East Africa: Tanzania ranked second in Africa for doing Business

By J. MWAMUNYANGE
Special Correspondent

Tanzania has been rated highly in the Doing Business 2007 survey.

According to World Bank managing director, Juan-Jose Daboub, the key survey acts as a measure to a country’s receptiveness to investment. Tanzania is expected to use the rating to lure investors.

“In this respect, Tanzania will be easily identified by investors. What this rating has done is to tell investors that if you

East Africa : Kenya gifts six key oil blocks to China

The Chinese have lately taken a keener interest in oil exploration in sub Saharan Africa – regarded as one of the fastest growing oil arenas in the world. A STAFF WRITER reports

Two major European oil exploration companies have protested that they are unable to access Kenya even as the country emerges as the latest frontier in the ferocious global battle between Europe and China for oil resources.

Ethiopia: ‘Inheritance Marriage’ Said Fuelling HIV Spread

The Southern Zone of the Afar State said that redoubled efforts towards reducing the impact of the practice of marrying one’s sister-in-law upon the death of the husband-a tradition said to have been making the spread of HIV worse in the state. Zonal deputy administrator Haisema Wolde told ENA that activities have been strengthened to ensuring more effective prevention of the spread of the virus and facilitating ways for those who live with the virus to come out as prime activists.

It is a widespread tradition in the Afar State for one of the brothers-in-law to become “heir to” his deceased brother by taking the widowed for a wife.

Botswana: Female Condom Gets a Makeover

Botswana’s government has turned to advertising and marketing to give the usually unpopular female condom more prominence in its fight against HIV/AIDS.

Officially relaunched as ‘Bliss’ by a local creative and marketing firm, the new name and packaging are expected to encourage more women to make use of it.

“The earlier product’s packaging was dull and did not stand out much, so we decided to use brighter colours and a sexy name. The sexual connotations implied by the name already piques the attention of both men and women,” Derick Muchena, an art director at the company responsible for rebranding the condom, told PlusNews.

Botswana has made notable strides against AIDS by providing free antiretroviral (ARV) drugs to 85 percent of HIV-positive patients, but the poor uptake of the female condom and power imbalances between men and women have hampered prevention campaigns.

Tanzania: Crisis Forced Govt Hand On Coal Deal

By Wilfred Edwin, Special Correspondent
Nairobi

Tanzanians spend 12 hours without electricity despite the country’s coal deposits, the largest on the continent.

With the government now moving away from dependence on hydropower in the face of crippling loadshedding, attention is being focused on the large coal reserves in Mchuchuma, and the iron ore in Liganga in southwest Tanzania, which have attracted local and foreign investors.

Analysts are however blaming the government for not acting on the poor rainfall patterns of the past five years that saw hydropower

East Africa: Race Hots Up for East African Assembly Seats

The race for slots in the East African Legislative Assembly has intensified after National Assembly Speaker Francis ole Kaparo gave political parties 10 days to submit names of their nominees.

Competition is fiercest within the ruling Narc coalition with at last nine candidates competing for the five positions open to the party. The coalition has settled differences over the nominations and agreed that each of the four parties – DP, LDP,

Africa : food crisis, Who’s to blame?

Africa food crisis: Who’s to blame?

Why do more than half of all African countries need urgent food assistance?

The main reason is poverty.

But it is more complicated than that and involves a series of systematic problems such as unreliable rains, HIV/Aids, political strife, conflict, underinvestment in rural areas and unchecked population growth.

Who gains when celebrities visit Africa?

Who benefits from Western billionaires’ African trips?

Pop star Madonna is on a private visit to Malawi where she aims to set up an orphan care centre to provide food, education and shelter for up to 4,000 children.

There was speculation that the ‘Queen of Pop’ and mother of two was going to adopt a local child but her publicist denied the reports saying that rather she was “kind of adopting an entire country of children”.

Who really gains when celebrities focus their attention and wealth on African countries? Do the recipients truly benefit or is it just a PR image boost for the Western superstar? Is the new socially conscious persona image one to be believed? Are the continent’s children being looked at as a commodity? Send me your views.