t2011
Full Member
Posts: 173
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Post by t2011 on Aug 4, 2014 13:54:23 GMT 3
African leaders are jokers imagine almost 40 heads of states will be in the USA at ago with an entourage of not less than 40 hirelings .
What a waste of resources imagine 40x40 is 400 people each spending not less than $10000 on upkeep and transport that is a whooping $4,000,000 in just 3 or 4 days without adding other hidden costs ,what a waste then what they will get is a dress down on poor governance and corruption . And these same leaders once said kwani amerika ni mbinguni.
Shame on them
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Post by stranger1in3 on Aug 5, 2014 16:33:45 GMT 3
African leaders are jokers imagine almost 40 heads of states will be in the USA at ago with an entourage of not less than 40 hirelings . What a waste of resources imagine 40x40 is 400 people each spending not less than $10000 on upkeep and transport that is a whooping $4,000,000 in just 3 or 4 days without adding other hidden costs ,what a waste then what they will get is a dress down on poor governance and corruption . And these same leaders once said kwani amerika ni mbinguni. Shame on them t2011,am sorry to point out to you that you seem to have a very weak grasp of the geo-political and economic direction the world is taking. China and Japan have previously hosted delegations from Africa.Trade and Politics form the core of this summit.A small reminder,check your math above,its off the mark! |
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t2011
Full Member
Posts: 173
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Post by t2011 on Aug 5, 2014 23:01:46 GMT 3
A stranger in a strangeland sorry pal you will soon get your direction . Mr my Figures are very right unless you don't know how much expensive is washington Dc .
This is not river road where a room is 1200kshs pole bro.
Mark you there is no way USA government can call and pay for this african despots they have their country budgets if they felt they could not afford why not decline the invitation after all it is just a talk shop. So far have you seen Obama with these failures, he is enjoying his 53rd birthday at camp David.
Then he will come talk to them and leave the podium, no White house invite unless the cho0sen few , Uhuru kenyatta excluded ,that is the the reality , unless you want us to show you how world politics works. Pole lakini usijinyonge.
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Post by OtishOtish on Aug 7, 2014 3:31:39 GMT 3
Interesting. Perhaps something positive will come out of this event that wasn't already in the works; I note that the Kenyan media has been very excited about it. I also note that in the "social media", of Kenyan and a few other African places, there have comments to the effect that the USA is "waking up to the fact that Africa is turning East", that the meeting shows that "Africa is important and is to be reckoned with", etc., etc., etc. One hopes so. Still, those who are of what is called "a certain age" or who simply read history will remember the Cold War, whose effects are still being felt in Africa today. That's because Africans thought that they were in demand and so could play both sides---like a virgin lusted after by two aging lotharios. In the end, the Cold War was a Hot War for the Africans, who, for reasons best known to themselves, fought it on behalf of others. What the happened was that Africa got a huge tarimbo right up the ... can't remember what I wanted to say there. Anyways, ... the tarimbo went everywhere, and, perhaps stayed there. I go back in history because there seems to be a lot of "West vs. East" these days. In Africa. And for Africans, the story is the same old: " The East is doing this for us; what is the West doing?". " The East is giving us this; what is the West giving us?". " The West/East better give/do or else we turn East/West!". As usual, there seems to be very little of "what can we do for ourselves? what are we doing for ourselves". I was reflecting on t2011's opener as I read the daily online versions of the Washington Post (WP)---yes, the same Washington---and the New York Times (NYT). I thought a quick look at such pages would help me gauge the importance of this Big DO. Yesterday morning the "front page" of online WP had something on this BIG DO, but it wasn't much; the "front page" of online NYT had nothing on the Big DO, but it did have an article on Africa---and "Ebola story". Today both skipped the BIG DO. All Ebola. One of the things I am trying to get to is this: do the "leaders" of all the "great African countries" (and their followers in said "great countries") work on an objective view of how Africa is seen to fit in the rest of the world? Does Africa have to forever be about illusions and "who is helping us" and "who is doing this and that for us"? But back to the Summons ... It wasn't too long ago that the president of France summoned West African "leaders" to Paris, to discuss the security situation in Africa. Said "leaders"---and they all went---included the president of Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, biggest economy, this, that, and the other. A West-African problem being sorted out by the former colonial nasties. Hmmm. A thought: If the president of the USA wants to meet all European leaders at one go, he doesn't summon them to Washington; he goes to Europe---to some NATO or EU or G-Something meeting, unless said meeting is already scheduled for the USA. If he wants to meet all Asian or Asian-Pacific leaders, he goes to ASEAN or APEC or Whatever meetings. And there, he must wear an Asian or Asian-Pacific or Whatever uniform, lest he forget where he is:   And that's how it's always been. None of this stuff of a zillion leaders trooping over to some place for a nice dinner and a one-minute photo-op. And the funny thing is that some of them and their followers are absolutely delighted! That Other Lothario invited them over, and so has this one! " Oh, don't I have some good stuff that they all want!". I have read---in the Kenyan media and the media of a couple of other African countries---stuff to the effect that the USA is now waking up to the fact that it must treat African countries as "equal partners". Really. We need not get into what "equal" means. Where in the world do the leaders of an entire region get to front up like school-kids on a "half-term" outing? I can hear some say, " but think of what we'll get out of it!". And what exactly might that be? Taking Kenya as an example, Uhuru has been busy complaining that the West, in issuing travel advisories, is not supporting Kenya's part on "The War Against Terror"? And, funnily enough, some folks have praised him for that. Do we really expect that travel advisories will be lifted because of that? I have been told, by b6k, that Africans learn at their own pace and in their own way. That's all very well---as far as it goes, which is not very far. I am an African, and I know that both the pace and direction of our learning can be controlled, through effort and clear thinking. Making exceptions for extreme laziness and sheer stupidity, I see no reason why anyone should believe that Africans are not able to learn as others elsewhere; and, if they can, then they should get on with it. This sending "leaders" all over the place, with " please help" and " please give", is unhelpful. Of course, it would help to start with a choice of proper leaders and not just Our-Man "leaders", but let's save that for another day. So I will conclude this part with this: (a) Africa sits on enormous natural resources that the rest of the world is happy to benefit from while Africa continues to go "the African Way". Africa needs to start value-adding to its "virgin resources" and to the benefit of its people: virginity, in any form, is always a one-off. (b) Africa need to move beyond "West vs. East" and "who will help/give us". Africa has the people and the natural resources to do for itself. It is remarkable that almost all those "leaders" have some reason to see this as a "break" from "real life", and I bet many aren't too keen to return "home", to real realities. (c) African "leaders" need to stop running around the world when they have so many unsolved problems at home, most of which they themselves have created. (d) African "leaders" and their True Believers need to stop going giddy over such events as the one we are discussing. Yes, the photo-ops are nice, but the people don't eat photo-ops. Everything that is required is already available at home---and in large quantity. Just yesterday I was reading another "Africa Rising" story and reflecting in this increasingly popular idea that Africa will reap by going kati-kati between the USA and China. That there is something here about "trade" that is a big deal. Yes, the world wants what Africans will dig out of the ground. But beyond that, the hard facts are that Africa counts for very little in world trade, is increasingly getting squeezed there, and that won't change as long as "leaders" devote more effort to stealing, killing, raping, and so on. Looking at a few aspects of world trade in the last 15 years or so, which is about when the Doha Round of the WTO started: [Some people today forget that China's entry into the WTO required strong US support and that the USA strong-armed China into accepting all sorts of conditions that were favourable to the USA. What about the Africa that is now intent on dining out on "West vs. East"?] (a) Africa's "rise" has taken it from about 2% to about 3% of global trade. Will it get better anytime soon? (b) The Doha Round, if not dead, has been on life-support for years. But not everyone is weeping. People with decent economies have been cutting free-trade (or similar) deals amongst themselves, and in all these Africa on the outside. To my mind, instead of African "leaders" trooping off to this or that place, for "help" and "please give us", they should be in Africa---working on the long-lost dream of the original OAU. Working on regional and continental integration before tackling the rest of the world. Food for the needy before laptops for toddlers. That sort of thing. It's been a "notable" couple of days for some, but let's "bookmark" this": let's look back in 6 months and see if anything substantial comes of it or if anybody even remembers it. |
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Post by merkeju on Aug 7, 2014 4:08:50 GMT 3
African leaders are jokers imagine almost 40 heads of states will be in the USA at ago with an entourage of not less than 40 hirelings . What a waste of resources imagine 40x40 is 400 people each spending not less than $10000 on upkeep and transport that is a whooping $4,000,000 in just 3 or 4 days without adding other hidden costs ,what a waste then what they will get is a dress down on poor governance and corruption . And these same leaders once said kwani amerika ni mbinguni. Shame on them t2011,am sorry to point out to you that you seem to have a very weak grasp of the geo-political and economic direction the world is taking. China and Japan have previously hosted delegations from Africa.Trade and Politics form the core of this summit.A small reminder,check your math above,its off the mark!
After seeing the picture of Uhuru Kenyatta, with Obama and Michelle doing rounds in the Kenyan media and the bravado that the JUBILEE supporters are bragging about, i was left to wonder what type of small minded people can be so proud of a picture take with the president of the united state of America, and why are the JUBILEE propaganda machines are milking this photo shot for their political agenda back home in Kenya and yet that picture means nada.
The daily mail put is so well
Obama’s monsters ball: How the White House opened its doors to some of Africa’s most evil dictators and homophobes and turned blind eye to their human rights record
Read more: www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2718143/Obamas-monsters-ball-How-White-House-opened-doors-Africas-evil-dictators-homophobes-turned-blind-eye-human-rights-record.html#ixzz39f5qxdXi
Follow us: @mailonline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
The picture taken by Uhuru is not different from the picture taken with President of Gambia Yahya Jammeh who is one of the African dictators and also a mad man who claims he can heal people with HIV and AIDS
So what is it that makes this picture so special
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Post by stranger1in3 on Aug 7, 2014 7:31:03 GMT 3
t2011,40*40 does not make 400.This US-Africa summit was primarily about US.Obama presidency has achieved very little impact in Africa contrary to the continents expectations.His legacy to Africa?photo-op with nearly all african leaders! Thats what he will be remembered for as he exits the stage.That US-Brazil trade ties is far much higher than Africa,only points to one thing.we are way way below.The summit is like a teacher-pupils engagement.some pupils will absorb all the teacher has to offer,and some years later will have fashioned something out of themselves.However,i fear for the majority african nations,this will remain a mark timing session.Obama got his photos,what will you african leaders bring to your people?
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Post by podp on Aug 7, 2014 14:01:27 GMT 3
EXECUTIVE ORDER
- - - - - - -
ESTABLISHING THE PRESIDENT'S ADVISORY COUNCIL
ON DOING BUSINESS IN AFRICA
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and in order to promote broad-based economic growth and job creation in the United States and Africa by encouraging U.S. companies to trade with and invest in Africa, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. Policy. The United States recognizes that Africa is a region of growing economic opportunity and innovation and aims to expand a trade and investment partnership that is grounded in shared interests and mutual responsibility. Africa offers a diverse and broad range of trade and investment opportunities in national and regional markets. The U.S. Government will encourage U.S. companies to seize the trade and investment opportunities offered by Africa's national and regional markets and help drive inclusive and sustained economic growth and the region's economic expansion, while also creating jobs here in the United States.
Sec. 2. Establishment. Not later than 180 days after the date of this order, the Secretary of Commerce shall establish the President's Advisory Council on Doing Business in Africa (Advisory Council).
Sec. 3. Membership. (a) The Advisory Council shall consist of not more than 15 private sector corporate members, including small businesses and representatives from infrastructure, agriculture, consumer goods, banking, services, and other industries. The Advisory Council shall be broadly representative of the key industries with business interests in the functions of the Advisory Council as set forth in section 4 of this order. Appointments to the Advisory Council shall be made without regard to political affiliation.
(b) Members of the Advisory Council shall be appointed by the Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee (TPCC), which was authorized by statute in 1992 (15 U.S.C. 4727) and established by Executive Order 12870 of September 30, 1993.
Sec. 4. Functions. (a) The Advisory Council shall advise the President, through the Secretary of Commerce, on strengthening commercial engagement between the United States and Africa, with a focus on advancing the President's Doing Business in Africa Campaign as described in the U.S. Strategy Toward Sub-Saharan Africa of June 14, 2012.
(b) In providing the advice described in subsection (a) of this section, the Advisory Council shall provide information, analysis, and recommendations to the President that address the following, in addition to other topics deemed relevant by the President, the Secretary of Commerce, or the Advisory Council:
(i) creating jobs in the United States and Africa through trade and investment;
(ii) developing strategies by which the U.S. private sector can identify and take advantage of trade and investment opportunities in Africa;
(iii) building lasting commercial partnerships between the U.S. and African private sectors;
(iv) facilitating U.S. business participation in Africa's infrastructure development;
(v) contributing to the growth and improvement of Africa's agricultural sector by encouraging partnerships between U.S. and African companies to bring innovative agricultural technologies to Africa;
(vi) making available to the U.S. private sector an accurate understanding of the opportunities presented for increasing trade with and investment in Africa;
(vii) developing and strengthening partnerships and other mechanisms to increase U.S. public and private sector financing of trade with and investment in Africa;
(viii) analyzing the effect of policies in the United States and Africa on U.S. trade and investment interests in Africa;
(ix) identifying other means to expand commercial ties between the United States and Africa; and
(x) building the capacity of Africa's young entrepreneurs to develop trade and investment ties with U.S. partners.
Sec. 5. Administration. (a) The Department of Commerce shall provide funding and administrative support for the Advisory Council to the extent permitted by law and within existing appropriations.
(b) Members of the Advisory Council shall serve without either compensation or reimbursement of expenses.
(c) The Secretary of Commerce shall designate a senior officer or employee of the Department of Commerce to serve as the Executive Director for the Advisory Council.
(d) The Secretary of Commerce shall consult with the TPCC on matters and activities pertaining to the Advisory Council, including on activities related to implementation of the advice of the Advisory Council. The Secretary of Commerce shall invite representatives of TPCC agencies to attend meetings of the Advisory Council when issues relevant to their responsibilities are to be considered.
Sec. 6. Termination. The Advisory Council shall function for such period as may be necessary but shall terminate 2 years after the date of this order, unless extended by the President.
Sec. 7. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department, agency, or the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.
(d) Insofar as the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) (the "Act") may apply to the Advisory Council, any functions of the President under the Act, except for those in section 6 of the Act, shall be performed by the Secretary of Commerce in accordance with the guidelines that have been issued by the Administrator of General Services.
BARACK OBAMA
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Post by podp on Aug 7, 2014 14:04:57 GMT 3
The White House Office of the Press Secretary
August 05, 2014
FACT SHEET: The Doing Business in Africa Campaign
Through the Doing Business in Africa (DBIA) Campaign, the U.S. government is strengthening its commercial relationship with the continent of Africa, a diverse region that offers substantial trade and investment opportunities across national and regional markets. With a 5.4 percent growth rate predicted for 2014, Africa is outpacing global growth. U.S. goods and services exports to Africa reached a record high of $50.2 billion in 2013, up 40 percent since 2009. These exports supported 250,000 U.S. jobs.
New Commitments to Significantly Expand the DBIA Campaign
At today’s U.S.-Africa Business Forum, President Obama announced $7 billion in new financing to promote U.S. exports to and investments in Africa under the DBIA Campaign. U.S. companies announced new deals in clean energy, aviation, banking, and construction worth more than $14 billion, in addition to $12 billion in new commitments under the President’s Power Africa initiative from private sector partners, the World Bank, and the government of Sweden. Taken together, these new commitments amount to more than $33 billion, supporting economic growth across Africa and tens of thousands of U.S. jobs.
The DBIA Campaign encourages U.S. commercial engagement in Africa by harnessing the resources of the U.S. government to assist businesses in identifying and seizing opportunities and to engage with members of the African Diaspora in the United States. The DBIA Campaign, which was launched in November 2012, has four main objectives:
Connect American Businesses with African Partners
Support Existing and New American Investment in Africa
Expand Access for American Businesses to Finance Their Exports to Africa
Reduce Barriers to Trade and Investment in Africa
The U.S. government’s newly announced two-year commitments to support the DBIA Campaign are provided below.
An Executive Order to Create a President’s Advisory Council on Doing Business in Africa
Today the President signed an Executive Order (E.O.) to promote broad-based economic growth in the United States and in Africa by encouraging U.S. companies to trade with and invest in Africa.
The E.O. directs the Secretary of Commerce to establish a President’s Advisory Council on Doing Business in Africa that will be comprised of not more than 15 members from the private sector, including small business. The
Advisory Council will provide information, analysis, and recommendations to the President, through the Secretary of Commerce, including on developing strategies for creating jobs in the United States and Africa through trade and investment; developing strategies by which the U.S. private sector can identify and take advantage of trade and investment opportunities in Africa; and building lasting commercial partnerships between the U.S. and African private sectors.
New U.S. Government Resources to Support U.S. Exports and Investment in Africa
Interagency Initiatives
The Principals of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank), the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) will mobilize private capital for Africa’s infrastructure through a series of at least three outcome-oriented roundtables in Africa that will advance project- and sector-specific investment opportunities and needed regulatory reforms. These agencies will implement the initiative in coordination with DBIA Campaign agencies, African governments, and the U.S. and African private sectors.
The U.S. Department of Commerce and USTDA launched the 20x20 Initiative to support a total of 20 trade and reverse trade missions by 2020, to promote U.S. industry engagement in Africa. Working with federal, state, and local government partners, these missions will foster U.S. business partnerships with key African stakeholders.
The Small Business Administration (SBA) and Ex-Im Bank will collectively support 50 DBIA Campaign-themed activities and outreach sessions over the next two years to facilitate U.S. trade finance, provide counseling and training on their programs, and conduct business development to support U.S. exporters, particularly small- and medium-sized enterprises.
U.S. Export-Import Bank
Ex-Im Bank will commit up to $3 billion in financing to support U.S. exports to Africa over the next two years. This is in addition to Ex-Im Bank’s existing commitments of $5 billion for Power Africa and a planned commitment of $1 billion to support U.S. exports in connection with new and ongoing Angolan infrastructure projects (through the Angolan Ministry of Finance).
Ex-Im Bank will commit $563 million in financing to support the sale of General Electric locomotives to Transnet, South Africa’s largest integrated freight transport company. Major components of the locomotives will be manufactured at GE’s facilities in Erie, PA and Grove City, PA supporting an estimated 2,500 American jobs.
Millennium Challenge Corporation
MCC will commit up to $2 billion in funding for new compacts in Africa that facilitate private sector-led economic growth and poverty reduction, creating potential opportunities for U.S. companies. This commitment includes $498 million over the next five years to support the turnaround of Ghana’s electricity sector and stimulate private investment. This Compact represents an example of the catalytic impact of Power Africa interventions which will help create the enabling environment to catalyze billions of dollars of private investment in Ghana.
MCC will also lead its first ever investment mission to Africa to introduce U.S. businesses to the opportunities for investing in and around its Compacts. In addition, MCC will hold at least eight Procurement Promotion sessions with U.S. companies to promote Compact contracting opportunities and developing five Trade and Investment Prospectuses, one for each new Compact in Africa, that outline the specific business opportunities that are expected to arise from MCC’s investments.
Overseas Private Investment Corporation
OPIC will commit up to $1 billion in financing and insurance support to catalyze private sector investments in Africa. This is in addition to OPIC’s existing $1.5 billion Power Africa commitment. OPIC reaffirmed its plan to place personnel on the ground in sub-Saharan Africa to help facilitate increased U.S. trade and investment and will support an investment mission to the region, with a focus on the power sector.
OPIC will coordinate approximately a dozen U.S. government meetings on August 6, 2014, for U.S. and African private sector investors and project developers to discuss discrete transactions for financing support consideration to OPIC, as well as other DBIA investment agencies.
U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA)
USTDA, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. Department of Transportation, hosted two African Leaders Visits in association with the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit. These reverse trade missions highlighted the United States’ experience fostering economic growth through strategic infrastructure investments in the energy and transportation sectors.
USTDA announced it will partner with the Air Traffic and Navigation Services Company of South Africa to evaluate satellite-based automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast across the African continent, the implementation of which will improve air traffic safety and create over $100 million in U.S. export opportunities.
USTDA reaffirmed its plan to have local representation in Nigeria for the first time.
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
USDA’s Commodity Credit Corporation will make available up to $1 billion in financing guarantees available for agricultural exports to Africa over the next two years. USDA also will conduct outreach seminars to Africa in 2015 to promote the use of its credit guarantee program for the export of U.S. agricultural products.
U.S. Department of State
The U.S. Department of State intends to commit $10 million toward the expansion of the U.S.-Africa Clean Energy Finance Initiative (US-ACEF), which aligns USTDA’s project planning expertise and OPIC’s financing and risk mitigation tools in new ways, to support private sector investment and increase support for U.S. businesses and exports in sub-Saharan Africa’s clean energy sector.
The U.S. Department of State will sponsor a medical technology trade mission to sub-Saharan Africa led by a senior State Department official.
U.S. Department of Commerce
The U.S. Department of Commerce reiterated its commitment to double its presence in sub-Saharan Africa by opening new offices in Angola, Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Mozambique, while expanding its operations in Ghana, and re-establishing a position at the African Development Bank.
The U.S. Department of Commerce will host its next Trade Winds Conference and Mission in Africa in 2015. The Trade Winds program brings hundreds of U.S. companies to a region to hear about opportunities, meet one-on-one with Africa businesses, and get counseling from U.S. Commercial Service officers. Past Trade Winds have been held in Asia and Latin America and resulted in over $100 million in deals at each event.
The U.S. Department of Commerce launched a One-Stop-Shop website (www.trade.gov/DBIA) to offer American businesses and entrepreneurs a convenient instant access to critical African market information, financing tools available to them, projects to consider, key contacts, and much more.
To celebrate the second anniversary of the DBIA Campaign, the U.S. Department of Commerce will host a “Discover Sub-Saharan Africa” conference in Atlanta on November 4-6, 2014. Its Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) will join the Constituency for Africa in hosting a “Doing Business in Africa” workshop in October to promote business and trade opportunities in Africa and resources for reaching the African marketplace. MBDA also committed to host a U.S.-Africa Investors Forum on August 6, 2014, in association with the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit.
Through its Global City Teams Program, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, in partnership with the U.S. private sector, will target at least 25 African metropolitan areas to join their counterparts worldwide in an interactive platform to accelerate smart city and smart grid goals.
U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
USAID will commit to a bond guarantee through its Development Credit Authority that will allow Dakar, Senegal, to issue the first ever non-sovereign backed municipal bond in sub-Saharan Africa outside of South Africa (with technical assistance support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation). The guarantee will enable the city to raise $41.8 million on the regional stock exchange. In addition, USAID guaranteed transactions are expected to mobilize $381 million in new private sector lending to small and medium enterprises across the continent.
USAID will launch the Africa Private Capital Group – a platform in South Africa to mobilize U.S., South African, and international private sector investment in key sectors to development, including agriculture, energy, trade, infrastructure, and health.
USAID will upgrade its existing African Trade Hubs into “U.S.-African Trade and Investment Hubs” that will now create new opportunities for U.S. investment in and exports to Africa. These hubs are located in Accra, Ghana, Nairobi, Kenya, and Gabarone, Botswana, and cover the West Africa, East Africa, and Southern Africa regions, respectively.
USAID will roll out its Benchmarking the Business of Agriculture (BBA) project this fall, to assesses the ease of doing business and investing in Africa’s agriculture. The BBA provides businesses worldwide with objective information on a country’s ease of doing business in agriculture.
U.S. Department of Transportation
The U.S. Department of Transportation announced that Secretary Anthony Foxx will lead a transportation mission to Africa in early 2015, to discuss opportunities for improving regional connectivity, promoting safety and efficiency, and sharing best practices on increasing investment in transportation infrastructure.
The U.S. Department of Transportation launched its Tomorrow’s Transportation Leaders initiative, which will include up to five workshops over the next two years to engage 100 young African transportation professionals on adopting U.S. best practices. The workshops will address transportation policies and regulatory framework, transportation investment planning, and the efficient management of transportation systems.
The U.S. Department of Transportation intends to direct $1 million toward strengthening civil aviation safety through the Safe Skies for Africa program.
U.S. Department of Energy
The U.S. Department of Energy will support the “Clean Energy Solutions Center,” a multilateral initiative of the Clean Energy Ministerial to connect policymakers in Africa with clean energy experts and best practice resources. The Clean Energy Solutions Center is a web-based resource that draws on knowledge from global experts to help governments design and adopt policies and programs that support the deployment of clean energy technologies. Through the partnership, the Solutions Center will provide expert policy consultations free of charge to Power Africa countries in response to requests received.
Office of the United States Trade Representative
On August 5, USTR signed at its headquarters a new Trade and Investment Framework Agreement with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to provide a coordinated mechanism for engaging on trade and investment issues with the 15 West African countries that are part of ECOWAS.
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Post by OtishOtish on Aug 7, 2014 23:16:00 GMT 3
Podp:
When I was a kid, my father would, once a week or so, call all his children into the living room and dish out peremende from a big bag. Later, when we got a bit older, we had the same ritual but with shillings (a few) from a stretched wallet. Neither the peremende nor the few shillings lasted long: we consumed and went right back to asking again.
Little kids we were, but even then we had some sense of reality and balance. We never saw said items as earned, nor did we consider them as proof that mzee realized we had to be dealt with as "serious people". Of course, we were always delighted and, right after the doling-out, danced around as though the peremende and the few shillings would last forever.
We were (and still) are very grateful for the peremende and the shillings. But we are even more grateful for the lessons mzee insisted that we learn and which we worked very hard to learn---lessons in self-sufficiency, the importance of education (as in "learning" and not merely "studying"), hard work, thrift, integrity, how to conduct personal and working relationships, and so forth. So now we can make our own few shillings and dole out peremende to our kids.
This is what one might consider a fable or a parable or a something, but it really happened.
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Post by jakaswanga on Aug 9, 2014 9:31:51 GMT 3
Podp: When I was a kid, my father would, once a week or so, call all his children into the living room and dish out peremende from a big bag. Later, when we got a bit older, we had the same ritual but with shillings (a few) from a stretched wallet. Neither the peremende nor the few shillings lasted long: we consumed and went right back to asking again. Little kids we were, but even then we had some sense of reality and balance. We never saw said items as earned, nor did we consider them as proof that mzee realized we had to be dealt with as "serious people". Of course, we were always delighted and, right after the doling-out, danced around as though the peremende and the few shillings would last forever. We were (and still) are very grateful for the peremende and the shillings. But we are even more grateful for the lessons mzee insisted that we learn and which we worked very hard to learn---lessons in self-sufficiency, the importance of education (as in "learning" and not merely "studying"), hard work, thrift, integrity, how to conduct personal and working relationships, and so forth. So now we can make our own few shillings and dole out peremende to our kids. This is what one might consider a fable or a parable or a something, but it really happened. Thi is why in political science, your crop of African leaders are described as INFANTILE. It is a carefully thought-out term. You of course know the mayhem and murder it takes to get this result of infantile prezzos. ---Murder the conscious ones like Lumumba, Sankara, Murtala, Hani --it is a long list. --Rig elections such that the democratic process becomes a farce. --Use of the army to terrorise the population into at least fearful acquiescence. That is how Obama gets his monsters ball! and we, the African people, brace for another century of conflict as we seek to hoist adults to the top political positions! it is an intriguing prospect, the resolution that ends the DYNASTY of the infantiles over Africa! |
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Post by jakaswanga on Aug 28, 2014 22:16:35 GMT 3
POTUS Barrack Hussein Obama, known colloquially as the drone-hit-killer in Pashtun Pakistan, had his monsters ball in Washington DC. Bad Ol' Robert was not included. I guess, from the perspective of Washington, he is the worst of the worst. Worse than ISIS's of this world! Obama is of course skating on thin ice! But the now despot Mugabe has one on New Rome emperor Barrack Obama. According to legend, comrade Robert is the only African leader to have seized land by force from white colonials and given it to his people whatever the price. They have a name for such a man in Shona and Ndebele and most other dialects of the dispossessed landless. It goes something like 'a real hard cork!' ( Tshaka Tzulu was an aweful tyrant, be sure he is not remembered in these areas like he were some variant of Adolf Hitler!) it is more like he wa a real hard cork! whatever that means in folklore! Obama's monsters are you could therefore say, soft toy co.cks or limp wimps; soft on colonials, hard on own citizens. That is the propaganda punch line down south. And it has its takers. But anyway, Washington is not the only weight around to be thrown. In fact, hard cash to hard cash, pound for pound economic investment, even peanuts from China still make Washington a has-been. The USA is already reduced to outright piracy ... like freezing Libya's foreign assets unilaterally –-same as they did to Iran after the Ayatollah revolution; stealing Iraq's foreign reserves found in Saddam's regime; confiscating Germany's bullion fortune –-long ago ''mortgaged to the FED'' as a sign of trust that Germany would keep within NATO; and coercing post Saddam Iraq into pillagee oil deals. So big bad old Robert with his Graca, went to the coming new kid on the block.  Toasting to the health of his benefactor Xi Jinpin who accorded him all honours, Mugabe did not loose his wits: '' I am an old man'', he reportedly cracked, ' 'I have to choose what I do with care. –--Of course my black brother Barrack did not forget to invite me. But I thought, heck, he is not worth much is he? And then he has a problem making up his mind. Today he is with the terrorists against Assad, tomorrow he is with Assad against the terrorists. Today he says the Kurdish workers party, PKK, are terrorists, tomorrow they get arms from NATO to fight whatever. An old man like me tires easy of such childish confusions!
The maturity of China is more to my taste, and see, aint here, comrades!''  Recall: in the run to the 2nd Iraq war, with the false story of the WMD, Mugabe did refer to Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, then the two most powerful politicians in the UK, as silly pricks toying around the cun-t of an old who-re. In deed a decade plus later, with Iraq in turmoil, Mugabe was not far off the mark. In addition the former UK premier Tony Blair is now totally disgraced. prophetically he is currently an errand boy of some gas and oil dictator in Asia minor, and more or less persona non grata in political Britain. Between Assad and Saddam? Who is your daddy now, Blair?But this is about Robert Mugabe, the man too dirty for the drone-hit-killer's party, or ball of monsters!  Then there is the day Margaret Thatcher came visiting to Harare. And she called it Salisbury. Foxy Robert was not going to let that ride. ' 'You are an iron lady, they tell me. But today you melt in my lair and speak in tongues!'' Sir Geoffrey Howe –-then Tory foreign secretary I think, was not amused at Thatcher's excited back and forths with this that hard something I said earlier. She had never been up close with a man so clever and yet so primitive. A genuine beast! –-She confided in Mugabe that she felt like the only man in her cabinet!You should visit ''Salisbury'' more often, and invite me to Chequers more often for your preferred beastly portion of exercises. You will discover yourself as the most meltable of ladies!' The Marxist told the market fundamentalist! And so on and so forth went the rapprochement between the liberation savage, and the doctrinal [market] ravage. www.chinapost.com.tw/china/national-news/2014/08/26/415762/p2/Zimbabwe-eyes.htm  Perhaps this is the symbolic photo? The Chinese as the life, upright support of the former octogenarian? Ushering him gently down the steps toward a soft landing in Hades? Even as they scrutinise how this power struggle unfolds nehandaradio.com/2014/04/30/china-donates-zimbabwe-defence-forces/ Army and Co looms large in post Mugabe era. A bit like the Egyptian army post the Pharaoh Mubarak?and FOR THE Negative look, here we go FT |
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invited to attend a major U.S.-African summit in Washington earlier this month, which included some 45 of the continent's heads of state.