April 16, 2013 News

Continue reading for stories including a profile of Ashish J. Thakkar, Africa's youngest billionaire; land grabs in Cameroon; the potential existence and implications of a South African "presidential handbook"; Kenya's role in making East Africa "richer'; CORD's cooperation in recent House petitions; and François Bozizé's demands for an international commission to investigate recent violence in Bangui.

Ashish J. Thakkar: Shaking Africa's business universe
"At 31, Ashish J Thakkar is being touted as Africa's youngest billionaire. His business empire spans the continent. Ironically, his family was expelled without a penny from their home in Uganda by the infamous Idi Amin. But love for the African soil ran deep. Despite a series of mishaps, the Thakkars kept faith in the continent and have now returned, determined to help transform the fortunes of the continent."
To read the full article, visit the African Business Magazine site here

Cameroon: Who Owns the Land? Cameroon's Large-Scale Land-Grabs
"As part of a trend that is accelerating across Africa, thousands of Cameroonians have been displaced from their homelands to make way for large-scale agribusiness projects."
To read the full article, visit the AllAfrica site here

Presidential handbook: Phantom or reality?
"The presidency and the Democratic Alliance (DA) are in the throes of a public tussle over the release of the presidential handbook – which ostensibly provides rules on spending of state resources for the president and his deputy – following news that Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe took state-funded flights to the tune of R1-million for a holiday in the Seychelles late last year."
To read the full article, visit the Mail & Guardian site here

Ten things Kenya's new president can do to make the region richer
"There are many initiatives that could make East Africa rich. Some of them are still on the drawing board, some got off to a start and stalled, a few others have been worked on but have not been completed. President Uhuru Kenyatta comes to office without regional baggage. Therefore, he can more easily help by breathing life into SEVEN of these projects, and THREE new ones…that have potential to make the region a much better place to live and work in."
To read the full article, visit The East African site here

CORD agrees on Houses positions
"CORD senators and legislators lobbied intensely for various seats as alliance sought to name representatives in the two Houses."
To read the full article, visit The Standard – Kenya site here

Centrafrique : Bozizé réclame une enquête internationale sur les violences à Bangui
Former President François Bozizé, overthrew on March 24 by the Seleka coalition, demanded the establishment of an international commission of inquiry on the recent violence in Bangui.
To read the full article, visit the Jeune Afrique site here