Report by Taylor Locke



Everyone has their own way of relieving pandemic stress – Bethenny Frankel, for example organizes her home, while Kevin O’Leary takes long bike rides.



For billionaire <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/news/2020/05/15/bill-gates-i-wish-i-had-done-more-to-warn-world-about-pandemic-danger/">Bill Gates</a>, reading and watching TV and movies helps “stem the tide” of anxiety amid the <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/videos/2020/06/01/covid-19-lock-down-this-is-how-much-sas-alcohol-ban-cost-the-economy/">Covid-19</a> pandemic, he said in a blog post on May 18.



“I’m often asked about what I am reading and watching—either because people want to learn more about pandemics, or because they are looking for a distraction,” wrote Gates.



Gates has long been involved in global health research and whose Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation has donated over $250 million toward Covid-19 relief efforts. (Gates has also been the butt of meritless Covid-19 conspiracy theories.)



“Lately, people have been asking me for movies and shows I’d recommend during this difficult period,” he said.



Here is Gates’ list of “Movies and shows for when you need a break,” including everything from comedies to crime dramas.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">‘Spy Game’</h2>



“On the much more escapist front, a few weeks ago I re-watched one of my favorite movies, ‘Spy Game,’” Gates wrote of the 2001 action movie starring Robert Redford and Brad Pitt.



“Not a lot of people have heard of ‘Spy Game,’ but I’ve probably seen it 12 times,” he said.



The thriller follows a veteran CIA agent whose protege is arrested in China for espionage, but “it has lots of good surprises, so I don’t want to spoil the plot for you,” he wrote.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">‘A Million Little Things,’ ‘This Is Us’ and ‘Ozark’</h2>



Next, Gates recommends three of the drama series that he and his wife, Melinda, “are keeping up with”: ABC’s “A Million Little Things,” NBC’s “This Is Us,” and Netflix’s “Ozark.” 



“A Million Little Things” follows a group of friends (played by Romany Malco, David Giuntoly, Grace Park, among others) bonding and reflecting on their lives after a close friend dies by suicide.&nbsp;



“This Is Us,” stars Milo Ventimiglia, Mandy Moore, Justin Hartley, Chrissy Metz and Sterling K. Brown and&nbsp;chronicles the ups and downs in the lives of the Pearson family from the 1980s and into the future.



“Ozark” stars Jason Bateman as a father who flees with his family to Missouri after laundering money, where he and his wife, played by Laura Linney, start a new life of crime.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">“Pandemic: How to Prevent an Outbreak”</h2>



Gates had been consistently warning of a looming pandemic for years before the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, reared its ugly head.



In fact, Gates’ foundation has funded one of the influenza <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/southern-africa/2020/05/19/ipasas-konji-sebati-on-the-global-search-for-the-covid-19-vaccine/">vaccine</a> start-ups featured in “Pandemic: How to Prevent an Outbreak.” 



“This documentary series on Netflix introduces you to four people who are working super-hard in different parts of the world to prevent epidemics,” he said.



Since the series was filmed “some time ago,” i.e., pre-Covid-19, it focuses on the flu, which was previously “widely regarded as the most likely culprit for a big outbreak,” according to Gates.



“But ‘Pandemic’ still gives you a sense of the inspiring work that heroic doctors, researchers, and aid workers are doing to prevent the very thing we’re all going through right now.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">“I, Claudius”</h2>



Last, Gates recommends something on his own “to watch” list.



“I’m planning to finally watch ‘I, Claudius’—a 1970s BBC series set during the Roman empire—after reading a rave review in The Economist,” he wrote. 



The series highlights the reigns of the Roman emperors Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula and Claudius, based on the novel by Robert Graves. Claudius narrates the drama, with the series told by his point of view.



“I’ve read a lot about the Roman times, but this series sounds like an interesting look at the era.”



Disclosure: NBCUniversal is the parent company of CNBC.



This article was first published on CNBC Make It <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/28/bill-gates-recommends-movies-and-tv-shows-for-when-you-need-a-break.html?__source=newsletter%7Cmakeit">https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/28/bill-gates-recommends-movies-and-tv-shows-for-when-you-need-a-break.html?__source=newsletter%7Cmakeit</a> and is republished with its permission.



For more coverage on COVID-19 visit: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/covid-19/">https://www.cnbcafrica.com/covid-19/</a>

Billionaire Bill Gates: 6 movies and TV shows to help relieve pandemic stress

Report by Kathleen Elkins



Self-made billionaire and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates doesn’t recommend many business books.



“In my experience, it is rare to find one that really captures what it’s like to build and operate an organization or that has tips you could really put into practice,” he writes on his blog, GatesNotes.



But there’s a new business book that, unlike most others, is actually worth your time, he says: “The Ride of a Lifetime” by former Disney CEO Robert Iger. Gates has already suggested the 2019 memoir to a handful of friends and colleagues, including current Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.



Iger, who took over Disney in 2005 and retired in 2020, “does a great job explaining what it is like to be a CEO,” writes Gates. He’s “able to take you inside the workings of a massive media company and show how he thought about building on its strengths and shoring up its weaknesses.”



Even if you don’t have any interest in the business world, it’s entertaining and worthwhile, he adds. “I think anyone would enjoy this book, whether they’re looking for business insights or just want a good read by a humble guy who rose up the corporate ladder to successfully run one of the biggest companies in the world.”



While Gates praises it as “one of the best business books I’ve read in several years,” it’s not his No. 1. His all-time favorite remains “Business Adventures” by John Brooks. “Whenever someone asks me to recommend one book on business, that’s the one I suggest most often,” Gates says. 



A lot has changed in the business world since the 1960s, when the book was originally published, but the fundamentals of building a strong organization have not, says Gates. Brooks’ insights are just as relevant today.



This article was first published on CNBC Make It <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/31/which-business-book-is-bill-gates-recommending-to-colleagues.html">https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/31/which-business-book-is-bill-gates-recommending-to-colleagues.html</a> and is republished with its permission.

The business book billionaire Bill Gates wants you to read right now

The South African manufacturing negative supply shocks will cause demand shortages, while South Africa will be expected to be dependent on imports for the next half a decade.



South Africa&#8217;s manufacturing production fell 2.1% from a year ago in February of 2020, following a downwardly revised 1.8% decrease and almost in line with market expectations of a 2.2% slump. Covid19 has made it worse. Demand and supply is disrupted and raw materials are expected to be too expensive in the future, while backlogs caused by the lockdown are starting to hurt manufacturers.



&nbsp;Manufacturing is very prone to COVID-19, with many small businesses closing without &nbsp;credit to sustain them. Many had problems as far back as 2015 as they faced changing in markets and also disruptions from electricity and less investment confidence in the South African economy.



A rapid response survey, conducted by Stats SA has the following key findings for the manufacturing industry: About 4% of business turnover was above the normal range, about 88% of business turnover below the normal range and 8% of business turnover was within the normal range; The manufacturing trading status of businesses are, about 10% continuing to trade with full capacity, 26% continues to trade partially, 6% has permanently ceased to trading and about 58% has temporarily closed or paused trading; The majority of responding businesses (85,4%) reported turnover below the normal range.;46,4% indicated temporary closure or paused trading activity; 50,4% expected their workforce size to stay the same in the two weeks after the survey, while 36,8% reported that their workforce size is expected to decrease; 28,3% indicated that their workforce has decreased working hours and 19,6% reported laying off of staff in the short term; 19,1% indicated that prices of materials, goods or services purchased increased more than normal.



There is no doubt large manufacturing companies are in trouble and about &nbsp;50 percent of companies in financial distress, which can lead to South Africa experiencing the highest number of manufacturing business rescue and acquisitions by new shareholders as a result of Covid19 and South African recession..



New technologies are an enabler, not merely a goal in themselves, and more than the reported 10 percent should have continued to operate when adoption to manufacturing technologies was higher than it is currently. We believe that the senior leaders of many manufacturing organizations need to start asking different questions as they think about the investments and changes they will make in the coming years.



It is likely that advanced technologies will be part of the answer to that question, but ensuring that people have the skills, stunning mind-set, and behaviours to use those technologies effectively will be equally important. The South African manufacturing industry needs to improve on the skills development for it to be competitive to the global economy.



The implementation of African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)&nbsp;&nbsp;are to create a continental market for goods and services that &nbsp;can boost continental trade and inspire growth post Covid19.



&nbsp;What we think is very exciting is not only can you think about utilizing existing assets in a new way—but that goes for the workforce as well. How can we utilize an existing workforce and&nbsp;upskill or reskill&nbsp;them to be successful in the new technologies? What we’re seeing around the world is that some of the most advanced Industry 4.0 plants not only are using brownfield assets but they’re also using their same workforce. The people are learning new skills and working in a new way. The implementation of the South African special economic zones must be aligned with the evolution of the global manufacturing technologies and the human centred approach for its sustainability.



Most businesses (65,0%) anticipate that the COVID-19 pandemic will impact their business substantially worse than the 2008/09 global financial crisis. Revised strategic planning in manufacturing operations management will add value for new affordable solutions to turnaround businesses and deliver the expected needs of the customer’s.



Miyelani Mkhabela is an Executive Director of Antswisa Transaction Advisory Services.

miyelani mkhabela

COVID-19: Economic meltdown the price – skills and trade the answer

Report by Sam Shead



Key Points:



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Alibaba’s Jack Ma, China’s richest man, is stepping down from the board of SoftBank on June 25.</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>SoftBank’s Vision Fund reported losses of $18 billion on Monday, while the SoftBank Group as a whole had losses of $13 billion.</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Big bets on companies like Uber, WeWork and Oyo have not paid off for the SoftBank Vision Fund.</li></ul>



Alibaba founder <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/east-africa/2020/03/18/covid-19-billionaire-jack-ma-to-donate-masks-test-kits-to-all-countries-in-africa/">Jack Ma</a> is stepping down from the board of SoftBank after the company’s Vision Fund posted record-breaking losses of $18 billion. 



Ma, whose $41.8 billion net worth makes him China’s richest man, is the latest high-profile figure to exit SoftBank Group, which on Monday posted total annual losses of $13 billion for the year ending March 31.&nbsp;Uniqlo founder Tadashi Yanai stepped down from SoftBank’s board in December, while Nidec founder Shigenobu Nagamori stepped down in 2017.&nbsp;



Son said that Ma decided to leave SoftBank’s board “on his own”. He added: “That’s sad, but we still keep in contact directly and right before the <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/covid-19/">Covid-19</a>, we met face-to-face every month to have dinner, to talk about businesses, to talk about lives. And we will remain friends for the rest of our life, I believe.”



Ma has become increasingly focused on education philanthropy over the last year. He stepped down as Alibaba’s chairman last September and there’s speculation that he’ll quit Alibaba’s board later this year.



Ma’s departure (effective June 25) comes after SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son pivoted away from telecoms to backing new companies through the colossal $100 billion Vision Fund, which was launched in 2017.



In total, the Vision Fund has backed 88 start-ups with a total of $75 billion. The Vision Fund, which counts Apple and Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund among its contributors, is in poor health because a number of its biggest bets have turned out to be disasters.&nbsp;



An enormous $9 billion bet on WeWork turned out to be a very bad move after the office space provider imploded, spectacularly, months before the coronavirus wreaked havoc with global economies. With dozens of multi-story offices empty around the world, WeWork’s situation is only expected to go from bad to worse.



The Vision Fund has also pumped billions of dollars into companies like taxi app Uber and Indian hotel chain Oyo, which have seen their valuations plummet over the last few months as a result of the coronavirus and confinement measures, among other factors.



“Values of Uber, WeWork and its three affiliates decreased, and total fair value of other portfolio companies decreased significantly,” SoftBank wrote in its financial report.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Old friends&nbsp;</h2>



Ma and Son, two of Asia’s best-known tech tycoons, are close friends and their relationship goes back at least 20 years as Son was one of Alibaba’s earliest investors.



In 2000, one year after Alibaba was founded, SoftBank invested a reported $20 million into the company. An SEC filing from February showed that SoftBank owns around 25% of Alibaba, a stake worth more than $100 billion, making it SoftBank Group’s most valuable investment. 



SoftBank stock hit a four-year low on March 19, prompting the group to announce plans to sell or monetize $41 billion of its assets and buy back $4.7 billion of its shares.



This article was first published on CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/18/alibabas-jack-ma-quits-softbank.html">https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/18/alibabas-jack-ma-quits-softbank.html</a> and is republished with its permission.



For more coverage on COVID-19 visit: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/covid-19/">https://www.cnbcafrica.com/covid-19/</a>

Op-Ed: Supporting the ICT sector in Africa as a cure for the economic crisis

Billionaire Jack Ma quits SoftBank’s board as its Vision Fund posts a record $18 billion loss

Report by Tom Huddleston Jr.



In the months since the novel <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/videos/2020/05/15/covid-19-this-is-what-new-normal-may-look-like-for-commercial-banks/">coronavirus</a> started spreading across the world, <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/special-report/2019/10/09/bill-gates-has-a-brilliant-method-for-making-decisions-and-he-says-its-similar-to-warren-buffetts/">Bill Gates</a> has been one of the most outspoken public figures with regards to the global response to the pandemic.



However, Gates says he wishes he had “done more” to warn the world about the potential dangers of a <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/videos/2020/05/15/how-covid-19-is-transforming-the-way-learning-institutions-operate/">global pandemic</a> before coronavirus became one of the biggest <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/videos/2020/05/11/life-healthcare-ceo-on-h1-results-covid-19-impact-on-business/">public health</a> issues in decades. The pandemic has already killed nearly 290,000 people globally, including more than 80,000 in the U.S.



“I wish I had done more to call attention to the danger,” Gates said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal published Monday.



To be fair, in addition to being a regular presence in television and podcast interviews about the pandemic in recent months, the billionaire and Microsoft co-founder was also on the record with warnings about the grave dangers presented by mass pandemics years before the Covid-19 outbreak.



For instance, Gates gave a TED Talk speech in 2015 warning people that an infectious virus was a greater risk to humanity than nuclear war, and he regularly called for world governments to step up their pandemic response plans.



(And Gates and his wife Melinda even shored up their own pandemic plans. “A number of years ago, we talked about, ‘What if there wasn’t clean water? What if there wasn’t enough food? Where might we go? What might we do as a family?’” Melinda Gates told BBC Radio Live in April. “We had prepared, and had some food in the basement in case needed&#8230;.”)



Still, Gates now says he wishes he’d been more outspoken to successfully convince world leaders about the potential for a “once-in-a-century pathogen” — which he now believes SARS-CoV-2 to be — to wreak havoc on the world.



“I feel terrible,” he told the Journal. “The whole point of talking about it was that we could take action and minimize the damage.”



Instead, Gates has been unsatisfied with government responses to the pandemic, which he predicted in one recent interview will end up costing the world “tens of trillions of dollars.” The billionaire has been particularly critical of the U.S. response to coronavirus.



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In March, Gates said the U.S. “did not act fast enough” in its response to the pandemic to avoid taking extreme measures, such as shutting down businesses and issuing stay-at-home orders to millions of Americans. And, in April, Gates chimed in with his belief that President Donald Trump’s decision to defund the <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/article/2020/05/14/covid-19-who-africa-head-moeti-stands-firm-over-madagascar-medicine/">World Health Organization (WHO)</a> is “as dangerous as it sounds.” 



Gates’ critical comments, as well as his years-old comments about the dangers of a global pandemic, have even put him in the cross-hairs of conspiracy theorists — some of whom have made unfounded claims that he’s seeking to profit from the pandemic, or that he knew about coronavirus years before it appeared, or even that he wants to implant the global population with vaccine microchips.



Meanwhile, the billionaire has also put his philanthropic efforts to work to help combat the pandemic’s spread. The Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation has already committed more than $300 million to help fund the development of coronavirus treatments and vaccines.



“I’m putting hundreds of millions of the foundation’s money into this,” Gates told the Journal. “But it’s really a governmental thing, just like the defense budget is there to help with an outbreak of war.”



While Gates says that many of the world leaders he spoke to about the dangers of a large-scale viral outbreak were sympathetic to his argument, he still wishes he’d been able to convince them to act sooner and put strategic plans into place that would accelerate the development of treatments and vaccines in the event of a pandemic.



“I wish the warnings that I and other people gave had led to more coordinated global action,” he said.



Gates added: “My hope now is that leaders around the world, who are responsible for protecting their citizens, will take what has been learned from this tragedy and invest in systems to prevent future outbreaks.”



This article was first published on CNBC Make It <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/12/bill-gates-wishes-hed-done-more-to-warn-about-pandemic-danger.html?forYou=true">https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/12/bill-gates-wishes-hed-done-more-to-warn-about-pandemic-danger.html?forYou=true</a> and is republished with its permission.



For more coverage on COVID-19 visit: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/covid-19/">https://www.cnbcafrica.com/covid-19/</a>

Bill Gates: ‘I wish I had done more’ to warn world about pandemic danger

Report by Taylor Locke



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<iframe loading="lazy" title="Elon Musk: I am not Buffett&#039;s biggest fan" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZPgiBzJzR6M?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/special-report/2020/03/04/billionaire-elon-musk-calls-this-a-powerful-powerful-way-of-thinking-but-is-hard-to-do-heres-how-it-works/">Elon Musk</a>, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, is not shy regarding his opinion of legendary investor <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/article/2020/02/05/how-warren-buffetts-advice-to-jlo-inspired-the-name-of-her-fragrance/">Warren Buffett</a>. He once called Buffett’s signature investment strategy “lame” on a Tesla earnings call.



And on Thursday’s episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast, Musk said he’s not the “biggest fan” of Buffett, whose job is “boring” but “important.”



Buffett came up in conversation as Rogan and Musk discussed various types of billionaires.Some make money by “engineering fantastic products,” while others gain wealth by “investing in companies or moving money around the stock market,” said Rogan.



Presumably Musk is one of the former. And then there is the latter.



“Let me take Warren Buffett for example,” Musk said. “To be totally frank, I’m not his biggest fan, but he does a lot of capital allocation,” referring to the process of distributing a company’s financial resources to better its long-term growth. “He reads a lot of annual reports and accounting, and it’s pretty boring really.”



Musk described Buffett’s job as an investor as trying to “figure out, does Coke or Pepsi deserve more capital?”



(Berkshire Hathaway owns 9.3% of Coca-Cola, and Buffett drinks numerous cans every day.)



“I mean, that’s kind of a boring job if you ask me, but it’s still a thing that’s important to figure out,” Musk said. “Like, which company is deserving of more or less capital? Should that company grow or expand? Is it making products or services that are better than others or worse? If a company is making compelling products or services, it should get more capital. If not, it should get less.”



In Musk’s opinion, “we should have fewer people doing law and fewer people doing finance” like Buffett “and more people making stuff.” (Of course, it takes capital to “make stuff,” and Buffett does invest in companies that produce things.)



Musk also told Rogan he thinks being a billionaire “has become a pejorative, like that’s become a bad thing, which I don’t think makes a lot of sense in most cases,” Musk said.



Indeed, as of late, some have questioned whether billionaires should even exist given the widening wealth gap in America and around the world. And since the <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/coronavirus/2020/05/12/covid-19-kick-starting-sas-small-medium-large-tourism-businesses-join-cnbc-africas-virtual-seminar-tuesday-12th-may-register-today/">Covid-19 pandemic</a>, billionaires, including Musk, have been criticized for their lack of action and charity. (According to Musk, he donated masks and ventilators to hospitals, but hospitals contacted by CNN in April reported receiving bilevel positive airway pressure [biPAP] or continuous positive airway pressure [CPAP] machines, not ventilators. Musk has also criticized America’s continued manufacturing shutdown.) 



As for Buffett, though he has said Musk “has room for improvement” (like being more selective about what he posts on Twitter), he has also called Musk “a remarkable guy.”



“He’s trying to do something to improve a product and I salute him for that,” Buffett said, referring to Musk’s electric car company, on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” in 2018. “The American public will decide whether it’s a success, and it’s not easy.”



Berkshire Hathaway and a spokesperson for Buffett did not immediately respond to CNBC Make It’s request for comment.



This article was first published on CNBC Make It <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/08/elon-musk-to-joe-rogan-not-the-biggest-fan-of-warren-buffett.html?forYou=true">https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/08/elon-musk-to-joe-rogan-not-the-biggest-fan-of-warren-buffett.html?forYou=true</a> and is republished with its permission.



For more coverage on COVID-19 visit: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/covid-19/">https://www.cnbcafrica.com/covid-19/</a>

Billionaire Elon Musk: I am not Warren Buffett’s biggest fan

Billionaire Elon Musk: I am not Warren Buffett’s biggest fan. gettyimages-1155740300-594×594

By Chris Bishop



Scores of countries across Europe celebrated VE – Victory in Europe day – today to mark the end of World War Two that saw the slaughter of tens of millions of people of all creeds and colours from the deserts of North Africa to the snows of Scandinavia.



This is a good time also for Africa to reflect on it sacrifice between 1939 and 1945 that also acted as a catalyst for change on the continent. One million people took up arms in Africa to fight the crushing power of Nazi Germany, Japan and Italy. South Africa recruited more than 300,000 men – around 70,000 of them black South Africans who fought, worked and died usually unsung. The rush to the colours was staggering in some African nations – Botswana, then called Bechuanaland, asked for a couple of thousand army volunteers from its far flung villages and saw 10,000 recruits in just over a month. When I wrote a story on those men, in 2000, most then in their late 70s, many had kept proudly their uniforms and war medals and could still salute smartly as any parade ground peacock.



Tens of thousands never came back. Many of the black riflemen who fought hand-to-hand with the enemy received little reward, maybe a new suit and a bicycle, and often died in poverty.



One such overlooked hero was Job Maseko from KwaThema, in Springs near Johannesburg. He was a delivery man in his home town and joined up in the then Native Military Corps. &nbsp;Following his basic training he was shipped to North Africa, in 1942, to face General Erwin Rommel’s tough Afrika Korps that had the allies on the run.



On June 21 1942 Rommel’s tanks swept into Tobruk capturing thousands of allied soldiers including more than 10,000 troops of the South African 2nd Infantry Division. Among the 30,000 prisoners was Lance Corporal Job Maseko.



Italian troops held the black South African soldiers under guard and by all accounts treated them poorly. This angered the feisty Lance Corporal Maseko who swore revenge against his enemy captors. They forced Maseko to work loading an Italian military supply ship. He took a milk tin and filled it with cordite and a fuse. With the help of his fellow prisoners he placed it among petrol drums deep down in the ship and blew it sky high – a big blow to the enemy war effort.



Generals recommended Maseko for a Victoria Cross – the highest award for gallantry in wartime regardless of rank – but the colour of his skin counted against him, in their eyes. Instead, they awarded him a lesser Military Medal.



“In carrying out this deliberately planned action, Job Maseko displayed ingenuity, determination and complete disregard of personal safety from punishment by the enemy or from the ensuing explosion which set the vessel alight,” said the medal citation.



When Lance Corporal Maseko came home there was little waiting for him and he died in poverty. In 1952, a train did what the Germans and Italians couldn’t – it hit Maseko and killed him.



Yet others who went to the war from Africa – from Johannesburg to Kenya to Nigeria – returned to fuel the fires of independence. They had seen how their white comrades-in-arms had bled and screamed for their mothers, too, as they died. It exploded many colonial myths of white supremacy and created a generation of battle hardened patriots ready to question and throw off the shackles of imperial rule.



VE Day is not only a time to reflect on the ending of a world war – it is also a time for Africa to reflect on the sacrifices of its great-grandfathers, who fought toe-to-foe with fascism; and also how it led to hard won freedoms at home.

Job_Masego00

Victory in Europe Day – Time for Africa to reflect on its blood and sweat sacrifice

By Shaaheda Hoseini



With COVID-19 hanging over us many individuals and companies are concerned about whether they will be in a position to fulfil their obligations in terms of contracts of sale they may have entered into.



The question arises, can either of the parties to the sale agreement have it suspended or terminated? One must first examine the sale agreement for a Force Majeure clause to cover a pandemic, strike, fire, war, or a natural disaster. This may exclude a party from performing its obligations either partially or in full. It may further entitle a party to suspend or claim for an extension of time to perform an obligation. &nbsp;



A party wishing to rely on a force majeure clause due to Covid-19 must ensure that the requirements as set out in the force majeure clause are satisfied, and that this clause is wide enough to include the pandemic. Performance in a contract cannot be avoided as a result of one’s negligence, failure to exercise due diligence and care, or due to a party’s poor financial condition which was not a result of the spread of the virus. Each Force Majeure provision must be considered on its precise terms and it’s specific context.



In the case of Rumdel Cape and Others vs South African National Roads Agency (2015) the applicant was a joint venture company which was appointed by SANRAL to improve a road and construct a flyover at a road interchange in Durban. A construction agreement was concluded between the parties, and construction began by the joint venture company (applicant).



Violent protests, by nearby communities,disrupted construction. The applicant stated that these riots constituted a force majeure and claimed release from performance of its obligations.



The court held that a force majeure clause was not applicable in the above circumstances, as the applicant could have taken all reasonable precautions to prevent riotous conduct on the site. It further stated that the applicant was not prevented from performing its obligations due to a force majeure event, namely the riot, as measures could have been taken by the applicant to obtain insurance, or personally finance the amount required for security in order to ensure performance of the contract. Therefore, although the contractual agreement included the occurrences of a riot, commotion and disorder as being a force majeure event, the court held that a force majeure event was not the cause of the applicant not performing in terms of the contract. The court referred to the matter of B &amp; S Contracts and Design Limited&nbsp; v Victor Green Publications, where the court stated that where every effort had not been made to perform in terms of the contract, reliance could not be placed on the Force Majeure clause. The court emphasized that for a Force Majeure clause to be invoked, the applicant would have taken all reasonable efforts to avoid the various effects set out in the clause which entitles him to vary or cancel a contract.



Reverting to the question, can a party suspend or terminate a sale agreement due to effects of Covid-19?&nbsp; The answer is yes, it is possible, provided that the Force Majeure clause is included in the deed of sale and it includes a pandemic of this nature. All requirements, as set out in the Force Majeure clause are required to be satisfied and all reasonable steps to avoid the effects which allows one to suspend or cancel the contract must have been taken.



If the contract does not have a force majeure clause, the common law principle of “Supervening impossibility of Performance” may be relied upon. This defence is used to terminate a party’s obligations where an unforeseable event has made fulfilment of one’s contractual obligations impossible.



The performance of the obligation must in addition to other requirements, be objectively impossible, and not subjectively impossible. Performance needs to be more than just more difficult or more onerous to perform as a result of an unforeseeable event.



Can one terminate an agreement due to the effects of Covid-19 using the aforementioned defence? This will depend on the particular facts of each case.



Shaaheda Hoseini is Director of conveyancing at Gwina Attorneys

2020.02.07_Gwina_Headshots_Hires_JessSterkPhotography–3

May the force majeure be with you – contracts in the world of COVID-19

By Miyelani Mkhabela



The COVID-19 crisis is disrupting supply and demand at the same time, with severe financial consequences. To not only survive the crisis but also rebound swiftly, companies must protect their liquidity position and focus on their core competencies and businesses



Leaders can better prepare for the next shock by observing lessons emerging from the current crisis. Shutting down was hard, but opening up is going to be harder. Your workers are always your most valuable asset and it’s not the best times to lose them during the crisis, as rebuilding your operations is going to be even more difficult, you want to maintain your ability to rehire your best workers when the world is open for business again.



&nbsp;Statistics South Africa reported that Four in ten businesses feel that they cannot continue to operate: When asked about financial resources, 42,2% of respondents indicated that they are not confident that they have the financial resources to continue operating through the COVID-19 outbreak and 54,0% of respondents indicated that they can survive without turnover between one to three months. The doors of Tourism &amp; Hospitality; Sports; education, Retail; Entertainment are closed while manufacturing; Mining; Cargo and Logistics will also suffer in 2020.Small businesses based on their investments cannot manage the complexity of Covid19; large corporates are also struggling, yet risk can be minimized.



To set the scene, large numbers of small businesses have shut down and laid off huge numbers of workers; most are extremely cash strapped. The majority think they will be able to reopen by the end of 2020, but others are less certain. Small businesses disagree, a lot, about how long the crisis will last. Small businesses needs business continuity management, adaptation to technology and talent retention



&nbsp;It will be years before we fully comprehend the economic impact of the coronavirus, but one thing is painfully clear right now: Small businesses across South Africa and the rest of Africa markets are facing an existential threat. It will get a lot worse before it gets better for the African continent.



Here are a few tips for survival:



1. Carefully the prospective impacts of government plans to help small and medium enterprises (SME).



2. Help the business by deciding how to work with customers.



3. Regularly reassess credit worthiness: companies should continuously monitor the financial health of all but the safest customers.



4. Strictly monitor supply inventory through support functions to assess the cost of supplies and support functions that have access to a digital marketplace.



5. Recommendations to business on how to adjust the product offering. Companies should aim to deliver fast-selling products to priority customers for as long as possible, but they should also assess their product offering.



6.&nbsp; Investment and credit will be attractive



7. Adoption of an active operations management systems



8.&nbsp; Figure out how the needs of your customers needs have changed.



9. Don’t rush your decisions, but do make plans.



Finally, this is a time to be more client centred. Small businesses are highly required to meet customer expectations or satisfactory levels, while operating virtually has many disadvantages and misunderstandings, however, client’s service delivery standards still needs to be achieved. Generosity during a crisis can make a relationship far stronger. Small businesses are facing unprecedented struggles, and banks and policymakers must step up to help SME&#8217;s.



Miyelani Mkhabela is an Executive Director of Antswisa Transaction Advisory Services.

Nine ways you can try to save your small business post COVID-19.

By Chris Bishop



I once asked Denis Goldberg what he thought of one of his high ranking former comrades taking R500, 000 in bribes from a crook.



“What a cheapskate!” came back the reply faster than a gunslinger’s bullet. I expected more pious reply, not with Denis.



“He has sold out his job, his country, his beliefs, his politics and his morals – for half a million bucks?”



Denis said it with that dead pan look on his face. Believe me, he was deadly serious and angry, but his expression dissolved into that famous smile of his that made you think we frail human beings all make mistakes.



That was Denis and his attitude in a nutshell – he was principled and far from enamoured, in later years, with all that was going in the government that he fought to put in power and was never afraid to say so; and yet, he never forgot that we are all human and vulnerable, something that fuelled his tireless charity work.



I first met Denis at his home near the crashing waves of Hout Bay, near Cape Town, the city where he was born and should have lived out his days as a comfortable engineer in the suburbs. Instead he spent years training revolutionaries in the art of warfare and making bombs.



&nbsp;We got to know each other during the making of a three-hour documentary Liliesleaf – the Untold Story for CNBC Africa on the Rivonia trial, in 1963, where he faced the death penalty with Nelson Mandela. We kept in touch down the years with lunch, a phone call and the odd laugh about the absurdity of politics.



I shall never forget the warm, human, story he told on that summer day back in 2009 about how he sneaked small squares of chocolate to a chained and emaciated Mandela, in short trousers, whom police had dragged from prison to face sabotage charges.



“You don’t get sweeteners in prison,” said Goldberg with a smile.



Alongside Mandela, on that day, were the leading lights of the liberation movement: Walter Sisulu; Govan Mbeki; Ray Mhlaba; Andrew Mlangeni and Ahmed Kathrada. Only Mlangeni, who will be 95 in June, survives. &nbsp;



The authorities hoped would put them away forever. They nearly succeeded and certainly set back the liberation of South Africa by decades by incarcerating the leaders of the movement for life.



“’There was Mandela standing in the dock defiantly and forcing the judge to look him in the eye,” Goldberg said as if the hearing were yesterday at the Palace of Justice in Pretoria.



For some reason, Denis and I got on like a house on fire. He reminded me of my grandfathers – a hard man ready to fight for what was right, yet humane and compassionate with it.



The tough side of him came out in that interview. He told how the special branch officers used to taunt him across the courtroom, as the evidence was presented, by running their forefingers across their throats with a grin of death.



“I had to think about how to respond and in the end I did this back…” says Denis giving it the middle finger. Anyone who can give the finger to their captors in the shadow of death is tough enough.



Then, when he was relating the harrowing tale of his fractured relationship with his daughter, Hilary came out the old soldier hide of granite.



It was a sorrowful tale. Denis’s daughter worshipped him from afar as a latter day Robin Hood in the 20 years he was in prison. When he was released in 1984 they were reunited in Israel. A few months later the two fell out. It started when Hilary filtered the pile of hate mail from his daily post.



“I told her, Hilary, Hilly, you are trying to control me like they did in prison,” he said.&nbsp;



It all blew up. An angry Hilary told her father he had never been around and was always away fighting the struggle, you could see the pain Denis’s face.



“It took five years and a lot of counselling, but we reconciled. Unfortunately shortly after that she died.”



By this time both the young cameraman and myself, I am not ashamed to say this, had cast off our professional masks and had tears rolling down our cheeks.



“What’s the matter with you guys?” shot back Goldberg in mock outrage.



“I thought journalists were supposed to tough. I don’t know, the journalists of today!”



Then we all laughed, once again Denis had made people feel they would see the sun tomorrow.



His humour was legendary, as was his compassion. He once told me that he was handed three life sentences but was given a bulk discount and only served one. On the other side of the coin, he told me of the horror of lying in his cell listening to condemned men screaming as warders dragged them to the gallows. It was pure Denis that he learned the guitar so he could play a heartfelt musical tribute to the condemned.



Only Denis could have led the laughter in court when he and his comrades slipped the noose.



“Life and life is wonderful,” he called out when someone asked the verdict of the dock.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Amid all the laughter, sound and fury of the life of Denis Goldberg there is one cool winter’s afternoon that I will always remember him by. It was at Liliesleaf , in 2013, at the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the raid on Rivonia that led him to spending 20 years in prison.



It was a draining day for an 80-year-old. There were journalists asking questions and taking pictures everywhere. Denis was patient and explained his story to those too young and green to know, but as the day wore on I could see he was getting tired. It was a Rivonia reunion with lawyers Joel Joffe, who became an insurance tycoon in Britain, and George Bizos, still fighting the good fight, there to reminisce with the men they saved from the noose.



On top of that, Denis had to settle a 50-year-old grudge with the late Bob Hepple, a former comrade who was up to his neck in the sabotage trial. He had negotiated his way out of police cells with a decision to turn state witness that led to him skipping the country to a knighthood and a comfortable life as a professor at Cambridge University.



“At the time, I told him you do this and people will cross the street to avoid you,” Denis told me.



To rub salt in the wound, Hepple sent Denis, insensitively,&nbsp; a Christmas card in prison in his first year of incarceration. Fifty years later Denis shook hands with Hepple and buried the grudge with good humour.



My abiding memory of Denis came later on that day as the sunlight dimmed along with his fading energy.&nbsp; A young schoolgirl, in uniform, who must have been about 13, approached him as he was heading for the car to take him to the hotel.



“Excuse me Mr Goldberg I am doing my school project on the Rivonia trial can I talk to you?” she says. Even I thought an exhausted Denis he was going to decline politely, but he sat down and smiled.



More than an hour later I saw Denis sitting at the table telling patiently his story to the school girl making copious notes. Maybe she will fight for freedom one day too.



I smiled and walked away. That was Denis and I was proud to have known him.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

DSC_1387

Farewell one of the last survivors of Mandela’s band of brothers: Denis Goldberg – the gentle lion of the struggle.

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International travel for South Africans is now allowed, this is how it will work

Stress Theory in Nursing

Billionaire Christo Wiese says he was on the verge of losing everything in the <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/steinhoff/">Steinhoff scandal</a>.



<a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/news/2017/12/22/steinhoff-scandal-knocks-12bn-off-value-blow-tycoon-wiese/">Wiese’s net worth plummeted</a>, at the beginning of 2018, as the Steinhoff share price went into free fall. In March 2017, his net worth, according to Forbes magazine, was at $5.6 billion. Less than a year later it fallen to a mere $300 million. It had dropped so far that when CNBC Africa contacted the Forbes Wealth Unit in the United States to verify the net worth they thought it could be a computer glitch and asked for time for the technicians to check. When they came back the head of the wealth unit Kerry Dolan was astounded.



“This is the biggest and fastest drop we have ever seen in
the real time net worth of any individual on the Forbes rich list,” Dolan said.



It could have been a lot worse Wiese told CNBC Africa in an
exclusive interview at his Pepkor headquarters in Paarl, near Cape Town.



“I count my blessings because if this fraud had been allowed
to go on for another year or two, I would have lost everything, including Shoprite.
I decided not to become a bitter person because that destroys my life,” says
Wiese.



The retail billionaire, who has recovered his net worth by extricating himself from Steinhoff to around $1.1 billion, according to Forbes, believes that culpable Steinhoff decision makers should feel the full might of the law.





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“Everyone who has participated, and remember they have not
been found guilty yet, in fact they have not even been arrested yet, which is
also something that puzzles me. But everyone who has perpetrated this fraud
should be made to pay,” he says.



Wiese also defended his decision to get involved with Steinhoff in the first place.





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“I had businesses in more than 30 countries before I did the
Steinhoff deal, let’s put that in perspective. I looked at Steinhoff and its
widespread of interests, its apparent very strong balance sheet and a number of
other factors. I thought that by putting these businesses together we could
create what we called a prospective African champion. In other words a retail
business that had become global, that was the vision for the business as a
whole.”



Yet it all turned sour and Wiese says he faces a long legal
battle for the chance of seeing a penny back from Steinhoff and admits it is
going to be tough. 



“I shouldn’t be paid first, I should be dealt with on the
same basis. Today what is in Steinhoff 60 or 70% came from my companies of what
is left in Steinhoff belongs not to shareholders but to Steinhoff creditors.
That is how the legal system works and it is those creditors who will have to
sit around the table and decide how the assets that are still in Steinhoff have
to&nbsp; be divided there is no way in the
world any one of these creditors can be paid in cash, only paid in kind,” he
said.



“I am putting in my claim with all the other claims, there
are 182 banks, there are at least&nbsp; I
think, there are at least 16 other claimants that are in a similar situation to
my company and we need to sit down and decide all these people need to sit down
and decide how they will take the company forward or if they so decide to
liquidate the company which will be bad because I think at the last count there
are 100,000 people working in Steinhoff there are very valuable businesses in
Steinhoff primarily my businesses that I sold to Steinhoff so it would be&nbsp; a shame if that was the outcome but at the
end of the day creditors have to make that call.



A legal battle that is likely to make even more headlines in
the Steinhoff saga. 



Watch the full interview with Christo Wiese at 7.30pm CAT on
June 25 CNBC Africa channel 410.

How Christo Wiese the rich dad of South Africa nearly became poor dad

<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/ruth-umoh/" rel="author">Ruth Umoh</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/ruthumohnews">@ruthumohnews</a>
<a class="inline_asset" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kerryadolan/2018/01/10/african-billionaire-fortunes-rise-on-forbes-2018-list-of-continents-richest/#579cc18c2777">Nigerians take the lead</a> on lists of <a class="inline_asset" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2018/03/07/the-black-billionaires-2018/#275cb08b5234">black billionaires</a>, and one, Aliko Dangote, takes the top spots.
With an estimated net worth of $10.3 billion, according to <a class="inline_asset" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/billionaires/profiles/aliko-dangote/">Bloomberg</a>, the Dangote Group founder is the richest man in Africa. According to Forbes, he&#8217;s also the <a class="inline_asset" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2018/03/07/the-black-billionaires-2018/#2d6374c25234">richest black person in the world</a>. Most of the entrepreneur&#8217;s wealth <a class="inline_asset" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/billionaires/profiles/aliko-dangote/">derives from his 85.2 </a>percent majority stake in Dangote Cement, which is the <a class="inline_asset" href="https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/business/Dangote-buyout-of-ARM-to-make-it-largest-player/2560-4848348-xa1sb3/index.html">largest cement producer</a> in sub-Saharan Africa.
First launched in 1981, the Dangote Group now owns and operates more than <a class="inline_asset" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8OuwUoO-Co">18 subsidiaries</a> across a range of industries, including Dangote Cement, Dangote Flour and Dangote Sugar.
The 61-year-old billionaire credits much of his success to his maternal grandfather, who instilled a business mindset into Dangote at a young age. At just eight years old, Dangote would buy sweets with his allowance, which he&#8217;d give people to sell for a profit.
&#8220;When you are raised by an entrepreneurial parent or grandparent you pick that aspiration,&#8221; he told<a class="inline_asset" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/abrambrown/2015/03/04/the-little-known-15-billion-empire-of-africas-richest-man/#50e2fe4a3dcb"> Forbes</a> in 2015. &#8220;It makes you be much more aggressive — to think anything is possible.&#8221;
Dangote&#8217;s entrepreneurial interests followed him into adulthood. In 1977, he graduated with a business degree from Egypt&#8217;s Al-Azhar University. When he returned to Nigeria, Dangote moved to Lagos, one of <a class="inline_asset" href="https://www.fin24.com/Economy/view-africas-10-wealthiest-cities-20180915-2">Africa&#8217;s wealthiest cities</a> and the country&#8217;s largest financial center.
Using a $500,000 loan from his uncle, Dangote began trading in commodities such as bagged cement and agricultural goods like rice and sugar. These business ventures became so successful that he was able to repay his uncle <a class="inline_asset" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRBGX59O-gg">within three months</a> of starting the operation.
In 1999, Dangote shifted to manufacturing, building <a class="inline_asset" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/billionaires/profiles/aliko-dangote/">sugar refineries and a flour mill</a>. When Dangote Sugar first debuted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange in 2010, sales had quadrupled to $450 million, according to <a class="inline_asset" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/abrambrown/2015/03/04/the-little-known-15-billion-empire-of-africas-richest-man/#50e2fe4a3dcb">Forbes</a>, making it the largest sugar refinery in Africa and by some estimates, the <a class="inline_asset" href="http://www.ide.go.jp/English/Data/Africa_file/Company/nigeria04.html">second largest</a> in the world. Similarly, Dangote Flour tripled revenue to $270 million.
Dangote describes his professional journey as &#8220;exciting,&#8221; but notes that he&#8217;s also encountered obstacles along the way. Overcoming these challenges, he told <a class="inline_asset" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8OuwUoO-Co">Forbes Africa</a>, required big thinking and an innovative approach. &#8220;You have to dream big to be able to be big and that&#8217;s what we&#8217;re doing,&#8221; said Dangote, who&#8217;s now building an oil refinery that&#8217;s projected to cost <a class="inline_asset" href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nigeria-dangote-refinery/billionaires-huge-nigerian-oil-refinery-likely-delayed-until-2022-sources-idUSKBN1KV0WA">around $14 billion</a>.
For his part, Dangote says he&#8217;s driven by the impact he can have on humanity. In fact, <a class="inline_asset" href="https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2018/4/19/rise-of-the-rest-africas-new-philanthropists">he&#8217;s also one of Africa&#8217;s top philanthropists</a>. &#8220;You&#8217;d like to be remembered for things that you&#8217;ve actually done,&#8221; he told Forbes. &#8220;We Africans are the only ones that can make Africa great.&#8221;

Billionaire Aliko Dangote is the world’s richest black person—here’s how he made his wealth

PRETORIA (Reuters) &#8211; China would invest $14.7 billion in South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Tuesday after talks between the two countries, news that sent the rand one percent firmer.
Speaking at the same event, Chinese President Xi Jinping said the world’s second-biggest economy would take active measures to expand imports from South Africa to support development in Africa’s most industrialised economy.
Ramaphosa, who has promised to revive the economy since becoming president in February and after winning the leadership of the ruling African National Congress last year, said “Xi has indicated that China is ready to invest and work with South Africa in various sectors.”
The rand firmed after Ramaphosa’s announcement, spurred by offshore demand for the currency, traders said.
South Africa’s struggling state-run power firm Eskom, which swung to a full year loss on Monday, received a $2.5 billion loan from the China Development Bank.
Ramaphosa has focused on revitalising Eskom, Africa’s largest public utility, which was embroiled in corruption scandals under former president Jacob Zuma and narrowly avoided a liquidity crunch early this year after banks halted lending. Zuma has denied wrongdoing.
South Africa’s logistics utility Transnet also received a cash injection, as well as other sectors of the economy, officials said.
Xi said China and South Africa were important emerging economies with similar perspectives on many global issues.
“Hence the need to strengthen cooperation,” Xi said.
Reporting by Alexander Winning; Editing by James Macharia

China plans to invest $14.7 billion in South Africa, what you need to know

WINDHOEK (Reuters) &#8211; Namibia secured a $218 million loan from the African Development Bank, the second tranche of a quarter billion dollar facility from the development lender to help the country finance its budget deficit, the finance ministry said on Thursday.
The southern African nation’s economy contracted in the final two quarters of 2017, and by 0.1 percent in the first quarter OF 2018. Its credit rating was cut to subinvestment late last year by Fitch over concerns of a deteriorating fiscal position.
Reporting by Nyasha Nyaungwa; Writing by Mfuneko Toyana; Editing by James Macharia

African Development Bank grants $218 million loan to Namibia, what you need to know

Over the last decade, and despite impressive growth rates in most of the continent, Africa’s infrastructure needs to remain huge with annual financing gap between US$ 130 and US$ 170 billion annually.
To close this gap, the African Development Bank is working with leading global development finance institutions to set up a mutualized co-guarantee platform to de-risk investments and facilitate projects that have the capacity of transforming the continent under the Africa Investment Forum (AIF).
The Bank is positioning the AIF, scheduled for South Africa, 7-9 November 2018, as a platform to improve the ease of doing business in Africa by advancing and promoting investment friendly regulations. AIF will also champion ethical business practices in Africa.
Speaking at a roadshow on the AIF held in Abuja, the Special Advisor to the Nigerian President and Coordinator of the country’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) Unit, Folarin Ayalande, assured that Nigeria was ready for investment but lack of affordable and long-term finance remain a major constraint.
He described the lending de-risking component of AIF as a game changer and assured of the support of the Nigerian Government. New approaches are required to deliver on the country’s development targets, with a focus on private sector-led growth, he added.
“Nigeria’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan requires billions of dollars of investment to deliver on its growth and job-creation targets. We will collaborate with the private sector and the AIF by targeting opportunity-driven entrepreneurs by upgrading skills, developing business clusters and economic corridors. These are critical factors to developing a buoyant and productive industrial sector in Nigeria,” he said.
“I am particularly delighted to learn that the AIF will not be another talk show but a platform with convening power to bring different players together to explore investment opportunities for the transformation of the African continent. We have talked enough and must now start to act,” he said.
Senior Director for Nigeria Country Office of the African Development Bank, Ebrima Faal, stressed the critical need to change the current funding mix and create partnerships to finance infrastructure and other projects in Africa.
“Nigeria’s infrastructure cumulative financing needs are estimated to reach US$ 3 trillion by 2044 or about US$100 billion annually. This is all happening at a time when public sector finances are extremely pressured,” Faal said.
“As an African optimist, therefore, I dare say that there has never been a better time to invest in Africa’s infrastructure asset class, while ensuring a diverse source of resources, water-tight project preparation and a strong business case. The Africa Investment Forum has been designed to meet the needs of African stakeholders looking to capitalize on the increasing potential of multi-staker partners and the growing investment appetite in Africa.”
The AIF as a marketplace will bring together the Bank and other multilateral financial institutions to de-risk investments at scale,” said Stella Kilonzo, AIF Senior Director.
“AIF will work closely with investors and project sponsors to enable them increase trade and investment in local and global markets, ensuring that projects are able to secure adequate and appropriate finance.”
Working with multilateral institutions, the private sector, and Governments, the Bank is helping Nigeria and other African countries to fine-tune investment-ready projects for investors, fund managers and others managing substantial assets ahead of the AIF in November.
The Abuja roadshow included a briefing session, interaction with key private players, and presentations from Nigeria’s senior Government officials on the country’s development priorities and project pipeline that could benefit from the AIF partnership.
&nbsp;
By the African Development Bank

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It’s difficult as an individual, a group or a nation to know how to act when faced with climate change problems. As with other global environmental problems, these challenges are economically, environmentally and socially complex. They come with ethical issues and generate disagreement between different groups of people.
This complexity is particularly apparent in cities where many different groups of people with diverse cultures and perspectives live. And cities, of course, are hot spots for the problems related to climate change.
But the good news is that cities also have the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-02409-z">potential to produce solutions to climate change problems</a> because they contain dense networks, technologies and groups of people with diverse perspectives. This was a key message which emerged from the first ever <a href="https://citiesipcc.org">Cities Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change</a> meeting, held in Canada recently.
Science alone can’t provide all the answers or solutions for cities grappling with changing climates and extreme weather. Cities’ social, cultural, economic and historical differences should be considered when planning any climate-related response. And it’s residents, citizens and local authorities who have that context.
That’s where <a href="http://www.csag.uct.ac.za/2016/11/11/whats-the-difference-between-knowledge-co-production-and-co-exploration/">knowledge co-production</a> can be useful. It’s an evolving research process that recognises the importance of multiple knowledge types and perspectives to build a holistic understanding of complex problems.
The <a href="http://www.fractal.org.za/">Future Resilience of African CiTies and Lands</a> project uses knowledge co-production by gathering together a number of different people from different areas of expertise and ordinary citizens. This was done across nine African cities: Durban, Blantyre, Cape Town, Gaborone, Harare, Johannesburg, Maputo, Lusaka and Windhoek. These groups then consider people’s priorities, cities’ histories and contexts, and what role climate science factors into decisions.
These questions guide our research objectives as people from government, NGOs, civil society groups and academia gather face-to-face to discuss and explore contextual issues and potential solutions.
<h2>Putting people at the centre</h2>
This process has forced researchers to really take local knowledge into account for each city. We’ve steered clear of a “cut and paste” approach to defining climate risks and responses as much as possible, since each city’s needs and threats are different.
Throughout history, science has informed many development decisions. A dynamic has been set up between those who use science and those who produce it that centres the producers. It’s difficult to shift from this dynamic to research processes that support inclusive conversations about potential solutions, with a diverse set of values and perspectives.
Such conversations place people at the centre of the research process instead of scientific content. These processes also clearly acknowledge the assumptions and limitations of science, and value different forms of knowledge equally.
Research institutions and donor funded programmes generally place scientific knowledge on a pedestal, especially if it is produced in the northern hemisphere. Many of these institutions and programmes also measure success using rigid frameworks that focus more on targets and outputs and less on how people are learning through such dialogues.
What’s been key in our work is that scientific knowledge is not considered more important than the knowledge held by decision makers and civilians. These people understand the effects of a changing climate in context, and can identify the potential responses that fit this context. For example, civilians in Harare have a good idea of how strong political influences intersect with the consequences of severe or frequent drought. People from Botswana can offer knowledge on novel communication approaches to support responses, such as through local community fora called “freedom squares”.
<h2>Solutions are emerging</h2>
The Future Resilience of African CiTies and Lands project is bearing fruit. For instance, scientists and decision makers <a href="http://www.fractal.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/City-Digest-Lusaka-Issue-1-digital.pdf">in Lusaka</a> are in the process of finalising four policy briefs on water issues in the city. They’ve reflected on how climate will affect these issues, and come up <a href="http://www.fractal.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/City-Digest-Lusaka-Issue-1-digital.pdf">with potential solutions</a>. These groups sat for several days in the same room to flesh out contextual issues and potential solutions together.
This is different from the usual approach of climate scientists producing information and then passing it down the chain to users of this information.
In Blantyre, Gaborone, Harare, Lusaka, Maputo and Windhoek, city governments are working with scientists, engineers and civilians to co-produce narratives about the future of their cities in the face of climate change. The Namibian capital will be using their narratives, along with other important climate information, in the development of the City of Windhoek Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/98487/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />Processes like these help to build relationships between governments, researchers and civilian groups, as well as between different departments within government. These networks will support cities’ climate change conversations long after the Future Resilience of African CiTies and Lands project ends.
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/alice-mcclure-331153">Alice McClure</a>, PhD candidate at the The Climate System Analysis Group, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-cape-town-691">University of Cape Town</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/gina-ziervogel-196562">Gina Ziervogel</a>, Associate Professor, Department of Environmental and Geographical Science and African Climate and Development Initiative Research Chair, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-cape-town-691">University of Cape Town</a>
This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-african-cities-residents-are-creating-climate-change-solutions-98487">original article</a>.

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