Britain won’t turn its back on Africa following Brexit (29.11.2016)

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There is clearly a need in the aftermath of Brexit for there to be a degree of reassurance given to Africa that Brexit doesn’t mean that the United Kingdom is going to turn its back on Africa.

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, November 29, 2016 -Brexit does not mean that the British government will turn its back on Africa, Lord Paul Boateng, a Member of the United Kingdom’s House of Lords said Monday.

Speaking at the first ever Africa Trade Forum which is being hosted by the Economic Commission for Africa and the African Union, Mr. Boateng said Brexit presents Africa and the UK with an opportunity to “put development at the heart of our trading relationship with Africa in a way frankly that it has not always been in relation to the EPAs, let’s be frank about it”.

“The UK recognizes that and we will seek every opportunity to minimize the disruption in our trading relationship and take every opportunity to seize this chance to re-fashion the relationship between the UK and Africa in terms of trade so intra-African trade becomes an opportunity which we can seize together,” he said.

Contributing to debate on Africa-E.U. Economic and Trade Cooperation and Brexit implications for Africa, Mr. Boateng assured participants, including African Ministers of Trade, Finance and Transportation as well as senior government officials, heads of Regional Economic Communities (RECs), African CEOs and executives, representatives of international development agencies, civil society and others, that trade relations between the UK and Africa will not be affected following Brexit.

“There is clearly a need in the aftermath of Brexit for there to be a degree of reassurance given to Africa that Brexit doesn’t mean that the United Kingdom is going to turn its back on Africa and I’m able to assure you that right across the political divide in the UK, in both Houses, Africa and the UK’s historic link with Africa remains central to our thinking,” he said.

“Yes there’s uncertainty at this time, that is inevitable, when such a momentous decision is made,” SAID Mr. Boateng.

“Yes there is a hazard always when you think about the scale of the task that lies ahead in terms of mapping out the future of the trading relationship between the UK and Africa but I think I can give the absolute assurance that we see this in the UK as an opportunity to be seized.”

He said he was concerned by the issue of infrastructure in most African countries. Mr. Boateng was born and brought up in the Gold Coast in Ghana.

“I am the grandson of cocoa and cassava farmers. My grandmother grew cassava, my grandfather grew cocoa and when I look at our village in Tafo in the eastern region of Ghana, two things strike me, first of all, that in the 1950s there was a direct rail link between Tafo, a heart of cocoa growing region and Takoradi, which at that time was our main port,” he told participants.

“That rail link no longer exists and that has had a damaging effect on agriculture in Ghana but Ghana is not alone in seeing the deterioration of its infrastructure so the United Kingdom recognizes the importance of infrastructure in terms of promoting intra-African trade.”

“The second matter which I can’t but help notice, he said, is that right next door to my grandmother’s farm was a West African Cocoa Research Institute and that was a major resource for West Africa in terms of agricultural support and extension and research at the highest level so it produced every year a handful of PhDs now sadly due to decades of neglect and the impact of the structural adjustment of the 70s and the 80s, that emphasis on higher education and the link between higher education, science, technology and innovation and agriculture simply went now we are seeking to revisit that but I would argue that that too is a very important part of our struggle in order to increase agricultural productivity of Africa.” 

“Without that we are going to be in difficulties but the good news is it seems to me that is changing and the UK and our department of international development is making its contribution to that,” Mr. Boateng said.

Participants will be in Addis Ababa for the week attending the first ever Africa Trade Week, a multi-stakeholder platform for the advancement of the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA). And intra-African Trade.

Zimbabwe: the launch of the Bond Notes is as hectic as the image of Mugabe’s administration!

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The long term dictator of Zimbabwe Robert Mugabe has resurfaced his own or the nation own currency. This time the first currency since the devaluation and hyper-inflation, as they of recent years has traded on South African Rand and U.S. Dollars. So the Bond Notes should be possible, but in reality they are a way for the government to take up more loan and sign it off to their citizens instead of settling scores with the international community that the Republic of Zimbabwe; instead the debt and inflation this is supposed to recharge a sinking economy, but with the corruption and embezzlement together with the sanctions have hit the cash-strapped economy.

The Bond Notes are a remedy, but not a believable one, which I have portrayed before; not that the U.S. Dollars and South African Rand’s couldn’t last forever, but this here is just taking up more loans and stifling the citizens with the bill.

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Here is the first of day of Bond Notes!  

Bond Notes comes from South Africa:

“So everyone was wondering where this MR BOND NOTE is coming from but we managed to solve that riddle when the notes and coins arrived in Zimbabwe early yesterday aboard an international plane” (…) “The plane had a clearly visible logo, Cavok Air, which is a Ukranian cargo chartered flight company specializing in transporting high-value goods” (…) “Air cargo transportation; DG and special cargo transportation; Cargo charter operations with 24H flight watch; Planning and flight support; Obtaining diplomatic and special permits” (Masasi, 2016)

Bank agreements before the launch:

“The use of bond notes within the multi-currency exchange system which are anchored on the $200 million facility will operate along the same lines as bond coins, pegged 1:1 to the US dollar. RBZ said retailers, fuel companies and other businesses had agreed on the use and acceptability of bond notes as a medium of exchange” (…) “The Reserve Bank has engaged and agreed with the Retailers Association of Zimbabwe, fuel companies, representatives of the various business associations and the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe on the use and acceptability of bond notes as a medium of exchange in the country,” the bank said” (Chakanyuka, 2016).

Supermarkets in Harare:

“The big supermarkets in Harare – including Pick n Pay and OK Zimbabwe – were not openly willing to accept the bond notes that will also come in $5 denominations, at least for now” (…) “We are waiting for specimens and samples from the Reserve Bank. Maybe we will start accepting the bond notes in the afternoon when we receive the samples,” a manager at an OK Zimbabwe supermarket in Harare told shoppers intending to buy goods using the bond notes” “ (…) ”At Pick n Pay and TM Supermarkets branches in central Harare, the bond notes were also not being accepted. A supervisor told Fin24 that the shop was “yet to get approval to accept the bond notes” (Mataranyika, 2016).

Publicised pictures of Bond Notes, fired!

“POSB unlawfully and without permission, took images of bond notes in its vaults and distributed and publicised the images via social media,” the RBZ said in a statement signed by governor John Mangudya” (…) “The Reserve Bank…has imposed an administrative fine of $500,000 on POSB. The employees of POSB who took, publicised and distributed the images on social media have been dismissed with immediate effect,” the RBZ said” (the Source, 2016).

What have we learned by today is that certain stores doesn’t accept the currency in the midst of the capital where the nation and national assembly set in motion this coins to trade with. Still, the own population doesn’t all accept it. That even the leak a day earlier made certain Reserve Bank employee’s has been fired; the other people who leaked it on the Harare International Airport got away with it seem!

The proof that one Consumer Council has not authority with the top market Supermarkets, that shows the common neglect from the Zimbabwe Government that clearly has more tricks than governance, therefore they not listening to the public will for not releasing this currency and forcing the trade with these monetary policy.

The ones that earns on this is not the Zimbabweans, it is Mugabe and his Zanu-PF the ones that believes otherwise has been sleeping in class and never listen to headmaster. This is the next trick that supposed to clear out the running debt and feed the cronyism that are key to how Zanu-PF is running the country. Peace.  

Reference:

Chakanyuka, Tinomuda – ‘BOND NOTES OUT . . . Reserve Bank sets cash withdrawal limits’ (27.11.2016) link: http://www.thezimbabwedaily.com/top-stories/96352-bond-notes-out-reserve-bank-sets-cash-withdrawal-limits.html

 

Mataranyika, Memory – ‘Zim supermarkets reject new bond notes in early trade’ (28.11.2016) link: http://www.fin24.com/Companies/Retail/zim-supermarkets-reject-new-bond-notes-in-early-trade-20161128

 

Masasi – ‘Bond notes made in South Africa – LEAKED PICTURES SHOW’ (27.11.2016) link:http://masasi.co.zw/bond-notes-made-in-south-africa-leaked-pictures-show/

 

The Source – ‘POSB fined over bond note picture leak, workers sacked’ (28.11.2016) link: http://source.co.zw/2016/11/posb-fined-over-bond-note-picture-leak-workers-sacked/

Zimbabwe introduces new note amid scepticism (Youtube-Clip)

“Here’s a first look at Zimbabwe’s new ‘bond notes’, its own currency equivalent to the US dollar. Authorities hope that issuing $10 million of ‘bond notes’ will ease Zimbabwe’s severe cash crunch, but critics believe it will hit their savings” (TimesLive, 2016)

Zimbabwe: Press Statement on the Introduction of Bond Notes (26.11.2016)

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Somalia: FIEIT visits Galmudug to urge timely completion of voting for Lower House (24.11.2016)

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Cadaado, 24 November 2016 – Members of the Federal Indirect Electoral Implementation Team (FIEIT) visited the Galmudug state capital today to push for timely completion of ongoing elections for seats in the federal parliament’s House of the People.

The FIEIT team met with senior state officials to discuss the status of the elections in Galmudug, which so far has filled 21 out of its 36 allocated seats in the lower chamber.

“Our visit today is to assess how the elections are going on in Galmudug. We are here to ensure that the process is finished on time, by 30 November this year. We want to encourage them to do keep doing the good work and where there are concerns, then we would address and find solutions,” said FIEIT Chairman Omar Mohamed Abdulle.

Mr. Abdulle said FIEIT would adhere to the election timetable it released in September. He said the timely completion of the electoral process would enable the country to have a new government and federal parliament before the end of 2016.

FIEIT is pressing state-level governments and electoral bodies to expedite voting for the remaining seats in the House of the People that have not yet been filled. A two-thirds quorum of members is needed in both houses of the federal parliament to hold a presidential election in the legislature, according to Somalia’s 2012 Provisional Constitution. The Upper House has crossed that threshold with 43 of its 54 seats already having been elected.

“We hope to have at least two-thirds of the members of the Lower House before the November 30 deadline. We now have a total of 145 members, if we get 35 more members, the country would have an institution that can sit and decide on issues,” Abdulle added.

His remarks drew support from the Vice President of Galmudug, Mohamed Hashi, who assured the FIEIT team that the state’s remaining 15 members would be elected before the end of this month.

“We did a lot of work to resolve disputes. We hope to finish the election of the remaining members of the Lower House by Monday or Tuesday next week,” said Mr. Hashi.

In other election news, the FIEIT and the Independent Electoral Disputes Resolution Mechanism (IEDRM) issued a joint press statement announcing they are investigating cases of electoral malpractice following allegations of corruption, intimidation and manipulation in the ongoing electoral process.

The two electoral bodies warned today that stern action will be taken on cases where proof of electoral malpractice is confirmed.

“When investigations confirm that serious malpractices have occurred, the FIEIT and the IEDRM will take appropriate and decisive actions,” said the two bodies in the statement. “Such actions will include nullification of the election results and disqualification of candidates who have committed the malpractices.”

The statement also expressed concern about the failure of some clans to comply with the 30 percent quota established by the National Leadership Forum (NLF) for women’s representation in the parliament. In the case of Galmudug, only three of the 21 members elected to the House of the People thus far are women.

“This rule needs to be respected in all the upcoming elections. Failure to fulfill this requirement will result in action by the FIEIT and IEDRM against the offending clans both in past and upcoming elections,” the statement warned.

Both electoral bodies urged all stakeholders to abide by the rules and regulations of the electoral process as defined and agreed by the NLF.

Somalia – Severe drought and food insecurity (25.11.2016)

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  • The severe drought conditions are worsening in Somaliland and Puntland and also expanding to central and southern regions in Somalia. The rainy season from October to December has so far been poor as with the past five rainy seasons which were all below average or had failed completely. Crop and pasture losses are widespread, water shortages common, and people’s traditional coping mechanisms exhausted.
  • Two out of five Somalis are already acutely food insecure, according to the UN. Almost 1.4 million people are now in an acute food and livelihood crisis or emergency, not able to meet their daily food requirements, while another 3.9 million require livelihood support. Over 320 000 acutely malnourished children are in need of urgent support.
  • Over half of food insecure people (58%) at crisis or emergency level are internally displaced, resulting from the combination of climatic shocks, armed conflict, fragility, lack of governance and basic services prevalent in Somalia.
  • The President of the Federal Government of Somalia issued an appeal to all Somalis and the international community to support drought-stricken communities, joining other recent appeals by the regional authorities of Somaliland, Puntland and Jubaland. However, aid agencies face major funding challenges, curtailing all but the most basic life-saving activities.
  • Drought conditions are expected to intensify even further in the traditional lean season from January to March until the next rainy season expected in April 2017.

Burundi: Sonnette d’alarme de l’OLUCOME sur la détérioration de l’économie (24.11.2016)

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Somalia: FEIT and IEDRM planning coordinated action against serious electoral malpractice (24.11.2016)

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UN human rights body appoints Commission of Inquiry on Burundi (24.11.2016)

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The Commissioners appointed today include Fatsah Ouguergouz (Algeria), Reina Alapini Gansu (Benin) and Francoise Hampson (United Kingdom). Mr. Ouguergouz will serve as the Chair of the three-member Commission.

NEW YORK, United States of America, November 24, 2016 – Following a decision of the United Nations Human Rights Council, in which it setup a commission of inquiry to investigate human rights violations and abuses in Burundi, including whether they may constitute international crimes, the President of the body has appointed the Commission’s Chair and members.

According to a news release, the Commissioners will “provide the support and expertise for the immediate improvement of the situation of human rights and the fight against in impunity.”

Established for a period of a year at the Human Rights Council’s 33rd session (September 2016), the Commission has also been mandated to identify the alleged perpetrators of violations and abuses, since April 2015, with a view to ensuring full accountability.

The Commissioners appointed today include Fatsah Ouguergouz (Algeria), Reina Alapini Gansu (Benin) and Francoise Hampson (United Kingdom). Mr. Ouguergouz will serve as the Chair of the three-member Commission.

In discharging its duties, the Commission has been authorized by the Human Rights Council to engage with national authorities, UN agencies, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) field presence in the country, as well as other stakeholders, including the civil society, refugees, authorities of the African Union (AU) and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

The Commission will be present an oral briefing to the Human Rights Council at its 34th and 35th sessions, in March and June 2017, respectively, and a final report at an interactive dialogue at the Council’s 36th session in September 2017.

Burundi was thrown into fresh crisis more than a year ago when President Pierre Nkurunziza decided to run for a controversial third term that he went on to win. To date, it has been reported that hundreds of people have been killed, more than 250,000 have fled the nation, and thousands more have been arrested and possibly subjected to human rights violations.

Brexit: Labour has plans to counter the non-existence “Moving-On” plans of the Tories!

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Its days after and just two weeks after leaked Memo that said how little plans the Conservative Party or Tories Government had. So this report is a answer to that. Like the certain quote of the memo:

“The divisions within the Cabinet are between the three Brexiteers on one side and Philip Hammond/Greg Clark on the other side. The Prime Minister is rapidly acquiring the reputation of drawing in decisions and details to settle matters herself – which is unlikely to be sustainable. Overall, it appears best to judge who is winning the debate by assuming that the noisiest individuals have lost the intra-Government debate and are stirring up external supporters” (Sky News, 2016).

When the matter comes into the light like this; it’s fruitful to see that the major Opposition Party have now showed alternative path or at-least thought things through where they have propositions to a counter-party that doesn’t care for fulfilling their mandate and exercising the vote of the people.

Theresa May, was voted into the Parliament to be MP and not a PM. Therefore she might forget how to get the popular vote and get consensus. Here is one set of ideas and suggestions to how to make amends of the Brexit. This is worth listening to and also reading to get ideas of how to fix the problems of the European Union and the United Kingdom. Take a look!

Infrastructure Policy:

“So what should be done? Brexit offers British policy-makers the opportunity to step back and examine the future direction of infrastructure and housing policy. The Autumn Statement should be used signal a change in direction towards an economic strategy which uses infrastructure and housing policy as a tool to boost growth and productivity in regions that have suffered a lack of investment” (Moving On, P: 12, 2016). “Ignore this problem and it is clear that unity in our divided country will be even further away. Accept the challenge, take steps to rebalance investment, and the United Kingdom has half a chance at sticking together“ (Moving On, P: 14, 2016).

Working Policy:

“First, he should do all that he can to stimulate investment in innovation. Coming up with new ideas, products and services which the rest of the world wants to buy is the best way we can remain internationally competitive post Brexit without seeking to pursue an alternative strategy, advocated by those on the Right, of making our labour markets ever more flexible and embarking on a race to the bottom on people’s terms and conditions of work. Innovation will also help improve UK productivity which is 18% below the G7 average, the largest gap since 1991 when the ONS started collecting such data” (Moving On, P: 19, 2016). “Limited digital connectivity is one of the biggest barriers to business and Ofcom estimates that 1 in 5 small business premises will still not be able to access superfast broadband without further action from government. The Universal Service Obligation – which sets a target of all homes having 10MB per second speeds by 2020 is nowhere near ambitious enough – a more ambitious target and timeframe for delivery should be set if Britain is to be at the forefront of the fourth industrial revolution” (Moving on, P: 22, 2016). “The biggest boost he could provide is by declaring that the Government’s goal during the Brexit negotiations is to continue with the UK’s membership – not just access to – the European Single Market, as I set out in my speech to the Centre for Progressive Capitalism last month” (Moving on, P: 24, 2016).

Skills/Education:

“The National Audit Office for instance has recommended that the Department of Education should set out the planned overall impact of its apprenticeships policy on productivity and growth, along with short-term key performance indicators to measure the programme’s success. The Government must also adequately fund welfare-to-work in the Autumn Statement, get a grip on inclusive regional growth and ensure that welfare-to-work helps those in areas with high unemployment and not just those who find it easiest to get back into work. As the Science and Technology Select Committee has said, the Government should now publish its Digital Strategy policy without further delay and include goals for developing better basic digital skills and increasing digital apprenticeships as well as providing a framework through which the private sector can more readily collaborate with communities and local authorities to raise digital skills in local SMEs” (Moving On, P: 30, 2016).

Welfare:

“The ‘digital skills gap’ meanwhile has been estimated as costing the economy £63 billion a year in lost additional GDP. Also holding us back from the high tech economy of the future is the lack of new engineering and technology recruits meeting employers’ expectations. We are also facing an engineering ‘retirement cliff’ with the average engineer currently in their fifties.18 According to the Engineering UK 2016 report, engineering employers have the potential to generate an additional £27 billion per year from 2022 but only if we can meet the forecasted demand for 257 000 new engineering vacancies.19 And these are exactly the type of professions we need to build our industries and export to the world after we leave the European Union” (Moving On, P: 28, 2016).

Welfare II:

“Firstly, he must reverse cuts to Universal Credit (UC) and restore confidence after the programme’s chaotic introduction so it genuinely provides an incentive to work. Secondly, the Chancellor has to do more to help parents join or re-join the workforce and give every child the best start in life. We should move towards a system of universal free childcare for all working parents of pre-school children, starting with free childcare for all two year olds” (…) “There is also a worrying picture on pay progression too. Universal Credit was intended to help workers move onto higher pay levels, as well as get a job in the first place. But as the Resolution Foundation has said “implementation realities scuppered the ambition of the design”. The likely result is that UC will leave an increasing number of workers stuck on the minimum wage when they should be looking to earn more” (Moving On, P: 32-34, 2016).

Championing Key Sector:

Because Brexit austerity could last beyond a conventional economic cycle, it will require fundamental policy change and supply-side efforts to counteract. Take, for example, the risks now hanging over the financial services sector – which represents 12% of our economic output, nearly two million jobs in the UK and which generates £67billion of revenues for the public purse. It’s not simply a case of having an ‘industrial strategy’ to play to this core comparative advantage for the UK. We will need to negotiate long term access to EU markets where a whole series of product lines face the prospect of being banned and outlawed. Should this turn out to be the case, and the cluster of specialisms in UK financial centres erode with core competences like clearing relocating to Frankfurt or to New York, then we lose a vital skills infrastructure as well as year by year corporation and income tax revenues” (Moving On, P: 38, 2016).

“So we should test the Autumn Statement for whether it counteracts the looming Brexit austerity and whether it can deliver access and opportunities for sectors under threat, like financial services. Yes, there are reforms still needed to many of the tax regimes in which the financial services sector operate. Some lucrative practices need loopholes closing – for instance in the taxation of financial spread betting or old Osborne legacies such as the wasteful ‘shares for rights’ dodge that is rife for abuse” (Moving On, P: 2016).

This here shows the proofs that the Labour Party can have things that works for the nation, if they get people to believe it, but the simplistic dogma of the Tories is sold to the commoners like coke and cheddar cheese, while the Labour Party message is a rock to hit your head instead of being served feasible to the public. Therefore the Labour has to change their ways of sending their message and make sense to the ones blinded by the PM May and her deceptive tone of arrogance from White Hall. Peace.

Reference:

Alison McGovern MP, Chuka Umunna MP, Shabana Mahmood MP, Rachel Reeves MP & Chris Leslie MP – ‘Moving on – A Labour approach to the post-Brexit economy’ (November 2016)

Sky News – ‘Leaked memo shows Government’s lack of Brexit plans’ (15.11.2016) link: http://news.sky.com/story/leaked-memo-shows-governments-lack-of-brexit-plans-10658063/revision/1479197701