Emerging powers news roundup

Call for applications

Journalist Study Tour to India 2010: FAHAMU Emerging Powers in Africa Programme
The Fahamu Emerging Powers in Africa Programme is pleased to announce a call for applications for its Journalist Study Tour to India. Four successful applicants will be chosen to participate in a 6 day study tour. African media professionals in print, broadcast, radio and online fora throughout Africa are encouraged to apply for this study tour. African lecturers from journalism schools and media programmes on the continent may also apply.

1. Introduction

There is a growing need for independent inquiry and investigation into the engagement of India in Africa from African media sources- this as media coverage has been largely dominated and influenced by Western media reports. This becomes particularly important as Indian corporate interest, aid, bilateral trade and investment in Africa continues to grow. Furthermore, India will host the forthcoming India Economic Summit in November 2010, while the second India-Africa Forum Summit will take place in Africa in 2011 following the first Summit concluded in April 2008 in India. These events will provide important outcomes related to both India and Africa’s development path, with consequences relevant to both Africans and Indians alike. Within this context the need for greater collaboration and interaction amongst African and Indian media will become ever more pertinent.

The Fahamu Emerging Powers in Programme is therefore pleased to announce a call for applications for its Journalist Study Tour to India. Four successful applicants will be chosen to participate in a study tour to India that aims to:

- Strengthen the capacity of African media commentators on India's engagement with Africa
- Facilitate greater understanding of perceptions of India in Africa, and vice versa
- Expand on knowledge amongst African media of India’s political, economic, societal and media landscape
- Create an opportunity for African media organisations and journalism schools to develop long-term relationships, collaborations and exchanges with representatives from Indian media organisations and institutions
- Provide a platform to facilitate the implementation of capacity building projects and greater media coverage amongst African media on India's activities in Africa
- Include greater media participation in discussions and advocacy in India and in Africa about India's role in Africa
- Include visits to various Indian media organisations, associations, research institutes and journalism schools.

2. Call for Applications

Media professionals in print, broadcast, radio and online fora throughout Africa are encouraged to apply for this study tour. Lecturers from journalism schools and media programmes in Africa may also apply. Applicants must:

-Provide frequent reports to their national, regional, or local print media, radio, television channels or online fora on topics related to India's activities in Africa; or lecture at a journalism school or training programme at a higher education institution in Africa

-Have 8- 10 years experience as a journalist or journalism lecturer

-Be fluent in English

-Have a valid passport and comply with their country's visa criteria for travel to India.

The following costs will be reimbursed:

- Return ticket, economy class to India
- Accommodation in India for the duration of study tour,
- Visa costs,
- Meals and transport for duration of study tour.

The study tour will take place in November 2010.

Applications close on 20 October 2010 and successful applicants will be notified by end October 2010.

3. Requirements

All applications are to be submitted electronically and must include:

- A current resume including professional work history

-A 500 word article on a topic that is currently relevant to the India-Africa engagement

-A brief proposal in English outlining a story you wish to cover in Africa related to Africa-India relations and that will be of interest to your target audience

- A letter of recommendation from your organisation head/faculty head . If journalist applicants are not employed directly through a media organisation, please provide a letter of support from the organisation to which you are affiliated, including your relationship to the organisation

- A letter, signed by your (affiliate) organisation or faculty head, motivating how participation in the study tour will benefit your professional work and the work of your organisation. This should include an action plan detailing how your experience in India will be incorporated into further capacity building and knowledge development within your organisation/journalism school in the three months following completion of the study tour

- Provide samples of three or four professional pieces of written work/manuscripts that have been printed or broadcast in the last 12 months; or an outline of courses taught if a lecturer in a journalism school/programme.

-Please ensure that all documents are compressed and/or zipped in compressed files to ensure all applications can be uploaded.

-Applications must be submitted in English

4. Concluding Remarks

A contract will be signed by participants requiring the following obligations to be met following conclusion of the tour:

- Produce a commentary piece for the Fahamu Emerging Powers in Africa Newsletter based on their experience in India incorporating topical issues related to Africa-India relations

- Make regular contributions on civil society issues for publication in the Fahamu Emerging Powers in Africa Newsletter

- Provide a follow up report detailing the implementation and outcomes of a capacity building activity completed through the participants (affiliate) organisation or journalism school within three months of completing the study tour.

Please direct all queries and applications to:

Ms Hayley Herman
Programme Officer
Emerging Powers in Africa Programme
Email: [email protected]

General

IBSA Gets UN Award for Its Fight against Hunger, Poverty
The United Nations has honored the India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) grouping for its efforts to fight poverty and hunger in other parts of the globe. The 2010 Millennium Development Goals (MDG) Award has recognized India, Brazil and South Africa Facility for Poverty and Hunger Alleviation (IBSA Fund) for its hard work in using innovative approaches to share, replicate and scale up successful development experiences for combating poverty and hunger in other parts of the world.
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SA companies ripe for takeovers by big foreign groups
Bidvest Group and Northam Platinum are among at least 10 South African companies that could be targets for acquisition by foreign bidders seeking growth opportunities in the wake of $15 billion (R105bn) worth of deals announced since July by Wal-Mart Stores, HSBC Holdings and Nippon Telegraph & Telephone (NTT). "Wal-Mart's offer is going to spark other interest," David Shapiro, the head of Sasfin Holdings' securities unit, said from Johannesburg yesterday. "Any deal is possible." In the race for Africa, companies from the US, China, Japan and the UK are scrambling to buy the continent's best assets, tapping into its growth potential and its 1 billion people, in a world where returns from developed nations are faltering.
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US, China Interests Compete In Sudan
While U.S. officials are making a diplomatic push to keep the south Sudan independence referendum on schedule for January, analysts say China, a major ally of Sudan's government, also has an important role to play. The U.S., China rivalry is being played out over Sudan's uncertain future. The U.S. Congress is introducing new legislation to encourage Sudan to keep its previous peace engagements in exchange for normalizing ties, while Sunday, Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir praised China for how it cooperates with African countries. The new U.S. bill, which has bipartisan support, is projected to be passed into law before the end of the year. It comes as the U.S. diplomatic presence is steadily growing in south Sudan.
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China in Africa

Call for SA, Chinese researchers to collaborate
Deputy Science and Technology Minister Derek Hanekom has called on Chinese researchers to collaborate with their South African counterparts to investigate palaeontological resources. Speaking at the Palaeoscience seminar held in Shanghai, China, Hanekom said it was through international scientific relationships that South Africa could share the technological skills and know-how needed to achieve greater understanding of the value that these finds had for the world.
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South Africa sends leaders to study in China
The leaders of South Africa’s ruling party are going back to school. They will undergo two weeks of “intensive political education” in China, under the direction of the Chinese Communist Party. Under a training program devised by China and the African National Congress, at least 35 senior ANC members have travelled to Beijing over the past year to attend lectures about Chinese national planning and the Communist Party’s political education system. A group of provincial-level party secretaries will make the trip by the end of this year, and dozens of other ANC cadres are expected to visit China for the same training.
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China’s top political advisor in Cameroon to boost traditional ties
In Cameroon, Jia, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), held talks with Cameroonian President Paul Biya and National Assembly President Cavaye Djibril separately on Wednesday, discussing the ways to lift the two country’s traditional relations to a new height.
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China-Africa trade ‘to top US$100bn’
Beijing says its trade with Africa is on track to top US$100-billion this year as it benefits from investments in mines, farms and factories on the continent, Chinese state media reported on Sunday. Trade between China and Africa jumped 65% on year in the first half to $61.2-billion, China's Ministry of Commerce has said, according to the official news agency Xinhua.
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India in Africa

Indian bank sights Botswana
Indian media this week reported that public sector lender, Bank of India (BoI), has indicated it plans to set up subsidiaries overseas including in two African countries. "We plan to set up subsidiaries in New Zealand, Uganda, Botswana and Canada," a senior official of the bank told Press Trust India (PTI). The official said that to meet capital requirements, the bank has the option to go for a follow-on public offer (FPO) as government holding was at 64 per cent.
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India, Mozambique to raise bilateral trade to $1 bn
New Delhi India and Mozambique have decided to renew their strategic political and economic partnership and set a target for bilateral trade at $ one billion by 2013. India has agreed to provide a line of credit of $500 million for infrastructure projects, agriculture and energy. India will support the establishment of training and planning institutions in Mozambique to support capacity building in the coal industry.
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India, Mozambique sign three pacts to strengthen partnership
India and Mozambique inked three pacts on Thursday on avoidance of double taxation, cooperation in mineral resources and between middle and small enterprises to strengthen partnership between the two nations. Mozambique President Armando Guebuza, who is on a six-day visit of India, met Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh here today and the two leaders decided to decided to create a partnership based on greater political engagement, deepening of economic cooperation, strengthening of defence and security cooperation, specially to secure sea lanes against piracy and, cooperation in capacity building and human resource development during the delegation level talks.
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'We must level playing field with India'
While several Indian companies, including Tata, Mahindra and Cipla, have significant operations in SA, stricter regulations in India hamper SA Inc's involvement on the sub-continent. "SA's presence in India is not as much as we would like," Kuzwayo said. Restrictions on foreign ownership forced Shoprite to close up shop in India earlier this year due to further delays in the long-awaited liberalisation of the retail sector. Other sectors with onerous local ownership requirements include financial services, where First National Bank is the only local bank to acquire a licence to operate in India. Strict regulations also scuppered a proposed tie-up between MTN and India's Bharti Airtel last year.
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SA, KwaZulu-Natal to deepen ties with India
THE government went all out to woo dignitaries and investors from India who came to the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Africa Convention in Durban at the weekend to strengthen ties between KwaZulu-Natal and India. President Jacob Zuma , speaking at the convention on Saturday night, said India and SA co-operate as partners in several multilateral forums such as the United Nations (UN), the Non-Aligned Movement, World Trade Organisation, Group of 20, the Commonwealth and the Brazil-SA -India-China groupings.
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India is a land of economic opportunity
Africans of Indian origin should look at India as a ‘land of economic opportunity’ and connect more through business and education, besides traditional social and cultural ties, Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi said at the inauguration of a conclave to connect the scattered Indian diaspora in the continent to the land of their forefathers.
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In Other Emerging Powers News

Jean Gregoire Sagbo: First African elected official in Russia
Jean Gregoire Sagbo is Russia’s newly elected Councilman of Novozavidovo, a rural community, about 65 miles North of Moscow. Residents in this seemingly sleepy town would stare at him because they had never seen a Blackman before. But presently, they have spotted in him a quality equally rare – an honest politician, who they think is from a remote continent, Africa. While most Russian politicians are deemed innately dishonest: Sagbo is the first Black elected official, from the tiny West African nation of Benin, serving in this community, part of a vast country, Russia.
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Russia’s Medvedev Visits Algeria to Discuss European Gas Exports
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev visits Algeria tomorrow as the two natural-gas exporters seek to protect their share of the European market. Medvedev’s delegation includes Mikhail Fridman, the billionaire chairman of TNK-BP, as the Russian oil producer considers buying assets in North Africa from its partner BP Plc. Russia and Algeria, the first- and third-largest suppliers of gas to Europe, will prioritize “tighter cooperation in the energy sector,” Medvedev’s foreign policy aide, Sergei Prikhodko, told reporters in Moscow. “We are interested in developing cooperation with Algeria in European gas markets.”
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China's CIC wants to bid in Russia privatisations
China Investment Corp would like to bid for Russian state assets in a sale that is expected to raise $50 billion, as the fund shifts focus to emerging markets, a CIC vice president said on Tuesday. "We would like to take part in privatisation," Jesse Wang, executive vice president at the $300 billion sovereign wealth fund, said on a visit to Moscow. Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin told the Reuters Russia Investment Summit last month that Russia was preparing to sell $10 billion worth of assets per year for approximately five years.
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Sinopec to pay $US7.1b for Repsol unit
China Petrochemical Corp will pay $US7.1 billion for a stake in Repsol YPF SA's Brazilian unit, the second-largest overseas acquisition by a Chinese company, as it moves to secure oil supplies. Sinopec Group, as China's second-largest oil and gas producer is known, will buy new shares in the Brazilian unit to hold 40 per cent of the division, Madrid-based Repsol said in a statement yesterday. The investment is China's largest overseas oil deal since Sinopec bought Addax Petroleum Corp. for C$8.3 billion ($US8 billion) last year to gain reserves in Iraq's Kurdistan and West Africa.
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Destination Africa for India, Japan
The first meeting of the India-Japan dialogue on Africa to be held in Tokyo on Tuesday and Wednesday will kick off the countries’ effort to synchronise strategies in that continent. While China has a lead in Africa, both Tokyo and New Delhi have been devising ways to leverage their presence there. The Indian team going to the meet will be headed by joint secretary in-charge of Africa in the Ministry of External Affairs Gurjit Singh. The idea was first discussed when Japanese foreign Minister Katsuya Okada visited India in August this year. According to government officials, Tokyo feels that the goodwill they get in return for the money they spend would be negligible as Indian projects are hugely popular in Africa.
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China to host UN climate talks
China is set to host its first UN climate conference but hopes are dim that the event will see the major breakthroughs that environmentalists are hoping to achieve. China, the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases and blamed by many developing nations for derailing last year's Copenhagen talks, hopes to use the event to showcase its green credentials.
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Business World Using Commonwealth Games to Assess India
The Commonwealth Games, which opened here on Sunday, are unlikely to be gripping viewing for sports fans. After all, most of the top international athletes have withdrawn, citing everything from safety to scheduling to muscle strains, as evidence of India’s abysmal planning piled up and Delhi was hit by an outbreak of dengue fever. But the games, a quadrennial competition of nations from the old British Empire, may be closely watched by economists and business executives around the world nonetheless. As India emerges as an economic player, the business world will view the games as something of a management competency test.
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Blogs, Opinions, Presentations and Publications

Dianna Games: Wal-Mart’s arrival is the wake-up call SA needs right now
WHEN Mark Lamberti first took over the reins of a handful of Makro stores back in the late 1980s, one of the first things he did was fly to the US with a colleague in search of inspiration among that country’s major retailers. One of the merchants visited was Wal-Mart. So it must be satisfying for Lamberti to see the US giant sniffing around the South African empire he helped to create. The proposed 4,2bn buyout of Massmart reflects not just confidence in the group and in SA. It reflects confidence in Africa, where a consumer boom is starting, as a whole.
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W Cape Must Develop China Strategy
Wesgro and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTD) last week presented a joint seminar to Western Cape-based exporters on a workable strategy that will allow greater China market access and new investment opportunities from the Chinese Mainland. The seminar, entitled Hong Kong – The Springboard to China formed part of the Wesgro Export Development Program. This development program has – as its aim – the objective of growing the number of Western Cape companies engaged in exports.
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China rises and rises, yet still gets foreign aid
China spent tens of billions of dollars on a dazzling 2008 Olympics. It has sent astronauts into space. It recently became the world’s second largest economy. Yet it gets more than $2.5 billion a year in foreign government aid — and taxpayers and lawmakers in donor countries are increasingly asking why. With the global economic slowdown crimping government budgets, many countries are finding such generosity politically and economically untenable. Some also argue that it deprives needier countries in Africa and elsewhere.
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India Journal: Why Does India Give and Receive Aid?
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee was in Dhaka recently offering Bangladesh a $1 billion loan package. On arrival, he said, “we (India) are committed to assisting Bangladesh in addressing its priorities for development.” The loan is believed to be the largest ever Bangladesh has received in one agreement. The loan is intended for the development of railways and communications infrastructure which would allow the transportation of Indian exports to the Northeast via Bangladesh. Clearly this demonstrates that assisting Bangladesh, our neighbor, is not purely altruistic and India is not alone among countries in mixing benevolence and self-interest in its foreign assistance. Rewind a few weeks prior to Mr.Mukherjee’s visit to Bangladesh in the days leading up to David Cameron’s visit to India. The Department for International Development, the U.K.’s bilateral aid agency, found itself responding to public criticism concerning the 250 million pounds that India receives annually as aid money from its coffers. This makes India the U.K.’s single largest aid recipient. Apart from seeing this as atonement for 200 years of British colonial rule, does it make sense in any other way?
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