Newscast - Africa

Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta says the Pandora Papers leaks - which showed that his family secretly owned a network of offshore companies for decades - will enhance the financial transparency and openness required in his country and around the globe.
President Kenyatta says that the movement of illicit funds, proceeds of crime and corruption thrived in an environment of secrecy and darkness.
Mr Kenyatta added that the Pandora Papers and subsequent follow up audits would lift the veil for those who cannot explain their assets or wealth.
President Uhuru Kenyatta, who is out of the country, has promised a comprehensive response upon his return.

South Africa’s Environment Minister, Barbara Creecy, says the spill from a chemical plant attacked by rioters in July in the port city of Durban has caused an environmental disaster.
She said it could several years for the local coastline to recover.
The minister said a criminal case had been opened against the chemical company, UPL, which was found not to have obtained environmental permits to run the plant.
Its warehouse was torched during the widespread riots sparked by the prison sentence given to South Africa’s former president, Jacob Zuma.

Former President, Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has charged African lawyers to work to protect democracy, good governance, human rights, as a means of bringing an end to growing conflicts and violence in the continent.
He urged them to advocate for the establishment of a strong rule of law, describing it as a basis for accountable governance which would help prevent and mitigate violent crimes.
He says that all actors within the judicial system have a critical role to play in advancing the course of justice towards bringing peace and development to society.

The National Association of Resident Doctors has directed its members across the country to resume work fully from Wednesday.
President of the association, Dr Dare Godiya Ishaya, explained that the association took the decision to suspend the industrial action due to a simple majority vote of members at a meeting held on Sunday.
Ishaya, however, stated that the strike has been suspended for six weeks to allow the Federal Government to address the issues raised by the doctors.
He said while most of the issues that led to the nationwide strike still remained unaddressed, the association decided to suspend the action for the period because of interventions from the President, the National Assembly, and the leadership of the Nigerian Medical Association.

The Coalition of Northern Groups has opposed the zoning arrangement by political parties, describing it as unconstitutional and a plot to intimidate the north from contesting for the presidency in 2023.
CNG spokesperson, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman says the group aligns with the position of the Northern Governors’ Forum, asking the political parties to jettison the idea of zoning the post to the southern region of Nigeria.
He says the north will not be obliged to any zoning arrangement for elective positions in the forthcoming general election.
The CNG resolved that zoning of elective positions is unconstitutional, undemocratic and must be jettisoned.

Governors of the South-South region of the country have agreed to set up a regional security outfit, which according to them will be launched soon.
Chairman of the South-South Governors’ Forum and Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, says the Council resolved that bearing in mind that most of the BRACED states have established their state security organs.
The governors also resolved that states in the region should join the suit filed by the Federal Inland Revenue Service challenging the collection of Value Added Tax by states.
He says governors equivocally support the decision for states to collect Value Added Tax and resolved to join the suit before the Supreme Court.

Lagos State Government has demanded a new revenue sharing formula that is fair, equitable and reflects the contribution of stakeholders to the common purse.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu says the state also wanted a revenue formula that enhances the capacity to deliver high-quality services and dividends of democracy to Nigerians.
He says Lagos is more than just another state in the Nigerian federation as there is no tribe in the country that has no significant stake in the state.
The governor also appealed to all stakeholders to approach the review process with open minds.

Qatar’s top diplomat says the Taliban’s moves on girls’ education in Afghanistan are very disappointing and called on the group’s leadership to look to Doha for how to run an Islamic system.
Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani was referring to, among other things, the Taliban’s refusal to allow Afghan female secondary school students to resume their studies, weeks after the group took power.
Doha has become a key broker in Afghanistan following last month’s withdrawal of US forces, helping to evacuate thousands of foreigners and Afghans, engaging the new Taliban rulers and supporting operations at Kabul airport.

Malawi's telecoms regulator has fined the local business of India's Bharti Airtel over $2.5m for failing to give customers airtime they were owed as part of a loyalty scheme.
The Competition and Fair Trade Commission launched an investigation after receiving complaints from customers.
It found that Airtel Malawi had stopped automatically crediting customers' accounts with monthly bonuses - a move which enabled it to make a financial gain of about $2.5m.
Airtel Malawi managing director Charles Kamoto denied the charges levelled.

Ethiopia’s ministry of foreign says it has given seven senior UN officials 72 hours to leave the country for meddling in the internal affairs of the country.
The list includes the country head of the UN children's fund, Unicef, Adele Khodr, and Grant Leaity, the acting head of the office for humanitarian affairs, UNOCHA.
The UN has been very involved in trying to get aid into the war-torn region of Tigray. It estimates that more than five million people in the north need humanitarian assistance.
The UN's humanitarian chief blamed the Ethiopian government for what he called a de-facto blockade of aid in Tigray.