The Basics Of The Bid-Ask Spread

You've probably heard the terms spread or bid and ask spread before, but you may not know what they mean or how they relate to the stock market. The bid-ask spread can affect the price at which a purchase or sale is made - and an investor's overall portfolio return. What this means is that if you want to dabble in the equities markets, you need to become familiar with this concept.

Supply and Demand
Investors must first understand the concept of supply and demand before learning the ins and outs of the spread. Supply refers to the volume or abundance of a particular item in the marketplace, such as the supply of stock for sale. Demand refers to an individual's willingness to pay a particular price for an item or stock.

Example - How Supply and Demand Work Together
Suppose that a one-of-a-kind diamond is found in the remote countryside of Africa by a miner. An investor hears about the find, phones the miner and offers to buy the diamond for $1 million. The miner says she wants a day or two to think about it. In the interim, newspapers and other investors come forward and show their interest. With other investors apparently interested in the diamond, the miner holds out for $1.1 million and rejects the $1 million offer. Now suppose two more potential buyers make themselves known and submit bids for $1.2 million and $1.3 million dollars, respectively. The new asking price of that diamond is going to go up.
The following day, a miner in Asia uncovers 10 more diamonds exactly like the one found by the miner in Africa. As a result, both the price and demand for the African diamond will drop precipitously because of the sudden abundance of the once-rare diamond. This example - and the concept of supply and demand - can be applied to stocks as well.

The Spread
The spread is the difference between the bid and asking prices for a particular security.

Example - The Bid-Ask Spread
Let's assume that Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) wants to purchase 1,000 shares of XYZ stock at $10, and Merrill Lynch & Co. wants to sell 1,500 shares at $10.25. The spread is the difference between the asking price of $10.25 and the bid price $10, or 25 cents.
An individual investor looking at this spread would then know that if he wants to sell 1,000 shares, he could do so at $10 by selling to MSCI. Conversely, the same investor would know that he could purchase 1,500 shares from Merrill Lynch at $10.25.

The size of the spread and price of the stock are determined by supply and demand. The more individual investors or companies that want to buy, the more bids there will be; more sellers results in more offers or asks.

On the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), a buyer and seller may be matched by computer. However, in some instances, a specialist who handles the stock in question will match buyers and sellers on the exchange floor. In the absence of buyers and sellers, this person will also post bids or offers for the stock to maintain an orderly market.

On the Nasdaq, a market maker will use a computer system to post bids and offers, and essentially plays the same role as a specialist. However, there is no physical floor. All orders are marked electronically.

It is important to note that when a firm posts a top bid or ask and is hit by an order, it must abide by its posting. In other words, in the example above, if MSCI posts the highest bid for 1,000 shares of stock and a seller places an order to sell 1,000 shares to the company, MSCI must honor its bid. The same is true for ask prices.
Types of Orders
An individual can place five types of orders with a specialist or market maker:

1. Market Order - A market order can be filled at the market or prevailing price. By using the example above, if the buyer were to place an order to buy 1,500 shares, the buyer would receive 1,500 shares at the asking price of $10.25. If he or she placed a market order for 2,000 shares, the buyer would get 1,500 shares at $10.25 and 500 shares at the next best offer price, which might be higher than $10.25.

2. Limit Order - An individual places a limit order to sell or buy a certain amount of stock at a given price or better. Using the above spread example, an individual might place a limit order to sell 2,000 shares at $10. Upon placing such an order, the individual would immediately sell 1,000 shares at the existing offer of $10. Then, he or she might have to wait until another buyer comes along and bids $10 or better to fill the balance of the order. Again, the balance of the stock will not be sold unless the shares trade at $10 or above. If the stock stays below $10 a share, the seller might never be able to unload the stock.

3. Day Order - A day order is only good for that trading day. If it is not filled that day, the order is canceled.

4. Fill or Kill (FOK) - An FOK order must be filled immediately and in its entirety or not at all. For example, if a person were to put an FOK order in to sell 2,000 shares at $10, a buyer would take in all 2,000 shares at that price immediately, or refuse the order, in which case it would be canceled.

5. Stop Order - A stop order goes to work when the stock passes a certain level. For example, suppose an investor wants to sell 1,000 shares of XYZ stock if it trades down to $9. In this case, the investor might place a stop order at $9 so that when it does trade to that level, the order becomes effective as a market order. To be clear, it does not guarantee that the order will be executed at $9. However, it does guarantee that the stock will be sold. If sellers are abundant, the price at which the order is executed might be much lower than $9.

Bottom Line
The bid-ask spread is essentially a negotiation in progress. To be successful, traders must be willing to take a stand and walk away in the bid-ask process through limit orders. By executing a market order without concern for the bid-ask and without insisting on a limit, traders are essentially confirming another trader's bid, creating a return for that trader.

Source: Investopedia

Over US$4M Needed For 2013 Census

The statistician general at the Gambia Bureau of Statistics (GBoS) has revealed that the budget for the activities relating to the Fifth National Population and Housing Census in 2013 is estimated to be above US$4M.

Nyakassi MB Sanyang made this disclosure Wednesday while presenting the annual activity report and audited financial statement of GBoS for the year ended 31st January to December 2011, before the Joint Session of the Public Accounts and Public Enterprises Committee (PAC/PEC), of the National Assembly. He said the census is conducted every 10 years and The Gambia has successfully conducted four censuses since independence, the last of which was in 2003.

He also told the deputies that they plan to open 13 regional offices at least three months before the actual census count, and that each office needs to be equipped with a pick-up vehicle. Sanyang added that in the light of the above, it is recommended that a donor conference be held to solicit more donor funding for the 2013 Population and Housing Census.

Sanyang informed the Committee that the 2013 Census has both long and short-term objectives. He explained that the long-term objectives can be identified as follows: by the end of the project, to improve the knowledge on main characteristics of the population in the country to better understand the interrelationships of the population and development; build a data capture system that is sustainable and always available for document management for the GBoS and other government departments/agencies; analyse demographic and related socio-economic data/information at the national and sub-national levels, publish reports on thematic areas and disseminate these findings through seminars, workshops, internet and the mass media to engender wider access to information and for better integration of demographic variables in developing planning; and establish a geo-reference system of demographic and socio-economic information or planning and management.

Sanyang said the short-term objectives include the following: To develop skills of the GBoS staff; Geographic Information System (GIS), data collection, data processing, analysis, data dissemination and utilisation; to improve availability, accessibility and utilisation of census outputs in a timely manner; to identify population characteristics for the purpose of guiding social-economic policies and programmes; to update the enumeration area maps and district maps for use in sampling frame for inter-censual surveys; to establish an integrated GIS for the purpose of producing thematic maps; and to build a data processing system that produce tables for publication and further analysis as well as proper archiving of census data.

He said given the scope of censuses, preparatory activities usually start 2-3 years before enumeration.“When GBoS numerators were doing census mapping-out throughout the country, some people were claiming that they are not aware of any census activity going on, that means we at GBoS need to inform the people about what is happening so that they cooperate in what we are doing,” he added.

Sanyang noted that census activity entails a lot in terms of equipment and other resources, adding that in West Coast Region alone GBoS would open three centres, one for Kombo North, while the second centre is for the other Kombos and the third centre for the Fonis.

He further stated that preparations for the 2013 Population and Housing Census were continued in 2011 with the mapping exercise key among the preparatory activities. He also disclosed that The Gambia is for the first time using modern Geographic Information System (GIS) technology in census mapping, adding that with this technology, high quality census maps would be produced using satellite imagery while a GIS database will be developed.

He continued: “Recruitment and training for the mapping exercise was done in the second quarter of 2011. The actual mapping started in June 2011 both in the field and in office. For the field mapping exercise, teams were constituted and all teams were deployed to start the exercise in the URR. The official launch of the 2013 census mapping was also held in Basse, URR in July 2011 and it coincides with the national celebration of the World Population Day held in that region.”

The GBoS statistician general further informed the Committee that field mapping was successfully completed in URR and Banjul by the end of 2011, and that some teams have moved into CRR. He explained that to further build national capacity in GIS, a team was hired by UNFPA to conduct a two-week intensive training in GIS for the GIS assistants and some GBoS staff. 

He added that the training was not only found to be useful, but also timely. He opined that the census has been generally well coordinated since it started in mid-2011 at both field and office levels, adding that the exercise is on schedule as planned and is expected to be completed by the end of 2012.

Specific Recommendations

While underscoring that census is an extensive statistical inquiry that requires huge financial, material and human resources, Sanyang said since 2010, government and UNFPA are the financiers of the census preparatory activities. According to him, in the light of the above, it is recommended that a donor conference be held to solicit more donor funding of the 2013 Population and Housing Census.

GPPA Compliance Review

Ibraima Sanyang, senior compliance officer at the Gambia Public Procurement Authority (GPPA) said that for the period under review, GBoS was found to be mainly-complaint with the Public Procurement Act 2001 and Regulations 2003. The Committee then raised comments, concerns and observations before finalising the adaptation of the GBoS 2011 report.

Source: Daily Observer

Gamtel Made D1.450BN In 2011

The Gambia Telecommunications Company Ltd (Gamtel) said it generated D1. 450 billion in revenue in 2011, compared to the D1.395 billion registered in 2010.

This was disclosed by Baboucarr Sanyang, the managing director of Gamtel Tuesday, while presenting the annual activity report and financial statements for the year ended 31st December 2011, before the Joint Session of the Public Accounts and Public Enterprises Committee (PAC/PEC) of the National Assembly.

According to him, this represented an increase of D0.055 billion representing 4% increase with a gross profit margin of 33%. He explained that the increase in revenue was due to the increase in international, interconnection and data revenue by D13M, D32M and D42M respectively.

Sanyang further disclosed that the total sales for the year amounted to D970M and of this amount, D430M related to payment of interconnection charges to GSM operators for calls terminated on to their networks. He said that D195M related to payments to foreign carriers for the carrying and termination of international traffic on to their networks while the company incurred a material cost of D345M in 2011 compared to D68M in 2010 which shows an increase of D277M which represented 407%.

The Gamtel MD, however, noted that the increase was associated with an increase in the operations and maintenance of the international gateway. On their technical activities for 2011, Sanyang said there was an upgrade of international Internet bandwidth from two STM-1s to three STM-1s, which increased the capacity of their network from 310Mbits to 465 Mbits and back up of 14Mbits via satellite.

The Gamtel boss told the Committee that in their corporate affairs, the company in 2011, signed a Delegated Management Contract (DMC) with the Gambia Agency for Management of Public Works (GAMWORKS) for the refurbishment and upgrading of Gamtel sites and facilities in readiness for the NGN project. He said the activities of customer services in the fiscal year 2011 were centered mainly on expansion projects to keep pace with the stiff competition in the telecoms industry in The Gambia, due to the introduction of substitute and competing products by GSM operators.

Since training and development initiatives have been part and parcel of the development of telecommunication sector in the country, he said it has contributed immensely to the development of the telecommunications sector in the country. He added: “The high demand for more work-specific and academic programmes had made Gamtel management to put in a lot of efforts and finances towards the upgrading of the company’s training institute.”

Sanyang finally disclosed that the total number of staff of Gamtel as at the year under review stood at 1,125 comprising of 852 male and 273 female, out of which 81 are at managerial level, 67 male and 14 female. 

Gamcel 

In a similar presentation, Almamy Kassama, the general manager of Gamcel, also presented their report before the Committee. He reported total revenue of D1.127 billion as at 31st December, 2011, compared to D761M in 2010.  This, he said, represented an increase of D366M, representing 48% increase with a gross profit margin of 20%. D34M, D16M and D4M respectively attributed to the increases in revenue.

The Gamcel general manager explained that the total cost of sales for the year amounted to D900M, and of this amount, D522M related to free bonus given to customers while the company incurred a material cost of D116M in 2011 compared to D87M in 2010.

He further explained that the balance sheet has shown total non-current assets of D553M representing tangible fixed assets.He noted that there has been a decrease in tangible fixed asset from D637M to D553M as a result of depreciation charge for the year of D124M. He added that the total current assets stand at D68M as compared to D105M in the previous year.

On marketing and technicality, Sisay said Gamcel has embarked on network expansions while the commercial department manages the marketing and sales activity of the company through the creation and implementation of strategies aimed at adding value to Gamcel and its stakeholders profitably.

GPPA Compliance

Ibraima Sanyang, a senior compliance officer at the Gambia Public Procurement Authority (GPPA) revealed that Gamtel and Gamcel were found to be fully compliant with the public procurement Act, their Attendant Regulations and Instructions during the period under review, before both reports where finally considered and adopted by the Committee.

Source: Daily Observer

Can Ghana's Economy Prosper Against The Odds?

The sudden death of Ghana's president, John Atta Mills, on July 24 did not come as a rude surprise. Most Ghanaians already knew his health was failing; he was losing his eyesight and voice.

For the seven months that I was in Ghana (Dec 2011-July 2012), he rarely made a public appearance -- and despite official assertions to the contrary, most people did not believe he had the will nor the capacity to campaign for re-election in this year's elections in December.

What was remarkable, however, was that within hours of his death, the Vice-President, John Mahama, had been sworn in as the new president. The smoothness of the transition was exactly how Atta Mills would have wanted it. He was a man of peace and ardent believer in the rule of law.

The smooth transfer of power not only attested to the strength and stability of Ghana's democracy but also stood in sharp contrast to the rocky and chaotic transitions that followed the deaths of presidents Felix Houphouet-Boigny of Ivory Coast in 1993; Musa Yar'Ardua of Nigeria in 2010 and Bingu wa Mutharika of Malawi in 2012.

Also standing in sharp contrast to the smooth political transition process is the performance of Ghana's economy. After a stellar performance the past few years, the economy has hit some road bumps.

At a time when Europe has been in deep crisis, Ghana's economy galloped at a dizzying 14.5% rate of growth in 2011. In the fourth quarter, the rate was an astonishing 16%. The country achieved a single digit inflation rate of 8.6% and the lowest fiscal deficit to GDP ratio of 4.8% in decades, according to figures from the Minister of Finance.

Moreover, Ghana attracted $7 billion in foreign investment -- the highest amount recorded in its history. This economic boom has been sparked by recent discovery and production of oil.

However, prospects for 2012 have dimmed. The projected growth rate has been scaled back to 10%, although still impressive. An IMF team which visited the country in June described the economy as "sick" -- perhaps, an unintended allusion to the condition of the president.

The external value of the local currency, the cedi, has dropped precipitously from 1.4 cedis to the dollar in January 2.2 cedis to the dollar in July -- a drop of 57% in terms of the local currency. That drop has made imports more expensive and pushed the rate of inflation up above 10%. There is widespread grumbling about the rising cost of living.

It may seem skeptics, who questioned the sustainability of Ghana's economic success, are being proven right. They point to Ghana's neighbor, Ivory Coast, which was once declared an "economic miracle" back in the late 1990s but then convulsed into civil war and economic ruination in 2005 and 2010. They ask further: Hasn't oil been a curse to such countries as Angola, Cameroon and Nigeria, among others? Is Ghana not destined to follow the same path?

To some extent, the skeptics have a point but that is not the whole picture. To be sure, Ivory Coast was declared an "economic miracle" in the late 1980s and in 1994, the World Bank declared Ghana to be an economic success story.

However, received wisdom and accumulated evidence suggest that doing well economically is not enough. Intellectual freedom (freedom of expression, of the media, etc.) and political reform (establishment of democratic pluralism) are also needed to sustain economic prosperity. Countries that resist them eventually implode, unraveling all the economic gains made. This was what happened in Ivory Coast in 2005 and also in Yugoslavia (1995), Indonesia (1998), Madagascar (2001), Tunisia (2011) and Egypt (2011).

In other words, democracy is not necessary to engineer an economic success story but vital to sustain it.

In Ghana's case, incomplete political liberalization and fitful intellectual reform clipped its economic success in the 1990s.

However, things are much different today. The intellectual environment is much freer now. There are more than 100 private radio stations and over 20 privately-owned newspapers in Ghana. There is a vibrant and vigilant media that sparks intense intellectual debates. Call-in radio programs hold the feet of politicians to the fire and expose their shenanigans. Now and then, the country's Supreme Court rules against the government. Freedom of information bill is wending its way through Parliament, although it has been dragging its feet.

Politically, democracy is also being entrenched. Since 2000, there have been two successful transfers of power without violence or bloodshed. And the smooth transfer of power after the president passed away is another feather in the Ghana's democracy cap.

All these bode well for the sustainability of the current economic prosperity. But still, some serious hurdles lie ahead for Ghana's economic prosperity.

First, the non-oil sector of the economy is performing poorly. Agriculture, which employs over 60% of the population, grew marginally at 2.8% in 2011. With food production per capita declining, the country has to rely on food imports to feed itself. The performance of the manufacturing sector has also been weak. It is hard to find a manufactured good with the label, "Made in Ghana." As Ghanaians often lament, "We don't produce anything; we import everything from tooth-picks to toilet paper." As a result, imports are surging dangerously out of control.

The situation is eerily reminiscent of Nigeria in the 1980s when the country neglected its agriculture and manufacturing base and splurged on luxury imports. Army chiefs parked Maseratis and even Lamborghinis outside plush government villas, while their children attended expensive schools in Britain. One even had his Rolls Royce flown from Britain to Nigeria. Nigeria, which used to export food in the 1960s, now spends over $120 billion [latest figure I found] on food imports while 61% of Nigerians now live in poverty.

There are other bumps as well on Ghana's road to economic prosperity. The bloated size of the government suffocates the economy. In 1997, there were 88 cabinet and regional ministers plus their deputy ministers in a country with a population of 25 million. By 2004, the number had reached 92 but now down to 84. 

Too many ministries means overlapping jurisdiction and functions and a bloated bureaucracy. Indeed, the Vice President, John Mahama, has been complaining persistently about "excessive bureaucracy and red-tapeism in the public sector" in the state-owned Daily Graphic.

The public sector is riddled with overspending, wasteful practices and financial irregularities and profligacy. The situation has become so dire that the government consumes all it collects in revenue, leaving it with little or no savings to finance investments. For example, in 2011, total revenue stood at GH¢12 billion (or $7.5 billion) but general government expenditures added up to GH¢13 billion, leaving the government with negative savings.

However, the biggest hurdle when I was in the country was the high level of anxiety, tension and uncertainty about the December poll. In times of uncertainty, investors hold on to their wallets and the rich park their wealth outside the country. Capital flight and surging imports have evidently contributed to the sharp drop in the external value of the local currency.

I left Ghana for the U.S. on July 21 and President Atta Mills passed away on July 24. Most likely, political tension in the country will abate somewhat as Ghanaians put away their differences to mourn their departed president. However, the uncertainty will resurface after the burial. While the new president, John Mahama, is respected and level-headed, he is unlikely to accomplish much before December.

One wag has urged Ghanaians to vote for a "Non-John" in December. Since 1981, Ghana has had the following presidents: Jerry John Rawlings, John Kufuor, John Atta Mills, and now John Mahama. "Enough JOHNS. Haba! This is the worst form of name tribalism. Time for a revolution," the wag exclaims.

Well, Ghanaians will decide in December.

Source: CNN Marketplace Africa

Could Third World Debt Relief Pay Off?

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), there are 156 economies that could be considered "developing." Calling a country "developed" as opposed to "developing" is a charged topic: no one wants to be told that they aren't as good as someone else. Being a developing country, however, doesn't mean that the country is some backwater nation that time forgot. Quite the contrary; many developing nations are sitting on veritable goldmines of natural resources and with investments in modernizing the economy, these nations could see rapid growth in GDP.

Getting Funds from the Kitty

Countries seeking to modernize their economies face a daunting task. The projects that will push their economies forward - infrastructure, education, healthcare - don't come cheap. For example, China's Three Gorges Dam cost an estimated US$26 billion. Building roads to shuttle products and people around requires materials and engineering expertise; hospitals require expensive electronics. Developing countries often cannot afford to take on these projects without having to significantly sacrifice spending on other priorities.

There are several ways that developing countries can obtain funds from outside their borders. They can get direct loans from other countries, through funding provided by private companies or through loans provided by international lending organizations. Obtaining loans from private lenders is a difficult proposition for the poorest of countries, since they tend to be economically and politically riskier. A significant amount of developing debt comes from organizations such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, which pool funds from multiple countries and use their financial clout (and good credit ratings) to obtain low interest rates.

The World Bank lends funds to countries based upon their Gross National Income (GNI). The poorest countries - those with per capita income of less than $1,195 - borrow from the International Development Agency (IDA) because they lack the ability to borrow from the World Bank's other fund, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD). The IDA charges little or no interest on the funds it lends out, typically allows repayments over longer-than-normal periods of time and also provides grants to countries in extreme financial distress. The amount of annual funds committed by the IDA - approximately $15 billion per year - is on par with the amount provided by the IBRD.

How Much Debt Are We Talking About?

The World Bank estimates that developing countries owed $4 trillion dollars in external debt as of the close of 2010. That number seems huge, but when compared to the debt owed by developed countries, it's fairly small. The United States and the European Union owe more than $25 trillion between the two of them.

Bleeding hearts and boisterous world leaders lament the oppressive burden that external debt (and the rules that often accompany it) has on developing countries. The evidence points to the opposite, however; debt forgiveness already exists. Debt is as much a political tool as an economic one. Leaders of developing nations, just as leaders of developed nations, want to keep their populations happy (at least happy enough to not cause trouble), and it's much easier to wag a menacing finger at foreign debt holders than it is to fess up to years of profligacy.

The World Bank, for example, operates both the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative and a Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI). The MDRI was a 2005 pledge by G8 countries to cancel the IDA debt of countries that have gone through the MDRI program. The total pledge was $37 billion to an initial set of 19 countries, most of which are located in Africa. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Africa Development Fund (ADF) kicked in funds as well, bringing the total to $50 billion.

So what about wholesale debt forgiveness? What if the developed world and the financing institutions they run offer everyone a clean slate? It would be a disaster. It's one thing to offer the most struggling countries debt forgiveness: it's a small number of countries, it's a comparatively low amount of funds and it makes much more sense developmentally (a country in political and economic chaos could cause a humanitarian disaster at home and potentially spark lots of problems for its neighbors). It's a totally different thing to wipe the debt clean for 156 countries that the IMF considers to be "developing."

Lending countries could feel less inclined to shell out development money in the future, since there would be a precedent for not getting paid back. Debtor countries could balk at future commitments because they were allowed to start from scratch once before. The signals would be perverse. Additionally, while developing countries are net debtors - they often owe more to others than they are owed by others - many developed countries are owed money by others. If the money they are owed is suddenly wiped clean, then there would be multi-billion-dollar holes in countries' finances.

Next Time Will Be DifferentThe key to not getting into the debt forgiveness quagmire is to lend smart. Just as many individuals had lived beyond their means leading up to the financial maelstrom of the 2000s, so too did developing countries spend too much. The first taste of debt trouble came from the 1970s and 1980s, on the back of global commodity demand. Countries borrowed huge sums after finding natural resource bonanzas and crowded out private development. When commodity prices tumbled, those developing countries faced steep debt payments and had no funds with which to pay them. This was not totally the fault of debtors, as donors also provided expert advice that wound up not working out.

The Bottom Line
"Lending smart" entails injecting funds to develop industries outside of commodities, and to do so at a pace that won't cause a shock if the means to repay the loans falls short. After all, not all countries that receive developmental aid fall short of repayment. Some of the biggest success stories include China, Singapore, South Korea and India, all of which used funds to diversify away from reliance on volatile commodity exports. You'd be hard pressed to find a world leader who wouldn't want to be at the helm when a country makes the jump into a modern economic juggernaut.

Source: Investopedia

Oil-Rich Angola Bids To Secure Future With $5bn Wealth Fund

Angola, Africa's second-largest oil producer, has launched a $5 billion sovereign wealth fund in an attempt to diversify its economy -- a move more associated with wealthy Gulf States like Qatar and the UAE.

The state-owned investment fund, known as the Fundo Soberano de Angola, will invest domestically and internationally, focusing on infrastructure development and the hospitality industry. These are two areas the Government of Angola believes is "likely to exhibit strong growth".

In an exclusive interview with CNN, Jose Filomeno de Sousa dos Santos, the son of Angola's longtime president who is on the board of the fund, said "now is a very good time."

He added: "The country has had around five years of steady growth, good growth, mostly based on oil production increases, and it plans to diversify the economy. The best way to do that is to do that is to intervene directly in the economy through investments."

More than 90% of Angola's revenue comes from oil production -- reaching around 1.9 million barrels a day -- and it is second only to Nigeria in its exports. But despite its oil wealth, the country remains largely impoverished.

Dos Santos says the aim of the fund is to invest profits accrued from oil to promote social development in the country.

"It is very easy to have oil money and spend it but it is very difficult to have a positive impact to improve people's lives on a daily basis," he said, "and that is an area we intend to invest on a lot with the sovereign wealth fund."

Critics of the government say that Angola's oil wealth has been used to enrich a small section of society -- dominated by allies of president Dos Santos and his family, along with generals associated with Angola's lengthy civil war.

"We don't see the money that is being generated from oil having a direct impact on people's lives" says Elias Isaac, Angola country director for George Soros' Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa.

"Just look at the schools, look at the hospitals, look at the issue of water, electricity. Angola makes a lot of money out of oil, there is no doubt about this, Angola really is one of the few countries that can pay its national budget without donor funding, which is great, but where this money goes, that's the biggest issue".

Isaac's also argues that a $135 million development project of the capital city's waterfront is a sign of the government getting its spending priorities wrong.

Luanda's once shabby waterfront has been transformed after land was reclaimed from the sea. Portuguese expats, many of whom have sought sanctuary here from the eurozone crisis, now jog past manicured lawns each morning.

But wedged between the shiny offices and apartments that line this new waterfront, Angolans often struggle to survive in a shacks and ramshackle houses.

Beyond the capital lies a large underdeveloped country with a widening income gap.

Only around one in three Angolans are literate and more than half drop out before finishing primary school.

Angola has faced huge challenges to develop a country decimated by the war for independence and lengthy civil war. But civil society and human rights groups say that institutionalized corruption has helped cause the widening gap between the very rich and the rest of society.

Critics of the fund also point to the its board being dominated by cabinet members close to president dos Santos. And the younger dos Santos says he -- despite being the president's son -- is qualified for the position because his financial background.

Transparency International recently ranked Angola a lowly 168 out of 182 countries in its "Corruption Perceptions Index" but Dos Santos says that the fund will be beholden to international best practices, and transparent.

"We are familiar with the fact that this perception exists and we are taking a lot of care to make sure all of our investments are within an approved investment policy and our accounts will be audited annually by an independent renowned auditor."

The pledge of transparency is a departure from Angola's often opaque oil wealth where oil receipts are withheld by strict confidentiality agreements with international oil companies.

"The way the government manages the oil receipts, we think we still have a lot of corruption" says Manuel Jose Alves da Rocha, Economics Professor from Angola's Catholic University. "We think the lack of transparency is also another situation we have to look at to understand why the oil income does not go to the majority of the people".

Angola's oil industry is dominated by Sonangol, the state-owned company that gives concessions to international oil companies and, over time, takes in the lion's share of the profits.

Many observers believe that Sonangol was already acting as a sovereign wealth fund by investing its profits in many areas outside of the oil industry -- including buying up key stakes in Portugal's biggest bank by assets, Millennium BCP.

The formation of a formalized fund was first announced by Angola's President Jose Eduardo dos Santos. But the global financial crisis caused the oil price to plunge, hammering Angola's economy.

The government had to offset the crisis by securing a loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the form of a Stand By Arrangement of around $1.4 billion.

With new deep water oil finds announced by the government, Angola hopes to outstrip Nigeria to become Africa's largest oil producer. But the revenue from Angola's black gold won't last forever. The government hopes the sovereign wealth fund will help diversify Angola's profits to secure its future.

Source: Marketplace Africa

Gambia Gov’t, ADB & FAO Ink US$0.8M Grant Agreement

The government of The Gambia Wednesday signed a US$0.8 million tripartite grant agreement with the African Development Bank (ADB) and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) at a ceremony held at the Office of the Vice President in State House.

The six-month grant is funded by the ADB, and will be implemented by the FAO. It is an emergency response to the Gambia government’s call for assistance in the aftermath of the 2011-2012 crop failure that resulted to food shortages across the country.

The minister of Finance and Economic Affairs, Abdou Colley, signed on behalf of the government of The Gambia while Leila Mokaddem, the ADB resident representative based in Dakar, and the FAO country representative, Babagana Ahmadu, each signed on behalf of their various institutions.

Speaking after the signing ceremony, the vice president and minister of Women’s Affairs who is also the chairperson Disaster Governing Council, Aja Dr. Isatou Njie-Saidy, on behalf of the government and people of The Gambia, commended ADB for the assistance. She reiterated government’s political will in all aspects of development including the agriculture sector.

The vice president told the gathering that last year’s crop failure ushered in difficult times for The Gambia; and acknowledged that partners like the ADB have always been there for the country. While appealing to the ADB to assist the Gambia government realise its long-term plan for Agriculture, the VP Njie-Saidy also stressed that sustainability remains government’s primary goal. She also advised the Ministry of Agriculture and FAO to ensure a smooth and transparent implementation of the grant.

Abdou Colley, the minister of Finance and Economic Affairs, explained that part of the grant will be used to provide social amenities and relief for farmers. He described the response to government’s appeal for assistance earlier in the year as very encouraging. He then called on FAO to collaborate with the Ministry of Agriculture in the implementation process, while promising to further strengthen the partnership with the ADB.

The ADB resident representative based in Dakar, Leila Mokaddem, said that the grant is a strategic support for The Gambia and is aimed at mitigating the impact of the food shortage on household food security as well as to reduce the cases of malnutrition, and depletion of assets, thus preventing the population from engaging in negative coping mechanism.  The ADB’s main priority, she went on, is to ensure sustainable productive economic and social opportunities for the poor and vulnerable sections of society and ensure equal access.

Madam Mokaddem pointed out that climate change poses serious threat to food security, and went on to disclose that the bank in collaboration with partners has mobilised an extra US$28M towards The Gambia’s food security plan, implementation of which, according to her, shall begin in mid-2013. She added that a programme for food security and resilience for the Sahel region will also be designed in 2014.

For his part, the FAO country representative, Dr. Babagana Ahmadu, noted that the grant will allow his organisation to extend the ongoing support to affected communities. He used the occasion to call on government to make a declaration of disaster on the deadly cattle disease that has hit the country.

The FAO boss then assured that his organisation will ensure effective implementation of the programme within the time frame.

The permanent secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Sait Drammeh, described the grant as timely, saying it will also help address the current fatal cattle disease in the country.

The ceremony was chaired by the permanent secretary at the Ministry of Finance, Mod Secka.

Source: Daily Observer