Call for applications

Journalist Study Tour to India 2010: FAHAMU Emerging Powers in Africa Programme

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

1. Introduction

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

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

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

2. Call for Applications

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

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

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

-Be fluent in English

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

The following costs will be reimbursed:

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

The study tour will take place in November 2010.

Applications close on 5 October 2010 and successful applicants will be notified first week of October 2010.

3. Requirements

All applications are to be submitted electronically and must include:

- A current resume including professional work history

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

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

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

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

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

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

4. Concluding Remarks

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

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

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

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

Please direct all queries and applications to:

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

General

BM deal to support up to 500 mn global Bharti users

US Computer giant IBM will provide Bharti Airtel with the IT infrastructure to support 500 million customers across the globe, after bagging the recent contract to manage the Indian telco’s African operations. While Bharti currently has about 180 million customers in India and Africa combined, and will take several years to reach anywhere close to the 500-million mark, both companies have decided to use their learning from the earlier deal.
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Emerging economies outpace Japan in the battle for trade with resource-rich Africa

Japan has traditionally been one of Africa’s most relevant trade partners. Historical ties have been augmented by a relatively strong increase in trade linkages since 2000. As such, between 2001 and 2008 Japan-Africa trade increased almost four-fold, from $8.8 billion to $34.3 billion. This growth has been inspired largely by African exports to Japan, which grew by 366 per cent between 2001 and 2008, compared to growth of African imports from Japan in the same period of 200 per cent. However, the global economic downturn has exerted severe strain on Japan-Africa trade. After the 2008 peak, trade almost halved to $18.5 billion in 2009. The bulk of this decline was in African exports to Japan, which slumped by 56 per cent from $21 billion to $9.1 billion between 2008 and 2009. Meanwhile, African imports from Japan declined less severely, by 29 per cent from $13.3 billion to $9.4 billion. As such, in 2009 Japan ran a rare trade surplus with Africa. While Japan-Africa trade relations have displayed growth momentum, they have been unable to keep pace with the frenetic rise in Africa’s trade relations with the emerging world.
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Citigroup opens China desk in South Africa
Citigroup said on Wednesday it has opened a China desk in South Africa, to support Chinese companies expansion on the continent. The desk will work with trade and investment flows in and out of China, and help Chinese firms as they expand overseas, the U.S. financial services firm said in a statement.
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China in Africa

Chinese chamber worst employer: Sactwu
The Newcastle Chinese Chamber of Commerce is the worst employer in the local clothing industry, the SA Clothing and Textile Workers' Union (Sactwu) said on Sunday. General secretary Andre Kriel said the union awarded a broken brick to the chamber at its 11th national congress awards in Cape Town. "The award, a broken brick will be delivered to the chamber within the next month. The broken brick symbolises employers who break down, not build, decent work in the clothing industry," he said.
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China to invest new cement plant in South Africa
China Knowledge reported that China Africa Development Fund and Jidong Development Group will join hands to aid South Africa in building a cement plant that will cost at least USD 200 million.
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SA's exports to China hit a wall
Despite the hype about burgeoning trade relations with China, South Africa's exports to that country seem to have hit a plateau. A country breakdown of trade from the SA Revenue Service shows China remained the main country-destination for exports - nearly 10 percent of the total in the first half of the year - but growth slowed to 1 percent compared with the same period last year. This is a sharp deceleration, after 36 percent annual growth last year, which pushed the value of 2009 exports to R47.7 billion. Last year's sudden surge made China South Africa's main export destination, up from fifth place in 2008.
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Patel: SA to partner with China
In the framework agreement for trade signed a few weeks ago during President Jacob Zuma’s state visit to China, China committed itself to mineral enrichment in South Africa. On Wednesday at a breakfast seminar held by the Progressive Business Forum at the ANC’s National General Council meeting in Durban, Ebrahim Patel, Minister of Economic Development, said that South Africa would in the coming months become involved in several discussions with Chinese industrialists and government representatives.
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S.Africa's Wesizwe in funding talks with the Chinese
South Africa's Wesizwe Platinum Ltd said on Tuesday that it was in advanced talks with a Chinese consortium for an $877 million financing package, after it posted a first-half loss. Wesizwe, a mining exploration group, said the talks with China's Jinchuan Group Ltd and the China-Africa Development Fund were aimed at securing the funds in the form of debt and equity for its key Frischgewaagd-Ledig project.
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China, Africa policy banks sign US$56.4m loan pact for ZTE kit
The Export-Import Bank of China has signed a US$56.4 million loan agreement with African Export-Import Bank to support African imports of telecommunications equipment from ZTE Corp., Xinhua News Agency reported Tuesday, citing unnamed managers at the Chinese policy lender.
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"Liberia says Sinohydro interested in hydro project"
Sinohydro, China's top dam builder, is the sole investor interested so far in a contract to construct and operate a hydro power project in Liberia estimated to cost up to $4 billion, a minister said on Wednesday.
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China extends Africa push with loans, deal in Ghana
Ghana and China signed project loans and another deal together totaling $15 billion, the latest in a string of Chinese investments on the continent. The loans, coinciding with a six-day Beijing visit by the West African nation’s president, John Atta Mills, highlight China’s strong interest in resource-rich African countries such as Ghana.
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Beijing eyes Zim mining industry
As the world’s fastest growing economy evolves, its industries are rapidly expanding and asset managers — controlling billions of United States dollars in their portfolios — believe it is time to join China’s influential parastatals that are trooping to Zimbabwe. Their target, as revealed at a Mining Indaba in Harare last week, is no less than the mining industry whose 40 different minerals — among them gold, platinum, iron, steel, chrome, zinc, manganese and the recently discovered diamonds from Marange — are being seen as key to extinguishing China’s huge appetite for raw materials created by the dramatic growth of its industries.
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Wen announces Africa-China partnership in combating HIV/AIDS
In a high-level meeting with world leaders from African nations including Nigeria, Ethiopia and South Africa, Premier Wen Jiabao Wednesday announced an Africa-China partnership to strengthen international AIDS prevention and treatment efforts. Citing a worldwide population of 13 million currently living with HIV, Wen stressed the urgency of ramping up efforts in the remaining five years before the stated 2015 goal date in attaining Millennium Development Goals.
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Portugal’s Millenium bcp bank to open Macau branch on Thursday
Portugal’s Millenium bcp bank will open this Thursday its branch in Macau, where it aims to become a “springboard between China and Africa”, stated the branch’s director, Jose Joao Paosinho. The Millenium bcp branch has been authorised since last May and will replace the bank’s offshore agency in the territory, which was only allowed to work with the non-resident population.
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India in Africa

Bhel sets up health camps in Africa in efforts to build brand
In an attempt to create awareness and goodwill that may help win orders, state-run Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (Bhel) is holding health camps in African countries such as Libya and Sudan among others to tap the growing demand for power generation equipment there. The power generation equipment manufacturer is taking specialist doctors from India to set up health camps in African villages, where free health check-up facilities are being offered.
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SA wants India to lower 30% import tariff on wine
SA’s consul-general to India, Busi Kuzwayo yesterday called on the Indian government to lower its double-digit import tariff on South African wines. India had imposed a 30% import duty on wines imported from SA, Ms Kuzwayo said. She claimed the import duty adversely affected South African businesses that wanted to supply premium wines to India’s growing middle-class community.
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India to train police forces of African countries
Stepping up its engagement with Africa, India will train police forces of several African countries, including Mozambique, in modern policing and security measures.
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India Ruchi eyes Africa plantations, export jump
Ruchi Soya Industries India's top meal exporter, is likely to ship out 75 percent more soymeal in fiscal 2010/11 and is planning to acquire palm plantations in Africa, its managing director said. India's soymeal exports are expected to rise because of strong demand from Southeasast Asia, industry officials say, adding competitive prices and good monsoon rains will boost domestic soybean output after last year's drought.
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Mozambique, India to work for making Indian Ocean 'safe' again
India and Mozambique Thursday pledged to work together to combat piracy and terrorism in the Indian Ocean and to make the region safe and peaceful. Both countries also hope to ramp up bilateral trade to $1 billion by 2013. 'Indian Ocean is no more a safe ocean and we are on the shores of this great ocean,' visiting Mozambique President Armando Emilio Guebuza said at a joint press conference with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the end of delegation level talks between the two sides.
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Several pacts to be signed during Mozambique Prez visit
A number of pacts are expected to be inked between India and Mozambique, including one on double taxation avoidance, during the visit of the President of that country Armando Guebuza starting tomorrow. During his five-day visit in India, Guebuza, who is accompanied by four of his cabinet ministers among others, will hold delegation-level talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during which important bilateral issues, including ways to enhance trade will be taken up.
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India's Bharti rolls out 3G network in Malawi
The Malawi unit of Bharti Airtel rolled out its 3G network on Thursday, as part of the Indian telecom firm's push to expand in fast-growing Africa. Bharti now owns mobile operators in 15 African countries, following a $9 billion deal with Kuwait's Zain this year, and has ramped up spending across the continent to challenge dominant player MTN Group.
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In Other Emerging Powers News

Russian firm to build $700m Tanzania power plant
Tanzania has signed a $700-million deal with a Russian company to construct a hydroelectric dam with a capacity of more than 200 megawatts. Under an agreement signed in the Tanzanian commercial capital Borodino Group of Companies is to build a 222-MW power plant by 2018.
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Wal-Mart offers $4 bln for S.Africa's Massmart
Wal-Mart is in talks to buy South Africa's Massmart, a $4 billion deal that would give the U.S. retailer a big presence in fast-growing Africa and bolster its emerging markets strategy. The world's largest retailer has been hit by weakness in the United States, where low-income shoppers are particularly vulnerable to unemployment and higher petrol prices. It has responded by focusing on cost cuts and international growth. Buying Massmart, South Africa's third-largest listed retailer by value, would give Wal-Mart a considerable network in Africa's biggest economy and a foothold in 13 other countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
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New SA Brazil submarine cable underway
Submarine cable infrastructure company Alcatel-Lucent says it has been selected by eFive Telecoms, a South African telecommunications company, to build a new submarine cable network linking the west coast of Africa to South America. The system will comprise two trunks, the first one connecting South Africa to Angola and Nigeria, and the second trunk linking Angola to Brazil.
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Brazilian team to assess new power project in Rufiji Basin
The Brazilian government has agreed to send a team of experts to assess the economic viability of the Stiegler’s Gorge power project in Rufiji Basin as a first step before engaging the private sector to development the project with the capacity to produce 2,100 mega watts. This follows an agreement reached between Tanzanian delegation to Brazil, led by the Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation Minister, Mr Bernard Membe and the Brazilian Deputy Secretary in the Ministry of Mines and Energy, Mr Paulo Altaur Pereira Costa.
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Brazilian Mining Giant Buys Into Northern Railway
The Brazilian mining giant Vale announced on Tuesday the purchase of 51 per cent of Mozambique's Northern Corridor Development Company (SDCN). SDCN is the private consortium which is the partner of Mozambique's publicly owned port and rail company (CFM) in the Nacala port and rail systems in the north of the country. The lease on the Nacala systems is held by the Northern Development Corridor (CDN), in which 51 per cent of the shares are owned by SCDN and 49 per cent by CFM.
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Sudan signs $500 mln deals with Brazil-sugar exec
Sudanese companies signed up to $500 million worth of deals with Brazilian agricultural, construction and engineering groups, the head of the African state's biggest sugar company said on Sunday. Africa's largest country, shut out of the U.S. market by harsh sanctions, has been expanding its trade with China, India, Brazil and the Middle East while trying to diversify its economy away from its main export, oil. Mohamed El Mardi, managing director of Kenana Sugar Company, told Reuters that Sudanese companies accompanying a Khartoum government delegation to Brasilia signed scores of initial agreements, many of them funded with Brazilian credit.
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South Africa & Brazil: Furthering South–South Trade
The considerable expansion in South–South trade, especially in the last decade, is seen as an exciting new phenomenon with a number of developing countries among the major trade partners. Trade and investment ties between South Africa and Brazil in particular have been strengthening, underpinned by the reach and influence these two countries enjoy in their respective continents. Despite short-term setbacks due to the global financial crisis, differing comparative advantage in products produced in the two countries provides many opportunities for expansion in two-way and regional trade and investment.
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Bidvest first South African bank to trade Yuan
South African demand for China’s Yuan looks set to reach a new heights following Bidvest Bank’s decision to trade in the currency. Bidvest, the first South African bank to buy and sell the Yuan, said demand for the Chinese currency by South African business and leisure travellers has been growing for some time.
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Blogs, Opinions, Presentations and Publications
The 3rd Event on “Infrastructure: The Foundation for Growth and Poverty Reduction” of China-DAC Study Group Held in Beijing
The 3rd Event on “Infrastructure: The Foundation for Growth and Poverty Reduction” of the China-DAC Study Group was held by IPRCC and the Organisation for Economic Co operation and Development’s Development Assistance Committee (OECD DAC) in Beijing. Mr. Zheng Wenkai, Deputy Director-General of the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development (LGOP) and Mr. Richard Carey, Co-Chairman of the China-DAC Study Group addressed the opening ceremony. Over 100 people attended the meeting, including the comrades from the related commissions and ministries, experts of the research institutes concerned, as well as delegates of African countries and international organizations.
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GIDEON RACHMAN: The realities and myths of Brazilian life under Lula
NEXT week sees the retirement of the man described by US President Barack Obama as “the most popular politician on earth”. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil, known simply as Lula, steps down after eight years in office, with an approval rating of about 80%. As a result, the Brazilian presidential election on Sunday will be a celebration of the past as much as a signpost to the future. The almost certain winner will be Lula’s handpicked successor, Dilma Rousseff. Lula has not quite achieved the global renown and secular sainthood of Nelson Mandela. But the Lula and Mandela myths have something in common. In both cases, a moving personal struggle has merged with a compelling national story, turning a single man into a potent symbol of a country’s transformation.
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Three Faces of the New China
“In a blur of headlines over the past few days, Americans have been surprised with brief, seemingly contradictory glimpses of how China is wielding its newfound power” writes David E. Sanger.
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India Catching Up With China in Africa
“While both China and India are attempting to extend their sphere of influence into Africa, Beijing is clearly ahead of New Delhi, not just because it’s economically superior rather because it has pursued an astute realpolitik in its foreign relations” writes Balaji Chandramohan.
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$16bn Worth Of Made In China Smoke And Mirrors - Na Sika No Wo He?
“The news across newswires globally was “China to Pump $16bn into Ghana”. Reuters, Ghanaweb, Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, FT, and newspapers across Africa carried the news as if the money was their country-bound. What was common about all the worldwide news was that the original source quoted was the Government of Ghana website. The Mills-Mahama administration certainly saw this as a timely massive dosage of do-much perception purely for domestic consumption, one may speculate. But it was a serious PR mileage for China in Africa, in particular, and across the world. We can only imagine how many African countries are now queuing up to take theirs. Until this, China had been criticized for offering zero-moral loans to countries like Sudan and Zimbabwe. To offer such a mega-deal to Ghana, the ‘star’ of Africa’s democracy, is a huge PR for China” writes Qanawu Gabby.
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MY CONSCIENCE: Why Africa must not be Scared of China
Makwaia wa Kuhenga writes “the propaganda against China most often than not is as if China is poised to grab vast swathes of land in Africa to meet this Asian country’s “hunger” for raw materials and energy! But the real worry of those projecting China in this manner with the intent to scare African countries is that the owners of these multinational media agencies are wary that Africa may diversify its trade relations in favour of China, thus ditching Africa’s former colonial powers, as the third President of this country, Ben Mkapa is quoted as saying at the outset of this perspective.”
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Unpacking China’s economic miracle
How China turned its economy around is regarded as one of the great mysteries of modern times. The president of the People’s University of China, JI Baocheng, reveals how China did it in this paper presented at the University of Zimbabwe on September 21, 2010.
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BROUGHT TO YOU BY PAMBAZUKA NEWS

* Compiled by Sanusha Naidu, research director of Fahamu’s Emerging powers in Africa programme.
* Please send comments to [email protected] or comment online at Pambazuka News.