Madagascar: The Exotic and Intriguing Grand île (Big Island)
Signs of economic improvement for one of the world’s poorest countries My first visit to Madagascar It was August 1990. Earlier in the year, the South African President de Klerk had announced the unbanning of the African National Congress and his government had released Nelson Mandela from prison. These major decisions were followed quickly by […]
Zimbabwe’s Lithium Bonanza The Challenge of Assuring Maximum Local Benefit
Long-standing belief in the country’s mining potential It was 1965, the year of Rhodesia’s Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI). Despite global condemnation of this political rebellion, there was strong optimism among many of the country’s White minority population regarding the country’s future. I was a teenager out from South Africa on a family visit […]
Abidjan: The Heart of Francophone West AfricA City of Prosperity and Past Challenges
My many years of visits to Abidjan During my many visits to the city of Abidjan, I have had some interesting experiences (mostly good, but also, a few bad). My many sojourns led to my increased familiarity with and knowledge of this remarkable Francophone city. As you will later note, they included enjoyment of […]
Djibouti: The Port State That Makes Clever Usage of Its Strategic Geographical Situation
A first contact with Djibouti… It was October 2017, and a delegation from Djibouti was coming to South Africa. Together with the Development Bank of Southern Africa, we were co-hosting them at a well-attended business briefing near Johannesburg. The delegation would then proceed to Durban to participate in a second conference. The visitors were a […]
Guinea-Bissau: A Potential Tourism Paradise Impeded by Political Turmoil
A quick stop in paradise… It was 1989. The government of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau had invited us as a joint mission of the Department of Foreign Affairs and the South African Foreign Trade Organisation to visit the country as part of its drive to secure foreign investment. We received royal treatment: we were taken […]
The Zambian Connection to the Lobito Corridor
How Can Zambia Benefit from This Logistics Game-Changer? A major regional transport logistics development… In January 2023, the ministers of transport of Angola, the DR Congo and Zambia signed the Lobito Corridor Transport Facilitation agreement in Lobito, Angola. The objective was to provide an effective and efficient route facilitating the transport of goods within territories […]
Tete, Mozambique: Once a ‘Coal Eldorado’
Did the Global Campaign Against Fossil Fuels Weaken Tete’s Potential? A fast-growing ‘boom’ town… I visited the Tete area in the Zambezi valley, central Mozambique several times from 2009 to 2013. The reason? So much was happening there. It was a ‘boom’ period. An Australian junior, Riversdale Mining had confirmed findings of steam or thermal […]
Gabon: A Model for Conservation
Remarkable Achievements in Preserving Wildlife and Natural Rain Forest A sea of green… It was some time in the mid-1980’s, and I was a passenger on a 16-seater aircraft flying from Libreville to Moanda, situated deep in Gabon’s interior. I peered out the window as the plane rose above the outskirts of the Gabonese capital. […]
A Boost to Mozambique’s Ports
New Investments and Favourable Regional Developments Mozambique’s ports… Mozambique has a long coastline along the Indian Ocean of some 2 700 kilometres. It is mainly dotted with numerous bays and inlets which serve as small fishing ports such as Mocimboa da Praia in the far north in Cabo Delgado Province. Some are large enough to serve […]
Kenya Prepares to Become a Global Leader in Geothermal Power Production
The Great Rift Valley of Eastern Africa and its Geothermal Endowment The eastern African rift valley system is about 6 400 kilometres long and averages 60 kilometres in width. It runs along two branches. The western branch comprises Rwanda, Burundi, DR Congo, southern Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia, while the eastern branch extends across Djibouti, Ethiopia, […]
