By Paul Ndiho
July 29, 2011
The founder of Nigeria's best known fast food retailer is looking at business opportunity in the rest of Africa.
After spending 16 years abroad, Deji Akinyanju, founder of Food Concepts, returned to Nigeria to start one of the country's largest food chains, one that is now worth over 150 million dollars. The chief executive says he plans to expand into the West African market and across the continent.
"There is still no strong brand across West Africa, so for instance if you were to go to Ghana you will find three stores run by a particular brand and if you were to go Ivory Coast, you may not find that brand in Ivory Coast, so we have this entire West coast market.”
Now 42, Akinyanju started in business in Nigeria more than 10 years ago, using funds raised from family and friends to open a pizza and chicken outlet. In 2003, he opened Butterfield, now Nigeria's largest formal bakery, but greater success came with the opening of Chicken Republic in 2004. Today, there are over 70 Chicken Republic outlets and Akinyanju has plans to set up many more.
"We strongly believe that with all the tools, as in funding and human resources, and proper backing in business, we certainly can do 300 to 500 stores in this country, because we see that there is a younger population, we all know that we have may be 70 percent of our population under the ages of 18, and is a growing population, a lot more people are eating out, so that cultural change is happening daily,”
Nigeria has more than ten major local brands in the country's 2-billion dollar annual food retail business. There have been international arrivals, such America's Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) and many other brands. The demand for chicken has outstripped supply, which is why Akinyanju is building his own poultry farm, which will be the largest in the country.
Food Concepts signed a 20 million dollar investment deal with the International Finance Corporation (the IFC), to improve its safety and corporate standards, and to expand into Ghana.
Solomon Adegbie-Quaynor with the IFC says supporting such enterprises are key priorities for the lender.
"This is really going to be something that supports the changing demographics in Nigeria and these are part of the reasons why we see growth in the market, and we are also looking to support companies like Food Concept, we already have one investment in this area, with "Tantalizers", and we are now supporting food concept as well, and that is because we see a lot of potential in the entire market.”
Food Concept expects its planned expansion will create thousands of jobs and benefit a number of smaller businesses in the food supply chain. The company already employs over 2000 people.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
The situation in Somalia is close to Catastrophic
By Paul Ndiho
JULY 26, 2011
The U.N. World Food Program will start airlifts into Mogadishu to get vital supplies of special nutritious foods to malnourished children. Other aid agencies also warned over weekend that the plight of famine victims in Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia is close to catastrophic.
There is a life and death situation in Somalia. The W-F-P says the first shipments are on the way:
“We do already have some plans to start airlifts of vital food that will help children and mothers Into Mogadishu where we have been operating for the last few years where we have been providing both a combination of monthly rations and as well as wet feeding. New arrivals who are coming in there are actually able to get what we call wet feeding basically a ready-made meal when they come to a distribution site.” McGuffin said.
The World Food Program is among several groups that had been ordered out of rebel controlled areas. Aid agencies have been preparing to return, describing the situation in Somalia as increasingly desperate. But the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab militants who control the famine-stricken parts of the country say aid agencies may not return. This reverses a pledge from the militants to allow the workers to operate freely.
WFP spokesperson, Rene McGuffin says that WFP needs safe access to other parts of the country.
“The real challenge is actually in Southern Somalia, where, we have not been able to operate since 2010 and perhaps it's no surprise that as result of this massive drought one of the driest years on record in 60 years, combined with high food prices combined with conflict and the lack of access by humanitarian organizations like WFP that you have such a dire situation. I mean really the situation on the ground in Southern Somalia is life or death.”
Some 10 million people are affected by famine and drought in a region, dubbed the "triangle of death" by local media, that straddles Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia.
The U-N says it has a "moral imperative" to get back into the areas from which it had been ordered out. Melissa Fleming is the UNHCR Spokesperson.
"We are really trying our best to work inside Somalia so that people don't have to make this devastating, life threatening trek into Kenya and Ethiopia. If we could aid, and I think we all know this, the victims on the spot, prevent them from leaving their villages, we would not be in this terrible situation we are seeing now."
WFP is currently reaching 1.5 million people in Somalia, and says it is scaling up to reach an additional 2.2 million people in the previously inaccessible south of the country.
WFP says is preparing to open up a number of new routes - by land and air - into the core of the famine zone to establish the necessary operating conditions, including those that will secure the safety of humanitarian personnel.
“Somalia's one of the most difficult, dangerous, risky places that we can work in the world. We've lost fourteen staff since 2008 inside Somalia but we are ready and we do have plans. But we do need safe access and so we've been working through the UN Humanitarian Coordinative for Somalia seeking that assurance that we will have safe access to the people, mostly children and mothers who are in desperate need.” Rene McGuffin said.
Al Shabaab accused the United Nations last week of exaggerating the severity of the drought gripping the south of the country and of politicizing the crisis. Well over 100-thousand Somalis have fled since January, mainly to Kenya and Ethiopia. Hundreds of Somalis are arriving in Ethiopia and Kenya each day.
JULY 26, 2011
The U.N. World Food Program will start airlifts into Mogadishu to get vital supplies of special nutritious foods to malnourished children. Other aid agencies also warned over weekend that the plight of famine victims in Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia is close to catastrophic.
There is a life and death situation in Somalia. The W-F-P says the first shipments are on the way:
“We do already have some plans to start airlifts of vital food that will help children and mothers Into Mogadishu where we have been operating for the last few years where we have been providing both a combination of monthly rations and as well as wet feeding. New arrivals who are coming in there are actually able to get what we call wet feeding basically a ready-made meal when they come to a distribution site.” McGuffin said.
The World Food Program is among several groups that had been ordered out of rebel controlled areas. Aid agencies have been preparing to return, describing the situation in Somalia as increasingly desperate. But the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab militants who control the famine-stricken parts of the country say aid agencies may not return. This reverses a pledge from the militants to allow the workers to operate freely.
WFP spokesperson, Rene McGuffin says that WFP needs safe access to other parts of the country.
“The real challenge is actually in Southern Somalia, where, we have not been able to operate since 2010 and perhaps it's no surprise that as result of this massive drought one of the driest years on record in 60 years, combined with high food prices combined with conflict and the lack of access by humanitarian organizations like WFP that you have such a dire situation. I mean really the situation on the ground in Southern Somalia is life or death.”
Some 10 million people are affected by famine and drought in a region, dubbed the "triangle of death" by local media, that straddles Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia.
The U-N says it has a "moral imperative" to get back into the areas from which it had been ordered out. Melissa Fleming is the UNHCR Spokesperson.
"We are really trying our best to work inside Somalia so that people don't have to make this devastating, life threatening trek into Kenya and Ethiopia. If we could aid, and I think we all know this, the victims on the spot, prevent them from leaving their villages, we would not be in this terrible situation we are seeing now."
WFP is currently reaching 1.5 million people in Somalia, and says it is scaling up to reach an additional 2.2 million people in the previously inaccessible south of the country.
WFP says is preparing to open up a number of new routes - by land and air - into the core of the famine zone to establish the necessary operating conditions, including those that will secure the safety of humanitarian personnel.
“Somalia's one of the most difficult, dangerous, risky places that we can work in the world. We've lost fourteen staff since 2008 inside Somalia but we are ready and we do have plans. But we do need safe access and so we've been working through the UN Humanitarian Coordinative for Somalia seeking that assurance that we will have safe access to the people, mostly children and mothers who are in desperate need.” Rene McGuffin said.
Al Shabaab accused the United Nations last week of exaggerating the severity of the drought gripping the south of the country and of politicizing the crisis. Well over 100-thousand Somalis have fled since January, mainly to Kenya and Ethiopia. Hundreds of Somalis are arriving in Ethiopia and Kenya each day.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
AFRICAN COUNTRIES TOP THE LIST OF FAILING STATES INDEX - 2011
By Paul Ndiho
July 20, 2011
A study published by the Fund for Peace, a Washington-based nonprofit organization, and Foreign Policy magazine, says seven of the World’s top ten failing states are in Africa. Somalia, Chad, Sudan and Congo top the 2011 Failed States Index as Africa's worst political performers.
The African continent continued to figure prominently again in 2011, with 27 African countries scheduled to hold or have already held presidential or legislative elections this year. Analysts say, as much as elections can contribute to democratic progress, they are often a flashpoint for conflict. For example, the Ivory Coast was thrown into a four-month crisis when it’s outgoing president. Uganda's incumbent President Yoweri Museveni won re-election in February, but the opposition cried foul and his inauguration was marred by violent protests. In Nigeria, post-election violence killed as many as 800 people. Washington-based political analyst Nii Akuetteh, says elections are necessary for democracy, but they are not sufficient.
“Democracy is very important, and one of the first major steps is elections, however, those who have fought for democracy and even those who are skeptical, no one should think that elections equal democracy. It is a start, but it is the first step in a long journey.”
Last month, the Fund for Peace, and the Foreign Policy Magazine jointly released a Failed States index for 2011. The study listed and rated some African countries on 12 indicators of pressure on the state during 2010. Out of the 177 countries analyzed, most African countries performed poorly. J. J. Messner, one of the authors of the Fund for Peace report, says it is important to look at the failed states characterization as a representation of pressures on a state.
“It's absolutely true unfortunately that for countries at the high end of the index that countries that we believe are the most at risk of state failure, or even beyond that are experiencing the most pressures in comparison to most states those tend to be contrast in Africa within the top ten. I believe that seven of those top ten are in Africa.”
For a fourth year in a row, Somalia held the number one spot. Somalia’s Transitional Government has made some progress in stabilizing the security situation, but al-Shabaab, the al-Qaida-linked militia group, continues to kill and attack civilians while trying to overthrow Somalia's transitional government.
“Somalia at the top of the index is the closest that we come to what we may call a failed state. But that really is not our call at the fund for peace. We are not saying that Somalia is necessarily a failed state. What we are saying is that out of all the countries in the world Somalia is the most at risk of state failure."
Chad took the number two spot, according to the report. In April 2011, Chad's president, Idriss Déby, widely regarded as a strongman, won a re-election with almost 90 percent of the vote. Observers say the ballot was flawed and turnout was low, but the president claimed victory.
Sudan just went through a painful partition this month. In January, the country's south voted to secede from the north and the referendum went smoothly. North and south Sudan fought each other for decades in a civil war fueled by oil, ethnicity, religion, and ideology. The violence claimed an estimated two million lives, forced four million to flee and destabilized the region. Nii Akuetteh, attributes these failures to bad leadership and a lack of strong institutions on the continent.
“Leadership in Africa has been terrible, but how do you correct leadership? In my view, your current leadership with strong institutions, to the extent that you can have democracy, transparency, rule of law, strong parliaments, and you devolve power…I think it helps to have good leadership."
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is not doing well either on the failed states index. Congo is considered as one of the world's richest countries in terms of mineral resources, but remains poor. In the East, where much of the mineral wealth lies, armed militias terrorize the impoverished population in a perpetual struggle to control land, mines. Sexual violence against women in the east has left thousands of victims in need of assistance. The United Nations says over five million people have died from war-related violence, hunger and disease.
Zimbabwe took the sixth position on the Failed States index. The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) beat Robert Mugabe’s ZANU-PF at the polls in 2008, but when the president refused to step down, neighboring South Africa had to broker a deal for both parties to share power. But the coalition government is failing; the MDC has been effectively sidelined and President Mugabe continues to wield power. Political analyst Nii Akuetteh, says it’s not surprising that so many African countries are dubbed as failed states.
“African countries are the youngest countries in the world, they’re made out of colonialism, the state wasn’t set up well, and then Africa became independent right in the middle of the Cold War, with major east/west rivalries impinging what African countries could do. The Congo is the perfect example of the imposition of Mubutu in place of Patrice Lumumba the leader that they country elected.”
Ivory Coast ranked at number 10 on the list of failed states. Before this year's post election violence, Ivory Coast was an economic success story, often referred to as the gateway to West Africa. Late last year, the country went to the polls to elect a new president; the winner, Alassane Ouattara, secured victory by a tiny margin. The incumbent, Laurent Gbagbo, refused to step down. A four-month showdown ensued. Ouattara was finally installed in office almost half a year late. Observers say it may take months for the Ivory Coast to get back to where it was even a year ago.
J. J. Messner, senior associate, at the Fund for Peace, dismisses claims that the report is biased towards Africa, and says that many African countries scored poorly on the index because of democratic pressures, uneven economic development, abuse of human rights and the rule of law.
So it's not exclusively African countries but i think that that is recognition in many ways that there are immense pressures among many of the countries in Africa whether it may be political pressures or economic pressures or social pressure it may even be natural disasters which really undermine the state's ability to function properly and also undermine society at large. A country that is experiencing economic growth may be experiencing pressure in other in the areas.
In Uganda, protesters flooded the streets after February's presidential election, which predictably gave Uganda’s long time Leader Yoweri Museveni another victory. Government troops responded to the peaceful demonstrations with brutality, smashing car windows with guns or pointing weapons at people, reminding Ugandans of previous brutal regimes. Mr. Akuetteh blames the west for encouraging and supporting such failing states.
“I think it is so egregious that the US so frequently gets in bed with dictators and the failed states that we are talking about, when you look at the top 5 failed states, 4 of which are African the thing that jumps out at you is that all 4 have dictators that were befriended by the US because they were thought of as friendly tyrants. So, it goes to my argument that friendly tyrants are no good for their countries, and I also think that they are not even good for the United States.”
Nigeria is also on the Failed States Index in the 14th position. In April 2011, Nigerians voted in elections which were declared by the intentional community as the most credible in the country’s history. But after the incumbent, President Goodluck Jonathan, had been declared winner in the poll, the main opposition rejected the result, and violent demonstrations broke out in the north of the country, leaving more than 800 people dead.
Nigeria is one of Africa's largest oil producers, and gets between 90 percent of its revenues from oil. As another symptom of its failure as a state, analysts point to the poverty in which so many of the country's 150 million citizens live. Other African countries that performed poorly on the failed states index 2011 include Central African Republic, Guinea, Niger, Kenya, Burundi, Guinea Bissau and Ethiopia.
July 20, 2011
A study published by the Fund for Peace, a Washington-based nonprofit organization, and Foreign Policy magazine, says seven of the World’s top ten failing states are in Africa. Somalia, Chad, Sudan and Congo top the 2011 Failed States Index as Africa's worst political performers.
The African continent continued to figure prominently again in 2011, with 27 African countries scheduled to hold or have already held presidential or legislative elections this year. Analysts say, as much as elections can contribute to democratic progress, they are often a flashpoint for conflict. For example, the Ivory Coast was thrown into a four-month crisis when it’s outgoing president. Uganda's incumbent President Yoweri Museveni won re-election in February, but the opposition cried foul and his inauguration was marred by violent protests. In Nigeria, post-election violence killed as many as 800 people. Washington-based political analyst Nii Akuetteh, says elections are necessary for democracy, but they are not sufficient.
“Democracy is very important, and one of the first major steps is elections, however, those who have fought for democracy and even those who are skeptical, no one should think that elections equal democracy. It is a start, but it is the first step in a long journey.”
Last month, the Fund for Peace, and the Foreign Policy Magazine jointly released a Failed States index for 2011. The study listed and rated some African countries on 12 indicators of pressure on the state during 2010. Out of the 177 countries analyzed, most African countries performed poorly. J. J. Messner, one of the authors of the Fund for Peace report, says it is important to look at the failed states characterization as a representation of pressures on a state.
“It's absolutely true unfortunately that for countries at the high end of the index that countries that we believe are the most at risk of state failure, or even beyond that are experiencing the most pressures in comparison to most states those tend to be contrast in Africa within the top ten. I believe that seven of those top ten are in Africa.”
For a fourth year in a row, Somalia held the number one spot. Somalia’s Transitional Government has made some progress in stabilizing the security situation, but al-Shabaab, the al-Qaida-linked militia group, continues to kill and attack civilians while trying to overthrow Somalia's transitional government.
“Somalia at the top of the index is the closest that we come to what we may call a failed state. But that really is not our call at the fund for peace. We are not saying that Somalia is necessarily a failed state. What we are saying is that out of all the countries in the world Somalia is the most at risk of state failure."
Chad took the number two spot, according to the report. In April 2011, Chad's president, Idriss Déby, widely regarded as a strongman, won a re-election with almost 90 percent of the vote. Observers say the ballot was flawed and turnout was low, but the president claimed victory.
Sudan just went through a painful partition this month. In January, the country's south voted to secede from the north and the referendum went smoothly. North and south Sudan fought each other for decades in a civil war fueled by oil, ethnicity, religion, and ideology. The violence claimed an estimated two million lives, forced four million to flee and destabilized the region. Nii Akuetteh, attributes these failures to bad leadership and a lack of strong institutions on the continent.
“Leadership in Africa has been terrible, but how do you correct leadership? In my view, your current leadership with strong institutions, to the extent that you can have democracy, transparency, rule of law, strong parliaments, and you devolve power…I think it helps to have good leadership."
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is not doing well either on the failed states index. Congo is considered as one of the world's richest countries in terms of mineral resources, but remains poor. In the East, where much of the mineral wealth lies, armed militias terrorize the impoverished population in a perpetual struggle to control land, mines. Sexual violence against women in the east has left thousands of victims in need of assistance. The United Nations says over five million people have died from war-related violence, hunger and disease.
Zimbabwe took the sixth position on the Failed States index. The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) beat Robert Mugabe’s ZANU-PF at the polls in 2008, but when the president refused to step down, neighboring South Africa had to broker a deal for both parties to share power. But the coalition government is failing; the MDC has been effectively sidelined and President Mugabe continues to wield power. Political analyst Nii Akuetteh, says it’s not surprising that so many African countries are dubbed as failed states.
“African countries are the youngest countries in the world, they’re made out of colonialism, the state wasn’t set up well, and then Africa became independent right in the middle of the Cold War, with major east/west rivalries impinging what African countries could do. The Congo is the perfect example of the imposition of Mubutu in place of Patrice Lumumba the leader that they country elected.”
Ivory Coast ranked at number 10 on the list of failed states. Before this year's post election violence, Ivory Coast was an economic success story, often referred to as the gateway to West Africa. Late last year, the country went to the polls to elect a new president; the winner, Alassane Ouattara, secured victory by a tiny margin. The incumbent, Laurent Gbagbo, refused to step down. A four-month showdown ensued. Ouattara was finally installed in office almost half a year late. Observers say it may take months for the Ivory Coast to get back to where it was even a year ago.
J. J. Messner, senior associate, at the Fund for Peace, dismisses claims that the report is biased towards Africa, and says that many African countries scored poorly on the index because of democratic pressures, uneven economic development, abuse of human rights and the rule of law.
So it's not exclusively African countries but i think that that is recognition in many ways that there are immense pressures among many of the countries in Africa whether it may be political pressures or economic pressures or social pressure it may even be natural disasters which really undermine the state's ability to function properly and also undermine society at large. A country that is experiencing economic growth may be experiencing pressure in other in the areas.
In Uganda, protesters flooded the streets after February's presidential election, which predictably gave Uganda’s long time Leader Yoweri Museveni another victory. Government troops responded to the peaceful demonstrations with brutality, smashing car windows with guns or pointing weapons at people, reminding Ugandans of previous brutal regimes. Mr. Akuetteh blames the west for encouraging and supporting such failing states.
“I think it is so egregious that the US so frequently gets in bed with dictators and the failed states that we are talking about, when you look at the top 5 failed states, 4 of which are African the thing that jumps out at you is that all 4 have dictators that were befriended by the US because they were thought of as friendly tyrants. So, it goes to my argument that friendly tyrants are no good for their countries, and I also think that they are not even good for the United States.”
Nigeria is also on the Failed States Index in the 14th position. In April 2011, Nigerians voted in elections which were declared by the intentional community as the most credible in the country’s history. But after the incumbent, President Goodluck Jonathan, had been declared winner in the poll, the main opposition rejected the result, and violent demonstrations broke out in the north of the country, leaving more than 800 people dead.
Nigeria is one of Africa's largest oil producers, and gets between 90 percent of its revenues from oil. As another symptom of its failure as a state, analysts point to the poverty in which so many of the country's 150 million citizens live. Other African countries that performed poorly on the failed states index 2011 include Central African Republic, Guinea, Niger, Kenya, Burundi, Guinea Bissau and Ethiopia.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
World Population expected to exceed 7 Billion in October
This October, the world’s population is expected to exceed 7 billion people. Monday July 11, 2011 was World Population Day, a moment to reflect on both the challenges and opportunities that we face as the world’s population continues to grow rapidly. This milestone is of particular importance to women in the developing world. Currently more than 215 million women desire – but lack access to quality reproductive health services. Women are critical to reducing poverty, boosting economic growth, promoting environmental sustainability, and raising healthy and well-educated children all steps that are imperative to confronting a range of critical foreign policy challenges. The UN says addressing the unmet need for voluntary reproductive health services is one of the keys to empowering women, and creating a safer, healthier, and more sustainable world for us all.
I talked to Tamara Kreinin, executive director of Women and Population at the UN Foundation, about the quality reproductive health services.
I talked to Tamara Kreinin, executive director of Women and Population at the UN Foundation, about the quality reproductive health services.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
South Sudan celebrates independence
By Paul Ndiho - JUBA
July 9, 2011
"Free at last! Free at last! Free at last! - Salva Kiir took the oath of office as South Sudan's president and leader of the world newest nation. As tens of thousands of South Sudanese danced and cheered as their new country formally declared its independence on Saturday (July 9), some of their former countrymen in the north were also celebrating. The north's Khartoum government was the first to officially recognize the new state - whose creation divides what was once Africa's largest country.
The Speaker of the South Sudan Legislative Assembly, James Wani Igga, read out the Proclamation of the Independence.
Crowds then cheered as Sudan's national flag was lowered and the new flag of South Sudan was raised as trumpets played the new national anthem.
South Sudan became the 193rd country recognized by the UN and the 54th UN member state in Africa.
North and south Sudan fought each other for decades in a civil war fuelled by ethnicity, religion, ideology and oil. The violence claimed an estimated two million lives, forced four million to flee and destabilized much of the region.
Guns fell silent six years ago after a Comprehensive Peace Agreement brokered by regional countries with international support was signed in neighboring Kenya promising a referendum six years later, giving southerners a choice between unity or separation. In January, the southerners went to polls and more than 98 percent of southern voters chose to secede. That referendum came after of decades of war between the predominantly Christian south and the largely Muslim north.
The new state will have its capital in Juba. But analysts say recognition did not dispel fears of future tensions. Northern and southern leaders have still not agreed on a list of sensitive issues, led by the exact line of the border and how they will share oil revenues, the lifeblood of both economies.
Earlier in the day, celebrating the birth of the world's newest country traditional singing and dancing sweep across Juba, the capital of the new Republic of South Sudan. It became a nation at the stroke of midnight, six months after the residents of the under-developed, but oil rich country voted for independence.
July 9, 2011
"Free at last! Free at last! Free at last! - Salva Kiir took the oath of office as South Sudan's president and leader of the world newest nation. As tens of thousands of South Sudanese danced and cheered as their new country formally declared its independence on Saturday (July 9), some of their former countrymen in the north were also celebrating. The north's Khartoum government was the first to officially recognize the new state - whose creation divides what was once Africa's largest country.
The Speaker of the South Sudan Legislative Assembly, James Wani Igga, read out the Proclamation of the Independence.
Crowds then cheered as Sudan's national flag was lowered and the new flag of South Sudan was raised as trumpets played the new national anthem.
South Sudan became the 193rd country recognized by the UN and the 54th UN member state in Africa.
North and south Sudan fought each other for decades in a civil war fuelled by ethnicity, religion, ideology and oil. The violence claimed an estimated two million lives, forced four million to flee and destabilized much of the region.
Guns fell silent six years ago after a Comprehensive Peace Agreement brokered by regional countries with international support was signed in neighboring Kenya promising a referendum six years later, giving southerners a choice between unity or separation. In January, the southerners went to polls and more than 98 percent of southern voters chose to secede. That referendum came after of decades of war between the predominantly Christian south and the largely Muslim north.
The new state will have its capital in Juba. But analysts say recognition did not dispel fears of future tensions. Northern and southern leaders have still not agreed on a list of sensitive issues, led by the exact line of the border and how they will share oil revenues, the lifeblood of both economies.
Earlier in the day, celebrating the birth of the world's newest country traditional singing and dancing sweep across Juba, the capital of the new Republic of South Sudan. It became a nation at the stroke of midnight, six months after the residents of the under-developed, but oil rich country voted for independence.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
South Sudan's New National Anthem
By Paul Ndiho
July 7, 2011
Final preparations are underway in South Sudan’s Capital, Juba, ahead of Saturday’s independence celebrations on July 9TH. The National Anthem Choir in Juba is working on the coming nation's new anthem, and residents of Juba are treated to rehearsal parade. With just a few days left before the official declaration of the independence of South Sudan, members of the National Anthem Choir are practicing hard for an historic performance. The choir has been rehearsing for four months. There are 200 members of the choir, selected for their vocal abilities and their command of English.
There are two versions of the national anthem -- English and Arabic -- and the government intends to translate it into all south Sudanese indigenous languages.
Composer and choir master, Edison Arkanjiro says the anthem's tempo is similar to that of a march -- to commemorate and symbolize the final march to freedom of the people of south Sudan.
"First of all, we think of the culture here in South Sudan, the songs in South Sudan. We have many different types of songs here, we have reggae, we have Reggaetone, we have hip-hop music, we have R'n'B, we have African music here. So we say, let this music, let this tune mention, speak of the culture here in South Sudan."
Arkanjiro is a member of the Juba university team that won the X-Factor-type singing type competition to write the music for the national anthem, titled 'God Bless South Sudan'.
The lyrics were composed last year by a collaboration of 49 poets, academics and musicians. In three short stanzas, the words praise the motherland, God and the martyrs.
The Republic of South Sudan was born from a referendum in which more than 98 percent of southerners voted for secession from the north. The vote was a product of a 2005 peace deal, following decades of war.
"I feel like an angel. Because I feel the pain, the 21 [years] of paining of war... and I feel, I feel really, I don't know, it is like a dream."
The National Anthem Choir will perform in front of thousands guests and a swarm of media. Juba residents witnessed a rehearsal parade ahead of independence celebrations this weekend.
There was a flag raising exercise, and the new flag of the Republic of South Sudan was raised.
SOT: Barnaba Benjamin Marial, Southern Sudan Minister of Information
“The flag will be raised and the Sudanese flag will be brought down and we will equally, there will be off cause the signing of the constitution, the transitional Constitution by the president and then the president will take an oath as the first president of the Republic of south Sudan. President Bashir is expected to make his statement finally as the president of the Republic of the Sudan with his national anthem playing for the last time in southern Sudan, and then our president will speak finally.”
High emotions were on display at the celebration grounds, and this student says he is too excited to rest or stay home.
“I am very happy today, that day I cannot sleep, I will sleep on the streets here I cannot go home because we have been waiting for so long, so many years and we lost many people, so this day is a very important day for us southern Sudanese, I am very happy today.”
South Sudan's independence celebration is slated to start at midnight on Friday 8 July. Church bells and drums will sound marking the birth of the Republic of South Sudan. At least 3,500 dignitaries from all around the world are expected for the event.
July 7, 2011
Final preparations are underway in South Sudan’s Capital, Juba, ahead of Saturday’s independence celebrations on July 9TH. The National Anthem Choir in Juba is working on the coming nation's new anthem, and residents of Juba are treated to rehearsal parade. With just a few days left before the official declaration of the independence of South Sudan, members of the National Anthem Choir are practicing hard for an historic performance. The choir has been rehearsing for four months. There are 200 members of the choir, selected for their vocal abilities and their command of English.
There are two versions of the national anthem -- English and Arabic -- and the government intends to translate it into all south Sudanese indigenous languages.
Composer and choir master, Edison Arkanjiro says the anthem's tempo is similar to that of a march -- to commemorate and symbolize the final march to freedom of the people of south Sudan.
"First of all, we think of the culture here in South Sudan, the songs in South Sudan. We have many different types of songs here, we have reggae, we have Reggaetone, we have hip-hop music, we have R'n'B, we have African music here. So we say, let this music, let this tune mention, speak of the culture here in South Sudan."
Arkanjiro is a member of the Juba university team that won the X-Factor-type singing type competition to write the music for the national anthem, titled 'God Bless South Sudan'.
The lyrics were composed last year by a collaboration of 49 poets, academics and musicians. In three short stanzas, the words praise the motherland, God and the martyrs.
The Republic of South Sudan was born from a referendum in which more than 98 percent of southerners voted for secession from the north. The vote was a product of a 2005 peace deal, following decades of war.
"I feel like an angel. Because I feel the pain, the 21 [years] of paining of war... and I feel, I feel really, I don't know, it is like a dream."
The National Anthem Choir will perform in front of thousands guests and a swarm of media. Juba residents witnessed a rehearsal parade ahead of independence celebrations this weekend.
There was a flag raising exercise, and the new flag of the Republic of South Sudan was raised.
SOT: Barnaba Benjamin Marial, Southern Sudan Minister of Information
“The flag will be raised and the Sudanese flag will be brought down and we will equally, there will be off cause the signing of the constitution, the transitional Constitution by the president and then the president will take an oath as the first president of the Republic of south Sudan. President Bashir is expected to make his statement finally as the president of the Republic of the Sudan with his national anthem playing for the last time in southern Sudan, and then our president will speak finally.”
High emotions were on display at the celebration grounds, and this student says he is too excited to rest or stay home.
“I am very happy today, that day I cannot sleep, I will sleep on the streets here I cannot go home because we have been waiting for so long, so many years and we lost many people, so this day is a very important day for us southern Sudanese, I am very happy today.”
South Sudan's independence celebration is slated to start at midnight on Friday 8 July. Church bells and drums will sound marking the birth of the Republic of South Sudan. At least 3,500 dignitaries from all around the world are expected for the event.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Doing Business in South Sudan
BY Paul Ndiho, Washington DC
JULY 7, 2011
Sudan's south will mark independence from the North on Saturday, July 9, and the South's government says it has thrown open its borders to foreign traders to supply goods, labor and expertise to help build its economy.
After the Comprehensive Peace Deal for Sudan was signed in 2005, foreign traders filled the gap left by the departure of many northerners. Neighboring vendors rushed to Southern Sudan, hoping to cash in on opportunities there.
The south's After decades of conflict, Southern Sudan has almost no capacity to manufacture essential goods, and almost everything needs to be imported.
South Sudan is due to declare independence from the north on Saturday, and authorities are eager to build a robust environment for business to build the economy.
Bagat Minyang Chan, with Ivory Bank in Juba, says Juba has become a budding area of commerce.
"They (southerners) have been marginalized even in terms of there was no investment in the south before. People did not find themselves with the trade, not many people were trading because trade was in the north. Here you know before the agreement most of the traders were northerners."
Chan says business people from neighboring countries are cashing in on supplying goods to the south.
"They (business people) are hopeful... there is investment and especially after the north closed the borders with the south, a lot of people have come to us for investment to bring goods, to bring goods from East Africa.”
Elizabeth Mungai from Kenya came to South Sudan in 2007 and now owns a shop selling imported general provisions in downtown Juba. She says she has no plans to leave and hopes for even bigger profits after July 9.
"Because I've been here for all that time, through the referendum, the elections I've been here, through separation ...all those things I've been here so I proved there is no problem.”
Not only small traders are grabbing opportunities in South Sudan - banks, construction and agriculture companies, telecoms and financial firms are cashing in as well.
Gihad Ghalayini, a Lebanese businessman who came to South Sudan in 2008 and contracts with the government to supply vehicles. He operates across south Sudan and employs more than 30 people. But Ghallayini says investors have one need in particular:
"If we have land with proper land documentation, proper layout, proper titles then loads of investors will come, buy land, lease land, develop,"
South Sudan’s government says it aims to attract 500 billion dollars in Foreign Direct Investment over the next five years. South Sudan becomes the world's newest country on July 9 and the 54th Nation on the African continent.
JULY 7, 2011
Sudan's south will mark independence from the North on Saturday, July 9, and the South's government says it has thrown open its borders to foreign traders to supply goods, labor and expertise to help build its economy.
After the Comprehensive Peace Deal for Sudan was signed in 2005, foreign traders filled the gap left by the departure of many northerners. Neighboring vendors rushed to Southern Sudan, hoping to cash in on opportunities there.
The south's After decades of conflict, Southern Sudan has almost no capacity to manufacture essential goods, and almost everything needs to be imported.
South Sudan is due to declare independence from the north on Saturday, and authorities are eager to build a robust environment for business to build the economy.
Bagat Minyang Chan, with Ivory Bank in Juba, says Juba has become a budding area of commerce.
"They (southerners) have been marginalized even in terms of there was no investment in the south before. People did not find themselves with the trade, not many people were trading because trade was in the north. Here you know before the agreement most of the traders were northerners."
Chan says business people from neighboring countries are cashing in on supplying goods to the south.
"They (business people) are hopeful... there is investment and especially after the north closed the borders with the south, a lot of people have come to us for investment to bring goods, to bring goods from East Africa.”
Elizabeth Mungai from Kenya came to South Sudan in 2007 and now owns a shop selling imported general provisions in downtown Juba. She says she has no plans to leave and hopes for even bigger profits after July 9.
"Because I've been here for all that time, through the referendum, the elections I've been here, through separation ...all those things I've been here so I proved there is no problem.”
Not only small traders are grabbing opportunities in South Sudan - banks, construction and agriculture companies, telecoms and financial firms are cashing in as well.
Gihad Ghalayini, a Lebanese businessman who came to South Sudan in 2008 and contracts with the government to supply vehicles. He operates across south Sudan and employs more than 30 people. But Ghallayini says investors have one need in particular:
"If we have land with proper land documentation, proper layout, proper titles then loads of investors will come, buy land, lease land, develop,"
South Sudan’s government says it aims to attract 500 billion dollars in Foreign Direct Investment over the next five years. South Sudan becomes the world's newest country on July 9 and the 54th Nation on the African continent.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Cruise of a lifetime to the Caribbean and West Africa
By Paul Ndiho, Washington DC
July 5, 2011
When the award winning novel “Roots: The Saga of an America Family” was first released more than 33 years ago, it generated a lot of interest in Africa. "Roots" author Alex Haley traced his family's heritage back to Juffure, a small village in the West African Nation of the Gambia. In a similar voyage of discovery, a group of Africans in the Diaspora is organizing an ocean cruise that will retrace the journeys of their ancestors.
The United Nations proclaimed 2011 as the International Year for People of African Descent. Over the years, people of African heritage have attempted to find out what really happened to their ancestors who were taken out of Africa and enslaved. Lamin Sarr, originally from the Gambia, is one of the organizers of the cruise and says this cruise, the "Heritage Revival Caribbean Cruise," will complete the cycle of freedom and its goals are to promote greater understanding among peoples of African descent.
“When we talk about organizing this cruise, it is not just a simple cruise. It is a platform that will do three things: One, it will help us to celebrate 2011 as the international year for people of African descent. I prefer for people of African heritage, it will also help to launch a program of a dialogue which we call the rejuvenation of the broken African family.”
Mr. Sarr says that the cruise is meant to give people of African descent an opportunity to go back to their ancestral land.
“It will be a voyage that will reverse the very routes of the trans-Atlantic slave trade routes. What we plan to do is actually have a cruise ship and have a lot of people in that ship and we'll move from the East Coast of the United States and we'll stop in the Caribbean. Stop in Brazil and cross from Brazil to West. Africa basically the first voyage will be to Senegal. Because form Brazil to Senegal is the shortest route across the Atlantic Ocean, so that will shorten the length of the cruise. “
While the cruise is a kind of cultural heritage tourism, Sarr notes the cruise will also have the ability to transform people's consciousness:
“When that ship arrives in West Africa, we’ll go through the door of no return and by doing that we’ll enter the land and be welcomed by their African brothers and sisters. In doing that they will have debunked the myth of the door of no return because original
July 5, 2011
When the award winning novel “Roots: The Saga of an America Family” was first released more than 33 years ago, it generated a lot of interest in Africa. "Roots" author Alex Haley traced his family's heritage back to Juffure, a small village in the West African Nation of the Gambia. In a similar voyage of discovery, a group of Africans in the Diaspora is organizing an ocean cruise that will retrace the journeys of their ancestors.
The United Nations proclaimed 2011 as the International Year for People of African Descent. Over the years, people of African heritage have attempted to find out what really happened to their ancestors who were taken out of Africa and enslaved. Lamin Sarr, originally from the Gambia, is one of the organizers of the cruise and says this cruise, the "Heritage Revival Caribbean Cruise," will complete the cycle of freedom and its goals are to promote greater understanding among peoples of African descent.
“When we talk about organizing this cruise, it is not just a simple cruise. It is a platform that will do three things: One, it will help us to celebrate 2011 as the international year for people of African descent. I prefer for people of African heritage, it will also help to launch a program of a dialogue which we call the rejuvenation of the broken African family.”
Mr. Sarr says that the cruise is meant to give people of African descent an opportunity to go back to their ancestral land.
“It will be a voyage that will reverse the very routes of the trans-Atlantic slave trade routes. What we plan to do is actually have a cruise ship and have a lot of people in that ship and we'll move from the East Coast of the United States and we'll stop in the Caribbean. Stop in Brazil and cross from Brazil to West. Africa basically the first voyage will be to Senegal. Because form Brazil to Senegal is the shortest route across the Atlantic Ocean, so that will shorten the length of the cruise. “
While the cruise is a kind of cultural heritage tourism, Sarr notes the cruise will also have the ability to transform people's consciousness:
“When that ship arrives in West Africa, we’ll go through the door of no return and by doing that we’ll enter the land and be welcomed by their African brothers and sisters. In doing that they will have debunked the myth of the door of no return because original
Friday, July 1, 2011
AMISOM SAYS 80% OF SOMALIA'S CAPITAL, MOGADISHU UNDER CONTROL
By Paul Ndiho
July 1, 2011
The African Union Mission in Somalia, or AMISON, says that most of the population in the country’s capital is returning to normalcy. AMISON is encouraging Somalis living in the areas controlled by militants to join the government side.
The African Union Mission in Somalia says it’s making some progress in stabilizing the security situation in Mogadishu, but a lot more needs to be done in the fight against al-Shabaab. Aid agencies in Somalia are also concerned with Somalis displaced due to drought, which only adds to the nation's ongoing humanitarian crisis.
An AMISOM spokesman says that there has been a lot of change in the Somali capital and people there can now go on with their business without fear.
“We are now talking of over 80 percent of the population in Mogadishu in AMISOM controlled areas. I think it’s an indicator of returning normalcy, people are going about their businesses in AMISOM controlled areas and we encourage the population that is still in the areas under the Al-Shabbab to come over to the government side.”
Mr. Ankunda adds that Somalis are becoming aware that there is better security in the areas controlled by AMISOM.
“Change is coming. What we need now is for the people themselves to rise up completely against the insurgents, and tell them that enough is enough, that they would want to live in peace and go about their normal lives uninterrupted. This is the time.”
Mogadishu’s Mayor Mahamud Ahmed is calling on all Somalis abroad to come and invest in their country.
“Any Somali that wants to build a factory, or a hospital, or anything that creates more than 500 jobs, I am ready to give them land, freely, to build it. So, this is the chance before they become too late, come and invest in your country.”
Aid agencies have voiced their concerns over the tens of thousands of Somalis displaced by drought and conflict.
A Red Cross delegate says that after two seasons without rain, Somalia is entering its worst drought in recent years, and aid agencies are unable to feed the majority of people in need.
"The worst situation that you could face is exactly the situation they are facing this year: is that the drought is happening in the same time all around the country, so that prevents people to move from one place to another safe place. They really have to make long journeys to find a safer place."
The African Union Mission in Somalia is striving to help Somalia restore peace and stability after decades of lawlessness and factional warfare. Political divisions between Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government and the interim Parliament have further hampered the country’s peace process.
July 1, 2011
The African Union Mission in Somalia, or AMISON, says that most of the population in the country’s capital is returning to normalcy. AMISON is encouraging Somalis living in the areas controlled by militants to join the government side.
The African Union Mission in Somalia says it’s making some progress in stabilizing the security situation in Mogadishu, but a lot more needs to be done in the fight against al-Shabaab. Aid agencies in Somalia are also concerned with Somalis displaced due to drought, which only adds to the nation's ongoing humanitarian crisis.
An AMISOM spokesman says that there has been a lot of change in the Somali capital and people there can now go on with their business without fear.
“We are now talking of over 80 percent of the population in Mogadishu in AMISOM controlled areas. I think it’s an indicator of returning normalcy, people are going about their businesses in AMISOM controlled areas and we encourage the population that is still in the areas under the Al-Shabbab to come over to the government side.”
Mr. Ankunda adds that Somalis are becoming aware that there is better security in the areas controlled by AMISOM.
“Change is coming. What we need now is for the people themselves to rise up completely against the insurgents, and tell them that enough is enough, that they would want to live in peace and go about their normal lives uninterrupted. This is the time.”
Mogadishu’s Mayor Mahamud Ahmed is calling on all Somalis abroad to come and invest in their country.
“Any Somali that wants to build a factory, or a hospital, or anything that creates more than 500 jobs, I am ready to give them land, freely, to build it. So, this is the chance before they become too late, come and invest in your country.”
Aid agencies have voiced their concerns over the tens of thousands of Somalis displaced by drought and conflict.
A Red Cross delegate says that after two seasons without rain, Somalia is entering its worst drought in recent years, and aid agencies are unable to feed the majority of people in need.
"The worst situation that you could face is exactly the situation they are facing this year: is that the drought is happening in the same time all around the country, so that prevents people to move from one place to another safe place. They really have to make long journeys to find a safer place."
The African Union Mission in Somalia is striving to help Somalia restore peace and stability after decades of lawlessness and factional warfare. Political divisions between Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government and the interim Parliament have further hampered the country’s peace process.
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