NAIROBI, April 19 (Xinhua) -- UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie has expressed her concerns for the lives and the well-being of thousands of displaced people who are trapped in Somalia's capital of Mogadishu.

"I am deeply troubled by the complete and utter disregard for human life in Somalia," Jolie said in a statement issued on Monday.

"Another tragedy is unfolding in Somalia as street battles rage on in Mogadishu causing incredible suffering, massive displacement and loss of life."

More than 170,000 Somalis have been forced from their homes across the country since the beginning of the year. Scores have been killed or injured in recent weeks amid some of the bloodiest fighting to date.

While thousands have fled Mogadishu, many others stay behind, displaced and without any means to leave the city.

"I fear for their lives," said Jolie. "I appeal to those who carry on fighting not to shell and target civilian neighbourhoods. "

Jolie added her voice to recent calls by High Commissioner Antonio Guterres for more international attention and help for the needy and vulnerable population in Somalia.

Continued fighting and general insecurity make it extremely difficult for aid agencies to access and assist the displaced population.

Somalia is one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world today with half the population in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.

There are more than 1.4 million Somalis displaced inside the country and some 570,000 live as refugees in the region.

afrol News, 19 April - Tanzania's local flower growers have reported serious losses in their produce since flights were cancelled on the European space. Also Kenyan flowers are rotting in stead of being marketed.

Local media reports in Tanzania said small horticulturists said they have suffered since Thursday when the flights were cancelled because of the volcanic ash from Iceland, which has darkened most of Europe's airspace.

Farmers were also reportedly running out of storage for already cultivated flowers, which could mean that fresh ones will have to be left in the pots in the hope they would not be affected or just be left to waste.

The East African bloc cashes a lot from flowers from the European market, with returns said to account for 20 percent of the exports.

In Tanzania only, the horticulture sector is said to have contributed up to one percent of GDP or about US$ 22.6 million (about Sh29.3 billion) between last year and January this year.

In neighbouring Kenya, thousands of tonnes of flowers and other vegetables destined for the European market were also reported to have gone to waste.

Officials in Kenya, the country which also exports about 1000 tonnes of fresh agro-produce to Europe daily, said the situation was more devastating than any other natural disaster that has hit the country in years.

While produce continues to end up rotten in Kenya's ports, workers have also reportedly been laid-off because of the flights' crisis.

Kenya is the biggest East African exporter of flowers to the European market, said to account for almost 30 percent of the regional bloc's exports.

Meanwhile, volcanology and meteorological analyses, together with an EU ministerial decision to ease flight regulations, paint a more optimistic picture about an opening of European air space within a few days, especially for long-distance flights that go above the ash clouds.

LAGOS, April 19 (Xinhua) -- The African Airlines Association (AFRAA) has lodged a formal complaint with the European Union over the blacklisting of some African airlines, an official said on Monday.

The association Secretary General Nick Fadugba disclosed this to reporters in Lagos, describing the ban as unjust.

The EU recently published a list of 13 African countries whose airlines are banned from flying into its airspace for what it called "safety concerns."

Fadugba said the International Civil Aviation Organization, rather than the EU, had the authority to publish such a list as the global regulator of the aviation industry.

"We want the blacklisting ignored. It is financially bad for African airlines," the News Agency of Nigeria quoted him as saying.

The AFRAA Scribe said the blacklisting had damaged the reputation and businesses of the affected airlines, whose safety records and adherence to ICAO standards were comparable to the best airlines in the world.

According to Fadugba, the European airlines are the ultimate beneficiaries of the ban as they have reportedly, dominated the African skies.
"The majority of the banned African airlines had never operated scheduled flights to Europe and do not plan to do so as they have no aircraft with the range to fly to any EU state," he said.

"Many of the airlines only exist on paper and are not operational. Neither the operating license nor the ICAO registration numbers of most of the banned airlines are known," he added.

Fadugba urged Africa airlines to improve on their air safety records.

20100419
press tv

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has ascribed stability in parts of Somalia to the tough rule of al-Shabab fighters who control much of the conflict-torn country's south.

However, a new report by the New York-based group adds that this stability has come at a high price for the local population.

The study cites killings, repression and harsh punishments based on extreme interpretations of Islamic Sharia law by the fighters in the lawless country which has lacked a strong central government since 1991.

“While al-Shabab has brought stability to some areas long plagued by violence, it has used unrelenting repression and brutality," AFP quoted Georgette Gagnon, HRW's Africa director as saying on Monday.

However, HWR also accuses the Western-backed transitional government of President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and African Union peacekeepers of extreme violations of the rules of war, including indiscriminate killing of civilians.

"Alongside abuses in al-Shebab-controlled areas, all sides are responsible for laws-of-war violations that continue unabated in Mogadishu," said Gagnon.

The HWR official also urged the United Nations, the US and the European Union to stop turning a blind eye to violation committed by the other side, simply because they are deemed allies.

"There is no easy, obvious way to solve the crisis in Somalia...But outside powers should address abuses by all sides instead of ignoring those committed by their allies," she stressed.

The transitional government and the fighters have been fighting for control of the capital ever since the new fledgling government took power in January 2009.

20100419
alalam

Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir scored overwhelming victories in a sample of results from national elections, state media reported on Sunday.

Both European Union and Carter Center observers have said last week's elections stopped short of echoing opposition allegations of widespread rigging.

The polls, set up under a 2005 peace deal that ended two decades of north-south civil war, were supposed to help transform the troubled oil-producing nation into a democracy.

Bashir won between 70-92 percent of votes cast in around 35 scattered polling centers, foreign voting posts and one state, the state Suna news agency reported.

The figures have not been confirmed by the National Elections Commission and represent a fraction of the country.

A senior official from Bashir's dominant National Congress Party said he was expecting similar results across Sudan.

"This victory is a real victory ... The counting of the votes took place under the sun, not in a dark room. The observers saw everything," Rabie Abdelati said.

Sudanese expatriates overwhelmingly supported Bashir in polling centers set up in Libya, Oman, Egypt, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, with majorities of between 77 and 92 percent.

The state agency said Bashir had secured 90 per cent of the votes for the presidency in the country's Northern State.

There were similar majorities recorded in individual voting centers across northern Sudan, said Suna.

The National Elections Commission has delayed issuing official results but says it will begin on Sunday. Election officials in south Sudan said some results might be delayed until Tuesday, the official deadline for announcements.

20100419
alalam

Human Rights Watch slammed on Monday that Somalia the Shebab group has subjected people in the south of the country to killings, cruel punishments, and repressive social control.

The report said that the insurgents, who control most of the country including the majority of the capital Mogadishu, of "implacable repression and brutality."

The 62-page report, based on more than 70 interviews with victims and witnesses, said punishments including amputations and floggings were regularly meted without due process.

HRW also criticized "indiscriminate attacks" in the capital Mogadishu by the transitional government and the African Union peacekeeping force, saying they often played a counterproductive role in the crisis.

"Alongside abuses in Shebab-controlled areas, all sides are responsible for laws-of-war violations that continue unabated in Mogadishu," Georgette Gagnon, Africa director at Human Rights Watch said.

"There is no easy, obvious way to solve the crisis in Somalia," she added.

"But outside powers should address abuses by all sides instead of ignoring those committed by their allies," she said

Somalia has been plagued by armed conflict since the collapse of its last government in 1991.

MBALE, eastern Uganda, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Another landslide has hit the eastern Ugandan district of Bududa, destroying crops but with no casualties so far reported, a district official said on Monday.

Wilson Watira, the district chairperson told Xinhua by telephone that the landslide occurred in Bunamutiti parish in Busika Sub County on Sunday.

"There was no life that was killed since the incident occurred only in farmlands where people are not living in," he said.

"We as the district officials are in a meeting trying to estimate the worth of the destruction, but it's over millions of shillings, because it involved crops like coffee, bananas and other several food crops," he said.

He said few houses were flooded with water but no people were killed or injured since most of them had gone to attend Sunday prayers.

This incident occurs in less than two months after a landslide swept away three villages in the same district killing over 300 people and leaving tens of thousands others homeless.

Environmental specialists warn that over 35,000 people in the area located on the slopes of Mountain Elgon are at risk.

"Over 35,000 people in eastern Uganda are seated on a time bomb that is only waiting to burst," Goretti Kitutu, the environmental systems specialists at the National Environmental Management Authority, told Xinhua by telephone on Monday.

She said a 45 km fresh crack along the mountain exposes a serious danger to the local residents who reside in the area.

afrol News, 19 April - Mozambique has reported the biggest cashew nut production in three years. The once world cashew export leader sees its industry recovering slowly.

According to reports from the country, the season's production has topped 95,000 tonnes, mostly thanks to favourable weather conditions.

The director of the national cashew institute (INCAJU), Filomena Maiópuè was reported in the local press saying the southern part of the country was the most fortunate and suitable to have achieved the bumper crop.

The national cashew nut institute said this year's produce also well within the target of 100,000 tonnes of raw cashew, also adding that the price was also very good for the farmers this year.

Mozambique's cashew season starts in October and ends in March, but due to extended flowering of cashew trees this season as well as the selling period, it is expected that the season will be extended to the end of April.

While this year's cashew crop is among the best during the last decade, production is however still significantly lower than in the peaking 1970s, when Mozambique was the world's leading producer. The civil war and poor maintenance brought the cashew industry to its knees by the mid-90s.

Since then, however, massive investments in cashew production has seen Mozambique's main cash crop to recover slowly.

MBALE, eastern Uganda, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Another landslide has hit the eastern Ugandan district of Bududa, destroying crops but with no casualties so far reported, a district official said on Monday.

Wilson Watira, the district chairperson told Xinhua by telephone that the landslide occurred in Bunamutiti parish in Busika Sub County on Sunday.

"There was no life that was killed since the incident occurred only in farmlands where people are not living in," he said.

"We as the district officials are in a meeting trying to estimate the worth of the destruction, but it's over millions of shillings, because it involved crops like coffee, bananas and other several food crops," he said.

He said few houses were flooded with water but no people were killed or injured since most of them had gone to attend Sunday prayers.

This incident occurs in less than two months after a landslide swept away three villages in the same district killing over 300 people and leaving tens of thousands others homeless.

Environmental specialists warn that over 35,000 people in the area located on the slopes of Mountain Elgon are at risk.

"Over 35,000 people in eastern Uganda are seated on a time bomb that is only waiting to burst," Goretti Kitutu, the environmental systems specialists at the National Environmental Management Authority, told Xinhua by telephone on Monday.

She said a 45 km fresh crack along the mountain exposes a serious danger to the local residents who reside in the area.

afrol News, 19 April - An Angolan stock exchange, predicted for launch later in the year, may have "the makings of an African giant," according to a new assessment. In the region, only the South African stock exchange will be bigger, according to the analysis.

A study by Anthony Lopes Pinto, the chief of the Luanda offices of the Botswana-registered investment company Imara, suggests that the planned bourse - the Bolsa de Valores e Derivativos de Angola or BVDA - "has the potential to become the third largest in sub-Saharan Africa after the South African and Nigerian stock exchanges."

Mr Lopes Pinto holds that "efforts to obtain a sovereign credit rating in order to access international debt markets are well under way, and should reinforce long-term stability and result in a deepening of the market. Diversification of the economy away from oil continues apace and, commendably, the government has recently appointed Ernst & Young to eliminate fiscal inefficiencies."

"With the financial crisis now firmly behind us, we anticipate the opening of the Angolan bourse this year," the financial analyst adds. "This will augment the national savings rate, creating alternatives for Angolan companies in need of growth capital. Such a move will also attract foreign portfolio inflows, which globally have recovered strongly."

Mr Lopes Pinto's assessment of the potential strength of an Angolan bourse considers two scenarios - a top-down macro view and a bottom-up appraisal with tight focus on 14 likely initial public offering (IPO) candidates.

The broad view considers Angola's estimated gross domestic product of US$ 84.9 billion and the capitalisation of African stock exchanges relative to GDP, an average of 42 percent. This calculation suggests that the BVDA could have a market capitalisation of US$ 36 billion, nearly three times the size of Kenya's well-established stock market.

A US$ 36 billion Angolan stock market would still be dwarfed by South Africa's JSE, with its 331 listing companies and total market cap of US$ 801 billion. But it would not be too far behind the Nigerian market, with 195 listings and a capitalisation of US$ 39.67 billion.

In comparison, Angola's southern African neighbours Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia would be stock exchange minnows. Botswana's exchange has a market capitalisation of only US$ 4.18 billion, with Zimbabwe down at just US$ 3.6 billion, though Zambia is a little higher up the market cap league table at US$ 15.23 billion.

After considering macro potential, Imara's Luanda office chief sketches a much more conservative picture based on research of 14 companies that might become initial BVDA members. This snapshot covers 10 banks - with a projected market cap of US$ 3.99 billion -two brewers (US$ 2.90 billion) and two telecoms (US$ 4.39 billion).

Even this minimalist assessment suggests a total market capitalisation of about US$ 11.28 billion would be achievable, the analyst holds. Mr Lopes Pinto adds: "We believe this to be the tip of the iceberg. We understand up to 50 companies have been identified as IPO candidates."

"As this is not an exhaustive list, our conclusions can be viewed as most conservative. Further, our valuations are diluted in large measure by the fact that sub-Saharan equity markets, with the exception of South Africa, still lag the recovery witnessed in emerging markets. Nonetheless, an US$ 11 billion market will still feature prominently in Africa's top ten," Mr Lopes Pinto concludes.

20100419
africa news

The DR Congo heads to the polls next year to elect a new president. On the quiet campaigning already for the top post is a computer scientist and an administrator Dr Bent Francis Mboyo. Speaking to AfricaNews from his USA base he said the time has come for the DRC to experience rapid transformation.
Bent Mboyo
Excerpts of the full interview below:

AfricaNews: Briefly tell us about yourself?
Dr Mboyo: I am a twin born from a small village called "Bikoro" in the province of Equateur in the DRC. I grew up in a village that had no public transportation, electricity and television. Almost 40 years later, the standard of living for many people in Congo, is still the same. I have stayed in the USA for nearly 11 years and married to Kangaj Ruwew from the Katanga province since 1990. I am a father of five - all living in Seattle, Washington, USA....(You can see the following report in Report & Aricles section)

20100419
africanews

The president of Sudan, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, scored overwhelming victories in a sample of results from national elections. Both European Union and Carter Center observers have said last week's elections did not meet international standards, but stopped short of echoing opposition allegations of widespread rigging.

The presidential and legislative polls, set up under a 2005 peace deal that ended two decades of north-south civil war, were supposed to help transform the troubled oil-producing nation into a democracy.

Bashir won between 70-92 percent of votes cast in presidential ballots in around 35 scattered polling centres, foreign voting posts and one state, said state news agency Suna.

Those figures represent a fraction of the country and have not been confirmed by authorities.

Separately, Sudan's National Elections Commission began to announce the first official results of the contest on Sunday -- 17 state assembly seats from north Sudan all of which went to Bashir's National Congress Party (NCP) with massive majorities.

Senior NCP official Rabie Abdelati told Reuters he was expecting similar results across Sudan.

"This victory is a real victory ... The counting of the votes took place under the sun, not in a dark room. The observers saw everything," he said.

Opposition groups said the huge majorities proved their accusations that the NCP had fiddled with ballot boxes in the north, justifying the decision of many parties to boycott. They say they caught officials exchanging and stuffing ballot boxes at night during the five-day voting process.

20100419
africanews

Two German men have been kidnapped from a beach in Nigeria's oil-producing southeast, a security source said. The men aged 45 and 55, identities were not immediately disclosed. They were abducted after an outing at a beach in oil-producing Abia state, which neighbours the oil hub of Rivers State.

The two "male Germans (were) kidnapped at Azumini Beach strip at Imo River as they were rounding up and heading to their vehicle," the security source said.

Neither the police nor the German embassy was immediately available for comment.

One works in Port Harcourt, the capital of Rivers State, while the other came from Nigeria's commercial capital of Lagos.

No group has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping, the latest to rock oil-rich Nigeria in recent months.

20100419
africanews

The 'world's youngest king' assumed his official duties with an apparent air of reluctance Sunday in a quiet town at the foot of Uganda's Rwenzori mountains.

Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV, 18, was crowned as head of the Kingdom of Toro in a traditional ceremony in his hilltop palace overlooking his capital of Fort Portal.

Draped in a long embroidered gown of blue and gold, the tall, lean Oyo hardly smiled through much of the ceremony, often staring straight down at the floor.

His symbolic authority covers the area known as the Mountains of the Moon straddling the borders of Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo.

The young king had officially succeeded to the throne at the age of three when his father died of a heart attack in 1995, but coronation takes place only upon reaching adulthood.

His onlooking subjects struggled to express what they expected of their new monarch.

"There was a time the king had administrative power, going right down to the local chiefs. This place was very organised", said John Mugisha, a member of the Butooro clan.

Mugisha, a clarinet player in the police band performing at the coronation, said he regretted the decline of the historic monarchy under the colonial and post-independence governments.

But he was not entirely convinced he wanted the king's former privileges restored.

20100419
africagoodnews

A new piece of kit in the form of a backpack could help small farmers in Kenya increase yields, profits and agricultural know-how in a sustainable way.

The backpacks, weighing 15-42 kg, contain things which help farmers bring a crop to harvest, including tools, a training manual and, in some versions, a collapsible water tank. They are designed for small plots of land and are currently being used in the Mau Forest region.

"The nine month supply for a half acre [0.2 hectares] of land I bought, includes seeds, a plant nutrition system and water drip and it is light enough to be transported on my back" Rosemary Muthomi, one of the users of the system in Meru Green, told IRIN.

Small-scale farms are widespread in Kenya, where the great majority of the population depends on agriculture or fishing. But much of the farming takes place only on a subsistence level on small plots or `shambas', and even in such households, food insecurity is common.

An April 2010 report by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) said that although short rains at the end of 2009 improved food security in several areas of Kenya, " recurrent seasons of failed or poor rains, sustained high food prices, environmental degradation, disease outbreaks, and flooding led to deteriorating food security conditions throughout Kenya, straining coping mechanisms, exacerbating pre-existing chronic poverty, and contributing to increased inter-ethnic conflict regarding access to limited land and water resources."

The Backpack Farm Agricultural Programme (BPF), brainchild of Rachel Zedeck and launched in late 2009, also aims to encourage small-scale farmers to form cooperatives so as to increase production and improve marketing.

"Our idea was to enable users to immediately start growing their own food. But the final goal is to ensure small-scale farmers increase their harvests and improve their quality of life and also to give them the technology, at a fraction of commercial costs, for opening up to markets."

"As well as drought-resistant seeds of local crop varieties, we provide fertilizers that do not damage soil and water tables, a cost effective drip irrigation system, and training on green water management [rainwater collection] techniques," she added.

The high cost of most ecologically friendly farm products has limited their use to around 10 percent of Kenyan farmers, according to John W. Njoroge, director of the Kenyan Institute of Organic Farming.

20100419
africagoodnews

A century after the last Ottoman soldier left Libya, Turkey is seeking to make a comeback in Africa, eager to consolidate its status as a regional power and to open new markets.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul's official visits to Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo last month underscored increased efforts by the Islamist-rooted government for closer contacts with the continent, where many share the country's predominantly Muslim faith.

In 2008, Turkey held a first summit of cooperation with African leaders, hoping to organise similar events every five years, and won the status of a "strategic partner" from the African Union.

The number of Turkish embassies on the continent has risen from 12 to 17 in the past two years and preparations are under way to inaugurate 10 more.

"Africa is a region on which we will focus a lot in the coming years and decades," Turkey's deputy prime minister Ali Babacan, who is responsible for the economy, told AFP.

"Turkish business people are really interested in Africa... They go there without encountering any prejudice. They receive a warm welcome."

Turkish exports to Africa have grown by more than seven times in a decade to reach 10.2 billion dollars in 2009, making approximately 10 percent of its total exports, according to official figures.

Imports from African countries have doubled in the same period, reaching 5.5 billion dollars.

Faced with tough competition from Chinese and European traders, Turkish companies rely primarily on textiles as they push for a place on the African market.

Some Turkish brands, such as food and beverages giant Ulker, have already established themselves on the continent.

In Africa, "we have begun to distinguish Turkish goods from Chinese products due to their quality. Turkish goods mean European quality on a cheaper price," said Abdou Diallo, a Senegalese businessman based in Istanbul.

It was almost by chance that Turkey grasped the potential for revived ties with Africa, where the Ottoman Empire once held vast territories from Algeria to Sudan before losing them to European colonial powers, with the last one -- Libya -- occupied by Italy in 1912.

"Turkey discovered Africa when it launched its campaign to become a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council," conceded a Turkish diplomat, who requested anonymity.

Eager for a stronger say on the global diplomatic scene, Turkey led an active campaign to win the two-year seat on the Security Council, reaching its goal in October 2008 with the solid support of African votes.

"Out of the 53 African countries, 51 voted for Turkey," Babacan recalled.

Since then, efforts at rapprochement with Africa have been stepped up as part of a broader drive to balance Turkish foreign policy, which had focused exclusively on the West since the 1950s, securing the country a membership in NATO and a candidacy status for European Union accession.

"The government has a firm intention to be everywhere and make Turkey a mid-scale power that counts," said Cengiz Aktar, an international relations expert at Istanbul's Bahcesehir University.

However, the scholar raised doubts on how much influence Turkey could ultimately achieve on the continent.

"To speak of a Turkish Africa policy is a little too much... Such a policy lacks an institutional and academic basis as Turks know very little about Africa," he said.

20100419
africagoodnews

Malawi and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has signed a formulation phase project document for managing climate change in the country to be implemented to a tune of $4.2 million.

The project will be co-financed by Norway, Spain and the Department for International Development (DFID).

The formulation phase project is aimed at enhancing coordination between government and its developing partners in creating a national framework for responding to the challenges climate change poses to Malawi's economic development and food security.

Speaking during a signing ceremony in Lilongwe, Malawi's Minister of Development Planning and Cooperation Abbie Shawa said government is aware of challenges that climate change poses to Malawi, hence the launching of this project.

He cited persistent droughts, flooding and erratic rain patterns as some of the disastrous effects of climate change in the country.

"This project aims at developing a national framework for managing climate change in this country. The government appreciated that sustainable natural resources and environment management provides an important foundation for supporting economic growth and development hence the inclusion of climate change as one of the key priority areas of the development agenda," said Shawa

UNDP resident representative to Malawi Richard Dictus said the formulation phase of the project will put in place an appropriate framework for Malawi to deal with the future climate change risks.

"The national economic development need to be climate change proofed for Malawi to continue to grow and prosper. There is need to climate change proof land utilization, hybrid seed that is drought resistant and upscale to levels that can be managed," he said

He said after the Copenhagen Summit in November last year, there have been considerable amounts of funding promised and Malawi would benefit if a robust framework is in place.

20100419
africanews

An Angolan stock exchange - planned for launch later in the year - will have the makings of an African giant, according to an assessment by the Pan-African Imara financial services group.

In a statement on Monday, Imara said a study by its Angola chief executive Anthony Lopes Pinto suggested that the planned bourse - the Bolsa de Valores e Derivativos de Angola or BVDA - had the potential to become the third largest in sub-Saharan Africa after the South African and Nigerian stock exchanges.

"Efforts to obtain a sovereign credit rating in order to access international debt markets are well under way, and should reinforce long-term stability and result in a deepening of the market."

He said diversification of the economy away from oil continued apace and, commendably, the government had recently appointed Ernst & Young to eliminate fiscal inefficiencies.

"With the financial crisis now firmly behind us, we anticipate the opening of the Angolan bourse this year."

He said this would augment the national savings rate, creating alternatives for Angolan companies in need of growth capital.

"Such a move will also attract foreign portfolio inflows, which globally have recovered strongly."

His assessment of the potential strength of an Angolan bourse considered two scenarios -- a top-down macro view and a bottom-up appraisal with tight focus on 14 likely initial public offering (IPO) candidates.

"The broad view considers Angola's estimated gross domestic product of US84.9 billion and the capitalisation of African stock exchanges relative to GDP (an average of 42 percent)."

This calculation suggested that the BVDA could have a market capitalisation of US36 billion, nearly three times the size of Kenya's well-established stock market.

A US36 billion Angolan stock market would still be dwarfed by South Africa's JSE, with its 331 listing companies and total market cap of US801 billion.

"But it would not be too far behind the Nigerian market, with 195 listings and a capitalisation of US39.67 billion," Lopes Pinto said.

In comparison, Angola's southern African neighbours Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia would be stock exchange minnows.

"Botswana's exchange has a market capitalisation of only US4.18 billion, with Zimbabwe down at just US3.6 billion, though Zambia is a little higher up the market cap league table at US15.23 billion."

After considering macro potential, Imara's Luanda CEO sketched a much more conservative picture based on research of 14 companies that might become initial BVDA members.

This snapshot covered 10 banks (with a projected market cap of US3.99 billion), two brewers (US2.90 billion) and two telecoms (US4.39 billion).

"Even this minimalist assessment suggests a total market capitalisation of about US11.28 billion is achievable."

"We believe this to be the tip of the iceberg. We understand up to 50 companies have been identified as IPO candidates," Lopes Pinto said.

As this was not an exhaustive list, he said his conclusion could be viewed as most conservative.

"Further, our valuations are diluted in large measure by the fact that sub-Saharan equity markets (with the exception of South Africa) still lag the recovery witnessed in emerging markets."

Nonetheless, a US11 billion market would still feature prominently in Africa's top ten, Lopes Pinto said.

Cancellation of flights by Kenya Airways (KA) from Nairobi to destinations in Europe entered the third day as flower farms continued to count losses, running into million of shillings.

The most affected are daily flights to London and Amsterdam.

"Kenya Airways would like to confirm to its passengers, customers and the public all flights to London, Amsterdam and Paris are cancelled," Mr Titus Naikuni Kenya Airways chief executive said on Saturday in a statement.

The closure of the European air space resulting from Icelandic volcanic dust drifting towards Europe has hit the aviation and flower industry in Kenya hard.

The airspace was closed on Saturday in whole or partly in 21 European countries, including Britain Germany, northern France and northern Italy.

It is not yet possible to predict how much the cancellation would cost KA although losses could run into millions of shillings as the Kenya Airports Authority announced grounding of passenger and cargo planes at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.

Horticulture hit

"British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, KLM and Kenya Airways planes to London have been parked," Mr Dominic Ngigi, KAA spokesperson said in a statement.

As the crisis rages on, the flower industry is losing an estimated Sh150 million ($2 million) daily.

"We have lost over $4 billion by yesterday (Saturday) morning and we are still counting," Jane Ngige, Kenya Flower council chief executive said in an interview with The Standard on Sunday.

There are fears that jobs in the aviation and flower industry would be affected should the situation persist longer than expected.

postzambia

EDUCATION deputy minister Clement Sinyinda on Saturday publicly embarrassed United Nations resident coordinator Mcleod Nyirongo, UNDP country director Viola Morgan and other UN staff by chasing them from the speedboat, which he claimed was his.

The incident happened during the build-up to the Kuomboka ceremony in the morning at Mongu harbour as Nyirongo and Morgan were heading to Lealui to see off the Litunga.

The eight-seater boat was assigned to Nyirongo and Morgan by Western Province deputy permanent secretary Seth Muleya who assured the duo that everything was well.

But when the UN team led by Nyirongo got on the boat, Sinyinda suddenly appeared and demanded that the crew move out of the boat because it belonged to him.

At this point, Kuomboka ceremony Lusaka organising committee chairman Professor Oliver Saasa tried to explain to Sinyinda about Nyirongo and Morgan’s positions and the need for diplomacy on his part.

In response, Sinyinda said, “I know who they are but I’m just expressing myself. So let them get out of my boat.”

Nyirongo and Morgan, who were accompanied by their spouses, then got out of the boat and had to wait for another speedboat.

And on Friday, Western Province permanent secretary Ikanuke Noyoo appealed to the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) and the hostels board to address the issue of inflated accommodation rates during the period of Kuomboka.

Speaking when Nyirongo paid a courtesy call on him at his office, Noyoo said it was unacceptable for lodges and guesthouses to hike rates during the Kuomboka ceremony.

“The hiking of services is just the question of greedy and poor business skills, the other thing also could be that we don’t have industries,” Noyoo said.

Noyoo said over K1 billion was pumped into the province during the Kuomboka ceremony.
Accommodation rates in Mongu during the Kuomboka ceremony ranges between K800,000 and K3 million for rooms which are normally pegged at K100,000 and K500,000 respectively.

Noyoo also said there was low condom use in the province because people had a casual attitude.
And Nyirongo said his visit to the province was focused on HIV and AIDS because he wanted to check on areas where the government could do better.

Nyirongo said in the last four years, the UN had been supporting District AIDS Coordination Advisors (DACA) and the Provincial AIDS Coordination Advisors (PACA).

“We have been told that one of the drivers of HIV and AIDS is culture and as we go round we shall try and focus on these areas to help the government do better,” said Nyirongo.