Standard Chartered launches partnership programme to educate One million people about HIV/AIDS across the World

Standard Chartered has launched a new programme to partner organisations across the world to educate their workforces and members about HIV/AIDS. The initiative is being undertaken as part of Standard Chartered’s global health commitment to the Clinton Global Initiative to educate one million people about HIV/AIDS by 2010. The Virgin Group, which manages more than 250 branded companies in 29 countries, is announcing that it will become a global partner as part of its strategy to educate its 50,000 employees throughout Europe, North America, Asia and Africa. In addition, Standard Chartered is collaborating with AIESEC, the world's largest student organisation, to educate 300,000 young adults across the globe. Standard Chartered aims to train peer educators within partner organisations, as well as offer access to a range of educational resources - such as the e-Learning module - which can be adapted to suit partners' own operations.

“Undersea Cable to Connect 21 African Countries

The construction of an undersea fibre-optic cable is to move Africa closer to reliable telecommunications and affordable Internet access, by connecting 21 east, southern, and central African countries to West Africa and Europe. The project will transform the African telecommunication landscape and have a direct positive impact on business in East Africa. The East Africa Submarine Cable System, or EASSy, is intended to provide digital access to 250 million people, or one in four Africans. EASSy will cut the cost of internet access by two-thirds at the outset and the number of subscribers will triple. The cable will run along the floor of the western Indian Ocean and connect South Africa, Mozambique, Madagascar, Tanzania, Kenya, Somalia, Djibouti and Sudan. At its southern end, it will join cables serving West Africa and Europe. Thirteen adjoining countries will be linked to the system as additional networks are completed through a broader World Bank initiative. These countries are Botswana, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Chad, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Malawi, Rwanda, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The IFC said it would provide $18.2 million out of $70.7 million in long-term loans sought by the EASSy consortium of companies. The rest would come from the African Development Bank, European Investment Bank, German development bank KfW, and French development bank AFD. The European Union also would provide some financing. Most of the money for the $235-million project is to come from 25 private telecommunications operators that make up the 29-company EASSy consortium, the others being government entities. Of the private firms, 21 are African and these will be the cable's main users, the IFC said.

Qualified African Civilians sought for ACSR

The African Civilian Standby Roster for Humanitarian and Peace-building Missions (AFDEM) is a database of qualified African civilians interested in deployment with the UN and agencies, AU and other International organizations operating in humanitarian and peace-building missions. To apply, please send your updated CV with at least three contactable referees to:  admin@afdem-africa.org or jrecruitment@afdem-africa.org For more information about AFDEM:  http://www.afdem-africa.org.

Aviva Secures Dual Listing on the Botswana Stock Exchange

Australian Energy company Aviva Corporation has listed on the Botswana Stock Exchange, joining a growing list of international resources companies who have obtained a secondary listing on the Botswana bourse. Aviva, which is also listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, has energy interests in Botswana (Mmamantswe Project) and in Australia (Coolimba Power Project). Aviva is earning a 90% interest in the Mmamantswe Project in Botswana where it is targeting 600 metric tonnes of coal.

Liberia Clears Its World Bank Debt

Liberia has cleared all overdue debt service payments to the World Bank, marking the beginning of a new era for the country as it normalizes its relations with the international community. Clearance of arrears to the Bank and other multilateral agencies will make Liberia eligible for full debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) and Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI) programs, thereby contributing to the country’s ability to achieve growth and recovery in the coming years.

First Africa Forum on Open Education Resources

The MERLOT Africa Network (MAN) Council announces the First Africa Forum on Open Educational Resources (OER), to be held during the eLearning Africa Conference 2008 in Accra, Ghana, May 28th to 30th. MAN is a network of African higher education institutions affiliated with the Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching (MERLOT). The organisation works collaboratively with partner institutions to conduct educational research that leads to best practices in the scholarship of teaching and learning using electronic resources. MAN also strives to enhance the usability and quality of the MERLOT e-learning repository for global access. The First Africa Forum themes focus on global awareness of OER, universal access for all to high quality teaching and learning resources, equal access through internationalisation of resources with multi-language capabilities and research, as well as OER Global Communities of Practices. The event is organised by MAN in collaboration with eLearning Africa and the African Virtual University. The forum targets all education professionals from all disciplines, including educational researchers, educational trainers, faculty members and teachers from the secondary and higher education sectors. For more information on the First Africa Forum please go to  http://man.merlot.org/research/MAN%20at%20eLA.html.

UN works with Liberian Government to Generate Jobs

The United Nations Mission in Liberia is supporting efforts by the Government to create more than 1 million days of work for labourers from small communities in the country, where employment has been linked to stability since the end of the civil war returned thousands of former fighters to the civilian workforce. The joint road rehabilitation initiative is being led by UNMIL with the World Bank, the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) and aims to generate 1 million days of work for 50,000 locally recruited labourers by the end of June 2008, which marks the end of the dry season. Workers hired through the scheme include ex-combatants, returnees, and young men and women who are recruited from communities along the various roads that are being rehabilitated. In addition to providing for many families in the area and reconnecting communities with each other by improving road conditions, the income workers receive also helps to boost economic revitalization in rural Liberia, UNMIL said.

South Africa Ranks in Global Top 20 for Investment

South Africa has been ranked as the 18th most attractive foreign direct investment destination worldwide. This comes from the latest Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Confidence Index by global management consulting firm AT Kearney. This is South Africa’s debut appearance in the index's top 25 FDI destinations, in which China and India continue to rank first and second in the 2007 index. 15 of the most attractive 25 FDI destinations are developing markets. Brazil, the United Arab Emirates and Russia all rank among the top ten. According to the organization, the world's centre of power continued its "perceptible shift" from developed to developing markets and developed countries are competing with developing countries for investment capital, and developing countries are increasingly winning out. They added that developing country investors also are likely to be responsible for more than half (54 percent) of the investments greater than $500-million over the next three years. The index, a regular survey of global executives, provides a unique look at the present and future prospects for international investment flows, with companies participating in the survey accounting for more than $3.8-trillion in annual global revenue.

Almost One Dozen African nations sign up for UN-backed Education Scheme

Nearly one dozen African nations have joined forces to participate in a United Nations-backed programme to bolster education and training in rural areas. At the Rome headquarters of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), representatives from 11 countries – Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Guinea, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Niger, Uganda, Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania – have agreed to identify areas of cooperation. Rural people comprise approximately 70 per cent of Africa’s total population and are expected to remain the majority over the next three decades. Education and training for rural people is key in sub-Saharan Africa’s fight against poverty, hunger, malnutrition and illiteracy. But for every 100 urban children who have access to primary education, only 68 do in rural areas, and for every 100 children who complete primary school in urban areas, only 46 of their rural counterparts do. The participating nations’ ministries of education, agriculture and rural development, among others, were asked to work together to design programmes reflecting local cultural and social values, as well as to collect and analyze statistics. Agencies such as the FAO and the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) were requested to boost their support for capacity-building and institutional strengthening of rural education. The two-day Rome meeting was a follow-up to a ministerial seminar in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, held in September 2005.

The African Integration Review

The African Integration Review is an international multidisciplinary Journal for the discussion of a wide range of integration issues in Africa. The African Integration Review is particularly interested in the theory of integration and to its application to problems. The AIR is a scientific journal to address economic, social, cultural and political integration in Africa. It is a multidisciplinary journal focusing on integration issues in Africa, open to all theoretical and applied research orientations on African regions and countries. It constitutes a window of opportunity for the African researchers and academics to participate in Africa's integration process and offers an ideal framework for exchange of views on continental integration issues. It is meant for students, researchers, academics, economic operators, as well as political and economic decision makers in Africa. The Journal is bilingual (French and English) and published twice a year under the supervision of a scientific committee composed of African researchers and academics of international repute and with extensive experience working on Africa's integration issues. Manuscripts can be sent to the African Union Commission at:  mkwezalamba@africa-union.org

International Conference on African Culture and Development

From 21st to 26th April 2008, an important event will be held on the African continent - the organization of the 1st International Conference on African Culture and Development (ICACD 2008) in Kumasi, Ghana. This conference is designed to draw attention to the missing link in the futile attempts to develop the African continent - culture. This is clearly illustrated in the 1995 report of the World Commission on Culture and Development: "Development divorced from its human or cultural context is growth without a soul. Economic development in its full Flowering is a part of a people's culture". www.icacd.ccoghana.org

MSCI Barra to Launch Frontier Markets Indices

The MSCI Barra, a leading provider of investment decision support tools worldwide including indices and portfolio analytics has announced that it will launch the MSCI Frontier Markets Indices. The indices, which will measure the aggregate performance of 19 selected markets from Central and Eastern Europe as well as the Commonwealth of Independent States, Africa, Middle East and Asia, includes 4 African Markets. These are: Kenya, Mauritius, Nigeria and Tunisia. The launch of the MSCI Frontier Markets Indices reflects the growing interest from international investors in these equity markets.

MTN Nigeria Launches 3G

MTN Nigeria says commercial third generation mobile telephony services are now available to subscribers in the country. According to the company, MTN's third generation telephony will run on a High Speed Packet Access platform (HSPA). HSPA is technically mid-way between Third Generation and Fourth Generation mobile telephony and is technically referred to as 3.5G and represents an advanced form of Third Generation mobile telephony. Among the services that the technology will make available are video calling, video streaming, and broadband internet.

Seacom Undersea Fibre-Optic Cable Construction Begins

Tyco Telecommunications has announced that it has started construction on the US$650-million Seacom undersea fibre-optic cable, which will link southern and eastern Africa with India and Europe by 2009, bringing down connectivity costs in the process. According to the company, Seacom's offerings will complement communication carriers of south and east Africa through the sale of wholesale international capacity to global networks eastward through India and westward through Europe. The system will provide African retail carriers with equal and open access to inexpensive bandwidth, removing the international infrastructure bottleneck and supporting east and south African economic growth. According to Tyco, the increased capacity of the cable as compared to existing infrastructure will enable the greater availability and lower cost of high-demand services, such as high definition television (HDTV), peer to peer networks and Internet Protocol television (IPTV). South African companies will own half of the private equity funded Seacom undersea fibre-optic cable, which will link southern and eastern Africa with India and Europe, with total African ownership of the cable to reach 75%.

Chinese Bank Gives Kenya $20 Million for Affordable Housing

China Development Bank is to provide $20 million in development credit to build low-cost housing and improve education and health care in Kenya, the bank's top official in Africa has said. More than half the money will go towards construction of low- and medium-income houses in the east African country, which has a government target of building 150,000 new units each year.

Africa Development Indicators 2007

In contrast to the 1970s and 1980s, the last decade has spelt a period of steady growth across Africa, partly as a result of global market conditions (high prices for oil and minerals) and partly due a change in macroeconomic policies. However, political volatility remains a risk to investment, says this latest report from the World Bank.

UNECA Supports Local Languages on the Internet

The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) recently launched the Academic Network of African Researchers on Languages to undertake research on how "Internet language" can be simplified and translated into local languages. "We want to link computer sciences closer with languages with an objective of bridging the language digital divide that does hinder our local people from using ICTs especially in the use of Internet," said UNECA's Director of ICT, Science and Technology Division Aida Opoku-Mensah.

2008 Young Women Leadership Programme

EASSI is an eleven year old sub-regional support initiative for women that boasts of having a hand in the implementation of Government commitments to women and girls’ advancement. This program targets women from the ages of 18 to 35 from any of the eight countries of the sub-region, Burundi, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, Tanzania and Uganda. Every year wetarget four women. In 2008, we specifically seek women from Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia and Tanzania.  http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/courses/44945

Angola and Japan Sign Agreement on Port Rehabilitation

This month, the governments of Angola and Japan will sign an agreement involving the Lobito and Namibe Port Rehabilitation Project. Japan will study a concessionary credit to modernize Angola’s ports, following Angola’s agreement with Paris Club editors last month. The Japanese government will finance the modernization of the equipment, facilities, and docks at both of the ports.

LNG Limited Signs Contract for Liquefied Gas Project

The Angola LNG Limited firm, the Angolan Government, and Sonangol signed an investment contract that defines the final preparations for the implementation of the Liquid Natural Gas Project of Angola (Angola LNG), with the initial value estimated at USD 4 billion. The project’s investors authorized Angola LNG Limited to proceed with construction and implementation. The Angola LNG Project will be the biggest individual investment in the country and create many important jobs. The implementation of this project will reduce the burning of natural gas and its emissions, which will help to minimize the effects of greenhouse gases in the area. The project will also aid in promoting the continuous development of a future industry based on natural gas in Angola. It is estimated that the project will obtain approximately one billion cubic meters of associated gas per day from production blocks of marine zones and produce 5.2 million tons of LNG and liquid by-products of gas per year. The shareholders in this investment include Sonangol with 36.4%, Chevron with 36.4%, Total with 13.6% and BP with 13.6%.

Women Who Tech: A Telesummit for Women in Technology

Women Who Tech is holding a telesummit for Women in Technology in the non-profit and political world on 31st March that will bring together the most talented and renowned women breaking new ground in technology. This participatory telesummit will feature virtual workshops and panel discussions in online organizing and politics, women in open source, mobile activism, fighting sexism in the tech sector, career coaching, and more.  http://www.womenwhotech.com/

More African Students Attending University in China

More African students are in or planning to go to China for higher education because of the country's fast-growing economy and warmer ties with Africa. Figures from China's Ministry of Education showed that 3,737 African students came to study in Chinese universities last year, compared with 2,757 in 2005, marking a sharp rise of 40 percent. Most people go to study the Chinese language, and some are studying medicine, economics and management. With increasing numbers of Chinese companies doing business in Africa, the ability to speak the language gives students a better chance of employment in big Chinese firms. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao promised during last November's Forum on China-Africa Cooperation to boost the number of scholarships for Africa from 2,000 to 4,000 annually. Since the 1950s, China has provided more than 17,000 scholarships for students from 50 African countries, according to the Ministry of Education. However, African students are still minorities of foreign students in China, who accounted for only 2.3 percent of the total in 2006. The Ministry of Education said the percentage will rise distinctly as the number of scholarships increases.

Ethiopia to Export Power to Neighbours

Ethiopia will begin exporting electricity to neighbouring Sudan and Djibouti by 2010, after its series of hydroelectric power projects underway get accomplished. These include a dam construction in Mekelle by 3 Chinese companies, which is nearing completion.

Angolan Stock Exchange to Open in 2008

The chairman of the Capital Market Commission (CMC) of Angola, Cruz Lima has announced that, the Angolan Stock Exchange and Derivatives (BVDA) will start operating by the end of first quarter of 2008. Cruz Lima expressed the hope that the stock exchange will start with many companies. The exchange is expected to start trading with 27 listed companies including Sonangol (oil firm), Endiama (diamond), Ensa (insurance), FDES (fund), BPC, BIC, BFA, BAI (banks), Grupo António Mosquito, Sistec and Chicoil. The Angolan Stocks and Securities Exchange (BVDA) will open in the first quarter of 2008. The BVDA would like to begin trading shares from as many firms as possible to develop into an international capital market. Some of the companies associated with the Luanda stock exchange are Sonangol, ENSA, Endiama, the Port of Luanda, BIC, BAI, BFA, BPC and Millennium Angola banks.

First Pan-African Satellite Launched

The first pan-African satellite worth $380M is due for launch this week and is considered a turning point for the development of the continent is the sectors of new technologies and telecommunication. The project was co-financed by continental and regional banks. Rascom QAF-1 will provide telecommunication services in rural parts of Africa as well as domestic and international connections, direct TV broadcast services and internet access for 15 years.

Japan Invests US$ 8 Million for Construction of Schools in Angola

In 2008, forty new primary schools will be built in the provinces of Luanda and Benguela, under a project funded by the Japanese Government. The project is estimated at USD 8.95 million. Twenty of the schools will be built in Luanda with six rooms each, located in the districts of Samba, Cacuaco, Viana, Kilamba Kiaxi and Cazenga. The remaining 20 schools will be built in nine different districts of Benguela and will each have three rooms.

India Offers Zambia E-Learning Support

Zambia and India signed an agreement in September that will see India fund Zambian training centres to train researchers and the public in information and communication technology (ICT) skills. Zambia needed to embrace science and technology to develop economically, said Peter Daka, the Zambian Minister of Science and Technology.

Subsidised Internet Access for Namibian Schools

Telecom Namibia and the Xnet Development Alliance Trust announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding to provide subsidized Internet access to more than 1,500 schools as well as other educational establishments in Namibia.

Sonangol Seeks Financing for LNG Project

Sonangol recently signed a financing contract for construction of the Angola LNG Project. Located in Zaire Province, the project will revolutionize the industry in Angola by using natural gas that would otherwise be burned off in offshore oil production areas, to create LNG. In its first phase, the Angola LNG Project will use associated natural gas from the Associação de Cabinda and Blocks 14, 15, 17, and 18, as well as from dedicated, non-associated gas fields. It is expected that the An gola LNG Project will receive approximately 1 billion cubic feet of associated gas per day from offshore production blocks and will produce 5.2 million metric tons of LNG and liquid byproducts per year. The project is predicted to process and treat up to 125 million cubic feet of gas per day for use in industrial projects.

IT Market Forecasts 15% Growth

According to the director of Merca Electrónica, Angola’s IT market is expected to grow 15% in 2008, as more companies continue to start up operations. The administrator of Sistec believes the market is enjoying substantial growth, although the number of retail firms is still small. Growth is being recorded at all levels from communications to more demanding clients. Companies and institutions now want local-access networks, internet access, and so on.

Frankfurt Begins Flight to Luanda

German Airline, Lufthansa, will begin direct flights from Frankfurt, Germany to Luanda, Angola beginning April 2008. The new flight to Luanda will increase business opportunities, and strengthen routes in the African continent. The flights will be made every Wednesday and Thursday, with an A340-300 aircraft. They will offer services in three classes (first, executive and economic) and accommodate 221 passengers. With the direct flight linking Luanda and Frankfurt, clients in Angola have an added advantage in connections, through the German capital, and to other European and USA destinations.

Gambia Reaches HIPC Completion

The IMF has announced that The Gambia has attained HIPC completion and this will qualify the country for substantial multilateral debt relief. Total debt service savings from the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative resulting from HIPC completion is estimated at US$374m over the next 40 years. Official creditors are also expected to cancel $66m of Gambia’s debt stock which is equivalent to 27% reduction in net present value terms. As a result of reaching HIPC completion point, The Gambia is expected to receive in total the equivalent of US$514 million in nominal debt relief under both the Enhanced HIPC Initiative and the MDRI, on principal as well as interest payments. Gambia’s official external debt is currently equivalent to about 166% of GDP and this is expected to fall to 60%. Debt servicing costs is expected to fall from over 40% of the annual government budget to an estimated 25%. While this is welcome, the country’s total debt burden and debt servicing costs will remain significant and efforts at reducing the country’s substantial domestic debt burden in particular would need to be intensified to improve debt sustainability.

Ghana Receives First Volume of Gas

The first volume of gas from the long-awaited West Africa Gas Pipeline Project flowed to its planned terminus in Ghana last Friday. The gas project is jointly owned by the Chevron oil company which has 36.7 per cent equity; Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) 25 per cent; Shell 18 per cent, Ghana’s Volta River Authority 16.3 per cent, Societe Togoliase de Gaz (SoToGaz), two per cent, and Societe BenGaz S.A. (SoBeGaz) two per cent. During the recent energy shortages resulting from the decrease of the water level of the Akosombo Dam, the main source of power generation in the country, one of the policy options expedited by the government to address the energy shortfalls was the gas pipeline project.

Call for Help in Setting UP Rape Crisis Centres

Urgent Action Fund-Africa has supported The Nairobi Women’s Hospital to set up 4 crisis response centres (Women’s Gender Recovery Unit s) in Mathare, Huruma, Jamhuri Park and Kibera to provide shelter, security, and more importantly medical and psychological care to rape victims who are unable to access the services because the informal settlements have been sealed off by security personnel and violent protestors. Total numbers of displaced Kenyans has topped 300,000 and growing daily. Other contributors to this initiative include St Johns Ambulance and Red Cross who have provided an ambulance and tents respectively. The Red Cross is also providing food to the IDP’s. We are appealing for more funds. We need Kenya Shillings 5.8 million (USD 90,000). UAF- Africa is contributing $10,000. We see the action as contributing to protecting the lives of the most marginalized in our communities; women and girls living in informal settlements. Those who are most vulnerable and subject to gender based sexual violence in this situation of crisis. If you want to assist, kindly contact: Vicky Karimi or Betty Murungi at  info@urgentactionfund-africa.or.ke or vicky@urgentactionfund-africa.or.ke

Angolan Banking Sector Presents Opportunity for Growth

At this time, one-fourth of the banking population in Angola uses bankcards to make payments, leaving an opportunity for growth in this area. The banking industry has set a goal to get 50% of its customers using electronic payment methods by 2011 and has taken various measures to increase the number of banking clientele utilizing this and other services offered within the sector.

South Africa's R80 Billion Methane project

NT Energy UK, empowerment partner Bataung Oil and South Africa's state-owned Central Energy Fund are to begin exploration for coal bed methane reserves as part of a project to develop sustainable sources of alternative energy for the country. GascoSA, which is exploring for the gas in three South African provinces, could be in commercial methane production within 18 months, spending US$169-million (about R1.1-billion) by the end of that period. GascoSA is 60% owned by NT Energy Africa, which comprises NT Energy UK, local empowerment company Bataung Group and the Central Energy Fund (CEF). According to its website, the CEF is involved in the search for appropriate energy solutions - including oil, gas, electrical power, solar energy, low-smoke fuels, biomass, wind and renewable energy sources - to meet South Africa's future energy needs. It also manages the operation and development of the oil and gas assets and operations of the South African government. The project, which is endorsed by the Department of Minerals and Energy as part of its mandate to secure energy for the country, represents a potential investment of U$10-billion over the next seven to 10 years in infrastructure and a pipeline rollout.

IPM Offers 1 Year Programme in Human Resources Management

The Institute of People Management of South Africa, in partnership with UNISA, is offering a one year programme in Human Resource Management (PRHM). The IPM’s accredited education programme ensures recognised status for the new roles of HR professionals. This Education Programme guarantees assistance from highly skilled academic staff, ongoing support and motivation from our excellent educators, workplace-based, action learning and integrated assessment projects. In addition, the IPM offers regional study schools (currently Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban) with seasoned facilitators to ensure the best transfer of knowledge and skills. +27 11 789 1384,  www.ipm.co.za, Email:  boitumelo@ipm.co.za