Essential The Africa the Media Doesn't Tell You About

[Blah1991]

I seriously recommend my AA friends visit Africa at some point in their lives. Although a lot of this thread focuses on Nigeria, there is massive progress going on in many countries across the continent.

 

[Dreamestorical]

Ah I was mistaken, I thought the entire city would be finished by 2016.

yo you hear about that boy buhari he almost got got

Yeah... we really dodged a bullet there. If Buhari was killed chaos would have ensued.

I personally believe Buhari was never really in Danger to be honest. i believe it was a ploy to gather more support for himself.

sidenote: can you believe that we are 8 months away from an election and APC party have failed to come up with their party platform. I am really wondering what that party stands for...
Are they pro big government or little government? What do they think about The PIB bill or the local content policy? what is thier stance on Nigerias foreign policy? What are their thoughts on Jonathan's economic polices like the NIRP? What is thier stance on the current EPA agreement? Do they think Nigeria's government should be decentralized? Are they pro true federalism?
These are questions they should be asking but they are not. All they do is spend their time making threats to the current administration.

 

[blackzeus]

So Nigeria is officially industrializing? This is good. REAL good...

Nigeria is going to be the China of Africa.

 

[Sinnerman]

Rwanda

Rwanda recorded the fastest growth in Africa between the years 2000 and 2013, according to the latest UN Human Development Report (HDR).



Compiled annually by the United Nations Development Programme, the 2014 report was launched on Thursday in Tokyo, Japan. It is entitled; 'Sustaining human progress: reducing vulnerabilities and building resilience.'



It says that between 2000 and 2013, Sub Saharan Africa was the second sub-region in as far as achieving high progress in human development is concerned. Human development, according to UNDP, has a combination of three factors; income, health and education.



"Rwanda and Ethiopia achieved the fastest growth, followed by Angola, Burundi, Mali, Mozambique, the United Republic of Tanzania and Zambia, the report reads in part.



For sustainability, the UN urges countries to transition from agriculture-based economies to industry and services, while supporting investments in infrastructure and education so that more people can get jobs in the formal sector.



"Africa is enjoying higher levels of economic growth and well-being, but insecurity, as well as natural or human-induced disasters, persist in some parts of the region," Abdoulaye Mar Dieye, the Director of UNDP's Regional Bureau for Africa, is quoted saying in a statement.



He said countries in Sub-Saharan Africa need to intensify their battle against deprivation and prevent crises from ruining recent development gains.



"Withstanding crises and protecting the most vulnerable, who are the most affected, are key to sustainable development," he said.



"The eradication of poverty is not just about 'getting to zero'-it is also about staying there," the Administrator of UNDP, Helen Clark, points out in the Foreword, adding that the report's focus on resilience is highly relevant to the current discussions on the post-2015 global development agenda.



Social protection:




Furthermore, social protection schemes such as unemployment insurance and pensions, universal health coverage and cash transfers can help individuals and communities weather difficult times and invest in the future, says the report.



Under the social protection initiatives in the just concluded 2013/2014 national budget, government continued to support the needy, including Genocide survivors, by giving them health care, education, monthly stipends and fostering income generating activities.



Expert's take:



In an interview with The New Times, Andrew Mold, a senior economist with the UN Economic Commission for Africa based in Kigali, attributed Rwanda's performance to provision of health care to the citizenry.



"The report singles out China, Rwanda and Vietnam for having achieved the transition from very low health care coverage to nearly universal coverage within just a decade," said Mold, who heads the Eastern Africa Data Centre for UNECA.



He said this was reflected in the country's rapidly growing life expectancy.



"Back in 2000, it was just 47 years but it is now close to 64 years which is impressive by any standards," he said.



On the financial component, he said the steady economic growth was another attribute that led to the country's commendation in the report, saying that much as the country's ambitious 11.5 per cent growth rate set out in EDPRS II has not yet been achieved, income per capita has grown steadily over the past decade.



EDPRS II is the Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy, a blueprint adopted to steer the country's development for a five-year period, starting 2013.



"The performance has still been good, at over 7 per cent per annum. Moreover, despite the global economic recession in 2008-9, the Rwandan economy proved to be quite resilient," Mold said.

 

[Dreamestorical]

Speaking of vehicles....there is a big elephant in the room....i have mentioned it numerous times in these discussions.....smartphones and cars....that is what we need to catch up on in terms of America and Japan(who are the kings of that)...Obviously when making something you build on what someone else did and do your best to be 10 times better....but i just think those are two aspects that are kind of under the radar....who would have guessed a south korean phone named "samsung" would be one of the most popular phones in the world.....

imagine if we are the first to use magnesium ion batteries for our trademark smartphone instead of the cheap lithium batteries everyone else uses

we can surprise people just like they have been in the past...

Nigeria has an indigenous car manufacturer called Innoson motors and the government is really suopporting it. Plus with the recent Auto Policy we have 16 Car manufactruers in the country setting up shop and we will have a total of 30 assembling/manufacturing plants set up when its all said and done. So we can expect quite a bit of skill transfer.

http://ngrguardiannews.com/news/nat...30-vehicle-manufacturing-plants-take-off-soon

THE National Automotive Council on Tuesday said 30 vehicle manufacturing plants would soon commence operation in the country..

``The protection and incentives provided to the industry under the new policy persuaded 16 companies to establish assembly plants,” he said.

The director said the policy made provision for high patronage from government and Credit Purchase Scheme.

He explained that under the credit purchase scheme, middle class Nigerians would buy cars at affordable prices and pay back within 36 to 46 months and at single digit interest.

``Plans are in top gear to revive the auto glass company in Ibadan, car seat company at Kaduna, Nocaco Auto Wires, exhaust pipes and many more parts and consumable producers in the country,” he said.

The director told NAN that the council had established material testing laboratory in Zaria, Kaduna State; components testing laboratory in Enugu and emission testing laboratory in Lagos.

In regards to phones you are right on point. It will take people with great vision and the ability to take risks and think outside the box to make it happen. Toppling the big phone companies like Apple and Samsung wont be easy. Still nothing is impossible. Though I know Nigeria has an indigenous phone company called tingo mobile they manufacture their own phones and they have plans to create their own software to rival apple and android. They have just secured 200 million dollars in Financing. Hopefully they will be the company to challenge the big boys.

 

[Dreamestorical]

Rwanda

Rwanda is doing exceptionally well. They have been hitting home runs on their economic policies. The one thing that is making me scared for that country is the fact that their leader Paul kagame is not doing anything to bring Hutu and Tutsi's closer together. He seems to harbor deep hatred for the Hutu's and you can see it in the way he runs the country.
I fear for the country when he leaves office... Now Of course the genocide of 1994 wont repeat itself but the potential for violence is high.

 

[TMNT4000]

@Dreamestorical should there be a concern about the animal poaching in Africa? Are they doing their best to stop it?

 

[TMNT4000]

I seriously recommend my AA friends visit Africa at some point in their lives. Although a lot of this thread focuses on Nigeria, there is massive progress going on in many countries across the continent.

Post some updates, that is what this thread is for.

 

[Poitier]

​

Decades after the European powers carved up the African continent for their own imperial needs, Africa is undergoing a new wave of resource and strategic exploitation – some are calling it the new scramble for Africa.

The United States is increasing its footprint across Africa with AFRICOM, fighting terrorism and ensuring stability are the trumpeted motivations. Resource security is a more hushed objective.

But it is not just about the US.

During the last decade, China's trade with Africa not only caught up with America's, it has more than doubled it.

The new battle for Africa does not deploy strong-arm tactics, it is now a soft power game: economic and humanitarian aid, interest-free loans, preferential trade agreements and investments in infrastructure are currency across a continent that is, for the world's established and emerging powers, seemingly up for grabs.

India, Brazil and Russia are all invested in Africa's present and future, and old imperial powers like France are fixing to retain their loosening grip on the riches of former colonies.

So what does all this mean for Africa and Africans?

Empire travels to Kenya to examine the continent at the centre of the world as it is courted, cajoled and carved up by global powers to its East and West.

 

[Dreamestorical]

@Dreamestorical should there be a concern about the animal poaching in Africa? Are they doing their best to stop it?

Some african countries are trying but they are not doing enough. Its one of those issues that seems to be low on the list of many african countries. People are thinking about how to survive so they dont really care about animals. Only countries like Kenya and Tanzania who rely on their animals for tourism income are taking it seriously.

 

[TMNT4000]

Kantanka vehicles ready for the market
Source: Ghana | Myjoyonline.com
Date: 12-06-2014 Time: 02:06:33:pm

One of the Kantanka SUV's on display at the plant.



Kantanka Automobile Company Limited, producers of Kantanka vehicles has announced producing in commercial quantities for the Ghanaian market in fourth quarter of 2014 after the successful installation of its assembling plants at Gomoa Mpota in the Central Region.

The facility expected to be commissioned during the said time will have about one hundred and fifty vehicles made up of pick-ups and sports utility vehicles (SUVs) unveiled to the general public.

“After years of hard work researching to make this dream come true, we can confidently announce to you today that we are ready to produce in commercial quantities,” CEO of Kantanka Automobile Company Limited, Apostle Dr. Kwadwo Safo declared.

According to him, test runs of the facility have also been successfully completely, paving the way for the grand launch of the facility to the general public.

The plant, comparable to any automobile assembling facility in the world, assembles imported vehicle parts from China and other parts of the world, including locally manufactured ones.

It has the capacity to produce eight vehicles a day and could further be expanded to produce twelve or more depending on market demand.

The government is expected to buy majority of the vehicles produced by the company as the demand to resource state institutions keeps growing.

The purchase would further indicate the government’s commitment to promoting locally manufactured products. Phase two of the project which entails the rolling out of saloon cars is projected to take place by end of 2015, according to the Operations Manager, Kojo Kudzordzi, who conducted journalists round the facility.

Apostle Dr. Safo, commenting further said the facility represents the intelligence of the Blackman.

“So many people think that the Blackman is not intelligent to manufacture things but that is not true. We can also make it if only we persevere,” he noted.

He appealed to the general public to support him as he seeks to make the country the hub of automobile in the West African sub region.

“Help me to manufacture and our country will be a better place to live,” he added.

President of the Institution of Engineering and Technology, Rev. Ing. Eric Ankrah, commenting on the plant said the institution was in support of the facility and would help transform it by accrediting it as a Center of Excellence for Competence Based Approach to assist in training the youth for the job market.

“This is the policy of the government,” he noted.

http://www.myjoyonline.com/business/2014/june-12th/kantanka-vehicles-ready-for-the-market.php

 

[TMNT4000]

Some african countries are trying but they are not doing enough. Its one of those issues that seems to be low on the list of many african countries. People are thinking about how to survive so they dont really care about animals. Only countries like Kenya and Tanzania who rely on their animals for tourism income are taking it seriously.

Damn, ain't if the animals get instinct it will mess up Africa Eco system?

 

[Skooby]

I seriously recommend my AA friends visit Africa at some point in their lives. Although a lot of this thread focuses on Nigeria, there is massive progress going on in many countries across the continent.

If I only had once chance to visit...which country would you recommend I go to?

 

[Dreamestorical]

Damn, ain't if the animals get instinct it will mess up Africa Eco system?

the chances of animals going extinct any time soon is near zero. So we will be okay. Plus there is an increasing awareness towards animal protection in africa due to the growing middle calls, so in due time African countries will be able to protect their wildlife from poachers.

 

[Ijaw King]

@Dreamestorical is a hero for all of this. That dedication

We're gonna change Nigeria and Africa for the better breh