Africa is the last true wild frontier in the world; its wildlife racks up more than $30 billion annually.
But, in countries such as Zimbabwe, less money is reaching the government and animal extinction is becoming a reality.
The ruthless killing of Cecil the Lion in Zimbabwe sent shockwaves around the world. It raises the question of whether Africa is getting a raw deal for its wildlife.
In 2012, the tourism sector contributed 10% to Zimbabwe’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the projection was that by this year it should have reached 15%. Statistics for this year are only available in 2016 but there has been a surge in tourists, particularly from the United States.
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Some American tourists, though, have been caught on the wrong side of the law by participating in unsanctioned lion hunts.
Johnny Rodrigues, a wildlife conservationist, believes the biggest problem standing in the way of animal conservation in Zimbabwe is corruption.
“In the case of Cecil, an American tourist bribed guides for $55,000 to kill a lion that was at the center of major international research. There are many such cases that go unreported,” he says.
In the past 20 years, the lion population in Africa has been depleted by 30%. As of 2014, it is estimated that there are only 30,000 left on the continent.
Zimbabwe has a population of around 1,600 lions, most of which are kept in protected areas away from hunters. Between 1999 and 2009, it was recorded that 800 lions were killed in legal hunts but it is understood that many more were killed in illegal hunts.
Lions, rhino, elephant, giraffe and buffalo are the most popular targets for hunters, but some lesser known animals are also caught up in the illicit trade.
Langton Masunda, a tour operator in Zimbabwe, says poachers and illegal hunters are more equipped and better funded than government rangers. This gives them an obvious advantage over those trying to save the country’s wild animals.
“They have more sophisticated weaponry, are usually better trained and they have communication equipment that the government does not have,” says Masunda.
Not so long ago, more effort was put into protecting the rhinoceros, but poachers shifted their focus to elephants. Zimbabwe has an elephant population of 85,000, with around 30,000 of those being calves. Because of the demand in the Asian market, poachers targeted the elephant at an industrial scale.
“Water sources were contaminated with cyanide. Hundreds would drop dead and in the process other animals, which the poachers had no use for, died too. Even people in rural communities surviving on the same water sources were affected. What makes it bad is that in many cases locals in poverty stricken communities would assist poachers,” says Masunda.
Although they have a harsh penal system for poaching, countries such as South Africa are havens for illegal hunts.
“Each year, more than 20,000 elephants – possibly up to 35,000 – are killed by poachers for their tusks, which are shipped to ivory markets, predominantly in countries such as China and Thailand. In 2014, 1,215 rhinos were killed in South Africa alone, which, when compared with the 13 killed by poachers in 2007, represents a more than 9,000 percent increase in rhino poaching,” says a World Economic Forum report.
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The spiraling poaching figures are driven by the Asian market. In countries such as China and Vietnam, it is believed the rhino horn has medicinal properties that can cure everything from headaches to cancer. Elephant tusks are crushed into a powder and used to make aphrodisiacs, among other things.
The development of rural communities is also a factor that opens trade links with the rest of the world. It makes smuggling easier.
But, in Southern Africa, there is hope that some of the targeted animals can be saved, especially at the Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA) that brings together Zambia, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Angola and Botswana.
KAZA is the world’s largest wildlife park, slightly bigger than Italy.
In 2014, on the Botswana side of the park, President Ian Khama banned hunting to preserve the animals. As an alternative, the country is investing in luxurious camps. Last year alone, it was estimated that tourism brought in $337.5 million. A few greedy tourists with rifles should not be allowed to decimate this important source of income.

The Bullets Killing More Than Animals

Re-benchmarked, readjusted, refurbished; whichever term you choose to use, Nigeria’s GDP has been given a statistical facelift and the results reveal that the size of its economy has leapfrogged South Africa to become the biggest on the continent.
Twenty four years after its last rebasing exercise, Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has released the country’s new estimate of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Now estimated at $510 billion for 2013, the rebasing effect values Nigeria’s GDP at almost double the previous year’s World Bank estimate.
To many economists, Nigeria’s rise to become the top economy in Africa came as little surprise. Given the delayed rebasing &#8211; usually practiced by countries every few years &#8211; it is widely acknowledged that Nigeria, economically, was probably ahead of South Africa three or four years ago. Whereas previous estimates relied on 1990 as the base year for calculations, the revised estimate uses the year 2010, now taking into account key sectors that were otherwise overlooked, such as telecoms, professional services, and entertainment.
What the NBS has achieved isn’t quite as crude as putting lipstick on a pig, as some have suggested, but perhaps more like reclassifying beauty so the pig is more appealing to look at. Lipstick or no lipstick – it’s still the same pig, just around 93% bigger than previously thought.
Without the context of GDP per capita or developmental statistics, such as life expectancy and adult literacy, it’s been tempting for Nigerians to draw false positives from their nation’s recalculated size. Indeed, with the country’s rising poverty levels, as reported by the same statistics bureau a year earlier, many outside the country have greeted the rebased figure with cynicism. It’s probably the equivalent of that noisy neighbor who boasts of living in the biggest mansion of a small town, bereft of the minor necessities of constant electricity, running water and a paved road to drive to it.
So, does the size of Nigeria’s GDP really matter? The simple answer is, yes, and by a great deal too. A larger GDP places Nigeria at the forefront of conversation regarding Africa’s development, even more so than it has previously.
When global investors look to deploy resources in Africa, Nigeria’s GDP, coupled with its already massive population, means it can&#8217;t be ignored. As the scale of investment nations attract will principally be driven by their economic size, this could make a world of difference. Potentially, Nigeria could receive a larger consideration for investment compared to competing economies, even those viewed as more stable. As outlined in the NBS’s report, Nigeria has achieved a lower debt to GDP ratio, falling from 19% to 11%, thereby, at least in theory, increasing Nigeria’s capacity to borrow and attract higher levels of Foreign Direct Investment.
However, don’t expect Nigeria to displace South Africa as the top investment destination anytime soon. Critical infrastructure such as highways, rail and ports required to attract investment remain insufficient. The country might as well be shouting: “Invest in Nigeria. We may have poor road, port and rail infrastructure, but our GDP is huge.” It won’t convince many as an investment slogan.
For Nigeria to realize the rapid development as achieved by its MINT counterparts, Mexico, Indonesia and Turkey, investment needs to be channelled towards infrastructure development for the benefit of sectors outside oil exportation. Areas such as agriculture and manufacturing need more focus. Increased borrowing power offers the ideal opportunity to attract the required funding for such investments. Only when Nigeria begins to bridge the infrastructure divide will the real impact of its GDP size be felt by the masses. It’s not about the size of the economy but what is done with that size that ultimately counts.
In defence of the NBS, it has never claimed that the new GDP estimates translate into a changed or improved Nigerian economy. The new figures are simply about having better measurements. It’s about providing a better understanding of Nigeria’s economic structure, under which investment decisions can be made, such as increasing Nigeria’s weak non-oil tax revenue base.
For Nigeria to make that much needed leap forward, the stark realities of its income inequality, low GDP per capita and living standards need to be confronted head on. As well as infrastructure, the game changer will be education and up-skilling to put Nigeria’s massively unemployed and underemployed populace to work.
So, while a larger GDP may not immediately equate to the rapid improvement Nigerians have longed for, the rebased figure should kick-start the conversation for which the accelerated development needs. Much credit should be given to the NBS for achieving this feat.
Beyond bragging rights, Nigeria’s rebased GDP offers opportunities for Africa’s giant to really awaken. With Nigeria scheduled for a reweighting of its inflation index by the end of 2014 and another rebasing in 2016, we may well see this pig begin to fly someday.

Will This Pig Fly?

The South African adult sex industry is big business. And while some of you may blush and titter at my choice of phrase, it is impossible to ignore the fact that many players in the sector are coining it.
Although no official statistics are available, insiders say it is a multibillion-dollar industry. And if attendance figures at Africa’s largest sex expo are anything to go by, the sector is booming, as more and more women rid themselves of the shackles of conservatism.
Arthur Calamaras, who jokingly dubs himself the ‘king of porn’, is the franchise owner of Sexpo in South Africa. This year he had hoped 50,000 people would attend the four-day exhibition in September. In the end, 45,000 visited the health, sexuality and lifestyle expo, which is still considered a respectable number.
The face of consumers of adult sex products is changing dramatically. The stereotype of pimply teenagers or lecherous old men no longer applies. Women are getting into the game in their droves, with more women than men attending Sexpo.
Calamaras says one reason for women’s increased interest in Sexpo and porn shops in general is that women are now designing sex toys. So not only are they prettier, but they come in ergonomic shapes and have innovative features.
In addition, market players wanting to attract women, especially rich women, have opened upmarket, lux-urious adult shops.
One example is sensuality boutique Lola Montez. Owner Sharon Gordon, a qualified human rights lawyer, opened Lola Montez as she believed it was time to be an activist for what is regarded as one of the most important aspects in a relationship – sex. Gordon was newly divorced at the time.
“At the same stage I was going through that whole dilemma… that women over 40 go through, that no one is ever going to love me again, that I am never going to have sex again.
“I thought that rather than playing at the one-night stand thing, I needed a vibrator. So off I went to one of ‘those shops’ and had the worst experience of my life,” she recalls.
Gordon then traveled to Australia, England and the United States to establish what was going on in the adult sex market internationally. She came back to South Africa and opened Lola Montez more than a decade ago, becoming one of the first women to enter the local industry.
“I really started it from a point that nobody needs to feel dirty about their sexuality and that I could do this better than it was being done.”
Gordon believes that at the time, other than in San Francisco in the US, she had the first store where people could actually touch a vibrator before deciding whether or not to buy it.
“When you come to a Lola store it’s a holistic experience. You will get educated, you will be able to touch and feel. It’s all about feeling comfortable with your sensuality and your sexuality in a safe and educated environment.”
Calamaras has also shifted focus in his 65 Adult World shops, as women are driving the sales.
“I have started introducing more female lines. In the last three years, demographics have changed a lot. As we revamp each store, we change the look and feel to make women feel more comfortable,” he explains.
He agrees that to cater for women, products had to undergo a makeover.
“The vibrator has changed from what it was 10 years ago. It has multi-speeds. Medically, products are safer, more thought is put into design; it’s more cosmetic than looking like a genital.”
Charmaine Brewis, who owns Lady Jane, an exclusive adult toy and lingerie shop in Durban, South Africa, says most of her clientele are 35 and older, married, or have high disposable incomes. She says her customers do not bat an eyelash at paying $300 for a product.
“A lot of women who come in are going through menopause and they have taken responsibility for their sexual life because it is affecting their relationships. So then they will come in and they will buy a vibrator or something like that,” explains Brewis.
Gordon, who describes herself as a relationship engineer, believes adult toys can help improve connections. “We fix the relationship with yourself and the relationship with your partner because we can educate you. At the end of the day, they are toys. That’s what they are. They are to play,”
she says.
One of the most popular services Lola Montez offers is a ‘couple’s event’. Partners go to the store together and do several exercises to establish where they are in their relationship. They are then given communication techniques to help express to one another what it is they want. Afterwards, staff members assess what the couple would be interested in and are able to advise them on purchases.
Although there has been a surge in internet sites selling sex toys, Gordon says Lola Montez still sells more in-store. This is especially common with first-time buyers who are unsure what they are looking for.
“That first buy is always within the comfort of: are you a clit or G-spot girl? Are you allergic to latex?”
And yes, she does count well-known women among her clients. “They come into the store and it’s quite interesting because the minute that it’s a personality and you are supposed to recognize them, we just make as if we don’t know who they are. And the minute you do that, all of a sudden they are just a person, and you sell what you need to sell,” she says.
As with most businesses, the economic slowdown has had a negative impact on the industry and the middle class is making fewer purchases. Gordon believes this is a grave mistake.
“Essentially we are a luxury item. We are not bread and milk. You can still have sex without us. My big thing is that that’s thinking wrong. You actually have to have us.
“What’s the first thing that walks out the back door when financial woes walk through the front? It’s your sex life and your relationship. If you are maintaining it by buying naughtiness and sexiness and making sure that you are keeping your relationship and self-esteem in play, then you should be buying our product and therefore we should be at the top of the grocery list.”
Although there is money to be made, both Calamaras and Gordon say the sex industry is not an easy one to break into. And as a woman, the stigma attached to the sector makes it more difficult for Gordon. Some women refuse to sit next to her when she attends her son’s rugby games. Others keep their husbands far away from her in case she steals them.
This attitude and perception is changing in South Africa, but in the rest of Africa, the picture is very different. In the vast majority of African countries, sex toys are illegal. Women either have to make their purchases secretly in other countries, or find other ways to spice up their sex lives.

Tag: Statistics

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