Contents

12

MAY-JUNE 2015

tOP STORY

AFRICAS WET
APPETITE

Filling the Desires of

Alcoholic Africa

20

SPOTLIGHT COUNTRY - MOZAMBIQUE

Mozambique: Full of Beans

28

Agriculture: Harnessing The Potential

Mining: The Next Best Thing
Oil & Gas: Its Time To Make Money

34
Advisory Board

www.thetimesofafrica.com

THE TIMES OF AFRICA

To The Point

Cameroon: Brutal Attacks by Poachers

Egypt: Preserving Security - Harming Tourism
Kenya: Boosting Kenya Power Output
Rwanda: Cross-Border Mobile Money Remittance
Service
South Africa: Spice It Up
Uganda: On Crushing Poor Shilling

Dr. Joseph Agyepong

Outgoing Ambassador of
Burkina Faso to India

Medical Advisor, Heal

& Bliss Pvt. Ltd.,
New Delhi

feature

Taste is King
A Rough Ride?
An Unpleasant Bite
Shopping in Supermarkets, Anyone?

Dr. A.S. Yaruingam

H.E. Mr. Idriss

Raoua OUEDRAOGO

Dr. Jagdish C. Sobti

Executive Chairman, Jospong

Group, Ghana

Mr. P.M. Heblikar

Former Special Secretary,

Govt. of India

MAY-JUNE 2015

Head & Coordinator

(ASC), Department of
African Studies,
University of Delhi

Dr. Steve Omenga Mainda

Chairman, Insurance Regulatory

Authority, Housing Finance
Company of Kenya Limited

Follow us on

6
8

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Business bulletin

Soar the Sky With

African Wings

42

Improving Internal Air Networks

Scaling Up Tourism
Facing Trouble in Travelling
Within Africa?
The Growing Giants
Adding New Wings
Creating Perfect Guest
Experience

UN 4 AFRICA

WHATS ON

In Rendezvous With...

62
Sectoral Analysis

52
70

Mr. Simon Mizrahi, Director,

Quality Assurance and Results
Department at African
Development Bank

MAY-JUNE 2015

Editor
Kanchi Batra
Regional Editor (Africa)
R.C. Dhingra
Associate Editor (French)
Divya Malhotra
Contributing Editor (Burkina Faso)
Albert Etsri Apemewoe
Contributing Editor (Ghana)
Adams Mohammed Mahama
Correspondents
Ekta Handa(India), Francis L. Sackitey (Ghana)
Mr. Robert Kibet (Kenya) Kizito Sikuka
(Zimbabwe) Aimable Twahirwa (Rwanda)
Francois Essomba (Cameroon)
Art Director
Krishna Mohan
Graphic Designer
Mohit Sharma
Photo Editor
V.K. Murti
Manager-Corporate Relations
Surender Chauhan
Business Development Manager (Kenya)
Surender Singh
Country Manager (Cameroon)
Ripu Daman Malik
Country Manager (Ghana)
Vijay Kumar
Marketing Executive
Pankaj Batra
Marketing Associates
Barbara Eugenie (Seychelles),
Tribhuwan Pratap Singh, C. Sriram (India)
MIS Executives
Sandeep Das, Dinesh Sharma
Executive Assistants
Saloni Tayal, Nikita Vishwakarma

AFROTALK

64

End of Political Turmoil

66

Malawi: The Warm Heart of Africa

68

Dear Sepp Blatter, Africa is

Comfortable having you!!
Black Cats Fortunes have been
Flouring
Papa Gassama Rejoicing his
Achievement

bon voyage

homage

54

Homage to an Extraordinary
Envoy

56

The African Superwoman

PORTRAIT PAINTING

GUEST COLUMN

58

Broom Again- A Symbol of

Change in Nigeria
My Journey to the End of the
Earth

overseas offices
Burkina Faso

Sports Special

Ghana

For queries
Call at:

+91 81307 96166 | +91 85951 66625

+91 93111 54998 |

Write to us at:

Niger

Sector-05, P.O. Box1251

Ouagadougou -05, Burkina Faso
E: burkinafaso@thetimesofafrica.com

J.A. Plant Pool, Dzorwulu Traffic Light,

Near Word Miracle Church, Accra, Ghana
E: ghana@thetimesofafrica.com

House No 420, Tanja Road, Darasalam

near station Korey Bongou, Niamey, Niger
E: niger@thetimesofafrica.com

Cameroon

Kenya

Senegal

Carrefour Ekoudou
BP 7155, Yaound, Cameroon
E: cameroon@thetimesofafrica.com

Printers

Cameroon

La Socit de Presse et dEditions du

Cameroun (SOPECAM)
P.O. Box 1218 Yaound, Cameroon

Pili Trade Center, Godown 3, Near Syokimau

Railway Station, Mombasa Road, Nairobi, Kenya
E: kenya@thetimesofafrica.com

India

Lipee Scan Pvt. Ltd.

89 dsidc shed Okhla Phase 1
New Delhi

Mr. Mamane Sani

Sanda
Director General,
BASE/DC, Niger

Former Additional Secretary,

Govt. of India

All rights reserved throughout the world

(THE TIMES OF AFRICA).

Owner/Publisher/Printer:
Mr. Kirit Sobti Published from 2nd floor,
Plot No. 7, 8 & 9, Garg Shopping Mall,
Service Centre, Opp. Sector XI (Extn.), Rohini
Phase-2, Delhi-110085, India. Printed at lipee
scan pvt. ltd., 89 dsidc shed Okhla Phase 1,
New Delhi, Editor: Kanchi Batra

Kenya

English Press Limited

P.O Box 30127, Industrial Area, Enterprise Road,
Opposite Avenue Healthcare, Nairobi 00100 Kenya

Director General,
LAGUINTECH, Guinea
Conakry

Professor Ajay Dubey

Mr. C.K. Sinha

TRINITY HEIGHTS EXIM PVT LTD.

Comico VDN No. 29-31 Appart 2B,

Dakar, Senegal
E: Senegal@thetimesofafrica.com

Mr. Mamadou
Diould Sow

Director, Area Studies

Programme on Africa
School of International
Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru
University

editor@thetimesofafrica.com
ads@thetimesofafrica.com
pr@thetimesofafrica.com
correspondent@thetimesofafrica.com
mediapartnership@thetimesofafrica.com
subscription@thetimesofafrica.com
feedback@thetimesofafrica.com

T: 91 11 4751 4751 F: 91 11 4751 4752

Mr. Awono Onana

Charles

Ambassador
V.B. Soni

Director, Ecole National

Superior Polytechnic,
Yaounde, Cameroon

Chairman, Overseas
Infrastructure Alliance

Prof. K. Mathews

Professor of International
Relations & African Studies
Addis Ababa University,
Ethiopia

Disclaimer: All views expressed in this issue are that of the authors. The publisher may not agree with the independent views expressed in
this magazine. All disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of competent courts and forums in Delhi/New Delhi only.

Follow us on

MAY-JUNE 2015

THE TIMES OF AFRICA

www.thetimesofafrica.com

REGULARS

SPOTLIGHT COUNTRY MOZAMBIQUE

MOZAMBIQUE
FULL OF BEANS

www.thetimesofafrica.com

T
20

he immigration officer gazes enthusiastically

at the Indian passport. Its not a rare picture at
Maputos International Airport as the country is
progressively witnessing foreigners at its ports of
entry in a pursuit to work in the country. Time has
definitely changed since the early 1990s. Then,
the country was left annihilated by Portuguese
colonial rule and the civil war that followed it.
Today, Mozambique grabs the limelight for its
rising oil and gas reserves. Foreign investment
flows into the country to lift the energy sector. But
investment prospects in Mozambique should not
stop there.
Mozambique is gifted with rich and panoptic
natural resources counting deposits of iron ore,

THE TIMES OF AFRICA

MAY-JUNE 2015

gold, bauxite, graphite, marble and limestone.

There are also exceptional and significant
minerals such as tantalite and ilmenite (a source
of titanium). Tete highlands have large reserves
of coal, which is exported to places like India and
China. South Africa is Mozambique's main trading
partner and source of Foreign Direct Investment.
The country's economy is grounded mostly on
agriculture, but industry, primarily food and
beverages, chemical manufacturing, aluminum
and petroleum production, is mounting. Foreign
companies have progressively chosen to invest
here, predominantly in mining ventures. Worth to
mention, the country's tourism sector is also rising.
Mozambique is a country in Southeast Africa
Follow us on

FEATURE

SHOPPING IN
SUPERMARKETS,
ANYONE?

www.thetimesofafrica.com

Africa: A Destination for Global Retailers

32

t is an occasion to fill your cart with

choices and maybe get furnished
with a free sample while you shop.
You can actually go to supermarket
at any time you want. A supermarket,
a large form of the traditional
grocery store, is a self-service shop
extending a wide range of food and
household products, ordered into
aisles. Africa is indeed packed with
potential for global retailers, with its
billion people and upward economy.
Its easy to say why many
retailers consider Sub-Saharan Africa
the next big thing. Its population
is approaching 900 million people,
mobile phones and the internet are
thriving swiftly across the continent,
and it is urbanizing at a rate of 3.61
percent, faster than any other region
in the world. Supermarket chains
are competing to serve millions of
new customers in Africa and theyre
not just changing the way people
shop - theyre renovating the way

THE TIMES OF AFRICA

MAY-JUNE 2015

food is produced in a region where

agriculture affords almost 60 percent
of all jobs.
One chain, Shoprite
supermarkets, augmented sales by
28 percent in the year. This chain
established 47 new African stores,
principally in Nigeria and Angola.
This growth of may benefit or harm
small farmers; more stores offer
greater opportunity to sell produce,
but also infringe on land traditionally
used for farming.
Lately Checkers Vergelegen
Plein and Shoprite Langa opened in
the Western Cape, Shoprite Ixopo
started trading in KwaZulu-Natal,
Checkers Parys opened in the Free
State, while Shoprite Dawn Park in
Gauteng greeted customers for the
first time. Africas largest retailer
recently proclaimed that trading
has started in a new Shoprite
supermarket close to Rustenburg in
Northern Province.

With its business designed

to bring low prices and value
for money to consumers, the
Shoprite Groups extension model
is engrossed on making its stores
more approachable by taking up
prospects to open supermarkets
inside neighbourhoods and in or
near public transport nodes.
Walmart, on the other hand,
who has set its marvels on Africa,
made a momentous investment in
Africa in 2011 with its acquisition of
Massmart the CEO Doug McMillon
reiterated his commitment to the
continent at the U.S.-Africa Business
Forum as well. He noted that their
enthusiasm to Africa imitates its
mission of helping customers
afford the things they need for
their families. This year, Wal-Mart
finalized a merger with a major
African retailer.
Pick n Pay, which like many
chains is based in South Africa,
Follow us on

SECTORAL ANALYSIS

COME
FLY WITH
AFRICA

The aviation industry

has a dynamic role to
play in accomplishing
sustainable development
in Africa. The extension
of air services is a
needed condition for the
development of a more
expanded export base
across the continent
and for the expansion of
tourism to the region. This
industry is determined
and eager to work with
all governments and
stakeholders in Africa to
deliver the best.

Soar the Sky With African Wings

www.thetimesofafrica.com

eeping around a jam-packed terminal in an

African airport, its apparent that more commuters
are flooding to the continent than ever before.
Chinese and Indian businessmen stretch out on
benches, seeking to catch a few hours sleep
before continuing their journey to other African
countries, while American tourists trade loud gags
as they board a flight to Mount Kilimanjaro, one of
Tanzanias most prevalent holiday destinations.
Many of these travelers are traders either from
or to the Middle East; or to Europe. Of the total
passenger traffic on the continent, 42 per cent
was intercontinental, 31 per cent intra-African and

42

THE TIMES OF AFRICA

MAY-JUNE 2015

27 per cent domestic. For eras, Asian investors

have been travelling to Africa, fascinated by the
continents developing economies. And rising
numbers of labourers, executives and families
flying between Africa and Asia have now made
it the worlds fastest growing transcontinental
route, according to the International Air Transport
Association (Iata).
Air travel is actually indispensable to the
fortune of Africa as it unlocks opportunities
that did not exist before. Nurturing the African
aviation industry may be one of the dynamic
forces of regional integration on the continent.
Follow us on

PORTRAIT PAINTING

THE AFRICAN

SUPERWOMAN
She will Let Things Happen in Namibia
She was determined to give up her desires of
becoming a medical doctor, anticipating to
become a central bank governor one day, but
little did she know what life had in store for her,
nor did she know that she would one day be at
the helm of government. President-elect Dr. Hage
Geingob, Namibia sworn to proceed with the
inheritance set by his presidential predecessors,
and announced H.E. Ms. Saara KuugongelwaAmadhila as his incoming Prime Minister to assist
him accomplish that dream.

An Illustrious Career

She became the first woman Director General of the National

Planning Commission and the youngest at the age of 27. She
was also the first female Finance Minister; the first to record a
surplus in the 2006/7 financial year; the longest-serving Finance
Minister so far Namibia's first female Prime Minister. Her shining
career is not only attributed to her government roles but also
her work for the ruling party. When she became the Swapo
Secretary for Economic Affairs, she inherited a party business
empire that was on its knees. Those who were acquainted with
this story gave the model of Kalahari Holdings that was N$30
million in the red when she took over, but now the party's
largest company is worth more than N$200 million.

www.thetimesofafrica.com

To Get Complete Edition Just

CLICK HERE
H.E. Ms. Saara
Kuugongelwa-Amadhila

Prime Minister of Namibia

56

THE TIMES OF AFRICA

MAY-JUNE 2015

Follow us on