Africa Business News

Groups from oil-bearing communities in Abia, Delta, Edo and Ondo states have demanded an upward review of the three per cent host communities’ fund approved in the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), which was passed last Thursday by the National Assembly.
Clause 240 of the draft bill had proposed five per cent of the annual profit of the oil companies for host communities.
The President-General of Urhobo Progress Union, Chief Moses Taiga, called for an objective, realistic and patriotic review of the fund to 10 per cent.
He, however, stated that despite any shortcomings that may be observed, the PIB as passed is a good and practical starting point towards changing the administrative, regulatory and fiscal framework of the nation’s oil and gas industry.

President Muhammadu Buhari has joined President Joe R. Biden the Government and people of the United States to commemorate its 245th Independence Day and the annual celebration of nationhood.
President Buhari noted with delight how the Biden administration is working earnestly to overcome some of the country’s greatest challenges that include racism and the Coronavirus epidemic.
President Buhari says he was confident that given the shared values of democracy, rule of law and inclusive prosperity, the strategic partnership and engagements between Nigeria and the United States would continue to grow for the mutual benefits of our two countries and our peoples.

The Anglican Bishop of Kaduna Diocese, Reverend Timothy Yahaya has expressed concern over the rising insecurity in the country, with a call on the Federal Government to urgently declare a state of emergency in the nation’s security sector.
The Bishop also urged the government to recruit more youths into the armed forces, in order to protect the citizens from constant attacks by bandits and terrorists.
The cleric stressed that the current number of personnel of the armed forces is not enough to deal with the emerging security challenges confronting different parts of the nation.
He also proposed a National Diploma Certificate as a minimum requirement for enlistment into the Nigerian Police force.

Hepsiburada.com was valued at $3.9 billion in its initial public offering on Nasdaq, the first such listing on the exchange by a Turkish firm.
Hanzade Dogan Boyner, the founder and chairwoman says the company sold shares at $12 apiece and is planning to use the proceeds to offer additional services such as booking flights and money transfers.
She says they are aiming to use the proceeds to expand our services not only in our home market of Turkey but also in nearby and high-potential markets.
The company says it sold shares worth $738 million, or 20% of the total shares, in the offering, and will receive a net of $470 million through its rights issue.

The World Health Organization warns that the third wave of infections is now inevitable unless citizens and legislators are disciplined.
The UN health agency’s regional director for Europe Hans Kluge says the number of new cases across Europe rose by 10 per cent last week.
The WHO’s 53-nation European region includes all 27 member states of the European Union, the United Kingdom, Russia, Turkey, several Central Asian nations, and Israel.
Kluge says the uptick in infections was driven by increased mixing, travel, gatherings, and easing of social restrictions, as countries throughout the region edge out of lockdown measures.

Officials from 130 countries and jurisdictions have thrown their support behind the United States proposal to require a minimum global tax for corporations starting at 15 per cent.
The Wall Street Journal reported the agreement following a virtual meeting of 130 nations and jurisdictions, including all of the Group of 20 member states.
A press release from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development says together the economies represent 90 per cent of the global gross domestic product which coordinated the negotiations.
India and China were among the countries to approve the proposal after initially opposing it.
The move represents the largest overhaul of the global tax system in more than a century and has the potential to curb tax avoidance by corporations that move their operations to countries with lower tax rates to avoid paying up.
The OECD’s director says an estimated $240bn per year is lost because of tax avoidance by multinational companies.

A Dutch advisory group says the Netherlands should apologise for its role in the transatlantic slave trade and recognise it as a crime against humanity.
The independent panel recommended that the Netherlands' colonial past should be taught in schools and a national slavery museum should be established.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has previously said that his government would not apologise for the slave trade because it was not his place to pass judgement on Dutch history.
Historians estimate that Dutch traders transported around half a million enslaved Africans to the Americas between the 16th and 19th Centuries.

Africa's top health body has strongly criticised the European Union's decision to exclude AstraZeneca vaccines made in India from their Green Pass programme for travellers.
The director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, John Nkengasong, says the EU's move was not driven by science and data because vaccines produced in India have not proven to be less efficient than those in the EU.
The World Health Organization says it is in talks with the EU to resolve the matter, but insisted that individual EU states still have the flexibility to accept vaccines that have been authorized by the WHO, such as Covishield, the India-produced AstraZeneca vaccine.
The EU's Digital Covid certificate comes into effect today with the aim to facilitate travel during the Covid-19 pandemic.

South Africa’s top court cleared President Cyril Ramaphosa of lying to parliament about a donation to his 2017 election campaign, quashing a critical report by the country’s ombudswoman.
Busisiwe Mkhwebane in 2019 determined that Ramaphosa had deliberately misled the National Assembly in his answer to a question posed by an opposition lawmaker the previous year.
She says there was evidence of money laundering, conflict of interest and personal enrichment.
Justice Chris Jafta says there was no evidence to support money-laundering allegations or to show the president had personally benefitted from campaign donations.
He added that investigations into the private affairs of political parties were outside Mkhwebane’s jurisdiction.

Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN met with the High Commissioner of Great Britain, Ms Catriona Laing
to discuss bilateral issues relating to Asset Recovery, Anti-corruption crusade, amendment of the Electoral Act, the Audit Bill, Petroleum Industry Bill, Twitter ban, and counter-terrorism approaches.
Malami says the fundamental interest and objective of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration was to leverage the bill to enhance value in terms of creating an amicable environment for investment, protecting the public interest for the maximum benefit of the country.
Malami said the essence of the amendment of the Electoral Act was to enhance the democratic system thereby aiming at addressing delays in judicial determination of pre-election matters, as well as ensuring justice and fairness in the conduct of election processes including party primaries.