IMF Archives - TalkAfrique

May 24, 2011May 24, 2011

Dominique Strauss-Kahn Friends Trying To Pay Off Accuser’s Family In Africa

With friends like these, maybe sexual assault allegation can disappear! The Post reports that the friends of former IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn are contacting the overseas relatives of his accuser, “offering them money to make the case go away since they can’t reach her in protective custody… The woman, who says she was sexually assaulted by the disgraced former head of the International Monetary Fund, has an extended family in the former French colony of Guinea in West Africa.” A French businesswoman who knows Strauss-Kahn and his family says the friends “already talked with her family. For sure, it’s going to end up on a quiet note.”

Strauss-Kahn is accused of forcing the maid to perform oral sex on him in his Sofitel hotel suite on May 14. While the Manhattan DA’s office has apparently warned the accuser’s family not to accept calls from his connections, Cyrus Vance’s reach only goes so far. The source continued, “He’ll get out of it and will fly back to France. He won’t spend time in jail. The woman will get a lot of money”—possibly a seven-figure payout.

Fox News reported on the alleged exchange between the 32-year-old maid and Strauss-Kahn, which—allegedly—included him grabbing her breasts and bloody sheets:

The 32-year-old African immigrant repeatedly told her alleged attacker, “Please, please stop. No!” The sources said she had no idea who was staying in the $3,000-a-night junior presidential suite until after the alleged attack, which lasted approximately thirty minutes…The maid said she tried a variety of tactics to get herself out of the room and away from Strauss-Kahn. She said, “my manager is in the hallway,” which he wasn’t — but the former IMF chief wasn’t scared off. The single mother allegedly told the Frenchman that the job was important to her and any conflict with a hotel guest would result in her losing her job.

“Please stop. I need my job, I can’t lose my job, don’t do this. I will lose my job. Please, please stop! Please stop!” she told Strauss-Kahn, according to law enforcement sources.

Strauss-Kahn allegedly responded: “No, baby. Don’t worry, you’re not going to lose your job. Please, baby, don’t worry,” Strauss-Kahn responded, according to investigators. “Don’t you know who I am? Don’t you know who I am?”

Strauss-Kahn’s DNA was allegedly found on the maid’s clothing. His defense has suggested the encounter was consensual.

Strauss-Kahn, a leading French politician whose libido was apparently legendary in France, has been indicted on numerous charges and is out on $6 million ($1 million cash, $5 million bond) bail. He’s living at 71 Broadway, which has turned into a media circus, while his very wealthy wife is looking for other housing. But real estate brokers tell the Post that no one wants to work with him. At any rate, Strauss-Kahn has proclaimed his innocence.

May 11, 2011

The Role of the Informal Sector in African Economy

The informal sector of the economy often refers to the unregulated and mostly unregistered sector of the economy, put simply it refers to the numerous petty or small scale businesses operated by artisans, peasants and other micro entrepreneurs, within the economy.

Experts have argued that in most African economies, the informal sector is often the driving force of the economy and that as a matter of fact it is opined that the reason why most Western originated economic recovery prescriptions channeled through the World Bank, IMF and so on to Africa have often failed is because of the inability of such prescriptions to take the informal sector in most of these African economies into consideration.

The prominence of the informal sector in most African economies cannot really be underemphasized as almost all persons who cannot find placements within the formal sector of the economy finds solace in the informal sector of the economy. In as much as the informal sector, drives most African economies, it is a very much neglected sector as it seldom accounts for a pride of place in government planning for the overall economy. This may be due to a myriad of factors such as the unregistered and unregulated nature of most businesses in the informal sector, poor work ethics of most micro entrepreneurs, which often leads to mismanagement of such businesses, tax evasion and illiteracy on the part of most operators in the informal sector.

Giving the role of the informal sector, in the economies of most African nations, governments in African countries should begin to take more than a simple look at the informal sector with a view of enacting policies that will synergize the informal and formal sectors in order to unleash the vast potentials of the African economy since activities in both sectors of the economy are not mutually exclusive. A massive drive to register and have a data base of all businesses in the informal sector can also be carried out to ascertain the number and needs of the operators in the informal sector.

March 3, 2011December 22, 2012

Business in Africa: It’s Boom Time if You Can Dance

There is much more happening in Africa than what you see on TV. There is a reason the world’s big businesses are paying closer attention to the continent known for its challenges like poverty, disease, gang rape and high maternal and infant mortality. Some of the portrayals are real.

Last week, former President of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo said ‘

“The lack of a dependable electricity supply hampers production, the absence of good roads slows transport, and insufficient access to modern technology limits industrialization and integration into the global marketplace. The resultant inefficiencies make Africa the most difficult and expensive place in which to do business; they also slow economic growth and frustrate general development”

President Obasanjo was 100% right is the statement he made but he was yet very optimistic about the prospects for the continent, a fact that is often clouded by the pessimism. Similarly, Mr. Kofi Annan in a speech delivered at the Exeter College on February 13 portrayed a similar sentiment: hope and excitement in the years ahead for the continent of Africa. Reports from several international bodies and financial institutions point to a continent experiencing an economic boom that is creating numerous opportunities not just for the African people, but for investors and business owners all over the world.

As Kofi Annan pointed out in his speech, the country with the world’s most sustained and strongest economic growth over the last four decades is in Africa; it is Botswana. In fact, the IMF assessment establishes that the African continent will have as many as seven of the ten fastest-growing economies in the world over the next decade. The McKinsey report estimates that by 2030, the continent’s top 18 cities will have a combined spending power of $1.3 trillion. These are the reasons why multinational corporations can no longer afford to ignore the continent.

I still believe that Africa faces numerous challenges but those who have the eyes to see beyond these challenges are taking the lead and, by the time some of us wake up, the lead may be too big to catch up.

Last week I had conversation with a friend about business opportunities in our home countries. In the 45 minutes discussion I had with the friend, I can recollect that not less than 30 minutes were spent on listing the impossible. We might be right, but that is exactly what entrepreneurship is about. An entrepreneur is “one who undertakes innovations, finance and business acumen, amidst risks and challenges, in an effort to transform innovations into economic goods”.

I would like to end with laudable example of what people like you and I have embarked upon to change their lives and change their societies. A group of African traditional dancers in Botswana met and decided to form an alliance to preserve and promote the rich and historic culture of Botswana traditional dance and music. The group, MatsosaNgwao Tradition Dancers, has being performing live music shows in the region over the past three years to promote this African cultural heritage. The MatsosaNgwao Tradition Dance group was the typical neighborhood dance group, unknown and not recognized beyond their physical location. But the group’s efforts did not go unnoticed. The Department of Culture and Youth invited them on a trip to Mumbai, India, for a cultural exchange event in 2009. It was then that the youngsters realized how far their talents could take them. Today, the group is hot. The waiting list for appointment is long. To have them say “yes” is a lifelong accomplishment

What is fascinating about the MatsosaNgwao Tradition Dancers is their impetus; it was simply to help their community preserve its cultural and historic heritage. Money and fame are the bye-products.

Many communities in Sub-Saharan Africa are endowed with functional African music accompanying work, childbirth, marriage, hunting and political activities most of which are normally associated with a particular dance. Similarly, other regions of the African continent have distinct musical and dance traditions that have not yet been exploited economically. MatsosaNgwao Tradition Dancers have shown that these are untapped gold mine in today’s world.

Out of school and thinking of what the government can do? Look at how the MatsosaNgwao Tradition Dancers did it. Opportunites abound in all areas.

If you are an investor seeking to grow your business globally or an ordinary person seeking opportunities, keep Africa on top of mind. It is still early enough to bring your ideas to the table and join the competition.

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