News - Afrikan Heroes

Rugby Africa Congratulates the Springboks for Rugby World Cup Success

November 2, 2019

South Africa’s success today in Japan by winning the Rugby World Cup will inspire millions on the African continent so says the President of Rugby Africa Khaled Babbou, as all the African unions’ presidents gathered in Tokyo today to revel in the great success of the Springboks of South Africa who beat the Roses of England to emerge World Champions. Speaking on the success of the South African team, Mr. Babbou said that it highlights the importance of African success for the future development of the sport. He added that “the Springboks have risen to the top of World Rugby Men’s Rankings and that brings Africa back on the map of the top world rugby teams. Millions of young kids will be inspired”. Sports analysts are of the view that the enthusiastic fan base in South Africa created a vibrant Rugby festival and this is a great signal and will surely provide a boosting dynamic for South Africa and its African co-unions.

President of Rugby Africa Khaled Babbou, — President of Rugby Africa Khaled Babbou

This development will go a long way to deepen the growth of Rugby which according to experts is becoming a force to reckon with in Africa. A survey carried out in 2017 show that growth in player registration in African nations (excluding South Africa) was 66%, against an overall global increase of 27%. Rugby is developing at an unprecedented pace in Africa especially with the rate African national rugby unions are being established and the growth of the grass roots game. Equally notable is the emergence of women Rugby games across the countries of the continent.

Speaking on the growth of the game in Africa, the Chairman of World Rugby Bill Beaumont noted that the game has experienced tremendous attention in recent years. “There has never been a more exciting time for rugby in Africa,” he said recently. “Ten African nations are currently placed in the top-50 of the world rankings and more women and men, girls and boys, are playing than ever before. The players are inspirational role models for the next generations of young Africans who are discovering the sport.”

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.

Women in Africa Need to Claim the Entire Continent as Their Marketplace

African women have been urged to claim the entire continent of Africa as their market place instead of narrowing down their focus on just their countries, and regions only. This was the advice at the Africa Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum (AWIEF) which opened in Cape Town, South Africa, from the 29 October 2019, with stirring calls from speakers for women to move from having conversations about economic empowerment to radical action.

Declaring the event open, Dan Plato, Executive Mayor of Cape Town congratulated AWIEF on its five-year anniversary and pointed out that entrepreneurship should be supported, particularly women entrepreneurs who were in many instances their main breadwinners. Entrepreneurship allows people the chance to forge their own economic futures. He highlighted that “entrepreneurship should be seen as one of the solutions to unemployment and it is crucial that they should be given support to get their businesses up and running. In South Africa, nearly 7 million people are unemployed, 29% of the population”.

He emphasized that while it is not the sole responsibility of governments alone to create jobs, it does have the responsibility to create the right environment to facilitate job creation, like attracting investment.

During the opening plenary session, Virginia Blaser, Consul General, US Consulate Cape Town, recounted how she refused to continue her participation at a forum that had no women delegates and suggested that women do not participate in forums that don’t include women and don’t sign off on grants that don’t include women. “When women are economically empowered, they reinvest in their families and their communities this creates a multiplier effect that undeniably contributes to peace and stability.”

Speaking at the event, the United Nations Undersecretary General and Executive Secretary, UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Dr Vera Songwe, said there cannot be talk about Africa’s growth without talking about the economic empowerment of Africa’s women in the same breath. Underlying the important role women play in the economic development of the continent. Lending her voice to the need for African women to rise to the occasion, economic activist and social entrepreneur, Wendy Luhabe was quite vocal in calling for women to look at how they can use the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) to put pressure on countries to include the emancipation of women in reducing trade barriers across the continent and reducing trade tariffs. According to her, “as women, we need to move beyond conversations to radical action. We demand to be involved in the discussion around AfCFTA. There is still a window of opportunity for us to be involved.”

Dr Songwe reiterated that giving women in Africa back their dignity, meant ensuring that every woman in Africa had an identity, as many women’s births were never registered and they had no official identity; that women had to have access to structures to access economic empowerment; that women needed to connect as a collective to raise each other up.

“There is a new economic Pan-Africanism on the continent, we have fought for our rights, we now need to move to the economic space. This is the promise: Africa needs skill. In many of our countries, we don’t have the skill required to grow. You need to claim the continent as your marketplace, the $1.2 billion market,” she told delegates. “We can do more, we can do better. We must ensure we can do that together. Can we take these women and make them global businesses?”

“These events help us to connect. We need to ask, did that help me raise another woman somewhere else? That is the power of African women. When we meet as leaders, when we meet in these groups, we need to remember that connecting is the basic human factor. We need to connect with success.

The Africa Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum (AWIEF) prestigious annual conference is taking place at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC), 29-30 October 2019, for the advancement of women in Africa as innovators and entrepreneurs. More than 60 African and global thought leaders across business and politics will share insight and thought leadership, including headliners from UNECA, World Bank, USAID, CTA, Shell, Nedbank, APO Group, and so on.

Barbara Makhubedu, Chief Financial Officer, Shell Downstream South Africa, said women must be deliberate on pulling the “levers” as a collective and work hard to grind down the barriers to economic empowerment for women. Those strong levers include the strength and wisdom inherent in women and consolidating efforts and liberating technology to shape a more inclusive financial system in Africa to include women. Nirmala Reddy, Senior Manager, Enterprise Development, Nedbank, urged women to nurture themselves too, and balance the needs of the heart, family and self. She quoted her favourite poet, Rumi: “Don’t be afraid to give yourself everything you ever wanted”.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.

Ghana ’s Traders Union Wants All Foreign Retail Shops Closed By Monday, November 4

Ghanaian traders seem to be prepared for the worst. Ghana Union Traders Association (GUTA)has demanded the total closure of all retail shops belonging to foreigners by Monday, November 4, 2019, with claims that the government has not fulfilled its promise of ridding the market of such traders despite several appeals. GUTA has also dared the foreign traders whose retail shops have been closed so far to sue them if they feel they are being treated unfairly.

“What we are saying is that if they, in the first place , have flouted the laws, what is the beef if you also flout the laws? They should take us to court if they think what we are doing is not right. What they are doing is offending the law. When you look on and allow someone to come into your country without the recourse of obeying the laws of the land, do you sit down for the person to go on and break your laws?” he asked.

Here Is All You Need To Know

The Ghana Union Traders Association (GUTA) has on several occasions complained about what they say is the collapse of their businesses due to the invasion of foreigners in the retail business.
According to them, the activities of the foreigners breach the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre’s Act (Act 865).
Citing the closure of the Nigerian border to protect its country from the smuggling of goods into their country, the Association said they will not tolerate the foreigners anymore, and demanded that their shops be closed down.
The latest has been that the Association has begun serving foreign traders with notices demanding them to evacuate their shops, and have already locked up a few shops.

When questioned on Eyewitness News as to whether their move to close down such shops was legal, the Ashanti Regional Secretary of the Association, Daniel Owoahene Acheampong responded that the foreigners can decide to sue them if they ‘think what we are doing is not right”.

A Look At The Controversial Section 27(1) of Ghana’s Investment Promotion Act

According to Section 27 (1) of the GIPC Act, a person who is not a citizen or an enterprise which is not wholly-owned by a citizen shall not invest or participate in the sale of goods or provision of services in a market, petty trading or hawking or selling of goods in a stall at any place. The list of prohibited trading activities are:

The sale of goods or provision of services in a market, petty trading or hawking or selling of goods in a stall at any place;
The operation of taxi or car hire service in an enterprise that has a fleet of less than twenty-five vehicles;
The operation of a beauty salon or a barbershop;
The printing of recharge scratch cards for the use of subscribers of telecommunication services;
The production of exercise books and other basic stationery; f. the retail of finished pharmaceutical products;
The production, supply, and retail of sachet water;
All aspects of pool betting business and lotteries, except football pool

Consequently, enterprises eligible for foreign participation and minimum foreign capital requirement are as follows:

A person who is not a citizen may participate in an enterprise other than an enterprise specified in section 27 if that person

In the case of a joint enterprise with a partner who is a citizen, invests a foreign capital of not less than two hundred thousand United States dollars in cash or capital goods relevant to the investment or a combination of both by way of equity participation and
The partner who is a citizen does not have less than ten percent equity participation in the joint enterprise; or
Where the enterprise is wholly owned by that person, invests a foreign capital of not less than five hundred thousand United States dollars in cash or capital goods relevant to the investment or a combination of both by way of equity capital in the enterprise.
A person who is not a citizen may engage in a trading enterprise if that person invests in the enterprise, not less than one million United States dollars in cash or goods and services relevant to the investments.
For the purpose of this section, “trading” includes the purchasing and selling of imported goods and services.
An enterprise referred to shall employ at least twenty skilled Ghanaians

Chase Away Foreigners?

GUTA President, in July 2019, said these confrontations are just actions by local retailers to preserve Ghana’s retail space and should not be seen as xenophobic attacks.

“We are going to declare the destiny day demonstration in three months, where all other laws will not be regarded if our pleas are not being noticed,” he said to the delight of the traders.

Same July, Ghana Union Traders Association President was quoted as insisting that if the Ghanaian government does not do as expected and the time comes for the demonstration, its members will not be stopped.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organizations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution, and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world

From 2020, West Africans Can Buy Stocks Or Debt Instruments Across Their Borders

If you are living in Ghana, for instance, and are interested in purchasing shares or bonds on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, it has become easiest to do so. From 2020, cross-border trading of debt and equities in 15 West African countries and Morocco will start, according to the region’s securities authorities.

“Once we get the green light that the Ecowas processes have been completed, we need to aggressively bring the brokers up to speed so that they can take the ball and run with it,” he said. “There are so many benefits that a bigger, deeper market will present to investors, to issuers and to those who manage funds,” Daniel Ogbarmey Tetteh, chairman of the West African Securities Regulatory Authorities, said in an interview.

Here Is All You Need To Know

At a meeting scheduled for December, 2019, regulators operating in the Economic Community of West African States and Morocco will ask the finance ministers of member nations to endorse the plan to make cross-border trading of securities happen.
Thereafter, individual states are expected to ratify the pact by the middle of next year, he said in Abidjan, the commercial hub of Ivory Coast.

A Boost To An Economy of Over 350 Million People

The start of trade will mean a further step to integrate markets in a region of more than 350 million people.

While the mostly French-speaking members of the bloc already sell debt among themselves, buyers in the rest of the region typically need intermediaries for cross-border transactions.

The region have stock exchanges in countries such as Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Casablanca.

In a memorandum of understanding that was signed by regulators in August, members agreed to implement rules and procedures that will ease the trade of stocks and bonds and canvass central banks for their support.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organizations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution, and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world

Samuel Eto’o Fils: Life after Football

November 1, 2019

Africa Hero

One of Africa’s greatest sportsmen and footballer, Samuel Eto’o Fils has been speaking about his life after football, his future plans, philanthropy, and how he hopes to impact the next generation of young Africans. In an exclusive interview with Agence France Presse over the week, Samuel Eto’o ruled out the possibility of getting involved in politics outright, saying he would prefer exploring options in first starting his coaching career with younger footballers.

The legendary footballer who retired from active football in September is one of the most decorated footballers in the world and Africa in particular. In his over 20 years of playing football, Eto’o won 18 major trophies, including two Champions Leagues with Barcelona and another with Inter Milan. He also won the Africa Cup of Nations twice with Cameroon as well as Olympic gold in 2000. He also won the Spanish La Liga, Italian Serie A, the English Premiership and a host of other individual accolades. He however, did not win the Ballon d’Or but insists that this does not hang his belief and pride in his accomplishments. “I don’t need to lay claim to anything, it’s just a fact. Whether you accept it or not, it’s a fact,” he said. Adding that “when I look at where I came from and how far I got, I tell myself that I am entitled to be proud. That doesn’t mean I am big-headed, far from it. It is just that, in this world, people like puppets and I don’t accept being one.”

According to him, “everyone wants me to go into politics, but there won’t be 10 million George Weahs,” explaining why he does not see politics as an option for him, he noted that everyone is born with their own star. Everyone at some point gets involved in politics at their own level, but, for the moment, it doesn’t interest me. Eto’o who got some flak from his fans for backing President Paul Biya of Cameroon who has ruled the country for 37 years, before his re-election in 2018 said that a lot of people might be saying that it’s an idea I have, but I say to them it doesn’t exist in my mind at the moment. He however added that every citizen has the right, “if you want to stand, nobody is going to stop you. But in our country it is as though it is something reserved for certain people. Personally it is not an objective.”

Speaking on his fondest memories in football, he pointed out that his first Africa Cup of Nations in 2000, won in Lagos, Nigeria was his fondest. According to him, “it was my first AFCON, an unforgettable moment, and I had come away from the 1998 World Cup in France with the hope of making history,” he said. “I wasn’t a starter in that magnificent team but in the end I worked my way into the side and contributed. It is a beautiful memory.” Eto’o went on to play in four World Cups with the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon but never got beyond the group stages.

He is regarded as part of Cameroon’s golden generation of footballers that featured the rugged Rigobert Song, the late Marc-Vivien Foe and Geremi. On his legacy in football, he believes he has helped in grooming some players for the next generation especially the Ajax goalkeeper Andre Onana who emerged from the Eto’o Foundation. The two-time Africa Cup of Nations winner says he wants to move into coaching, although he has also taken a role with the Confederation of African Football. “My role is to lobby the different federations to convince them to adhere to the work being done by president (Ahmad) Ahmad,” he said.

Speaking on his coaching career, he said “I would like to coach in Europe and then one day return to Africa and win there. I don’t know how to lose. I am lucky to have made history at different clubs. I have a lot more doors open to me than others, but you need to be prepared” he added. He noted that he would like to learn, have all the qualifications, understand how things work either in his own businesses or in his future career, in order to come back in 12 or 24 months and start a new career, which he hopes will be just as beautiful.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.

Federal Government Urged to Pay Greater Attention to Oil Producing Communities

As the federal government sets up an interim committee to run the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) over claims that the people of the region are yet feel the positive impact of activities of the Commission and other similar initiatives, civil societies organizations are calling on the government to pay greater attention to the results on ground in the region. The call was made during a dialogue organized by the Nigeria Natural Resource Charter (NNRC) in partnership with We The People with other critical stakeholders to determine solutions and advocacy points on how best to ensure transfer of benefits to host communities in the Niger Delta region.

The event which had in attendance, the Special Assistant to the President on Niger Delta Affairs, Mr. Edobor Iyamu and representatives from the Office of the Vice President, also had the NNRC’s Expert Advisory Panel member Dr. Ukoha Ukiwo, Dr. Dauda Garuba, Representative of the Executive Secretary of NEITI,Chris Onosede of Stakeholder Democracy Network (SDN), Faith Nwadishi of Women in Extractives (WiE) Peter Egbule OF Publish What You Pay (PWYP) Bassey Udo of Media Initiative on Transparencyin Extractive Industries (MITEI Dr. Sam Kabari of Centre for Environmental, Human Rights and Development (CEHRD), Abel Akeni of BudgIT and Victoria Ibezim-Ohaeri of Spaces for Change among many other nongovernmental and civil society organizations such as OrderPaper Advocacy Initiative (OAI), Policy Alert, Centre for Development Support Initiative(CEDSI) West African NGO Network (WANGONET) among others.

Participants unanimously called on the federal government to implement the Niger Delta Regional Development Plan targeted at transferring benefits to the host communities and follow through the programs initiated to ensure a holistic development of the region, in terms of infrastructure and facilities. They also noted that Niger Delta’s issues including environmental pollution, development, livelihoods should be prioritized by the government and funded to demonstrate its commitment to transferring benefits and not just addressing the negative impacts of resource extraction to the Niger Delta people.

On the raging issue of environmental pollution in the area, the federal government was called upon to meet its obligations to Nigeria to reduce environmental pollution in the Niger Delta and stop postponing its targets to detriment of the health and survival of those living in the Niger Delta.

Participants acknowledged that while there has been a plethora of initiatives by the government and multinational companies such as the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) and the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, all designed to transfer the benefits of oil revenues to resource-rich communities, evidence of benefits could not be traced, thus the need for government to ensure greater interagency coordination and focus to enhance synergies and progress tracking to ensure the people benefit from such initiatives. Moreso, they called for the approval of the Strategic Implementation Work Plan (SIWP) by the Federal Executive Council and subsequent funding of all projects therein.

On the oil producing states, the participants called for greater accountability as there is little to show for the derivations they have been receiving over the years. They thus called on both the citizens, civil society organizations, and the media to help in demanding that oil producing states account for their resource revenue expenditures to the citizens by frequently publishing budgets as a matter of course, while Lagos state should be required to reveal its accruals as an oil producing states and disclose its plans for those revenues. To ensure greater monitoring and compliance, participants called for the leveraging of technology to increase transparency in the processes and systems of dispersal of resource revenues to the Niger Delta region.

Still on transparency and accountability, participants demanded that Nigerians deserve to know who owns what, so as to be able to track the possibility of conflict of interests, to this end, they demanded that Beneficial Ownership process should be made a non-negotiable prerequisite for any third party engagement with any benefit organs in the Niger Delta while all contracts and projects approved, commissioned, funded and executed by Niger Delta development agencies must be transparent. They equally called for the strengthening of the local governments so they can manage the revenues made available through the NFIU policies.

The group condemned the non inclusion of the communities from participating in taking decisions on issues directly affecting them, calling for frameworks designed for inclusive community participation while more efforts must be made in sensitizing communities; citizens and accountability actors including community media to hold state and local governments to accounts in the management of funds to improve livelihoods and lives of the citizenry.

They also called for the strengthening of more oversight institutions such as relevant National Assembly Committees and State Legislatures to aid in increasing accountability of the state and local governments in oil producing states in Nigeria. Even as the Petroleum Host and Impacted Community Development Bill should be revised, expanded and debated to provide more inclusive arrangements and opportunities for both transferring benefits to local communities and deepening community participation in the development of the region.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.

How to Avoid Sanctions for Breach of Local Content in Equatorial Guinea

News Analysis

In this analysis, Pablo Mitogo provides readers and investors the key steps to ensure they scale through their local content compliance in Equatorial Guinea, especially those who hope to invest in oil and gas sector of the economy.

The common problems that companies have with local content in Equatorial Guinea

In 2018, the Ministry of Mines and Hydrocarbons of Equatorial Guinea informed operators Exxon Mobil, Noble Energy and Marathon Oil that they should stop doing business with several companies because they were not in compliance with local content regulations under the country’s hydrocarbons law and the clauses of their PSCs. The truth is that it was not the first time that happened. In 2015 and 2016, there were also economic sanctions for the breach of local content requirements. With the local content Ministerial order covering only 20 pages, it seems surprising that companies could be risking their operations and contracts over something very straightforward. To understand the catch, read on.

Between 2015 and 2016 in our offices in Malabo, we had the opportunity to assist the Government in a plan that was unprecedented to audit oil and gas companies and verify their compliance with their local content obligations. We were very surprised to see how the legal departments of large oil companies did not know exactly how to protect their organizations against these demands. Because the number of companies that did not comply was very high, the Ministry decided to adopt a more collaborative than penalty approach, without which all operators and contractors would have been sanctioned in some shape of form.

Reserving the confidential client information, we observed that most of the in-house local content departments of these companies have three common problems: 1. determining who is obligated to do what under local content regulation; 2. knowing what local content includes; and 3. correctly developing a local content plan that meets very specific points required by applicable laws.

To examine these common problems, it is necessary to briefly clarify what the local content is according to the legislation of Equatorial Guinea. The keyword of the local content is “privilegio.” This is a set of privileges that companies or physical entities have and whose purpose is to obtain preferential treatment with respect to other companies and people from other places when obtaining contracts in oil & gas and mining. These privileges belong to local companies, companies of the CEMAC community, or African companies.

The local content regulations in Equatorial Guinea are broader than just those set out the ministerial order. They can be found in five main legal documents: the famous decree 127/2004 (amended in April 18 of 2018 by the decree 72/2018) that ensures local participation in the oil industry, the Law No. 8/2006 of November 3rd regulating Hydrocarbons in its articles 88 to 93, the Ministerial order 4/2013 regulating petroleum operations in articles 156 and 157, the Ministerial order 1/2014 on local content. Lastly, all PSCs have very specific local content clauses. The Labor Code also contains laws such as Law No. 6/1992 on national employment policy that also affects companies in the sector, and the list goes on. The question is, how do we put together all the requirements of those laws to get a unique list that tells a company what exactly it should do to comply with local content? While complex, the exercise is feasible and quite straightforward when you know where to start and what to consider.

Because the circumstances and needs of each company are different, local content laws are also flexible. Flexibility in the terms of the law does not mean an exemption from compliance, but compliance mechanisms that can be negotiated with the authorities. For example, you can get more time to meet a specific obligation.

Now that we have outlined the basic frame of local content, we can explore the common problems that companies in the oil and gas sector have when they deal with a local content audit in Equatorial Guinea.

Operators or contractors: who is obligated under local content regulations?

The oil and gas industry is governed by agreements, and many companies have to form alliances and joint-ventures to operate together. This may create doubts about who is obliged to comply with local content laws. According to article 2 of Ministerial order 1/2014 on local content all companies that carry out activities in the petroleum and mining sectors are obliged to comply with local content requirements. This includes: operators, explorers, contractors, sub-contractors and their associates even if they are local businesses. According to this, a) you have to have a contract in the sector and b) you have to operate in Equatorial Guinea. However, despite this clarity, there are many doubts that may arise, for example: what happens to companies that have contracts in the sector but are only licensed to provide material from abroad? Equally, if two companies are linked by a joint-operation agreement, must they comply individually or jointly? Another question that may arise is on whether a local company has to comply with all obligations or if it must simply comply with some. For example, it makes no sense that a local company would be forced to transfer technology just because it is from the oil sector. For such questions that require an interpretation, companies must work with the local content authority to obtain their interpretation in writing. It should never be assumed that a certain obligation is not applicable to a company. This is part of what we consider being flexibility in the local content laws.

The main obligations that any company should pay attention to

Local content is much more than building a primary school in a village or drilling a small water well in a local community. In our experience, it is very common for companies to present small works carried out in the villages as being works of compliance with local content. While the value of such efforts should not be minimalized and corporate social responsibility should be encouraged, a company could still be sanctioned for lack of local content compliance despite having spent money and time on CSR.

Local content mainly includes five obligations that must be structured in detail in a local content plan. These obligations include:

Procurement of goods and services. All necessary goods and services must be hired in order of preference established by the local content regulations. To prove it, companies must keep their invoices or any other document proving that they hired local services. However, it should be clarified that there are limitations to guarantee that the local procurement obligation does not cause prejudice to a) quality (local goods and services must meet international quality standards) and b) price (local goods and services cannot cost more than 10% of what the same good or service would have cost if it had been brought from abroad). That is why we insist that companies should take advantage of this flexibility to adapt each obligation to their particular needs.

Qualified workforce. All workforce must be hired in the order of preference (local, regional and continental). Foreign workforce can be hired only with an authorization, after demonstrating that the company has made substantial efforts to find specialized local workforce and has not found it. However, the authorization to import foreign labor only gives you an extension of time, because the obligation to train local labor prevents you from keeping your foreign workforce over a long period of time. If you have proven your inability to find local manpower for a specific position, you are still obligated to train local talent to fit that role so that you are able to gradually replace your foreign labor.

Technology transfer. This is another common problem for companies. We know that nobody is going to transfer the tools they can earn a profit from, and which gives them an edge on the market. Technology is the greatest power a company can have and today IOCs dominate the market because of their technology, and their edge over NOCs is not only financial but above all technical and technological. Forcing foreign companies, be them IOCs or oilfield services, to transfer their know-how is very complicated to achieve. However, the spirit of the law is not that business or industrial secrets are transferred to local premises. So how do you know that a company transfers technology within the framework of local content legislation? That question is also not easy to answer. However, the practice followed by the authorities is to verify if the company has a plan to ensure that its local resources are technically capable of carrying out their work with the international quality standards generally accepted in the industry.

Training. The clearest and most difficult clause to ignore is that pertaining to the training of local employees in order to enhance their skills. Although this obligation is already included within labor laws, the object and spirit of both laws (labor and local content) must not be confused. What is the difference? If in the labor laws it is envisage that an apprentice gains experience or acquires the skills of a profession or trade, the purpose of the local content is to specialize these in very specific tasks within the petroleum industry so that they are able to carry them out in the future autonomously with the same technical competence as a foreign expert. So, complying with one doesn’t mean that you don’t have to comply with the other. Basically, the local content laws requirements of training start where the labor laws reequipments ends. With the right advise and the correct approach, both laws can be easily complied because there is not necessarily a conflict between them.

Social Infrastructures development. What does the local content regulation refer to when they impose the obligation to run infrastructure in the communities, and is any particular infrastructure expected to be developed by oil companies and their contractors? Article 93 of the hydrocarbons law says verbatim that “they must (the infrastructures) be of the widest impact on the public.” In other words, infrastructure must be meaningful and of the quality that a community would need. It’s very important to make sure that the Infraestrure is also sustainable to the community; You don’t want to build a school without a plan to provide teachers nor learning materials or build a health center in a poor community without any nurse. The community needs a school or a health center operational, not an empty building. Practical requirements in this regard have to do with a) sustainability over time b) the importance and quality of the infrastructure to substantially improve the life of as many people as possible in a local community.

What should be in your local content plan?

The local content regulations oblige all oil and gas companies to have a detailed, long-term local content plan and implement it. Companies must also demonstrate that they are reasonably executing the plan they themselves have prepared. The important thing about this plan is that: a) it is flexible, b) it is a plan that can be adapted to the individual circumstances of each company and c) must be approved by the General Directorate of Local Content. The design of the local content plan, its evaluation and presentation to the authorities when undergoing an audit is the most critical part. Almost all companies that have been sanctioned have breached some of the essential points of their own plan. We can organize these into four large groups: i) Documentation related to the incorporation of the company; ii) Documentation related to the procurement of goods and services; iii) Documentation related to technology transfer and training of personnel; and iv) Documentation related to infrastructure development. Although we do not intend to address all these aspects in details, the following according to our experience are the ones that can create the most problems for a company.

a. Documentation related to the incorporation of the company:

· Notary deed duly legalized and registered in the Commercial Registry,

· Certificate of Tax Identification Number (NIF),

· Registration of company in the MMIE.

b. Documentation related to the acquisition of goods and services.

· List of all partners and suppliers of the company, as well as the contracts, offshore and onshore signed with them,

· National Content Development Program and its evaluation plan,

· Detailed report on contracts awarded to local companies,

· Proof of semi-annual shipments of the updated list of services that the company needs to contract,

· Proof of payment of social shares to local partners.

c. Documentation related to technology transfer and staff training:

· Detailed reports on job vacancies and jobs to be created,

· Training plan for local employees,

· List of local staff and their evaluation and promotion system,

· Annual internship program for students of the National University of Equatorial Guinea.

d. Documentation related to infrastructure construction (with social impact)

· Detailed report on Social Work Projects and their degree of compliance.

How serious is the local content compliance issue?

The highest penalty for breaching local content standards is that the government can order operators to terminate contracts or prohibit them from renewing contracts they have with a company that does not comply; and this has already happened in the past. Other sanctions include financial sanctions that in the past have reached anywhere between $500,000 to $3 million, sometimes more if we analyze the full impact of the consequences of a sanction. Other much lighter sanctions have included a warning with the company being given a short amount of time to meet very specific requirements.

Furthermore, if a company demonstrates a track record of non-compliance, they will lose the confidence not only of the government but of the operators, because every time a company is sanctioned, all its partners are affected in some way.

Conclusion. So far, three things must now be clear: a) failure to comply with local content requirements may jeopardize not just a company’s contracts, but its very existence in Equatorial Guinea and its ability to renew or obtain new contracts b) local content is a complex issue but c) managing its compliance is not a big deal providing the right steps are taken early on.

Pablo Mitogo is Associate Attorney, Centurion Law Group

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.

Access to justice for all is not yet a reality – but there are ways forward

By Patricia Scotland

Access to justice for everyone in all communities is an important right and requirement for building fair and peaceful societies – yet this objective has been achieved in few if any nations, and the consequences are damaging for social, economic and political progress and stability.

Studies indicate that of the 1.4 billion people who for whatever reason in the past two years felt the need for recourse to law, less than half have had their justice needs met. Barriers such as cost, complexity and corruption cause people either not to seek redress, or to be defeated by the process.

The 53 countries of the Commonwealth are committed to taking action to right this wrong. Each member country is committed through our Commonwealth Charter to: ‘an independent, effective and competent legal system’ which ‘is integral to upholding the rule of law, engendering public confidence and dispensing justice’.

That is the basis on which discussions on innovative and united action towards access to justice and related priorities will take place over coming days at the Commonwealth Law Ministers Meeting which convenes in Sri Lanka, 5-7 November 2019.

While many are fortunate to have a system that can be relied upon to give a fair hearing and resolution, for millions of people around the world, this is sadly not the case. Problems with access to justice can seriously affect people’s lives through physical and stress-related ill health, loss of income and damage to relationships. Vulnerable groups in many jurisdictions tend to be those that justice systems ought to do most to protect.

Our priority has to be to answer the needs of all people, and particularly those such as the poor and unemployed, victims of domestic violence, refugees and disabled or first nation people, whose experience far too often is to feel marginalised or ill-served by judicial processes.

Poverty affects access to justice in many ways, and discriminatory laws perpetuate and exacerbate disadvantage. Income, gender, sexuality and location can all be factors in people being denied equitable access to justice. Sometimes several of these factors combine severely to the detriment of victims or offenders from already vulnerable groups.

Indigenous women, for example, particularly those who have faced addiction, poverty or domestic violence, are often already marginalised, and then suffer the further blow of being unsupported in their search for justice, diminishing yet further the prospects for themselves, their families, and the communities in which they live.

Even where equal and progressive laws exist, swingeing cuts to legal aid, or lack of legal aid altogether, can impair access to justice, particularly for the most vulnerable. Lack of access to justice then leads to further injustice – with people denied their rights or a voice, unable to fight discrimination and prevented from holding public bodies to account.

The result is that progress towards sustainable development at national, community or personal levels is limited, and opportunities for inclusive growth and prosperity are lost. At worst, injustice can be the root of conflict and violence – even though people are generally not seeking revenge and retribution, but recompense and restoration. Systems should ensure these avenues to resolution are available because, without them, anger and resentment can fester.

Innovation and technology open up new horizons and possibilities. Digital resources such as e-courts, video advocacy and interactive information services are helping to improve inclusivity. Yet even with such innovative approaches and mechanisms, those same vulnerable groups may continue to experience obstacles to affordable and equitable access.

So we need to be aware that the promising solutions technology offers can also prolong existing problems or present new ones. This means that just as lawbreakers find ever more sophisticated ways of using technology for crime, lawmakers must leverage what technology can do to keep ahead or abreast of such threats.

Our related systems of governance and administration, and the widespread use in our jurisdictions of the Common Law, make the Commonwealth ideally placed as a community to think, plan and act together towards fairer and more inclusive access to justice with improved outcomes.

Working together in mutual support, and by learning and gaining encouragement from one another, our member countries are able to accelerate progress towards creating and delivering fair and effective national laws. They are helped in this by Commonwealth Tools kit that guide on matters such as policy-making and legislative drafting.

The beneficial impact of this cooperation is enhanced through the expert technical assistance provided to member countries by the Commonwealth Secretariat. Examples of this include the legal issues associated with tackling violence against women and girls, gender discrimination, corruption and climate change.

By combining to work towards all our people having proper access to genuine justice, and by sharing good practice to strengthen the foundations on which the rule of law are built, the Commonwealth shines as a beacon for multilateral cooperation, and opens up pathways towards more peaceful and prosperous societies, and a fairer and more secure future for all.

Patricia Scotland is the Commonwealth Secretary-General

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.

Owner of Starbucks And Domino’s Pizza South Africa Quits Food Business

South Africa’s Taste Holdings (TASJ.J), owner of Starbucks and Domino’s Pizza franchises in South Africa has come to the end of the road on its food business. Taste Holdings said on Friday it was abandoning the food business, and had already sold its 13 stores of the coffee chain to a consortium for 7 million rand ($464,000).

Here Is All You Need To Know

In a statement, the company said it was also in discussions around the sale of Domino’s and its two other food businesses, restaurant chain Maxi’s and The Fish & Chips Co, as part of a new strategy to become a solely luxury retail group.
Its statement said the Starbucks outlets had been sold to a company called K2019548958 (South Africa) Proprietary Limited, a consortium whose members were not identified in full.
Taste said following the sale of the food assets, including the Starbucks stores and 48 Domino’s outlets, it would focus on its remaining luxury retail portfolio, including jewelers Arthur Kaplan and World’s Finest Watches. That, however, is also loss-making.
Consumer-focused firms from banks to retailers have been struggling in South Africa, where a stagnant or contracting economy, unemployment of near 30% and rising living costs have left many with little extra cash

In total the group has the following number of stores open for their various brands as at end February 2019: Steers: 643 Wimpy: 559 Debonairs: 672 FishAways: 266 Mugg & Bean: 247 Gourmet Burger Kitchen (UK): 80 Fego: 35

Unwilling Investors In A Struggling Economy

Taste Holdings had been trying to turn the Starbucks and Domino’s businesses around after putting their expansions on hold a year ago amid losses — making Taste one of a string of retail firms hurt by a troubled South African economy.

In a statement, the company said that after months of canvassing potential partners and capital providers, it had become evident that the money required to fund its plan could not be secured with the current business structure and market conditions.

“Taste’s board of directors has therefore revisited the previous strategy and has decided that it is in the best interests of the Company and all stakeholders to exit the food business,” the statement said.

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Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organizations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution, and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world

United Nations Appoints Ogunbiyi Special Rep, Co-Chair of UN-Energy and new CEO of SEforALL

October 31, 2019

A Nigerian, Ms. Damilola Ogunbiyi has been tapped by the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres as his Special Representative for Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) and Co-Chair of United Nations-Energy, the UN Secretary General also used the opportunity to announce to the Administrative Board of Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) that Ms. Ogunbiyi is now the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SEforALL. Ms. Ogunbiyi who succeeds Rachel Kyte of the United Kingdom as Special Representative, Co-Chair of United Nations-Energy, and CEO of SEforALL comes equipped with extensive leadership experience and a track record of supporting energy access in Sub-Saharan Africa to these roles. She was the first woman to be appointed as Managing Director of the Nigerian Rural Electrification Agency.

Ms. Ogunbiyi is now the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SEforALL

She is also responsible for implementing the Nigerian Off Grid Electrification Programme and successfully negotiating the Nigerian Electrification Project, to rapidly construct solar mini-grids and deploy solar home systems across Nigeria. She also developed the Energizing Economics Initiative and Energizing Education Programme, which provide sustainable and affordable off grid power solutions. Before joining the Federal Government of Nigeria, Ms. Ogunbiyi was the first woman to be appointed as the General Manager of the Lagos State Electricity Board, which is responsible for public lighting, independent power projects, and energy development serving millions of people across the State. Prior to this, she consulted for the United Kingdom Department for International Development on public-private partnerships.

Ms. Ogunbiyi is a globally respected leader with a broad and diverse international network in the area of energy development, which includes key relationships with leading multilateral and bilateral partners and the private sector. She is also one of the Commissioners for the Global Commission to End Energy Poverty.

The announcement comes as the world is about to enter the final decade to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7) – access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all by 2030. SEforALL is an international organization, headquartered in Vienna, Austria, that is dedicated to helping the world achieve SDG7 and Paris Agreement targets.

SEforALL continues to have close ties to the United Nations through an existing relationship agreement, partnerships with United Nations agencies and Ms. Ogunbiyi’s roles as Special Representative for Sustainable Energy for All and Co-Chair of United Nations-Energy.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.