed once in the 1970s, and again in 2006. . In 2012 and 2014, no water flowed into the dams. The evaporation rate is 10 times the annual rainfall of 350 millimetres.

Floods and water scarcity have forced Windhoek to turn to aquifers which used to supply it, turning them into an underground storage. By 2019, this will give the city 18-months' water supply, says Van Rensburg.

However, a similar solution is impossible in South Africa - despite similar rock formations - because extensive mining has irreparably polluted most underground aquifers, he explains.

Lesley-Anne van Wyk, project coordinator for the Environmental Awareness and Climate Change Project at the Hanns Seidel Foundation Namibia, says: “Water is obviously — finally — topical in Namibia because we are staring at the cliff's edge, again.”

Van Wyk explains that the water-scarce country is bedevilled by the human tendency to only worry about problems when it is too late to take preventative action. “In some ways, leaving it late has made us great at innovating: nothing drives technology like necessity.”

WATER INNOVATION NOT ENOUGH

But an artificial construction boom — many people in Namibia talk sarcastically about the 'great boom' being the only thing propping up the economy — means water is not at the heart of forward thinking, she says. “Namibia has always had this problem of not making the tough decisions and continuing to build in the middle of the country, where we have no water.”

We leave, joining the rushed drivers of Windhoek in the quest to find other people to talk to. One radio presenter pauses to take a deep, thirsty gulp of his Hansa beer before telling us that people seem unconcerned about the impending collapse in water supply.

“It's human nature to think disaster will not happen. The taps still work, so people keep watering their gardens at midday.”

He takes another long sip. Beer is a welcome change to Windhoek's tap water.

“We are in a better home than our neighbours because of our technological innovation, but this is still a hell of a crisis,” says the radio presenter.

* This piece was produced by SciDev.Net's Sub-Saharan Africa English desk.

Lessons from Namibia's innovative water system - The Namibian

 

[The Odum of Ala Igbo]

A curse on Lord Lugard for putting Southerners with these backwards Northerners
http://allafrica.com/stories/201603161054.html

Nigeria: Senate Throws Out Bill On Gender Equality
Tagged:

• Nigeria
• West Africa
• Women

tweet
By Omololu Ogunmade
Abuja — A bill seeking to guarantee women's equal rights with men was yesterday thrown out by the Senate as senators mainly from the North vehemently opposed the bill, describing its as anti-Islamic.

The sponsor of the bill, Senator Biodun Olujimi (Ekiti South), said enabling women to have equal rights with men in marriages had become compelling in view of increasing discrimination against women in education and employment.

The bill also sought to eliminate discrimination against any person irrespective of his gender on any ground.

According to Olujinmi, gender discrimination often makes women insecure, denies them meaningful employment and exposes them to discrimination and exploitation.

The bill also sought to address sexual violence against women.

"The fact that disparity of gendered pricing still exists within today's society shows that women still continue to be disempowered in many aspects of economic life. It is also important that price differentials will have differing effects on women different cultural backgrounds and social standing thus affecting the economic empowerment of women of in different ways.


"Equal rights for women in marriage, divorce and property and ownership and inheritance are essential for gender equality. The legal and social treatment of married women has been often discussed as a political issue from the 19th century onwards," Olujinmi said.

While the bill was supported by Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, Senators Ibn Na'allah (Kebbi South) and Ibrahim Gobir (Sokoto East), a number of other senators from the North rejected it, saying it was both anti-lslamic and unconstitutional.

Opponents of the bill said its provisions were antithetical to a provision of the constitution which they said had already taken care of the fears being raised by Olujinmi.




According to them, the Sharia Court of Appeal which is enshrined in the constitution is empowered to address issues of discrimination against women as they insisted that initiating a new law to guarantee the equality of men and women would be a violation of the provision.

Some other senators also argued that attempting to grant women equal rights with men was in contradiction to both traditional and religious beliefs in Africa which stipulate that women should be submissive to men.

Efforts by the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, to save the bill failed as the bill was thrown out by majority of the senators through a voice vote.

The death of the bill yesterday marked the third time the bill would suffer such a cruel fate as it had been equally rejected by the sixth and seventh assemblies.

Also yesterday, the Senate directed its Committee on Appropriation to allocate N10 billion naira under service wide votes for the relocation and resettlement of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) returning home from IDP camps in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states.


The parliament also urged the federal government to release grains from the strategic grain reserves to affected states. It also urged the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) as well as the Refugees' Commission to make special arrangement for the repatriation and resettlement of Nigerian refugees in Cameroon, Niger and Chad.

The Senate also directed the appropriate committees to write a letter of appreciation to the embassies of host countries where the refugees are accommodated just as he urged the Victim Support Fund to allocate a reasonable amount of money from the fund for the immediate relocation and resettlement of the IDPs in the short and medium terms.

Ndume said the decisions became necessary because the IDPs had lost all they had including properties and vehicles before seeking refuge in the camps adding that only concrete plans to resettle them could give them a relief

 

[Poitier]

TIME CAPSULE
Photos: Eritrea’s capital city houses some of the finest 20th century architecture in the world
A Fiat drives along a street in Eritrea's capital Asmara. (Reuters/Thomas Mukoya)
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WRITTEN BY
Omar Mohammed
OBSESSION
Design
March 10, 2016 Quartz Africa

Eritrea, a small state of six million people in the northeast of Africa, is often seen as one of the most isolated countries on the continent. But the capital, Asmara, has some of the best 20th century architectural design in the world—and it hopes to be declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.




So how did this come about? It goes back to Benito Mussolini. When the Italian fascist leader decided to invade Ethiopia in the 1930s, he chose the country’s small northern neighbor Eritrea as a base from which to launch his operation. Thousands of Italians ended up migrating there to help with the effort. By 1939, half of Asmara’s population was made up of Italians.

The Albergo Italia hotel, built in 1899, is seen on Nakfa avenue in Eritrea’s capital Asmara.(Reuters/Thomas Mukoya)
This coincided with a period of immense design and architectural experimentation in Europe. And Italian architects saw in Asmara, a relatively untouched city before then, an ideal place to try out new ways of imagining and creating buildings. So over the course of six years between 1935-1941, as UNESCO describes it, thousands of buildings sprung up with all kinds of modernist styles, and Asmara began to earn the nickname “Little Rome.”




Petrol stations mimicking aeroplanes and boats, commercial buildings designed as trains, cavernous cinemas with fine period plasterwork and Art Dem interiors, fine ultra-modern hotels and offices, and government buildings with highly politicised monumental designs.

A man walks past the Fiat Tagliero building designed by the Italian architect Giuseppe Pettazzi in a futuristic style and completed in 1938.(Reuters/Thomas Mukoya)
The Italians left following the end of World War II. But despite the 30-year war of independence against Ethiopia, the architectural legacy remains. The conflicts that the country has endured may have actually helped preserve this heritage.

The Cinema Impero building, an Art Deco-style cinema, is seen on Harnet Avenue in Eritrea’s capital Asmara.(Reuters/Thomas Mukoya)
While elsewhere on the continent economic growth is transforming Africa’s urban skylines, Eritrea’s capital has not had major construction happen since the 1940s, according to UNESCO.

A general view shows the Roma Cinema on Samatat Avenue in Eritrea’s capital Asmara.(Reuters/Thomas Mukoya)
In an effort to preserve the city’s cultural identity, authorities adhere to building regulations that go back to 1938, stipulating that no new construction can go above 60 meters (195 feet) in height. And the government is applying to UNESCO this year to have the more than 4,000 buildings in the so-called historic perimeter be declared a World Heritage Site.




A decision is expected to come in 2017, reports Reuters. Should the city achieve such a status, it could secure much-needed assistance in technical support that will help it renovate the buildings and preserve them for the future.

An old film projector stands inside the coffee shop in the foyer of the Roma Cinema.(Reuters/Thomas Mukoya)

Photos: Eritrea’s capital city houses some of the finest 20th century architecture in the world

 

[Yehuda]

http://allafrica.com/stories/201603161314.html

Eritrea: East African Advanced Course On Pharmaco-Vigilance

Tagged:

• East Africa
• Education
• Eritrea
• Health

Asmara — The Ministry of Health is planning to organize, in conjunction with its development partners, the "2016 African Advanced course on "Pharmco-vigilance and Risk management" in April next month at the Asmara Palace Hotel.

The workshop will bring together participants from Tanzania, South Sudan, Rwanda, Morocco, Ghana, Sudan, Kenya, Cape Verde, Zimbabwe, Nigeria and other countries.

Director of Medicine and Food Control Division in the Ministry of Health, Mr. Eyassu Bahta, told ERINA that the main aim of this advanced course is to integrate Pharmaco-vigilance in public health programs, as well as maximize detection and reporting of adverse drug reactions and quality management systems in the specific field.

The training will involve experts from WHO offices in Switzerland, Sweden, Morocco, Ghana, Egypt, and the Sudan. 'Serenus", a private company with relevant competencies in the field has also been commissioned for the task.

Eritrea has an excellent track record in the monitoring and supervision of side effects of prescribed medicaments and regular reporting of its findings to the WHO.