Weekly good news from Africa - Political Forum

africanhope · 11-06-2007, 08:51 AM

I said in another thread I would revive the good news from Africa thread, and had an offer of help form the moderators. But i had a look at the old thread, and with thanks to the moderating staff, I thought it easier to just start a new one what.

A local story for you from SA

Survey: Life improving for South Africans : Mail & Guardian Online

This is to show that, with the problems our government is facing, we are moving forward. It is at a slow pace maybe, but vhange does not come just like that.

And here is the UN having a more positive view on Africa as a whole:

Quote:

Africa shows progress in tackling conflicts

United Nations, New York, 4 October 2004 -- Africa today is afflicted by fewer serious armed conflicts than it was just six years ago, says UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. When he issued his first major report on the causes of conflict in Africa in 1998, there were 14 countries in the midst of war and another 11 were suffering from severe political turbulence. Today, Mr. Annan notes in his annual follow-up report, just a half-dozen African countries are suffering from serious armed conflicts, among them Burundi, Côte d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan. And very few other countries are facing deep political crises.”

More at: Africa shows progress in tackling conflicts, UN Secretary-General reports

I will end of, wit h another stroy form my own country, about our living legend, Former President Nelson Mandela:

www.sagoodnews.co.za | sa_teaching Mandela is a genius

Not that we are suprised, we knew it all along!

And just as a last note, a list of what was voted SA's best inventions. You might regocise some of them;

Quote:

enkaya Prefab living spaces ZenKaya - Contemporary, Modern and Affordable Prefab - Zenkaya Original
Self-sufficient energy products Invented by Freeplay Energy
The Waterless Toilet Invented by Cecil Harris ZerH2O :: Waterless Sanitation
Dolos Breakwater device, invented by Eric Merrifield
Kreepy Krauly, Aquanaut,
Baracuda, Pool Ranger All originated in South Africa
Tellurometer Distance measuring device invented by Trevor Wadley
Pratley's Putty The only South African invention to go to the moon, invented by Mr KGM Pratley
Lunar Stick Oldest mathematical artifact in the world (3 500 years old) found in Zululand
Scheffel Bogey Train carriage wheel assembly
Appletizer Pure fruit juice recipe now copied throughout the world
Computicket First computerised ticketing system in the world
Vibol Fuel-saving Exhaust System Used throughout the world
Jet fuel and oil from coal Invented by Sasol
The Third Umpire Introduced by the United Cricket Board
Hippo Water Roller Invented by Pettie Petzer and Johan Jonker
Saswitch ATM Access Saswitch ATM Access

Well, enjoy!

AH

Brother Oz · 11-06-2007, 11:53 AM

The wars have been reducing dramatically over the last ten years, and many losing politicians are just accepting it, rather than fighting it. Africa is becoming more peaceful, and people outside near to realise that it's not the war-torn place it's made out to be.

J.Locke777 · 11-08-2007, 10:33 PM

It's good to finally see some good news comming from Africa. In America, it seems that only bad news is considered newsworthy. I always appreciate the human interest stories when they have segments on them. Anyway, It's good to hear that things seem to be calming down in this region of Africa.

africanhope · 11-16-2007, 03:46 AM

Quote:

Spreading and sustaining growth in Africa PDF Print E-mail
Wednesday, 14 November 2007
SA Good NewsMany African economies appear to have turned the corner and may be moving to a path of faster and steadier economic growth needed to reduce high levels of poverty, according to the World Bank Africa Development Indicators 2007 (ADI), released here today.

Solid economic performance across Africa in the decade 1995-2005 contrasts sharply with the economic collapse of 1975-1985 and the stagnation experienced in 1985-95. The ADI indicates that spreading and sustaining growth going forward can be achieved by accelerating productivity and increasing private investment.

Accomplishing this will require improving the business climate and infrastructure in African countries, as well as spurring innovation and building institutional capacity. "Over the past decade, Africa has recorded an average growth rate of 5.4 per cent which is at par with the rest of the world. The ability to support, sustain and in fact diversify the sources of these growth indicators would be critical not only to Africa’s capacity to meet the MDGs but also to becoming an exciting investment destination for global capital" said Obiageli Ezekwesili, the World Bank Vice President for the Africa Region.

In 2005 [the latest year for which ADI 2007 posts data], the performance varied substantially across countries, from -2.2% in Zimbabwe to 30.8% in Equatorial Guinea, with nine countries posting growth rates of near or above the 7% threshold needed for sustained poverty reduction.

African countries fall into three broad categories along this continuum. The first group of seven countries comprises the region’s seven major oil exporting economies, home to 27.7% of the region’s population. The second grouping of 18 countries (35.6% of the region’s population) show diversified, sustained growth of at least 4%, and the third grouping of 17 countries (home to 36.7% of the region’s population) is characterized by their resource-poor nature, their strong volatility, are conflict-prone, afflicted or emerging from conflicts or just trapped in slow growth of less than 4%.

“Greater integration with the global economy especially through export trade, are characteristics common to all African countries that have recorded sustained growth. These according to the ADI largely explain the aggregate efficiency levels and investment volumes – comparable to India and Vietnam – recorded by these countries” Ezekwesili added, pointing out that overall investments in Africa increased from 16.8% of GDP to 19.5% of GDP between 2000 and 2006.

In such countries, ADI 2007 finds, policies have gotten better thanks to the reforms of the last decade, inflation, budget deficits, exchange rates and foreign debt repayments are more manageable; the economies are more open to trade and private enterprise; governance is on the mend and more assaults on corruption. These better economic fundamentals have helped to spur growth, but equally important to avoid the growth collapses that took place between 1975 and 1995. ADI 2007 warns that growth in Africa is more volatile than in any other region. That volatility, it says, has dampened expectations and investments.

“ADI 2007 finds that avoiding sharp declines in GDP growth was critical to Africa’s economic recovery. Indeed, it was crucial for the poor who suffered greatly during the declines,” explained John Page, the World Bank’s Chief Economist for the Africa Region. “Avoiding growth collapses is key to accelerating progress towards the MDGs in Africa.”

The report identifies stronger and more diverse export growth as a key factor needed to sustain growth and reduce volatility. The study laments the higher indirect costs of exporting in Africa (18% to 35% of total costs) compared to indirect costs in China – a mere 8% of total costs. As a result, while efficient African enterprises can compete with Indian and Chinese firms in terms of factory floor costs, they become less competitive due to higher indirect business costs, including infrastructure identified by ADI 2007 as an “important emerging constraint to future growth”.

Sub-Saharan Africa lags at least 20 percentage points behind the average for poor developing countries also funded by the World Bank’s concessional window (IDA) on almost all major infrastructure measures – pushing up production costs, a critical impediment for investors. Africa’s unmet infrastructure needs are estimated to total around $22 billion a year (5% of GDP), plus another $17 billion for operations and maintenance.

Despite the negative impact of poor infrastructure, 38 African countries increased their exports as the region as a whole saw its exports rise in value from $182 billion in 2004 to $230 billion in 2005. Exports were fuelled by growing pockets of non-traditional exports (such as clothing from Lesotho, Madagascar and Mauritius); the successful connection between farmers and buyers (such as with the initiative which boosted Rwanda’s coffee exports to the USA by 166% in 2005); and the aggressive expansion of successful exports (such as cut flowers whose exports from Kenya more than doubled between 2000 and 2005, making cut flowers the country’s second export earner, after tea).

For more information about the Africa Development Indicators, visit The World Bank

I know something similiar is appearing in another thread, but thoguht I'd give a positive view of this here

AH

africanhope · 11-16-2007, 03:47 AM

And on the same theme:

Quote:

FDI into Africa doubles PDF Print E-mail
Friday, 19 October 2007
Foreign direct investment (FDI) into Africa doubled between 2004 and 2006 to a record US$36 billion spurred by the search for primary resources and increased profits and by a generally improved business climate, an UNCTAD survey of investment trends reports.

World Investment Report 2007: Transnational Corporations, Extractive Industries and Development, adds that the value of cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in Africa also reached a record level of $18 billion in 2006. About half of those M&As were accounted for by transnational corporations (TNCs) from developing Asia. Greenfield and expansion investments also grew significantly in Africa.

Despite these increases, the region´s share of the global FDI declined to 2.7% in 2006 from 3.1% in 2005. Africa´s portion of global FDI remains small when compared with figures for South, East and South-East Asia (15% of the world total) and Latin America and the Caribbean (6%).

African FDI outflows also reached a record level in 2006 of $8 billion, up from $2 billion in 2005, with South African firms being the main investors from the region. Major investment declines, however, were recorded for Angola (-$1.1 billion) and South Africa (-$0.3 billion). These were due to sales of foreign equity shares to the Government in the former case and to local firms in the latter.

Prospects for FDI into Africa continue to be positive because of high global commodity prices as TNCs, particularly from Asia, are taking advantage of good returns on investment. But some moderation is expected in 2007 due to a pause in large FDI inflows into the oil industries of some countries.

For more information visit UNCTAD.ORG >> World Investment Report

africanhope · 11-16-2007, 03:49 AM

And a loast one for this week;

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SA ranks 20th in gender equity survey PDF Print E-mail
Monday, 12 November 2007
South Africa has ranked 20th in the World Economic Forum’s Gender Gap Index, released late last week.

The index measures the size of the gender gap in 128 countries in four critical areas of inequality; political empowerment, economic participation, educational attainment and health and survival.

The 2007 Index sees four Nordic countries taking the top positions; Sweden (1),Norway (2), Finland (3) and Iceland (4). South Africa is the only African country to feature in the top 20, followed by Lesotho (26) and Namibia (29). Africa’s top three ranked higher than some of the world’s most developed countries such as the United States (31), Switzerland (40) and France (51).

South Africa scored particularly well in political empowerment, ranking 10th overall. The county ranked 52nd in educational attainment, 65th in Health and Survival and 85th in Economic Participation and Opportunity. Combined, the figures give South Africa a point score of 71.94% - the percentage of the gender gap that has been closed. In last year’s survey, South Africa scored 71.25% and ranked 18th out of 115 countries.

The Global Gender Gap Report praised South Africa, attributing the country’s firm position to a “strong performance on political empowerment, and slight improvements in labour force participation and wage equality.”

Countries such as Egypt (120), Saudi Arabia (124), Pakistan (126) and Yemen (128) were amongst the lowest scoring countries. The report states that most Arab countries continue to perform below the global average as they have yet to invest significant amounts of resources in increasing women’s education levels and integrating women into their economies.

The report provides some insights into the challenges faced by all, particularly considering that “no country in the world has yet reached equality between men and women”. The report further highlighted the correlation between the gender gap and the economic performance of a country.

Report author Professor Laura Tyson says, “countries that do not fully capitalize effectively on one-half of their human resources run the risk of undermining their competitive potential. We hope to highlight the economic incentive behind empowering women in addition to promoting equality as a basic human right.”

For more information on the Gender Gap Index visit: World Economic Forum - Homepage -

africanhope · 12-09-2007, 02:46 AM

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Peer review highlights SA strengths, weaknesses PDF Print E-mail
Friday, 07 December 2007

The African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) report on South Africa highlighted the country's strengths and weaknesses while cabinet has urged that teamwork is necessary to ensure implementation of the recommendations.

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Images by Gallo Images
The report identified 18 best practices worth emulating in other countries, government communications head Themba Maseko told a post-Cabinet meeting media briefing on Thursday.

These included innovations, such as the Mzansi bank account, multipurpose community centres, and the black economic empowerment (BEE) charters.

The report also highlighted a number of strengths characterising SA society, including having one of the most progressive constitutions in the world, the largest and strongest economy in the continent, and a political environment conducive to political debate.

Other strengths included first world economic and physical infrastructure, a strong public financial management system, strong technological capability, good corporate governance, a robust legal system, and a strong framework for protecting human rights.

However, the report also highlighted a number of challenges including racism and xenophobia, under-representation of women in the private sector, and high levels of gender based violence. Others included the rise in education expenditure that was not mirrored in the outcomes of the system, insufficient contact between ordinary South Africans and political representatives, the pervasive legacy and distortions of the apartheid system, the high HIV infection rate, and high levels of violent crime.

"In raising some concerns about certain aspects of the report, government was of the view that the APRM process would be strengthened if the identified weaknesses were addressed," Maseko said. Following a workshop held in Algeria to review the process and methodology issues, government was satisfied its concerns had received the necessary attention.

"The South African government thanks the panel for their hard work and dedication to the task of reviewing our complex country." Maseko said the next step was implementation of the programme of action to address the challenges raised in the report.

Cabinet noted that the APRM's proposed programme overlapped with the government programme of action and that greater alignment between the two programmes would be attained in 2008 when government finalised its programme for the year. "All stakeholders, led by the government, are urged to work together to ensure the implementation of the recommendations of the APRM country report," Maseko said.

The report can be accessed from African Peer Review Mechanism South Africa

Sapa

The peer review system is one of the AU's better ideas, if the countries involved listens to the fidings (our own president was hesitent to have it all make known, the crtisism of our high crime rate made him a tad upset) but yeah, I thougt I'd share

AH

africanhope · 01-19-2008, 04:39 PM

CAR government resigns: Africa: News: News24

Okay, this might now sound like good news, but bear with me - an African leader and his governmentresigns, out of their wn choice, withour violence. This, my friends, does not happen that often in our troubled continet, and might be more proof of what i have been saying for a while now, thigns are slowly changing in Mother Africa.

And that is why this is my good news for the week.

AH

africanhope · 01-24-2008, 06:29 PM

'Africa has turned the corner': Africa: News: News24

But this is a qualified good news story, I mena I am not so sure it is fully good news, since th President of Nigeria, quoated in this article, gave himself something like a 50% salary inrease yesterday (looking forthe storie, will post link.

AH

africanhope · 05-28-2008, 05:17 PM

African economies stronger against external shocks*-*South Africa - The Good News

I can tell you, the international food crisis, and hte rising energy prices are getting serious here, so on the ground I do not know if I agree. So this is my somewhat sceptical good news story.

AH