dialogue Archives - AfricaBusiness.com

7Nov

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

African News, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Democratic Republic of Congo: ICT4Gov Project Uses Participatory Budgeting and Telecommunications to Build Transparency and Accountability

Synopsis Project feedback mechanisms driven by participatory budgeting and new innovations in information communication technology are working to successfully build transparency, increase accountability and overcome a long history of mistrust in the Democratic Republic of Congo's South Kivu Province. Challenge Following decades of colonial rule, conflict upon conflict, mismanagement, and internal corruption, the Democratic Republic of Congo's national government was left with limited institutional capacity to provide effective services at the local level. This limited capacity has often prompted citizens' groups to view the central government as illegitimate, rent-seeking authorities uninterested in ensuring that resources filter down from the capital to far flung pr...

6Nov

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Energy, Green Energy, South Africa News

Serving up a POWER-GEN-sized slice of colossal Kusile

As part of the inaugural POWER-GEN Africa, taking place at the Sandton Convention Centre from 6-8 November, an intrepid group of delegates had a unique opportunity to visit Kusile, which once operational will be the fourth largest coal-fired power installation in the world. By its scheduled 2018 completion date the station, located in Mpumalanga province, will have a total capacity of 4800 MW. The first of its six 800 MW units is due to commence operations in 2014. Under development by South African state-owned utility Eskom, Kusile is the country’s most technologically advanced coal plant and will be the first to feature flue gas desulphurisation (FGD), a key environmental objective for Eskom. A base-load facility, Kusile forms part of Eskom’s plan to increase...

5Nov

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

African News, Kenya News

Deforestation Costing Kenyan Economy Millions of Dollars Each Year and Increasing Water Shortage Risk, UNEP and Kenya Forest Service Report Finds / Services from Kenya’s Water Towers Underpin Many Sectors of Economy

NAIROBI, Kenya, November 5, 2012/African Press Organization (APO)/ – Deforestation deprived Kenya’s economy of 5.8 billion shillings ($US 68 million) in 2010 and 6.6 billion shillings in 2009, far outstripping the roughly 1.3 billion shillings injected from forestry and logging each year, according to a joint Kenya Forest Service (KFS) and UN Environment Programme (UNEP) report. The ongoing work of the KFS, together with the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) and international partners, says that the contribution of forests is undervalued by 2.5 per cent, putting the estimate of its annual contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at around 3.6 per cent. Hon. Dr. Noah Wekesa, Kenya’s Minister of Forestry and Wildlife, said the report – entitled ‘The ...

5Nov

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

African News, Malawi News

Malawi Economic Conference Affirms Recent Policy Reforms and Calls for Additional Measures to Achieve More Inclusive Growth

LILONGWE, Malawi, November 5, 2012/African Press Organization (APO)/ – The Malawi Ministry of Finance, the Reserve Bank of Malawi and the International Monetary Fund jointly organized a conference in Lilongwe during November 2-3, 2012 aimed at discussing strategies for enhancing the implementation of Malawi’s Economic Recovery Plan (ERP). The high level conference was held under the theme “Toward More Inclusive Growth.” The conference which was opened by Her Excellency President Joyce Banda attracted leaders from the Executive and Legislative branches of Government, and representatives of civil society, labor, business, academia and Malawi’s development partners. In her address, President Banda charged participants to review critically the ERP implementation strategy and come ...

11Oct

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

African News

Investors Applaud Hershey’s Vow To Source 100% Certified Cocoa By 2020

Move to certify entire product line seen as significant step to eradicate trafficking and forced child labor on cocoa farms and plantations NEW YORK, Oct. 11, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, a shareholder coalition that engages companies on labor and human rights standards in global supply chains, commends the Hershey Company for its commitment to certify all its cocoa by a third party by 2020. With a 43% share of the U.S. chocolate market, the investors view Hershey's decision as an important advancement that is certain to influence the industry and result in more sustainable cocoa farming and production. Said Chris Meyer of Praxis Mutual Funds and co-convener of the Hershey dialogue, "Seventy percent of the worl...

19Jul

By AfricaBusiness.comNo Comments

African News, South Africa News

What’s your marketing mindset?

by Chemory Gunko What's your marketing mindset (Microsoft Word) Any marketing campaign, at it’s essence, is all about shouting your name out to the world, in an effort to get masses of exposure and attract the attention of people out there who are looking for you and your amazing products and services. It all begins though, with the way you see your business and the value you believe what you offer has to bring. So, just how do you think about your products and services, and what are the words, thoughts and ideas that you use when describing your offering to yourself? For many people, the idea of marketing is scary. You’re putting yourself out there – and like putting yourself out there in any situation, what you risk is rejection. From people simply b...