• China lends Nigeria Dollars 2bn in exchange for oil talks. • Ft com site : China oils Nigeria talks with loan

CHINA 3.42
PHILIPPINES 2.38
INDIA 1.68
NIGERIA 1.01
(Reporting by Tarmo Virki; Editing by Michael Urquhart)
Document PCW0000020080918e41u00232

Past News

Study US Top User of Telecom

445 words

30 January 2008

CIO Insight

CIOI

English

Copyright 2008 Ziff Davis Enterprise Holdings Inc. All Rights Reserved
The United States, Sweden and Japan topped a new ranking that measures how well countries use telecommunications technologies -- networks, cell phones and computers -- to boost their social and economic prosperity.
Connectivity Scorecard, created by London Business School professor Leonard Waverman, and published on Wednesday, measured countries on around 30 indicators including usage of communications technology.
"All the other rankings mainly measure only how much have you invested in ICT (information and communication technologies)," said Professor Ilkka Lakaniemi.
Lakaniemi, the head of global political dialogue at telecom network gear maker Nokia Siemens Networks, which commissioned the study, said South Korea's rank in the middle of the table shows clearly the different approach of the study to other rankings.
South Korea is usually on top spots at similar lists, but Lakaniemi said this is mostly due to heavy public investment, while it falls behind in the usage of technology, especially by corporations.
"You have a lot of consumer applications, you have a lot of entertainment applications, a lot of this and that, but they do not really add much to productivity," Lakaniemi said.
The study said the top-ranking United States, which has benefited the most from ICT, was rated below 7 out of 10, mostly due to weak usage of vast broadband networks, indicating there is room for improvement for all countries.
"These results indicate an opportunity for countries to add hundreds of billions of dollars in economic benefit by rethinking how they measure and enable connectivity," the study said.
Russia topped the list for developing countries, way ahead of China or India.
"It will be interesting to see how in the next 10 years Russia will go down on this list and India up. You have an older population in Russia and a better-educated, younger workforce in India," Lakaniemi said.
The study -- which is scheduled to continue on an annual or bi-annual basis -- was conducted by consultancy LECG.
Following are the ratings for "innovation driven economies" measured in the study, scale 1-10.
UNITED STATES 6.97
SWEDEN 6.83
JAPAN 6.80
CANADA 6.50
FINLAND 6.10
BRITAIN 6.10
AUSTRALIA 5.93
GERMANY 5.52
FRANCE 5.07
SOUTH KOREA 4.78
HONG KONG 4.46
ITALY 3.85
SPAIN 3.56
HUNGARY 3.18
CZECH REPUBLIC 3.11
POLAND 2.18
Following are indexes for "efficiency and resource driven economies", scale 1-10, but not comparable with indexes for innovation-driven economies.
RUSSIA 6.11
MALAYSIA 5.82
MEXICO 4.37
BRAZIL 4.28
SOUTH AFRICA 4.11
CHINA 3.42
PHILIPPINES 2.38
INDIA 1.68
NIGERIA 1.01
Document CIOI000020080917e41u0000g

Technology News

U.S., Sweden, Japan Top Tech Rankings; The United States, Sweden and Japan topped a new ranking that measures how well countries use telecommunications technologies—networks, cell phones and computers—to boost their social and economic prosperity.

Reuters  

488 words

30 January 2008

Extremetech.com

XTRM

English

Copyright (c) 2008 ZIFF DAVIS MEDIA Inc. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted with permission from Extremetech.com.
HELSINKI (Reuters) - The United States, Sweden and Japan topped a new ranking that measures how well countries use telecommunications technologies-networks, cell phones and computers-to boost their social and economic prosperity.
Connectivity Scorecard, created by London Business School professor Leonard Waverman, and published on Wednesday, measured countries on around 30 indicators including usage of communications technology.
"All the other rankings mainly measure only how much have you invested in ICT (information and communication technologies)," said Professor Ilkka Lakaniemi.
Lakaniemi, the head of global political dialogue at telecom network gear maker Nokia Siemens Networks, which commissioned the study, said South Korea's rank in the middle of the table shows clearly the different approach of the study to other rankings.
South Korea is usually on top spots at similar lists, but Lakaniemi said this is mostly due to heavy public investment, while it falls behind in the usage of technology, especially by corporations.
"You have a lot of consumer applications, you have a lot of entertainment applications, a lot of this and that, but they do not really add much to productivity," Lakaniemi said.
The study said the top-ranking United States, which has benefited the most from ICT, was rated below 7 out of 10, mostly due to weak usage of vast broadband networks, indicating there is room for improvement for all countries.
"These results indicate an opportunity for countries to add hundreds of billions of dollars in economic benefit by rethinking how they measure and enable connectivity," the study said.
Russia topped the list for developing countries, way ahead of China or India.
"It will be interesting to see how in the next 10 years Russia will go down on this list and India up. You have an older population in Russia and a better-educated, younger workforce in India," Lakaniemi said.
The study-which is scheduled to continue on an annual or bi-annual basis-was conducted by consultancy LECG.
Following are the ratings for "innovation driven economies" measured in the study, scale 1-10.
UNITED STATES 6.97
SWEDEN 6.83
JAPAN 6.80
CANADA 6.50
FINLAND 6.10
BRITAIN 6.10
AUSTRALIA 5.93
GERMANY 5.52
FRANCE 5.07
SOUTH KOREA 4.78
HONG KONG 4.46
ITALY 3.85
SPAIN 3.56
HUNGARY 3.18
CZECH REPUBLIC 3.11
POLAND 2.18
Following are indexes for "efficiency and resource driven economies", scale 1-10, but not comparable with indexes for innovation-driven economies.
RUSSIA 6.11
MALAYSIA 5.82
MEXICO 4.37
BRAZIL 4.28
SOUTH AFRICA 4.11
CHINA 3.42
PHILIPPINES 2.38
INDIA 1.68
NIGERIA 1.01
(Reporting by Tarmo Virki; Editing by Michael Urquhart)
223994
Document XTRM000020080201e41u00004

News and Analysis

U.S., Sweden, Japan Top Tech Rankings; The United States, Sweden and Japan topped a new ranking that measures how well countries use telecommunications technologies—networks, cell phones and computers—to boost their social and economic prosperity.

Reuters  

489 words

30 January 2008

PC Magazine

PCM

English

Copyright (c) 2008 ZIFF DAVIS MEDIA Inc. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted with permission from PC Magazine.
HELSINKI (Reuters) - The United States, Sweden and Japan topped a new ranking that measures how well countries use telecommunications technologies-networks, cell phones and computers-to boost their social and economic prosperity.
Connectivity Scorecard, created by London Business School professor Leonard Waverman, and published on Wednesday, measured countries on around 30 indicators including usage of communications technology.
"All the other rankings mainly measure only how much have you invested in ICT (information and communication technologies)," said Professor Ilkka Lakaniemi.
Lakaniemi, the head of global political dialogue at telecom network gear maker Nokia Siemens Networks, which commissioned the study, said South Korea's rank in the middle of the table shows clearly the different approach of the study to other rankings.
South Korea is usually on top spots at similar lists, but Lakaniemi said this is mostly due to heavy public investment, while it falls behind in the usage of technology, especially by corporations.
"You have a lot of consumer applications, you have a lot of entertainment applications, a lot of this and that, but they do not really add much to productivity," Lakaniemi said.
The study said the top-ranking United States, which has benefited the most from ICT, was rated below 7 out of 10, mostly due to weak usage of vast broadband networks, indicating there is room for improvement for all countries.
"These results indicate an opportunity for countries to add hundreds of billions of dollars in economic benefit by rethinking how they measure and enable connectivity," the study said.
Russia topped the list for developing countries, way ahead of China or India.
"It will be interesting to see how in the next 10 years Russia will go down on this list and India up. You have an older population in Russia and a better-educated, younger workforce in India," Lakaniemi said.
The study-which is scheduled to continue on an annual or bi-annual basis-was conducted by consultancy LECG.
Following are the ratings for "innovation driven economies" measured in the study, scale 1-10.
UNITED STATES 6.97
SWEDEN 6.83
JAPAN 6.80
CANADA 6.50
FINLAND 6.10
BRITAIN 6.10
AUSTRALIA 5.93
GERMANY 5.52
FRANCE 5.07
SOUTH KOREA 4.78
HONG KONG 4.46
ITALY 3.85
SPAIN 3.56
HUNGARY 3.18
CZECH REPUBLIC 3.11
POLAND 2.18
Following are indexes for "efficiency and resource driven economies", scale 1-10, but not comparable with indexes for innovation-driven economies.
RUSSIA 6.11
MALAYSIA 5.82
MEXICO 4.37
BRAZIL 4.28
SOUTH AFRICA 4.11
CHINA 3.42
PHILIPPINES 2.38
INDIA 1.68
NIGERIA 1.01
(Reporting by Tarmo Virki; Editing by Michael Urquhart)
223990
Document PCM0000020080131e41u00003

U.S., Sweden, Japan top new tech usage ranking
477 words

30 January 2008

03:00 AM

Reuters News

LBA

English

(c) 2008 Reuters Limited
HELSINKI, Jan 30 (Reuters) - The United States, Sweden and Japan topped a new ranking that measures how well countries use
telecommunications technologies -- networks, cellphones and

computers -- to boost their social and economic prosperity.


Connectivity Scorecard, created by London Business School professor Leonard Waverman, and published on Wednesday, measured countries on around 30 indicators including usage of communications technology.
"All the other rankings mainly measure only how much have you invested in ICT (information and communication technologies)," said Professor Ilkka Lakaniemi.
Lakaniemi, the head of global political dialogue at telecom network gear maker Nokia Siemens Networks [NSN.UL], which commissioned the study, said South Korea's rank in the middle of the table shows clearly the different approach of the study to other rankings.
South Korea is usually on top spots at similar lists, but Lakaniemi said this is mostly due to heavy public investment, while it falls behind in the usage of technology, especially by corporations.
"You have a lot of consumer applications, you have a lot of entertainment applications, a lot of this and that, but they do not really add much to productivity," Lakaniemi said.
The study said the top-ranking United States, which has benefited the most from ICT, was rated below 7 out of 10, mostly due to weak usage of vast broadband networks, indicating there is room for improvement for all countries.
"These results indicate an opportunity for countries to add hundreds of billions of dollars in economic benefit by rethinking how they measure and enable connectivity," the study said.
Russia topped the list for developing countries, way ahead of China or India.
"It will be interesting to see how in the next 10 years Russia will go down on this list and India up. You have an older population in Russia and a better-educated, younger workforce in India," Lakaniemi said.

The study -- which is scheduled to continue on an annual or

bi-annual basis -- was conducted by consultancy LECG.

Following are the ratings for "innovation driven economies"

measured in the study, scale 1-10.

UNITED STATES 6.97

SWEDEN 6.83

JAPAN 6.80

CANADA 6.50

FINLAND 6.10

BRITAIN 6.10

AUSTRALIA 5.93

GERMANY 5.52

FRANCE 5.07

SOUTH KOREA 4.78

HONG KONG 4.46

ITALY 3.85

SPAIN 3.56

HUNGARY 3.18

CZECH REPUBLIC 3.11

POLAND 2.18

Following are indexes for "efficiency and resource driven

economies", scale 1-10, but not comparable with indexes for

innovation-driven economies.

RUSSIA 6.11

MALAYSIA 5.82

MEXICO 4.37

BRAZIL 4.28

SOUTH AFRICA 4.11

CHINA 3.42

PHILIPPINES 2.38

INDIA 1.68

NIGERIA 1.01


(Reporting by Tarmo Virki; Editing by Michael Urquhart)
TECHNOLOGY-RANKINGS/|LANGEN|Table|ABN|E|RBN|M|DA|FN|NW|SW|J|RNP|DNP
Document LBA0000020080130e41u000n8
Vanguard (Nigeria) - AAGM: Vision 2020 Will Be Impossible to Achieve Without Regular Power Supply.
Omoh Gabriel

3,423 words

28 January 2008

Vanguard (Nigeria)

AIWVAN

English

The Financial Times Limited. Asia Africa Intelligence Wire. All material subject to copyright. Vanguard (Nigeria) (c) 2008 All rights reserved
Asiwaju Solomon Kayode Onafowokan is the President of Lagos Chambers of Commerce and Industry, and the "Asiowaju" of Remo Kingdom. He spoke with Financial Vanguard in his office at Commerce House Victoria Island Lagos last week.
Excerpts
Looking at the Nigerian environment from when you were growing up, would you say the same environment exist. Has there been any significant change?
Far from it. I feel very sorry for this generation because back then, we enjoyed peace and security-very free-environment. I can't imagine what is happening today.
I remember I grew up at Apapa Road and we walked all the way to school at Yaba, and walked back, go on night outing and stay up to 2-3am and walked back home without fear. Everything, including electricity was stable even though as at that time the country had not gotten independence from Britain.
We are happy the problem of telecommunication has been sorted out during ex- President Olusegun Obasanjo's regime. We all have to give him credit for that no matter what we think and what we feel about him.
But unfortunately we have been battling with power for quite a long time and I don't think it's insurmountable problem if we are all determined to make a success of it. People say if you give it to private sector the tariff will increase.
That is not true, we should recall that when the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) came, the tariff was N50 per minute at that time, and people thought it was too high, but when you look at the cost-saving in terms of time.
Before then if my son is going to call me from UK, what I had to do was to go and queue at NITEL and wait for the call and a very long queue at that time. So you look at the time expended which you can not pay for.
You find that it's worthwhile to have started GSM tariff at a high rate and overtime as soon as competition set in, the tariff gradually came down to the level that everybody could benefits as it is today.
So these are the type of things that perhaps we need to request the press, the private sector and both the Chambers of Commerce movements to focus on and put on the centre stage. The music in the lips of every Nigerian really should be give us power "power, power, power," we'll see that this government will come to the aid of the country.
You said when you were growing up in Apapa area, you went out at night what was security like?
Before the oil boom the safety of this country was almost guaranteed. When the petrol dollars from oil started flowing in during the period of General Yakubu Gowon the then Head of State who said "our problem was not money but how to spend it.
" I could still recall vividly that was the beginning of our problems. God has been very kind to this country, we have no reason to be poor, because we have everything. God has given us everything, no calamity, despite mineral resources that are available in abundance.
So I think God is with Nigeria, and it is now left for us as individuals, governments and as Nigerians as a whole to try to make the best use of this opportunity.
I am sure history will not forgive all of us. That is why I even said to Mr. President, Umar Yar'Adua that if it is only power he can do in the next four years, I'm sure this country will ever remain grateful to him and he would have lifted the industries, individuals because without power there can be no industrial revolution.
We are talking about Vision 2020,, be one of the top 20 economies in the world, this will be impossible to achieve without power. It's impossible! We would just be dreaming. This country has both human and material resources. We have everything needed to be great and it's a shame to continue to build this country this way.
Are you comfortable with the way the economy is running on generators?
If anybody tells you he is comfortable that person is not a patriotic Nigerian. Honestly, the noise pollution emanating from generators is an environmental degradation. That's another issue despite the cost of buying these generators.
Most of these generators are coming from where there is stable power supply. So they are using their stable power supply and are using their stable power supply to produce generators for us because we couldn't get our bearings right, and it's unfortunate.
In the Federal Government's seven point agenda, one of the cardinal one is power, and Mr. President went further to say we are going to declare a state of energy EMERGENCY"
We are still waiting for that to come and I'm sure he'll still do it because if we do not address power we cannot have industrial revolution even if banks reduce interest rate to zero, if we do not have power, industries can't use their capacity that is created.
Federal government recently said it won't invest kobo in new plants, that it wants private sector to invest in IPP. What's your position?
Government needs to clear one of two hurdles that will enable private sector to invest in IPP. In other countries, no oil company is allowed to export crude oil without setting up a power plant. You have to do either of the two. I am sure quite a member of the oil companies are ready to set up power plants.
Although, there is a regulatory body now in place (NERC) yet do they really have the power. For instance, if I set up a power plant in Victoria Island, whatever I'm generating to go to national grid elsewhere, if I take it to national grid, there is no guarantee from the PHCN or NERC (National electricity Regulatory Commission) to buy what I'll produce and pay XN for it. So, that is the hurdle.
If there is a guarantee that reasonable rate will be paid everybody will go into it. Some of the IPP are ready but the pipelines that will carry gas to them are not ready.
So if you are going to set up a power plants you must also be assured that the gas that is going to be used in firing it will be available otherwise there are other energy sources like wind and waste which are being generated a lot in Lagos state that could be turned into power house and into generating power. So these are the type of things we need to see and the private sector is ready.
For instance, if you ask NERC today, I think about 50 companies have register for IPP projects. Government needs to be serious about it and put the policy on energy in public domain.
Six months into the life of this administration, President Yar'Adua is yet to declare state of emergency on power which is one of the cardinal points of his economic agenda. What is your position?
That's what we are saying, that government needs to address this "power" issue. All the registered power plants investors should be called for discussion, let's assess the rate at which they can produce and govrnment buy from them and supply to the national grid or alternatively, if government wants to continue with transmission and generation, let's lift the ban on distribution.
Let's give it back to the states and states can make arrangement with the private sector to distribute whatever is available. Look at South Africa, they are having 45,000 MW, and Egypt is 33,000 or 35,000 MW, and if we are talking of Vision 2020 and prominence in the world economy and the power supply is still at 3,000MW instead of 10,000 this is a serious constraint that Nigeria is grappling with, and it has gotten to a level where people don't believe something will happen and that is unfortunate.
You have been in business, apart from power what other problems confront the business landscape?
Security. Insecurity of life and property in the country has been another major problem that also need to be addressed. While looking for foreign investors, the first thing they ask you is as a business partner is "What about the safety of their person, workers and investment.
If we can't guarantee the safety of individuals in this country, that is a shame. We need to address that.. I am happy to hear that police salary has been increased substantially as officers have been moved from N10,000 to N27,000 lowest paid.
It is a right thing in the right direction. Although people are still skeptical about the police that no matter how much you pay them they will still do what they are used to doing. But I think they are human being and they need to reflect that in their lives. So these are part of the things that we need to do, and are the things that actually increases the cost of doing business in this country.
For instance, why are we clamouring in the private sector that the ECOWAS Common External Tariff (CET) should not commence? It is because Nigerian manufacturers cannot compete with our neighbours like Ghana, Cote 'D Ivoire, Republic of Benin. The power in these neighbouring countries is stable and the cost of doing business there is much lower.
As a result, we need to go back to the drawing board as a country and look at why are we not where we should be? Are we honest, diligent, are we capable and patriotic citizens. So we need to go back to the drawing board and ask why what happened in the early 80s are not happening now, why is there no security, why is there dishonesty at a very large scale, why are people no longer patriotic, even up to footballers. So there is need to readdress these issues from a fundamental level, and that would be my recommendation.
One of the things manufacturers cry about is high interest charges by banks. Is it still there after consolidation?
Well with 25 banks and the consolidation that happened, which I must give credit to Professor Chukwuma Solude for that was radical, and I've been saying if before, not because a lot of the banks are our member. Most of the banks in operation before consolidation were created out of loans, and when people created business from loans, you cannot expect them not to re-coup their investment and that has been the problem but after the consolidation the banks are now in a position to do better. If they do not.
We as organised private sector must call them to order. Now banks are offering interests rate now between 15 per cent to 21 per cent. This is still high but they have to relate it to environment and cost which is what we are talking about. They have to buy generator and get another stand-by because they are not sure of power supply by PHCN.
Are all their equipment are IT driven.
That's why I can defend them a little but that the interest rate is still high because they have to factor all these extra costs into it. Nevertheless, Interest rate is much better than before when it was hovering between 30 - 35 per cent to about 16 and 21 per cent.
So, gradually we are getting there. Now they are also going to the public and getting more funds. So with more funds available they have no excuse now not to even bring it down between 12 per cent and 15 per cent which is what we think is reasonable at the moment.
Since the introduction of Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) government have been talking about - Private Sector taking the leadership. Is the private sector equipped as it is structured today in Nigeria to play this role?
The organised private sector OPS is not equipped.
It is still a government driven economy. If you look at it today for instance, the National Assembly by not passing the federal budget, it is having a ripple effect on the economy, because it is government driven economy.
The government is still not able to leave that role. It sometimes annoys me when a civil servant says he is more patriotic in business than the people, who have invested their hard earned money, a lot of money in the economy. You can not be more patriotic than somebody who set up a factory. Is it because you are opportuned to be the Permanent Secretary or Minister that makes you more patriotic? However what other economies are doing is to have (PPP) Public-Private Partnership.
The reason why PPP is being encouraged is because of the fact that government did not want to let off businesses. Since they didn't want to let it go, let's have Public Private Partnership. But the thing to do is to let the private sector play the leading role and until we do that, this economy can't move forward. What happened to China?
China was a communist state in the past and they began to open up their economy, and what they did first was to partner with the private sector. Today, the private sector is playing a leading role in China, and as a result of which the economy is growing at a rate that is unbelievable. Even the Western World are afraid that very soon China will overtake them.
OPS Nigeria has the manpower to be able to achieve that level of development as in India today. They don't have oil but they have people who have brains, they developed their IT (Information Technology) software in a way that the type of money they are today getting from software in foreign exchange is more than what we are getting from oil.
Similarly, look at Japan, they don't have oil but look at where they are. They are one of the richest country in this world. So that's why I say let's sit down and go back to the drawing board instead of everybody's addressing "oil, oil". If there is no oil we'll move forward, and if there is oil, ok. Let's make the best use of it to develop the Niger Delta region.
This is important. If somebody gives you something, you must give something back in return. If you don't do that God is annoyed with you. God'll certainly be annoyed with you. So, whatever we have to do, let us do it right and we'll be able to get to where we want to reach.
OPS is in fragment what are you doing to have a single voice in OPS?
Thank you very much for that question. The fragmentation in OPS in Nigeria is quite unfortunate. Recently, the current Minister of Commerce and Industry Engineer Charles Ugwuh, who happened to be one of us when he was immediate past president of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, called a stakeholders meeting and drew our attention to the issue.
Because of this fragmentation he was recommending that we have what is called Nigerian Business Council which should comprise everybody including NACCIMA, MAN, NECA, Lagos chamber of commerce, NASME, NASSI, NESG, etc.
The fragmentation in OPS is all politics. It is government that actually encouraged the formation of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG). I was also a member before. It's because of the way we operate in this country.
They wants to use divide and rule" principle all the time to the benefit of government. That is the reason also why they created NACCIMA; and most of the people that went to MAN were all members of Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI).
It's all because people want position and when they can't get it they leave to go and start another one, and it is government that encourages this, but what we are going to do during my time is to try to sensitize the legislators to pass a law that will ensure that we have only one body for OPS.
That is the practice all over the world and LCCI will attempt to encourage the legislators to draft a bill to that effect, and if the legislators are not going to do it, we will do it through a private bill and try to sensitize them because if we don't sensitize them the bill may not see the light of the day.
When we are able to come under one body, we'll be able to speak as "one voice", our voice will be stronger and government will listen to our views on economic policies.
The current Minister of Industry and Commerce was an advocate of restriction. He is in the Ministry of Commerce now, and they are opening the doors for bagged cement to come in. Isn't this inconsistency in policy?
Yes, we have always pointed out that there is inconsistency in government's policies. But the Minister may have a point in this very particular issue. First, he denied that it was an opened-ended thing and said the measure was a bridging gap arrangement whereby people will bring in the commodity to reduce the current high price. That's what we call government intervention and when intervention is genuine, of course we must support it.
The intervention is genuine as long as they do not allow it to last for too long so that it doesn't affect the local producers. The local producers are quite aware that there is an arrangement with them, to bring in some bagged cement in order to meet the supply gap but if that didn't work after a while, if the cost of cement is still higher than what it should be, because we all know the production cost then we will call for a halt to it.
Will cement importation not result to the cement amada of early 70s?
I don't think so. I heard in the news this morning that about 900 tons of cement had just landed. We'll want to watch the trend in the next few days and see what happens. My primary jurisdiction in the chamber is to ensure that the price is stable and cement is available because of infrastructural development that is taking place now.
A lot of people and building houses, so let's take advantage of it but it shouldn't be to the detriment of local manufacturers. We are also sensitising our members why can't you meet up with the demand locally and why are you not expanding your factory to be able to take up the supply gap?
They are saying that it takes a little time for them to be able to do that. They say they have to bring in the machine, the machine have to be fabricated and it takes sometimes; so we are looking at it and also watching and making sure that our members are not affected provided of course the benefit is passed over to the consumers.
What in the opinion of LCCI is the right price for cement?
As you are probably aware, the price before was N900 per bag and I haven't check with our members now. So that question I wouldn't like to preempt what they would say. I'll find out and let you know what should be the reasonable price of cement per bag.
At the moment it's being sold at N1400 per bag and our members are selling at N1,250 but between the factory and the ultimate consumer there's a gap of about N200 - N300 which is too high. So, if the anticipated import is offloaded and the price crash is not reflected, we will draw the attention of the Minister of Industry to it that "SORRY", things are not working and so let's get back to where we are coming from.
Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media. (allafrica.com)
FVAN61736842
Document AIWVAN0020080206e41s0000a

Vision 2020 Will Be Impossible to Achieve Without Regular Power Supply [interview]
by Omoh Gabriel

3,425 words

28 January 2008

11:02 AM

All Africa

AFNWS

English

(c) 2008 AllAfrica, All Rights Reserved
Lagos, Jan 28, 2008 (Vanguard/All Africa Global Media via COMTEX) -- Asiwaju Solomon Kayode Onafowokan is the President of Lagos Chambers of Commerce and Industry, and the "Asiowaju" of Remo Kingdom. He spoke with Financial Vanguard in his office at Commerce House Victoria Island Lagos last week.
Excerpts
Looking at the Nigerian environment from when you were growing up, would you say the same environment exist. Has there been any significant change?
Far from it. I feel very sorry for this generation because back then, we enjoyed peace and security-very free-environment. I can't imagine what is happening today.
I remember I grew up at Apapa Road and we walked all the way to school at Yaba, and walked back, go on night outing and stay up to 2-3am and walked back home without fear. Everything, including electricity was stable even though as at that time the country had not gotten independence from Britain.
We are happy the problem of telecommunication has been sorted out during ex- President Olusegun Obasanjo's regime. We all have to give him credit for that no matter what we think and what we feel about him.
But unfortunately we have been battling with power for quite a long time and I don't think it's insurmountable problem if we are all determined to make a success of it. People say if you give it to private sector the tariff will increase.
That is not true, we should recall that when the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) came, the tariff was N50 per minute at that time, and people thought it was too high, but when you look at the cost-saving in terms of time.
Before then if my son is going to call me from UK, what I had to do was to go and queue at NITEL and wait for the call and a very long queue at that time. So you look at the time expended which you can not pay for.
You find that it's worthwhile to have started GSM tariff at a high rate and overtime as soon as competition set in, the tariff gradually came down to the level that everybody could benefits as it is today.
So these are the type of things that perhaps we need to request the press, the private sector and both the Chambers of Commerce movements to focus on and put on the centre stage. The music in the lips of every Nigerian really should be give us power "power, power, power," we'll see that this government will come to the aid of the country.
You said when you were growing up in Apapa area, you went out at night what was security like?
Before the oil boom the safety of this country was almost guaranteed. When the petrol dollars from oil started flowing in during the period of General Yakubu Gowon the then Head of State who said "our problem was not money but how to spend it.
" I could still recall vividly that was the beginning of our problems. God has been very kind to this country, we have no reason to be poor, because we have everything. God has given us everything, no calamity, despite mineral resources that are available in abundance.
So I think God is with Nigeria, and it is now left for us as individuals, governments and as Nigerians as a whole to try to make the best use of this opportunity.
I am sure history will not forgive all of us. That is why I even said to Mr. President, Umar Yar'Adua that if it is only power he can do in the next four years, I'm sure this country will ever remain grateful to him and he would have lifted the industries, individuals because without power there can be no industrial revolution.
We are talking about Vision 2020,, be one of the top 20 economies in the world, this will be impossible to achieve without power. It's impossible! We would just be dreaming. This country has both human and material resources. We have everything needed to be great and it's a shame to continue to build this country this way.
Are you comfortable with the way the economy is running on generators?
If anybody tells you he is comfortable that person is not a patriotic Nigerian. Honestly, the noise pollution emanating from generators is an environmental degradation. That's another issue despite the cost of buying these generators.
Most of these generators are coming from where there is stable power supply. So they are using their stable power supply and are using their stable power supply to produce generators for us because we couldn't get our bearings right, and it's unfortunate.
In the Federal Government's seven point agenda, one of the cardinal one is power, and Mr. President went further to say we are going to declare a state of energy EMERGENCY"
We are still waiting for that to come and I'm sure he'll still do it because if we do not address power we cannot have industrial revolution even if banks reduce interest rate to zero, if we do not have power, industries can't use their capacity that is created.
Federal government recently said it won't invest kobo in new plants, that it wants private sector to invest in IPP. What's your position?
Government needs to clear one of two hurdles that will enable private sector to invest in IPP. In other countries, no oil company is allowed to export crude oil without setting up a power plant. You have to do either of the two. I am sure quite a member of the oil companies are ready to set up power plants.
Although, there is a regulatory body now in place (NERC) yet do they really have the power. For instance, if I set up a power plant in Victoria Island, whatever I'm generating to go to national grid elsewhere, if I take it to national grid, there is no guarantee from the PHCN or NERC (National electricity Regulatory Commission) to buy what I'll produce and pay XN for it. So, that is the hurdle.
If there is a guarantee that reasonable rate will be paid everybody will go into it. Some of the IPP are ready but the pipelines that will carry gas to them are not ready.
So if you are going to set up a power plants you must also be assured that the gas that is going to be used in firing it will be available otherwise there are other energy sources like wind and waste which are being generated a lot in Lagos state that could be turned into power house and into generating power. So these are the type of things we need to see and the private sector is ready.
For instance, if you ask NERC today, I think about 50 companies have register for IPP projects. Government needs to be serious about it and put the policy on energy in public domain.
Six months into the life of this administration, President Yar'Adua is yet to declare state of emergency on power which is one of the cardinal points of his economic agenda. What is your position?
That's what we are saying, that government needs to address this "power" issue. All the registered power plants investors should be called for discussion, let's assess the rate at which they can produce and govrnment buy from them and supply to the national grid or alternatively, if government wants to continue with transmission and generation, let's lift the ban on distribution.
Let's give it back to the states and states can make arrangement with the private sector to distribute whatever is available. Look at South Africa, they are having 45,000 MW, and Egypt is 33,000 or 35,000 MW, and if we are talking of Vision 2020 and prominence in the world economy and the power supply is still at 3,000MW instead of 10,000 this is a serious constraint that Nigeria is grappling with, and it has gotten to a level where people don't believe something will happen and that is unfortunate.
You have been in business, apart from power what other problems confront the business landscape?
Security. Insecurity of life and property in the country has been another major problem that also need to be addressed. While looking for foreign investors, the first thing they ask you is as a business partner is "What about the safety of their person, workers and investment.
If we can't guarantee the safety of individuals in this country, that is a shame. We need to address that.. I am happy to hear that police salary has been increased substantially as officers have been moved from N10,000 to N27,000 lowest paid.
It is a right thing in the right direction. Although people are still skeptical about the police that no matter how much you pay them they will still do what they are used to doing. But I think they are human being and they need to reflect that in their lives. So these are part of the things that we need to do, and are the things that actually increases the cost of doing business in this country.
For instance, why are we clamouring in the private sector that the ECOWAS Common External Tariff (CET) should not commence? It is because Nigerian manufacturers cannot compete with our neighbours like Ghana, Cote 'D Ivoire, Republic of Benin. The power in these neighbouring countries is stable and the cost of doing business there is much lower.
As a result, we need to go back to the drawing board as a country and look at why are we not where we should be? Are we honest, diligent, are we capable and patriotic citizens. So we need to go back to the drawing board and ask why what happened in the early 80s are not happening now, why is there no security, why is there dishonesty at a very large scale, why are people no longer patriotic, even up to footballers. So there is need to readdress these issues from a fundamental level, and that would be my recommendation.
One of the things manufacturers cry about is high interest charges by banks. Is it still there after consolidation?
Well with 25 banks and the consolidation that happened, which I must give credit to Professor Chukwuma Solude for that was radical, and I've been saying if before, not because a lot of the banks are our member. Most of the banks in operation before consolidation were created out of loans, and when people created business from loans, you cannot expect them not to re-coup their investment and that has been the problem but after the consolidation the banks are now in a position to do better. If they do not.
We as organised private sector must call them to order. Now banks are offering interests rate now between 15 per cent to 21 per cent. This is still high but they have to relate it to environment and cost which is what we are talking about. They have to buy generator and get another stand-by because they are not sure of power supply by PHCN.
Are all their equipment are IT driven.
That's why I can defend them a little but that the interest rate is still high because they have to factor all these extra costs into it. Nevertheless, Interest rate is much better than before when it was hovering between 30 - 35 per cent to about 16 and 21 per cent.
So, gradually we are getting there. Now they are also going to the public and getting more funds. So with more funds available they have no excuse now not to even bring it down between 12 per cent and 15 per cent which is what we think is reasonable at the moment.
Since the introduction of Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) government have been talking about - Private Sector taking the leadership. Is the private sector equipped as it is structured today in Nigeria to play this role?
The organised private sector OPS is not equipped.
It is still a government driven economy. If you look at it today for instance, the National Assembly by not passing the federal budget, it is having a ripple effect on the economy, because it is government driven economy.
The government is still not able to leave that role. It sometimes annoys me when a civil servant says he is more patriotic in business than the people, who have invested their hard earned money, a lot of money in the economy. You can not be more patriotic than somebody who set up a factory. Is it because you are opportuned to be the Permanent Secretary or Minister that makes you more patriotic? However what other economies are doing is to have (PPP) Public-Private Partnership.
The reason why PPP is being encouraged is because of the fact that government did not want to let off businesses. Since they didn't want to let it go, let's have Public Private Partnership. But the thing to do is to let the private sector play the leading role and until we do that, this economy can't move forward. What happened to China?
China was a communist state in the past and they began to open up their economy, and what they did first was to partner with the private sector. Today, the private sector is playing a leading role in China, and as a result of which the economy is growing at a rate that is unbelievable. Even the Western World are afraid that very soon China will overtake them.
OPS Nigeria has the manpower to be able to achieve that level of development as in India today. They don't have oil but they have people who have brains, they developed their IT (Information Technology) software in a way that the type of money they are today getting from software in foreign exchange is more than what we are getting from oil.
Similarly, look at Japan, they don't have oil but look at where they are. They are one of the richest country in this world. So that's why I say let's sit down and go back to the drawing board instead of everybody's addressing "oil, oil". If there is no oil we'll move forward, and if there is oil, ok. Let's make the best use of it to develop the Niger Delta region.
This is important. If somebody gives you something, you must give something back in return. If you don't do that God is annoyed with you. God'll certainly be annoyed with you. So, whatever we have to do, let us do it right and we'll be able to get to where we want to reach.
OPS is in fragment what are you doing to have a single voice in OPS?
Thank you very much for that question. The fragmentation in OPS in Nigeria is quite unfortunate. Recently, the current Minister of Commerce and Industry Engineer Charles Ugwuh, who happened to be one of us when he was immediate past president of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, called a stakeholders meeting and drew our attention to the issue.
Because of this fragmentation he was recommending that we have what is called Nigerian Business Council which should comprise everybody including NACCIMA, MAN, NECA, Lagos chamber of commerce, NASME, NASSI, NESG, etc.
The fragmentation in OPS is all politics. It is government that actually encouraged the formation of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG). I was also a member before. It's because of the way we operate in this country.
They wants to use divide and rule" principle all the time to the benefit of government. That is the reason also why they created NACCIMA; and most of the people that went to MAN were all members of Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI).
It's all because people want position and when they can't get it they leave to go and start another one, and it is government that encourages this, but what we are going to do during my time is to try to sensitize the legislators to pass a law that will ensure that we have only one body for OPS.
That is the practice all over the world and LCCI will attempt to encourage the legislators to draft a bill to that effect, and if the legislators are not going to do it, we will do it through a private bill and try to sensitize them because if we don't sensitize them the bill may not see the light of the day.
When we are able to come under one body, we'll be able to speak as "one voice", our voice will be stronger and government will listen to our views on economic policies.
The current Minister of Industry and Commerce was an advocate of restriction. He is in the Ministry of Commerce now, and they are opening the doors for bagged cement to come in. Isn't this inconsistency in policy?
Yes, we have always pointed out that there is inconsistency in government's policies. But the Minister may have a point in this very particular issue. First, he denied that it was an opened-ended thing and said the measure was a bridging gap arrangement whereby people will bring in the commodity to reduce the current high price. That's what we call government intervention and when intervention is genuine, of course we must support it.
The intervention is genuine as long as they do not allow it to last for too long so that it doesn't affect the local producers. The local producers are quite aware that there is an arrangement with them, to bring in some bagged cement in order to meet the supply gap but if that didn't work after a while, if the cost of cement is still higher than what it should be, because we all know the production cost then we will call for a halt to it.
Will cement importation not result to the cement amada of early 70s?
I don't think so. I heard in the news this morning that about 900 tons of cement had just landed. We'll want to watch the trend in the next few days and see what happens. My primary jurisdiction in the chamber is to ensure that the price is stable and cement is available because of infrastructural development that is taking place now.
A lot of people and building houses, so let's take advantage of it but it shouldn't be to the detriment of local manufacturers. We are also sensitising our members why can't you meet up with the demand locally and why are you not expanding your factory to be able to take up the supply gap?
They are saying that it takes a little time for them to be able to do that. They say they have to bring in the machine, the machine have to be fabricated and it takes sometimes; so we are looking at it and also watching and making sure that our members are not affected provided of course the benefit is passed over to the consumers.
What in the opinion of LCCI is the right price for cement?
As you are probably aware, the price before was N900 per bag and I haven't check with our members now. So that question I wouldn't like to preempt what they would say. I'll find out and let you know what should be the reasonable price of cement per bag.
At the moment it's being sold at N1400 per bag and our members are selling at N1,250 but between the factory and the ultimate consumer there's a gap of about N200 - N300 which is too high. So, if the anticipated import is offloaded and the price crash is not reflected, we will draw the attention of the Minister of Industry to it that "SORRY", things are not working and so let's get back to where we are coming from.
Document AFNWS00020080128e41s00131
Botswana (01/08)
4,408 words

16 January 2008

State Department Press Releases And Documents

STDP

English

Copyright (c) 2008 Federal Information & News Dispatch, Inc.
State Department Press Release
Botswana (01/08)
Wed, 16 Jan 2008
Bureau of African Affairs
January 2008
Background Note: Botswana
Flag of Botswana is light blue with a horizontal white-edged black stripe in the center.
PROFILE
OFFICIAL NAME:
Republic of Botswana
Geography
Area: 582,000 sq. km. (224,710 sq. mi.), about the size of Texas. Cities (2001 census): Capital--Gaborone (pronounced ha-bo-ro-neh), pop. 186,007. Other towns--Francistown (83,023), Selebi-Phikwe (49,849), Molepolole (54,561), Kanye (40,628), Serowe (42,444), Mahalapye (39,719), Lobatse (29,689), Maun (43,776), Mochudi (36,962).
Terrain: Desert and savanna.
Climate: Mostly subtropical.
People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Motswana (sing.), Batswana (pl.). Population (2003): 1.76 million. Annual population growth rate (2002): 0.6%.
Ethnic groups: Tswana 79%; Kalanga 11%; Kgalagadi, Herero, Bayeyi, Hambukush, Basarwa ("San"), Khoi, whites 10%.
Religions: Christianity 70%, none 20%, indigenous beliefs 6%, other 4%.
Languages: English (official), Setswana, Ikalanga.
Education: Adult literacy--81%. Health (2004): Life expectancy--33.9 years. Infant mortality rate--56/1,000.
Work force (2005/2006 est.): 548,600 employed; total including unemployed, 651,500.
Government
Type: Republic, parliamentary democracy.
Independence: September 30, 1966.
Constitution: March 1965.
Branches: Executive--president (chief of state and head of government), cabinet. Legislative--popularly elected National Assembly; advisory House of Chiefs. Judicial--High Court, Court of Appeal, local and customary courts, industrial labor court. Administrative subdivisions: Five town councils and nine district councils. Major political parties: Botswana Democratic Party (BDP)--48 seats, Botswana National Front (BNF)--12 seats, Botswana Congress Party (BCP)--1 seat, Botswana Alliance Movement (BAM)--0 seats.
Suffrage: Universal at 18.
Economy
Nominal GDP (2005/2006): $9.5 billion.
Real GDP growth rate (2005/2006): -0.8%.
Per capita nominal GDP (2005/2006): $5,300.
Natural resources: Diamonds, copper, nickel, coal, soda ash, salt, gold, potash.
Agriculture (1.7% of real GDP, 2005/2006): Products--livestock, sorghum, white maize, millet, cowpeas, beans. Industry: Types--mining (41.4% of real GDP, 2005/2006): diamonds, copper, nickel, coal; tourism, textiles, construction, tourism, beef processing, chemical products production, food and beverage production. Trade (2005/2006): Exports--$5.3 billion: diamonds, nickel, copper, meat products, textiles, hides, skins, and soda ash. Partners--EU, South Africa. Imports--$2.8 billion: machinery, transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, chemicals, fuels. Major suppliers--South Africa, EU, and U.S.
PEOPLE AND HISTORY
The Batswana, a term also used to denote all citizens of Botswana, refers to the country's major ethnic group (the "Tswana" in South Africa), which came into the area from South Africa during the Zulu wars of the early 1800s. Prior to European contact, the Batswana lived as herders and farmers under tribal rule.
In the 19th century, hostilities broke out between the Batswana and Boer settlers from the Transvaal. After appeals by the Batswana for assistance, the British Government in 1885 put "Bechuanaland" under its protection. The northern territory remained under direct administration and is today's Botswana, while the southern territory became part of the Cape Colony and is now part of the northwest province of South Africa; the majority of Setswana-speaking people today live in South Africa.
Despite South African pressure, inhabitants of the Bechuanaland Protectorate, Basutoland (now Lesotho), and Swaziland in 1909 asked for and received British assurances that they would not be included in the proposed Union of South Africa. An expansion of British central authority and the evolution of tribal government resulted in the 1920 establishment of two advisory councils representing Africans and Europeans. Proclamations in 1934 regularized tribal rule and powers. A European-African advisory council was formed in 1951, and the 1961 constitution established a consultative legislative council.
In June 1964, Britain accepted proposals for democratic self-government in Botswana. The seat of government was moved from Mafikeng, in South Africa, to newly established Gaborone in 1965. The 1965 constitution led to the first general elections and to independence in September 1966. Seretse Khama, a leader in the independence movement and the legitimate claimant to traditional rule of the Bamangwato, was elected as the first president, re-elected twice, and died in office in 1980. The presidency passed to the sitting vice president, Ketumile Masire, who was elected in his own right in 1984 and re-elected in 1989 and 1994. Masire retired from office in 1998. The presidency passed to the sitting vice president, Festus Mogae, who was elected in his own right in 1999. Mogae won a second term in elections held October 30, 2004. Mogae has announced his intention to step down in March 2008. Vice President Ian Khama will assume the presidency until the general election in 2009.
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS
Botswana has a flourishing multiparty constitutional democracy. Each of the elections since independence has been freely and fairly contested and has been held on schedule. The country's minority groups participate freely in the political process. There are three main parties and a number of smaller parties. In national elections in 2004, the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) won 44 of 57 contested National Assembly seats, the Botswana National Front (BNF) won 12, and the Botswana Congress Party (BCP) won 1 seat. Individuals elected by the National Assembly hold an additional 4 seats; the ruling BDP currently holds all 4. The opposition out-polled the ruling BDP in most urban areas. The openness of the country's political system has been a significant factor in Botswana's stability and economic growth. General elections are held every 5 years. The next general election will be held in October 2009.
The president has executive power and is chosen by the National Assembly following countrywide legislative elections. The cabinet is selected by the president from the National Assembly; it consists of a vice president and a flexible number of ministers and assistant ministers, currently 16 and 8, respectively. The National Assembly has 57 elected and 4 specially elected members; it is expanded following each census (every 10 years; the most recent was conducted in 2001).
The advisory House of Chiefs represents the eight principal subgroups of the Batswana tribes, five members specially elected by the president, and 22 members elected from designated regions. The elected members hold office for a period of only 5 years whereas the eight principal chiefs are members for life. A draft of any National Assembly bill of tribal concern must be referred to the House of Chiefs for advisory opinion. Chiefs and other leaders preside over customary traditional courts, though all persons have the right to request that their case be considered under the formal British-based legal system.
The roots of Botswana's democracy lie in Setswana traditions, exemplified by the Kgotla, or village council, in which the powers of traditional leaders are limited by custom and law. Botswana's High Court has general civil and criminal jurisdiction. Judges are appointed by the president and may be removed only for cause and after a hearing. The constitution has a code of fundamental human rights enforced by the courts, and Botswana has a good human rights record.
Local government is administered by nine district councils and five town councils. District commissioners have executive authority and are appointed by the central government and assisted by elected and nominated district councilors and district development committees. There has been ongoing debate about the political, social, and economic marginalization of the San (indigenous tribal population). The government's policies for the Basarwa (San) and other remote area dwellers continue to spark controversy.
Principal Government Officials
President--Festus G. Mogae
Vice President--Lt. Gen. (ret) Seretse Khama Ian Khama
Cabinet Ministers