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US$50bn lost through illicit funds’ flow from Africa

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Our Reporter
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(The former President of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki)
Africa loses over 50 thousand million dollars each year as a result of the illicit flow of funds, former president of South Africa Thabo Mbeki told the meeting of the Group of African Governors affiliated with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, known as the African Caucus.
 “Africa faces the great challenge of large volumes of capital leaving the continent illicitly – money that our continent needs to address the challenges of development. We, as Africans, have an absolute obligation to act on this to ensure that the rest of the world (the destination of these illicit movements of funds), by acting together, will help stop this drain of resources which belong to the continent that needs them so badly,” said Thabo Mbeki.
(The former President of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki)
(The former President of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki)
 
Mbeki is now head of the High-Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows from Africa created by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and the African Union, which analysed the magnitude of the problem on the continent, producing a report now known as the ‘Mbeki Report’.
 
The former President of South Africa maintains that it is possible to put an end to these issues with proper monitoring of the transactions of large commercial companies. Moreover, he points out that in order to combat this phenomenon interventions are needed from institutions such as tax authorities, customs, central banks, financial intelligence units for combating money laundering, audit and anti-corruption authorities and the police.
 
According to Mbeki, there is also need for appropriate legislation to give these institutions the mandate they need to cooperate in the fight against illicit capital outflows, with countries cooperating at the regional level, given that some of these outflows move across shared borders.
 
“Our governments lose large amounts of revenue owed to the state due to the unlawful outflow of significant capital that we need for development,” he pointed out.
 
Mbeki says that it is imperative to build the global architecture required for a focused offensive to put an end to these illicit outflows, within the framework of UN processes including supervision.
 
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UK newspapers ’bombard’ Cameron’s ‘immigrant haven’

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Our Reporter
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United Kingdom Prime Minister David Cameron has come under intense media pressure, with newspapers urging him to ease the stance on illegal immigrants trying to find their way to Europe.
Almost all top newspapers in the UK made the plea after a photograph of a lifeless little boy aged about three years was shown across Europe, a development that depicted the refugee crisis involving immigrants from Syria, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Africa.
London has come in for criticism over the number of refugees it has accepted which is lower than other EU countries in proportion to its population, and photos of the body of little Aylan Kurdi did little to improve the situation.
Kurdi’s body was washed ashore after a migrant boat sank on a Turkish beach of Bodrum, a prime tourist resort, prompting a tweet with the hashtag “#KiyiyaVuranInsanlik” (“Humanity washed ashore”) to go viral, even drawing sympathy from The Sun newspaper, which had taken a hard line on the migrant crisis, publishing a column that compared the immigrants to ‘cockroaches’. “It’s life and death,” read the front page, adding: “Today The Sun urges David Cameron to help those in a life-and-death struggle not of their own making.”
“Tiny victim of a human catastrophe” was the Daily Mail’s headline, along with a photo covering almost all of its front page, while The Mirror said it was ‘Unbearable’.
“If these extraordinarily powerful images of a dead Syrian child washed up on a beach don’t change Europe’s attitude to refugees, what will?” asked The Independent in an editorial which was headlined: “Somebody’s child.”
The paper immediately launched a petition demanding Britain accept “its fair share of refugees” which gained 10,000 signatures in hours.
The image, which spread like wildfire on social media, also appeared on the websites of Spain’s El Pais, El Mundoand El Periodico, which dubbed the image: “The drowning of Europe”.
In Italy, La Repubblica tweeted the picture with the words: “One photo to silence the world.”
The image also dominated the front pages of Sweden’s main newspapers, with the headline in the Dagens Nyheter reading: “The refugee picture which shook the world.”
This week, the Turkish government said the coastguard had rescued over 42,000 migrants in the Aegean Sea in the first five months of 2015 and more than 2,160 in the last week alone, of them Kurdi, who was believed to be one of at least 12 Syrian migrants who died trying to reach Greece when their boats sank in Turkish waters.
The rescue worker said the toddler from the Syrian Kurdish town of Kobane. Residents there had last year fled to Turkey year to escape violence by Islamic State (IS) extremists.
The United Nations refugee agency UNHCR says more than 2,500 people have died trying to cross the Mediterranean so far this year.
Migrants, many of whom have paid over $1,000 to smugglers for the risky passage, are taking advantage of the calm summer weather which makes this the best time for the crossing.
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‘The Terminator trial’ opens at the ICC

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Our Reporter
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Bosco Ntaganda at the opening of his trial before Trial Chamber VI at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands, on 2 September 2015.
The trial of self-styled General Bosco Ntaganda aka ‘The Terminator’ has opened today at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, The Netherlands.
Bosco Ntaganda at the opening of his trial before Trial Chamber VI at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands, on 2 September 2015.
Bosco Ntaganda at the opening of his trial before Trial Chamber VI at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands, on 2 September 2015.
Ntaganda, a former Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Force Patriotiques pour la Libération du Congo, is accused of 13 counts of war crimes and five crimes against humanity committed in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ituri region between 2002 and 2003.
Ntaganda, who pleaded not guilty to the charges, is appearing before the ICC’s trial Chamber IV comprising Presiding Judge Robert Fremr, Judge Kuniko Ozaki and Judge Chang-ho Chung.
He is represented by Defence Counsel Stéphane Bourgon, while the prosecution is led by ICC Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda. 
The hearings will resume tomorrow with the opening statements of the Legal Representatives of the two groups of victims in the case, Sarah Pellet and Dmytro Suprun, as well as the opening statements of Defence Counsel Stéphane Bourgon and, after a short break, the start of the Prosecution’s presentation of evidence and the testimony of the first witness is scheduled for September 15, 2015.
‘General’ Ntaganda is accused of murder and attempted murder; attacking civilians; rape; sexual slavery of civilians; pillaging; displacement of civilians; attacking protected objects and destroying the enemy’s property. Other crimes include rape, sexual slavery, persecution, forcible transfer of population and, enlistment and conscription of child soldiers under the age of fifteen years and using them to participate actively in hostilities.

 

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Orange names new CEOs for Africa, Asia

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Our Reporter
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Orange head Office in Kampala which was recently bought by Africell.
French mobile telecom giant Orange has named new Chief Executive Officers to oversee its operations in four countries in Africa and Asia.
 Those appointed include Eric Bouquillon for Orange Guinea, Alassane Diene for Orange Mali, Jérôme Hénique for Jordan Telecom and Thierry Marigny, who has been appointed Deputy CEO of Sonatel in Senegal.
According to a release the appointments take effect September 13 and are part of the Group’s international mobility policy.
Marc Rennard, Orange International Executive Vice President for the Africa, Middle East and Asia zone said the four are experienced in the telecommunications industry.
“The new CEOs all have significant executive experience in the telecommunications industry. They will continue and enhance the development of their respective subsidiaries, in an innovation-driven environment. Their contribution will be vital for the Orange group, which is accelerating its growth in Africa and the Middle East,” Rennard said.
Mr Bouquillon, the new CEO of Orange Guinea, is a graduate of the Lille University of Science and Technology and has 30 years of experience with the Orange Group, while Diene, the new CEO of Orange Mali, holds an advanced degree in accounting from the Institut des Techniques Economiques et Comptables in Toulouse and has 29 years of experience in the telecommunications industry.
Diene managed the group subsidiary Orange Guinea from its creation in November 2007, while Hénique, the new CEO of Jordan Telecom, is a graduate of Sciences Po Paris and the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Postes et Télécommunications. He has spent over two decades with the Orange Group, working in France, Spain and Senegal, where has been the Deputy CEO of the Sonatel Group since 2010.
Mr Marigny, the new Deputy CEO of Sonatel, is a graduate of Telecom Management and holds a Master’s Degree in Telecommunications Management from Université Paris-Dauphine. Most recently, he served as the Global Brand Vice President and launched the new overhaul of the Orange Brand for the whole international Group scope.
Orange currently carries out operations in 29 countries with 248 million customers worldwide, as at June 30, 2015.
In Uganda Orange boarded off its interests to another French company, Africell in 2014, and then issued a statement indicating that the ‘…transaction marks a new step in the Orange Group’s asset portfolio optimisation strategy for which Africa and the Middle-East remain a strategic priority’.
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Ethiopia to launch second five-year plan

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Our Reporter
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Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, will preside over the two-day Ethiopia Summit on October 28 and 29 at the Sheraton Hotel in Addis Ababa.
Organised by Economist Events under the theme “Driving continued growth” the Summit will bring together more than 150 of the country’s leading policy-makers and business leaders with international executives active or interested in expanding in Ethiopia to explore opportunities and tackle challenges.
Having wrapped up its five year Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP) that saw agricultural exports grow by 9% in the first three quarters of 2013/2014 and the manufacturing sector grow by 11.4% in the same period Ethiopia is now launching its second five year plan.
‘The Ethiopia Summit will be taking place at the opportune time to explore what more can be done to help the country achieve its full potential in alignment with its solid economic growth,’ a release by the African Press Organisation, states.
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Cameroon issues Euro26m concession for Kribi port

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Our Reporter
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Kribi Port
Nectorans Group and the Kribi Port Multi Operators have won a multi-million Euro concession to operate and maintain the multi-purpose Kribi Port in Cameroon.
Cameroon Prime Minister and Head of Government Philemon Yang issued the notification on August 26 indicating that Nectorans and KPMO, a consortium consisting of nine local operators including forwarders, maintenance and maritime agents had won the concession.
Kribi Port
Kribi Port
According to a release, final details of the transaction are yet to be confirmed though speculation is rife the Nectorans and KPMO may get a 20-year concession, with a Euro26.2 million investment.
After a first phase of five years with an activity estimated at 1.4 million tons of freight per year from the second year, the second phase of 15 years foresees the provision of an adjacent quay measuring 350 metres and complementary facilities and equipment for an activity that will surpass 3 million tons per year.
The development follows a May 2014 tender by the government of Cameroon, seeking competent companies to run the Kribi port that is located 150 kilometres from Doaula.
‘The multipurpose terminal conceded by the Government of Cameroon will initially have a quay measuring 265 metres (with 2 berths) equipped with two cranes on rails and six truck mounted cranes’ the release indicates.
Nectorans Chairman Grégory Quérel was upbeat, saying the concession would spur economic development in the central Africa region.
 “We are particularly proud to have joined our colleagues from Cameroon in a win-win partnership, and to have gained the trust of the authorities in the country. Kribi is the only deep-water port in Central Africa, and as such is destined to become the economic driving force of Cameroon and the sub-region, especially Chad and Central Africa”, Quérel said.
The multipurpose terminal at Kribi will provide work for over 250 people and the main goods handled will include vehicles, timber, cotton, mineral ore and Oil & Gas equipment, together with the materials used for the construction of the industrial zone and the future power plant that will be right next to the Kribi port.
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EAC to woo Chinese manufacturers

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Our Reporter
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The East African Community is set to attract Chinese investors into bringing manufacturing companies to the region.
According to resolutions made at the end of the two-day 1st Manufacturing Business Summit in Kampala, participants noted that the labour costs in China were increasing and that the EAC could serve as an alternative destination for the investors who want to reduce costs of production.
‘The EAC should formulate a regional strategy for engagement with China in a view to leveraging and attracting Chinese investors, and re-location of manufacturing into the region taking advantage of the rising labour costs in China’ an EAC release states in part.
Previously, the costs of production labour in China have been low, prompting several US companies to ‘relocate’ their manufacturing components to the Far East country.
But speaking at the EABMS, participants noted that manufacturing undertakings need efficient and affordable power and they resolved that the EAC partner states take measures to reform the energy sector with a view of increasing supply and reducing costs of electricity.
‘Energy (power) is a vital input into manufacturing constituting between 20-50 percent of the cost of production. The East Africa Partner States are called upon to take measures to reduce the cost of power to through: reforms in the energy/power sector to reduce power lose, permitting industries to generate their own power and supply excess to the national greed, and introducing energy efficiency and conservation measures in industries,’ the release add.
Participants also implored the EAC and the East Africa Business Council (EABC) to organise a regional conference on ‘Competitive Energy Supply for sustainable Growth of Manufacturing in East Africa’. 
The delegates also called for the procurement of ‘locally’ manufactured products from the partner states under a scheme dubbed the ‘Buy East Africa Build East Africa’, BEABEA.
The two-day Summit was opened by Prime Minister Dr Ruhakana Rugunda and attended by among others the EAC Secretary General Amb Dr Richard Sezibera, Uganda trade minister Amelia Kyambadde, EABC boss Dennis Karera, UNCTAD Secretary General Dr Mukhisa Kituyi and the Chairman of the Uganda Manufacturers Association (UMA) Amos Nzeyi.
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Nigeria journalist critical of Jonathan’s regime kidnapped

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Our Reporter
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Donu Kogbara

Nigerian newspaper columnist critical of former president Goodluck Jonthan’s ‘thieving’ officials was last week abducted from her home.

Donu Kogbara
Donu Kogbara
 According to media reports, in July this year Donu Kogbara wrote an article calling for employees of Jonathan who were allegedly returning money they had stolen to be ‘rounded up, one by one, and arrested, named, blamed, shamed, and jailed’.
Media reports indicate that unidentified gunmen entered Kogbara’s home in Port Harcourt city, capital of Rivers state, captured the journalist who was with her family, and drove her away in a jeep.
This has propmted the Committee to Protect Journalists to urge the Nigerian authorities to find her, establish the motive for the abduction and apprehend and prosecute the perpetrators.
“We condemn the kidnapping of Vanguard columnist Donu Kogbara and call on Nigerian authorities to launch an immediate and efficient investigation,” said Peter Nkanga, CPJ’s West Africa representative.
Jimitota Onoyume, Vanguard‘s bureau chief in Rivers State, told CPJ that eyewitnesses said two of the assailants entered the house while four others waited outside.
Kogbara has not been seen nor heard from since but Ahmed Muhammad, a police spokesman for Rivers state, told CPJ that police had launched an investigation into her abduction.
Abductions in Nigeria’s southern Niger Delta region are reportedly rife and a score of journalists have been abducted for ransom at different times over the years in Nigeria’s restive southern region.
However, Benga Adefaye, the Vanguard’s Editor-in-Chief told CPJ on Tuesday that the kidnappers had not contacted the newspaper for ransom, while Onoyume said that kidnappers often believe that journalists are affluent because they are at times seen on TV or interacting with politicians and government officials. 
According to Adefaye, Kogbara has worked for the independent Vanguard newspaper for around 30 years. He said that Kogbara wrote a column on politics and that he was unaware if she had received threats in connection with her work. Kogbara has also worked for the BBC, Channel 4, and the Sunday Times, among other outlets.
Kogbara’s columns have often been criticized by readers for her strong opinions; in an August 21, 2015, article, Kogbara wrote about a change in rules governing foreign exchange transfers, which she said would negatively impact those with modest incomes.
In her follow-up and last article, she wrote about how she was contacted by ‘a few disgruntled supporters of the previous administration’ who were ‘glad that I was being inconvenienced’.
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Cabinet should guide debate on public schools’ land

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Our Reporter
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Recently, while presiding over the commissioning of teachers’ houses, classrooms and pit-latrines at Lwanda Primary School in Jinja, the lands minister Daudi Migereko advised the management committees of various public schools to acquire titles for their land.
Among the schools singled out in Jinja is the Main Street Primary School and Spire Road Primary School. Now, both these public schools and several others not mentioned have a historical bearing on the greater Busoga region and the country at large, having provided an education to many young people who have since gone on to become useful citizens and so, the usefulness of such schools cannot be emphasized.
Indeed, and with all due respect, Uganda as a country can ill-afford a situation where the economic interests of a few nibbling individuals override the benefits that accrue from the sustained provision of education for the masses.
Against such a background therefore, much as the advice by Mr Migereko might be considered long overdue, it is still worth following with gusto if the country is to redeem its fledgling education system.
For starters, since Mr Migereko is the line minister concerned with land management and administration in the country, he can team up with his education ministry counterpart and both come up with a water-tight strategy to deter any would-be grabbing of public school land by tabling the stinging matter before Cabinet for adoption, before it can be put to the floor of Parliament for debate and eventual enacting into law.
Once that is done, public officials including members of the school management committees will shed off the unenviable task of persistently trying to fight off the land grabbers, most of who are wayward ‘tycoons’ who want to build shopping malls and bonded warehouses.
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Besigye beats Muntu in FDC primaries

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Our Reporter
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Dr. Besigye and Gen. Muntu earlier in the day.

 

Dr. Besigye and Gen. Muntu earlier in the day.
Dr. Besigye and Gen. Muntu earlier in the day.

Namboole-Retired army Colonel and veteran Ugandan opposition figure Dr. Kizza Besigye has beaten Forum for Democratic Change party president, Maj. Gen. Mugisha Muntu in the party primaries that now endorses Besigye as the party’s flag bearer in 2016 general elections.
Dr. Besigye got 718 votes against 289 votes for Gen. Muntu. The tense race that pitted the two party leaders has finally come to an end after two months of traversing the country seeking for votes amongst their party supporters.
The campaigns had also heightened tensions within the party as the two gentlemen traded in an exchange of who is best suited to lead the FDC into the 2016.
Besigye has thrice lost to Mr Museveni in 2001, 2006 and 2011. However, on his part, Besigye insists his victory has always been rigged by his opponent President Yoweri Museveni.
The entry of Besigye into the ring for 2016 could see him compete with Mr Amama Mbabazi who is standing as independent but both are likely to face each other in the primaries of the Democratic Alliance that is seeking to endorse a single opposition candidate against Mr Museveni of the National Resistance Movement.

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