Date: Sat, 16 May 2009 13:14:32 +0000 [05/16/2009 08:14:32 AM CDT]
From: katex john
Subject: Re: Global Crisis: what is your take

Am not an expert on global financial systems but I think Africa has a skewed balance of trade on the global arena. May be it’s time we came up with stronger financial blocks and systems within the continent and traded among ourselves more (South – South relationships) instead of North-South.. For instance we rely on the dollar, Euro, Japanese yen. Do we have any common currency for Africa either as North Africa, West Africa, East Africa or even Southern Africa? What has prevented us from fronting one currency e.g the Kenyan shilling, Moroccan money, Nigerian cidi or South African rand and adopting it widely across Africa? It is illogical to have Zimbabweans adopt the American dollar in the face of their weakening currency. This is one way where African economists have failed.. If there was one we would have adopted it like yesterday and we wouldn’t be suffering the ripple effects of a suffocating dollar or Euro. See how the Sterling pound is behaving at the moment. What if we were relying on it for our transactions?

— On Sat, 16/5/09, Kombo Ogaro wrote:

From: Kombo Ogaro
Subject: Global Crisis: what is your take
Date: Saturday, 16 May, 2009, 3:05 PM

The gloabl crisis has hard hit many countries, and most developing coutries like Kenya are experiencing tha aftermath. can some tell me what can we do as Africans to ensure wea re safe from other future such crisis. Robert Mugabeof Zimbambwe was responsible for the Zimbambwe crisis, Daniel arap Moi initiated the down trend of our economy – as a finance minister what will be your take ifinvited to address the Congress in a weeks time on the global crisis?

Kombo Elijah