Editor's note.

ONCE AGAIN WE present our annual guide to generating sets and once again the message is the same: Africa's insatiable appetitie for power is pushing sales to new highs. Last year Africa's imports of gensets exceeded all expectations and passed the billion dollar mark for the first time. Part of this increase relates to exports from China, and it is interesting to note that markets traditionally dominated by Europe and the US are now being exploited by nations such as India and Lebanon.

The demand for energy being made by the mining, construction and industrial sectors is the prime mover and it seems there is no end to the growth of this market. Output at South Africa's mines has recently been dented by power problems, whilst Botswana is being hampered by distribution difficluties in rural areas. Never before have gensets been so necessary and never before has our Buyers' Guide been so welcome.

The subject of energy efficiency is also examined in the IT section of the magazine when Karen Young shows how the design of a data centre can reduce your power costs, and how printers can be run more efficiently.

More money-saving measures are examined in the construction section when the benfits of buying secondhand equipment are spelled out. And when it comes to transport why subsidise a car when a motorbike will do the job? The craze for bikes is sweeping Kenya and saving commuters time and cash. Finally, do make sure you keep your Gensets Buyers' Guide safely, you never know when the lights might go out.

Jonquil Phelan

Managing Editor

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