World Bank President Robert Zoellick ended a visit to Africa this week with the pronouncement that this century belonged to the continent’s development despite damage to economies from the global financial crisis.

Those who remember what were flagged by some at the time as “Africa’s decades” in the 1980s and 1990s may have cause for scepticism given that in many countries they turned out disastrous despite early hopes.

But Africa’s economies had been growing at an unprecedented pace before the global financial crisis struck.

Zoellick acknowledged the immediate challenge required more resources to bolster regional integration as well as investments in energy, infrastructure and agriculture.

He said Africa deserves more attention and should be made a priority at international meetings like the Group of 20 developed and developing countries in the United States next month.

To make the case for more resources from donors, whose budgets are being strained by the financial crisis, Zoellick said Africans need to show they can use aid effectively and improve governance

Will African countries be able to show they can use aid effectively enough? Will this really be Africa’s century? If it is, then how auspicious is it for it to be kicked off with foreign aid?

Poor South Africans have called upon newly elected president Jacob Zuma to keep his election promises on service delivery. The past week has seen a number of protests flaring up across South Africa against what protesters called poor service delivery.

In one township in the country’s Mpumalanga province residents barricaded the entire township, burning tyres, throwing stones at policemen and calling for the head of the local mayor, whom they described as “good for nothing”. “There is no development. You can see for yourself,” one resident told journalists. He spoke of alleged neglect and apparent self enrichment from local government officials.

Locals also complained about being “overlooked” for jobs in the local municipalities in favour of people from outside.

Demonstrations lasted nearly the whole day on Wednesday 22nd July. Later in the afternoon the local municipal council came to address the crowds who-for-a-while refused to listen to their elected officials. One thing they wanted clarified was whether their brothers and sisters- arrested during the last two days of protests would be released before they could listen to whatever the town council’s meeting had concluded. Ninety-nine residents had been taken into police custody.

Siyathemba Township is but one example of this recent surge in protests against perceived lack of service delivery. The challenges of getting access to water and sanitation facilities, health care, employment, and electricity fifteen years into democratic South Africa are being brought up, albeit via the protests.

The residents in Siyathemba said they want Zuma to act on non-performing government officials. Do these protests suggest that poor South Africans are exercising their democratic right by speaking out on non performing government officials? Does the South African government simply view these protestors as unruly and unemployed youths who are out to damage the reputation of the country and Zuma? Or does national government pressure  local and provincial governments to deliver on their elections mandate?

As expected, U.S. President Barack Obama’s speech to Africa in Accra had plenty to say on the importance of good governance – but there was also a very strong message that his “new moment of promise” is one that Africans have to seize for themselves.

“You have the power to hold your leaders accountable, and to build institutions that serve the people. You can serve in your communities, and harness your energy and education to create new wealth and build new connections to the world. You can conquer disease, end conflicts, and make change from the bottom up. You can do that. Yes you can. Because in this moment, history is on the move,” Obama said.

“Freedom is your inheritance. Now, it is your responsibility to build upon freedom’s foundation. And if you do, we will look back years from now to places like Accra and say that this was the time when the promise was realized — this was the moment when prosperity was forged; pain was overcome; and a new era of progress began. This can be the time when we witness the triumph of justice once more.”

To listen to the whole speech, you can find a link on the White House website.

As Obama put it: “Make no mistake: history is on the side of these brave Africans, and not with those who use coups or change constitutions to stay in power. Africa doesn’t need strongmen, it needs strong institutions.”

There was no doubt they were strong words from the son of a Kenyan immigrant, who through elections has become the leader of the world’s most powerful country. Obama’s background may also give his message a better chance of being heard than those of past American leaders lecturing Africa on what it needs to do.

But when all is said and done and Obama flies off to deal with more urgent U.S. priorities, will the message be heeded? Will Africa live up to that promise?

The United Nations has joined Zimbabwe’s power-sharing government in appealing for more than $700 million in humanitarian aid for the ruined country.

But while Western countries may show willing when it comes to emergency aid, they are still reluctant to give money to the government between President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, his old rival.

First, they say, there must be broader political reforms and a clearer demonstration of respect for human rights.

The Western countries have long been at odds with Mugabe, accusing him of ruining Zimbabwe after the seizure of white-owned farms, of widespread human rights abuses and of making a mockery of elections last year that were widely condemned outside Zimbabwe.

But if those countries don’t come up with the finance that the government needs, some believe there is a danger it could undermine prospects for change rather than strengthening them.

“My advice is for the international community to engage Zimbabwe as the opposite of this will only benefit hardliners,” Tsvangirai told a visiting French minister last week.

The unity government has said it won more than $1 billion in promised credit lines from African banks for private firms, but says it needs more than $8 billion for reconstruction.

Should Western countries aid the government now, or is it too soon?

You can have your say on the survey below. Your comments are welcome too.

It’s one of the biggest ironies in South African politics — the most loyal ANC voters are often those the party appears to have let down most bitterly.

For millions of poor, mostly black South Africans, life has barely changed since the African National Congress defeated apartheid under Nelson Mandela in 1994.

Year after year, they wait for the new house, the job, the running water and electricity, the decent education for their children that the ANC has promised. For many, that never comes. Yet most will still vote for ANC and its leader Jacob Zuma in an election next week.

The poorest residents of Munsieville, a township on the edge of Johannesburg, illustrate the contradiction.

Unemployed and tired of living crammed into one-room shacks with no running water or electricity, they are quick to list the ways their government has failed them.

Hundreds share one water tap, which sits next to a stinking mound of rubbish where dirt-smudged children play and stray dogs scavenge for food. They dig pits for toilets.

Many say they have languished for years at the bottom of waiting lists for decent housing. They were left behind while others enjoyed a decade of continuous economic growth that created a burgeoning black middle class.

Yet almost all recoiled in horror at any suggestion they vote against the ANC.

“Half a loaf of bread is better than no bread,” said 24-year-old single mother Rahab Modise, wringing out her family’s washing in front of her shack. “The ANC is going to help us. They are taking a long time, but I still hope they will come one day.”

It’s thanks to people like Modise that the ANC is virtually ensured of winning next week’s election despite a challenge from a new breakaway party and a string of corruption scandals.

But why do those who have gained so little display such unwavering loyalty?

Analysts say that until other parties such as the newly formed Congress of the People (COPE), formed by disgruntled ANC politicians, or the Democratic Alliance learn to identify with the poor, the ruling party will face little in the way of real opposition.

“Irrespective of how bad service delivery gets, the poor still think the ANC represents them,” said Ebrahim Fakir, a political analyst at the Electoral Institute of South Africa. “The ANC’s image fits with what they see when they look in the mirror.”

Part of the appeal lies in the ANC’s freedom-fighter credentials.

COPE’s presidential candidate Mvume Dandala put it in simple terms during a recent township walkabout in a township.

“It’s like an abused wife — you get beaten every day but you keep going back to this man. and deep in your mind there’s some thing that says, were it not for this man I would probably never have been married.”

Zuma, a polygamist who enlivens rallies by kicking his legs in the air and dancing on stage, has helped cultivate that image.

He sings struggle-era songs to remind voters of the time he spent in jail on Robben Island alongside Mandela and hails from a rural area of the nation’s poorest province.

Rising to president-in waiting despite having no formal education, Zuma’s own life embodies the rags-to-riches fairytale many dream of, and when he pledges new houses, many believe him.

“We like Zuma because he’s one of us,” said Vuyo Tsotso, 26, who makes about 10 rand ($1) a day selling scrap wiring. “Zuma will give us grants and build houses. The ANC saved our lives because of what they did in 1994,” he said.

But there are also hints of change in Munsieville that suggest the ANC’s grip on power will not last forever, with a few younger voters expressing a willingness to at least consider other parties.

One had already decided to vote for the DA, headed by a white woman, Helen Zille — an option he had previously dismissed because of South Africa’s troubled racial past.

“Since 1994 the ANC has been making empty promises,” said Philemon Rakuba, 23. “They say a better life for all, but they’re the only ones living better while we’re still stuck here, and still voting for them.”

What do you think? Why do the ANC and Zuma command such loyalty from South Africa’s poor? Will the party always be able to count on such unwavering support?

Before the G20 meeting, there was a lot of talk inside and outside Africa about making sure the continent did not get left out while the world’s richest and most powerful set out plans to save their own economies.

So how did Africa fare?

On the face of things, perhaps not too badly.

“Our global plan for recovery must have at its heart the needs and jobs of hard-working families, not just in developed countries but in emerging markets and the poorest countries of the world too,” the communique says in paragraph 3.

In concrete terms:

• Resources available to the IMF will be trebled to $750 billion.
•  There will be support for a new allocation of Special Drawing Rights of $250 billion – something that could help poor countries
• There will be support for $100 billion more lending by Multilateral Development Banks (those include the World Bank Group and the African Development Bank)
• There will be $250 billion support for trade finance.
• Use will be made of resources from IMF gold sales “for concessional finance for the poorest countries”.
• Global financial institutions will be strengthened and reformed, ensuring that emerging and developing economies, including the poorest, must have greater voice and representation.”

The point on the gold sales was something for which Africa, represented at the summit by Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, had made a particular push.

But not all appeared so impressed. In East Africa based Business Daily, Allan Odhiambo’s piece was headlined “Africa thrown to back burner at G20 meeting.”

According to Nigeria’s ThisDay newspaper, President Umaru Yar’Adua’s main lament was the fact that Africa’s most populous country was not there (South Africa, with the continent’s biggest economy, was represented).

South Africa’s President Kgalema Motlanthe was quoted as saying he was “quite pleased” with the results of the summit.

How well do you think the G20 did for Africa? Will Africa really have a bigger say over the global financial system in future? Will that help?

- Iraj Abedian is the chief executive of Pan-African Investment & Research Services. The opinions expressed are his own -

Although Africa had no role whatsoever in causing the financial and economic crisis, the prevailing economic meltdown has put at risk Africa’s growth and development prospects.

In its latest update, the International Monetary Fund predicts that, as a direct consequence of the global economic crisis, Africa’s growth will drop to a low of 3.4 per cent, or less, in 2009. This is contrasted with 6.2 per cent economic growth in 2007, followed by 5.2 per cent in 2008.

Because of Africa’s integration into the global economy, the financial and economic crisis spread to the continent due to lower levels of trade, foreign direct investment, migrant remittances, and official development assistance. Moreover, with worsening growth projections for Africa’s main development partners in 2009, the continent will also be hurt by declines in export earnings, tourism, and the value of national currencies. Already a number of African countries are under severe stress.

Significantly, the deepening economic crisis exacerbated the serious political and socio-economic challenges already being experienced in Africa, due to poverty, underemployment, rising inequality, unfair globalization and difficult social conditions for large segments of Africa’s population.

The financial and economic crisis comes at a time when Africa is only beginning to recover from the effects of the food and fuel crises. To ameliorate the adverse consequences and to avoid further damage to the social fabric of the continent, it is vital to recognize that no country or region alone can deal with the consequences of the crisis, hence global, coordinated solutions are called for.

More importantly, a profound mindset shift, underpinned by a new set of moral and ethical value system, is required. The hegemonic practices, exploitative objectives, and historic maneuverings have to end. The global response to the crisis must be value-driven and pursue the overarching objective of alleviating the burden of the economic downturn on people, especially vulnerable groups. To this end, the removal of the existing barriers to a fair global trade system is a major first step. The elimination of agriculture subsidies in OECD and currency manipulations by China and others should receive serious and immediate attention.

Over the past year, there has emerged a growing implicit protectionism within G8 member countries that is detrimental to global recovery and growth. Together with the so-called fiscal stimuli introduced by the G8 countries and others, the focus thus far has been on narrow national interests. Understandable as it might be, such short-termism and politically driven initiatives have distracted attention from some of the root causes of the global crisis.

From Africa’s vantage point, the G20’s focus should be on strengthening and restructuring multilateral institutions, with a view to urgently transforming them on the basis of sound and equitable governance principles. Genuine and coherent economic policies as well as the reform of the global economic governance architecture will have to form an integral part of an effective response to the crisis. De-globalization and segmentation of the global socio-economic system is a false and counter-productive tendency that cannot serve Africa’s interest over time.

Strengthening continental structures is another requirement of an effective and sustainable response to the situation. This in turn necessitates a more credible commitment by the richer nations to their global aid commitments, which thus far has left much to be desired. It is common in times of crises for the leaders, G8 or G20, to make popular commitments and subscribe to politically correct goals. However, it is the delivery of the promises and the genuine removal of structural, institutional and policy barriers that would set the world economy on the path of recovery.

Alongside G20 leaders, a critical responsibility rests with the leaders within Africa - political, social and intellectual - to respond to the crisis with a sense of empowerment, integrity and commitment. There is much that can be achieved within the continent, and that should be pursued with the urgency that the conditions demand. True, it would have been ideal if more African countries were represented at the G20 leaders’ table. That South Africa is the only African member country of G20 is no excuse for the other leaders to wait for the G20 decisions to embark upon some key initiatives that would stimulate economic activity, food production, and social cohesion on the continent.

After all, the track record of G20 leadership does not inspire much hope, and yet the severity of the socio-economic circumstances demands visionary and committed leadership now.

- Jorge Maia is head of Research and Information for Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa, established in 1940 to promote economic growth and industrial development. The opinions expressed are his own -

Serious shockwaves are hitting Africa's shores as the global economic crisis unfolds.

The extent and depth of the damage is extremely difficult to assess or project, but it is clear that the pattern of financial flows associated with investment, lending and trading activity has been dramatically altered, with detrimental economic and social implications for the continent at large. The adverse impact has been gradually spreading from a regional perspective - a serious setback to Africa's recent growth performance, which had averaged 6 percent a year from 2003 to 2008.

The effects will vary widely, depending on each country's integration within the global financial system, its dependency on exports and tourism receipts, official development assistance and remittances from African citizens working overseas, among other factors.

Access to trade credit lines used to finance imports and investments is under threat due to the global credit crunch, while portfolio flows have been reversed and remain weak due to institutional deleveraging, pessimistic investor sentiment or extreme risk aversion.

Foreign direct investment flows are also expected to contract, although the rather long lead-time of typical projects could imply that some of the capital may have already been committed. The African banking sector is feeling the freeze in interbank lending worldwide from a funding standpoint, and may come under substantial pressure through its customer base should the economic slowdown intensify on the home front.

Where capital is still available, its cost is likely to have risen substantially, with implications for the viability of projects and for the debt repayment obligations of African countries. Such adverse trends are not only impacting negatively on capital inflows and national balances of payments, but also are resulting in greater volatility in foreign exchange markets.

The productive sectors of Africa's economies are being progressively affected by a fast deteriorating global environment as demand weakens, unfavourable terms of trade develop, corporate earnings decline, investment activity slows down and jobs are shed. As elsewhere in the globe, this has led to continuous downward revisions in economic growth projections. For instance, the latest IMF forecast of 3.4 percent growth for the African continent in 2009 is now considered optimistic by the IMF's own leadership.

The African economies that will contain the adversity are likely to be those that remain highly vigilant in managing the downside potential, those that are in a position to adopt counter-cyclical measures and that make an effort to seek new opportunities and competitive gains. However, liquidity or fiscal constraints are likely to prevent the majority of African countries from adopting economic stimulus packages. In order to preserve productive capacity, it is absolutely essential that a concerted effort be made to sustain private sector access to credit, including development funding.

Major crises bring to the fore not only comparative weaknesses but also comparative strengths. Thus, economies that manage downturns more successfully are those that exploit their comparative strengths instead of focusing on their weaknesses. The African continent is richly endowed with commodities and other resources, including an enormous, yet largely unexploited agricultural potential. Forecasts for most commodity prices point, at best, towards a very modest recovery in 2009. However, considering the demand and supply forces at play in the medium- to long-term, commodity prices should resume an upward trend. This will be underpinned by the roll-out of massive stimulus packages focusing on infrastructure investment throughout the globe, by the eventual recovery of the world's economies and by the resumption of growth in income levels, particularly in emerging regions. After all, the long-term demand for commodities from the fast-growing and very large emerging economies such as China and India has certainly not evaporated.

As credit starts flowing again through the global financial system, several emerging economies are likely to exhibit signs of recovery first, including China, India and Brazil. This should support a recovery in commodity markets and renewed investor interest in Africa for its resource wealth. The challenge remains for African countries to make the most of a future recovery, tirelessly encouraging the beneficiation of their resources instead of continuing to export value-adding opportunities, missing out on massive export earnings potential.

The impact of ongoing international efforts to thaw global credit markets and stimulate economic activity worldwide will, however, take time to bear results. In the meantime, competitive forces scrambling for a diminished global pie will pose unprecedented threats to African enterprises. Such challenges may include aggressive market penetration efforts and even protectionist measures on the part of foreign businesses and governments. African enterprises will have to adopt tough, well-formulated strategic decisions, as their present strategies may not hold them in good stead under rapidly deteriorating market conditions. They should be seriously vigilant, managing downside potential, adopting counter-cyclical measures, including appropriate cost-cutting measures and efficiency improvements, while constantly seeking opportunities for the development of new/niche markets.

African countries that remain committed to sound economic management will tend to restore investor confidence faster and mitigate the impact of the downturn more successfully. The momentum exhibited in improving the investment environment in numerous African countries must be maintained, so as to grow vibrant and competitive business sectors that will create employment and sustain broad-based economic growth. All feasible forms of support should be provided to the private sector at large, so as to sustain its growth potential and developmental impact. This should include strong and concerted governmental opposition to protectionist tendencies emerging globally, and insistence on greater participation in international governance.

On the business front, African enterprises that remain sharply focused on competitiveness improvements should be relatively successful in domestic and/or global markets, stand a better chance of surviving the crisis and should prosper in the long-run.

Buoyed by recent discoveries of commercial scale oil deposits in Uganda, east African policy makers, foreign oil explorers and their local partners trooped to a five-star hotel on the Kenyan coast this week to reflect on the progress and chart future strategies.

Viewed as a frontier region for oil exploration, east Africa’s first major oil find was made by Tullow Oil and Heritage Oil companies in the Albertine Basin, which spans the border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (whose improving relations are making the exploitation of the reserves look morel ikely).

Before that, Tanzania had found vast reserves of natural gas in Songo Songo and Mnazi Bay areas.

Just like Rwanda, which hopes to revolutionise electricity generation in the region through methane gas from Lake Kivu, Tanzania hopes to power cars from the gas and generate much needed electricity from its natural gas.

The regional economic power house Kenya has, however, had disappointing results so far in its search for oil.

Although 32 wells have been sunk here since the 1950s, only traces of oil and gas have been found. It is now reprocessing data gathered over that period in the hope new knowledge and technology will reveal hidden deposits.

Drilling, an expensive affair that prospectors say can cost a firm $200 million for one well, took a commercial break in the 1980s. But it has also seen a resurgence of interest, thanks to last year’s rise of crude in global markets.

Kenya issued 14 exploration licenses last year and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) is set to sink its first well in the second half of this year in the eastern province.

Kiraitu Murungi, the nation’s energy minister, told the meeting in Mombasa they were praying day and night for the new well and data reprocessing to show signs of oil.

On the other hand,  Uganda — long reliant on Kenya’s ageing oil refinery for its supply of petroleum products — has grand plans for its newfound oil resources.

They include the construction of a state of the art modern refinery at an estimated cost of $1.3 billion to process its oil as well as oil from any new finds in the region.

Uganda’s energy and mineral development minister, Hillary Onek, spoke of the plans with a grin and added that the region, believed to share common geology, could be headed for a better future as it taps its oil and gas reserves to power development.

However, as officials and oil prospectors retired to the hotel’s restaurants and beach bar for a drink in the evenings, they must have wondered if a few obstacles may not block the path to that prosperous future.

The global financial crisis is weighing heavily on the finance base of some companies prospecting in the region.

Lack of local skilled manpower in oil and gas industry is also worrying. So is the big question of how to equitably manage revenues from oil and gas so that oil and gas do not turn into a curse for the region as they have elsewhere on the continent.

Is east Africa ready to handle oil and gas? Will oil discoveries help local communities?

By Rainer Schwenzfeier

How can African countries earn more from their raw materials. And how can the women of Mali improve their ability to trade with buyers in the West?

Korotouma Doumbia, a 29-year-old from south-west Mali, has no education or formal skills but she manages to earn the family income. She harvests shea nuts and turns them into shea butter, a popular ingredient in many western cosmetics.

The shea tree grows wild in nearly 20 countries in Africa and Mali has more shea trees than any of its neighbours. They are often cultivated for their oil and Korotouma’s village has some planted trees, but they also harvest the wild trees further from the village. 

“The trees belong to all of us, because nobody has planted them. All the women from the village can harvest wherever they like,” she told Reuters Africa Journal.

The women collect as much as they can carry. But about two thirds of Mali’s shea harvest stays on the ground. The trees are spread out and the women have no other means of transporting their harvest than carrying it on their heads.

One organisation that has tried to help Mali’s women earn more from their shea butter is the Development Trust Association or ACOD, a non-governmental group based in Bamako.

They buy Shea butter from farmers at a minimum price and then either resell it internationally or use it to make cosmetic products.

Elisee Sidibe, the group’s Permanent Secretary, says shea butter is an excellent way to fight poverty in rural Mali. “So if the government and its partners support the shea industry and help position it on the international market, then we could dramatically reduce poverty among women in rural areas.”

But the problem is that most women aren’t producing high-grade shea butter that can be sold internationally. They can sell their produce to the local market, but they get much less money for it than they could expect if they had access to better means of processing the butter.

The money they earn in the market is small compared to the profits made by big international cosmetics companies that use African shea butter in their creams and lotions.

Local experts believe that with more investment, the shea butter industry in Mali has huge potential for growth. This would impact not just the lives of women in rural areas, but also the country’s overall economy.