By XINHUA

Angolan President Joao Lourenco on Wednesday appealed for more investment in free areas and new zones for sedimentary basin exploitation.

The Angolan head of state made the appeal on the first day of “Russian Energy Week” held via videoconference, adding that Angola has restructured its oil sector.

Lourenco stressed that a bidding strategy has been approved for new oil blocks for the period 2019-2025, which foresees bidding for more than 50 blocks to increase oil production.

The government aims to guarantee the self-sufficiency of refined products and is promoting the implementation of three refineries that will enable Angola to reach a refining capacity of about 425,000 barrels of crude oil per day.

Lourenco said Russian companies, which have experience in creating steel mills, fertilizer plants, and power generation plants, are welcome to invest in the gas sector.

“With all these projects, the country will be able to create opportunities for the development of new renewable energy sources, such as solar, wind, biomass and others,” Lourenco said.

He said Angola is committed to strengthening cooperation with the Russian Federation and is open to all companies that want to invest in the diversification and development of the Angolan economy.

By XINHUA

South Africa on Tuesday launched its Global Advocacy Program in hopes of attracting tourists from the country’s target markets and seeing increases in visitors by the festive season.

The program was initiated by the Department of Tourism, South African Tourism (SA Tourism) and the Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA), following protracted damaging narratives and misinformation reported globally about South Africa.

“We are going to embark on a strategic yet direct approach to our markets to ensure that consumers, trade partners, and the global media are truthfully informed about the memorable and affordable, easy accessibility and safety factors that come with traveling to South Africa in this COVID-19 environment,” said Minister of Tourism Lindiwe Sisulu.

She said that they have briefed various missions and embassies about the COVID-19 situation in the country and what they have done, adding that the country wanted to tell the world that they are ready to welcome them for leisure and business events.

The TBCSA CEO Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa said the plan is to disseminate the correct information about the country and reignite tourism.

“Our inbound tourism recovery is dependent on the attractiveness of our brand as a tourist destination. The Global Advocacy Program will help to rebuild our country’s brand and this will ultimately attract more tourists to visit our beautiful country. The recovery and reimagination of tourism in South Africa will benefit with the successful implementation of this program globally,” said Tshivhengwa.

South Africa has recently been taken off the red lists of key markets such as the USA, Netherlands, UK, as well as Germany, which will serve as a major boost for the struggling tourism sector.

By XINHUA

Nigeria’s southern state of Bayelsa has invited Chinese investment in agriculture to assist the state’s development plan.

In a statement issued on Monday after a weekend meeting in Abuja with Cui Jianchun, the Chinese ambassador to Nigeria, the Governor of the Bayelsa state Douye Diri said the state had already identified agriculture as the main sector within which it will achieve sustainable development and growth.

“We have already identified four areas to substantially invest in, which are fishing farming, rice, cassava, and plantain cultivation,” he said.

The governor said China has recorded robust successes in the economy as well as in poverty eradication and promised to partner with developing countries including Nigeria through platforms like the Belt and Road Initiative(BRI) to help reduce poverty.

“Bayelsa is the right destination for such intervention,” he said, adding Bayelsa offers a “considerable window to the world. It will be a spectacular platform to showcase the BRI.”

He said with the requisite legal framework in place and human resources, the state was ready to welcome Chinese investors and industry experts for the collaborative development.

At the meeting, the Chinese ambassador said China and Nigeria had a lot in common, pointing out that 12 years ago, China had more than 87 million people living below the poverty line but that by February this year, they had all crossed that line.

While presenting a bilateral cooperation strategy document between China and Nigeria to Diri, Cui said that if China, with its large population, could overcome poverty, so could Nigeria, if the right policies were adopted.

“We can look at the possibility of Chinese investors and companies partnering with the Bayelsa state government,” the Chinese envoy said, adding “there are several areas of partnership we can explore.”

The Nigerian federal government has in the past, targeted agriculture as an area of priority in its strategy to diversify the country’s oil-dependent economy and alleviate poverty.

By XINHUA

Six member states of the East African Community (EAC), a regional bloc, lost 92 percent revenues in the tourism sector due to the COVID-19 pandemic, said Peter Mathuki, the EAC secretary-general.

Mathuki said in a statement issued Saturday night that tourist arrivals to the region fell from 6.98 million before the pandemic to 2.25 million at present, causing the losses, adding that the tourism sector was the worst hit by the pandemic.

“The region is now open again for business,” said Mathuki, urging EAC member states governments and other stakeholders to work together to market the region’s tourist attractions and products as part of efforts to ensure speedy recovery for the sector. The EAC groups Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, South Sudan and Uganda.

“Despite the fact that the pandemic has reversed the gains that we had made in the tourism sector, we are quite confident that through collective and collaborative efforts, we should be able to bounce back to pre-pandemic levels of performance and even do better within a span of less than five years,” Mathuki told the first East African regional tourism expo in Tanzania’s northern city of Arusha, also the headquarters of the EAC.

He said that the region had drawn a number of important lessons from the pandemic especially in relation to the economic sectors that were hard hit.

“One lesson that stands out and resonates with most destinations around the world is the need to entrench resilience in the tourism sector,” said Mathuki, adding that the EAC will take a number of steps to enhance recovery in the sector.

By XINHUA

The first East African Community (EAC) Regional Tourism Expo that will open its doors on Saturday is expected to attract 100 exhibitors and over 2,000 visitors, organizers of the expo said in a statement.

The statement issued by the EAC in its headquarters in Tanzania’s northern city of Arusha said the expo to be held in Arusha city from October 9 -11 aims at creating awareness on tourism investment opportunities amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Peter Mathuki, the EAC Secretary General, said the expo will comprise exhibitions by tourism service providers, speed networking and business to business meetings and seminars on tourism and wildlife sub-themes.

“In respect to the tourism sector, these sub-themes will revolve around aspects such as tourism resilience and crisis management, digital tourism marketing, development of multi-destination tourism packages and tourism investment opportunities and incentives,” he said.

Mathuki said wildlife-related sub-themes will include combating poaching and illegal wildlife trade and economic value of wildlife in the region.

The EAC member states are Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan.

By AFP

Africa’s film industry is thriving and could create many millions of extra jobs if its potential was fully exploited, the United Nations said Tuesday.

In a report, the UN cultural organization UNESCO said that an estimated five million people currently work in Africa’s film industry, which contributes 5 billion U.S. dollars to the continent’s GDP.

Nigeria’s film industry is the continent’s biggest, churning out 2,500 movies per year.

Despite the numbers, UNESCO said the industry has much potential that remains largely untapped.

Affordable digital film equipment and new online distribution platforms have given new opportunities to content creators, but the report said that Africa has fewer screens per capita than any other continent.

Piracy is another big issue, with the report estimating “that piracy waylays 50 percent to over 75 percent of the film and audiovisual industries’ revenue”.

Only 19 African countries out of 54 offer any financial support to filmmakers, the report also found.

If all these challenges were fully addressed, the sector could create over 20 million jobs and contribute 20 billion U.S. dollars to the continent’s combined GDP, UNESCO said.

The report also identified a lack of freedom of expression as hindering the film industry’s progress, with professionals in 47 countries reporting limitations on the issues that they are able to handle in their creative work.

In a statement, UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay called for a strengthening of international cooperation “to enable all countries, in particular developing countries, to develop cultural and creative industries that are viable and competitive both nationally and internationally”.

Films are public goods “that require public support and investment”, Azoulay said.

By XINHUA

Gabon’s Minister of Investment Promotion, Carmen Ndaot, announced on Friday in capital Libreville that the government plans to build five new special economic zones in the country.

According to the minister, these special economic zones will be platforms specifically equipped with infrastructure designed to facilitate industrial activities, without specifying in which provinces these new special economic zones will be installed.

Gabon’s special economic zones are conducive to welcoming foreign economic actors, she told the press, noting several areas including fisheries and the environment.

The new special economic zones will also be dedicated to the development of agriculture, she added.

Gabon had built in 2011 its special economic zone in Nkok, about 30 kilometers from Libreville. The zone boasts some 106 major operators from various fields with aims to boost Gabon’s economy.

By XINHUA

Kenya’s economy is projected to grow by 6.1 percent in 2021 after a 0.3 percent contraction in 2020, the central bank said on Wednesday.

Patrick Njoroge, Governor of the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) said that some dynamism is beginning to come back especially in the service sectors such as hospitality that were negatively affected by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

“One sector to flag is the agriculture sector which remains most uncertain largely because of the rains. Some parts of the country are getting adequate rains but there is drought in other parts,” Njoroge told journalists in Nairobi. The performance of agricultural sector will be a big driver of economic growth in 2021 and is projected to grow by 2.6 percent.

According to the apex bank, Kenya’s economy will expand by 5.6 percent in 2022 which will be a presidential election year that is typically associated with the slower expansion of the gross domestic product (GDP).

Njoroge observed that most of the indicators of economic growth are performing better as compared to 2020 which was negatively affected by travel restrictions put in place to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

He revealed that cement production and consumption are already on an upward swing indicating signs of economic recovery.

Njoroge added that greater tax collection will help to reduce the current account deficit to 5.2 percent of GDP by the end of the year, from the current level of 5.5 percent.

By XINHUA

South Africa commemorated World Tourism Day Monday with a call for all to work toward reviving the sector which has been hit hard by COVID-19.

Deputy Minister of Tourism Fish Mahlalela invited everyone in the country to join the government to support the revival of tourism, which is the one of the major contributors to the gross domestic product of the country.

Mahlalela said they have a tourism recovery plan designed in consultation with the private sector.

“The tourism industry is ready for a reset. This plan is anchored on three interlinked pillars or strategic themes: protecting and rejuvenating supply, reigniting demand and strengthening enabling capability for long term sustainability,” he said. “The tourism industry is of great significance and potential to South Africa and is one of the six key sectors of economic growth.”

The official suggested that people get the vaccination as soon as possible so as to reach the herd immunity and open the economic activities.

Yvonne Mlozana, an official from Women in Tourism (WiT) Program which is an initiative that propels and supports the development and empowerment of women in the tourism sector, called for collaboration to grow the sector, saying that even though the sector was mostly impacted by COVID-19, they hope that it will bounce back.

The World Tourism Day is commemorated worldwide on Sept. 27.