Africa Business

[Zambia Reports]The National Council for Construction (NCC) says the increase in the price of cement is unfortunate especially coming after rises in fuel in other critical sectors.

[Aswat Masriya]The Suez Canal development project aims at turning the canal into "a global centre for industry and logistics" since 10 percent of the world's merchandise and 20 percent of all ships pass through the canal, said an advisor to President Mohamed Mursi.

[Tunis Afrique Presse]Tunis -Speeding up the procedures of the recovery of properties and asserts abroad will be the task of an ad hoc commission created to this effect, a Prime Ministry's statement published on Friday reads.

[Tunis Afrique Presse]Tunis -Prime Minister Ali Larayedh will pay a two-day visit to Qatar as of Sunday.

[Daily News]ACCORDING to Bariki Kaale who is Energy and Environmental Specialist based in Dar es Salaam, biomass fuels accounts for over 94 per cent of the total energy used for cooking with no affordable alternative energy sources in the foreseeable future.

[Daily News]"IT is an idea that creates money, not money that creates an idea," says Secelela Balisidya when she was recounting on tremendous challenges that she and her friend Christopher Kidanka went through in setting up a media business company.

[Daily News]Zanzibar -THE development of technology and innovation in Zanzibar is largely hampered by deride, lack of assessment and lack of policy, government leaders said on Thursday at the Smart Partnership Dialogue workshop help here on Thursday.

[Daily News]President Ali Mohamed Shein has said that Zanzibar needs stronger relations with development partners including Indonesia and Demark to achieve its development goals.

[ANGOP]Luanda -The minister of Science and Technology, Maria Cândida Teixeira, said Saturday in Luanda that the Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) play a relevant role in inducing the country's economic and social development.

[Daily News]Moshi -A JOINT venture of 32 primary cooperative societies which was established over a decade ago but got legal recognition in 2007 is not a parallel union challenging Kilimanjaro Native Cooperative Union, but simply a third window to allow coffee farmers sell their commodity at premium prices.

[MediaGlobal]The United Nations Economic Commission of Africa (UNECA) and African Union (AU) recently launched the "Economic Report on Africa 2013: Making the most of Africa's Commodities," written by Carlos Lopes, UN under-secretary-general and executive secretary of UNECA, and Nkosazana Clarice Dlamini-Zuma, Commission Chairperson of the AU.

[Namibian]THE demand for air transport shows a steady increase over the past years, with passenger numbers and freight traffic growing by 45 percent and 80 percent respectively. Forward-looking predictions suggest that over the period 2010-2015, Africa will be the third fastest growing region in the world in terms of international traffic with an average growth rate of 6.1 percent compared to the global average of 5.8 percent.

[Times of Zambia]GOVERNMENT has challenged the Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) to collaborate with Information Communication Technology (ICT) stakeholders to find solutions to the increased road carnage.

[Times of Zambia]THE Zambia Institute of Chartered Accountants (ZICA) says it will continue to offer high quality education in accountancy for the industry to have high-calibre professionals needed for national development.

[Namibian]NAMIBIA was ranked among the bottom 30 countries worldwide in over 20 dimensions on the Global Competitiveness Index although it scored high when compared to the top 30 countries.

[Daily Trust]Lagos -Group Managing Director of Diamond Bank, Alex Otti has won the USAfrica best of Africa 1st International Banker of the Year 2013 award.

[Daily Trust]Award-winning artist, D'banj, has been appointed as the face of the Bank of Industry (BOI).

[Daily Trust]Nigeria's FBN Holdings Plc aims to grow loans 10 percent this year for its banking unit, down from 23 percent growth in 2012, as it tries to balance its capital needs with creating risk assets, the head of the banking unit said on Friday.

[New Vision]The Government has ruled out the possibility of dropping the taxes it has proposed in the forthcoming 2013/2014 budget.

[New Vision]The Government has asked investors to stop branding the agricultural sector as a risky area to invest in.