Sources close to the treasury indicate that the rogue finance minister, Amos Kimunya was actually fired given the dangerous political temperatures that he was raising in the country....READ MORE

The Grand Regency Hotel changed hands at Sh1.85 billion and not Sh2.9 billion. Earlier reports by the finance minister Amos Kimunya were proved wrong by evidence produced by his cabinet colleague, the Minister for Lands, James Orengo who uncovered newer details about the shady deal.
A Libyan embassy official, Mr Ahmed Mabrouk, said the mission was not involved in the transaction, adding that the matter was purely between investors from his country and the Central Bank of Kenya.
Members of parliament have planned a motion of no confidence in the Finance Minister whose aides in the shady deal were paraded yesterday in shame. The list includes Kenya's Central bank Governor who had earlier denied any links in the transaction…... READ MORE

The creation of a grand coalition government marked the beginning of a very sensitive period of national healing and reconciliation for Kenyan. Several allegations of grand corruption that threaten the very stability of the coalition have emerged. Some senior ministers are acting unilaterally in handling very sensitive national issues for example the case of Safaricom IPO, Kenya - DelaRue Saga and the Secret Sale of the Grand Regency Hotel. If allegations against Kenya’s finance Minister, Amos Kimunya are true, then he should not just resign but…READ MORE

By forcing the opposition to abandon the election, Robert Mugabe has undermined his position. He is, as a result, weaker; but he and his thugs are determined to hang on. He has the tyrant’s delusion that “only God”, as he puts it, can displace him. So Western and African countries, especially Zimbabwe’s neighbours, must act in concert to get rid of the ogre that has shamed an entire continent.
Uncle Bob is forgetting that the world can finish him off very easily in a few calculated steps.....READ MORE

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Social Entrepreneurship: Tobias Sturmer, Artistic Director for Empowerment Works: "As part of our commitment to highlight social entrepreneurship in Africa, the Cheetah Index brings you this interview with Tobias Sturmer-Artistic Director of Empowerment Works Music.

Before going into the interview here is an excerpt from Empowerment Works that describes Tobias's background:

'Tobias Sturmer is an ethnomusicologist, producer, social entrepreneur, musician, composer and educator living in London, UK and Cologne, Germany. Originally from Germany, he has lived in Dominican Republic, USA, Senegal and Venezuela, studying music and culture, teaching and performing.

Since arriving in London in 1998, he has acquired an MA in Ethnomusicology at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London University. He performs professionally on the London Jazz, Latin and African music scene as well as on the contemporary dance scene. T.S. has been running a non-profit artist support scheme in Senegal and Uganda since 2002. The aim of his work has been to 1) encourage cultural and economic development of African communities by providing African musicians with tools for self-reliance, and 2) to document and to enhance the cultural heritage of musical traditions in Africa."

1.How were you able to make the connection between traditional African music and economic empowerment?

Empowerment Works have been involved in a wide range of programs that aim to empower people in Africa; we are running a large number of projects there. My contribution is being the artistic director of our music department, called EW Music. So my personal angle to development work in Africa is coming from a cultural point of view, rather than an economic one, even though the two are obviously linked in the idea of empowering others. Basically I think that if you strengthen cultural values, identity and inspiration you strengthen everything else.

To understand and to evaluate the work EW Music is doing one has to look at what music means in these particular communities where we are present:

The Diola people who live in the Casamance region of Senegal are culturally marginalized as well as they are geographically cut off from the rest of the country. The music scene in Senegal is almost entirely centered around Dakar and even there, one can't buy Diola music .

All the musicians we record would otherwise never have a chance of being recorded within Senegal. They are locally performing musicians who don’t have the means to travel to a studio and also, they have no recording experience.

There is a connection between music, culture and economic development because one of the main problems in Casamance is that the young people do not want to stay in the villages, so they leave for the big cities.

So we try to contribute on a cultural basis to these villages by recording their musicians for free, as well as making and designing the covers of the cassettes for them as the cassette is still the main medium for music. Our approach towards empowerment means that we don't do the manufacturing and distribution for the artists, they must do it themselves; we simply facilitate the master. Also, we don’t have the capacity to manufacturer 100 copies or more for each of the many artists who work with us. On the whole, this is a young project and it still requires more funding. Right now, we are looking for funding partners because although we now have produced our first compilation CD La Musique Diola Volume 1, we still need the funds to present this inspiring project idea to the world…. and the music to the radio stations in Senegal.

2.Do you have plans to take this fair market project to other parts of Africa or will you continue to focus upon the Casamance region of Senegal and Luwero, Uganda?

We will absolutely go to other regions. Casamance is close to my heart since I lived there for one year. But this project can be taken everywhere. Next stop is going to be in Ghana. I will be recording artists in Ghana and take our London based Hi Life Band Yaaba Funk to Ghana to collaborate and learn from local musicians. We will make the resulting music available in the West and have a good part of the proceeds go to projects supporting those very artists.

We also have good contacts with Eritrea, and we are looking to do a musical festival in Burundi ( the Great Lakes Project) to help put communication back on track between ethnic groups who were on opposite sides during the genocide that took place in 1993. In the run up to the festival I have the capacity to produce about 12 unsigned bands, who would then have their CD to sell at the festival. This is taking into account our current budgetary constraints. We aspire to bring out another compilation CD featuring all 12 bands and because of the effect that the genocide had on women of the Great Lakes Region we are also planning another compilation dedicated to women and children issues. Right now we are in the planning stages of this very ambitious project."

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Polls have already opened in Zimbabwe, and Mugabe is headed for sure landslide win. Not because Zimbabweans adore his leadership but because Britain wants him to win. He is the most popular president the world has ever known and has great hope for Zimbabwe....READ MORE

Despite his flaws, Zimbabwe’s Big Man Robert Mugabe has a “good side”. Compared to Mobutu who grabbed many people’s wives, Mugabe stole only one. During the first round of the Zimbabwe elections, Mugabe stole the vote but had some decency left - he didn’t steal enough to deny Tsvangirai victory. He only rigged it to.......READ MORE

With just a week to go before Zimbabwe’s run-off elections – and with the body count growing – President Mugabe has been warned that he could be hauled before the International Criminal Court in The Hague over the atrocities inflicted on his opponents. Any attempt to bring Mr Mugabe before the court in The Hague faces formidable obstacles. The ICC has charged 11 Africans – two from Sudan, four from Uganda, one from the Central African Republic and four from the Democratic Republic of the Congo – but it does not have jurisdiction over Zimbabwe.......READ MORE

The rising cost of food, Africa's energy deficiency and its projected failure to meet the Millennium Development Goals has forced a deeper conclusion that Africa has a serious leadership deficiency.
Only 4% of national budgets are currently spent on agriculture, and investment is hampered by precolonial land rights that still prevail in most of sub-Saharan Africa. Meanwhile the cost of fertilizer has risen even more dramatically than the cost of fuel, leaving farmers facing a triple whammy: oil- and food-price rises.. Read More

With short term trading, you have to speculate which shares are going to be most volatile. In this case you see profits immediately but if you speculate on the wrong stock, you might end up losing part of your investment capital. If the company you are vested in is fundamentally strong with a strong upside potential, you will lose out on big potential gains if you were to cash out too early. For Safaricom Shares: To go Short or Long Term? The Right Way Revealed One of the advantages of short term investing ……..READ MORE

Mr Joseph was picked for the Kenyan job because he lacked the finishing-school polish required to be a European boss. In some ways it was a homecoming. A self-described “Bolshevik character” in his South African youth, he fled the country in the 1980s when the strictures of apartheid tightened. He had made his name there as a “network man”. When Mr Joseph arrived at Safaricom in 2000, the company had 20,000 customers.....READ MORE CLICK

Click on the links below to find out
1. South Africa Violence: Why is Brother Fighting Brother?
2. Africa Day is not Socialism Day!
3. Keen on business, China is yet to flex its formidable military muscle in Africa
4. Top secrets: Gaddafi plotted to bomb Kenya
5. Democracy, reforms can end fear of instability
6. Kenya tea loses its flavor in Pakistan

NOTE:
Are the Xenophobic attacks in South Africa Justified?
(Give your view ..CLICK HERE)

It is hard to overstate the historic significance of the just-concluded Democratic Party primaries in the United States to select the party's standard-bearer in the presidential election, and the ultimate triumph of Senator Barack Obama.....READ MORE

Sierra Leone Ports: Is Privatization the Answer?: "For centuries, economists and political leaders have debated the issue of privatization versus non-privatization and private versus public sector ownership as a major means of production and distribution.In all of these debates, the strategic importance and national security implications of utilities like water, gas and electricity, communication (telephone cable and wireless) and urban transit made it possible for them to be treated as Natural Monopolies.

Natural Monopolies which were established by government were regulated interms of prices to charge quality of service and items produced. As a result, only one company was given the go ahead to produce anyone of the items or services identified earlier.

Incidentally, this was done because of the huge expenditure involved in setting up such enterprises. Also the decision to grant such a privilege to only one company was taken into account in order to avoid waste of resources through duplication of assets; to avoid confusion and risk to consumers coupled with the desire to maximize profits and minimize losses.

The ideas, which were primarily western, were later transferred to the colonies of the metropolitan power. Public utilities in the colonial era were akin to pure monopolies because they produced items/services for which there were no known close substitutes. It was therefore the absence of competition that created the environment for the practice of “benign neglect."



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Finally deep rooted suspicions and condescending attitudes towards “the rest of Africa” have erupted into a wave of violence against black immigrants living in South Africa.

It has to do with two things. First of all there is resentment against the same person being at the helm, which is good for democracy. And also Mr. Mbeki had a distance between himself and the general population. Looking at history, Mbeki is solely to blame for this.......CLICK TO READ MORE

Whereas in previous meetings aid topped the agenda, this time it has been all about the hunt for natural resources—with Africa's best interests at heart, of course. Like the others, Japan is offering sweeteners to make itself a saucier commercial partner but many analysts are saying "Japan it has come too late to this second scramble for Africa"...... CLICK TO READ MORE

As Africa heads converge in Japan for the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD), it is urgent that we reflect on African interests. We already have had Sino-Africa, Euro-Africa, Indo-Africa and now TICAD. The most common denominator in all these is aid. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

NOTE:
Are the Xenophobic attacks in South Africa Justified?
(Give you view on the violence in South Africa in the poll at the top of Business in Focus homepage)

Like with politics, espionage knows no permanent friends or enemies, only the convergence of interests.

Mr Gaddafi, probably through Ugandan and Soviet intelligence sources in Nairobi, came to learn about the presence of Libyans dissidents in Kenya.

He was furious, and immediately set about planning how to retaliate.

A Libyan commando force assembled near the Entebbe Airport in Uganda, ready to strike once the exact location of the secret camp holding Libyan dissidents in Kenya was established......READ MORE CLICK HERE

By Raila Odinga
It is now three months since the National Accord and Reconciliation Agreement mediated by former United Nations Secretary-General Dr Kofi Annan was signed.

But Kenyans are still savoring and expressing their relief over the restoration of peace.......READ MORE CLICK HERE

By Amengeo Amengeo
The recent outburst of criminal violence against Africans seeking employment has less to do with ‘xenophobia’ as touted by the reactionary press but more to do with chronic unresolved anger of the black South African masses.....READ MORE CLICK HERE

Every year, Africans mark May 25th as an official Africa Liberation day. The date is celebrated to push for an onward progress on the liberation movement and symbolize the determination of the people of Africa to free themselves from foreign domination and exploitation. A casual observation of many groups that celebrate this great day reveals that we are still entrenched in the mindset of entitlement - the belief that some other entity owes us, due to past misdeeds. Our problems and challenges are of our own making: talk of press freedom, bungled elections, food crisis... Read MORE

By Timothy Kalyegira

As I focus these days on the dark deception at the international level, we turn today to the most extreme example: Zimbabwe. I have followed world media reports extensively but there is something I have not once heard asked or discussed: Why is Zimbabwe, once one of Africa’s most promising countries, where it is today? Or more pointedly, why is Zimbabwe reported and portrayed to be where it is today? Read More

INDIANAPOLIS – Illinois Senator Barack Obama has the Democratic presidential nomination firmly within his sights today after scoring a huge victory in North Carolina and battling challenger Hillary Clinton....Read More

I’ve been preoccupied with risk these days. Or risk mitigation to be exact. I’m tired of watching my TD Ameritrade account get whipsawed. It’s got me thinking. Would a portfolio invested solely in African markets be a tragedy waiting to happen?

The chart below shows the correlations (or lack thereof) between the dollar-adjusted monthly returns of 10 African local stock indexes over the past 16 months. This is a relatively short time frame, but I think it’s sufficient to get an idea of some of the relationships between the countries that we cover in this newsletter.

Unsurprisingly, the strongest positive correlation we see is between the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (SA) and the Emerging Market Index (EEM). South Africa is a full-fledged emerging market. It is large and liquid, making it a favorite of funds desirous of exposure to the continent. But this also means it is likely to be hit first and worst in the event of a global economic downturn.

The next strongest correlation is that between South Africa and Namibia. The neighboring countries share a customs union, a currency linkage, and a lot of history. Thus their stock indexes move in a concerted fashion. Similarly, the markets of Kenya and Uganda exhibit a strong relationship. Investors from both countries can easily invest in one another’s markets. And landlocked Uganda is almost entirely dependent on trade routes through Kenya. Thus, Kenya’s political crisis early this year hurt the Ugandan index more than the Nairobi Stock Exchange itself!

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