Africa Is Now The Fastest Growing Continent In The World- AfDB Report

Kenyan engineers with Civicon Compnay taking a rest as they try to raise a tank in Mtwara Tanzania

Africa is now the fastest growing continent in the world a report by the African Development Bank (AfDB) has said.

The Report, ‘Annual Development Effectiveness Review 2013’ said the growth has been pushed by economic governance on the continent and the private sector.

It also places the positive growth on exploitation of oil and minerals and project more positive growth if assets are effectively managed and used in an accountable and transparent manner.”

 “Africa’s economic growth could not have happened without major improvement in economic governance as more than two-thirds of the continent has registered overall improvement in the quality of economic governance,” it said.

According to the report which is published online the costs of starting a business have fallen by more than two-thirds over the past seven years, while delays for starting a business have been halved.

Internal demand has also seen a growth in private sector which is the main engine of growth for the continent’s improved business climate.

“This progress has brought increased levels of trade and investment, with the annual rate of foreign investment increasing fivefold since 2000,” the report states.

The reports forecast a 5.5 per cent economic growth for continent’s low-income countries in coming years after growth exceeded 4.5 in 2012 forecast.

Africa’s collective gross domestic product (GDP) reached US $953 billion while the number of middle income countries on the continent rose to 26, out of a total of 54.

“This growth has reduced income poverty as the share of the population living below the poverty line has fallen from 51 per cent to 39 per cent,” it states.

Some 350 million Africans now earn between US $2-20 (Sh170-1,700) a day with the middle class is increasingly becoming an active consumer market.

However, the report warns of that the continent’s inadequate infrastructure and disparity in earning between rural and urban areas and slums remains a major constraint to the continent’s economic growth and development.

Strong emphasis should be placed in greater regional economic integration to improve prospects for growth by enabling African producers to build regional value chains, achieve economies of scale, increase intra-African trade and become internationally competitive.

Manuel Odeny © 2013

Business: African Migrants to benefit from reduced remittance fee – World Bank

An illegal African immigrants being frisked after landing in Europe PHOTO: Courtesy

BAfrican migrant workers in European Union countries and their families back home are set to save US$4 billion annually after remittance costs are reduced to 5 percent from the current 12.4 percent.

The benefit comes after G8 and the G20 established 5 percent as the target average remittance price to reach by 2014 which is set to benefit African migrants, who pay most to send money home than any other migrant group most.

World Bank in a press release said that in 2012 Africa's overseas workers sent close to US$60 billion in remittances in 2012 although the Sub Sahara region is the most expensive to send money to for migrants.

WB’s Send Money Africa database said the average cost of sending money to Africa is almost 12 percent- higher than global average of 8.96 percent, and almost double the cost of sending money to South Asia, which has the world's lowest prices at 6.54 percent.

The move is expected to increase remittance which will benefit millions of Africans.

“Remittances play a critical role in helping households address immediate needs and also invest in the future, so bringing down remittance prices will have a significant impact on poverty,” said Gaiv Tata, Director of the World Bank's Africa Region and Financial Inclusion and Infrastructure Global Practice.

Tata observes that this lower cost in remittances is set to advance financial inclusion by increased use of other financial services like opening accounts and borrowing loans since remittance are often the first financial service used by recipients.

WB said that banks which are often only channels available for African migrants are the most expensive remittance service providers and the reduced cost which will dome with a regulatory environment will encourage competition among other remittance service providers.

Under such an environment migrant workers, Africans included will benefit from more transparent information on remittance services.

Manuel Odeny © 2013

Business: AfDB boasts East African Development Bank (EADB) with equity funds

The East African Development Bank (EADB) headquaters in Kampala, Uganda. PHOTO: Courtesy

The East African Development Bank (EADB) has benefited from a US$24million direct equity investment from African Development Bank (AfDB).

The amount which was approved by the AfDB Board of Directors will go a long way to strengthen its balance sheet and contribute to improve its international credit rating with US $10 million to be placed directly with the balance in the form of callable capital.

According to an online press release by AfDB the investment will help mobilize significant financial resources in the East African Community (EAC) to stimulate economic development and employment opportunities in the region.

EADB is set to benefit in its support in capital market development, government revenue generation and foreign exchange.

“This project will help EADB consolidate the gains of its successful restructuring program, assist the current business strategy of the bank by strengthening its capital base and will be crucial to mobilize financial resources from capital markets at more affordable terms and meeting the growing demand for investment in the EAC,” the statement said.

The funding is expected to contribute in driving the bank’s credit rating by improving the quality of the callable capital of the bank.

“A technical assistance package, financed by the Fund for African Private Sector Assistance (FAPA), will reinforce institutional capacity at EADB to complement the proposed equity investment,” AfDB said.

The partnering of the two banks will help to exploit synergies stemming from complementary sources of comparative advantage with EADB’s field presence and local knowledge of the EAC market will provide a logical conduit for AfDB to reach out to end-customers, including SMEs, by efficiently leveraging its scale.

The project is aligned with AfDB’s East African Integration Strategy, with its focus on sub-regional development finance institutions, as well as with the key pillars of AfDB’s forthcoming Long-Term Strategy, particularly private sector development and regional integration.

EADBwhich was established in 1967 under the terms of the Treaty for East African Cooperation is a sub-regional multilateral lender based in Kampala, Uganda offering interventions mainly in form of loans, leases and equity participations to Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania.

Manuel Odeny, Copyright: 2013

Kudos to Kenyan parliament for passing the Alcohol bill

Kudos to the parliament for passing MP John Mututho’s bill seeking to regulate consumption of alcohol. The bill currently sitting at committee level should be signed into law by president Kibaki to control the effects of the bottle.

Following the debate in the house most members observed alcohol is wasting the youthful population negatively affecting their health and energy causing heavy addiction.

In addition alcohol kills through road accidents and liver disorders.

The reports in the media about a month ago showing even high school kids taking to the bottle shows alarming rate of the problem. With uncensored advertising, poor parental guidance, peer pressure and negative role models the youths fall a victim of the bottle.

Kenyan youths should know you cant only enjoy your time through alcohol, not every party has an alcohol and not even every one at the party drinks alcohol.

Published on Saturday, April 10, 2010 by The Star/Kenya

Boston University's Otto Lerbinger The Crisis Manager, Facing risk and Responsibility

Managing during instability and unpredictability.TITLE: The Crisis Manger, Facing risk and Responsibility
AUTHOR: Otto Lerbinger
PUBLISHER: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, publishers
GENRE: Non-Fiction
PAGES: 384
REVIEWER: Manuel Odeny

Crisis is a daily part of business and form an integral part of business management. A manager’s true management skills are observed during a crisis.

When workers, suppliers, share holders and customers may react to a crisis in an explosive, fixing the problem and not finding a solution way: the manager has to stay cool, calm and collected. Giving a solution and charter a direction out of the crisis.

Otto Lerbinger is well placed on discussing crisis management. A lecturer at Boston University of managing co-operate crisis and issues, he used notes and reports from thesis and research to comply the book.

The book is divided in three parts: communication in era of crisis; Managing seven types of crisis and lastly improving management performance.

On the first part the author help manager to identify crisis and how to plan and prepare for a crisis. Finally, in case of a crisis, how to communicate during and after the crisis. Tips are given on how to deal and communicate with the mass media in event of a crisis.

Detailed; in 1994 internet and media pressure forced the Silicon Valley Intel to recognize and own up that their Pentium chip caused error in complex mathematical calculation. The error was found by a mathematician. Intel knew of the error but assumed and released the chip to the market.

In managing the seven types of crisis in part two, the author outlines how to effectively manage a crisis before, during and after an occurrence. The seven crises are Natural, technological, confrontation, crisis of malevolence, crisis of skewed management value, crisis of deception and finally the crisis of management misconduct.

Finally on the final part of improving management performance the author help mangers to manage risk and communicate to the public by gauging public attitude, perception of risk and how they will react.

Worth to note is the author’s analysis on the thorny issue of ethics and moral conduct of executive when dealing with the public about a crisis.

The book adds value and helps in smooth management skills. A leader’s action and reaction during a crisis speaks volume about his leadership skills.

Current US president Barack Hussein Obama has proved effective in crisis management skills. Obama is an analyzer-in-chief than a fire band when dealing with crisis. The little known senator went ahead and clichéd the democratic nomination and the US presidency.

The rest is put to reat as history. Political analyst, allies and foes say he ahs the uncanny ability to walk through a storm unruffled. Obama is the kind of a leader you would want on a fox hole with you in time of a crisis.

Just another skinny kid from down south with a funny name Hussein (like American’s number one public enemy Saddam Hussein) or Obama (which was pronounced, mischievously as Osama). He slide through the campaign against a lot of mud sling.

The book The Crisis Manger, Facing risk and Responsibility could fit best in an academic library than office shelves. Its writing style and research can easily help scholars and student in writing reports, essays and research for their classes. Being a university lecturer, the author, is not in touch (perhaps) with the cooperate world making the book good for academy.

In acknowledgment Otto Lerbinger says he got his inspiration from students whose reports, notes and thesis have helped enrich the case studies.