SAM JONAH - AFRICA'S BUSINESS LEGEND

Dr. Samuel Esson Jonah KBE, Mining Engineer, International Chief Executive, Diplomat, Management Consultant, Advisor, Entrepreneur, Educationist, Role Model and Administrator

Photo Sam Jonah at the World Economic Forum on Africa 2005

Sam Esson Jonah is a prominent Ghanaian business man. Samuel Jonah was born on the 19 November, 1949 in Obuasi/Adaugi in then British Gold Coast colony(Ghana). In 1969 Sam applied for and won a trainee position with Ashanti’s Ayeinm mine that included an Associateship (ACSM) in Mining Engineering at the Camborne School of Mines in Cornwall, England and subsequently completed an MSc in Mine Management at the Imperial College of Science and Technology in London. He rejoined Ashanti Goldfields Corporation in 1979, working in various capacities, including underground operations, and he became the Chief Executive Officer in 1986 at the age of 36. Ashanti started as a single mine (Obuasi) located 180km north west of the capital of Ghana in 1895 and first listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) two years later. The company was acquired by Lonrho in 1968 and delisted. Under his able and dynamic leadership from 1986 until June 2004, when he was the CEO of Ashanti Goldfields Company Limited, he led the transformation of Ashanti from a one-mine operation into a multinational. In 1996, Ashanti, which had listings in London & Ghana, became the first operating African company to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

He is the Executive Chairman of Jonah Capital, a private equity fund based in Johannesburg, South Africa. He is the non-executive president of mining giant Anglogold Ashanti Limited, and is also a director of Anglo American Corporation of South Africa and Anglo American Platinum Corporation. Sam Jonah is a member of numerous advisory committees, including South African President Thabo Mbeki’s International Investment Advisory Council and President Kufuor’s Ghana Investors’ Advisory Council. He is the Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast, Ghana.He also serves on various boards including Lonmin, the Commonwealth African Investment Fund (Comafin), the Advisory Council of UN Secretary General’s Global Compact. As well as his directorships, Mr Jonah is a member of the Advisory Board of the London Business School.

He has been decorated with several awards and honours, among them an honorary Doctor of Science (D.Sc) degree awarded jointly by the Camborne School of Mines and the University of Exeter (UK) in 1996. Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain conferred on Sam Jonah an Honorary Knighthood in recognition of his exceptional achievements as an African businessman, a leading business executive from the Commonwealth and an international public figure. The award KBE stands for Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire. Since Sam Jonah is not a national of the the United Kingdom he cannot use the title 'Sir Sam Jonah'.

Sam Jonah at Ashesi University College 2005 commencement ceremony where he was honored with the degree Doctor of Humanities.

Photo by Ashesi University

SAM IN THE NEWS

According to a recent article in The Economist Magazine Sam Jonah seeks to raise $250m to build long-distance roads across Africa—the lack which is one of the most obvious failures in the continent’s infrastructure. His goal is to find 50 successful African business people, each willing to invest $5m in the fund, and then to use multilateral funds to leverage the money into the billions. “People in Africa, if they come together, can make a big difference,” says Mr Jonah. “What I want to do is put my money where my mouth is.”There is increasingly a pro-African mood in the global business community nowadays, says Mr Jonah. “Access to finance is much better; now when I go to New York seeking a lot of money, I get a warm welcome.”
Sam Jonah is reported as being optimistic in his new venture and acknowledges Africa’s post-colonial difficulties. “People fail to appreciate the huge challenges African countries faced at independence,” he says. “When you think where we have come from, there has been tremendous progress.”

Sam Jonah believes that African companies and governments must be held to international standards but that the southern hemisphere often gets the raw end of trade deals. "Globalization can bring tremendous benefits to Africa," says Jonah. "But there is no level playing field."
By Simon Robinson/Johannesburg CNN

He expresses his disapproval to the help Africa has elicited from foreign agencies as having been the wrong prescription.

"By way of illustration, Mr Jonah points to three once impoverished European countries—Spain, Portugal and Greece—that might have stayed poor had they not been “rescued by their sugar daddy, the European Union.” The point, he says, is that richer European countries invested in these poor countries, “not as charity, but because they saw a win-win opportunity.” The same is now true of Africa, he argues. With a handful of headline-grabbing exceptions, “everyone in Africa is now getting their act together, with free markets and democracy.”

Regarding the west backlash against Chinas involvement in Africa Sam notes “...we are amused that suddenly we are getting all this attention from the West,....You must start from the presumption that Africans know what they want,” he says.

The South African The Gibs Review reported Sam as stating “Africa is ready for business and the continent’s much improved business climate is attracting all sorts,” says Jonah, adding that Russia and China are making serious inroads to the African economy.

“China’s heavy presence in all aspects of business throughout Africa is evident and SA companies are running into fierce competition for mineral assets in the Congo, Angola, Tanzania and Guinea.”

Jonah says in the energy sector, China and India are everywhere and are also investing in natural resources, property and infrastructure. “China is currently building a US$200 million resort complex comprising pagoda roofed holiday homes, a golf course, a five star hotel and a helipad in Sierra Leone, as well as constructing three new and renovating two existing stadiums in Ghana for the 2008 African Cup of Nations,” he adds.

More Information:
The Sunny Continent - Africa's optimistic businessmen
Aug 21st 2007 The Economist.com

Foreign investors conquer Africa as SA slumbers- Improved business climate attracting all sorts
The Gibs Review January 2006

Sam Jonah launches Jonah Mining, will soon announce coal division By Mining Weekly South Africa Magazine

Who's Who In South Africa Sam Jonah Resume By 24.com

SAM JONAH BIOGRAPHY

Sam Jonah and the Remaking of Ashanti by A. Taylor

Author: Ayowa Afrifa Taylor

ALL ROADS LEADS TO SOUTH AFRICA FOOTBALL WORLD CUP 2010

Matches for the 2010 World Cup will be hosted in nine South African cities (clockwise from top left): Johannesburg in Gauteng province; Rustenburg in North West; Pretoria in Gauteng; Polokwane in Limpopo; Nelspruit in Mpumalanga; Durban in KwaZulu-Natal; Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape; Cape Town in the Western Cape; and Bloemfontein in the Free State.

The Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg is to undergo a major upgrade for the 2010 tournament, with a new design inspired by traditional African pottery and a revamped capacity for 104 000 football fans. The stadium will hold the final and opening matches, five first-round matches, one second-round match and one quarter-final. (Image: South Africa 2010 Local Organising Committee)

Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg is to undergo minor upgrades for 2010. It has a capacity of 60 000 and will host five first-round matches, one second-round and one quarter-final match. (Image: South Africa 2010 Local Organising Committee)

The Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein, Free State province, is to undergo a major upgrade, with the addition of a third tier increasing its capacity to 45 000. It will host five first-round matches and one in the second round. (Image: South Africa 2010 Local Organising Committee)

Artist's impression of the 30 000-seat Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit, Mpumalanga province. It will be specially built for 2010 and host four first-round matches. (Image: Mbombela Local Municipality)

Artist's impression of the 40 000-seat Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane, Limpopo province. It will be specially built for 2010 and host four first-round matches. (Image: Africon)

The King Senzangakhona Stadium in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, is to be specially built for 2010, with a capacity of 80 000. It will host six first-round matches, one second-round, and one semifinal match. (Image: South Africa 2010 Local Organising Committee)

Artist's impression of the 50 000-seat Nelson Mandela Stadium in Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape. It is to be specially built for 2010 and will host five first-round matches, one second-round match, one quarter-final and the third-place playoff. (Image: South Africa 2010 Local Organising Committee)

Greenpoint Stadium in Cape Town, Western Cape, is to be specially built for 2010, with a retractable roof and a capacity of 70 000. It will host six first-round matches, one second-round, one quarter-final and one semifinal match.

(Image: South Africa 2010 Local Organising Committee)


SA 2010: Did you know that there are robots on the street corners in SA?
Here are some of the frequent questions SA Info website addressed.

Images Courtesy of SA Tourism

Why did Fifa award the World Cup to South Africa?
Fifa decided that the 2010 tournament would be hosted by an African country, with five countries - South Africa, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and Libya - in the running. In 2004 the organisation's inspection committee announced that South Africa had the potential to organise an "excellent" World Cup - compared to Egypt and Morocco's potential to organise "very good" World Cups, Tunisia's potential to organise a "good" World Cup, and the probability that Libya would "face great difficulties in organising a World Cup to the standards required".

Well, what's the place like?
Believe it or not, we have cities. With roads. And skyscrapers. And electric lights. And traffic jams. South Africa is the powerhouse of Africa, the most advanced, broad-based economy on the continent, with infrastructure to match any first-world country.

You can drive on wide, tarred highways all 2 000 kilometres from Musina at the very top of the country to Cape Town at the bottom. Or join over 7-million international travellers who disembark at our airports every year.

Two-thirds of Africa's electricity is generated here. Forty percent of the phones are here. Twenty percent of the world's gold and 77% of its platinum is mined here. And almost everyone who visits is astonished at how far a dollar, euro or pound will stretch ...

Images Courtesy of SA Tourism

South Africa? Where's that?
We're on the southern tip of Africa (that lozenge-shaped continent east of America, south of Europe and west of China), where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet. We have nine provinces: Gauteng, the smallest and most densely populated, adjoins Limpopo, North West and Mpumalanga in the north; the Northern Cape, the largest province with the smallest population, is in the west; the Free State is in the middle of the country; and the coastal provinces of KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape and the Western Cape lie to the south.

Images Courtesy of SA Tourism

And the people?
South Africa is a nation of over 46-million people of diverse origins, cultures, languages and beliefs. Africans are in the majority at 37.2-million, some 79.4% of the population. The white population is estimated at 4.4-million (9.3%), the coloured population at 4.1-million (8.8%) and the Indian or Asian population at 1.1-million (2.5%).

And we're good company. "We can say that the people of South Africa were always friendly, very boisterous and constantly celebrating during our visit to the country," Fifa's inspection team said in their country report. "[They] would stop and show their joy and support of the country's commitment whenever our group passed by."

Should I come even if I can't get tickets?
Of course! The 2010 tournament is guaranteed to be, as we South Africans say, a jol. As in Germany in 2006, public viewing areas accommodating vast numbers of fans watching the games on giant screens are likely to be set up. And you can always watch the tournament and get to know the locals at our numerous pubs, restaurants and sports bars.

Images Courtesy of SA Tourism

What's the beer like?
Cold and delicious. South Africans generally drink bottled beer, although most pubs offer a range of draughts. The major producer is South African Breweries, now a huge multinational doing business across the world. Lager is probably the favourite, followed by pilsener. In and around the stadiums, though, you'll only be able to drink beer produced by Budweiser, an official Fifa sponsor.

Are there lions in the streets?
Um, no. But if you want to see lions - and leopards, elephants, rhinos, buffalos and more - visit one of the many wildlife lodges and game parks across the country, which include the huge and magnificent Kruger National Park.

What benefits will South Africa get for hosting the World Cup?
It's been estimated that the 2010 World Cup will create some 129 000 jobs, contribute around R21-billion to the country's gross domestic product and another R7.2-billion in government taxes, with the 350 000 visitors spending a whopping R9.8-billion.

Images Courtesy of SA Tourism

Are South Africans nice people?
Visitors to the country always remark on how warm, friendly and welcoming South Africans are. We've had a difficult past, so we don't waste time being difficult people. And we're expert at having fun.

Can I use my hairdryer?
Electricity is generally 220/230 volts, 15 amps, and is supplied through either 15-amp three-prong or 5-amp two-prong plugs, in both cases with round pins. If you're bringing anything electrical, bring an adapter – or you could buy one here. Generally, the 110V video chargers work safely on the 220V supply. Television is on the PAL system.

Is it true that there are robots on the street corners?
Yes, there are. In South Africa, traffic lights are known as robots, although no-one knows why. A pick-up truck is a bakkie, sneakers are takkies, a barbeque is a braai, an insect is a gogga and an alcoholic drink is a dop.

All the Information and Text from South Africa Tourism
For More Information
http://www.southafrica.info

AFRICA UMOJA - RYTHMS OF MAMA AFRICA

Africa Umoja is the internationally award winning South African show filled with music and dance celebrating African life and culture.

Africa Umoja is created by Todd Twala and Thembi Nyandeni two long time friends from childhood. Todd and Thembi both grew up in Soweto, a township outside Johannesburg. They first met at Vuka Îbambe Higher Primary School in Soweto.

“We just clicked! She knew that I was an outsider coming from another town. Later I moved to another school, losing contact with Thembi.”

Although the two friends had lost physical contact with each other, their paths would cross again in the future as both choose careers in the entertainment world as singers and dancers.

Thembi and Todd

Africa Umoja Founders

With the enactment of apartheid laws in 1948, racial discrimination was institutionalized. Race laws touched every aspect of social life. Black South Africans were restricted from performing musical or theatrical acts before white audiences. However in the 1970s the white minority eased the restrictions and black artists could perform before white and mixed audiences. It was during this period that Todd and Thembi developed their artistic entertainment talents. Todd began her theater career in 1976 with Joan Brickhill and Louis Burke’s production of Meropa, whereas, Thembi joined Ipi Ntombi. In their new roles, they performed locally and internationally. The two were to meet again in 1978 whilst on tour with their production companies in London. In the same year Todd joined Thembi entertainment group Ipi Ntombi soon after Meropa closed its doors after a long and successful run.

For years they toured the world with Ipi Ntombi from London’s West End to New York’s Broadway, across the United States, then back throughout Europe, Scandinavia, Australia and New Zealand. Whils they were performing in America, they were given a few months’ break. Todd and Thembi used this spare time to choreograph their own dance pieces, and performed in front of small audiences. These first pieces were the building blocks of Umoja.

After a long and successful run with Ipi Ntombi, Todd and Thembi returned to South Africa in 1982 and formed 'Pals of Africa'. The group that took Southern Africa and neighbouring Swaziland by storm. Todd and Thembi used to perform to backtracks of the South African band, Juluka.

Todd and Thembi would put back the money they made when performing with Pals of Africa into costumes and recruiting more members. Todd took on other roles within the music industry performing along side renowned South African Music artists. Thembi joined the world of television, becoming a South African television soap opera star winning accolades and awards for her TV performances.

"As they move from one sequence to the next, you can clearly see the progression of the dance styles, as each influenced the next, until at the end all the styles are shown to come from the same place: the music and drums of Africa. In the sinuous movements of the Venda Umashona (snake dance) you can see the precision mirrored by the Zulu stick fighting; you see the sangoma's invocation influencing the arm movements in later styles and the women could teach Beyonce a thing or two about shaking her booty . Forget about krumping, check out the kwaito, which comes right at the end. Having watched the dancers go through their paces you see what the pantsula morphed into."

Africa Umoja - Feel Africa's Rhythms By Theresa Smith June 29, 2007 Tonight.co.za

Both were still involved in their dance company, pouring money into it whenever they could and doing performances for companies and events. Pals of Africa grew and the group began to perform internationally. They changed the name to Baobab, after inspiration from longtime friend and fellow artiste, Hugh Masekela.
“He said, ‘..every time I see you, you are stronger than before! Like the tree, the baobab, always growing and getting stronger even though it grows in the toughest soil.’”



Baobab was doing well when Todd and Thembi decided to rename the show. They wanted to give it a name that represented what they were all about. The word ‘umoja’ meaning ‘the spirit of togetherness’, came quickly to mind. They wanted to unite and empower as many underprivileged kids as they could, giving the kids the opportunities they had had. Today they are doing just that. Umoja is not the last page of the story of Todd and Thembi’s journey together. It’s the beginning of a success— a long, hard-earned one, that will carry on around the world for years to come

“There is an unlikely collaboration with Todd and Thembi — a partnership of complete harmony and trust, raucous laughter, shared cups of tea, commiseration and commitment. It’s the true spirit of togetherness.”

MUSIC VIDEOS OF AFRICA UMOJA (SIMPLY BREATHE TAKING)

PROMOTIONAL UMOJA VIDEO

UMOJA THE SPIRIT OF TOGETHERNESS 1

UMOJA THE SPIRIT OF TOGETHERNESS 2

TEXT, PHOTOS AND MORE INFORMATION AND TOUR DATES
AFRICA UMOJA OFFICIAL WEBSITE http://www.umojatheshow.com/index.htm

PAIN IS WARFARES BEST FRIEND

It has been called Africa's World War a.k.a. Great War of Africa call it what you may the situation in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is simply War. The war is reported to have began in 1998 and officially ended in 2003 when the Transitional Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo took power. What started as a civil war to overthrow dictator the late President Mobutu Sese Seko soon escalated to an enormous scale. Solders from neighbouring countries joined in the mayhem with the troops all having different agendas as for their engagement in the conflict. Some observers allege that many are fighting for the control of the regions extraordinary mineral wealth whilst others are out to grab whatever they can get.

Some of the resources allegedly being fought over and is reported as being utilised to finance the conflict include diamonds, water, timber, copper, cassiterite, coltan, tin just to mention afew.

Countries involved in the DRC dispute: Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Angola, Chad, Hutu and Tutsi aligned forces. ( There are other countries who have also been claimed to have been allegedly involved in the conflict but their level of involvement has not yet been clearly ascertained)

Despite a 2003 peace agreement and recent elections, conflict still rages on in eastern DRC. Armed militia groups continue to terrorize civilians in the eastern part. The war is reported to have taken over 4 million lives more than any other conflict in the world since world war II.

Effects and tactics used in the war are numerous. In addition to the wanton killings, there is pillaging of communities, corruption, forced labour, ethnic rivalries, rape, shifting of alliances to achieve economic exploitation and much more. War rape in the DRC is one of the horrific and traumatic events that pose a serious challenge for those seeking to protect the civilians caught up in the war.

VICTIM OF WAR

Is God listening and watching? Or has he forgotten them?

This is a true story of a lady 29 years old from Nindja Village eastern DRC.

Due to conflict and insecurity in her village the women would hide in the nearby bushes away from the militia who are notorious for rape, cannibalism and other forms of brutality. On this occasion the solders found them in their hiding place. The solders killed the village chief and his children. The lady was hiding with other 50 women and with her were her three children and older brother.

The solders ordered her older brother to have sex with her, he refused and so they cut of his head and he died. One of the solders forced her to drink his urine and eat his feces. The solders then killed her three children.

Following that one after another they raped her ripping apart her vagina and anus.

She recalls as one of the solders cut open a pregnant woman and removed her mature baby and killed it. They cooked the baby and forced the women to eat it.

She was able to escape and get away. Soon she was found by a man passing by where she was and he was able to trace her due to the bad stench in the area. It was the lady smelling due to the wounds inflicted in her during the rape she was unable to control her urine or feces. He took her to a nearby hospital where she received treatment to her wounds.

More on this report from Glamour Magazine September 2007 issue Written By Eve Ensler, "Women Left For Dead -and the man who's saving them"

WHAT NEXT?

Stories of war rape and other war crimes/effects ought to be told again and again as long as the conflict prevails in eastern DRC with the hopes that the silent cries of the victims of this instability will fall on listening ears and lead to action to end their silent screams.

African newspapers and other media houses do not report extensively on the conflict and situation on the ground in DRC and other conflict prone areas within the continent. Most of the news we read or watch on TV covering this events are reported by foreign media houses. Some of the African print media and the news stations source for their news on the African continent from western media forums such as Reuters, AP etc. Whenever the foreign media houses take the initiative to report on these events, their initiatives and efforts elicit enormous criticisms for being biased, poorly researched, etc yet Africa media houses efforts are lacking due to a myriad of reasons. African media houses need to assume a leading role in reporting on current events within the African continent and not leave the assignments largely to foreign media houses.

SUGGESTIONS

Here are some of the initiatives we can assume to spearhead action by creating more awareness on areas embroiled in conflict.

• Tell a friend, family or colleagues about these events
• Write about it in your blogs/to local newspapers/ make recommendations
• Write plays, poems and songs about such events and perform them in public forums
• Pray
• Advocate and find ways to convince the militia that cannibalism does not add super natural strength and the witch doctors they revert to face justice for propagating and abetting criminal acts.
  
• Constant coverage of the events as they unfold and call for action reported in the local African media forums
  
• Donate to institutions that are working on the ground such as the local hospitals such as Panzi hospital in Bukavu. Donations can be in any form and within your means even a letter or a handkerchief can go along way to show that you care and are thinking about them in their plight.
  

(if you have anymore suggestion please email me or leave a note on the comments section)

Photo by ABC News Online

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO TURBULENT HISTORY

History has been unfair on the DRC nation and its people for over the past 100 years. DRC formerly Belgian Congo inhabitants were tortured by King Leopold II of Belgium who 'acquired' the Congo. Between 1885 and 1908 Belgium exterminated an estimated 10 million people. Shortly after attaining independence in 1960 the military leader Mobutu Sese Seko came to power in a bloodless coup with military support from the United States, Belgium, and European mercenaries. Mobutu was internationally condemned as a dictator and was overthrown in the First Congo War by Laurent-Désiré Kabila, who was supported by the Tutsi governments of Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda. Tutsis had long opposed Mobutu, due to his open support for Rwandan Hutu extremists responsible for the Rwandan genocide in 1994. When his government issued an order in November 1996 forcing Tutsis to leave Zaire on penalty of death, they erupted in rebellion. From eastern Zaire, with the support of President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda and Rwandan Minister of Defense Paul Kagame, they launched an offensive to overthrow Mobutu, joining forces with locals opposed to him as they marched west toward Kinshasa. Ailing with cancer, Mobutu was unable to coordinate the resistance, which crumbled in front of the march, the army being more used to suppressing civilians than defending the large country. On May 16, 1997, following failed peace talks, the Tutsi rebels and other anti-Mobutu groups as the Alliance des Forces Democratiques pour la Liberation du Congo-Zaire (AFDL) captured Kinshasa. Zaire was renamed the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Others credit him with keeping the country relatively stable and peaceful throughout most of his rule and for providing Zaireans with a sense of national identity and pride. In a country with over 200 tribes, Mobutu was able to maintain order and avert civil war, although at high cost.

"Today, Mobutu is deposed and dead, but his legacies live on. His family holds his fortune, and his country holds his $12 billion debt. In a nation with an annual income of $110 per capita, each resident theoretically owes foreign creditors $236."

— David Malin Roodman,

Still Waiting for the Jubilee, World Watch Institute, 26 April 2001.

FAST FACTS

• Population - 56 million people
• The Congolese people are made up of around 200 separate ethnic groups. These ethnic groups generally are concentrated regionally and speak distinct languages. There is no majority ethnic group - some of the largest ethnic groups are the Luba, Kongo and Anamongo. The various ethnic groups speak many different languages but only four indigenous languages have official status - Kiswahili, Lingala, Kikongo and Tshiluba. French is the language of government, commerce and education. Societal discrimination on the basis of ethnicity is widely practiced by members of virtually all ethnic groups and is evident in private hiring and buying patterns and in patterns of de facto ethnic segregation in some cities. In large cities, however, intermarriage across ethnic and regional divides is common.
• Around 1,200 people die each day as a direct or indirect result of the conflict - more than half of them children.
• The $870m diamond industry provides work for around one million people, but many diggers earn less than $1 a day in dangerous conditions.

WATCH VIDEO ON DRC WAR

Children of Conflict in the DRC Part 1

Children of Conflict in the DRC Part 2

MORE INFORMATION
Congo War
Human Rights Watch Democratic Republic of Congo
Foreign Policy on Focus: War in the Congo
Global Issues-Conflicts in Africa DRC