The Pathway Less Traveled

The winds of change for Africa

noreply@blogger.com (The Pathway Less Traveled!) — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 15:03:00 +0000

By Jonathan Fildes
Technology reporter, BBC News, Oxford

Mr Kamkwamba told the conference of having started out as a "simple farmer"

Earlier this month, US President Barack Obama said Africa must take charge of its own destiny.

At the TED Global conference in Oxford this week, one speech resonated with that message.

The speaker was William Kamkwamba from Malawi.

TED Global (Technology, Entertainment and Design) is the European cousin of an already established top US event dedicated to "ideas worth spreading".

Unlike the eclectic mixture of scientists, technologists and designers gathered at the hi-tech conference, Mr Kamkwamba grew up as a farmer in the East African country.

He came to the conference to tell how people how, at the age of just 14, he had built his own wind generator.

"Before I discovered the wonders of science I was just a simple farmer," he said.

But after the family's maize crop failed in 2001, they could no longer afford to pay for him to go to school.

"It was a future I could not accept," he said.

'Never give up'

So, Mr Kamkwamba would visit a library in his spare time, reading science books.

One in particular taught him that windmills could be used to generate electricity and pump water.

"I decided to build one for myself but I didn't have the materials."

Mr Kamkwamba's device defines the "small wind" approach

Undeterred, Mr Kamkwamba scoured a local scrap yard, finding the necessary components: a tractor fan, shock absorber, PVC pipes and a bicycle frame.

"Many people, including my mother, thought I was crazy," he admitted.

His first model powered one light. But a later, more powerful version was able to run four bulbs.

"Soon people were turning up at my house to charge their mobile phone," he said.

This was not the first time Mr Kamkwamba, now 19, had spoken at TED; his first encounter with the elite conference was in 2007 at the TED Global conference in Arusha, Tanzania.

"Before that time I had never been away from my home in Malawi. I had never seen an internet," he said.

He said he was so nervous when he had to give his first presentation that he "wanted to vomit".

This year, he said he was feeling better. And he had one message for this year's crowd at TED Global - a message which echoes that of the US president.

"Trust in yourself and believe. Never give up," he told the audience.

Mr Kamkwamba's story has now been turned into a book: The Boy who Harnessed the Wind.

The TED Global conference runs from 21 to 24 July in Oxford, UK.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8165262.stm

Pedal power for Kenya's mobiles

noreply@blogger.com (The Pathway Less Traveled!) — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 15:01:00 +0000

It takes an hour of pedalling to charge a phone completely

Two Kenyan students are hoping to market a device that allows bicycle riders to charge their mobile phones.

Jeremiah Murimi, 24, and Pascal Katana, 22, said they wanted their dynamo-powered "smart charger" to help people without electricity in rural areas.

"We both come from villages and we know the problems," Mr Murimi told the BBC.

People have to travel great distances to shops where they are charged $2 a time to power their phone, usually from a car battery or solar panel.

"The device is so small you can put it in your pocket with your phone while you are on your bike," said Mr Murimi.

It is estimated that some 17.5 million people out of Kenya's 38.5 million population own a mobile handset - up from 200,000 in 2000.

We took most of [the] items from a junk yard

Pascal Katana

Young Malawian invents wind generator

Although similar devices already exist in other countries, they are not available in Kenya.

The two electrical engineering students from Nairobi University have been working on their own invention, which they are selling for 350 Kenyan shillings ($4.50) each, over the last few months during their university break.

In Kenya, bicycles are sold with a dynamo to be attached to the back wheel to power the lights.

The dynamo lead can be switched to plug into the charger instead, they explained.

Mr Katana explained it takes an hour of pedalling to fully charge a phone, about the same time it would if it were plugged into the mains electricity.

The BBC's Ruth Nesoba says after a short ride, the phone's battery display indicated that it was charging.

Guinea pigs

The cash-strapped students used old bits of electronic equipment for the project.

"We took most of [the] items from a junk yard - using bits from spoilt radios and spoilt televisions," said Mr Katana.

The dynamo is attached to the back wheel

Workers with bicycles at the campus were used as guinea pigs, including security guard David Nyangoro.

"I use a bicycle especially when I'm at home in the rural areas, where we travel a lot," he said.

"It's very expensive nowadays charging a phone. With the new charger I hope it will be more economical, as once you have bought it, things will be easier for you and no more expenses."

Mr Murimi says so far they have only made two chargers - but are making five more for people who have seen it demonstrated.

"And a non-government organisation in western Kenya wants 15 so they can test them out in rural areas to see how popular they prove," he said.

The two friends are about to start their fifth and final year at university in September.

"We are not planning to stop our studies," Mr Murimi said.

Kenya's National Council for Science and Technology has backed the project, and the students hope they will find a way of mass-producing the chargers.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8166196.stm

Analyst: Undersea cable can boost connections

noreply@blogger.com (The Pathway Less Traveled!) — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 22:57:00 +0000

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (CNN) -- The Seacom cable being promoted as a computer lifeline for Africa will contribute to social upliftment but not immediately, a telecommunications analyst says.

Seacom cable laying in the Red Sea.

more photos »

James Hodge, who specializes in competition and regulation, says initially Seacom will predominantly benefit those already connected.

Hodge said it will not initially change the lives of those poor people, sitting in the rural areas without lights or electricity.

He added that because of the competitive climate surrounding Seacom, it will lead to cheaper connectivity, making the Internet more affordable for more people.

And that says Hodge, means that in the long term it will contribute to social upliftment.

Seacom plans to provide African customers with access to inexpensive bandwidth via 15,000 kilometers of undersea fiber-optic cables.

Seacom is the first cable supplying east Africa which until now has been reliant on satellite connections.

Hodge pointed out people in South Africa have already benefited.

Service providers have reacted to the imminent arrival of the Seacom cable by adjusting their prices, and we'll see more cuts as the local providers respond to the increased competition, he said.

Seacom is owned by a lot of divergent companies, all competing amongst each other.

Strong competition within the cable itself should drive prices down and avoid any price collusion amongst the various providers, Hodge said.

He added that would please the cynical South African consumer and help liberalize South Africa's communications industry, long seen as lagging behind everyone else in connectivity due to lack of competition.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/07/22/seacom.analyst/index.html

Cable makes big promises for African Internet

noreply@blogger.com (The Pathway Less Traveled!) — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 22:52:00 +0000

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (CNN) -- A undersea cable plugging East Africa into high speed Internet access went live Thursday providing an alternative to expensive satellite connections.

The cable links southern Africa to Europe and Asia.

more photos »

SEACOM, the cable provider company, opened up its 17000 kilometer submarine cable, capable of 1.28 terabytes per second, allowing the region true connectivity.

Most Africans rely on expensive and slow satellite connections, which make the use of applications such as YouTube and Facebook extremely trying.

"This is going to reduce the cost of doing business in Africa, within Africa and with international parties" said Suveer Ramdhani, SEACOM spokesman in South Africa.

"The cable is as thin as a hair strand and in one second it can download the same amount of data that 160 people use in a month."

SEACOM, privately funded and 75 % African owned, will provide retail carriers with open source access to inexpensive bandwidth.

It has taken less than three years to complete the mammoth project, providing landing stations at South Africa, Kenya, Madagascar and other points along the east coast of Africa.

But telecoms analyst James Hodge said that some of the more ambitious hopes for the system -- such as impacting the continent's socio-economic problems -- will be long-term, and that initially it will be those already connected who will see the benefits.

The launch was delayed by a month because of increased activity by pirates along parts of the African coast.

Security teams were beefed up to protect the slow moving cable layers.

Neotel, a South African communications network operator is the largest shareholder in SEACOM.

It is also the anchor tenant and the South African landing partner, providing both the coastal landing station and Johannesburg data center for the submarine cable.

Neotel managing director Jay Pandey is excited about the opportunities for growth presented by the SEACOM cable.

"With this cable coming in, the pipe size opens up, so more and more people are able to get faster and better connectivity, hopefully at a lower price. It can't be more expensive than what it is today."

SEACOM chief executive officer Brian Herlihy added: "Turning the switch 'on' creates a huge anticipation but ultimately, SEACOM will be judged on the changes that take place on the continent over the coming years."

South Africa has been hobbled by high costs and extremely slow bandwidth, effectively keeping the country on an information back road rather then the superhighway.

There is much anticipation and hope that the cable will ensure Africa keeps up with the developed world in Internet connectivity, providing greater speed, flexibility and, potentially, a complete socio-economic transformation.

Tanzanian President Josiah Kikwete said in his opening address: "It's the ultimate embodiment of modernity."

His speech was beamed via SEACOM from a launch in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania to the simultaneous launch in Johannesburg, South Africa

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/07/22/seacom.on/index.html

Prize for 'Sun in the box' cooker

noreply@blogger.com (The Pathway Less Traveled!) — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 18:45:00 +0000

By Richard Black
Environment correspondent, BBC News website

At the heart of the idea is a simple black painted box...

A cheap solar cooker has won first prize in a contest for green ideas.

The Kyoto Box is made from cardboard and can be used for sterilising water or boiling or baking food.

The Kenyan-based inventor hopes it can make solar cooking widespread in the developing world, supplanting the use of wood which is driving deforestation.

Other finalists in the $75,000 (£51,000) competition included a device for streamlining lorries, and a ceiling tile that cools hot rooms.

Organised by Forum for the Future, the sustainable development charity founded by Jonathan Porritt, the competition aims to support concepts that have "moved off the drawing board and demonstrated their feasibility" for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but have not gained corporate backing.

With as many people as there are in the developing world today, they can't just cook using trees - they'll finish off all the trees

Jon Bohmer, Kyoto Energy

"The Kyoto Box has the potential to transform millions of lives and is a model of scalable, sustainable innovation," said Peter Madden, the forum's chief executive.

It is made from two cardboard boxes, which use reflective foil and black paint to maximise absorption of solar energy.

Covering the cooking pot with a transparent cover retains heat and water, and temperatures inside the pot can reach at least 80C.

As many as two billion people in the world use firewood as their primary fuel.

Scaling up

The idea of cooking using the Sun's rays has been around for centuries, and a number of organisations including Solar Cookers International are already supporting their manufacture and distribution in the developing world.

FROM THE BBC WORLD SERVICE

Kenya cable ushers in broadband era

noreply@blogger.com (The Pathway Less Traveled!) — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 13:03:00 +0000

The first of four undersea cables bringing high-speed internet to eastern Africa goes live on Thursday. The BBC's Anne Waithera, in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, finds a nation impatient to join the broadband revolution.

In a busy cyber cafe in Nairobi dozens of people, mostly young, are hunched over computers surfing the net.

I try to strike up a conversation with one of them but he will not even look my way. Without looking up from the monitor he signals with his hand that I should wait until he is done.

You'll see a lot of YouTube and Facebook stuff now made for Africa by Africans

Idd Salim
Symbiotic Media Consortium

Africa's broadband future

This is perfectly understandable. It costs slightly less than $1 to surf for about an hour in a cyber-cafe in Nairobi and internet connection speeds are very slow.

But he is ready to talk after he pays his bill.

"It's not good. It's hanging and keeps wasting time and frustrating me," he says.

Another frustrated user complains: "I've spent more than 15 minutes instead of 10."

But things are about to change for these internet users.

The Seacom undersea fibre-optic cable goes live on Thursday, promising changes that will be felt right across eastern and southern Africa.

See map of Africa's new fibre-optic cables

The switch will take place simultaneously in the Kenyan port city of Mombasa, Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, Maputo in Mozambique and Mtunzini in South Africa.

The switchover from relying mainly on satellites to the submarine cable is expected to massively increase connection speeds.

The cables are being laid on the floor of the Indian ocean

One of the biggest setbacks of satellite connections is that a change in weather almost always leads to unstable connectivity.

It is hoped that cyber-cafe owners will transfer the benefits to their customers, as they will be making a huge savings on international links.

"When the fibre-optic cable goes live this means the speeds will be fantastic, we'll have a higher turnover of clients and that translates to increased income," says Fred, a cyber-cafe manager.

These benefits will also be felt by millions of phone users, who will enjoy cheaper international connections and quicker voice transfers.

"The fibre-optic connection enables faster voice transfer unlike satellite, which has an average response time of 650 milliseconds, thus introducing some delays in our voice communication," says Mahmoud Noor, Seacom's cable-station manager in Mombasa.

Mr Noor says the new service will reduce this to an average of 90 milliseconds for calls between Europe and eastern Africa, and an even faster response of less than six milliseconds between Dar es Salaam and Mombasa.

Potential squandered?

In Kenya, various sectors of the economy are expecting a major boost following the launch of the undersea cable, and investors are anxious about it.

The first undersea cable was launched last month, but is not yet live

"At the Nairobi stock exchange there is a possibility that things like day-trading will be introduced, where you make an order and in two minutes you will know if it has been sold or not," says Idd Salim of the Symbiotic Media Consortium, a software firm in Nairobi.

"That is not possible right now because you have to make an order today then wait for two or three days for it to clear."

Mr Salim says that Africa's potential is being hindered by the absence of fast internet connectivity and this technological advance will open new avenues.

"For instance computer programmers cannot start a video service or a powerful website because the connection is slow," he says.

"You'll see a lot of YouTube and Facebook stuff now made for Africa by Africans.

"Look at things like medicine - people will be able to be diagnosed from their homes because now we can have virtual hospitals."

The use of the undersea cable is expected to be immediate, save for some ISPs (Internet Service Providers) who may want to test it within their networks for a few days first.

Last month the Teams fibre-optic cable was launched in the coastal city of Mombasa, but it has yet to go live.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8163900.stm

East Africa gets high-speed web

noreply@blogger.com (The Pathway Less Traveled!) — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 12:42:00 +0000

New cables could revolutionise communications in the region

The first undersea cable to bring high-speed internet access to East Africa is going live.

The fibre-optic cable, operated by African-owned firm Seacom, will connect South Africa, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and Mozambique to Europe and Asia.

The firm says the cable will help to boost the prospects of the region's industry and commerce.

The cable - which is 17,000km long - took two years to lay and cost more than $650m.

Seacom said in a statement the launch of the cable marked the "dawn of a new era for communications" between Africa and the rest of the world.

The services are being unveiled in ceremonies in the Kenyan port of Mombasa and the Tanzanian city of Dar es Salaam.

School benefits

The cable was due to be launched in June but was delayed by pirate activity off the coast of Somalia.

The BBC's Will Ross in Nairobi says the internet revolution trumpeted by Seacom largely depends on how well the service is rolled out across the region.

To the disappointment of many consumers, our correspondent says some ISPs (internet service providers) are not planning to lower the cost of the internet, but instead will offer increased bandwidth.

But businesses, which have been paying around $3,000 a month for 1MB through a satellite link, will now pay considerably less - about $600 a month.

The Kenyan government has been laying a network of cables to all of the country's major towns and says the fibre-optic links will also enable schools nationwide to link into high quality educational resources.

But our correspondent says it is not clear whether the internet revolution will reach the villages, many of which still struggle to access reliable electricity.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8165077.stm

Ethiopia unveils ancient obelisk

noreply@blogger.com (The Pathway Less Traveled!) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 02:13:00 +0000

The obelisk was surrounded by scaffolding for reassembly

Ethiopia is celebrating the unveiling of the reassembled Axum obelisk, one of the country's greatest treasures.

The obelisk, at least 1,700 years old, was looted by Italian troops in the 1930s and returned to Ethiopia in 2005.

A giant Ethiopian flag was removed from the obelisk in front of what organisers said was a crowd of tens of thousands in the ancient northern town of Axum.

The ceremony is the last big event of Ethiopia's millennium year, the year 2000 by the country's Coptic calendar.

The president and prime minister were among the officials attending.

Ancient empire

Intricately carved obelisks were erected at the tombs of Ethiopia's ancient kings when Axum was the centre of a great empire.

The obelisk shows the architectural talent of our ancestors

Berhanu Kebede
Ethiopian ambassador to the UK

But only one remained standing amid the tumbled blocks of its former companions, the BBC's Elizabeth Blunt reports from Ethiopia.

The Axum obelisk was taken by troops in 1937 during the Italian occupation.

The monument weighs more than 150 tonnes and was brought back from Italy in three pieces.

Its return followed decades of negotiations between the Italian and Ethiopian governments, and long delays in transporting the heavy stones from Rome.

The monument has now been restored and resurrected in its original home.

How the Axum obelisk was restored

It had been lying on the ground for centuries when the Italians found it, and some archaeologists argued it should have been replaced in that position to avoid damage to it or nearby networks of underground tombs.

But others have said Ethiopians should be able to see the obelisk in its original position.

Ethiopia's ambassador to the UK, Berhanu Kebede, told the BBC's Network Africa programme that the obelisk would help his country "to build a stronger and vibrant nation".

"We have fought a protracted battle to bring back our historical asset, and this is very important because it's a manifestation of who we are and it also shows what our ancestors have done," he said.

"The obelisk shows the architectural talent of our ancestors and modern architects are fascinated how the Ethiopians were able to do that during that period."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7597589.stm

Obelisk points to ancient Ethiopian glory

noreply@blogger.com (The Pathway Less Traveled!) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 02:12:00 +0000

By Verity Murphy
BBC News website

The obelisks mark the graves of Axum's ancient rulers

In northern Ethiopia, in the once-great city of Axum, final preparations are under way for the return of one of Africa's most remarkable archaeological treasures.

The Axum obelisk, a 1,700-year-old stone monolith, measuring 24-metres (78 feet) high and weighing 160 tons, is returning home after more than six decades adorning a square in the Italian capital, Rome.

It was looted by Italy's fascist dictator Benito Mussolini in 1937 during Italy's brief occupation of Ethiopia and has been a bone of contention between the two countries ever since.

The Ethiopian authorities accused Italy of foot-dragging over the issue, while Rome blamed the slow progress on the difficulty and cost of moving such a massive stone between two continents.

Trading empire

The obelisk is the finest of more than 100 stone monoliths which stood in Axum, capital city of the ancient Axumite kingdom and birthplace of the biblical Queen of Sheba.

The obelisk in Rome is one of the tallest and most highly decorated

In the 3rd Century AD, the Persian philosopher Mani described Axum as one of the four greatest kingdoms in the world, along with Rome, China and Persia.

Situated on the northern edge of present-day Ethiopia, Axum first rose to prominence in the 1st Century AD trading its rich natural resources through its Red Sea port Adulis.

A steady stream of textiles, animals, gold, ivory, precious jewels and spices passed through Adulis on their way to be sold in Arabia, India and throughout the Roman Empire.

Profiting from this trade Axum grew into the dominant force in the Red Sea area and an ally of Constantinople - eventual capital of the Greek-speaking, and Christian, Byzantine Empire.

Christian conversion

Cultural exchange with Constantinople meant Axum's elite also spoke Greek, inscriptions in the city even appeared in the language, and around AD325 Ezana, the King of Axum, converted to Christianity.

Ezana removed the crescent and disk motif from Axum's coins, replacing it with the Christian cross, and laid the foundations for the Christian conversion of the whole of Ethiopia.

The king is also believed to have ordered the building of seven massive stone monoliths, the largest of the 100 or so that were erected in the city in the 3rd and 4th Centuries AD.

Hewn from nepheline syenite, a hard-wearing granite-like rock, and varying in height from one metre to 30m, the obelisks were erected as funerary markers, or stelae, for deceased members of the aristocracy.

Intricate carvings

The stone returning from Rome is one of the group Ezana is believed to have erected.

These seven obelisks are significant not only for their huge size, but also their intricate decoration.

Carvings on the stones represent the windows and beams of a multi-storey building - the largest depicting 13 floors along its length.

False doors are carved on the base of the monolith

False stone doors at the bottoms of the pillars, some even bearing carved door locks, add to the impression that the solid pieces of rock are in fact buildings.

Axum continued to flourish until the 6th Century, when the rise of the Persian Empire and conquests by Muslim Arabs cut the city off from its international trade network and contact with other Christian countries.

But long after its political and economic decline, Axum remained the place where Ethiopia's emperors were crowned.

It also retained its prestige as the birthplace of Christianity in Ethiopia, enhanced by the legend that Menelik I, son of the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon, brought the Ark of the Covenant from Jerusalem to Axum.

Some believe that the Ark remains there to this day, now housed inside a small church built in 1965 on the orders of Haile Selassie, last Emperor of Ethiopia and claimed direct descendant of King Solomon himself.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4376627.stm

Obelisk arrives back in Ethiopia

noreply@blogger.com (The Pathway Less Traveled!) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 02:00:00 +0000

Ethiopians will be celebrating for more than a week

The first section of a 1,700-year old stone obelisk looted by Italy nearly 70 years ago has arrived back in Ethiopia.

The Axum obelisk is regarded as one of Ethiopia's national religious treasures.

An Antonov plane landed on Tuesday with the middle part of the obelisk; the top and bottom should follow within a week.

Italian troops seized the obelisk in 1937 and took it to Rome, where it has remained ever since, despite a 1947 UN agreement to return it to Ethiopia.

The plane carrying the first part of the obelisk appeared over the horizon just before dawn.

Click here for details of the transfer

A crowd of Ethiopian ministers, priests and other VIPs cheered and clapped as it landed.

AXUM OBELISK

1,700 years old

Weighs 160 tons

24m tall

Looted in 1937

Return costing $7.7m

Due to be re-erected in September

"I am excited, overjoyed and delighted," said Ethiopian Culture Minister Teshome Toga.

"This is a very historical moment for us, we have waited so long to have the obelisk back," he said.

Pealing bells and chanting priests could be heard from a nearby cathedral, reports the AP news agency.

The ornately decorated 24-metre (78ft) obelisk is regarded as an outstanding example of architecture from the ancient city of Axum, itself seen as one of the four great kingdoms of the ancient world.

It stood for years outside the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation in Rome, despite an Italian commitment to send it back to Ethiopia.

Celebrations planned

It was eventually dismantled by Italian experts in 2004 in readiness for its journey home.

The operation is costing Italy an estimated 6m euros ($7.7m).

Ethiopians celebrate return

Obelisk points to past glory

But the obelisk's return had been beset by "technical difficulties" and repeatedly postponed.

The most recent delay came just last week, when it was postponed "indefinitely" amid concerns that the airstrip at Axum could not handle the cargo plane.

The 160-ton monument had to be broken into three pieces.

The delay was a disappointment for Ethiopians and the country's government, which had planned a national celebration to mark the return of the obelisk.

Shortly after the obelisk's return, traditional dancers took to the streets of Axum to celebrate.

The obelisk will be re-erected after the rains in September.

Many Ethiopians see the obelisk as a vital national symbol, and the prospect of its return stirs strong emotions.

HAVE YOUR SAY

There is simply no excuse for not returning stolen artefacts

Tarek Alami, Abu Dhabi, UAE

Send your comments

Abebe Alenayehu, 81, watched Italian troops seize the obelisk from Axum, but never expected to be alive to witness its return.

"The memory still leaves a bitter taste in my mouth," he told the Associated Press news agency.

"Every day for the last 67 years I have thought about the obelisk."

Steel bars

Lattanzi, the Italian company responsible for transporting the obelisk to Axum, has described the obelisk as the largest, heaviest object ever transported by air.

Heaters were installed in the plane to protect the monument from freezing air temperatures.

The obelisk was wrapped in steel bars to stabilise it in case of turbulence during the six-hour flight, Lattanzi director Simone Pietero told AP.

In addition, the airstrip at Axum had to be upgraded to handle the vast Antonov-124 aircraft, and radar was installed.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4458105.stm

Sun energy empowers Ethiopian village

noreply@blogger.com (The Pathway Less Traveled!) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 01:50:00 +0000

Rema village in northern Ethiopia, home to the country's largest solar project

By Tsigue Shiferaw
BBC, Rema

Two years after the installation of a solar power project funded by international aid groups, villagers in northern Ethiopia say the sun's energy has turned their lives around.

Rema, 150 miles north of the capital Addis Ababa, is home to Ethiopia's largest solar project.

Samson Tsegaye (R) says people are suspicious of solar power

Here, every house in the village has electricity powered by solar lighting systems.

This is unique in Ethiopia - 80% of the population live in rural areas where only 1% of the population have access to electricity.

Lighting up the countryside has long been a challenge for African governments. Unlike houses in urban areas, villages in rural areas are often difficult to connect to the national electricity grid.

Solar power has been touted by some as the long-term solution to Africa's energy needs.

Domestic solar panels can provide cheap, clean and reliable electricity.

Light for homework

The village roofs are dotted with solar panels. One panel gives them about four lamps. The energy can also be used for radios and tape recorders.

Solar power has had a significant impact on the lives of people living here.

Elfenesh Tefera, 40, enjoys solar energy at home with her 50-year-old farmer husband Aseged Hailemariam.

"Our kids can do their homework at night now, because there is light. They are very happy," says Ms Tefera.

"We've had solar energy for over a year now. We're very happy because we're saving money. Altogether we have eight children, and for our kids at school the solar energy is great."

Because of solar panels, Hirut Kebede now has more customers in her bar

Her husband adds: "We're taking care of the panels so that we don't have to spend money replacing them."

A local bar has increased its turnover because of solar energy. With lamps running on solar energy, people stay in the bar after darkness falls.

Cold beer is in high demand in Rema - the bar's solar-powered fridge has made it available.

Hirut Kebede, a 25-year old bar worker, says solar panels have changed her life.

"I don't have to struggle with smoke [from the gas lamps] any more. Before we used gas lamps, we had to keep bottles cold by putting them in the sand," she said.

"Now we have more customers and compared to before I sell a lot more than I used to."

Newcomers

Samson Tsegaye, the country director of the solar energy foundation in Ethiopia, says there are currently 300 requests for new solar home systems in Rema.

Houses can now get power 24 hours a day

There are currently 2,100 solar home systems in the village.

Because of its solar power, Rema has become attractive to people from other areas. Paraffin for lamps is often hard to find in rural areas. As a result, newcomers are settling in and building new houses in the village.

A solar technician training school has been set up in Rema where students from technical schools are trained to manage solar energy.

There are currently 33 solar energy technicians who have been trained at the school in Rema, all working in different parts of Ethiopia.

"People are sometimes suspicious of energy coming from the sun," says Mr Tsegaye.

"Some say that it is the devil's work. It was difficult for them to understand at the beginning. But when they have light in their homes, they are really happy.

"They are 24-hour light users, and that is better than the big cities in this country."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8150391.stm

Africa plans world's biggest dam project

noreply@blogger.com (The Pathway Less Traveled!) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 01:49:00 +0000

The existing Inga Dam is located 250km south west of Kinshasa.

A plan to build the largest and most powerful hydroelectric dam in the world is being discussed in London.

Financiers and African politicians will look at how to finance the $80bn (£40bn) cost of the Grand Inga project.

The plant in the Democratic Republic of Congo would generate twice as much energy as China's Three Gorges dam.

It is hoped it will boost Africa's electricity supply by a third, but opponents doubt it will help the poorest Africans without electricity.

The World Energy Council, (WEC) which is hosting the two-day meeting in London, says the Grand Inga project will help the estimated 500 million Africans without access to electricity.

"We have to raise the level of access to commercial energy all through Africa and other parts of the world, where this poverty is faced," WEC secretary general Gerald Doucet told the BBC.

"We can't do it without building these projects, but of course, on a sustainable basis that takes into account the social, civil and environmental issues.

"And I can say that in the past, mistakes have been made, but WEC is here to make sure those mistakes are not repeated," Mr Doucet said.

New grid

Power would be transmitted to other countries via a giant new distribution system to Egypt in the north, Nigeria in the west and to South Africa.

In order that construction can start as planned in 2014, the World Energy Council is calling for finance for a feasibility study to be done as soon as possible.

The Grand Inga project would be built on the Congo river alongside two existing hydroelectric plants and is expected to begin operating between 2020 and 2025.

The plans include a 205m-high dam, 15km-long reservoir and a plant with a capacity to produce 320 terawatt hours of electricity annually.

The idea for the project was first conceived in the 1980s, but political turmoil in the DR Congo meant that the plans could not proceed.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7358542.stm

Areva wins Niger uranium licence

noreply@blogger.com (The Pathway Less Traveled!) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 01:46:00 +0000

Uranium prices have nearly halved while negotiations have been going on

The French nuclear energy group Areva has been awarded a licence to build and operate the Imouraren mine in Niger.

Areva says it expects it to become Africa's biggest uranium mine and the second biggest in the world.

Mining will begin on the site in 2012, with 1,400 staff producing 5,000 tonnes a year.

The investment will go ahead despite the fall in uranium prices, which have almost halved while negotiations have been taking place.

"Prices now are not what they were when negotiations started, but nevertheless the conditions we defined together allow us to open this deposit," said Areva chief executive Anne Lauvergeon at a signing ceremony in Niger's capital Niamey.

Areva will have a 66.65% stake in the mine, with Niger holding the rest.

The French company will provide two-thirds of the initial investment of 1.12bn euros ($1.51bn; £1.02bn).

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7813242.stm

UK oil explorers in Uganda find "world class" oil discovery

noreply@blogger.com (The Pathway Less Traveled!) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 01:45:00 +0000

The find is in the Lake Albert Rift Basin

UK oil explorer Heritage Oil and its partner Tullow Oil have made a "world class" oil discovery in Uganda.

The finding by the Giraffe exploration well could be the largest discovery in the Lake Albert Rift Basin to date.

Reserves in the well and a linked discovery known as Buffalo, which was discovered in December, may come to more than 400 million barrels of oil.

Heritage has a 50% equity stake in the exploration licences, with Tullow Oil holding the other 50%.

'Fast-tracked'

Heritage chief executive Tony Buckingham said: "The large Buffalo-Giraffe structure is a world-class discovery which could prove to be substantially more extensive than currently outlined."

And Aidan Heavey, Tullow chief executive, said: "Buffalo-Giraffe is one of the largest recent onshore oil discoveries in Africa.

"Combined with our other finds in the region, we have now clearly exceeded the thresholds for basin development.

"Options for commercialisation and first oil production are currently being fast-tracked."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7826016.stm

By flying car from London to Timbuktu

noreply@blogger.com (The Pathway Less Traveled!) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 01:42:00 +0000

By Jude Sheerin
BBC News

The world's first bio fuelled flying car. Flight footage courtesy of Mentorn Media/Height and Hazard for Channel 4's Daredevil series

A voyage to fabled Timbuktu in a flying car may sound like a magical childhood fantasy.

But this week a British adventurer will set off from London on an incredible journey through Europe and Africa in a souped-up sand buggy, travelling by road - and air.

With the help of a parachute and a giant fan-motor, Neil Laughton plans to soar over the Pyrenees near Andorra, before taking to the skies again to hop across the 14-km (nine-mile) Straits of Gibraltar.

The ex-SAS officer then aims to fly over the Atlas Mountains in Morocco, above stretches of the Sahara desert and, well, wherever else the road runs out.

But forget Chitty Chitty Bang Bang - this flying machine is based on proven technology.

Touch of a button

Designed by a young British inventor, the Skycar enables its driver to pilot the vehicle at the mere touch of a button as though it were a microlite.

The team behind it calls the Skycar the world's first road legal biofuelled flying car.

Mr Laughton's destination is the west African country of Mali and its city of Timbuktu, a place which has had a mystical, "middle of nowhere" reputation since the heyday of Victorian exploration.

I thought this would be an interesting challenge... Timbuktu is an iconic and quirky destination

Neil Laughton

The daredevil 42-day expedition will pass 4,000 miles (6,400 km) through France, Spain and Morocco, head into the Sahara by way of Mauritania and Mali, before returning home via Senegal.

He had also hoped to make the 22mile (35km) flight across the English Channel, but that plan was vetoed by civil aviation officials.

Even Mr Laughton - who has scaled the highest mountains on seven continents and trekked at the North Pole - admits his latest "boy's own" adventure is a little eccentric.

"I like variety and thought this would be an interesting challenge," he told the BBC News website. "Also Timbuktu is an iconic and quirky destination."

The father-of-two says his long-suffering wife's initial reaction to his latest feat of derring-do was "unprintable", but she is now fully behind the charity mission.

Ultimate boy's toy

As he prepares to set off from central London on Wednesday morning, Mr Laughton is optimistic the Skycar's maiden voyage will go smoothly.

SKYCAR IN NUMBERS

Weight: 1,000lb (480kg)

Engine: Four cylinders, 1,000cc

Flight range: 185 miles (300km)

Cruising altitude: 2,000-3,000ft (600m-900m)

Top speed: 70mph (110km/h) airborne; 110mph (180km/h) road

Cost: £50,000 ($76,000)

"Clearly the reliability of the car is crucial. We're going to have to cope with wind chill temperatures as low as -30C and blistering heat up to 50C. But it's been fully tested at a secret location and it 100% works."

With the help of sponsors, the team has invested about £250,000 ($380,000) developing the vehicle.

The brains behind the two-seater Skycar is 29-year-old inventor Gilo Cardozo, from Dorset, who will join Mr Laughton as co-pilot for the African leg of the trip.

The self-taught engineer's Wiltshire-based firm, Parajet, manufactures the industrial paramotors that propel the Skycar once it is airborne.

He has been dreaming of creating a flying car - the ultimate boy's toy - since childhood.

"The inspiration came from realising we can drive and we can fly, so why can't we do both? The problem all along has been the wing technology, which we think we've cracked with the Skycar," he said.

Mr Cardozo built and co-piloted the powered paraglider which took British TV survivalist Bear Grylls over the summit of Mount Everest in 2007.

He plans to sell the Skycar commercially to the public at £50,000 per vehicle, if it can prove its mettle on the Timbuktu mission.

'Unsavoury people'

The team is keenly aware, however, it is not just the environment which could prove hostile.

In 2007 the annual Paris-Dakar rally was cancelled amid reported threats from Islamic militants in Mauritania.

Inventor Gilo Cardozo is the brains behind the Skycar

Mr Laughton said: "Sadly the political situation in some areas on our route is not good and there are some unsavoury people about so we must be careful."

On the road, the Skycar takes barely three minutes to convert into an aircraft.

The driver unpacks the special nylon wing from the boot, before unfurling the parachute on the ground to the rear.

The powerful fan's thrust propels the buggy forward and provides enough wing lift to take off at just 45mph (70km/h), from any "airstrip" longer than 650ft (200m).

Once airborne, the driver uses pedals in the zero-carbon vehicle's foot well to steer the Skycar by tugging cables that change the wing's shape.

Should something go wrong, the pilot can launch an emergency parachute, which should allow the buggy to drift safely back to earth.

A convoy of support vehicles will accompany the team every step of the way.

What the nomadic camel caravans of the Sahara will make of the flying machine is anybody's guess.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7821979.stm

Sahara gas pipeline gets go-ahead

noreply@blogger.com (The Pathway Less Traveled!) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 16:55:00 +0000

Nigeria, Niger and Algeria have signed an agreement to build a multi-billion dollar pipeline to take Nigerian gas across the Sahara to the Mediterranean.

The giant project, which will cost an estimated $13bn (£8bn), aims to deliver up to 30 billion cubic metres of gas per year for the European market.

France's Total, Anglo-Dutch firm Shell, and Russia's Gazprom have all expressed an interest in investing in the scheme.

The pipeline will run for 2,580 miles (4,128km) through the three countries.

BBC Africa analyst Richard Hamilton says that when built, it will be one of the great feats of engineering in the world and dwarf several existing pipelines, such as the one beneath the North Sea.

He says one concern is security, as a pipeline could be a target for Tuareg rebels or al-Qaeda in North Africa, both of whom are active among the unpatrolled expanses and porous borders of the Sahara.

Russian concerns

Energy analysts say there has been interest in this project for many years, but lack of investment and an unclear regulatory environment in Nigeria meant that the plans stayed firmly on the drawing board.

Algeria's energy minister says funding will not be a problem

European Union nations now hope it will enable them to diversify their gas supplies - and most pressingly, reduce their reliance upon Russian gas - but many analysts say Gazprom may have a head start in participating in the scheme.

This is because only last week, Gazprom signed a separate $2.5bn deal with Nigeria's state-owned gas firm NNPC to build new gas refineries, pipelines and power stations in Nigeria.

European Union states are keen to reduce their reliance upon Russian gas because of Gazprom's numerous price disputes in recent years with Ukraine.

These rows have seen Gazprom temporarily cut supplies to Ukraine, which in turn has reduced Russian gas deliveries to western Europe that are piped through Russia's neighbour.

"We have the expertise and I don't think there is a problem with finance in this project," said Algerian Energy Minister Chakib Khelil.

Nigeria has estimated natural gas reserves of 180 trillion cubic feet, the seventh-largest in the world.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8132823.stm

Gazprom seals $2.5bn Nigeria deal

noreply@blogger.com (The Pathway Less Traveled!) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 16:52:00 +0000

Gazprom seals $2.5bn Nigeria deal

Gazprom could increase its power over European supplies

Russia's energy giant Gazprom has signed a $2.5bn (£1.53bn) deal with Nigeria's state operated NNPC, to invest in a new joint venture.

The new firm, to be called Nigaz, is set to build refineries, pipelines and gas power stations in Nigeria.

Analysts say the move could further strengthen Russia's role in supplying natural gas to Europe.

The agreement comes during a four-day African tour by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

As well as forming Nigaz, Russia is keen on developing a trans-African pipeline to transport Nigerian gas to Europe.

This could further reinforce Gazprom's already-strong influence over Europe's energy supplies.

'Commodity-rich'

"Russia has a number of goals [in Africa], one of which would be to take part in a growing competition for resources and markets on the continent - mainly with China," said Yaroslav Lissovolik, head economist with Deutsche Bank in Moscow.

Sergei Novikov, a spokesman for Rosatom, Russia's state-run civil nuclear energy agency, said the Nigaz deal would lay the foundations for building nuclear power reactors in Nigeria.

Nigeria has previously said it would like to develop a nuclear power plant to address its energy shortages.

Before visiting Nigeria, Mr Medvedev spent time in Egypt.

He is also visiting Namibia and Angola - which are rich in natural resources - during his trip, as he seeks to promote Russian business interests.

"Part of the agenda is to push Russia's credentials as a representative of commodity-rich developing countries with such forums as the G8 and the G20," said Ural Sib bank's chief strategist Chris Weafer in a note to investors.

Chinese deal

Russia is not alone in seeking to secure energy deals overseas with commodity-rich nations.

Separately on Thursday, Chinese oil refiner Sinopec has made a $7.2bn bid to acquire oil exploration and producing firm Addax, which focuses on Africa and the Middle East.

If the deal is approved by regulators it would be the biggest foreign takeover by a Chinese firm.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8118721.stm

Work begins on Niger uranium mine

noreply@blogger.com (The Pathway Less Traveled!) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 16:51:00 +0000

Areva's Anne Lauvergnon and Niger's Mamadou Tandja attended a ceremony

Work on what will become the world's second largest uranium mine has begun in the west African state of Niger.
After it opens in three years' time the $1.5bn (£1bn) mine is expected to yield 5,000 tonnes of uranium per year.
French nuclear energy company Areva is building the mine and will take a majority share in it.
Niger is one of the world's poorest countries and the export of uranium provides one of its few sources of foreign currency.
The open pit mine at Imouraren will employ 1,400 people and more than double Niger's current uranium exports.
The mine is in the north of Niger, home to the semi-nomadic Tuareg people.
Rebel groups
For the past two years armed rebel groups from the region have been fighting the government for a greater share of Niger's uranium wealth.
Niger's President Mamadou Tandja made his first trip to the north since the rebellion started to lay the first stone at the mine, and on Sunday evening he met rebel leaders in the town of Agadez.
The president promised an amnesty to those who laid down their weapons.
Activists from the local environmental group Agrimane have been complaining about potential pollution from the mine and what they call the forced displacement of local people.
But the BBC's Idy Baraou in Agadez says both the government and Areva have promised to deal with such complaints
Areva director Anne Lauvergnon and France's junior Minister for Co-operation Alain Joyandet also attended the inauguration.
Areva and Niger signed an agreement in January for the firm to operate the mine, describing it as "the biggest in Africa and the second largest in the world".
France keeps close ties with its former colony and uranium from Niger is vital to its nuclear energy programme.
Areva already has other mines in the landlocked sub-Saharan country.
Other than uranium mining, Niger's population relies on subsistence farming and livestock production.
But the fluctuating world price in uranium has brought repeated instability to the country's economy.
Niger is the world's fourth biggest producer of uranium after Canada, Australia and Kazakhstan, according to the British Geological Survey.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8032800.stm

Africa's genetic secrets unlocked

noreply@blogger.com (The Pathway Less Traveled!) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 16:50:00 +0000

By Victoria Gill
Science reporter, BBC News

To operate in remote areas, some equipment had to run on a car battery

A genetic map of Africa - the continent from which all modern humans originate - has provided information about its huge diversity of language and culture.

It is the result of the largest African genetic study ever undertaken.

The work revealed the continent to be the most genetically diverse place on Earth, and identified descendents of our earliest human ancestors.

The international team of scientists describe their 10-year study in the journal Science.

The team, led by Sarah Tishkoff from the University of Pennsylvania, studied genetic material from 121 African populations.

They collected over 3,000 samples, and identified 14 "ancestral population clusters". These are groups of populations with common genetic ancestry, who share ethnicity and similarities in both their culture and the properties of their languages.

"This is a spectacular insight into the history of African populations and therefore the history of mankind," said Muntaser Ibrahim, a researcher from the University of Khartoum, who was also involved in the study.

The team looked at individual ancestry, or genetic similarities in their samples, by comparing the frequencies of more than 1,000 DNA markers - sections of the DNA code that are known to reveal common genetic heritage.

"In the past, [geneticists] studied just a few Africans, and suggested they were representative of the continent, but we've found that no population is representative of all of this diversity," said Dr Tishkoff.

"Our goal has been to do research that will benefit Africans," she said. "I hope this will set the stage for future genomics research there, and future biomedical research."

The completion of the study could enable such research, allowing the link between genes and disease to be properly studied.

"The genetic variants we've identified may play a role in disease susceptibility and the different ways in which people respond to drugs," Dr Tishkoff explained.

Remote research

Her team had to gather genetic samples from some of the continent's most remote communities.

To extract the important information from blood samples, they have to be "spun down", using a centrifuge to produce a pellet containing the DNA.

"In the most remote areas, we used a centrifuge that plugged into a car battery," Dr Tishkoff recalled.

Largely as a result of these difficulties, a large amount of the group's data comes from populations that have never previously been studied genetically.

This is the first time we have had the genetic data to reconstruct migration events

Sarah Tishkoff
University of Pennsylvania

This allows the map to provide an entirely new link between biology, and existing anthropology and linguistic information.

The research also located the origin of modern human migration in south-western Africa, near the coastal border of Namibia and Angola.

This is based on the widely-accepted theory that the highest level of genetic diversity is in the oldest population - the one that has had the longest to evolve.

The site is the homeland of the indigenous San communities, Dr Tishkoff explained.

"It's not surprising but it's a very neat finding because the San have already been shown to have the oldest genetic lineages, suggesting they may be descendents of a population ancestral to all modern humans."

Genetic reconstruction

The data has revealed a great deal about the history of the continent. "This is the first time we have had the genetic data to reconstruct migration events," Dr Tishkoff commented.

Her team, which represented an variety of academic disciplines, showed how genetic and linguistic diversity have co-evolved. This analysis revealed some surprises.

"The Masai people [in Kenya], for example, have maintained their traditional language and pastoral lifestyle, but genetically they've mixed a lot with populations from Ethiopia [who speak a different language]," said Dr Tishkoff.

The researchers also took samples from four African American populations, and traced their African ancestry. This was, as expected, mostly pinned down to West Africa.

Mark Thomas from the Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment at UCL praised the study, and said that the level of diversity discovered was "broadly what we would expect".

He added that because the origins of African American ancestry can be seen "all the way from Senegal down to Angola, it will be a long time before a DNA test will be able to identify someone's ancestral origin.

"That's despite the ridiculous claims of some of these DNA testing companies."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8027269.stm

Will Africa join broadband revolution?

noreply@blogger.com (The Pathway Less Traveled!) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 16:49:00 +0000

A way may be emerging for East African countries to circumvent the mess in telecommunications in the region - and it is rising out of the sea.

Three main new fibre-optic cable lines are being laid

From having no undersea cable links to the rest of the world, East Africa is now poised to have three.

As a result, many businesses are investing in finger-sized underwater fibre-optic cables that will open doors to the rest of the world.

It could not come too soon. Currently, many African countries rely heavily on satellite connections for internet and telephone calls.

Developed countries in Europe, North America and Asia embraced fibre-optic technology several years ago, and now boast over 500 cables. But the developing world is far behind; Bangladesh - with a population of over 150 million people - has three fibre-optic cables, while the whole of Africa has just 10.

Monopolised benefits

The privately funded Seacom cable - which is expected to be fully operational by June - will be the first to launch, followed by the East African Marine Cable System (EASSy) - which is being funded by the private-sector arm of the World Bank as well as by regional telecommunications companies.

It is expected to be ready in time for the World Cup in 2010 in South Africa.

See map of Africa's new fibre-optic cables

The third cable being laid is The East African Marine System (Teams).

It is being spearheaded by the Kenyan government as a response to the EASSy cable, and what it sees as terms in that project that are too favourable to South Africa.

All in all, these projects mean that within the next year the Kenyan port of Mombasa, among others on the east coast, will be well connected to economic hot-spots in the Middle East as well as South Africa, India and Europe.

But Africa has been here before.

The cables are being laid on the floor of the Indian ocean

South Africa is currently connected to Europe and Spain through a single fibre-optic cable, the South Atlantic 3/West Africa Submarine Cable (SAT-3/Safe), that runs up West Africa. But capacity here has been insufficient to offer fast broadband - in fact, it is 10 times slower than Seacom is supposed to offer.

Also, the ownership structure of the SAT-3/Safe cable has resulted in a few telecommunication companies monopolising its benefits - which keeps prices high and so out of reach of many.

While other cables are in the pipeline for West Africa, East Africa is a blank canvas.

Much like a rural town disconnected from a railway line, the region has never had intra-African or international cable connections before. As a result, it has been reliant on satellite connection.

Fibre-optic cables seem a much better proposition.

They are cheaper than satellites and transform signals into light, and so can transmit over long distances at high speeds.

This means not only that broadband will be much more easily available at a cheaper cost - bringing with it access to telephone services , film and audio downloads - but that online services such as mobile banking can grow.

In preparation for the launch of Seacom, major internet service providers in Kenya have already rolled out cables along the country's highways, which will link inland stations to the coastline cables.

Promises

So how much of a difference will this all make to the average consumer in Kenya?

While for the past several years it has been possible to use the internet to make long-distance telephone calls in Kenya, the costs and the speeds of connection have not met many people's expectations.

Kenyan entrepreneurs like Sammy Macharia - who owns an internet cafe in Nairobi - have high hopes that business-operating costs will come down once Seacom is working - potentially from $250 (£170) to $100 (£68) per month for an internet service provider subscription.

Only a few Kenyans have their own computer

However Mr Macharia is concerned that the market is regulated by the "invisible hand" of the government.

"The prices might go down, but the industry is regulated by the government, which can easily determine the market prices," he says.

"They have promised cheaper bandwidth, so we are waiting."

Security is another concern. Experts warn that the project is prone to risks from even subtle changes in the light travelling through the fibre-optic cables - making them especially vulnerable to vandals.

"Systems security can no longer be about e-mail protection, network anti-malicious software and an odd denial of service protection," says Bernard Ajwang, a Kenyan expert based at the University of Westminster in the United Kingdom.

And some analysts say that the three competing cables due to land shortly may actually create an over-supply of bandwidth in the East African market.

Very few Kenyan households even have an internet connection and not many own a personal computer - indeed, there are just three million internet users in the whole country, out of a total population of close on 40 million.

The statistics for the rest of Africa tell a similar story - of the 945 million people living on the continent, just 54 million use the internet.

For all the talk of opening up access to broadband, this could end up being one big white elephant.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7987812.stm

Dutch to return Ghana king's head

noreply@blogger.com (The Pathway Less Traveled!) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 16:47:00 +0000

The head of a Ghanaian king executed by Dutch colonists in the 1830s is to be returned to its homeland for burial, say authorities in the Netherlands.

Badu Bonsu II, leader of the Ahanta group, is believed to have been decapitated in retaliation for the killing of two Dutch emissaries.

The Leiden museum, which has been storing the head, said it hoped it could now have a dignified burial.

Ghana had said the king would not be at rest if the head remained where it was.

King Bonsu is thought to have been executed after the two officials were killed during a rebellion against European rule in the country, hanging their heads on his throne as a trophy.

At some point, the king's head was taken from Ghana to the Netherlands, and has been kept in a jar of formaldehyde at the Leiden University Medical Centre ever since.

Author Arthur Japin told Dutch media last year that he once saw the head while researching a historical novel.

"He's got a little ring beard, his eyes are closed as if he's sleeping," said Mr Japin.

"My first thought was, this is not fitting."

After hearing of the head's location in 2008, Ghana filed a request for its return, saying if it remained unburied the king would be incomplete and therefore "hunted in the afterlife".

'Good thing'

Now, a Dutch culture ministry spokesman has said the museum has decided to "restore the head to Ghana" as a matter of dignity.

As he was a king, putting his head on display would amount to some form of humiliation for his people

Prof Addo-Fening

"This is a king," Freek Manche told the AFP news agency, emphasising its importance.

The museum said in a statement that officials had been in contact with Ghana to arrange for the careful return of the preserved head.

They said they had not allowed any photographs to be taken out of respect for the human remains.

The BBC's Will Ross in Accra says respect for the dead has huge cultural significance in Ghana.

Ghanaian historian Prof Addo-Fening told the BBC that the museum's decision was "very, very important".

"When people die and their bodies are not found and buried, it leaves a lingering fear that they will not find rest with their ancestors until this is done," he said.

"As he was a king, putting his head on display would amount to some form of humiliation for his people - but they now have an opportunity to show some reverence to their late king before they bury him."

"I imagine that this will be a a good thing for the psyche of the community," he said.

Museum spokesman Marleen van't Oever told AFP that no date had yet been arranged for the return but it was "likely to be in the long term".

The museum's move follows decisions by other western museums to return items taken during colonial times or explorations.

In 2006, the University of Aberdeen in Scotland returned to New Zealand the preserved heads of nine tattooed Maori tribesman seized in the 19th Century.

The same year, Britain's Natural History Museum returned the remains of 18 indigenous people taken from Australia.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7955997.stm

Niger set to become oil producer

noreply@blogger.com (The Pathway Less Traveled!) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 16:45:00 +0000

China will invest $5bn (£2.5bn) over the next three years to develop oil production in Niger.

State-owned China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) is expected to produce the country's first barrel of oil in 2009.

Under the agreement, CNPC will build a 2000-km pipeline and a refinery with a capacity of 20,000 barrels a day.

The investment in Niger's Agadem block near the border with Chad is China's latest move to secure energy resources in Africa.

'Win-win'

Niger's mines and energy minister Mohamed Abdoulahi said the deal was a "win-win" contract that benefitted the people of China and Niger.

He said that Niger is expected to produce its first crude in 2009.

Niger is one of the world's poorest countries and ranks in the bottom five on the United Nations human development index.

More than three million people were affected by a famine in the country in 2005.

Accusations

China has invested $30bn in Africa's oil and gas industries, primarily in Sudan, Nigeria, Angola, Equatorial Guinea and Chad.

But China's foray into Africa has prompted accusations of modern day colonialism.

Development organisations have attacked China for ignoring alleged human rights abuses - especially in Sudan - to tap resources.

Niger's eastern region, where the country's oil reserves are located, has been relatively unaffected by a revolt by Tuareg rebels.

But China's ambassador to the country, Chen Gonglai, appealed for peace in the country at the contract signing ceremony.

"To develop a nation, you have to have to security," he said.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7434092.stm

China steps up African investment

noreply@blogger.com (The Pathway Less Traveled!) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 16:43:00 +0000

China denies its investment in Africa is purely for its own economic gain

China has continued its pursuit of mineral resources in Africa by agreeing to bankroll a copper and cobalt project in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Two firms, China Railway and Sinohydro, will invest about $1.8bn in the scheme in a joint venture with local partners.

In return, they will gain access to a regular supply of the key minerals at a time when global prices are soaring.

DR Congo holds 10% of the world's copper reserves, as well as a third of its cobalt supplies.

Trading relationships

China has attracted criticism for its rapid commercial expansion in Africa, using its wealth and manpower to help fund major infrastructure and industrial projects in many countries.

Its strong trading relationships with Sudan and Zimbabwe remain particularly contentious.

Beijing has always denied that it is turning a blind eye to humanitarian problems on the continent in the pursuit of its own economic gain, arguing that its investment is creating jobs and raising living standards.

In a concession to DR Congo's government, the Chinese firms involved in the new $2.9bn project have agreed to supply just 20% of the workforce.

China will provide start-up costs for the project and fund the first phase of construction.

Engineering group China Railway, which raised $5.4bn by floating its shares in November, will take a 43% stake in the venture, while hydropower firm Sinohydro will hold 25%.

The remaining equity will be owned by state-owned DR Congo mining firm Gecamines and a Congolese businessman, Gilbert Kalamba Banika.

DR Congo has agreed to provide China with no less than 10 million tonnes of copper once the mines have been built and production started.

Experts view China's growing role in Africa over the last few years as much in terms of its need to find new sources of natural resources and energy to power its economic expansion as a desire to extend its political influence.

Michael Komesaroff, an analyst at commodity experts Urandaline Investments, said the DR Congo project may provide a "useful model for future African resource development".

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7362435.stm

Banks meet over £40bn plan to harness power of Congo river and double Africa's electricity

noreply@blogger.com (The Pathway Less Traveled!) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 16:40:00 +0000

An aerial view of the semi-functional Inga dam on the Congo River.

Seven African governments and the world's largest banks and construction firms meet in London today to plan the most powerful dam ever conceived - an $80bn (£40bn) hydro power project on the Congo river which, its supporters say, could double the amount of electricity available on the continent.

G8 and some African governments hope that the Grand Inga dam in the Democratic Republic of Congo will generate twice as much electricity as the world's current largest dam, the Three Gorges in China, and jump start industrial development on the continent, bringing electricity to hundreds of million of people.

But while governments and banks expect the dam to export electricity as far away as South Africa, Nigeria and Egypt, and even Europe and Israel, environment groups and local people warned that it could bypass the most needy and end up as Africa's most ruinous white elephant, consigning one of the poorest countries to mountainous debts.

The dam is being planned to exploit one of the largest major water falls by volume anywhere in the world - nine miles of rapids which lie 90 miles from the mouth of the Congo where the world's second largest river drops nearly 100 metres in just eight miles. Two hydroelectric plants, known as Inga 1 and Inga 2, were constructed near there in the 1970s and a third is planned, but Grand Inga is intended to dwarf them all. One feasibility study suggests the 40,000MW dam will be 150m high, and will harness 26,000 cubic metres of water a second, with more than 50 turbines each producing nearly as much power as a British nuclear reactor.

Grand Inga was proposed in the 1980s but never got beyond feasibility studies because of political turmoil in central Africa. But now it stands a chance, according to Gerald Doucet, secretary general of the World Energy Council thinktank, which is convening the London meeting.

"It is the greatest sustainable development project, offering Africa a unique chance for interdependence and prosperity," said Doucet. "It's much more feasible now than ever. There is a peace settlement in Congo, and economic and technical studies have all shown it is possible."

Grand Inga's prospects of being completed by 2022 are said to have risen significantly in the last year as countries, banks and private companies have found they can earn high returns from the emerging global carbon offset market and UN climate change credits. In return for investments in clean power, rich countries such as Britain hope to be able to offset their own greenhouse gas emissions against the renewable energy that dams such as Grand Inga would produce, and constructors are making windfall profits out of renewable energy projects in developing countries.

"The banks and the City of London see that Grand Inga is serious. The G8 countries are behind it because they can get UN clean development mechanism [CDM] credits to offset their emissions. Chinese, Brazilian and Canadian dam-building companies, as well as the World Bank, are all interested," said Doucet.

But advocacy groups said yesterday the plans ignored local people and could leave Congo with massive debts rather than a sustainable industrial base.

"The project would be a magnet for corruption in one of the world's least stable regions. Its enormous budget and large contracts could devolve Inga into a corruption-riddled white elephant. Inga will centralise a vast store of the region's electric and financial power, a development model that can foster tensions and civil wars," said Terri Hathaway, Africa campaigner with International Rivers, a watchdog group monitoring the project.

Hathaway said that the 94% of people in Congo DRC and the two in three Africans who have no electricity now were unlikely to benefit because the dam depends on exporting its electricity to existing centres of industry, especially in South Africa where there have been power shortages.

"As it stands, the project's electricity won't reach even a fraction of the continent's 500 million people not yet connected to the grid. Building a distribution network that would actually light up Africa would increase the project's cost exponentially. It would be very different if rural energy received the kind of commitment and attention now being lavished on Inga," she said.

Despite Congo having exported electricity for years from Inga 1 and Inga 2, access to electricity across the country is less than 6%, and in rural areas where nearly 70% of people live, it is only 1%.

"My village is 3km from Inga's power lines. They built a line almost 2,000km to the mines [in Katanga province] but in all of these years we have been left without electricity," said Simon Malanda, a community representative.

Doucet acknowledged that "there are huge social issues around Grand Inga that must be dealt with. Congo must benefit. If Congo is bypassed then the whole project fails," he said.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/apr/21/congo.water

China to launch $1bn Africa fund

noreply@blogger.com (The Pathway Less Traveled!) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 16:39:00 +0000

China has announced plans to launch a $1bn (£500m) fund to increase trade and investment in Africa.

The fund, backed by the Chinese Development Bank and aimed at farming, infrastructure and basic industries, will eventually rise to $5bn.

Chinese President Hu Jintao set out plans for more trade in Africa at a key African-Chinese trade summit last year.

But China's foray into Africa - notably for natural resources - has prompted accusations of modern day colonialism.

Development organisations have attacked China for ignoring alleged human rights abuses - especially in oil-rich regions such as Sudan - simply to secure resources.

A Chinese official attending a conference on Darfur underway this week in Paris opposed the idea of sanctions on Sudan, and criticised suggestions of a boycott of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Following the fund announcement Gao Jian, the vice governor of the Chinese Development Bank (CDB), rejected the notion that China simply wanted to secure natural resources but said the country was instead making investments that would help Africa.

China says it will "support Chinese enterprises in developing cooperation with Africa and in investing in Africa".

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6241216.stm