BUSINESS | LIFESTYLE | CULTURE | IMMIGRATION | BEAUTY
EMPOWERING DIASPORAS
Are Your Friends the Reason Your Marriage Sucks?
Healthy
Weight Loss and Dieting
Tips
Keke
Palmer
A darker shade
of Cinderella
Can Jealousy Give Your Sex Life a Boost?
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ISSUE NO. 33 | WINTER
UKÂŁ2.50|UGX5000|KSH200|TSH3000|RWF2500
Tips! Stre
ss
Manag ement
Cosby Net Worth Angelique
Kidjo: An African
Spirit is Rising
10 Africa's
Top
:
prosperous countries Ugandan Businessman wins African award in UK
HSGH SGHS
2 | THE PROMOTA
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CONTENT Cover story
66
8 102
15 48 7
12 Angelique Kidjo: An African Spirit is Rising 15 Bill Cosby Net Worth 54 Top 10: Africa's most prosperous countries 72 Keke Palmer-A darker shade of Cinderella 78 Are Your Friends the Reason Your Marriage Sucks? 84 Ugandan Businessman wins African award in London 104 Stress Management 108 Healthy Weight Loss and Dieting Tips 114 Can Jealousy Give Your Sex Life a Boost? Regular
4 Publisher’s Letter 6 Celebrity News: Gossip and news briefs 36 Car Review - Lotus Evora’s Sports Racer Technology and motor review:
26 Top Gadget 22 Rise of the
car-sharing apps poses threat to auto
sector
26 Hottest Gadgets 2015 28 Surface Pro 3 - The Microsoft Surface Pro 3 is the Computer of the Year
29 Most anticipated gadget of 2015 30 Next year's big trend? Anti-Tech: 2015 set to be the
50
year people forsake gadgets and social networks for the simple life
36 Jaguar F-Type Coupe R 46 Deadly Crowd dispersal, Chinese style: Beijing unveils
10
portable microwave ray gun that makes victims feel like their skin is on fire
Fashion:
18 Accessorize Like a Man: It's Time to Step Up Your Accessories Game
60
24 Fashion for her 24 Best of 2014: Lupita Nyong’o’s Red-Carpet Domination 25 The £100 Bargain Hunt! 91 Iconic Invanity Entertainment, Gossip, Book and Art:
12 Angelique Kidjo: An African Spirit is Rising – Let us listen!
23 Poem: My Hair www.thepromota.co.uk
THE PROMOTA | 3
HSGH SGHS
Publisher’s Letter
He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life. Muhammad Ali
The blame game: how we love to play it!
S
o here we are, soon entering a brand New Year, and with it, proclaiming brand new resolutions!
But are our resolutions really that new? I forever encourage our readers to be the best they can be, to aim high, to make a meaningful difference in their lives, and of those around them. But are things really changing that much? And if not, what is it that stops us from creating the life that we really want? I for one know of one major factor that holds us all back in our individual progression, and it is to be a full time participant in the ‘blame game’, for the greater part of the year. I have stopped counting the times I hear people say to me that the reason they do not succeed is because of this or that, their actions or lack thereof, the economy, lack of opportunities, the president, and his ministers. And the list goes on and on! So I suggest to my dear friends to stand in front of a mirror, and to say the person who looks back at them: YOU, and you only, are the reason why your life is the way it is. To blame anyone for anything does two very destructive things; firstly, it transforms us into puppets at the mercy of everyone around us: secondly, it makes cowards of us, even though no one would admit to it, or recognise it.
Chairman and Publisher: Mr. Willy Mutenza Managing Director: Mrs. Miria Kayitesi Chief Editor: Isabelle Gravenstein Features Editor: Donette Kruger
Why puppets? To blame someone else is saying that things are happening to us rather than with our cooperation, effectively making us powerless, with our strings pulled by others who do with us whatever they please! Not a great picture, is it? And we do not like it, so we end up rather angry to be seemingly manipulated, but still we carry on blaming. Let us make the other ones look bad!
And why cowards? Because, shifting the responsibility onto someone else on how our life enfolds is effectively saying ‘I do not want to be responsible for my life. I do not want to look at what I am doing wrong, at the poor quality of my decisions, leading to poor results; I do not want or dare to make the effort to change’.
blame. Not your spouse, not your children, not your employer, the government or the weather! Take complete responsibility for your life, in every aspect of it. You will straight away feel empowered, anger or resentment towards others will vanish, and new ideas or solutions will come your way as you are open and committed to positive changes in your life. Only you can create the life you want! Be committed to it!
It is time to reclaim our true power. And we can do this only by totally desisting from the temptation to be a player in the ‘blame game’! It has never served us to cast any blame on anyone or anything. We must at all times realise that we are the sole directors of our lives, no one else, and that we create our own reality, through the quality of our thoughts, deeds, and actions. So to start 2015 on a really high note, I will suggest to you, dear readers, only one thing: resolve throughout the year to stop blaming altogether. Not even your dearest and nearest should be on the receiving end of your
Fashion Editor: Sophia Mwanauta Africa Operations: William Makumbi Contributing Writers: Isabelle Gravenstein, Ade Daramy, Sophia Mwanauta,
Willy Mutenza Publisher email: info@thepromota.co.uk
+44 7950 285 493
Lloyd Adejubu, Amb. Mumtaz Kassam, Tuan.M. Zameer Careem,Dorothy Mukasa, By Sebidde Kiryowa, Steve Mulindwa, Nancy Nwadire The Promota is published: Under licence from Promota Group Enquiries: T: +(44) 207 237 7317 | M: +(44) 7950 285 493 E: info@thepromota.co.uk | w: www.thepromota.co.uk
Copyright 2015. Reserved by The Promota. Reproduction in whole or in part without prior permission is strictly prohibited. Transparencies and unsolicited manuscripts: are submitted at owner’s risk and, while every care is taken, neither The Promota nor its agents accept liability for loss or damage. Our contributors offer a diversity of opinions; their views are their own and not necessarily shared by The Promota.
4 | THE PROMOTA
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CONTENT
SGHS 40 Mel B finally rid of abusive husband that hasHSGH dragged her down for the last seven years
42
90
The hackers WIN! Sony cancels release of Kim
assassination movie
48 Why Didn’t Camille Dump Bill Cosby? 50 Nigerian kings, the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi, and his four wives on a United Kingdom trip
56 Lake Kariba Fisheries – A looming crisis 67 Chameleone One Man 1 Million Show 87 Super Abundance Grace 88 Recourse for rape? 90 Naomi Campbell Kills It as the Face of Agent Provocateur Feature, opinion, family and politics
12
15 The Creed of Civility 17 The Subtle Change That Will Make Your Relationship Last Longer
17 Queen Latifah uses her money to pay retrenched staff 20 A mind revolution – undoing the BI brainwashing syndrome.
34 Sanctions and collateral damage 41 Daniel Kidega is new EALA Speaker 45 George Stinney, Exonerated 70 Years
After Wrongful
Murder Conviction As a14-Year-Old
72
47 Obama Re-Establishes Relationship with Cuba 60 President Museveni visit to Pope Francis in Rome 62 The future looks bleak for the Kaffirs in Sri Lanka 76 The miracle of womanhood in sisterhood 81 The Trust Factor: To Snoop or Not to Snoop 82 Can the Diaspora Impact on Africa’s Health? 102 England names Reverend Libby Lane as its 1st female bishop
116
Disputed Somaliland’s oil laws heighten stakes in
volatile region Business and Finance
44 Richard Branson: S. Arabia attacking renewable energy with cheaper oil
52 The truths and fictions of the “Africa Rising” story 119 Bridging The Microfinance Gap for Smallholder Farmers
121 Why a new fund is targeting intra-Africa trade Health
91
107
Five Tips for Improving Your Mental and Emotional
Health
115 The Silent Killer: Women and Heart Disease 122 Sea Shells And Robot Teeth: Why Dental Implanst Are The Best Choice For Oral Health www.thepromota.co.uk
THE PROMOTA | 5
Latest interviews, updates and
news from around the world
DID ‘U’ KNOW Tasha Smith Ordered to Pay $50K To Estranged Husband In Divorce The “Why Did I Get Married?” star was ordered to pay Douglas $50,000 in spousal support immediately. Smith, whose net worth is reportedly $1.5 million, was the breadwinner in the marriage, and thus, is the one forced to pay up. The settlement is meant to keep Douglas afloat until a more permanent payment plan is devised.
Stevie Wonder
Welcomes Ninth Child Congratulations are in order for legendary entertainer Stevie Wonder and girlfriend Tomeeka Robyn Bracy. The May-December couple welcomed a baby girl, Nia, on Dec. 17.
Rihanna is the New Creative Director of Puma
Titi Branch, Co-Founder of Miss Jessie’s, Dies
Few people can make urban street-wear as glamorous as Rihanna, so it’s only fitting that she’d take the design helm over at Puma. As the new creative director of Puma, Rihanna will oversee the women’s fitness and training line. She’ll also help to design and customize classic Puma offerings, while creating new designs to keep the brand fresh.
Khloe Kardashian &Lamar Odom: Are They Having Secret Hookups? We already know Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom just can’t stay away from each other, so are the exes hooking up in secret? HollywoodLife.com has that answer for you and more! Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom’s are not yet officially divorced, and given their history, we’re all wondering if Khloe and Lamar could be getting intimate again. HollywoodLife.com has learned EXCLUSIVELY whether or not they are hooking up, and the answer might surprise you.
6 | THE PROMOTA
Titi Branch, one of the co-founders of the successful natural hair care line, Miss Jessie’s, died Dec. 4. NV Magazine released an obituary that mentions her death was "an apparent suicide due to asphyxia", but there is no confirmation of that. With her sister Miko, Branch ran a popular New York salon since 1997, but the duo is most known for launching Miss Jessie's. Although no official statement has been released by the family, news of Branch’s death and funeral spread via social media over the weekend, including a tweet from Miko. Branch helped spearhead the natural hair care line, which transformed into a collection that filled Target, CVS, Ricky’s and other retailers’ shelves.
www.thepromota.co.uk
Latest interviews, updates and news from around the world
DID ‘U’ KNOW Sony execs question
Denzel Washington, other black actors’ appeal overseas
Obamas
Share Their Experiences With Racism Oscar winner Denzel Washington is the latest Hollywood star who is the focus of leaked e-mails from Sony execs. An email chain from studio execs reveal that Sony was reluctant to cast Washington in big films because he’s black. RadarOnline.com obtained an email thread dated after the September release of Washington’s latest film, The Equalizer, in which a producer suggested Sony should avoid casting black actors in an attempt to appeal to international audiences. The email was sent from the producer to Sony Chairman, Michael Lynton. “No, I am not saying The Equalizer should not have been made or that African American actors should not have been used (I personally think Denzel is the best actor of his generation),” the producer wrote. “I believe that the international motion picture audience is racist — in general pictures with an African American lead don’t play well overseas. But Sony sometimes seems to disregard that a picture must work well internationally to both maximize returns and reduce risk, especially pics with decent size budgets.” “He’s reliable at the domestic [box office], safe, but has not had a huge success in years. I believe whenever possible the non event pictures, extra ‘bets’ should have a large inherent upside and be made for the right price. Here there isn’t a large inherent upside.” For the record The Equalizer grossed a domestic total of $101.8 million dollars, and a worldwide total of $191 million. Previous emails between Sony execs exposed racist jokes about President Obama, and jokes about Kevin Hart.
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President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama spoke candidly to People magazine about questions of race and racism, sharing that they, too, had experienced their fair share of discrimination. The couple did a joint interview with the mag this past month in which they discussed some of the prejudices they faced before the presidency. “Before that, Barack Obama was a Black man that lived on the South Side of Chicago, who had his share of troubles catching cabs.” Even after they started occupying the White House, the Obamas have been confronted with racism. The first lady shared, “I tell this story — I mean, even as the first lady — during that wonderfully publicized trip I took to Target, not highly disguised, the only person who came up to me
in the store was a woman who asked me to help her take something off a shelf. Because she didn’t see me as the first lady, she saw me as someone who could help her. Those kinds of things happen in life. So it isn’t anything new.” President Obama said, “There’s no Black male my age, who’s a professional, who hasn’t come out of a restaurant and is waiting for their car and somebody didn’t hand them their car keys.” He admitted that it had happened to him as well. His wife then chipped in, “He was wearing a tuxedo at a black-tie dinner, and somebody asked him to get coffee.” The President believes that race relations have improved, but acknowledges that there is more to be done.
Have A Nice Life! BRUCE JENNER ‘Wants Nothing To Do With Kris’ Now That Their Divorce Is Finalized
After 22 years of marriage, Bruce Jenner and Kris Jenner’s divorce has been finalized. And though Kris insisted she and Bruce will be friends forever, RadarOnline. com has learned that the feeling is not mutual: According to an insider, Bruce “wants nothing to do with Kris!”
“Bruce is just relieved and glad it’s finally over,” THE PROMOTA | 7
Latest interviews, updates and news from around the world
DID ‘U’ KNOW
Kylie Jenner & Tyga: She’s Telling Sisters She Can’t Wait Until She’s 18
Uh oh. Karrueche Tran needs be really concerned about a possible Amber Rose and Chris Brown fling. Will Karrueche end up losing Breezy for good?
Karrueche Tran Needs Looks like we have anlove triangle on our To Worry About Amber other hands! Ever since Amber Rose With Chris Brown Rose was seen grinding
on Chris Brown at a club, everyone’s been wondering if Karrueche Tran will be cast aside in favor of Amber. Even though Amber and Chris aren’t hooking up now, Karrueche should be very worried about it happening in the future.
an Disse-s i h s a d r a K oy Kourtneyisick: You’re Ann Scott D g & Jobless in
Kylie, 17, won’t ever date someone like Justin Bieber or Austin Mahone because they’re ‘lame’ and don’t compare to the much older Tyga, who’s a ‘perfect gentleman,’. Once she’s 18, Kylie wants to be Tyga’s girlfriend. Most people want a car for their 18th birthday, but Kylie Jenner wants Tyga, 25. The Keeping Up with the Kardashians star is counting down the days until she can legally date the rapper, who treats her “like a princess.”
Christ Embassy a FiveStar Brothel Says Pastor Chris Oyakhilome’s Wife Anita
Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick have had their fair share of problems, but what does Kourt really think of him? Kourtney Kardashian is letting her true feelings about Scott Disick be known. The reality star and mom-of-three called out her man for being “annoying” and without a real job in a new clip from the Dec. 21 episode of Kourtney & Khloe Take The Hamptons. Geez, Kourt.
KENYA: Reversed Roles President Uhuru Opens Car Door for Officer? 8 | THE PROMOTA
That may be extreme, but this picture from President Uhuru’s visit to the Police Command Centre portrays some reversed roles. It appears as if Uhuru is opening the door for the officer. Courtesy of Nairobi Wire
Anita Oyakhilome, the estranged wife of Believers Love World (a.k.a. Christ Embassy) founder, Pastor Chris Oyakhilome, has described the church as a ‘five-star brothel’ in which members sold sex. In a video-taped message produced as part of the divorce proceedings against her husband of 20 years in London, Anita Oyakhilome maintained that the world-famous Nigerian preacher had committed adultery with church members. She did not name them. Pastor Chris has previously claimed Anita was mentally unstable, charges she refuted.
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Latest interviews, updates and
news from around the world
DID ‘U’ KNOW
Rihanna’s Dad Gives Explosive New Interview About Chris Brown Plus, Ronald knows that Chris is troubled and still has a lot of issues to work out before he’s ready to settle down.
S
o shocking! Rihanna’s father, Ronald Fenty, is speaking out about her tumultuous relationship with Chris Brown in a jaw-dropping new interview, and you won’t believe what he has to say! Whoa. Rihanna‘s dad, Ronald Fenty, just spilled some very private details about her past — and present — with ex Chris Brown, 25, even revealing a very awkward run-in the ex-couple had in August! Rihanna, 26, might want to keep a closer eye on her father because we have a feeling she probably isn’t too happy about the things he said during a new interview with the UK’s Daily Mail. Ronald reveals that even though he forgave Chris for assaulting Rihanna a long time ago, he can tell that his daughter wants absolutely nothing to do with her ex. He describes a run-in between the two at a charity basketball game in August, saying, “I don’t know what their relationship is now. At the basketball, they just said ‘hi and hello.'” “When we was going to the car park he was trying to talk with her but she turned and was talking to somebody else, so he came and talked to me and I had a picture with him,” Ronald adds. “Afterwards Robyn said, ‘Dad you really taking pictures with he though?(sic).’” Ronald had been hoping for a reunion between the two exes but now he “isn’t so sure” how he would feel about that, according to the Daily Mail. “Let her do what she wants to do. This recycling thing don’t work for everything, people don’t ask me if I could go back with Ms Fenty.” www.thepromota.co.uk
“Chris is a player, he ain’t ready for no one women yet, he ain’t ready,” Ronald explains. “He’s a party guy. When I see in the papers he’s in trouble, I think, ‘Chris what the hell are you doing man?’ The guy has got so much talent you know what I mean, to just screw up like that. He can draw, he can do anything, man you give it to Chris he can do it great. He’s so talented.” Wow. RiRi’s dad has nothing but praise for Chris! Perhaps he sees a little bit of himself in the singer because Ronald — who is struggling with alcoholism, according to the Daily Mail – got into some trouble himself recently. Rihanna’s Dad was thrown out of Diamond Ball After embarrassing, drunken display. Ronald confessed in the interview that he had to be escorted out of his daughter’s inaugural Diamond Ball on Dec. 11 because he had been drinking at the star-studded event. “I had Johnny Walker Black. I had two doubles, man, and tripped over a chair. I had been on the [red] carpet for the pictures, I meet a couple of famous people I knew go and talked with them, and then somebody left a chair and I stepped back and fell over, I saw my ex (Monica) look up, and within a few minutes after the picture was taken, security came up and said, ‘We’re taking you home.’” “I said, ‘But I haven’t seen my daughter yet’… And they said, ‘Don’t matter, man.’” - by Tierney McAfee THE PROMOTA | 9
CELEBRITY GOSSIP
The X Factor judg e tied the knot with the H ollywood producer after a whirlwind romance back in 2007
Who is tephen nteev?en elafo and of s
S B
b Mel B's hus led years revea
F
ormer Spice Girl Mel B has been married to Stephen for seven years, but what do we really know about the man who recently hit the headlines? Stephen – real name Stephen Stansbury - is a Hollywood producer and director, whose credits include Thank You For Smoking, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, The Mutant Chronicles and TV series I Pity The Fool. In 1997, the 39-year-old married his first wife Nancy Carmell in Las Vegas, and has a daughter, Giselle Belafonte, with ex-girlfriend Nicole Contreras. The X Factor judge and Stephen were close friends for years before getting romantically involved, after they met on the set of a film called Talk.
10 | THE PROMOTA
Speaking about their friendship in the past, the X Factor judge told the Daily Telegraph: "Stephen and I never had a romantic relationship in all those years, so it was quite a shock when it happened. One night, we'd been out and he just kissed me. I thought, what was that?" After a whirlwind four month romance, Mel and Stephen tied the knot in secret in June 2007 at the Special Memory Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas. Belafonte said: “I’d never connected with someone on so many levels and, after a while, it just lined up. Knowing each other so intimately already meant all our cards were on the ta-
ble. She knew all my crazy s**t, and I had her full story. That’s been an amazing base for us. I’ve never had that before.” The following year they then renewed their vows in front of their families in Egypt. But after the renewal, the former Spice Girl became estranged from her mum Andrea, dad Martin and sister Danielle, who reportedly blamed Stephen for taking Mel away from the family. Stephen referred to her family as “the cut off crew” on Twitter after her dad Martin, 60, spoke out and asked her to get in touch in 2012. www.thepromota.co.uk
In an emotional interview, Martin said: “I just want to speak to her, so I know those children are happy. If she wants this strange relationship, that’s her choice. She’s my daughter and I love her to bits.” The pair then welcomed their first child together - Madison Brown - on September 2 2011 at Los Angeles’ Cedars-Sinai Hospital. Gushing over her husband, Mel said in the past: “Stephen is a great husband and a great father. I’ve always been very self-sufficient - in high times and low times. The difference is that I am reliant on Stephen and he’s reliant on me and I’ve never been like that before. “I trust him 100% with my life… I love my family - simple as that - but my own family come first, completely. “Stephen comes first with my kids, completely…People are always going to judge what they don’t understand or know about, and I think [my sister and mother] are obviously very unhappy and I feel sorry for [them].” Following a conviction for assault in 2003 for lashing out at Nicole who is mum to Giselle, Belafonte completed a year-long domestic violence programme. Four years after the conviction, Nicole said: “The past is the past. He’s a changed person now.” More recently, Stephen surprised Mel with a new £20,000 wedding ring from Leon Diamond jewellers in New York, keeping his promise to upgrade it every three years.
www.thepromota.co.uk
EXCLUSIVE: 'The police aren't saying I beat my wife. The hospital isn't saying I beat my wife. Who IS accusing me?' Mel B's husband breaks silence after quitting Britain amid claims of 'explosive rows' with ex-Spice Girl Stephen Belafonte tells MailOnline that he has not been violent towards the former Spice Girl and that nobody has officially accused him of it. • The X Factor judge's husband says he is in San Diego, California, while reports suggest their seven-year marriage in in trouble • Belafonte - born Stephen Stansbury - said he had previously been accused of being a violent thug • Claimed he was unaware of massive coverage of his wife's physical state and suggestions that she had been physically harmed • He claimed to MailOnline that the couple were going to take legal action over suggestions of domestic abuse which he denies • Belafonte, 39, is a convicted domestic abuser who changed his name and who was previously convicted of beating a duck to death with a brick.
THE PROMOTA | 11
TALENT
Angelique Kidjo An African Spirit is Rising – Let us listen!
If there is a no-nonsense talking African singer among our midst, it undoubtedly has to be Angelique Kidjo! In preparation for my upcoming interview with the Grammy Awardwinning Benin singer, I came across a video of Angelique talking on Democracy Now in the USA. She said that if an African plight does not touch the citizens of the Western world, nobody cares!
And Angelique cares about her continent, she cares about her country and she cares about many people. Her successful music career, spanning now well over 4 decades, has also given her a voice at the UN, for which she has become a UNICEF Ambassador. Through her autobiography, Spirit Rising, that has recently been launched, Angelique takes us not only through her musical journey, but also through her many journeys on the African continent, where so much work still needs to be done, ensuring girls have access to education, eradicating FGM, and promoting polio vaccination. Angelique does not mince her words when it comes to the African image portrayed in the West. She tells me that “it is the business of Western’s press to show a negative image of Africa. There is no profit if they tell a positive story on Africa. They have done everything, after colonisation, to make sure that Africa never develops, for them to continue taking 12 | THE PROMOTA
the wealth out of Africa. Everyone talks about Human Rights, yet are we, Africans, part of the human family? Do we have the same rights? And if so, is it correct what rich countries are doing in Africa, with of course, the collaboration of our leaders? The profits are so tempting that they do not care basically! And if we tell the truth about Africa, they try to discredit us and call us liars. Our freedom of speech and to defend ourselves has been taken away from us”. “The only way to change this”, she says, is “for the rich country leaders to say ‘we have done enough damage, we have to take our fair share of responsibility’”. Angelique was blessed to be brought up in a household where her early musical gift was nurtured and encouraged. Her first inspiration, Miriam Makeba, the famous South African singer who was banned from re-entering her native country because she sang about apartheid and freedom, had a huge influence on Angelique, and no doubt planted another seed of activism in her, aside from her own mother, who was also socially active in her community. Years later, she will not keep quiet about things that matter in Africa. When I ask Angelique if her honesty, that she is said to have inherited from her ancestors, has served her well as a UNICEF Ambassador, or landed her in hot waters, she says ‘Yes, sometimes it has, and I do not care. I have to say what I have to say. When people are www.thepromota.co.uk
ANGELIQUE KIDJO
www.thepromota.co.uk
THE PROMOTA | 13
ANGELIQUE KIDJO
difference in the lives of those who suffer. A few years back, she created the Batonga Foundation, an NGO that funds secondary education for girls in 5 African nations, because she says that “educated girls leads to informed and aware adult women”. But she also asks “where are we, women? We have so much power but we do not own it. We are all in our comfort zones; we are all getting a bit silent. Why don’t we put our money where our mouth is to transform this world? And show those corporations that we have the power and that if we do not go to work, and all the stores are empty for 24 hours, they are all going bankrupt!”
suffering, that is not the time to do politics; it is the moment to face facts, move forward, do something, and be human to your people.” In fact, when Angelique, at 15, got to know for the first time about apartheid, she got so angry about the lie that ‘we are one human family, we can’t hurt one another’, that she wrote a song about it, with lyrics that were so violent, her father asked her to re-write it, telling her that violence is a vicious circle, ‘you know when it starts but you never know when it will stop’. “As an artist”, Angelique says, “ you cannot praise hate or violence but it is hard sometimes, because you are hurt. So I rewrote this song, where I wished my dad could see a world without oppressors and oppressed people.” And Angelique has seen much suffering through her travels as an Ambassador. In her book Rising Spirit, she recounts the hardships of the Sudanese refugees living in terribly harsh condition in camps on the Chad boarder, fleeing the Darfour conflict. She also tells the story of one small boy living with HIV in Tanzania who asked her to tell the world that ‘children ought to be a priority for all adults’, and for whom she wrote the song Mutoto Kwanza oye oye, meaning Children First. Angelique has certainly the courage to face facts and move forward. Not only has she done so by globally spreading the vibrancy of African music through her many songs, which has brought her much acclaim and a Grammy Award, she has also taken steps to make a 14 | THE PROMOTA
Powerful words and message from an African woman who exudes passion for her art and passion for Africa and its people, especially women. Her latest album, Eve, is a celebration of female empowerment. “On this recording” says Angelique, “ I am letting the voices of the women show their beauty to the world. Eve is all about showcasing the positivity they bring to their villages, cities, cultures and the world.” Angelique’s album Eve has now been nominated for the Grammys. Spirit Rising, explains Angelique, was initially meant to be a cookery book, but ended up becoming a biography. Strange transition from a recipe compilation to a life story, but I for one, am glad it happened, as Angelique’s life story has touched me in many ways, making me laugh and bringing tears to my eyes on many occasions. Angelique is not afraid to expose her emotions, sharing her deep pain at losing her beloved father to whom she was very close, and expressing her outrage at the many ills befalling Africa, and how its leaders are still failing their nations and people. But it is also a positive story, encouraging us to pursue our dreams, to take action, and make a difference. And if you wish to join your efforts to Angelique’s, please visit her NGO website http://batongafoundation.org/ and support the education of a teenage girl. One never knows if your contribution will educate the next Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Wangari Maathai or…the next Angelique Kidjo! May the Spirit of Africa rise indeed! Isabelle Gravenstein Editor, Promota Africa magazine
www.thepromota.co.uk
CELEBRITY GOSSIP
THE
CREED OF
CIVILITY Bill Cosby Net Worth Net Worth: $400 Million Date of Birth: July 12, 1937 Place of Birth: Philadelphia Profession: Actor, Comedian, Author, Screenwriter, Television Producer, Film Producer, Educator, Activist, Musician, Voice Actor Category: Richest Celebrities, Actors
I have realised one vital fact in this world. You can be as ignorant as the most uninformed person on the planet, but if you speak well and do not use slang or bad language; if you are polite, have good manners and are clean and tidy, you will be accepted into any society immediately but once they find out that you are rude, loud and uncouth and cannot hold a decent conversation for long, people tire of you because, hasn’t anyone told you that empty vessels make the most noise? Therefore, you become boring, or a know-it-all with false airs and graces; if you belittle those less fortunate than you, and dare to mock the afflicted, or appear racist and have no patience with your elders, you will soon find yourself out in the cold because people are embarrassed to be seen associating with you. Arrogance appals, so be kind, be kind, be kind. First impressions count – and the rest will fall into place. Always! By Donette Read Kruger (EPHESIANS 4 v 2: Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.)
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Bill Cosby is an American comedian, television star and producer whose incredibly successful career has given him a net worth of $400 million. Cosby was raised in Philadelphia and left school at the age of 15 to join the Navy, though he eventually earned his diploma and went on to earn a doctorate in Education. Cosby debuted his stand-up act in the clubs of Philadelphia, which led to national exposure on The Tonight Show and a series of successful comedy albums in the 1960s—Cosby won seven Grammy Awards for Best Comedy Performance between 1965 and 1987. His act's success led to television roles on The Dick Van Dyke Show and the action series I Spy, for which he won three consecutive Emmy Awards. In the 1980s, Cosby launched one of the most successful sitcoms of all time, The Cosby Show, which ran from 1984 to 1992 and is one of only two sitcoms to remain at the top of the Nielsen ratings for five consecutive seasons. His second sitcom, Cosby, aired from 1996 – 2000; at the same time, Cosby returned to his stand-up roots, hosting programs such as Kids Say the Darndest Things, as well as several game shows. He also became a popular spokesman, representing Jell-O, Kodak, Ford, and Coca-Cola. Cosby has been married to wife Camille since 1964, and the couple have four daughters and one late son. THE PROMOTA | 15
the
events ORGANISERS OF THE UGANDA-UK CONVENTION AN INVESTMENT FORUM +44207 237 7317 +447790 647 089
Trade and Business Events organisers, Investment Consultancy. Organise highlevel Investment Forums.
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10 Tips for starting a magazine
A Taste of
Tanzania
“Uganda’s loss truly has been britain’s gain” Lord Sheikh Use Fashion to Express
Can
Lupita
Nyong’o avoid the black actress Oscar curse?
your Personality
African Oscar Nominees And Winners Through The Years
T.B. Joshua Healer or Fake Pastor?
CONSULTANCY AND ADVISORY SERVICES: We work closely alongside experts drawn from other service lines. We also work closely with a number of hand picked industry advisors with deep operational skills, allowing us to provide our clients with a highly effective blend of both consulting and ”hands on” experience.
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The Subtle Change That Will Make Your Relationship Last Longer
Want the real secret to making it as a couple ? Hint: it’s as simple as taking the time to show your appreciation for the small acts of kindness from your partner. In fact, a series of studies found that the more grateful a couple, the higher the likelihood of their relationship still being intact nine months later.
And with 10 years plus of social science research to back it up, partners who show care for the little things (i.e. loading the dishwasher or putting
away the groceries) open a two-way feedback system that helps both parties to feel closer and more fulfilled.
A key finding though is that the most important aspect wasn’t how often one person in the relationship made a thoughtful gesture, but rather how grateful the partner reported feeling about it. If you stop to think about it, makes total sense. Whenever I come into the kitchen to an empty trash can, my heart literally swells two sizes because I hate a full garbage bag and love my husband even more for remembering.
Queen Latifah
uses her money to pay retrenched staff And with the daytime series wrapping up production just before Christmas, the staff was only scheduled to get paid until the end of this week. The 44-year-old host is making sure her laid-off employees have a Merry Christmas and footing the bill for their salaries with her own money through the entire holiday season. 'I just got word that Latifah is using her own money to pay the show's crew through the holidays even though production has officially shut down,' said the website's Marc Malkin.
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In November it was revealed The Queen Latifah Show had been canceled after less than two seasons.
Even though the services of the production staff are no longer required, original pre-taped episodes of the daytime show will continue to air through March 2015. The series premiered in September 2013 and featured several high-profile guests including Bill Clinton, Nicole Kidman and Jennifer Aniston. It was announced last month that the show was getting axed after its second season with TMZ reporting its undoing was attributed to 'ratings and costs.'
THE PROMOTA | 17
FASHION
Accessorize Like a Man
It's Time to Step Up Your Accessories Game Let’s get one thing straight from the getgo: we’re not calling this mewellery. Or brocelets. A couple of years ago, The New York Times coined a phrase we much prefer, which is wristwear. So, then, let’s talk about them: bracelets for men. They’re having a moment—a moment we really like. This trend has been heating up in the last few of years in the editorial world, at Fashion Week and on the wrists of celebrities. In the summer of 2014, this is a movement that has gone fully mainstream. Man bracelets for everyone. The question now isn't, “Can I wear a man bracelet?” but “What man bracelet is right for me?” Sure, it might sound kind of frivolous, but stacked up with your watch and peeking out from a work shirt or casually worn on the
weekends, a bracelet is just a cool, stylish detail that rounds out your everyday uniform. Our personal favorites come from brands like Tod's and Miansai, and have a sophisticated, handsome aesthetic—furnished with metal hardware and interesting details. There’s also a bevy of cool, beaded bracelets designed with hamsas, onyx, and even a Morse code pattern that spells out “luck.” Shop our picks for the best bracelets for men that will complete your summer style. Depending on your commitment to the trend, you can go big with high-end beaded or woven wristwear from David Yurman, Gucci or Luis Marais, or give it a whirl with inexpensive finds from Bottega Veneta, George Frost, and more. Now go forth and accessorize like a man.
TODS
My Colors Leather Bracelet £145
TOD’S
Leather Bracelet £98
Miansai
Double Wrap Rope Casing Bracelet £55.00 Sizes: Onesize
Bottega Veneta
Sterling Silver-studded Double-strand Bracelet $640
ZADEH P
arachute Cord Bracelet $345
18 | THE PROMOTA
GILES AND BROTHER Railroad Spike Cuff $90
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THE PROMOTA | 19
HSGH SGHS
A MIND revolution –
undoing the BI brainwashing syndrome. BI stands for the myth of Black Inferiority. This is not my wording but the coinage of author Tom Burrell in his revolutionary book Brainwashed.
T
om Burrell, who created a very successful advertising agency aimed at the African American market, very boldly and courageously, wrote a masterpiece on how blacks have been brainwashed into believing that they are an inferior people. Burrell fearlessly asks us to look at how this myth came about, tracing it back to slavery times. It is compelling reading to see how he draws parallels to the coping mechanisms that slaves created in order to endure their cruel ordeals, and how blacks today still use these coping mechanisms, at their detriment, in a society where they are now free to move and prosper, and where those mechanisms should be obsolete. This
inferiority
20 | THE PROMOTA
myth
has
permeated all aspects of black people’s lives. I have been captivated, and immensely saddened too, to see how to this day, black people are still feeling the effects of their darkest hours on American soil, and how all of us, black and whites, have to this day not woken up from this subconscious and pernicious conditioning. Burrell asks blacks why they are still unable to form strong family bonds; why they conform to sexual stereotypes; why they keep killing each other; why they neglect spirit, body and mind; why they cannot stop shopping; why they expect so little of each other – and themselves; why they can’t stick together and a few other very unsettling questions. His own answers have really opened my mind on so many different levels. One could argue that what befalls African Americans does not apply to the European African population, or even Africans who never experienced slavery and its
psychologically destructive aftermath, but I beg to differ. I can absolutely observe in the African community in the UK many of the symptoms that Burrell puts forward. I was particularly taken by the chapter Why can’t we stick together?, a question that the Promota publisher has asked me so many times, I’ve lost count of it! Burrell quotes a paragraph from The Disputed Truth blog: ‘There is a saying in the black community that blacks cannot improve as a people because, like crabs in a barrel, whenever one tries to climb out of the barrel, the other ones will pull him back in.” And to all Africans and non-Africans acquainted with African culture and reading these words, I challenge you to dispute this statement! Because I have seen it myself countless times; it is a very sorry state of affair indeed, but it is the truth! Burrell lists the dynamics of diss-unity as crabbin’: complaining of blacks who have moved ahead of you; www.thepromota.co.uk
OPINION
backstabbin’: sabotaging successful blacks due to envy, jealousy, or hatred; lack of coalescence: refusal to support and unify with other blacks; exceptionalism: the belief that you are the exception to the ‘inferior black’ rule. And all of these 4 symptoms I have seen in action first hand, and the Promota publisher has been on the receiving end of all of them! I understand how these dynamics came about in slavery times, as they were literally marketed by white people to keep a tight leash on their slaves. They needed to break down cultural ties, family and tribal unity, any rational thinking, any trust amongst slaves, any last vestiges of dignity and self-esteem to keep slaves divided and conquered. And this sick propaganda worked very well, so well in fact that it still affects black people to this day, and I would say worldwide! And whites have fallen for it just as badly! But what about Africans who were born and bred on the African continent, who have migrated to the West as adults, and whose ancestors have never experienced slavery, you might ask? I certainly would not have a firm answer to such a question for sure. But Burrell puts forward a argument that might well be the answer. He quotes historian John Henry Clarke who examined the propaganda that was central to the European domination of the planet in the 15th and 16th centuries. In his book Africans at the Crossroads: Notes for a World African Revolution, Clarke surmises that ‘the greatest achievement was the conquest of the minds of most of the people of the www.thepromota.co.uk
world.’ And there we have it. A global European propaganda spanning centuries that has created the most destructive myth of all times: the inferiority of the black race, and I would venture other non-white races too. However bleak it all sounds, this myth can be thoroughly exposed, and totally destroyed. But, as Burrell suggests, black people need first to become aware of what has happened to them, and decide to change their mind set to adopt new, healthy dynamics to replace the old outworn ones that have been their demise for centuries. At the end of his book, Burrell has compiled a list of extremely compelling resolutions that can be adopted by black people to turn the tables completely. Being a marketer by profession, he urges black people to use all internet media avenues at their disposal to create a new social movement that will lead to a global shift in consciousness. He invites black people to create a new healthier propaganda that will promote the very best that black people have to offer, as a people, but also promote how they positively contribute to their families, communities and globally. I cannot enthuse enough about this book. It has made me ponder deeply about many issues that I can see affect the black community in the UK too. To all my black friends, in all walks of life, I invite them to read Brainwashed, and to have the courage to look within candidly and honestly. I also enjoyed reading the reviews of this book online, mostly from black people, who rate it so highly, because they
can at last understand what has happened to them throughout the centuries. Not in the least wanting to alienate myself from the black community, I will admit that I too, undoubtedly joined by most white people, have been a victim of this brainwashing, as I can recall a time when I too questioned many things about black people’s behaviour, but never really finding adequate answers. Burrell’s Brainwashed has certainly answered most of them. So now I urge you: read the book, join the resolutions of the New B, (New Black) and create a revolution that will bring to the fore the very best of who black people really can be. It is time for them to claim their rightful place in this world. No one race has ever been superior to another. As a white person, I will do my part too, as we are all in this life together. Isabelle Gravenstein Editor, Promota Africa magazine
THE PROMOTA | 21
TECHNOLOGY
Rise of the carsharing apps poses threat to auto sector
T
he humble smartphone could throw a spanner in the works of the car sector's post-crisis turnaround, with the big manufacturers facing a long-term threat from apps that make it easier and cheaper to share or hire vehicles than to buy them. Investor sentiment is on a knife edge. Car sales are back in recovery mode in most major European markets, yet the fragility of the turnaround could yet be exposed by another economic slowdown while investors have flagged the potential danger posed by web-based services further down the road. The rise of the likes of car hire app Zipcar and car-pooling rival BlaBlaCar are expected to present new challenges to mass-market carmakers such as Ford, GM, Volvo, Renault and Volkswagen (VOWG_p. DE) while presenting fresh opportunities for existing rental networks. Online taxi business Uber is another seeking a slice of the market with its UberPop operation, which links private drivers to passengers, though the U.S. company faces legal challenges in countries including France and Germany.
22 | THE PROMOTA
Cathie Wood, chief executive of ARK Investment Management, is among the growing band of investment professionals expecting a significant behavioral shift among the car-buying public. "Thanks to web-enabled services like Zipcar, Uber and Lyft, household vehicles are beginning to feel like the stranded assets they are: high in cost but utilized on average only 4 percent of the time in a 24-hour day," she said. The realization of such by consumers could eventually prove costly for carmakers. Specialist automotive consulting house AlixPartners says that every vehicle in a car-sharing network represents about 32 scrapped decisions to buy. HEAVY BACKING ARK Investment Management, meanwhile, says that a rise in car-sharing to 5 percent of all journeys could almost halve U.S. auto sales. At this early stage, the projections remain a little nebulous and like-for-like comparisons between auto sales and carshare figures are particularly difficult. But it is clear a trend is gathering momentum and there appears to be no shortage
of backers keen to tap the austerity zeitgeist. French billionaire Vincent Bollore unveiled plans to park 3,000 electric cars on London’s streets by 2016 as part of a car-sharing project announced in March. The Bollore group, which also operates car clubs in the French cities of Lyon and Bordeaux, said it would invest 100 million pounds ($157 million) on the UK initiative. At a global level, the trend has the potential to slow automakers’ annual revenue growth to less than 2.5 percent from 3 percent between 2014 and 2020, according to Yasmina Barin, analyst at Swiss bank and fund management group SYZ. The initial outlay for a vehicle and running costs that have soared for young drivers because of elevated insurance premiums are another factor in the growth of car-sharing or rental apps. Uber’s latest funding round valued the company at $40 billion, broadly equivalent to the combined market capitalization of Peugeot, Fiat Chrysler and Volvo. Gary Paulin, head of brokerage firm Aviate Global, said the trend would also benefit car www.thepromota.co.uk
hire companies such as Avis Budget Group and Hertz but could be more challenging for the traditional carmakers. "The big listed auto makers will need to adapt," he said. The market's potential has certainly not been lost on Avis, which runs the Zipcar scheme that says it has more than 870,000 members in various locations around the world and in October launched operations in Madrid. Hertz, meanwhile, has expanded its 24/7 car rental service to Europe and expects the number of vehicles included in the service to rise to about 500,000 by 2016, from 35,000 today.
Poem: My Hair I didn't want to get out of bed I needed to sort out what was on my head Should I have it curly or should I have it straight or should I let the salon determine my fate Remembering my dreadful past I think I'm going to be late I think most of these hairdressers need to be trained If I learn this myself my hair will always be maintained And spreading the knowledge so much will be gained I’m a genius if my hair wasn't kinky
ON THE BANDWAGON
50 years of products that are damaging just to keep it from being stinky
Among the manufacturers, some have been quicker to respond than others.
But why is it falling out Is this what being a black woman is all about?
BMW became the latest entrant in London with this month's launch of its DriveNow car-sharing service in partnership with rental firm Sixt. The scheme is already up and running in the United States, Austria and Germany.
Now my hair feels like a toy I made the conscious decision to see Joy
Volkswagen's Quicar is present in Hanover, while Daimler's car2go operates in cities including Rome and Berlin, running 12,500 cars for a million customers.
It’s thick just like my hips and my customer will leave me tips
SYZ analyst Barin believes that carmakers could still cope with the car-sharing phenomenon because the smaller cars used in such schemes might have to be replaced quickly and manufacturers could focus on producing such vehicles.
Our faith in our culture is stronger Because our hair is longer
Yet for all their efforts to limit sales erosion, the manufacturers are likely to be left competing in a shrinking overall car market as a new breed of driver emerges.
Our future is not the relaxer So stop using it so you can avoid a disaster
"I thought about buying a car," 28-year-old London-based PR executive Claire Rumbellow said, "but decided it would be cheaper and more practical to use a car-sharing scheme because I use a car only once a week at most.
It started with the perfect parting Now my hair is long and lasting I thank God by fasting
Hair braiding Now our people are not complaining
The wounded hair is been in our history The correct treatment is not a mystery
We need to educate Because it’s not too late If we don’t help ourselves a lot will be at stake Look at these women on the street Instead of looking what’s on my feet They need to stop burning their hair with heat
($1 = 0.6389 pounds) by Lionel Laurent and David Goodman
I have learned now it’s your turn Or our hair will forever burn By Lloyd Adejubu
www.thepromota.co.uk
THE PROMOTA | 23
FASHION For Her
Calvin Klein
Gavin textured-leather sandals £248
Calvin Klein Collection Sika leather-trimmed plaid wool-blend dress £836
Giuseppe Zanotti
Oscar de la
Monro leather peep-toe pumps £220.50
Renta Printed silk-faille gown £1,947.18
Lela Rose
Draped printed woolblend dress £575.75
Givenchy
Small Obsedia bag in black and tan leather £1,840
Givenchy Nadia sandals
in leopard-print calf hair £680
DOLCE AND GABBANA
Secret Garden Jeans £290.00
Givenchy Buckle
ring in gold-tone brass £270
Best of 2014: LUPITA Nyong’o’s Red-Carpet Domination We could have made an end-of-year best-dressed list comprised only of Lupita Nyong’o’s stellar looks. It’s crazy to think that just this year she skyrocketed from little-known actress to red-carpet superstar. Of course, she was heartbreaking in her role in 12 Years a Slave, but Nyong’o also repeatedly won Hollywood fashion, taking risks that were at times surprising and always fabulous. The powder blue Prada gown. The royal red cape dress from Ralph Lauren. The green retro flapper ensemble at the Met Gala. Nyong’o, thanks
24 | THE PROMOTA
to her flawless skin, was declared Most Beautiful by People magazine, landed a contract with Lancôme, and presented an award at the CFDAs. Needless to say, 2014 was major for the actress, and 2015 promises to be as good—she’ll be starring in a film adaptation of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Americanah, and she has been cast in J.J. Abrams’ upcoming Star Wars continuation. But if this year is any indication, what she brings to the red carpet will be (almost) as exciting as what she does on the screen.
www.thepromota.co.uk
Spring/ Summer 2015 Ready-To-Wear
Aaizel
SEON $777.00 Drop- shoulder ostrich print crop sweatshirt with contrast sleeve & jeweled cuff
Best of 2014: LUPITA Nyong’o’s Red-Carpet Domination
www.thepromota.co.uk
THE PROMOTA | 25
HOTTEST GADGETS 2015 HSGH SGHS Boys stuff
StrikeTec Sensor
The StrikeTec S sensor itself is a small, wrist mounted ntt unit that’s able to monitor plenty of different e options, such as your punch speed, force,, type, count, and g-force too, and you can monitor t and track them on the companion app too. On O the app itself you can track your training progress re over days, months and even years, and you can c compare how far you've come since you started ed training with the StrikeTec.
Google Chromecast
Video streamers aren’t exactly new, but the Chromecast is a rather special one. Not that you’d necessarily realise that at first glance - you’re most likely to mistake it for a USB stick. But this stick is actually an HDMI dongle that plugs into your TV, connects to the internet, and delivers a whole load of on-demand content that you ‘cast’ to your telly from your smartphone. Best of all, it’s officially only £30 and regularly unofficially often available for even less.
£19 - www.amazon.co.ukk
ReVive PowerUp
£149.00 - Currys
YouView has made contract-free PVRs far more exciting than they used to be. It of course delivers all of the UK’s free TV channels and lets you pause and rewind them at your whim. But it also has an EPG that goes back in time to show you what was on over the last 7 days so you can watch it on-demand. Speaking of which, it’s got all of the smart services, including BBC iPlay-
BT YouView+
er, ITV Player, 4oD and Demand 5, and if you don’t mind paying a little bit on the side there’s Sky’s Now TV and Sky Store, too. But what makes the BT YouView+ box even better than other YouView boxes from the likes of Humax (who actually makes this one) is the inclusion of BT Sport and BT Player for football and movies respectively. Content is king, and BT YouView+ rules.
The most frustrating thing about VR right now is trying to convey it with words. You really do have to see Project Morpheus (and, indeed, Oculus Rift) to believe it. When that might be is hard to say. But take Morpheus for a spin and I guarantee you'll be as excited as I am for what virtual reality will offer. This is the missing piece of the PS4 puzzle, and it's a big one.
Nike+ Fuel Fuee Band iPhone 4G & 4GS Micro SIM Cutter WIth 2 SIM Converter adapters
£7
www.firebox.com Just like a tree frog’s amazing feet, the Grippy Pad will hold all sorts of things in place. And all without a single magnet, velcro strip, or sticky adhesive in sight.
Sony's VR headset promises a whole new world, but when will it deliver?
ReVIVE PowerUP 4P Rapid Car Charger & DC Splitter Adapter w/ Dual DC & Universal USB Charging Ports for Phones, MP3 Players, & More DCPowered Devices
www.amazon.co.uk
Grippy Pad
This smart wearable aimss to make you a boxing champ!
www.nike.com
£129 £
Plantronics
Voyager Legend Professional grade audio in a Bluetooth headset
£4
Expansys.com y
Nice and simple - put your sim in (making sure its the same way round as the instructions!) press and you are done. Easy and simple way to convert your full size sim into a micro one
26 | THE PROMOTA
The he Nike+ Nike+ Fuel Fuel Band Band measures measure meas uress your your activity, a so you can see how many steps you’ve taken, calories burned, and more, helping you be more active and improving your health. An iPhone app communicates to it via Bluetooth, and you can post your results to Facebook or Twitter. Though probably don’t if you have just been sitting around eating chips.
£90
It might be a bit on the large size, but the Plantronics Voyager Legend is a comfortable and feature-packed headset.
www.thepromota.co.uk
Stick-N-Find
$59 www.sticknfind.com
Bubblescope
Ultra small Sticker with Bluetooth, that you can stick on any device, person or animal, and find them with your Smart Phone (Apple iOS & Android).
www.firebox.com
£70 The BubbleScope is a 360º lens attachment for your iPhone, capable of shooting stills and videos (which the makers call ‘bubbles’). Simply attach the included case, pop-up the lens from its protective cap and fire up the free BubblePix App. You’ll be bubbling away in no time.
Stick-N-Find have a Rang Stickers e 100 Feet, with of about that lasts for a Battery over a year.
Solar Charger Beach Bag It make use of solar power and transform the power into electricity. You can charge Sony EricssonK750, Nokia N70, Samsung D800, moto v3, micro 5 pin and iPhone and etc. With mini USB input and USB output.
Isn't it very useful and convenient? It worth owning this eco-friendly bag.
Gaggia Gran Prestige
Nothing shows off your love of coffee more than a machine made by Gaggia, one of the stalwarts of the industry. Price: £180
Parrot Zik Headphones www. Parrot.com
P
hilippe Starck designed these headphones, which is why they look a bit like they’re from space. But they’re not all design and no trousers: they’re the first to feature NFC technology, so just tap your phone on them to connect. The Parrot Zik headphones also gesture-controlled, so swipe up or down on the headphones to change volume, and forward to skip tracks. An accelerometer detects when you take them off and pauses your music, resuming when you put them back on. They’re noise cancelling, and double as a handsfree kit complete with mic. Make no mistake, these are seriously clever cans.
Harman Kardon AE www.amazon.co.uk £130
LaCie Christofle
Sphere (£370) It’s an external hard drive - but not as you know it. This solid silver orb has been hand cast in France, holds 1TB of data, and will look truly incredible on anyone’s coffee table. It’s not cheap, but having seen what it looks like we definitely want one. And so should you.
www.thepromota.co.uk
£349
A bold entry to the high-end market, the Harman Kardon AE "Acoustically Enhanced" earphones have a design that's a few steps away from the norm. With thick cabling and aluminium-armoured earpieces, they feel tougher than the average too. However, the cable is non-removable and the prominent bass leaves the otherwise good sound congested and a little confused at times.
Flexi Flashlights www.theawesomer.com
£13
These handy Flexi LED Flashlights are made of silicone and can twist and bend to attach themselves to so many places – even bike handles! You can adjust the LED light ito solid or flashing.
THE PROMOTA | 27
TECHNOLOGY
SURFACE PRO 3 The Microsoft Surface Pro 3 is the Computer of the Year Third time's the charm for Microsoft, as it elegantly nails the laptop/hybrid formula
Gone are the days when a computer was something big and bulky that sat on your desk at home and ran Word. Instead, we live in a world dominated by laptops of all shapes and sizes - budget Chromebooks, wafer-thin MacBook Airs and Ultrabooks and all manner of flexible hybrid devices - plus the odd teeny-tiny media PC. So which of the modern breed did we rate most highly this year? The Microsoft Surface Pro 3. Microsoft deserves full credit for cramming the power of a proper laptop into a tablet form factor, and a very attractive-looking one at that.
Virgin Media wristband records the shows you miss when you nod off Never again miss 95 percent of the Queen's speech watching so you can pick it up again after a few well-earned zeds.
Virgin Media has enlisted the help of two young tech fans to develop a wristband that senses when you fall asleep on the sofa and automatically starts recording what you're
Logitech Bluetooth Multi-Device Keyboard
Their creation, KipstR, features a pulse-oximeter to monitor heart rate. The smart band tells the Virgin TiVo box to start recording when it senses the drop in heart rate that suggests you've nodded off. Though if it's the TV show that's caused you to lose consciousness rather than your overindulgence, perhaps you won't be so excited to find it's been recorded for you.
The company picked out 14-year-old Ryan Oliver and 15-year-old Jonathan Kingsley from Manchester Creative Studio as part of its Switched on Futures initiative. The pair took advantage of 3D printing for the prototype, manufacturing the piece in flexible Polyjet resin on an Objet Connex printer. Virgin Media's tied-to-TV sensor experiments aren't going to stop there, as Neil Illingworth, its head of advanced technology and innovation, has talked of show suggestions based on your mood, or even brainwave TV control. We'll have to make do with a standard remote for this Christmas, though.
The Logitech® Bluetooth® Multi-Device Keyboard K480 is designed for use with up to three devices, regardless of computing platform. Now, you can work on a report on your computer, and with the flick of the Easy-Switch dial, respond to a message on your smartphone or type a tweet on your tablet – all from the Logitech Bluetooth Multi-Device Keyboard K480. Cost: £29.99
28 | THE PROMOTA
www.thepromota.co.uk
Most anticipated gadget of 2015
The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are only a few months old, but reports are now flying in about Apple’s next-generation iPhones
The iPhone 7 AND
iPhone 6s Are BOTH Coming In 2015 (Just Not At The Same Time)
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It might be rather groan-worthy to only just have the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus on store shelves and already be talking about the successor model, the iPhone 7, but that’s just the nature of the rumour mill these days. Apple’s established a habit of launching one or two handsets every year, and they’re always planned well in advance, so we knew it was coming and it’s not too surprising the rumours have started already. Truth be told, if anything they’re a little late, as we were already hearing about the iPhone 6 before the iPhone 5S even launched. The company’s iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus continue to sell well, breaking Apple’s previous iPhone 5s/iPhone 5c records and securing the company a 40% market share in the UK, according to market research firm Kantor Worldpanel ComTech. Both devices scored solid ratings in our tests but, for us, the iPhone 6 Plus is the one most people should be bothered about and the reason for this is starkly simple: its battery life is PHENOMENAL.
The only real down-side to all this extra battery power is the size of the handset, though after a few weeks use we’re pretty much used to the size of the iPhone 6 Plus. Still: the handset could be too large a switch for those coming from, say, an iPhone 4s. Kantar Worldpanel ComTech strategic insight director Dominic Sunnebo said: “Apple has experienced a huge jump in sales share across almost all major markets thanks to the launch of the iPhone 6. In major European economies, the US and Australia, Apple’s share of sales has risen. This success is particularly evident in Great Britain where Apple now has its highest ever share of sales, with 39.5%.” And Christmas 2014 is expected to bump up sales of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus even more, according to new research from Gartner. “Over the holidays we expect record sales of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, but we should not underestimate the Chinese vendors and local brands,” said Annette Zimmermann, research director at Gartner. THE PROMOTA | 29
TECHNOLOGY
Next year's big trend?
ANTI-TECH: 2015 set to
be the year people forsake gadgets and social networks for the simple life » » » » »
Experts predict 2015 will be the year when gadget use declines People will take breaks from technology in favour of a simpler lifestyle Figures have already shown certain social networks are losing favour Now a trends report believes we are entering the era of the ‘neo-Luddite’ Prediction was made by Hotwire in its sixth annual Digital Trends Report
Having the latest gadget or app has been a status symbol for years, but all that could be about to change. Experts predict 2015 will be the year when people forsake gadgets, social networks and other technology in favour of the simple life. Recent figures have already revealed that certain social networks are losing favour, and now a digital trends report believes we are entering the era of the ‘neo-Luddite’. The prediction was made by Londonbased communications agency Hotwire in its sixth annual Digital Trends Report. ‘While there are many early adopters out there scrambling around to get their hands on the latest smartwatch or iPhone, there are a group of much cooler kids working out ways to kill tech altogether,’ explained the report. ‘Welcome to the era of the neo-Luddite. They’re here to make sure you switch off.’ One reason given for the decline is the growing irritation of adverts on apps, sites and other screens. ‘Overall we accept that there is an unspoken contract between us and the web,’ continued the report. ‘We can access content for free, in exchange, brands can make us look at adverts for a bit of time. ‘But there are a growing number of people who want to take that virtual contract, burn it and dance around its ashes. ‘So much so that they will be more than happy to part with a bit of up front capital in exchange for the facility to get rid of adverts from their online experience altogether. 30 | THE PROMOTA
‘Ad blocking, as it’s known, is at an all-time high. What’s more it’s not grumpy 40-something IT managers that are doing this - it’s the youth.’ Neo-Luddite is a slang term used to describe someone who believes that using science and technology has moral and social implications. It is used to describe those who are considered to be anti-technology, or those who dislike or have a difficult time understanding and using modern science and technology.
Hotwire’s prediction follows official figures from Ofcom’s International Communications Market Report in Dec2014. It found the number of weekly UK visitors to social networks is now 56 per cent, a drop from 65 per cent this time last year. The US, China and Japan saw similar decreases - but to a lesser extent. Elsewhere, in August, a team of developers launched www.thepromota.co.uk
a Kickstarter campaign to fund production of its noPhone - a fake handset designed to wean people off their tech addiction. Originally created as a spoof, the handset’s popularity led the designers to create a real version. As the site explains, ‘the noPhone has superior features to a normal smartphone, because it’s totally wireless, battery-free, doesn’t require software updates, and is shatterproof and waterproof. ‘With a thin, light and completely wireless design,the noPhone acts as a surrogate to any smart mobile device, enabling you to always have a rectangle of smooth, cold plastic to clutch without forgoing any potential engagement with your direct environment. ‘Never again experience the unsettling feeling of flesh on flesh when closing your hand.
Recent research found that more than half of gadget owners (53 per cent) worldwide admit to suffering anxiety when they can’t use their phones. And it found having a tech detox was ‘as stressful as a trip to the dentist or even their own wedding day.’ The number of people being treated for this addiction has risen over the past year and around 1 in 8 people in the UK now exhibit signs of being hooked on their gadgets. ‘It’s becoming a bit of a statement to announce you’re no longer on Facebook, and many once-upona-time techy people are booking retreats that disconnect you from the internet, focusing on meditation or juicing instead,’ continued the Hotwire report. ‘There’s an anti-tech digital trend, who’d have thought?’
The noPhone simulates the exact weight and dimensions of a phone ‘to alleviate any feelings of inadequacy generated by the absence of a real smartphone.’
Despite its claims of a digital switch off, the Hotwire report also revealed how technology will advance in other areas next year.
Doctors have also voiced concerns about the number of people being treated for tech addiction.
More than 60 per cent of people already use more than one device and the report believes this will
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rise as tablets become cheaper and wearables become more widely adopted. ‘The connected car has been touted around for even longer than the dreaded self-ordering fridge,’ continued the report. ‘[And now] we’re now beginning to see real intent from automotive brands, although interestingly the focus isn’t on the connected car, but the content car - one that delivers relevant media throughout your journey.’ Apple’s HealthKit and Google Fit are also said to be bringing digital health to the forefront, and providing the ability to share body data with healthcare professionals. Hotwire believes the more data doctors have, the better, and the next step will be for healthcare systems to be able to handle all this user generated data. It also predicts MPs will use digital platforms to communicate with voters even more next year, allowing them to express opinions faster and reach a bigger audience. 1st published in dailymail
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ANALYSIS
SANCTIONS AND COLLATERAL DAMAGE
V
ince Musewe’s analysis “Zimbabwe after Mugabe” (27.9.2014) on fundamental moral regeneration is challenging after the disturbing rumours we hear in the West on a daily basis. Everyone has a different theory through which they analyse Zimbabwe’s future; especially as the hierarchy vies for the ultimate in the finals of who will make it into ‘Who is Who in Zimbabwe’!
Circumventing corruption and revenge, many of the rancid rumours involve the ZNA, the First Lady, and the Generals. However, my own take on this is that the Mandarins will not support genocide because it can only reflect negatively throughout Africa wherein they have spent decades redressing their image as portrayed by their western critics who seem to have totally forgotten that not only is China’s culture over 5,000 years older than most, and it is probably Traditional Chinese Medicine that is responsible for President Robert Mugabe’s longevity! 34 | THE PROMOTA
I had lunch with the President three years ago and I believed him when he said to me, “Donette, I do not hate all white people, but I despise the British for what they have done to my country!” Born in Rhodesia, surviving Colonialism to Independence, I totally understood. The concept of Separate Development by the whites never did make any sense to some of us born in the country, and when President Mugabe ruled out Segregation in Education, we were elated and breathed a sigh of relief. It was a new beginning for us. Many forget that Zimbabwe is only 35 years old and is still evolving. Overseas there is a huge contingent of Born Again ‘Zimbos’ who arrived here after the Land Reformation Act and who, despite the pain and tears of what has happened, are still proud to say, “I am a Zimbabwean!” This simple statement astounds many who say that they have never met a Nation that is so passionate about Zimbabwe. www.thepromota.co.uk
The majority of adolescents who left the country had GCSEs with no degrees or skills, but after 15-20 years overseas they are now skilled and qualified in many fields. Tragically, inspired by the macho war stories of Ian Smith’s foot soldiers, several hundred ended up as fodder in the West’s attempted Middle East regime change, which means that Zimbabwean blood was not only shed in Burma during WW2, but more recently in Arab lands, fighting for the same British who colonized Zambezia in the footsteps of Cecil John Rhodes. This is why I found this Vince Musewe’s Analysis positive and encouraging – especially for many ‘Zimbos’- when they get the courage to return after all the negative publicity nailed into place with yet more Sanctions imposed by western moguls. Yes, there will be challenges but I believe those who are intent on returning home will prove a greater asset to Zimbabwe, having had their wits honed to perfection while scattered out here in the diasporas. Few outside of Zimbabwe are aware that Sanctions have caused multinationals to collapse. Parents split up and moved beyond its borders in order to pay for school fees back home. With no dads around to protect their children, teenage pregnancies are another heartbreaking symptom as a result of Sanctions; sadly the world is only vaguely aware at what cost these Sanctions have come at to the man in the street with the breakdown in traditional culture, marriage and the family home. For one reason or another, teenagers find themselves parenting their siblings while young girls search for newsprint to absorb their monthly menstruation because they www.thepromota.co.uk
cannot afford cotton towelling. Holding the casualties of alcoholism and prostitution to ransom for that which is destroying Zimbabwe is unfair and misleading. Diseases are common in any war zone. Zimbabwe’s situation has not strictly been classified as a war zone because weapons used against the people are not Weapons of War as such, but psychologically demonizing and demoralizing, taking their toll. The world has forgotten that four generations ago the ancestors of those today, too, faced Sanctions during Rhodesia Front’s reign, and now their descendants are subjected to the bullying tactics of more vicious western Sanctions – but they dare to live on – much to the chagrin of the West who appear more interested in minerals and billions of gallons of liquid gas beneath the ground of Matabeleland rather than in the people struggling above it, gas which will ultimately replace oil in the Middle East which is what the West covets. If anything, the tenacity embedded deep in Zimbabwe’s people, as deeply ingrained as veins of gold in the soil, empowers every man, woman and child in the street who will still take on the challenges that beset this young nation, albeit innocently facing their tomorrows with Hope. The anointed words that Vince Musewe, wrote on fundamental moral regeneration in “Zimbabwe After Mugabe” should inspire and challenge one and all, including President Robert Mugabe and the First Lady, to reconsider their options and make Zimbabwe whole. Its children have suffered enough. by Donette Read Kruger©
THE PROMOTA | 35
MOTOR REVIEW
Ja g ua r F-Type Coupe R
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Pros » » » » »
Tempting price Stunning looks Explosive performance Thunderous V8 soundtrack Hunkered-down handling
Cons » »
Compromised boot and storage Some equipment oversights
Porsche's 911 is the default sportscar choice if you've got two-hundred-odd grand rattling around your loosechange tin – and with good reason. Not everyone, though, is a slave to logic or wants to swim with the crowd. And that's when things get interesting because Aston Martin, Audi, BMW, Maserati and others are all waiting in the wings with offerings of their own. The 911-averse buyer's lot hasn't got any easier, either, with the arrival of Jaguar's F-Type Coupe, complementing the convertible version that went on sale earlier in 2014.
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THE PROMOTA | 37
JAGUAR F-TYPE COUPE R NEW CAR REVIEW
What do you get? Just like the convertible, the coupe comes in three flavours. There are no surprises with the $119,430 F-Type and $151,830 F-Type S, both of which conform to the respective specifications and run the same supercharged V6 engines as their established softtop equivalents. The top coupe tested here, however, is a rather more seriousminded package than the top convertible. Where the latter gets a supercharged V8 with 364kW to burn and the F-Type V8 S moniker, the former is just called the F-Type R and ups the ante with a 404kW version of the same engine. The price? A hefty $219,130 plus on-road costs, which makes it the only F-Type Coupe to have a price premium over its equivalent soft-top. Even so, it occupies a favourable position against rivals like the 911, Aston Martin V8 Vantage and Audi R8. The R is overflowing with sporting hardware, from adaptive sports suspension, a configurable (as opposed to preset) 'dynamic' drive mode and the top brakes in the F-Type catalogue to an electronic active differential, switchable
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active sports exhaust and massive 20-inch alloys. Jaguar is also throwing in free servicing for the first three years or 100,000km. Like many of its rivals, though, there are some unpleasant surprises on the equipment front. Standard features include satellite navigation, power seats, leather, keyless entry/start, four airbags, stability control and rear parking sensors but a reversing camera – standard on a $15k Honda Jazz – costs extra, as does dual-zone climate control.
What's inside? Practicality isn't a strong suit of the F-Type Convertible due to its tiny 196-litre boot. The coupe serves up a more useful 315 litres with the parcel shelf in place and 407 litres without it. There is a significant caveat, though – the space-saver spare tyre fitted to Oz-spec cars sits squarely in the middle of the boot and soaks up a massive chunk of that space. If you've got small or soft luggage you'll find the coupe is capable of swallowing a decent amount of gear. Otherwise, it remains a compromised beast for carrying
stuff, and it's not especially easy to see out of, either. Occupants will find a similar shortage of space to stow odds and ends beyond the small centre console bin, slender door pockets and pair of cupholders. The F-Type Coupe's practical question marks are balanced by the cabin's emotional enticements. It's attractively styled, has a quality feel and theatrical features like the air vents – which rise from the top of the centre console on start-up – add to the sense you're driving something special. There are no black marks to be assigned to the seats, which really hug the body and have a large range of adjustment, or the legibility or logic of the instruments and main switchgear. The touch-screen infotainment system, though, while fully featured, isn't as easy to use or as cleanly presented as the best setups.
Under the bonnet The R's 5.0-litre supercharged V8 looks the goods on paper with its huge 404kW power and 680Nm torque peaks. According to Jaguar
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HSGH SGHS
it results in a 0-100km/h sprint of just 4.2 seconds, which is quicker than the undeniably fleet-footed V8-powered R8, V8 Vantage and 911 Carrera S. It certainly makes an impression on the road, where squeezing the throttle with any kind of intent unleashes a sustained sweep of devastating response. The V8's massively low-rev reserves mean it's totally unfussed, easygoing and just as suited to relaxed driving. Relaxed isn't a word that will ever be used to sum up the racket the R makes with its switchable exhaust enabled. If we said it sounded like the four horseman of the apocalypse thundering along throwing hand grenades we'd probably be exaggerating, but not as much as you'd think. The mandatory transmission in the R is an eight-speed automatic with a manual mode that includes paddle shifters on the steering wheel. It's not a recipe to impress traditionalists but it's hard not to be won over by its smarts, smoothness and just how easy it makes it to access all that performance. The R has an official economy rating of 11.1L/100km, significantly better than some less powerful V8 alternatives, and an auto stop/start function to save fuel in traffic. We returned a reasonable 12.6L/100km average on our usual urban/highway loop
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but expect considerably higher averages in purely city or hard driving.
On the road The F-Type R is no featherweight, weighing in at 1650kg despite its much-vaunted all-aluminium construction. That follows through to the road, where the initial impression is less a light-on-its-toes ballerina than a planted, impregnable linebacker. Still, if the Jag lacks the fingertips delicacy of the benchmark 911, its behaviour through the bends is far from underwhelming. It steers accurately, resists body roll determinedly, has strong brakes, face-distorting roadholding from its 20-inch rubber and puts its considerable power down effectively even on bumpy surfaces. Change the driving-mode system from 'Dynamic' to default mode and you'll find the top F-Type reasonably easy on the senses, too, though tyre noise and the suspension's underlying firmness mean it's not ever likely to be mistaken for a luxury sedan.
Verdict The F-Type R Coupe's compromised practicality and some hard-toforgive specification oversights
keep it a safe distance from sportscar perfection. And while it certainly doesn't under-deliver through the bends, it doesn't quite scream benchmark either. Logically, you'd be stretching things to say the Jag was a better, more rounded, more responsible sports car than a 911. Then again, the sheer emotional pull of the its appearance, its heroic performance, booming soundtrack, its still-considerable ability to entertain and enticing price also means logic could quite rightly not even get a look in.
Jaguar F-Type R Coupe pricing and specifications » » » »
How much? From $219,130 Engine: 5.0-litre supercharged V8. 404kW/680Nm Fuel use: 11.1L/100km Emissions: 259g CO2/km
What's it got? Four airbags; Stability control; Rear parking sensor; Climate control; Cruise control; Trip computer; Power front seats; Auto headlights/wipers; Keyless entry/ start; Satellite navigation; CD/ DVD/MP3 stereo; Bluetooth; 20inch alloys.
THE PROMOTA | 39
CELEBRITY GOSSIP
Mel B
finally rid of abusive husband that has dragged her down for the last seven years other since she was rushed to hospital after collapsing.
On Twitter, he once referred to them as ‘the cutoff crew’.
And Mel B was very obviously not wearing her wedding ring on the show.
And that’s just how a manipulative bully likes it.
The marriage appears to be over. And while Mel may now feel destroyed at losing the man she described only last week as “my rock”, hopefully she’ll soon see he was a rock dragging her down.
As her life imploded on X Factor Final weekend, Mel B emerged from the show a broken woman. Broken-hearted. But more importantly, finally broken free from the stranglehold her controlling husband Stephen Belafonte has had on her throughout their seven-year marriage. They have apparently not seen nor spoken to each
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Because this was a relationship that could never, ever last or bring true happiness for Mel. And not just because Belafonte is a selfinterested, workshy bully who has admitted beating an ex-girlfriend and bludgeoning a duck to death. The true warning sign with Belafonte was that he isolated his wife from her family and friends until she had no one left but him.
Mel has had no contact with her mum Andrea or her sister Danielle for six years, and only recently resumed some contact with her dad. When Mel’s second child, Angel, was born, Andrea cut the umbilical cord. Back then, no mother and daughter could have been closer. But within months that bond had been severed so badly Andrea hasn’t even met her latest granddaughter. At the weekend, Mel’s family were so concerned about her mystery illness they had to resort to Twitter and calling up newspapers to find out where she was being treated. How terrifying and humiliating to see your daughter in papers and magazines, to hear her talking on TV, but not to have the slightest clue about her life. Any expert in domestic
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abuse will tell you the very first sign of an abuser is a man trying to isolate his partner from their loved ones. Like a predator chasing his prey, it’s easier to attack away from the pack. And any man threatened by his wife’s family is clearly incapable of building proper relationships.
But his tough guy image barely masked a wealth of personal insecurities. Maybe hers did too. Mel’s family are begging her not to return to him. If she does, it will be to more misery and a neverending chipping away of her self esteem. It will not get better. Men like her husband never allow it.
The tragedy is why Mel – the original rock hard Scary Spice – would have fallen for such an inadequate in the first place?
For any woman escaping a suffocating, controlling or abusive relationship, it is a long painful path to freedom that can take months and years to travel.
In her Spice Girls biography under “Hates” she listed “weak men and salads”. So why did she fall for a bully, the weakest of the weak?
Mel has taken the first step on that road whether she wanted to or not. But waiting for her still is the family who never gave up on her and who love her.
At first glance, with his swagger, Belafonte must have appeared the kind of strong guy Mel B wanted.
Love her enough to let her be free, as true love always does.
Daniel Kidega is new EALA Speaker Ugandan legislator Daniel Kidega has been named the new Speaker of the East African Legislative Assembly, replacing Margaret Zziwa. The position fell vacant mid-this week after the regional parliament impeached Zziwa over alleged impunity, incompetence, intimidation of members, among other reasons. Kidega, an NRM politician, had to
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beat three other hopeful, who include Mike Kennedy Sebalu (NRM), Chris Okumu Opoka (UPC) and Suzan Nakawuki (Independent). In his new post, Kidega will be responsible for directing all activities of the House and its Committees. As Speaker, he will also preside over the proceedings of the regional legislative body under the EALA Rules of Procedure.
THE PROMOTA | 41
‘The Interview’ The hackers WIN!
HSGH SGHS
Sony CANCELS release of Kim assassination movie The Interview as U.S. investigators confirm that it was North Korea behind the terrorist threat What's more, the film may never be released at all. 'Sony Pictures has no further release plans for the film,' said a spokesperson for the studio Wednesday evening. 'In light of the decision by the majority of our exhibitors not to show the film The Interview, we have decided not to move forward with the planned December 25 theatrical release,' Sony said in a statement. The studio said it was 'deeply saddened at this brazen effort to suppress the distribution of a movie, and in the process do damage to our company,' and that it stood by the film makers of The Interview, a comedy about two journalists recruited by the CIA to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The federal government confirmed on Wednesday that North Korea was behind the massive hack that saw the release of thousands of internal emails from Sony over the past two weeks. This as Sony Pictures Entertainment pulled the planned Christmas Day release of The Interview after hackers threatened 9/11-like terror attacks on cinemas showing its North Korea comedy. The decision came just hours after the five largest theater chains in North America announced they were pulling out of showing the film following the threats. 42 | THE PROMOTA
‘U.S. investigators have determined the attacks against Sony was the work of hackers working on behalf of the North Korean government,’ reported CNN Justice Correspondent Evan Perez. He then added that government officials believe that there is no way this attack could have been carried out unless it came from the top. Authorities are also looking into whether or not someone inside Sony helped the hackers. The fact that this hack turned from the releasing of private emails into a terrorist threat that compromised, as one official told the New York Times, the
‘safety of Americans,’ make this the worst cyber-attack to happen on American soil. It is still not clear how officials were able to determine that it was North Korea behind the attack. Many in Hollywood are not happy with the decision to cancel the film, and took to Twitter to express their frustration and anger. ‘Wow. Everyone caved. The hackers won. An utter and complete victory for them. Wow,’ wrote Rob Lowe. He later added; ‘Saw @ SethRogen at JFK. Both of us have never seen or heard of anything like this. Hollywood has done Neville Chamberlain proud today. Zach Braff also weighed in, writing; ‘Canceling “The Interview” seems like a pretty horrible precedent to set.’ Aaron Sorkin, who was the subject of many of the emails released in the hack, also spoke about Sony’s decision. ‘Today the U.S. succumbed to an unprecedented attack on our most cherished, bedrock principle of free speech by a group of North Korean terrorists who threatened to kill moviegoers in order to stop the release of a movie,’ he said www.thepromota.co.uk
FILM & ENTERTAINMENT
in a statement obtained by Deadline. ‘The wishes of the terrorists were fulfilled in part by easily distracted members of the American press who chose gossip and schadenfreude-fueled reporting over a story with immeasurable consequences for the public–a story that was developing right in front of their eyes. My deepest sympathies go out to Sony Pictures, Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg and everyone who worked on The Interview.’ Regal, AMC, Cinemark, Cineplex and Carmike, who between operate more than half of the country’s 40,000 cinemas, had announced earlier on Wednesday that they wouldn’t be showing the movie. In a statement, Regal said it was delaying any showings of The Interview because of ‘the ambiguous nature of any real or perceived security threats.’ The statement from Regal’s vice president of marketing and communications also pointed the finger of blame at Sony and its ‘wavering support’ for the movie.
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Sony had told exhibitors on Tuesday that the company understood if they pulled the film in light of the threats. ‘Due to the wavering support of the film The Interview by Sony Pictures, as well as the ambiguous nature of any real or perceived security threats, Regal Entertainment Group has decided to delay the opening of the film in our theaters,’ said Regal’s Russ Nunley. Cineplex, which also has more than a 75 percent market share in Canada with 161 theaters and 1,639 screens, also released a statement on Wednesday. The famed Alamo Drafthouse theaters in Texas, who said after Sony’s announcement on Wednesday that they still had every intention of showing the film despite the threats, announced they would be playing another movie that mocked the North Korean leader in its place - Team America: World Police. ‘We’re just trying to make the best of an unfortunate situation,’ creative manager and programmer James Wallace told The Hollywood Reporter.
HACKERS' CHILLING WARNING THREATENS CINEMA ATTACKS The Guardians of Peace threat released on Tuesday reads: Warning We will clearly show it to you at the very time and places The Interview be shown, including the premiere, how bitter fate those who seek fun in terror should be doomed to. Soon all the world will see what an awful movie Sony Pictures Entertainment has made. The world will be full of fear. Remember the 11th of September 2001. We recommend you to keep yourself distant from the places at that time. (If your house is nearby, you'd better leave.) Whatever comes in the coming days is called by the greed of Sony Pictures Entertainment. All the world will denounce the SONY. THE PROMOTA | 43
RICHARD BRANSON:
S. Arabia attacking renewable energy with cheaper oil oil goes down to $30-$40 a barrel, then it will make it much harder for clean energy. Governments are going to have to think hard how to adapt to low oil prices,” he said.
Saudi Arabia’s push to drive down oil prices is not just an attempt to undermine the US shale oil boom, but also the global clean energy industry, Virgin founder Richard Branson has said in an interview with British media.
He said it was time for governments who are intent on reducing their carbon emissions to levy a carbon tax on fossil fuel users, which would be offset but the corresponding drop in prices.
“They have done it before and it hurt,” the Guardian cited Branson as saying. “They don’t just want to damage the US fracking industry, but also the clean energy business. The collapse of oil prices is going to make it much more difficult for clean energy.”
“If governments want a carbon tax [at the climate summit] in Paris next year, then it would be the best time. What the clean energy business needs is a gap between it and coal and oil."
Branson, the founder of the venture capital conglomerate Virgin Group, who has invested an estimated $350 million in clean technologies, said that both fracking and renewables had put a drastic dent in the bottom line of oil producing countries over the past few years.
Last month, OPEC, the global cartel of oil producing countries, which includes Saudi Arabia, opted not to cut back on oil production amid plummeting crude prices during its 166th meeting.
“Before the oil price collapsed, solar was actually cheaper [than oil]. If
Since June, the value of oil has nearly halved, with
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crude following below $60 per barrel for the first time since July 2009. Ali al-Naimi, Saudi Arabia’s oil minister, reportedly told fellow OPEC members that a concerted attack on US shale oil was needed to reduce the profitability of North American producers. “Naimi spoke about market share rivalry with the United States. And those who wanted a cut understood that there was no option to achieve it because the Saudis want a market share battle,” Reuters cited a source who was briefed by a nonGulf OPEC minister as saying. Kuwait’s oil minister Ali al-Omair said OPEC has no intention of intervening to prop up the price of oil. He added that “[many of] the shale oil and sand oil companies are producing at a cost higher that current oil prices,” AFP reports. When asked if OPEC would meet www.thepromota.co.uk
BUSINESS
again if the price of oil dropped to $40 dollars a barrel, he said “there are no plans,” adding that “we will talk about it when the time comes.” His comments mirrored those made by the United Arab Emirates’ energy minister to Bloomberg on Monday. “We are not going to change our minds because the prices went to $60 or to $40,” Mazrouei told Bloomberg. “We’re not targeting a price; the market will stabilize itself.” He said that OPEC would have to wait “at least a quarter” before considering an extraordinary
session, saying current conditions did not “justify” such a meeting. The collapse of oil prices has in part led to volatility in the Russian economy. Russia, one of the world’s largest oil producers, was forced to hike interest rates to 17 percent in support of the ruble, which lost as much as 20 percent of its value. Western-backed sanctions against Russia, which have also trammeled Russia’s ability to get foreign credit, have also contributed to ruble’s recent volatility.
The Central Bank has expended in excess of $80 billion to prop up the ruble this year, including more than $8 billion since free floating the currency in November. According to BBC estimates, Russia loses approximately $2 billion in revenue for every dollar fall in the price of oil. Moscow, however, says it will not cut back its own oil production to ratchet up the price of oil. Source: RT.com
George Stinney, Exonerated 70 Years
After Wrongful Murder Conviction As 14-Year-Old After seven decades, a black 14-year-old boy has been cleared of murder. In 1944, George Stinney was convicted of murdering two white girls in Alcolu, South Carolina. He was executed via the electric chair after his white lawyer called no witnesses and performed no crossexaminations. Judge Carmen Mullen vacated the conviction against Stinney on Wednesday, WISTV reports. In January, a judge agreed to hear new testimony and arguments in the case. At a hearing that month, Solicitor Ernest "Chip" Finney III argued the conviction should stand. "They weren't trying to railroad every black person associated with Alcolu and these little girls. They made a determination based on facts we don't have today that George Stinney should be detained," Finney said. But an attorney arguing on behalf of Stinney said the state handled the case so badly that it merited another look. "The state, as an entity, has very unclean hands," attorney Miller Shealy argued. www.thepromota.co.uk
THE PROMOTA | 45
TECHNOLOGY
Deadly Crowd dispersal, Chinese style:
Beijing unveils portable microwave ray gun that makes victims feel like their skin is on fire • • • •
New weapon for crowd control has been likened to a 'human microwave' The Poly WB-1 beam creates movement in water molecules under the skin It causes an excruciating burning sensation that targets find unbearable But the weapon is completely non-lethal and causes no lasting damage
China has presented Poly WB-1, a non-lethal ray gun that can be used for crowd dispersal, by making its targets feel like their skin is on fire. The US version of the weapon was shelved due to practical difficulties and the potential public backlash. According to the authoritative Jane’s magazine, the WB-1, presented at the Airshow China 2014 in Zhuhai last month, has a current range of about 80 meters, though it can be expanded to 1 kilometer. Using a similar principle to a microwave oven it incites movement in the fat and water molecules located just below the skin surface, making the target feel like they are burning from the inside. As soon as the target steps away from the ray, the pain ceases, purportedly leaving no damage to nerve endings and blood vessels, which are located deeper below the epidermis. This makes it a viable weapon for crowd control, which was how the US intended to use its own Active Denial System (ADS) during its occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. Jane’s cited reports that China Poly Group Corporation, the secretive state-owned maker of the device, is developing a more powerful version of the gun. The upgraded version
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could be mounted on ships “which could allow China to escalate its use of non-lethal confrontation to enforce its maritime claims in the East China and South China seas.” The disputed shipping lanes, which also lie over potential mineral deposits, have been the growing focus of external tension between China and its neighbors, particularly Japan. Numerous incidents have seen ships from rival nations come close to each other, most notably in the 2010 collision between a Chinese trawler and Japanese patrol boats, which led to a full-blown diplomatic incident between Tokyo and Beijing. It remains to be seen if Chinese military planners have also learned the lessons from the trouble-plagued ADS.
Although touted by the US military as a more humane means of crowd control than the traditional rubber bullets, tear gas and water cannons, the radical weapon failed to gain acceptance. The extreme pain belied the military’s insistence that the weapon was not harmful, despite filmed public demonstrations of ADS involving journalists and senior military commanders.
There were also practical difficulties – ADS took up to 16 hours to warm up, or required huge amounts of fuel to be in constant standby mode, meaning that it was near-useless in dispersing the spontaneous demonstrations that US forces encountered. Despite its 250 meter range, it was reportedly also hard to manoeuver and aim accurately. Nonetheless, a report from Breaking Defense last year insisted that the US remained “bullish” about ADS, and was also contemplating remounting it on ships, to use in such hypothetical situations as a crew of an oil tanker having to repel a pirate attack. Russia also claimed to be working on a similar ray gun in 2012, though no photographed prototypes have been revealed to the public. As for Poly WB-1, while it is unlikely that it would have been developed without instructions from above, it is unclear whether it has been commissioned by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, whose budget and hunger for new technologies has escalated in the past decade.
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POLITICS
OBAMA RE-ESTABLISHES RELATIONSHIP WITH CUBA Tight Ties Remain on Economic Relations The historic breakthrough in U.S.-Cuba relations announced Wednesday will allow more money to flow to the Caribbean island but keep trade and investment relations under tight controls, experts said. After a trade embargo on Cuba for more than 50 years, the White House said it will expand how much money Americans can send to the impoverished country and open up the flow of U.S. tourists there. But investment and trade will remain strictly controlled under laws passed by Congress and Cuba's own restrictions, holding off moves to enter the Cuban market by industries from U.S. hoteliers to oil companies and automakers. Gary Hufbauer of the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington estimates that a full thaw in relations could open up $510 billion in investment into Cuba. But that will not start right away, he told AFP. "This is only the beginning of a long path to normalization. For the most part, U.S. firms are still blocked, not only by U.S. sanctions, but also by the heavy hand of the state in Cuba."
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The deal announced by the White House will boost the flow of dollars into Cuba. It quadruples the amount of remittances allowed to $2,000 per quarter, and gives general permission for a broad range of U.S. visitors to the country. It also allows Americans to export building materials and agricultural equipment to Cuba to support the country's nascent private sector.
But beyond that, there was little for businesses, because the five-decade-old embargo officially remains in place. President Obama "has done virtually all he can without an act of Congress by announcing sweeping changes to the US sanctions on Cuba," said Lawrence Ward, an international business lawyer with the Dorsey & Whitney law firm.
"This change will make it easier for Cuban citizens to have access to certain lower-priced goods to improve their living standards and gain greater economic independence from the state," the White House said.
"Obama has squarely placed the ball in the Congress's court to engage in serious discussion on fully lifting the 50-year embargo."
It also allows U.S. banks to set up accounts with Cuban financial institutions to facilitate transfers and the use of U.S. credit and debit cards, which will facilitate more visits to the country and more inward flow of dollars as well.
"Both trade and investment depend on reciprocal liberalization with the United States, across a range of sectors and measures, and this will take time," he said. "Also, Cuba needs to compensate for past expropriation," he added.
The White House also said that the U.S. telecommunications industry will be permitted to build infrastructure in Cuba for telephone and internet services, improving communications between the two countries.
The Fidel Castro-led communists who took power in 1959 seized millions of dollars worth of real estate and other property from American owners in the process.
Hufbauer said there remain important hurdles to that happening.
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CELEBRITY GOSSIP
D
espite a dizzying number of women coming forward against her husband, Camille Cosby refuses to sharpen her blade of vengeance. Is this another case of cognitive dissonance? As the number of women accusing Bill Cosby of sexual assault and other misbehavior grows dizzyingly high, it is becoming increasingly hard for all but the most devoted rape denialist to wave the accusations away as baseless. It’s also been hard for many, particularly women, not to wonder how Cosby’s wife, Camille Cosby, must be reacting to this. Many women like to think that if they were in her shoes, they’d be throwing the bastard on his ass with one hand while calling their divorce lawyer with another, a pleasing fantasy of righteous anger unleashed. Camille Cosby didn’t do that. Instead, she released an incredibly manipulative statement trying to link Rolling Stone’s questionable story about rape at UVA to the stories about her husband, even though the two situations have nothing to do with each other. She complained that there “appears to be no vetting of my husband’s
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Why Didn’t Camille Dump Bill Cosby? Cosby? accusers,” an accusation that falls flat when you look at how thorough much of the reporting has been on this. “None of us will ever want to be in the position of attacking a victim. But the question should be asked—who is the victim?” she concludes, clearly hoping you think the answer is “Bill Cosby.” Why is Camille Cosby going on the record and not Bill Cosby? Ironically, this kind of move is intended to exploit the public’s belief that the typical woman would immediately leave a bad man. “I would leave my husband if he did such a thing,” they’re hoping you think, “and so, if she forgives him, it must be because he’s not guilty after all.” Seeing a woman forgive where we expect to see a woman sharpening her blade of vengeance is the go-to tactic in public relations for just this reason. That’s why the wife is dragged out in front of the cameras to publicly forgive the errant husband both in cases of ordinary infidelity (Elliot Spitzer, David Vitter) and in more serious cases of violence against women (Ray Rice).
Publicly standing by your man after he’s been hit with serious allegations of sexual abuse is even a sub-genre of its own. Anne Sinclair, wife of the head of the IMF Dominque StraussKahn, made a big public show of standing by him after he was accused of rape. (She has since divorced him.) Jerry Sandusky’s wife, Dottie Sandusky, continues to deny the overwhelming evidence that her husband is a serial child molester. Even Kenneth Moreno, the NYPD officer who barely escaped charges of raping a woman while on duty but was definitely found guilty of official misconduct and fired, got to enjoy having his wife Julia Moreno blame the alleged victim instead of her husband, even though he was caught on tape admitting the sex happened. Fired cops and imprisoned ex-coaches aren’t exactly moneybags, suggesting that the old excuse, that they’re doing it for the money, doesn’t fly. In fact, when you tally it, it becomes clear that the norm is not for women to up and leave in a fiery rage after their man has done them wrong, but instead to stay and make excuses for him. So much so that it was actually startling to see Jenny www.thepromota.co.uk
BILL COSBY Sanford, wife of then-South Carolina governor Mark Sanford, refuse to stand with him at his adultery admission press conference. But most women do the walk with their man, even if they later wise up and decide to leave him after all. Why is that? A big part of the reason is a simple psychological phenomenon called cognitive dissonance. “Cognitive dissonance is a state of tension that occurs whenever a person holds two cognitions (ideas, attitudes, beliefs, opinions) that are psychologically inconsistent,” write psychologists Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson in their book Mistakes Were Made (But Not By Me): Why We Justify Foolish Beliefs, Bad Decisions, and Hurtful Acts, “such as ‘Smoking is a dumb thing to do because it could kill me’ and ‘I smoke two packs a day.’” Or, in this case, between “this is the man that I, a good person, chose to love” and information suggesting he isn’t worthy of your love. “Women are just like men who stay in a bad deal, a bad job, a bad love affair, a bad war and justify that decision.” We all suffer from cognitive dissonance and we are all capable of coming up with “ingenious, self-deluding ways,” according to Tavris and Aronson. And once we make a decision—to take a job, to enter a marriage, to get a pet—we start coming up with reasons to justify that decision while minimizing reasons to regret it. We focus on our lover’s delightful laugh and ignore the way he picks his teeth at dinner. We coo over how cute our cat is and minimize the drudgery of cleaning the litter box.
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Most of the time, this strategy of resolving cognitive dissonance by justifying decisions we’ve already made is a good thing—without it, we’d always be paralyzed with wondering “what if” we took another job, lived in another city, or married someone else. But unfortunately, the same psychological mechanism that keeps you from second-guessing ordinary, perfectly good decisions leads you to justifying objectively bad decisions in exactly the same way. In the book, Tavris and Aronson argue that the same ability to overlook minor flaws in a marriage leads to overlooking major ones. “To avoid facing the devastating possible that they invested so many years, so much energy, so many arguments,” they write, people will latch on to any excuse they can to stick with it. When I spoke to Tavris about this phenomenon, she emphasized that everyone does this. “Women are just like men who stay in a bad deal, a bad job, a bad love affair, a bad war and justify that decision,” Tavris explained. Leaving may be hard because it means having your heart broken, losing a life you built, or even going through the stress of divorce, so many women stay. “And once a woman decides to stay,” Tavris explained, “she will emphasize the reasons to stay and minimize the importance of the reasons to leave.”
With women put in front of the public to justify staying with bad men, we see these justifications in full bloom. Camille Cosby hints that it’s a conspiracy against her husband. Janay Rice emphasizes the counseling and her husband’s stated regret. Julia Moreno argued that her husband’s alleged victim is the bad guy here. Dottie Sandusky says that her husband is innocent. But even though doubling down after we realize we’ve made a terrible mistake is just human nature, that doesn’t mean we have to give up hope. Sometimes people resolve cognitive dissonance by quitting smoking, divorcing the bad guy, or selling the crappy house. Ironically, the same psychological crutch of self-justification can then help in these situations. Once you decide to leave a bad marriage, for instance, you will immediately start coming up with reasons to justify why this is a good decision: You start focusing on how fun dating will be, you get excited about having an apartment of your own, you think about what sex with someone new will be like. But first you have to overcome that natural human urge to keep throwing good money after bad, and that is a difficult task for most of us. by thedailybeast.com
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Nigerian kings, the ALAAFIN OF OYO, ba amidi layiwola deyemi, and his four wives on the United Kingdom trip A Nigerian king and his many wives dazzle London
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The Nigerian king and his wives (all dressed in matching outfits) were the objects of attention as soon as they stepped into the departure hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport Lagos and that opened the floodgates to comments from Nigeria’s active social media. While many people concentrated on the negative
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A
aspects of the polygamous marriage that was on display, some others celebrated a king and queens in tune with their culture, and yet some others focused on the complexion and age of the oloris (queens): did they bleach their skins? How come they are so young? Isn’t the youngest olori too young to be married to an old man, even though he is a king?
The criticism did come pouring in, but so did the praises. In this age of everything Western and modern, it is expected that people will call a polygamous king medieval. Still, the same people will celebrate a rapper with several baby mamas for being ‘modern’. But truth be told, medieval or not, the king is living the fantasy of most hotblooded men.
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http://thisisafrica.me/lifestyle/nigerian-king-many-wives-dazzle-london/
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The truths and fictions of the “Africa Rising” story The truth about Africa Rising is that it is real. The economy is growing and potential for huge and sustained growth is enormous. According to the British newspaper The Independent, 31 million households in Africa have moved up from poverty into the consuming class, and in only 20 years Africa will have the largest labour force in the world. The spending power of this demographic will further fuel the economy. The fiction about Africa Rising is that it will happen as a matter of course, and that anyone can turn up and share in the benefits. It won’t happen unless government and the private sector address the challenges posed by: bloated bureaucracies, lack of infrastructure, and lack of flexibility. Development and growth in postcolonial independent Africa was blighted by weak leadership, blinkered visions, flawed ideologies and unattainable economic policies. It is because of this 52 | THE PROMOTA
legacy that Africa is perceived as a risky investment destination. But Africa has come a long way since then. Many countries are establishing stable democratic governments, rule of law and respect for individual property rights, efficient tax collection systems, fair judicial systems and realistic long-term macro-economic strategies. These conditions are pre-requisites for sound Direct Foreign Investment. So it is fair to say that in 2014 investing in many African states is much less risky than it has been. My advice to investors is to stay away if they are not willing to commit to longterm investment in Africa. If they do commit over the long-term they will stand to profit handsomely from the great rewards that follow sustained growth. Investors who think globally, but adapt to local conditions, will minimise their risk and be part of Africa’s long-term sustainable growth.
Investors must also be willing to adapt to local conditions. They must show their long-term commitment by investing in society and in infrastructure. The short-term driven looting of resources wasn’t sustainable in colonial times, and it isn’t sustainable in the 21st century either. Closing the data gap The story of Africa Rising is told in data and statistics. Investors and governments need accurate data to make sound investments and devise economic strategies. Unfortunately in Africa the quality of data is often poor. With insufficient data the full picture is not revealed, which means that reliable models for investment and planning can’t be developed. The challenge is to close the data gap. The long-term solution is universal primary and secondary education. The immediate and short-term solution is to use technology to fill in the data gaps. www.thepromota.co.uk
AFRICA AFFAIRS
Computers can process and relay masses of data, but are not accessible to the rural and urban poor populations. Data and information gathered by satellite are accurate, but expensive and rely on foreign intermediaries. Cell phone technology is proving to be immensely useful for gathering, disseminating and redistributing data. There are huge opportunities for entrepreneurs to develop cell phone applications (apps) for specific situations so that more data can be gathered and made available, which will lead to better decisionmaking. Governments must create strong policies that encourage the gathering and dissemination of data. Because it is only through providing potential investors with reliable and packaged data that they will be able to assess risk and make good investment decisions. Leveraging local media and the creative industry Global players who seek to attract local co-investors for joint-ventures in Africa need local input in their marketing efforts. They need to form partnerships with local media companies if they are to create authentic marketing content. Local media platforms need to be included and should benefit from these marketing efforts. Marketing should be creative and entertaining. It should have a local angle, but should not exclude the global village. The Africa Rising story is a worthy one and needs to be told as widely as possible. www.thepromota.co.uk
Promoting Brand Africa Africa looms large on the radar of many multinationals because it offers greater potential than waning traditional North American and European markets. Africans need to market and brand the continent in such a way that it becomes irresistible to foreign investors. With over 50 countries, hundreds of languages, many cultures and religions, Africa is so huge and so diverse, that it is hard to try and brand it as a single entity. What counts in its favour is that Africa, as an independent continent, is only 50 years old. By shaking off its colonial baggage it can brand itself afresh. So, governments must attempt to brand their countries, regions and continent as a place where stable democracy and rule of law are the order of the day, and where infrastructure development is a priority.
Germany – as a brand – is synonymous with efficiency and technology. Italy is synonymous with style and design excellence. Africa has a unique brand attribute that can be used to attract investors. It is a place with friendly people who want to play their part in the rising continent, where potential growth is huge. Africa abounds in opportunities in the retail, manufacturing, mineral resource, agriculture, hospitality and energy sectors. The narrative of the African Rising story is constantly being rewritten and often the truth seems to be stranger than fiction. And as the story unfolds and reveals itself, the outcome seems much more positive than was previously imagined. This extract by Nasser Sattar originally appears in Africa Arisen: The Blue-Sky Continent 2014. Nasser is Head of Advisory in KPMG Angola and Portugal By KPMG Africa
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AFRICA DEVELOPMENT
Top 10:
Africa's most prosperous countries
CNN Marketplace Africa covered the macro trends impacting the region and also focuses on the continent's key industries and corporations
What is Africa's most prosperous country? According to new research from the Legatum Institute, which last week ranked prosperity in 38 African countries around criteria ranging from economics to education to health, the title belongs to Botswana, the diamond-rich country in southern Africa. As well as posting a relatively high per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $15,176, Botswana also fared well in terms of governance, education and personal freedom. As the country spends 8% of its GDP on education, it is among the biggest proportional spenders in the world according to the
10. Senegal Senegal ranks as the continent’s 10th most prosperous nation, according to Legatum Institute’s 2014 Africa Prosperity Report, up nine places since 2012.
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World Bank. This is the third year in a row that Botswana has topped the index. In contrast, the Central African Republic was the lowest ranked country on the continent. The country, which has a per capita GDP of $584, has seen increasing violence since the end of 2012, and only 21.5% of the population have access to sanitation according to the prosperity index. Biggest gainers Rwanda was the best improver, gaining five ranking places to end up as the eighth most prosperous country in Africa.
9. Burkina Faso Burkina Faso ranks ninth in the 2014 report, having risen by five places since 2012.
8. Rwanda Rwanda was ranked the eighth most prosperous African nation. The report praised the country for “actively encouraging women” to shape the future of their country.
The country was found to have the sixth highest ranking in regulation and government effectiveness, the eighth highest score in rule of law and the lowest perceptions of corruption in Africa. “Rwanda deserves credit for actively encouraging women to play a central role in shaping the future of their country. And it seems to be paying dividends,” says the report. These findings bucked trends across the continent, where 41% of women are out of work, as opposed to 23% of men.
7. Ghana As this scene from Makola Market in Accra shows, Ghana has a vibrant economic spirit. The West African nation was ranked seventh in the prosperity rankings and was considered the second safest nation on the continent.
6. Algeria The sixth most prosperous nation in Africa is Algeria. The country, where 93% of respondents have a cell phone, topped the economy index.
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“We cannot talk about the prosperity of women in Africa if we don’t change the inappropriate policies that hinder their progress,” argues Marieme Jamme, a Davos Young Global leader and CEO of SpotOne Global Solutions. “We cannot sugar coat the issues of funding, mentoring, gender equality, recognition and representation and expect women to come winners within the current framework and plans we have in Africa.” Other notable gainers since 2012 included countries from East Africa -- while neither Kenya nor Mozambique featured in the top 10 most prosperous countries in Africa, they both rose by four places in the rankings since 2012. As over 44% of Kenyans thought it was a good time to find employment, the country ranked ninth in terms of entrepreneurship and opportunity. But following the 2013 siege in Nairobi’s Westgate Mall, the country ranked 32 of 38 in terms of safety and security.
5. Tunisia Tunisia is the fifth most prosperous African nation in 2014 according to the Legatum Institute. The country ranks first in the health sub-index and citizens have a life expectancy of 75 years -17 years higher than the African average.
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Initiatives that support women empowerment and a more active participation in business will be key for future prosperity. Novella Bottini, Economist in the Prosperity Index
Falling down the ranks Regional partner Tanzania, by contrast, fell eight places since 2012 going from 11th to 19th in the latest rankings. A drop in five-year average growth and an increase in inflation were coupled with a decline in confidence in financial institutions and falling satisfaction with living standards. The country fared particularly badly in terms of personal freedom, where it fell from 24th to 28th. While Tanzania’s education score rose by one place in the rankings, the report argues that Tanzania needs to improve the quality of education in schools rather than focusing on enrollment rates. “Tanzanian education is not producing graduates with the skills needed to work in the formal sector,” the report says. “The
4. Namibia This Windhoek-based hotel is in the fourth most prosperous African country: Namibia, ranked second in the governance sub-index.
3. Morocco The oldest section of Fes is the walled settlement of Fes El Bali. The city was once the capital of Morocco, which is the third most prosperous African nation.
lack of an adequately skilled workforce is a hindrance to investment in sectors such as manufacturing, construction, mining, agriculture, finance, and communications... Tanzania needs education that improves students’ chances of finding employment.” The biggest faller was Malawi, which dropped 11 places since 2012 to 20th in the index. The report cites a drop in the fiveyear GDP growth rate as part of the reason the country fell by 18 places in the Economy subindex. In all, average prosperity in Africa has been on the up since 2012. In the past two years all countries have seen increases in at least one area tracked by the report. But Nathan Gamester, program director of the Prosperity Index ,added a cautious note to the findings: “As African economies grow, a chief concern for many governments is how to ensure that the fruits of growth benefit a majority of the population and contribute to true long term prosperity.”
2. South Africa A general view of the Johannesburg skyline. South Africa ranked as the second most prosperous country in Africa, with nearly 40% of people surveyed saying it’s a good time to find a job.
1. Botswana As well as beautiful natural heritage, Botswana is the most prosperous African country according to research conducted by the Legatum Institute. The landlocked country ranks first in the report’s governance index. THE PROMOTA | 55
LAKE KARIBA FISHERIES – A LOOMING CRISIS
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INTRODUCTION ake Kariba was born on 2nd December 1958 when the dam wall closed and the Zambezi River waters started rising behind it. With floodwater pouring in, the lake waters rose rapidly, reaching its maximum capacity in 1963 to form what was then the world’s largest manmade lake. The large expanse of fertile water provided an abundance of fish for thousands of fishermen and anglers. The future of fish and fishing looked promising.
In his book, Fishes of Kariba, Dale Kenmuir, writes that when sardines (kapenta – Limnothrissa Miodon) were introduced, they exploded. “Teeming masses of silvery sardines swarmed in the open waters where previously there was nothing. Soon a twinkling armada of fishing boats bobbed on the dark waters at night, dipping and hauling, hauling and dipping. Enthusiasm waxed. Tonnes of fish flooded onto the market, employment rose, Kariba thrived and everyone was happy” (Fishes of Kariba, Dale Kenmuir, Longman Zimbabwe, 1983, p1). From early research it was always noted that the lake’s fish populations responded to environmental factors and that our fish resources are not inexhaustible or impervious to abuse, and that co-operation is necessary amongst all concerned to preserve them for 56 | THE PROMOTA
present and future generations. Today we have arrived at a situation where those concerned cannot afford to behave as if things were normal. We are faced with a crisis and only decisive action can rescue the disaster on Lake Kariba. TYPES OF FISHING There are two main types of fisheries in Lake Kariba that have been fully studied according to the Lake Kariba Fisheries Research Institute, a Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority unit. These are the commercial Kapenta fishery (offshore) and the Gillnet/artisanal fishery (inshore) mostly used by those communities that previously relied on fish in the Zambezi River.
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The aquaculture sector is nascent and there is only one major company operating, namely Lake Harvest Aquaculture and it provides the best hope for future fish production on the lake. It must be noted that Kariba fisheries contribute 60 -70% of Zimbabwe’s total fish output and therefore they have a crucial role in the country’s food security. WHAT HAS CHANGED? Several writers and researchers have raised concern on a number of issues which have tended to affect the bio-diversity of the lake. These issues include climate change, crayfish invasion, overfishing and poaching (this list is not exhaustive): CLIMATE CHANGE Dale Kenmuir found that “Most physical and chemical events in the lake are influenced or even dictated by climate – the three most important conditions being rainfall, temperature and wind. Warm air raises the water temperature, cool air lowers it, wind agitates water and mixes it, rain brings in nutrients, and so on.” Any significant changes in these elements are bound to affect biodiversity in Lake Kariba. Climate change has taken prominence in recent years and measures have to be taken by those mandated to manage the lake’s affairs to mitigate the effects of climate change. It is hoped that the Ministry of Environment, Water and Climate will stay focused and achieve its aims. THE CRAYFISH MENACE In recent years it has been discovered that Lake Kariba is infested with the foreign and invasive Australian Red Claw Crayfish. Crayfish are voracious and omnivorous, feeding on live or decaying animal or vegetable matter. They destroy fish nests, deprive the marine life of their usual sources of food and generally decimate them. Crayfish are the arch enemy of existing fisheries. The Financial Gazette of 3rd July 2014, quotes a 2012 University of Zimbabwe report titled “Invasive Australian Crayfish (Cherax quadricarinitus) in the Sanyati Basin of Lake Kariba: a preliminary survey” and expresses fears that the crayfish might have www.thepromota.co.uk
spread to other parts of the lake in the two years following the survey. The Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (hereinafter referred as ZPWMA) should promote consumption of this species so that it is reduced instead of levying unviable fees to those intending to exploit the crayfish commercially and eradicate the scourge. If managed properly, the crayfish threat could be minimal and evolve into a lucrative alternative to the traditional fishery. If mismanaged, the crayfish can wreak irreparable damage. POACHING Fish poaching has been rampant in recent years and includes, amongst other practices, fishing in prohibited breeding areas, river mouths, shallow waters and using banned four-millimetre fishing nets as reported by Bulawayo24 News (17th August 2014). Zimbabwean fishermen have also complained of their Zambian counterparts disrespecting set boundaries and fishing in Zimbabwe waters with banned net sizes and twine nets. Progressively dwindling catches have fuelled poaching. PIRATES Pirates are a major threat. Crafts of all manner and size are criss-crossing the lake at night buying fish illegally from the crew of fee-paying commercial operators. Besides threatening safe passage on the lake, these pirates are compromising the operations of legally established operations and lead to the compiling of figures reflecting a skewed position as the clandestine night sales are never recorded. It might be that catches have not really fallen drastically but that the pirates have had a free reign and recorded catches are all wrong. One of the immediate needs of arresting the situation on Lake Kariba is to totally cut off this illegal trade and start recording correcting, reliable information. SUB-LETTING OF FISHING PERMITS Although licensing is believed to be less rigorous in neighbouring Zambia (Studies of Fishing on Lake Kariba – by M.F.C Bourdillon, A.P. Cheater and M.W. Murphree, 1985), on the Zimbabwean side fishing THE PROMOTA | 57
FEATURE
permits are mostly held by non-fishing entities who then sublet them at more than double what ZPWMA actually charge. This pushes Zimbabwe’s tenant fishermen to exert more fishing effort due to increased license fees and failing catches. The charges required ZPWMA and landlord fishermen fuel poaching, piracy and a general disregard of the regulations. The charges are the highest in Africa, south of the Equator, according the Kapenta Producers Association. Sub-letting fishing permits is a violation of the terms and conditions under which they are issued. TOTAL DISREGARD OF THE TRADITIONAL CUSTOMS OF THE AREA Traditional ceremonies are no longer conducted as frequently and as prescribed by custom, with political leaders taking precedence over traditional leaders. History is replete with communities that have paid high prices for ignoring their own traditions. The spirits have to be appeased, as per custom, and traditional leaders have to be accorded their due respect and be made to lead traditional rites. Such traditions as not fishing over the full moon period have been totally discarded, exerting pressure on the resource so relentlessly harvested.
Climate. The operation, monitoring and maintenance of the Kariba Complex (Kariba Complex means the Kariba Dam Wall and Reservoir) falls to the Zambezi River Authority (ZRA) which reports to the Ministry of Power Development and Energy. At times this duplicity of roles blurs the clarity that is intended to be achieved and slows decisions. 2.
Bridging the skills development gap in the Zambezi valley: A skills-based development of the area that will remove some of the people from the lake, ease pressure on the fishing industry and expose former fishermen to other pursuits of economic value is needed. Several such developmental projects have been proposed, including Zambezi Wind Song author, Donette Kruger’s Bridge Academy Kariba, which has lacked support and yet without education, there will be no immediate visible results. There is no institution of higher learning in Kariba or surrounding areas. Furthermore, people have no reason to preserve what they do not benefit from.
3.
Fishing Permits: Total withdrawal of some fishing licences and their re-allocation should be considered. Landlord fishermen charge as much as three times what ZPWMA charge. Cancellation of permits of repeated offenders will be a prohibitive measure, particularly now that it has become apparent that the number of fishing rigs has to be reduced to sustainable
Possible Solutions The position paper by ZPWMA entitled “Fisheries of Lake Kariba – Where are we and where are we going” presented at a Stakeholders’ meeting in Kariba (March 2014) is unequivocal in stating that “it is undeniable that immediate action is needed to address the situation”. It also observes that although the remedies may prove unpopular with operators, they are necessary for the preservation and continued existence of the fishing industry. 1.
Government Development Policy: There is no publicly espoused government fisheries development policy at the moment. The situation is compounded by the fact that three ministries vie for the control of the lake – fishing falls under Agriculture in a water body that has been declared a recreational park and falls under the Ministry of Environment, Water and
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LAKE KARIBA FISHERIES -
6.
Cull the Crocodiles: Recent reports indicate that increased incidences of fatal crocodile attacks on Lake Kariba are affecting tourist arrivals to the resort. ZPWMA can raise money, which they are currently losing, by offering these crocodiles to hunters and operators for a fee. Revenue from the culling and increased tourist arrivals will boost ZPWMA coffers.
7.
Arrest and Prosecute: It’s amazing how and why illegal fish buyers and those selling the fish to them (particularly in the Kapenta industry) are not taken to task for theft. Legal fish operations need to be supported by the Authorities in order for them to receive the correct catches and benefit from their operations.
8.
Private Anti-poaching Initiatives: Most anti-poaching initiatives on Lake Kariba are private efforts. These need to be capacitated, empowered to arrest by equipping with tip-off service telephone lines and radios. In this day and age with mobile phones, it would not be an impossible task.
9.
Incentivise Increase and Improve Aquaculture: Lake Kariba waters provide optimal conditions for fish breeding on land and in cages on the lake, according to the ZWPMA position paper referred to earlier. Investors should, therefore, be encouraged to venture into this untapped fishfarming platform which promises great rewards.
levels. 4.
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Reduced Parks charges: It has been noted that fishing operations and leisure boaters on Lake Kariba contribute immensely to fuel consumption in the country and since their tax does not filter down to repairing anything on Lake Kariba, it is suggested that they should be charged reduced fees for accessing the lake. The government receives a sizeable percentage as tax which is not required to maintain roads on Lake Kariba, so the operational fees should be reduced to moderate levels. If the lake were under the control of one Ministry, this would be easy to implement. Increased Lake Navigation Control and ZPWMA presence on the Lake: According to ZPWMA, “it has been proven that the increased presence of Parks details on the Lake results in reduced numbers of illegal activities.” One then wonders why this is not done. One of the reasons is that fairly little of the revenue collected from the Lake-users is ploughed back into Kariba. In the end Parks, without telling you the whys and wherefores of where the revenue generated from fishing, leisure boaters and tourists is absorbed, will tell you they need their details to be adequately equipped with boats, fuel and manpower. Incidents of Parks officers falsifying and under declaring collections are on the rise in Kariba.
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A concerted effort by all stakeholders on ensuring a sustainable fishery will significantly improve the status of the fishery. Zimbabwe and Zambia wildlife authorities should combine to stamp out illegality. By Laiton Kandawire The author is an Incentive Travel Organizer, Kariba Destination Planner and a certified ZimHost who has written extensively about and promotes tourism into the Kariba and Zambezi Valley areas. He can be reached by e-mail on: ulakariba@gmail.com
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D
uring his four day visit to Rome, Italy and to the Vatican, from 25th to 28th October, HE President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni had a rare chance to tour some of the historical sites of the Eternal City of Rome. The President also visited Uganda Martyrs Church located at Grotta Profetta in Eur, Rome. The Church was built in memory of Uganda Martyrs by Pope Paul VI, who visited Uganda in 1969. Impressed by this outstanding monument of friendship, the President donated eight thousand and five hundred Euros (8,500 Euros) to this beautiful church. The President met the Uganda Diaspora in Italy and urged them to find possible ways of helping develop themselves and the country by sending remittances for targeted activities in their respective
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President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni during a visit to Pope Francis in Rome, Italy
parts of Uganda. He urged them not to get evaporated in foreign waters but to use such waters to the mutual benefits of themselves and of Uganda. He advised every Ugandan to keep in mind that, wherever he or she was, home is best. During the same visit, the President and First Lady, who is Minister for Karamoja Region, met the Executive Director of World Food Programme and the Director General of the Food and Agricultural Organisation: two of the three UN foodrelated bodies in Rome. The discussion with the World Food Programme revolved on matters of sourcing WFP supplies from Ugandan farmers while those with FAO revolved around identifying strategic interventions, especially in the Karamoja Region, for FAO activities in the coming year.
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STATE AFFAIRS
Uganda's deputy ambassador to Rome Dr. Mumtaz Kassam
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ETHNIC & COMMUNITY
The future looks bleak for the Kaffirs in Sri Lanka
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ri Lanka (formerly British Ceylon) is an Island nation which witnessed three decades of relentless war which separated the nation on ethnic lines as a result of Ethnic violence between the Sinhalese and Tamils, the nation’s two major ethnic communities. However, since 2009 the nation has gradually recovered from the turbulence of history and at present it is one of the finest tourist destinations in the Indian sub-continent. Sri Lanka isn’t home to
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just Sinhalese and Tamils, as there are several other minorities who have lived for over many centuries in friendly brotherhood, and have helped weave the nation’s multicultural fabric. The most distinct minority in Sri Lanka is undoubtedly the Kaffirs or those who claim African descent whose ancestors reached the Lankan Shores during the Portuguese Colonization in Ceylon. The invaluable Lankan spice, cinnamon brought the Portuguese to Ceylon and they were successful in gaining control
over the trade monopoly by the turn of 16th century and later conquered the maritime provinces of the island. The ‘Kaffir’ is a derogatory term used to infer the blacks or those who claim African lineage derived from the Arabic word ‘Kafir’ meaning ‘unbelievers’ or those who believe and follow pagan practices. Those who claim African descent in Sri Lanka identify themselves as ‘Kaffirs’ or Kaffringa derived from Portuguese and the local Sinhalese refer them as ‘Kaapiri minissu’ meaning black people. They were first brought to Ceylon as mercenaries and laborers by the Portuguese in 1600’s and legend goes to say that they were from South East Africa and many claim that there ancestors hailed from Portuguese Mozambique from the famous ‘Bantu’ tribe. There aren’t sufficient written records which helps corroborate their claims yet the oral sources / history based on stories passed down for over generations is considered the main source of information www.thepromota.co.uk
which has helped document the glorious past of this community. Oral history helps affirm that the Kaffirs helped build the Portuguese regiments in Ceylon and the Portuguese Era saw intermittent arrivals of Kaffirs from East Africa to reinforce the weakening cantonments in Ceylon as the local Kings massacred large number of Colonial soldiers and proved successful in many battles fought with Portuguese. Many local historians are of the opinion that the natural immunity or genetic resistance of the Africans against malaria was the reason why the Portuguese decided to employ them as mercenaries in the mountainous terrains of Ceylon which is a tropical island prone to mosquito borne diseases. The Kaffirs did not bring their womenfolk so the intermarriages with local Sinhalese and Tamils helped form the Kaffir community in Sri Lanka. The Dutch having overthrown the Portuguese took control over Ceylon in the late 16th century and decided to employ the Kaffirs as soldiers in their military regiments. Some were employed as domestic servants in Dutch households in Ceylon. The Dutch Era is considered as a period of catastrophe in the history of this shrinking minority as the Hollanders preferred the installation of robust and fiercely loyal Malay soldiers from the Spice Islands of Indonesia www.thepromota.co.uk
and this eventually transformed the Kaffirs as local servants. The Colombo Fort and many other Dutch Colonial Structures that adorn the streets of Colombo were built by the Kaffirs and the Dutch reports in Ceylon help testify that the ill fated Kaffirs were put to work as transporters, camp assistants, and military slaves.
The report presented by Dutch Governor Van Goyans speaks of the significant Kaffir population in Sri Lanka which amounted to some staggering 4,000 at that time. The Kaffirs later rose against the Dutch, assassinated several officials and the outraged Dutch detained the Kaffirs on an Island in Colombo known as ‘Kaffir Weldt’ which was later known as ‘Slave Island’ during the British Era. The Kaffirs couldn’t escape from the clutches of the Dutch as they were surrounded by the deadly waters, home to the Lankan crocodiles. During the day, these Dutch slaves were put to work as domestic slaves in Dutch households located in the Colombo Fort and some were sent to work on cinnamon plantations. Those who were successful
slipped inland and took refuge in ‘Mahanuwara’ or Kandy, the Kingdom of Sri Lanka’s Nayakkar Kings/ Rajas. The local Rajas having understood the Kaffir’s plight, employed them as soldiers in the Kandyan Sinhala Military regiments which were known as ‘Padikara Peruwa’ meaning paid levies. The ‘Padikara Peruwa’ was later strengthened with Malay Royals who were exiled to Ceylon by the Dutch who conquered the Indonesian archipelago which was then the ‘Dutch East Indies’. When the British took control over Ceylon, they too employed Kaffirs as soldiers. Kaffir Bonkoos, recipient of King’s Colours in 1802 was a soldier in His Majesty’s Regiment born to Malay father and a Kaffir mother. In 1817, British brought over Portuguese slaves from East Africa to work on plantations as labourers. Alas, the cruel fate continues to this day as the Kaffir men work as labourers while the women work as cleaners and domestic maids The dawn of Independence in 1948, made the Colonial masters leave the island. Later the Kaffirs became an unnoticed community who faced the threat of endangerment and were treated like exotic animals in Lankan society and were regarded as a non-native community residing in Sri Lanka. The Kaffir community is the only Sri Lankan minority with African roots THE PROMOTA | 63
KAFFIRS IN SRI LANKA
so even to this day one could recognize a Lankan Kaffir from their much darker complexion, tightly curled hair with a different texture unlike the Asians, and from their non Asian physiognomy with some striking features such as broad face with thick lips. Moreover, the Sri Lankan Kaffir women clad in ‘Ja hatte’ (Javanese blouse) and wrap the sarong tightly around their waists while the men are often spotted in either the Batik or checkered sarong which were introduced to the Island by the Sri Lankan Malays. The generations gone by spoke a Portuguese Creole, and practiced unique traditions and culture, and were known for their tribal beliefs. The Portuguese Creole which they spoke is now extinct.There are only few words that are used in Kaffir households. Though Portuguese dialect has lost its place as the mother tongue amongst Kaffirs, it has survived to this day in the form of music. The Kaffirs are credited to have introduced Baila, a unique genre of music and the term ‘Baila/ Bayila’ is derived from the Portuguese word ‘bailar’ meaning ‘to dance’. The Kaffirs identify their music either as ‘Manja’ or ‘Kaffiringa’ and for over many centuries they have used their traditional yet simple musical instruments such as ‘Rabana’ or drum, yak bera and coconut shells when performing ‘Bayila’. The beating of drums 64 | THE PROMOTA
expresses the mood of the Kaffir people and the most widely used musical instrument in ‘Manja’ is the human voice. Moreover, they are known for their Baila dance. It is noteworthy that during festivities the Kaffir ladies clad in their colourful Portuguese era gowns would dance with crooked knees, stamping their feet, twisting their waists and hips, and shuffling their moves but there is no regular pattern or technique when performing ‘Bayila’. They form a close-knit community and are found spread across the entire nation in regions like Anuradhapura, Trincomalee, Batticaloa, Negombo and Puttalam or Sirambiadiya which has been their stronghold for many centuries. Today they number less than 1000 individuals and are categorized as a critically endangered community in Sri Lanka. Like the Portuguese Burghers, they do have distinctive patronymics that trace Portuguese origins. Even to this day they continue the use of Portuguese sounding Catholic names while some use Dutch or English names.
historians have focused on creating awareness concerning this long forgotten community in Sri Lanka. Their Portuguese Creole is unfortunately on the brink of extinction with a handful of elderly ladies who could remember only a few words and phrases. The Kaffir music is at present a much sought after music genre amongst music enthusiasts in Sri Lanka and abroad. Since recent years many Kaffir groups have started performing at public events and have thus received greater reception in the Lankan society. It is interesting to note that the Sri Lankan Kaffirs are the lost cousins of Indian Seedi/ Sheedis and Pakistani Makranis, the ethnic minorities that claim African descent in South Asia while the Maldivians are of mixed Asian and African lineage. The Kaffirs have already lost many elements of their culture and they have through the years adopted Sri Lankan cuisine, religious faiths and languages. If there is no proper conservation and cultural awareness this shrinking minority will soon run extinct. This vibrant community is definitely an integral entity which helps portray the multiculturalism in Sri Lanka. by Tuan.M. Zameer Careem
Since recent years, many lithographers and ethnowww.thepromota.co.uk
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Christmas came early for singer Jose Chameleone’s lovers who attended his historical One Man One Million concert at Serena Kampala. At a time when local shows are becoming more homogenised, corporatised and more about their egos, Chameleone showed that he can still be truly unique.
Everyone at the show agreed that the performances were worth their hefty UGX 1M entrance fee. The music doctor took his fervent fans on a nostalgic journey of his humble beginnings from Dorotia, Jamila, Mambo Bado , Bomboclat Shida za duniya to his more recent bangers like Valu Valu, Vumilia and to Wale Wale . Perhaps the most notable guest was the First lady Janet Museveni who looked like she was enjoying the show, proceedings of which will go towards the welfare of the people in the Karamoja region, specifically to help them access water by building boreholes. Chameleone put up an energetic performance reminiscent of his days as an upcoming, hungry artiste. The crowd worked itself into a frenzy as he was joined on stage by a Karamojong troupe for his Wale Wale hit to conclude the night. Other celebritIies and powerful friends of Chameleone like Charles Mbire, Prince David Wasajja, Bobi Wine and police chief Andrew Felix Kaweesi were also attending.
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CHAMELEONE SHOW
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ENTERTAINMENT
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Irene Kawuma, PAS to 1st Lady
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1st Lady of Uganda, HE Janet Museveni
Hon. Barbra Nekesa Oundo, Minister of State for Karamoja
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Chameleone O 1M ne M
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Photos by www.africanwomanmagazine.net/latest/chameleone/
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CELEBRITY CORNER
A darker shade of
Cinderella A few lone voices on social media were not happy to see Keke Palmer being chosen to star as Cinderella on the New York Broadway show, back in August 2014. ‘But Cinderella is the story of a white girl’ they insist, justifying their dislike.
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Though Keke is not the first black girl to play Cinderella – Brandy played the role for the 2007 TV production, co-produced by Whitney Houston, she is the first one to star in a Broadway production of the famous fairy tale. Keke is not phased by some negative public opinion, readily saying that she is the first black Broadway Cinderella and being hugely thrilled to be given the opportunity. She had visions of herself one day doing a Broadway show, so when she got the part, she called it ‘crazy’ in the best possible sense of the word. What is refreshing to hear her say is that the best part of it is never knowing who will be the audience every night; fame and fortune are not mentioned once! But then, Keke has been on the acting scene for years, staring as a child actor with big names like Queen Latifah and later with Samuel L. Jackson, so fame has been her companion for a while now. Her list of credits is just as impressive, securing roles in Barbershop 2, Akeela and the Bees and Madea’s Family Reunion to name only a very few. Keke’s young age (born in 1993) belies a maturity that people twice her age often fail to display. In the world of show business where so much superficiality is practically accepted as the norm, Keke has voiced her wisdom years ago, as a young girl going through a lot of ‘growing pains’ as she calls it, and expressing those pains very publically on social media, where she has 1.5 million Twitter followers. This could have backfired badly, as revealing too much of herself could have damaged her image and credibility, but instead, Keke attracted a huge following of young people who felt their plight and troubles were understood thanks to Keke candidly acknowledging her own. www.thepromota.co.uk
HSGH SGHS
In a previous interview, Keke explained why she was not shying of interacting with her followers, “nothing is ever above a message. If you have a message to tell and to get across, use every situation you can to get that message across. I can teach you something, and you can teach me something, and we can learn how to take what we can use in our own lives, and what we can’t we can just put it to the side. But if you don’t allow yourself to understand, or to embrace that fear of the unknown and learning something new or something different, you’re gonna be stunted — you’re never gonna grow to a higher level.” It was in a way a natural progression for Keke to want to have her own talk show, Just Keke, in order to give a voice to young people of her generation, whom she says fail to have a platform not only to express themselves, but also to be heard and their issues taken seriously. Keke admits to always have been a ‘talker and seeker of truth’. She also says that she has always been interested in the idea of ‘having inner peace and in spreading love — I’ve always been a lover.’ It is no wonder that Keke wants to break a few stereotypes that still stick to people of colour. A www.thepromota.co.uk
black Cinderella is certainly a step in the right direction, but there is more to breaking stereotypes than landing a traditionally ‘white’ character role on Broadway. In a Yahoo TV interview, she talks about dreads being her ‘dream hair’, but does not feel that it would be appropriate yet for her to sport them now. She says that locks have still such a ‘stereotype attached to them within the acting world.’ “Hopefully” she says, “I get to the point where I can stop those types of stereotypes. Braids are different. Brandy broke them in. Braids can be seen on camera, but these days they really do like the ‘regular’ straight hair.” So here is one stereotype that Keke, despite her deep desire to break it, does not dare yet, for fear of it having repercussions on her career and image. Of course her successful career is not worth jeopardising over some hair style, but she is touching on a rampant and insidious plague that is affecting many people of colour, and which is the inability by all of us across the board, whites and blacks, to accept ourselves and others exactly the way we are, and embracing the full gamut of diversity. Just like a non-white Cinderella is displeasing to some because we cannot break away from
century old conditioning that the girl has to have milky white skin, in a similar fashion, we still decree that black people ‘s hair have to be managed a certain way to be acceptable to the show business masses. Keke, being aware of this conditioning, will no doubt break it down fully in due course, and the sooner the better, as such stereotypes perpetuate a false myth that black people can only excel if they conform to certain ‘perceived’ acceptable norms. Well, a black Cinderella is certainly not a norm, and the casting directors of the Broadway show have done a good thing to throw the norm to the wind. They could have gone even one step further and ask Keke to sport some dreadlocks. Now that would have been a true double first on Broadway, one that would have shown the black acting community that just the way they are by nature is absolutely and totally acceptable. But for now a first black Cinderella will have to do, and as Keke playing the role, it is a very beautiful Cinderella indeed! Isabelle Gravenstein Editor, Promota Africa magazine
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FEATURE
THE MIRACLE of WOMANHOOD in SISTERHOOD By Donette Read Kruger
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he women of the West demand equality and once they have it, thinking they can change the world if they could only become an equal – then they too would take no prisoners! Do you really want to spend your life competing with your male counterparts – fighting hard all your life to be on equal terms? This is not what the Sisterhood of Womanhood is all about! You are above that, so, gifted with intuition, think of it as a mindset or, ‘Horses for Courses’. Womanhood is not about being tough and unable to deal with situations – few men have intuition. They appear to inherit the war gene instead. But does this mean being in control? Caring, providing and protective towards their women is their role but competing with the equality of women behind that stiff upper lip of macho men (who are not always so macho on the inside) is a fierce battle no one really wants. We should stand still in a crisis oozing compassion or understanding and nurturing the children of the world that now exist in the midst of some really ugly adult situations they find impossible to handle. (In Syria they have to eat cats, often the neighbours’, but sometimes their own; the family avoid telling them it’s their pet that went missing.) Man cannot help the way they are built, just as women can’t either because we are built so different. If men cannot cope with the common cold, how would they cope with menstruation and giving birth? As children we are brought up to believe the story of that huge snake in the Garden of Eden tempting Eve, and we do so the rest of our lives until Life lifts the pink scales from our eyes and we realise it’s just another fable for Good–v –Evil, epitomising the Battle of the 76 | THE PROMOTA
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Sexes! Suddenly comprehending all it epitomises, we stare again at the picture in disbelief. That is no snake, with its lengthy body entwined about the trunk clinging for support. Does the tree epitomise man, and the snake woman, or is it vice versa? The beginning and the end of our changing roles in Commitment to Life! Equality of the Sexes has no guarantees, so is it really worth it when you can be comfortable in your own skin and achieve happiness in Life to the best of your ability; it is hard enough without being anxious to get on an equal footing. The grass is seldom greener on the other side... especially when the autumnal winds arrive with an icy blast, and the leaves on that tree of Life in the garden have long gone and that flaccid snake has literally curled under a huge rock that you will never be able to lift again. But, you still have to undo the things you should never have done, and find time to do the things you should have. Find a cause and get pro-active! If you have no idea what Earth was really like watch James Cameron’s vision of Earth in ‘Avatar’! We are destroying and polluting our planet fast beyond anyone’s imagination. Europe is paying the warlords of Somalia with weapons of war in exchange for ditching chemicals and toxic waste off Africa. Imagine where the currents are carrying that waste? What lies beneath those waves that lap the shores of our continents? Salty sea foam is no longer snowy white. It’s often sludge brown. No wonder whales and dolphins beach in suicide pacts on distant shores when they can no longer breathe. What has this to do with Adam and Eve? Everything! Why is that men covet ripe apples, the apple of man’s eye, that only poison and destroy him in his continual search for others? His problem will only be solved if he searches for and gains intuition instead of domination, under the assumption that www.thepromota.co.uk
the union between man and his woman will bring peace to this beautiful planet? One ATM at man’s disposal is not enough. Sometimes he searches for another because he has to stay on top, even though he has a good woman at home. Uneducated, destined to be a Domestic Engineer (alias housewife), her ATM is her security, providing her needs – but not her greeds. Even in a soulless marriage some women treat their bodies as the local ATM - dishing out favours if only to ensure that she can cope with sponsoring her aging parents and children. Her sophisticated sisters look down on this struggling female as they step out suited and booted in stiletto heels to their jobs as personal assistants, nurses, army personnel, librarians, hairdressers, etc. At the end of the day their salaries is hard cash deposited into their bank accounts, which they garner in much the same way. Collecting her monthly salary from the ATM she glances at a woman talking irrationally on a cellphone, tapping her painted nails irritably on a lamp post, and she ponders briefly if that woman is plying her trade, while she herself queues to cash in on her own personal ATM. She does not stop to consider that the other woman, her sister from another mister, may have been abused by an uncle, an older brother, or gang raped at the age of puberty and with all this baggage, has no self worth. And, as she stares she may or may not realise that truly she is no different. Insecure in the fact that really anyone with half a brain cell could do her job! All it takes is fawning over her bosses with salacious comments and suggestive office rituals full of promise. It does not cross her mind that she has sold her soul to the highest bidder; yes, it includes sleeping with the boss (male – or female these days), drinking flutes of champagne and eating at the most salubrious restaurants but all the while subconsciously scheming what her next option is to be if she is to crack the privileges of working above that glass ceiling in the corporate world, >>Page 114 THE PROMOTA | 77
OPINION
Are Your Friends the Reason YOUR MARRIAGE Sucks? “Friends come to us asking, ‘What are you doing that’s allowed you to stay together for 20 years?’” says one man, explaining why he and his wife signed up for this five-hour Marital First Responders course, designed to teach people to help friends with relationship troubles. A woman volunteers that she’s divorced, wiser for it, and wants to keep others from making the same mistakes. A few confess they find it stressful to serve as veritable relationship hotlines. “I have a girlfriend who’s been saying ‘I’m done with him’ for seven years,” one woman groans. “I get texts from her at night saying, ‘I feel hollow,’ when I’m trying to sleep!” The leader of the workshop, held in a hotel conference room in Chattanooga, Tennessee, is the mild-mannered Bill Doherty, a gray-haired, bespectacled professor of family social science at the University of Minnesota. A staunch believer that all but the most miserable marriages can be saved, he made waves in the early 2000s by claiming that the prevailing “marriage neutral” stance among his fellow therapists 78 | THE PROMOTA
was causing couples who could actually be happy together to split. This latest project grew out of his frustration with the limited impact of his profession, even at its best. “Many people are reluctant to see a therapist, or by the time they do, it’s really late,” Doherty says. His brainstorm: Teach civilians— friends and coworkers who are already hearing relationship gripes—to handle them more like he would. Though some therapists applaud Doherty’s efforts—so far he’s trained 125 people through the classes and hopes to scale up with an online version and offerings nationwide—others worry his friends corps might do more harm than good. With such minimal training, people won’t know how to navigate land mines such as triangulation (someone uses a friend to gang up on her partner) or transference (a friend redirects feelings she has about her partner to the advice giver), says Jamie Turndorf, PhD, author of Kiss Your Fights Good-bye. Adds Laura Dabney, MD, a psychiatrist at Eastern Virginia Medical School, friends usually lack the objectivity to be effective:
“It’s like asking a member of the Celtics to referee a game between the Celtics and the Lakers.” But Doherty insists Marital First Responders aren’t mini shrinks. In fact, he recommends that they point friends toward professionals when they spot issues beyond their expertise, such as addiction or abuse, or when they repeatedly hear the same trouble from someone. “To say that everyone with a marital problem should go to a therapist is self-serving and naive,” Doherty says. “It just won’t happen.” At the workshop, Doherty lays out a taxonomy of friends’ reactions to relationship complaints: The “What a Jerk–er!” slams the partner; the “Pollyanna” rushes to reassure; the “Distractor” segues into soliloquies about her own man/woman woes; and the “Wimp” lets confidantes blab on when they need to be jarred out of their rut. But probably the most common type is what Doherty calls “Mr./Ms. Fixit.” “Of course you have opinions about how the relationship should go, but if you go charging in with advice, you’re bound to get ‘Yes, but I tried that,’ www.thepromota.co.uk
“ he says. “As soon as you hear ‘Yes, but,’ you know you’ve gone too fast.” What first responders should do instead, Doherty says, is listen— not for dirt (“He got a secret credit card?!”) but for feelings. People often lead with “hard feelings,” such as anger, and while it’s fine to let the fury fly for a while, the ultimate goal is get to the underlying “soft feelings,” such as sadness or insecurity, which open the way for more productive conversation. If a breakup seems imminent, Doherty advises MFRs to pull out heavier artillery: a challenge to wake friends up to something they’re not seeing, such as their own role in the disharmony or that the hurdle may be surmountable rather than a fatal relationship flaw. If the issue is serious—involving, say, abuse, addiction, or an affair—challenges are best couched as concerns (“I’m afraid for your safety”) and should include a suggestion regarding resources (“How about visiting an AA meeting or seeing a therapist?”), he says. “I do believe there are circumstances where divorce is the only thing to do,” Doherty goes on. “But in my mind, there’s some tragedy in that. This is not how people started out, not what they dreamed of. Plus, the fallout from divorce is high risk, financially and emotionally. It’s a Marital First Responder’s job to urge people to slow down.” While Doherty’s rationale is eloquent, I’m not entirely convinced. Isn’t it my duty to preserve not my friends’ marriages but my friends, as individuals? If my husband were acting like a jerk, I’d want my friends to say so, rather than tick off his lovely attributes. Or if I were with a guy who couldn’t fulfill an important need of mine, I’d want my friends to give me the clarity and strength www.thepromota.co.uk
to take a chance on a better life, alone, rather than urge me to stand by my man—hey, he’s not hitting you or addicted to heroin! Nonetheless, by the time our session with Doherty is up, I’m second-guessing everything I’ve ever said to my friends about their significant others—and curious to road test what I’ve learned. My first chance is with a friend I’ll call Laura*, who, a week earlier, had informed me she was going to kick her husband out. After quitting his job as a computer programmer, he hadn’t worked in five years, yet he still felt entitled to run up their credit card on rock concerts and road trips. I’d tsk-tsked through her tirade, then agreed her husband was deadweight. But now I realize I’d been a “What a Jerk–er!” when perhaps the story wasn’t so black and white. The next time I meet Laura for a drink, I try a different tactic: “Do you mind if I say something that might be hard to hear?” I ask. (Doherty calls this “asking permission”: Rather than criticizing a friend out of the blue, get her blessing first.) Laura takes the bait, so I continue. “I think things with your husband have got to be more complicated than what I’ve been hearing.” Doherty says this line can be applied to just about any marital dispute because it’s true: You’re only getting one side. A gentle
way to introduce the partner’s perspective is with “I wonder,” so that’s what I say now. “I wonder what your husband would’ve said if he heard us talking last week?” To my surprise, Laura doesn’t bristle at all. “What would he say if he were here?” she says. “He’d say, ‘I contribute a ton around the house: the laundry, the grocery shopping, the cooking, errands.’ Which is all true.” As she rambles on about his stellar qualities, I realize it feels good to ditch the husband bashing—the horror stories may be fun to hear, but they foment bitterness. Sometimes it takes a crisis for someone to rally—which, it turns out, hits soon after we talk: Laura is laid off. The silver lining? Her husband, in a panic, sends out a flurry of résumés that, a month later, land him a full-time position. Laura sounds chastened when we next talk. “I was cocky. Even if he hadn’t done this total turnaround, I doubt I’d be so gung-ho to kick him out now. When everything around you falls apart, marriage means you at least have someone on your side.” Next up: Danielle*. “My husband and I haven’t had sex since, hmm….” She taps her nails on the table as if typing on a calculator. “Memorial Day 2012.” She pauses. “I think he no longer finds me attractive.” THE PROMOTA | 79
Mary Ellen. “Seeing you sit on that guy’s lap last weekend worried me. I just don’t want you to put yourself in a position you might regret,” I venture.
Of course he still lusts for you! You look great, I want to say, going Pollyanna. Instead I listen to Danielle elaborate on how her husband blows it off as no big deal when she tries to talk about their sex life. Her friends, who insist he must be cheating or gay, have urged her to divorce, as has her therapist after a few sessions seeing the couple together. “If you were in my situation what would you do?” Danielle asks. “Stay or go?”
has abandoned her sexually and emotionally. This can be a reason to divorce if after getting help to challenge the husband about what’s going on, nothing changes. But in sum, this problem is deeper than having no interest in sex.” A month later, I e-mail Danielle to check in. She’s going to therapy herself, in part to learn how to communicate better with her husband, but so far it’s status quo: no sex. “I really don’t know what to do,” she says.
The question sets off alarm bells. “If someone asks ‘What would you do?’ it’s a trap,” Doherty had cautioned. Because you assume the role of “Ms. Fix-It,” offering an obvious solution that will elicit a “Yes, but…” So I give the only reply that Doherty claimed would work for What should I do? “I don’t know,” I say. It sounds lame, but as Danielle relaxes in her chair, I realize that by admitting I’m just as perplexed as my friend, I affirm her problem has no easy answer.
Before my training with Doherty, my friend Mary Ellen* had come by to complain that her livein boyfriend wasn’t giving her enough attention (or sex) and that she’d considered having an affair. We continued our conversation at a bar, where soon she ended up perched on a guy’s lap. “He’ll give me a ride home,” she purred with a sloshed smile.
Still, though: Isn’t lack of sex a deal breaker? Not to Doherty: “I’m not saying it’s not painful, but you can live without sex.” Forever? I’m all for remaining optimistic, but telling Danielle to hang in there feels ridiculous. To which Doherty replies, “The issue is hardly ever lack of sex, but the spouse’s uncaring attitude in giving it up without seeking help. A thought experiment: If one’s spouse has an injury and can’t have sex, most of us would not see this as grounds for divorce. So the issue is that your friend’s husband
Friends don’t let friends drive drunk, so I was glad she had a ride. But do friends let friends cheat? Given that Mary Ellen had spent the first half of the night expounding on her boyfriend’s shortcomings, it felt insensitive to wag a finger in her face. But according to Doherty, that made me a “Wimp”: “When infidelity enters the picture, you don’t have to judge, but you also don’t have to say, ‘Cool, he’s hot!’” One tactic is to say, I’m worried about you, but I’m cringing as I pick up the phone to deliver this message to
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MY REPLY: NEITHER DO I.
Mary Ellen insists all she’d gotten that night was a lift home—that’s it. But a few weeks later I find out she appreciated my concern. “It made me think,” she says. “I was at a conference and attracted the attention of someone there. I enjoyed it, but didn’t flirt. My guard was up.” After a month as a Marital First Responder, I can’t say I’ve improved my friends’ relationships much. At best, I’ve supported choices they would have made without me. “It’s not about ‘impact’ in the sense of changing the relationship,” Doherty says. “A lot of help takes the form of helping people feel better about the direction they’re already taking”—and yes, he concedes, if a friend is dead set on divorce, it’s not your place to tell her otherwise. There has been one surprising upside: My friendships have flourished. By asking, “Hey, how are things between you two?” and then really listening, I discovered things about my friends I never would have otherwise. And while it felt risky to point out that they might be adding to their own misery, when they were willing to hear me out, I felt closer to them— and bolstered by the realization of how sturdy our friendships were. “This is beautiful,” Doherty says. “It’s emotional intimacy, something that doesn’t occur readily when we create unnecessary turbulence in conversation, but can happen when we get in flow with our friends and bring our best selves. “Yes, this is intimacy.” This article appears in the December 2014 issue of ELLE magazine.
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RELATIONSHIPS
The Trust Factor:
To Snoop or Not to Snoop In an American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers study, 66% of divorce attorneys surveyed said Facebook was their primary online resource for case evidence. Let’s face it ladies and gentlemen, the digital age is surely helping to breaking up relationships right and left. Social media has made it more convenient to cheat. Here is the scenario. You are in a 5 year relationship and have never had any problems with infidelity. In fact, you haven’t had any serious problems at all. Yes, you agree to disagree over silly things but nothing major. But after your spouse hung out with friends on Saturday night and stayed out until 6am, something didn’t feel right in your gut. Whether it’s your instinct or just your insecurities you are now faced with the decision to snoop around. Many women will tell you they are too good for snooping but in the privacy of their own home some of them do it too. Would you ever snoop? Would you ever ask or be wiling to exchange passwords with your partner for their comfort?
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REASONS SOME PEOPLE SNOOP
1
# Sometimes the evidence is just too obvious and you feel that you must snoop to find out what’s going on. Your partner may have blatant evidence in their actions like leaving the room when the phone rings, setting all new passwords on their account, or even a change in behavior like staying out late a lot when they never did it before.
2
# Some folks are just plain paranoid. If you have been cheated on in the past then it is normal to be a little paranoid but it needs to be a balance.
3
Some folks # are super insecure and came into the relationship that way. They may need constant reassurance that everything is on the up and up.
4
# Some people are controlling. Snooping makes them feel like they are in charge or like they have the upper hand. We want to hear from you? Would you give your significant other your password or ask for theirs? Would you or have you ever snooped through anyone’s things? Or what would you do if you found your partner snooping through your things? THE PROMOTA | 81
DIASPORA & COMMUNITY
CAN THE DIASPORA IMPACT ON AFRICA’S HEALTH? From Brain Drain to Brain Gain by Dorothy Mukasa
inefficiency, poor patient centeredness, problems with medical ethics, risks to patient safety and health worker safety.
Dr Margaret Mungherera, President of the World Medical Assocaition,
T
he UK’s National Health Service is propped up by significant numbers of medical health professionals from countries in Asia and Africa. These are highly trained, highly experienced doctors, nurses, allied health professionals from countries where their medical skills, experience, seniority, professional networks and strategic planning abilities would be invaluable. Indeed the ethical dilemma of healthcare systems in developed countries, being heavily dependent upon a continued brain drain from developing countries is globally recognized with little comment. It suits the developed countries in Europe and America and also suits the medical professionals involved, who are better remunerated abroad than they could dream of in their countries of origin. There is also a clearly identifiable professional career path. African countries have ambitious strategic health plans. However, because of inadequate resources, the result is ineffective healthcare systems, and poorly managed primary and secondary health care. Challenges include the lack of equitable distribution of healthcare,
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A significant factor is the running of healthcare systems without medical seniors. The analogy would be an army made up of privates and corporals, with a lack of ranks above sergeants and majors and others. Newly qualified medical professionals lack several strata of people with 20-30 years’ experience, senior consultants able to be professional role models, and mentors to junior staff in hospitals and in the field. Perhaps not surprisingly, significant numbers of doctors with minimal seniority emigrate to developed countries for better conditions, good professional support and career structure. It’s said anecdotaly that there are more Ghanaian doctors in New York State alone, than there are doctors currently working in the whole of Ghana. Alas, the situation is replicated across many African countries. So how could this significant resource in the Diaspora have an impact on the Healthcare systems in Africa? Over decades, many people have tried to support the weak healthcare systems in their countries of origin, but such help would benefit from strategic planning and support. We are all aware of people who make the effort to gather good quality incubators, profiling beds, theatre equipment, or other medical necessities in perfectly good working order, but discarded as obsolete from UK hospitals. At some expense people have sent equipment to African hospitals in the hope of improving patient outcomes. Unfortunately many of these are futile efforts and frustrate the Diaspora. The expensive equipment requires a level of technical knowhow often missing in rural hospitals, the frequent lack of regular electricity, and the inadequate supervision can lead to valuable equipment lying redundant, being misused or stolen. www.thepromota.co.uk
Vivienne Nathanson, Senior Director at the British Medical Association, Mr Ronald Lutaaya, East African Health Forum, Dr Julius Awakame, Africa-UK Telemedicine Working Group, Dr Sakib Rokadiya, King’s Sierra Leone Partnership, who shared the experience of working with a hospital in Sierra Leone tackling the Ebola epidemic.
The World Medical Association is on a drive to strengthen National Medical Associations (NMAs), so that like the British Medical Association, the American Medical Association, the Japanese Medical Association, medical professionals begin to influence the health agenda and provide more effective professional leadership in African countries. These Medical Associations could work in tandem with the efforts of medical professionals from the Diaspora and enable them to strengthen poor health systems. However, only 15 out of the 53 African countries have Medical Associations registered with the World Medical Association. Associations of Nursing and Midwifery, and Associations of
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Allied Health Professionals should all be mobilised into networks linking each country with the Diaspora and this may well impact the health of Africa. On the 13 September, the East African Health Forum held a seminar in London, to explore the roles the Diaspora could play in this key initiative. The potential for Time Banking initiatives, Telemedicine, Continuing Professional Development, and new approaches to effectively address Long Term Conditions and Infectious Disease was considered. The very distinguished panel of speakers included Dr Wangui Manguyu, Chair of the EAHF, Dr Abiodun Fakokunde, Medical Association of Nigerians Across Great Britain (MANSAG), Dr Margaret Mungherera, President of the World Medical Assocaition, Dr
Conference participants were originally from 9 African countries, the majority being UK medical professionals. The event’s evaluation indicates that the most common concerns include how healthcare is paid for in Africa, the need to address continuous professional development, the poor health infrastructure, training opportunities and the lack of adequate or appropriate mental health care. The East African Health Forum (EAHF) will continue to organize London seminars that consider how the African Diaspora can have a constructive impact on healthcare systems in Africa. For more information please visit www.eahforum.org. Dorothy Mukasa has been Commissioning Manager in the National Health Service for over 22 years with significant experience in non-acute Commissioning across the UK.
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ACHIEVEMENT
WILLY MUTENZA Ugandan Businessman wins African award in London One of the successful Ugandans living in the UK, Mutenza is involved in other businesses that include event management, private equity, web and multimedia design as well as property development in Uganda. He is also the director of MM2 Capital, a Pan African Capital Investment equity company in the UK.
By Sebidde Kiryowa and Steve Mulindwa
A Ugandan businessman, Willy Nsubuga Mutenza, has won a prestigious Gathering of Africa’s Best (GAB) award in the United Kingdom for his work to uplift the African community living in the United Kingdom (UK). Mutenza is the chairman of Uganda Convention, UK, a forum through which Ugandans living in the diaspora and from Uganda annually convene in London. He is also publisher of the Promota Magazine, a popular Ugandan magazine in the UK. 84 | THE PROMOTA
The event which was held on Sunday, November 16 in Barking, East London, was attended by among others; the Deputy High Commissioner of Nigeria in the UK, Kunle Bamgbose who was also the guest of honour; the queen mother of Ghama, Her Royal Highness Naa Tsotsoo Soyoo as well as several councillors from London Boroughs and two Members of the European Parliament. Started in 1999, the awards are organised by the London-based Trumpet Media Group that publishers the Trumpet newspaper. www.thepromota.co.uk
The event brings together Africans living in the UK to honour those selected by the committee for the role they have played in their communities and Africa as whole.
The Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2014
Mutenza is only the third Ugandan to win the GAB award after former Ugandan High Commissioner Professor George Kirya, and Fred Ssemugera, the organiser of the Buganda Clan Games in the United Kingdom. Other Ugandans who were nominated but did not win, were Joel Kibazo currently Director of Communication and External Relations at African Development Bank; Dr. Naluwembe Binaisa, currently with the University of Oxford International Migration Institute; Dr Margaret Mungherera, the recently elected President of the World Medical Association (WMA) and William Masembe Nkata, an expert in risk management (Mental Health.) Thanking the GAB award committee for selecting him among many Africans in the United Kingdom who are all doing ‘amazing things’ for the African community said: “This award comes with responsibilities and a lot of ‘expectations’ from the communities we work with here in the United Kingdom. People believe in us, so as a leader, winning an award means always trying to give the best of myself to the community I serve,” Mutenza said after the occasion. Among those honoured where Nigerians, South Africans, Zambians, Kenyans, an India whose work has contributed a lot to the development of the African continent. According the chairman of the organising committee Mr Femi Okutubo, this year’s recipients were drawn from over 200 Africans through “a painstaking selection process” because so many Africans are achieving a lot in their respective professions and are engaged not only with their communities in the UK, but with the African continent as well.
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Meanwhile, Mutenza who describes himself as “a Ugandan Diaspora community developmental activist” won the Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2014 at the 11th BB Awards 2014 held October 25, 2014, at the prestigious Hilton London Tower Bridge in London for “for his dedicated efforts in promoting social entrepreneurship, community cohesion and investment opportunities specifically for the Ugandan Diaspora.” The annual BB Awards, now in their eleventh year, promote ‘Diversity and Achievement’ by recognizing hard work, perseverance and success among the diverse social and economic movers and shakers in the UK society, wherever they come from. Organized by the Basic Business Initiative UK (BBI UK) charitable enterprise support agency, they were founded by Sunny Lambe, its executive director in 2001. “I am thrilled and overwhelmed by this award and I wholeheartedly thank BBA for recognizing my work. I’m especially grateful to a few amazing people whose support is the reason I’m up here right now. Our work is far from over, but what we’ve accomplished together has made a difference in hundreds THE PROMOTA | 85
ACHIEVEMENT
Who is Willy Mutenza? Willy Mutenza is a senior ethnic marketing consultant specialising in the African ethnic community. Willy founded The Promota Group in 1998 and has expanded his business interests in magazine publication, events management, and private equity bridging, printing and design, and property development in Uganda.
of people’s lives, especially the Ugandan Diaspora. Let’s roll up our sleeves and continue this journey with more dedication than ever. “Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.” Mutenza said after winning the award. The awards, which were hosted by Glastonbury Festival artist, performer and songwriter, Dionne Reid, featured an array of prestigious guests, including dignitaries, celebrities and some of the UK’s finest business owners. In attendance were Cllr. Sunil Chopra, the Worshipful Mayor of Southwark, Cllr. Adedamola Aminu, Mayor of Lambeth, Cllr. Ian Wingfield, Deputy Leader of Southwark Council, Rt. Hon. Simon Hughes MP, Minister of State (Ministry of Justice), Deputy Leader, Liberal Democratic Party, local MP and BBI UK Patron), Prem Goyal, BBI UK Patron and the keynote speaker Yinka sharing the true meaning of diversity and achievement with the adoring guests. Among other VIPs at the event were Femi Okutubo, founder and Chief Executive of Trumpet Newspaper and annual GAB Awards who bagged the BB Awards 2014 Personality of the Year Award trophy with his wife, Mike Abiola Publisher of African Voices magazine and organizer of annual African Films Awards and several other dignitaries.
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Willy has been a pillar and an ambassador of the Ugandan community at various levels in Uganda and UK. He founded the Ugandan UK Convention, a very successful investment forum that attracts more than 1000+ high profile Ugandans from all over the world at a yearly annual gathering in London. Willy is also a director of CUBL, a company that promotes investment opportunities in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Promota Africa magazine, a popular high quality gloss magazine in the UK, targets African ethnic consumers and also promotes a positive image of Africa abroad. Willy also won an innovative award for inventing a Bluetooth and Wi-Fi marketing device (ePRO Bluetooth Long Range advertising transmitter). The “ePro Bluetooth” a mobile marketing device, allows businesses to send adverts to mobile phones by free transfer of content between mobile devices using the Bluetooth signal. Willy is also the chairman of UDE-UK, a newly founded charity. UDE-UK, through all of its activities, aims to promote social inclusion of all members of the Uganda/African Diaspora, and encourage a smooth and productive integration into British society, whilst maintaining its members’ unique cultural characteristics and heritage.
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BOOK REVIEW
Super Abundance
GRACE
Deaconess Sandra Nelson has been described as a woman of Grace. As a woman, she carries her virtue and love of God within her and displays it outwardly through her ministry. Miracles always occur in the lives of each individual she comes into contact with. Lately many women are rejoicing and cheering about the wonderful prophecy and fulfilment she has brought to their lives through a motivational book that she wrote, called; Super Abundance Grace. your faith and never give up; whatever circumstance you are going through, the book tells us it is never too late. I would just like to say a very big thank you to the author Deaconess Sandra Nelson for a book like this. The many testimonies shared in this book are encouraging and it feels as though I am at a lady to lady event...(sic)
The book is a short read, yet the information within goes such a long way in guiding people in their journey. Super Abundance Grace is circulating the globe and has succeeded in its mission to transcend the hearts and lives of so many women. “My daughter read my copy yesterday and after few pages she said: Mum, this book is very simple to understand and powerful in words. She continued to say ‘mummy, I read books without knowing the author and all I do is to picture the author, but with this book I know the author and the words in the book echo her life style...” Adelaide Ansah (UK) “This book super abundance grace is a manual for life. It explains how you should work
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The book talks about forgiveness and moving on in your life to greater heights through Christ Jesus. I know that as a result of this book, families are being restored, women who were called barren are going to be pregnant, crime will decrease and the glory of God will be seen like never before. What you need to do now is get this book. If you feel you are at your last bus stop, like there is nothing else you can do, don’t give up, read this book and your life will never remain the same. This book will transform your life.” Aaliyah (UK) What is Grace?
Super
Abundance
In order to understand grace in abundance, one would revert to the dictionary meaning. The dictionary defines grace as “smoothness and elegance of movement.“ More words are included in the dictionary to define grace;elegance, poise, finesse, charm and
engaging these attributes requires putting them to work, through our behaviours and attitudes. “grace can also be described as the outward reflection of the divine influence in the human spirit. The grace of God is supernatural; it brings favour, prosperity, healing, supernatural increase and promotion into our lives. Grace also brings acceptability, honour, and dignity to us, causing us to reign in life. Grace attracts the right people into our lives and makes us do the right things at the right time. “ (Taken from the book;Super Abundance Grace). According to Sandra Nelson;the author of ‘Super Abundance Grace;’ the dictionary is not the only place to find grace! She agrees that grace is all of these things but it also carries with it, a supernatural element.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: A lady of many talents, not only is Sandra Nelson a qualified linguist (BA Linguistics),she is also a well established financial adviser (at a leading UK bank), a certified business analyst , a wonderful wife, a mother of two, an author of bestselling book “The Giant within Us”, a transformational speaker, as well as a minister and the founder of LIFTEFFECTS.
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RECOURSE FOR RAPE? by The Progenitor
O
n ‘The Great March on Washington’, (August 1963) one of Bob Dylan’s anthems the 250,000 sang, walking with Martin Luther King to deliver his historic speech “I have a Dream”, was “Times they are a-changing!” Their ultimate aim for Human Rights was for Civil Rights and Voting Rights. Even though some things have never changed, wouldn’t this be a fitting anthem for Zimbabwe today?
Zimbabweans, too, had a dream during that period, seeded in WW2 in the jungles of Burma, where our own people were shipped to fight the Japanese; some lay buried there, whereas others returned to Rhodesia as 88 | THE PROMOTA
experienced soldiers, wounded and weary, only to be offered employment as ‘cook boys’ or ‘garden boys’! It is sad that the British Legion does not remember these elderly Warvets every 11th November, who fought alongside their own! Even the Zimbabwe High Commissioner UK is not allowed to represent them for his country on Remembrance Day. In 1980, shortly after the dream of Independence finally came to fruition with HRH lowering the Union flag on Rhodesia, President Robert Gabriel Mugabe called for Separate Development in schools to be abolished. Here at last was a President who understood exactly what the people wanted! Sadly, three generations later many have quit, taking their children to be educated in Saint Elsewhere.
The women, who fought alongside the Freedom Fighters in Zimbabwe’s Revolution, were subsequently acknowledged for the role they played. However, in 2009 in the words of the Deputy Prime Minister, Arthur Mutambara, the country still needed to instil a value system of respect for women, i.e. paving the way for today’s Gender Equality in Zimbabwe. On Friday 23rd October, 2009 in the Local News of The Herald, after the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development, the then Minister of Women’s Affairs, Gender and Community Development, Dr. Olivia Muchena, revealed that the Government may “seriously” consider castration as a form of punishment for those who rape children. This too, was first considered in Malaysia during www.thepromota.co.uk
2009, and today is Law in that country. If Zimbabwe’s Parliament was 50% female MPs, would such a law protec ng children, s ll be ignored? Is it because the idea of Castration for Rape is as abhorrent to men as it is for parents who have no recourse for the rape of their child? Saudi Arabia beheads rapists. (http:// deathpenaltynews.blogspot. com/2012/07/executioncaught-on-video-in-saudi. html#ixzz3JGs3Ox5R). How can anyone respect a parent who does not back a law for the recourse of rape of children? Every parent states emphatically that if their child were raped they would eliminate the rapist, but we seldom hear of parent taking the law into their own hands, or through the courts. (There are frantic media reports on the web of men who, for reasons best known to them, cut off their penises, but this is self-harming and a totally different subject.) Castration worked for the historical eunuchs of Arabia guarding the women in harems. In Zimbabwe, humans do not think twice of castrating their pets - Vicious Guard dogs are put to stud but never castrated, so that ‘aggression’ remains its core character. Overseas, its considered by some as a form of removing the rights of their pets! Rape of a child ruins the potential of almost every one of Zimbabwe’s future upstanding citizens. But breathing a word of this is anathema, and because no such Law was given further consideration – giving a broken, bleeding child confidence to turn to anyone who might pursue a legal recourse on their behalf, with the loss of innocence an abused child may ultimately www.thepromota.co.uk
become sullen, withdrawn and could even develop an inferiority complex. Unfortunately, as a result of Sanctions affecting the economy, thousands of parents find work outside of Zimbabwe and without a father figure to fend for them, teenage girls who are vulnerable, are sometimes raped and fall pregnant. Their studies are disrupted so that their own future in education is damaged, and their newborn begins its life seriously disadvantaged as a generation born out of Sanctions against Zimbabwe by the West. (Luke 17 v 1-3 spells it out in the scriptures.) If only, at this time in our history, the law of castration could still be passed in Parliament, I am convinced that our children would lead more productive lives. Once identified, rapists should admit their guilt, apologise publicly to the families and victims, and in turn be surgically castrated. (Apparently chemical castration has a shelf life.) Life imprisonment, at the expense of tax payers, is the punishment for rape in the Republic of Moldova, but why should tax payers be responsible for Board/Lodging for such heinous crimes?
Surely, in this day and age where HIV is prevalent world-wide, such a law would make any rapist think twice before abusing boys and girls. Paedophilia in Europe and the West is rife, and it is still not too soon for President Mugabe to pass such a law, or will he leave it to the incoming President to take up the cudgels? As every Zimbabwean watches with baited breath to see who will tread the red carpet in December, this is a reminder that 5 years ago the Visionaries, Mr Tongai Matutu (MDC-T), filed his proposal for rape against children, and Dr Muchena suggested that rape of a child should be treated as First Degree murder – but sadly this proposal was filed in Bin 13. Zimbabwe could have made world history then, being the first state in Africa to recognise the Rights of the Child – the future of Zimbabwe! Often referred to as ‘making modern history’, Castration for Rape is now being taken very seriously in several countries, as detailed in the links hereunder. It has always been my dream that H.E. Robert Gabriel Mugabe would be the first African Head of State to pass such a Law in Parliament. What would your dream be? THE PROMOTA | 89
FASHION
Naomi Campbell
Kills It as the Face of Agent Provocateur
T
here are no words for Naomi Campbell. The 44-year-old supermodel absolutely kills it as the face and body of Agent Provocateur’s spring 2015 campaign, shot by Ellen von Unwerth. “Wanted Badly” tells the tale of a perfectly executed murder and the glamorous, multifaceted woman behind it. The shoot was inspired by the noir aesthetic and femme fatales featured prominently in David Lynch’s Lost Highway and Brian de Palma’s Body Double. “When casting for spring-summer 2015, we knew that we wanted to work with a powerful all-female team to complement the campaign inspiration,” says Sarah Shotton, the brand’s creative director. “Naomi and Ellen were perfect for this, as they both have such strong, individual personalities… Naomi is the ultimate Agent Provocateur woman: witty, gorgeous and confident.”
by Alicia Cox Thomson 90 | THE PROMOTA
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FASHION
IIconic nvanity
S
ince its unforgettable debut at Arise Magazine Fashion Week in 2012, Iconic Invanity has continued to soar not only in the world of luxury goods in Africa, but has succeeded in causing a stir within the diverse arena of fashion internationally. The brand has continued to oversee success with each collection garnering outstanding reviews amongst fashion critics both in Nigeria and across the shores. Iconic Invanity has uniquely capitalised on this success with the recent launch of its standalone boutique in the equally exclusive Banana Island district of Lagos, Nigeria. On Sunday 15th June, Iconic Invanity opened the doors to it’s flagship Banana Island boutique in style! Graced with impressionable fashionistas and notable individuals, the exclusive event showcased the journey of the ‘Iconic Invanity Woman’ and how she has gracefully evolved with the changing demands of society. Iconic Invanity captures the intricate dimensions of the distinguished woman, visually represented in the complexity, creativity and craftmanship in each design. With a phenomenal year in 2013, Iconic Invanity graced dozens of red carpets as our award-winning brand was coveted by top celebrities across the globe. From US Superstar Triathlete Kim Kilgroe, to Grammy award winner Melanie Fiona, to former Essence magazine editor Susan Taylor, Iconic Invanity has fast become the brand of choice for discerning fashionistas across the globe. Notably, the international icon, one of Times’ Most Influential People and all round pride of Africa Omotola ‘Omosexy’ Jalade-Ekeinde featured
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on CNN’s African voices adorned in bespoke Iconic Invanity designs. A remarkable year of tremendous achievement saw Iconic Invanity’s Creative Director Nancy Nwadire’s receive an international award in Italy by the town’s official recognising her outstanding talent and contribution to the African fashion industry. Interviewed by the Financial Times (London) fashion observers and followers alike are poised to discover to see the masterpieces she will create next. Nancy never disappoints with each stunning collection as the brand’s “latest work of art – Elements” is receiving much praise for how it’s bold colourful fusion in capturing the picture of summer for the ‘Iconic Invanity’ woman. Nancy founded the brand in 2009 and has since quickly become recognised in fashion across Africa, her work is rapidly rousing the attention of international observers in the industry for her standout talent and unique creativity. Nancy’s interest in fashion started at an early age as she fondly recollects: “I first fell in love with the art of dressmaking the day I watched my mother cut and hand sew my twin brother and sister’s coming home outfits, they were the cutest pair of checked pastel blue cotton dresses with yellow smocking I had ever seen.” Inspired by the handmade garments of her mother growing up, Nancy coveted her widely
esteemed dress-making techniques that are easily identifiable in the brand today. An alumni of the London Institute (an affiliate of the London College of Fashion), Nancy boldly creates the perfect fusion of colours, fabrics and empowering fit to ultimately produce timeless pieces that ooze elegance, class and poise for the distinguished individual. An apt representation of her luxury design label, Nancy’s inspiring design ethos and aesthetic pieces are truly iconic. Having featured in the likes of internationally renowned Arise Lagos Fashion Week, British Vogue as well as Tatler magazine, in just a short spectrum of time Iconic Invanity has become a much sought after brand. The brand is truly set to make waves across the international fashion industry over the next year with rapid expansion plans in the work, a team of dedicated staff and Nancy’s continued passion and eye for detail, the best is yet to come from this bespoke couture label.
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HSGH SGHS
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THE PROMOTA | 101
CHRISTIANITY
England names
Reverend Libby Lane
as its 1st female bishop
R
everend Libby Lane has been announced as the first female bishop for the Church of England, just a month after a historic change to canon law. She will become the new Bishop of Stockport, a post that has been vacant since May. Mrs Lane has been the vicar at St Peter's Hale and St Elizabeth's Ashley, in the diocese of Chester, since 2007. The general synod voted to back plans for female bishops in July and formally adopted legislation on 17 November. The appointment will end centuries of male leadership of the Church and comes 20 years after women became priests. Mrs Lane was ordained a deacon in 1993 and a priest in 1994, serving her curacy in Blackburn, Lancashire. Since 2010 she has also held the role of Dean of Women in Ministry for the diocese of Chester.
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Speaking at Stockport town hall the new bishop, whose role was approved by the Queen, said it was a "remarkable day for me and an historic day for the Church". "This is unexpected and very exciting," she said. "I'm honoured and thankful to be called to serve as the next Bishop of Stockport and not a little daunted to be entrusted with such a ministry." Prime Minister David Cameron congratulated Mrs Lane and said: "This is an historic appointment and an important step forward for the Church towards greater equality in its senior positions". Mrs Lane will be consecrated as the eighth bishop of the town at a ceremony at York Minster on 26 January. The first women priests were ordained in 1994, but to date women have not been able to take on the Church's most
senior roles. Archbishop Justin Welby is "absolutely delighted" with the Church of England's first female bishop Legislation to fast track women bishops into the House Of Lords will be introduced to Parliament on Thursday. But Mrs Lane will not be able to enter the House of Lords, as the post she is taking up is a junior or suffragan appointment within the Diocese of Chester, the BBC's religious correspondent Caroline Wyatt said. The first women bishop eligible to take up a seat in the Lords is expected to be announced in the new year. Mrs Lane, who was schooled in Manchester and then the University at Oxford, before training for ministry at Cranmer Hall in Durham, dismissed suggestions her appointment was just a symbolic gesture by a Church still predominantly run by men. The bishop and her husband, www.thepromota.co.uk
who is also a priest, were one of the first married couples in the Church of England to be ordained together. Mrs Lane's interests include being a school governor, supporting Manchester United and learning to play the saxophone, according to her church's website.
One of the first crucial steps towards appointing female bishops came in 1975 when the general synod voted that there was "no fundamental objection" to the ordination of women to the priesthood, but it did not pass a second motion asking for the legal barriers to women's ordination to be removed.
Church of England women priests
7,798
full-time C of E priests
1,781
The general synod, the Church's law-making body, gave the final seal of approval to the legislation on women bishops after it passed through Parliament in October.
In 1985, a vote allowed women to become deacons, and in 1992 women were officially permitted to be ordained in the priesthood, but the first women priests were not announced until two years later.
After the change was approved, the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby said that the Church was entering into a "completely new phase of our existence".
In November 2012, the vote to allow female bishops failed by six votes in the House of Laity. But in July 2013, it voted 152 in favour of the motion, with 45 against, and five abstentions.
But divisions still remain in the church between Anglicans who feel the change is consistent with their faith and traditionalists who disagree.
Gloucester, Oxford and Newcastle are also among the dioceses where new bishops will also soon be appointed, and interviews for the vacancy as bishop for the Southwell and
Churches in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland already allow women as bishops, but haven't appointed one yet.
of York, as Chaplain in hospital and further education, and as Family Life Officer for the Committee for Social Responsibility in the Diocese of Chester.
Manchester and doing
About Libby Lane Libby has been the Vicar of St Peter’s Hale and St Elizabeth’s Ashley, in the Diocese of Chester, since April 2007, and from January 2010 has also been Dean of Women in Ministry for the Diocese. After school in Manchester and University at Oxford, she trained for ministry at Cranmer Hall in Durham. She was ordained a deacon in 1993 and a priest in 1994, serving her curacy in Blackburn, Lancashire. Prior to moving to Hale, Libby was Team Vicar in the Stockport South West Team, and Assistant Diocesan Director of Ordinands in the Diocese of Chester, advising and supporting those considering a vocation to ministry in the church. She continues to be a Bishop’s Selection Advisor. Libby has served in the Diocese
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She is one of eight clergy women from the Church of England elected as Participant Observers in the House of Bishops, as the representative from the Dioceses of the North West. Her husband, George, is also a priest; they were one of the first married couples in the Church of England to be ordained together. George is Coordinating Chaplain at Manchester Airport, licensed in the Diocese of Manchester. They have two grown up children in higher education. Her interests include being a school governor, encouraging social action initiatives, learning to play the saxophone, supporting
are women • • •
100 male C of E bishops 29 Anglican women bishops worldwide 20 years since first C of E women priests ordained
Source: Church of England Nottingham diocese took place at the start of December.
United, reading cryptic crosswords.
We are delighted that Libby has been nominated as the new Bishop of Stockport, the first woman bishop in the Church of England. Libby's consecration will take place on the morning of Monday 26th January 2015 at York Minister and her installation will take place on Sunday 8th March 2015 at 3.30pm at Chester Cathedral. Everyone at St Peter's Hale are delighted and very proud of Libby and know that she will make an excellent Bishop and wish her every success. We may be loosing a Vicar but we are gaining a Bishop. St Peter’s Hale and St Elizabeth’s Ashley
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MENTAL HEALTY
Stress Management
How to Reduce, Prevent, and Cope with Stress
It may seem that there’s nothing you can do about stress. The bills won’t stop coming, there will never be more hours in the day, and your career and family responsibilities will always be demanding. But you have more control than you might think. In fact, the simple realization that you’re in control of your life is the foundation of stress management. Managing stress is all about taking charge: of your thoughts, emotions, schedule, and the way you deal with problems.
Identify the sources of stress in your life Stress management starts with identifying the sources of stress in your life. This isn’t as easy as it sounds. Your true sources of stress aren’t always obvious, and it’s all too easy to overlook your own stress-inducing thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Sure, you may know that you’re constantly worried about work deadlines. But maybe it’s your procrastination, rather than the actual job demands, that leads to deadline stress.
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To identify your true sources of stress, look closely at your habits, attitude, and excuses: •
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Do you explain away stress as temporary (“I just have a million things going on right now”) even though you can’t remember the last time you took a breather? Do you define stress as an integral part of your work or home life (“Things are always crazy around here”) or as a part of your personality (“I have a lot of nervous energy, that’s all”). Do you blame your stress on other people or outside events, or view it as entirely normal and unexceptional?
Until you accept responsibility for the role you play in creating or maintaining it, your stress level will remain outside your control.
identify them. Are your coping strategies healthy or unhealthy, helpful or unproductive? Unfortunately, many people cope with stress in ways that compound the problem.
1: Avoid unnecessary stress Not all stress can be avoided, and it’s not healthy to avoid a situation that needs to be addressed. You may be surprised, however, by the number of stressors in your life that you can eliminate. •
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Look at how you currently cope with stress • Think about the ways you currently manage and cope with stress in your life. Your stress journal can help you
Learn how to say “no” – Know your limits and stick to them. Whether in your personal or professional life, taking on more than you can handle is a surefire recipe for stress. Avoid people who stress you out – If someone consistently causes stress in your life and you can’t turn the relationship around, limit the amount of time you spend with that person or end the relationship entirely. Take control of your environment – If the evening news makes you anxious, turn the TV off. If traffic’s got you tense, take www.thepromota.co.uk
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a longer but less-traveled route. If going to the market is an unpleasant chore, do your grocery shopping online. Avoid hot-button topics – If you get upset over religion or politics, cross them off your conversation list. If you repeatedly argue about the same subject with the same people, stop bringing it up or excuse yourself when it’s the topic of discussion. Pare down your todo list – Analyze your schedule, responsibilities, and daily tasks. If you’ve got too much on your plate, distinguish between the “shoulds” and the “musts.” Drop tasks that aren’t truly necessary to the bottom of the list or eliminate them entirely.
2: Alter the situation If you can’t avoid a stressful situation, try to alter it. Figure out what you can do to change things so the problem doesn’t present itself in the future. Often, this involves changing the way you communicate and operate in your daily life. •
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Express your feelings instead of bottling them up. If something or someone is bothering you, communicate your concerns in an open and respectful way. If you don’t voice your feelings, resentment will build and the situation will likely remain the same. Be willing to compromise. When you ask someone to change their behavior, be willing to do the same. If you both are willing to bend at least a little, you’ll
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have a good chance of finding a happy middle ground. Be more assertive. Don’t take a backseat in your own life. Deal with problems head on, doing your best to anticipate and prevent them. If you’ve got an exam to study for and your chatty roommate just got home, say up front that you only have five minutes to talk. Manage your time better. Poor time management can cause a lot of stress. When you’re stretched too thin and running behind, it’s hard to stay calm and focused. But if you plan ahead and make sure you don’t overextend yourself, you can alter the amount of stress you’re under.
3: Adapt to the stressor If you can’t change the stressor, change yourself. You can adapt to stressful situations and regain your sense of control by changing your expectations and attitude. •
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Reframe problems. Try to view stressful situations from a more positive perspective. Rather than fuming about a traffic jam, look at it as an opportunity to pause and regroup, listen to your favorite radio station, or enjoy some alone time. Look at the big picture. Take perspective of the stressful situation. Ask yourself how important it will be in the long run. Will it matter in a month? A year? Is it really worth getting upset over? If the answer is no, focus your time and energy elsewhere.
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Adjust your standards. Perfectionism is a major source of avoidable stress. Stop setting yourself up for failure by demanding perfection. Set reasonable standards for yourself and others, and learn to be okay with “good enough.” Focus on the positive. When stress is getting you down, take a moment to reflect on all the things you appreciate in your life, including your own positive qualities and gifts. This simple strategy can help you keep things in perspective.
4: Accept the things you can’t change Some sources of stress are unavoidable. You can’t prevent or change stressors such as the death of a loved one, a serious illness, or a national recession. In such cases, the best way to cope with stress is to accept things as they are. Acceptance may be difficult, but in the long run, it’s easier than railing against a situation you can’t change. •
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Don’t try to control the uncontrollable. Many things in life are beyond our control— particularly the behavior of other people. Rather than stressing out over them, focus on the things you can control such as the way you choose to react to problems. Look for the upside. As the saying goes, “What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.” When facing major challenges, try to look at them as opportunities for personal growth. If your own poor THE PROMOTA | 105
MENTAL HEALTH
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choices contributed to a stressful situation, reflect on them and learn from your mistakes. Share your feelings. Talk to a trusted friend face to face or make an appointment with a therapist. The simple act of expressing what you’re going through can be very cathartic, even if there’s nothing you can do to alter the stressful situation. Opening up is not a sign of weakness and it won’t make you a burden to others. In fact, most friends will be flattered that you trust them enough to confide in them, and it will only strengthen your bond. Learn to forgive. Accept the fact that we live in an imperfect world and that people make mistakes. Let go of anger and resentments. Free yourself from negative energy by forgiving and moving on.
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5: Make time for fun and relaxation Beyond a take-charge approach and a positive attitude, you can reduce stress in your life by nurturing yourself. If you regularly make time for fun and relaxation, you’ll be in a better place to handle life’s stressors. Don’t get so caught up in the hustle and bustle of life that you forget to take care of your own needs. Nurturing yourself is a necessity, not a luxury. •
Set aside relaxation time. Include rest and relaxation in your daily schedule. Don’t allow other obligations to encroach. This is your
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time to take a break from all responsibilities and recharge your batteries. Connect with others. Spend time with positive people who enhance your life. A strong support system will buffer you from the negative effects of stress. Do something you enjoy every day. Make time for leisure activities that bring you joy, whether it be stargazing, playing the piano, or working on your bike. Keep your sense of humor. This includes the ability to laugh at yourself. The act of laughing helps your body fight stress in a number of ways.
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6: Adopt a healthy lifestyle You can increase your resistance to stress by strengthening your physical health. •
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Exercise regularly. Physical activity plays a key role in reducing and preventing the effects of stress. Make time for at least 30 minutes of exercise, three times per week. Nothing beats aerobic exercise for releasing pentup stress and tension. Eat a healthy diet. Well-
•
nourished bodies are better prepared to cope with stress, so be mindful of what you eat. Start your day right with breakfast, and keep your energy up and your mind clear with balanced, nutritious meals throughout the day. Reduce caffeine and sugar. The temporary “highs” caffeine and sugar provide often end in with a crash in mood and energy. By reducing the amount of coffee, soft drinks, chocolate, and sugar snacks in your diet, you’ll feel more relaxed and you’ll sleep better. Avoid alcohol, cigarettes, and drugs. Self-medicating with alcohol or drugs may provide an easy escape from stress, but the relief is only temporary. Don’t avoid or mask the issue at hand; deal with problems head on and with a clear mind. Get enough sleep. Adequate sleep fuels your mind, as well as your body. Feeling tired will increase your stress because it may cause you to think irrationally.
http://www.helpguide. org/articles/stress/stressmanagement.htm
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MENTAL HEALTH
1. Focus on keeping stress in check
Five ips
T
for Improving Your
Mental and Emotional Health
Managing stress is the key ingredient to improving mental health. Ignore stress and your body and mind will pay the price. For the best ways to cope with the hassles and frustrations of daily life, visit Helpguide’s topic pages on stress and anxiety. If you feel overwhelmed by stress and painful emotions, our free emotional intelligence toolkit can teach you the skills you need to cope.
2. Keep your body fit and mind sharp Exercise and movement can help you keep stress in check and promote better mental and physical health. Just as you can exercise your body, there are also plenty of ways to exercise your brain and stay mentally sharp. By reviewing Helpguide's articles under the topics of exercise and fitness and memory you will find the information that best suits your needs.
3. Eat to look and feel your best Food choices can strongly affect how you feel. A balanced diet can nourish your mind and www.thepromota.co.uk
help you feel energetic and confident. Take a look at Helpguide’s articles under the topics of healthy eating and special diets and weight loss for ways to improve your diet and develop a healthier, more satisfying relationship with food.
4. Make face-to-face relationships a priority There’s a strong link between meaningful relationships and mental wellbeing. Spending time with friends and loved ones can help you manage stress, avoid isolation, and improve all aspects of your emotional health. The human brain responds differently to a real-life face than it does to a screen, so consult Helpguide’s relationships articles to find advice for developing closer face-toface relationships.
5. Focus on your emotional wellbeing Staying emotionally healthy is about more than avoiding illness. Taking care of your emotional wellbeing will help you handle life's challenges, bounce back from adversity, and lead a productive, fulfilling life. Helpguide's emotional health articles can show you how. www.helpguide.org
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HEALTH
Healthy W eight L oss and Dieting Tips In our eat-and-run, massive-portion-sized culture, maintaining a healthy weight can be tough—and losing weight, even tougher. If you’ve tried and failed to lose weight before, you may believe that diets don’t work for you. You’re probably right: traditional diets don’t work—at least not in the long term. However, there are plenty of small but powerful ways to avoid common dieting pitfalls, achieve lasting weight loss success, and develop a healthier relationship with food. The key to successful, healthy weight loss Your weight is a balancing act, but the equation is simple: If you eat more calories than you burn, you gain weight. And if you eat fewer calories than you burn, you lose weight. Since 3,500 calories equals about one pound of fat, if you cut 500 calories from your typical diet each day, you'll lose approximately one pound a week (500 calories x 7 days = 3,500 calories). Simple, right? Then why is weight loss so hard? All too often, we make weight loss much more difficult than it needs to be with extreme diets that leave us cranky and 108 | THE PROMOTA
starving, unhealthy lifestyle choices that undermine our dieting efforts, and emotional eating habits that stop us before we get started. But there’s a better way! You can lose weight without feeling miserable. By making smart choices every day, you can develop new eating habits and preferences that will leave you feeling satisfied— and winning the battle of the bulge.
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Getting started with healthy weight loss • While there is no “one size fits all” solution to permanent healthy weight loss, the following guidelines are a great place to start:
Think lifestyle change, not short-term diet. Permanent weight loss is not something that a “quick-fix” diet can achieve. Instead, think about weight loss as a permanent lifestyle change—a commitment to your health for life. Various popular diets can help jumpstart your weight loss, but permanent changes in your lifestyle and food choices are what will work in the long run. Find a cheering section. Social support means a lot. Programs like Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers use group support to impact weight loss and lifelong healthy eating. Seek out www.thepromota.co.uk
FOOD & HEALTH
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support—whether in the form of family, friends, or a support group—to get the encouragement you need. Slow and steady wins the race. Aim to lose one to two pounds a week to ensure healthy weight loss. Losing weight too fast can take a toll on your mind and body, making you feel sluggish, drained, and sick. When you drop a lot of weight quickly, you’re actually losing mostly water and muscle, rather than fat. Set goals to keep you motivated. Short-term goals, like wanting to fit into a bikini for the summer, usually don’t work as well as wanting to feel more confident or become healthier for your children’s sakes. When frustration and temptation strike, concentrate on the many benefits you will reap from being healthier and leaner. Use tools that help you track your progress. Keep a food journal and weigh yourself regularly, keeping track of each pound and inch you lose. By keeping track of your weight loss efforts, you’ll see the results in black and white, which will help you stay motivated.
Keep in mind it may take some experimenting to find the right diet for your individual body. It’s important that you feel satisfied so that you can stick with it on a long-term basis. If one diet plan doesn’t work, then try another one. www.thepromota.co.uk
There are many ways to lose weight. The key is to find what works for you. 1: Avoid common pitfalls Diets, especially fad diets or “quick-fix” pills and plans, often set you up for failure because: •
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You feel deprived. Diets that cut out entire groups of food, such as carbs or fat, are simply impractical, not to mention unhealthy. The key is moderation. You lose weight, but can’t keep it off. Diets that severely cut calories, restrict certain foods, or rely on ready-made meals might work in the short term but don’t include a plan for maintaining your weight, so the pounds quickly come back. After your diet, you seem to put on weight more quickly. When you drastically restrict your food intake, your metabolism will temporarily slow down. Once you start eating normally, you’ll gain weight until your metabolism bounces back. You break your diet and feel too discouraged to try again. When diets make you feel deprived, it’s easy to fall off the wagon. Healthy eating is about the big picture. An occasional splurge won’t kill your efforts. You lose money faster than you lose weight. Special shakes, meals, and programs are not
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only expensive, but they aren’t practical for longterm weight loss. You feel lost when dining out. If the food served isn’t on your specific diet plan, what can you do? The person on the commercial lost 30 lbs. in two months—and you haven’t. Diet companies make a lot of grandiose promises, and most are simply unrealistic.
2: Put a stop to emotional eating We don’t always eat simply to satisfy hunger. If we did, no one would be overweight. All too often, we turn to food for comfort and stress relief. When this happens, we frequently pack on pounds. Do you reach for a snack while watching TV? Do you eat when you’re stressed or bored? When you’re lonely? Or to reward yourself? Recognizing your emotional eating triggers can make all the difference in your weight loss efforts: •
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If you eat when you’re stressed, find healthier ways to calm yourself. Try exercise, yoga, meditation, or soaking in a hot bath. If you eat when you’re feeling low on energy, find other mid-afternoon pick-me-ups. Try walking around the block, listening to energizing music, or taking a short nap. If you eat when you’re lonely or bored, reach THE PROMOTA | 109
FOOD & HEALTH
eat fewer calories. But that doesn’t necessarily mean you have to eat less food. You can fill up while on a diet, as long as you choose your foods wisely. Fiber: the secret to feeling satisfied while losing weight
out to others instead of reaching for the refrigerator. Call a friend who makes you laugh, take your dog for a walk, or go out in public (to the library, mall, or park— anywhere there’s people). 3: Tune in when you eat We live in a fast-paced world where eating has become mindless. We eat on the run, at our desk while we’re working, and in front of the TV screen. The result is that we consume much more than we need, often without realizing it. Counter this tendency by practicing “mindful” eating: pay attention to what you eat, savor each bite, and choose foods that are both nourishing and enjoyable. Mindful eating weight loss tips •
Pay attention while you’re eating. Instead of chewing down mindlessly, savor the experience. Eat slowly, savoring the smells and textures of your food. If your mind wanders, gently return
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your attention to your food and how it tastes and feels in your mouth. Avoid distractions while eating. Try not to eat while working, watching TV, or driving. It’s too easy to mindlessly overeat. Chew your food thoroughly. Try chewing each bite 30 times before swallowing. You’ll prolong the experience and give yourself more time to enjoy each bite. Try mixing things up to force yourself to focus on the experience of eating. Try using chopsticks rather than a fork, or use your utensils with your non-dominant hand. Stop eating before you full. It takes time for the signal to reach your brain that you’ve had enough. Avoid the temptation to clean your plate. Yes, there are children starving in Africa, but your weight gain won’t help them.
4: Fill up with fruit, veggies, and fiber To lose weight, you have to
High-fiber foods are higher in volume and take longer to digest, which makes them filling. There’s nothing magic about it, but the weight-loss results may seem like it. High-fiber include: •
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heavyweights
Fruits and vegetables – Enjoy whole fruits across the rainbow (strawberries, apples, oranges, berries, nectarines, plums), leafy salads, and green veggies of all kinds. Beans – Select beans of any kind (black beans, lentils, split peas, pinto beans, chickpeas). Add them to soups, salads, and entrees, or enjoy them as a hearty dish on their own. Whole grains – Try highfiber cereal, oatmeal, brown rice, whole-wheat pasta, whole-wheat or multigrain bread, and airpopped popcorn.
Focus on fresh fruits and veggies Counting calories and measuring portion sizes can quickly become tedious, but you don’t need an accounting degree to enjoy fresh fruit and vegetables. It’s generally safe to eat as much as you want, whenever you want. www.thepromota.co.uk
The high water and fiber content in most fresh fruits and vegetables makes them hard to overeat. You’ll feel full long before you’ve overdone it on the calories. •
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Eat vegetables raw or steamed, not fried or breaded, and dress them with herbs and spices or a little olive oil or cheese for flavor. Add nuts and cheese to salads but don’t overdo it. Use low-fat salad dressings, such as a vinaigrette made with olive oil. Pour a little less cereal into your morning bowl to make room for some blueberries, strawberries, or sliced bananas. You’ll still enjoy a full bowl, but with a lower calorie count. Swap out some of the
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meat and cheese in your sandwich with healthier veggie choices like lettuce, tomatoes, sprouts, cucumbers, and avocado. Instead of a high-calorie snack, like chips and dip, try baby carrots or celery with hummus. Add more veggies to your favorite main courses to make your dish “go” further. Even dishes such as pasta and stir-fries can be diet-friendly if you use less noodles and more vegetables. Try starting your meal with a salad or soup to help fill you up, so you eat less of your entrée.
5: Indulge without overindulging Try not to think of certain foods as “off limits” When you ban certain foods, it is natural to want
those foods more, and then feel like a failure if you give in to temptation. Instead of denying yourself the unhealthy foods you love, simply eat them less often. If you’ve ever found yourself polishing off a pint of ice cream or stuffing yourself with cookies or chips after spending a whole day virtuously eating salads, you know how restrictive diet plans usually end. Deprivation diets set you up for failure: you starve yourself until you snap, and then you overdo it, cancelling out all your previous efforts. In order to successfully lose weight and keep it off, you need to learn how to enjoy the foods you love without going overboard. A diet that places all your favorite foods off limits won’t work in the long THE PROMOTA | 111
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run. Eventually, you’ll feel deprived and will cave. And when you do, you probably won’t stop at a sensible-sized portion. Tips for enjoying without overeating •
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treats
Combine your treat with other healthy foods. You can still enjoy your favorite high-calorie treat, whether it’s ice cream, chips, cake, or chocolate. The key is to eat a smaller serving along with a lower-calorie option. For example, add strawberries to your ice cream or munch on carrot and celery sticks along with your chips and dip. By piling on the low-cal option, you can eat a dietfriendly portion of your favorite treat without feeling deprived. Schedule your treats. Establish regular times when you get to indulge in your favorite food. For example, maybe you enjoy a small square of chocolate every day after lunch, or a slice of cheesecake every Friday evening. Once you’re conditioned to eat your treat at those times—and those times only—you’ll stop obsessing about them at other times. Make your indulgence less indulgent. Find ways to reduce fat, sugar, or calories in your favorite treats and snacks. If you do your own baking, cut back on sugar, making up for it with extra cinnamon or vanilla extract. You can also eliminate or reduce
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high-calorie sides, like whipped cream, cheese, dip, and frosting. Engage all your senses— not just your taste sense. You can make snack time more special by lighting candles, playing soothing music, or eating outdoors in a beautiful setting. Get the most pleasure—and the most relaxation—out of your treat by cutting it into small pieces and taking your time.
6: Take charge of your food environment Your weight loss efforts will succeed or fail based largely on your food environment. Set yourself up for success by
taking charge of your food environment: when you eat, how much you eat, and what foods are available. •
Eat early, weigh less. When you eat—as well as how much—may also affect your weight. Early studies suggest that consuming more of your daily calories at breakfast and fewer at dinner can help you drop more pounds. Eating a larger, healthy breakfast can jump start your metabolism, stop you feeling hungry during the day, and give you more time to burn off the calories.
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Serve yourself smaller portions. One easy way to control portion size is by using small plates, bowls, and cups. This will make your portions appear larger. Don’t eat out of large bowls or directly from the food container or package, which makes it difficult to assess how much you’ve eaten. Using smaller utensils, like a teaspoon instead of tablespoon, can slow eating and help you feel full sooner. Plan your meals and snacks ahead of time. You will be more inclined to eat in moderation if you have thought out healthy meals and snacks in advance. You can buy or create your own small portion snacks in plastic bags or containers. Eating on a schedule will also help you avoid eating when you aren’t truly hungry. Cook your own meals. Cooking meals at home allows you to control both portion size and what goes in to the food. Restaurant and packaged foods generally contain a lot more sodium, fat, and calories than food cooked at home—plus the portion sizes tend to be larger. Don’t shop for groceries when you’re hungry. Create a shopping list and stick to it. Be especially careful to avoid high-calorie snack and convenience foods. Out of sight, out of mind. Limit the amount of tempting foods you
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have at home. If you share a kitchen with nondieters, store snack foods and other high-calorie indulgences in cabinets or drawers out of your sight. Fast for 14 hours a day. Try to eat your last meal earlier in the day and then fast until breakfast the next morning. Studies suggest that this simple dietary adjustment— eating only when you’re most active and giving your digestive system a long break each day— may help you to lose weight.
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• Soda: The Saboteur
Secret
Diet
Soft drinks (including soda, energy drinks, and coffee drinks) are a huge source of calories in many people’s diets. One can of soda contains between 1012 teaspoons of sugar and around 150 calories, so a few soft drinks can quickly add up to a good portion of your daily calorie intake. Switching to diet soda isn’t the answer either, as studies suggest that it triggers sugar cravings and contributes to weight gain. Instead, try switching to water with lemon, unsweetened iced tea, or carbonated water with a splash of juice.
7: Make healthy lifestyle changes You can support your dieting efforts by making healthy lifestyle choices. •
Get plenty of exercise. Exercise is a dieter’s best friend. It not only burns calories, but also can improve your resting
metabolism. No time for a long workout? Research shows that three 10-minute spurts of exercise per day are just as good as one 30-minute workout. Turn off the TV. You actually burn less calories watching television than you do sleeping! If you simply can’t miss your favorite shows, get a little workout in while watching. Do easy exercises like squats, situps, jogging in place, or using resistance bands or hand weights. Drink more water. Reduce your daily calorie intake by replacing soda, alcohol, or coffee with water. Thirst can also be confused with hunger, so by drinking water, you may avoid consuming extra calories.
How lack of sleep can wreck your diet Lack of sleep has been shown to have a direct link to hunger, overeating, and weight gain. Two hormones in your body regulate normal feelings of hunger and fullness. Ghrelin stimulates appetite, while leptin sends signals to the brain when you are full. However, when you’re short on sleep, your ghrelin levels go up, stimulating your appetite so you want more food than normal, and your leptin levels go down, meaning you don’t feel satisfied and want to keep eating. This can lead to overeating and, ultimately, weight gain. To keep your diet on track, try to get about eight hours of quality sleep a night.
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that includes flying in private jets and accompanying the married boss who ensures she is ultimately rewarded for her services. There is no risk insurance available at ATMs for broken hearts, STDs or HIV and now possibly Ebola with its warning tag of ABC! (‘Avoid Bodily Contact’). It has to be worth the effort! Or is it? The Sisterhood of Womanhood is about caring and being compassionate with those around you – without counting the cost. Many aspire to be a loyal Pastor’s wife without realising the cost.
A successful woman is quietly determined, devoted and dedicated yet she is still a real woman. Her list is endless: Celine Dion, Oprah, Dolly Parton, Beyonce, your Pastor’s wife. Despite the dice they were rolled, they prove daily that Life is not a dress rehearsal.... whichever outfit they wear, their success lies in that their secret weapon is the foundation garment of Womanhood. Listen to Sara Ramirez singing ‘The Story’ on You Tube and then check out Yahoo’s Finance great 9 tips from female entrepreneurs and networking experts for their rules in networking success! You can do it! https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/tips-fornetworking-success-170132293.html.
Can Jealousy Give Your ex Life a Boost?
S
Men have more sex—and better sex—when their girlfriend is a guy’s girl, not a girly girl. Best of both worlds, right? Eh, this is kind of a catch 22. The reason you’re having more sex is because of all her guy friends. You feel you’re competing for her attention and affection, according to a study published in the Journal of Comparative Psychology. You want to remain the man on top, literally, and no one can blame you for that. In fact, this may be a good thing. Your lady enjoys more romantic attention, and you enjoy more sex, but there is a caveat. Though you’re in between the sheets more, you’re also fighting the sneaking suspicion that she’s being unfaithful. Lead study author Michael Pham told Fusion: “A lot of 114 | THE PROMOTA
work shows that men are sexually aroused by their partner when they estimate a greater likelihood of partner infidelity.” Researchers questioned 400 men in relationships, asking them to report on how attractive they found their partner, how many male friends they believed their partner has, and how attractive they believed these friends find her. The study found that the more guy friends you think she has, the most sex you’ll have as a couple. “We need to be reminded that our partner is valuable to us and desirable to others,” Pham told Fusion. “This makes us keep working at maintaining
relationship satisfaction.” While the study didn’t investigate whether your girl will initiate more sex if you have a lot of girl friends, it’s a pretty safe bet that striking up some jealousy in your partner will optimize your sex life together. Just don’t go overboard. The idea is to keep your girlfriend. by Brittany Smith www.thepromota.co.uk
HEALTH
The Silent Killer: Women and HEART DISEASE What is the No. 1 killer of women? If you answered breast cancer, you are wrong. While 12,000 women die from breast cancer each year, more than twelve times that number (74,000) are killed every year in UK by cardiovascular disease. Furthermore, while one in eight women will contract breast cancer during their lifetimes, more
than double that number (one in three) will experience cardiovascular disease at some point in their lives. So what is the nature of this prevalent disease, often dubbed the "silent killer," and what can be done to prevent this growing problem among women?
Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the leading cause of death both in the UK and worldwide. It’s responsible for around 74,000 deaths in the UK each year. About 1 in 5 men and 1 in 8 women die from CHD. In the UK, there are an estimated 2.7m people living with the condition and 2m people affected by angina (the most common symptom of coronary heart disease). CHD generally affects more men than women, but from the age of 50 the chances of developing CHD are similar for men and women. The main symptoms of CHD are heart attacks and heart failure. However, not everyone has the same symptoms and some people may not have any before CHD is diagnosed. CHD is sometimes called ischaemic heart disease. Why does coronary heart disease happen? Coronary heart disease is the term that describes what happens when your heart’s blood supply is blocked www.thepromota.co.uk
or interrupted by a build-up of fatty substances in the coronary arteries. Over time, the walls of your arteries can become furred up with fatty deposits. This process is known as atherosclerosis and the fatty deposits are called atheroma. Atherosclerosis can be caused by lifestyle habits and other conditions, such as: • smoking • high cholesterol • high blood pressure (hypertension) • diabetes Diagnosing coronary heart disease If your doctor feels you are at risk of CHD, they may carry out a risk assessment. This involves asking about your medical and family history, your lifestyle and taking a blood test. Further tests may be needed to confirm a diagnosis of CHD, including: • an electrocardiogram (ECG) • an X-ray • an MRI scan • a CT scan • coronary angiography
Treating coronary heart disease Although coronary heart disease cannot be cured, treatment can help manage the symptoms and reduce the chances of problems such as heart attacks. Treatment can include lifestyle changes, such as doing regular exercise and stopping smoking, as well as medication and surgery. Recovery If you have problems such as a heart attack, or have any heart surgery, it is possible to eventually resume your normal life. Advice and support is available to help you deal with aspects of your life that may have been affected by CHD. Prevention By making some simple lifestyle changes, you can reduce your risk of getting CHD. These include: • eating a healthy, balanced diet • being physically active • giving up smoking • controlling blood cholesterol and sugar levels • Keeping your heart healthy will also have other health benefits, and help reduce your risk of stroke and dementia. THE PROMOTA | 115
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Disputed
SOMALILAND’S
oil laws heighten stakes in volatile region This Is Africa - by rachelcwilliamson
T
he self-declared state of Somaliland has ambitious plans to regulate its nascent oil sector. However, it is a step that could heighten tensions throughout the Somalispeaking region. Like other East African states such as Tanzania and Kenya with lucrative new oil discoveries, Somaliland is developing resources laws in preparation to reap the benefits of expected – although as yet unconfirmed – petroleum deposits. But analysts warn that access to oil could bring the question of autonomy from the internationally recognised state of Somalia to a head. Though technically still part of Somalia, Somaliland has existed as an unofficial state since unilaterally declaring independence in 1991.
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The question of autonomy remains charged, although an uneasy status quo and Somalia’s weak central government have allowed Somaliland to operate more or less independently for over two decades. Access to oil finds, however, could shift the calculus of the official Somali government in Mogadishu in favor of quashing the autonomy claim for good. Internal expectations could also destabilise Somaliland, an oasis of relative calm since 1993 within the fractious Somali ethnic triangle that includes Ethiopia and Kenya. Both countries have large populations of ethnic Somalis, with whom the state has fraught relations. Ethiopia stands accused of human rights abuses against its restive Somali citizens in
the eastern Ogaden region, while Kenya is trying to stamp out a fresh wave of attacks by the Somalia-based terrorist group Al Shabab. Copies of three June 2014 draft bills seen by the writer address petroleum regulation and revenue allocation in Somaliland. They show that Hargeisa, Somaliland’s unofficial capital, is planning to establish a sovereign wealth fund, and has firmly rejected using Somaliland petroleum to subsidise fuel for its citizenry. The bills, designed by Norwegian law firm Simonsen Vogt Wiig, are still being held within the energy ministry and have not been presented to Cabinet yet. The reaction of the internationally recognised state of Somalia to Somaliland’s efforts www.thepromota.co.uk
towards developing its own petroleum legislation has been muted so far, largely due to infighting that has paralysed the government in Mogadishu for months. Instead, Mogadishu has ramped up development of a parallel oil sector, and has aimed its threats at oil companies. The Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) in Mogadishu has made it clear it considers contracts signed with Somaliland void. In September, it said companies that signed deals with regional governments were “adding fire to conflicts” and “destroying the international community’s effort to build the peace and the security of the country”. It singled out Norwegian oil explorer DNO International, which signed a production sharing agreement with Somaliland in April 2013, and threatened to lodge a complaint with the United Nations Security Council. Somalia expects to finish a seismic study of the country by the end of this year, in order to start a licensing round next year. The FSG hopes to be producing hydrocarbons offshore by 2020 from a total national reserve that’s estimated to be as high as 110 billion barrels of oil – a figure equivalent to Kuwaiti oil reserves. www.thepromota.co.uk
The FGS is also talking to oil companies about reviving concessions abandoned under force majeure in 1991, when the country disintegrated into civil war following the ouster of dictator Siad Barre. However, Africa Oil’s thwarted attempts to explore a concession partially in Somaliland, yet awarded by the Puntland government, indicate the challenges Mogadishu faces if it wishes to enforce Chevron’s or ConocoPhilips’ old concessions granted in the same area. “Somaliland has already concessioned out those areas…If Mogadishu moves actively to grant a concession, a new concession, in territory that is in Somaliland – that will be a really robust signal from them of intent,” Chatham House fellow Jason Mosely explains. In October, the Monitoring Group
UN on
Somalia and Eritrea warned of security risks from rival claims over oil licences, unless the competing authorities create a joint approach to resources management. Yet Somaliland’s foreign minister Mohamed Bihi claimed in a July interview with the author that oil had not come up in the Turkey-sponsored talks between Somalia and Somaliland, indicating that dialogue between the two countries on the issue could be moving more slowly than developments on the ground. Internal frictions If oil management is being marked as a source of future conflict between regional Somali authorities, several internal controversies already flaring within Somaliland indicate how divisive the topic could be on a larger scale. Public opposition to a perceived lack THE PROMOTA | 117
of transparency and participation in Somaliland’s oil sector is building as disputes over land use, alleged oil payments and local employment have tainted the sector since its inception two years ago. In 2013, Anglo-Turkish explorer Genel Energy suspended its operations citing security concerns, after problems with a local community escalated. Oil is also feeding the cause of separatist a movement Khaatumo state. The group claims territory in Somaliland and Ethiopia and is agitating to become an autonomous state under the FGS, and sees the oil blocks within its territory as potential bargaining chips. According to Mr Mosely, although the movement’s roots precede Somaliland’s oil finds “it would be accurate to say that oil certainly did not make anything any easier”. From the perspective of the separatists, Hargeisa’s lack of grassroots consultation on oil exploration deals is compounding a view that the distant capital has no right to claim the region’s resources wealth, let alone govern over Khaatumoclaimed land. And the Somaliland government’s refusal to submit the four alreadysigned production 118 | THE PROMOTA
sharing agreements for Parliamentary approval is exacerbating friction with the legislature. “In the absence of transparency, alternative scenarios come into being and anyone who fails to be transparent is obviously hiding something,” Ibrahim Jama, an MP from the eastern Sanaag region, says. He claims the constitution requires all international agreements to be scrutinised by Parliament, a detail energy minister Hussein Abdi Dualeh disagrees with. Mr Dualeh claims responsibility for resources is vested in the state, so it is up to the government to decide how to manage them. “We do not want to have a food fight over who owns what,” he says. Aggravating these problems will be the Somaliland government’s limited ability to implement the ambitious laws it has drafted. The possible outcome could be continuing public disputes between separatists, diaspora activists and the government, and the growing mistrust of grassroots communities residing in Somaliland’s oil rich eastern territories. Dominik Balthazar, a fellow at the United States Institute for Peace (USIP), doubts whether Somaliland has the bureaucratic
capacity to implement the proposals, or the economic size to resist over-focusing on hydrocarbons, causing other sectors to wither. “It is not necessarily the question of whether Somaliland can establish such institutions, it has proven in the past that it can,” he says.”[But it is] currently not in the best of positions to bear the political and economic shocks the commercial production of hydrocarbons is likely to be accompanied with.” Oil finds have heightened the stakes in the Somali region, with possible destabilising consequences if the issue is not addressed head on. Mr Mosely argues that Somaliland and the government in Mogadishu must cut a deal not only to clarify basics like concession ownership, but to prevent violent clashes between regional authorities and private actors. “Eventually you have got to deal with the fact that none of the entities…are really competent jurisdictions to grant concessions in an international sense,” he says. “Somaliland does not exist, internationally… and [the government in Mogadishu] is the sovereign entity for which responsibility to grant these concessions, in international law terms, rests.”
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HSGH SGHS
Bridging The Microfinance Gap for Small-holder FARMERS Microfinance is widely known for the incredible speed with which it has scaled to reach hundreds of millions of people, and the positive effect it has had in reducing poverty. However, what many people do not know is that most of these microfinance institutions are located in urban and suburban areas, and they largely target the urban and suburban poor. As a result, the largest group of poor people in the world â&#x20AC;&#x201C; smallholder farmers â&#x20AC;&#x201C; are largely financially excluded. While 55 percent of Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s population is engaged in agricultural livelihoods, only approximately 1 percent of bank lending across the continent goes to the agricultural sector. In sub-Saharan Africa, 38 percent of adults living in cities report having a formal bank account, compared with only 21 percent www.thepromota.co.uk
of adults living in rural areas. Smallholder farmers represent two tremendous opportunities: a market opportunity for any financial institution looking to grow their client base, and an impact opportunity for all financial institutions that have a social mission. The total amount of debt financing available to smallholder farmers in the developing world is approximately $9bn. This amount meets less than 3 percent of the estimated total smallholder financing demand, which is calculated to be $450bn globally. Farmers comprise the largest and poorest group at the bottom of the pyramid, so financial tools for farmers have very high impact potential. Sustained growth in the agriculture sector has
proven 2 to 4 times more effective at reducing poverty and improving livelihoods than growth in other sectors. Recent research shows this can be as high as 11 times in sub-Saharan Africa. The uniform profession of farmers also means that providing financial services to farmers is a highly replicable business. Perceived risk and lack of expertise are the most significant reasons that more banks and microfinance institutions have not yet started offering agriculture finance products. Compared to urban lending, which microfinance institutions are familiar with and have developed expertise in, rural lending feels quite risky. Most banks and microfinance institutions do not have internal expertise on agriculture, and are unsure how to structure loan prodTHE PROMOTA | 119
BUSINESS
ucts that would both meet the needs of farmers and mitigate the risk they take on by lending to them.
Acre Fund, all offer products to smallholder farmers that successfully address their financial needs.
Further, operating in rural areas poses infrastructural and logistical challenges. Margins will be lower than when serving urban clients, and financial institutions will have to build out either physical or human infrastructure to reach remote rural areas.
The Initiative for Smallholder Finance recently published a briefing on direct-to-smallholder finance in which they note that over 150 finance providers currently offer direct-to-farmer finance. To help facilitate the entry of more financial institutions into the sector, the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) is conducting research to better understand the financial needs of smallholder farm families.
Currently, significant distances between bank branches represent a major barrier to rural financial inclusion. For example, in Tanzania, where there are less than 0.5 bank branches per thousand square kilometers, 47 percent of all unbanked persons cite distance from a bank as a primary reason for not having an account. There is a small but growing movement of financial institutions that have figured out how to overcome these challenges and lend to smallholder farmers. Institutions like Opportunity International, Vision Fund, Microensure, as well as One 120 | THE PROMOTA
Through our work at One Acre Fund, we have discovered some basic principles that reduce the risk of lending to smallholder farmers, while increasing the income impact that those farmers realise from their loans. We currently serve 200,000 smallholder farmers in East Africa, and have a repayment rate of 98 percent. We have found that lending to farmers is most effective when we lend seed and
fertiliser instead of cash. Providing assets to farmers ensures that the loan is utilised for the intended purpose, and overcomes the challenge of limited access to seed and fertiliser close to the homes of our clients. We also offer a completely flexible repayment schedule to accommodate the irregular cash flow of most smallholder farmers. Finally, we pair our loans with agriculture trainings, so that farmers can maximise the income impact of the seed and fertiliser that they use. These principles allow our clients to see at least a 50 percent increase in farm income per acre, as well as ensuring that One Acre Fund is repaid. One Acre Fund is just one of a small number of organisations that has figured out how to successfully lend to smallholder farmers. With a global financing gap of $441bn, we need thousands of financial institutions to step in and start serving this market. Farmers are 70 percent of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s poor. Agriculture microfinance is our best tool to significantly reduce global poverty â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and it is also a promising business opportunity. By Stephanie Hanson Stephanie Hanson is senior vice president of policy and partnerships at One Acre Fund. Source: This is Africa
www.thepromota.co.uk
AFRICA & BUSINESS
Why a new fund is targeting intra-Africa trade Regional trade within Africa remains the lowest in the world compared to other continents. According to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), over the last decade intra-African trade averaged around a disappointing 10-12%. Yogesh Gokool, head of international banking at AfrAsia Bank, talks about the new trade finance fund that aims to boost COMESA trade. In comparison, intra-European trade in 2009 was at 72%; Asian trade at 52%; North American trade at 48%; and South and Central American trade at 26%. Furthermore, UNECA estimates that over 80% of African country exports are destined for overseas markets, rather than regional. Experts quote a number of reasons for a lack of regional trade in Africa – from high transport costs, to unclear trade policies, to harassment and corruption at border crossings. Charles Brewer, DHL Express managing director for sub-Saharan Africa, argues that insufficient trade agreements exist, which in turn does not encourage and drive intra-Africa trade. As a result there tends to be a focus on doing business with regions outside of Africa, such as the United States or China. Regional trade needs financing According to Yogesh Gokool, head of international banking at Mauritius-based AfrAsia www.thepromota.co.uk
Bank, there is a need to provide financial and liquidity support to intra-African exporters and importers.
Yogesh Gokool, head of international banking at AfrAsia Bank, talks about the new trade finance fund that aims to boost COMESA trade.
“These countries operate in an economically and politically challenging environment and very often they are also cash-strapped. So they need financing in order to boost trade, both within and amongst the African countries,” Gokool told How we made it in Africa. AfrAsia is the custodian for a new trade finance fund to support and facilitate trade flows between the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) trading partners. The fund was instituted by the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank (or the PTA Bank), which is the financial arm of COMESA. The minimum target size of the fund is US$250m, and it is looking to raise up to $1bn to provide trade finance support to exporters and importers in the private sector within PTA Bank’s 18 member states. Gokool noted the fund is aiming to address some of the challenges that private sector exporters and importers face in getting financing from banks.
“For example it is quite administratively heavy to receive facilities from commercial banks. And it can also be quite time consuming… So I believe this fund is in a position to provide an alternative solution in terms of providing liquidity.” Seeking opportunities in all sectors The fund is set to become operational in the first quarter of next year, and will look for opportunities across all sectors. A focus will also be on fostering growth in some of the booming industries such as petroleum, fertilisers, agrochemicals, and more traditional commodities like cotton and tobacco. According to Gokool, trade finance funds, especially ones of this size, are rare on the continent. Some of the reasons, he noted, is that trade financing in Africa comes with its own unique set of challenges and risks. It therefore requires fund managers who have had onthe-ground experience and thus understanding of the Africa-specific environment. http://www.howwemadeitinafrica.com
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HEALTH
Sea Shells And Robot Teeth: Why Dental Implanst Are The Best Choice For Oral Health
W
e might think of dental implants that replace missing teeth as a fairly modern medical development, but the process actually stretches back for centuries. In 1931, the jawbone remains of a young Mayan woman were discovered in Honduras.
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The remains date back to around 600 AD, and it was discovered that seashells had been shaped as three replacement teeth and had been inserted into the jaw. The gum had grown back around the seashells, fixing them in place, meaning that they presumably worked as functional teeth. Dental
implants as we know them were developed in the 1950’s, and over the decades, the process has developed into an effective way to replace teeth that have been lost to gum disease or accident. So how do dental implants work? And why should you be considering them to replace lost or damaged teeth? The Curse of the Missing Tooth Having a missing tooth is hugely inconvenient. No matter what the circumstances were that led to the loss, you might feel somewhat lucky if the loss occurred towards the back of your mouth, and so can’t easily be seen by others. This is still a major issue, and the teeth surrounding the gap might begin to deteriorate at an increased rate, as they’re put under additional stress - having to work extra hard to make www.thepromota.co.uk
up for their missing brother. A missing tooth at the front of your mouth can be a major embarrassment, and you might even be afraid to laugh or smile. Your jawbone can also begin to deteriorate when a tooth is missing. The jawbone can begin to lose strength in areas where it’s no longer supporting a tooth, and in extreme cases this can even lead to an overall sagging of the jaw, which can become visible in your face. The Benefits of Dental Implants A dental implant effectively replaces the missing tooth. It looks and functions like a natural tooth, and only you and your dentist will know that it’s not real. While a dental implant might need minor adjustments every few years, they are designed to last for a lifetime. Since they are not in fact a natural tooth, they’re not affected by decay, and cavities are simply not possible. Dental implants are overtaking dentures as the preferred method of tooth replacement, and this is hardly surprising. Implants don’t slip, and don’t need to be removed each night. Dental implants are also superior to prosthetic teeth held in place by a tooth supported bridge. A bridge requires surrounding teeth to be ground down slightly to make room for the support, and this in fact can weaken these surrounding teeth. An implant is secured directly into the jawbone, and the surrounding teeth are unaffected. www.thepromota.co.uk
How Does a Dental Implant Work? A small metallic support tube is inserted into the jawbone. This tube is typically made of titanium, and over the course of several weeks, the titanium implant fuses with your jawbone as your gum heals around it. At this point it looks like you have a miniature metal tooth, perhaps making you look like a robot! After sufficient healing time, you’ll need to go back to your dentist for the completion of the procedure. A small abutment is attached to the rod, which then allows for the prosthetic tooth to be permanently secured to the titanium implant. The prosthetic tooth will have been crafted by the dentist during the healing process, and then your smile is as good as new - often even better than it was before. Is a Dental Expensive?
Implant
We won’t sugarcoat it dental implants are not the cheapest option. Although of course, too much sugar has perhaps been one of the causes of your missing tooth! The cost of the implant can vary quite significantly, depending on the materials used. But consider this: A dental implant is a one off investment that, if properly cared for, will last a lifetime. You might have learned to live with you missing tooth, and have accepted it as a fact of life. It doesn’t have to be this way, and the comfort of once again having a full set of teeth is well worth
the cost of the procedure. Dental tourism is a novel way of offsetting the costs of a dental implant, and many patients now opt to travel to other countries where highly qualified dentists can carry out implantation for a fraction of the cost. As an example, patients who choose dental implants in Budapest can save as much as 70% when compared to costs in the United Kingdom and other countries. There’s also the added benefit of spending a few days exploring an exotic new city, since there’s always time to see the sights. There’s no need to suffer from the discomfort and embarrassment of missing teeth any longer, and after you’ve had your dental implant for a while you might even forget that it’s not in fact a natural tooth. Don’t be put off by the cost, since a healthy smile and the ability to chew anything you want without problems is priceless. Remember that combining your dental implant needs with a European city break is a great way to significantly keep your costs low without compromising on quality. The end result will be a smile you’ll be proud of, and it’s an innovation that would have been unthinkable back when humans were cutting up shells to replace their missing teeth... by Dávid Kovács
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