MainOne has announced the completion of repair works on its submarine cable with a final splice on Sunday. The company has also conducted subsequent tests to ensure the cable is in good operating condition.

In a statement issued by the company, the Chief Executive Officer, Funke Opeke expressed the companys appreciation to its customers and partners for the patience and support during the recent outage incident on the MainOne submarine cable which occurred on June 18.

Describing the outage as a Force Majeure, due to movement in the seabed, the Chief Executive Officer highlighted the companys efforts to resolve the outage to its customers.

The submarine cable fault was in a known area of ridges in the seabed, at a location 3400 meters water depth in the international waters outside Senegal. After we discovered the outage and isolated the fault to a location 3000km South of Portugal, our operational processes and disaster recovery plans worked as expected and we deployed a repair vessel from our membership in the Atlantic Cable and Maintenance Agreement which left France by 8am on Monday June 19th. The vessel travelled to Portland, United Kingdom, where it picked up critical spares and then journeyed to the repair location which was further isolated to within a 2 kilometer range while the vessel was in transit. We have concluded a full repair of the submarine cable with a final splice yesterday, Sunday July 2. The cable has been tested to be in good operating condition and we have since restored all our customers services to normal operating conditions, she said.

She continued: During this period, we had some restoration capacity and rerouted internet traffic on our network via alternative routes to minimize the impact of the outage to our customers. However, we were unable to provide enough capacity and interconnection to fully restore our entire network. We realize many of our customers have become solely reliant on MainOne for Internet services and we will continue to secure more restoration capacity in case of any such eventualities in the future.

While thanking its customers and partners for their cooperation and support during this outage, the company reiterated its commitment to transforming West Africa from a resource-based economy to a fully digitized, knowledge-based economy.

See the rest here:

MainOne completes repair of submarine cable - The Nation Nigeria - The Nation Newspaper

Saturday

Peace Lutheran Church, 1301 Ave. D: Ralph Sappingtons Country/Gospel Liturgy is featured during the 5 p.m. worship service.

United We Stand, Karin, Ryan and Dijana Gunderson in concert at Atonement Lutheran Church, 1290 Sierra Granda Blvd.: At 7 p.m., Heavenly Harp presents United We Stand, a concert by Karin, Dijana and Ryan Gunderson, a mother, daughter and son trio, to encourage people in these tenuous times. The concert features harp, piano, flute and vocals on popular and Christian pieces. For information, call 245-7004, or go to christianharpmusic.com.

Billings Association of Humanists meeting at First Congregational Church, 310 N. 27th St.: Ben Hahns presentation of An Introduction to a Resource Based Economy is at 1 p.m. The term and meaning of resource based economy originated with Jacque Fresco. It is a whole factor socioeconomic system in which all goods and services are available without the use of money, credits, barter or any other system of debt or servitude.

St. Johns Lutheran Ministries, 3940 Rimrock Road: Marcia Muir, staff chaplain, leads worship in the Ocee Johnson Chapel at 7 p.m.

Pilgrim Congregational Church, 409 36th St. S.: After the 9 a.m. coffee fellowship, the Rev. Steve Heppner leads the 10 a.m. worship service, themed God is worshiped for his authority over peace. Also, John Christian, of Billings American Legion Post 4, gives a patriotic Scripture reading, and Sharon Baldwin offers special music.

Peace Lutheran Church, 1301 Ave. D: Ralph Sappingtons Country/Gospel Liturgy is featured, and Paul Freeman gives a musical offering during the 10 a.m. worship service.

East Gate Wesleyan Church, 625 Mattson Lane: The Holy Eucharist is celebrated as the Rev. Kevin Jones, of Grace Anglican Church in Sheridan, Wyoming, leads the 3 p.m. worship service. Fellowship and refreshments follow.

St. Andrew Presbyterian Church, 180 24th St. W.: At the 9:30 a.m. worship service, the Rev. Susan Thomas preaches about transformation, using the texts Isaiah 61:1-3 and Mark 5:1-20, and the Lords Supper is shared with all who wish to partake. Thomas served as a hospital chaplain for many years at Billings Clinic. After the service, refreshments are served in the Garden Room.

Unity of Billings, 9 14th St. W.: At 10 a.m., the Rev. Danielle Egnew, singer/songwriter and interfaith minister, shares her message, "Fear as Our Teacher." Russ White leads the congregational singing of Daniel Namod songs. A potluck takes place after the service. Everyone is invited to share in food and fellowship.

First English Lutheran Church, 1243 N. 31st St.: Christs welcoming of all and the nations birth are celebrated at the 10 a.m. worship service. After the service, Independence Day is celebrated with ice cream bars, and a womens group meeting takes place.

American Lutheran Church worshiping at Moss Mansion, 914 Division St.: An outdoor worship service takes place at 10 a.m. Bring a lawn chair. (No child care is available for this service.)

Construction work at Billings Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 2032 Central Ave.: Billings Unitarian Universalist Fellowship is under construction. No services are planned until August.

American Lutheran Church, 5 Lewis Ave.: Family vacation Bible school is offered in three sessions July 12, 19 and 26. Each takes place from 5:30-7:30 p.m. and includes a meal, lesson, craft and games for the whole family. RSVP by emailing Rochelle Buyse at rochelle@amluth.org.

The deadline for submitting information for the Faith Guide is noon Tuesday for consideration for publication in the upcoming Saturday edition. The items should be special events open to the public and of interest to readers outside your congregation.

You may mail information to: Faith Guide; Billings Gazette newsroom; P.O. Box 36300; Billings, MT 59107. Items also may be faxed to 657-1208 or emailed to citynews@billingsgazette.com. Be sure to address faxes or emails to the Faith Guide. Or you may drop off your item at The Gazette, 401 N. Broadway; please mark it to the attention of Rachelle Lacy.

Items are used as space is available.

Read the rest here:

Faith guide - Billings Gazette

Californias Great Red North is the opposite, a vast, rural, mountainous tract of pine forests with a political ethos that bears more resemblance to Texas than to Los Angeles. Two-thirds of the north is white, the population is shrinking and the region struggles economically, with median household incomes at $45,000, less than half that of San Francisco.

Jim Cook, former supervisor of Siskiyou County, which includes cattle ranches and the majestic slopes of Mount Shasta, calls it the forgotten part of California.

In the same state that is developing self-driving cars, theres the rugged landscape of Trinity County, where a large share of residents heat their homes with wood, plaques commemorate stagecoach routes and the county seat, Weaverville, is an old gold-mining town with a lone blinking stop-and-go traffic light.

The residents of this region argue that their political voice is drowned out in a system that has only one state senator for every million residents.

This sentiment resonates in other traditionally conservative parts of California, including large swaths of the Central Valley, which runs down the state, and it mirrors red and blue tensions felt in areas across the country. But perhaps nowhere else in California is the alienation felt more keenly than in the far north, an arresting panorama of fields filled with wildflowers and depopulated one-street towns that have never recovered from the gold rush.

People up here for a very long time have felt a sense that we dont matter, said James Gallagher, a state assemblyman for the Third District, which is a shorter drive from the forests of Mount Hood in Oregon than from the beaches of San Diego. We run this state like its one size fits all. You cant do that.

Many liberals in California describe themselves as the resistance to Mr. Trump. Residents of the north say they are the resistance to the resistance, politically invisible to the Democratic governor and Legislature. Californias strict regulations on the environment, gun control and hunting impinge on a rural lifestyle, they say, that urban politicians do not understand.

The states stringent air quality and climate change regulations may be appropriate for technology workers, Mr. Gallagher said, but they are onerous for people living in rural areas.

In the rural parts of the state we drive more miles, we drive older cars, our economy is an agriculture- and resource-based economy that relies on tractors and trucks, Mr. Gallagher said. You cant move an 80,000-pound load in an electric truck.

A recently passed gas tax, pushed through by the Democratic majority, will disproportionately hurt rural voters, he said.

Taxation and hunting are two issues northerners are quick to seize upon when criticizing laws they feel are unfairly imposed by the state. But there are also more fundamental issues related to incomes and job opportunities that split California into a two-speed economy.

In the San Francisco Bay Area, unemployment rates hover around 3 percent. In the far north, where many timber mills have shut down in recent years, unemployment is as high as 6 percent in Shasta County and 16.2 percent in Colusa County.

Despite a go-it-alone ethos, residents of the 13 counties in the northern bloc are much more likely to receive government medical assistance than those in the Bay Area. In the north, 31 percent take part in Medi-Cal, the California Medicaid program, while the Bay Area rate is 19 percent, and Californias overall figure 28 percent.

United States Representative Doug LaMalfa, a Republican representing Northern Californias First District, blames regulations that have shut down industries for the economic disparities.

Theyve devastated ag jobs, timber jobs, mining jobs with their environmental regulations, so, yes, we have a harder time sustaining the economy, and therefore theres more people that are in a poorer situation.

Because incomes are significantly lower than the state average and the region is so thinly populated, tax revenue from the far north is a fraction of what urban areas contribute. In 2014, the 13 northern counties had a combined state income tax assessment of $1 billion, compared with $4 billion from San Francisco County.

Resentment toward the rest of California has a long history here there have been numerous efforts to split the state since its founding in 1850. After the presidential election, a proposal to secede from the union, driven by liberals and known as Calexit, gained attention.

Residents here have long backed a different proposal for a separate state, one that would be carved out of Northern California and the southern reaches of Oregon. Flags of the so-called State of Jefferson, which was first proposed in the 19th century, fly on farms and ranches around the region.

Jefferson, named after the president who once envisioned establishing an independent nation in the western section of North America, is more a state of mind than a practicable proposal. Many see it as unrealistic for a region that has plenty of water and timber but perhaps not enough wealth to wean itself away from engines of the California economy.

However, two recent initiatives have channeled the deep feeling of underrepresentation.

In May, a loose coalition of northern activists and residents, including an Indian tribe and the small northern city of Fort Jones, joined forces to file a federal lawsuit arguing that Californias legislative system is unconstitutional because the Legislature has not expanded with the population.

States

Population per House member

States

Population per Senate member

California

489,310

California

978,620

Texas

183,127

Texas

886,100

Florida

168,927

Florida

506,782

New York

131,972

Ohio

351,922

Ohio

117,307

New York

319,287

States

Population per House member

States

Population per Senate member

Wyoming

9,768

South Dakota

24,528

Maine

8,803

Vermont

20,868

North Dakota

8,052

Montana

20,659

Vermont

4,174

Wyoming

19,537

New Hampshire

3,327

North Dakota

16,105

The suit, filed against the California secretary of state, Alex Padilla, who oversees election laws in California, calls for an increase in the membership of the bicameral Legislature, which since 1862 has capped the number of lawmakers at 120.

The lawsuit argues that California now has the least representative system of any state in the nation. Each State Assembly member represents nearly 500,000 people and each state senator twice that.

This arbitrary cap has created an oligarchy, the lawsuit says.

By contrast, each member of the New York State Assembly represents on average 130,000 people; in New Hampshire, its 3,330 people for each representative.

Mark Baird, one of the plaintiffs, says residents of Californias far north feel as though they are being governed by an urbanized elite.

I wake up in the morning and think, What is California going to do to me today? said Mr. Baird, a former airline pilot who owns a ranch about an hours drive from the Oregon border. In a grass valley framed by low-lying hills, Mr. Bairds pastures are filled with his small herd of buffalo and a few pens of horses and donkeys.

Mr. Baird complains of restrictions on the types of guns he can own. Its tyranny by the majority, he said. The majority should never be able to deprive the minority of their inalienable rights.

Scott Wiener, a state senator representing San Francisco, says he has sympathy for the concerns of rural voters but rejects the proposal for a larger legislative body.

When you have a state as big and diverse as California, decisions are made that we dont all agree with, he said.

The second initiative is a proposed amendment to Californias Constitution that would change the method for dividing districts of the Legislatures upper house, the Senate. Instead of being based on population as they are now, Senate seats would be tied to regions, giving a larger voice to rural areas in the same way the federal Senate does.

I am asking the people with power to give up some of their power in order to allow all the voices in the state to have a little bit more strength than they do right now, said Mr. Gallagher, the assemblyman.

Northern Californians point out that the United States House of Representatives and Senate are based on the compromise between population and geography.

What I cant get over is that a court can rule that its not good for the state but it stands up at the federal level, said Mr. LaMalfa, the congressman. We wouldnt have a union if we hadnt come up with that compromise.

Mr. LaMalfa, who lives on a farm, says Californias urban denizens think of the rural areas as their park, and deplores what he describes as trophy legislation to protect animal species.

You have idealists from the cities who say, Wouldnt it be great to reintroduce wolves to rural California? Mr. LaMalfa said. He has a half-serious counterproposal: Lets introduce some wolves into Golden Gate Park and the Santa Monica Pier.

Doris Burke contributed research.

A version of this article appears in print on July 3, 2017, on Page A9 of the New York edition with the headline: The Great Red North of California.

The rest is here:

California's Far North Deplores 'Tyranny' of the Urban Majority - New York Times

April is the cruelest month, so said the famous poet TS Eliot. But one wit remarked that June marks the end of May.

Who would have expected that British Prime Minister Theresa May would lose her majority in Parliament in the June election, which was supposed to strengthen her hand in negotiating Brexit with the European Union?

This expectation reversal was as big a shock as Brexit or Trumpism. May may have found her Ides of March in June. In sharp contrast, unlike earlier in the year when everyone was worried about France falling to populist rule under Marine le Pen, a fresh centrist candidate named Macron won, and was rewarded by a handsome legislative majority to carry out his promise to reform France.

In Bangkok this week to refresh memories of 2 July 1997, I was struck by how history seemed to rhyme in 10 year cycles. Next month would mark not only the 20th anniversary of the return of Hong Kong to China, but also the 20th anniversary of the Asian financial crisis, when the baht was devalued.

2007 also marked the 10th anniversary of the US sub-prime crisis, which together with the European debt crisis, caused a decade of low growth for the advanced economies.

Initially, investors hardly noticed the tremors from the subprime crisis. On 19 July 2007, the Dow Jones Industrial Average touched a record high of 14,000. After an adjustment in August to 13,000, the index dropped below 11,000 on September 15, 2008, following the Lehman failure. It fell to a record twelve-year low of 6,547 on 9 March 2009, recording a 53.2 per cent drop over this period. Similarly, the Hong Kong Hang Seng Index also crossed the 20,000 milestone on 28 December 2006 and rose to the all-time peak of 31,958 on 18 October 2007.

A year later, it lost 66.6 per cent to a low of 10,676 on 27 October 2008. Ten years later, both indices have once again touched record highs, with the Hang Seng recovering past the 26,000 mark this month, whereas the Dow hit a record peak of 21,528 this week.

Because this rally is essentially tech driven, even the NASDAQ index has surpassed its 2000 tech bubble peak of 5,048 to hit a new peak of 6,305 on 2 June 2017. These market gyrations suggest that another consolidation may be reached sometime soon, except we do not know the exact timing and the trigger.

All we know is the there are many risks out there, including policy uncertainties from whether the Fed would continue to raise interest rates, the sudden re-appearance of inflation and possible geopolitical or natural disaster events.

So far, market worries about Chinas high leverage issues seem to have receded with the stabilisation of US-China relations and better performance at the growth level.

All in all, the markets have priced in so far almost all the Brexit and Trump fears and did not react too much to the recent normalisation of Fed interest rates. The stark reality is that no one knows for sure whether we are in over-priced territory or bubble zone.

The US economy appears to trundle along in reasonable shape, with unemployment numbers reaching new lows. All we do know is asset prices are at record highs, financed by historically high debt and abnormally low interest rates. In this zone of radical uncertainty, we are no longer sure that the GDP indicator reflects the true state of the economy. GDP measures the old resource-based economy well, but does not capture growth in a datadigital economy.

No economy reflects this contradiction more than China, which has shifted from being the largest assembler of the global supply chain towards a consumption and service-driven economy. Both consumption and services crossed 50 per cent of GDP levels, moving closer towards an advanced country pattern where consumption and services account for roughly 60-70 per cent or more of GDP.

If China succeeds in this historic transition, with the old resource-consuming industries, like coal, steel, energy, being phased out, even as the new internet economy trims the inefficiencies in the current Chinese distribution system, then China could break through her middle-income trap. But one recalls that South Korea achieved OECD status in December 1996, only to fall into the Asian financial crisis in 1997/8. Mexico did the same in 1994.

All countries go through growing pains, especially what Austrian economist Schumpeterian called creative destruction.

This transition creates massive winners and also losers. We see this pattern being reflected in the mixture of top Dow Jones index component companies, whereby the leading tech stocks are being priced to win, whereas the old energy, manufacturing and distribution companies are struggling to maintain their market share. Given these radical uncertainties, history is replete with the rise and fall of nations, as well as the rise and fall of companies.

It teaches humility in forcing us to think holistically on the broader trends, whilst sorting out the signals from the noise. Emerging markets in Asia today are facing what is called a middle income trap whereby they need to break through a pain barrier to rise to advanced income status.

Advanced and aging economies countries like Britain and Japan face the opposite, a high income trap where if major policy mistakes are made, a rich country may slide into stagnation and possible lower income levels. Ultimately, demographics and geography determine destiny.

Asia may face many growing pains and a complex operating environment from disruptive technology and excessive competition, including geopolitical rivalry. Western analysts disdain for Asian demagogues is now being haunted by their own demagogues.

Basically, in the midst of these complex transitions through mega-trends, there is also a governance transition. The millennial generation is rapidly taking over in terms of consumption lifestyle, innovation and governance style.

History suggests that it will not be a bloodless transition. Despite all such noise, we should do well to remind ourselves that Asia is still where there is still demographic and technological growth.

Lets see whether the next market adjustment will stall or disrupt that growth trajectory. Happy 10th and 20th anniversaries!

The writer, a former Central banker, is Distinguished Fellow, Asia Global Institute, University of Hong Kong.

Special to ANN.

Read this article:

As we enter a zone of uncertainty... - The Statesman

New Delhi: India and the European Union on Friday agreed to strengthen cooperation in the areas of environment, resource efficiency andcircular economy under the EU's Resource Efficiency Initiative (EU-REI) for India.

Representational image. Reuters

At the eighth EU-India Environment Forum, hosted in Delhi, the necessity of moving to a resource efficient 'circular economy' wherein waste is reduced, or becomes useful input in others, or renewable inputs replace non-renewable ones, was discussed.

Union Environment Secretary AN Jha, who took part in the forum said India was preparing its own campaign to develop a resource efficiency strategy and experience sharing with European experts would be of immense help in this regard.

Astrid Schomaker, Director for Global Sustainable Development, Environment Directorate-General, European Commission said that market-based incentives and eco-innovation will create new and exciting products, services and job opportunities in India.

The Resource Efficiency Initiative (REI) project will be implemented on behalf of the European Union by a consortium led by Deutsche Gesellschaftfr Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, with The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), Confederation of the Indian Industry (CII) and Adelphi.

The project objectives include assessment of India's current and future use of resources and to develop a resource efficiency strategy for India in four sectors - mobility, buildings and construction, renewable energy, and plastic and e-waste management.

The project also aims to foster business partnerships for knowledge and technology transfer between European and Indian industry and raise awareness of best practices in resource efficiency among businesses, the general public, and government and non-government organisations, an official statement said.

Read the original:

European Union to help India move to a resource efficient 'circular ... - Firstpost

At the 11th hour and with state government teetering on the edge of a shutdown, the governor has stirred up a cloud of misinformation to distract the Legislature from its work. In his press statement from June 27 and again during a talk-radio appearance, Gov. LePage threatened legislators with a government shutdown unless they support his initiative to tax conservation land owned by land trusts.

Lets look at the facts. Already this session, the Legislature overwhelmingly defeated two bills designed to remove tax-exempt status from land trusts. Both bills were unanimously rejected in the Senate. Why? Because most lands conserved by Maine land trusts fully 95 percent are already on the tax rolls.

Moreover, eliminating land trusts eligibility for a property tax exemption will have little or no impact in addressing property tax concerns in Maine and will not help state lawmakers arrive at a balanced budget. The governors proposal will also not get the state to 55 percent in education funding or allow elderly residents to keep their homes, as he has claimed in the past.

Interestingly, earlier this session the Legislature unanimously approved a bill introduced by the conservation community to allow land trusts to make voluntary tax payments to local governments to support land holdings in rural Maine. This proposal offered the governor a chance to support legislation to ease the property tax burden on Maine landowners. Yet this bill went into law without the governors signature after sitting on his desk for 10 days.

As for the governors current proposal, the latest bargaining tool in the state budget discussions, it would affect fewer than 95,000 acres statewide, less than half of 1 percent of the state. And on roughly 20 percent of these acres the land trusts are already making payments in lieu of taxes. At the same time, the fiscal impact of eliminating the property tax exemption would be negligible.

For example, in legislative testimony in 2015, a licensed appraiser estimated that tax exemptions held by all the land trusts in Bath added roughly $1 per year to the property tax bill on a $300,000 home.

More importantly, the return on investment in land conservation greatly outweighs any costs.

There are examples in every corner of the state of land trusts benefiting their home communities. These conserved lands are an essential part of the foundation for Maines natural resource-based economy, our quality of life and the Maine brand. These lands guarantee access for commercial fishermen, protect working farms, ensure forests for forest products, create opportunities to hunt, fish, hike, swim, walk dogs, snowmobile and canoe, protect important wildlife habitat and serve as vital classrooms for students across the state.

Lastly, there is a growing understanding of the tax benefits generated by conservation land. The latest indication can be found in President Donald Trumps fiscal year 2018 budget proposal, where the president indicates evidence shows that (National Wildlife) Refuges often generate tax revenue for communities in excess of what was lost, by increasing property values and creating tourism opportunities for the American public to connect with nature.

With the important role that trust-conserved lands play providing access to hunters, hikers, birdwatchers, snowmobilers, anglers and other outdoor enthusiasts one only needs to get out of Augustas Capitol complex to see businesses and communities enjoying similar economic benefits throughout the state.

Maine people love and support conservation lands. Through six overwhelming statewide votes in favor of the Land for Maines Future Program and generous private donations, Maine citizens have made these investments in the future of the state they cherish.

Conservation lands, including those held in land trusts, are a crucial component of our economy and a valued part of our Maine way of life. They deserve more respect than to be treated as an 11th-hour bargaining chip in budget negotiations that could lead to a government shutdown.

Tim Glidden is president of Maine Coast Heritage Trust, David Trahan is executive director of the Sportsmans Alliance of Maine and Kate Dempsey is state director of The Nature Conservancy in Maine.

Link:

Maine Compass: LePage misinforms public in push to end land trust tax exemptions - Kennebec Journal & Morning Sentinel

Intergenerational income mobility is so much more than your kids doing a little bit better than you did. The expectation that each generation will be more prosperous than the one that came before helps to erode class barriers, persuades the struggling immigrant that her sacrifices will ensure a better life for her children, sends the teenager from his small town to a distant college thrilled by the possibility of the world, allows Canadians, no matter where they live or where they come from, to believe that the future could be better than the past.

And so The Globe and Mails analysis of a study by Miles Corak of the University of Ottawa on the impact of geography on income mobility raises troubling questions about what steps, if any, governments should take to improve the prospects of people living in places where the child is less likely to do better than the parent.

Will Canada evolve into a mix of both urban hubs and prosperous and self-sufficient hinterland communities, or are we destined to become a country of a few big cities with nothing but empty or poor in between? And is there anything that can be done to shape that future? These are the choices facing policy makers today.

A tale of two Canadas: Where you grew up affects your income in adulthood

Prof. Coraks analysis reveals that income mobility is greatest in Canadas growing cities: places such as Greater Toronto or Saskatoon or B.C.s Lower Mainland or Montreal or Halifax.

That growth will accelerate. Warren Mabee, head of geography and planning at Queens University, thinks federal and provincial governments might, through targeted investments, be able to create mini-hubs in places such as Prince George or Thunder Bay. But in the main, vertical mobility depends on horizontal mobility: The best chance for your son or daughters income to be higher than yours is for your family to move to the city.

This wasnt always true. In the past, farming and forestry and mining offered stable, secure incomes for people and communities generation after generation. Governments provided the roads, railroads and ports and the rest of the infrastructure that sustained Canadas natural-resource economy, and then relied on market forces to do the rest.

Even now, children in rural Alberta and Saskatchewan are more upwardly mobile than children in some other parts of Canada, thanks to the oil boom that for decades fuelled the regions economy, a boom sustained by federal and provincial infrastructure investments.

But over all, rural Canada is struggling. The farms and forests and mines, and the mills and factories they generated, no longer provide the income security they once did. Competition and automation have weakened the economic base of rural Canada.

This is why so many who look at the question of preserving the rural economy focus on the importance of high-speed Internet as the new infrastructure priority.

We really need to move that forward, Prof. Mabee in an interview said. One thing that would level the playing field, at least a little bit, and provide people with opportunities in small communities by allowing them to take part in the knowledge economy, is going to be broadband connectivity.

The Trudeau government has committed $500-million over five years to expanding rural and remote access to broadband. Last December, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) announced a $750-million fund, to be financed by telecommunications companies, to expand broadband access in rural and remote areas. On Wednesday, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities delivered its brief to the CRTC on how the federation thinks the program should be rolled out.

If schools, businesses and homes in rural communities dont have the same high-speed access as the nearest city, you dont have the same opportunities, said Jenny Gerbasi, the federations president, who is also a Winnipeg city councillor and deputy mayor. Thats what were trying to overcome.

Universal, affordable access to the digital universe is vital to moving beyond a declining resource-based economy, she says. Even if you are in a remote area or a northern area or a very small community, you have the ability to connect to the digital economy.

Education is essential to income mobility. Children do better when they have access to high-quality daycare, to early childhood education, to excellent primary and secondary schools, to nearby colleges and universities. Federal, provincial and municipal governments struggle to provide such resources in rural areas.

There may be little or no education offered prior to kindergarten; school may involve a long daily bus ride; postsecondary education may be unavailable anywhere nearby. Improved Internet access in rural communities wont solve that problem, but it will at least help by bringing knowledge resources into the home and school.

Herb Emery, an economist at University of New Brunswick, observes that the spread of universal public education after the Second World War ensured that each generation did better than the one that came before.

But now, with 85 per cent of Canadians completing high school and more than half receiving degrees or diplomas, the overall population may be as educated as its ever going to get.

A highly educated population engaged in a knowledge-based 21st-century economy will inevitably be attracted to urban hubs, he believes. The only policy priority that matters is ensuring people in rural areas are able to move or stay as their own preferences and market conditions permit.

Federal programs such as transfer payments and equalization programs may do more harm than good in the long run by retarding labour mobility and the pace of much-needed economic transformation in the Atlantic region, he said in an interview.

Children in some First Nations communities have particularly low odds of doing better than their parents. Justin Trudeau campaigned on the promise of a new relationship between the federal government and Indigenous Canadians. We are very much focused on building new infrastructure, new schools, new opportunities, he told reporters earlier this week. But progress is slow.

Connecting remote reserves to the digital universe could help overcome their isolation. Better schooling is also essential, although what looks from the outside like programs to improve Indigenous education can look to First Nations leaders like the latest attempt at assimilation.

But a truly revolutionary approach to ending poverty on reserves would require massive investments, funded by higher taxes than most Canadians appear willing to pay. More likely, young Indigenous Canadians will migrate from the reserve to cities, continuing the rural drain.

We cant know whether the expansion of digital infrastructure will improve income mobility in rural parts of Canada, or slow the migration of the young to urban hubs. We cant know whether, having reached Peak Education, intergenerational income mobility generally is destined to slow. All government can do is try to ensure that every Canadian is as well-educated and as connected as possible, regardless of where they live. After a century and a half of building Canada, this is the next big challenge.

Follow John Ibbitson on Twitter: @JohnIbbitson

Read more from the original source:

Improving Canadians' income mobility is the next big policy challenge - The Globe and Mail

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in his parliament office in Ottawa. Image: Flickr/Justin Trudeau

Call it an exercise in herding cats.

Only one year into the federal governments efforts to reshape Canadas environmental and regulatory processes surrounding resource development, and its already revealed a country deeply divided on how to assess environmental concerns with new projects and how to regulate industry to mitigate any issues.

The federal government launched its multi-department review last June after instituting a temporary system in January for projects already under environmental assessment. The goal is to replace the environmental assessment legislation put in place by Stephen Harpers Conservatives in 2012, while modernizing the National Energy Board (NEB), Fisheries Act, and Navigation Protection Act.

The rationale for the review is to restore Canadians trust in environmental assessments, said Catherine McKenna, the federal minister of environment and climate change.

Check out the latest Oilweek now for insight into Canada's oilpatch people, technology and trends.

The review of Canadas environmental and regulatory practices will ensure that decisions are based on science, facts and evidence, added Kirsty Duncan, the federal minister of science.

Over the last year, the government has been gathering submissions and holding public hearings to get input from Canadians across the country. In early April, the expert panel reviewing the environmental assessment process released its recommendations. A similar report concerning the modernization of the NEB was released in mid-May.

The preliminary results from the environmental review show the challenges of trying to balance environmental stewardship with industrial growth.

Views about federal environmental assessment across the various interests ranged from support to all-out opposition, the environmental panel said in its report to the government.

The view from industry

Industry was looking for a number of things from the review, including assurances that any new regulations wouldnt further harm the countrys competitiveness.

Canada is competing globally for capital investment in our oil and gas resources, and it is imperative for the Canadian economy that Canada remain competitive with other jurisdictions, Jim Campbell, Cenovus Energys vice-president of government and community affairs, told the task force on behalf of his company.

Campbell pointed to a recent study and survey showing the Canadian industry is falling behind competitors when it comes to competing for capital. Primary reasons cited Canadas decline include regulatory duplication and inconsistencies and complexity of environmental regulations, he noted.

In its submission to the task force, Suncor Energy, like most others from industry who offered input, said the federal review process should dovetail with, rather than overlap, provincial and local review processes. The process should, accent, not duplicate, provincial reviews, said Suncor. One project, one assessment. Duplicate reviews do not add additional protections and can add years to project applications.

The federal assessment should be a process to assess residual environmental risks in areas of federal jurisdiction, Suncor added.

Cenovus, with most of its primary assets in Alberta, agreed primary responsibility for environmental assessments should remain with the provinces.

Local regulators have the experience and technical expertise to best evaluate projects, work with local communities and perform follow-up monitoring and compliance, noted Campbell.

Campbell also said federal and provincial environmental assessment processes should be streamlined by allowing for substitution and equivalency agreements based on the principles of the best-placed regulator to do the work and a single-window approach.

When it comes to addressing First Nations concerns, Suncor said the federal government, rather than industry, must take a leadership role, pointing out that the review must ensure the Crown is upholding its duty to consult.

Proponents have the responsibility to support the Crown through direct engagement and partnership with affected communities, incorporating traditional knowledge through applications and developing projects in a sustainable manner, Suncor added.

The oilsands giant said the people and communities closest to projects should be at the front of the line when it comes to consultations in environmental assessments.

Reviews must allow those most directly affected by the outcome of a particular project to have the greatest opportunity to participate and have a voice in the process, it noted. Input from affected stakeholders can get diluted when the process is used for purposes other than gathering information on a specific project.

Suncor and other resource companies and associations also said they dont believe the review process should be hijacked by groups wanting to debate larger public concerns outside the boundaries of the project. Governments should first set public policy direction on these broader issues like climate change, and then the review process should ensure public policy standards are met.

The review process is not the appropriate venue for debating broader public policy, the company said.

Another key element for industry and provinces with resource-based economies in the review process was ensuring the designated projects section of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012 remained in place. Projects including minerals mining (such as potash), linear developments (transmission lines and highways) that do not cross provincial boundaries, extraction of non-potable groundwater, in situ oilsands developments and natural gas facilities were removed from the list of projects requiring federal assessments in the 2012 legislation.

Removing these projects from federal [environmental assessment] review saved time and cost by greatly reducing unnecessary duplication of [assessments] and other regulatory processes, reducing red tape for proponents while maintaining robust provincial environmental safeguards, said the government of Saskatchewan in its submission. The province advocates for the exclusion of such projects from federal review, recognizing mature and effective provincial environmental regulatory review processes.

Green groups, First Nations look for greater participation in process

While industry looked to streamline the environmental assessment process and provide certainty to investors, environmentalists and First Nations looked for greater input into the process and for the federal government to expand the list of designated projects that require federal approval. Many also requested a climate test be included in the process.

West Coast Environmental Law said it was looking for a next-generation assessment law that accounted for the economic, ecological and social aspects of sustainability, that respected First Nations authority and governance, that provided for full public participation, and that connected the assessment, decision-making and action of different levels of government.

They also wanted the law to address the causes and effects of climate change, include strategic and regional assessment as fundamental components, and to require appropriate assessment of the thousands of smaller projects currently not being studied.

This isnt the time to make small adjustments to a deeply flawed processwe need a new law that ensures the health of Canadians and the environment, and this is our chance to get it right, said Stephen Hazell, the director of conservation and general counsel at Nature Canada.

Recommendations favour expansion of federal role in assessments

The initial report from the expert panel is promising many of the big changes environmentalists and others who submitted opinions wanted. The first is a major expansion in the assessment process beyond the environmental impacts of a project.

We outline that, in our view, assessment processes must move beyond the bio-physical environment to encompass all impacts likely to result from a project, both positive and negative. Therefore, what is now environmental assessment should become impact assessment, the panel said. Changing the name of the federal process to impact assessment underscores the shift in thinking necessary to enable practitioners and Canadians to understand the substantive changes being proposed in our report.

This new assessment process would cover what the panel calls the five pillars of sustainability: environmental, social, economic, health and cultural impacts.

While industry said it would like to see public input limited to those most affected by the project, the panel also sided with environmental groups wanting to see broader public input. The panel also said that more meaningful public participation in the assessment process is a must.

An overarching criterion of public participation opportunities in impact assessment processes is that these opportunities must be meaningful, the report added. A meaningful participation process needs to have the inherent potential to influence decisions made throughout the assessment, provide inclusive and accessible opportunities for early and ongoing engagement from the public and indigenous groups, and provide the capacity required for active participation in the engagement.

The panel said current rules regarding public participation are lacking and have been perceived as having been designed to limit public participation in the assessment process.

The panel believes the NEBs adoption of the standing test has greatly hindered trust in its assessments.

The degree to which this test has limited participation is evident through NEB participation data. The outcome of this is not an efficient assessment process or timely incorporation of public input into a decision-making process, the panel said. In the case of the Trans Mountain Expansion project review, a ministerial panel was convened after the NEB assessment process was completed, at least in part to hear from those who felt shut out of the initial process. In short, limiting public participation reduces the trust and confidence in assessment processes without bringing any obvious process efficiency.

The panel recommends thatlegislation require that [an impact assessment] provide early and ongoing participation opportunities that are open to all, the report said. Results of public participation should have the potential to impact decisions.

The expert panel also questioned the need for time limits on the review process, suggesting that instead, the time frame of the review process be project-specific. The current process, put in place in 2012, requires environmental assessments of projects that occur on federal lands, such as pipelines, to be completed within one or two years, depending on the projects size and complexity.

This has not met the objective of delivering cost- and time-certainty to proponents, the report said. Our recommended approach seeks to build public confidence in the assessment process. We believe that public trust can lead to more efficient and timely reviews. It may also support getting resources to market.

The expert panel also recommended a number of ways to increase First Nations participation in the assessment process, including implementing the principles of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), especially with respect to the manner in which environmental assessment processes can be used to address potential impacts to potential or established aboriginal or treaty rights.

The panel recognized that there are broader discussions that need to occur between the federal government and indigenous peoples with respect to nation-to-nation relationships, overlapping and unresolved claims to aboriginal rights and titles, reconciliation, treaty implementation and the broader implementation of UNDRIP. According to the panel, many of these discussions will be necessary prerequisites for the full and effective implementation of the recommendations contained in the report.

Among its recommendations regarding indigenous people, the panel suggested that indigenous peoples be included in decision-making at all stages of the assessment process, in accordance with their own laws and customs.

It also suggests First Nations be funded adequately to allow meaningful participation in the process and be given the time to review information.

The panel report defines the criteria for the type of projects that should be federally reviewed and limits the criteria of projects that are included for federal review in the designated projects list.

Many participants favoured the continued use of a project list approach to trigger federal assessments because it is predictable and clear and places the focus on major resource projects, wrote the panel.

Requiring an assessment for projects with minor impacts was described as too burdensome and time-consuming for proponents and lacking proportionality. Participants also said, however, that the current project list is too focused on certain industries, such as mining, and should be revisited to ensure that the list more accurately reflects projects with the highest potential for adverse effects, with some participants indicating that in situ oilsands projects and hydraulic fracturing activities should be included.

The committee recommended only projects that affect federal interests should be included on the list. This differs from the current approach that includes projects that may not affect matters of federal interest. And it said there should be an appropriate threshold for effects on federal interests so that a trivial impact does not trigger an assessment.

A new project list should be created that would include only projects that are likely to adversely impact matters of federal interest in a way that is consequential for present and future generations, said the committee.

On the issue of government jurisdiction, there was widespread support for the idea of one project, one assessment.

However, a key goal of the assessment process is to leverage the knowledge of all government levels.

In Canada, many jurisdictions have the expertise, knowledge, best practices and capacity to contribute to impact assessments, said the panel. For example, the federal and provincial governments may focus on closely related issues, such as impacts to water quality versus impacts to a fishery. Yet indigenous groups also have relevant knowledge on these topics related to the practice of their aboriginal and treaty rights, their traditional and ongoing land use, and their laws, customs and institutions. Similarly, municipalities are the custodians of land use and the full range of local impacts that affect residents and their communities.

The committee said it believes the best way to connect all these areas of expertise is through a co-operative approach.

To date, the best examples of co-operation among jurisdictions have been joint-review panels backed up by general co-operation agreements between Canada and many provinces, said the committee. As such, expanding the co-operation model to include all relevant jurisdictions is the preferred method to carry out jurisdictional co-ordination.

Climate change a sticky issue

The expert panel said the issue of climate change has proved difficult to address under existing environmental assessment regulations.

Current processes and interim principles take into account some aspects of climate change, but there is an urgent national need for clarity and consistency on how to consider climate change in project and regional assessments, it said.

The panel said criteria, modelling and methodology must be established to assess a projects contribution to climate change, consider how climate change may impact the future environmental setting of a project, and consider a projects or regions long-term sustainability and resiliency in a changing environmental setting.

Industry is concerned the issue of climate change has sidelined project assessments and turned them into debates over government policy. The panel addressed this issue by recommending the federal government lead a strategic impact assessment or similar co-operative and collaborative mechanism on the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change to provide direction on how to implement the framework and related initiatives in future federal project and regional assessments.

Like this? You should be reading Oilweek.

Read the rest here:

Further troubles lie ahead as Ottawa's attempt at modernizing project reviews reveals a divided Canada - JWN

April is the cruelest month, so said poet TS Eliot. But one wit remarked that June marks the end of May.

Who would have expected that British Prime Minister Theresa May would lose her majority in Parliament in the June election, which was supposed to strengthen her hand in negotiating Brexit with the European Union? This expectation reversal was as big a shock as Brexit or Trumpism. May may have found her Ides of March in June.

In sharp contrast, unlike earlier in the year when everyone was worried about France falling to populist rule under Marine le Pen, a fresh centrist candidate named Macron won, and was rewarded by a handsome legislative majority to carry out his promise to reform France.

In Bangkok this week to refresh memories of July 2, 1997, I was struck by how history seemed to rhyme in 10 year cycles. Next month would mark not only the 20th anniversary of the return of Hong Kong to China, but also the 20th anniversary of the Asian financial crisis, when the baht was devalued.

The year 2007 also marked the 10th anniversary of the US subprime crisis, which together with the European debt crisis caused a decade of low growth for advanced economies. Initially, investors hardly noticed the tremors from the subprime crisis. On July 19, 2007, the Dow Jones Industrial Average touched a record high of 14,000. After an adjustment in Aug. to 13,000, the index dropped below 11,000 on Sept. 15, 2008, following the Lehman failure. It fell to a 12-year low of 6,547 on March 9, 2009, recording a 53.2 percent drop over this period.

Similarly, the Hong Kong Hang Seng Index also crossed the 20,000 milestone on Dec. 28, 2006 and rose to the all-time peak of 31,958 on Oct. 18, 2007. A year later, it lost 66.6 percent to a low of 10,676 on Oct. 27, 2008.

Ten years later, both indexes have once again touched record highs, with the Hang Seng recovering past the 26,000 mark this month, whereas the Dow hit a record peak of 21,528 this week. Because this rally is essentially tech driven, even the Nasdaq index has surpassed its 2000 tech bubble peak of 5,048 to hit a new peak of 6,305 on June 2, 2017.

These market gyrations suggest that another consolidation may be reached sometime soon, except we do not know the exact timing and the trigger. All we know is the there are many risks out there, including policy uncertainties from whether the Fed would continue to raise interest rates, the sudden reappearance of inflation and possible geopolitical or natural disaster events.

So far, market worries about Chinas high leverage issues seem to have receded with the stabilization of US-China relations and better performance at the growth level.

All in all, the markets have priced in so far almost all the Brexit and Trump fears and did not react too much to the recent normalization of Fed interest rates.

The stark reality is that no one knows for sure whether we are in overpriced territory or bubble zone. The US economy appears to trundle along in reasonable shape, with unemployment numbers reaching new lows. All we do know is asset prices are at record highs, financed by historically high debt and abnormally low interest rates.

In this zone of radical uncertainty, we are no longer sure that the gross domestic product indicator reflects the true state of the economy. GDP measures the old resource-based economy well, but does not capture growth in a data-digital economy. No economy reflects this contradiction more than China, which has shifted from being the largest assembler of the global supply chain towards a consumption and service-driven economy. Both consumption and services crossed the 50 percent of GDP levels, moving closer towards an advanced country pattern where consumption and services account for roughly 60-70 percent or more of GDP.

If China succeeds in this historic transition, with the old resource-consuming industries, like coal, steel, energy, being phased out, even as the new internet economy trims the inefficiencies in the current Chinese distribution system, then China could break through her middle-income trap. But one recalls that South Korea achieved Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development status in December 1996, only to fall into the Asian financial crisis in 1997-98. Mexico did the same in 1994.

All countries go through growing pains, especially what Austrian economist Schumpeterian called creative destruction. This transition creates massive winners and also losers. We see this pattern being reflected in the mixture of top Dow Jones index component companies, whereby the leading tech stocks are being priced to win, whereas the old energy, manufacturing and distribution companies are struggling to maintain their market share.

Given these radical uncertainties, history is replete with the rise and fall of nations, as well as the rise and fall of companies. It teaches humility in forcing us to think holistically on the broader trends, whilst sorting out the signals from the noise.

Emerging markets in Asia today are facing what is called a middle income trap whereby they need to break through a pain barrier to rise to advanced income status. Advanced and aging economies countries like Britain and Japan face the opposite, a high income trap where if major policy mistakes are made, a rich country may slide into stagnation and possible lower income levels.

Ultimately, demographics and geography determine destiny. Asia may face many growing pains and a complex operating environment from disruptive technology and excessive competition, including geopolitical rivalry. Western analysts disdain for Asian demagogues are now being haunted by their own demagogues. Basically, in the midst of these complex transitions through mega-trends, there is also a governance transition. The millennial generation is rapidly taking over in terms of consumption lifestyle, innovation and governance style. History suggests that it will not be a bloodless transition.

Despite all such noise, we should do well to remind ourselves that Asia is still where there is still demographic and technological growth. Lets see whether the next market adjustment will stall or disrupt that growth trajectory.

Happy 10th and 20th anniversaries!

By Andrew Sheng Andrew Sheng is a distinguished fellow at the Asia Global Institute of the University of Hong Kong. -- Ed.

(Asia News Network)

Read more:

[Andrew Sheng] May into June - The Korea Herald

By Conrad Mwanza

If we looked at countries natural endowments as a measure of their potential for economic development, very few in Africa would stand toe to toe with Zimbabwe. For ours is one of those rare countries that boast a wide range of mineral deposits and natural potential.

Zimbabwe hosts the second largest platinum group metals as well as the largest high grade chromite resource base in the world on the Great Dyke. A notable global producer of lithium and chrysotile asbestos, the country is also possessed with significant deposits of gold and diamonds.

Add to that the millions of hectares of arable and grazing land, which has historically ensured successful mixed farming and may yet see the countrys commercial agricultural sector bounce back to its former glory.

But with a literacy rate that has consistently topped all of Africa, and a massive pool of skilled human resources across all sectors, it goes without saying that Zimbabwes biggest resource is its people. These are the potential drivers of the countrys economic development, if fully harnessed and deployed towards production, innovation and service delivery.

However, over the past two decades especially, weve not been spared the exodus of skilled professionals and many others who trekked off to more developed economies in response to globalisations pull, as well as the push of national economic hardships and political insecurity. Indeed, unofficial estimates claim the country may have lost as much as 60% of its qualified professionals, while up to three million Zimbabweans are believed to have left the country.

In the UK where I live, estimates put the total population of the Zimbabwean community at 400,000 thats about four times the size of a micro-state like The Seychelles. The sheer determination of my compatriots to carve out a space for themselves in their adopted home and get their pound of flesh was the single most inspiring factor that led me to found the Zimbabwe Achievers Awards in 2011.

The awards body was to serve as both a celebration of those small, significant steps of success that Zimbabweans were making as they worked their way up the UKs socio-economic ladder, as well as inspiration and motivation towards even greater achievements.

In the seven years of our existence, weve gone from celebrating small community businesses to awarding professional architects delivering multi-million dollar projects across Africa. Weve recognised cutting edge tech-start-ups worth millions, freight services serving global markets, and healthcare companies servicing huge government contracts.

Collectively as the Zimbabwean diaspora, weve consistently remitted billions of dollars back home over the years and compelled the government to pay attention to our net contribution to the economy of our home country. Dollarisation has helped cut off the forex black market, ensuring that all remittances go through the official channels. However, remittances are only a fraction of the diasporas capacity to contribute towards national socio-economic development.

To illustrate the limits of remittances to achieve broader community transformation, a case study from Bangladesh is worth referring to. About 95% of all British-Bengalis trace their origins to Sylhet division in north-east Bangladesh. The region receives around US $1billion in remittances every year from expatriate Bengalis in the UK alone and should, in theory, be the wealthiest and healthiest part of the country.

However, as The Guardian reported, Sylhet has worse literacy and school enrolment rates than all other regions, child malnutrition rates are well over the WHO emergency threshold of 15%, fertility rates are the highest in the country and expectant mothers are more likely to die during child birth in Sylhet than any other part of Bangladesh.

And the reason for this discrepancy between the high volumes of remittances and the overall state of the community is that remittances are transferred to individual households rather than to charity or community development. As the Zimbabwean diaspora, we also find ourselves locked in this phase of financial contribution and have yet to fully inhabit our economic potential by broadening our investment beyond the family to achieve wider developmental impact.

At the Zimbabwe Achievers Awards, we have spread out from our UK base to all major diaspora centres South Africa, USA, and Australia. Through this community vehicle, weve networked with both individual professional Zimbabweans doing great things in their careers as well as entrepreneurs, businesses, social enterprises and philanthropic organisations.

Throughout the networks weve built, the one pulsating passion that courses through all of us is a deep-seated desire to contribute towards Zimbabwes socio-economic development and make a difference. Weve formed partnerships with corporates based in Zimbabwe that are at the forefront of kickstarting the countrys brain gain by employing experienced Diaspora professionals and bringing them back home.

This is a trend that we fully support and as we believe that Zimbabwes critical professional skills are indispensable in the reconstruction of the country after decades of economic lethargy and the loss of much needed human resources. Innovative human resources companies need to step up and start engaging the diaspora labour market to harness key skills and bring them back home, as has happened elsewhere across the world.

In China, for instance, huge numbers of professionals who left their country to study and work, have returned. These so-called sea turtles have brought back desirable skills, invaluable networks of international business contacts and innovative ideas to energise the economy.

India, too, has enjoyed a significant brain gain in recent years, with scientists returning home to take advantage of the relative strength of the Indian economy and growing opportunities there. By 2013, according to the scientific journal publishers Elsevier, India had become a net importer of productive scientific talent.

But that does not just happen home governments need to communicate clearly that expatriates are wanted and needed back home. Policymakers need to understand the diaspora and incentivise its involvement in the countrys development.

Emotional ties alone do not cut it governments can actively do away with obstacles and create opportunities for diasporas to engage in economic development. Governments must be on their front foot if they are to harvest real benefits from their diaspora.

Even more importantly, the role of the diaspora as investors is very much under-appreciated within our own Zimbabwean context. One of the most prominent examples of diasporas investing in their home country is that of the Chinese. Between 1985 and 2000, the Chinese diaspora accounted for 70 per cent of Chinas foreign direct investment, which helped fuel the countrys rapid economic growth over this period.

There is need for the Zimbabwean diaspora itself, the corporate sector back home as well as the government, to work collaboratively to facilitate diaspora investment. Apart from sending money to families, many in the diaspora do not have the information they need to make decisions about investment, nor do they know what investment opportunities are available.

There is need for mutual encouragement to organise better to facilitate this investment. It is very feasible for health professionals in the UK, for instance, working with government facilitation, to invest in a state of the art hospital that can provide world class medical care and save the country millions in dollars that are spent towards health tourism to India, South Africa, Singapore and other popular destinations.

Likewise, a lot of the infrastructural projects in Zimbabwe can also harness the investment and participation of diaspora-based engineers, many of whom are members of diaspora chapters of the Zimbabwe Institute of Engineers. Many other types of diaspora investment, such as collective investment in community projects through hometown associations, can be fully explored and practical steps towards facilitating them taken.

Clearly, there is a lot of unexplored potential in the Zimbabwean diaspora, and a strong relationship needs to be fostered between the diaspora and the government as well as the corporate and charity/philanthropic sectors. To this end, ZAA International will be hosting a Zimbabwe Economy Forum in Dubai from 21-24 September this year to explore these and other key issues concerning our national economy.

One of the projects I hope to launch at the forum together with partners like Vavaki Architects is a holiday housing complex in the great Victoria Falls that Zimbabweans in the diaspora can buy into. This falls firmly within the greater vision to see a Victoria Falls that will be a leisure and tourist hub of the region, complete with state of the art facilities to complement its world heritage natural offering.

Read more here:

Zimbabwe's biggest resource for economic development is its people - Nehanda Radio

Advertisment Besides being a resource-based economy, Canada has also traditionally been powered by the ups and downs in the manufacturing sector.

Over much of our economic history, real output growth from manufacturing broadly kept pace with output growth from the business sector overall, as declines in some manufacturing industries were more than offset by growth in others.

A new study released Tuesday by Statistics Canada shows that this changed markedly after 2000, as the Canadian manufacturing sector adjusted to significant changes in the global economic environment, including: the bursting of the tech bubble in 2001; the global commodity price cycle; the appreciation of the Canadian dollar vis--vis the U.S. dollar; and stronger competition from abroad.

So, after 2000, manufacturing output growth leveled off and then declined sharply.

The agency goes on to say much of this change was pointed up by the recession in 2008-09. Real output in manufacturing declined at an annual average rate of about 9% during the recession, compared with a less than 2% average annual contraction in the business sector overall.

Following the end of the recession, the recovery in manufacturing was the slowest since the Second World War, as the sector did not return to pre-recession levels for nearly six years. Real output in this sector remains significantly lower than peak levels observed in 2006

Weakness in our durable goods industries has heavily influenced the manufacturing sector since 2000. This weakness was felt especially hard in the transportation equipment industry, and largely due to declines in motor vehicles and parts production. However, compared to the United States, the Canadian transportation equipment industry had a similar impact on growth in the manufacturing sector; therefore, this sector does not explain the relative differences in manufacturing output between the two countries.

Excerpt from:

Mfg. Sector has Changed with Years: StatsCan Study - Baystreet.ca

Economics professor Gregg Davis wasnt always interested in economics, though his interest in natural resources began at an early age. In high school, Davis got a job working in a landscape nursery and fell in love with working in nature.

I loved working with living things, he said.

A Columbus, Ohio native, Davis was the son of a stay-at-home mom and the president of a publishing company. Seeking to further explore his love for nature, Davis began looking at forestry programs when he discovered the University of Montana.

He started school in the early 70s to study to become a forester, but he only lasted a few quarters in the program before he realized that, despite his love for nature, forestry wasnt the right fit.

From that point on, he dabbled around in everything, he said. Taking courses in one program and then another, he majored in about every discipline there was.

He eventually landed on anthropology as he was finishing his bachelors degree, though an interest in economics is what brought him back the following fall to attend the graduate program.

During the Carter Administration, Davis worked for a health systems agency in Helena. Five years into the position, it became apparent that the agency was at risk of losing its funding. Davis decided that it would be a good time to pursue a doctorate degree. He was accepted to West Virginia University with a generous research apprenticeship to study mineral resource economics.

Davis worked in varying professorship positions in Illinois, Louisiana and West Virginia he even did a five-week teaching program in Hong Kong between positions. While teaching, he continued to work on his dissertation, which was on the effects of natural resource extraction. Davis found that when natural resources are exploited and leave the region they originated in, the money, too, leaves the region, and the value added occurs elsewhere.

The John Hopkins University Press picked up his dissertation, which eventually led to the publishing of a book with a forward by Wassily Leontief, one of the kingpins of input-output economics.

After spending five years in West Virginia, a friend told him about a position available at Flathead Valley Community College. Davis jumped at the opportunity to return to Montana, and moved back in 1993.

Davis continued working at FVCC before having a four-year stint in Missoula working on health-care economics for the Bureau of Business and Economic Research at the University of Montana. The position was entirely research-based, studying the affect on economics of the recently-passed Affordable Care Act.

While in Missoula, his wife and two sons stayed in the Flathead. They did the weekend warrior thing for four years before he returned home again.

Davis said its been an exciting time to teach economics, adding that economics is a topic that goes much deeper into common issues and topics than simply the looking at the numbers.

Where we are today, I certainly didnt see that 15 years ago, Davis said. I always knew tourism would be big, but health care just exploded. After the recession that is one of the fields weve continued to grow in and one of the top services we can offer [in the Flathead].

I thought wed always be the community that would have to drive to Missoula for some things, but now you can get just about everything here, he added.

Davis said that in some ways, Montana was lucky in the recession because it didnt have any of the large bank failures the rest of the country was experiencing. But it did have the real estate crash, he added, and the Flathead Valley was at the center of that crash.

Its taken the valley longer than the rest of the nation to get back to peak employment levels, he said, having only just reached the pre-recession level in 2015.

Though he said the valley is better positioned for the future since the crisis.

Compared to even 40 years ago, were transitioning from a natural resource economy to a service economy, which is good because natural resource economies are very boom and bust, he said. A service economy is not at risk as much for a recession.

At the center of the valleys service-based economy are the leading industries of health care and tourism.

He said the valley over the years has grown considerably an indicator of a healthy economy though he cautions growing too fast.

Hopefully well continue to have a steady growth, not robust growth, we dont want it to become a bubble because bubbles burst, he said.

For the Flathead Valley, however, Davis said the biggest struggle, in his opinion, isnt growing too fast, but growing in a way that destroys the valleys many natural amenities.

The greatest struggle this valley has is growth without destroying the beauty, he said.

Though Davis said its challenging to say what the future will bring, he is currently working on a developing leading index to better track the local economy. By surveying local businesses directly every six months, Davis hopes he will be able to pick up on trends faster and better predict where the economy is going.

Looking back on his career, Davis said his degrees in economics are what propelled him into every job he ever had, leading to a 32-year career as a teacher. He never had to hit the streets to find a job, he added.

When I graduated with a college degree that was kind of the Willy Wonkas golden ticket to getting a job, he said. Thats not the case for millennials today.

Though Davis advice to young workers today isnt to skip out on a higher education, but to pay attention to the trends and pick a field that will add value to the economy in the years to come.

Reporter Alyssa Gray may be reached at 758-4433 or agray@dailyinterlake.com.

Visit link:

Professor talks Flathead Valley economy - Daily Inter Lake

If we looked at countries' natural endowments as a measure of their potential for economic development, very few in Africa would stand toe to toe with Zimbabwe. For ours is one of those rare countries that boast a wide range of mineral deposits and natural potential.

Zimbabwe hosts the second largest platinum group metals as well as the largest high grade chromite resource base in the world on the Great Dyke. A notable global producer of lithium and chrysotile asbestos, the country is also possessed with significant deposits of gold and diamonds.

Add to that the millions of hectares of arable and grazing land, which has historically ensured successful mixed farming and may yet see the country's commercial agricultural sector bounce back to its former glory.

But with a literacy rate that has consistently topped all of Africa, and a massive pool of skilled human resources across all sectors, it goes without saying that Zimbabwe's biggest resource is its people. These are the potential drivers of the country's economic development, if fully harnessed and deployed towards production, innovation and service delivery. However, over the past two decades especially, we've not been spared the exodus of skilled professionals and many others who trekked off to more developed economies in response to globalisation's pull, as well as the push of national economic hardships and political insecurity. Indeed, unofficial estimates claim the country may have lost as much as 60% of its qualified professionals, while up to three million Zimbabweans are believed to have left the country.

In the UK where I live, estimates put the total population of the Zimbabwean community at 400,000 that's about four times the size of a micro-state like The Seychelles. The sheer determination of my compatriots to carve out a space for themselves in their adopted home and get their pound of flesh was the single most inspiring factor that led me to found the Zimbabwe Achievers Awards in 2011.

The awards body was to serve as both a celebration of those small, significant steps of success that Zimbabweans were making as they worked their way up the UK's socio-economic ladder, as well as inspiration and motivation towards even greater achievements. In the seven years of our existence, we've gone from celebrating small community businesses to awarding professional architects delivering multi-million dollar projects across Africa. We've recognised cutting edge tech-start-ups worth millions, freight services serving global markets, and healthcare companies servicing huge government contracts.

Collectively as the Zimbabwean diaspora, we've consistently remitted billions of dollars back home over the years and compelled the government to pay attention to our net contribution to the economy of our home country. Dollarisation has helped cut off the forex black market, ensuring that all remittances go through the official channels. However, remittances are only a fraction of the diaspora's capacity to contribute towards national socio-economic development. To illustrate the limits of remittances to achieve broader community transformation, a case study from Bangladesh is worth referring to. About 95% of all British-Bengalis trace their origins to Sylhet division in north-east Bangladesh. The region receives around US $1billion in remittances every year from expatriate Bengalis in the UK alone and should, in theory, be the wealthiest and healthiest part of the country.

However, as The Guardian reported, "Sylhet has worse literacy and school enrolment rates than all other regions, child malnutrition rates are well over the WHO emergency threshold of 15%, fertility rates are the highest in the country and expectant mothers are more likely to die during child birth in Sylhet than any other part of Bangladesh."

And the reason for this discrepancy between the high volumes of remittances and the overall state of the community is that remittances are transferred to individual households rather than to charity or community development. As the Zimbabwean diaspora, we also find ourselves locked in this phase of financial contribution and have yet to fully inhabit our economic potential by broadening our investment beyond the family to achieve wider developmental impact.

At the Zimbabwe Achievers Awards, we have spread out from our UK base to all major diaspora centres South Africa, USA, and Australia. Through this community vehicle, we've networked with both individual professional Zimbabweans doing great things in their careers as well as entrepreneurs, businesses, social enterprises and philanthropic organisations.

Throughout the networks we've built, the one pulsating passion that courses through all of us is a deep-seated desire to contribute towards Zimbabwe's socio-economic development and make a difference. We've formed partnerships with corporates based in Zimbabwe that are at the forefront of kickstarting the country's brain gain by employing experienced Diaspora professionals and bringing them back home.

This is a trend that we fully support and as we believe that Zimbabwe's critical professional skills are indispensable in the reconstruction of the country after decades of economic lethargy and the loss of much needed human resources. Innovative human resources companies need to step up and start engaging the diaspora labour market to harness key skills and bring them back home, as has happened elsewhere across the world.

In China, for instance, huge numbers of professionals who left their country to study and work, have returned. These so-called "sea turtles" have brought back desirable skills, invaluable networks of international business contacts and innovative ideas to energise the economy.

India, too, has enjoyed a significant brain gain in recent years, with scientists returning home to take advantage of the relative strength of the Indian economy and growing opportunities there. By 2013, according to the scientific journal publishers Elsevier, India had become a net importer of productive scientific talent.

But that does not just happen home governments need to communicate clearly that expatriates are wanted and needed back home. Policymakers need to understand the diaspora and incentivise its involvement in the country's development. Emotional ties alone do not cut it - governments can actively do away with obstacles and create opportunities for diasporas to engage in economic development. Governments must be on their front foot if they are to harvest real benefits from their diaspora.

Even more importantly, the role of the diaspora as investors is very much under-appreciated within our own Zimbabwean context. One of the most prominent examples of diasporas investing in their home country is that of the Chinese. Between 1985 and 2000, the Chinese diaspora accounted for 70 per cent of China's foreign direct investment, which helped fuel the country's rapid economic growth over this period.

There is need for the Zimbabwean diaspora itself, the corporate sector back home as well as the government, to work collaboratively to facilitate diaspora investment. Apart from sending money to families, many in the diaspora do not have the information they need to make decisions about investment, nor do they know what investment opportunities are available.

There is need for mutual encouragement to organise better to facilitate this investment. It is very feasible for health professionals in the UK, for instance, working with government facilitation, to invest in a state of the art hospital that can provide world class medical care and save the country millions in dollars that are spent towards health tourism to India, South Africa, Singapore and other popular destinations.

Likewise, a lot of the infrastructural projects in Zimbabwe can also harness the investment and participation of diaspora-based engineers, many of whom are members of diaspora chapters of the Zimbabwe Institute of Engineers. Many other types of diaspora investment, such as collective investment in community projects through hometown associations, can be fully explored and practical steps towards facilitating them taken.

Clearly, there is a lot of unexplored potential in the Zimbabwean diaspora, and a strong relationship needs to be fostered between the diaspora and the government as well as the corporate and charity/philanthropic sectors. To this end, ZAA International will be hosting a Zimbabwe Economy Forum in Dubai from 21-24 September this year to explore these and other key issues concerning our national economy.

One of the projects I hope to launch at the forum together with partners like Vavaki Architects is a holiday housing complex in the great Victoria Falls that Zimbabweans in the diaspora can buy into. This falls firmly within the greater vision to see a Victoria Falls that will be a leisure and tourist hub of the region, complete with state of the art facilities to complement its world heritage natural offering.

Conrad is Founder of Zimbabwe Achievers Awards and can be contacted via Conrad@cmgmedia.co.uk

Excerpt from:

Zim's biggest resource for economic development is its people - Bulawayo24 News (press release) (blog)

For my undisciplined mind, it was fortuitous that it was Fathers Day weekend as I prepared to write this column. My thoughts kept drifting to memories of when I felt closest to Dad, who died 30 years ago this last March. I eventually realized that many of my memories with Dad involved outdoor recreation and sports boating, swimming, mushroom hunting, pheasant hunting and golfing. We used to take day trips to DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge during the autumn migration, where thousands and thousands of geese would blur the visual line between land and sky as they landed and took flight in waves of endless motion. To this day, anytime I hear or see a flock of geese flying overhead I inexplicably feel closer to him.

Dads active appreciation of Iowas natural resources sharpened my awareness of the incredible bounty of diverse life that it sustains, as well as the subtle, yet sensational landscape features that make Iowa unique. Being the father of eight, he also deeply valued the commercial opportunities offered by the rich soils and powerful rivers that demark our east and west state borders and he favored commercial development that could expand our agriculture-based economy. It is this balance of protecting and preserving Iowa land and waters while also providing a healthy business climate that makes me a strong proponent of funding Iowas Natural Resources and Outdoor Recreation Trust Fund.

On Nov. 2, 2010, a resounding 62.57 percent of Iowans voted their approval of the Iowa Outdoor Recreation Trust Fund Amendment. Meaning, that the next time the Iowa Legislature approves a tax increase, 3/8ths of one cent will go into this dedicated trust fund to be used to protect and enhance water quality, natural areas and outdoor recreation in the state.

At the time, it was estimated that it could generate about $150 million a year, to be apportioned according to a set formula between lake restoration, trails, local conservation partnerships, Iowa Resource Enhancement and Protection, watershed protection, soil conservation and water protection, and natural resources.

According to Iowas Water & Land Legacy (IWILL), less than 10 percent of our wetlands remain. When you look at a watershed map of Iowa, you recognize immediately that this land between two rivers is essentially a filtering system. We have 57 watershed systems - land that drains into a lake or stream - that used to act as natural spaces that helped prevent destructive and costly flooding and offered millions of acres of habitat for water and land wildlife. Recently we've suffered devastating 100- and 500-year floods, we've lost more than five million acres of wetlands and more than 1.6 million acres of habitat used by pheasant and other game (Iowa DNR cites an 85 percent decline in our pheasant harvest), and every year we lose an average of five tons of our rich, productive soil to erosion.

The condition of our water quality is a source of great angst and controversy in Iowa. We've seen the headlines about lawsuits, claims and counterclaims that play into a rural vs. urban dispute. The great benefit about the research behind this trust fund is that it addresses the issue - high levels of eroded sediment carrying excess soil, nutrients and bacteria filtering down through our watersheds into our water sources - by assigning up to two-thirds of the funding for voluntary, non-regulatory, private land conservation projects. Projects that could be implemented on private farm and ranch land as well as in urban areas where storm drains carry lawn and golf course fertilizers and soil displaced by construction into streams and lakes.

There is so much more to discuss - the number and quality of hiking and biking trails, the mandatory annual audits and extensive measures of accountability, the economic impact of outdoor recreation and the sheer quality-of-life factor to attract and keep young families in Iowa. To learn more and to become an effective advocate, I highly recommend visiting IWILL's website. It is a "broad-based coalition ranging from business leaders and farmers to conservationists and sportspersons." Among its many supporters are: Pheasants Forever, Ducks Unlimited, Iowa Bow Hunters Association, Iowa Soybean Association, CF Industries, and mayors of several Iowa cities, including the mayor of Cedar Rapids and our own Sioux City mayor, Bob Scott, who have had to deal with the costly aftermath of ravaging floodwaters.

Please raise your voice in support and let's keep those geese flying over our treasure-filled lands.

Katie Colling is the executive director of Women Aware, a private nonprofit agency. She was elected to two consecutive terms on the Woodbury County Extension Council and serves on several civic-organization boards. She and her husband, Ron, live in Sioux City.

Read the rest here:

THE REGULARS: Iowa trust for natural resources, recreation deserves funding - Sioux City Journal

APRIL is the cruelest month, so said the famous poet TS Eliot. But one wit remarked that June marks the end of May.

Who would have expected that British Prime Minister Theresa May would lose her majority in Parliament in the June election, which was supposed to strengthen her hand in negotiating Brexit with the European Union? This expectation reversal was as big a shock as Brexit or Trumpism. May may have found her Ides of March in June.

In sharp contrast, unlike earlier in the year when everyone was worried about France falling to populist rule under Marine le Pen, a fresh centrist candidate named Macron won, and was rewarded by a handsome legislative majority to carry out his promise to reform France.

In Bangkok this week to refresh memories of July 2, 1997, I was struck by how history seemed to rhyme in 10 year cycles. Next month would mark not only the 20th anniversary of the return of Hong Kong to China, but also the 20th anniversary of the Asian financial crisis, when the baht was devalued.

2007 also marked the 10th anniversary of the US subprime crisis, which together with the European debt crisis, caused a decade of low growth for the advanced economies. Initially, investors hardly noticed the tremors from the subprime crisis.

On July 19, 2007, the Dow Jones Industrial Average touched a record high of 14,000. After an adjustment in August to 13,000, the index dropped below 11,000 on September 15, 2008, following the Lehman failure. It fell to a record twelve-year low of 6,547 on March 9, 2009, recording a 53.2% drop over this period.

Similarly, the Hong Kong Hang Seng Index also crossed the 20,000 milestone on December 28, 2006 and rose to the all-time peak of 31,958 on October 18, 2007. A year later, it lost 66.6% to a low of 10,676 on October 27, 2008.

Ten years later, both indices have once again touched record highs, with the Hang Seng recovering past the 26,000 mark this month, whereas the Dow hit a record peak of 21,528 this week. Because this rally is essentially tech driven, even the Nasdaq index has surpassed its 2000 tech bubble peak of 5,048 to hit a new peak of 6,305 on June 2, 2017.

These market gyrations suggest that another consolidation may be reached sometime soon, except we do not know the exact timing and the trigger.

All we know is the there are many risks out there, including policy uncertainties from whether the Fed would continue to raise interest rates, the sudden re-appearance of inflation and possible geopolitical or natural disaster events.

So far, market worries about Chinas high leverage issues seem to have receded with the stabilisation of US-China relations and better performance at the growth level.

All in all, the markets have priced in so far almost all the Brexit and Trump fears and did not react too much to the recent normalization of Fed interest rates.

The stark reality is that no one knows for sure whether we are in over-priced territory or bubble zone.

The US economy appears to trundle along in reasonable shape, with unemployment numbers reaching new lows. All we do know is asset prices are at record highs, financed by historically high debt and abnormally low interest rates.

In this zone of radical uncertainty, we are no longer sure that the GDP indicator reflects the true state of the economy. GDP measures the old resource-based economy well, but does not capture growth in a data-digital economy.

No economy reflects this contradiction more than China, which has shifted from being the largest assembler of the global supply chain towards a consumption and service-driven economy. Both consumption and services crossed the 50% of GDP levels, moving closer towards an advanced country pattern where consumption and services account for roughly 60-70% or more of GDP.

If China succeeds in this historic transition, with the old resource-consuming industries, like coal, steel, energy, being phased out, even as the new internet economy trims the inefficiencies in the current Chinese distribution system, then China could break through her middle-income trap. But one recalls that South Korea achieved OECD status in December 1996, only to fall into the Asian financial crisis in 1997/8. Mexico did the same in 1994.

All countries go through growing pains, especially what Austrian economist Schumpeter called creative destruction. This transition creates massive winners and also losers.

We see this pattern being reflected in the mixture of top Dow Jones index component companies, whereby the leading tech stocks are being priced to win, whereas the old energy, manufacturing and distribution companies are struggling to maintain their market share.

Given these radical uncertainties, history is replete with the rise and fall of nations, as well as the rise and fall of companies. It teaches humility in forcing us to think holistically on the broader trends, whilst sorting out the signals from the noise.

Emerging markets in Asia today are facing what is called a middle income trap whereby they need to break through a pain barrier to rise to advanced income status. Advanced and aging economies countries like Britain and Japan face the opposite, a high income trap where if major policy mistakes are made, a rich country may slide into stagnation and possible lower income levels.

Ultimately, demographics and geography determine destiny. Asia may face many growing pains and a complex operating environment from disruptive technology and excessive competition, including geopolitical rivalry. Western analysts disdain for Asian demagogues are now being haunted by their own demagogues.

Basically, in the midst of these complex transitions through mega-trends, there is also a governance transition.

The millennial generation is rapidly taking over in terms of consumption lifestyle, innovation and governance style. History suggests that it will not be a bloodless transition.

Despite all such noise, we should do well to remind ourselves that Asia is still where there is still demographic and technological growth. Lets see whether the next market adjustment will stall or disrupt that growth trajectory.

Happy 10th and 20th anniversaries! And Selamat Hari Raya to all my Muslim friends!

Tan Sri Andrew Sheng writes on global issues from an Asian perspective.

See the original post here:

May into June - The Star Online

With current coal reserves of more than 15 billion tons compared to nearly 8.3 billion tons in 2005, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Berat Albayrak late Friday said at an iftar (fast-breaking) dinner held with the employees of Turkish Petroleum (TP) in the northeastern city of Krklareli located in Thrace that the region's potential for coal production coupled with the demand for resources gives rise to the urgent need for developments and the maximizing of those resources for the economy.

In his address to TP employees, Minister Albayrak emphasized the significance of energy as a driving force of the economy, saying: "Energy is essential for a civilization to broaden its horizons and is at the core of a country's economy, industrialization, manufacturing and employment."

Emphasizing that Turkey's national energy strategy necessitates the more efficient use of domestic and renewable resources across the country, including solar and wind powers, coal, hydro-powered energy and natural gas, the minister explained that the production of coal from domestic reserves, which stand between 12-13 percent compared to 40-50 percent in the Europe and worldwide. He further noted that the Ministry aims to increase this rate to 17-18 percent in the near future as energy; particularly energy based on domestic resources, is crucial to the development of the Turkish economy, which outpaces many fellow emerging-market economies.

The minister talked in particular about the abundant resources in Thrace, stressing the coal reserve in Thrace with nearly 2 billion tons. Indicating that Thrace consumes almost one-fifth of Turkey's electricity, the minister underscored that the region has to generate most of its energy from the local reserves located on the other end of Turkey in the eastern Black Sea. To meet the energy demand of the region from the far end of the country, the ministry has to install a very long production line. However, the region will sustain its energy from its local resources as it has a coal reserve worth $50-70 billion in economic value, Minister Albayrak noted. At present, there is only one thermal power plant with a 300-megawatt (MW) capacity but there are a few coal-powered thermal power plants planned for construction in a few Thrace districts.

Coal's share in overall domestic energy

Having grown rapidly over the past decade, Turkey has depended on energy to a great extent. However, since its domestic resources are limited to mostly lignite - a type of coal generally used as a fuel in thermal power plants - and hard coal, it has heavily relied on natural gas for electricity generation.

Amid aims to meet the demand for energy which increased in tandem with industrialization and the population increase, efforts to find new coal fields and develop the existing ones have been sped up within the framework of the national energy strategy. These efforts have highlighted the utilization of domestic resources and lessening the country's dependence on imports in the production of energy since 2005. In addition to the 8.3 billion in existing reserves in 2005, 7.3 billion tons of new lignite reserves were discovered as a result of these explorations, which, in return, expanded the share of coal in overall energy production and consumption.

According to statistics published by the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, by the end of 2015, Turkey possessed 126.9 million tons of Equivalent Petrol (MTEP)* with the share of coal in total primary energy consumption standing at 27.3 percent compared to its share worldwide of 40 percent.

Moreover, the statistics provided by the ministry also revealed that as of the end of 2016, the installed capacity of coal-powered power plants in Turkey was 17.316 MWs, equal to 22.1 percent of the total installed capacity. The installed capacity of domestic coal-fired was 9.437 MWs, corresponding to a 12.1 percent while imported coal-powered capacity was 7.879 MWs, which makes 10 percent of total installed capacity.

In 2016, 32.1 percent of electricity generation was derived from natural gas while 33.9 percent (92.3 terawatt hours) was based on coal. Of the overall electricity generation, 24.7 percent was hydro-based. Wind power, geothermal plants and other resources constituted to 5.7, 1.8 and 1.8 percent of electricity generation, respectively.

The estimated potential in production of lignite coal as a local resource used in energy production in accordance with Turkey's Coal Strategy - is around 25,000 MWs. Once this capacity is commissioned, 32.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas - worth $7.2 billion - can be eliminated from current energy imports.

The development of clean coal technologies

As clean coal technologies are improving on a constant basis with intensive research and development (R&D) investments, the CO2 emissions by coal have decreased to a significant extent. For instance, Germany, secured 43 percent of its energy from coal as the country developed the means to turn one "black" mine to "green."

Determined to further development and advance the application of a range of clean coal technologies, Turkish utilities, technology developers and universities are pursuing a number of projects. There is increasing involvement in international projects and, in many cases, growing links with overseas counterparts.

Gasification is one of the clean coal technologies Turkey employs. It is the process of producing syngas, a mixture consisting primarily of carbon monoxide (CO), hydrogen (H2), carbon dioxide (CO2) methane (CH4) and water (H2O), from coal and water. Historically, coal was gasified using early technology to produce coal gas, which is a combustible gas traditionally used for municipal lighting and heating before the advent of industrial-scale production of natural gas.

The Turkish Coal Enterprises' (TK) gasification-based R&D is focused on three related categories: Namely, conventional gasification plus associated downstream syngas processing - gas cleaning, conditioning and separation underground gasification - and advanced processes.

In 2011, the TK engaged with the investment banking firm Taylor-DeJongh (TDJ) to evaluate a lignite-based gasification project for the production of syngas.

A feasibility study was also funded by the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) on the gasification of Turkish lignites and was completed in 2011. The USDTA provided the TKI with a working grant. The study examined the technical, economic and financial feasibility of converting Turkish lignites to pipeline-quality syngas via gasification.

Coal gasification research is also undertaken by the Energy Center of Ko University Tpra (KTEM), established in 2012 with funds from Turkish oil refiner Tpra primarily to address Turkish energy-related challenges. Main areas of interest are the development of new coal utilization technologies for low-ranking Turkish lignites, synthetic fuel production from coal-derived SNG and the development of associated technologies for gas separation and clean-up.

The private sector is also involved in gasification R&D. In 2011, Zorlu Energy, a subsidiary of Turkey's Zorlu Group, completed construction of a 2 MW pilot-scale fluidised bed gasifier and associated R&D unit. This is operated in partnership with the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TBTAK).

*The MTEP is a unit of energy defined as the amount of energy released by burning one ton of crude oil, which is approximately 11,630 kilowatt hours (kwh).

Read this article:

Domestic coal reserves to promote Turkish economic growth - Daily Sabah

April is the cruellest month, so said the poet TS Eliot. But one wit remarked that June marks the end of May. Who would have expected that British Prime Minister Theresa May would lose her majority in Parliament in the June election, which was supposed to strengthen her hand in negotiating Brexit with the European Union?

In sharp contrast, unlike earlier in the year when everyone was worried about France falling to populist rule under Marine le Pen, a fresh centrist candidate named Emmanuel Macron won, and was rewarded by a handsome legislative majority to carry out his promise to reform France.

In Bangkok this week to refresh memories of July 2, 1997, I was struck by how history seemed to rhyme in 10-year cycles. Next month marks not only the 20th anniversary of the return of Hong Kong to Chinese rule, but also the 20th anniversary of the Asian financial crisis, when the baht was devalued. This year also marks the 10th anniversary of the US subprime crisis, which, together with the European debt crisis, caused a decade of low growth for the advanced economies.

On July 19, 2007, the Dow Jones touched a record high of 14,000. It fell below 11,000 on September 15, 2008, following the failure of Lehman Brothers, then fell to a 12-year low of 6,547 on March 9, 2009, recording a 53.2 per cent drop over the period.

Similarly, the Hong Kong Hang Seng Index rose to an all-time peak of 31,958 on October 18, 2007. A year later, it lost 66.6 per cent and fell to a low of 10,676 on October 27, 2008.

Ten years later, both indices have once again touched record highs, with the Hang Seng recovering past the 26,000 mark this month, while the Dow hit a record peak of 21,528 this week.

These market gyrations suggest that another consolidation may be reached sometime soon, except we do not know the exact timing or trigger. All we know is that there are many risks out there, including policy uncertainties from whether the Fed will continue to raise interest rates, the sudden reappearance of inflation and possible geopolitical or natural disasters.

The stark reality is that no one knows for sure whether we are in overpriced territory or a bubble zone. The US economy appears to be trundling along in reasonable shape, with unemployment figures reaching new lows. All we do know is that asset prices are at record highs, financed by historically high debt and abnormally low interest rates.

In this zone of radical uncertainty, we are no longer sure that GDP reflects the true state of the economy. Gross domestic product measures the old resource-based economy well, but does not capture growth in a data-driven digital economy. No economy reflects this contradiction more than China, which has shifted from being the largest assembler of the global supply chain towards a consumption and service-driven economy. Both consumption and services crossed the 50 per cent of GDP level, moving the country closer towards an advanced-country pattern where consumption and services account for roughly 60-70 per cent or more of GDP.

If China succeeds in this historic transition, it could break through its middle-income trap. But one recalls that South Korea achieved OECD status in December 1996, only to be hit by the Asian financial crisis in 1997-98.

Given these radical uncertainties, history is replete with the rise and fall of nations, as well as the rise and fall of companies

All countries go through growing pains, especially what Joseph Schumpeter called creative destruction. This transition creates massive winners and also losers. We see this pattern being reflected in the mixture of top Dow Jones index component companies, whereby the leading tech stocks are being priced to win, whereas the old energy, manufacturing and distribution companies are struggling to maintain their market share.

Given these radical uncertainties, history is replete with the rise and fall of nations, as well as the rise and fall of companies. It teaches humility in forcing us to think holistically about the broader trends, whilst sorting out the signals from the noise.

Emerging markets in Asia today are facing the middle-income trap, whereby they need to break through a pain barrier to rise to advanced-income status. Advanced and ageing economies like Britain and Japan face the opposite, a high-income trap where a major policy mistake could cause it to slide into stagnation and possible lower income levels.

Ultimately, demographics and geography determine destiny. Asia may face many growing pains and a complex operating environment from disruptive technology and excessive competition, including geopolitical rivalry. Western analysts disdainful of Asian demagogues are now being haunted by their own demagogues.

Despite all the noise, we would do well to remind ourselves that Asia is still where there is demographic and technological growth. Lets see whether the next market adjustment will stall or disrupt that growth trajectory.

Happy 10th and 20th anniversaries!

Andrew Sheng is a distinguished fellow at the Asia Global Institute, University of Hong Kong

See the article here:

How will Asia fare in the next market adjustment? - South China Morning Post

The issue of extreme income inequality in South Africa remains unresolved. Persistent high rates of income inequality impact negatively on political inclusion, social cohesion, and crime. Using the US CIAs most recent GINI index estimates of income inequality, South Africa is ranked second worst behind Lesotho. Countries with a GINI index closer to zero, like Sweden (0.25) and Germany (0.27), have a more equal distribution of family income than countries like South Africa (0.63) and Haiti (0.61). The GINI index paints only a partial picture because a low score does not always indicate a healthy economic situation. The GINI index for Pakistan, for example, is 0.3 but most Pakistanis have much lower incomes and less economic mobility than South Africans.

Countries with a GINI index closer to zero, like Sweden (0.25) and Germany (0.27), have a more equal distribution of family income than countries like South Africa (0.63) and Haiti (0.61). The GINI index paints only a partial picture because a low score does not always indicate a healthy economic situation. The GINI index for Pakistan, for example, is 0.3 but most Pakistanis have much lower incomes and less economic mobility than South Africans.

Is it possible to achieve wealth, high economic mobility, and income equality within a society? In a functioning market, financial profits or losses signal to firms and people, whether their goods and services are in demand. Consequently, for this signalling to work in an unhampered market, income cannot be distributed evenly. But, if people and firms are equipped with the skills and knowledge to consistently adapt to new markets, better levels of equality can still be achieved.

In the modern world, income and wealth generation are based more and more on knowledge and information. The need for workers to acquire a range of skills and to continuously adapt these skills underlies the learning economy. Productivity is driven by tapping into new ideas, innovations and technologies on a global scale. A process that relies heavily on ICT.

South Africa ranks 88 out of 175 countries on the International Telecommunication Unions ICT Development Index, despite having high rates of mobile phone penetration and high secondary school enrolment. Ranked first on the Index is South Korea, a remarkable achievement for a country that was one of the poorest in the world 50 years ago.

Few countries have embraced the knowledge economy as much as resource poor South Korea. The countrys 15-year-olds are consistently ranked highly in reading literacy, maths and science scores in PISA tests. The working population is highly educated and unemployment is low. The country scores 0.3 on the CIAs GINI index despite having the second lowest public social spending (10.4% of GDP) amongst the OECD countries.

A strong emphasis on the importance of education, secure property rights, an independent and efficient judicial system, a competitive private banking system, and an excellent ICT sector have helped South Koreans to prosper. The country has moved from rags to riches at an astonishing pace. Intergenerational income mobility is high, and South Koreans are wealthier than South Africans when comparing every income group, from the poorest to the billionaires.

Policy makers can attempt to distribute more income from the abundantly rich to the poor to lower inequality, but this cannot be done on a global scale, and it is a strategy that views the size of the wealth pie as being limited. Economics is not a zero-sum game. In a resource-based economy, your potential wealth is restricted by finite resources. In a knowledge-based economy, your potential wealth is unrestricted.

Raising taxes on high income earners or creating capital movement controls will often have the opposite of desired effects. In todays connected world, skills and businesses are mobile and wish to operate in an unrestricted business environment. Many South African entrepreneurs are choosing to move to other countries because it is difficult to take businesses beyond the incubation phase into a global market.

Mark Shuttleworth, another local tech entrepreneur who now lives in the Isle of Man, believes that exchange controls prevent small South African businesses from building global operations. South African tech entrepreneur Vinny Lingham, who now lives in California, believes that a lack of competition and Telkom are stifling the ICT industry.

South Africa needs to raise and, ultimately, remove the glass ceiling that bureaucracy has placed on entrepreneurship and our information society. Capital movement controls should be lifted and a more competitive ICT industry established. The ability to move capital freely will also attract foreign investment. South Africa should fully privatise the telecommunications sector and relax regulations and the spectrum bottleneck preventing expansion and new entrants.

Less bureaucracy, and a strong focus on ICT and education will help South Africa to embrace the information age and create new wealth opportunities for everyone. Better equality can be achieved without discouraging businesses and entrepreneurs. Taxes that redistribute income are difficult to implement fairly, administratively intensive, expensive, and open to corruption. We should focus more on implementing policies that uplift the poor, rather than trying to tackle inequality with taxes. If there is not enough pie for everyone, make more pie.

Luke Muller is an independent economist.

See the article here:

Op-Ed: Tackling inequality in the information age - CNBCAfrica.com

NEW DELHI: India and Iceland may establish direct air connectivity by next year, which will provide a fillip to the tourism sector of both the countries.

Ambassador of Iceland to India Thorir Ibsen made the announcement during a media interaction here today. He said an Iceland-based private carrier might provide the services.

Ibsen said tourism, apart from renewable energy, was one of the biggest contributors to the Nordic country's resource- based export economy and India's share in it had risen steadily over the last three years.

"The two countries may have direct air connectivity by the fall (autumn) of 2018. A private Iceland carrier may start operating," Ibsen told reporters at the Foreign Correspondents' Club.

Ibsen, who took office in September 2014, said India's share in Iceland's tourism sector might not reflect in terms of absolute figures, but it had increased by about 50 per cent over the last three years.

He informs that trade between the two countries stands at around 60 million US dollars, with India's share being nearly one-third of the total, which can be "much more".

Although India and Icelands's political relations date back to 1972, it was only in 2006 that Iceland established its embassy in New Delhi.

The embassy's jurisdiction also includes Bangladesh, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Nepal, the Seychelles, South Africa and Sri Lanka.

Presently, one has to fly via Europe to reach the Nordic country.

Read the original:

India-Iceland direct air connectivity likely by 2018 - Economic Times

Emma Okonji

Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Experts have raised the alarm over possible threat to ICT development in the country, following what they described as network incompatibility to the current Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6).

They spoke at the international capacity building and enhancement workshop on IPv6, organised by the Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), in collaboration with African Network Information Centre (AFRINIC) in Lagos recently.

The experts warned that except network operators in the country align and migrate their networks to IPv6, the ICT sector would suffer major setbacks.

President of ATCON, Olusola Teniola, said the need to migrate to IPv6 was long overdue. He expressed the displeasure of ATCON members who are not particularly happy that majority of networks in Nigeria are not IPv6 compatible, which he said, posed serious threat to the Nigerian ICT development.

Stressing the importance of IPv6 to ICT development, the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Professor Umar Garba Danbatta, said IPv4 addresses have been exhausted, and in order for the internet to continue sustaining its growth, IPv6 addresses are needed.

While the exhaustion of IPv4 addresses is a global phenomenon, the need for IPv6 is even more urgent in Nigeria being the fastest growing ICT Industry in Africa and beyond. IPv6 will enable an enormous increase in the number of internet addresses currently available under IPv4, Danbatta said.

According to him, the current generation of IPv4 has been in use and has supported internets growth over the last decades. With the increased use of mobile devices including wireless handheld devices, the increasing popularity of cloud computing and the emergence of the Internet Of Things, which connects everything like appliances and vehicles to the Internet, the need for IP addresses becomes even more prevalent, Danbatta said.

The Director General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Dr. Isa Ali Pantami, said advanced countries have moved from natural resource-based economy to knowledge-based economy and that it was achieved through massive capacity development and implementation of information technology (IT). These countries have not only been able to develop IT, but have also utilised IT in the development of other social economic sectors of their countries, so that these sectors can generate wealth. I am optimistic that this can be achieved in Nigeria, with the implementation of NITDAs mandate and the implementation of issues raised at the IPv6 workshop, Pantami said. According to Teniola, the Nigerian ICT sector could no longer afford to take the back seat in the global ICT development. To leapfrog the adoption of IPv6, ATCON has taken a further step to involve NCC and NITDA to further lead the campaign for the adoption of IPv6.

The dividend pervasive broadband may be farfetched if as an industry or a country we are not working towards broadband meeting with technology. As we all know that when Internet of Things (IoTs) take their place in our country, an individual may need more than ten IP addresses to enjoy the benefits that come with IoTs, Teniola said.

Read this article:

'Network Incompatibility with IPv6 Poses Threat to ICT Devt' - THISDAY Newspapers