Kenya spoilt for choice as business and tourism conferences surges this year

NAIROBI: Kenya is quickly making a name for itself as a competitive destination for business conferencing. This position has been further boosted by the country's recent ranking in Fortune magazine as one of the top seven investment destinations in developing markets due to its political stability and sound macroeconomic management. The country beat Nigeria and South Africa.

And following the success of July's Global Entrepreneurship Summit, the country has lined up several more high-profile meetings and conferences.

"The reducing cost of doing business and stable macroeconomic environment continue to give out the clear signal that Kenya is ready to do business with the world," Industrialisation and Enterprise Development Cabinet Secretary Adan Mohamed said, commenting on the ranking.

He added that the Government has been working on an ambitious programme to address the challenges in doing business, and has set up a delivery team to ensure the country develops into a world-class investment destination.

FOREIGN POLICY

But already, the efforts made so far are beginning to reap fruit. Kenya is set to be the first African country to host the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) next year, after Gambia dropped its bid to host the conference, leaving Kenya as the only contender.

TICAD is held every five years and is a major pillar of Japan's foreign policy in Africa. The first four of the conferences were held in Tokyo, and the fifth was in Yokohama, Japan.

The World Trade Organisation's 10th Ministerial Conference (MC10) will also be held in Mombasa in December, and is projected to inject Sh6 billion into the economy. The meeting is intended to create an enabling environment for African governments to effectively negotiate and possibly establish a new platform for future trade discussions.

Kenya will host the World Public Relations Forum and the Skal International Congress in 2015, the latter of which will also be held in Mombasa next year and is expected to bring together about 1,500 travel and tourism professionals.

The country has already hosted the Broadcast, Film and Music Africa Conference and International Fashion Fair 2015, while other trade exhibitions expected the last quarter of the year, and which will bring in international delegates, include the Kenya Tradex, Kenya Foodex, Kenya Buildex and Africa Travel Association Conference.

Source: Kenya spoilt for choice as business and tourism conferences surges this year

Apparel prospects to stay strong

Bangladesh will remain the top garment sourcing destination for global retailers at least for the next five years, and buyers will continue increasing purchase from the country, McKinsey & Company said in a report.

During the period, the country's garment exports will grow 7-9 percent year-on-year, while India and Vietnam will be its nearest competitors, according to the survey report.

The survey was conducted among 40 chief purchasing officers (CPOs) of top 40 international garment retailers during January-February this year.

Some African countries are also coming up strongly in the global garment business, said McKinsey & Company, which is a global management consulting firm and serves leading businesses, governments, non-governmental organisations, and not-for-profits.

The respondents in the survey "Sourcing in a volatile world: The East Africa opportunity" cumulatively

purchased $70 billion worth of garment items worldwide in 2014.

"For international CPOs, Bangladesh remains the top future sourcing destination, as 48 percent of respondents put it in the top-3 up-and-coming sourcing markets," according to the report.

"Sixty-two percent of our respondents said they intended to increase their sourcing value from Bangladesh over the next five years."

Among top 10 sourcing destinations, Vietnam is in the second position as 33 percent respondents chose this country while, India, Myanmar and Turkey are in the third position as 30 percent respondents chose them as sourcing destination.

Twenty-three percent respondents chose China, 13 percent Ethiopia, 10 percent Indonesia, while 5 percent CPOs chose Egypt, Sri Lanka and Tunisia as the top 10 sourcing destinations.

"We must note that even these three top countries' combined export is only one-third of the dollar value coming from China currently. China remains the undisputed giant of garment exports, with eight times the dollar volume of exports than the number two Asian apparel sourcing country, Bangladesh."

Vietnam and India are tied for the third place, each exporting garments worth around $17 billion.

Despite high growth over recent years neither country poses a threat to China's dominance at the moment, as all are facing their individual challenges in terms of political stability, garment industry structure, or competitiveness.

Only over the longer term is China's manufacturing base expected to weaken due to macro-employment trends.

A recent report by the McKinsey Global Institute forecasts China's labour pool could shrink by one-fifth over the next 50 years.

But any trend that is expected to play out over 50 years is only just beginning to be visible in the distance, in 2015, the report said.

However, nearly three-quarters of the respondents said they expect to decrease their allocation to Chinese firms over the next five years, although export statistics do not reflect the statements of the CPOs.

Additionally, China is turning more and more of its apparel production capacity toward its own domestic market, serving its growing middle class.

"Though Chinese production of apparel has fallen since 2010, we believe the dominance of the global apparel-sourcing market, the mix change toward Chinese consumers, and the substantial size of its growing middle class, will keep China the apparel production powerhouse for the foreseeable future."

The survey found that many of China's garment makers are now looking to open facilities in Cambodia, Vietnam, and Myanmar, as well as in other promising countries.

The report said the African countries are attractive candidates to be the next China. Although African countries are not ready currently to take substantial volumes, analysis of population trends can point to potential contenders over the longer term.

Population trends point toward sub-Saharan Africa, as it is expected to enjoy the most energetic growth in working-age population anywhere over the next 20 years. By 2035, the working population in the region is expected to pull even with China today, the report said.

"While this is encouraging, we believe that sub-Saharan Africa must be understood at a granular level because the degree of each country's development and potential for garment exports differs."

When the CPOs were asked to assess the prospects for the importance of sub-Saharan Africa over the near term, they said they would be sourcing a greater share of their overall portfolio from the region in 2020 than they are in 2015.

Granted, the dollar volume exported to western markets at the moment is small, but if those figures are borne out, the sub-Saharan share could grow exponentially in the next five years.

Thirty-three US buyers noted the rising importance of sub-Saharan Africa for their own sourcing strategies, while only 11 percent of European CPOs agreed with the rise of African countries as sourcing destination.

Of the 28 CPOs already involved in sourcing from sub-Saharan countries, a bit more than half deal directly with local suppliers. Not quite 15 percent source via Asian suppliers' headquarters, and 32 percent source via agents.

The global export data from the World Trade Organisation shows the export value of clothing from the continent as a whole stood at $9.9 billion in 2013, but the majority of those exports came from the countries in North Africa, such as Morocco and Tunisia, rather than the sub-Saharan nations.

"If we examine the top-ten garment-exporting nations in sub-Saharan Africa, we see they collectively amount to only a 0.55 percent share of global apparel exports," McKinsey said.

However, many governments in the region are using legislation and incentives to leverage the textile and apparel industries as tools for the broader industrialisation and economic development for some of the least-developed countries in Africa.

Bangladesh will face further challenge in global apparel trade, particularly in the US, for the renewal of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) as 39 Africa countries have been enjoying duty benefit under the agreement.

Source: Apparel prospects to stay strong

Fly Africa to open new routes in East, West Africa

"One of the biggest contributions that we as Africans can make to Africa's development is to open the skies for direct affordable travel between African states," said Ali Bongo at the New York Forum in Gabon's capital Libreville.

A statement from Fly Africa said that the expansion was possible because of a "strategic partnership between the Government of Gabon and African industrialist, venture capitalist and philanthropist Ivor Ichikowitz".

Fly Africa, majority-owned by the family of its CEO Chaka Karase, was launched last year in southern Africa and has cut prices by 50-70 percent on routes between Johannesburg and Harare.

The airline said it would shortly launch new routes to Namibia, Gabon, Benin and Zambia followed by destinations in east Africa.

Many routes within Africa are expensive and circuitous, and it is often cheaper to travel between African capitals via Paris.

The International Air Transport Association expects passenger growth in Afric a to be the highest in the world over the next 20 years as population booms.

Fly Africa will compete with national carriers like Kenya Airways and Air Cote d'Ivoire as well as West and Central African regional airline ASKY.

- Reuters

Source: Fly Africa to open new routes in East, West Africa

S/Africa: VP’s private jet hire “by the book”

Copyright : APA

"Everything was done by the book" in the hiring of a private chartered flight for Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa's official trip to Japan at the weekend, according to South African Defence and Military Veterans Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula on Friday.Brushing aside criticism of possible corrupting in the hiring of the jet plane run by the Gupta Family and Duduzane Zuma, son of President Jacob Zuma, the minister told a media briefing: “Everything was done by the book in the hiring of the place for the Deputy President. People (critics) aren't looking at the processes but the owners of the flight.�

The minister detailed the processes involved when government hires a private charter flight for the country's VVIPs like the President, Deputy President or ministers.

These requirements, she said, may include the number of passengers, nature of destination and length of travel.

However, should the VVIP squadron of the SAAF, which maintains and operates its own fleet of aircraft, not be available for any reason such as maintenance or not suitable for the specific requirements of a particular travel, the rule is that a suitable aircraft may be chartered.

“For the recent visit (to Japan) of the Deputy President, the requirements were received by the SAAF. Two of the important requirements during this flight were that there must be a minimum of fuel stops en route and that there should be adequate rest/sleeping facilities for the Principal,� and these were met by ExecuJet, Mapisa-Nqakula said.

Duduzane and the Gupta Family (close friends of President Zuma) who own the ExecuJet were hired because the SAAF Boeing 737 (BBJ) which meets all the requirements, was not available as it was being used by President Jacob Zuma, she added.

As such the minister said there was nothing wrong with hiring a chartered flight, and told the media to stop creating a crisis where there was none.

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Copyright : © APA

Source: S/Africa: VP's private jet hire "by the book"

2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers live on DStv’s SuperSport

SuperSport will once again be the go-to destination for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification campaign with the World of Champions having acquired rights to eight match-day two fixtures featuring Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Kenya, Zimbabwe and Zambia.

SuperSport will broadcast Group H's top-of-the-table clash between Rwanda and Ghana; Tanzania v Nigeria; Mauritania v South Africa; Mauritius v Mozambique; Madagascar v Angola; Zimbabwe v Guinea; Kenya v Zambia and Gambia v Cameroon.

With progression to the finals guaranteed to just the 13 group winners and only two runners-up, every round of the qualifiers has become important, especially for the nations who opened their campaign with a defeat.

Source: 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers live on DStv's SuperSport

New study refutes Emirates claim of increasing traffic at DFW

The entry of Emirates Airline at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport did not get more passengers to fly from North Texas to the Middle East, India and Africa, a new study says.

Instead, in the first year of Emirates service at DFW in 2012, bookings to these far flung destinations dropped 7.6 percent, says the study from Partnership for Open & Fair Skies. The industry lobbying group, supported by American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, filed a brief with the U.S. Department of Transportation on Monday that included the new study.

"The data clearly shows that in Dallas-Fort Worth, the Gulf carriers are causing serious harm and diverting passengers from U.S. airlines," said spokeswoman Jill Zuckman. "U.S. carriers and their JV partners have seen sharp declines in bookings to the destinations served by the Gulf carriers after they enter these markets -- a direct threat to the tens of thousands of jobs that support the Dallas-Fort Worth economy."

When Emirates entered Seattle, bookings to India, Africa and the Middle East on U.S. airlines and their joint venture partners dropped 21.4 percent and in Washington D.C., 14.3 percent, the study says.

The three major U.S. carriers have accused the Persian Gulf airlines - Emirates Airline, Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways - of receiving billions in government subsidies, violating Open Skies agreements the U.S. has with the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. The DOT has opened an investigation into the allegations.

In its own filings made to the DOT last month, Emirates argued that its entry into U.S. markets has attracted new travelers to international routes.

"Emirates' entry has grown the pie: enhanced levels of service have attracted new travelers to routes, allowing Emirates to grow without significantly diverting passengers from the Legacy Carriers," the Emirates filing said. "Americans can now fly with only one stop to cities such as Islamabad, Pakistan and Colombo, Sri Lanka, options that simply did not exist previously. That has attracted new travelers into the marketplace."

The data in the new study provided by Partnership for Open & Fair Skies only includes bookings that were originating from Dallas/Fort Worth and traveling to the Middle East, India, and Africa. It did not include travelers who may have connected through DFW on to those destinations such as flying from Austin to DFW to Dubai.

According to traffic statistics from DFW Airport, Emirates carried 158,784 passengers in 2012, representing over half of the new international passenger growth at DFW Airport that calendar year. That same year, American Airlines increased its passenger traffic by 0.2 percent for both domestic and international flights.

Source: New study refutes Emirates claim of increasing traffic at DFW

Africa’s green pastures for foreign investors

Feature Article of Tuesday, 25 August 2015

Columnist: Bonus Williams

2015-08-25

Opinion

Searching for greener pastures abroad would not have become a norm for most African people, especially the unemployed graduates, if systems that attracted their attention to relocate abroad were also put in place in Africa.

Many youth in Africa resigned to fate after much deliberate efforts to add economic value to change their lives.

Due to lack of understanding of investment trend, many Africans are yet to acknowledge the fact that Africa is a goldmine. The recent foreign direct investments in Africa disclosed that westerners are making Africa as their prominent investment hub, to escape from saturated markets in their respective countries.

Victoria Mensah, British and Ghanaian citizen (Fashion and Style Consultant) laments that anytime she sees the ignorance of Africans, her heart weeps. She said "Look around you. You would see major economy developments taking place, but my people refuse to see how best they can dig into the opportunities."

This development would have been regarded as good news for Africans. Only the few who recognize this trend utilize the opportunity it presents, but large proportions of Africans are hind-sighted by the myriad of personal challenges facing them.

Victoria further expressed that recent trends have shown that many Africans are returning home from the western world to take advantage of the opportunities that Africa holds.

The key players seeing these opportunities are the citizens from the Western countries. Africans refuse to see the goldmines lying around their respective cities, goldmines you can hardly see in Europe, America, Asia or the Middle East.

"I agree that our African leaders are not putting the systems in place to favour their interests but in every rough country's economy situation, there is always treasure lying beneath it. The westerners recognize where these treasures are lying and they explore it, despite all difficulties of doing business that were stated out to them in their respective countries and by their embassies in Africa," Victoria Acknowledged.

In addition to Victoria's insights on Africa, Dutch businessman Nico Van Staalduinen enthused that there is a bright future for Africa. He observed that "as the development and incomes grow in the continent, there are countless needs to be met. You just have to look at what you can do in your country, how you can go about what we are not doing here that we are now buying abroad, and reflect on the advantages of doing it."

"While Africa's challenges are well documented, there is an increasing recognition that the continent is on an upward trajectory; economically, politically and socially," Ernst & Young's Africa Attractiveness Survey 2015 assured.

The annual report provides insights on Africa's investment attractiveness, and whose first edition's title was declared "It's time for Africa". The report highlighted the possibility of A frica attracting billions of dollars more in new investments in the next few years.

With recent foreign investment inflows of $54 billion in Africa, the continent remains the most attractive investment destination for the westerners. The GDP was projected to grow to $2.6 trillion by 2020 from $1.6 trillion in 2008, with a 62 percent ($1.4 trillion) increase in consumer spending over the same period.

Due to this acknowledgement, the continent is currently ranked in the same category as Latin America and Eastern Europe in terms of investment attractiveness.

A survey was conducted by Ernst & Young on over 562 global executives to determine where their investment decisions would be implemented over the next decade and 42 percent of them were considering investing further in Africa while an additional 19 percent confirmed maintaining operations in the continent.

Additionally, the report further revealed that the traditional perception of investing in Africa ha s been rather negative, coupled with the fear of the unknown. However, in 2014, traditional investors refocused their attention on the continent, attracted by its strong macroeconomic growth and outlook, improving business environment, a rising consumer class, abundant natural resources and infrastructure development.

"These factors have resulted in global capital investment and job creation hitting an all-time high during 2014 on the continent. The investors believe that, despite challenges stated above, profitability levels compensated for the risks", the report highlighted.

In the report, consumer products, construction, telecom, financial services, mining and metals are the key sectors targeted by investors perceived as the highest growth potential over the next few years.

This trend translates to the emergence of this seemingly high level of investment penetrations in Africa. It represents significantly more employment, improved or increased living conditi ons, demands for more raw materials, infrastructure developments and many more.

It was observed that in the face of improving perceptions of Africa, it is in competition for the international capital and resources that will help drive, sustain growth and social development.

As this development in Africa is being perceived by the experts, searching for greener pasture abroad may not necessarily be the ultimate solution. Open your mind and you would see the greener part of Africa, which only a fraction of Africans can see.

Source: Africa's green pastures for foreign investors

Gov't Commitments To Tourism Investment Encouraging

Taking a critical look at the National Tourism Development Plan, this was launched some two years ago for the period 2013-2027, which conservatively projects tourism receipts of US$1.5billion in 2017; 2.5billion in 2022; and 4.3billion in 2027.

The actualisation of this goal will however depend on the policy commitment of government.

Although, the sector minister, Mrs. Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, Minister for Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, said her ministry will work to ensure growth of the sector and high standards in the tourism sector.

The question of; what commitments so far has the government made towards achieving the set objectives and targets of the national tourism development plan.

The Tourism Minister had pointed out recently that, "To the nearly one million tourists who tasted Ghana last year, we wish to assure them and the rest of the world that with strengthening the hands of our main implementation agency -- the Ghana Tourism Authority (GT A) -- to enforce stringent measures for responsible tourism, our hotels, casinos, restaurants, game-parks and golf courses are ready to make destination Ghana an even more exciting preference."

Also, President John Dramani Mahama last week at the opening of a three-day United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) Regional Conference in Accra reiterated that, his government will sustain its investment in tourism and expend in other areas to increase the sector's contribution to the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

"We aim to continue diversifying our tourism assets by developing and investing in beach-fronts, marinas, entertainment and amusement centres going forward. Tourism is a good business, but it is about good service," President Mahama stated.

"In Ghana, tourism is a major foreign exchange earner -- contributing 4.7 percent to the GDP. Through a number of strategies, Ghana has achieved the target of one million tourist arrivals and is working to improve on those numbers so as to generate more revenue from tourism. Tourism currently stands as the fourth-largest foreign exchange earner after cocoa, gold, and oil and gas.

"We will continue enhancing our engagement with local and international media partners to promote our tourist attractions. Ghana has many strong brand assets. We are considered a model of democracy, peace and stability in Africa. Ghana is a good place to do business and is considered the gateway to doing business in West Africa," he told participants.

The UNWTO conference was themed 'Enhancing brand Africa, fostering tourism development', and provided a platform for tourism ministers across the continent to set a common action plan for advancing Africa's image and brand as a tourism destination.

It aimed to achieve a balance between insights from destination managers and commercial practitioners in ensuring that both market reality and policy imperatives are considered, as these are issues that destinations need to align on an on-going basis.

In 2014 Africa received 56 million international tourists: International tourism receipts in Africa amount to US$36billion or 7 percent of all exports on the continent.

There has been a steady growth in tourist arrivals into Ghana, bar last year when the Ebola epidemic led to a significant reduction in tourist numbers.

Taleb Rifai, Secretary-General, UNWTO said: "Despite the dynamic growth of African economies, Africa continues to face many challenges that impede tourism development and transformative potential in the region. Africa's image struggles with a negative default setting, fuelled by unflattering stereotypes and broad generalisation of crisis situations in specific locations.

"In contrast, rarely do we ever hear about the numerous positive developments in Africa; including its fastest-growing emerging economies, medical breakthroughs and the technological innovations tha t are transforming industries and societies. To not tell these stories is to flatten world-view."

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Source: Gov't Commitments To Tourism Investment Encouraging

Tourism image gets major facelift

Kenya's image has received a major facelift following the endorsement of a global tourism organisation.

The United Nations World Tourism Organisation Secretary General Taleb Rifai on Saturday attended Mombasa International Cultural Festival giving the 10-day event a major international appeal.

"I am happy to attend this festival, which gives visitors an experience of the Kenyan diverse culture and friendly people," he said.

Mr Rifai attended the event after conclusion of the East Africa Tourism Development forum, which was organised by the UNWTO and the government.

During the event on Saturday, Mr Rifai was accompanied by Tourism Cabinet Secretary Phyllis Kandie among other officials.

The UNWTO boss also toured the beaches and Fort Jesus to show the world that Mombasa is safe for holidaymakers.

At the same time, East African countries have resolved to form a single tourism marketing board to help promote the destination during the just-concluded meeting at the coastal city.

The five countries of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi also resolved to fast-track implementation of the single tourist visa to make travel easier for local and international visitors.

Government ministers and representatives agreed to promote regional tourism to avoid overreliance on European source markets.

The three-day conference, which was held at Sarova Whitesands Beach Resort was attended by delegates from 10 countries including Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Seychelles, South Sudan and Rwanda.

Mrs Kandie said East Africa would work out ways of establishing a regional marketing platform to oversee promotion campaigns to spur growth.

"Ministers and representatives from East Africa have resolved to work out strategies of forming a single tourism marketing board to promote our products in tourist source markets," she said.

"So far, Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda have agreed to implement the single tourist visa. It is our hope that Tanzania and Burundi will also join us," said Mrs Kandie.

Yesterday, Mombasa Governor Ali Hassan Joho told the Nation that the cultural event was successful as it attracted visitors from around the world.

He said the county would find ways of enhancing the festival to attract more tourists. "I am delighted that our cultural festival was able to attract the UNWTO secretary general and delegates who attended the East Africa Tourism Development forum," he said.

The governor said Mombasa would co-operate with the private sector in planning next year's festival to woo more local and international cultural enthusiasts and holidaymakers to the tourism hub.

Source: Tourism image gets major facelift

On Martha's Vineyard, black elites ponder the past year

EDGARTOWN, Mass. – For America's black elite, this year's seasonal sojourn to Martha's Vineyard turned into a soul-searching retreat.

The shooting of a young, unarmed black man in Ferguson, Mo., last year did little to disrupt the annual idyll of upper-class blacks on this island 1,200 miles away. Photos showed President Barack Obama dancing at a soiree for political power couple Vernon and Ann Jordan as Ferguson burned. The next afternoon he delivered an anodyne statement urging calm without mentioning race.

Story Continued Below

Obama returned this year for his sixth summer in office on Martha's Vineyard, the island off the Massachusetts coast that has been a vacation destination for upwardly mobile African Americans for more than a century. But this year, many of the black doctors, lawyers, executives, professors and politicians who gather here to enjoy the sunshine, surf and cultural events are grappling with the realization that there may not be quite as much to celebrate as they once hoped.

Yes, the country has been led by a black president for nearly seven years. But images from body cameras and smart phones that have splashed police killings of unarmed black men across televisions and the Internet over the past year have forced the black elite to recognize — along with the rest of America — that their highest tide has left some boats sinking faster than ever.

"Middle-class African-Americans, the upper echelon, need to be cognizant of that," said Linda D. Gaines, a regular summer resident of Martha's Vineyard. "We cannot go back to our comfortable abodes and forget the struggle even though we don't live next-door to less fortunate communities."

The strides African Americans have taken in the American political establishment are on full display here each year. While Martha's Vineyard has played host to black leaders for generations – Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X vacationed here – the top figures no longer lead protests. They lead the government.

Ten days ago, amid the starched white tablecloths, polished wood banquettes and French windows at the contemporary American restaurant Alchemy in tony Edgartown, the president and first lady may have been enticed by a cold summer squash soup with lump crab, fried oysters with remoulade and NY Strip-frites. They dined with close friends who happened to be the former attorney general (Eric Holder), the former U.S. trade representative (Ron Kirk) and the current national security adviser (Susan Rice).

The island doesn't just offer fun and games. Every year, in mid-August, the Vineyard also turns into think tank in paradise, convening discussions on issues relevant to the black community, who started flocking here more than a century ago. This year, four events in four days focused on policing reform, mass incarceration and how the protesters on the streets of cities including Ferguson and Baltimore (and the resulting hashtags on Twitter) are changing the face of the civil rights movement. Regular attendees couldn't recall such such consistent themes in the past.

Officer Darren Wilson shot Michael Brown on August 9, 2014. At the time, recalled Gaines, who currently works in political advocacy in Ohio, there wasn't a great sense of urgency on the island, as many believed "that somehow [in] what we see as a post-racial Obama era, that situations would begin to have an accountability."

But then a cop shot 12-year-old Tamir Rice on a playground. Video showed Eric Garner gasping for air. Freddie Gray died after a ride in a police van and Sandra Bland in a prison cell.

King-era civil rights activists said they were struck by the threat of violence so many young blacks face today.

"We didn't feel that there was a bulls-eye on our back," said Joyce Wilson Harley, 64, a vice president at Essex Community College and former mayor of South Orange, N.J., where she lives during the off-season. "There were doors closed to us that needed to be opened," she said, but the underlying problem of inequality has "taken on a deadliness that it didn't have before."

Obama and his friends at Alchemy reflect the success of the "politics of respectability" practiced by the older civil rights generation, Harley said. They went to elite universities, got prestigious jobs, built stable families (not uncommonly marrying into white ones) and eventually ascended to the traditional seats of political power.

By contrast, the Black Lives Matter movement is "coming from black folks at the margins," one of its co-founders, Patrisse Cullors, told a crowd of several hundred gathered at the elegant Harbor View Hotel, which looks out on Edgartown's quaint lighthouse.

"We're a generation that wore baggy pants and sagged them," said Cullors, 31, visiting the Vineyard for the first time.

For some, the inadequacy of the respectability approach has become clear in recent years.

"We as black people were kind of lulled," said Bithiah Carter, president of New England Blacks in Philanthropy, which seeks to increase the leverage of black donors. "We were lulled into thinking, I moved to the suburbs, I put my kids in good schools, I climbed my corporate ladder, I'm now making $200,000 a year. I'm a good Negro."

But after Trayvon Martin was killed, it became clear that even well-to-do black children could face discrimination – or worse — because of the color of their skin. "You just found out you really didn't matter," said Carter, in her late 40s, speaking at a forum organized by Harvard law professor Charles Ogletree in Oak Bluffs.

Others dismissed the idea that this was some sort of new discovery, even for the affluent.

"I don't think any of us feel we are at a place where we think, 'Oh, that wouldn't happen,'" said Michael Weekes, 62, CEO of the Massachusetts Council of Human Service Providers.

"That's a great equalizer. No matter how rich you are as an African American, you're still vulnerable," said Alan Jenkins, 52, executive director of the Opportunity Agenda, which co-hosted the forum with Cullors.

Indeed, the Vineyard set played a role in launching a discussion of race in America early in Obama's administration. In 2009, Harvard black history scholar Henry Louis Gates — a fixture on the summer scene — was arrested when he was locked out of his own Cambridge, Mass., home, and police thought he was an invader. In an offhand comment, Obama said the cops acted "stupidly," prompting a backlash so harsh that he barely talked about race again until Trayvon Martin was killed in 2012.

"If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon," Obama said in March of that year. He has increasingly talked about race in his second term, speaking in equally personal terms about the prisoners and ex-cons he's met as part of his push for sentencing reform to reduce mandatory criminal sentences that have disproportionately affected African-Americans.

But last year, when he delivered a statement urging calm in Ferguson from his vacation rental in Chilmark, Obama made no reference to the racial underpinnings of the unrest.

"I think he's been caught off guard, the way we have. He believed that once he got in, things would change," said Harley.

Even for those who didn't share that expectation, said Jenkins, the emerging national consensus around criminal justice reform is an "awakening for folks here who might have been a little jaded about the possibility."

The Black Lives Matter movement and its confrontational tactics also has the potential to shake the complacency of black donors, said Carter of New England Blacks in Philanthropy in an interview. For the most part, as blacks have moved up in conventional society, they've given to the same causes other affluent Americans traditionally have: the symphony, art museums.

"We have not always had a racial lens for those things," Carter said, adding that many "had taken for granted" that racial advocacy issues would get covered some other way.

"This is high time that we not take that for granted anymore and we ensure that our interest is served," Carter said.

Source: On Martha's Vineyard, black elites ponder the past year

Things are looking up for Coast as tourists flock back

Tourism at the Coast, which has been going through tough times, is having a welcome rebound.

The good times is signalled by the return of conference tourism with the holding of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation meeting in Mombasa, opened on Friday by Deputy President William Ruto.

Organisation's secretary-general Taleb Rifai urged international tourists to come to Kenya in droves to enjoy beach, safari and the diverse culture.

"Kenya is safe and that is why I am here to attend the East African Tourism development forum," he said.

"I appeal to tourists from around the world to now visit Kenya to have fun on the beaches and game drives in the parks as well as meet Kenyan friendly people," Mr Rifai said.

Speaking at the meeting held at Sarova Whitesands, Mr Ruto said East African countries were working towards forming security partnerships to tackling terrorism to make the region safe for locals and visitors.

Top police officials from the region, he said, had gathered in Naivasha to formulate ways of strengthening security cooperation.

He said Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi would also work together in border patrols to combat terror attacks across the region.

"In order for the East Africa destination to be safe for both locals and international visitors, the regional countries must fight terrorism together," Mr Ruto said.

"We must invest in security to make our region secure for tourism to grow," he added.

Hotels in Mombasa are doing roaring business thanks to the conference, school holidays and the international agricultural show.

Some hotels will be packed to capacity until tomorrow when more than 200 delegates attending the conference which ends today return home.

Domestic bookings have also soared due to the Mombasa International Agricultural Show which begins on August 26 and end on August 30.

Tourism Cabinet Secretary Phyllis Kandie welcomed the developments, saying the robust marketing the ministry had started on was beginning to bear fruit.

International tourists are coming in droves following the resumption of charter flights from Italy to Mombasa.

Last month, the flights at Moi International Airport increased from three to seven a week after Meridiana Fly and Neosair airlines from Italy resumed flights.

Hoteliers are also optimistic that international tourist arrivals would soar between October and December when tourists from Germany, UK, Holland and Scandinavian countries come for holiday.

Mr Ruto said the East African countries were also working towards marketing the region as a single destination. This would make the region attract more holidaymakers.

Mr Ruto said the five countries would address the bottlenecks which hinder smooth travel for the region to woo more tourists.

All countries in the region will implement the single tourist visa, he said.

"At the moment, we have Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda which reached an agreement in implementing the single tourist visa.

"We want our neighbours Tanzania to join us so that we can realize the benefits of tourism for the region," he added.

The Kenyan government had set aside Sh5.2 billion for marketing to revamp the ailing sector.

Mr Ruto added that efforts to market Kenya in West Africa had paid dividends as tourists from Nigeria and Ghana were on the increase.

He thanked Mr Rifai for supporting Kenya's tourism sector.

The forum was organised by the UN World Tourism Organisation and the Government and was attended by participants from 10 countries including  Kenya, Uganda, Seychelles, South Sudan, Tanzania and Rwanda.

Mr Rifai called on African countries to unite in combating terrorism. He said although the continent had great potential for tourism, the sector had been facing challenges of political strife and terrorism."African countries must work together to address security challenges for tourism to perform well as the continent has good tourist products," he said.

"Last year, the continent received 56 million international tourists. There is still room for growth if countries do joint marketing," he said.

Africa must remain relevant in an increasingly competitive global market place, he said.

Source: Things are looking up for Coast as tourists flock back

UN endorses Kenya as safe tourism destination

UN World Tourism Organisation secretary-general Taleb Rifai (second right) is received at the Moi International Airport yesterday by Lamu County tourism executive Samia Omar (left), Mombasa County tourism executive Joab Tumbo (second left) and Tononoka ward representative Saad Faraj on August 20, 2015. PHOTO | WACHIRA MWANGI  

By MATHIAS RINGA, mringa@ke.nationmedia.comPosted  Friday, August 21  2015 at  04:00

Kenya's tourism Thursday received a boost after a UN agency endorsed the country as a safe destination amid a sharp drop in arrivals. 

The UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) secretary-general Taleb Rifai, who arrived in Mombasa Thursday to attend the East African Tourism Development forum, expressed confidence in the sector's growth.

The number of visitors to Kenya fell by 25 per cent in the first five months of 2015, reflecting how badly the industry has been damaged by a spate of militant attacks that have killed hundreds.

"I am confident of the Kenyan destination. I can even bring my family tomorrow," he said. "Terrorism is not a Kenyan challenge, but a worldwide issue. It is not fair to say that terrorism is a Kenyan problem," Mr Rifai said.

He said that terrorism is a global phenomenon, adding that France, the US, Bangkok and Thailand have suffered terror attacks too.

Al-Shabaab militants have hit a number of Kenyan targets in the past two years killing more than 400 people.

The attacks triggered travel warnings by Britain, the United States and Australia, among others.

Speaking to journalists shortly after arriving at the Moi International Airport, Mombasa, the UNWTO chief said he was attending the East Africa Tourism Development forum as a show of support for Kenya.

"I am impressed by the resilience of the Kenya Coast people. In less than six months tourism has started to pick up," he said. Mr Rifai called on tourism stakeholders not to depend on European tourist source markets to revive the sector.

"I know the European market is important for your tourism sector, but don't put your eggs in one basket," he said.

"In times of trouble it is your neighbours who can cushion your industry against low numbers of European visitors," he said.

Visitor numbers fell to 284,313 in five months to May compared to 381,278 in the same period last year, a 25.4 per cent drop. This followed a 4.3 per cent fall a year before. The number of visitors from Britain fell by 35 per cent to 36,022 in the period.

Tourist arrivals from the United States dropped 22 per cent to 30,083.

Tourism is a vital foreign exchange earner for Kenya, which boasts palm-fringed beaches and safari trails, but a two-year slump has forced hotels to close and cut jobs sending the shilling to new lows.

Source: UN endorses Kenya as safe tourism destination

Surprise : Chelsea will be Pedro’s next destination !

After being massively linked to Manchester United , it seems that Pedro Rodriguez 's next destination will be Chelsea,as announced by the English press .

"Daily Mail" reported the news saying that Pedro made this decision especially that Manchester United refused to pay 25 million euros to FC Barcelona to sign him .

The same magazine added that Chelsea will pay 21 million pounds and that the Catalan club accepted to close the deal !

Copyright : Starafrica.com

About The Author
Source: Surprise : Chelsea will be Pedro's next destination !

Passenger takes solo flight from South Africa to Zimbabwe

A lucky passenger rode solo from Johannesburg, South Africa to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. (iStock)

A man flying Air Zimbabwe from Johannesburg, South Africa to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe last month was treated to a personalized flight and a once in a lifetime experience, Today.com reported.

Talk about eerie, former World Chess Championship finalist Nigel Short was the lone passenger aboard the 105-seat Boeing 737 departing Johannesburg for the world's largest waterfall.

"I went to check in and they said don't be late because we only have four passengers," Short told Today.com. "So, I got to my gate on time and there was no one there. I was uncomfortable because I thought maybe I made a mistake or arrived too early. The gate listed on my ticket was correct, so I went back four or five times and there was still no sign of anyone."

The flight crew eventually arrived to inform Short that he would be traveling solo. 

After moving from his assigned aisle seat to one of the many available window seats, Short received a personalized safety demonstration and announcements from the flight crew.

"They would say things like, 'Mr. Short, we're beginning our descent,'" he told Today.com.

Despite the lack of passengers, Short opted to remain in economy.

Acting Air Zimbabwe CEO Edmund Makona's personal assistant Emma Benhura explained why the deserted flight wasn't canceled via NewsDay:

"Please be advised that the aircraft in question operated Victoria Falls-Bulawayo then Johannesburg and it became necessary for operational reasons to position the aircraft to Victoria Falls to operate a scheduled flight Victoria Falls-Harare. The flight had therefore been rescheduled and some of the booked passengers had opted for other earlier flights."

Ironically, Short's unique journey to his destination became arguably a more memorable experience than the trip itself. "The Falls were great," he told Today.com. "But, I can't imagine I'll have such an experience like the flight ever again."

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5 Canyons You Have To See To Believe

Source: Passenger takes solo flight from South Africa to Zimbabwe

Lessons for Kenyan entrepreneurs from Two Rivers

Two rivers artist impression

NAIROBI: In the last five years, there have been indications that Kenya is going global. The most obvious sign has been the increasing business interest from international brands looking to set up in Africa and choosing Nairobi as a destination and launch pad.

Developments in the real estate sector have put into perspective just how sought after Kenya is. One of the latest developments is Two Rivers, arguably the biggest construction project in East and Central Africa.

On completion, the 102-acre project will become the second destination mall in Nairobi. The first is the 32-acre Garden City, which completed its first phase and opened its doors to the public in May.

Here are some of the lessons entrepreneurs can take away from Business Beat's visit to Two Rivers.

1. THINK GLOBAL, ACT LOCAL

According to Knight Frank's 2015 report on Africa, since 2000, the continent has had an average growth of over 5 per cent per annum, with the Sub-Saharan region averaging growth of close to 6 per cent.

The larger emerging economies of this region, such as Nigeria, Kenya, Angola and Ethiopia, have been key drivers of the continent's growth.

Two Rivers is being developed by Athena Properties, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed Centum Investment Company.

The mixed-use real estate development firm — whose average staff age is 27 — has looked inward for growth, and its move is backed by solid numbers.

Kenya is East Africa's largest economy, with a gross domestic product of $62.7 billion (Sh6.4 trillion). The country is also ranked a middle income nation, following a recalculation of the value of the goods and services it produces in 2014, which made it the ninth-largest economy in Africa.

These figures illustrate that spending power is on the rise, and with it, demand for international products from a customer base exposed to global brands.

Two Rivers' retail mall, which will occupy 11 acres and is already 62 per cent let, will host several international stores, some of which will be flagships for Africa, and others for East Africa.

Source: Lessons for Kenyan entrepreneurs from Two Rivers

Kenya to host East African Tourism Development Forum

Government of Kenya will be co-hosting the forum with UNWTO

By Beth Nyaga

Tourism players from around the region and key stakeholders in Kenya will converge in Mombasa this week to explore ways of unlocking East Africa's tourism potential through the creation of a joint marketing platform. 

The East Africa Tourism Development Forum will be held under the auspices of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) at the Sarova Whitesands on August 20-22.

The forum, which will be chaired by the UNWTO Secretary General Dr. Taleb Rifai, will host discussions concerning intra-Africa opportunities in tourism while strengthening regional cooperation.

250 participants from 10 countries including Ministers from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Seychelles, the Secretary General of the East African Community among other senior staff from the sector are expected to attend the meeting whose theme is "Connecting Opportunity".

It will seek ways of enhancing the visibility of the East African market within a highly competitive global tourism environment.

The Cabinet Secretary Ministry of East Africa Affairs, Commerce and Tourism Hon. Phyllis Kandie said the forum will provide a valuable opportunity to position the region as a single destination.

"The idea is to showcase East Africa to a wider global audience. One of the key issues on the table is how to build the image of the region as a tourism destination," said Hon Kandie.

The Government of Kenya will be co-hosting the forum with UNWTO.

"This is one of a series of major events we hope to capitalize on to build the Kenyan tourism brand," the Cabinet Secretary added.

The forum next week will be held against the backdrop of a strong push especially by UNWTO for countries to form regional tourism clusters. Such groupings, it is argued, would provide an effective marketing platform beyond individual country destinations.

Incidentally, it comes hot on the heels of another major tourism conference to be held on August 17-19 in Accra, Ghana.

Dubbed Enhancing Brand Africa, the Accra conference will seek to create synergies among African countries in promoting a common African Tourism Brand.

Source: Kenya to host East African Tourism Development Forum

African migrant found curled up in spare wheel well of a car in desperate bid to make it into Spanish territory

Three men tried to cross the Moroccan border into Spanish enclave Melilla

One hid in wheel well as two others squeezed into 'fake bottom' of the car

They could barely move or breathe due to cramped space, exhaust gases

Car's driver arrested, accused of 'crime against rights of foreign citizens'

By Jay Akbar For Mailonline

Published: 02:58 EST, 15 August 2015 | Updated: 07:02 EST, 15 August 2015

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An African migrant was found hiding in the spare wheel well of a car in a desperate attempt to reach Spanish territory.

He was one of three migrants - aged 18 to 25 - who squeezed into hidden compartments as they tried to cross the Moroccan border into Melilla, a Spanish city in north Africa.

They were all critically ill when discovered by border police on Wednesday, the Spanish government said.

Stoaway: An African migrant was found curled up in the spare wheel well of a car as it tried to cross the Moroccan border into the Spanish enclave of Melilla

African migrants are taking increasingly measure to reach Europe and thousands have died making the voyage across the Mediterranean.

Only last week, a Moroccan man suffocated to death as he was smuggled to Spain inside a suit case which was stowed in the boot of a car.  

One of the migrants, who wore a white vest and black shorts, was curled up into a small spare wheel well of the car.

The two others were found inside a false bottom constructed for the vehicle, photographs released by the Interior Ministry showed.

They could barely move - or breathe - due to the cramped conditions, extreme heat and exhaust gases. All of them recovered after they were given emergency treatment.

The three men - two from Guinea and one from Ivory Coast - were discovered by border police at a crossing between M orocco and the Spanish enclave of Melilla.

Desperate: The man in the wheel well and his two companions were critically ill when they were discovered by police on Wednesday and needed immediate emergency treatment

They searched the car because it looked suspicious and eventually arrested the 39-year-old Spanish driver who is accused of 'crime against the rights of foreign citizens'.

While they failed to reach their desired destination, more than 200,000 African migrants have successfully crossed the Mediterranean into Europe this year

Financially struggling Greece has taken in around 134,000 migrants, the Geneva-based International Organisation For Migration (IOM) said Friday.

Italy had recorded 93,540 newcomers by the end of July and tens of thousands had crossed into Malta and Spain in 2015.

The IOM predicts that 250,000 migrants will have arrived in Europe by August. Only 219,000 made the risky crossing in the whole of 2014. 

At least 2,300 people have died trying to make the journey.

Source: African migrant found curled up in spare wheel well of a car in desperate bid to make it into Spanish territory

Meeting to chart route for tourism marketing

Investors in tourism in Kenya and around the region meet in Mombasa from next week to create a joint marketing platform.

The East Africa Tourism Development Forum at the Sarova Whitesands, will be used to explore ways of unlocking the region's tourism potential.

It will be held under the auspices of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation.

It will be chaired by the organisation's secretary-general, Dr Taleb Rifai, and will host discussions on intra-Africa opportunities while strengthening regional cooperation.

Over 250 participants expected to attend will come from 10 countries including Ministers from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Seychelles and the secretary-general of the East African Community.

The meeting's theme is "Connecting Opportunity" and will seek ways of enhancing the visibility of the East African market in the highly competitive global tourism.

Kenya's tourism Cabinet Secretary Phyllis Kandie said the forum will provide an important opportunity to market the region as a single destination.

"The idea is to showcase East Africa to a wider global audience. One of the key issues on the table is how to build the image of the region as a tourism destination," Mrs Kandie said.

Kenya seeks to lure tourists back to the coastal town of Mombasa that has experienced a slump blamed on attacks from the Somali militant group Al Shabaab.

In September last year, the UK relaxed a travel advisory to Nairobi apart from Eastleigh, but maintained a warning for Mombasa and towns bordering Somalia.

Britain, the source of more than half the country's tourists, lifted a travel advisory covering most of the Coast in June, setting the stage for recovery.

Kenya is also riding on the successful visit of United States President Barack Obama with over 3,000 investors during the Global Entrepreneurship Summit to keep the tempo up.

The United Nations World Tourism Organisation has been pushing for countries to form regional tourism clusters. Such groupings, it is argued, would provide an effective marketing platform beyond individual country destinations.

The Thursday meeting will come in the wake of another major tourism conference to be held in Accra, Ghana next week, seeking to create synergies among African countries in promoting a common continental brand.

Source: Meeting to chart route for tourism marketing

A Big Shiny Guide to African Safaris

There's nothing like your first time -- first time taking a safari, that is. Deciding to do one is easy (yes, a resounding yes), but picking a destination is more difficult -- what with a long list of magnificent countries to choose from. To help, here's a handy overview of when to go, what you'll see and where to stay.

Across the board in Africa, August through October is prime safari season. While there are never any guarantees with wildlife, this timeframe is when you're most likely to see most species - it's the dry and everybody's mingling around waterholes. But let's take it country-by-country, and hone in on some of the highest rated lodges, because, hey, on the off chance you don't catch a glimpse of your fave creature, a comfy bed, big bath and fine dining can relieve any disappointment. Most are all-inclusive so that makes things extra easy.

BotswanaNorthern Botswana is the hot spot for elephants, and a boat cruise down the Chobe River is a great way to see them. The abundant Okavango Delta is home to big cats, wild dogs and birds galore. Meerkat lovers should head to Makgadikgadi Pans. That area gets busy with migrating zebras, and in turn predators, come December.

Abu Camp offers elephant-back safaris -- a unique way to see the rich Okavango Delta region. The tent accommodations feel at one with nature while still being really, really ridiculously luxurious.

Savute Elephant Camp in Chobe National Park is for those who'd rather just watch those largest of land animals -- they're known to just amble by. Right on the river, it draws a lot of thirsty beasts.

San Camp is another tented oasis, one that makes guests feel like the region's original explorers, albeit cushier. Its place on the edge of the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans p rovides easy access to meerkat territory.

Kenya

The popular Maasai Mara is a goldmine -- big cats, elephants, hippos, giraffe, crocs, baboons and the largest antelope, just to name a few -- and it too plays host to the epic wildebeest migration through October. A quieter but no less astounding spot is Meru National Park, made famous by the lioness Elsa immortalized in the book and Oscar-winning film Born Free, and home to a black and white rhino sanctuary.

Olarro is perched on a hillside with jaw-dropping views in close proximity to the Maasai Mara National Reserve. The ways to see wildlife here are varied -- in addition to the 4x4 variety, there's helicopter and balloon options.

Elsa's Kopje Private House, so named for the f amed lioness and situated above George Adamson's original camp, also offers bird's eye views, but from Mughwango Hill overlooking Meru National Park. The thatched roofs and earthy décor blend into the background so as not to inhibit the natural beauty.

Namibia

A range of wildlife is seen at Etosha National Park. The many waterholes around its salt pan draw a crowd in the dry season, including rhino, elephant and rare black-faced impala. Lions drop by too, either to drink or ambush prey.

Villa Mushara lies near Etosha, and offers but two 1,400-square-foot villas for an exclusive experience. A dip in the swimming pool may offer extra entertainment should a kudu or warthog decide to chill out in the grass just beyond.

Rwanda

Here, it's all about the mountain gorillas, the ones made famous by naturalist Dian Fossey. They live on the slopes of the Virunga Volcanoes, a few hours from the Rwandan capital, Kigali.

Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge, with volcanoes in sight, offers the ultimate gorilla experience. They'll clean your boots after you get back from your mountain trek, but even better than that, they're operated by a community trust that works on further conservation and protection initiatives in the park.

South Africa

A diverse landscape -- desert, woodland, mountains, ocean -- provides the country a diverse cast of creatures. The sou theast corner's slew of game reserves provide the Big Five -- lion, elephant, buffalo, leopard and rhino. For leopards, Sabi Sands is the place, while Timbavati is where you'll find white lions -- those rare cats with a recessive gene that makes them paler than most. Adorably coy aardvarks and multitudes of meerkats await in Tswalu Kalahari. And you can also get a dose of marine species such as penguins, whales and sharks with a trip down to Cape Town.

&Beyond Exeter River Lodge lives on the Sand River in the Sabi Sand Game Reserve. The private verandas are perfect for watching the river and wildlife roll by, with glass of wine in hand, naturally.

Ngala Tented Safari Camp has the seasonal Timbavati River running through it. Raised off the ground, the tent-style accommodations leave a light footprint. Here's where to stay for proximity to those regal white lions.

Tswalu Kalahari Reserve has rolling dunes within view, the property also offers horseback safaris. W hen not on game drives to see black rhinos and black maned lions, there are also archeological explorations and hot-air balloon rides.

Tanzania

Here the Big Five are easy to see. There's even a chance of glimpsing the critically endangered black rhino. In the northern Serengeti, the start of the dry season is the time to watch wildebeest migration, while January and February is when the calves arrive. The Serengeti is also the spot for big cats and the endangered African wild dog.

The Retreat Selous lives within the largest protected wildlife sanctuary in Africa. With its position on the banks of the Ruaha River, canoe adventures are readily available and it attracts more than 400 kinds of birds. The truly adventurous can hit the road and try nomadic tenting.

Ngoro ngoro Crater Lodge has three camps that operate independently, with the Tree Camp being the most secluded. As the name suggests, it's near the Ngoronogoro Crater which puts that region's resident black rhino population in reach.

Singita Grumeti Reserves, Faru Faru Lodge borders the Serengeti National Park, and its own surrounding grasslands boast antelopes and exotic birds to watch in the restful moments between game drives.

Uganda

Like Rwanda, Uganda offers amazing access to mountain gorillas, and other primates too, with around 20 species including chimpanzees. For big game head to national parks such as Queen Elizabeth, Lake Mburo or Kidepo.

Sanctuary Gorilla Forest Camp takes you deep into the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, a U NESCO World Heritage Site, where some 350 gorillas roam. That's a treat, and so is their spa.

Apoka Lodge is Kidepo National Park is authentic luxury -- the savannah-inspired accommodation is made of wood, thatch and canvas. In the morning, track game along the riverbed; in the afternoon, cool off in the property's rock pool.

Zambia

Kafue National Park, one of the biggest in Africa, teems with both herbivores and carnivores, in particular it's known for cheetah. If it's leopards you're after, Lower Zambezi is the park. The only real game the Victoria Falls area offers is a few protected white rhino, other than that it's mostly bird-watching and adventuring.

Kapinga Camp in Kafue only has four rooms ensuring its small group of guests get proper attention. In the Bu sanga Plains wetlands witness buffalo, cheetah, lion, and zebra from the deck, as well as venturing out for day or night drives.

Royal Zambezi Lodge sits on the banks of the Zambezi River and that means water activities -- casting for tiger-fish and canoeing to see crocodiles and hippos. The property also has one of Zambia's only spas to pamper you après-safari.

The River Club lies further up the Zambezi by the famed Victoria Falls. It too will boat you by hippos and crocs, but also boasts manicured gardens well-suited to croquet. Bungee jump off the Falls or simply fall into the Club's riverside infinity pool.

Zimbabwe

With President Mugabe's dubious rule and Cecil the lion scandal, Zimbabwe isn't the safari Mecca it once was. However, the private Malilangwe Wilderness Reserve h as protected itself from much of that, escaping heavy poaching that the country's political upheaval has wrought. In addition to the Big Five, they like to show off their Little Six -- six species of smaller antelope. The country also has its side of Victoria Falls for a natural wonder of another kind.

Singita Pamushana Lodge is one of only two in the Malilangwe Reserve, and it's magical. Inside, bright colors abound, and outside, ethereal flora casts its spell. There are twice daily game drives, and also tours to 2000-year-old San Bushman rock art.

The Victoria Falls Hotel on the Zimbabwe side of the Falls provides a very different Colonial-era experience with four-poster beds and antiques. Here, elephant-back safaris and canoeing are options, as well as the high adrenaline activities the area offers.

Source: A Big Shiny Guide to African Safaris

Dan Reed: U.S. airlines play the role of cowardly lions

Paula French/AP

The well-known, protected lion known as Cecil was killed by Walter Palmer, an American dentist who paid to hunt the animal. Outrage over the killing led the Big Three U.S. airlines to ban the carriage of some big-game trophies from Africa.

It's ironic that it took the killing of a lion, the animal most closely associated with the noble quality of courage, to expose the cowardice of the Big Three U.S. airlines — Delta, United and American.

Everyone by now knows the story of Cecil, the African lion killed by a Minnesota dentist who paid $50,000 for a guided safari. Whether the kill was legal or not remains unclear. But Zimbabwe, hardly a shining example of probity under the nearly 30-year rule of the brutal kleptocrat Robert Mugabe, seeks the dentist's extradition even though the country aggressively markets big-game hunting licenses to Western hunters.

But the glaring absence of legal facts did not keep a relatively small but well-connected minority of Americans from roaring loudly. About 400,000 signed an online petition demanding that U.S. airlines stop allowing the transport of big-game trophies.

They did, in an amazingly quick demonstration of spinelessness.

Delta, which carried the lion's share of big-game trophies back from Africa because it actually offers nonstop service between the United States and five African destinations, caved. American and United, in pathetic fits of me-too-ishness, immediately imposed similar bans. Arguably their cowardice is all the greater because they're banning the shipment of items that they likely did not carry much or at all. United serves only one African destination; American none.

The reality is that big-game trophies represent a teeny-tiny slice of airline revenue.

Delta reported carrying cargo — all cargo — accounted for $207,000 million in revenue for the recently ended quarter. That's less than 2 percent of all total second-quarter revenue. Big-game trophies made up just a tiny portion of that, not even a rounding error in the big picture.

So the airlines' sudden shift in policy can hardly be considered brave or courageous. At the very best, those were incredibly cynical decisions made to deflect criticism on a subject of virtually no economic importance. In other words: corporate cowardice.

So what's the social, political or economic calculations behind the decision to ban the transport of big-game trophies from Africa?

Note that there is no moral calculation involved. All three still carry big-game trophies from other parts of the world, and even African trophies other than those from the "Big Five" species — lions, leopards, elephants, cape buffaloes and rhinoceros.

Also, the numbers and the dollars don't support a business-driven decision. In fact, if anything, banning the transport of big-game trophies is likely to stir up more opposition among the much larger number of people who either hunt or don't object to hunting — who probably resent companies that establish policies they view as intended to shame them.

So that leaves political correctness as the only plausible reason, and that's a very dangerous, infested swamp into which corporations should rarely, if ever, wade.

What are they going to do when the next loud roar comes from some offended, outraged group? What if People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals demands that they stop accepting luggage made of leather? Or what will airlines, which actually have a thriving business in the transport of fresh flowers from South America, do when child-labor activists demand that they stop carrying child-picked blooms?

The list could go on, limited only by the imagination of people who can conjure up a sense of outrage over virtually any subject.

The point is that airlines — really, any company — ought to stay out of such debates if at all possible. Americans really don't like it when the companies lecture or shame them on subjects about which people of good will and sound reasoning can and do disagree.

Remember when Starbucks asked baristas to talk to customers about race? Millions of Americans told Starbucks exactly where it could stick its socially conscious cups of skinny latte, and Starbucks shut the campaign down.

Just as Starbucks overstepped its bounds then, Delta, United and American have overstepped their bounds in making a weak-minded decision regarding the transport of African big-game trophies. The same would be true had they previously refused to carry trophies but responded to pro-hunting groups' outrage by starting to allow such shipments.

Indeed, South African Airways did just that. Earlier this year it had made the decision to stop carrying big-game trophies on its aircraft. But once the U.S. carriers went all high-and-mighty, SAA reversed course and resumed carrying hunters' trophies.

In SAA's case, at least, the carrier was bending to financial motive and national loyalty to supporting South Africa's tourism trade. But America's Big Three lack even that excuse for their flip-flops.

Veteran journalist Dan Reed lives in Fort Worth. He has covered airlines and the travel industry since 1982. Reach him at danielfreed@sbcglobal.net.

Source: Dan Reed: U.S. airlines play the role of cowardly lions

TFTA: Africa's Crucial Inflection Point

On June 10, 2015, at the 25th African Union Summit in Cairo, Egypt, African leaders signed the Tripartite Free Trade Agreement (TFTA). Prior to its signing, the agreement had been in negotiations for seven years.

Several bodies have existed in Africa to foster regional economic integration: the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the East African Community (EAC), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD), the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), and the Arab Maghreb Union (UMA).

TFTA intends to unite three of these existing blocks, SADC, EAC, and COMESA, into one unified region. In doing so, the agreement renews the long-standing dream of an economically-integrated entity stretching from Cairo, Egypt to Cape Town, South Africa.

If ratified, the agreemen t will create the largest free trade zone in the continent's history with a membership of over 26 African states, a population of 632 million, an area of 17.3 million square kilometers, total trade of US$1.2 trillion, and 60% of continental output.

TFTA also establishes a framework to bring in the Central and West African nations that are currently excluded from the agreement at a later date, which would create an even larger free trade zone across the entire continent.

Details of the TFTATFTA seeks to fulfill three main pillars: market integration, infrastructure development and industrial development.

In terms of intra-regional trade flows, Africa is the least economically integrated region in the world with intracontinental trade constituting around 10% of its total trade. In sharp contrast, within both Europe and Asia, intracontinental trade constitutes around 60% of the totals.

One of the primary reasons for the deal is the desire to ease the movement of goods across the continent. TFTA would benefit the organization's member states, foreign investors, and African citizens by more readily harnessing the potential of the continent's people both as a labor force and rapidly growing consumer base.

However, going forward, TFTA will confront a number of obstacles that have reduced the effectiveness of other free trade zones both within and outside of Africa. In order for TFTA to capitalize fully upon its potential, it must recognize these challenges and avoid falling victim to the mistakes of the past.

Challenges to Implementation1. The Scale of the Effort

TFTA requires approval from three-fourths of the 26 states to enter into force. Furthermore, even after ratification, in order to be successful, the agreement has to bind together and unify drastically different economies and regulatory regimes. In this regard, the sheer scale of the task may prove troublesome.

The Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), anothe r ambitious, continent-spanning free trade zone, is all but defunct for similar reasons.

2. The Inertia of the Status Quo

The larger, more advanced economies of Africa possess industries and companies that would probably displace or absorb those of the continent's smaller states. While this transformation would probably lead to a more productive reconfiguration of capital, it also requires large-scale economic disruption, at least in the short-term. This would be especially true for states with small economies that currently produce few exportable goods. Without addressing the free flow of people, this aspect of TFTA may sow the seeds for the type of economic resentment that is currently gripping the EU. Worse yet, this may herald the return of beggar-thy-neighbor policies that will not only set the ambitious trade agreement back, but also may trigger wider regional instability and resource crises.

Troublingly, periods of economic disruption, especially when ex acerbated by the presence of inefficient, corrupt institutions and ethno-religious heterogeneity, can catalyze armed conflict and violence. For example, from the mid-1980s onward, East Asian imports decimated the mostly industrial economy of northern Nigeria and created conditions amenable to the rise of groups such as Boko Haram. Considering the economic and political risks involved with ratification, many parliaments may simply veto the TFTA treaty.

3. Non-tariff barriers to trade (NTBs)

Following the model of Africa's previous free trade areas, TFTA intends to reduce tariffs between its member states. Fatima Haram Acyl, the African Union Commissioner for Trade and Industry, has recently cited the EAC as a model of tariff reduction for TFTA to follow.

However, many doubt that the tariff reduction that Africa's regional blocs have undertaken has actually improved the intraregional trade of their members. In regard to the performance of the East Africa Community (E AC), Jeffrey Lamoureux, an expert on African economic institutions, states, "For every step toward liberalization made, an equal step is taken backward. So, for example, the reduction in headline tariff rates has been accompanied by, if anything, a retrenchment of non-tariff barriers to trade (NTBs)."

If TFTA members continue to overemphasize tariff reduction as a metric for institutional success, they will continue to suffer from the same myopia that has marred EAC and the other regional blocs.

4. Lack of Infrastructure

While African states have been attempting to pursue economic integration since the colonial period, the poor quality of interstate infrastructure has proved to be a persistent stumbling block.

In addition to being the largest free trade zone in Africa, TFTA would be the most geographically expansive free trade zone over contiguous land, creating an added burden to bring the region's infrastructure up to par.

Hopefully, the advent of the new agreement will help spur much-needed infrastructure developments, including interconnected systems of roads, bridges, airports, and internet and electricity networks.

5. Institutional Weakness

The last major factor undermining EAC, SADC, and COMESA has been the lack of courts that are able to enforce effective compliance among their member states and the existence of active opposition to their establishment and jurisdiction.

While nearly all of Africa's economic organizations possess a judicial body of some sort or another, they are unable to enforce their decisions. Moreover, the courts have seen their enumerated powers erode merely for levying politically unpopular decisions. For example, in 2010, following a series of unfavorable rulings against Zimbabwe's government and its long-time president Robert Mugabe, SADC's leaders suspended its Tribunal indefinitely.

While there has been significant talk of reconstituting the SADC Tribunal on a more limited basis, the fact that a regional strongman was able, with relative ease, to pressure other leaders to dissolve and dismember it does not bode well for the impartiality and strength of such institutions in the future. As Lamoreux states, "I don't expect that the TFTA will have much of an ability to ensure compliance and I would think that would seriously undercut its effectiveness."

Future of the TFTA Going ForwardMost predict that TFTA will take effect in 2017. At the same time, on June 15, at another AU meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa, African leaders initiated negotiations to expand TFTA to the West African states that it currently excludes.

On the heels of President Obama's state visits to Kenya and Ethiopia, political commitment to TFTA can not only spur a wave of regional trade, but also it can accelerate the rate and permanence for foreign direct investment (FDI) to the region. As the continent is already the fastest growing FDI recipient, the story of Afri ca being merely a destination for extractive investors is beginning to change. Nairobi's vibrant entrepreneurial and technical hubs and the advent of global African entrepreneurs are emblematic of this change.

Successful implementation of TFTA will solidify Africa's role on the global economic stage.

Source: TFTA: Africa's Crucial Inflection Point

Is East Africa The Next Hub For Fashion?!

Photo: WENN  

European-centric companies such as H&M, Primark, and Tesco are all uprooting themselves from Queen Elizabeth and attempting to source their garments to East Africa.

Since 2013, the fashion apparel industry has looked to East African countries as Ethiopia and Kenya as potential sourcing destinations. Add to the mix the renewal of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and you have certain countries in sub-Saharan Africa that are opening up duty-free access to the U.S. market.

Do these factors contribute to East Africa being the next major garment-sourcing hub? McKinsey created a study that took place across the continent, where factories in Kenya and Ethiopia were visited, stakeholders, manufacturers and buyers were interviewed — and market data was analyzed. To drill down the point a bit, 40 apparel CPOs representing a combined $70 billion in purchasing volume in 2014, responded to the survey.

Nearly three-quarters of the respondents to said survey mentioned that they expect to reduce their purchases from Chinese firms. This means that China will continue to take a major hit in the industry, yet it doesn't seem it'll stop the billion dollar export apparel industry for a few years. While Bangladesh remains at the top of the list of future sourcing destinations, sub-Saharan Africa will have the highest growth in working-age population anywhere over the next 20 years.

According to United Nations projections, by 2035, the working-age population is expected to be as large as China's today with more than 900 million people filling the labor pool. This statistic alone captures the essence of those intrigued by where the apparel industry is headed. When it comes to countries specifically like Ethiopia and Kenya, and to a lesser extent Uganda and Tanzania, the governments have already begun to develop its domestic textile and garment industries.

For example, barely 7 percent of that land is being used today in Ethiopia. Organic-cotton cultivation suffered a setback after garment manufacturers became entangled in land-grabbing accusations in Ethiopia's Omo Vally. Eighty percent of the CPOs in the McKinsey survey believes that production efficiency and long-lead times are major issues. 80 percent also cited production inefficiency as a challenge to the growth of apparel sourcing in Ethiopia. The government is already attempting to tackle these issues.

In terms of what's going on in Kenya's garment factories, it is quite the opposite as to what's happening in Ethiopia. The market has grown impressively in recent years thanks to foreign direct investments from Asia, the Middle East, and the Export Processing Zones developed by the Kenyan government. According to McKinsey, factories have grown larger and more efficient, employing more than 1,000 employees on average when compared with around 560 in the year 2000.

However, within Kenya's borders, there is a lack of local upstream industry. Manufacturers must import fabrics which means longer lead times and delays. It could take up to 40 days just for fabrics to make its way through customs into a garment factory. High labor costs and paltry monthly wages for garment works make honing the apparel industry an uphill battle. Include energy costs, because the power supply is spotty, and factories are spending four times as much just to keep the lights on.

How will East Africa's government overcome these startling issues to become a new fashion superpower? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!

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Source: Is East Africa The Next Hub For Fashion?!

UN Branding Africa Conference launched

The Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts announced that a United Nations Conference on Branding Africa will be hosted by Ghana from Monday 17th to 19th August this year.

The sector Minister, Mrs. Elizabeth Ofosu-Agyare noted that the conference will among other thing analyze the situation of Branding Africa and its impact on tourism on the continent.

She said the conference will draw together the Secretary General of the United Nations World Trade Organization [UNWTO] and so far 24 African Tourism Ministers have confirmed their participation at the upcoming conference.

Discussions at the conference includes positioning, branding, e-communications and media relations as well as crisis communication, public/private partnerships [PPP], resources and capacity building.

Mrs. Ofosu-Agyare indicated that in 2014, Africa received 56 million international tourists up from 26 million in 2000, Ghana had 1 million of the total figure.

She stated that Af rica recorded US$36 billion international tourism receipts [7% of all exports on the continent].

According to her, the conference is aimed at setting a common action plan to advance Africa's image and brand as the preferred tourism destination.

The Minister added that the conference will strike a balance between National Tourism Organizations and private sector operators as tour operators and travel agencies.

She noted that the event will create the required synergies among African countries towards greater co-operation in a common African Tourism Brand.

"The conference will explore how African destinations can successfully build a strong brand in an increasingly competitive market place and changing global business environment," she stated.

The Minister indicated that the conference will identify key challenges facing African countries as well as exchange national experience on country branding and tourism branding.

She added that the confe rence is funded by the United Nations [UN] with support from Ghana.

The sector Minister noted that the conference which was slated for last year 2014 failed due to the outbreak of the Ebola.

She said the effects of Ebola epidemic retarded progress in the tourism sector and as a result creating a negative perception of Africa even though only four countries were affected by the Ebola but it has been put up in the media as if the whole of Africa was affected by the Ebola pandemic.

She concluded that the conference will build the capacity in Africa for the realization of a strong image and brand which is fundamental to achieving a resilient tourism sector.

By Abubakari Seidu Ajarfor, [email protected]

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Source: UN Branding Africa Conference launched