|
“GO SOUTH!” Pleading for the Convergence of Moroccan economy with its African Partners |
 |
 |
 |
|
By Hafid EL FASSY
African Financial Expert
I still remember the Emergence scenario I was expecting for North & West Africa back in 1994 when i started my career in Emerging markets as African & Arab Credit Specialist; I was foreseeing for just the next decade exactly what we were witnessing on “Latam” (latin American) economies at that time.
With the capillarity of neighboring Europe, the emergence of a dynamic and resourceful “Mercosur” (the south American common market organization) in the Maghreb was guaranteed with the Algerian giant as the stabilizing energy foothold and the traditionally Liberal Morocco as the Private Entrepreneurship “perpetuator” for the region, with its Business Institutions still sound, if not virtuous, since its Independence.
Although we need it for planning, experience taught me that long term forecast is issued just to be ignored by fate, at least for its precision: instead of that twin regional emergence on both sides of the Atlantic, Morocco had to seek his salute on his own, and turned to face at 80% towards the EU, just like every other country in the area.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
Durban : Africa’s plight critical in COP17 |
|
|
|
By Edna Molewa
Minister of Environmental Affairs
It is of special significance that, as the need to renew and revise the Kyoto Protocol becomes urgent, the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is happening on African soil. Africa has contributed least to the build up of greenhouse gases globally, but will be in the frontline of the adverse effects of climate change. We are highly dependent on climate- sensitive sectors such as rain-fed agriculture. Combined with the severe development challenges the continent already faces, this makes Africans particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. The average African generates about 13 times less greenhouse gases than his counterpart in North America. In 2007, the continent accounted for less than 4% of the world’s total greenhouse gas emissions. However, without an overriding mitigation and adaptation agenda, we may see these figures rise in years to come, as development and population rates grow. The challenge for Africa is to decouple economic and social development from the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation to an extent which has no precedent in the developed world.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
Sudanese elections at Glance: Sudanese elections challenged by Opposition’s Boycott Threat |
|
|
|
|
By Ibrahim Antar
African Affairs Analyst
Three days of voting began Sunday in Sudan's first competitive elections in nearly a quarter century despite repeated opposition calls to delay the vote.
In Khartoum, turnout was lighter than expected in the first few hours of voting, aside from a few enthusiastic supporters of President Omar al-Bashir.
The elections, which will run through Tuesday, are an essential part of a 2005 peace deal that ended the north-south war that killed 2 million people over 21 years. They are designed to kick-start a democratic transformation in the war-plagued nation and provide a democratically elected government to prepare for a crucial southern referendum next year
But two major political parties, including the southerners, decided to pull out fully or partially from the race, saying the process lacks credibility and elections can't be held in the western Darfur region while under a state of emergency.
They called for a delay of the vote to address their concerns. The government refused.
More than 800 international observers descended on Africa's largest country to observe the fairness of the contests, with the largest group from former U.S. President Jimmy Carter's organization. He toured a polling stations at the start of the first day.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
Somali Camels turned to US Dollar in a Failed World |
|
|
|
|
Written by Shoji Matsumoto
|
|
By Shoji Matsumoto
Expert in African Studies
The pirates off the Somali coast are entirely different from the pirates of the Caribbean from 16 to 18 century. Infamous pirates or the privateers possessing ‘letter of marque’ were Europeans like Wooden Leg, Drake, Blackbeard, Mary Read and Anne Bonny who related in any way to European imperial states[?], while the pirates who take hostages for ransom money off the Somali coast are youths in a failed state.
The Somali society consists of nomadic pastoralists, agriculturalists and coastal people. Among costal people are urban residents and fishermen. More than half of the population is officially guessed to be nomadic, mostly camel herders[?]. Moreover, urbanized nomads have dominated the modern state since the independence from Britain and Italy in 1960. The Somali life as a whole is influenced by nomadic pastoralism originated in camels.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
|
|
|
<< Start < Prev 1 2 Next > End >>
|
|
Page 1 of 2 |
