Author Archives: jyl5506

With so much media attention on the problems and troubles of Africa, it can often hard to imagine any positive news coming from the area. Before taking this class, I was stuck on the image of Africa that the media presented to me. But I have come to realize that Africa has beautiful countries that play important roles in the global economy. One country making a push to enter this role is Ethiopia.

Recent growth within the country of Ethiopia has called for major changes to the area. Roads and buildings are constantly being built to match this growth. A once government controlled operation, National Cement has entered into the private sector to try to match the demand for the cement. The creation of large corporations continues to grow within the country, pointing toward a stronger economy as an outcome.

Along with the creation of large corporations, Ethiopia has also seen large investments from Chinese companies. As Ethiopia is making a change to move away from being a socialist country, new economic reforms have created labor laws favorable for manufacturing investments. A former Vice President of one of the companies who set up a manufacturing in Ethiopia says she believes Ethiopia will become a popular manufacturing plant location for other companies. The country welcomes investors to come to Ethiopia for more investments similar to the Chinese.

I think this Chinese investment could be seen as exploitation of labor laws and tax advantages to ultimately increase profit, but I do believe this investment can only benefit Ethiopia as a whole. This investment by Chinese companies in Ethiopia, and other countries in Africa, could be the beginning to new global investments in Africa. Both the United States and China have gone through eras where manufacturing boomed in the country. With our Industrial Revolution and the major increase of overseas manufacturing in China, both countries have now become economic powerhouses. I think for a country to grow, certain steps need to be made and I believe bring manufacturing to Ethiopia will only increase their economy. As their economy grows, they will be able to move out of the manufacturing era and create less labor intensive jobs.

Ethiopia is also seeking to increase their tourism into the country. As Africa as a whole is seeing more investments and stronger economies, more tourists are opening their eyes to area. Ethiopia was ranked 17^th in 2013 of all African countries for number of tourists who entered the country. Although the number seems low, it has been rising by 10% every year. The income for the tourism sector is receiving almost 20% gains every year. Adding to the push for more infrastructures to be built in Ethiopia, the only way to increase the number of tourists who come into your country is to create hotels or lodges that will accommodate such a number. Not only is the number of hotels important but so is the quality of the room.

Inside of a lodge designed to appeal to Western tourists.

I think to every vacation or trip someone takes, there is always a desire for some kind of luxury or easiness while you travel. What I mean is that even if someone goes to Alaska in the winter or Ethiopia in the summer (seasons and locations that could be considered extremely cold and extremely hot and would make others question why they would go there in the first place) they still want to feel comfortable or relaxed or something along those lines. So when someone is visiting Ethiopia, these tourists will want nicer living conditions while they’re there and due to the lack of luxury infrastructures, Ethiopia has not fully tapped its potential. These conditions are also desired by older people, which is a demographic that tends to have and spend more money than some young backpackers who may want to pay less for a room.

All in all, I have to come to the realization that Africa as a whole is an exponential amount of untapped potential in any business sector. Many countries’ economies are on the rise and general feelings for Africa are moving away from the media view of poor and sick countries to being developing countries that could very soon establish themselves as large players in the global market. I continue to look for positive news from Africa after I have finally realized its true abilities as a continent.

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-27112468

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-30144471

When the Portuguese landed on the East African coastline in the late 1400s, they began building docks and trading posts. Centuries later, they established small colonies throughout the region that helped watch over the mining industry. Gold became very profitable for Portugal and as the profits increased, so did their influence in the region. By the 19^th century, Portugal was fully invested in the region of East Africa. The people of the region were paid little, kept to manual labor jobs, and taxed heavily by the ruling Portuguese. This long reign of power over Mozambique created the strong nationalist movements that would ultimately lead Mozambique to its freedom.

In an act to gain freedom, a group of people met in Dar es Salaam and formed the Mozambique Liberation Front or FRELIMO. The conference involved exiled political figures from different nationalist groups. One of the members was Samora Machel.

The effect of the Portuguese on Machel was first felt while he was training to be a nurse. His farming village from when he was a kid was employed by white workers to build infrastructures. Many locals sought jobs in South Africa working in mines. Shortly after, Machel’s brother was killed in a mining accident.

Samora Machel, the first president of Mozambique

Machel started his anti-colonialism efforts while protesting the fact that black nurses were paid less than white nurse. He later left Lourenco Marques, the town the hospital was in, when he was informed by a hospital employee that he was being watched by the local Portuguese police. This led Machel to slip out of the country to join FRELIMO. On his way there, he jumped on a plane to from Batswana to Tanzania. The plane was carrying recruits for the African National Congress of South Africa and the senior official liked Machel so much he kicked a recruit off to make room for him.

At the FRELIMO conference, Machel volounteered to join the military service and was trained in guerilla warfare in Algeria. After completing his training, he became in charge of the FRELIMO camp in Tanzania. Machel quickly grew in the ranks with his success in gruella warfare and grueling conditions. He became first commander after the one before him was killed.

When the founder of FRELIMO, Eduardo Mondlane, was murdered, Machel, along with Rev Uria Samingo and poet Marcelino dos Santos all lead together.

Portugal increased their military force in the area to help stop any more rebellious acts. While they destroyed guerilla bases, little was actually destroyed since the bases were mostly huts. Machel shifted their attack to Cahora Bassa where the Portueguese were building a dam. The commander of the Portuguese army planned for this and set 3 outposts around the dam. Being the military genious that Machel had become,  he attacked other parts of the Tete provinve and continued to move south and destroy railways. The people of the surrounding cities were upset that the military wasn’t doing enough to protect them.

Finally, a military uprising occurred in Portugal because of the anger of the spending and deaths occurring in their provinces. With almost no bloodshed, the government was overthrown. FRELIMO and the Portuguese military force in Mozambique worked out a deal that would lead to their freedom.

Samora Machel used the knowledge he gained when training in guerilla warfare to rise the ranks in FRELIMO to outfight and outsmart the Portuguese government. After they gained their freedom, Machel was named the first president of the country of Mozambique

Extravagant beaches on the coastline of Mozambique cannot be passed up

Planning a vacation? Have you thought about visiting Africa? Why not Mozambique? The geology of Mozambique creates many opportunities for all types of people. The country has beautiful beaches, rainforests, and highlands. This rising vacation hotspot has more sites to see then you probably could in any amount of time there.

With 1,550 miles of beach along the Indian Ocean, Mozambique has plenty of access to the clear lagoons that are in the area. Many islands close to the main land create a perfect environment to view coral reefs and swim with friendly dolphins. From June to October, Mozambique is in their dry season because of the rise of the Intertropical Convergence Zone. The humidity is low and the weather ranges from 60 to 82 degrees Fahrenheit will very little chance of rain. The ocean averages a temperature of 70 degrees Fahrenheit which makes the coast of Mozambique a superb getaway.

Many waterfalls in the highlands of Mozambique areonce in a life time opportunities

The abundance of rivers in Mozambique helps to supply the Indian Ocean. These rivers are home to many national parks because of the animals that get their water supply from them. Most of the rivers and lakes have been untouched by mankind, keeping them clean and extraordinary sites to see.

The center of Mozambique is mostly covered with woodlands and savannah. As well as areas with high water abundance, these are also popular locations for wildlife and national parks. A new territory of rainforest was recently discovered and named Mount Mabu. Explorers from the United Kingdom explored this new found area and found 2 new species of butterfly and one new species of snake, with potentially more new specie findings to come.

Multiple highlands in the area create breathtaking views and are found mostly in the north of the country. The highest point in Mozambique is Mt. Nyangani located in the Nyangi National Park. In these highlands are deep gorges and waterfalls that are must sees. Also in the Nyangi National Park are lakes that are fantastic areas to fish and have great rock climbing structures. Even more hiking and rock climbing is available in the Chimanimani Mountains, which is a range of volcanic peaks. This mountain range, as well as the third mountain range in Mozambique, the Bvumba Mountains, also has beautiful waterfalls and woodland areas to explore.