According to GhanaWeb, Ghana’s investment rules can protect some indigenous businesses against some foreign companies in the short term, and to the detriment of consumers, but this is dwarfed by the economic loss it will cause in the medium to long term. It said the protected local industries and businesses produced inferior goods and were unable to compete on price as they had little incentive to increase productivity, and gave few options to the consumers.

It also suggests that business and trade restrictions make Ghanaian consumers suffer higher prices and undermine sustainable, widespread economic growth. It further indicates that Ghana must evaluate the implications of investment limit since Ghana itself is a member of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

On the contrary, earlier this month, Hanna S. Tetteh, Ghana Minister of Trade and Industry had said that “Now as far as businesses between Ghana and Nigeria are concerned, again from our point of view, we do not have a problem. The issue has been a misrepresentation of the legal position as it stands with regards to business.” She further added that some regulations were in place to protect jobs and petty businesses of the locals.

Despite the obstacles, trade between Nigeria and Ghana in recent years has quadrupled to $525mn in 2008 – but mainly consists of oil. Nigeria earned $89mn in non-oil exports to Ghana (out of $500mn overall exports), while Ghana’s exports to Nigeria reached $25mn. Nonetheless, Nigerians have investments of nearly $6bn in Ghana, boosting jobs, creating wealth and bolstering taxable revenue. According to the Africa Economic Outlook report 2010, only 10 percent of the continent’s total exports are traded within Africa: trade barriers between African nations are the highest in the world.

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Brazilian agricultural exports reached $ 7.33bn in July, representing growth of 16.6 percent as compared to the same month last year. With a similar yardstick, the sales to the Arab countries grew by almost 40 percent, a growth rate second only to shipments to the Latin American Integration Association (Aladi) member states.

The data shows that four countries from the Arab region have featured in the list of leading 20 export destinations of Brazil. They are – Iran at 5th place behind China, the US, the Netherlands and Russia, and Saudi Arabia in the 10th position, Egypt at13th and the UAE at No.17 appeared on the new list.

Over the past few years’ trade between Brazil and Arab countries have witnessed enormous growth after Lula administration reached out to the Arab world in a stand out manner. It should be recalled the Brazil’s Minister of Agriculture Wagner Rossi informed last month that “President Lula holds the Arab countries in very high esteem. Our trade relations are increasing and will surely develop a lot, because we are complementary economies.”

Brazilian agribusiness exports to the Arab countries increased by 17.2 percent in the first half of 2010 over the same period of 2009, having gone from $2.9bn to $3.4bn. The most shipped products to the Arab region were sugar and meat, whose combined sales constituted 84 percent of Brazilian agribusiness exports.

Last month’s Brazilian exports of sugar and ethanol recorded growth of 44.3 percent, meat at 22.4 percent, forestry products 21.9 percent, coffee 32.4 percent, leathers 31.7 percent and livestock 65 percent. In the first two quarters, export revenues totalled $ 42.3bn, 12.1 percent more than of the same period of last year. The highlights pointed out by the ministry include greater exports to two Arab countries – Egypt 54.4 percent and the UAE 22 percent. While imports from the region, largely fertilizers, too recorded huge growth at $ 1.13bn, a rise of 42 percent over the same month of 2009.

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George Mawadri, British Airways’ commercial manager in Kenya told the Business Daily that “There are great opportunities in Africa and we are eyeing the region keenly.” Likewise, Shanta Devarajan, the World Bank’s chief economist for Africa, had said in April, “Although Africa was the hardest hit by the crisis, its recovery has been so remarkable that we could be at the beginning of what history will describe as Africa’s decade.”

Major carriers such as Emirates, Qatar Airways, British Airways, Brussels, Lufthansa, Turkish Airline, Swiss International, and Delta have been introducing new African routes on their networks and increasing frequency to tap into the raising economic profile of Africa. In addition to the oversees airlines, domestic airlines like Kenya Airways, Ethiopian Airlines, South African Airways, Egypt Air and the Royal Air Morocco have been increasing their presence in the region and connecting their hubs to other international routes.

This July Belgian airline, Brussels, launched four new African destinations to its network — Ghana, Benin, Burkina Faso and Togo — and increased frequency to Ivory Coast. Emirates with 19 cities in its network and Qatar Airways with similar strong presence in the continent clearly indicate the Middle Eastern airlines will make at least many African cities as a stopover location to extend their airprint to other far-off international destinations.

Africa overcame the meltdown contrary to many forecasts including that of the World Bank, and it is estimated, at this pace of recovery, an economic growth of about 5 percent by the end of this year. Furthermore, in 2011, half of the world’s 10 fastest growing economies are expected to be in Africa.

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After being in the market for more than a decade, TransFair today has in excess of 6,000 FT products available in 105 product categories including wine, fruit, chocolate, rice, flowers and garments. To San Francisco Chronicle Paul Rice, TransFair USA’s founder and CEO told he was inspired by the success of FT coffee in Europe and decided to organize a co-op of small coffee farmers in Nicaragua several years ago.

Rice informed during the inception, his co-op could gather the trust of just 24 “brave souls” who each gave it 10 bags of coffee on consignment. It sold for $1.26 per pound, and $1 went to the farmers, who were used to receiving only 10 cents per pound. His co-op comprises of about 3000 farmers today.

Jean-Francois Daniel, co-founder of the 2-year-old Fair Trade Spirits Company based in Paris who has similar background and experience like that of Rice said his distillery made Fair Vodka from quinoa, a grain grown by an association of 1,200 small, TransFair-certified farmers in the Bolivian Highlands. He claimed the daily wage for a non- FT quinoa farmer in Bolivia was $1 per day, but the FT quinoa farmers which his company worked with earned $2.80 per day.

Currently, the vodka is available at some stores and restaurants in California. Amanda Womack the general manager of Cask, the first San Francisco retailer to sell Fair Vodka acknowledged even at $35 per bottle, Fair was one of the less-expensive vodkas Cask sold through its store and website.

According to TransFair, the offering of spirits will not be confined to vodka but also will be coming out with berry and coffee liqueur and rum as well. Fair Goji, a goji berry liqueur made with FT sugar from the African nation of Malawi and Fair Café, a coffee liqueur made with FT coffee from Mexico are likely to hit the markets soon for consumers to give spiritual contribution to FT programs.

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The trade deal is likely to be concluded with the fifth round of negotiations at the sidelines of Mercosur summit in Buenos Aires at the end of this month which the Trade Minister of Egypt Rachid Mohamed Rachid would be participating. The Mercosur is a free trade region of South America comprising of Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay.

A reliable source from the Egyptian Ministry of Trade and Industry is reported to have informed the Egyptian daily that it had agreed with Mercosur to implement the deal in a phased manner by setting up five categories for specific commodities and products.

The first category, which includes intermediate goods and raw materials, will be tariff-free from the effective date of the FTA. The second group’s duties will be removed over a period of four years, the third one’s over eight years, and the fourth over ten years. However, the time period for the fifth category has yet to be worked out as it includes highly sensitive products, and feared to negatively affect the local businesses.

Egypt is understood to have requested Mercosur to include textiles, clothes, construction materials, and engineering and chemical products among the first category. Egypt’s main exports are petroleum, aluminium, raw cotton and leather, whereas it mainly imports poultry, oils, sugar, soya beans and meat. Once the accord is signed, it will become the second FTA that the Mercosur is signing with a non-Latin American nation after Israel.

Last month, Evandro Didonet, the head of the Department of Foreign Negotiations at the Brazilian foreign office (Itamaraty) observed that the FTA with Egypt was “of the greatest importance”, as Egypt was one of the countries with the greatest weight in the Arab world. In his evaluation, it should grant “great visibility” to the South American bloc and open a “gateway” into the Middle East and North Africa.

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The Finance Minister Tendai Biti admitted “Under the current multi currency regime, the inadequacy of smaller denominations has posed a number of challenges in transactions.” Nonetheless, the economic commentator Bekithemba Mhlanga told VOA Studio 7 reporter Gibbs Dube that the country needed to adopt the rand as its principal currency to hold down large importation costs of notes and coins. “Zimbabwe will fail to import all these required small denominations if it does not adopt the rand,” Mhlanga suggested.

The Zimbabwean government dumped the local currency last year in favour of the US Dollar, the South African Rand and the Botswana Pula as the political crisis and economic meltdown triggered record-breaking hyperinflation. Even though the currency situation improved after it adopted multi currency system the cash flow got impeded in view of US embargo pressure and poor returns from investments.

The acute shortage of foreign currency in the country has even deterred many Zimbabweans from depositing their money in banks. Some reports claim that people are literally washing the dirty US dollar bills to extent their lives in circulation.

The US Federal Reserve destroys about 7,000 tons of worn-out notes every year, and it is estimated, the average $1 bill circulates in the US for about 20 months. Though larger denominations are less dirtied since they are either from banks or international trade, smaller denominational US currencies outlive the estimated circulatory cycle in Zimbabwe.

Interestingly, the retailers have resorted to requesting shoppers to take other goods in exchange of change, and in some cases ‘credit notes’ replaced the balance of small change. Such credit notes even entitled shoppers to redeem them at a later stage for more goods from the issued shops.

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Uganda branch manager Joshua Ng’ang’a of Nakumatt, a Kenyan supermarket chain said at least commodities in the Ugandan supermarkets would see about 20 percent cut as the imports were overpriced to the tune of same percentage. Besides discounted prices, improvement in quality and increase in variety of items is also anticipated from the start of the common market since producers will have to compete with similar business entities among the EAC member states.

Ng’ang’a argued that one of the other reasons for price reduction apart from competition would be the elimination of middlemen from the procurement scene, allowing the supermarkets to directly source from the producers or manufacturers. According to East African Business Week, the leading supermarkets in Uganda are tight-lipped about the future developments in the retail sector.

Last November, the member states of the EAC signed a common market protocol, aimed at expanding the existing customs union. It is commonplace to economies those form blocs to envisage increased competition along with the free movement of services, capital, entrepreneurship and labour across the member states.

In the absence of trade barriers, the architects of the common market expect the businesses in the region to flourish across borders. All five countries have already adopted a common external tariff, an identical tax applied to imports from outside the bloc, and allowed duty-free regional trade with the exception of Kenya, the largest economy. The EAC also has plans of floating a common currency within two years.

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Many players have likened the Jabulani to a ‘supermarket ball’, saying it is too unpredictable and flies through the air too easily. Goalkeepers have often expressed dissatisfaction about footballs at most mega events of late, but this is the first time even field players and coaches joining the chorus.

Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon went on to say “I don’t see why we can’t just go back to the old black-and-white checkered version we all played with as kids.” Statistics show scoring was down by 16 goals in the first round as compared to last World Cup’s 117-101, and scoring from set pieces has also witnessed significant dip.

According to an APP report, Pakistan has exported around 3.5mn footballs worth $5.2mn for the ongoing FIFA World Cup grabbing only 30 percent of the total orders floated globally. The penetration of machine-made footballs in the international market has caused a serious dent to Pakistan’s hand-stitched soccer ball industry.

Footballs and other sports goods are manufactured in Sialkot, a Pakistani province which boasts of building an international airport with exporters’ fortune. Though Sialkot was producing footballs since a century ago, it gained international celebrity status when it produced the “Tango” ball for the 1982 World Cup in Spain, kicking off a lucrative industry.

The footballs from Sialkot are subjected to daily tests of quality in laboratories to supervise pressure, bounce, impermeability and shape. The making of footballs include professional automatons cutting sheets of synthetic leather in hexagons or pentagons, marking, drying the paint, dividing the pieces and sewing with needles, thread and thimbles.

Only a few years ago around 70 percent of world soccer balls were prepared in Sialkot and the country on average was exporting 40mn balls worth $210mn produced annually by some 60,000 highly skilled labourers. Pakistan’s soccer ball industry is awaiting a huge favourable decision from the FIFA for them to regain its coveted football exports share in the global market.

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Buchanan Renewables Power (BRP) began commercial operations in Liberia two years ago with a complete rejuvenation package for the non-producing rubber tree estates. The deal for the farmers includes $2 per tonne of tree trunks, free of cost re-plantation and for self-use or sale tree remnants which do not go into the production of wood chips.

Liberia is estimated to have more than 600,000ha of overgrown and moribund rubber farms. The new model of rubber re-plantation rids of farmers’ laborious task of re-claiming their estates by cutting down trees and re-planting them spending money without revenues for a long period. After planting, the trees take nearly seven years to start producing rubber.

Usually rubber trees need to be replaced once they are over 25 years old, and most of them in Liberia are between 30 and 60 years old. While helping farmers, the new project will also provide electricity to communities in the vicinity as well as has opened up exports to the woodchip markets of Europe.

BRP uses massive diggers to uproot trees and a giant mincer to produce rubber wood chips out of the trunks. The company has exported 45,000MT of chips last year with contracts of about 90,000MT for this year; and plans to clear 10,000ha annually.

The Buchanan claims that it has the capacity to produce 400,000 tonnes of woodchips per annum. Besides, on many farms, it has been able to plant two trees for every one that has been harvested.

For Liberia it means that many of its citizens will be re-injected to the market with jobs and businesses, a dire need of the country that promises opportunities and improved living standards after the end of seven years of civil war. BRP says its vision is to achieve success in Liberia and repeat this model in other countries in Africa and, to the extent possible, worldwide.

The firm which emphasizes on cheap, environment-friendly and sustainable energy production with a social commitment to Liberia is putting back some of its revenues for power generation using the locally sourced wood chips. However, the proposed 35MW power generation plant at Monrovia which is supposed to provide electricity for half the price has not been installed yet even two years after its approval.

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According to the Efe, the leading Spanish language news agency, the project called “Casas de Botellas” (Houses of Bottles) is the brainchild of Ingrid Vaca Díaz from Bolivia. The ‘green’ houses which Ingrid has been promoting for the last seven years are believed to have natural temperature-control capabilities.

A cluster of glass and plastic bottles of 600ml, one and two litres interlaced with honey, sand, debris, linseed oil and milk have gone into the making of these low-cost homes. Ingrid told “Casas de Botellas is a group effort in which the poorest families, with a helping hand from their friends, relatives, neighbours and volunteer workers, learn to construct their own houses and give themselves and their families a decent place to live.”

The project began in Warnes, her hometown, when a little girl called Claudia told her that for a Christmas present she dreamt of a bedroom of her own, since in her 4-square-meter (43sq.ft.) dwelling she shared a bed with five other people.

Vaca said earlier she used to store the bottles for making handicrafts and chairs; and while her husband informed that he had plans of disposing them off she overheard Claudia’s dream, and conceived a home out of these bottles. The house that Ingrid built in collaboration with Claudia’s family, people of the community and volunteers went from 43 to 1,827sq.ft, and made use of 36,000 two-litre plastic bottles.

The standard is to use for each meter approximately 81 bottles stuffed with throwaway material like paper, plastic bags, batteries, sand and dirt to build the walls of the house. The bottles are stuck together with bricks, lime and cement, and are held with a kind of webbing to make completely sure the construction will be permanent.

Other materials such as rods, roofing tiles, bricks, gravel, window panes, ceramic tiles, wooden frames and accessories for bathrooms and kitchens are donated by companies, individuals and institutions. The finishing touch for the houses is a coat of paint in which the colours of the columns contrast with the walls, and the bottoms of the bottles remain subtly visible and are painted in the form of flowers.

Until now Casas de Botellas has built six homes in Bolivia, one in Argentina and two in Uruguay and Mexico. Twenty more houses are planned to be built in Argentina, and the project is expected to continue collaborating with other communities throughout Latin America.

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The available figures indicate that the Indian diamond industry along with other major diamond trading nations is gradually recovering from the shattering effects of global economic crisis. Though the country was able to make some progress on export front in the month of May, it is still significantly short of the 2008 level of $2.55bn in the same month on polished diamond exports. Besides, India still has a polished export deficit of $864mn for the first five months of 2010, up from the deficit of $430mn it posted a year ago.

However, it is not clear whether India will be able to put the past trade record on track as major procurement sources have become susceptible to stiff competition. The latest developments in Zimbabwe and China ties signal that the latter is making inroads in obtaining diamond mining rights from some African countries including the former, to nudge India from the African procurement zone.

China is planning to augment its diamond polishing sector, which only produced $3bn in exports in 2009 as compared to India’s $17.5bn. It seems a fight is brewing between the world’s two fastest growing economies, China and India, to lay claim over diamonds of Africa.

According to sources, a deal has been struck between Zimbabwe and the Chinese government to supply weapons in exchange for a steady supply of diamonds. Moreover, some reports claim that Zimbabwe’s government is secretly giving mining permits to soldiers of the Chinese military, challenging the Kimberly Process, which promotes the mining and production of conflict-free diamonds.

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Botswana also signed a MoU to engage Cuban medical personnel every two years with a clause not to re-employ them after the completion of their service. Minister of Health, Dr John Seakgosing who accompanied the President said that his country was looking forward to Cuba’s new offering in the treatment of diabetes through co-operation in providing medical care to its growing diabetic population.

Botswana will also be seeking the Cuban know-how in controlling vector menace through the use of biolarvicides chiefly to mitigate debilitating diseases such as malaria, filariasis and Onchocerciasis. Some studies have indicated the vector-spread diseases had seriously impacted the progress of the African countries by lowering productivity through prolonged sicknesses to their working citizens or their relatives.

On the diplomatic front, the Foreign Minister of Botswana, Phadu Skelernani termed the US embargo against Cuba as “unnecessary”, and appealed for revocation of the sanctions. He was maintaining the rhetoric of his president, who said on the first day of his visit, “Sometimes, in Africa, we receive millions of dollars from rich countries. However, proportionally speaking, Cuba gives us a lot more than anybody else”.

Skelernani and the Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Marcelino Medina signed agreement on co-operation and Seakgosing and his Cuban counterpart, Jose Ramon Balaguer signed pact on development of a comprehensive health care system. The trip to Cuba is the Botswanan President’s second one, the last time he visited the island was in 2007 as the Vice-President of his country.

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Atawodi disclosed that Lagos State had 33 illegal jetties that were being used to bring illegal goods into the country. He further added between May 2005 and May 2008, 236 vessels of various types involved in illegal bunkering were confiscated, and many of them were quietly cleared.

The Air Vice-Marshal brought forth the figures to justify the necessity of the highly controversial PICOMSS program set up to monitor and ensure maritime safety following the September 11, 2001 terror attack in the US. The PICOMSS is an ad-hoc government agency created on the behest of the US and the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to facilitate detection and deterrence of security incidents involving ships and ports in line with the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code.

The PICOMSS Chairman said a maritime security agency was needed to tackle piracy, oil bunkering and midstream discharge among other illegal activities that had for long bedevilled the maritime sector and hindered economic and security development of Nigeria. While explaining the function of PICOMSS, he cited the example of the Nigeria Air Force, whose responsibility was air defence, but was not in charge of airport security. He argued the Nigerian Navy had to do with maritime defence but was not in charge of the security of ships and ports facilities.

Atawodi opined that the piracy had been squarely responsible for the decline in Nigeria’s fishing industry from 40 companies with 250 registered vessels to 19 companies with 170, which costed the country some $200mn in four years. According to him, once the security of ships and ports facilities was managed by the independent Maritime Security Agency the Nigerian waters would be able to regain its over-arching trade potential.

However, a smooth passage of the bill before the National Assembly is unlikely to happen as there is stiff challenge to such an agency which has been allocated about $151mn in this year’s budget against NSA’s recommendation of just $38.37mn required to set up the same. The anomalies in the setting up process of the agency have forced the bill to be suspended, and has been demanded to re-work before it is re-introduced for consideration.

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SA’s present crisis besides damaging trade with Europe and Asia, it also corroborates the criticism by some European countries in regards to the preparedness of the country to host such a mega event like the World Cup come June and July. The SA Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Tina Joemat-Pettersson told reporters losses to the industries under her ministry are estimated over 1bn rand ($127mn).

The strike, well over a fortnight has already brought the exim trade of the country to a standstill inflicting potential losses to the job market and international trade contracts. Items like metals, cars, fruits and wine to Europe and Asia, as well as imports of automotive parts and fuel supplies is reported to have affected. FIFA, the football governing body has informed imports of some equipment for the event has also been impacted.

Though it was predicted before the strike the coal and iron ore exports and fuel supplies could be stalled, stocks and supply process as so far avoided such a situation. Likewise, the domestic power supplies also have not been affected much by the strike since coal for the power plants is largely supplied through conveyor belts directly from the mines.

The workers of the SA logistics group Transnet which has about 54000 trade union members began strike demanding 15 percent pay hike despite the group conceding 11 percent. Although over 60 percent have returned to work since Monday, the smaller South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu) has decided to go ahead with its demand.

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Al Tayer’s projection comes after global cues such as growth in the US, European, Chinese and Indian economies driving demand for crude and related products. It should be recalled, last week at an international conference on petrochemicals Mukesh Ambani, the oil baron said crude prices could rise to $100 a barrel in the near future.

Under the theme of ‘Finance for the Next Decade of Growth’, the two-day MENASA Forum, held between 23 and 24 May 2010, widely focused on discussing the critical opportunities and challenges confronting the region over the next decade. Over 250 members of the regional and international banking and financial services industry, regulators and senior business executives attended the Forum hosted by the DIFC.

Earlier, Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Supreme Fiscal Committee and Chairman of the Emirates Group delivered the key note address on the first day of the Forum. He told that the platform was a great occasion for discussing how the MENASA countries could forge greater integration in trade, investment and finance, and stressed at setting up of a mechanism for cooperation similar to that of the ASEAN.

Arif Masood Naqvi, Founder and Group CEO, Abraaj Capital observed the MENASA region remained as the heart of the emerging markets, helping drive global growth through the combination of population growth, economic reform and hydrocarbon wealth. Likewise, Al Tayer said the vast potential of the MENASA region was “undeniable” despite the challenges being faced in the post-global downturn environment.

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The disease-spreading ability of mosquitoes has been constantly a threat to majority of developing countries as they inflicted great productivity losses to these economies by hamstringing communities with illnesses such as malaria, dengue, etc. These vectors have taken the lives of largest number of people in the recorded human history by spreading diseases more than any other natural calamities or illnesses.

One of the latest 78 grants from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to support innovations in global health in 18 countries towards Okeng’s effort has to be seen as an endorsement for the continuance and efficacy of the plant research. The professor, who is assisted by his colleagues Dr. James Kalema and Dr. Mary Namaganda, has received a grant of $100,000 from the foundation to help the Ugandans to grow these plants in their yards to keep mosquitoes and related diseases at bay.

Okeng apprised that malaria was the biggest killer and contributor of poverty in Africa and Uganda. “When people are sick, they are unable to do productive work. They spend all their money in treating malaria. Our target is to reduce poverty as well as increase incomes,” he explained.

The professor claimed the idea was the first of its kind in Uganda and the world as well. He described that he acquired the knowledge of insect-eating mosquitoes in the 1960s as a student interested in animal and plant biology.

He revisited the idea when there was opposition to the nationwide spraying of households with DDT, an insecticide toxic to animals and humans, to control malaria. “We want people to have choices and shift from using insecticides,” he added.

The plants are said to be very effective in killing any flying insects like house flies, moths, aphids or mosquitoes, and initial studies show bees are not been ensnared. However, the team has informed that the plants will be promoted only after a conclusive study on the effect of these on the bees. This is the first time the plants will be cultivated and utilised in disease control though people knew about these insect-eating plants existed in Africa long ago.

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The world body should lay emphasis on reducing the growing divide between the rich and the poor rather than pushing for trade to please some of the business powerhouses. If increasing world trade through global action means prosperity for all, the WTO has to address problems of the workforces that comprise of about 70 percent excluding self employed involved directly or indirectly in global trade.

It has to press for regulations which will bring in all workforces under one umbrella of organized sector as majority, particularly in developing countries are forced to work incognito. The workers of unorganized sector are deprived of employment protection such as paid leave, sick leave, healthcare and other perks; and are almost enslaved by their employers.

Similarly, even workers of organized sector are exploited by overloading with work schedules that may go up to 20hrs per day without any rest or extra allowance. Especially the workforces from countries without minimum hourly wages have been largely put to this hardship by calibrating it as a day’s work.

At a glance, it may seem like how on earth the strengthening of organized sector of workforce will improve the living standards of the poor and marginalized workers without developing other key areas such as free right to education, healthcare and other civic amenities. But by elevating the dignity of workers by providing reasonable earnings for what they work is likely to boost their confidence, and thereby prod themselves to meet all immediate needs without any administrative influence.

As far as trade is concerned, the atrocities perpetrated on workforces should also be given equal care like that of other aspects of trade agreements to avoid social unrests stemming from socio-economic asymmetries. The absence of minimum wages for workers or potentially running unorganized workforces, perhaps even with the backing of governments, should be given serious re-look as it is implied in individual trade deals as grievous human rights violations.

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The new plan, which would be supplanting the bombed “Vision 2025″ has been largely blamed for its timing as elections less than a year away neither allows to check the efficacy of the program nor could be implemented to any degree. The NDP is expected to transform Uganda from a peasant to a prosperous country within the next 30 years with emphasis on agriculture, infrastructural development and food security.

The failure for “Vision 2025″, launched in 1999, is cited as lack of funds and absence of constitutionally mandated body, such as National Planning Authority (NPA) who drafted the NDP, to coordinate it. Though repeated failures of several plans haunt the Ugandan psyche, experts believe that this one would materialize particularly as the Ugandan economy is better placed than it was 10 years ago, and since the economic growth would be further boosted by oil profits.

The NDP fundamentally departs from the failed Structural Adjustment Policies (SAPs) which was initiated in the late 1980′s with the recommendation from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Under SAPs, the government sold most of the state-owned enterprises to the private sector including co-operative banks which supported agriculture sector that employed 73 percent.

SAPs literally brought the Ugandan economy to a standstill with no progress in infrastructure and other spheres those required constant care. Nonetheless, the NDP that advises a conversion from market economy to a quasi- market economy will be more of public-private partnership than government becoming a namesake watchdog of the economy.

During the recent launch of the new plan, the President of Uganda Yoweri Museveni presented evidence as to how these milestones would be achieved. He observed the projected oil earnings and tax revenues would suffice for tiding over fiscal deficits and developmental plan implementation.

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Mary Lascelles Relocation Director at Moving Links 4 You commented “My son recently went to Kashmir, India where he spent three months working on a project. So many folks advised against it as it was an unsafe place, and the newspapers certainly lead us to believe it was nuts for going. He has now returned and he said he never felt unsafe while there. Goes to show that a lot of times fear is instilled by media hype. Still, it’s important to use your intuition – while still living life and not shutting out important experiences.”

Barbara Holtzman, Executive Consultant & Management Coach said she would follow her intuition and did not avoid any place based on an alert alone, and also endorsed Lascelles’ view. While Sally Shiff Social Network Coordinator at Maoz Inc. opined “I live in the Middle East (Israel) and have learned to be aware of safety. What we don’t have here is the theft and harm that I used to see on the streets in the US or as a traveler abroad.” She later added that the places which were unsafe to travel were often found barricaded, and was glad rather to comply with such warnings.

However, some participants in the poll are of the opinion that it would be unwise to overlook these advisories. Similarly, those in the travel and transport industry are also found to be paying attention to the alerts as they feared it would hurt their businesses.

The poll clarification on as to why ask this question read – It is observed that advisories are used these days as foreign policy. Instead of pinpointing the terror strike areas, and helping those countries to nab the perpetrators before the event, most governments just release a terror alert to put that country/ies and administration/s in all kinds of trouble.

The recent terror advisories issued by the US, Britain, Australia and Canada on the Indian capital has forced the government to turn New Delhi into a fortress with heavy deployment of security forces and also increased security checks. Furthermore, some analysts believe operatives under the guise of crank callers could be involved in hoax calls (the recent series of anonymous calls about bombs being planted at various locations in New Delhi) to destabilize day to day business of the city.

It should be recalled that in February the Home Minister of India P Chidambaram had said about a US advisory then “I don’t think it was based on any new information nor do I think that it was intended to send any alarm signal. I think it was a routine advisory and it should be seen as such.”

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Today, the international trade committee of the Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry has signed a MoU with the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce and World Business Chicago, in an attempt to promote economic activity between the two nations with an accent on industry, trade and technology. Similarly, GE too renewed its seven decade old business ties by signing a MoU with Ministry of Commerce & Industry to fuel Kingdom’s vision for sustainable economic growth and job creation.

Saudi Arabia is planning economic diversification through industrialization, and will launch the $16bn National Industrial Strategy in May 2010 to strengthen the Kingdom’s manufacturing sector and double the industrial output of the GDP. Saudi ministers are of the opinion that the Kingdom’s future will be focused on knowledge-based initiatives and infrastructure development, emphasizing that “Saudi Arabia no longer wants to be the gas station of the world.”

According to Saudi Gazette, the meet will see the signing of several agreements covering almost all areas of trade ranging from agriculture to science and technology to financial markets. Fatin Bundagji from the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry pointed out that his country’s priority would be to draw expertise beyond oil sector particularly about venture capital and business incubation in the US.

As per the figures provided by the National US-Arab Chamber of Commerce (NUSACC), the US exports to the MENA region are expected to rebound to nearly $75bn this year, up from $63bn in 2009, and out of the total about $17bn will be Saudi’s contribution. Saudi Arabia is the second largest export destination of the US in the region after the UAE.

The trade outlook indicates that US exports to the MENA region are likely to be more than double by the year 2015, an important boost to US President Barack Obama’s National Export Initiative. He had said early this year that exports were the key to job creation and the plans of doubling exports to $3 trillion over the next five years could create two million new jobs in the US. Besides, enhancing trade with Saudi Arabia is also seen as an initiative to deepen ties with the Muslim world which the US president reiterated this week after Cairo summit.

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According to sources, the US cotton industry, the largest producer is experiencing unexpected orders from China and Bangladesh. This new development at the cotton front has also pushed up demand for West African cotton. If the ban sustains for a longer period it may even help Australia and Brazil to chip in to the demands of the Asian buyers.

The global prices of cotton also witnessed sudden rise soon after the announcement of India’s ban on its cotton exports, a decision made to mitigate domestic yarn spinners’ woes. China, Bangladesh and Pakistan rely on India particularly due to low prices and inexpensive procurement overheads.

China is the largest importer of cotton, and its imports are estimated at 9.5mn bales per annum. Furthermore, China’s cotton demand is mainly met through the supplies from Indian cotton growers. Until India takes a review on the ban in favor of exports, which it does based on periodical production status; China along with other countries will have to procure cotton for higher prices.

But the Cotton Association of India fears that the ban may damage the reputation of India as an authentic source for cotton procurement in the future. Moreover, it is not clear how India’s cotton shipments would double to some 8mn bales by September this year as last month forecast by India’s Cotton Advisory Board (CAB).

Some figures show the US, Brazil and Pakistan have no surplus cotton, while China’s cotton acreage has dipped 10 percent this year. As per CAB, India has estimated cotton crop close to 30mn bales for 2009-10.

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Maria Neira, UN World Health Organization’s (WHO) director of public health and environment said that “Neglecting sanitation and drinking water is a strike against progress, and without it, communities and countries will lose the battle against poverty and ill-health.” She told this at the launch of the UN-Water Global Annual Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking-Water (GLAAS) report in Washington.

The report has highlighted that with over 2.6bn people living without access to improved sanitation facilities and nearly 900mn people not receiving drinking water, the progress made in this sphere would be able to fulfil only half of MDG target by 2015. Some sources estimate that with the current pace, it may take couple of centuries to achieve the goal as the world population will grow disproportionate to the achievements made so far at the water and sanitation front.

It is apparent from the report that overall development aid for water and sanitation has fallen from 8 percent in 1997 to just 5 percent in 2008 – less than commitments for health, education, transport, energy and agriculture. Surprisingly, the study is able to find that water and sanitation played a far more important role in improving productivity and welfare of communities as people could allocate more time for productive labour while keeping themselves in good health. It stressed that improved access to sanitation and water produces economic benefits that range from $3 to $34 per dollar invested, increasing a country’s GDP by an estimated two to seven percent.

“Unsafe water, inadequate sanitation and the lack of hygiene claim the lives of estimated 2.2mn children under the age of five every year. Of these deaths, 1.5mn are due to diarrhoea, the second leading contributor to the global burden of disease,” said Dr. Neira. Similarly, Clarissa Brocklehurst, UNICEF Chief of the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) opined it was imperative to act now to provide potable water and proper sanitation before it got into epidemic proportions.

The findings of the report will be presented at the first annual High Level Meeting of Sanitation and Water for All, which will be hosted by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Washington on Friday. The meeting will provide a platform for representatives of developing and donor countries to gain greater understanding of the linkages between water, sanitation and economic growth to commit appropriate resources and promote mutual accountability, partnership and shared responsibility.

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In 2007, Bush administration began negotiations on ACTA particularly to contain several developing countries engaged in piracy acts, and to protect the interests of leading US firms which lost their price competitiveness on account of counterfeiting. Incidentally, the ACTA effect will not be restricted to internet activities alone but extends to counterfeit pharmaceuticals, designer merchandise, music, movies, etc.

Surprisingly, the final draft will not have the endorsement of China, one of the largest counterfeit producers. Hence, looking back to past events on taking action against China in regards to infringements, the trade pact is expected to encounter similar stalemate while implementing a likely ratified deal. Participants in the negotiations included Australia, Canada, the European Union, represented by the European Commission, the European Union Presidency (Spain) and EU Member States, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore, Switzerland and the US.

Many ACTA dissidents blame the secretive or undemocratic nature of reaching the agreement by not revealing the details for public discussion. On the other hand, WIPO provides scope for public scrutiny with an added advantage of the inclusion of major counterfeiting countries in negotiations.

Meanwhile, the tech firms are understood to be apprehensive about ACTA’s secondary liability clause, which recommends the responsibility of copyright infringement behaviour of the user on the online service provider. The clause will possibly affect social networking sites, video-sharing sites and several other user-generated content sites including the online encyclopaedia, Wikipedia.

Last month, a statement signed by senior trade-union officials from New Zealand, Australia, Singapore and the US raised the question of intellectual property rights becoming an element in the free-trade negotiations. However that fear is put to rest by officials at the eighth round of ACTA negotiations calling the deal as a ‘standalone’ one, and would not tinker with FTAs.

According to sources, the draft will leave out three-strikes provision that would require border agents to search the contents of electronic devices. Experts term three-strikes a preposterous idea as it would virtually bring every transit cell to a standstill.

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On the day one of a Kefri training session the farmers were greeted with the message – “Are you going hungry? Well, you need not suffer from hunger pangs any more if you have bamboo growing on your farm or in a nearby forest.” It is estimated that more than 10mn Kenyans either go hungry or survive on a single meal a day; scientists believe bamboo shoots would be able to assuage the situation as it is found to be a cheap fibre-rich food substitute.

The scientists who trained the farmers treated them with bamboo shoot cuisine and taught how to prepare them. Nevertheless, Peter Kungu, a technologist, cautioned the attentive farmers that not all types of bamboo shoots were edible as some contained cyanide, a highly toxic chemical that could kill humans within hours.

Bamboo is the world’s fastest-growing plant and has been known to surge skyward as much as 121 cm in 24 hours. Bamboo is a regular dish among Asian countries particularly in Japan and Far East countries but relatively a new food concept in Kenya.

Besides including bamboo as a food supplement in daily diet, Kenya will attempt to extend its usage into handicraft and furniture products. Currently bamboo is widely used in the flower industry for support purposes, and pea farmers use them to support plants.

The Kenyan government imposed the decree following a finding that eucalyptus trees are chief water-depleting agent in the river basin. Kangema environment officer Isaiah Gichuru informed the removal of eucalyptus was bearing fruit as water levels in rivers and springs in the region have risen. However, farmers still have the option of growing the fast-maturing eucalyptus trees away from river banks.

The Tree Biotechnology Trust, a semi–government agency, has received $3.65mn from former UK minister for Science and Technology, Lord David Sainsbury to further bamboo project across Kenya. Sainsbury suggested the project would contribute significantly both to the economy as well as the environment. He also said that he is engaged in similar programmes in Tanzania and Uganda.

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During the meet, the Chinese premier announced that his country would continue to encourage its enterprises to invest and increase trade with Vanuatu primarily to improve the island nation’s business capabilities. Wen further added that his country was committed to proceed with comprehensive aid package to Vanuatu without any quid pro quo arrangements.

While Natapei reciprocated by saying his country would like to strengthen communication and coordination with China in addressing financial crisis and climate change. Both the premiers were present at the signing ceremony of bilateral agreements on economic and technological co-operation.

Wen observed that the developing countries, in particular, the least developed ones, small island states and African countries, have suffered a lot from global issues including financial crisis and climate change. And therefore he felt, the international community should give meticulous care to countries like Vanuatu to ensure a balanced and sustainable development of the world.

China has confirmed that it would co-operate and support technologically, technically and financially to improve Vanuatu’s citizens’ livelihood along with an accent on infrastructure and personnel training promotion, to enhance the country’s self-development capabilities. It said that it would try to create several platforms for people to make social exchanges to strengthen bilateral ties.

Vanuatu, an island nation situated in the South Pacific Ocean, off Australia also maintains strong economic and cultural ties with Australia, France, New Zealand and the UK, though it stopped direct aid since 2005. Australia continues to provide support to Vanuatu since its independence in 1980, the bulk of external assistance, including to the police force, which has a paramilitary wing.

Besides his visit to Beijing, Natapei would be covering cities including Changsha, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. He hopes to utilize china’s expertise in different fields for the development of his country through this trip.

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