Author Archives: admin

The Republic of Congo has reported a huge leap in the amount of money it makes outside the oil industry. The Republic of Congo’s non-oil revenues shot up by 25% during the first half of this year, making the economy seem safer and more stable. That 25% is about 500 billion CFA francs, which is in turn equivalent to $1.87 billion.

Denis Sassou N’Guesso, the president of the Republic of Congo, said that this was good news for the country. He said that the country relied heavily on oil, which was a depleting resource and may not be sustainable. He went on to say: “Caution requires us not to continue to put all our eggs in one oil basket, thus, the vital need to diversify our economy by rapidly expanding other areas.”

The non-oil revenues will be able to support growth in the Republic of Congo over the coming years and decades. The production of crude oil has fallen recently, and this change has been met with a drop in oil revenue. While this is undoubtedly a change for good in terms of the health of the planet, The Republic of Congo is going to have to meet this with vigorous revenue increases elsewhere. So far, the country has proved more than capable, as the 25% increase in non-oil revenue demonstrates. Government budget projections suggested that oil production would rise by 2% in 2011 to 348,000 barrels per day. The International Monetary Fund said that it predicts that oil production in the Republic of Congo will peak in 2012 at a rate of 370,000 barrels per day. President Denis Sassou-Nguesso says that oil production may have peaked by 2012.

Much of the revenue which did not come from oil came from emerging industries like the agro-industrial sector. An increase in exports made this sector particularly successful in 2011, and it is expected to provide around nine percent of the Republic of Congo’s economic activity over the whole year.

President Denis Sassou N’Guesso has pledged to plough a trillion CFA Francs on public investment projects throughout the Republic of Congo. These investments are going to create jobs, enterprising opportunities, increase exports and hopefully diversify the commercial and industrial sectors of the country. In terms of jobs alone, the President expected between 27,000 and 30,000 jobs to be created by the investment. 16,000 further jobs are likely to be created in the mining and timber sectors, he added.

The future is very bright for the Republic of Congo, even if the oil fields do begin to be less productive in the coming years. Because of the innovative politics and economic solutions used in the country, the Republic of Congo is going to be prosperous through other means even when the oil runs out. Commentators expect that this progressive thinking will spread throughout Africa, for which oil extraction provides a large chunk of GDP. It is vital that the Republic of Congo keeps expanding its economic horizons and is not tempted to keep all its eggs in one “oil basket”.

I found this very detailed PDF outlining the work that Atiku Abubakar (Former Vice President of Nigeria) was involved in even before the State was founded in 1991. A highly recommended read. Download it below.

Download PDF

The Brand Africa Forum is coming to Johannesburg at the end of this month. Hosted by the International Merketing Council, it is a day-long event which presents the opportunity for global leaders, thinkers, commentators and decision makers to meet and discuss the future of Africa.

The key themes for the discussions will be the growth, reputation and competitiveness of Africa in general. The world’s leaders and Africa’s most promising minds will meet to push the agenda for success and prosperity. Delegates from all sectors, including media, business and government, will discuss lessons learned and look to a better future for all African nations.

• Dr. Vijay Mahajan, Marketing Professor at the University of Texas at Austin and author of Africa Rising
• Dr. Dambisa Moyo, global economist, author of Why The West Was Lost and a participant in the Bilderberg Conference.
• Tawana Nyambirai,  progressive entrepreneur and chairman of Econet & TN Group (Zimbabwe)
• Hon. Hanna Tetteh, barrister and Minister of Trade and Industry (Ghana)
• David Haigh, economic commentator and CEO of Brand Finance, plc. (UK)
• Keith Dinnie, author of Nation Branding and City Branding
• Rakesh Wahi, vice chairman and co-founder of CNBC Africa
• Nigel Hollis, analyst and author of The Global Brand: How to create and develop lasting brand value in the world market

There are going to be four main panels at the forum which are going to focus on:

The role of business in moulding and expanding Africa’s economic future; Youth and their vision for the African continent; Governance and sustainability and how to enable policies that “foster growth and development”; and the significance of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China (People’s Republic of) and South Africa) and lessons for South Africa and the rest of the African continent.

Tumi Makgabo, South African broadcaster and CNN anchor, will chair the programme. Key questions the panels will concentrate on include:

• How can South Africa use its membership of BRICS to influence economic investment in Africa and growth greater than 7%?
• How can African enterprises develop internationally? Are African businesses expanding solely within the continent at the expense of more far-reaching development?
• What type of leadership is best for Africa? What type of leadership will foster an enabling environment, and propagate progressive growth and innovation in African nations?

The importance of forums like this is enormous. It presents not just an opportunity for the great thinkers of the continent to meet and brainstorm on issues which are affecting certain member states, but also gives a chance for delegates to share their experiences and the opportunities they face in their own countries. One of the main questions posed by Brand Africa is: Everybody coming to Africa has an agenda. What’s Africa’s agenda? As they say on their website, “Brand Africa™ is an African initiative for Africa, by Africans and supporters of Africa”.