Madagascar Development

The Office des Mines Nationales et des Industries Strategiques in Madagascar (OMNIS) announced today the opening of a new License Round over the Morondava Basin, offshore west Madagascar. In anticipation of the License Round, a new seismic survey of 10,300 kilometers is being acquired by TGS-NOPEC. Seminars will be held in London and Houston during Q1 of 2006 to present the bid round and the acquired geophysical data to the industry. OMNIS has scheduled the closing date for applications to be September 25, 2006 and it is anticipated that licenses will be granted soon thereafter. Companies will be required to purchase 25% of available seismic data in order to participate in the License Round. Contacts OMNIS, Antananarivo Elise Razaka, +261 (20) 22 244 39 Fax: +261 (20) 22 229 85

Amnesty International welcomes the entry into force of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (the Protocol) as an important step in the efforts to ensure the promotion and respect of the human rights of women in Africa. On 26 October 2005, Togo became the fifteenth state to ratify the Protocol. As a consequence, the Protocol will enter into force on 25 November 2005, 30 days after the deposit of the fifteenth instrument of ratification. The Protocol fills a major gap in the regional human rights system by providing a comprehensive framework for the promotion and protection of women’s human rights. The Protocol recognizes and guarantees a wide range of women’s civil and political rights as well as economic, social and cultural rights. These rights include the right to life, integrity and security of person; protection from harmful traditional practices; prohibition of discrimination; and the protection of women in armed conflic

Amid the turmoil swirling around the administration of President George W. Bush, there is one positive Bush legacy Democrats ought to recognize: the increase in bipartisan support for U.S. aid to fight AIDS and global poverty. For most of the 1990s, the Republican leadership was either cool to foreign assistance or bent on cutting it. After seizing control of Congress in 1994, the Republican majority won a 10 percent reduction in foreign aid. During this period, Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jesse Helms referred to aid as ``money down a rat hole,'' while as late as 2000, former House Majority leader Tom DeLay accused Democrats who voted for aid of ``putting Ghana over Grandma?'' The year 2000 was a turning point. The Reverend Pat Robertson and Republican members of Congress such as Spencer Bachus and John Kasich -- buoyed by the multi-denominational ``Jubilee 2000'' grassroots movement dedicated to canceling the debt of developing nations -- joined with P

The SADC Secretariat will take all the necessary steps to help Madagascar integrate into the organisations programmes and activities. Addressing a media conference at the end of his visit to Madagascar, the new SADC executive secretary, Tomaz Salomao said Madagascar should exploit the existing benefits under the SADC programme of action. The technical team led by the executive secretary was in the country from October 12-14 to assist Madagascar with critical information regarding accession to protocols, the role and functions of the SADC national committee and internalisation of Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan. Salomao acknowledged that there is need to strengthen capacity at member states level in order to effectively implement regional programmes and activities. Opportunities for Madagascar in SADC include an attractive regional market of 216 million people and a regional GDP of approximately US$230 billion, creating opportunities for investment, economic growth and de

World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations are aimed at creating market access opportunities and reform in agriculture and expanding opportunities for manufactured goods and services, according to the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR). There are four major areas of focus within the negotiations, formally called the Doha Development Agenda, that can deliver market access opportunities, according to a USTR policy brief released October 18: agriculture, nonagricultural goods, services and trade facilitation (issues such as customs reforms). WTO negotiators are preparing for a crucial December WTO ministers' meeting in Hong Kong that aims to make possible a successful conclusion of the Doha round a year later. (See related article.) The World Bank, according to the policy brief, has reported that per capita real income grew almost three times faster for developing countries that lowered trade barriers (5.0 percent per year) than for developing countries that did

Press freedom shrank more in Madagascar last year than in many other countries, according to an international media survey. The country is ranked 109th by the Western watchdog Reporters Without Borders among 167 countries in giving the freedom to journalists and media houses. Last year, it was rated 82nd. The Paris-based body gives no explanation for the drop in Madagascar's standing, saying only that "unjust laws and repressive governments held back some countries where there is genuine news diversity." It places Madagascar in a group that includes Kenya, Guinea, Chad, Mauritania and Ethiopia. A few African countries are among the top performers. Benin, in 25th place, is top-ranked in black Africa, followed by South Africa (32nd), Mauritius (35th), Mali (37th) and Mozambique (49th). Tanzania ranks 75th and Uganda 80th. The 10 countries said to have the greatest press freedom improvement are all European, led by Denmark, Finland and Iceland. Reporters Without Frontiers s

Organization: United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Location: Antananarivo, Madagascar Last summer, I worked at the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Country Office in Antananarivo, Madagascar. I worked for the Growing Sustainable Business (GSB) Initiative, a program designed to identify and facilitate enterprise solutions to poverty. My task was to identify pro-poor private sector investment opportunities in ecotourism, sapphire and gold mining, and agriculture/food processing. To do this, I interviewed donors, government officials, entrepreneurs, private investors, economic sections of embassies, chambers of commerce and non-governmental organizations. Located off the eastern coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean, Madagascar is the world's fourth largest island. Currently, Madagascar has a population of 18 million, and an annual GDP per capita of approx. $800 (US). About 50% of the population live in poverty, although depending on the definition of poverty and the metri

Global Telecommunication System (GTS) of 13 Indian Ocean countries, including Bangladesh, will be upgraded so that they can receive data and timely cautions during any natural disaster like tsunami and earthquake, reports BDNWEWS. The UN Meteorological agency World Meteorological Organisation is holding an expert meeting in Geneva to finalise the plan for upgrading the communications in some vulnerable countries where five minutes can make difference between life and mass deaths. "The improvements are crucial for the Early Warning System (EWS), enabling national meteorological services in countries, and their governments, to exchange observations, bulletins and warnings in a timely and efficient fashion," said a statement of the meeting. The WMO said these nations need vital equipment and appropriate links to GTS telecommunications hubs so that they can receive crucial data and issue timely warnings to their authorities. A total of $1.0 million assistance is required for rapi

Philippine port operator International Container Terminal Services Inc. took over the management of Madagascar's international port on Monday, a government official said. Manila-based ICTSI won the contract to manage the eastern port of Toamasina in May, beating a subsidiary of conglomerate Hutchinson Whampoa Ltd. , a unit of Danish shipping company AP Moeller-Maersk and port operator Malta Freeport Terminals Ltd. Bringing in a private operator for the port's container terminal is a key part of Madagascar's effort to become a bigger player in the shipping business, making use of its strategic location between Asia and Africa. The Indian Ocean island conducts 80 percent of its foreign trade by sea. "International Terminal Container Service has carried off the tender for the management of the container centre of the port", port director Pierrot Botozaza told journalists late on Monday. "From Monday, (it is) totally in charge." Botozaza said the agreement w

India continues to languish at the half-way point on the international index of corruption, even as corruption grew in rich countries as well as poorer ones, the world's most authoritative anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International (TI) has said, just weeks before the recently ratified United Nations Convention against Corruption comes into force. Of 159 countries surveyed, India secured a lowly spot at number 88 of the most corrupt places on the planet, along with unlikely companion countries such as Gabon, Mali, Moldova, Tanzania and Iran. In the process, India narrowly missed the marginally higher place secured by the apparently less corrupt Dominican Republic, Mongolia, Romania, Armenia, Benin, Bosnia and Herzegovina. But India was officially anointed as much better on the corruption league table than Algeria, Argentina, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Serbia and Montenegro, all of which are one point lower. India's ranking, which is just below the three-point mark

Salomão who was on a working visit to Madagascar from October 12-14, said the secretariat would take the necessary steps to assist Madagascar integrate smoothly into the organisation’s programmes and activities. The visit was also to help Madagascar with information regarding accession/ ratification to Protocols; the role and functions of the SADC National Committee and internalisation of the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan. Salomão who addressed a media conference at the end of his visit acknowledged that there is need to strengthen capacity at the member states level including Madagascar in order to effectively implement regional programmes and activities. During the visit, he and his team had an opportunity to interact with the private sector, which expressed great interest in and its readiness to tapping into the regional market as soon as Madagascar accedes to the SADC Trade Protocol and other key legal instruments. He said Madagascar stands to benefit from the regi

The International Organisation of the Francophonie (OIF) has scheduled a ministerial conference for 22- 23 November in Antananarivo, Madagascar to discuss proposals for reform in the organisation, reliable sources disclosed here Monday. Representatives of the 53 Heads of State and Government of the organisation had approved the project, prepared by the Organisation`s Secretary-General, Abdou Diouf, the sources said. But those representatives who met on 12 October in Paris as part of the Permanent Council of the Francophonie (CPF) made some recommendations to fine tone the reform project. The reform is expected to facilitate "greater harmony" between the OIF and the inter-governmental Agency of the Francophonie (AIF), the sources said. It is also expected to ensure more efficiency and greater complementarity between the various operators of the Francophonie. The last summit of the Francophonie, held in November 2004 in Burkina Faso, mandated to the Secretary-General to initiat

Aminex, with partner Mocoh Resources Ltd., has been awarded the rights to Block 3108, known as Manja, onshore the west coast of Madagascar and covering an area of 10,725 square kilometers, (approximately 2.6 million acres). The rights to this block are held through a Production Sharing Agreement between OMNIS, the Madagascar state oil and mining organisation and Amicoh Resources Limited, a newly formed company, in which Aminex and Mocoh each holds an equal number of shares and through which the shareholders will fund exploration activity in equal proportions. Mocoh is an active downstream African petroleum group with existing assets and distribution operations in a number of countries including Madagascar. Several wells have been drilled in the past on Manja, some of which found significant shows of oil and gas without benefit of modern seismic and other exploration tools available today. The geology is analogous to the East Coast of Tanzania where Aminex is already a well-established

iSEEradio, a Continental Vista interactive broadcasting network, officially launched at the recent NAB Radio Show. iSEEradio, a one-stop solution for cutting-edge radio, broadcasts audio and video over the Internet, adding an exciting visual dimension to radio. Using iSEEradio's interactive media player, radio stations monetize their content, maximize advertising and e-commerce revenue, and strengthen audience loyalty. Interactive ads run continuously in the player without ever diverting the audience away from broadcasts. This enables viewers to make purchases directly through the player while they watch, and allows advertisers to create a one-to-one relationship with viewers and reach targeted audiences. Clear Channel's 94.5 FM The Buzz in Houston has already begun to see the benefits of this technology by broadcasting the Anheuser-Busch-sponsored Bud Light Peep Show, featuring the popular Rod Ryan Morning Show. The Bud Light Peep Show and Buzzfest, a semiannual music festival

Global 2005-06 rice production is lowered 0.9 million metric tons (MT) to 404.71 million, with China, Brazil, United States, and Vietnam accounting for most of the decline, according to the USDA's World Agricultural Outlook Board. In contrast, 2005-06 production forecasts for India, Cuba, Madagascar, and Egypt are raised. Ending stocks are lowered 1.3 million MT to 64.3 million MT, 8.9 million MT below 2004-05 and the smallest since 1982-83. China accounts for most of this month's reduction in 2005-06 global ending stocks. Global consumption was raised fractionally. U.S. rice production in 2005-06 is forecast at 223.2 million cwt (100 pound units), 5.1 million cwt below last month but still the second largest on record. Harvested area remains projected at 3.34 million acres, up less than 1% from a year earlier. Subscription Needed: $185.00/year

Jubilee Platinum is one of those companies which are difficult to pin down. Its shares have been on a run of late, but it is not clear whether this is due to reassessments of the Tjate PGM project on the eastern limb of the Bushveld, or to exploration at the Londokomanana concession in Madagascar which seems to grow larger with every hole that is drilled. In fact CEO Colin Bird, at lunch last week, suggested that it would not be long before Jubilee could claim the discovery of a whole new mining district in Madagascar. When we wrote about the company a year ago it had just acquired a 49.9 per cent interest in New Platinum Corporation, which in turn owns 50 per cent of Tjate Platinum Corporation, for £2.495 million following a placing by Numis Securities. Tjate holds the rights to prospect for all precious and base metals on a number of farms on the eastern limb and the deal consolidated the relationship between Jubilee and New Africa Mining which is a contributor rather than

After nearly four decades of self-imposed isolation, in the past couple of years theisland Republic of Madagascar has been reopening itself to the outside world and to foreign investment. And international mining com-panies, spearheaded by juniors, are already active in the country. A World Bank project report (No PID10746) states that “Madagascar is very rich in minerals and precious stones”. Writing in the US Geological Survey Minerals Yearbook 2003 (which was published during 2004), US geologist Thomas R Yager noted that Madagscar’s “miningindustry has been chiefly noted for the production and export of chemical- and metallurgical-gradechromite ore, high-quality crystalline flake graphite and mica”. “In addition to these minerals,small quantities of beryllium, gold, rare-earth minerals and such industrial-mineral commodities ascement, feldspar, ornamental stones, precious and semiprecious gemstones, quartz, and salt have been produced. “Madagascar is also known to have resources of

Jubilee Platinum yesterday announced the results of its second borehole LAV2A, drilled on the Lavatrafo property (Londokomanana Project) in Madagascar. The Lavatrafo deposit is the southern unit of two currently disparate nickel-copper-platinum-palladium deposits that fall within the Londokomanana concession held by Mineral Resources of Madagascar Sarl, Jubilee's 85%-owned subsidiary. This borehole was stepped out 150 m southeast of borehole LAV1. The Londokomanana project is located approximately 150 km north of the Madagascan capital Antananarivo. Highlights include: a multi-metal intersection in the second borehole, which confirms continuity along strike of formation and a 75-m true width of mineralisation, which lends itself to low cost bulk mining. The mineralisation is also consistent with that identified in borehole LAV1 - as reported on last month. The continuity of the formation, its strike direction and the lithology of the host and contact rocks generally correlate well

Madagascar last Tuesday ratified the constitution of the African Union. Madam Rahajarizafy Lanto, Chief of Service for Africa and Asia and the Presidents’ Special Envoy handed over the Instrument of Ratification to the Interim Commissioner, Ambassador Daniel Antonio. The Republic of Madagascar is the 52nd member state of the African Union to ratify the constitutive act.

TGS-NOPEC Geophysical Company (TGS) announced today the start of a new seismic survey in the Morondava Basin, offshore west Madagascar. TGS' program consists of approximately 10,300 kilometers of multi-client 2D seismic data covering the Morondava Basin and French waters of the Mozambique Channel and is designed to expand the Company's 2,158-kilometer 2001 vintage survey into deeper basins across the entire region. The survey is well funded by industry and will be available early in the 2nd quarter 2006. A bid round is planned in the Madagascan portion of the survey area for next year. Details of the bid round will be announced from The Office des Mines Nationales et des Industries Strategiques in Madagascar (OMNIS) and closing of the bid round is expected in the 3rd quarter 2006. TGS-NOPEC Geophysical Company (TGS) is a leading global provider of multi-client geoscientific data, associated products and services to the oil and gas industry. TGS specializes in the creation of no

With most of the oil and gas discoveries being made in Africa and Central Asia in the last five years, energy-hungry India is keenly networking at the ongoing World Petroleum Congress to seek greater collaboration with these countries in the hydrocarbon sector. "Africa presents a huge opportunity for us as it is estimated to hold over nine per cent of the world's reserves, most of which are still undiscovered. We want to participate more in Nigeria, Angola and some of the other West African countries," a senior Petroleum Ministry official of the Indian delegation said. On offer are new exploration projects in a number of countries like South Africa, Namibia, Sudan and Madagascar that are keen to increase their output while Mozambique and Tanzania have emerged as first time gas producers. According to a new publication 'African Oil and Gas: The New Horizon' released by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) at the conference, "Africa yields the highest return on investm

On June 1, 2005, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded the Article IV consultation with the Republic of Madagascar.1 Background Since the mid-1990s, Madagascar has made significant progress in terms of macroeconomic stabilization and structural reform. Political stability has been broadly restored following the disputed 2001 presidential elections and the ensuing political crisis. Since that time, the authorities have taken measures to reestablish investor confidence and private sector growth was reinvigorated. Key structural reforms were implemented, albeit with significant delays, in particular in the area of public enterprise reform and the fight against corruption. However, the economy remains vulnerable to shocks, including cyclones, and policy slippages. Progress in domestic revenue mobilization and in strengthening the budget process also remained modest, reflecting in part the country's limited institutional capacity. Madagascar reached the

The Bush administration is encouraged by the progress the World Bank and other multilateral development banks (MDBs) have made in recent years on improving their effectiveness, Treasury Under Secretary Timothy Adams says. As a result of reforms tied to the 13th and 14th replenishments of World Bank resources in 2002 and 2005, respectively, the bank’s International Development Association (IDA) has become one of the most effective delivery mechanisms for development aid to the world’s poor countries, Adams told a House of Representatives Financial Services subcommittee September 27. Adams cited more focus on measurable results, a significant increase in the grant share of development assistance, the inclusion of a private-sector growth strategy, and improvements in accountability and transparency as major achievements of IDA’s reforms. He said that broad-based support for a comprehensive debt-relief package endorsed by bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) shareholders at their rec