The economy skidded to a near halt in the final quarter of last year, clobbered by dual slumps in housing and credit that caused people and businesses to spend and invest more sparingly. Commerce Department reported Thursday that the gross domestic product increased at a scant 0.6 percent pace in the October-to-December quarter. The reading — unchanged from an initial estimate a month ago — underscored just how much momentum the economy has lost. In the prior quarter, the economy clocked in at a brisk 4.9 percent pace. Gross domestic product measures the value of all goods and services produced in the United States and is the best barometer of the country's economic health. "The economy just kept its head above water," said Nigel Gault, economist at Global Insight.
Douala Stock Exchange a clôturé sa séance de cotation du 27 février 2008. Le cours indicatif de l’action SEMC est de 65 961 F CFA, soit un montant identique à celui de la séance précédente. Il n’y a pas eu de titre échangé. Le statut du marché est un marché non coté. La capitalisation boursière du marché des actions, à titre indicatif, reste chiffrée à 3 034 206 000 FCFA.
Our country is witnessing a situation which brings back unpleasant memories of a period we thought was long gone.
While it may be understandable that when negotiations fail, the demands of a group are sometimes expressed through strike action, it is unacceptable that such action should serve as a pretext for outpourings of violence against people and property. Besides, it is now established that any industrial dispute can always be resolved through negotiation.
The People of Cameroon vouched for freedom of expression in politics, economics and business. The libertarian excess with which these have been expressed in social gatherings, from beer parlours to funeral fiestas exhibited the climax of human socioeconomic freedoms in the country. In recent months, building on the foundations of Washington Liberal Consensus policies imparted on the nation by its foreign financial backers, the country made good strides in implementing neoliberal macroeconomic frameworks, and topped the good books of the IMF and World Bank Economists. In recent months and years, Cameroon has been the ideal pupil. However, the events of Monday, 25 February 2008, commencing with a nationwide strike by taxi drivers opposing fuel price increase, and capitilised upon by rebelling citizens who could bear no more the crunch of rising market prices, puts to question the path taken by Cameroon's national managers, and also questions the resilience of the Cameroon citizenry in imbibing policies of wealth creation in a free world. The global price of petrol has in rencent days surpassed the US 100 Dollar mark. From Paris to Chicago, Sidney to Tokyo, consumers have noted increasing costs in filling their shopping baskets. The slidding exchange value of the US Dollar, the openness of the economy, the absence of the culture of entrepreneurship, inadequate infrastructure, dearth of the instincts of wealth creation and an over-reliance on the public sector has not helped matters in a nation heavily dependent on imports and foreign aid to stabilise its budget. The unfolding consequences of biting hardships on the proleteriat and the accompanying revolt were a priori expectations of knowledgeable watchers of the Cameroon economy and sociopolitical landscape. Karl Marx must be rejoicing in his grave!
In the 1980s, the orthodoxy admonished ‘the rolling back’ of the state and giving free reins to supposedly ‘free market forces and civil society’. The state was to be cut off almost completely from the economy and all its facets were to be ‘streamlined and disciplined’ to make it functional. However, although there was a substantial restructuring of state institutions, this did not necessarily translate into appreciable growth. Indeed, some of the adverse consequences of that ‘restructuring’ included diminished access to key social services such as education, and health which are central to human development.
Managing school dropouts in Cameroon is often seen as the business of vocational trainers. However, Reverend Father George Nkeze, the Education Secretary for the Roman Catholic Mission in the Buea Dioceses, has redefined the role of vocational training in contemporary Cameroon. "Many Cameroonians still need to be sensitized about vocational training", he said in his most recent public outing. In his view, vocational training is increasingly associated to Africa's age-old rudimentary apprenticeship, limiting its true identity of creativity.
African economies are likely to withstand the impact of a looming global recession because they are now able to withstand external shocks better than in the past, an International Monetary Fund survey has found. The survey confirms sentiments expressed during an Africa investment conference at the London Stock Exchange last week that concluded the continent was set for higher fuelled by rising commodity prices.
Kenya’s construction sector faces further cost increases as building material manufacturers prepare to revise their prices from next week. Paints and corrugated sheet makers have seen their expenses rise sharply and are warning consumers to brace for another round of price adjustments as they pass on the extra costs to buyers. Besides the increase in input costs, the dealers also cite a rise in their import bill following the weakening of the Kenya shilling against major world currencies, which means they are paying more for the same consignment of goods bought last year.
Armed soldiers and police patrolled Cameroon's commercial capital Douala on Tuesday after protests against rising fuel and food prices sparked rioting that killed at least four people. Burned-out trucks blocked access to the city's harbour, disrupting activity at one of the main ports on Africa's west coast, which links central Africa's biggest economy with the outside world and serves as a trade lifeline to nearby states. Protests over rising fuel and living costs turned violent on Monday when youths looted shops, barricaded streets and clashed with riot police in the city, a hotbed of opposition to a bid by President Paul Biya to prolong his 25-year rule.
Le Rwanda révise actuellement son progrès dans la mise en œuvre du Programmeintégré pour le développement de l' agriculture en Afrique compact (PIDAA) du NEPAD signé en mars 2007. Selon le Ministre de l’Agriculture du Rwanda, Anastase Murekezi, on espère augmenter la croissance agricole de six pourcent et d’allouer dix pourcent du budget national au secteur suite à une évaluation nationale.
The economy skidded to a near halt in the final quarter of last year, clobbered by dual slumps in housing and credit that caused people and businesses to spend and invest more sparingly. Commerce Department reported Thursday that the gross domestic product increased at a scant 0.6 percent pace in the October-to-December quarter. The reading — unchanged from an initial estimate a month ago — underscored just how much momentum the economy has lost. In the prior quarter, the economy clocked in at a brisk 4.9 percent pace. Gross domestic product measures the value of all goods and services produced in the United States and is the best barometer of the country's economic health. "The economy just kept its head above water," said Nigel Gault, economist at Global Insight.
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