Africa misses Michael Jackson

It is hard to believe that  the King of Pop is dead………,  but in Africa, he is not gone, he still lives in our hearts.

Through his music, he made considerable contributions to Africa . In 1985  at the climax of hunger and famine , he mobilised his fellow musician to record ” We are the world “  a dedication to raise not only funds but also awereness in the fight against the problem that was/is  happening in Africa . Funds we raised ( about 60 million dollars ) and lives saved .

How about ” Earth song ” ? its undeniable this song raised awareness on the environment degradation that was at high rate at the moment in Africa, more so, he shot part of the video from Tanzania in East Africa in which he highlighted the issue of illegal poaching and hunting of wild animals. This did not only boost Tanzania´s tourism industry but also created awareness for the need to protect animals and stop  environment degradation activities among various Africa countries.

OOOh, i cant forget ” Black or white ” , a sensational song addressing the issue of respect and stopping  racism. How about ” heal the world” ? awareness on children´s rights. The list is never ending

Surely Michael, you helped making the  world and Africa a better place, we dearly miss you.

My condoloscences to the Jackson  family

Rest in Peace MJ.

Investing in East Africa

East Africa comprises of 5 states namely Uganda,Kenya, Tanzania ,Rwanda and Burundi. There quite various economic indicators that show the region as an investment opportunity .

Why East Africa ?

With a total population of approximately 125 million people of GDP ( PPP )per capita $1200 shows a positive market . The increased trend of the middle class further more ensures an average consumption confidence. The emerging of the East African Economy has greatly brought a solid common market. KPMG www.eastafrica.kpmg.com an international accredited company reports that though Financial crisis has affected global economnies, surprisingly East african nations have mantained reasonable regional economic stability as seen below

( Uganda Kenya and Tanzania average economic indicators )

GDP at Market price $ 61,383 Million

Inflation rate 9.9 %

Budget deficit as % of GDP ( current price ) 8 .0 %

Trade deficit as % of GDP ( current price ) 16.7 %

The Access to the Sovereign Bonds rating by Fitch Rating show Uganda and Kenya on B and B+ respectively which is quite a right economic prosperity path as it shows growth of the financial sector. Uganda registered a GDP growth rate of 7.1 % 2008/9 despite the financial recession.

On the other hand, there are continued improvement in the infrastructures ( roads and health sectors ) , favourable tax rates and rebates which all have a positive investment multiplier effect.

What to invest in ?

With a favorable climate, there is great potentials in the agricultural sectors ( Fishing and fish farming, horticulture, food production , animal husbandry etc ).

The region is endowered with natural mineral resources and antiquities. Kenya and Tanzania have a predominent wild life resource and at the moment Uganda has undeveloped oil to the tune of 2 billion barrels and wells in pipeline.

These all indicate a ground for investment opportunities. ICT is a lucrative investment opportunities in the region, these in general includes mobile and landline communication , radios ,media ( Radio, Tv ) and internet .Film and Music production has a great market not only in the region but also the whole African continent. Ventures in real estate ,Vocational technology ( skills education ) and Medicare production are worth investing in.

China and Africa

After attending a seminar by Dr Wei Ge , i was amazed to know about the Chinese Economy, one of the few countries with still a positive GDP growth in this historical financial crisis year.
Do you know China aided Africa to a tune of 50 billion dollars in 2006?
A recent survey revealed that many Africans view China´s involvement in Africa as an opportunity for Africa´s growth . Dr Dambisa Moyo in her popular book ” Dead Aid ” suggested a much trade relation with China as one of the ways of Africa´s economic growth. Chinese government has made multiple aid in infrastructure development in almost all African states coupled with cancelling all the outstanding debts.
on contrally, Mr Adam Gaye is skeptical about the real motive of China whether philanthropy or otherwise hidden .He also believes its going to be the turning point from the influence of traditional instituitions like IMF and World Bank ” China has also been criticised for holding a neutral position on dictatorship and human rights abuse in Africa ( Zimbabwe and Sudan ).
Time will tell whether the new relationship is beneficial to China or Africa or perhaps both.

Setting Priorities in solving Global problems.

With multiple global problems and limited resources ,its always a question of how policy makers should prioritise the solution . I found Professor Bjorn Lomborg ( Coppenhagen Business School ) arguments so interestin that i decided to share it with you . Foremost, he recognises global warming as a world problem but totally disagrees on how its recieving international priority as a major world crisis at the expense of real striking global problems
like HIV/AIDS,malaria,hunger ,birth and infant mortality rates etc.
here are some of his top arguments of why global warming should be given less attention

1. UN science consesus expects temperature rise of 3-7 degrees F leading to a rise of about 1.5 feet sea level at the end of the century which is quite manageable

2.Although Global warming will cause about 400,000 heat related deaths globally, it will on a positive side cause 1.8 million fewer cold related deaths

3.Most economic models show global warming damage will be 3% of world GDP which is not a threat since UN expects at the end of the century an average person will be 1400 % richer.

4.Implimentation of Kyoto protocol at 180 billion dollars annually will solve 2million from hunger at the end of the century yet on the other hand UN estimates at 10 billion dollars annually, we can save 229 million people from hunger. There fore is it better spending money to save 1 person in 100 years or use the money to save 5000 people now ?

source and recommended recource
” How to spend 50 billion dollars to make a world a better place ” by Bjorn Lomborg.
“Cool It: The Skeptical Environmentalist’s Guide to Global Warming” by Bjorn Lomborg
TED video Bjorn Lomborg
copenhagen

In support of The Paris Declaration.

The Development Aid issue has encoutered public scrutiny with increasing critical views from anti-aid activists based on ” Washington Consensus ” etc , this showed a need from the donor and recipeint aid stake holders to make adjustments and policies for Aids Effecctiveness.

In 2005, OECD ( Organisation for Economics Co-operation and Development ) summoned an International Community summit hosted by the French Government at the ” Paris High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness”, at the meeting more than 100 signatories endorsed the ” Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness “

“”"The Paris Declaration, endorsed on 2 March 2005, is an international agreement to which over one hundred Ministers, Heads of Agencies and other Senior Officials adhered and committed their countries and organisations to continue to increase efforts in harmonisation, alignment and managing aid for results with a set of monitorable actions and indicators “”"”