The Nation Newspaper

Tag: South Africa

  • Visa on arrival: 38,000 passenger processed at Lagos Airport

    No fewer than 38,000 passengers including potential investors have been processes at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos  under the Visa On Arrival scheme and Ease of Doing Business policy rolled out by government in the last one year sources close the Nigeria Immigration Services (NIS) has revealed

    Investigations by The Nation revealed that the bulk of the passengers are investors and tourists seeking business opportunities in the country.

    An immigration source told The Nation that many investors are latching on the The immigration source  said investment is booming in the country as more and more investors are finding their way to the West African country to trade and do other forms of businesses investing both funds, technology.

    According to her,  the over 38,000 came in from all over the world but there were frequent influx from countries including  the United States, China, Britain, Canada, South Africa, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Zambia and a host of others.

    She said, “The visa on arrival is seriously helping and It is a good omen for this country. The Nigeria Immigration Services has done something great and this has helped access of investment as people will make their application and come in and pay for it, instead of going to the embassy.”

    Read Also: Row over missed flight at Lagos airport

    On the duration of the Visa, she explained that the VOA, has always been a duration of one month, stating that once approval was granted by the Comptroller General, the approval has a two-week validity.

    “You only need approval from the Comptroller General to get the VOA. in fact, once the approval is given, it has a validity of two weeks, if not used within that time, you start the process of re applying for approval. However, when you have approval and everything is done the duration of the visa is one month. It is also renewable,” she told our reporter.

    She also said that enlightenment is still ongoing for those that seek greener pastures by hook or crook, stating that the trend is reducing but that the service at all borders are trying to dissuade young ones from taking that route.

    “Human trafficking has reduced, not only at the airport but at other border posts. We cannot say it is completely eradicated but we are doing all we can to make sure we reduce it.”

  • FEAAN holds shows in Nigeria, South Africa

    The Female Artists Association of Nigeria (FEAAN) is  to hold twin epoch-making exhibitions of diverse media in South Africa and Lagos, Nigeria to commemorate the 58th Independence anniversary.

    Both exhibitions will be opening on the same day in South Africa and Nigeria. With “Nigeria @58: The journey so far”, the South African-leg is held in Partnership with the Consul-General of South Africa, Godwin A. Adama, and the Consulate- General of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It will open on Saturday, September 29 and run till Monday, October 1 at 16 Rivonia Road, Ilovo, Johannesburg. It will feature artworks of diverse media 16 women artists from across the country.

    Similarly, with the theme: “Art-mosphere: Celebrating Nigerian Cultural Heritage”, the Lagos-leg featuring 15 artists in FEAAN Southwest Zone, in collaboration with The Roots, will open on Saturday, September 29 and run till Friday, October 5 in Ikoyi. It will feature 45 works of diverse media, including painting, sculpting, textile, photography, and installation.

    At a press conference at the weekend in Abuja, FEAAN National President, Chinze Ojobo, said the exhibitions were meant to showcase rich cultural heritage of the country to the world while projecting the talents of women artists.

    She said: “At this time, our country needs a binder and a healer for the wounds which have for so long, threatened our stability. Undoubtedly, Art is that healer.  Art in Nigeria dates back to at least 500 BC, continuing in this rich tradition, “Nigeria @ 58: The Journey So Far”, FEAAN’s first outing to South Africa, and “Art-mosphere: Celebrating Nigerian Cultural Heritage” by FEAAN Southwest Zone, boast an impressive array of Nigeria’s contemporary art.

    She praised two consulate for their support, saying: “We greatly appreciate the Consul-General and the Nigerian Consulate in South Africa for giving us this platform as part of the celebration of Nigeria’s 58th independence Anniversary.”

    The participating artists in South African exhibition  include FEAAN founding National President, Prof Rita Doris Edumchieke Ubah; Addis Okoli; former FEAAN National President, Akande Ngozi Rosemary; Amarachi Kelechi Odimba; former FEAAN National President, Dr Awoh Stella Mofunanya; Millicent Nkiru  Okocha; and Mayen Madeleine Owodiong.

    Others are Chinyere Ibenye; Igbinovia Omon Sophia; FEAAN P.R.O., Chinyere Odinukwe; Lara Catherine Boglo; Chinze Ojobo; Doofan Kwaghhool; Ella Onyebe; Olumorin Catherine Oluwayemisi and Stanley Chinonso Ezeh (a guest artist)

    The Lagos-leg will feature Nwadejaa Chinma Ngozi; Dr Rita Doris Ubah; Dr Stella Awoh; Hasfat Kabir-Zayyanu; Clara Aden; Omovo Ayoola Oluwaseun; Ejiofor Ogochukwu; Aishati Dirisu; Evelyn Osagie of The Nation; Onyinyen Afam (Zennia); Mrs Patience Anthony Euba; Esther Omowunmi Adebayo; EsuruBelemaIchoku and Funmi Akindejoye.

  • 10 killed, 34 injured as bus overturns in S/Africa

    Ten people were killed and 34 others injured when a bus overturned on a highway near the South African city of Polokwane, an emergency official said on Friday.

    Paramedics arrived to find the passenger bus lying on its side on the side of the highway on Friday, said Russel Meiring, a spokesman for paramedics firm ER24.

    “Numerous people were found lying scattered around the vehicle,” Meiring’s statement said.

    Read Also: Driver, two passengers kidnapped in Ekiti

    Among the injured, five people were critically wounded, he added.

    The reason for the accident and the total number of passengers on the bus was not clear.

  • Fans to Pay N54,000 for Nigeria, South Africa AFCON Tie

    South Africa Football Federation (SAFA) have already fixed the prices for

    the return leg of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations against the Super Eagles of Nigeria billed for the

    historic FNB Stadium in Johannesburg on November 17.

    The football federation has peeged 60 Rand which translates into N1,500 for the popular side, N3,000 for

    the reserved seat and (2146 rand) about N54,000 for the corporate hospitality ticket which excludes VAT.

    SAFA have reduced the amount for the popular sides to enable fans and lovers of the game attend the

    clash after their home team shocked the Eagles 2-0 at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in the first leg

    last year.

    The match at Uyo last year was the first time that South Africa defeated Nigeria in an official game.

    Bafana Bafana, who are second in Group E with four points, same as leaders Libya after two rounds of

    matches, face Seychelles in October with Nigeria taking on Libya.

  • Huawei: ICT has transformative power to boost economic development

    Chinese technology firm, Huawei Technologies, has said information communications technology (ICT) has the transformative power to boost sustainable socio-economic development, adding that  governments have a vital role to play in forming a favorable environment for the dynamic and healthy development of the Industry.

    This was contained in a position paper launched at the just concluded International telecommunications Union (ITU) Telecom World 2018 in Durban, South Africa.

    In the position paper titled “Telco: Investment, Innovation and Competition in ICT Infrastructure”, Huawei said  the development trends of ICT as observed around the globe and their potential social economic development spurred by ICT, after conducting a regression analysis based on a data set of 125 countries for the period 2010 to 2016. It concludes that every 16-20 per cent increase in ICT investment brings one per cent growth in gross domestic product (GDP), stressing that in order to fully unleash the potential of ICT in promoting economic growth and societal well-being, governments have a critical role to play in terms of supporting investment in ICT infrastructure, encouraging ICT innovation, and in guiding and regulating ICT competition.

    Read Also: Huawei wins ‘mobile innovation’ award

    At the launching ceremony, Houlin Zhao, ITU Secretary-General, said government should make ICT policy not just sectoral but national. The development of ICT and relevant infrastructure cannot be realised by solely relying on participants in the ICT ecosystem. Instead, it requires support and guidance from governments.

    He said: “Our objectives are clear: connecting the unconnected, providing people with more advanced technologies, developing new applications, and facilitating other ecosystems. And to succeed in this endeavor, we need more innovative public-private partnerships.”

    Also speaking, Chief Content Coordinator of ITU Broadband Commission for Digital Development, Phillippa Biggs, said policies for an enabling environment are a must for broadband, including enabling policies and regulation to help co-investment of cross-country interconnection, Universal Service Fund (USF) for broadband roll-out and promotion of utility infrastructure synergies.

    Vice President of Huawei Global Government Affairs Department, Zhou Mingcheng,  said ICT has become a fundamental feature of modern society, and fast and healthy development of ICT industry requires supports and guidance from governments in stimulating investment in ICT infrastructure, encouraging ICT innovation and regulating competitions.

  • Atiku raises alarm over alleged threat to life

    …Petitions Buhari

    Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has raised the alarm over alleged threat to his life and those of his family members.

    In a petition to President Muhammadu Buhari, dated September 7, 2018, Atiku linked the alleged threat to his decision to contest the 2019 presidential election on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

    The petition, a copy of it was sent to the national chairman of the PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, urged President Buhari to urgently probe the allegation

    The petition was titled “Petition Over Criminal Intimidation And Threat To My Life, That Of Members Of My Family, And Cyber Stalking Using Mobile Phone Number 08148228704”.

    Apparently apprehensive over the alleged threat, Atiku had requested more police protection for himself and his family from President Buhari.

    Atiku stated in the petition that his wife and daughters had received separate text messages from a mobile line, demanding that their patriarch backed out of the presidential race, failing which they would be raped and killed.

    The former Vice President added that the author of the threat text messages had stated that members of his family were being closely watched.

    Urging the President to urgently order investigation into the matter, Atiku warned that the threat could lead to serious security breach and that it posed real danger to national security.

    The petition read in part, “I present my highest compliments to the president and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and have the honour to request your excellency’s kind review/investigation and urgent consideration of extra protection for my family and I against some criminal intimidation and threat to my life, that of my family, and the cyber stalking against my family and I, using telephone mobile number +2348148228704”.

    Atiku in the petition said the author of the message had threatened that if he did not withdraw from the presidential contest, “We will kill, and rape your wife and daughters”.

    He added that the stalker had mentioned two of his daughters – Mariam who works at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN$ and Fatima, a former commissioner in Adamawa State.

    According to him, the author of the said threat message had also threatened to blow up his plane and poison him and members of his family.

    Read Also: Atiku begs Lamido to step down for him

    “We will blow your plane off the sky and we will poison you and your family. You are going to see what we will do with your family. We know where and where your children travel to”, he quoted the from the threat message.

    The author of the said message was also said to have threatened to blow up all his property and those of his wife.

    “We control the aviation towers in Nigeria and South Africa. We are in government and Buhari will win again. Your party members will never select you and if they do, we will assassinat (sic) you. We will kill you by blowing up your plane”, the threat message further stated.

    Atiku further stated that in separate text messages to his wife and daughters, the author had asked them to ask him to back down from the contest or they would be harmed.

    Concluding the petition, Atiku stated, “From the foregoing, Mr President can see that if adequate and urgent steps are not taken to identify and deal with these threats, they could lead to serious breaches and may constitute real danger to national security.

    “Considering that these threats border on the right to life of my family and I, as well as my freedom to aspire for and contest for the Presidency in Nigeria, I urge you to commence urgent investigation with a view to identifying the person(s) behind the threats, expose and prosecute the culprit(s) in accordance with the laws.

    “I request that you ensure the continued protection of my rights to life, that of my family, my property and my rights and freedoms to associate and aspire to any political office as guaranteed under the 1999 Nigerian Constitution (as amended)”.

  • NCC woos investors with 30% income tax reduction

    Regulator says sector attracts $5b quarterly FDI

     

    Nigeria’s telecoms sector regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on Tuesday said prospective investors into the telecoms sector would only need to pay 30 per cent of income tax, among other mouth-watering incentives rolled out by the Federal Government.

    The regulator also said the telecoms sector which attracted $70 billion foreign direct investment (FDI) last year, has been adding between $4 billion and $5billoon quarterly in FDI since the beginning of this year.

    Its Executive Vice-Chairman/CEO, Prof Umar Garba Danbatta, who unveiled the packages to prospective investors who thronged the Nigeria Pavilion during its opening at the ongoing International Telecoms Union (ITU) Telecom World in Durban, South Africa,  said investors stood to enjoy pioneer status as well as import duty waivers on essential equipment needed for them to setup businesses in the telecoms sector.

    He said the Executive Order of the Federal Government laid special emphasis on transparency in the discharge of official responsibility.

    According to Prof Dambatta, with a huge youthful population ever ready to communicate, investors needed not fear about quick returns on investment (RoI). He said the steady growth of telecoms sector’s contribution to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) now at 10.5 per cent bore eloquent testimony to resilience of the sector.  He said the non-oil sector has been growing the GDP in line with Federal Government’s Economic diversification blueprint, adding the telecoms sector has been taking the lead in this area.

    He said opportunities for investment are available in the upstream, midstream and downstream sectors of the industry, stating while voice appears not to be doing badly, data is the next investment frontier.

    Read Also: NCC, CBN may clampdown on electronic fraudsters

    He said ITU forum usually provideo opportunity to learn about new technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT) and other new technologies.

    He said: “We also come to share our experiences and take home new ideas in global best practices that will assist us to strengthen our regulatory processes and interventions that will make the accelerated growth of telecommunications to dovetail into a better and stronger economy.

    “In our modest quest to bridge the digital divide, the board of the NCC has put in place initiatives to fast track internet access and taking services to several unserved and underserved areas of Nigeria

    “Although we have 162.3million active subscribers on our various networks, we at NCC believe there is much left to be done in terms of improvement of Quality of Service (QoS), more access to as many people as possible.

    “We must admit that the QoS is not where we want it to be yet, but with time and increase of infrastructure deployment, we should be there soonest than later,”Dambatta said.

    He recalled that Vice President Yemi Osinbajo launched the ICT Roadmap in the country, stressing that driving broadband penetration for accelerated economic growth formed the kernel of the roadmap.

    “With a population of 180million, active subscriber base of over 160million and internet penetration of over 100 million, Nigeria remains an attractive country for investors who crave for adequate RoIs.

    “While we celebrate the seemingly success story recorded in these directions, the NCC has put in place incentives for Infrastructure Companies (Infracos) in order to encourage speedy deployment of infrastructure that will deepen broadband penetration as quickly as possible.

    “This is part of the roadmap to take Nigeria to the next level under the Open Access Model template.  So far, six Infraco licences have been issued to cover Lagos, Northeast, Northwest, South South, Southwest and Southeast zones of the country. Arrangements are underway to re-licence the North Central zone,” he said.

    The Commission had earlier assigned 2.3GHz licence to Bitflux Consortium and six of the 14 slots available on 2.6GHz to MTN Nigeria and two slots to Openskys.  Six slots are still available for assignment.

    “We undertook these regulatory steps in line with the National Broadband Plan (NBP of 2013-2018) where it is anticipated that 30 per cent penetration will be attained, by the turn of 2018,” he said.

    Nigeria had a mere five per cent penetration of broadband in 2012 but now has 22 per cent and hopes to hit the 30 per cent prescribed by NBP (2013 – 2018) by December, 2018 through various initiatives including granting subsidies to Infraco licencees, Spectrum Trading among others.

    He said in line with the Commission’s initiatives to encourage investors for Infracos to roll out, it has created provisions in its 2017 and 2018 budgets as subsidies to the Infracos.

    “This is essentially to be disbursed piecemeal to the InfraCos as the deployment of their infrastructure progresses.  “We have assured all the licencees that this subsidy is based on the implementation/milestones of their roll out obligations,” he said.

    He told the investors thatb there are also opportunities for investors in digital transmission system including microwave, satellite and optic fibre; submarine cable communications; digital exchanges for both wired and wireless lines; billing systems; data communications networks; broadband and  Integrated Service Digital Network (ISDN).

    Nigeria, he said needs 120,000km metropolitan optic fibre coverage for ubiquitous network connections nationwide.  With only 38,000km coverage now, this area also beckons on both foreign and local investors, he said.

  • 100 injured in train accident – Medics

    The ER24 paramedics said Tuesday that some 100 people have been injured in a train collision near the South African city of Johannesburg.

    “Approximately 100 people have left injured this morning following a collision between two passenger trains in the Eloff extension in Selby, south of Johannesburg … Fortunately, no serious injuries or fatalities were found.

    Read Also: Customs seizes smuggled goods worth N500m in Bauchi

    “The patients were treated for their injuries and were thereafter transported by several services to nearby hospital,” the paramedics said in a statement.

    The details of the incident are not yet known, local authorities are on the scene.

    In January, 226 people were injured in a train collision in the city of Germiston.

  • South Africa budget gap biggest in 14 years

    South Africa’s budget deficit in July was the biggest since at least 2004 as weak economic growth constrains tax collection.

    The continent’s most-industrialised economy recorded a budget gap of 95.98 billion rand ($6.6 billion), the Pretoria-based National Treasury said in a statement. That’s the largest since Bloomberg started recording the data. July readings have reflected the biggest shortfall each year since 2010. For the fiscal year to date, the accumulated deficit is 5 billion rand less than in 2017.

    The economy contracted in the first quarter and the current-account deficit widened, highlighting the country’s vulnerability to capital outflows. Mining production, once the engine of the economy, has slumped, and manufacturing and consumer spending have struggled to pick up the slack. A widening budget gap limits President Cyril Ramaphosa’s ability to boost infrastructure and social spending.

    “There seems to be a persistent underperformance in corporate income-tax collections, and buoyancy levels haven’t improved as much as the National Treasury had hoped because of the weak economic climate,” Jeffrey Schultz, an economist at BNP Paribas South Africa in Johannesburg, said by phone. The Treasury “will have no choice but to revise up” its budget-deficit forecast in its October 24 mid-term budget policy statement, he said.

    The Treasury predicts a shortfall of 3.6 percent of GDP for this fiscal year. The government raised the value-added tax rate by one percentage point to 15 percent — the first increase since 1993 — to try to help plug a revenue shortfall of almost 50 billion rand. VAT is the second-biggest source of government income in South Africa.

    Low business and consumer confidence, concerns about corruption and poor governance, increased tax avoidance and administrative problems at the nation’s tax-collection agency contributed to the revenue shortfalls.

    “Value-added tax collections are propping up this number — in the absence of the 1 percentage-point increase in VAT this year, the fiscal side of things isn’t looking particularly rosy,” Schultz said.

    A panel headed by former judge Robert Nugent is probing the management and administration of the national tax agency under Tom Moyane, whom Ramaphosa suspended as commissioner in March. The National Treasury’s relationship with the South African Revenue Service had been strained in recent years, with SARS not participating in the budgetary process in the way the Treasury was accustomed to, Treasury Director-General Dondo Mogajane told the panel Wednesday.

     

  • Union decries fresh killing of two Nigerians in S/Africa

    The Nigerian community in South Africa yesterday described as senseless, the latest killing of two Nigerians in South Africa.

    The latest deaths have increased the death toll of Nigerians in the former apartheid enclave to 122 in 30 months, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

    The latest victims are Messers  Okechukwu Chukwumezeriri and Olushola Ayanleye.

    The President of the Nigerian Union in South Africa (NUSA), Mr Adetola Olubajo, said in a statement that Chukwumezeriri, 39, from Imo was shot dead on a football field on August 25 at Rietondale Park in Pretoria, while Ayanleye, 42, from Ondo State was shot dead the following day at Essellen Street, Sunnyside in Pretoria.

    He said: “As the umbrella organisation of Nigerians in South Africa, our stand is that whoever that kills should face the full wrath of the law, irrespective of his or her nationality.”

    Olubajo said that NUSA was currently cooperating with law enforcement agencies in South Africa to tackle the criminal elements.

    “We advise that whoever has information about these killers should kindly contact the president of NUSA or the police as these senseless and trigger happy fellows should not go unpunished.”

    He warned “attention seekers’’, whom he said, were using people’s lives to gain popularity and promote personal interest by feeding government officials with wrong information to desist as such would not help to resolve crisis.

    “We are always firm in our belief and resolution that all criminals should be treated the same, irrespective of nationality.

    “Nigerians killing Nigerians should not be viewed as different from Nigerians being killed by other nationalities.

    “All cases of murder should be treated with all the contempt it deserved and play down on the divisive strategies which is currently claiming lives of our people at an alarming rate.”