Angola on Track to Leave List of Least Developed Countries

The Committee for Development Policy of the Social Council of the United Nations (UNCTAD) announced in September that Angola became a candidate for the graduation process of the Group of Least Developed Countries (LDCs), on a list that will be approved in 2015.
Angola was recommended by the UNCTAD to work to get out of the LDCs, taking into account the advances in macro-economic and social achievements.

Least developed country (LDC) is the name given to a country which, according to the United Nations,  exhibits the lowest indicators of socioeconomic development, with the lowest Human Development Index ratings of all the countries in the world. The concept of LDCs originated in the late 1960s and the first group of LDCs was listed by the UN in November 1971. A country is classified as a Least Developed Country if it meets three criteria:

• Poverty (three-year average GNP per capita of less than US $905, which must exceed $1,086 to leave the list)
• Human resource weakness HCI ( based on indicators of nutrition, health, education and adult literacy) and
• Economic vulnerability IVE (based on instability of agricultural production, instability of exports of goods and services, economic importance of non-traditional activities, merchandise export concentration, handicap of economic smallness, and the percentage of population displaced by natural disasters).

For the countries classified with this distinction, potential benefits fall into four main areas: (a) preferential market access, (b) special treatment regarding World Trade Organization-related obligations, (c) official development assistance and other forms of developmental financing, and (d) technical cooperation and other forms of assistance. The majority of LDCs are in Sub-Saharan Africa.

According to the UN rules, the LDCs must meet two of the three criteria in the upper limits established for inclusion, or having a high level of GNP per capita which is twice that of the value stipulated for inclusion.  Angola's GNP is sufficient for exclusion for the list, even though the country has not reached the required values in any of the other criteria, considering that following the end of the war in 2002 the Angolan GDP grew at an average of 12%.

In the last three decades, only three countries left the group of LDCs, namely Botswana, Cape Verde and Maldives.  (Angola Njango, UNCTAD, wikipedia)

Angola: Leading in African Telecommunications

Angola’s largest wireless operator by subscribers, Unitel, recently in the last few months launched its 4G LTE services.  Angola's second largest provider, Movicel,  launched Africa's first commercial LTE network in the country's capital, Luanda with its 4G launch in April 2012.

Both of these LTE service offerings are currently available only in the capital Luanda, but both operators hope to expand coverage to other provinces.  At the end of September 2012 Unitel claimed 8.1 million subscribers, giving it a subscriber market share of 59.1%, comfortably ahead of rival operator Movicel with 41.9%. 

Movicel's LTE network, built with technology from Chinese telecom equipment makers ZTE and Huawei, is designed to enable up to 120M bps Internet access.  LTE is still being piloted by Africa's largest mobile operator, MTN,  in South Africa, making Angola the first country in Africa to have a commercial LTE network.

China's work with Angola to launch the first LTE network in the region is a sign of how China is helping African countries develop the telecom sector in exchange for natural resources, and of Chinese telecom companies' dominance in the African mobile market. In Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana, China has spent millions of dollars to develop communication infrastructure in exchange for licenses in extractive industries and construction. (PC Advisor)

African Christmas Ornaments

Imposters On Twitter Use Actor Prince David's Name To Demand Nude Photos

Popular actor Prince David Osei is facing the wrath of imposters who are mischievously using his name to their advantage on social network twitter.

An imposter presenting him/herself as Prince David Osei has created a twitter account; @p_DavidOsei and is using the account for mischief.

The person behind the account has been demanding money and nude photos from ladies on the social network, all in the name of Prince David.

But ‘The Dead’ actor has distanced himself from the account and warned the general public to stay away from it.

“Hi guys, there is an impostor using this twitter account @p_DavidOsei claiming to be me, Prince David Osei. Please it is not me. I understand he is asking for nude pics (pictures) and Beggin (begging) for money. Please be warned," he posted on BlackBerry and subsequently on twitter.

The new account was created on November 12 and was described as an official twitter handle for David. It has David’s photos as its profile pictures.  

Meanwhile, the actor said his original handle was @PrinceDavidOsei which he created in February 2012. He is not using any other handle apart from that.

David is quite prominent on social networks.   

He is currently facing the predicament the likes of Yvonne Nelson and Lydia Forson have faced in the past.

While a new twitter account was cunningly created to exactly suit Yvonne Nelson’s original handle, @yvonnenelsongh, Lydia Forson’s was completely hijacked by persons who hacked into her system.

After Forson complained to twitter several times and subsequent investigations, she managed to get her account back.

Credit: NEWS-ONE 

Ghanaian Celebrities Angry At Mobile Telecommunication Companies

Minister of Communication, Haruna Iddrisu

It has become trendy for some mobile telecommunication companies to broadcast news reports to clients on their network but this seems to be generating some discontent among a number of Ghanaian celebrities.

The news reports broadcast by the telcos usually contain entertainment news flashes about Ghanaian celebs but the celebs have started to raise red flags that the telcos hardly crosscheck the veracity of the news that they broadcast.

According to the stars, though the telcos broadcast the news for a fee, they did not bother to authenticate the source of the reports they lifted from online sources and whether or not the said reports met journalistic standards.

In several instances, the articles they send to their customers are rather fabricated and half baked news. Therefore, they end up promising to send updates later. But that never happens because the original sources of their defamatory stories can’t justify their claims.

A number of Ghanaian stars NEWS-ONEspoke to under anonymity were not happy about what is going on and called on Government and the Minister of Communication to help regulate that aspect of the industry effectively.

Some of the stars, who are themselves users of these telecommunication networks, said they got shocked when they received some of the news updates from the companies and they had no idea about the stories the usually carried.

“It is joke and it is because we have not made it a point to sue any of them, that is why they keep doing that,” one popular musician said.

“Just mention one of these companies and see how they will come after you because they have an image to protect. But for us, we don’t have any image to protect. You just go ahead and pick unbalanced stories from people who are paid to run others down and you want us to be happy,” another star said, adding, “It is just unfortunate.”

|Credit  NEWS-ONE

Its Another Kente & Tuxedos Year For Ghana Movie Awards

Majid Michel

GP Limited, organizers of Ghana Movie Awards, is still holding on to its strict dress code for the award ceremony which is scheduled to come off at the Accra International Conference Centre on Christmas Day.

At the launch of the awards, organizers announced that it was going to be a black tie affair for the gents.

Male patrons of the award ceremony are expected to wear a black suit or a tuxedo with a white shirt and black bow tie or straight tie. Alternatively, the men can put on Kente with traditional slippers. Female patrons are expected to be in their glamorous evening gowns as usual.

The same dress code was used during last year’s event. Rumours after the show last year indicated that some stakeholders in the movie industry were bounced at the show because they did not adhere to the dress code.

This year’s event is being organized by Ghollywood Production Limited in collaboration with rLG and TV3, and supported by Vodafone and Travel Express International Hotel. 

Credit:  NEWS-ONE

Leonora Takes Boxing Lessons?

Actress Leonora Okine has been captured in a photo wearing a tracksuit with red boxers’ gloves, looking all sweaty in a boxing ring.

It is however unclear if she was fighting someone as part of a movie role or was just exercising.

But she looked like a very determined fighter who, when given the chance, may win some belts for Ghana at the Olympics games. 
Leonora is currently excelling in her career. Prior to this year’s elections, Leo, as her pals call her, was one of the Ghanaian celebrities who observed their civic rights by imploring Ghanaians to go out in their numbers to vote for their rights. She however didn't declare her love for a particular political party.

Credit: NEWS-ONE