Mauritius and Mozambique: Two African Sweethearts
(A Logical Intensification of Good Bilateral Relations) An interesting discussion with a Mauritian government official In June 2006, I visited Mauritius at the invitation of the national export and business promotion agency, Enterprise Mauritius. I was asked to deliver an address to its private sector members as well as relevant government officials on ‘How to […]
Malawi: The ‘Warm Heart of Africa’ Looks to Agri-Industry to Achieve Its Economic Goals
My first visit to Malawi In 1985, I was returning from central Africa en route to South Africa. Malawi was an obvious transit stop with direct flights between the Malawian capital of Lilongwe and Johannesburg. I checked into the Capital Hotel and hired a small car to see as much of the country as possible […]
Lake Kivu: How the ‘Killer Lake’ is Developing into a Valuable Source of Energy for Rwanda and the Eastern DR Congo
Why is Lake Kivu called the ‘killer lake’…? Lake Kivu is Africa’s sixth-largest lake. It is located in the western section of the line of lakes created by the East African Rift, on the border between Rwanda and eastern DR Congo. It covers a total surface area of around 2 700 square kilometres. It is 89 […]
Lesotho: How the Economy of the Small, Land-Locked Mountain Kingdom Can Be Improved
A recent quick peek at a mountain paradise I have undertaken a number of business and leisure visits to Lesotho. The last was just a few weeks ago when a few friends and I tackled the precarious Sani Pass rocky mountain track from KwaZulu-Natal Province into Lesotho in a reliable 4×4. We enjoyed breathtaking views […]
The Long-Neglected Mining Sector in Nigeria
Can Nigeria Develop Its Solid Minerals Despite Its Oil Obsession? A major untapped resource I was chatting with a new friend who told me that as a mining specialist, he had spent some time investigating mining opportunities in Nigeria. We had just driven up and down the hair-raising Sani Pass from South Africa to Lesotho […]
Richards Bay Port as a New Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) HubSound Reasons for its Selection
A major announcement In January 2024, the Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) announced the preferred bidder to design, develop, construct, finance, operate and maintain a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal to be situated in the port of Richards Bay in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. As the preferred bidder, the Vopak Terminal Durban and Transnet […]
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 […]
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 […]
