FDIs into Africa projected to hit $80 billion this year

Gold Fields Ghana, the country's largest gold producer with mines in Tarkwa and Damang in the Western Region, was presented with a platinum award at the 10th Anniversary of the Ghana-Africa Business Awards, organized under the auspices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration.

The Awards recognize the contributions businesses make towards Ghana's development through the promotion of trade, investment, and other economic relations between Ghana and sister African countries.

The company was honoured for its investment promotion in the mining sector, having spent over US$2.4 billion in direct investments since it started operations. This is apart from the over US$26 million that the company has spent on the socio-economic development of its stakeholder communities.

Gold Fields Ghana's award was received by the Executive Vice President and Head of West Africa, Mr. Alfred Baku Mr. Baku said, 'even in such a tough economic and fiscal environment, the company is still pumping over US$180 million this year into its operations in both Tarkwa and Damang.

In 2013, we paid almost US$218 million in taxes and royalties to the government of Ghana.

We continue to honour our legal obligations to government, and social commitment to our stakeholder communities.'

Gold Fields Ghana established a Foundation in 2004, the first to be set up by a mining company in Ghana, to serve as a vehicle for its social investment in stakeholder communities, focusing mainly on education, agriculture, health, water and sanitation, and infrastructure. For every ounce of gold produced, Gold Fields Ghana donates a dollar to the Foundation, and tops it up with an additional 0.5% of the company's pre-tax profit.

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Kenya tourism now in recovery mode

The Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) is clearly wasting no time to take the battle for market recovery and to lure more tourists from the world, by courting existing, new, and emerging markets, as KTB recently announced the dates for their Magical Kenya Travel Expo.

The Kenyatta International Convention Centre will once again be the venue for Kenya’s premier international tourism fair, allowing the showcasing of all of the country’s varied attractions, from the sun-drenched beaches of the Indian Ocean to the shores of Lake Victoria, from Tsavo and Amboseli to Lake Turkana, and from Mt. Kenya to the Masai Mara and everywhere in between, including the UNESCO World Heritage sites in the Great African Rift Valley; lakes Elementaita, Naivasha, Nakuru, Bogoria, and Baringo; and the conservancies on the Laikipia plains and beyond which are at the forefront of private wildlife conservation.

The dates for the 2014 event were announced as October 8 to 10 inclusive, and this year, some 150 top-rated buyers from the key markets supporting Kenya’s tourism industry will be invited and hosted by the Kenya Tourism Board, to showcase the country as fundamentally safe for visitors and ready to provide that once-in-alifetime holiday.

Also invited will be selected international media houses, travel magazines, and travel publications to send their correspondents to get a feel for Destination Kenya and meet some, if not all, of the 120 exhibitors who are expected to sign up for the event, interact with exhibition visitors, and, of course, the buyers who are expected to sign major contracts for safaris and beach holidays with their Kenyan counterparts.

Partner countries Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi, will be standing by Kenya to offer their support for the event, and other tourism boards are expected to exhibit once again from the Seychelles, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and India, which drew large crowds last year. Additional African tourism boards are also expected to come to Nairobi, both as a sign of solidarity with their Kenyan colleagues and as an opportunity to showcase multi-center safari vacations.

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Boxer Cyiza wins bronze for Rwanda

Promising youngster Jean Pierre Cyiza has won Rwanda’s first bronze medal at the ongoing 2014 Africa Youth Games in Botswana.

Cyiza clinched bronze after failing to qualify to the finals as he lost to South Africa’s Fuzile Azinga 2-1 in the semifinals at Botho University.

The Inkuba club-based boxer had inexperience to blame as he lost the first round 9-10. He bounced back to win the second round 10-9 before losing the final round 9-10.

In boxing, all losing semifinalists are awarded bronze medals unlike in some sports disciplines where they first have to battle for a third-place win.

“We are happy for the bronze medal position. Cyiza has been in good shape and this achievement is due to hard work and commitment,” head Coach Gashugi Kananura told Times Sport after the match.

Kananura described Cyiza as a promising boxer adding that, he would have won a gold medal if he had engaged in international warm-up matches before coming to Botswana.

“It’s just lack of experience that denied him passage to the finals,” Kananura added. Gashugi said that Cyiza’s opponent has more exposure and experience in international competitions.

When asked about his performance, Cyiza said, “My mission was to win gold but a single mistake cost me reaching the final. I am happy for the medal won and I will continue to work even harder if given any other opportunity to represent my country again. ”

En route to the semifinal, Cyiza got a bye from the first round into the quarters. In the quarter final, he beat Mnell Mkambule from Swaziland.

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Constantine is fourth highest earning Amavubi head coach

Newly appointed Amavubi Stars head coach Stephen Constantine is fourth on the list of the highest paid Rwanda national team coaches with a monthly salary of $11,000 (about Rwf 7.6m), Times Sport has established.

The Englishman is behind Ghanaian Sellas Tetteh, who was receiving $20, 000 (about Rwf13.8m) between 2010 and 2011 same as Serbian Branko Tucak (2008-2009) and Milutin ‘Micho’ Sredojevic, who was picking $16, 000 (approx. Rwf11m) per month from 2011- 2013.

Amavubi Stars most immediate former coach Eric Nshimiyimana was getting Rwf4 million from March 2013 until this month when he was replaced by Constantine.

On top of the monthly salary and other benefits, Constantine, 51 will be receiving $2000 (about Rwf1.4m) for every international match he wins including World Cup qualifiers, Africa Nations Cup qualifiers as well as Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup. He signed a two-year contract until May 2016.

The former coach of Malawi, Sudan, India and Cyprus will earn $1000 (About Rwf0.69m) for each warm-up game he wins in addition to a personal car to facilitate his movements.

Constantine, who began his work last week, will make his debut in the Amavubi dugout this weekend when Rwanda host Libya in the first round return leg of the 2015 Africa Nations Cup qualifiers.

The first leg ended in a goalless draw last weekend in the Tunisian capital Tunis.

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Eleven runners for 2014 Commonwealth Games

Rwanda Athletics Federation has selected eleven athletes in different categories to represent the country at the 20th Commonwealth Games scheduled for July 23 to August 3 in Glasgow, Scotland.

Sprint runners will not be represented on the team because none of them managed to attain the minimum required times, according to the federation technical director, Jean Pierre Ndacyayisenga.

“The eleven selected runners have already started individual preparations and training from different places and we hope they will represent the country well,” the officials told Times Sport.

He noted that the federation is confident the selected athletes can do a good job in Glasgow.

The Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games are set to attract over 6,500 athletes and officials from 71 nations and territories competing in 17 sports disciplines during the 11-day world class event.

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Ghana music reigned at Ghana meets Naija

The fourth edition of the Ghana Meets Naija concert was held at the Accra International Conference centre with over 10 artists gracing the stage from Nigeria and Ghana.

Tickets were sold out days before the concert explaining the huge attendance at the auditorium which seats 1600 people, yet teeming fans had to be part of the experience from the aisles due to inadequate seats.

The amalgamation of popular music from the two familial nations with so much rivalry opened by Mz Vee and AK Songstress with a splendid dancehall performance reassuring the industry of a bright future for the music genre especially with the involvement of women.

The stage was illuminating with beautiful designs notably a replica of Ghana's Independence Arch with the black star on top.

Double, gave a short performance which ushered in DJ Black, the headline DJ for the night as Nii Ayi Tagoe held the fort at the forecourt of the auditorium concurrently.

The MC for the night, actor Chris Attoh, in the midst of beautiful ladies took charge while dispelling a connotation of competition between the two countries emphasizing the objective of the concert which is for the love of music.

Guru took the stage with a rousing applause and sing-along as he introduced Lil Win who was ushered onto the stage by macho men while performing his part of their popular Azonto Boys song. They rocked the night especially Lil Win who couldn't help it but dance his heart out.

Selebobo from Nigeria opened for the Nigerian acts with his track, Yoyo, getting the crowd off their seats. He finally sang a piece of his new song Selfie which should gain the attention of VVIP.

Wizboyy got the Wizolingo going as the party mood was set. DJ Spin from Nigeria and DJ Solo from Ghana locked horns on the turntables as the crowd got a taste of both nations.

The mood was charged when Edem surprisingly joined the bill and performed his new song Koene after Castro had taken over the stage with his songs from the past to present.

The 'Limpopo' man, Kcee took his turn creating a rapport with the audience gaining a positive response. He worked the crowd to a dance marathon including a short dance competition he organised on stage rewarding the winner $200 in between his performance.

Then came the arguably best rapper in Ghana, Sarkodie who literally added heat to the already warm auditorium as the audience got ecstatic. A lady fan jumped onto the stage, as he performed with Castro, just to touch his feet to which he gave her a hug that almost got her collapsed to the ground in emotions. Sarkodie got emotional but wiped his face and the music continued.

The excitement was so intense during Sarkodie's performance that it got Bola Ray, CEO of organisers, Empire Entertainment, to shower him and his DJ with money during his performance as a display of appreciation.

The concert got to another level of hyper when Sarkodie performed Adonai with Castro. Symbolically, Castro passed a basket around to the audience for offertory as expressed in the song, surprisingly the audience responded to it and dropped money into the basket which was later showered on Sarkodie by a fan.

The final act from Nigeria was Davido who had his song, Aye, sang back-to-back by a seemingly worn-out crowd.

The concert came to an end with the final act, Shatta Wale who was ushered onto the stage with a very formidable security team made up of over a dozen military personnel, private security men in uniforms, personal bodyguards and a huge entourage with four huge dangerous looking guard dogs.

This year's Ghana meets Naija concert organized by Empire Entertainment would go into the history books as one of the best shows ever organized in Ghana.

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Rwanda to Participate in Big Brother Africa 2014

Last year’s winner, Dillish Pearl Mathews from Namibia took home $300,000 (about Rwf207 million) as prize money.

Rwandans will feature in this year’s Big Brother Africa, a reality television show, for the first time since its inception 11 years ago.

Rwanda replaced Angola among the participating countries, joining seasonal participants Botswana, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Each country provides a contestant to live in an isolated House while trying to avoid being evicted by viewers and ultimately winning a cash prize. This will be the nineth edition of the show.

The basis of the show is a group of people, termed as ‘housemates,’ living together in a specially constructed large house. During their time in the House, they are completely isolated from the outside world, meaning they have no access to phones, computers and other such gadgets; the only electronic appliances are for games or for occasional television whose channels are set on default. The contestants are continuously monitored by in-house television cameras as well as personal audio microphones during their stay. Each series lasts 96 days.

At regular intervals, the housemates privately nominate a number of fellow housemates whom they wish evicted from the House.

The housemates with the most nominations are then announced, and the public votes online or via SMS for whom they would like to save.

Last year’s winner, Dillish Pearl Mathews from Namibia took home $300,000 (about Rwf207 million) as prize money. Other than the cash prize, winners and contestants get a chance of joining the entertainment industry in various capacities such as TV presenters, radio hosts among others.

National carrier RwandAir was among the sponsors of the last edition.

Entries are only open to persons over the age of 21, who are citizens of one of the participating countries; must have a valid passport and they have to be fluent in English.

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