News — african economy

Africa's Stolen Wealth - Paradox of Plenty. Africa has been branded by many as a rich continent and by others, a continent of poverty. Africa is blessed with a massive variety and quantities of natural resources. The continent holds around 30% of the world's known mineral reserves. These include oil and natural gas reserves, uranium, diamonds and gold. One can't help but wonder, why is it that a continent with such vast potential wealth can remain so poor, precipitating a paradox of plenty. Following extensive research on this, I share with you a phenomenon I believe is the anchor linchpin reason for the poverty in Africa. (Via Risen Africa)

Prophet Mboro is a charismatic yet controversial church leader from South Africa. He is adored by his thousands of followers and renowned as much for his dancing as he is for the `miracles' he performs. Boasting a collection of expensive cars and wearing an array of jewelry, Mboro has emerged as a millionaire from the boom in Pentecostal `mega-churches'. The question that lingers is if Mboro can possibly be a messenger from God. In such a case, his followers seem to praise him more than they praise God. What do you think?

African has long been considered a poor continent with no notable history. But many people don't know the whole reason why Africa is so poor. African countries were once as rich and powerful as their counterparts. However the centuries, Africa lost its wealth due to the rise of the Ottoman and European civilizations. This increased the demand for slaves in Eastern and Western Africa. Colonizers further extracted the natural resources in the continent. This explains why Africa hasn't been able to crawl out of its poverty while so many other countries and former colonies have. Do you believe Africa is really poor?

María Elena Moyano Delgado was an Afro-Peruvian community organizer and mother whose assassination by the Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) sparked a public outcry bringing attention to her work and the plight of economically marginalized women. 

Born on November 23, 1958 in Barranco District, Lima to Eugenia Delgado Cabrera, laundress, and Hermógenes Moyano Lescano, Moyano Delgado and her six siblings were mostly raised by Eugenia.  Moyano Delgado completed two-years of Sociology at Inca Garcilaso de la Vega University in Lima, but limited funds prevented further studies.  While her education provided some analytical concepts and Marxist interpretations, it was her experiences amongst community women that shaped Moyano Delgado’s approach to organizing and politics.

As a teenager, she became involved in church groups before expanding her reach into secular community organizing.  Moyano Delgado was active in the Movimiento de Jóvenes Pobladores (the Shantytown Movement), elected in 1986 and 1988 president of the Federación Popular de Mujeres de Villa El Salvador (Federation of Common Women of Villa El Salvador), and finally elected deputy mayor of Villa El Salvador in 1989, serving until her 1992 death.  She spearheaded the organization of public kitchens, health committees, various income-generating projects, education, and the Vaso de Leche program (Glass of Milk), which provided daily milk to impoverished children.

Moyano Delgado never publicly called herself a feminist, nor did she emphasize her Blackness, although her actions suggested a commitment to both.  This was due in large part to Peru’s war-torn conditions and like so many other Afro-Peruvian women, Moyano Delgado found herself and her people caught in the middle between two hyper-masculine and violent factions.  The Sendero Luminoso, a Marxist-inspired movement, and the Peruvian state under President Alberto Kenya Fujimori Inomoto, then implementing draconian neo-liberal economic reforms.  

Moyano Delgado’s concern remained with Villa El Salvador women, not ideology. She considered soup kitchens a form of public grievance and saw the political in the personal. And, Moyano Delgado was committed, despite attempts to derail her daily work with women, to improving the material conditions on the ground.

Her advocacy gained the support Lima’s mayor who instituted and expanded Vaso de Leche.  Unfortunately, fundamentalist Sendero Luminoso resented attempts to improve the conditions of the poor without a full-scale embrace of the Marxist Revolution, thus they assassinated Moyano Delgado in front of her family, then dragged her body to the nearest town and blew it up with dynamite to serve as a community spectacle of terror.  Moyano Delgado knew her death was imminent since it came during the politically-motivated assassinations of María Antenati Hilario, Margarita Astride de la Cruz, Juana López, Marina Oroña Barbarán, Verónica Pérez de Mantari, and Rebeca Fernández Cartagena.

María Elena Moyano Delgado died at thirty-three years-old in Villa El Salvador on February 15, 1992.  Nearly 300,000 people attended her funeral and in 2017 her mother Eugenia accepted the Peruvian Order of Merit for Distinguished Service on Maria’s behalf.  In 1980, Moyano Delgado married Gustavo Pineki and they had two sons, David and Gustavo.

One of the aspirations of Africans in the diaspora is to eventually return to Africa and among other things, contribute to the socio-economic development of the continent. Although a number of factors turn to hinder their return, a considerable number of them have returned home.

One of the things many of them do upon return is to establish a business venture to serve as a source of livelihood and a job creation avenue. Face2Face Africa has documented the entrepreneurial journey of some of them and their success stories.

Today, we highlight the success story of Nana Ama Serwaa. Born in Ghana, Serwaa has lived in Atlanta, United States, for over 35 years. She returned home to establish Ike’s Cafe and Grill, the biggest traditional restaurant in Ghana located in the nation’s Ashanti Region.

The restaurant is built with a touch of Ashanti culture and other side attractions such as a live band, Karaoke, a continental bar and a local bar (that serves local Ghanaian wines and gins), a VIP section and a range of delicious local and continental dishes.

Serwaa tells vlogger Wode Maya she was inspired to open her restaurant so that other Ghanaians living abroad who have been away for long can come and experience Ashanti and Ghanaian culture and how beautiful it is to live in an African environment.

She projects Africa as the next big investment destination, adding that the continent has virtually everything to make one’s investment worthwhile. “I want my brothers and sisters to know that the way Africa use to be is not so anymore. Right now, the way things are going, Africa is a place to be,” Serwaa tells Ghanaians in the diaspora. “And that is where our roots are. We have to come and build our motherland.”

Serwaa’s project had a sad beginning. Stories of entrepreneurs who turned their tragedies into success abound. Serwaa is one of such people. The initial project got burnt and she had to rebuild. Although she was distressed, she did not allow the unfortunate incident to discourage her but it rather propelled her to start again.

She also recounts how her Spa company, located in Ghana’s capital, Accra, collapsed due to the poor work ethics of her employees. She revealed that she pumped $150,000 into the business. “So that was my first time I tried in Ghana and I failed,” she said.

She is now transforming her restaurant into a “village” where tourists and other visitors can come and stay and enjoy the wide range of services she is providing. As part of the village, she is building a hotel and other tourist attraction sites. The whole idea behind the village is to bring back the “community feel” Africans had in the past.

She reiterated her call for Ghanaians in the diaspora to return home and contribute to the economy of Ghana. While acknowledging structural challenges in establishing a business in Ghana, Serwaa underscores the fact that they are surmountable and should not discourage anyone from returning home to establish a business.

Rozina Negusei, the wife of award-winning Senegalese-American musician and entrepreneur Akon, has announced she is going to invest $12 million in the Ugandan entertainment industry over the course of five years, local entertainment platform, Sqoop, reports.

Negusei, who is the President and CEO of Zanar Entertainment, Entreeg Records & Entreeg Entertainment Group, is reportedly in the East African nation to explore a host of business opportunities to invest in.

“We are here to explore new opportunities in Uganda, we are focused on investing in Agriculture, solar, and real estate. Our main focus is to see how we can bridge the gap between East Africa and West Africa in terms of business and trade,” she said.

Negusei was invited to the country by the Managing Director of the East African Partners (EAP), Isaac Kigozi. She also came with a contingent of Turkish investors, and they are set to visit some government departments, agencies, as well as some private sector establishments.

“We wanted to bring entertainment in Africa, we are looking for a hub, a home to be the Africa Hollywood; America became America not because of Agriculture but because of the entertainment industry. If we bring entertainment whether movie, music award, every year, Uganda can become the home of the entertainment industry,” she added.

“It’s our job to bring the African movies, music, take it to the next level by recognizing ourself, we don’t have to wait for other cultures to recognize us, we are good enough to recognize ourselves.”

As part of her visit, Negusei also met with President Yoweri Museveni, and was full of praises for the 76-year-old, Blizz Uganda reported.

“I was pleased to meet such an honourable, genius leader and a walking library. He called me a daughter and gave me a name, Estella Ihangwe. It was amazing to be in the presence of such a knowledgeable leader. I have met several leaders, but President Museveni is exceptionally knowledgeable. You guys are lucky to have such a leader. Seriously, you won’t realize it until he is no longer here,” she reportedly said.

“The West told Libya that Gadaffi was a dictator. The Libyans believed them and destroyed their own country. Open your eyes, do not believe everything the west tells you.”

Akon is also expected to later join Negusei in Uganda.

Zambia has formally requested a financing arrangement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to deal with its debt crisis, the Fund said in a statement on Tuesday. The IMF is “currently assessing this request,” it said.

The administration of President Edgar Lungu released a photo showing him in a meeting with officials of the IMF in the capital, Lusaka. According to Reuters, Zambia officials have been tight-lipped on what was discussed at the meeting.

The request for assistance from the IMF follows a rocky relationship between the Fund and the Zambia government. However, Reuters cited the country’s finance minister, Bwalya Ng’andu, as saying that the government had been in talks with the Bretton Wood institution over an “appropriate policy instrument” to help manage its debt.

The copper-producing nation became the first African country to default on its loan repayment, totaling $3 billion, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Zambia issued three sovereign debt instruments before COVID-19; the first being a $750 million debt instrument with a 5.375% interest, the second being a $1 billion debt instrument with 8.5%, and the third being 1.25 billion with 8.9% interest.

The suspension of the loan repayment covered three upcoming interest payments on debts due on October 14 this year, January 30 and March 20 next year. The country says its inability to honor its debt commitment is because of challenging macroeconomic and fiscal situations “aggravated by the COVID-19 crisis that has severely affected the country’s public finances.”

The Finance Ministry added that a combination of declining revenues and increased unbudgeted costs caused by the COVID-19 has affected its available resources to make timely payments on its indebtedness leading to increasing debt-servicing difficulties.

Zambia, Africa’s second-largest producer of copper, has accumulated foreign debt of $10 billion over the past decade. The drastic fall in copper price has strained the country’s finances and stalled economic growth, which grew at an average of 6.8% between 2000 and 2014. The country’s public debt reached 80 percent of GDP in 2019 from 35 percent at the end of 2014.

The South African country is not the only nation taking steps to default on loan payments. Argentina reached an agreement with its creditors to restructure $65 billion of its foreign debt.

Ever since the outbreak of COVID-19 and the imposition of restrictions on movement, African Finance Ministers have called for the suspension of debt interest payments so as to free fiscal space for critical investment in health to contain the spread of the virus.

Some African Heads of State have even called for the complete forgiveness of all bilateral and multilateral debt.

According to the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, calls for debt relief are complicated by Africa’s range of creditors. Of all Africa’s external interest payments, 55% are made to private creditors while only 17% are made to multilateral institutions, with the same figure going to China.

Mo Ibrahim Foundation further noted that before COVID-19, as many as 30 African countries spent more on repaying public debt than on healthcare. The Gambia, for example, spends as much as nine times its health budget on debt servicing, while Angola and Congo spend six times. 

Nigeria, damaged by the collapse in oil prices, has secured a $3.4 billion loan from the IMF, having resisted borrowing from the organization for years. It has also requested a further $3.5 billion from the World Bank. 

Egypt, hurt by a lack of tourism revenue and decreased trading through the Suez Canal, has received $2.8 billion from the IMF and is seeking a further $5 billion to account for the coronavirus-induced budget shortfall.