News - Afrikan Heroes

African Businesses to Embrace Shared Values at Kigali Summit

October 28, 2019

As part of efforts aimed at getting African businesses to embrace humanity’s shared values and identify how best to tackle humanity’s toughest challenges, Africa’s largest companies will gather in Kigali, Rwanda on 4-5 June 2020 at the 4th annual Africa Shared Value Leadership Summit.

Shared Value Africa Initiative CEO Tiekie Barnard

The Summit is to share ideas about how companies can build business initiatives around solving social problems at scale and contributing to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals on the continent.

The event, the Africa Shared Value Leadership Summit, aims to increase awareness of how social and environmental protection can be incorporated into the strategies of businesses across industries and borders. The Shared Value Business Model, developed by Harvard Business School’s Prof Michael Porter and Mark Kramer and practised by an increasing number of businesses across the world, advocates that business has a responsibility to create both economic and social value.

The summit will provide delegates with an opportunity to learn from the Rwanda success story and why President Paul Kagame is widely regarded as having presided over an economic and social rebirth in the country.

In economic terms, Rwanda’s rate of economic growth has averaged 8% since 2001, according to the World Bank. It is one of four African countries included in the top ten fastest-growing global economies in the world in 2019, with medium term growth projected at 7-8%. In social terms, poverty rates have fallen, and Rwanda has made dramatic gains in health and development indicators.

“Rwanda has demonstrated how enormous challenges can be overcome if there is a willingness between public and private sector to work together, to create a thriving economy,” says Shared Value Africa Initiative CEO Tiekie Barnard. “The summit will offer participants insights into successful Rwanda and regional organisations that understand the responsibility of business in creating social change. It provides a learning environment, with participants sharing information on how they have achieved social impact through their business.”

The summit’s content is aligned with selected priority areas of Rwanda’s National Strategy for Transformation (NST1). Focus areas include the financial, agricultural, mining and health sectors. Innovation will be a cross-cutting topic. Discussion will also focus on opportunities for collaboration through regional relationships, such as those created by the African Continental Free Trade Area incorporating the current 27 African Union member states.

Over the two days of the summit, business leaders will discuss how businesses focused on “profit with purpose” can contribute to reducing inequality and building economic prosperity, thereby mitigating the risk and enhancing the profit potential of doing business on the continent.

This will be the fourth annual Africa Shared Value Leadership Summit – in May 2019, 350 business leaders from 18 countries met in Nairobi, Kenya. Speaker sharing their success and challenges included leaders such as the late Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore, Ladol CEO Dr Amy Jadesimi, Enel Head of Sustainability Projects Maria Cristina Papetti, KCB CEO Joshua Oigara, Barclays CEO Jeremy Awori, Old Mutual Head of Responsible Business, Khanyi Chaba and co-founder of the global Shared Value Initiative, Mark Kramer.

Bernard maintained that at the heart of the Shared Value approach is the understanding that business can only be as successful as the environment in which it operates. Noting that “this is not simply a way for companies to improve their reputations.”

Increasingly, companies and their shareholders are seeing that over the long term, a society’s inequality will also create problems for businesses.

“Shared Value creates more responsible, and sustainable businesses by allowing companies to focus on solving persistent problems for unserved or underserved customers,” says Stephen Chege, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer of Kenya-based Safaricom and pioneer of M-PESA, one of the world’s most successful mobile phone-based money transfer, financing and microfinancing service.

As with previous years, the UN Sustainable Development Goals will be a theme throughout at the Summit as a guide to the business leaders to demonstrate how business can contribute to achieving the goals.

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.

Ethiopia Set To Issue Two Additional Licences to Break Up Ethio Telecom’s Monopoly

The Ethiopian Communications Authority has kicked off its public consultation process prior to issuing new telecommunications licences. This move signals the move by the regulator to liberalize the Ethiopian telecommunications sector. This milestone is due to the move by Ethiopia’s government’s decision to proceed with the liberalization of the telecoms sector in October 2018. This is part of their economic reform agenda that the government hopes will usher the next chapter of rapid economic growth.

Here Is All You Need To Know

The Ethiopian Communications authority intends to issue two additional licences for the telecommunications service operators. Currently, the state run Ethio Telecom has the monopoly in the country’s telecommunications sector.
The aim by the Ethiopian Communications Authority to launch a public consultation process is to collect interested stakeholders contributions regarding the proposed regulatory framework and to provide a “transparent and interactive process.” You can access all the details of the Public notice and regulatory orientations it aims to implement at ECA’s website.
This is a huge move for the Ethiopian telecommunications sector and a huge opportunity for telcos.

Ethiopia has a population of over 100 million people, double the estimated population of Kenya.
Telcos like Safaricom have been reported to have interests in the Ethiopian telecommunications sector where the Kenyan telco is apparently in talks to launch MPESA in the country.
It won’t be a surprise if the likes of MTN or Airtel who are big players in the African continent, are also gunning to get those licences to operate in the Ethiopian telecommunications sector.

Breaking Ethio Telecom’s monopoly in Ethiopia will be very good for the consumers. Recently, it was reported that Ethio Telecom has over 44 million subscribers which is a huge number by any measure. However, if you compare that with Kenya where we have 52.1 million subscribers that is almost or close to the entire population of Kenya, Ethiopia’s penetration is pretty low.

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

Jumia Deploys Post Offices For Last Mile Deliveries In Kenya

Jumia is introducing the use of post offices for deliveries of goods purchased from the ecommerce business’s site in Kenya. The company has just renewed its partnership with Postal Corporation of Kenya (Posta) in a move to increase its footprint across the country. The deal will enable Jumia customers to pick their orders from about 625 post offices countrywide.

“We continue to see increased demand from, surprisingly, even as far as Lokichogio in Turkana. Our expanded pick-up station network with Posta will enhance customer confidence and the adoption of e-commerce countrywide,” Jumia Kenya Managing Director Sam Chappatte said.

A New Life For Posta

Posta, which has seen some of its business rendered untenable by the advent of the Internet, has been diversifying into growth areas including courier services.
Besides Nairobi, Jumia also operates in Mombasa, Eldoret, Kisumu and Kisii, although they say orders come from across the country.

Jumia Among Ecommerce Companies Struggling To Achieve Last Mile Delivery

Mr Chappatte noted that the post office is at the core of last mile delivery, a concept that has proved challenging to retailers and institutions with customers spread across the region.

A similar partnership was started and folded in 2015 due to lack of capacity around the country. Four years later, the two firms believe there are significant changes which have happened to warrant a re-union.

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

Border Closures Across Africa Threatens AfCFTA

October 27, 2019

Officials of continental bodies such as the African Union (AU) African Development Bank (AfDB), African Export and Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the New Economic Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) have expressed worries at the rate some African countries are unable to settle conflicts with neighbouring countries thus resorting to border closures as first resort instead of last resort. This has become more worrisome especially as the Nigerian government has extended its border closures with Benin Republic which has affected trade and businesses across the West African sub-region, with its impacts felt even up to Sierra Leone.

Recently, other African countries have had to shut their borders for reasons ranging from diplomatic disputes, security concerns, health precautions and economic considerations among others. Before the action by the Nigerian government, similar actions were taken by Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Equatorial Guinea, Uganda, and Sudan. But the closure, especially by Africa’s biggest economy, Nigeria has been described by officials of the African Development Bank as a slap in the face of continent’s integration efforts.

The recently signed African Continental Free Trade Agreement provides for the free movement of goods and persons across African countries. But with Nigerian government confirmation that it had closed its land borders indefinitely, barring all movement of goods, as it struggles to curb smuggling, it becomes clearer that the impact will last longer, even if the borders are opened today, says an official of the United Nations UNCTAD..

Speaking on the border closure, Nigeria’s Comptroller General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali said that all goods for now are banned from being exported or imported through our land borders and “that is to ensure we have total control over what comes in. Ali added that “we are strategising on how best the goods can be handled when we eventually get to the point where this operation will relax for the influx of goods,” noting that it would still be possible for goods to cross at points equipped with special scanners.

While the closure has no direct impact on Nigeria’s economically crucial oil exports, which are shipped out almost entirely via the nation’s seaports and offshore oil platforms. But it affects manufacturing especially products meant for West African markets, and also small and medium scale businesses that depend mostly on intra border trades for sustenance. The Customs Boss however maintained that reopening the borders would depend on the actions of neighbouring states, and that as long as they and Nigeria were not in accord on what goods should be imported or exported overland, the frontier would remain shut.

The move has led to a spike in food inflation in Nigeria as items such as tomatoes, rice, fruits and poultry has become more expensive but has rattled the economy of Benin Republic to an extent analysts say they may miss growth projections for 2019.

In September, Sudan closed its borders with Libya and the Central African Republic, citing security reasons. The Sudanese authorities claim that vehicles had been illegally crossing the borders with the two nations, which have both been mired in violence. Earlier, in August, Uganda and Rwanda agreed to re-open their borders, and committed to resolving a diplomatic dispute that had raised fears of hostilities.

Rwanda had closed a busy border crossing with Uganda in February, accusing its neighbour of harassing its citizens and backing rebel groups against the Kigali government. In August, authorities in Cameroon expressed concerns over plans by Equatorial Guinea to build a wall along their shared border. In same August, Equatorial Guinea accused Cameroon of letting West Africans enter its territory illegally, thus shutting down its borders with Cameroon.

Kenya had in June this year closed its border with Somalia, and suspended cross border trade, as part of security operations against terrorist group Al Shabaab. Speaking on that development, the Kenyan Police Chief said that apart from security concerns, Kenya is also worried about cases of human and narcotics trafficking. Kenya has on several occasions closed its border with Somalia, over security and sometimes diplomatic reasons.

When Ebola outbreak happened in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), many countries heeded the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) call not to close borders in the wake of the epidemic but Rwandan authorities closed their border for several hours. That closure was prompted by the confirmation of a third death in the Congolese city of Goma. The city lies just across the Rwandan city of Gisenyi, and many of the two cities’ residents cross the border for work and other activities.

Even though both countries have made peace after a brutal war fought three decades ago, a year after Ethiopians and Eritreans celebrated the re-opening of their borders, President Isaias Afwerki’s government closed the border points at Serha-Zalambesa, Bure – Assab and Om Hajer-Humera, without giving its neighbour any official explanations.

These unilateral actions officials have described as antithetical to the aims and objectives of the continental efforts at integration, thus if countries fail to sheath their swords and allow some of their concerns be addressed at African Union level, these actions might threaten the yet to take off Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).

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.

Second Orange Digital Center In Africa Launched In Dakar, Senegal

French telecom operator Orange has inaugurated its new concept of a place entirely dedicated to innovation, an “Orange Digital Center”. Following on from Tunisia, Senegal will be home to the second Orange Digital Center in Africa and the Middle East.

Here Is All You Need To Know

With a surface area of 2,000 m² on six floors, the Orange Digital Center in Dakar will be the first of its kind in West Africa.
Working as a network, these places allow experiences and expertise to be shared between countries and offer a simple and inclusive approach to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship and to support the local digital ecosystem.
The purpose of the Orange Digital Centers is to bring together several strategic programmes under the same roof: coding school, Solidarity FabLab, Orange Fab and Orange Digital Ventures Africa, the Group’s investment fund. All of the programmes provided are free-of-charge and include digital training for young people, startup acceleration, and guidance for project owners and investment in these projects.
Other centers are expected to open by the end of the year in Jordan,Cameroon and Côte d’Ivoire, with yet more in 2020 in Morocco and Egypt.
Ultimately, similar organisations will be deployed in all the countries within Orange’s footprint in Africa and the Middle-East as well as in Europe.

“I am very proud to open the second Orange Digital Center in Dakar, after the one in Tunis. As the main contributor to the digital ecosystem in Senegal, Sonatel supports the emergence of a creative and flourishing ecosystem that provides digital players with the opportunity to imagine ways to create and prosper. These new spaces are dedicated not only to students, young people with and without diplomas and young people changing career, but also to entrepreneurs reflecting the ambition to promote a strong and innovative digital economy for the country’s socio-economic development”, explains Sékou Dramé, CEO of Sonatel.

“We are working in close collaboration with all the stakeholders, including governments and academics, to strengthen the employability of young Africans and to encourage them to run businesses and to innovate in their countries. Our ambition is to deploy this initiative outside Africa, from the south to the north, by opening Orange Digital Centers in France and Europe. For the moment, Côte d’Ivoire, Jordan and Cameroon will follow in the next few months and in 2020 Morocco and Egypt then all the countries in the Africa and Middle-East zone will have their own Orange Digital Center” adds Alioune Ndiaye, CEO of Orange Africa and the Middle East.

According to Christine Albanel, Senior Exec VP:Diversity at Orange, “The Orange Foundation’s mission, in the countries where it operates, is to provide everyone with a chance by leveraging digital technology. The Orange Digital Center in Dakar illustrates our ambition to make digital inclusion the key focus of our social commitment. The Solidarity FabLab and the coding school, which are part of the Foundation’s and CSR’s inclusion programmes will enable many young people to develop new digital skills and will set them on the course to employment.”

About Orange

Orange is a French telecommunication company present in 19 countries in Africa and the Middle East where it had 123 million customers on 30 June 2019. With sales revenue of €5.2 billion in 2018, this area is a strategic priority for the Group. Orange Money, its mobile-based money transfer and financial services offer is available in 17 countries and has 45 million customers. Orange, a multi-service operator, benchmark partner of the digital transformation, provides its expertise to support the development of new digital services in Africa and the Middle East.

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

WORLD BANK TO SUPPORT POOR KIDS IN SIERRA LEONE

October 26, 2019

SIERRA LEONEAN children’s rights to quality education, in line with President Maada Bio’s Free Quality School Education Programme, has gone a notch higher. At the just concluded annual meetings of the World Bank in Washington D.C, Community Action to Restore Lives, a civil society organization (CSO), supported by OXFAM International, ranked among an elite group that requested the World Bank to focus its funding programs on free, public quality education in developing countries rather than for-profit private education which exclude poor children and children with disability and special needs.

The CSO’s CEO, Mrs Madiana Samba has been on various panels with eminent personalities pushing for increased financing to the education sector under the Bank’s IDA19.

IDA 19 funding negotiations are ongoing. Low-income countries are in discussions with donors for $86 billion in assistance to fund sundry development projects for the next three years. Sierra Leone’s Financial Secretary, Sahr Jusu, is one of 14 negotiators representing 77 IDA countries to raise the fund.

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.

Doing Business Report 2020; How Countries Are Sustaining Business Reforms

More countries are making greater efforts to sustain business reforms in the race to improve on the Ease of Doing Business Report. This according to the World Bank is because inefficient or inadequate regulation can stifle entrepreneurial activity and business growth and impact the ease of doing business. The 2020 World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Report recently released shows that It takes over 200 hours to complete export border requirements for maritime transport in Cameroon and Côte d’Ivoire. In contrast, it takes only 10 hours in Singapore. Border compliance costs for export at seaports in Gabon average over $1,600, but just over $300 in Mauritius.

Burdensome rules may drive businesses away from the oversight of regulators and tax collectors into the shadows of the informal sector or out of the country in search of a more supportive business environment. Foreign investors may shun economies where rules prevent economic activity from flourishing.

Cumbersome red tape holds back more than individual businesses or investors: an economy’s ability to grow sustainably may suffer. Economic freedom to do business goes hand in hand with economic development and a thriving private sector, and these in turn underpin poverty elimination and the pursuit of shared prosperity.

Doing Business 2020 measures regulations across 190 economies in 12 business regulatory areas to assess the business environment in each economy. Ten of these indicators were used to estimate an ease of doing business score this year, over the 12 months ending April 30, 2019. This is the 17th edition of a study that has motivated governments worldwide to undertake business reforms with the goal of bolstering sustainable economic growth.

The study looks at rules affecting a business from inception through operation to wind-down: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, and resolving insolvency.

Best places to do business

The top 10 best places in the world to do business, according to the study, are New Zealand (with a score of 86.8 out of 100), Singapore (86.2), Hong Kong SAR, China (85.3), Denmark (85.3), the Republic of Korea (84), the United States (84), Georgia (83.7), the United Kingdom (83.5), Norway (82.6), and Sweden (82).

Economies that score highest on the ease of doing business ranking share several common features, including the widespread use of electronic systems. The top 20 economies have online business incorporation processes, electronic tax-filing platforms, and allow online procedures related to property transfers. Moreover, 11 economies have electronic procedures for construction permitting.

In general, the 20 top performers have sound business regulation with a high degree of transparency.

Most improved places to do business

Doing Business also looks at which economies improved the most. Doing Business 2020 found that the 10 economies that improved the most in their ease of doing business score were Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Togo, Bahrain, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Kuwait, China, India, and Nigeria.

In Saudi Arabia, authorities established a one-stop shop for company incorporation and eliminated the requirement for married women to provide additional documentation when applying for a national identity card. The country also streamlined and merged pre- and post-registration processes.

Jordan joins the top reformers for the first time with three reforms. The economy strengthened access to credit by introducing a new secured transactions law, amending the insolvency law and launching a unified, modern and notice-based collateral registry. In addition, Jordan made paying taxes easier by implementing electronic filing and payment for labor taxes and other mandatory contributions.

With five reforms to business regulations, Togo ranked among the world’s top 10 most improved economies on the ease of doing business score for the second year in a row and for the third time in the past five years. Authorities abolished the requirement to notarize company documents and reduced the time to register a company. The government streamlined the process for getting a construction permit and made it easier to connect to the electrical grid. It also facilitated the processes of registering property and getting credit.

Among other top reformers:

· Bahrain made getting electricity easier. It is now faster and cheaper to get connected to the grid, and power is more reliable;

· Pakistan made registering property easier by making it faster and easier to register a deed and by increasing the transparency of the land administration system;

· Tajikistan made getting credit easier with the launch of a unified, modern, and notice-based collateral agency;

· Kuwait strengthened protection for minority investors by providing a 21-day notice for general assembly meetings;

· China made paying taxes easier by implementing preferential tax treatment on corporate income tax rates for small and thin-profit enterprises, among other steps;

· India made trading across borders easier by cutting the costs and time associated with border and documentation requirements;

Boomplay ’s Planned Expansion To Francophone Africa Shows Africa’s Music Streaming Business Is Fast Becoming Profitable

· Nigeria made enforcing contracts easier by enhancing the quality of judicial processes.

Reforms in every region – More in some than others

Overall 115 economies around the world implemented 294 business regulatory reforms making it easier to do business.

The Middle East and North Africa was one of the strongest regions in implementing business-facilitating reforms, carrying out 57 regulatory changes. Economies of the Gulf region were particularly active, carrying out 35 reforms. Four economies in the region are among the 10 most improved globally. Getting a construction permit in the region takes 28 days less than among Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) high-income countries. Reform efforts were most active in the areas of getting electricity and dealing with construction permits. However, getting credit in the Middle East and North Africa remains harder than anywhere else an in the world. In addition, barriers to female entrepreneurs are widespread across the region.

Economies in Europe and Central Asia accelerated an already strong momentum to improve business climates and carried out 56 reforms. The region hosts two of the world’s top 20 economies to do business – Georgia ranks 7th while North Macedonia places 17th. The region implemented nine reforms in the area of paying taxes. Since Doing Business began to research business climates, 22 economies in the region have allowed electronic filing of taxes. The region also carried out six reforms in enforcing contracts. And the economies of the region stand out on the ease of registering property: the costs of transferring a property are lower on average than among OECD high-income economies.

South Asian economies maintained a solid pace of regulatory reforms, as both India and Pakistan earned spots among the top most improved economies. India carried out four reforms, including making getting construction permits easier. Pakistan implemented six reforms, including improvements to getting electricity. However, Afghanistan, Bhutan, the Maldives, and Sri Lanka made no regulatory changes. Resolving a commercial dispute in the region takes on average almost twice as long as among OECD high-income economies.

While many economies in the East Asia and the Pacific region make doing business relatively easy, the pace of reforms has slowed from previous years. Reforms were implemented in fewer than half of its economies (12 out of 25). Even so, five East Asia and the Pacific economies are among the top 25 global performers, including Singapore (2nd), Hong Kong SAR, China (3rd); Malaysia (12th); Taiwan, China (15th); and Thailand (21st). China jumped in the ranking to 31st and is among the top 10 improvers for a second consecutive year.

Economies of the Caribbean carried out a record 19 reforms and 11 of 16 economies implemented business-facilitating reforms primarily focused on starting a business, getting electricity, paying taxes, and enforcing contracts.

Latin America lagged other regions of the world in smoothing the path for domestic small and medium-size enterprises to do business. No economy in the region has appeared in the 10 top improvers list over the past two years and no Latin American economy ranks among the top 50 best places globally to do business. At 60th, Mexico remains the region’s top-ranked country, but for the second year in a row Mexico did not introduce any major business climate improvements. However, there are some bright spots. Colombia has implemented a total of 37 reforms since 2005 and continues to lead reform efforts in the region. The country, ranked 67th globally, initiated three major reforms over the 12-month period to May 2019.

Incentives to reform

Doing Business is in its 17th year, and since its inception, 178 economies have implemented 722 reforms in the area of starting a business, reducing or eliminating barriers to entry. Despite such improvements, however, considerable gaps still exist between developed and developing economies on most Doing Business indicators.

However, the incentives are clear. Economies that score well on Doing Business indicators benefit from a higher level of entrepreneurial activity. This in turn generates better employment, greater government revenue and higher incomes. In addition, where burdensome and protracted regulatory processes exist, the temptation to resort to corruption to get things done may be greater.

The results of Doing Business 2020 demonstrate that in almost every economy in the world, there is some scope to streamline or expedite rules to make it easier to do business, allow entrepreneurship to flourish, and make it possible for economic activity to reach its full potential.

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.

AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK SANCTIONED FOR BREACH OF CONTRACT

THE Administrative Tribunal, an independent judicial arm of the African Development Bank (AfDB), has ordered the Bank to pay full compensation to a former employee for wrongful termination of contract. The employee, simply identified as S.A., a former Vice President in charge of infrastructure, private sector and regional integration, was relieved of his appointment by President Akinwumi Adesina, as part of his desire to put together a senior management team, after his emergence as president.

Although the former Vice President conceded to a mutual termination of his employment, he, however, contested the terms of his disengagement. The Bank offered him payment of six months’ salary in lieu of notice, and additional allowance of 16 months’ salary and benefits among other entitlements. However, the employee was not satisfied as he claimed the severance package fell short of his contractual entitlements. He insisted on being paid 22 months’ salary as stipulated in his employment contract. Moreso, he claims that his termination was not approved by the board of the Bank, contrary to standard procedure and general practice of the bank, as it pertains to his position.

In reliefs sought, the employee, through his counsel asked the Tribunal to declare as null and void, and unacceptable, the separation terms and package offered to him by the Bank. He submitted that for there to be an agreed separation, the terms of separation must be acceptable to both parties, and not unilaterally imposed by the Bank. Therefore, the Bank should be mandated to adhere strictly to its practice of paying employees in full the remaining parts of their contract. Responding, the Bank asked the Tribunal to dismiss the applicant’s claims for lack of merit.

In its judgment, the Tribunal headed by Justice Salihu Alpha Modibo Belgore, ruled in favour of the applicant, declaring his termination of contract as unlawful. The Tribunal ordered the Bank to pay him an equivalent of 22 months’ salary and benefits, together with interests. He was also awarded the equivalent of three months’ salary for moral damages. In addition, the cost of six months’ rent was to be paid by the bank to the applicant and £40,000 as legal costs.

The scathing judgment reads in part: “the Tribunal acknowledges that the President of the Bank (Akinwumi Adesina) needs to have confidence in his senior advisors and it is not for Tribunal to second guess the wisdom of his decision to terminate the appointment of the applicant…. That said, having elected to terminate the applicant’s employment early, the President was required to do so in a humane manner in conformity with the rules governing the employees of the Bank”.

Similarly, the Tribunal also frowned at the punishment meted to another employee, a Canadian national simply identified as S.M., who was engaged by the Bank as Chief Evaluation Officer in 2013. Although his appointment was confirmed in October 2014, it was subsequently cancelled for no justifiable reason. To worsen matters, his performance was poorly rated and he was shortly dismissed by the Bank for alleged unsatisfactory service. Not satisfied, the appellant contested his inappropriate evaluation and humiliation.

In its ruling, the Tribunal ordered the Bank to pay 12 months’ salary as damages to the Canadian for failure to abide by its evaluation Rules, 12 months’ salary as damages for mental stress and suffering and £10,000 for legal costs. According to a former Director with the AfDB “these two cases are a sample of the humiliation several staff have suffered in recent times.”

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.

AFRICAN GOVERNMENTS URGED TO IMPROVE EDUCATION

IT is morally unacceptable and bad public policy to have children that cannot read at the age of 10. This was the consensus of panellists at a seminar titled, “Learning Poverty: Building the foundation of human capital”, at the just concluded IMF/World Bank annual meetings.

The panellists frowned at the situation where a terribly high percentage of children in Sub-Saharan Africa cannot read at age of 10. This, they contend, is at the root of global poverty. Investing in human capital is therefore pivotal to eliminating the scourge of poverty globally.

Kelvin Watkins, Chief Executive of ‘Save the Children’, identified the incidence of malnutrition, shortage of qualified teachers and inequality in the society, as possible causes of this anomaly that must be addressed. He said that investing in human capital and learning is pivotal to eliminating the scourge of poverty globally.

Ivo Ferreira Gomes, Mayor of Sobral, Brazil, believes that specially trained, adequate, loving and happy teachers constitute a major fundamental to breaking this yoke of learning poverty.

Annette Dixon, Vice President, Human Development, World Bank Group, summed up the discussion. She said that “beyond fiscal reforms, children must first survive and thrive, families must have access to quality services, girls must have the same opportunities as boys, parents must have economic opportunities, and countries must have policy approaches that allow all of this to flourish.”

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.

Namibians Are Only Allowed To Invest $ 410k Per Year Abroad — Bank of Namibia

October 25, 2019

There is a limit to how much Namibians can invest abroad. According to the Bank of Namibia Namibian residents 18 years of age and older are only entitled to an investment allowance of N$6 million (about US$410k) per year for investment purposes abroad. However, BoN emphasised that the utilisation of this allowance can only be done through an authorised dealer.

“Additionally, public members are entitled to a single discretionary allowance of N$1 million per year for any foreign exchange transaction through authorised dealers and authorised dealers with limited authority. It should be borne in mind that the abovementioned transactions can only be done with the individual’s own money,” read the statement issued by BoN’s Deputy Director for Corporate Communications, Kazembire Zemburuka.

Here Is All You Need To Know

Forex trading in Namibia was recently brought into the spotlight by the arrest of self-proclaimed forex traders, Michael Amushelelo (28) and Gregory Cloete (28); the specialised trade is advertised all over the internet including on social media as an additional source of income.
The duo, known for flaunting their lavish lifestyles, were arrested on charges of conducting banking business without authorisation, accepting money from the public for investment without being authorised to do so under the Banking Institutions Act, money laundering, and acquiring, possessing or using property forming part of the proceeds of unlawful activities.
In the statement, Zemburuka noted that the choice of foreign investment is up to the discretion of the individual but for this allowance to be processed a certificate of good standing from the Receiver of Revenue is required.

Only Authorised Dealers Are Permitted To Deal In Foreign Exchange

According to BoN, foreign exchange in Namibia is regulated by the Currency and Exchanges Act, 1933 (Act №9 of 1933), the Exchange Control Regulations 1961 and the Rules and Order issued under these laws. Under these laws, only licensed authorised dealers (ADs) such as commercial banks and authorised dealers with limited authority (ADLAs), commonly known as bureaus of exchange, can deal in foreign exchange. As such, all persons and entities that wish to acquire foreign exchange for legitimate reasons must do so via commercial banks or foreign exchange bureaus.

“Thus, any person or entity transacting in foreign exchange without complying with the above applicable laws and the process described above, does so unlawfully. The Bank of Namibia has published a list of all licensed AD and ADLAs on its website. Therefore, individuals making use of these licensed entities to acquire foreign exchange do not need to register with the Bank of Namibia,” Zemburuka stated.

He added that the exchange or conversion of the Namibia Dollar into any foreign currency is regulated to control the use of Namibia’s foreign currency reserves in the best interest of the economy.

“Despite the above, the Bank recognises that there may be a legitimate need for individuals to transfer or invest money abroad, hence the law permits the purchasing of foreign exchange under specified conditions,” the statement reads.

How Forex Traders Make Their Money

Authorised forex traders make their money through arbitrage, which is defined as “the simultaneous buying and selling of securities, currency, or commodities in different markets or in derivative forms in order to take advantage of differing prices for the same asset”. Since currencies are traded in pairs the foreign exchange market does not set a currency’s absolute value but rather determines its relative value by setting the market price of one currency if paid for another; which means using opportunities where there is a huge demand for dollars, and where there is a relatively strong liquid supply in other markets.

The idea in forex trading is to roll cash constantly to make money off the daily variances in change of currency value fluctuations in separate markets. This usually involves an element of trading between banks usually called the “interbank market”, spot changes and currency fluctuations in different markets and the ability to act very quickly on these changes.

All institutional investors, such as Sanlam and Old Mutual, participate in forex trading but these institutions usually hedge their bets using derivative structures such as insurance to only expose their clients or a small portion of their money to it.

These authorised traders also use a natural hedge, which is for instance when the Rand/N$ weakens against the US Dollar, then it makes sense to take some money off-shore to benefit from the stronger US$ and vice versa.

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