Boardroom Shake Up at Africa’s Biggest Wireless Carrier
MTN
Group Ltd. appointed former South Africa Deputy Finance Minister Mcebisi Jonas
as chairman; he will replace Phuthuma Nhleko, who plans to step down in
December after almost two decades as chairman or chief executive officer of the
Johannesburg-based company. Jonas, who was already a non-executive director of
MTN, was deputy finance minister for almost three years before being removed by
former President Jacob Zuma in 2017. Nigeria’s ex-central bank Governor Lamido
Sanusi has been appointed as a non-executive director this comes as MTN
prepares to list its local Nigerian unit on the Lagos stock exchange, a
condition of the settlement of a $1 billion regulatory three years ago. The
business is the largest of MTN’s 20-market portfolio, accounting for almost a
quarter of all subscribers, and has been hampered by a series of government and
local authority disputes that have hurt the company’s share price. Sanusi is
now the Emir of Kano, a high-ranking position in Africa’s most populous nation
and biggest crude producer. A separate board of prominent people to advise on
broader African issues will be headed by former South African President Thabo
Mbeki and includes John Kufuor, ex-leader of Ghana and Nhleko will also be a
member of that committee. The stock held onto gains and traded 2.4 percent
higher. MTN shares have gained almost 19 percent this year, valuing the company
at 199 billion rand.
SOURCES: BLOOMBERG
Revamping Sierra Leone’s Reputation with Diamonds
If Sierra Leone’s diamond industry is to make a positive
contribution to the socio-economic development of the nation, as envisaged in
the government’s new five-year National Development Plan, there has to be a
radical overhaul of the way the industry is managed. At the centre of any such
strategy should be a concerted campaign to curb the rampant smuggling of
diamonds, which leads to tens of millions of dollars of potential tax revenue
being lost each year. Less remarked upon is the fact that official corruption
still plagues the industry. Diamonds were discovered in Sierra Leone in 1930.
The 1960s are seen as the post-independence benchmark for probity and proper
management of the industry. By the 1970s and 1980s, due to massive corruption
and mismanagement under the All People’s Congress government of Siaka Stevens,
most of the country’s gems were being sold abroad illegally. Smuggling has been
blamed on artisanal miners and on small-scale, illegal mining operations in
remote areas that are not regulated by local authorities. After farming,
artisanal mining is the second largest employer of labour in the country,
providing a livelihood for up to 500,000 illiterate or poorly-educated day
labourers. Many observers refuse to believe that the small-scale operator
should alone shoulder the blame for “revenue leakages”.
SOURCES: AFRICAN
BUSINESS MAGAZINE
How US Sanctions Affect these African Nations
Sanctions against the Democratic Republic of Congo were
introduced in 2006 and then extended several times. Like other countries, the
US barred officials from entering its territory and froze assets and operations
of officials and organisations linked to them. In 2007 the US imposed
unilateral economic sanctions against Sudan. Thirty Sudanese companies have
lost the opportunity to trade with America and receive funding from US banks.
Their assets in the US were frozen. In 2011 the US imposed sanctions against
then president Laurent Gbagbo, his wife and supporters because Washington did
not like the cancellation of elections in some cities in that country. In
February 2011 then President Barack Obama signed a decree imposing unilateral
financial sanctions on then Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, his government and
family members. According to the decree all property and bank accounts
belonging to Gaddafi, his government and four relatives were frozen. A ban was
imposed on any banking operations with the government of Libya. In 2014 amid
clashes between the government of South Sudan and the rebels, sanctions were
imposed. The restrictions included the freezing of assets belonging to
individuals and Americans were barred from engaging in financial transactions
with them. Sanctions against Zimbabwean leaders were imposed in 2003.
Those in the list of targeted sanctions also had their assets frozen and they
were barred from travelling to America. The US sanctions have been renewed
annually since then. The US has maintained its theory that the sanctions are
“targeted” at 141 entities and individuals in Zimbabwe. At the same time, the
US administration claims that the sanctions apply only to representatives of
the country’s leadership, a number of banks and enterprises. Washington
maintains the sanctions are not directed against the people of Zimbabwe. In
reality of the situation is that the sanctions are broad-based and are
squeezing the heart of Zimbabwe’s economy — the financial services sector.
SOURCES: THE
STANDARD
Can South Africa’s Unequal Society be Redressed?
It’s well-established that South Africa has one of the most
unequal income distributions in the world. Despite significant efforts by the
State to stimulate inclusive growth, the income gap between the rich and the
poor has continued to widen in post-apartheid South Africa. A less explored
topic is that of wealth inequality and, relatedly, the potential use of wealth
taxation to reduce wealth inequality while also further diversifying the
sources of much-needed government revenue. In 2015, the wealthiest 10% of South
Africa’s population owned more than 90% of the total wealth in the country
while 80% owned almost no wealth. These findings resonate with more recent
findings documented in reports produced by Oxfam (2018) and the World Bank
(2018). There’s a clear racial dimension to this inequality with an average
African household holding less than 4% of the wealth held by an average White
household. It’s a challenge to economic development when the bottom 80% of the
population own no wealth, especially when a vibrant middle-class is a key
ingredient in economic progression, as evidenced in advanced economies. If a
non-zero wealth tax rate were to be applied, it should be progressive in
nature, for example, by providing a high threshold below which no tax is
payable. In turn, this data would provide the South African Revenue Service
with improved data to test whether high net worth individuals are being taxed
correctly within the income tax system.
SOURCES: QUARTZ
AFRICA
Nigeria Uses Tech Solutions to Protect its Oil
From algorithms to track “dark” ships smuggling stolen crude oil
to an online licensing system to undercut corruption, one Nigerian government
agency hopes it can use new technology to tackle theft which has cost the
country billions. But some say the initiative by the Department of Petroleum
Resources (DPR) may be too late to stem the migration of energy majors to the
relative safety of drilling at sea, driven offshore by an illegal trade that
Nigeria’s sprawling bureaucracy has for decades proved unable or unwilling to
tackle. Africa’s top oil exporter has turned to French data firm Kpler, just
six years old and staffed by a hundred mostly young employees, to help it
ferret out the smugglers from the thousands of ships plying Nigerian waters.
The DPR began its collaboration with Kpler in December and unveiled it this
month, among other tech-focused plans to detect what it calls “rogue” or “dark”
ships.
SOURCES: REUTERS
AFRICA
Small Business Owner Takes on Retail Giant and Wins
Just before close of business on Jan. 7, Shannon McLaughlin,
founder and owner of Ubuntu Baba posted a 2,000-word blog explaining how she
felt South African retail giant Woolworths had copied the name, color scheme
and design of her company’s signature baby carriers, and was selling them at a
third of the price. Ubuntu Baba carriers are handmade from organic hemp in
South Africa versus the copycat carriers mass produced in China and made out of
polyester. Just like that, the 36-year-old sent a shock wave through big retail
in South Africa and showed small businesses around the country that big
checkbooks and expensive lawyers can be beaten. The carriers were pulled from
Woolworths’ shelves almost immediately, but the situation was only resolved a
month later, when Woolworths promised not to keep any profits from the sale of
the carriers, give Ubuntu an undisclosed payout, donate a “large portion” of
the proceeds to support small business and implement intellectual property
training across the company.
SOURCES: OZY
How Young Kenyans are Milking Spaces in Farming
Kenyan innovators are betting on digital technologies to attract
young people to an agriculture industry that currently is dominated by an aging
population. With a 98 percent mobile phone penetration, the cellphone is
proving to be an important source of extension services in areas where such
resources are not available. As a young girl in central Kenya, Peninah Wanja
witnessed firsthand the challenge of raising cattle without professional help.
She came up with DigiCow, a mobile phone application that offers expert advice
to farmers and allows them to keep up-to-date records on their cows. The app is
an example of how technology can be used to bridge the knowledge gaps in the
farming sector, while at the same time, ensuring food security. To deal with
issues of illiteracy, DigiCow has a voice-based service — which Wanja says has proven
helpful to the older farmer. Eighty percent of Kenya’s population is made up of
small-scale farmers, according to the World Bank.
SOURCES: VOA
Classroom Experiments Give Birth to a Thriving Business
Rwandan science teacher Cephas Nshimyumuremyi had to start his
business with six years ago, with just $10. It may sound less than promising,
but Nshimyumuremyi made that initial initial investment go a long way. Today,
his company Uburanga Products, which makes herbal jelly and soap from local
medicinal plants, is worth $40,000 and employs more than 12 workers. His idea
for natural cosmetics with healing properties came from trying to teach his
students how the science they were learning in class could be applied in
practical ways: “I teach chemistry so I showed my students how you can
test a plant, and know the capacity of that plant to kill bacteria,” says
the young entrepreneur, who launched his company in a bid to supplement his
income from teaching
Don’t think that you need a lot of capital. Start with little, but use the
knowledge and the environment that you already have. Nshimyumuremyi also wanted
to use the local medicinal plants, used by some traditional healers, in a
scientific way. He says his future goal is to provide the solution for
“some skin diseases in Africa.”
SOURCES: REUTERS
AFRICA
Providing Formal Benefits for Informal Businesses
The billion-rand spaza shop or township tuckshop industry in
South Africa is not a regulated sector. Most transactions at these shops are in
cash, and not electronically tracked. This makes it difficult for spaza shops
to be financially credited in South Africa. But there are now fintech solutions
such as Zande Africa offering financial and distribution platforms, operating
out of warehouses, to assist these spaza shops in their townships, by
delivering daily necessities to them. The fintech company provides cash and
credit service offerings to all spaza shop owners and creates relationships
with them for better pricing and service.
SOURCES: FORBES
AFRICA
Tanzanian Self-made Media Magnate and Philanthropist Dies
Reginald Mengi passed away in Dubai at the age of 75. Mr Mengi,
through his manufacturing, mining and media conglomerate IPP Group, owned
newspapers and radio and TV stations. In 2014, Forbes estimated his wealth at
$560m. He was born into a poor family close to Mount Kilimanjaro and finished
his education in Scotland. President John Magufuli paid tribute to his role in
the country’s development. Mr Mengi initially worked as an accountant when he
returned to Tanzania, but the origins of his business empire are in a
ball-point pen assembly plant. Starting in the early 1980s he turned the IPP
Group into one of the largest private conglomerates in East Africa,
employing more than 3,000 people, according to the company website. It owns
prominent local English and Swahili TV stations, ITV and Capital TV, as well as
the English-language daily Guardian newspaper. As a media mogul, Mr Mengi was
accused by some, including cabinet ministers, of using his influence against
them. The IPP Group also manufactures one of Tanzania’s best-known brands of
bottled water and is moving into smart-phone and tablet manufacturing.
SOURCES: BBC