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Tag: Africa

  • Africa and China’s 40 years of reform

    The successful practice of the Chinese people is a proof that there is more than one path leading to modernization. With the right direction and with unremitting efforts, all roads will take us to Rome.” – President Xi Jinping

    At the turn of the 21st century, American political scientist, Francis Fukuyama published a well-regarded book, the “End of History,” which attracted considerable attention. He argued then, that “remarkable consensus concerning the legitimacy of liberal democracy as a system of governance had emerged throughout the world,” and as such “liberal democracy may constitute the end point of mankind’s ideological evolution and the final form of human government,” and therefore “constitute the end of history.”

    But China’s then, little internationally known reform and opening up which was in full throttle was making steady progress. But, far from the then, euphoria of Fukuyama’s “remarkable consensus concerning the legitimacy of liberal democracy,” China’s modernization effort consisting in reform and opening up was decidedly and staunchly, “socialist”, with Chinese characteristics.”

    China’s then preeminent leader, Deng Xiaoping who was convinced that “economic reform is the only way to develop the productive forces,” has however categorically made clear that “in the course of reform, it is very important for us to maintain our socialist orientation.”

    In the huge task of “carrying out our modernization,” Deng exhorted that “the programme must proceed from Chinese realities, adding that “both in revolution and in construction, we should also learn from foreign countries and draw on their experiences but warned that “mechanical copying and application of foreign experience and models will get us nowhere.” He, therefore, charged that “we must integrate the universal truth of Marxism with the concrete realities of China, blaze the path of our own and build a socialism with Chinese characteristics,” and summarized that “this is the basic conclusion we have reached after reviewing our long historical experience.”

    Forty years since China took the path that corresponded to her national realities, the myth of Fukuyama’s “remarkable consensus that liberal democracy constitute the end point of mankind’s ideological evolution,” and therefore, the “end of history,” has been exploded by the fact that “the successful practice of the Chinese people is a proof that there is more than one path leading to modernization.”

    Even though, opening up and reform, according to President Xi Jinping is a strategic decision made by China based on its need for development as well as a concrete action taken by China to move economic globalization forward in ways that benefits people across the world, the lessons and experiences in staying in the arduous  course of reform and opening up constitute critical and strategic resource materials from which vital insights can be gleamed in driving the course of sustainable and inclusive development in Africa.

    Africa development trajectories have serially suffered hiccups not for want of courage or persistence but in the deficit of grasping the existential realities and specific conditions of each African country and the contradictions it generates, from which any meaningful and realistic outlines and policy ramifications can be drawn. China’s basic outline in reform has consisted essentially in understanding the severity of her existential realities and national condition at any particular time and the huge exertions and toils that must be deployed to engage it. And that this trajectory of ceaseless engagement with contradictions does not brook complacency, laxity or even a momentary relaxation.

    Forty years of relentless reform and opening up in China has demonstrated amply and very clearly, the prospects of human capacity to transform its conditions, despite the severity of its challenges and, this speak boldly to the Africa’s possibilities and the difficult choices it must decide to make by itself. Despite that China’s experience is not repeatable; it however, offers very instructive lessons.

    In his widely acclaimed monograph, published in 2004, “The Beijing consensus,” Joshua Cooper Ramo noted that “China is marking a path for other nations around the world who are trying to figure out not simply how to develop their countries, but also how to fit into the international order in a way that allows them to be truly independent, to protect their way of life and political choice.” Ramo who claimed to have discovered a “new physics of power and development,” and called it, “Beijing Consensus,” which he contrasted with “the widely discredited Washington consensus, an economic theory made famous in the 1990s for its prescriptive, Washington-knows-best approach.” Continuing, he said, “the Washington Consensus” was a hallmark of end-of-history arrogance, which left a trail of destroyed economies and bad feelings around the globe.”

    Noting that “China’s path to development and power is, of course, unrepeatable by any other nation,” the main lesson which is, however, “about using economics and governance to improve society” will ultimately resonate and make story impressions in Africa.

    Forty years ago, not many Nigerians and Africans can tell where and what is Guangzhou, now the famous commercial and capital city of China’s  coastal Guangdong province,  a business hub  where most Nigerians and their African peers throng for lucrative businesses. Actually, 40 years ago, Aba and Kaduna in Nigeria, just to mention but few in Africa, were the hub of leather and textile business in West Africa and were on their way to integrating to the all-important global industrial value chain that gives a country a significant niche in global business. But not anymore. Guangzhou has prospered and soared to an international commercial hub while Kaduna and Aba are currently littered with rusting and long abandoned industrial machines but can rise surely rise again.

    The revolution and national liberation in 1949 re-founded the modern Chinese State, giving the Chinese people, an exclusive prerogative for the first time in their long history to decide their destiny. They did but 1978 was the moment of significant national introspection, difficult choices and bold decisions.

    The leadership of the governing party, the CPC made the decision to move away from the comfort zone of easy revolutionary rhetoric, took economic modernization as central task, launched reform and opening up and travelled the difficult terrain of “groping through the river by feeling the stones.”

    Will Africa and her various countries make the difficult choice of moving away from the comfort zone of endlessly reclining in received wisdom, of foreign political systems, orthodox economic models that have got her nowhere, and began the hard task of relentlessly interrogating her own realities and extracting its outcomes in forging her institutional and policy frameworks and enjoy the valid lessons of China’s initiated maxim that “practice is the sole criterion for truth.”

    Aba, Kaduna and other numerous cities, potential industrial outposts in Africa will rise again if Africa seeks renaissance and reforms that is rooted in her own realities and added to an unprecedented international partnership of a massively regenerated China, willing and able to productively and respectfully engage Africa, the continent’s famed potentials is definitely on the cusp of actual realization.

     

    • Onunaiju, is director, Centre for China Studies, (CCS) Abuja.

  • In search of single currency in Africa

    The quest for single currency in Africa was top on the agenda at the just concluded Annual General Meeting of African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) in Abuja. Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf in this report examines some of the concerns raised by different stakeholders

    The take off date for the introduction of single currency in Africa is 2020. That idea and ideal was again reechoed in the last few days by many people who hold the view and very strongly that a single currency in the continent will be something well worth it.

    Quest for single currency

    Interestingly one of those in the forefront of the introduction of a single currency window is the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank).

    The bank has almost concluded the setting up of a pan-Africa payment and settlement platform that will finally dovetail into a common currency era on the continent.

    The goal of the project is to facilitate payment for goods and services that are traded intra-regionally and to facilitate that in the different local commerce, Benedict Oramah, president of Afreximbank, said at a press conference at the bank’s 25th annual general meetings in Abuja.

    “We have been engaged in a big project, the pan Africa payment and settlement platform which we are developing and I am pleased to say that we are nearing concluding that project.

    “We are doing to it to bring convertibility within Africa of African currencies, that is the first important step to having a single currency and we are doing it by providing a clearing platform,” he said.

    The bank is in a unique position to champion the project since it is not regulated by any central bank and that all the countries and members of the bank have signed the treaty, which specifically gives the project a nod, he said.

    “So, we have the legal basis, we have the convening power and we have the zeal to do it.”

    “What the platform will do is that for instance, somebody in Ghana buying goods in Nigeria will pay for input in Cedi, while the seller in Nigeria will receive naira, he said.

    “Ultimately, when we clear everything, only those who are in deficit would then be called upon to pay in dollars, however, as we do this across 54-55 countries in Africa, we’ll start to create a notional currency which would be built around the African Export-Import bank.”

    On the modalities to be adopted, he said the trade between Ghana and Nigeria, for instance, Ghana may be in deficit, but may be in surplus in the trade between it and say, Sierra Leone, “so we hold those in that notional currency which they can lend, and they can transfer to use to pay where they are in deficit.

    “From a multilateral angle, you may then find that the use of a foreign currency will trend towards zero.”

    Oramah said that if “this works according to their optimism and people get used to it, “it then forms the basis for the activities to be in place for a single currency to be there, the issues of macroeconomic convergence, they can then have a luxury of discussing them knowing that in principle, you are already trading using one currency.

    “That is our hope, and we are working very hard towards it,” the President added.

    Oramah also announced the Afrexim bank’s five years intra African trade strategy which hinges on three key pillars, including create, connect, deliver and which the bank started implementing in January.

    According to him, the strategy projects that by the end on five years, the bank would have disbursed $25 billion, having done $8billion already in the first year, well ahead of target.

    He said the strategy targets trade financing in food, oil sectors among others across Africa, as well as various logistics to support trade.

    Oramah also announced that in 25 years of existence, the bank has disbursed $50 billion to member countries for various developmental needs and exceeded expectations as well.

    According to him, the bank’s funds helped Africa remain resilient during the global financial crisis, though some of the countries still remain in difficulty.

    By 2017, all, but $1.5 billion of the loans granted to member countries were yet to be repaid, he added.

    The Eco is the proposed name for the common currency that the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) plans to introduce in the framework of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

    Why Afreximbank is pushing for single currency

    As the foremost pan-African multilateral financial institution, the Afreximbank is the devoted to financing and promoting intra- and extra-African trade.

    The Bank established in October 1993 by African governments, African private and institutional investors, and non-African investors. Its two basic constitutive documents are the Establishment Agreement, which gives it the status of an international organization, and the Charter, which governs its corporate structure and operations. Since 1994, it has approved more than $51 billion in credit facilities for African businesses, including about $10.3 billion in 2016. Afreximbank had total assets of $11.7 billion as at 31 December 2016 and is rated BBB+ (GCR), Baa1 (Moody’s), and BBB- (Fitch). The Bank is headquartered in Cairo.

    Growing support for single currency

    Another advocate of single currency is former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

    Obasanjo mouthed his support while playing host to the President, Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Commission, Mr. Marcel de Souza, at his hilltop estate, Abeokuta recently.

    The former president said it was high time the organisation started using single currency, adding that it would help boost the economy of all members of ECOWAS.

    “We have decided that our unit of currency will be ‘eco’, let us now start using eco, let eco become our unit of currency.

    “Single currency unit for ECOWAS states will bring about more development and growth among the states,” he said.

    The former president also said that a deeper economic integration among members of the ECOWAS would gradually stem the tide of youths’ unemployment in the region.

    He stressed that economic integration of West African countries would guarantee development of the sub-region.

    “ECOWAS was established 41 years ago, the expectation of all of us was very high, I think we will not be fair to ourselves if we do not say to ourselves we have not moved as fast as we expected.

    “We must tell ourselves the truth that there has not been enough political will on our part to move the sub-regional organisation as fast and as far as we should have done,” he said.

    He advocated a reform that would enable member countries to move beyond movement of goods and services.

    Working at cross purposes

    Meanwhile, Nigeria and Ghana have taken different positions on the introduction of a single currency for the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

    Both countries failed to agree on the initiative at the meeting of the Presidential Task Force on the ECOWAS single currency programme, which held in Accra few months back.

    Nana Akufo-Addo, Ghanaian president, argued that member states should ensure that the single currency be introduced by 2020.

    He stated that ECOWAS was blessed with abundant human and material resources, hence having a common currency would speed up stronger commercial ties with accompanying benefits.

    “We remain determined to have a single currency which will help remove trade and monetary barriers, reduce transaction cost, boost economic activity and raise the living standard of our people. It is a goal, we must achieve,” he said.

    However, Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria who represented Nigeria at the meeting, cautioned against a hasty move to introduce a single currency for West Africa.

    According to him, ECOWAS heads of government have not properly analysed a comprehensive picture of the state of preparedness of individual countries for monetary integration by 2020.

    These comments mirror the views expressed by President Muhammadu Buhari at the 4th meeting of the presidential task force on the ECOWAS currency, which held in Niger in 2017.

    At that meeting, Buhari said Nigeria would not endorse the quick implementation of the currency policy because of diverse and uncertain macroeconomic fundamentals of many countries.

    “In previous meetings, we had specifically raised observations on the state of preparedness of the member states, the credibility of the union if anchored on watered down criteria, and the continuing disparities between macroeconomic conditions in ECOWAS countries, amongst others. And I would like to reiterate these concerns,’’ Buhari said.

    Speaking in Abuja, Julius Bino, an economist and public analyst, described the fears expressed by Nigeria as legitimate but unnecessary, stressing that a common currency would expand market opportunities for Nigerian goods and products.

    “Having a single currency would be of immense benefit to Nigeria. It would give our business men and prospective investors the chance to navigate the West African sub-region without the usual bureaucratic bottlenecks we experience,” he argued.

    He suggested an agreement would address whatever differences existed.

    Militating factors against single currency

    In the opinion of Amadou Diouf, an economist from ECA West Africa, he observed that many West African countries were yet to meet the macroeconomic convergence criteria for a single currency.

    Diouf spoke at the 21st Session of the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts for West Africa, in Cotonou recently.

    The Subregional Office for West Africa, based in Niamey, covers the 15 member countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS): Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cote d’Ivoire, the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo.

    Diouf said from the Commission’s findings, many of the countries were yet to meet the macroeconomic convergence criteria for a single currency set up by the ECOWAS and the West African Monetary Agency (WAMA).

    According to the report, the goal is to create a common currency for West Africa. For the currency to be implemented, ten convergence criteria was set out by WAMA.

    Diouf said: “Less than two years from the attainment of the targeted deadline for the single currency, the prerequisite conditions to achieve the goals, notably the macroeconomic convergence criteria have only been partially achieved.

    “Ghana, Niger and Nigeria have been put in charge to advocate for this monetary agenda. An updated roadmap was adopted in Ghana at the meeting of the presidential task force. It is important that West African experts be informed of the new roadmap and examine the potential implications of the ECOWAS.”

    Divergent views over single currency

    The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) recently said Nigeria’s economic performance is crucial to adopting a proposed single common currency (Eco) in West Africa, because Nigeria represents more than 75 per cent of the GDP of the region. To some analysts, the Eco can expand Nigeria’s economic horizon across the region, even to the Francophone nations. Others believe it will boost regional corruption, and enhance cross-border looting and capital flight.

    In the view of Odey Bishop, “Nigeria does not need the Eco now because we have our teething problems to tackle, like poor leadership, corruption, insurgency, ethnicity, youth unemployment, and cattle herdsmen etc. Yes, it will boost regional corruption and enhance cross border looting and capital flight. Over 100 years after amalgamation and 57 years after independence, we have not been able to achieve even one of the five fundamentals of economic growth: 24-hour electricity, good road network, efficient transport system, adequate security throughout the land and low interest rates so that small scale businesses can thrive. Education, health and other sectors are in poor state. Let’s face and overcome these issues along with wiping out the monsters called poor leadership, corruption, ethnicity, youth unemployment and insurgency etc before we multiply our problems. Let’s forget the question of single common currency Eco in West Africa for now till further notice.”

    Echoing similar sentiments, Mr. Olumuyiwa Olawale, a financial analyst observed that, “The idea of a single regional currency in West Africa, though appealing, may not benefit Nigeria in the long run, because of the identified issues of corruption and cross-border capital flight across member nations. An Eco may encourage looting and this will be counter-productive to development. Let us even close our borders! Britain insisted on its currency the pound even as part of the EU; Nigeria, which contributes around 75 per cent of the region’s GDP, doesn’t really need the Eco for now; maybe much later when regional integration is better,”

    In the view of a Mr. Gordon Chika Nnorom, Public Commentator, the idea is a welcome development as it will help to promote oneness among the ECOWAS member nations. “After all European nations have their own euro and it is working for them; why not us? Rules and regulations must be obeyed for sustainability of treaty on member nations having one currency. Any nation that violates the treaty should be sanctioned. It will promote trade and services among them.”

    Though the set date for the takeoff is 2020, but if the groundswell of opposition is anything to go by, no one is yet certain about the exact date the single currency proposal which has been on the front burner of public discourse for years will materialise.

     

  • Wanted: A prosperous Africa via journalism

    Tucked in towering hills and lush vegetation, Koforidua, a town in the Eastern Region of Ghana, is serene with a  quiet ambience. Located two hours from Accra, Ghana’s political capital, Koforidua’s aesthetic landscape turned the city to an ideal place for learning and intellectual engagement for the young journalists, who participated in the African Journalists for Economic Opportunities Training (AJEOT).

    Held at Summit Hotels, the event has become a rendezvous for intellectuals, ranging from political economists to journalists and public policy experts, who came from Kenya, Switzerland, United States (US), Nigeria and Ghana.

    The training was organised by the Ghana-based Institute for Liberty and Policy Innovation (ILAPI), with the support of the Washington D.C.-based Atlas Economic Research Foundation, Language of Liberty Institute (LLI) and Network for Free Society.

    The training’s objective  was to expose the young journalists to ideas of individual liberty and economic freedom, and producing original journalistic works that will promote entrepreneurship, practicable economic policies, freedom and human rights.

    Opening the session with his presentation titled: “Introduction to Classical Liberalism”, Wale Ajetunmobi, a US Exchange Programme alumnus and Editor of The Nation’s CAMPUSLIFE section, described classical liberalism as the only idea that promotes values supporting individual liberty and economic freedom.

    The idea, he said, gave every human being the liberty to pursue anything that would bring peace, contentment and happiness to them.

    He listed the underlying principles of classical liberalism to include personal freedom, free trade, freedom of religion, rights to private property, limited government, equality and justice, among others.

    He said: “The idea that the government should be in charge of business does not ultimately translate to progress and prosperity, because the involvement of the government in business stifles the market. The government should only create an enabling environment for people to freely exchange values. This would be the beginning of prosperity.”

    Speaking on Liberty and Free Market in Africa, the ILAPI President, Peter Bismark, explained why Africa must do away with retrogressive trade policies. People, he said, must stop expecting handouts from the government.

    He said: “It is time Africa rejected an economic system that is heavily dependant on the government. Majority of Africans believe the government must provide their daily bread, which is not supposed to be so. A society is doomed to fail if it is the government that is controlling the factors of production and the supply of materials needed by the people. This limits the freedom of individuals in the society to be in control of what they wish to trade in and robs them of economic freedom.

    “But, in a free market system, which preaches limited government’s intervention, people have freedom to innovate and create wealth that will bring out the society out of poverty. In this case, the only responsibility the government has is to protect the property rights of individuals in the society and maintain justice.”

    Founder, IMANI Center for Policy and Education, a Ghana-based Think-Tank, Franklin Cudjoe, linked Africa’s underdevelopment and poverty to the influx of foreign aid, which, he said, focused on irrelevant programmes.

    In his presentation titled: “Africa needs freer markets and fewer tyrants”, Cudjoe said centralised state rule marked by corruption and sustained by needless foreign aid was a common trend among African countries. He described them as “the shackles that keep Africans poor”.

    He said: “Most African countries, including Zimbabwe, Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique, Swaziland and Lesotho, lack economic freedom and property rights; these countries have their economies mismanaged by the state whose actors depend on aid.

    “All these countries have a history of utopian schemes that failed to produce everlasting manna. State farms, marketing boards, land redistribution, price controls and huge regional tariffs left few incentives or opportunities for subsistence farmers to expand. Despite torrents of aid, these cruel social experiments could not turn sands verdant or prevent the granaries of southern and eastern Africa from rotting.”

    Noting that Africa needs more freedom than foreign aid, Cudjoe said: “The only way to give food security to 200 million sub-Saharan Africans is to give them the tools, not to rely on yet more aid and the government. There are good benefits that come from property rights, for instance, which also inspire the motivation to invest in, improve and preserve factors of production. Motivation does not come from aid, central control and state serfdom.”

    Vicente Di Camara, a young libertarian from Switzerland, spoke on Geopolitics, during which he took the participants on the parameters used by international bodies to measure the degree of freedom in countries.

    He also spoke on the concept of neo-liberalism, use of language and items of international politics that cause poverty in developing countries.

    Executive Director, Conservative Policy Research Centre in Ghana, Ebenezer Nil-Tackie, who spoke on “Understanding the Liberal Framwork within the Realm of Public Policy Formulation”, discussed how societies emerged and transitioned without any contact with existing civilisation.

    Abdul-Rahman Sarpong of the Centre for Blockchain and Management Systems facilitated an interactive session with the participants, discussing entrepreneurial strategies and method to designing a practicable business model to run businesses.

    A speaker from Kenya, Berlinder Odek, took the participants on a discourse around Internet freedom. She spoke on the need to create a free society through Freedom of Information (FoI) Law, which, she said, had been enacted in several African countries.

    Atlas Network’s Executive Vice President for International Programmes Tom Palmer, who engaged the participants through Skype call from Washington DC, spoke on “Identifying tools for economic journalism”.

    The training featured individual assignment and group works, after which prizes were presented to participants with the best business model design.

    Some of the participants described the training as “intellectually engaging”, promising to promote principles of classical liberalism and liberate Africa from the shackles of poverty through their journalistic activities.

     

  • ‘How Africa can lead global norms in anti-graft fight’

    The fight against corruption is extremely difficult and complex anywhere in the world. As the nature of corruption evolves, the mechanisms for fighting corruption must also evolve.

    These could include focusing less on sanctions, strengthening institutions to prevent corruption, and ethical re-orientation about those beliefs that support practices understood to be corrupt.  How people think and act are often dependent on what others think and do.

    The fight against corruption requires a new understanding of how the global problem has evolved. Merely adopting anti-corruption laws, focusing on sanctions and creating another anti corruption commission are just not sufficient.

    Rather, innovative and complementary approaches are needed to foster a comprehensive shift in deeply ingrained attitudes to corruption at all levels. Nigeria has indeed, set the pace for Africa as a global norm in many of its policy reforms in the area of asset recovery, transparency in government and implementation of corruption measures.

    Recovering proceeds of crime from other countries involves a barrage of legal, logistical and financial issues. As such, African countries cannot continue to rely on international legal arrangements like the United Nations Convention Against Corruption to recover proceeds of corruption offshore.

    What we need is an African common position on asset recovery and asset return and our own asset recovery framework that not only works with current international asset recovery arrangements, but also extends beyond them when those arrangements do not work.

    Also, African countries should develop a framework for non-conviction based forfeiture. It is a critical tool for recovering proceeds of corruption because it provides for the restraint, seizure, and forfeiture of stolen assets without the need for a criminal conviction.

    Non-conviction based forfeiture is particularly useful where accused has fled jurisdiction and can not be located; criminal conviction against the accused has failed; ownership of the identified illicit assets could not be ascertained or the asset is abandoned; or the accused has passed away, leaving behind assets associated with crime.

    In terms of budget transparency, African countries need to make their budget available and accessible to the public in a simplified format and also structure a participatory mechanism designed to capture the views of the public through out the budget cycle. Also, mid-year review of fiscal activities should be produced and published as a way of tracking the budget implementation, so that people know what the government is doing and what its priorities are.

    The use of technology to fight corruption should be explored and embraced. African countries should collaborate with businesses, technology companies, civil society organisations and academic researchers to shape policies that will help realise the tremendous benefits of technology.

    This joint effort will provide the platform to prioritise issues of anti-corruption and societal importance. As technology continues to evolve, further research and development of solutions are imperative. As such, we need to encourage more of these innovations and African countries need to invest more in technology.

    Any country serious about fighting corruption must have a national anti-corruption strategy-a policy document that will guide all stakeholders in the fight against corruption. Even though the development of a strategy document in Nigeria started in 2009, the National Anti-Corruption Strategy was eventually adopted by the Federal Executive Council on the 5th of July 2017.

    There are other global norms that could be adopted by the African continent to solidify the fight against corruption. For instance, to promote transparency, openness and accountability, the lease or sale of public property is done via electronic auction in Slovakia. Tender for goods and services are conducted via electronic auction as well. Rwanda currently offers public tenders through online system. This is a structure African countries may want to explore.

    The establishment of specialised anti-corruption courts is a developing trend in the fight against corruption. These courts have emerged and are still emerging in many countries in response to need for faster and better criminal justice system and due to the frustration, complexity and difficulty in litigating corruption cases, especially high profile ones.

    Twenty-one countries already have specialised anti-corruption courts. Among, them are eight African countries, with the latest being Zimbabwe, which commenced operation of its courts in March.

    In 2016, the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC) on behalf of the executive, drafted a bill for the Establishment of Special Crimes Courts that will handle not only corruption cases but terrorism, money laundering, economic and financial crimes, narcotics, human trafficking, kidnapping and cyber crimes. The Bill is currently before the National Assembly.

    Another area worth exploring by African countries is the expansion of the mental elements of money laundering to include recklessness and negligence, as is the case in Australia.

    Expanding the mental element of money laundering will make it easier to prosecute middle men involved in money laundering, such as bankers and accountants, who handle the proceeds of crime.

    For too long, professionals, who have advised and assisted criminals to launder money, have evaded prosecution usually with the defense of not knowing the money was the proceeds of crime.

    Finally, reversal of burden of proof. The constitutional presumption of innocence makes it extremely difficult to prove allegations of corruption in any adversarial system and would continue to be difficult until the onus of proof is reversed, as in the case of Singapore, Nepal, Indonesia and Hong Kong.

    Where a person is found with money or property that cannot be correlated with their verifiable earnings, let them prove it. Where they cannot prove legitimate ownership, the money and property should automatically be forfeited.

     

    • Dr Waziri-Azi is an attorney, academic and consultant.

  • Africa’s GDP rising, despite debt increase, says report

    Despite fears over increased debt, several African countries have reported a rise in their Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the latest report by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) has said.

    In its “Economic Insight: Africa Q2 2018”,  launched on Tuesday, the accountancy body provided GDP growth forecasts for various regions, including West Africa at 3.6 per cent, East Africa, which is set to grow by 6.1 per cent, Southern Africa by 2.3 per cent, Central and Franc Zone at 4.5 per cent.

    The report, commissioned by ICAEW and produced by partner and forecaster Oxford Economics, provided a snapshot of the region’s economic performance. The regions include: East Africa, Southern Africa, Central and West Africa and Franc Zone.

    According to the report accessed by The Nation, East Africa’s GDP growth was as a result of Ethiopia, whose real GDP growth of 8.1 per cent, was forecast to result from continued public investment.

    The same kind of capital spending in Egypt, made possible by compliance with reforms proposed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), will boost growth to 5.0 per cent, making it the key driver behind the 3.9 per cent growth in North Africa’s GDP this year.

    In Central and West Africa, growth was forecast to increase substantially to 3.6 per cent, up from 2.3 per cent in 2017. The standout economy in those regions will be Ghana, where real GDP growth of 7.2 per cent in 2018 was forecast to come partly from increased public investment and the resulting boost to the construction and manufacturing sectors.

    Regional Director, ICAEW Middle East, Africa and South Asia, Michael Armstrong, said: “In spite of debt fears, most African regions have reported positive economic growth – mainly spearheaded by public investment and hydrocarbon resources. However, governments need to sustain this positive momentum while balancing their public debt.”

    The picture in the Franc Zone was slightly more positive than in 2017, with regional GDP growth forecast at 4.5 per cent. Most of the regions’ growth, however, will be provided by the two economies that are not oil dependent.

  • OECD, ATAF sign Mou on tax cooperation in Africa

    The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) on Tuesday renewed commitment to tax cooperation in Africa.

    The two multilateral bodies signed the renewal of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) till June 2023, agreeing to continue to work together to improve tax systems in Africa, during a meeting in Pretoria, South Africa.

    The MoU sets their co-operation towards the achievement of the common objective of promoting fair and efficient tax systems and administrations in Africa.

    Justifying the need for the Mou, Logan Wort, Executive Secretary of ATAF, stated that, “ATAF has made tremendous strides in its ability to offer concrete and tangible benefits to member administrations. Our targeted technical assistance work in stemming Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) that erode Africa’s tax base in key sectors, has begun to bear fruit and is a key driver in advancing Africa’s development Agenda 2063. Our two organisations enjoy a special relationship that has contributed to the sharing of knowledge and the development of better tax policy for Africa and technical skills of African revenue administrators.”

    Echoing similar sentiments, Pascal Saint-Amans, Director of the OECD’s Centre for Tax Policy and Administration, said: “It has been a privilege to partner with ATAF in the past nine years,” adding, “Our work with African countries is an essential component which helps us to develop new international tax standards.”

    The group holds the view that domestic resource mobilisation (DRM) is essential to reaching the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Addis Ababa Action Agenda (AAAA) also recognised the universal nature of the tax challenges of the 21st century.

  • Crypto-currency mining malware wreaks havoc in Africa

    Crypto-currency mining malware is wreaking havoc in Africa, an Israeli-based cyber security firm, Check Point, has said.

    Its Global Threat Index released recently showed that on Apri l, Coinhive, Cryptoloot and XMRig were the top six malware incidents in Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya.

    Crypto-currencies are becoming more popular in Africa as local conditions on the continent are conducive to adoption of the digital currencies. Several African countries suffer from rampant inflation. The number of unbanked people on the continent also makes cryptos a viable option in Africa.

    According to crypto-currency marketplace Paxful, in Africa there are more transactions involving the transfer of goods, services and money facilitated through the platform in Africa, compared to the ‘developed world’ where many trade digital currencies speculatively for profit.

    Thus, Check Point notes that cyber criminals are taking advantage of the popularity of digital currencies on the continent by deploying crypto-currency malware.

    Check Point said last month, Coinhive ranked as the number one malware family in all three countries.

    Country Manager for SADC at Check Point, Doros Hadjizenonos, said:  “All three are prolific crypto-mining malware, which, unlike other malware, hijack your system instead of holding it to ransom.

    “While Coinhive leeches your machine’s computational resources to mine Monero crypto-currency when an unsuspecting user visits a Web page, Cryptoloot uses your central processing unit (CPU) or graphics processing unit power to add new transactions to the blockchain, thereby releasing new currency.”

    Hadjizenonos added that XMRig is open source CPU-mining software used to mine Monero crypto-currency.

    “At the end of the day, this might affect your business in one of two ways. Either the hacker’s mining operation will consume large volumes of power and leave a horrible surprise in your electricity bill, or the operation will overload the CPU of the infected machines, slowing down your hardware performance dramatically. This is because the malware will defer your machine’s critical tasks to keep the mining operation in progress,” he explained.

    Hadjizenonos said because crypto miners are created to generate as much profit as possible, most will disrupt the day-to-day operations of a business.

    “The worst part about crypto-mining malware, and what makes it so sneaky, is that it doesn’t need your consent nor rely on you to perform an action in order to make a profit. Take ransomware for example: ransomware relies on the victim to pay a ransom for the attack to be profitable. Similarly, banking Trojans, which steal bank account credentials, need you to first access your account so they can harvest your user name and password,” he said.

    He, however, said crypto miners don’t need the victim at all. “In fact, all they need is your browser to be up and running, and they’re in business, literally,” he said.

    Cyber security firm Trend Micro points out that the popularity and increasing real-world significance of crypto-currencies are also drawing cyber criminal attention; so much so that it appears to keep pace with ransomware’s infamy in the threat landscape.

  • Russia 2018: Fans urge Eagles to redeem Africa’s image

    As the Super Eagles face  Croatia on Saturday in their group D opener, football fans in Ebonyi have urged the team to redeem Africa’s image at the on-going World Cup in Russia by defeating their opponent.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that Egypt and Morocco lost their opening games 0-1 to Uruguay and Iran respectively on Friday, to record poor starts for the continent.

    The fans, who spoke with NAN on Saturday in Abakaliki, reminded the Eagles that Africa places its hopes on them to show good example to Tunisia and Senegal, who would play subsequently.

    Emmanuel Utobo, Director of Sports in Ebonyi, urged the players to overcome the pressure resulting from the burden of expectations placed on them.

    “The players should play with utmost calmness, adhere to coaches’ instructions and disregard whatever views people might have about them.

    “They should not lose hope in spite of any situation during the match as exemplified by Portugal during its 3-3 draw with Spain on Friday.

    “The Portuguese, spearheaded by the indefatigable hat trick hero, Christiano Ronaldo, equalised late into the match as they were not disorganised in spite of surrendering a 2-1 lead in the first half,” he said.

    Bright Nwaneri,  a football fan, urged Coach Gernot Rohr to ensure his midfield is not outclassed by the Croatians.

    “The Croatians boast of a deadly midfield trio of Luka Modric, Ivan Rakitic and Mateo Kovacic; Rohr should neutralise their onslaughts by fielding more players in that position.

    “The Eagles should also play without tension and defend collectively, to cover the inadequacies of first choice goalkeeper, Francs Uzoho,” he said.

    Jude Anyama, a Soccer Viewing Centre Operator, advised the football authorities not to exert too much pressure on the players.

    “Every decision taken on the match should be left for the coach alone, so that Nigerians would hold him accountable for any result that emanates from it.

    “We have passed the stage of querying his choice of players for the tournament, or those to be fielded during matches, but should accept any decision he takes,” he said.

    Chief Mbakwe Oloh, a transporter and football fan, said Nigeria does not rely on a particular star for victory, pointing out that a situation of over-reliance on a star was the undoing of Egypt.

    “Egypt’s problem is over reliance on Mohammed Salah and its performance gives credence to the fact that without Salah, there is no Egypt.

    “Nigeria is lucky not to find itself in such situation and this will give the players, the impetus to showcase their talents at the world cup,” he said. (NAN)

  • Russia 2018: Is this Africa’s time?

    Adeyinka Akintunde

     

    Egypt, returning to the Mundial for the first time since 1990, will be the first African team in action when they confront Uruguay on Friday as the 2018 FIFA World Cup began in Russia on Thursday, 14th June.

    The last African match at the World Cup was Algeria’s ouster to Germany at the Round of 16 on June 30, 2014. France had earlier that day sent the Super Eagles of Nigeria packing, falling to two un-replied goals by Paul Pogba and Captain Joseph Yobo, who scored against his own team.

    No African country has ever reached the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup since its first edition in 1930.The pain of 2010 is still fresh on African minds, eight years down the line. With the World Cup party hosted on African soil for the very first time, many thought Africa would emulate Asia, who hosted the mundial for the first time in 2002 and broke their jinx, with South Korea getting to the semi-finals.

    And it almost turned out right, with one penalty kick from Ghanaian striker, Asamoah Gyan, separating Ghana and Africa from a semi-final place (after Uruguay’s Luis Suarez had committed a foul, stopping a goal-bound header from Dominic Adiya with his hands, and getting sent-off in the process). But the Ghanaian skipper missed it, and his team lost the resultant penalty shoot-out.

    Egypt became the first African team to participate in the World Cup in 1934 in Italy, and bowed out without a win. Africa went on to record its first victory in the FIFA World Cup 44 years later, in 1978, when Tunisia defeated Mexico 3-1.

    Morocco advanced to the Round of 16, taking Africa to that stage for the first time in 1986. They had recorded two draws against Poland and England, but went on to beat Portugal 3-1 in the last group match. They would go on to lose 0-1 to West Germany in the second round.

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    In 1990, Cameroon got to the quarter-finals for the first time, after Roger Milla scored two extra-time goals against Colombia in the Round of 16. The Indomitable Lions would go no further than that, losing 2-3 to England at extra time.

    Senegal also got to the semi-finals in 2002, but fell to a golden goal by Turkey in extra time of the quarter-finals match. They had a good outing at the finals which included a shock 1-0 victory over defending champions France in the opening match and a golden-goal win against Sweden in the second round.

    Nigeria and Algeria however have the Round of 16 as their best outing so far at the FIFA World Cup, with Algeria falling short to Germany in 2014, and the Super Eagles failing on three attempts in 1994, 1998 and 2014, to qualify for the quarter-finals. They lost to Italy, Denmark and France respectively.

    With five teams representing Africa in 2018, one wonders whether luck will shine on Africa, taking the continent to the last four for the first time ever.

    There is a possibility of two African countries meeting at the Round of 16 or quarter-finals. Egypt, the most successful national team on the African continent, Morocco, who won every match in their qualifiers without conceding a goal, and Nigeria, who make a sixth appearance at the finals, are in Groups, A, B and D respectively. Tunisia, returnees after their last outing in 2006 and Senegal, who makes their second appearance at the World Cup finals, have their slots in Groups G and H respectively. Given that anything is possible in football, two of these sides can meet in the first two knockout stages, and victory can guarantee a place in the semi-finals for the first time.

    It should however be recalled that in 1998, Morocco, Cameroon, South Africa and Nigeria were in Groups A, B, C, and D respectively with only Nigeria advancing to the Round of 16 (following Tunisia’s ouster from Group G).

    In 2002, Senegal and South Africa were in Groups A and B respectively, with Cameroon, Nigeria and Tunisia camped in Groups E, F and H. Only Senegal scaled the group stage, and got to the quarter-finals.

    In 2006, Cote d’Ivoire and Angola were in Groups C and D respectively. Ghana, Togo and Tunisia were in Groups E, G and H. Only the Black Stars of Ghana made it to the Round of 16, and fell to Brazil.

    In 2010, with six African teams in the competition, Ghana alone got to the quarter-finals.

    And in 2014, Cameroon and Cote d’Ivoire got Groups A and C, and Nigeria, Ghana and Algeria were camped in Groups F, G and H.  The Super Eagles of Nigeria and Desert Foxes of Algeria got to the second round, and crashed out there.

    So the arithmetic of a possible meeting based on the group they have found themselves may not visible, seeing that these groups also have the presence Uruguay, Portugal, Spain, Argentina and Belgium.

    Africa however hopes luck will shine this time, 88 years after the first edition.

  • Rethinking the next generation of NGOs

    Non Governmental Organizations ( NGOs ) are not only recognised as an alternative to leadership but are also essential to the key transformations that shape peace, security and development globally. Although, religious and circular groups are engaged in activities similar to what NGOs are known for today, the creation of the United Nations (UN) in 1945, and the end of the cold war in 1990 introduced the first and second generations of NGOs in modern era. Currently, NGOs are said to be in their third generation which mainstreams sustainable systems as its defining feature, as against the first and second generations whose characteristics emphasised welfarist and local self-reliant development respectively.

    The approaches of the first and second generations were crucial for emergency situations requiring instant and effective responses, but they only provided temporary solutions that left the much tougher and wicked problems untouched. The humanitarian responses provided to conflict torn communities in parts of Africa were not anchored on the lived experiences of ordinary citizens, providing limited solutions to the much tougher problems of poverty and unemployment for instance. However, international NGOs that started with delivering welfare services such as food, water, clothing and other forms of charity have had to review their strategies particularly in the wake of the September 11 (9/11) terrorist attacks.

    The unique events of 9/11 altered the international landscape in particular ways, with a realisation that the greatest threats to global security could stem from state fragility. This realisation led to the third generation of NGOs with an orientation towards strategic management, and a people centred approach to development, which situates the fundamental challenges of development within institutional and policy constraints. While the third-generation approach attempts to upturn the structural conditions that perpetuate insecurity and underdevelopment broadly, the changing nature of challenges across the globe may require a rethink of development approaches as NGOs transition into its fourth generation.

    Ideas on the fourth generation of NGOs was perhaps first championed by David Korten in 1990 who suggested that it would be critical for the fourth-generation of NGOs to have an orientation towards building ‘a mass of independent, decentralized initiatives in support of a social vision’. Building on the ideas of Korten, it may be useful to emphasise that the fourth-generation approach should essentially move away from simplistic analysis that predicts doom for the world’s future or solutions that suggest single institutional frameworks for contexts that are less similar.

    These notions tend to view problems as a manifestation of the absence of rules or enforcement mechanisms that suggests top-down solutions, which essentially reinforces the approach of the first and second generation. This indeed reflects the gulf that separates elegant institutional approaches from the daily realities of people in many parts of the global south. Instead, we may be at an advantage when we understand challenges and problems from a different lens. It may be useful to view global challenges from the inability of communities to mobilise themselves to solving their own problems. This way we can see what development means from the eyes of ordinary citizens, and harness solutions to problems from their aspirations. In the words of Marcel Proust ‘the real voyage of discovery is not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes’.

    NGOs

    Importantly, therefore, moving into the next generation will require a strategic leadership approach. Strategic because interventions should be proactive, dynamic and for the longer term and; leadership because, the problems are tough not tame. The strategic leadership orientation suggested here is not necessarily a sweeping departure from Kurten’s’ idea of mobilising people nationally and globally towards a vision for an indefinite future. However, the conceptual description emphasises that the next generation should embody certain elements.

    First, there needs to be a fundamental shift from mere predictions of future challenges, to a focus on identifying future prospects through research evidence that effectively articulates the daily realities of ordinary citizens. Similarly, the approach should be proactive in solving tomorrow’s problems today, while also developing models of how best to maximise the opportunities of tomorrow when it comes. Currently, many countries in Africa are struggling to maximise the opportunities of urbanisation for instance. The interventions that led to the reduction in child mortality rates in parts of Africa in the last two decades, did little to provide solutions to the challenges young people face today in making fundamental transitions related to education, employment or even climbing the social ladder.

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    Secondly, it will be imperative for NGOs to ensure that the ideas and theories that inform development planning and policies are consistent with interventions implemented. Development is an experiment, and it will be useful to document the processes that help to unlock the possibilities for progress. NGOs should be careful of falling into the trap of just ticking the box. Rather they should be conscious to ensure that when interventions do not meet implementation realities, change theories should be tweaked and the lessons shared.

    Finally, strategic leadership is about founding partnerships to create a better future. Hence, NGOs need to work together to sustain relevance. They must seek to form communities of stakeholders – not silos – to enhance a comprehensive and dynamic approach to problem solving. One that is not necessarily elegant, but one that holds the potential to create a future where women and men, children and youth, regardless of social, economic and political orientation can live long, live well and reach their highest potential.