Namibia: Dimensions of the Lithium Opportunity
So much attention on Namibia The relatively recent oil finds off the coast of Namibia have drawn considerable global attention to this country. Namibia has a population of only around 2,6 million but its territory is vast – spanning nearly 826 000 square kilometres. Another reason for increased focus on this country is the reports of […]
The Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo: What Can be Done to Lessen the Minerals-Fuelled Conflict Situation?
On the border of a conflict region… It was 2018 and I was visiting the Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda to fulfil my long-standing, priority ‘bucket list’ aspiration – getting up close to the famed mountain gorillas. Just a few kilometres across the border in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, lay the much larger […]
Unlocking the Zambian and DR Congo Copperbelts Major Bilateral Logistics Initiatives
First-hand experience of a major border crossing… The client’s instructions were very clear. My colleague, Duncan and I were to walk through the Zambia–DR Congo border crossing at Kasumbalesa, and report on the problems we encountered. The client wanted an account of the “real” situation. Kasumbalesa is the main border post between the Zambian and […]
Cape Verde: A Little-Known but Model African State
Two years in a country I knew so little about… For two years in the late 1980’s, I was tasked with coordinating technical assistance to the desalination and power generation plant situated on Sal Island in the Cape Verde archipelago. Up to that time, I only knew the country from my flights between South Africa […]