|
|
by fidelisa | 5800 Views | Rating: (0 rates)
 PAV HEADLINES Vol. 32 August 2010
PROPERLY POSITION YOUR BUSINESS WITH PAV... the true eyes, ears & heart of all Africa!!! We mean Business when we say we take your business beyond the borders, numbers & surface. PAV, Out & About All-Africa. Get Connected now & always. Interested? Get a quote & further details by postal or email: 310 College St., CPO 819; Barbourville, KY 40906 or pav87central@yahoo.com. We’d love to network with you.
EDITORIAL: Spain may have emerged victorious at the recent world cup in South Africa but like many analysts the real winner was Africa. Taking place for the first time in a continent wrongly or rightly labeled with everything  negative imaginable, there was obvious skepticism at plenty on the prospects of a successful world cup in Africa. From security concerns, to threats from al Qaeda, to infrastructural problems, transportation, lodging facilities et al cynics excelled at finding reasons why the world cup will be a failure instead of a success. In an attempt to answer the question what next after Africa’s month long euphoria posed in VOL 31, PAV makes the case of a generational change as the continent continues to grapple with daunting 21st century challenges.
POLITICS: The referendum result ‘puts beyond doubt the wishes of Kenyans to bring about fundamental social and  political changes’, writes Yash Ghai. Although the new constitution sets both a framework and a timetable for its implementation, Ghai says it’s crucial that Kenyans are not sidetracked by talk of ‘reconciliation through further negotiations on “contentious issues”’ from elites ‘determined to sabotage reform agendas’. ‘The whole point of a referendum is to see which side has greater support, and to bring the debate to closure,’ says Ghai.
INTERVIEWS: Reagan and Bush Snr African points man Ambassador Herman Cohen assesses developments in Africa and offers insight into American foreign policy priorities in Africa. Faulted are economic policies of African governments which have served as major impediments to development. President Obama he reveals knows that Africa’s great strength can be in agriculture, and he wants to help Africa now, as we helped India thirty years ago Ambassador Cohen discloses in an interview with Managing Editor Ajong Mbapndah
 DEVELOPMENT: As Ghana gears up to develop its petroleum industry, Cameron Duodu strongly laments the absence of greater public sharing of information around the sector. Duodu stresses that Nigeria’s tumultuous history with petroleum ‘is a rehearsal of what could be waiting for us’ and that Ghana should pay particular attention to its neighbour’s experience if it is to avoid ‘so much cheating and thievery’. WOMEN: The fight to stop violence against women in Africa must diverge from the dominant Western feminism that implants alien perspectives and methods into an African struggle, writes Jenn Jagire. Jagire urges Africa’s feminists to regain agency and ‘deEuropeanise’ African feminism, avoiding perpetuating neo-colonial mentalities and development models that see Africa's women as victims rather than the drivers of their own destiny.  FEATURES: Celebrations marking fifty years of independence are in vogue around Africa and the world. Huge sums spent in some countries, festivities in France with African leaders present and a decision to make African veterans who fought for France during the Second World War to earn the same pension as their French counterparts. The future of the next fifty years? Not much thought dedicated to it yet in the midst of the celebration of sorts. The USA and President Obama however bring real meaning into what fifty years of independence should mean: stock taking and sober reflections for the way forward. PAV shares the interesting exchange that President Barack Obama had with young African leaders recently in Washington DC with a caveat brilliantly presented in the opinion page by Chika Onyeani
OPINION: Chika Onyeani takes on the Obama administration on a significantly missing element in an inciting opinion titled, Paradox of the Obama forum with African Young Leaders. A must read…
PARTNERSHIPS: Besides Europe which has always had an edge in Africa because of the colonial legacy, China has been the partner that has made the most headline news. The USA has in recent years upped its stakes in Africa and is today one of continents leading partners. PAV shares a fact sheet with insight into the what the Obama Administration is doing with and for Africa
 SPORTS: While many consider the successful hosting of the world cup as a huge victory for Africa, there is no denying that African flag bearers including Ghana which hit the quarter final spot could have done much better. If Africa must fare better in the next four years when Brazil hosts the tournament, there are a lot of things that have to change. In From South Africa with love: Lessons from the world cup, Zelifac Asong and Stanley Tabi propose a road map to help Africa eventually get its turn as soccer kings of the world.
|
by fidelisa | 7552 Views | Rating: (0 rates)
PAV HEADLINES Vol. 31 June 2010
PROPERLY POSITION YOUR BUSINESS WITH PAV... the true  eyes, ears & heart of all Africa!!! We mean Business when we say we take your business beyond the borders, numbers & surface. PAV, Out & About All-Africa. Get Connected now & always. Interested? Get a quote & other details by postal or email: 310 College St., CPO 819; Barbourville, KY 40906 or pav87central@yahoo.com. We’d love to networking with you.
Editorial: It is the biggest sports event in the world. The world football governing body organized FIFA  world Cup. It takes place only once every four years and it is hosted this for the first time on African soil by South Africa. Thousands of people the world over are in the country of the legendary Nelson Mandela for the event and billions are glued to their television sets all over the world watching the momentous event. But what happens after the event ends in the next few weeks? In Looking Beyond Africa's Month Long Euphoria PAV cautions against losing sight of the numerous challenges facing the continent in the face of the football frenzy.
Oddly Enough: The 1994 genocide of the Rwandan Tutsi never happened. This is this unfounded and d isturbing allegation at the heart of a new book by Edward S. Herman and David Peterson, writes Gerald Caplan. Instead the authors claim that that it was part of an elaborate American conspiracy to “gain a strong military presence in Central Africa, a diminution of its European rivals' influence, proxy armies to serve its interests, and access to the raw material-rich Democratic Republic of the Congo”. Why they want to create such gratuitous hurt for the survivors of the genocide in Rwanda is ‘impossible to fathom’, says Caplan, but their ‘egregious views’ ‘relegate them squarely to the lunatic fringe’ he fumes in The politics of denialism: The strange case of Rwanda
Women: The wave of sentimentality surrounding Africa's first World Cup has concealed the persistence of marked gender discrimination around both how countries use public funds and conceive of organised sport, writes Salma Maoulidi. Football's popularity in countries like Tanzania and the political capital to be had by pandering to its followers, Maoulidi highlights, end up reinforcing discriminatory funding allocations and perpetuating a mismatch of opportunity along gender lines. Africa and the World Cup: Gender discrimination lingers contends her analysis
OPINION Africa, south of the Sahara today faces their brightest prospect in a generation argues Obiageli K. Ezekwesili. From Mali’s mango exports and Nigeria’s “Nollywood”, to Uganda’s gorilla tourism and to Kenya’s cut flowers--there is a robust picture of a continent clearly on the move the World Bank's Vice President for Africa opines in Africa’s Future in Our Grasp
 Development: Africa is doing better than ever economically, but many regular people remain desperately poor. The World Cup is putting the continent at the center of global attention. With Africa’s strengths and frailties under greater international scrutiny than ever before, what will the story be? One of the continent’s most prominent sons and leading advocate of Development Kofi Annan in The Myth of Africa's Economic Miracleattempts an answerEducation: Brighter days lie ahead for brilliant young Africans with the establishment of a Space and Science Academy for girls in Kenya. Expected to take off in 2012, the Academy is the initiative of the Brightest Stars Foundation an American based Non Governmental Organization. Considering that the potential of every child is limitless, the Foundation believes that with access to opportunity and  direction they can reach the stars and in doing so manifest their destiny and divine purpose. In Kenya to Host Space and Science Academy For Girls Camille Alleyne the Founder and President sheds more light on this ground breaking initiative for PAV.
Sports: A colorful kick off ceremony, jammed packed stadiums with deafening beelike humming from  the rubber trumpets popularly known as vuvuzela, cases of theft reported by some foreign journalists, protests by workers of a security outfit over wages, et al, the South Africa 2010 world cup has been a thriller of sorts so far. And the results? Popular Support But Below Par Performance For African Countries according to Stan Tabi and Zelifac Asong
|
by fidelisa | 4299 Views | Rating: (0 rates)
PAV HEADLINES Vol. 30 May 2010
PROPERLY POSITION YOUR BUSINESS WITH PAV... the true eyes, ears & heart of all Africa!!! We mean Business when we say we take your business beyond the borders, numbers & surface. PAV, Out & About All-Africa. Get Connected now & always. Interested? Get a quote & further details by postal or email: 310 College St., CPO 819; Barbourville, KY 40906 or pav87central@yahoo.com. We look forward to networking with you.
EDITORIAL: In a move described as the most generous naturalization of refugees anywhere," by UN refugee agency spokeswoman Melissa Fleming Tanzania grants citizenship to about 162.000 Burundian refugees. Titled Action, Not Empty Rhetoric: Tanzania’s Message To Africa, PAV measures the depths of this salutary example and urges other African Countries to borrow a leaf from Tanzania in a bid to add true meaning to the quest for integration.
 POLITICS: Nominated twice for the Nobel Peace Prize without winning, Zimbabwe's Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai bags the W. Averell Harriman Democracy. Posing more as a States man and not the vigorous opposition figure he has been over the years to President Robert Mugabe, the MDC leader who received the award at the 25th anniversary celebrations of the National Democratic Institute said his country has achieved much and was slowly getting back on the right track towards democracy and development. In Zimbabwe’s Tsvangirai Bags Harriman Democracy Award PAV reportson the event at which Mr Tsvangirai was clearly the star of the day. The curtains were finally drawn on the typical nollywood tale that the life and health of President Musa Yar'Adua had became when reports of his passing went public on May 5th. The affable 13th President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria who was last seen in public some five months ago almost created a constitutional crisis in the country with his prolonged absence. In Sun Set For An Ailing President: Yar’Adua Goes To Rest PAV assesses the promising but troubled Presidency of Yar'Adua and the legacy he has left behind for the Federal Republic of Nigeria.INTERVIEWS: It was a super charged schedule for Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai during his sejourn in Washington DC to participate at a ceremony marking 25 years of the National Democratic Institute and to receive the coverted W.Averell Harriman Democracy. Mr Tsvangirai however spared a few minutes for an interview with PAV in which he said "Countries Of The West Must Recognise That There Is Progress In Zimbabwe" as he militated for an end to sanctions which he describes as counter productive now that the country is slowly making progress especially on the economy and the execution of government programmes.
FEATURES: A war of Independence was fought by 17 sub-Saharan African countries in 1960 ostensibly with the flagship objective of overthrowing the colonial yoke that was foisted on them during the 1884-1885 Berlinisation. It was a war that culminated in 1994 in South Africa with the symbolic erosion of the institutional structures of apartheid. As African Countries go celebrating fifty years of Independence, Mwalimu George Ngwane in From Positive War to Positive Peace: Africa’s Independence Journey looks at the road covered thus far, while recommending that Africans should dispassionately and without taboo zones, patriotically and without systematised victimisation, frankly without the ululation culture take a hard look at the challenges of the next fifty years.
PARTNERSHIPS: As the world moves into the second decade of the 21st century, “Africa stands out as the world’s last great emerging market” says Ambassador Johnnie Carson the U S Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs. With a billion people spread across 53 nations in an area twice the size of the United States, Ambassador Carson believes that “Africa’s great potential and enormous promise are as vast as the continent itself”. In Africa Is The World’s Last Great Emerging Market PAV brings you more on Ambassador Carson's discourse made at the fourth Annual USA-Africa Infrastructure Conference
SOCIETY: Raising capital for business especially for the poor was already a very complex equation. In the face of the  global economic meltdown things only got worse but all is not lost as micro-finance Institutions like KIVA are providing hopes for millions of otherwise under privilege people around the world. A Practical Approach With Tangible Rights In The Fight Against Poverty tells the tale of KIVA's unique blend of microfinance and the internet which has succeeded in creating a global community of people through lending supported with the partnership of Microfinance Institutions.
OPINION: The more power struggles in Africa, the less likely power mongers will focus on delivering services to the people argues David Akana in Power Struggle Is Undermining War on Poverty in Africa. Power insecurity caused by the refusal to establish permanent and strong democracies doesn’t benefit the population opines the writer using examples in Cameroon, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Mauritania et al.
 DEVELOPMENT: Already, countries are preparing their national status reports for review at the summit. The government of Ghana is currently putting together its final report on the MDGs which will be presented by the President at the summit. What is clear is that Ghana has made some remarkable efforts towards the attainment of some of the goals. In Ghana Missing Out On MDG 3, 4, 5, 7 Leonard K. Ackon points out the missing links in the full implementation of the Millennium Development Goals in Ghana.HEALTH: It may still be taken so much for granted but there is no denying that natural medicine has efficiency which deserves greater attention. In the face of the global economic meltdown and the exorbitant charges for medication by most pharmaceuticals, natural medicine turns out as a strong option especially in Africa. Harping on the growing importance of Traditional medicine Dr Keith Lindsey says "Our German pharmacies are full of herbal treatments" sharing experiences which should make Africans put on their thinking caps.
 BUSINESS IN AFRICA: It is an open secret that one of the major problems hitting Africa is unemployment. Backed by his unparalleled knowledge of the Africa job market and the challenges facing employers and job seekers, Yusuf Reja a dynamic African founded Zebrajobs. In a A Middleman For Recruiters and Job Seekers Yusuf shares the success story and vision of Zebrajobs with PAV as well as the most lucrative jobs Africans should aim for.EDUCATION:The question of language choice in African literature has caused significant ripples in the pool of literary criticism. Peter Vakunta marks his return to PAV with a must read essay which attempts to find out what makes a book African. The writer is African? The language is African? The message is African? Or all three? Find out more in his brilliant piece Aporia: Ngugi’s Fatalistic Logic of the Unassailable Position of Indigenous Languages in African Literature.
 ENTERTAINMENT: Today, many Nigerian actors and actresses are mega stars in Hollywood. Many of them; men and women, have withstood different challenges fighting for what they believe in, their dream. Faced with stiff competition and at times, racial discrimination, these worthy Nigerian ambassadors are still making the country proud with their talents abroad. Who are these trail blazzers? The answer is found in Naija acts making waves in HollywoodSPORTS: Africa is at the verge of another historic mile stone by hosting the FIFA World Cup for the first time. A victory by one of the African Countries will be a perfect icing on the cake says Stan Tabi as he measures the The Hopes and The Odds For Africa
 ODDLY ENOUGH: The good, the bad and the ugly in Africa. PAV rounds up the edition with a look at the heroes and the villains of the moment. President Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania ,African Football icons Samuel Eto'o Fils and Didier Drogba earn credit for highlighting the brighter side of the continent. Cameroon's Information Minister Issa Tchiroma for his multiple gaffes in handling the case of a Journalist who died in jail and Nigerian 49 year old Senator Ahmad Sani Yerima for his marriage to a child bride barely in her wee hours of puberty earn the lows of the moment.
by fidelisa | 6158 Views | Rating: (0 rates)
PAV HEADLINES Vol. 29 April 2010
PROPERLY POSITION YOUR BUSINESS WITH PAV... the true eyes, ears & heart of all Africa!!! We mean Business when we say we take your business beyond the borders, numbers & surface. PAV, Out & About All-Africa. Get Connected now & always. Interested? Get a quote & further details by postal or email: 310 College St., CPO 819; Barbourville, KY 40906 or pav87central@yahoo.com. We look forward to doing business with you.
 Editorial:Due to the prolonged absence of President Yar’Adua for health reasons, Vice President Goodluck Jonathan takes over power as Acting President. Though there is just a year left to serve in the current mandate, PAV believes that there is a whole lot that Acting President Jonathan can do. Captioned Goodluck Time for Nigeria: Jonathan and the Call of History, PAV explains how Mr. Jonathan can use a year to join the stock of political legends in Nigeria and Africa.Politics: Acting President Goodluck Jonathan forms a new government in Nigeria. The kitchen cabinet of ailing President Yar’Adua is shelved. In comes a reputable international banker, President Yar’Adua’s Nephew , amongst notable new faces in a government that saw the retention of Information Minister Gloria Akunyili who took on the cabal that sought to use the ill health of President Yar’Adua to hold the country hostage. Will this beJonathan’s Winning Team? Anayochukwu Agbo attempts an answer.
  Partnerships: Founded in 1993, the Corporate Council on Africa-CCA deserves great credit for the rapidly growing business ties between the USA and Africa. With a dedication to strengthening the commercial relationship between the USA and Africa, the holding of the fourth US-Africa Infrastructure Conference from April 27-29 in Washington DC, is just one in a series of CCA led initiatives which have resulted in a significant growth of American business interests in Africa. In Bridge Building Role Of CCA Spurs American Business Interests in Africa Ambassador Robert C Perry Vice President for International Programs helps PAV Managing Editor Ajong Mbapndah L to get more insight into the mission and vision of the CCA. Interviews: Bill Gates and his Microsoft brand are stock of global repute. Many do not however know that Africans were part of the phenomenal success of Microsoft. Meet information and Communications Technology Guru Jacques Bonjawo. Mr. Bonjawo, chairman and chief strategist of Genesis Futuristic Technologies, an information technology company based in Seattle with operations in India, urges African Governments to emulate the example of Asian Tigers by investing more in Information Technology.
 Business In Africa: Bharti Airtel Limited (“Bharti”), Asia’s leading telecommunications service provider, enters into a legally binding definitive agreement with Zain Group (“Zain”) to acquire Zain Africa BV based on an enterprise valuation of USD 10.7 billion. Read more in Bharti set to acquire Zain Africa BV,a deal which comes withZain’s African mobile services operations in 15 countries with a total customer base of over 42 millionOpinion: A sad end for one of the most uncompromising apartheid figures. An apparently pay dispute ends up with the murder of a debtor farmer who doubles as a right wing politician, Eugene Terreblanche. Whether this was just one of the many random crimes committed in South Africa or it is politically motivated is still unclear but Primus Tazanu sees racial undertones in the discourse that emerge after the murder. His case is made in The Death of a Hero: Terreblanche’s Killing and Western Media Twisting Discussion on South Africa
 Entertainment: It was the grande finale of the MNET Face of Africa a Pageant whose rapidly growing global appeal is symbolic of Africa’s progress in shirking off the underdog label the rest of the world attributes to the continent. 22-year-old Lukando Nalungwe from Zambia joined an exclusive group of winners when she was named the eighth and newest M-Net Face of Africa. The striking model scooped USD 50 000 from M-Net along with a modeling contract from O Model Africa and skincare products for 12 months from Iman Cosmetics.In Full of Promise: Lukando Embraces Mnet Face Of Africa Status, she answers questions from Ajong Mbapndah L on her success, what it means to her, her encounter with the Zambian first couple, her advice to young girls and more
 Society:To be forewarned is to be forearmed. With commercial oil production due to begin later this year, safeguards must be put in place for effective management of resources. Will oil build or break Ghana's democracy?Ross Harvey questions .This may seem an unnecessarily inflammatory question, but history demonstrates that healthy caution is necessary in managing oil revenues. Development: 'How is India’s relationship with Africa different?', asks Sanusha Naidu inIndia stepping up the ante in African relations. She demonstrates that the latest conclave on the India-Africa Project Partnership – during which India emphasised its focus in Africa to be on capacity building, training and private sector development – revealed that African delegates felt that India is more a stakeholder than a shareholder on the continent. But Naidu suggests that Africa needs to critically examine India’s involvement. She concludes that: ‘For there to be an effective partnership, developing a dialogue between civil society, government and business would be a valuable platform to make this engagement different from the others.’
 Environment: The Humbo Assisted Natural Regeneration Project is Africa's first large-scale forestry project to be registered under the Clean Development Mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol. It will bring both economic and social benefits to poor communities in Ethiopia as well as environmental benefits as the project will cut an estimated 880,000 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere over the next 30 years. More on this ground breaking development in Ethiopian project sets world climate change example
by fidelisa | 5539 Views | Rating: (0 rates)
PAV HEADLINES Vol. 28 February 2010
PROPERLY POSITION YOUR BUSINESS WITH PAV... the true eyes, ears & heart of all Africa!!! We mean Business when we say we take your business beyond the borders, numbers & surface. PAV, Out & About All-Africa. Get Connected now & always. Interested? Get a quote & further details by postal or email: 310 College St., CPO 819; Barbourville, KY 40906 or pav87central@yahoo.com. Thanks much for your consideration.
EDITORIAL:When democracy depends on the military for survival, this calls for concern. In the face of a leader gone rogue like Mamadou Tandja ousted in a military coup, it is hard to fault the military for coming to the aid of a people who have exhausted all avenues to salvage democracy and protect state institutions. In The Military and Democracy in Africa: Ponderables and Imponderables of A strange Marriage, African leaders are cautioned on the dangers of choices that make the unwelcome participation of the military in politics inevitable.
POLITICS: Savo Heleta analyses Sudan’s current political situation and asks how suitable and feasible the planned April 2010 elections are. He argues in Elections in Sudan: Chaos before stability that the Sudan’s current state, with so many unresolved issues, would complicate an election and ‘would not lead to pluralism and democracy, but rather to instability, further polarisation and post-election chaos’.
 INTERVIEWS: Few are those who in recent times have ruffled the conservative cocoon structure of the Catholic Church the way he has done. Ordained in 1969 as Archbishop of Lusaka Zambia by Pope Paul VI Archbishop Emmanuel’s Milingo never lasted for long. His strong personality, charisma, and most especially his healing powers made him the centre of great controversy within the Catholic Church. A must read interview of his the travails and beefs of Archbishop Milingo with the Vatican
DEVELOPMENT: Promoting and learning from South-South Cooperation. The EMRC, Belgian Based Association autonomous non profit Association has been hard at work networking and supporting private sector initiatives in Africa is organizing the first Africa-India Economic Mission. EMRC Managing Director Idit Miller opens up to PAV on the event and what Africa stands to benefit from the experiences that have transformed India to one of the most promising economies in the world
0PINION: Clearly the Mandela moment is still to still invade the privacy of South Africa’s life and by extension the corridors of global attention fizzle out. Twenty years after his release from prison (1990) and eleven years after his brief stint as President of South Africa (1994-1999), Nelson Mandela’s towering presence and aurastill invade the privacy of South Africa’s life and by extension the corridors of global attention. In Beyond the Mandela moment leading Pan Africanist Mwalimu George Ngwane opines Nelson Mandela’s short memory of hate is indeed a battle cry for Africans and the Diaspora to synergise if they have to avoid being on the fringes of globalisation
PARTNERSHIPS: Can India do a China in the continent of unlimited resources? China’s big foray into the African continent has grabbed global attention. But there are many - such as Harvard professor Tarun Khanna - who believes that India has an edge in Africa because of its deep diaspora. Ishani Duttagupta in Vying for Africa: India needs to tap its diaspora to match China makes the case for comparative advantages that India may have in Africa because of its diaspora
BUSINESS IN Africa: Indeed, few inventions have had as profound an impact as the mobile phone, not just socially but economically too. But leaders must draw the right lessons from success - and from Ethiopia's failure. Timothy Cox and Alec van Gelder argue in Africa Calling.
SOCIETY: Khadija Sharife looks at how commercial and political interests in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s mineral and natural resources have shaped the country’s history, with devastating consequences for its people, wildlife and environment. Will a new concession with China enable the Congolese to ‘really feel what all that copper, cobalt and nickel is good for’, as President Joseph Kabila says, or will the country continue to be seen as ‘a resource-rich bargain bin, open for business’ His interesting analyses are found in DRC’s magic dust: Who benefits?
  SPORTS: The recent controversy surrounding the attack on the Togolese National Team and its subsequent suspension from taking part in the next two editions of the Nations cup draw sharp critisms for CAF and and its long serving President Issa Hayatou. Ajong Mbapndah L and Zilefac Asong in Issa Hayatou A Legacy Worth Respecting Afterall remind soccer fans across the continent and the world that it may be erroneous to use a single isolated event to damage the towering legacy of Issa Hayatou in the growth of African football
|
|
|
