| Africa is not for 'sissies'
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| South African-based Information and telecommunications
consulting firm, Exponªnt, a major player in the ICT market in
Africa and the Middle East, is re-evaluating security procedures
and policies for its staff operating in the region.
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| This follows the event when the company's Africa and Middle
Eastern operations manager Phillip de Wet was caught right in the
middle of the shoot-out between troops loyal to President Joseph
Kabila and Senator Jean Pierre Bemba's personal bodyguard in
Kinshasa.
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| "While most of the expats operating in the Democratic Republic
of the Congo expected ructions after Bemba's unsuccessful run for
the presidency, most of us were caught totally by surprise by the
intensity of the gunfire once the two militias opened up on each
other."
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| De Wet and a substantial number of other expats were bundled off
to the Memling Hotel in Kinshasa where they stayed until Bemba's
rebels withdrew into the bush. The hotel came under intense fire
several times and bullets were flying around everywhere, De Wet
said.
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| This incident gave a whole new meaning to the dictum that
"Africa is not for sissies, De Wet said,
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| Most expats who operate extensively in Africa and the Middle
East have been exposed to gunfire of some kind. What made this
incident two weeks ago different was the absolute intensity of the
gunfire and the fact that a haven that used to be safe for both
locals and expats - the Hotel Memling - came under fire.
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| Two of the refugees in the hotel were hit and a Vodacom staff
member was grazed by a bullet.
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| De Wet's company, Exponªnt, is one of the largest ICT
consultancies in the region and at the time of the rebellion, he
was busy conducting an audit on a point of sale system the company
had installed for one of the major cellular operators in the
region.
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| De Wet said the general consensus of opinion among the movers
and shakers in Kinshasa was that Bemba's departure from the DRC
substantially improved the situation.
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| "People in the DRC are sick and tired of war which for many of
the younger people in their 20's has lasted almost as long as they
have been alive," De Wet said.
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| He said one of the imperatives for operators who want to work in
Africa and the Middle East was to have a local partner who was
familiar with the situation on the ground and who could advise on
issues of safety and security.
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| Exponªnt was currently operating in 15 African states as well as
in several states in the Middle East, including Iraq.
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| "Despite the fact that there is a full-scale war waging,
business people from all over the world are busy assisting the
Iraqi people in rebuilding the infrastructure of their country."
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| While the risks are very real as was evidenced by the fact that
two Kenyan contractors who shared the villa where De Wet lived in
Iraq were kidnapped, the rewards are appealing, "as long as you can
manage the risk", he said. said.
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| He said a huge advantage of doing business in Iraq was the fact
that the population was in general well educated and were prepared
to embrace new technologies.
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| "There is no question that it takes a certain amount of
pioneering spirit to deal with local conditions but once one
understands these social, cultural and economic dynamics, there are
abounding business opportunities," he said.
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| "It has been our experience that South African business people
do well in emerging markets because they are ready to embrace
change unlike their American and European counterparts who want to
impose American or European business models on these markets," Pels
said.
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| For more information, please contact Phillip de Wet or Marius
Pels of
Exponªnt on 012 663 0100 or Phillip on his cell phone on 084 207
0000
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