South Africa&#8217;s Chamber of Mines Vice President Steve Phiri has described the <a href="file:///C:/Users/moniquev/Downloads/finalspeech14062017.pdf">Revised Mining Charter </a>as the &#8220;last nail in the coffin&#8221; for the mining industry. The charter released on Thursday sent JSE listed mining stocks in a tailspin, see table. The Mining Index lost 2.55 per cent of its value and Gold Mining 5.27 per cent.
Due to the huge financial implications it could have for the mining industry and the rest of the country the chamber has decided to apply for an interdict to suspend the implementation of the Revised Mining Charter and take it on review. Its President: Mxolisi Mgojo says the chamber, which represents 90 per cent of the industry in the country, needs to &#8220;protect the mining industry and take all critical steps&#8221; to do so.
The chamber represents companies such as PPC, Shanduka, Glencore, Harmony, Kumba and Sibanye Gold.
The industry body says it hopes that by going to court it will bring the industry and the Department of Mineral Resources back to the negotiation table, says Mgojo.
The Mining Charter, which applies with immediate effect was released without consulting the industry body and many of its aspects have not been seen by the Chamber of Mines. It was only given a copy of the charter after it was released, says Roger Baxter, Chamber of Mines, CEO.
Baxter says it will not be signing the charter as &#8220;it is not their charter&#8221;.
Baxter warned that this is one charter that is going to scare investment. It will have a significant impact on the sector, he added.
The charter raised the minimum threshold for black ownership of mining companies to 30 per cent from 26 per cent but has not decided if firms must retain that structure permanently, Mines Minister Mosebenzi Zwane said.
<blockquote>The charter also requires mining companies to pay 1 per cent of turnover to their black empowerment partners. Mgojo says this aspect of the charter is the equivalent to &#8220;killing the goose that lays the golden egg&#8221;.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
2.) These are the highlights of the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SAminingCharter?src=hash">#SAminingCharter</a> presented by <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MinZwane?src=hash">#MinZwane</a> <a href="https://t.co/5OwS6GGbSY">pic.twitter.com/5OwS6GGbSY</a>
&mdash; Dept Minerals RSA (@DMR_SA) <a href="https://twitter.com/DMR_SA/status/875988997344047105">June 17, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Zwane said companies had 12 months to meet the new 30 per cent target. The Mining Charter was introduced in 2002 to increase black ownership of the mining industry, which accounts for about 7 per cent of South Africa&#8217;s economic output.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
3.) These are the highlights of the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SAminingCharter?src=hash">#SAminingCharter</a> presented by <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MinZwane?src=hash">#MinZwane</a> <a href="https://t.co/gXNCFmvsFL">pic.twitter.com/gXNCFmvsFL</a>
— Dept Minerals RSA (@DMR_SA) <a href="https://twitter.com/DMR_SA/status/875989055279902720">June 17, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The Chamber of Mines previously took  government to court over the interpretation of the ownership rules. A case it says it put on hold in good faith. The government has said companies must keep to black ownership targets even if black shareholders sell their stakes. The chamber will now again approach the courts to reopen the matter.
Baxter says that the chamber is not opposed to transformation when there are realistic and balanced stretched targets. Mgojo reiterated this saying that the chamber&#8217;s members on average have received transformation of over 38 per cent and the industry is one of the most transformed in the country.
<table width="90%">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.sharenet.co.za/v3/quickshare.php?scode=DRD">DRDGOLD</a></td>
<td>414</td>
<td>-24</td>
<td>  -5.48 %</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.sharenet.co.za/v3/quickshare.php?scode=SGL">SIBANYE</a></td>
<td>1584</td>
<td>-90</td>
<td>  -5.38 %</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.sharenet.co.za/v3/quickshare.php?scode=ANG">ANGGOLD</a></td>
<td>13952</td>
<td>-774</td>
<td>  -5.26 %</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.sharenet.co.za/v3/quickshare.php?scode=AMS">ANGLOPLAT</a></td>
<td>28733</td>
<td>-1573</td>
<td>  -5.19 %</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>KUMBA</td>
<td>14794</td>
<td>-806</td>
<td>  -5.17 %</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.sharenet.co.za/v3/quickshare.php?scode=MRF">MERAFE</a></td>
<td>116</td>
<td>-6</td>
<td>  -4.92 %</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.sharenet.co.za/v3/quickshare.php?scode=GFI">GFIELDS</a></td>
<td>4465</td>
<td>-228</td>
<td>  -4.86 %</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.sharenet.co.za/v3/quickshare.php?scode=EXX">EXXARO</a></td>
<td>9140</td>
<td>-460</td>
<td>  -4.79 %</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.sharenet.co.za/v3/quickshare.php?scode=HAR">HARMONY</a></td>
<td>2264</td>
<td>-111</td>
<td>  -4.67 %</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Source: Sharenet
(Additional Reporting by Tanisha Heiberg; writing by Ed Stoddard; editing by James Macharia and David Clarke)

SA’s Revised Mining Charter is “the last nail in the coffin”: Chamber of Mines VP Phiri

Statement by SA Department of Public Enterprises
Dr Ben Ngubane has resigned with immediate effect as Non-Executive Director and Chairperson of the Board of Eskom.
“Dr Ngubane formally tendered his resignation, which I accepted,” Minister of Public Enterprises, Lynne Brown, said.
<blockquote>“I would like to thank Dr Ngubane for his contribution to turning Eskom around since the load shedding days of 2014/15, and wish him well in the future.
“To ensure continuity at Eskom, I have decided to appoint Mr Zethembe Khoza as interim Chairperson until I am able to take new Board appointments to Cabinet for approval,” Minister Brown said.</blockquote>
Eskom’s AGM is scheduled to take place later this month.
http://cnbc.africa/zdnl-mc/2017/06/02/eskom-rescinds-molefe-appointment/
Responses to Ngubane&#8217;s resignation 
Statement by  the Democratic Alliance’s Natasha Mazzone MP &#8211; Shadow Minister of Public Enterprises
The Democratic Alliance has noted the late-night resignation of Eskom Board Chair, Ben Ngubane, hot on the heels of damning revelations of the capture of Eskom leadership by the Guptas, and the breakdown of corporate governance at Eskom.
Mr Ngubane, who presided over the retrenchment/retirement/rehire of Brian Molefe as Eskom CEO has much to answer for, not least of which includes Molefe’s R30 million ‘golden handshake’ deal and an avalanche of accusations that the Guptas have milked Eskom over many years.
Ngubane’s resignation will not exonerate him from liability for the breakdown of governance at the Power Utility, and the DA will use the Parliamentary Inquiry into Eskom, set to commence on 21 June, to hold Ngubane to account.
Allegations by former Mineral Resources Minister, Ngoako Ramatlhodi, that Brian Molefe and Ben Ngubane tried to strong-arm him to withdraw Glencore’s Optimum mining licences in order to guarantee that the Guptas takeover Glencore’s coal mines is yet to be probed, and may still find Nguabne guilty.
Additionally, the Matshela Koko R1 billion nepotism scandal, which occurred on Ngubane’s watch, is yet to be fully probed too.
Ngubane has also recently been implicated in falsifying documents in a liquidation case.
We find the clandestine hour of Ngubane’s resignation announcement to be highly suspicious.

Eskom Chairman Ben Ngubane resigns

Gauteng, South Africa’s city of gold, is the 6th largest economy in Africa. As the country battles with a <a href="http://cnbc.africa/trending/sa-downgrade/2017/06/06/south-africa-slips-recession-economy-shrinks-q1/">recession for the second time in a decade</a> it is imperative that the industrial hub continues to make clear that it is open for business. With initiatives like the Gauteng Growth and Development Agency, and the Gauteng Investment Centre, the region has been active in finding opportunities for advancement both within and beyond its borders.
CNBC Africa’s Esther Awoniyi, recently <a href="http://cnbc.africa/videos/2017/06/12/south-africa-ghana-explore-investment-opportunities/">moderated a panel </a>comprising of government officials and businessmen in Ghana, to explore opportunities for increasing trade and investment between Ghana and South Africa. The group provided much needed insight into what can be done.
<iframe loading="lazy" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ex2_OOZNFhA" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
According to the World Economic Forum, intra-Africa trade makes up about 15 per cent of all trade on the continent. It is a figure that Saki Zamxaka, the Chief Executive of the Gauteng Growth and Development Agency described as “woefully inadequate”. Trade between African countries pales in comparison to Europe and Asia. Intra-continental trade in those regions is 63 per cent and 53 per cent respectively.
David Makhura, the Premier of Gauteng said: “We have been talking a lot about deepening intra-Africa trade, but the progress is not satisfactory.” As the world economy gains momentum after a disappointing 2016, the Premier says the province is looking to investment and trade to solve economic stagnation: “We at the Gauteng province, we have identified investment and trade in Africa as one of the key interventions to solve slow growth.”.
As both Ghana and South Africa are countries with relatively developed mining sectors, there are a number of opportunities for collaboration between the two. However, Zamxaka was keen to highlight those in Ghana’s power sector. “The cost of energy here is still a little bit high which makes it viable for alternative energy sources, like gas, and solar, which we have a lot of experience with.” It is an opportunity that South African infrastructure development fund managers Harith are taking advantage of. According to a statement released by the company, Harith has started building the $550 million Amandi Energy Power Plant, which it hopes will eventually rely on gas acquired from Ghana’s offshore Sankofa oil field.
During the panel R. Yofi Grant, the CEO of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre said the country is looking for more stories like this, as it has embarked on reforms to improve the ease of doing business. The Chief Executive hopes to see his native country become a conduit of business activity into West Africa. “Ghana is at the centre of the world.” He said. “We have these opportunities that we can harness to bring business to West Africa through Ghana,” he added.
Prudential Life Insurance Ghana is one of the companies that seems to be living Grant’s words to the letter. Inspired by the large number of uninsured Ghanaians the company, a subsidiary of Prudential, one of the world’s oldest life insurance companies, entered the Ghanaian market in 2014. According to Achumile Majija, the Chief Commercial Officer at Prudential Life Insurance Ghana, the factors that impressed the company were the country’s political stability, and the ease of doing business. “We’ve been talking to other markets to do similar business and we’re still in talks. We started some at the same time as we started in Ghana but there’s been a lot of red tape and bureaucracy, where you need to pay to see this person or you always have to get connections. In Ghana what I’ve found is that you guys appreciate foreigners more than your own.” He said when speaking on the panel. As Makhura, put it, “There’s a change of government in Ghana without blood flowing in the streets, it also has one of the more predictable business environments.”
According to World Bank figures, Ghana’s economy is expected to grow by 6.1 per cent in 2017. These are figures that South Africa cannot hope to match this year, as the country’s economy slipped into recession after contracting by 0.3 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2016 and 0.7 per cent in the first quarter of 2017. The country has however made plans that could boost economic growth in the future. “We as a government have decided to open up.” Zamxaka said when explaining his agency’s outward-looking investment strategy, promoting Gauteng as a favourable trade and investment destination. However to fulfil this mission, it is likely that the region will have to work hard to remove some of the negative stereotypes associated with doing business in Africa. As Makhura stressed, “Governance is important. We in government need to address issues of corruption. The idea that you can’t do business in Africa without having to pay a bribe must be something that we get rid of.”

Gauteng looks to Ghana to  harness investment and trade to drive growth

South Africa avoided being downgraded to junk by Moody&#8217;s. Instead the ratings agency downgraded the country one notch with a negative outlook. It is now one notch above sub-investment grade or junk status.
London, 09 June 2017 &#8212; Moody&#8217;s Investors Service today downgraded the long-term issuer and senior unsecured ratings of the Government of South Africa to Baa3 from Baa2 as well as the senior unsecured Shelf and MTN program ratings to (P)Baa3 from (P)Baa2, and assigned a negative outlook. The government&#8217;s senior unsecured short-term program rating was also downgraded to (P)P-3 from (P)P-2. The rating actions conclude the review for downgrade that commenced on 3 April 2017.
The key drivers for the downgrade are:
1) the weakening of South Africa&#8217;s institutional framework;
2) reduced growth prospects reflecting policy uncertainty and slower progress with structural reforms; and
3) the continued erosion of fiscal strength due to rising public debt and contingent liabilities
The Baa3 rating recognizes a number of important strengths that continue to support South Africa&#8217;s creditworthiness. However, the negative outlook reflects the continued downside risks for growth and fiscal consolidation associated with the political outlook. Over the medium-term, economic and fiscal strength will remain sensitive to investor confidence and hence uncertainty surrounding political developments, including prospects for structural reforms intended to raise potential growth and flexibility in fiscal expenditures.
READ: 
<a href="http://cnbc.africa/trending/sa-downgrade/2017/04/07/fitch-downgrades-sa/">Fitch Downgrades South Africa to junk for both local </a>
<a href="http://cnbc.africa/news/southern-africa/2017/04/03/south-africa-long-term-foreign-currency-rating-cut-bb-political-institutional-uncertainty-outlook-negative/">S&amp;P downgrades SA to junk </a>
In a related decision, Moody&#8217;s also downgraded to Baa3 from Baa2 the backed senior unsecured debt issued by ZAR Sovereign Capital Fund Propriety Limited, a special purpose vehicle whose debt issuance is ultimately the obligation of the South African government, and assigned a negative outlook.
South Africa&#8217;s long-term local-currency bond and deposit ceilings were lowered to A2 from A1, and the long-term and short-term foreign-currency bond ceilings lowered to A3/P-2 from A2/P-1, respectively. The long-term foreign-currency bank deposits ceilings was lowered to Baa3 from Baa2, while the short-term foreign-currency bank deposits ceiling was lowered to P-3 from P-2.
RATINGS RATIONALE
RATIONALE FOR DOWNGRADING TO Baa3
The downgrade reflects Moody&#8217;s view that recent political developments suggest a weakening of the country&#8217;s institutional strength which casts doubt over the strength and sustainability of the recovery in growth and the stabilisation of the debt-to-GDP ratio over the near-term.
First driver &#8212; evidence of systemic weakening of the institutional framework
The first driver for the downgrade is Moody&#8217;s view that South Africa&#8217;s institutional strength, the second factor in our rating methodology, has eroded.
The independence and strength of key institutions such as the judiciary, the Reserve Bank and the National Treasury are a key support in Moody&#8217;s assessment of South Africa&#8217;s credit profile, through ensuring the continuity of a predictable, credit-supportive policy environment. Moody&#8217;s has taken comfort from the manifest commitment of the country&#8217;s policy institutions to achieving a broad program of structural reforms through cooperation between government, labour, and business, while at the same time maintaining rigorous adherence to fiscal spending ceilings and embarking on reforms of state-owned enterprises.
However, recent events, particularly but not exclusively the abrupt March Cabinet reshuffle, illustrate a gradual erosion of institutional strength. The institutional framework has become less transparent, effective and predictable, and policymakers&#8217; commitment to previously-articulated reform objectives is less certain.
Second driver &#8212; reduced growth prospects
As a consequence, Moody&#8217;s views the underlying political dynamics which led to the March cabinet reshuffle as posing a threat to near- and medium-term real GDP growth.
Uncertainty over near- and medium-term policy priorities has damaged investor confidence, reducing investment in South Africa&#8217;s economy which fell by 3.9% in 2016 and is projected to remain subdued in 2017. Investment levels are likely to remain weak until a more stable policy environment emerges.
Medium-term growth will additionally be constrained by mixed progress with structural reforms, including delays in the implementation of reforms in the mining sector, in the governance of state-owned enterprises, and in the elimination of barriers to competition in key network sectors. With the economy already recording two consecutive quarters of contraction prior to the cabinet reshuffle, Moody&#8217;s forecasts growth below 1% in 2017 and 1.5% in 2018, with stagnating investment reducing medium-term (and potential) growth as well.
Third driver &#8212; continued erosion of fiscal strength
Lower levels of growth and heightened uncertainty about policy direction and policymakers&#8217; commitment to structural reforms have increased the risk of a weakening of the government balance sheet.
In Moody&#8217;s view, lower than expected growth will further delay the stabilization of South Africa&#8217;s debt-to-GDP ratio. Instead of stabilizing in 2018/19 Moody&#8217;s now expects the debt burden will reach about 55% of GDP that year and continue to rise gradually afterwards. While the National Treasury has reiterated its commitment to expenditure ceilings, pressures to raise public wages will again rise in the next fiscal year as the end of the current three-year agreement will open room for new negotiations. Underperformance on revenue collection is another risk.
Furthermore, contingent liabilities linked to state-owned enterprises continue to pose a tail risk to the country&#8217;s fiscal strength. Operational inefficiencies, weak corporate governance, and poor procurement practices persist in SOEs, with government guarantees extended to SOEs rising. This has also increased the likelihood of contingent liabilities crystalizing on the government&#8217;s balance sheet. Pressures to further extend guarantees and utilize procurement practices to advance political objectives are sources of additional potential risk.
RATIONALE FOR THE Baa3 RATING
South Africa maintains a number of credit strengths that support its Baa3 rating. These include deep domestic financial markets and a well-capitalized banking sector; a well-developed macroeconomic framework; and low foreign currency debt. Moreover, deterioration in the factors driving the downgrade has been gradual. Importantly, adherence to the Constitutionƒ accountability and the rule of law continue to be the key pillars of strength of South Africa&#8217;s institutions, with South Africa&#8217;s institutions on balance still stronger than those of emerging market peers.
RATIONALE FOR ASSIGNING A NEGATIVE OUTLOOK
The negative outlook reflects Moody&#8217;s view that the risks to growth and fiscal strength arising from the political outlook are tilted to the downside. It is unlikely that a political consensus will emerge which supports investment in the economy and reinvigorates the reform effort sufficiently quickly to reverse the expected negative impact on growth and on the government&#8217;s balance sheet. The opposite scenario, of heightened political dysfunction, continued gradual institutional weakening and diminished clarity over policy objectives, has a higher likelihood.
WHAT COULD CHANGE THE RATING &#8212; DOWN
The future trajectory of the rating will depend on the government&#8217;s success in safeguarding South Africa&#8217;s institutional, economic and fiscal strength. Indications that the strength and independence of the country&#8217;s institutions have diminished to a greater extent than in Moody&#8217;s baseline scenario, or that the emerging policy framework has become even less predictable or has shifted in a way likely to undermine economic or fiscal strength, could lead to a further downgrade. Further delays in growth enhancing reforms would be suggestive of such a shift. Downward pressure could also develop if liquidity pressures begin to reemerge at state-owned enterprises that would elicit pronounced government intervention, be it through the activation of guarantees or other measures.
WHAT COULD LEAD TO STABILIZATION OF THE OUTLOOK AT THE CURRENT RATING LEVEL
Conversely, Moody&#8217;s could change the rating outlook from negative to stable if the government were to deliver on commitments that indicated the continued independence and strong policy-making capabilities of South Africa&#8217;s policy institutions, and which enhanced medium-term growth and achieved the planned stabilization in the government&#8217;s debt burden. A decline in the value of guarantees to state-owned enterprises would also be credit positive.
Prompted by the factors described above, the publication of this credit rating action occurs on a date that deviates from the previously scheduled release date in the sovereign release calendar, published on www.moodys.com.
GDP per capita (PPP basis, US$): 12,679 (2016 Actual) (also known as Per Capita Income)
Real GDP growth (% change): 0.3% (2016 Actual) (also known as GDP Growth)
Inflation Rate (CPI, % change Dec/Dec): 6.8% (2016 Actual)
Gen. Gov. Financial Balance/GDP: -3.7% (2016 Actual) (also known as Fiscal Balance)
Current Account Balance/GDP: -3.2% (2016 Actual) (also known as External Balance)
External debt/GDP: 52.3% (2016 Actual)
Level of economic development: Moderate level of economic resilience
Default history: At least one default event (on bonds and/or loans) has been recorded since 1983.
On 06 June 2017, a rating committee was called to discuss the rating of the South Africa, Government of. The main points raised during the discussion were: The issuer&#8217;s economic fundamentals, including its economic strength, have materially decreased. The issuer&#8217;s institutional strength/framework, have materially decreased. The issuer&#8217;s governance and/or management, have materially decreased.
The principal methodology used in these ratings was Sovereign Bond Ratings published in December 2016. Please see the Rating Methodologies page on www.moodys.com for a copy of this methodology.
The weighting of all rating factors is described in the methodology used in this credit rating action, if applicable.
Moody&#8217;s Investors Service has today also published an updated to the National Scale Ratings (NSR) map for South Africa in conjunction with the downgrade of the government&#8217;s long-term issuer rating. Moody&#8217;s NSRs are ordinal rankings of creditworthiness relative to other credits within a given country, which offer enhanced credit differentiation among local credits. NSRs are generated from Global Scale Ratings (GSRs) through correspondences, or maps, specific to each country. However, unlike GSRs, Moody&#8217;s NSRs are not intended to rank credits across multiple countries. Instead, they provide a measure of relative creditworthiness within a single country. The full maps can be found in &#8220;National Scale Rating Maps by Country&#8221;, published on 9 June 2017.
&nbsp;

Moody’s downgrades SA one notch, assigns negative outlook

Eskom&#8217;s board this morning, gave effect to the Minister of Public Enterprises Lynne Brown&#8217;s directive to rescind the power utility&#8217;s decision to re-instate Brian Molefe as Group Chief Executive (GCE) of Eskom.
In a statement it said: 
&#8220;In giving effect to and on the basis of the Minister’s directive contained in the letter dated 31 May 2017, it was resolved that the resolution of the Board of Directors taken on 2 May 2017 is rescinded. Furthermore, that the reinstatement agreement concluded between Mr. Molefe and Eskom on 11 May 2017 be rescinded.
&#8220;In consequence, Mr. Molefe is no longer GCE of Eskom and will no longer serve as a director on the Board of Eskom&#8221;.
Minister of Public Enterprises spokesperson Colin Cruywagen told CNBC Africa that Brown is applying her mind to who will be the next CEO of Eskom after being supplied with two names.
http://cnbc.africa/news/southern-africa/2017/05/12/south-africas-brian-molefe-return-ceo-eskom/

Eskom board rescinds Brian Molefe’s appointment

Mobile technology has contributed to identity theft being the top white collar crime in the world and yet existing authentication methods such as passwords and biometrics have failed to counter this. Seeing the gap some of Africa’s leading computervision scientists at the University of Johannesburg in partnership with business developed a world first technology, code-named aiDX, at aiThenticate Computervision Labs to answer one of the most difficult, challenging and urgent questions of our time: “Who is someone actually?”.
André L Immelman, CEO of aiThenticate Computervision Labs, reckons the lab comprising of 16 computervision scientists could develop into the world’s next Google.
The technology due to go to market next month has been engineered as the next generation authentication technologies. It could be used by banks to identify customers and police to recognise criminals. Unlike conventional biometrics, such as fingerprints, faceprints, voiceprints and irisprints, which are all based on simple geometry: connecting key features to form a pattern that is then associated with a particular individual,  aiThenticate Computervision Labs&#8217;s technology uses deep science to answer the “who is someone actually?”question, says Immelman.
[bc_video video_id=&#8221;5453251731001&#8243; account_id=&#8221;1571595826001&#8243; player_id=&#8221;default&#8221;]
aiThenticate Computervision Labs&#8217; technology uses proprietary algorithms that simulate human cognition, its scientist have successfully managed to develop the next generation of authentication technologies, reckons Immelman.
&#8220;The human brain simply operates at a much deeper, far more advanced level than what is possible with conventional authentication methods. Extensive field tests have shown that, as the next generation authentication technology, aiDX eclipses, and in fact, surpasses the overall performance of conventional authentication methods by a factor of some 20x on average,&#8221; says Immelman.
Moreover, as an optimetric technology, aiDX can be deployed on any device that’s equipped with a digital camera, including standard, off-the-shelf Android or iOS smartphone or tablet, adds Immelman.

Africa creates world-first next generation digital identification technology to fight identity theft

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Film stars, musicians and sports stars from across Africa are global celebrities. South African actresses like Terry Pheto <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2006/mar/17/2">win international awards</a>; Nigerian rapper <a href="http://www.theo2.co.uk/events/detail/wizkid">Whizkid sells out concerts</a> across the UK; and Didier Drogba, Cote d’Ivoire’s all-time top goal scorer, is now looking to <a href="http://www.espnfc.com/major-league-soccer/19/blog/post/3106282/signing-drogba-delivers-exposure-to-phoenix-rising-mls-expansion-bid">build a soccer empire in the US</a>.
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When it comes to governance across the continent, however, the headlines can be less encouraging. In the last few weeks alone, we have seen evidence of corruption and lack of transparency in several African nations, while huge anti-corruption rallies have been taking place.
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Naming and shaming those involved in corruption is important; laws must be enforced and rule-breakers must be punished. This is an essential part of the process of governance and efforts to build trust between those in power and citizens.
</div>
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But we should also be “naming and faming” those leaders with integrity – across governments, companies and civil society – in the same way we celebrate the best rappers or footballers. After all, these are the unsung heroes that are literally saving lives – making sure that health budgets are spent effectively, guaranteeing respect for workers&#8217; rights or going that extra mile to ensure all voices are heard as part of development programs.
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So we decided we would scour the continent, not to highlight the wrongdoers, but to celebrate the do-gooders, who are working with integrity and accountability to transform their countries. Here are five great examples:
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1. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/21/magazine/can-thulisile-madonsela-save-south-africa-from-itself.html">Thuli Masondela</a>
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A human rights lawyer and South Africa’s first female public protector, she helped to draft South Africa’s constitution and has been working to protect it ever since. Masondela has fiercely investigated everything from kickbacks to political parties, the abuse of power, and the misuse of public funds. Now, Masondela has <a href="http://www.leadsa.co.za/articles/239370/adv-thuli-madonsela-to-launch-foundation">set up a foundation</a> to focus on democratic and ethical leadership.
</div>
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2. <a href="http://www.iwacu-burundi.org/englishnews/impunity-fosters-corruption-in-burundi-watchdog-says/">Faustin Ndikumana</a>
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A Burundian anti-corruption activist, leader of a civil society watchdog group and former prisoner of conscience. Ndikumana has worked for many years to fight money laundering, illicit financial flows and bribery in Burundi, using channels including the church and universities to advocate for change. In 2012, Ndikumana spent time in jail after exposing corruption within the Burundian judicial system.
</div>
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3. <a href="http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/bribe/2010/01/nuhu-ribadu-nigerias-relentless-corruption-hunter.html">Nuhu Ribadu</a>
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A former Nigerian policeman, now in exile in the US, who led the fight against corruption through Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission between 2003 to 2007. Ribadu took on over 1,000 high-profile cases which included the <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/africa/12/21/nigeria.halliburton/">successful prosecution of Halliburton</a> under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the investigation of the Inspector General of the Nigerian police, his own boss.
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4. <a href="http://www.cjfe.org/mae_azango_accepts_2012_international_press_freedom_award">Mae Azongo</a>
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A pioneering Liberian journalist with the Front Page Africa newspaper and winner of the International Press Freedom Award in 2012. Azongo has investigated everything from illegal mining; to working conditions on development projects; to female genital mutilation, which at one point forced her into hiding. During the Ebola outbreak, Azongo worked to expose the ways in which <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/africainvestigates/2014/11/liberia-living-with-ebola-20141110114418589681.html">corruption was undermining the response to the crisis</a>.
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5. <a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/patrick_awuah_on_educating_leaders">Patrick Awuah</a>
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A Ghanaian educator, who after working for Microsoft for almost a decade in the US, returned home to found the widely-lauded Asheshi University. The university offers a core curriculum with a deep focus on ethical leadership, including honour codes for students to build accountability. Awuah understands that building integrity among young people is a critical generational bulwark against corruption.
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There are existing efforts that use this positive approach to support reformers: the Ibrahim Prize for African Governance, for example, which rewards honest heads of state; and at the <a href="http://www.accountabilitylab.org/">Accountability Lab</a> we run a TV program called <a href="http://www.integrityidol.org/">Integrity Idol</a> in <a href="http://www.integrityidol.org/liberia">Liberia</a>, <a href="http://www.integrityidol.org/mali">Mali</a> and elsewhere to find, film and popularize honest local level officials.
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Celebrating do-gooders does not replace the prosecution of wrongdoers. But it does give citizens everywhere hope that there are people out there serving the public good, even in the most difficult of circumstances. Imagine if we all came together to collectively show them how much we appreciate what they do; now that would be something worth cheering about.
<a href="https://www.weforum.org/events/world-economic-forum-on-africa-2017">This article is part of the World Economic Forum on Africa 2017</a> and is republished with its permission
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These five leaders are exposing corruption and bringing hope to Africa

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We all celebrated. Poverty in the world halved in just two decades – historic success, humankind at its best, a world altogether more free, less exposed to disease, less violent. More girls in school, too! We Africans were told that “<a href="http://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21572377-african-lives-have-already-greatly-improved-over-past-decade-says-oliver-august">war, famine and dictators have become rarer</a>.”
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Today that celebration stops. I <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kL_JF63tZUw">often speak</a> about how our progress for a better world is threatened by a spiraling gap between rich and poor, withering global governance, climate change and more. Now, in failing to tackle these, something profoundly catastrophic is taking hold.
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The UN sounded the alarm earlier this year, joined by Oxfam and others. Our world of plenty is on the brink of unprecedented famine. Even as one famine in one country should be unacceptable – today we face the risk of four. People are dying and unless political decisions change, deaths will increase exponentially.
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<h2 class="st__content-block st__content-block--heading">An urgent and bold response</h2>
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<a href="https://www.oxfam.org/sites/www.oxfam.org/files/bn-four-famines-190517-en.pdf">Thirty million people across these four countries are severely hungry</a>. Ten million of them face life-threatening emergency and famine conditions. That’s more people than live in London, about the same as populous Jakarta.
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We expect an urgent and bold response to match &#8211; most of all by rich and powerful nations. The last famine, in 2011 in Somalia, should have been the very last: inaction there led to the deaths of nearly 260,000 people, half of them children. We can still prevent a recurrence.
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I have just returned from visiting Nigeria and South Sudan where I met resilient women who told me “we want to walk freely, we want to farm, we want to feed our families.” I joined young people and entrepreneurs helping their communities survive. But even among the local people organizing themselves to share what little food and shelter and resources they have, hope is running out.
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I met women newly arriving, hungry and thirsty, in the small towns of Pulka in northeast Nigeria. Their harrowing journeys lined their faces. The horrors of life under Boko Haram will not leave them. A man who’d been there for three months with his wife and children – like thousands of people – still sleeping in the open. Now the arrival of over a thousand more people this week from Cameroon is pushing services to the brink, and limited water supplies will become even more stretched. Aid agencies like ours can reach these people – we do what we can. But we need to be able to reach people in areas where the potential famine is taking hold.
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In South Sudan – a country in which deadly famine was declared in February – I saw the chilling impact of a civil war. Entire communities have been driven from their homes by <a href="http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/CoHSouthSudan/Pages/Index.aspx">acts of ethnic cleansing</a>. All I have known from war in my own country didn’t prepare me for the carcass of violence I saw. You can’t escape the stench. Malakal used to be South Sudan’s second city; today it’s more a ghost town.
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The women there rationally explained to me how they choose hunger over the certainty of being raped on the journey out to collect food. The UN recently <a href="http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=20979&amp;LangID=E">found</a>that 70% of women in Juba, South Sudan’s capital, had been raped or abused since the war began three years prior.
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Conflict and callous politics drive famine. In Somalia these conspire with drought and <a href="https://www.oxfam.org/sites/www.oxfam.org/files/file_attachments/mb-climate-crisis-east-africa-drought-270417-en.pdf">climate change</a> for over three million people who urgently require support – mostly in rural areas, who are difficult to reach. The largest hunger emergency in the world is in Yemen where seventeen million do not know when they will get their next meal. Famines do not arrive like a meteor from the sky. They’re manufactured crises – the cruel consequence of government choices – and we saw them coming.
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<h2 class="st__content-block st__content-block--heading">A fair share</h2>
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But just as political failure led to these crises, political leadership can resolve them.
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The fundamental responsibility, yes, lies with those countries and the warring parties across the contexts. They must meet their most basic obligations to protect their people, provide services and uphold the safe passage of aid.
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Yet leaders of the G7 rich and powerful nations, who this week meet in Taormina, Sicily must be responsible to these people, too.
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Their immediate priority must be to save these people’s lives: we are billions shy of the funding target. And money can&#8217;t sit in bank accounts: it must reach those in need as quickly as possible. The UN is asking for $6.3 billion for all four countries but the world has stumped up less than a third of that. Oxfam has calculated a ‘fair share’ of funding that countries should commit to, based on their national income, and so far no G7 country has met this level, even though it is a tiny fraction of their budgets.
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France, Italy, and Japan have not given their fair share for any of the four countries, whilst inhumane proposals to withdraw life-saving aid now menace lives. The Trump Administration must not hold back the US Congress’ $990 million pledge to address famine. Lives depend on it.
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The most resounding plea from <a href="https://twitter.com/Oxfam/status/855747886696550406">women I met</a> – who have borne the brunt of the violence – was for peace. The international community must no longer be so polite. It is time to finally apply all its diplomatic pressure to push the parties towards the hard choices needed to end these conflicts. And if countries and armed groups fight – we’re realists – there are rules of war to fight by. They must too grant safe passage for civilians and access to aid agencies so we can help save lives in safety.
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The G7 are not some passive observers: they’re part of an international community that must also stop fueling these conflicts. Most are selling deadly arms to the parties fighting in Yemen even as they urge a political settlement. The US last weekend announced the sale of $110 billion worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia. <a href="https://www.oxfamamerica.org/press/oxfam-condemns-PGM-sale-to-saudi-arabia/">Precision-guided munitions</a> that have been used to commit horrific abuses in Yemen are front and center in the sale. The UK has also sold billions of arms to Saudi Arabia, in violation of its obligations under the Arms Trade Treaty.
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The G7 and G20 must also know their responsibility when, in the Horn of Africa, they see <a href="https://www.oxfam.org/sites/www.oxfam.org/files/file_attachments/mb-climate-crisis-east-africa-drought-270417-en.pdf">more intense natural hazards</a>. They’re supercharged by climate change powered primarily by the emissions of rich nations. I see this as cause for more ambition in rich nations’ commitments to the Paris Agreement – not a backslide.
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<div class="st__content-block st__content-block--searchable-list list-group">
<h3 class="list-group__header">Have you read?</h3>
<ul class="list-group__items">
<li class="list-group__item"><a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/04/conflict-and-famine-time-for-honesty">The true cause of hunger and famine? War and weak governance</a></li>
<li class="list-group__item"><a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/02/nearly-1-4-million-children-at-imminent-risk-of-death">1.4 million African children at imminent risk of starvation</a></li>
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Each conflict is of course unique. South Sudan’s neighbors can use their strategic clout to broker peace. In particular we believe Uganda is well placed to do this. But Africa&#8217;s leaders with the African Union must also act. Nigeria spells out clearest the link between economic mismanagement and conflict: this is Africa’s largest economy facing famine. Nigerians living in poverty grew to 43 million in recent years.
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High corruption and the influence of big business and the wealthy elite keeps the poorest Nigerians trapped in poverty and cut-off from the benefits of economic growth and basic services. Some people &#8211; searching for the means to survive &#8211; became vulnerable to groups like Boko Haram. Nigeria’s inequality is but an extreme version of our global economic model that our powerful leaders preside over – one in which 8 men now own as much wealth as the bottom 3.6 billion people.
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Let’s first avoid a catastrophic loss of life. This is happening on the G7’s watch: they must now inject the necessary cash to save lives and make a genuine push for peace. They must, too, choose to be relevant. Otherwise, we will be a long time burying the victims of further inaction.
This article first appeared on WEF&#8217;s <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/05/our-world-of-plenty-is-on-the-brink-of-unprecedented-famine">website</a> on 24th May and is republished with its permission. 
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Our world of plenty is on the brink of unprecedented famine. We must act now

South Africa has, in the past, been credited with taking on innovative corporate governance <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/bb4557d2-5b75-11e4-b68a-00144feab7de">standards</a> and integrated reporting. So it’s particularly depressing to see the spectacle around the country’s largest state-owned enterprise, its power utility Eskom. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/78432/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
The <a href="http://www.timeslive.co.za/politics/2017/05/12/Molefe-didnt-resign%E2%80%9A-says-Eskom.-He-retired">drama</a> has revolved around Eskom’s CEO Brian Molefe, who has returned to the job just months after quitting. The contradictory explanations of his return point to huge flaws in the accountability systems of the country’s state owned enterprises. It’s clear that Eskom flouted many basic <a href="https://www.icaew.com/en/technical/corporate-governance/overview/does-corporate-governance-matter">principles</a> of sound corporate governance.
This poses enormous risks as these systems are imperative for ensuring an ethical public service and society.
When Molefe announced his <a href="https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/national/2017-05-12-brian-molefe-did-not-resign-that-is-why-we-can-reinstate-him-eskoms-board-says/">departure</a> from Eskom, he specifically connected his leaving to “corporate governance”; he was certainly accurate in that. On top of the issue of his claimed connections to the <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-22513410">Gupta family</a>, the <a href="https://www.ujuh.co.za/state-of-capture-public-protectors-report/">allegations</a> that spurred his exit spoke to breakdowns in information sharing and decision making that were made to benefit only a few.
The National Executive Committee of the ruling party, the ANC, has since ordered that Molefe’s return to Eskom should be reversed, a decision seen to be going against the wishes of its President Jacob Zuma.
There are many flaws that need to be examined in this saga, but let me flag three foundational faults in corporate governance. Firstly, there were serious lapses around Eskom’s senior executive remuneration processes. Secondly, it looks like the basic rules of consultation around critical decision making were flouted. And thirdly, creating a <a href="https://www.ujuh.co.za/lynne-brown-brian-molefes-return-to-eskom-is-better-than-r30m-payout/">false dilemma</a> between handing Molefe a R30 million payout or allowing him to return to his Eskom job points to a simple disregard of the rules.
<h2>Process failures</h2>
The compensation question: the question of fair and justified compensation for senior executives looms large in the Eskom saga. There’s still no clarity over why Molefe left Eskom in December last year: whether he “retired” or “resigned” remains a contested point. More recently, South Africans were informed that he was, in fact, on <a href="https://mg.co.za/article/2017-05-22-now-eskoms-molefe-was-on-unpaid-leave">unpaid leave</a> in the months between his departure in December and his return in early May.
Whatever the reason for his departure, Eskom’s board chose to award Molefe <a href="http://www.iol.co.za/news/politics/why-did-brian-molefe-get-a-r30m-golden-handshake-8690587">R30 million</a>. This raises the first potential failure in the accountability system: the responsibility of board members to decide fair and justified compensation for senior executives.
This is true regardless of whether they retire or resign or go on unpaid leave. Each is governed by sets of rules to guide a board’s decision-making. Leaving aside the obvious contradiction that anyone would be paid R30 million for being on unpaid leave, none of the normal remuneration rules seem to have been followed. But without a basic understanding of the terms of his departure, a proper analysis is almost impossible. This failure of transparency in the process makes justifying the award on the grounds that it was in the interests of Eskom’s stakeholders even less likely.
Flouting consultation processes: The second failure in the governance system is a lack of clarity around the <a href="https://www.ujuh.co.za/lynne-brown-brian-molefes-return-to-eskom-is-better-than-r30m-payout/">role</a> of the Public Enterprises Minister, Lynne Brown. Her decision to contradict the board and deny the R30 million pay-out triggered an evaluation of what to do about Molefe’s connection to Eskom. In her statement, Brown highlighted the fact that she hadn’t been consulted and referred to decisions that appeared to have been made without the required approvals.
An effective corporate governance system has clearly delineated processes for both consultation and decision making.
In this case, it seems that steps in that process were skipped over, and key people weren’t consulted, leading to an unsupported outcome.
Creating a false dilemma: Brown claimed that there were only two options open to her – to pay Molefe R30 million or reinstate him. But by doing so she created a false dilemma that stood to benefit the person who stepped down, rather than the company and its stakeholders. In the process, the board and the minister ignored multiple options that would have likely been better.
For example, if neither the board nor Brown could agree on severance compensation, Molefe could be paid his old salary in the interim, while final negotiations took place (there is a paid leave option in his contract). This type of bridging arrangement would create fairness for him while avoiding disruption to Eskom’s operations.
<h2>A question of ethics</h2>
A fundamental principle of good governance, laid out in <a href="http://www.iodsa.co.za/?page=KingIV">King IV</a> (a set of guidelines for strong corporate governance which companies/directors should comply with and explain their choices), that applies here is that:
<blockquote>governing bod[ies] should govern the ethics of the organisation in a way that supports the establishment of an ethical culture.</blockquote>
Regardless of political ideology, it is difficult to see that Molefe’s return to Eskom can be said to be in the best interests of creating an ethical culture.
Strong accountability systems create ethical cultures because everyone knows the rules, and believes the rules are being followed. As a result, people trust that when things don’t go their way, there’s a clear explanation. While they may not agree with choices, they are confident that a decision was made after a known process was followed.
Strong accountability systems can certainly privilege some people over others in different circumstances, but they clarify what gets rewarded and what gets punished. This leads to an ethical culture because there’s a common understanding and, crucially, some levels of shared purpose.
<h2>Not just about following the rules</h2>
Good accountability systems are about more than creating and following rules; while compliance is an aspect of these systems, it is really the bare minimum. They create and support a sense of shared destination, bolstered by agreed processes.
Recently, leaders have too often relied on their legal “right” to do something, ignoring their ethical obligation to the greater good: the good of their company, their portfolio, their electorate, their country.
While the legal grounds for better governance are worth debating and enforcing, South Africans must never neglect the profound ethical impact of failed accountability systems. Eskom’s current situation is about more than fulfilling its legal obligations. It’s a warning that South Africa’s ethical culture might slip through our hands. Let’s hold on tight.
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/timothy-london-329823">Timothy London</a>, Senior Lecturer, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-cape-town-691">University of Cape Town</a>
This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="http://theconversation.com/eskom-ceo-saga-highlights-massive-systems-failure-in-south-africa-78432">original article</a>.

This is what Brian Molefe’s return as CEO at Africa’s power utility, Eskom signifies

Introduction
Much attention has been paid recently in the public debate to reports of corruption in the South African Government and state-owned enterprises and to the so-called phenomenon of “state capture”. A new phase in the public debate has, in particular, been fueled by a report of the South African Council of Churches, by hearings of the Parliamentary Committee on Public Enterprises and by the publication of a study by the State Capacity Research Project. Each of these events is dealt with below, together with an analysis of their content and impact on the national debate on corruption and state capture. 
 
The SACC report
The South African Council of Churches announced the findings of its “Unburdening Panel Process” on 18 May 2017. It had created this process in April 2016, describing it as a safe space and a “facility” offered by the churches to persons who wish to relieve themselves of a burden, caused by the experience of being pressured to perform a corrupt act or where they had witnessed such an act. The SACC emphasized that this was intended as a pastoral process for the people involved, and not as an investigation. It stated that it had created this “listening facility” as a result of the ANC’s unwillingness to deal with recent revelations on the subject of state corruption. In its statement introducing the report on 18 May 2017, the SACC said that 
Today we are therefore seized with Anchoring Democracy, as we have come to recognize that South Africa may just be a few inches from the throes of a Mafia State, from which there may be no return – a recipe for a Failed State….
It now seems that the problem is far greater than corruption, but organized chaos. We have now come to learn that what appears to be chaos and instability in government may well be a systemic design of the madness that ills our governmental environment – a chaotic design. A careful analysis makes the case for the following observable trends of inappropriate control of State systems through a power-elite that is pivoted around the President of the Republic that is systematically siphoning the assets of the State. They do this by:
Securing control over state wealth, through the capture of state-owned companies by chronically weakening their governance and operational structures. 
Securing control over the public service by weeding out skilled professionals. 
Securing access to rent-seeking opportunities by shaking down regulations to their advantage, and to the disadvantage of South Africans. 
Securing control over the country’s fiscal sovereignty. 
Securing control over strategic procurement opportunities by intentionally weakening key technical institutions and formal executive processes. 
Securing a loyal intelligence and security apparatus. 
Securing parallel governance and decision-making structures that undermine the executive. 
What we see persuades us that the present government has lost moral legitimacy. The question that this has raised is in the constitutional dimension. Does the conduct of the government render it to have violated its constitutional mandate? That is a matter for the lawyers to explore further
We urge the African National Congress as the governing party to examine itself and mend the ways of government before we reach the point of no return – for this has implications for the ANC in government, for its leadership and members. We appeal to the civil servants in government, to note and remember that whereas governments come and go with elections, they as civil servants are part of the permanent State system of the citizenry, and the instrumentation of the public good envisioned in our constitutional dispensation. 
 
The Parliamentary Committee on Public Enterprises 
 
The members of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Public Enterprises unanimously called a meeting on an urgent basis, in an attempt to obtain clarity on recent events at Eskom, especially regarding the re-appointment of its CEO, Brian Molefe, and specifically whether he “retired, was retrenched, resigned or did he step down” (as the Committee’s Chairperson put it). During the Committee’s proceedings on 23 May 2017, questions and comments were put to the Minister of Public Enterprises and the Chairman of the Board of Eskom, mainly on the question of the status and nature of Brian Molefe’s employment contract.
The former Minister of Finance, Pravin Gordhan, now an MP and member of this Committee, put it as follows: 
The public is connecting the dots… The public is increasingly aware that you are abusing state property and state resources in the name of yourselves and not in the name of the South African public, that you are part of, wittingly or unwittingly (and in some cases there is enough evidence to say wittingly), a conspiracy to capture Eskom for the benefit of the few. That’s the reality, let’s not play around with technical questions… 
What the South African public is worried about is that we are reaching a stage in managing governance in South African where there are a significant number of people in the bureaucracy and elsewhere, and on the boards, that are taking the view that ‘I don’t care, I don’t care if you know what I do, I don’t care if you know that public resources are going elsewhere, I don’t care how many reports the Public Protector or anybody else provides, because I am protected.’
The Chairperson stated at the end of the hearing that the Committee is concerned at the state of governance in Eskom and views the reappointment of Brian Molefe as illegal. It is interesting to note that the Minister and Eskom’s Chairperson received no support whatever from any of the ANC MPs who are on the Committee. 
Study by the State Capacity Research Project
The State Capacity Research Project published its study entitled <a href="http://cnbc.africa/trending/cabinet-reshuffle-17/2017/05/26/inside-the-capture-of-africas-most-advanced-economy/">Betrayal of the Promise: How South Africa is being Stolen</a> on 25 May 2017. This has been widely reported on in the media. The State Capacity Research project describes itself as an interdisciplinary, inter-university research partnership that aims to contribute to the public debate about ‘state capture’ in South Africa.
The study makes the following findings: 
Until recently, the decomposition of South African state institutions has been blamed on corruption, but we must now recognise that the problem goes well beyond this. Corruption normally refers to a condition where public officials pursue private ends using public means. While corruption is widespread at all levels and is undermining development, state capture is a far greater, systemic threat. It is akin to a silent coup and must, therefore, be understood as a political project that is given a cover of legitimacy by the vision of radical economic transformation. The March 2017 Cabinet reshuffle was confirmation of this silent coup; it was the first Cabinet reshuffle that took place without the full prior support of the governing party. This moves the symbiotic relationship between the constitutional state and the shadow state that emerged after the African National Conference (ANC) Polokwane conference in 2007 into a new phase. The reappointment of Brian Molefe as Eskom’s chief executive officer (CEO) a few weeks later in defiance of the ANC confirms this trend”
This raises the question about whether there is, in fact, a strategic centre of sorts. In general, the answer is no. Nor is there one single powerful network that overrides all others. The clearest and most disturbing indicator that the South African rent-seeking system tends towards the chaotic end of the spectrum is the collapse of the cabinet system as the core of the executive branch of the state. There is evidence that Zuma tends to govern via a set of ‘kitchen cabinets’ comprising selected groups from different networks. Kitchen cabinets are small informal reference groups that are convened on an as-needed basis. They can also be shell structures that are activated when needed. As will be demonstrated, they have been known to be drawn from the state security establishment, Gupta networks, SOE sector, sub-groups of cabinet ministers and deputy ministers, family networks, international networks (e.g., Angola, Russian intelligence), key black business groups, the ANC (in particular the Premier League and Magashule), and selected loyalists in the public service (usually loyal director generals).
The evolution in recent decades of rent management systems within neo-patrimonial regimes around the world has taken many forms. In summary, though, they can be characterised within a spectrum that ranges from centralised/coordinated to chaotic. The South African rent-seeking system is a kind of hybrid, partly because of Zuma’s personally vulnerable position due to outstanding and unresolved charges against him, the Constitutional Court finding on Nkandla and his embeddedness within a well-structured constitutional order. He aspires to be like Putin or Angola’s Dos Santos, but is entangled by constitutional state requirements he cannot dispense with (like reporting to Parliament and subordination – at least for now – to the Constitutional Court) and competitive dynamics within the shadow state that the Gupta networks do not always control (witness the PRASA debacle).
The report also highlights the effect of this perverted management system on the poorest sections of society: 
The politicisation of procurement as a means to achieve radical economic transformation frequently results in the subversion of service delivery mandates. Therefore, in recent years there have been purges of professional public servants and the repurposing of administrations away from their constitutional and legislative mandates. It has also opened departments and especially SOEs to massive competition and rivalry, not so much about policy, but about who gets what tenders. This weakens and often breaks administrations, which are then unable to deliver services. A vacuum is created that can be filled by transactions that occur within the shadow state. This is especially devastating for working families and for the poor, who are more dependent on government services than the middle class and the rich. Failures in health and education, for example, reproduce historical, racialised patterns of inequality. It distracts attention from the economy itself and the inclusive structural transformation that is needed to make the economy more productive and labour-absorptive.
Comment
These events demonstrate that the intensity of the public debate on corruption and state capture has been ratcheted up a couple of levels. In this process, certain aspects which were not a regular part of the public debate have now come to the fore and the manner in which they are expressed, show that they are accepted as fact and not mere conjecture:
&#8211; the connection is increasingly being made between certain events and the acts of representatives of Government and state-owned enterprises, i.e. the dots are being connected, showing systemic corruption; 
&#8211; that chaos and incompetence have become part and parcel of the whole system. It is therefore not corruption on its own that needs to be confronted, but the fact that a corrupt system has been facilitated by the removal of adequately experienced professionals/bureaucrats from Government and state-owned enterprises; and
&#8211; the concept of a “mafia state’’ is now firmly entrenched as part of the public debate. The Deputy President, Cyril Ramaphosa, has also referred to this threat in his speeches immediately after the SACC report was made public.
The reports by the SACC and the<a href="http://cnbc.africa/trending/cabinet-reshuffle-17/2017/05/26/inside-the-capture-of-africas-most-advanced-economy/"> State Capacity Research Project</a> and the proceedings at the Parliamentary Committee on Public Enterprises, have provided important additions to the public understanding of how major functions of Government and state-owned enterprises have been subverted for the benefit of a select few. The reports rely on information which is already in the public domain and therefore do not provide much new evidence, but they do make a valuable contribution in helping the public to make sense of the damaging and pervasive effects of state capture and corruption.
Unravelling is well under way, and more of it can be expected in the coming months.
*Anton van Dalsen is from the Helen Suzman Foundation

South Africa's Quantum Foods warns of 38% drop in first-half profit

South Africa’s Quantum Foods warns of 38% drop in first-half profit. budget_shutterstock_249974521

The unravelling of SA’s state capture

On Wednesday, May 24, President John ‘The Bulldozer’ Magufuli fired Minister of Energy and Minerals Sospeter Muhongo, Energy Ministry Permanent Secretary Justin Ntaikwa and Tanzania Minerals Audit Agency (TMAA) Chief Executive Dominic Rwekaza – in addition to dissolving the agency’s board of directors. 
The move comes after a report by a presidential committee tasked with investigating the sector found that mining companies had been under-declaring the value of their exports. 
http://cnbc.africa/news/2017/05/24/tanzanian-president-fires-mining-minister-chief-state-run-agency/
Magufuli set up two committees to look into the mining sector. The first, constituted by academics and professionals in the sector, was tasked with investigating the contents of concentrates in containers held at Dar es Salaam port and presented its finding to the president on Wednesday. The second, made up of lawyers and economists, is tasked with looking into the economic impact of exporting concentrates and has yet to release its findings.
Singled out for special attention in the president’s televised address on the issue was Canadian mining firm Acacia Mining (majority owned by Barrick Gold) – the largest gold miner in the country. 
The company has denied any wrongdoing. According to The Citizen, the investigation found an average of 1,400 grammes of gold per tonne of mineral sand in containers, but the TMAA had only indicated an average of 200 grammes. Reuters reported that the firm had declared 1.1 tonnes of gold in the containers while the analysis by the committee had shown there was as much as 15 tonnes in them. 
Furthermore, discrepancies between recorded copper and silver ratios and actual amounts were found while royalties on compounds like iron, sulphur, rhodium, iridium and lithium were not being paid despite them forming part of the concentrate. 
The committee recommended that the ban on exports of metallic and mineral concentrates, in effect since March 2, should remain in place. 
Acacia’s stocks plummeted 14% on the London Stock Exchange in reaction to the announcement. In 2016, gold and copper concentrate amounted to 30% of Acacia Mining’s group revenues. It stated in March that it was losing $1m a day due to the ban on the exports of concentrates. 
The mining sector has become a significant source of export revenues. 
Gold is Tanzania’s most important mineral with regard to exports and the only mineral amongst its top-four export commodities. Receipts from the yellow metals rose 23.9% y-o-y during the year ending March, reaching just under $1.5bn. The mining sector currently accounts for around 3% &#8211; 4% of GDP, but the government has stated that it plans on increasing the sector’s contribution to 10% of national output by 2025. 
This latest development comes after a long line of initiatives taken by the government to overhaul the sector which has pitted it against mining firms and dented investor confidence. 
Last year the government issued regulations making it compulsory for holders of special mining licences to sell 30% of their companies via initial public offerings within two years. The regulations were amended in February to make the new deadline August 23. Acacia Mining listed on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE) in 2011 and it is unclear how the regulation would affect it. 
Other miners – such as AngloGold Ashanti and Petra Diamonds – still need to list. 
On March 2, the ministry of energy and minerals banned the export of concentrates in order to force companies to process them in the country by setting up gold smelters. 
According to media reports, 99% of gold mined in the country is already processed there, with the concentrate left for export needing complex technology to separate – a claim Magufuli, a trained chemical engineer, rubbishes. 
A mining executive was quoted in The East African on March 22 saying &#8220;A study done in 2011 showed a smelting plant in Tanzania will cost $500m. Raising the money will be difficult as smelting cannot be profitable in the country.&#8221; Of particular concern is the lack of a steady supply of power from the national grid. 
Investors, who prize policy and regulatory certainty, will be rattled by the confrontational approach Magufuli has taken. But, on the other hand, investors dislike rampant corruption and may appreciate a president that appears to be getting Tanzania’s house in order. 
Cleaning up the country’s bureaucracy is an almost religious calling for the president. 
Addressing a congregation on April 30, the devout Magufuli said “What we do (in fighting evils) aims at straightening the country to facilitate fast, real economic development. I want you to believe that I&#8217;m doing this on your behalf, the presidency is yours&#8230; I am trying to act in the will of God&#8230; as the country, we had reached a terrible point, we were heading to a disastrous end.” He later added “Maybe the country was waiting for somebody like Magufuli to cleanse it.” 
The worrying use of the third person aside, such statements are important in understanding his self-image. 
The Manichean Magufuli is on a mission, but he is fighting corruption by firing rotten apples and micromanaging rather than by building institutions and opening the political space so that a strong opposition can keep the government in check. 
His route is unsustainable as it is centred around himself. 
Investors, and ordinary Tanzanians, would get both greater certainty and a sustainable method of keeping corruption in check if he only embraced democratic consolidation and directed his fervour toward institutional development.
Jared Jeffery is a Political Analyst and Jacques Nel, Senior Economist at NKC African Economics

Behind Tanzania’s President John ‘The Bulldozer’ Magufuli’s mining sector cleansings

The 2016 Healthy Active Kids South Africa (HAKSA) Report Card – coordinated by the <a href="http://network.mynewsdesk.com/wf/click?upn=LQ52xfcbidKO39jsLL5l3L3upOu5qvQ2YwhwOOkRT7c-3D_tRf3qiqFWB3UmyMkmahQWiFzFW4cVq8txjkihMCQ1ci5vGGwzQqHtZmHwC7e47xMuVRFWt-2Byims4dW9KQRlMRvXEu8Rthqui0ZJZiYXS7YTS3lgmbePf3IqtGVzJXNMtMK5-2FkNnw2fk9CoI-2FoIprzHAB-2FIearrtFVuJgPY6fObXrOqKhkgXY6S-2BjXnKSSrBAb0h11KKg-2FKB4QCnbP8uEeQzoc9BoXIehjmzQhAy3HUKLHgZMy1oEqKZVy3VbkpzJTVkTQORK0PxwZGb7dirf8cIWq-2BSF0YoK6FeZpANTScTh2HfUC6hEQAHIcDAm2YTUtwaX5rhjQGx2tN2hGbT-2BDiM6zDIS05ECfPLsSZbZ9wN1x037RdaxGKx6ujT-2Baf7ZkrXbYLB5pPDkFgyr8nf4xo-2Fo0yyLor5rQ3IH-2FK1AhkI-3D">Sports Science Institute of South Africa (SSISA),</a> supported by <a href="http://network.mynewsdesk.com/wf/click?upn=LQ52xfcbidKO39jsLL5l3E6hhJ7Xp2j9P-2FpjniwOKQEzsMlH5v0ZFUMsjFh18Wp6bRy1M1pV9-2B2-2FQE4IfUywTQ-3D-3D_tRf3qiqFWB3UmyMkmahQWiFzFW4cVq8txjkihMCQ1ci5vGGwzQqHtZmHwC7e47xMuVRFWt-2Byims4dW9KQRlMRvXEu8Rthqui0ZJZiYXS7YTS3lgmbePf3IqtGVzJXNMtMK5-2FkNnw2fk9CoI-2FoIprzHAB-2FIearrtFVuJgPY6fObXrOqKhkgXY6S-2BjXnKSSrBAb0h11KKg-2FKB4QCnbP8uEeY1DgpV2BDpRulw4JpBjP5AE43bAaK2mU-2BAOfKt1-2FfFLnD6m0xrfAucpC-2FxTUlt4m0MtSN2NUTztRwQ-2FgoV-2FgZU1E6K-2B8SL8KScqL1twJcL6b8UFoW0l-2F0EhKqQNEzwZPNLBfbW2E5TE1nDgavQrfSlv8h-2FNqE7P40dTB8CNaq8F-2BwD8wM-2BVNDJ5q6uIC2aRa9ZM-2FSWgKT4QPMWUPdygDmw-3D">Discovery Vitality</a> – revealed the startling  state of South Africa&#8217;s kids&#8217; health.
The report reveals that:
<ul>
<li>Malnutrition is rife: One in four preschoolers is overweight or obese while one in five is stunted. 74% of children in rural settings are underweight.</li>
<li>More than half of primary school children tested below average for motor control skills. Motor proficiency is linked to academic performance.</li>
<li>Less than half of children play sport and few do physical education at school; often environments aren’t conducive.</li>
<li>South African teens consume more than one soft drink per day, and three times the recommend amount of sugar per week. High sugar consumption is linked to a host of chronic diseases.</li>
<li>Most children eat less than one portion of fruit or vegetables per day. The recommendation is five per day.</li>
<li>There are 30 million consumers of fast food in South Africa, up by 10 million in the last 5 years.</li>
<li>Children watch TV for an average of three hours and day, with significant numbers watching five hours a day.</li>
</ul>
The study evolves from a collaborative effort of universities and institutions around the country with over 30 representatives formulating the final report. An important advocacy document, the report card grades various aspects of activity and eating behaviour in South African children and youth aged 6 to 18. Developed according to available research, the report builds on the evidence gathered for previous report cards in 2007, 2010, and 2014. The overall grade for Healthy Active Kids South Africa Report Card is a ‘C’ for overall physical activity and ‘D’ for overweight and obesity.
“On a global scale, less than 20% of children and youth are meeting recommendations for physical activity, and for the first time in history, there are more children who are overweight and obese, compared to those who are under-nourished or stunted,” says Professor Vicki Lambert, who has spearheaded the South African report card initiative since its inception in 2007. “Both these challenges are robbing children of reaching their full potential, and both demand our urgent attention.”
UNESCO and the World Health Organization consider it a fundamental human right for children to have the opportunity to participate in sport, physical activity and play; and to achieve the highest attainable standard of health.
“The 2016 HAKSA report highlights the opportunity we have to enable improved health for our children,” says Dr Craig Nossel, Head of Vitality Wellness at Discovery. “If every individual – parent, educator, or member of the public – makes one positive change in the way they eat or move, we can create a revolution that influences our children for the better.”
The 2016 report card at a glance
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Physical activity indicators</td>
<td>Grade </td>
<td>Highlight</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1. Overall physical activity levels</td>
<td>C</td>
<td>At least half of children are meeting global recommendations for physical activity. Efforts are still needed to promote physical activity for girls and teens.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>2. Physical fitness and motor proficiency</td>
<td>D</td>
<td>Health-related fitness is fair to poor. More than half of primary school learners perform below average in motor proficiency.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>3. Organised sports participation</td>
<td>D</td>
<td>Less than half of South African children and youth take part in organised sport.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>4. School physical activity environment</td>
<td>D</td>
<td>Primary school children have relatively low levels of in-school physical activity. Physical Education is not well implemented.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>5. Active travel</td>
<td>C</td>
<td>Walking or riding to school is an important daily physical activity for children, but safety is a concern.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>6. Sedentary behaviour</td>
<td>F</td>
<td>South African children spend an average of 3+ hours per day in front of a screen.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>7. Peer/ family support</td>
<td>C-</td>
<td>There is a general lack of support from families and peers for participation in physical activity.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>8. The community and the built environment</td>
<td>C-</td>
<td>Community initiatives and park upgrades are associated with greater physical activity. Plans for greater reach and access are promising.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>9. Government strategy, policy and investment</td>
<td>B</td>
<td>More than three-quarters of South African schools are registered for Sports and Recreation South Africa (SRSA) school sports programmes.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Nutrition indicators</td>
<td>Grade </td>
<td>Highlight</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>1. Overweight and obesity</td>
<td>D</td>
<td>Levels of overweight and obesity continue to rise amongst South African children and adolescents.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>2. Under-nutrition</td>
<td>C</td>
<td>Under-nutrition in South African children is decreasing at a slow pace, but continues to co-exist with over-nutrition.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>3. Fruit and veg intake</td>
<td>D</td>
<td>There’s no improvement in fruit and vegetable intake as a result of the National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP).</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>4. Sugar-sweetened beverages, added sugar and salty snacks</td>
<td>F</td>
<td>South African teens drink an average of more than one soft drink per day; have a weekly sugar intake three times the recommended amount; and a have higher than recommended salt intake from snack foods alone.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>5.Fast food</td>
<td>F</td>
<td>In the last five years, the number of people buying any fast food per month has increased by 10 million, to 30 million.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>6. Advertising and media</td>
<td>D</td>
<td>Government legislation controlling marketing of unhealthy foods to children is continually delayed, and advertising of sugar-sweetened beverages in and around schools remains pervasive.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>7. National School Nutrition Programme</td>
<td>B</td>
<td>The reach of the programme remains at 9 million children in 341 schools. Improvements in reducing stunting and obesity were seen, but external evaluation is needed.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>8. Vegetable gardens</td>
<td>C</td>
<td>The number of schools with vegetable gardens that contribute to the National Schools Nutrition Programme (NSNP) remains stable (around 8800).</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>9. Food insecurity</td>
<td>D</td>
<td>The challenge of food insecurity and childhood hunger, juxtaposed with obesity, is ongoing.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td></td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>10. Early childhood nutritional status</td>
<td>D</td>
<td>Nearly one in four preschoolers is overweight or obese and one in five is stunted.</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
“The solutions to better health for our children lie in our own hands, in mutual accountability, from parent to child, educator to families, government to schools and communities, and international trade environment and international agencies to member states,” says Professor Lambert.
<a href="http://network.mynewsdesk.com/wf/click?upn=LQ52xfcbidKO39jsLL5l3E6hhJ7Xp2j9P-2FpjniwOKQEVO-2F5gNmFa9DeqLa595U38kaWrJkk1gg2JI6Yg0AXIXk33OTsIkWDGAvAFMQ6K-2F1PgulaimJInlvLz1z7rHI-2BCHhaFsyhKvBkRGNkZ-2FCXzHfenlFlGmsfCCCQ80O6U76o-3D_tRf3qiqFWB3UmyMkmahQWiFzFW4cVq8txjkihMCQ1ci5vGGwzQqHtZmHwC7e47xMuVRFWt-2Byims4dW9KQRlMRvXEu8Rthqui0ZJZiYXS7YTS3lgmbePf3IqtGVzJXNMtMK5-2FkNnw2fk9CoI-2FoIprzHAB-2FIearrtFVuJgPY6fObXrOqKhkgXY6S-2BjXnKSSrBAb0h11KKg-2FKB4QCnbP8uEec-2BL0mJb39N5ssFn78xQ3wOHNnwFpycbC7RzjZ6XPpvUSF31TqiX3vh-2FtbZ9LjgZWR2qU0NSpV87PyDmgj80jGh3FQKVJR5bslzYhBA42KVitzr6zSw8L6mHECuaPejEIfSrw1zB-2F4f7x4vl-2FVw2zbDm7JmzmF3-2BMZEh7wi783jYhZYeNPNZ9TMsCGwUfedGOtiYPREw7Dzo9k75orU43cA-3D">Download the full report. </a>

The state of health of SA’s kids

Speech by Lynne Brown, Minister of Public Enterprises, South Africa
Chairperson Zukie Rantho 
Members of the Portfolio Committee 
Officials of my Department 
Parliamentary Officials, journalists 
South Africans…
Let me start by reporting that I have submitted my affidavit to court with regard to the matter.
I have instructed my legal team to withdraw my opposition to Part A of the relief sought – that I set aside my appointment of Mr Molefe.
I have nonetheless deposed an affidavit as I believe the information I have will assist the court in determining its decision.
My initial advice was to oppose Part A on the basis that I neither appointed nor reinstated Mr Molefe, as well as on the basis of advice from Eskom’s Board that it had obtained an opinion from a Senior Council advocate on its handling of the matter.
But having had the opportunity to properly appraise the issues I have decided that I will abide by the court’s decision on the legality of Mr Molefe’s return to Eskom.
When Eskom’s Board approached me to inform me of its decision to bring Mr Molefe back, I said I would support it on the proviso that it was legal. I also made this point repeatedly when addressing media on the matter, though – curiously – none of them thought it worthy of reporting…
With regard to Part B of the motion, which seeks to stop Mr Molefe from conducting any work at Eskom, I have reserved my rights.
Madam chairperson…
One of the issues that the court will have to decide is a technical one relating to Eskom’s Memoranda of Incorporation.
Eskom is governed by various pieces of legislation, including the Eskom Conversion Act 13 of 2001. Section 6 (2) of the Act requires me, from time to time, to publish memoranda and articles of association. Two different Memoranda of Incorporation are relevant to Mr Molefe’s situation: One passed and adopted before his arrival at Eskom, and the other during his tenure.
Material differences between the two documents included that the 2014 version did not require the Minister to be noted as a party to the employment agreement of the Group Chief Executive (noting the Minister was required in the 2016 version); and the 2014 document did not provide the Minister with the power to remove the Chief Executive (as the 2016 version does).
The executive employment contract concluded by Mr Molefe and Dr Ngubane in March 2016 was concluded in terms of the 2014 agreement. It didn&#8217;t have to be shown to me.
When Mr Molefe quit Eskom in November 2016 I was under the impression that he had resigned. I was not aware that he had applied for early retirement. This I only learned in April 2017, after reading in the media that Mr Molefe was receiving a R30m pay-out from Eskom, and asking Eskom’s Board to make a more prudent deal.
Again, on Eskom’s legal argument that Mr Molefe was appointed under the terms of the 2014 MOI, the early retirement agreement didn&#8217;t have to be shown to me.
On 11 May 2017, after taking advice from a senior council, the Eskom Board reverted to me with options on the proposed R30m pay-out to Mr Molefe. As a courtesy, the Board indicated to me its preference was for the consensual recission of Mr Molefe’s early retirement, and that it was willing to accept Mr Molefe back as Group Chief Executive.
I said I would support the Board’s decision providing it was legal. As I told the media, I believed that Eskom would obtain more value from having Mr Molefe at work than simply paying out R30m.
Colleagues…
I didn&#8217;t expect that society would universally welcome news of Mr Molefe’s return to Eskom following the allegations levelled against him in the Public Protector’s State of Capture report. But nor did I anticipate the level of vitriol.
I expected that his achievements as a technocrat, the fact that he would be under enormous scrutiny, and the presumption of innocence until proven guilty would bring some balance to the debate.
But there is a presumption of guilt – despite the Public Protector’s report being taken on review. As a society, as politicians, as media, we must beware of criminalisation by association. Particularly in the absence of anyone having been convicted of a crime…
There is almost a climate of hostility presently surrounding our state-owned companies that, incidentally, belies their actual performance. It is an environment complicated by strident voices ahead of the ruling party’s policy and elective conferences later this year, and by members of the opposition who view the State of Capture report as their ticket to Nirvana.
Chairperson…
I am not telling you this to try and make you feel sympathetic towards Brian Molefe, Dr Ngubane or Eskom, but because it is the truth.
Dr Ngubane is here. He will be able to answer whatever operational and technical questions you might have.
Let me say, in your and Dr Ngubane’s presence, that I have noted concerns that have been raised about the Board’s performance, to the extent that some have called for its dissolution. I don’t think it would be fair to jump to any conclusions while there is an important matter before court.
I have, however, taken legal advice on the process to follow to rotate the Board, if appropriate, while a discussion is underway in government.
Madame chairperson…
Our giant state-owned companies, including Eskom, are critical levers of the developmental, transformative state. Where they err we must fix them. But we must be very careful we don&#8217;t allow our discourse to break them.
Later this week, when Deputy Minister Martins and I present the Department’s budget vote, we will provide a progress report on the State Owned Companies Reform Project and development of a shareholder policy.
Suffice to say, now, that the project will directly address some of the governance issues we are here to discuss today, including the appointment of chief executive officers and the creation of remuneration and pension standards.
I thank you for the time you have given me. I will try my best to answer questions you may have, and Dr Ngubane will do the same.

SA’s Minister of Public Enterprises Lynne Brown on Eskom, Brian Molefe

Ahmedabad, India, May 22, 2017 – India is the perfect place for the African Development Bank to focus on the transformative power of agriculture. India is an inspiration to Africa, in that its Green Revolution took just three years. That was in large measure due to the power of political will and you will see much political will on display here at the Bank Group’s Annual Meetings in Ahmedabad in the next few days.
See agriculture as agribusiness: it’s the best way to create jobs and make money. Our problem is that we have viewed African agriculture through the wrong lens for too many years. Agriculture is not a development activity or a social sector: it’s the biggest money-making business in the world. It’s not for older people – the average age of our African farmers is 60 – but it’s for young people. That’s why we have launched the ENABLE Youth programme with the aim of establishing 10,000 youth-run agribusinesses in every country in Africa.
Agriculture is the most strategic sector for a country’s economic growth, and that a Minister of Agriculture needs to work hand-in-hand with a Minister of Finance and a Minister of Trade and Investment. And yet it’s only Government’s role to create policy, incentives and infrastructure – it’s ultimately the private sector, which must step up and invest along the length of the agricultural value chain, from producing to processing, from farm to fork.
What use is it that Africa produces 75% of the world’s cocoa beans, but produces only 2% of its chocolate. We simply have to transform African agriculture. The African future is not, as some people think, based on oil and gas: you can’t drink oil or smoke gas. The future is food – you can eat food. Our continent’s food and agriculture markets will be worth US $1 trillion within 13 years.
*Akinwumi Adesina is the President of the African Development Bank. Adesina was addressing press at the start of the African Development Bank Group’s 52nd Annual Meetings, held in Ahmedabad, India, from May 22-26, 2017.

Africa’s time is now – we can’t slow down, we must quicken the pace: Adesina

While foreign currency shortages in Sub-Saharan Africa stemming from lower oil and commodity prices are easing, it will take time for sovereigns, banks and non-financial companies to restore their financial health, Moody&#8217;s Investors Service said in a report: <a href="https://www.researchpool.com/provider/moodys-investors-service/sub-saharan-africa-foreign-currency-shortages-are-subsiding-but-will">&#8220;Foreign-currency shortages are subsiding but will take time to overcome&#8221; </a>.
&#8220;Falling oil and commodity prices over the past two years have led to foreign currency shortages in numerous Sub-Saharan African countries, with oil exporters hit particularly hard,&#8221; said Lucie Villa, a Moody&#8217;s Vice President &#8212; Senior Analyst and co-author of the report. &#8220;The stabilisation in oil and commodity prices over recent months will help to ease the pressure, but any recovery will depend on continued higher prices and could take some time.&#8221;
Managing foreign currency shortages will remain a key policy challenge for Sub-Saharan oil exporters.
In recent quarters, dollar rationing, currency devaluation and foreign currency borrowing by governments have stemmed the fall in foreign exchange reserves in Angola and Nigeria. But this has been to the detriment of the non-oil economy, price stability and government balance sheets.
In Gabon and the Republic of the Congo, which are members of the Central African Monetary and Economic Union (CEMAC) and where access to foreign currency borrowing is limited, the common local currency is pegged to the euro and foreign exchange reserves have collapsed, Moody&#8217;s expects reserves to continue falling through 2017, but at a much slower rate.
In the region&#8217;s banking sector, banks in Angola, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo remain the most affected by foreign currency shortages due to their economies&#8217; high reliance on dollars. Their foreign currency deposits have been depleted and they have limited capacity to source new foreign funding. &#8220;The resultant currency devaluations have also eroded banks&#8217; loan quality, profitability and capital&#8221;, added Constantinos Kypreos, a Moody&#8217;s Senior Vice President and co-author of the report.
In Nigeria and Angola, pressures appear to be receding somewhat as their central banks are now injecting more dollars into the economy on the back of higher oil prices and related revenues. Banks in South Africa are the least affected, reflecting the system&#8217;s limited dollarization levels and low reliance on foreign funding.
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Although a gradual increase in commodity prices over recent months is supporting foreign currency liquidity and helping to ease currency shortages, it is too early to conclude that pressures on banks have reversed. This can only happen gradually as dollars flow back into the economies and exchange rates in &#8216;unofficial&#8217; markets converge with official rates. Despite these challenges, banks in Sub-Saharan Africa generally maintain high capital buffers and their profitability is robust.
Non-financial companies operating in oil exporting countries such as Nigeria and Angola have been most affected by dollar scarcity and local currency weakness. Moody&#8217;s expects these challenges to continue in 2017 but alleviate in 2018. &#8220;Dollar shortages make it difficult to pay suppliers of imported goods and equipment, meet dollar debt payments or to repatriate funds outside of the respective countries&#8221;, says Dion Bate, a Moody&#8217;s Vice President and co-author of the report. &#8220;The associated local currency weakness increases the cost of servicing unhedged foreign currency debt obligations, reduces repatriated profits in foreign currency and lowers operating margins, as companies are not able to pass on high import costs to the consumer&#8221;, adds Mr Bate. Non-financial corporates with dollar revenues such as commodity operators and corporates with dollar-linked contracts are insulated from these risks.

Sub-Saharan Africa’s foreign-currency shortages are subsiding but will take time to overcome

Monday saw a war of words erupt between the Black Business Council and Business Unity South Africa, below we provide both their statements. 
The Black Business Council (BBC) will not extend the olive branch to white business forever
The Black Business Council wishes to announce the termination of cooperation with the Business Unity South Africa (BUSA), following over 23 years of partnership and dialogue between White and Black business at National Economic Development and Labour Council (NEDLAC). The termination follows an unfortunate incident that transpired at the last NEDLAC’s Infrastructure Committee meeting, where representatives of BBC were kicked out of the meeting by the BUSA delegation.
The government created NEDLAC in February 1995 through the National Economic Development and Labour Council Act of 1994 in order to add legitimacy and transparency to the socioeconomic decision-making process. This was because there was a clear need for radical change in South Africa&#8217;s socioeconomic. NEDLAC replaced the National Manpower Commission (NMC) and the National Economic Forum (NEF). 
The main objective of Government is to consult all major stakeholders by eliciting Nedlac&#8217;s approval on the proposed legislation. The stakeholders are grouped as government, business and labour as well as the community (represented by civic, women&#8217;s, rural, youth and disabled organisations and representative bodies) 
Nedlac&#8217;s objectives are set out in the National Economic Development and Labour Council Act 35 of 1994. These are to: 
• strive to promote the goals of economic growth, participation in economic decision-making and social equity, 
• seek to reach a consensus and conclude agreements pertaining to social and economic policies, 
• consider all proposed labour legislation relating to labour market policies before it is introduced in Parliament, 
• consider all significant changes to social and economic policies before it is introduced in Parliament, 
• encourage and promote the formulation of coordinated policies on social and economic matters. 
Nedlac has played a fundamental role in the shaping of a democratic South Africa. The process of reaching a consensus through forums for debate is critical for the formation of legitimate decisions that are acceptable to all South Africans. Nedlac is therefore a consensus-seeking body that tries to facilitate agreement through discussion and negotiation.
Over the years, Black and White organisations have successfully represented business and ensured that everybody’s voice is heard through quality inputs from all. The top priority for all stakeholders is to improve the capacity of black business and ensure their meaningful participation in shaping of the country’s economic landscape. “The BBC will continue participating in NEDLAC as an independent voice of Black business and we believe this will provide a great opportunity for BBC to advocate the aspirations of our people. We have declared 2017 the year of radical economic transformation and on platforms such as NEDLAC, we will continue to advocate a less apologetic approach to economic redress” said Danisa Baloyi, President of the BBC.
In the past, Black and White business worked tirelessly to achieve a consensus on matters pertaining to the successes of business even when they were representing different constituents, monopoly capital and aspirant Black entrepreneurs on the other side.
“The closing doors approach by BUSA is direct contrary of the BBC open door policy, which has been a key pillar to the 23 year old relationship. Mr Mabuza gesture at NEDLAC, which was subsequently followed by a call to end the two organisations’ cooperation, is in fact making a re-approachment to “civil society matters. The civil society must be wary of these approaches lest they become next victims of Mabuza’s constant exclusion of Black people in positions of power.” said George Sebulela, secretary General of the BBC. &#8220;White business cannot keep the social dialogue alive alone. You need the BBC, a different organisation fighting for the aspiration of Black people and white business don&#8217;t seem to realize this fact. They are finding it very difficult to work with Black people.” concluded Sebulela
BUSA RESPONDS TO BBC NEDLAC TERMINATION 
Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) is the recognised voice at the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) for business &#8211; representing businesses across all sectors, sizes and formats in the economy.. 
The BUSA Board formally advised the Black Business Council (BBC) on 11 May 2017 of the termination of cooperation in Nedlac. The decision follows the lapse of the 2012 – 2015 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between BUSA and the BBC. The MoU provided the cooperative framework for promoting the interests of business in Nedlac, which previously enabled the BBC representatives to participate in Nedlac proceedings through the BUSA seat.
Regrettably, notwithstanding numerous efforts, the two parties were unable to reach an agreement on the terms of a new framework for participation.
Therefore, the BBC will no longer be represented through BUSA at Nedlac. This does not prevent the BBC from seeking their own seat at Nedlac in line with the Nedlac Act and Constitution.
BUSA does not believe that there is merit on commenting on the BBC release. The decision, to terminate the participation of the BCC through BUSA in Nedlac, was taken unanimously by the BUSA Board. It was informed by recent developments at Nedlac where it became apparent that BBC and BUSA were not aligned in relation to key issues facing the economy. Such issues included the impact of the downgrade and on matters of monetary policy, as well as the most appropriate way to address these issues.
As the representative voice of all business, BUSA remains committed to working with all organised business formations and stakeholders across the broader spectrum of society, including the BBC, within the spirit of co-operation, accountability, collaboration and mutual respect.

Black Business Council, Business Unity South Africa terminate co-operation at Nedlac

Logistics is one of the greatest problems in global health. Often when a person becomes ill, the help they require is available somewhere but they are unable to access it in time. Many people die because they are simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.
My youngest sister, Busola, was 12 years-old when she died because there was no air ambulance in Nigeria at that time to enable her to get to a specialist facility quickly.
I set up my company, the Flying Doctors Nigeria, a leading pan-African air ambulance company and the first indigenous air ambulance company in Nigeria, to solve this problem.
According to the Association of Air Medical Services, almost 100 million people in the US would not be able to access emergency healthcare without air ambulances. In Africa, where there are fewer healthcare professionals, an under-developed road infrastructure, smaller healthcare budgets and often huge distances between specialist medical facilities; the number of people that cannot access emergency healthcare without an air ambulance is much higher.
Specialist healthcare
Provision of specialist healthcare (building, equipping and running hospitals) is very expensive. Healthcare budgets in Africa are often lower than 0.1% of their counterparts in the developed world. Therefore, specialist care must be centralized, allowing the bulk of the budget for specialist care to be deployed into very few hospitals. This allows more efficient use of scarce resources; human capital and money.
The high volumes of complex medical cases such as congenital heart disease will allow the doctors to specialize in these procedures and also produce economies of scale with regard to equipment, expertise, research and data.
Centralization of specialist healthcare allows us not just to do more with less, but to do better with less.
The British Medical Journal states that the centralization of specialized healthcare services is typically characterized by reorganization of healthcare services into fewer specialized units serving a higher volume of patients, and aims to improve patient outcomes and efficiency.
Dr Ole Tjomsland is director of quality at the Regional Health Authority in Norway; a country that has drastically improved health outcomes through centralization. He argues that centralization is simply in the best interests of patients. He claims that it just isn’t possible to provide consistently high-quality procedures in smaller, fragmented hospitals with low volumes.
Emergency response
There are three types of delay that are relevant to almost every medical emergency: 
&#8211; Delay in recognition of life-threatening symptoms 
&#8211; Delay in transportation 
&#8211; Delay in in-hospital treatment
But whilst a great deal of time, policy and investment is directed at the first and last of these, the second, logistics, is largely neglected.
Air ambulances can vastly improve a healthcare system’s response to emergencies. Increasingly air ambulances serve medically and geographically-isolated populations in new ways. This includes primary through to tertiary care without the need to build new clinics, hospitals or critical care centres.
The Flying Doctors Nigeria Air ambulance service has worked across 10 African countries for nearly 10 years, providing essential, life-saving aeromedical transportation services. Our innovative systems and processes allow us to deliver this service at as low as 10% of the cost of similar services around the world.
Conversations at the World Economic Forum for Africa 2017 centred around inclusive growth. As we deliberate, it will be important for us to bear in mind that a population&#8217;s individual and collective health status directly affects a nation&#8217;s economic development.
Governments simply must take health seriously if they wish to sustain and advance socioeconomic outcomes. Empirically, high levels of population health go hand-in-hand with high levels of growth and income.
African countries face an increasingly complex set of medical challenges. An ageing population, lifestyle diseases such as diabetes and cancer, as well as the unfinished business of infectious disease. Most of the interventions for these diseases will take place in the community, primary care centres, or in the home.
However, in emergency situations, patients will need to access specialized care swiftly and efficiently. This is where air ambulances provide an essential lifeline.
There can be no truly inclusive growth without inclusive healthcare: healthcare provided through systems that allow every citizen to access medical care in a regional/national specialist hospital with minimal delay.
Inclusive growth means ensuring that there are far fewer cases of children like my sister Busola, who died simply because she was in the wrong place at the wrong time and there was no transportation to enable her access to specialist care.
*Ola Orekunrin is Managing Director, The Flying Doctors

Monique Vanek

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Monique Vanek

SA’s Revised Mining Charter is “the last nail in the coffin”: Chamber of Mines VP Phiri

Eskom Chairman Ben Ngubane resigns

Gauteng looks to Ghana to harness investment and trade to drive growth

Moody’s downgrades SA one notch, assigns negative outlook

Eskom board rescinds Brian Molefe’s appointment

Africa creates world-first next generation digital identification technology to fight identity theft

These five leaders are exposing corruption and bringing hope to Africa

Our world of plenty is on the brink of unprecedented famine. We must act now

This is what Brian Molefe’s return as CEO at Africa’s power utility, Eskom signifies

The unravelling of SA’s state capture

Behind Tanzania’s President John ‘The Bulldozer’ Magufuli’s mining sector cleansings

The state of health of SA’s kids

SA’s Minister of Public Enterprises Lynne Brown on Eskom, Brian Molefe

Africa’s time is now – we can’t slow down, we must quicken the pace: Adesina

Sub-Saharan Africa’s foreign-currency shortages are subsiding but will take time to overcome

Black Business Council, Business Unity South Africa terminate co-operation at Nedlac

Meet the flying doctor delivering emergency healthcare to Africa

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