To be honest:
1. Outdated layout method - should be using CSS3/HTML5 and not tables
2. Print, Font, and Email Page icons on top totally superfluous
3. Headings like 'Welcome' don't really help the user accomplish any particular outcome.
How harsh do you want us to be exactly? In order to move forward you need to do research on sites with a similar mandate and critique them as a team. Basically, just substitute 'African' with 'Asian' and other regions of the world and see what other people are doing. For instance, the Asian Leadership Institute is pretty well laid out (although by no means ideal):
Cheers,
Adam
P.S. - As for IE6, people need to get over it. Africa is the last place on earth where I keep hearing people talk about IE6 as a requirement. Tell whoever you're working for that you're sacrificing usability for modern devices by spending time on anything <IE8. You're also screwing yourself career-wise because developing IE6 layouts is a dead skill.