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Jul
23
The Advantages of Being Laughable
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And although Obama is really quite down to earth and millions of Americans would love to sit down with him for a drink and a chat, they might be too awestruck and hamstrung to think of anything to say, for fear of sounding crass, offensive or stupid.
Policies apart, therein lies a danger.
If unchecked it breeds a resentment that could express itself in the privacy of the ballot booth with a vote for the grumpy old maverick who looks as if he would be happy to down vodka shots with you, even if his doctors did not allow it.
You can read it in full here.
Jul
15
ScribeFire, an extension of Firefox ®, enables users to easily drag and drop formatted text from the Web into their blog(s), post entries, take notes, and optimize their ad inventory, directly through the Firefox browser.
You can try it out by installing the add-on here.
Jul
15
How about another $5 billion for subsidy?
Thanks to soaring crude oil prices, we are receiving significant amount of income from crude oil exports.
Never mind that the government and the economy would have been in so much trouble by now, underlined by significant short fall in projected production, but for the huge price increases in oil.Thanks once again to soaring crude oil prices, and our inability to refine the oil we produce, we are paying increasing amount for petroleum products we import. In response, it has been suggested by the government that it is prepared to subsidise the price of diesel at the pump, in the same way that the prices of petroleum motor spirit (PMS) and kerosene are subsidised. The suggestion came from a recent statement credited to the Minister for State, Petroleum, Odein Ajumogobia, that the government is looking for ways of ameliorating the pace of increases in diesel price…. Read more.
Jul
10
Image via WikipediaIt is probably obvious, by now, that I like BusinessDay. This is their editorial today:
In what seems to be a major policy thrust in international economic relations and in resolving the festering Niger Delta crisis, President Umaru Yar’Adua on Monday, at the meeting of G8 leaders holding in Japan called for global clampdown on trade in stolen crude oil.
The president emphasised that stolen crude oil deserved the same global treatment as that of stolen diamonds.Yar’Adua said measures must be taken to “dismantle the criminal dmension” of the problem in the Niger Delta. And for good measure, he said the problem in the region was being aggravated by international cartels.
The Nigerian leader drew attention to another aspect of the Niger Delta challenge, the criminal aspect, in this case “those who use the cover of militancy to steal our crude oil and engage in all forms of violence.”
We commend the president for drawing attention of the international community to this ugly trend. This is an issue that hitherto had been discussed in hushed tones and privately, too. It is an open secret that Nigeria’s crude is stolen daily, that beyond the official production figures given to meet OPEC quota and local consumption, a lot more is produced through illegal bunkering and from offshore rigs.
According to Freedom House, a US-based oil industry analyst, out of the 1.9 million barrels of crude oil Nigeria produces per day, she loses 10 per cent to oil thieves, part of the proceeds of which are spent on criminal activities in the Niger Delta.
We can draw a parallel with the role diamonds played in the civil wars that took place in Liberia and Sierra Leone in the 1990s. The rebels that waged war in Liberia were able to sustain their rebel activities, which ultimately escalated to become a civil war on account of the money they made from illegal mining and sale of diamonds.
A number of questions, naturally, arise from President Yar’Adua’s submission. Who are those involved? Apart from the militants, who hide under the cover of agitation, are there international thieves helping to fuel the theft of Nigeria’s crude oil?
If they exist, is there a nexus between the objective they pursue and the criminalisation of the Niger Delta struggle?
In all of this, what is the role of the multinational oil companies engaged in oil exploration in the country especially in the Niger Delta region?
There is talk about the use of satellite to monitor offshore oil drilling. Is it effective and if yes, are those in charge giving the Nigerian government the true picture of the situatiion? If they are doing that, has the government taken any steps to address it?
More importantly, does Nigeria have the capacity to monitor offshore exploration activities of the oil companies and enforce compliance to production limits?
Answers to these questions are important as they will point the way to dealing with the issue.
President Yar’Adua chose the right platform to raise the issue. The international oil companies are all from the G8 countries. Their governments will need to do internal checks to ascertain the culpability or otherwise of their companies in this criminal behaviour.
We urge him to quickly take the matter to the United Nations as he has promised. Only concerted efforts at the global level can arrest the situation.
The president’s pledge that the much talked about Niger Delta Summit would hold is reassuring. Resolution of the crisis in that region of the country holds the key to Nigeria’s economic and social transformation.
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Jul
9
Yaradua and Stolen Crude Oil
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I appeal to you and through you to all other G-8 leaders to support my new proposal which I will discuss with UN Secretary General, that stolen crude should be treated like stolen diamonds, because they both generate blood money. “Like what is now known as ‘blood diamond,’ stolen crude also aids corruption and violence and can provoke war.
He said this in Japan, at the G-8 meeting. What do you guys think? Think it is a good idea? Or a good start at least? You can read more here and here.
Jul
9
Third European Conference on African Studies
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The conference is open to all disciplines and methodological approaches representing the Social Sciences and Humanities. However, at the same time the Steering Committee is strongly inviting panel proposals which look into the re-scaling and re-shaping of Africa through the various references which are being – or have been – made to the spatial dimensions of human action (social, symbolic, imagined or otherwise). This includes processes of globalisation, regionalisation, transnationalisation, re-nationalisation etc. – at all levels and across time.
Panels are expected to consist of four papers, with a chair and a discussant. Larger panels may be accommodated over more than one session. At this stage the Steering Committee invites potential panel organisers to provide a title and some of the names of participants to be considered for inclusion in the programme. A 50 word abstract and 250 word description should be included. The official conference language is English (contributions in any EU language are possible, but there will be no translation services offered, except for key note speeches).
More information here.
Jul
4
Budget of the UN Specialised Organs
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Note that only six institutions on the list have budgets over one billion dollars.
In 2002, the treasury department of the UK projected that the budget of DFID would be increased to 4.6billion pounds per year, by 2005/2006. The budget estimate (pdf) of the USAID for 2008 is 22.1billion dollars.
Is anybody surprised that UN institutions under-perform?
(I probably should add that not all the institutions in the table are UN organs. Thanks, Virginie, for calling my attention to the misunderstanding this could cause.)
Jul
4
At My Bank on Tuesday.
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Jul
3
China and Textile Again
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China plans to increase tax rebates on textile exports in a bid to support the textile industry, the Beijing Morning Post reported, citing sources.
In May, China’s clothing exports grew 1.1 pct from a year earlier, the slowest rise so far this year, the report said.
Export tax rebates may be raised to 13 pct from 11 pct, while rebates on exported clothing will rise to 15 pct from 11 pct, the report said.
A final decision on the rebates is pending, the report added.
Starting in July 2007, the government cut the industry’s rebate to help contain the trade surplus. Since that time, however, Chinese textile firms’ profits have been falling because of weaker global demand and intense competition, the report said.
And I say, Oh those Chinese.
Jun
24
Beautiful Africa 8th edition
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Thanks guys for the great posts once again - and remember to contact the BA team with new posts for future editions.
The current edition of the carnival is here.
AllAfrica News: Trade- South Africa: Country Takes Pole Position at Trade Talks
- Nigeria: Country Wants Fair Int'l Trade
- Africa: Diversify Into New Markets, Traders Urged
- Kenya: Country Accused of Unfair Regional Trade
- East Africa: Uganda Still Wary of Comesa Customs Union
- South Africa: Country, European Union to Strengthen Relations At Summit
- Zimbabwe: Firms Urged to Take Advantage of Chinese Fair
- Rwanda: Coffee Comes of Age
- Uganda: Government Wants More Trade With France
- Nigeria: Ferma Boss Lauded Over Roads Maintenance
