Interesting things about Africa

On November 23, 2005 in Liberia, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was democratically elected as the first female president in modern African history. According to news reports on the election, she took 59% of the vote compared to 41% for football star George Weah

On Sunday February 11, 1990 after 27 years in jail, Mr Nelson Mandela walked out of prison a free man. He walked to freedom through the gates of Victor Verster jail near Cape Town, hand in hand with his then wife, Winnie, to meet a waiting crowd of supporters and the ranks of the world's media. He greeted the crowd with a clenched fist salute, then walked back to his car before leaving at the head of a long cavalcade for Cape Town along a route lined with emotional well-wishers.

In May 1963 the leaders of 32 Independent African nations convened in Addis Ababa. The Heads of State summit which was held between May 23rd and 25th brought the Organization of Africa Unity (OAU) into being. It became the vanguard of Africa's political emancipation. Its history is the history of the formation of modern Africa and a result of the vision of Pan-Africanists like Kwame Nkrumah, and the other founders of the OAU. Their goal was to unite the African continent politically and economically on its own terms.

On the 9th August 1956, twenty thousand women marched to the Union Buildings in Pretoria South Africa in protest of the pass laws. These women refused to abide by the law that belittled women and confined them only to the kitchens as slaves to their male counterparts. They refused to be labelled the weaker sex. They succeeded in challenging the very Apartheid government, whilst still holding down jobs and raising their children. Fifty years later, women from all walks of life, and colour celebrated the extraordinary lengths these courageous women went to to, ensure women’s freedom and recognition as mothers of the country.

The San people of South Africa have used thi cactus-like plant for generations to keep hunger at bay while out hunting. Scientists isolated the chemical (p57) from the plant and it is now being marketing and sold in developed countries as a diet aid (appetite suppressant)The San people also stand to earn 6% of all royalties from the drug sales estimated to be about US$9.4mill a year.

Copper is one of the major groups of commercial metals. It is used extensively in cables and wires, electrical contacts,car radiators, heat exchangers, home heating systems and in pipes and valves that carry aqueous fluids. Zambia is the 4th largest producer of copper in the world and the 2nd for cobalt which is used to produce alloys used in the manufacture of aircraft engines, magnets, grinding and cutting tools, artificial hip and knee joints. Export of both make up 80% of Zambia's exports earnings

Vernonia is a biologically active compound that may improve the environment in industrial areas and holds promise as a significant new cash crop for African farmers, all of which has researchers worldwide buzzing. Products that can be made from the vernonia plant include epoxies for manufacturing adhesives, varnishes and paints, and industrial coatings. The use of vernonia oil also has environmental benefits, since it could reduce emissions associated with photochemical pollution It is found in Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.

Africa possesses 99 percent of the world's chrome resources, 85 percent of its platinum, 70 percent of its tantalite, 68 percent of its cobalt, and 54 percent of its gold.

The DRC is one of the richest mining countries in Africa. Its copper, diamond and cobalt mining industries are potentially the largest on the continent. Congo was the world’s fourth largest producer of diamonds during the 1980’s. Congo is one of the largest exporters of minerals in Africa

Ivory Coast and Ghana produce 55% of the world’s cocoa