Review and Analysis of Articles on Economic issues in Africa - Annotated Bibliography Example

Economic Issues in Africa: Annotated Bibliography Economic Issues in Africa: Annotated Bibliography South Africa Rowley, E., & Winch,J. (2012, October 14). Troubles in South Africa’s mining sector start to affect the economy - Telegraph. Telegraph.co.uk - Telegraph online, Daily Telegraph, Sunday Telegraph - Telegraph. Retrieved January 31, 2013, from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/commodities/9607801/Troubles-in-South-Africas-mining-sector-start-to-affect-the-economy.html Overview Rowley and Winch in their article named Troubles in South Africa’s mining sector start to affect the economy state that strikes are taking place in the natural resources and mining sector throughout South Africa and due to this South African currency has decreased to a three year low in comparison to US dollar (Rowley, 2012). They further stated that the nation’s credit ratings have been decreased by both S&P and Moody’s rating agencies and this has happened for the first time since the apartheid ended. S&P stated that they have decreased their ratings as a feedback to the strikes and the uncertainty of the political conditions of South Africa. The article further asserts that a huge part of the workforce and in accordance to the findings of the Deutsche Bank, 30% of the total mining workers are at strike. The Bank has even made a calculation of decline in the GDP that is targeted to decline by 2.5% if the strikes continue. The mining industry happens to be the backbone of South Africa and it is a huge producer and exporter of minerals such as palladium and platinum. These strikes pose a very significant issue to the economy of South Africa as the 50% of the exports gained by South Africa are backed by mining industry. These strikes are not only impacting the nation in a negative manner, the effect has been experienced by nations that import minerals from South Africa as an example of Anglo American company has been stated that has experienced reduction in production as a result of these strikes. South Africa’s strikes in the mining sector has increased concerns for people all over the world as these strikes have entered different areas of mining such as coal, gold and metal. Point of Interest The most interesting point of this article is that issues that are caused in one nation do not only impact the nation in a negative manner, they even impact other nations around the globe. For example: in this article the strikes conducted by the South African miners have negatively impacted industries that acquire minerals and commodities from South Africa. If the South African strikes continue to exist, they will not only impact the South African economy, they will impact all economies that are dependent on South African commodities such as gold. If these strikes continue to take place, prices of these commodities will further rise as a result of shortage of supply from the South African markets. Zimbabwe Kelto, A. (2012, May 20). After A Free Fall, Zimbabwe Finds A Bit Of Stability : NPR. NPR : National Public Radio : News & Analysis, World, US, Music & Arts : NPR. Retrieved January 31, 2013, from http://www.npr.org/2012/05/20/153008672/after-a-free-fall-zimbabwe-finds-a-bit-of-stability Overview Kelto wrote an article named “After A Free Fall, Zimbabwe Finds A Bit Of Stability” and stated that during the session of 2008, the nation of Zimbabwe experienced hyperinflation (Kelto, 2012). Due to this several Zimbabweans flocked out of the nations in search of better living opportunities. The article further establishes that after years of downtrend, economy of Zimbabwe started getting better but only proved to be fruitful for a few members of the society. The article cites interviews from different locals of the nation providing insight about the present and the prior conditions of the nation. For example: the article states an interview of a cab driver who believes that conditions in the capital of Zimbabwe have altered significantly as compared to the poor conditions of Zimbabwe when the nation experienced shortage of fuel as well as experienced food insecurity. The article reports that during the period of 2008, the inflation rate experienced by the nation was as high as 79 billion percent and later the nation decided to switch to the currency of US dollars which is expected to be the leading cause of economic turnaround in the economic history of Zimbabwe. The article states that the food issue was a major issue in experienced by the nation, suppliers from foreign nations were not willing to sell and people living in the nation had no food to eat. The article states that there are two reasons that led to the turn around. The article credits the mining industry for being the first reason of turnaround. The export of diamonds and gold conducted by the nation led to the turnaround of the nation and the nation is experiencing growth at a very fast pace. Still the nation has to make a huge turnaround as more than 80 percent of the population is living below the poverty line. Statement of Interest The most interesting part of the entire article is the turnaround that has been experienced by Zimbabwe and the reason for the turnaround which is expected to be growth in the mining sector. Any nation that is developing and seeking to develop has to be dependent on its agricultural products and mining products as these products are obtained in heavy numbers by the developed nations. The point to be noted is that, Zimbabwe had the same commodity and mineral reserves before it experienced hyper inflation. The question is why the government of Zimbabwe did not make use of these resources to assist the economy. Libya Watson, K. (2011, December 11). BBC News - Libyas new battle is getting young people into jobs. BBC - Homepage. Retrieved January 31, 2013, from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16110295 Overview Watson in his article named “Libyas new battle is getting young people into jobs” states that the youth of Libya that participated in yearlong battle (Watson, 2011). Watson starts by citing an example of a young 23 years old male named Abdul Aziz Masood who is still protecting his nation and trying to bring back his nation to stable conditions with a sniper rifle in his arms. The article states that the nation has overcome its dictatorial political issues but is still fighting hard to gain economic stability. The article cites the survey of International Labor Organization stating that 22% of the youth of Libya is experiencing unemployment. Youth of the nation of Libya is the majority of the population and the current economic conditions are such that these individuals are jobless. These individuals have started working as armed men and are carrying weapons and they believe to be helping their nation. The public is quite threatened due to the amount of weaponry that can be seen on every day basis on the streets of Libya. There are certain amounts of young adults who have already given up on arms and ammunition and have gained employment. For example: Adam Mubarit who was studying in the field of medicine and helped as a medical representative during the battle and is now back to school to continue with his education and believes that others like him should even return back to schools. The article further states that the youth has started accepting the change and are dropping down their weapons and are willing to start with their educational journey, but others believe that until a government is in place, nothing can happen. The economy of Libya is heavily dependent on oil reserves and investments are coming inside the nation but still a lot needs to be done to start providing jobs to young adults and the private sector needs to participate. Statement of interest The most interesting part of the article is the mind set of those young adults who believe that they need to continue holding on to arms and ammunition. This is an interesting point because if the economy needs to stabilize, then the young adults of Libya will need to drop their weapons and participate in economic activities and education. If they continue to hold on to weapons, they will not participate in economic activity and production levels will not increase and thus Libya will fail to stabilize and they are wrong in believing that by holding on to weapons they can stabilize the nation. Egypt Farouk, D. (2012, December 27). Egypt tourism shows little recovery in 2012. ahramonline. Retrieved February 1, 2013, from english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/3/12/61366/Business/Economy/Egypt-tourism-shows-little-recovery-in-.aspx Overview Farouk in her article titled “Egypt tourism shows little recovery in 2012” states that the tourism industry of Egypt has experienced a little bit of recovery during the session of 2012, she states that during the period of January to November of 2012,over 10.5 million individuals made a tour to Egypt. This accounts for an increase in the number of visitors by 11.7% as compared to the visitor statistics of 2011. The article further cites an increase in the amount of wealth earned by the nation; she states that during the period of 2012, Egypt experienced an increase of $0.4 billion returns during the period of 2012 as compared to the period of 2011. Still these figures are not as high as the figures of 2010, when the region experienced the best tourism season in its history. The political situation of the nation has been held responsible for this decline. The article further states that the rate of unemployment has even declined to 25% due to bad political conditions. Egypt usually experiences a peak season of tourism during the month of December, but during the December of 2012, tourism has not picked up by much as the number of tourists declined by 40% as compared to the number of tourists of November and the authorities of the tourism industry claim that they are experiencing slowdown in business. Furthermore, different businesses within the tourism industry have even reduced their prices to attract more visitors but due to the violent conditions of 2011, the tourists are being quite careful in visiting Egypt and the tourism industry happens to be the backbone of the nation. The rating agencies such as S&P have decreased their ratings of the nation and they have even decreased rankings of the banks located in Egypt due to high national. Point of Interest The main point that has interested me in this article is that tourism which is a service sector business is the backbone of a nation. I am especially interested in this point as I believe that the service sector of the nation has great potential and it can really assist Egypt in turning around and gaining stabilization. I believe that there are several issues that have negatively impacted the service sector of Egypt and can be handled through good governance and creativity in decision making. Furthermore, the nation is now free from violence and soon stabilization can arise as the service sector will grow in future. Kenya Okoth, J. (2013, January 17). Standard Digital News - Kenya : KPLC in the spotlight as economic conditions improve. Standard Digital News - Kenya : Home, Breaking News, Business, Jobs, Football, Travel, Tourism, Elections, National, Kenya, Nairobi, County, East Africa, Kibaki, Raila . Retrieved February 1, 2013, from http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/?articleID=2000075212&story_title=KPLC-in-the-spotlight-as-economic-conditions-improve Overview Okoth in his article titled “KPLC in the spotlight as economic conditions improve” states that everyone in Kenya are waiting for the utility bills of Kenya which are to be circulated by Kenya Power as consumers are expecting a decrease in utility bills as a result of stabilization of rate of foreign exchange, decrease in inflation rates and decrease in fuel prices. The article further states that the conditions of the economy of Kenya has gained betterment as result of heavy rainfall in different portions of the region and have been helpful in producing power through hydro energy. The cost of fuel in Kenya experienced a decline from Sh5.35/kilowatt hour to as low as Sh4.93 and the country even experienced an increase in foreign adjustment rate. Adjustment in foreign exchange rate seems to be quite astonishing because the Kenyan currency has gained stability against US dollar. The nation even experienced a decrease in the rate of inflation within one year. The last recorded inflation rate of the December of 2012 was 3.2% which is said to be a steep decline from the rate of inflation of the month of November of 2011 which was over 19 percent. There was increase in inflation rate during the period of 2011 as the nation was negatively impacted by cost of fuel which led to an increase in the cost of electric power. The utility bill during the period December of the session of 2011 was a fixed charge of Sh120, where as fuel cost charged was Sh5.35 and the charge for adjustment of forex rate was Sh1.35 and an extra 28 cents were charged for inflation. The consumers of utility are even additionally charged Sh0.03/kilowatt hour in the shape of levy and this charge is used for the electrification program of the rural areas of Kenya. Statement of Interest The point of interest for me in this article I the manner through which consumers are charged for utility consumption, it seems that the consumers are charged in variable manner and utility charges change as a result of changes in inflation rate and forex rate. This method is quite different as compared to the way people are charged in a fixed manner in other nations. The point of interest is the advantages that are received by the consumer of utility in Kenya through this system of utility bills. References Watson, K. (2011, December 11). BBC News - Libyas new battle is getting young people into jobs. BBC - Homepage. Retrieved January 31, 2013, from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16110295 Kelto, A. (2012, May 20). After A Free Fall, Zimbabwe Finds A Bit Of Stability : NPR. NPR : National Public Radio : News & Analysis, World, US, Music & Arts : NPR. Retrieved January 31, 2013, from http://www.npr.org/2012/05/20/153008672/after-a-free-fall-zimbabwe-finds-a-bit-of-stability Rowley, E., & Winch, J. (2012, October 14). Troubles in South Africa’s mining sector start to affect the economy - Telegraph. Telegraph.co.uk - Telegraph online, Daily Telegraph, Sunday Telegraph - Telegraph. Retrieved January 31, 2013, from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/commodities/9607801/Troubles-in-South-Africas-mining-sector-start-to-affect-the-economy.html Farouk, D. (2012, December 27). Egypt tourism shows little recovery in 2012. ahramonline. Retrieved February 1, 2013, from english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/3/12/61366/Business/Economy/Egypt-tourism-shows-little-recovery-in-.aspx Okoth, J. (2013, January 17). Standard Digital News - Kenya : KPLC in the spotlight as economic conditions improve. Standard Digital News - Kenya : Home, Breaking News, Business, Jobs, Football, Travel, Tourism, Elections, National, Kenya, Nairobi, County, East Africa, Kibaki, Raila . Retrieved February 1, 2013, from http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/?articleID=2000075212&story_title=KPLC-in-the-spotlight-as-economic-conditions-improve Read More