Issuu

NIGERIA PDP prays that the opposition fall apart

MOïsE KATuMbI The reluctant politician in Congo’s powerhouse

w w w.t hea f r ic a r ep or t .c om

the africa report

TOP

PAX AFRICANA Fragile peace and hot conflicts face AU

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9th edition exclusive

ranking

African companies

• Corporate boom slows • Firms poised for global recovery • Finance, retail and agribusiness lead rally

monthly • n° 57 • february 2014

groupe jeune afrique INTERNATIONAL EdITION

Algeria 550 DA • Angola 600 Kwanza • Austria 4.90 € • Belgium 4.90 € • Canada 6.95 CAN$ • Denmark 60 DK • Ethiopia 75 Birr • France 4.90 € • Germany 4.90 € • Ghana 7 GH¢ • Italy 4.90 € • Kenya 410 shillings • Liberia $LD 300 • Morocco 50 DH • Netherlands 4.90 € • Nigeria 600 naira Norway 60 NK • Portugal 4.90 € • Sierra Leone LE 9,000 • South Africa 30 rand (tax incl.) • Spain 4.90 € • Switzerland 9.90 FS • Tanzania 6,500 shillings • Tunisia 8 DT • Uganda 9,000 shillings • UK £ 4.50 • United States US$ 6.95 • Zimbabwe US$ 4 • CFA Countries 3,500 F CFA

TANK MC

cartier.com

MANUFACTURE MOVEMENT 1904 MC SINCE THE CREATION OF THE FIRST TANK WATCH IN 1917, THE TANK COLLECTION HAS CONTINUED TO BREAK NEW GROUND. THE INCREDIBLY REFINED AESTHETICS OF THE NEW TANK MC WATCH ARE FITTED WITH THE CARTIER MANUFACTURE MOVEMENT 1904 MC. ESTABLISHED IN 1847, CARTIER CREATES EXCEPTIONAL WATCHES THAT COMBINE DARING DESIGN AND WATCHMAKING SAVOIR-FAIRE.

NIGERIA PDP prays that the opposition fall apart

MOÏSE KATUMBI The reluctant politician in Congo’s powerhouse

w w w.t heaf ric arep or t.com

contents

PAX AFRICANA Fragile peace and hot conflicts face AU

N ° 5 7 • F E B R U A R Y 2 014

TOP

9th EDITION EXCLUSIVE

RANKING

African companies

the africa report # 57 - february 2014

• Corporate boom slows • Firms poised for global recovery • Finance, retail and agribusiness lead rally

GROUPE JEUNE AFRIQUE INTERNATIONAL EDITION

4 Editorial africa’s missing companies 6 lEttErs 8 thE QuEstion

Briefing 10 signposts 14 people 16 international

is your politician value for money?

20 opinion

they may be corrupt and vain, but parliamentarians might be the best hope africa has for curbing wayward presidents

22 calendar

frontLine 24 is your politician valuE for monEy?

poLitics 32 38 42 44 46 47 47 48

african union Building the pax africana south sudan a young nation divided nigeria pdp and opposition fall apart moïse Katumbi the reluctant politician in congo’s powerhouse Zimbabwe how much longer? Ghana contracts and cronies saudi arabia/Ethiopia 150,000 repatriated Anansi Big spenders, hedged bets and a cushy job

south sudan a young nation divided

the leadership battle within the ruling party erupted in december, pitting groups loyal to machar and Kiir against one another. the crisis is now a test of regional diplomacy

rwanda will the bargain hold? Kigali is gearing up to showcase the success of its developmental authoritarian model at the afdb annual meetings, but familiar fears over political heavyhandedness remain

country focus 53 rwanda will the bargain hold?

cover credits: fotolia; illustration marc trenson/ja

BUSINESS TOP 500 68 overview the corporate boom weakens 72 mining precious little to celebrate 74 oil & Gas oil companies look to East africa for growth 76 telecoms much more to do to reach the masses 78 retail local market promise 80 manufacturing future may be brighter for african companies 81 rankings top 500 companies

TOP

9th EDITION EXCLUSIVE

RANKING

Art & Life 98 interview south african singer toya delazy 102 Briefs mozambique’s film revival and Kenyan author yvonne adhiambo owuor 104 lifestyle Behind the scenes with drc musician Baloji; trendhunter on pop-up shops; the rise of tunisian boutique hotels 106 Last Word by rita ray the africa report

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African companies turnover for africa’s top 500 firms rose by only 3.5% in 2012 as the number of ipos across the continent also slipped. 21 pages of detailed charts and analysis

editorial By Patrick Smith

Africa’s missing companies

ike so many statistics about Africa’s boom times, the figures about its companies seem at odds with the realities we see and hear. At first glance, our survey of the continent’s Top 500 companies shows that Africa’s corporate giants – their combined turnovers have tripled to around $740bn over the past decade – are racing ahead. But it is equally important to look at the African continent’s gross domestic product – estimated to be about $1.8trn in 2013 – and ask why that is well over double the turnover of Africa’s top 500 companies. The conclusion is that Africa’s companies are missing in action from some of the brightest spots on the economic horizon. Even Africa’s biggest companies are growing more slowly on average than its national economies. That is partly because Africa’s biggest revenues, in oil and mineral exports mainly denominated in US dollars, accrue to multinational, not local companies. Likewise with agricultural production, which is growing rapidly in many countries. Its growth is either measured through rising dollar-earning exports of soft commodities such as coffee, cocoa and tea, through the declining role of state commodity boards or through estimates of the size of the informal economies in the countryside. And going down the corporate rankings to those companies that did not make the Top 500, our research suggests that their turnover is shrinking: as much as 23% between 2011 and 2012. Capital market research shows also that the rate of new companies listing on African stock exchanges has been falling sharply. That generally means less accountability and less access to investor funds. Some regional factors, such as the political turmoil in North Africa, help explain the lacklustre performance of African companies. Equally, local companies in some sectors such as information technology and telecommunications are booming by any standards. Services too are growing, but the dependence on unprocessed exports is, if anything, intensifying. The performance of Africa’s processing and manufacturing companies, which will create the jobs of the future, is lagging behind. The average share of manufacturing in African

economies remains at around 10%, where it has been for the past 40 years. Changing this and championing Africa’s companies will require policy innovation, political will and an information revolution. The latest research from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the World Bank on the factory floor dismisses the shibboleth that African companies cannot compete in terms of productivity or unit labour costs. But both organisations urge governments to shed their suspicion of local governments, which may be rooted in fears of a political challenge from independently wealthy individuals. Fixing electric power and transport would be a huge Boosting boost to local companies, and in industry and most cases that requires determined state action. championing So, too, does the financial industry. Africa’s Now is the time for governments to companies stipulate that all commodity exporters should repatriate their export will require earnings through domestic banking policy systems. Angola introduced such rules in 2011. Provided the national innovation, banking system is properly regupolitical will lated, this will boost transparency and an and allow for a more accurate measure of real output and export earninformation ings. It will also boost the availabrevolution ility of foreign exchange to the local market and help the development of local money markets. Finally, for Africa’s companies to attract substantially more local and foreign investment, there will have to be a corporate information revolution. Although the AfDB is making headway on improving macro and microeconomic data, there is still a lack of corporate data and independent analysis of companies’ performances of the kind readily available in Asia and South America. That will also allow policymakers to identify more easily the illicit outflows of finance – through tax evasion and deliberate mispricing of contracts – another factor that is limiting the financing prospects for local companies. Serious action is needed now if Africa’s companies are not to miss out on the growth. ●

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letters For all your comments, suggestions and queries, please write to: The Editor, The Africa Report, 57bis Rue d’Auteuil - Paris 75016 - France. or editorial@theafricareport.com

Quiz

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from 20 13

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Thanks to everyone who answered our quiz in The Africa Report’s Dec 2013-Jan 2014 issue. The winners of a free digital subscription to The Africa Report are: Patrick Tusiime Mwebesa, Pieter Roos, Yacine Bio Tchané, Melat Hailemelekot, Stephan Schwarz.

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answers: 1. b – Edris Elba 2. a – The Gambia 3. c - NoViolet Bulawayo 4. c – Mali (Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta) 5. a – David Adjaye 6. c – Ecobank 7. a – Yaya Touré 8. a – Ali Zeidan 9. c – A political party 10. a - Kenya 11. b – Beny Steinmetz 12. c - Nigeria 13. c – Robert Mugabe SIPHIW

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been ping-ponged from one body to the other. When the ball will land on the one who shall take responsibility for all the heinous acts is unknown. However, the culprit may be known to the public, but mark my words, will never face justice. Mohammed Adow’s ‘Not Yet Kenyan’ should tell you those behind it still maintain we Somalis deserved it. This is Kenya, welcome back, son of our land.

Khadija Baxsan, via Facebook

14 Things To waTch in 2014 Thanks for keeping an eye on This issue For months now, the Rivers State governor, Rotimi Amaechi, has been embroiled in a political battle with President Goodluck Jonathan (‘Hail to the chief’, TAR56 Dec 2013-Jan 2014). Amaechi’s joining the opposition All Progressive Congress (APC) recently, has given him a significant edge over Jonathan because it has further weakened Jonathan’s People’s Democratic Party and positioned Amaechi as the APC’s most likely vice-presidential candidate in 2015. Amaechi is experienced and popular,

having served as Speaker of Rivers State’s Assembly for eight years, two terms as Chairman of the Conference of Nigeria’s State Speakers and, currently, as a second-term Governor and a second-term Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum.

Raymond Eyo, Lagos, Nigeria

kenya – Being and Belonging With reference to ‘Last Word’, Kenya at 50 supplement, these are but part of the atrocities committed against Kenyan Somalis, for which blame has

Let’s hope the 14 things will not set Africa ablaze. Africa is still stuck in the mud – disadvantaged by past events so that most states (50 years later) cannot meet the basic minimums of good governance. Why did we chase the white man? Maybe we should call him back to govern us. For states that have failed to impose order, the United Nations should come in and have a more direct role in the politics of the disadvantaged state. Gone should be the days of “peace keeping” and of the “demilitarised zone”.

Erongot Moses, via theafricareport.com

HOW TO GET YOUR COPY OF On sale at your usual outlet. If you experience problems obtaining your copy, please contact your local distributor, as shown below. ghana: GREENWICH MAGAZINES & BOOKS, Mr Ernest Asare, +233 (0)208 142 374, greenmaghana@gmail.com – kenya: NATION MEDIA GROUP, Josephine Bonareri Abuga, +254 (0)20 32 88507, JAbuga@ke.nationmedia.com – nigeria: NEWSSTAND AGENCIES LTD, Solomon Otinwa, +234 (0)709 8123 459, newsstand2008@gmail.com – sierra leone: RAI GERB ENTERPRISES, Mohammad Gerber, +232 (0)336 72 469, raigerbenterprise@ gmail.com – souThern africa: MCS CAXTON, Luisa Rebelo, +27 (0)11 602 9800 • luisar@magcservices.co.za – Tanzania: MWANANCHI COMMUNICATIONS, Erasto Matasia, +255 (0)713 512 551, ematasia@tz.nationmedia.com – uganda: MONITOR PUBLICATIONS LTD, Stephen Eselu, +256 (0)702 178 198, seselu@ug.nationmedia.com – uniTed kingdoM: COMAG, Mark Swan, +44 (0)1895 433791, Mark.Swan@comag.co.uk – uniTed sTaTes & canada: LMPI, Sylvain Fournier, +1 514 355 5610, lmpi@lmpi.com – ziMBaBwe: MUNN MARKETING (PVT) LTD, Nick Ncube, +263 (0)4 662755, nickncube@munnmarketing.co.zw

For other regions go to www.theafricareport.com

ADVERTISERS’ INDEX CARTIER ............................................. p 2 BOA GROUP ........................................ p 5 HAROPA PORTS .................................. p 7 OCP .................................................... p 9 KONICA MINOLTA .............................. p 13 MANGO ........................................ p 18-19 THE AFRICA CEO FORUM .................. p 23 ASSOCIATION RABAT 2013 ............... p 29

ICNL ................................................. p 37 ECONOMIST - NG SUMMIT ............... p 37 REPUBLIC OF TOGO ..................... p 49-52 SONARWA ........................................ p 55 SERENA KIGALI ................................. p 57 RSSB ........................................... p 58-59 BRD .................................................. p 61 EAX .................................................. p 63

NCAR ................................................ p 64

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FRISOMAT ........................................ p 95

AKAGERA AVIATION ........................... p 65

ADEXEN ............................................ p 87 CWC - GHANA SUMMIT ..................... p 87

KINCANNON REED ............................ p 95

AGROTECH ....................................... p 67 FANAF ............................................... p 67

MINING INDABA ................................ p 89

CFAO ................................................ p 73

AME - MMEC .................................... p 91

THE AFRICA HEALTH FORUM ............. p 77

P&E WORLD AFRICA ......................... p 91

CNN ................................................ p 107

DDP OUTDOOR ................................. p 85

TAR SUBSCRIPTION .......................... p 93

TOTAL ............................................. p 108

METALGALANTE ................................ p 95 EKO HOTELS & SUITES ..................... p 97

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the question To respond to this month’s Question, visit www.theafricareport.com. You can also find The Africa Report on Facebook and on Twitter @theafricareport. Comments, suggestions and queries can also be sent to: The Editor, The Africa Report, 57bis Rue d’Auteuil, Paris 75016, France or editorial@theafricareport.com

RESpoNSES to last month’s question:

With fresh allegations and revelations over the extent of governments’ surveillance of their citizens around the world, we ask whether there are instances when the concerns over privacy can be overruled.

Can government regulation and internet spying be justified?

Yes CeCil Burgess Chairperson of the South African Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence

Internet freedom is a controversial topic, particularly in South Africa at the moment. The government has finalised its National Cyber Security Policy and Strategy and this year there will be a public participation process so that we can get input from all interested parties on their concerns before any regulation of the internet is considered. Presently there are concerns about the effects of cybercrime on the economy, child pornography, and the damage that hacking can have on business and government. But we are dealing with something that we haven’t confronted before, making it necessary that we first understand what’s going on – you can’t just say no it’s not a good idea to regulate, nor can you regulate if don’t understand what you are regulating. Regarding spying, the world is run by accessing intelligence. People are always looking for information, which is most often not in the public domain. You can call it spying, but what it is, is protecting a country’s national security interests. Whether you are getting this information from your neighbours or from your citizens, it is something no nation can survive without. Eavesdropping has been in business since the dawn of time. Of course it is possible to go overboard. ●

No Mike silBer Management Committee member of the Internet Service Providers’ Association of South Africa

If what we are talking about is the kind of wholesale extra-judicial interception of communications of the like that was exposed in America, then that is not justified. I do think that lawful and monitored interception of telecommunications for law enforcement purposes is acceptable. There is a huge difference between the interception of telecoms within a legal framework, and governments carrying out broad sweeping data gathering, which is not targeted and which is limited only by technical and financial restrictions. What I am hoping is that the review of the practices in the US will make people around the world aware of how vulnerable they are to cyber attack. It is not just the US government that carries out this kind of internet monitoring. This happens in Africa too. People around the world are woefully unaware of the security risks associated with the internet and this awareness is probably slightly lower in Africa. Many people in Africa are unwilling to rely on African Internet infrastructure, so they use Yahoo and Google, but this means that their highly sensitive information is open to interception while transiting through America. People used to think that there was confidentiality through anonymity – that their information would get lost among the rest – but people need to know that this is questionable protection. ●

Should African governments fund space programmes? African governments should use their meagre resources to solve more urgent problems such as improving health services and education, to mention but a few, instead of funding space programmes. Juliet Komugisa via Facebook Space tech is the latest trend right now. Africa should not be left behind. Delavegas Don Diallo via Facebook No! They should feed their people first, and spend their resources on education, health and basic infrastructure. @GFediel2 via Twitter Yes, because other nations are already prospecting on Mars and on the moon, and it’s only a matter of time before territories are marked and divided amongst the early birds. Shingai Mtezo via Facebook They should develop private-sector health, and build more schools and universities. Mars can wait!! @YEdoumou via Twitter

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briefing

sIgNpOsTs

Optimistic Egyptians wait to vote on the new constitution

KHALED DESOUKI/AFP

NORTH AFRICA

of a patchwork of local militias squabbling over small chunks of territory. This simmering tension resulted in the assassination of deputy industry minister Hassan pushback from unions and other al-Droui by hardline Islamist political parties forced the removal militants on 12 January. A blocade of the Ennahda prime minister, of sorts remains on the oil ports Ali Larayedh, in January this year. in the east, where groups pushing A newly revised constitution for regional autonomy, such as the in Egypt is an improvement over Government of Cyrenaica, have the previous attempt, providing the invited foreign companies to buy oil military with less oversight over from them directly. The southern the judiciary, and giving parliament Fezzan region is also demanding the power to pass a vote of noautonomy, putting pressure on Prime confidence in the president. Military Minister Ali Zeidan. control over large chunks of the However, things are not all gloom. economy has been left The ability of secular parties to outwit – unsurprisingly – untouched, and the their Islamic counterparts and come army chief in charge of the transition, out on top of the centralised political General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, is likely process may eventually lead to a more to run for president in elections that pluralistic Libya. Oil output – a vital could be held as early as April. component of the government Libya remains the hardest case, revenues that fund the nation’s with the state’s extreme weakness patchy public services – tripled during the Muammar Gaddafi to 650,000 barrels a day in the three era leading to the establishment weeks to 12 January. ●

Change, three years young

t is now three years since the youth of Tunisia, Egypt and Libya catalysed the great upheavals of the North African uprisings. Those who saw an instant solution to the ills of the region were chastened by Islamist forces’ seizure of the political process, and were further dismayed by the ease with which the army then strolled back into power in Egypt in July 2013. Others prefer to see the toppling of Tunisian dictator Zine el Abidine Ben Ali on 14 January 2011 as the beginning of a process of change that will perhaps last for decades. Despite setbacks, only the most curmudgeonly would discard the progress made. Ennahda, the Tunisian Islamists, have been pulled into mainstream positions through the need to fight radical Islamic militants in the south. Vigorous

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GlobAl outlook

Booming middle class brings challenges, too There are now over half a billion people in Asia who can be called middle-class, according to a new report by Ernst & Young. By 2030, the report predicts, “so many people will have escaped poverty that the balance of geopolitical power will have completely changed – global trade patterns will be unrecognisable too.” The effects are being felt throughout Africa already.

Governments have a chance to harness the ever-growing demand for the raw materials with which the continent is blessed, or else be subsumed by them. With a further three billion people predicted to rise out of poverty over the next two decades, this pressure is increasing. For example, the demand for fish in Senegal has soared, driven by middle-class shoppers. This has led to Dakar’s

increasingly assertive stance against fishing fleets that ‘stray’ into its territorial waters. On 4 January, Senegalese police seized the Russian trawler Oleg Naydenov for doing just that. Illicit fishing costs the Senegalese economy $250m a year according to official figures – which would be enough to create a quite a few more Dakarois middleclass families. And much of the benefit of a potential agricultural boom risks being siphoned off by ‘landgrabbers’, unless Africa manages to ramp up its collective efforts to create local agribusiness ventures. They could perhaps start by looking at the examples of South Korea, China and India for inspiration, where agricultural institutes and colleges are vital in spinning out viable companies from their research departments. Companies, too, will have to adapt – winkling out the middle-class consumer is not always the easiest task. Distribution networks rugged enough to cope with Africa’s insufficient infrastructure are key, as is tailoring products to local tastes (see our ranking of Africa’s Top 500 companies, p68). ●

toWN PlANNING

Elite city dreaming Stung by criticism that the country’s oil wealth has failed to trickle down, the Angolan government has embarked on a round of public spending, awarding an urban planning contract to architects Broadway Malyan to design a city plan for Luanda, whose population is set to grow from six million to 13 million by 2030. Not everyone is convinced. A study by Professor Vanessa Watson of the University of Cape Town condemns Western architects for designing African cities that fail to accomodate the real needs of Africans. Her study analyses plans to overhaul cities in countries including Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo (pictured) and Ghana, concluding that they often fail to take account of residents’ low incomes and fail to address the cities’ lack of basic services. “It is difficult to imagine how households with such minimal spending power can afford the luxury apartments portrayed in the fantasy plans,” wrote Watson. the africa report

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Vincent Fournier/JA

briefing

NIGERIA

Going out with a bang, not a whimper After a serious row with President Goodluck Jonathan over a leaked letter, and the failure of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation to account for $12bn in missing crude oil revenue, central bank governor Lamido Sanusi is set for battles on multiple fronts as he enters the final five months of his tenure. He is scheduled to depart from the job on 2 June. With his well-earned reputation as the man who straightened out the bank, the question remains whether he will be pushing for a resolution to the Ecobank crisis? The head of Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission Arunma Oteh has raised questions about serious malpractice at the bank, but Togolese-based Ecobank is in no mood to listen. However, given that nearly two-thirds of its balance sheet is in Nigeria, it might prove difficult for management to brush off concerns indefinitely. ●

briefing | signposts

FrançaFrique

Three things to know about France-Africa relations

Number of years Côte d’Ivoire has given itself to boost oil production to 200,000 barrels a day, rivalling Ghana’s Hollande’s intervention was well received in Mali

AFter some hAndwringing, FrAnce is bAck In Africa, at least. In 2011, after a French-initiated blow to Libya’s Gaddafi regime, the French military struck again, playing a crucial role in kicking out Ivorian holdout president Laurent Gbagbo and helping the winner of the election, President Alassane Ouattara, into power. In 2013, France attacked an Islamist convoy heading towards Bamako, and subsequently led an intervention force into Mali: Operation Serval celebrated its first birthday on 10 January, 2014. Then, in late 2013, France initiated yet another intervention, this time in the Central African Republic.

history will not repeAt itselF… probAbly What is behind this renewed flexing of muscles in France’s “private hunting ground”? France’s reputation had been soiled when it was seen to support Hutu-power elements behind the genocide in Rwanda. It is partly a change of personnel. President François Hollande, long before his ‘Scootergate’ domestic troubles, has been charmed by a vocal group of diaspora Africans and academics in Paris, who have convinced him that it was possible to act in Africa without being ‘colonial’.

French compAnies Are expAnding AgAin But perhaps renewed business ties have pushed along the re-engagement, too. Since 2000, French companies have struggled in Africa, with nuclear-energy giant Areva having its wings clipped in Niger for example. However, Renault has recently had great success building new factories in Morocco, and now Algeria. Meanwhile, in 2012, Bouygues won a €232m ($314m) contract to build a third bridge in Abidjan, the Ivorian economic capital, while food giant Danone is rumoured to be in talks to buy a stake in Kenya’s Brookside Dairy, the biggest dairy in East Africa.

Benoit tessier/reuters

what the neighbours are saying about...

… the trial of former Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi “The trial will widen the rift in an Egypt already deeply divided in the middle: for and against Morsi, and for and against his military captors” Dr Larbi SaDiki | Expert in arab democratisation, writing for al Jazeera

“As far as the army is concerned, the outcome of the trial cannot be anything other than a sweeping conviction on the severe offences” Zvi bar’EL | Middle East analyst for Haaretz

“Whatever the rights and wrongs of Morsi’s position, few consider his decision to grant himself unlimited powers a wise one. Mass protests sealed Morsi’s demise, but it appears that moderate Islamic parties such as Ennahda in Tunisia have learned a great deal from Egypt” NabiLa raMDaNi | Journalist writing in South africa’s Mail & Guardian the africa report

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people

south africa

Andrew Chirwa The new NUMSA president has launched an attack on the ruling ANC and President Jacob Zuma, calling for the government to improve the lives of the poor and stop wasteful spending He is young, fearless and believes that unionism is in his blood. andrew Chirwa represents the new face of union leadership in south africa and is one of the youngest people to lead a trade union in the country. Chirwa was elected unopposed as the national deputy president of the powerful national union of Metalworkers of south africa (nuMsa) in 2012 before stepping up in December 2013 to replace

Cedric gina, who resigned due to a conflict with the nuMsa leadership. The metalworkers union has been an outspoken critic of the ruling african national Congress (anC). it has called on President Jacob Zuma to resign and for the scrapping of the national Development Plan and its youth wage programme, the anC’s blueprint to fight the stubbornly high unemployment rate. “The majority of people have not seen the fruits

of our democracy 20 years since the birth of the new south africa. as a union, we have adopted the stance to represent the downtrodden and the poor,” Chirwa tells The Africa Report. Chirwa has declared that Zuma is bad for the country and should go: “We at nuMsa do not have confidence in Jacob Zuma, and he should be replaced. How do you justify the expenditure of Zuma’s homestead at nkandla when people do not have houses or food to eat?” Born in 1980 in Zebediela, Chirwa studied electrical engineering at Mamelodi Technical College in Pretoria, where he became active in the college’s student representative council in 2000. The following year, he began working for ford. in 2003, he was elected as a nuMsa shop steward, and a chairman in 2009. Chirwa is a member of the anC and its youth league, but said he would no 1980 Born in Zebediela, Limpopo Province 2003 Became a NUMSA shop steward at a Ford factory

Daniel Born/The Times/Gallo imaGes/GeTTy imaGes

2012 Elected national deputy president of NUMSA December 2013 Elected unopposed as NUMSA president

olusegun obasanjo

The former president called on President Jonathan to act before it is too late

“Nigeria is bleeding and the haemorrhage must be stopped”

HirosHige seko

“Wherever he goes, Prime Minister Abe is asked if he is there to compete against China, but that’s not our intention at all” Deputy cabinet secretary defends the premier’s African tour the africa report

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briefing

evAN SChNeIDer/UN PhoTo

Crystal Orderson in Cape Town

South Africa’s president criticises DA leader Helen Zille over questions around exam pass rates n ° 57

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lUSA vIDeo/yoUTUBe

MArCo UrBAN

AnTonio sukA nTchAMA The scandal about how 74 Syrians were able to board a flight leaving Guinea-Bissau using fake passports claimed its second scalp after GuineaBissau’s interior minister Ntchama resigned.

President Jacob Zuma’s administration has something to cheer about. Basic education minister Motshekga announced the ‘matric’ exam pass rate had risen to 78.2%, the highest score since the end of apartheid.

“I said to myself, this person still has that old mentality that black people are not intelligent.”

•

The Gao police chief, who oversaw the administration of brutal sharia justice during the town’s 10-month occupation by Al Qaeda-linked rebels in 2012, was arrested in late December 2013 in central Mali.

ZiTTo kAbwe

JAcob ZuMA

the africa report

Aliou MAhAMAr Touré

The former deputy general of Tanzania’s Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo won a legal reprieve in January in his battle against the party. The central committee has accused him of plotting a coup in November 2013.

Angie MoTshekgA

Ashish ThAkkAr A golden boy in the lists of young entrepreneurs, the Ugandan head of the Mara Group has gone into business with banker Bob Diamond. The two launched the investment fund Atlas Mara in December, raising $325m.

Z. rAUBACh/CorBIS

longer maintain his membership now that NUMSA has declared it will not support the ANC in the 2014 elections. “We are not going to spend our hard working money on an organisation that stabs you in the back. We cannot continue to feed a snake that bites you every time,” he says. This is the first time in the union’s history that it is withholding its support. “Each and every worker will vote for his or her party of choice,” he explains. Members of the leftist movement have been courting NUMSA to establish common ground for a united front for the working class. NUMSA is the Congress of South African Trade Unions’ (COSATU) biggest affiliate by numbers, with an estimated 328,000 members. It has been the driving force in getting expelled leader Zwelinzima Vavi back in his seat as the secretary of Africa’s largest trade union federation. “There is no leadership in COSATU, and there is a serious paralysis. We want Vavi to be returned to the position he was elected to in 2012 and to complete his mandate,” says Chirwa. Chirwa also says there are far too many COSATU leaders who want to head to parliament or be appointed as a minister in Zuma’s new cabinet. “We hope that those who wish to be elected to parliament must go so that those who are left behind are committed to the workers and can stabilise the organisation,” he explains. He also seeks to dispel rumours that NUMSA is about to leave COSATU: “Some want us to walk away from COSATU so that it becomes a mere labour desk for the ANC. We have chosen to fight in COSATU, and I believe things will get better.” And if Chirwa has his way, COSATU will be barking much more and ensuring that the ANC delivers for the poor. ●

MArA GroUP

Good times

sTellA oduAh Fresh from controversy over ordering bullet-proof luxury sedans, Nigeria’s aviation minister is embroiled in a crisis over her academic credentials. It appears that her doctorate is from a fictional school.

Bad times

ADVERTORIAL

EXPANDS IN AFRICA AFTER ESTABLISHING ITSELF IN EUROPE, LATIN AMERICA, ASIA AND AUSTRALIA, THE BRAND IS STRENGTHENING ITS PRESENCE IN THE AFRICAN MARKET WHERE IT PLANS TO OPEN 100 NEW SHOPS OVER 5 YEARS.

ANGO opened its ﬁrst shop on the Paseo de Gracia in Barcelona in1984 and is currently Spain’s second largest fashion export company with 2,700 points of sale in 107 countries. Its concept is based on linking a quality product - in line with the latest trends - to an affordable price tag. The brand continues its expansion plans and has set up a new megastore concept. This is based on shops which have a ﬂoorspace of between 800 and 3,000 m2 and offer all the group’s lines (MANGO, H.E. by MANGO, MANGO Touch, MANGO Kids, MANGO Sport&Intimates, and from February 2014 the new Violeta by MANGO line, aimed at a young public with sizes from 40 to 52). Aiming to be present in every major city in the world, MANGO plans to expand in Africa where it currently has 81 points of sale. Isak Halfon, Director for Expansion and member of the Board of Directors, talks to us about the reasons for this expansion and MANGO’s future plans in Africa.

and know that what African consumers look for are the same clothes they can ﬁnd in MANGO shops in European, American and Asian cities...

When and where did you open the ﬁrst MANGO shop in Africa? We opened the ﬁrst shop in Africa in 2001, in Casablanca, Morocco. Since then we have opened shops in Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Benin, the Ivory Coast, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, Cameroon and South Africa. Why did you decide to open shops on this continent? Because of its potential for growth! It’s the only continent where we don’t yet enjoy a massive presence. How did you adapt to it? Our collection is the same for every market. The only thing we adapt is distribution. Furthermore, we already have experience in this market

Who is in charge of the expansion in Africa for MANGO? Within the expansion team, Nicolas Cavalie (nicolas.cavalie@ mango.com) is in charge of the African market. He has carried out most of the launches for this continent and knows it like the back of his hand.

You are a company that works both with your own shops as well as franchises. Which system are you using in Africa? In Africa we have chosen to use the franchise system because it allows us to work with partners who know local consumers better than we do. What are your future plans in Africa? In 2014 we are going to launch shops in two new countries: Equatorial Guinea and Angola! And over 5 years we hope to open 100 new shops on this continent. In which countries would you like to be present? We would like to be present

DIFCOM/FC - Photos : DR

Isak Halfon, Director of Expansion and member of the Board of Directors

Why go for the megastore concept? Because it allows us to group together our different lines in a single shop. In addition, it allows us to better compete with big brands which are already present.

in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Mozambique and both Congos.

briefing january

cAlEndAr

FEBruary

AfricAn Union SUmmit 21-31 January Addis AbAbA | EthiopiA security will top the agenda at the African Union summit in the Ethiopian capital. au.int

powEring AfricA tAnzAniA 29-31 January dAr Es sAlAAm | tAnzAniA poweringafrica-tanzania.com

invESt cotE d’ivoirE 29 Jan - 1 feb AbidjAn | côtE d’ivoirE ici2014.com

brought to justice in France, almost 20 years after the genocide began in rwanda.

bUild AfricA forUm 5-7 february mining indAbA 3-6 february CApE Town | SoUth AfricA miningindaba.com

pAScAl SimbikAngwA triAl 4 feb - 28 march pAris | frAncE The former leader of rwanda’s intelligence agency will be the first rwandan genocide suspect to be

After president Alassane ouattara’s much-criticised private trip to France in january, the leaders of the two countries will shake hands again on an official visit. MarCH

brAzzAvillE | rEpUblic of congo buildafricaforum.com

thE EconomiSt’S kEnyA SUmmit 26-27 february nAirobi | kEnyA economistinsights.com

frAnçoiS hollAndE viSitS côtE d’ivoirE End february AbidjAn | côtE d’ivoirE

ASA bAAko mUSic fEStivAl 7-9 march bUsUA bEACh | ghAnA African music, dance and arts festival that starts on the beach and ends in the jungle. asabaako.com

powEr & ElEctricity world AfricA 11-12 march

miChAEl KoorEn/rEUTErs

will thEy, won’t thEy? thE triAl of williAm rUto And UhUrU kEnyAttA 16 January ThE hAgUE | nEthErlAndS With the witnesses against President uhuru Kenyatta disappearing, the International Criminal Court prosecutor Fatou Bensouda (pictured) was forced to ask for an adjournment to his case, which had been due to start in February. no new date has been set. The case against the Deputy President William ruto will be heard from january, however, though he will wait to see whether he has to attend the court in person. That case is also struggling: the court has twice had to suspend proceedings because of a failure by the prosecution to produce witnesses in the ruto/Sang case.

johAnnEsbUrg | SoUth AfricA terrapinn.com/exhibition/powerelectricity-world-africa/

AfricA cEo forUm 17-19 march

gEnEvA | SwitzErlAnd The Afdb, groupe jeune Afrique and rainbow Unlimited bring together the continent’s top business leaders for two days of conference and high-level panels. www.theafricaceoforum.com

the africa report

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Geneva, 17-19 March 2014

2ND EDITION

The forum for African business leaders A unique networking platform. A strategic tool to develop your business in Africa and internationally. Information and registration: www.theafricaceoforum.com Taking part in THE AFRICA CEO FORUM

DONALD KABERUKA President, African Development Bank

MARIA LUISA ABRANTES CEO, Angola Investment Agency (ANIP)

MOULAY HAFID ELALAMY Minister of Industry and Commerce (Morocco)

ASHISH THAKKAR CEO, Mara Group (Uganda)

JEAN-PHILIPPE PROSPER Vice-President, IFC

ISSAD REBRAB Chairman, Cevital (Algeria)

EMMANUEL FABER Deputy General Manager, Danone (France)

KOLA KARIM CEO, Shoreline Group (Nigeria)

VALENTINE SENDANYOYE RUGWABIZA CEO, Rwanda Development Board

TEWOLDE GEBREMARIAM CEO, Ethiopian Airlines

CAROLE KARIUKI CEO, Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA)

LIONEL ZINSOU President, PAI Partners (France)

SAĂ?D IBRAHIMI CEO, Casablanca Finance City (Morocco)

DAPHNE MASHILE-NKOSI Executive Chair, Kalahari Resources (South Africa)

CO-HOST

DIAMOND

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UNDER THE HIGH PATRONAGE OF HIS MAJESTY KING MOHAMMED VI

World Summit of Local and Regional Leaders OCTOBER 2013

Advertorial

The UCLG’s World Summit of Local and Regional Leaders closed in Rabat on 4 October 2013 with the announcement of the new presidency of the UCLG, the world’s largest organisation of mayors and local and regional governments. For three days over 3,000 participants from 125 countries and 500 exhibitors came together to take up the theme

“Imagine Society, Build Democracy”.

LA NOUVELLE PRÉSIDENCE DE CGLU THE UCLG’S NEW PRESIDENCY Kadir Topbas

Mayor of Istanbul (Turkey) was re-elected President of the organisation.

CO-PRESIDENTS: Augusto Barrera Mayor of Quito (Ecuador)

Anne Hidalgo

Ilsur Metshin

Mayor of Kazan (Russian Federation)

The Declaration recognizes the need to bring innovative changes and to achieve more just societies by strengthening governance from the bottom up, under the leadership of inclusive local and regional governments. It highlights the role of sub-national governments as engines and actors of development and in the promotion of dialogue as a vehicle to peace.

Jacqueline Moustache Belle President of the Association of the Districts of Victoria (Seychelles), Mayor of Victoria

> Bogota will host

Fathallah Oualalou

the Fifth World Congress

Mayor of Rabat (Morocco), Treasurer of the UCLG

First Deputy Mayor of Paris (France)

Berry Vrbanovic

Chen Jianhua

President Emeritus of the Canadian Federation of Municipalities

Mayor of Guangzhou (China)

(CFM), Kitchener Municipal Councillor, Deputy Treasurer

Alain Juppé

Nine Vice-Presidents representing all the regions of the world were also elected. The UCLG Assembly General welcomed the creation of a new section for the Regions led by ORU-FOGAR.

President of the French Association of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (AFCCRE), Mayor of Bordeaux (France)

The Rabat Declaration

and the Third Summit of Local and Regional Leaders in 2016.

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country focus Rwanda

SHANON JENSEN/HO/Afp

Rwanda’s reduction in infant mortality is the fastest in Africa

Will the bargain hold? In May, finance ministers, central bank governors and thousands of bureaucrats will descend on Kigali for what will be Rwanda’s biggest chance to showcase its economic story. Rwanda is hosting the African Development Bank’s annual meeting at a time when Africa’s average economic growth is outpacing Asia’s By Honoré Banda in Kigali and Patrick Smith

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he timing of the African Development Bank (AfDB) meeting on 19-23 May in Kigali is highly symbolic. It will be exactly 20 years since bands of thugs wielding machetes and clubs killed around a million people in Rwanda in three months – the fastest mass murder rate in history. The killers were mainly Hutu militiamen trained by Juvénal Habyarimana’s government, and the victims were mainly Tutsi and those Hutus who opposed the government’s racist ideology.

country focus | rwanda

UGANDA

DEM. REP. OF CONGO

KIGALI

R WANDA

BURUNDI

50 km

Galerie Paul KaGame/FlicKr

Lake Kivu

TANZANIA

key facts PoPulation

11.46 million

GDP

$7.10bn

GDP Growth (annual)

Since the 1994 genocide, Kigali’s stateled resurgence has produced spectacular economic results. A leading figure in that economic campaign was Donald Kaberuka, who was finance minister from 1997 until his election as president of the AfDB in 2005. Now, as Kaberuka considers his next move after two terms at the helm of the bank, he is bringing it home to Kigali for a week. It will be Rwanda’s chance not just to make the case for its brand of developmental authoritarianism but to sell its merits as a regional financial, services and trading hub to its fellow African states,aswellastoEuropeansandAsians.

Gni Per caPita at purchasing power parity

$1,320

PoPulation below the national poverty line

44.9% (2011)

PoPulation with access to water source

66%

consumer Price inDex inflation

7.3

BuDGet Balance % GDP

1.9

current account % GDP

10.5

figures for 2012 unless marked otherwise 80life

expectancy (at birth)

poverty reduction

64 48 32 16 0

1995

2000

2005

2010

adult literacy rate (% net)

2000

2010

1978

1991

source: World Bank/africa economic outlook

Is this realistic? Absolutely, according to the World Bank economists who voted Rwanda the top performer last year in its Doing Business index. It leapt to 52nd position on the ease of doing business rankings from 158th position in 2005. The Rwandan government has also invested millions of dollars in a new national airline and plans for a new international airport with hi-tech cargo clearing facilities. Under current finance minister Claver Gatete, the implementation of an internationally compatible instant electronic payment system is roaring ahead. But it is the social significance of Rwanda’s strategy that has attracted economists such as Professor Paul Collier of Oxford University. He remains “deeply impressed” by Kigali’s hat trick of rapid, growth, sharp cuts in poverty and falling inequality. Pointing to a possible demonstration effect for the meeting in Kigali, Collier says: “This should be happening every-

The memory of the genocide still weighs heavily on the Rwandan psyche

where in Africa […]. Instead it’s nowhere else.” Certainly, Rwanda’s success in cutting the number of people in poverty by more than a million out of its 11 million people since 2005 has rarely been equalled outside China. The key point about Rwanda’s economic growth averaging 8.1% between 2001 and 2012 is how that has changed social conditions: life expectancy has increased to 61 years in 2012 from 36 in 1994, and the government has presided over the fastest reduction in infant mortality in Africa over the past decade. Similarly, large state allocations for education mean 93% of Rwandan children attend primary school. However, two giant questions loom over the development data: how have these leaps been achieved and at what political and social cost? The how is the easier of the two questions. The government is allocating a minimum of 10% of the budget to agriculture programmes, which includes mass distribution of fertilisers, anti-erosionand terracingschemes, better transport and irrigation. may you own a cow

They also veer into social engineering with the Girinka programme. Girinka is Kinyarwanda for ‘May you own a cow’, a popular greeting in the countryside. Introducedin2006,theGirinkaprogramme aims to give every poor family a dairy cow that will produce milk and manure. It is designed to be self-sustaining: when the cow has calves, the calf is handed to the neighbour and the chain the africa report

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rwanda | country focus

continues. The cultural significance is that historically it was mainly the pastoral and minority Tutsi people who owned cows, while the majority Hutu were often established farmers. Girinka aims to end that cultural difference. kagame’s big deal

AsFrederickGolooba-Mutebiargues(see page 56), Rwanda is at no risk of being mistakenforaliberaldemocracy.Instead, President Paul Kagame sets out a grand political bargain: he will run an efficient state, channelling substantial resources into health, education and agriculture and thus raising incomes and improving lives. In exchange, competitive party politics are off the agenda as are the lively media and civic freedoms enjoyed by countries such as South Africa, Nigeria and Ghana. Officially, at least, Rwandans have to buy into the government’s ‘end of ethnicity’ ideology. No one can recruit for political parties on the basis of ethnicity, which may seek to strengthen the position of the majority Hutu at the expense of the minority Tutsi. By most independent calculations the latter hold

the key positions in government, the control despite growing criticism of the army and the civil service. government’s record on human rights, Kagame’s bargain, however, now faces media freedoms and foreign policy. Two cases stand out. After successive heavy economic and political pressure. reports by United Nations (UN) experts Rwanda’s target of reaching middleand officials in the Democratic Republic income status by 2030 requires shifting of Congo (DRC), almost no international several gears in its growth strategy and diversifying rapidly into services and inorganisations or diplomats believe the dustry. That will require billions of dolgovernment’s ever shriller denials that lars of direct investment in new enterprises and further Rwanda’s technocrats have investment in roads, power to persuade investors that stations and railways. the politics are under control Two important new recruits will play a leading it has been arming and supporting the role here. The highly regarded Valentine Rugwabiza, former deputy director genmurderousMouvementdu23Mars(M23) eral of the World Trade Organisation, has militia in the DRC’s eastern provinces. taken over the leadership of the Rwanda Government officials reacted furiously Development Board. And Crystal Venwhen European and North American tures, Rwanda’s answer to South Korea’s governments suspended aid worth more state-directed conglomerates, is now than $85m in 2012 and 2013. Much to headedbyformerinvestmentbankerJack Kagame’s frustration, aid still accounts Kayonga, who will turn it into a private for about 40% of the national budget. venture capital fund. These technocrats Trying to escape from this straitjacket, are as impressive as Kigali’s statistical rethe government floated a $400m eurocords, but they still have to persuade inbond, borrowed more than $20m from vestors that the politics will remain under the AfDB, the Organisation of the ● ● ●

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country focus | rwanda

PetroleumExportingCountriesand the Arab Development Bank. China also offered $35m in grants, but most of this is exceptional and unsustainable funding. The latest reports that M23 is regrouping in eastern DRC, after being defeated by a Tanzanian- and South African-led interventionbrigadealongsideCongolese troops, will return the spotlight to Kigali. The UN is now sending drones to patrol the Rwanda-DRC border to search for suspicious troop movements. In January, Kagame and his colleagues unleashed a tirade against critics and exiled opposition politicians. These accuse his government of running a hit squad that strangled former military intelligence director and leader of the opposition Rwanda National Congress Colonel Patrick Karegeya in a South African hotel room on New Year’s eve, and of trying to assassinate former army chief of staff Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa, also in South Africa, in 2011.

OpiniOn

●●●

tacit admission

Without admitting direct responsibility for Karegeya’s murder, defence minister James Kabarebe commented: “When you choose to be a dog, you die like a dog.” Kagamewasscarcelymorecautiouswhen he told journalists in Kinyarwanda on 12 January: “My job as president is to confront and defend Rwanda against people who want to destroy what we have been building. It’s a matter of time for anybody trying to undermine Rwanda to face the consequences of their actions anywhere. It’s the first time I am speaking about the Karegeya issue because there was no need. We don’t seek permission to defend our country.” Ultimately what happens internally is the key. Some Rwandans talk of ‘dangerous wobbles’ ahead of 2017, the date when Kagame is due to hand over to an as yet unidentified successor. Insiders say there is absolutely no discussion about the succession and no plans even to talk about it. Seasoned technocrats such as Kaberuka, Rugwabiza or foreign minister Louise Mushikiwabo evince no interest in the job. One mooted solution is that Kagame steps down from the presidency to become an omnipresent chairman of the ruling Front Patriotique Rwandais party and allows a technocrat to become head of state under his watchful eyes. But there is one certainty: all discussions on the issue at the AfDB meeting will be conducted at an extraordinarily low volume. ●

Frederick Golooba-Mutebi Political analyst

The politics of ‘never again’

ne inescapable question about post-genocide Rwanda is how a poor country that sank to the lowest levels of human depravity during the genocide and mass killings of the 1990s has, within less than a generation, risen to become one of Africa’s shining examples of post-war recovery and development. The answer lies in the decision made by the Front Patriotique Rwandais, the political organisation that toppled the genocidal regime – along with the political parties that had long fought it from within – to reject adversarial political competition and settle for consensus-driven politics. Nonetheless, while these developments have earned Rwanda plaudits across the world, some academics and activists accuse the government of a poor human rights record and of a restrictive political environment in which there is no room for dissent, opposition or freedom of expression. Critics focusing on these domains rarely acknowledge the gains in the economic and social spheres. Certainly post-genocide Rwanda is not a liberal democracy and citizens do not enjoy the same range of rights as in a mature liberal democracy. Nor is politics in the country competitive adversarial multiparty politics. The critique, however, disregards key attributes of Rwanda’s postgenocide political system. The system is highly inclusive, bringing together several would-be rival political parties into a government in which power and responsibility are shared. Collective decision-making within the multiparty government and the absence of contestation that often throws post-war countries into renewed turmoil explain Rwanda’s political stability. The kernel of collective decision-making and responsibility-sharing is the constitutional requirement that no political organisation, however popular or powerful, should allocate all the cabinet positions to itself. Another attribute is the determination by all parties in government to prevent the resurgence of ethnic bigotry. Groups suspected of seeking to pursue sectarian agendas encounter more difficulty trying to register as political parties than those that do not. It is essential, in a society recovering from a traumatic history, to minimise political activism with a potential to destabilise. Activists have long campaigned for media freedom in Rwanda and persisted in presenting the government as anti-media and President Kagame as a mediapredator, a label he was given by Paris-based Reporters Without Borders in 2010. But for about a decade, the government has been implementing reforms, including the enactment of the Access to Information Law and legislation for media self-regulation. Broadcast and print outlets have grown in number to 60, reflecting investment of $13.6m in the media industry over the same period by, among others, the Nation Media Group. For Rwanda, where the genocide and civil war nearly wiped out the media industry, this is huge and reflects change that critics are reluctant to acknowledge. ● the africa report

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• Wide selection of rooms and suites: all with AC • Satellite TV, WiFi and voice-mail • The Milima Restaurant • The Sokoni Café and Bar • The Executive Lounge and Bar

• Swimming pool, pool deck and gardens • The Maisha Health Club • Dedicated conference and social events centre • Business Centre, travel desk, taxi and limousine service • Gift Shop, news-stand and travel requisites kiosk

• Wide selection of rooms and suites: all with AC • Satellite TV, WiFi and voice-mail • The Milima Restaurant • The Sokoni Café and Bar • The Executive Lounge and Bar • Swimming pool, pool deck and gardens • The Maisha Health Club • Dedicated conference and social events centre • Business Centre, travel desk, taxi and limousine service • Gift Shop, news-stand and travel requisites kiosk

ADVERTORIAL

Rwanda Social Security Board

RSSB leading in socio-economic transformation of Rwanda Rwanda Social Security Board (RSSB) was established by the law No.45/2010 of 14/12/2010 that determines its mission, organization and functioning. This institution was established after the merger of Social Security Fund of Rwanda (SSFR) with Rwanda Medical Insurance (RAMA) The mandate of the institution is to administer social security in the country. The branches currently managed include; pension, occupational risks and health insurance. The benefits offered under the different branches are; old age, invalidity, survivorship, work injuries and work related diseases and health insurance. RSSB as a financial institution is supervised by the National Bank of Rwanda according to the banking law N°55/2007 of 30/11/2007 whereas its activities are overseen by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning. > VISION RSSB envisions a comprehensive social security system that addresses the social security needs of all Rwandans. > MISSION STATEMENT Provide high quality social security services; ensure efficient benefits distribution, collection of contribution and prudent investment of members’ funds. > CORPORATE VALUES In trying to achieve our vision and mission, we consider to be guided by the following key strategic values: • Integrity; • Collaboration; • Accountability; • Respect; and • Excellence. > MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES OF RSSB Rwanda Social security Board is mandated by government of Rwanda to provide social security services to its affiliates and legal dependents in Rwanda and its key activities are: • Collecting and management of contributions as provided by law; • Paying social security benefits to beneficiaries; • Paying healthcare costs to RSSB medical beneficiaries; • Managing the contributions fund;

• Prudently investing surplus funds; • Giving advice on social security policy issues; • Establishing relations and collaboration with other regional or international institutions with related mission > FUNDING Rwanda Social Security Board is ﬁnanced by employees’ and employers’ contributions. For the pension and Occupational hazard scheme, the total contribution is 8% of the employees’ gross salary, of which 5% is paid by the employer and 3% is paid by the employee. Of the 5% paid by the employer, 2% goes to occupational hazards and the remaining 3% goes to pension. The total contribution rate under Medical scheme is 15% of employees’ basic salary, of which 7.5% is paid by employer and the other 7.5% paid by employee. > COVERAGE The scheme is mandated to cover all employees working in the private and public sectors. However, an individual may voluntarily register and save with RSSB under the Pension scheme. For private individuals to be registered under the medical scheme, a minimum of 7 employees is required.

> BENEFITS In the event that any of the contingencies occurs, RSSB members or their dependants are entitled to receive benefits as provided by the law. For old age benefits, members aged at least 55 are entitled to pension benefits. However, the police and military servants aged at least 40 and 50 respectively can apply for pension benefits. Under occupational hazards branch, employees are protected when they are at work, travelling to work or on a work related journey. This scheme also covers an occupational disease. The medical scheme covers the following medical care provision: Medical consultations, drugs, including chemotherapy, surgical interventions, dental care including prosthesis, medical imaging, including CT Scan & MRI, Laboratory tests, Physiotherapy, Hospitalization, Eye treatment including provision of; lenses and frames, Lower/ Upper limb prosthesis & Orthesis, Dialysis and Full Medical check-up.

RSSB achievements 1. PORTFOLIO RSSB’s investment portfolio has recorded notable increase from Rwf 301,114,038,655 (approx $ 446 million) in June 2012 to Rwf 371,365,182,453 (approx $ 550.2million) in June 2013. RSSB’s investment portfolio is mainly composed of • Real estate projects > 22.0% • Bank term deposits > 35.7% • Corporate bonds, loans > 1.8% • Treasury bonds/bills > 21.4% • Foreign as well as local equity > 18.6% • Mortgage > 0.5%

Rwanda Social Security Board

The contributions collected has remarkably increased from 2011 Medical scheme 2011/2012

27,607,121,723

2012/2013

31,801,932,957

Pension Scheme 2011/2012

42,890,412,771

2012/2013

55,256,422,716

Total 2011/2012

70,497,534,494

2012/2013

87,058,355,673

RSSB is working in tandem with the realization of Rwanda broader development programs. In accordance with the EDPRS 2 for example where decent affordable urban housing is required, RSSB has striven to develop different projects to feed into the requirements and address the challenges. The on-going projects include: 1. VISION CITY (HIGH END HOUSING)

3. BENEFITS PAID OUT Medical scheme 2011/2012

9,435,099,253

2012/2013

11,050,622,485

Pension Scheme 2011/2012

8,422,992,219

2012/2013

9,914,111,770

Total 2011/2012

17,858,091,472

2012/2013

20,964,734,255

4. CONTRIBUTING EMPLOYEES/ AFFILIATES REGISTERED Medical scheme 2011/2012

Afﬁliates 165,591

2011/2012

Dependents 200,835

2012/2013

Afﬁliates 194,228

2012/2013

Dependents 334,145

Pension Scheme 2011/2012

322,888

2012/2013

352,085

It is the biggest residential housing project in Rwanda to-date. It is set on a prime 158 hectare tract of land in Gaculiro, Kinyinya Sector of Gasabo district. It is adjacent to RSSB constructed Vision 2020 Estate and approximately 3 km from the proposed Central Business District (CBD) at Muhima and 6 km from Kigali International Airport. It will consist of over 4,500 units in different configurations ranging from luxury villas to apartments to be built in 4 phases over 7-8 years. Phase 1 is made up of 504 units to be built on 33 hectares. Construction started in November 2013 and is expected to last 21 months. The total cost for phase 1 is $106 million and it will be financed through a combination of debt and equity.

The total number of medical beneﬁciaries increased from 366,416 in June 2012 to 528,373 in June 2013 5. INVESTMENT RETURNS Medical scheme 2011/2012

5,181,403,301

2012/2013

5,400,009,476

Pension Scheme 2011/2012

10,591,944,530

2012/2013

13,874,630,981

Total 2011/2012

15,773,347,831

2012/2013

19,274,640,457

Phase 1 of Vision City will also feature a town center made up of retail shopping space, recreational and leisure spots (restaurants, sports facilities and club house), a 3 star hotel, ofﬁce block and a medium size convention centre with a capacity of 1000 people.

Construction is expected to start in May 2014 at an estimated project cost of $50 million. 2. KINYINYA (MIDDLE INCOME HOUSING) This will be the second biggest residential housing project consisting of 3,672 units of 1-4 bedrooms set out in four storey apartment buildings. This layout will maximize the available 100 hectares marked out for development of the estate, resulting in a housing density of approximately 60 units per hectare. Kinyinya will have commercial, entertainment, recreational and public transport amenities for use by its residents. It will be built in three phases over 7-8 years. The units will have lower price points than Vision City units and will cater mostly to middle income buyers. However, residents will still enjoy the same tranquility, modern housing and amenities that will be found in the higher priced Vision City. The total expected cost of phase 1 of Kinyinya is $57 million ﬁnanced through a combination of debt and equity.

3. LOW COST HOUSING RSSB is in the ﬁnal stages of acquiring a plot of land on the outskirts of Kigali to construct 100 low cost housing units. Several technologies are being considered to provide cost effective, but efﬁcient modular solutions, which can be replicated at other sites in order to solve the problem of low cost housing in Rwanda.

RSSB Plot 1003, Ubumwe Cell, African Union Boulevard Kiyovu, Nyarugenge PO Box 250/6655, Kigali Tel: +250 598400 Fax : +250 584445 info@rssb.rw www.rssb.rw

DIFCOM/FC - Photos : DR

2. CONTRIBUTIONS COLLECTED AND INVESTMENT RETURNS

country focus | rwanda

PEOPLE TO WATCH

Politicians and business brains step up to the challenge A new slate of leaders in the public and private sectors are seeking to prove their independence, improve credibility and attract investment

wanda’s great and good are in a period of flux, with new faces and old hands in fresh roles. As Ebenezer Asante (1) settles into office as the new chief executive of MTN Rwanda, he is faced with the task of ensuring the telco maintains its market share in the face of cut-throat competition.Thefirsttelecomcompanytolaunch mobile telephony operations in Rwanda, its subscriber base has stagnated at just over three million while its rivals, Tigo and Airtel, are eating into its data and voice segments. The year 2014 could be the tipping point as Airtel, the new entrant, consolidates its growth. It is all change in the state-directed sector, too. In May 2013, the government appointed Jack Kayonga as the new board chairman of Crystal Ventures, the investment arm of the ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) and the biggest local investment company. Youthful Kayonga is an investment banker credited with turning around the Rwanda Development Bank, where he served as CEO for four years from 2009. The top management of Crystal Ventures has proved to be result oriented, with zero tolerance for underperformance. To keep his job, Kayonga will have to improve the efficiency of its businesses, as the company continues to fight claims that it depends on lucrative government contracts. In October 2013, the fresh-faced Richard Muhu muza replaced Martin Ngoga, the longserving prosecutor general. Muhumuza, who has served in the prosecutor general’s office for the

past 14 years, is the fourth prosecutor general since 1994, when the RPF took power. He will continue to hunt for the key fugitives believed to have masterminded the 1994 genocide, but he will also face pressure to charge members of the old guard who have since joined the opposition and become outspoken critics of the current regime. no to witch-hunt

The long list includes Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa, who fled to South Africa in February 2010, and Gerald Gahima, who had served as the country’s first prosecutor general after the 1994 genocide. If he does not want his office to be seen as a tool for criminalising political dissent, Muhumuza will have to exercise maximum restraint. Last year, Rwanda’s new lower house was sworn in under the leadership of long-serving Liberal Party politician Donatille Mukabalisa (2), whose rise to the helm of the Chamber of Deputies was no surprise. She was elected almost unanimously, winning 79 votes out of 80. A lawyer by training, the new speaker is

a veteran parliamentarian who served in the Chamber of Deputies before joining the Senate in 2011. Mukabalisa takes charge as the debate about the 2017 presidential election is beginning to take shape. She seeks to demonstrate that she has the necessary independence in decision-making and to work towards improving the credibility of parliament, which is still widely viewed as a rubber stamp. Veteran journalist Arthur Asiimwe is settling in as the head of the newly formed Rwanda Broadcasting Agency (RBA), which replaces the Rwanda Bureau of Information and Broadcasting. His challenge is to convince Rwandans that the state broadcaster is worth the taxpayers’ money it has received over the years and to transform the RBA into a self-sufficient entity. There has been little debate about whether Valentine Sendanyoye Rug wabiza (3), the new CEO of the investment promotion agency, the Rwanda Development Board, is qualified for the job.Notonlyissheatradeandinvestment expert, having served at the World Trade Organisation as deputy director general since 2005, but she is also a seasoned diplomat who was Rwanda’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva for three years. She takes charge at a critical time, as the government is under intense pressure to reduce its dependence on foreign aid. ● Honoré Banda in Kigali

mtn rwanda; FlicKr Galerie Paul KaGame; Bruno levy tHe aFrica ceo Forum/Jeune aFrique

Profile of DEVELOPMENT BANK OF RWANDA (BRD) The Development Bank of Rwanda (BRD) is a public limited liability company limited by share, with a share capital of RWF 7,808,931,000, and was incorporated on August 5,1967. The company code is 1000003547 with its headquarters in Kigali, Rwanda. BRD provides long term and medium finance that significantly facilitate the emergence of different productive enterprises in the private sector. BRD VISION: “The Leader of productive investment and the most profitable Bank at the service of poverty reduction”. BRD MISSION: “To become the Government of Rwanda’s investment arm by financing the nation’s development objectives with a focus on the priority sectors of the economy”. BRD’s objectives: • Provide development finance for priority economic sectors as defined by the government, which are: Agriculture and Livestock, Exportation, Hotels and Tourism, Social Infrastructures (Education and Healthcare), Manufacturing and Industries, ICT, Energy and water, Microfinance, and Transport and related facilities. • Provide equity investments to stimulate the development of new firms able to participate in Rwanda’s economic development; • Promote exports to reverse the trade deficit and increase Rwanda’s stability to invest in its development; • Refinance microfinance institutions and professional associations; and • Facilitate technical assistance to financed companies, microfinance associations and other stakeholders to enhance sustainability.

SECTORS OF OPERATION Development Bank of Rwanda operates in all sectors of productive investment which generate added value and create employment. In its credit policy, priority is given to the new technologies and export oriented project. The bank’s priority field of intervention covers the following: Agriculture and livestock, Industries & Services, Hotels &Tourism, Housing (Real Estate & Individual Houses), Social Infrastructures (Healthcare & Education), Micro Finance Institutions, Water and energy, ICT, Transport and related facilities. PRODUCTS & FACILITIES Development Bank of Rwanda has a great number of product offerings: BRD provides investment financing in form of: Loans (short, medium or long term), Leasing, Equity, mortgage financing, MFIs refinancing, Guarantee funds, Capacity Building and Advisory. Retail banking products to each client having an account with BRD: Trade Finance, Salary advance, Temporary overdraft, Home equipment Financing, Vehicle loans. In addition, BRD offers other Services such as: Accounts (Savings & current), Syndications, Policy research, analysis & support; and Public/Private sector facilitation. At BRD, if you are an entrepreneur, business man, or simply an Investor - We empower you! BRD’S PHYSICAL ADDRESS: Development Bank of Rwanda (BRD) Boulevard de la Révolution - P.O Box 1341 - Kigali, Rwanda Tel: (+250) 252 573558 /252 575079/80 or (Toll free number) 3288 Fax: (250) 252 573569

ADVERTORIAL

E-mail: brd@brd.rw

country focus | rwanda

intErviEw

and implementation of Rwanda’s first Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy, under which Rwanda was able to reduce poverty by 12% between 2006 and 2011. He chaired development partners’ forums for the government. Rwangombwa also oversaw the drafting and implementation of a five-year public finance management reform programme that led Rwanda to produce its first government financial statements in 2007.

CyRil NdeGeya

John Rwangombwa Governor, National Bank of Rwanda

We have reached a turning point in the economy

Loans to the private sector have picked up as rwanda emerges from the effects of delayed aid disbursement, but the country is still too dependent on imports

ntering2014,Rwanda’s central bank governor, John Rwangombwa, is focused on encouraging banks to extend credit to the private sector, expanding financial inclusion and stabilising the economy after donors cut off aid to the government in 2012. The International Monetary Fund predicts that the economy will grow by 7.5% in 2014 but warns that the financial system is too weak to offer the government the possibility of getting more financing from the domestic market. In response, the government is preparing for the launch of an international sovereign bond within the next year or two.

Rwangombwa is working on improving Rwanda’s macroeconomic performance. President Paul Kagame appointed him as governor of the National Bank of Rwanda on 25 February 2013.

The biggest challenge is that our export base has not been growing fast enough Prior to his appointment, he served as finance and economic planning minister. Rwangombwa had served as the permanent secretary and secretary to the treasury from September 2005. As permanent secretary, he oversaw the drafting

TAR : What are the greatest economic risks that you see ahead in the short and medium term? John RWAngombWA : [There are] two main risks. The biggest one is agriculture because we are still relying on weather. If the weather is not good, it will affect the performance of the economy in 2014. We are still weak in terms of financing international trade. For instance, the experience of last year about the delayed donor support shows how if anything of that nature happens this will affect our growth as well. To what extent has the Rwandan economy recovered from the impact of the shortfall in donor funding? In 2013, we started feeling the challengesofreducedgovernment spending because government is a big player in this economy. Any reduced government spending affects different parts of the economy. Achieving 5.7% and 6% growth in the first two quarters of 2013, I would say, was good compared to the challenges that we had experienced. We are now waiting for the statistics of the third quarter, but I do not expect much difference from that. However, we do see a turning point in the economy in the fourth quarter in terms of the increase in credit to the private sector. [...] We also expect to see trade going up, financial services going up. It shows that we have reached a turning point from the effects of delayed disbursement [of aid] in 2012 and in 2013. We are likely to see growth going back to normal.

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rwanda | country focus

The central bank has been easing the interest rate it charges to commercial banks over the past few months as a signal to banks to lower rates. Rates have come down but not as much as the central bank sought. Where do we go from here? We have started seeing positive signs as we had expected. When we reduce our key repo rate (KRR), normally it is the money markets or short-term interest rates that follow immediately and this is what we saw happening. In June 2013, when we reduced the policy rate from 7.5% to 7%, we saw the treasury bill interest rates moving from 10.81% in June to 6.06% in November 2013 and the repo rates going down from 6.68% to 4.42% between June and November 2013. We also saw the deposit rate dropping from 10.6% to 8.5% between June and November 2013. All these factors are playing into influencing the movement

of the lending rates, but this happens with a time lag because by the time the deposit starts going down, banks still have expensive deposits that they took before the decline of deposit interest rates. The lending rates also slightly reduced from 17.6% in June to 17.19% in November 2013. This is a good sign. In addition, banks have been responding to the change in the KRR. We have seen a pick-up in lending to the private sector. New authorised loans are thus likely to hit RWF145.9bn ($221m) in the fourth quarter 2013, compared to RWF116.16bn issued in the fourth quarter of 2012. This might be the highest ever in recent years. The Rwandan franc is weakening. What is happening? To what extent are you concerned about this depreciation? This is expected. It is partly linked to the delayed aid disbursements in 2012. But even

A finAnciAl Ascent 2004 Earned a master’s degree from the Maastricht School of Management september 2005 Named permanent secretary in the finance ministry August 2008 Became director of the East African Development Bank february 2013 Named governor of the National Bank of Rwanda

without that, we expect this trend to continue as we try to build our exports. The biggest challenge is that our export base has not been growing fast enough to catch up with imports. We have had double-digit growth in our exports – almost over 20% this year – but the import bill is still quite high. We have high demand for foreign exchange because our economy is growing and most of the materials and goods used to grow this economy are imported. This exerts pressure on the exchange rate. But as we increase our exports, the depreciation itself is a catalyst to increase the competition of our export sector. Our biggest worry about depreciation is how this translates into inflation. But if it is still at levels where it is not translating into inflation, it is not worrisome. ●

The Exchange’s core function is to ensure integrity of trade

+250 78 819 7000

Interview by Honoré Banda in Kigali

country focus | rwanda

Tourism

New hotels and infrastructure raise Kigali’s game Global chains, direct flights and a state-of-theart conference centre will bring yet more visitors to a capital in demand

The Kigali Marriott will be the first in sub-Saharan Africa

wanda’s drive to become a conference hub is gaining speed with the anticipated entry of two global hotel brands in 2014. Rezidor, owners of the Radisson brand, and Marriott are expected to open hotels by the end of this year, improving the country’s competitiveness. The Kigali government had projected revenue from conference tourism to reach $40m by 2012, but the shortage of high-end accommodation denied the capital the competitive edge enjoyed by Nairobi, Kampala and Dar es Salaam. Serena Hotel is currently the only five-star facility in Rwanda. The completion of the $300m Kigali Convention Centre (KCC) – a facility that will house the five-star Radisson Blu with 292 rooms, an information technology office park and a conference hall that can seat 2,600 people – will improve Kigali’s performance in the service sector and also attract tourists and boost revenue. Though

the KCC might not open until 2015, the Radisson Blu is scheduled to open for business by mid-2014. building on EXPERiEnCE

“Rwanda has attracted many international events and conferences, and now we are strategically positioned as a destination for conferences, which need the right logistic and accommodation in order to be relevant in the global arena of events and conferences,” says Hubert Ruzibiza, the head of services

development at the Rwanda Development Board (RDB). While the service sector currently accounts for 47% of gross domestic product, the government plans for this to rise to 55% in 2020 to make it the leading job creator in the economy. “Such an entry [of five-star hotels] in our market represents a huge opportunity for job creation, with more than 70% of jobs created in Kigali for the past 10 years in the services sector,” Ruzibiza explains.

NCARe

NOUVELLE COMPAGNIEAFRICAINE DE REASSURANCE Rez-de-chaussée Immeuble les Harmonies Abid Abidjan bidjan Plateau 01 BP 5962 Abidjan 01 - Côte d’Ivoire - Tel 00 225 20 21 92 06 - Fax 00 225 20 21 90 73 Email : infos@nca-re.net ; nazaire.abbey@nca-re.net ; demola.bukola@nca-re.net achille.sosso@nca-re.net ; jean-jacques.tah@nca-re.net

Total revenue from tourism climbed to $281m in 2012, up from $251.3m in 2011, according to statistics from the RDB, making it the country’s top foreign-exchange earner. In 2013, the sector generated $217m between January and October, which represents a 4% increase over the same period in 2012. The government is targeting annual revenue of $860m by 2017. training centre

The limited availability of skills also poses challenges for the service sector. As a result, the Kigali Marriott, which will have 237 rooms, has also set up a training centre for its staff. It is hosting some 30 employees attached to its brands in the Middle East. The hotel had been slated to host the 49th annual meeting of the African Development Bank group and the 40th meeting of the African Development Fund in Kigali in May, but the opening has now been delayed until December 2014. Demand for hotel space has surged in recent years with an increasing number of tourists, expatriates and businesses seeking regional expansion. The number of hotel rooms available, currently estimated at 6,500 rooms, is insufficient to meet rising demand.

Tourism is Rwanda’s top foreign exchange earner, and the aim is to triple it by 2017 “Improved availability of accommodation and connectivity means that Rwanda can attract more conferences it is not attracting at the moment. Kigali can be made a preferred destination by making accommodation affordable and available,” argues Solomon Adede, deputy CEO of New Century Development, which owns the Kigali Marriott. Rwanda is also counting on the aggressive expansion of its national carrier RwandAir to boost its ability to host conferences. The airline is purchasing more aircraft and launching new routes and more direct flights to the country. This is in addition to the launch of more directs flights to Kigali by airlines including Turkish Airlines and Qatar Airlines in 2013 and 2012, respectively. Brussels Airlines had been the only international airline operating direct flights from Europe to Kigali before KLM started its flights in 2010. ● Honoré Banda in Kigali

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country focus | rwanda

Rwanda and DRC are milking the cellphone industry’s demand for minerals, but at what cost?

Hereward Holland/reuters

mining

Contested abundance A damning UN report has cast new doubt on Rwanda’s claim to export only conflict-free minerals, increasing the need for an effective tagging system

ongolesepoliticiansregularlyaccuse Rwandan actors of exploiting mineral reserves in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). In turn, the Rwandan government denies the country is a conduit for Congolese conflict minerals. But given tense security and diplomatic relations between Kinshasa and Kigali, an improved tagging system could help. In 1996, Rwandan and Ugandan forces had invaded the DRC to topple the regime of Mobutu Sese Seko. Rwanda’s main mineral exports are tin ore (cassiterite), coltan (columbitetantalite) and tungsten ore (wolframite). Revenue from the sector used to be tiny, but mineral export earnings began rising rapidly in 2000. Rwanda earned an estimated $263m from mining exports in 2013, nearly double the $133m brought in from sales of tea and coffee. The 2013 mining export figure was the highest ever for the sector and nearly double earlier forecasts. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says it expects earnings from mining to keep going up, rising to an anticipated $335m by 2018. In the latest review of Rwanda’s poverty support instrument (PSI), published in December 2013, the

IMF says: “Export volumes for major mineral exports […] have risen following substantial investment in the sector and favourable price developments, especially of coltan. In particular, seven new mines, including foreign-owned and operated, started up in 2013.” smugglers prove adept

Tin, coltan and tungsten ores are found in far greater abundance in neighbouring DRC, and there is a widespread perception that much of the mineral output exported from Rwanda as Rwandan in origin is, in fact, Congolese. According to a leaked version of the final 2013 report of the United Nations Group of Experts, the group “documented cases of smuggling of tin, tungsten and tantalum from Congo to Rwanda”. The report said that during the second half of 2011, Rwanda exported 583tn more minerals than it was recorded as producing, but that production and export figures more or less matched up for 2012. During the first four months of 2013, however, Rwanda officially exported 198tn more than it produced. Since 2011 the Rwandan government has implemented a minerals traceability and tagging system designed to com-

bat smuggling and fraud, devised by the international tin industry association, ITRI. The idea is that the system mitigates the risk of Rwandan mineral exporters financing conflict in the DRC by ‘laundering’ untraced minerals from there that may have benefited armed groups and/or the Congolese army. All mineral exports from Rwanda are now tagged, with the tags indicating the origin of the minerals. Government agents are supposed to apply these tags at the mines. In its 2013 report, however, the UN Group of Experts said that traffickers were smuggling Congolese coltan to Rwanda via Goma and then attaching Rwandan mining tags: “This smuggling takes place by truck at small border crossings […] and normally involves transferring bags of tantalum between trucks close to the border, and payment in cash to Congolese and Rwandan soldiers stationed at the transit point. The smuggled tantalum is then taken to warehouses in Gisenyi where it is tagged.” The ITRI is now experimenting with an improved system in which tags are scanned using devices with a Global Positioning System element recording exactly when and where the scanning took place. This should make it harder for fraudsters to put Rwandan tags on Congolese minerals. The change is urgent, as the latest Group of Exports report has undermined the credibility of Rwanda’s claim to export only domestic and ‘conflict-free’ material. If buyers think they risk purchasing laundered Congolese minerals that have financed conflict, they could stop buying, and Rwanda’s mineral export earnings would then plummet. ● Gregory Mthembu-Salter in Kigali

1000 800

Export earnings 2011-2013 ($m) 820.7

Exports…

650.7

600 400 300

…of which: Minerals Tea and coffee 2013 (new ofﬁcial estimate)

250 200 150 100

2011

the africa report

2012

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263.1 159.3 139.3 133.2

2013 (Change between initial & latest estimates)

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38th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE FANAF OUAGADOUGOU (BURKINA FASO), FROM 17 TO 21 FEBRUARY 2014 LOCATION: OUAGA 2000 GENERAL THEME:

“NEW PERSPECTIVES FOR AFRICAN INSURANCE” 2 PRIZES TO BE AWARDED

Ahmadou KOUROUMA AWARD: FOR THE MOST INNOVATIVE MARKET

Julien-Jean CODJOVI AWARD: FOR RESEARCH

DEADLINE: 15 JANUARY 2014 INFORMATION: : www.fanaf.com/prix-de-la-fanaf.html

last word

A Groupe Jeune Afrique publication

By Rita Ray

106

Tabu Ley Rochereau – voice of lightness

e salute the passing of a true great. Tabu Ley Rochereau, dubbed the ‘voice of lightness’, was born Pascal Emmanuel Sinamoyi Tabu in Banningville on 13 November circa 1937. A prodigious talent blessed with a supple honeyed tenor voice, Rochereau was an emotive crooner, an innovative musician, bandleader, record company executive, music publisher, union leader and politician. By the age of 16, he had joined and was writing songs for the legendary Joseph ‘Le Grand Kallé’ Kabasele’s African Jazz ensemble. This band of future stars included saxophonist Manu Dibango and, along with Franco’s OK Jazz, epitomised the belle époque of Congolese music. At 17, he sang lead on ‘Independence Cha Cha’, the momentous song that ushered in Congo’s 1960 independence. It became the soundtrack of African independences, propelling him to pan-African stardom. In 1963, most of the members of African Jazz deserted Le Grand Kallé to form African Fiesta under the leadership of Rochereau and the gifted guitar maestro Docteur Nico. The fruitful partnership was short-lived, however. The only rival to his supremacy was Franco, who led the race until Rochereau recruited M’bilia Bel, a 17-year-old dancer, songwriter and singer, to his Orchestre Afrisa. The formidable vocal duo fell in love. The marriage did not last, but Bel became a superstar. Rochereau had an unerring eye for talent and nurtured many giants of the genre, including Sam Mangwana, Papa Wemba and Faya Tess. Rochereau’s music is an irresistible form of guitar-driven rumba, a blend of Congolese, Cuban and Caribbean melodies and rhythms

57‑Bis, rue d’Auteuil – 75016 PAris – FrAnce tel: (33) 1 44 30 19 60 – FAx: (33) 1 44 30 19 30 www.theafricareport.com

Cha i r m a n a nd f o und e r Béchir Ben yAhMed P ub l i s he r dAnielle Ben yAhMed publisher@theafricareport.com exeCutive Publisher JérôMe MillAn

featuring horns, sweet vocal harmonies and dancing girls. He was a pioneer of modern-day soukous. He popularised Congolese music through his many European and North American tours, and was the first African musician to perform at the Olympia in Paris. A prolific composer, he is reputed to have recorded more than 2,000 songs and released at least 250 albums. From the euphoria of pre-independence through Mobuto Sese Seko’s repressive regime and his Authenticité policy of celebrating African heritage, Congo became Zaire and Rochereau – the A prodigious sobriquet his classmates gave when talent and he correctly named a pioneer, France’s General Pierre Tabu Ley Denfert-Rochereau – became Tabu Ley. recorded the Perhaps spending soundtrack time with Patrice Lumumba, the ill-fated of Africa’s first prime minister of independence Congo, planted the seeds of his political ambition. Following the turbulent birth of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tabu Ley returned home in 1997 to take up the role of cabinet minister. In 2005, he became deputy governor of Kinshasa. Tabu Ley never fully recovered from the stroke that left him partially paralysed in 2008. He died in hospital in Brussels on 30 November 2013. He is survived by several wives and up to 68 children. Tabu Ley was honoured with a state funeral in Kinshasa, where thousands turned out to bid farewell to one of Africa’s greatest singers and musical innovators. ●

Rita Ray is a DJ, writer and performer who has been introducing Londoners to global sounds for 25 years. She often jams with live musicians and is a founder member of The Shrine arts collective. theshrine.uk.com the africa report

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