By Alistair Thomson
DAKAR, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Chinese businessmen are taking a long-term view and pursuing strategic expansion in Africa even though China's multiplying investments on the continent have lost some lustre in the global downturn.
Beijing and Chinese companies have pledged tens of billions of dollars to Africa in loans and investments mostly to secure raw materials for the world's fastest-growing large economy.
That long-term interest remains intact, despite a worldwide economic slump that has hit China's exports to the rich world and a sharp decline in Africa's mineral shipments to China.
China-Africa trade has surged by an average 30 percent a year this decade, soaring to nearly $107 billion in 2008.
Wednesday, 28 January 2009
Monday, 19 January 2009
Sasol Discovers Antitrust Violations, Triggers Probes
By Carli Lourens
Jan. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Sasol Ltd., South Africa’s largest fuel producer, triggered cartel probes into the country’s fuel and piped-gas industries after discovering violations of antitrust law during an internal review and notifying regulators.
“We hope there will be more competitive prices” after the probes, which will be “long and detailed,” said Simon Roberts, an economist at South Africa’s Competition Commission, in an interview today. Pricing of fuels such as diesel, not regulated by the government at retail level, will be scrutinized, he said.
All members of the South African Petroleum Industry Association, or Sapia, will be investigated, Roberts said. These members are BP Southern Africa Ltd., Shell South Africa Ltd., Chevron South Africa Ltd., Total South Africa Ltd., Engen Ltd. and state-owned PetroSA, according to the industry body’s executive director, Avhapfani Tshifularo.
“I’m not aware of any cartel,” Tshifularo said by phone today, adding that the issues raised by Sasol have yet to be fully studied. None of the oil refiners could comment immediately when contacted by Bloomberg News today.
Sasol, the world’s biggest producer of motor fuel made from coal, is cooperating with the Competition Commission, according to a statement from the Johannesburg-based company. Two violations were found at its gas unit, and findings of unlawful conduct at its Sasol Nitro division are now more likely, it said. Some activities at the Sasol Oil subsidiary may also be viewed as anticompetitive, the company said.
‘Sizeable’ Penalty?
The commission is in talks with Sasol over a settlement, and a “sizeable” administrative penalty may be levied in relation to the two Sasol Nitro issues, Roberts said.
The two complaints may now be considered valid after the review uncovered additional information, Sasol said. They concern a probe of trading in phosphoric acid and one of several complaints by a company called Nutri-Flo.
Sasol, which was fined 318 million euros ($412 million) in October by European Union regulators for allegedly participating in a wax cartel, unearthed the violations after the start in July of an internal review of compliance with competition laws. The company said today it was granted leniency for the violations at the gas unit after reporting the acts to the commission.
“The intense scrutiny of the review initiated last year is unfortunately indicating areas of concern,” Chief Executive Officer Pat Davies said in the statement. “Our values do not leave any room for unethical behavior.”
Shares Retreat
Sasol fell 13.01 rand, or 4.5 percent, to 276.99 rand in Johannesburg trading, rebounding from a drop of as much as 6.6 percent. The stock has slid 13 percent in the past year, cutting the company’s market value to 176 billion rand ($17 billion).
“Because Sasol is the whistleblower, there is a smaller chance that they’ll incur the maximum penalty,” Nedcor Securities analyst Mohamed Kharva said by phone today from Cape Town. “There may still be a fine, but it’s very early to say what will be the impact.”
Jan. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Sasol Ltd., South Africa’s largest fuel producer, triggered cartel probes into the country’s fuel and piped-gas industries after discovering violations of antitrust law during an internal review and notifying regulators.
“We hope there will be more competitive prices” after the probes, which will be “long and detailed,” said Simon Roberts, an economist at South Africa’s Competition Commission, in an interview today. Pricing of fuels such as diesel, not regulated by the government at retail level, will be scrutinized, he said.
All members of the South African Petroleum Industry Association, or Sapia, will be investigated, Roberts said. These members are BP Southern Africa Ltd., Shell South Africa Ltd., Chevron South Africa Ltd., Total South Africa Ltd., Engen Ltd. and state-owned PetroSA, according to the industry body’s executive director, Avhapfani Tshifularo.
“I’m not aware of any cartel,” Tshifularo said by phone today, adding that the issues raised by Sasol have yet to be fully studied. None of the oil refiners could comment immediately when contacted by Bloomberg News today.
Sasol, the world’s biggest producer of motor fuel made from coal, is cooperating with the Competition Commission, according to a statement from the Johannesburg-based company. Two violations were found at its gas unit, and findings of unlawful conduct at its Sasol Nitro division are now more likely, it said. Some activities at the Sasol Oil subsidiary may also be viewed as anticompetitive, the company said.
‘Sizeable’ Penalty?
The commission is in talks with Sasol over a settlement, and a “sizeable” administrative penalty may be levied in relation to the two Sasol Nitro issues, Roberts said.
The two complaints may now be considered valid after the review uncovered additional information, Sasol said. They concern a probe of trading in phosphoric acid and one of several complaints by a company called Nutri-Flo.
Sasol, which was fined 318 million euros ($412 million) in October by European Union regulators for allegedly participating in a wax cartel, unearthed the violations after the start in July of an internal review of compliance with competition laws. The company said today it was granted leniency for the violations at the gas unit after reporting the acts to the commission.
“The intense scrutiny of the review initiated last year is unfortunately indicating areas of concern,” Chief Executive Officer Pat Davies said in the statement. “Our values do not leave any room for unethical behavior.”
Shares Retreat
Sasol fell 13.01 rand, or 4.5 percent, to 276.99 rand in Johannesburg trading, rebounding from a drop of as much as 6.6 percent. The stock has slid 13 percent in the past year, cutting the company’s market value to 176 billion rand ($17 billion).
“Because Sasol is the whistleblower, there is a smaller chance that they’ll incur the maximum penalty,” Nedcor Securities analyst Mohamed Kharva said by phone today from Cape Town. “There may still be a fine, but it’s very early to say what will be the impact.”
Ray of sunlight
Article By: Raymond Ackerman
Mon, 19 Jan 2009 07:22
Like many of my contemporaries in the business world, I am frequently asked how I remain so bullish in the face of the many challenges that confront South Africa. Particularly, there is often a hint of incredulity that Pick n Pay should continue to invest so confidently in a commercial environment that is threatened by very worrying levels of crime and violence, political uncertainty and deteriorating services.
Unlike many of those who find little good to say about the state of our nation, I am, regrettably, old enough to remember graphically the sheer awfulness of South Africa in the seventies, eighties and early nineties. I recall the dawn raids on African families whose presence in urban areas was deemed to be illegal, the wickedness of the pass laws, the forced removals under the Group Areas Act and the economically suicidal application of race-based job reservation.
A far, far better place
And when I remember those things, I have no hesitation in saying that the South Africa of today is a far, far better place than it was before 1994. We live in a country that is governed not by the unchallengeable dictates of cabinet ministers or security chiefs, but by the entrenched principles of a progressive constitution which binds Parliament and citizen alike to a judicable bill of rights, a free press and an independent judiciary.
That is the kind of society towards which I strove for most of my adult life and in the expectation of which so much of my business career was directed. Along with many of my peers in the commercial world, I recognised many years ago that apartheid was not only inequitable and cruel, but an insurmountable obstacle to economic growth and national prosperity. It impacted negatively on the quality of life of our employees, crippled productivity, closed foreign markets and created an environment of community conflict in which corporate progress and planning was made all but impossible.
And now that it has gone, we are ethically obliged to bring to the building of a new nation precisely those energies and critical patriotism that we so successfully invoked to nudge society, government and opposition to change.
Dawning of democracy
The euphoria of the dawning of democracy was intoxicating and the birth of the rainbow nation seductive. But the exhilaration that accompanied the miracle our national liberation perhaps blinded us to the harsh realities of the transition that was to come. Few of us paused to reflect on the daunting task of reconstruction that awaited a country that had been torn apart and brutalised by decades of apartheid, deprivation, ethnic prejudice and a command economy.
It is only when one reflects on where we were in the darkest days of the last century, and on the poverty, lack of opportunity and political and economic paralysis that characterised our society, that we are able to appreciate the overwhelming magnitude of the difficulties that have faced us in building a new society from the tragedies of the old and recreating ourselves as a normally-functioning and thriving economy.
We can learn much from the experience of the United States’ Reconstruction after the Civil War. Like our own post-apartheid transformation, it was an era of unprecedented political conflict and of far-reaching changes in the nature of American government. It saw the passage of constitutional amendments that for the first time enshrined in American law the principle that the rights of citizens could not be denied because of race.
But it was not until the mid-twentieth century that America was able to come to terms with the political and social agenda of the Reconstruction and make a second attempt to erase the economic inequalities that originated in slavery and were reinforced by decades of segregation.
And then, earlier this month – in an extraordinary encounter with the Rubicon – millions of white Christians in the United States voted for a man with one Kenyan parent, that parent having been raised as a Muslim.
Mon, 19 Jan 2009 07:22
Like many of my contemporaries in the business world, I am frequently asked how I remain so bullish in the face of the many challenges that confront South Africa. Particularly, there is often a hint of incredulity that Pick n Pay should continue to invest so confidently in a commercial environment that is threatened by very worrying levels of crime and violence, political uncertainty and deteriorating services.
Unlike many of those who find little good to say about the state of our nation, I am, regrettably, old enough to remember graphically the sheer awfulness of South Africa in the seventies, eighties and early nineties. I recall the dawn raids on African families whose presence in urban areas was deemed to be illegal, the wickedness of the pass laws, the forced removals under the Group Areas Act and the economically suicidal application of race-based job reservation.
A far, far better place
And when I remember those things, I have no hesitation in saying that the South Africa of today is a far, far better place than it was before 1994. We live in a country that is governed not by the unchallengeable dictates of cabinet ministers or security chiefs, but by the entrenched principles of a progressive constitution which binds Parliament and citizen alike to a judicable bill of rights, a free press and an independent judiciary.
That is the kind of society towards which I strove for most of my adult life and in the expectation of which so much of my business career was directed. Along with many of my peers in the commercial world, I recognised many years ago that apartheid was not only inequitable and cruel, but an insurmountable obstacle to economic growth and national prosperity. It impacted negatively on the quality of life of our employees, crippled productivity, closed foreign markets and created an environment of community conflict in which corporate progress and planning was made all but impossible.
And now that it has gone, we are ethically obliged to bring to the building of a new nation precisely those energies and critical patriotism that we so successfully invoked to nudge society, government and opposition to change.
Dawning of democracy
The euphoria of the dawning of democracy was intoxicating and the birth of the rainbow nation seductive. But the exhilaration that accompanied the miracle our national liberation perhaps blinded us to the harsh realities of the transition that was to come. Few of us paused to reflect on the daunting task of reconstruction that awaited a country that had been torn apart and brutalised by decades of apartheid, deprivation, ethnic prejudice and a command economy.
It is only when one reflects on where we were in the darkest days of the last century, and on the poverty, lack of opportunity and political and economic paralysis that characterised our society, that we are able to appreciate the overwhelming magnitude of the difficulties that have faced us in building a new society from the tragedies of the old and recreating ourselves as a normally-functioning and thriving economy.
We can learn much from the experience of the United States’ Reconstruction after the Civil War. Like our own post-apartheid transformation, it was an era of unprecedented political conflict and of far-reaching changes in the nature of American government. It saw the passage of constitutional amendments that for the first time enshrined in American law the principle that the rights of citizens could not be denied because of race.
But it was not until the mid-twentieth century that America was able to come to terms with the political and social agenda of the Reconstruction and make a second attempt to erase the economic inequalities that originated in slavery and were reinforced by decades of segregation.
And then, earlier this month – in an extraordinary encounter with the Rubicon – millions of white Christians in the United States voted for a man with one Kenyan parent, that parent having been raised as a Muslim.
Monday, 12 January 2009
Zuma judgment delivered in SCA
12 January 2009, 14:05
The Supreme Court of Appeal today delivered judgment in the case of National Director of Public Prosecutions v Zuma (573/08) [2009] ZASCA 1 (12 Jan 2008).
It upheld an appeal by the NDPP against a judgment by Nicholson J in which he had set aside the indictment of Mr Zuma on 18 main counts of racketeering, corruption, money laundering, tax evasion and fraud. The effect of the judgment on appeal is that the prosecution may proceed.
The case concerned in the main the interpretation of section 179 of the Constitution. The SCA held that the section did not require that the NDPP had to invite Mr Zuma to make representations as to why he should not be prosecuted before indicting him and to provide him with a full explanation why a former decision not to prosecute was not adhered to.
The SCA also held that Mr Zuma had no legitimate expectation that he would have received such an invitation and explanation. It noted that Mr Zuma, knowing that he could make representations, chose not to make any.
Aware of the possible political implications of the judgment, the SCA emphasised that the judgment is not about the guilt of Mr Zuma; it is not about the question whether the decision to prosecute was justified; it is not about who should be the president of the ANC; it is not about whether the decision of the ANC to ask Mr Mbeki to resign was warranted; and it is not about who should be the ANC?s candidate for the presidency in 2009. More particularly, it is not about whether there was political meddling in the decision-making process.
The judgment, however, deals with the question whether the findings by Nicholson J relating to political meddling were appropriate or could be justified. It came in this regard to the conclusion that his findings were inappropriate and could not be justified on the papers before him. The SCA found that the learned judge had failed to have regard to some basic tenets concerning the judicial function and that he had failed to apply fundamental rules of procedure. This led to the erroneous findings.
The Supreme Court of Appeal today delivered judgment in the case of National Director of Public Prosecutions v Zuma (573/08) [2009] ZASCA 1 (12 Jan 2008).
It upheld an appeal by the NDPP against a judgment by Nicholson J in which he had set aside the indictment of Mr Zuma on 18 main counts of racketeering, corruption, money laundering, tax evasion and fraud. The effect of the judgment on appeal is that the prosecution may proceed.
The case concerned in the main the interpretation of section 179 of the Constitution. The SCA held that the section did not require that the NDPP had to invite Mr Zuma to make representations as to why he should not be prosecuted before indicting him and to provide him with a full explanation why a former decision not to prosecute was not adhered to.
The SCA also held that Mr Zuma had no legitimate expectation that he would have received such an invitation and explanation. It noted that Mr Zuma, knowing that he could make representations, chose not to make any.
Aware of the possible political implications of the judgment, the SCA emphasised that the judgment is not about the guilt of Mr Zuma; it is not about the question whether the decision to prosecute was justified; it is not about who should be the president of the ANC; it is not about whether the decision of the ANC to ask Mr Mbeki to resign was warranted; and it is not about who should be the ANC?s candidate for the presidency in 2009. More particularly, it is not about whether there was political meddling in the decision-making process.
The judgment, however, deals with the question whether the findings by Nicholson J relating to political meddling were appropriate or could be justified. It came in this regard to the conclusion that his findings were inappropriate and could not be justified on the papers before him. The SCA found that the learned judge had failed to have regard to some basic tenets concerning the judicial function and that he had failed to apply fundamental rules of procedure. This led to the erroneous findings.
Thursday, 08 January 2009
DEVELOPMENT: Africa May Face 'Centuries' of Poverty
By David Cronin
BRUSSELS, Jan 8 (IPS) - Extreme poverty will continue to blight sub-Saharan Africa for another 200 years unless action to overcome it is intensified, a new report has suggested.
Social Watch, a network of campaigning groups, has devised a measure known as the "basic capabilities index" to assess the level of hardship throughout the world.
Its latest report finds that 80 countries -- home to half the world's population -- fare badly when three criteria are examined: the number of children who die before their fifth birthday, the proportion of children who complete primary education, and the proportion of births that are attended by trained midwives or other medical professionals.
Only 16 of these countries have registered considerable improvement since 2000. Although the countries making progress include India, home to 1.6 billion, regression has been recorded in others with a combined population of 150 million. The latter category includes Chad, Niger, Malawi, Benin and Yemen, while Bangladesh, Uganda, Nigeria, Madagascar and Ghana have been listed as stagnant.
While much of sub-Saharan Africa has recorded strong economic growth in recent years, this has not translated into a major drop in poverty levels. As things stand, the basic needs of millions of Africans will not be met until the 23rd century, with many governments struggling to fulfil pledges they have made. Zambia, for example, has undertaken to provide free basic health care for all citizens, yet continues to have one of the lowest rates of life expectancy on the planet.
Roberto Bissio, coordinator of Social Watch, predicted that the crisis which gripped international capitalism during 2008 will complicate matters further. "Poor countries are very likely going to suffer quite heavily from a crisis which they did not at all create," he said, indicating that crucial sources of money such as remittances from migrants overseas will probably decline.
Bissio argued that one of the most appropriate responses of governments would be to develop a more coherent response to the fulfilment of human rights, particularly those with an economic and social dimension.
BRUSSELS, Jan 8 (IPS) - Extreme poverty will continue to blight sub-Saharan Africa for another 200 years unless action to overcome it is intensified, a new report has suggested.
Social Watch, a network of campaigning groups, has devised a measure known as the "basic capabilities index" to assess the level of hardship throughout the world.
Its latest report finds that 80 countries -- home to half the world's population -- fare badly when three criteria are examined: the number of children who die before their fifth birthday, the proportion of children who complete primary education, and the proportion of births that are attended by trained midwives or other medical professionals.
Only 16 of these countries have registered considerable improvement since 2000. Although the countries making progress include India, home to 1.6 billion, regression has been recorded in others with a combined population of 150 million. The latter category includes Chad, Niger, Malawi, Benin and Yemen, while Bangladesh, Uganda, Nigeria, Madagascar and Ghana have been listed as stagnant.
While much of sub-Saharan Africa has recorded strong economic growth in recent years, this has not translated into a major drop in poverty levels. As things stand, the basic needs of millions of Africans will not be met until the 23rd century, with many governments struggling to fulfil pledges they have made. Zambia, for example, has undertaken to provide free basic health care for all citizens, yet continues to have one of the lowest rates of life expectancy on the planet.
Roberto Bissio, coordinator of Social Watch, predicted that the crisis which gripped international capitalism during 2008 will complicate matters further. "Poor countries are very likely going to suffer quite heavily from a crisis which they did not at all create," he said, indicating that crucial sources of money such as remittances from migrants overseas will probably decline.
Bissio argued that one of the most appropriate responses of governments would be to develop a more coherent response to the fulfilment of human rights, particularly those with an economic and social dimension.
SCA to rule in Zuma case
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA - Jan 08 2009 13:14
The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) rules on Monday in the state's appeal against Judge Chris Nicholson's ruling in favour of presidential frontrunner Jacob Zuma, in a crucial credibility test for the National Prosecuting Authority.
Judgement will be handed down in a case that witnessed a face-off between Zuma, leader of the ruling African National Congress (ANC), and axed former president Thabo Mbeki.
Zuma will hear his fate two days after the ANC releases its 2009 election manifesto in the Eastern Cape on Saturday, which names him as its presidential candidate.
The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) rules on Monday in the state's appeal against Judge Chris Nicholson's ruling in favour of presidential frontrunner Jacob Zuma, in a crucial credibility test for the National Prosecuting Authority.
Judgement will be handed down in a case that witnessed a face-off between Zuma, leader of the ruling African National Congress (ANC), and axed former president Thabo Mbeki.
Zuma will hear his fate two days after the ANC releases its 2009 election manifesto in the Eastern Cape on Saturday, which names him as its presidential candidate.
New US-led naval force to battle Somali pirates
By BRIAN MURPHY Associated Press Writer
Posted: 01/08/2009 05:46:07 AM MST
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates—A new international naval force under American command will soon begin patrols to confront escalating attacks by Somali pirates after more than 100 ships came under siege in the past year, the U.S. Navy said Thursday.
But the mission—expected to begin operations next week—appears more of an attempt to sharpen the military focus against piracy rather than a signal of expanded offensives across one of the world's most crucial shipping lanes.
The force will carry no wider authority to strike at pirate vessels at sea or specific mandates to move against havens on shore—which some maritime experts believe is necessary to weaken the pirate gangs that have taken control of dozens of cargo vessels and an oil tanker.
Pentagon officials described it as a first step to create a dedicated international structure—combining military force, intelligence sharing and coordinated patrols—to battle piracy from lawless Somalia.
Posted: 01/08/2009 05:46:07 AM MST
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates—A new international naval force under American command will soon begin patrols to confront escalating attacks by Somali pirates after more than 100 ships came under siege in the past year, the U.S. Navy said Thursday.
But the mission—expected to begin operations next week—appears more of an attempt to sharpen the military focus against piracy rather than a signal of expanded offensives across one of the world's most crucial shipping lanes.
The force will carry no wider authority to strike at pirate vessels at sea or specific mandates to move against havens on shore—which some maritime experts believe is necessary to weaken the pirate gangs that have taken control of dozens of cargo vessels and an oil tanker.
Pentagon officials described it as a first step to create a dedicated international structure—combining military force, intelligence sharing and coordinated patrols—to battle piracy from lawless Somalia.
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