Botswana: Can Maun Evolve into Something More Than Just the ‘Welcome Mat’ to the Okavango Delta?
The precious Okavango Delta. A major ‘bucket list’ item… It’s a question clients have asked me many times: “You’ve travelled all over Africa. How come you’ve never been to the Okavango?” The truth is that it was on my ‘bucket list’ for many years. And then one day, in early 2019, my partner, Terry and […]
Zambia: Mpulungu Port As A Unique Inland Waterway Trade Route
One day I’ll get to visit Mpulungu… I have to start with the confession that I have never been to Mpulungu before. I had my first opportunity in the very early 1990-s, when I was with the Africa division of the South African Foreign Trade Organisation (SAFTO). I had heard from my Zambian contacts that […]
Libya: Stepping into a Pre-Revolution Scenario and Yet Another ‘Crisp Atmosphere’ Experience
My mission to Libya and a nervous arrival… It was December 2010 when I took an Egyptair flight from Johannesburg to Cairo and then another Egyptair flight onwards to Tripoli, the capital of Libya. I had been invited to speak at a conference, but my main reason for accepting the invitation was to meet with […]
Côte d’Ivoire/Ivory Coast: An Agricultural Success Story that is Blossoming Even More
Why no dried mangoes?… It was sometime around 2002 and I was walking with an Ivorian friend in the streets of Abidjan’s posh Cocody suburb. “So many mangoes just lying all over the road and just rotting away. Why don’t you guys do something with them?” “Do what with them?” “Beneficiate. Process them. Dried mangoes […]
Namgola: Development of Southern Angola and Northern Namibia into a Significant Economic Region
A new trade route and ‘Namgola’… I was sitting on the stoep of a home on the outskirts of Windhoek enjoying a few sundowners with a Namibian consulting engineer. Although informal, it was an important meeting. His company had recently completed a feasibility study on a south-north trade corridor that would extend from Walvis Bay, […]
SOUTH AFRICA Employer of Record: Don’t be caught out by SARS! Simplify Your South African Compliance with Africa Deployments
Are you a foreign company currently operating in South Africa with no registration locally? The regulatory landscape in South Africa is evolving, and compliance with the South African Revenue Service (SARS) has become more critical than ever. The current Income Tax Act 58 of 1962 (“ITA”) is aiming to amend the laws to bring non-resident companies employing […]
Zimbabwe: The Critical Role of Non-Governmental Organisations in Providing Relief to Much of the Population
Elections have just been held in Zimbabwe with President Mnangagwa announced as head of state for a second term. Whatever the debate surrounding the elections and future prospects for the country, the NGO community operating there will continue to play a vital role in assisting communities and alleviating poverty. An unusual mission… Some years ago, […]
Ghana: Major Expansion of Takoradi Port Awaits Oil and Gas Developments
A flurry of port developments in sub-Saharan Africa Recent decades have seen major new port developments and port expansions in sub-Saharan Africa. Long-standing ports developed during colonial times are in the main, too shallow for today’s large heavy-lift vessels. Most are also heavily congested. There has consequently been a strong drive for the development of […]
Guinea: Home of the Last–Known Biggest and Richest Unrealised Iron Ore Deposit in the World
An exciting invitation for a mission to a country blessed with resource wealth… It was late 2012 when a long-standing client invited me to assist him with a mission to Guinea investigating a proposed major rail line in that West African country. I gladly accepted, because I had never been to Guinea but had learned […]
Mozambique: A New Bridge & A New Road Brings Limited Vitalisation of the Far South
The unlocking of a unique tourism area and a new cross-border trade route… It was 2017 when my colleague, Roelof and I visited Maputaland. This area encompasses the far north of the KwaZulu-Natal coast, spreading all the way up to Katembe town just south of Maputo City in Mozambique. This coastal strip is sandwiched between […]
