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INSIDE AFRICA

Africa: Perception Versus Reality

Aired December 30, 2006 - 12:30:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

FEMI OKE, HOST: Hello, I'm Femi Oke. This is INSIDE AFRICA, your weekly look at life and news on the continent. Coming to you this week from Moya's (ph) restaurant at Zoo Lake (ph) in Johannesburg. It's more than just a restaurant; it's more of an African experience. Their motto here is modern sophisticated African, which fits in beautifully to our theme this week, which is all about image and a lot about perceptions. How can the African continent abolish some of those old stereotypes, and make way for fresh interpretation? That's exactly what some African countries are trying to do. Let's take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning, Uganda, it's a bright...

OKE (voice-over): It's hard enough to market a business, let alone a country. But whether trying to attract tourism or investment, it's catching on. And for good reason, says Simon Anholt, who advises countries on just how to convey more favorable images.

SIMON ANHOLT, GOVERNMENT ADVISER: The countries have images, and those images are very important to them. If you've got a bad image, everything is impossible, as is the case of most African countries. If you've got a good image, everything is so much easier.

OKE: Most agree that Africa, the entire continent, could stand some improvement in the area. Emeka Okator is (inaudible) director of TedGlobal 2007, an initiative that aims to spotlight Africa's talented people and opportunities to the world.

EMEKA OKATOR, TEDGLOBAL: It's very evident that Africa battles with this problem of perception. The perception being one of disease, of war, breakdown of societal structures, and so on.

OKE: But in the case of Africa, it's clearly more than just perception. The images that flash across our television screens are all too real, but, says Okator, Africa is so much more. But that can be a difficult point to make to the rest of the world, even with those who want to help.

ANHOLT: Because you have a lot of very well meaning and very effective people like Bob Geldof and Bono, who have enormous power over the media, and stand up on the TV every day of the week branding Africa as one big bad black basket case. Now, this is great if you want to generate charity, and a lot of those counties do need charity, and of course Geldof and Bono do a lot of good work. But without meaning to, they also cause a lot of harm, because what they're doing is they're creating this very strongly negative brand for the whole of Africa. And if you're an entrepreneur in Botswana or Uganda or Tanzania or anywhere else, or a tourist resort, or a manufacturer, and you're trying to get visitors and customers and investors, the net brand works against you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... presents "Sights and Sounds of the Gambia".

OKE: So, how do you shed light on the brighter side of Africa?

EMEKA OKATOR, TEDGLOBAL: It's coming from the bottom or primarily from the citizen media type, the bloggers, who are covering Africa to an extent it has never been covered before. There's strong belief that the rest of the world will catch up as this process accelerates.

OKE: While swooping marketing campaigns may serve to accentuate a country's strength, Anholt cautions that they're pointless unless the country itself lives up to that image in policy, business and other areas.

ANHOLT: One of the most dangerous ideas that's out there in the developing world today is this idea which unfortunately is catching on very quickly, that branding is some kind of magic trick, and if only a country could raise a Nike-size marketing budget, they could have a Nike-size brand in three months, and it simply doesn't work like that.

The reputation can only be earned. It can't be constructed.

OKE: And how do Africans feel about the way their continent is perceived?

OKATOR: They do accept the fact that they have challenges, but they're not overburdened by these challenges. They do not wake up on a daily basis thinking that it's -- all is lost. So when they put on their television and look and see what others see of Africa, in many ways it's very alien.

OKE: As alien as these pictures of Africa, however true, appears to many in the West.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

OKE: Here in Johannesburg, there are a lot of Nigerians. And I'm one of them. And some anti-Nigerian jokes too mean for me to show to you on TV, but isn't it interesting that Nigeria, one of the most powerful nations on the African continent, has an image problem, and the government is spending millions to try and fix it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OKE: There are around 140 millions Nigerians - give or take a million or two, and all about to get a makeover.

Nigeria's government is running a campaign called "The Heart of Africa," part of an ongoing effort to try and change the country's image.

FRANK NWEKE JR., MINISTRY OF INFORMATION: The Heart of Africa project is a conscious effort on the part of the people of Nigeria to tell their story. This is the belief of government policy (ph), and the people of Nigeria believe that Nigeria has been unfairly and unjustly profiled by the international media in a very negative way.

OKE: But Nigeria knows it has real problems behind the image.

NWEKE: (inaudible).

OKE: Nigeria's ad campaign is not just about glossy pictures. The government is also reaching out the people to project a better image.

Jeff Koinange was CNN's Lagos bureau chief for four years.

JEFF KOINANGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: If you say I'm from Nigeria, they say, oh, you're a con man. You send e-mails to people demanding money, you take advantage of people. You're corrupt, you're thieves, you're crooks, you name it - every bad word in the book - that's what people see of Nigerians. And yet, that's not the way it is. It's just a tiny percentage of those people.

OKE: In 2005, a Kenyan company Camerapix worked on a similar campaign. One shot made the commercial memorable.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome to Nigeria, the heartbeat of Africa.

SALIM AMIN, CEO, CAMERAPIX: I think it was different because we had the head of state, President Obasanjo, doing appeals to camera, which is very unusual for a president to actually sign off on a commercial.

OKE: This is the latest Nigeria promotional ad. When I asked how much the image campaign was costing, I was told the budget was endless. Nigeria's going all out to improve its image and attract business.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now, in 24 hours, investors can register a company or business name, secure work permit and residence.

OKE: The message the government wants to try and get out - forget the country's negative image. Doing business is easy in Nigeria.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

OKE: We used to see stories from Uganda about war, but this next one is about change. Nick Valencia reports from Uganda, where he introduces us to some entrepreneurs who are showcasing the best of their country.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This isn't Paris or even Milan. It's Kampala, Uganda, and this fashion show is one sign of the changing times in this small East African nation. This show, put on by internationally acclaimed fashion designer Sylvia Owori, attracted socialites from across the globe.

In a country known more for conflict than for beauty, it's difficult to imagine this kind of glamour would exist. But in the 21st century, Uganda is re-branding its image.

SYLVIA OWORI, FASHION DESIGNER: Uganda - Uganda, we want to, you know, move with the world. We don't want to be left behind just because of our stereotypes and what we believe in.

VALENCIA: This year, Owori won a presidential award for encouraging social transformation in Uganda. On this night, her event showcased some of the development in her home country.

THEMBA MNGOMEZULU, FASHION DESIGNER: I think it kind of like shows a lot of creativity that (inaudible) creativity (inaudible), and I think it also creates like a lot of opportunity for international buyers, and, you know, manufactures to come to the city and check out and see if they can order some things.

VALENCIA: One third of Uganda's population still lives below the poverty line. But the country has one of the fastest growing economies in Africa. With the support of foreign countries and international agencies like the IMF, Uganda has been slowly rehabilitating its economy, and the increase of foreign investment is helping change the country's infrastructure. But surprisingly, most of Uganda's growth is coming from within.

MAGGIE KIGOZI, UGANDA INVESTMENT AUTHORITY: Now, could you say most of my investment comes from Ugandan investors. That's true. They're picking up very, very fast. In the last four years, Uganda has been the biggest investor in Uganda.

VALENCIA: City tycoon Sudhir Ruparelia is among those Ugandans. He's a diversified businessman, who has estate in seven industries ranging from flower exporting to banking. He says he built his empire from the bottom up, creating nearly 3,000 jobs for his countrymen in the process.

SUDHIR RUPARELIA, CEO RUPARELIA GROUP: So we have opportunity for a bigger economy. It's still maybe (inaudible), but anybody who's interested in Africa, Uganda is a good opportunity.

Where this country has from in last 20 years of civil war, we have now a country which is stabilized, you know, we have very stable government.

VALENCIA: Ruparelia says there are still many misconceptions about Uganda, especially in the West.

RUPARELIA: It's quite amazing when people who never went to Africa come to Uganda and first thing they say is, my God, this country is green -- because all they hear and see is in the West, in America, is about deserts, young kids with running nose, or flies all over him. That's what people in Europe see, in America.

VALENCIA: Convincing the world that times here are changing has not been easy. Poverty still prevails in the streets of Uganda, and a 20-year old civil war continues to plague the country. But as people and events like these become more common, the hope is that the world will eventually begin to appreciate Uganda more for what it is than what it isn't.

Nick Valencia, CNN, Kampala, Uganda.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

OKE: Coming up, we explore the pervasive myths about Africa, what's perception and what's reality. That's just ahead on INSIDE AFRICA. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

OKE: Hello again from Moya's (ph) restaurant at Zoo Lake (ph) in Johannesburg, where the motto is modern, sophisticated African. (inaudible), the gorgeous Juliet here, one of our servers.

JULIET DUBI, MOYO RESTAURANT : Hello, how are you? Welcome to Moya (ph).

OKE: She is not shy. So here, you can eat African food?

DUBI: You can eat a lot of African food, yeah, including side orders like couscous and peb (ph). Peb (ph) is food made from maize.

OKE: And there is African entertainment?

DUBI: There is African entertainment, lots of live entertainment here at Moya (ph).

OKE: You can even buy the stunning furniture?

DUBI: You can even buy African furniture (inaudible) on sale here at Moya (ph).

OKE: You're -- you're so good. Get out of my shot. Thank you so much.

And the image that many see of Africa is not the one that you see here at Moya's (ph) restaurant. It's one conflict and starvation. That's just a part of Africa's story. The continent also produces high-end products, brisk investment opportunities, and contributes to peacekeeping around the world. Carol Pineau explores some of the myths about Africa.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAROL PINEAU, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the Africa most people know: An Africa of poverty, disease and despair. The truth is, Africa is a lot more complex. There are wars, notably in Darfur, but overall, the number of conflicts is markedly down. And Africans serve as peacemakers, too. Of the U.N.'s 16 peacekeeping missions throughout the world, Africans are deployed in almost all of them.

Half of Africa lives on a dollar or less a day, and while that clearly makes daily life a struggle, it looks nothing like this, the stereotypical image of Africa. This is of people living and often dying on pennies a day.

Many of the images we see daily are of refugees, and while even one person suffering at these depths is a moral outrage, they comprise less than one percent of Africa's total population.

The Live 8 concert in the G-8 where Africa topped the agenda helped make 2005 a comparatively good year for foreign aid. According to the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development, total development assistance to sub-Saharan Africa in 2005 totaled $31.4 billion. In perspective, in 2004, Americans spent more than 21 billion on ice cream.

Africa's exports have traditionally been natural resources, agriculture and low-level manufacturing. But if you drive a recent Mercedes or BMW 3- series, it may very well have been produced in Africa. And the latest Boeing jets -- Africans manufactured some of the components.

According to U.N. trade figures, Africa offers the highest return on foreign direct investment in the world, nearly 30 percent. Many Fortune 500 companies do brisk business in Africa.

The continent's stock markets regularly appear on lists of top foreign exchanges in the world.

And so, while this maybe the Africa you know, this and this and this are also part of Africa today.

Carol Pineau for CNN's INSIDE AFRICA, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

OKE: So, why is the image of Africa so fixed in peoples' minds, and what can be done to make lasting changes? Isha Sesay spoke to journalist and filmmaker Carol Pineau.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PINEAU: It's so much a part of our culture. It's not even the media. People think that blaming the media for negative coverage is the problem. I think it's just a pervasive sort of story that we tell within our culture. You know, that Africans are starving, that's who they are, and it's as simple as that.

Of course, it's not. This starts when we're very young, and we're told by our mothers, eat everything on your plate; there are starving children in Africa. You know, that's when it starts. And journalists go through the same upbringing as everybody else, and they see Africa that way. Their editors do. They go to school and they got taught about Africa in the same way as everybody else: Africans are starving, that's all there is. So it's really a pervasive thing throughout our entire culture. It's not just the media. The media is just a result of that.

ISHA SESAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Is this based in racial prejudice?

PINEAU: You know, the obvious thing that people say is, yes, of course. And I don't know, I think that it's just such a long-standing beliefs that we have.

And I think also it's our lack of understanding of how to deal with poverty. We have this just complete idea that aid and throwing more money is the way to deal with poverty. And there is really no evidence to that. If you look at the years since independence, the more than 50 years since independence for African countries, the billions of dollars have been put into Africa in aid. Really, it hasn't helped them at all.

What has helped is trade investment. Right now, Africa gets 2 percent of world trade. According to the World Bank, if that figure could just be increased to 3 percent, it would equal $70 billion worth of influx - influx of cash into Africa. That dwarfs what aid is. That's the way to start changing things.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

OKE: Just ahead on INSIDE AFRICA, we'll be popping into the Sel et Poivre restaurant, which is here at the Quarterman Inn (ph) in Johannesburg. The chef will be cooking something a little high-end.. See you on the other side.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

OKE: It's the journey of a lifetime. Millions of Africans take part in an annual pilgrimage to the Hajj, a spiritual visit to Islam's holiest site. Zain Verjee profiles one young woman, who says the experience changed her life.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: On Saudi soil, at last. They come from all corners of the African continent, all bound for the holy city of Mecca.

A rare opportunity for most. The Saudi government gives the green light each year to only one in every 1,000 Muslims from sub-Saharan Africa to perform the Hajj.

Islam is the fastest growing religion in Africa. There is a huge African presence here in Mecca. This year, about 150,000, both old and young.

One of the youngest pilgrims we met here is 23-year old Mufida Bashir from Nigeria. She is a primary school teacher, who left her three children with her mother.

Traditionally, most Muslims perform Hajj later in life, but Mufida says she's wanted to make the pilgrimage for years.

MUFIDA BASHIR: I am not too young to come here. It's an opportunity that comes but once.

VERJEE: She says, youth is not an obstacle when it comes to the Hajj, but a big challenge facing Muslim women in Nigeria is being forced to marry too young.

BASHIR: It really ruins their lives. I mean it's restricts them. It's just terrible for a young girl of (inaudible)...

VERJEE (on camera): How old were you when you got married?

BASHIR: 12.

VERJEE (voice over): After fixing my ever-sliding headscarf, Mufida talked about the most moving moment in Mecca ...

BASHIR: Just seeing the Kaaba has made me - had changed my life forever, inshallah.

VERJEE: Faith for these young women is not only about ritual and prayer, but also about reaching out in a search for a deeper understanding of the Muslim concept of the Umma, universal brotherhood. Or sisterhood.

Zain Verjee, CNN, Mecca.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

OKE: Well, we heard there was a chef in Johannesburg that was trying to bring a little bit of glamour to African food. We had to find him. Basically it was a story that had all the ingredients of being very tasty television. We found that chef at the Sel e Poivre restaurant here at the Quarterman Inn (ph) in Johannesburg. Please stand by for hot cuisine African style.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COCO FATHI REINHARZ, CHEF: French cuisine, because I ...

OKE: Coco Fathi Reinharz was born to cook.

REINHARZ: I really strongly believe it's something genetic. My grandfather was a chef. My mother was a chef.

OKE: His cooking genes took him from his home country of Burundi, where he worked in his mother's restaurant, to Belgium where he trained.

REINHARZ: When I cook, I try to - I try to focus on the - on the ingredient. I always want to make the food the star of what I'm doing.

OKE: Any good chef would say that, but this one has attitude and a philosophy.

REINHARZ: Often people try to present African food as the food of poverty and dispossession, but why don't we have the - why do we have to stick with that image? I want to be able and proud to serve African food in a five- star restaurant.

OKE: Coco is head chef at Sel et Poivre restaurant in Johannesburg. When you look at the menu, you wouldn't really guess it was African. For starters, tomato and mozzarella ...

(on camera): OK, tell me what is African about mozzarella?

REINHARZ: Not only mozzarella, but the olive oil, the extra virgin olive oil that it comes with, and the tomato - it's so African and African in its origin. Actually, olive oil is something that nowadays is seen as Italian, while people in Tunisia have been cooking with olive oil 2,000 years before even the Roman arriving in Tunisia.

OKE: (inaudible) -- pronounce this for me, I love it when you speak French to me.

REINHARZ: Actually, the coustion (ph) de tomat (ph) et mozzarella a-la basilique freche (ph).

OKE: That sounds great.

(voice over): To demonstrate African haute cuisine, Coco cooks up a dish from East Africa.

REINHARZ: So, we're going to pan-fry the (inaudible) filets, OK, and make the sauce, which will be a reduction of coconut milk, the fish stock and tamarin paste.

OKE: His cooking has won praise from food critics. He also has a book of haute cuisine African recipes called "To the Banqueting House".

Coco's career is going well, but there are always critics.

REINHARZ: Once you put it on the plate, they taste it, those criticism is finished.

OKE: While you're cooking, we've got two orders coming, and one of them is for (inaudible), and Coco says, great, we have now perch, we can get that ready. And I'm like, no, no, no, that one.

Having successfully fought off the hungry customers at the restaurant, we finally get what Coco has been talking about all morning. Voila! African haute cuisine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

OKE: Well, that's almost it for this week's show. But there's one last thing I have to do.

REINHARZ: Bon appetite!

OKE: Oh, merci, Coco!

I love being in Africa. We hope that you will let INSIDE AFRICA be your window to the continent in 2007. I'm Femi Oke, wishing you a very happy new year. Take care.

END

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