Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 09 July 2021

[Bulls n Bears]

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 09 July 2021

 


 

 


 <https://www.nedbank.co.zw/> 

 


 

 


ü  Bookings surge after Covid quarantine rules relaxed

ü  Purdue signs deal on opioid settlement with 15 states

ü  Fyre Festival ticket-holders proposed payout slashed

ü  Sainsbury's stops selling CDs and DVDs

ü  Vauxhall owner Stellantis to invest €30bn in electric vehicles

ü  Cairn Energy gets right to seize Indian assets in tax row

ü  Apple founder Steve Wozniak backs right-to-repair movement

ü  Lloyds fined for nine million misleading insurance letters

ü  German carmakers fined over emissions 'cartel'

ü  Google faces new anti-trust lawsuit over app store

ü  U.S. set to add more Chinese companies to blacklist over Xinjiang

ü  Tax reform tops agenda as G20 finance chiefs meet in Venice

ü  Double whammy for food buyers as freight costs spike amid high grain prices

ü  Indonesia's Bukalapak kicks off $1.1 bln IPO, biggest in over a decade

ü  Top investor in Australia's Myer kicks off board reshuffle talks with shareholders

ü  Levi Strauss forecasts upbeat full year as apparel demand bounces back

ü  Nigeria: We Spend 30% Production Cost On Power Generators - MAN

ü  Nigeria: Ogun Assembly Summons Chinese Firms for 'Maltreating' Nigerian Workers

ü  Mali: Going for Gold in Western Mali Threatens Human Security

ü  East Africa: Egypt, Sudan Seek UN Help to Resolve Mega Dam Dispute With Ethiopia

ü  South Africa: Confusion Over Healthcare Worker Contracts in the Eastern Cape

ü  Cameroon: Unlocking the Potential of Aquaculture in Cameroon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

Bookings surge after Covid quarantine rules relaxed

Bookings for flights and holidays have surged following the decision that fully vaccinated travellers returning from amber-list countries will not have to self-isolate after 19 July.

 

Airlines said there was a rapid rise in ticket purchases within hours after the government announced it was relaxing quarantine rules on Thursday.

 

EasyJet said bookings to amber-list destinations increased by 400%.

 

Analysts said they did not expect flight and holiday prices to rise.

 

Simon Calder, the Independent's travel correspondent, said he believed some destinations would come down in price because of airlines and holiday companies adding extra capacity.

 

"Because there is so much of the world that has just opened up to those of us who are lucky enough to be jabbed, I'm not seeing any surges in prices," he said.

 

However, travel agents' association Abta said prices "may well increase as more people book", as the industry was "very much led by supply and demand".

 

"But this must be seen in the context of starting from a low booking base and there are currently very good value deals on offer," they added.

 

Majorca beach

 

Consumer champion Which? said previous research found holiday prices before and after government green-list announcements "stayed the same or went down, not up".

 

It said so far, prices had not increased to popular destinations on the amber list.

 

Out of 14 package holiday prices and six flights to Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal it tracked departing during the peak holiday season in August, 12 packages remained the same price and two increased.

 

Four of the six flights rose in price, although the average fare increase was £7.

 

Rory Boland, Which? Travel Editor, urged people to take news of surging price rises "with a pinch of salt".

 

"Repeated checks by Which? have found flight and holiday prices do not rise because the government has eased restrictions on international travel, as demand remains relatively low and airlines are able to add more capacity to routes," he added.

 

The need to quarantine on return to the UK has hindered the travel industry's recovery from the pandemic, with many people choosing not to holiday abroad.

 

Under previous rules, those returning to Britain from its top holiday destinations - Spain, France, the US and Italy - all had to self-isolate for up to 10 days.

 

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said although double-jabbed Britons returning from amber-list destinations would no longer have to isolate, they would still be required take a Covid-19 test before they arrive home and then a second test on or before day two.

 

Children under the age of 18 will not have to self-isolate, but will need to take tests. There is no change to red-list travel restrictions.

 

Easyjet planes

EasyJet said flight bookings from the UK to amber-listed countries had surged 400% following the government's announcement, adding that holiday bookings were more than 440% up on the previous week.

 

Alicante, Malaga, Faro, Nice and Corfu are among the top destinations for flights this summer, the airline said.

 

Johan Lundgren, easyJet chief executive, said Europe had "now turned green for the double-jabbed".

 

"We have always said that vaccination is the key to unlocking travel and this means that millions will finally be able to reunite with family and loved ones abroad or take that long-awaited trip this summer," he added.

 

He urged the government to "remove expensive testing" for fully vaccinated people travelling to green and amber-list destinations "as we do not want to see a return to flying being a preserve of the rich".

 

British Airways said "within a couple of hours" of the government's announcement, it witnessed a 96% increase in the number of views on its website compared with Wednesday last week.

 

Top destinations being searched for included Barbados, Palma, Ibiza, New York, Antigua, Malta and Malaga, the company said.

 

Holiday companies have also experienced the increase in demand.

 

A spokesperson from Tui told the BBC the tour operator had seen a "surge in website visits showing demand is incredibly strong".

 

The most popular destinations among their holidaymakers were Mediterranean hotspots such as Spain and Greece, the company said.

 

Meanwhile, Hays Travel said it was welcoming customers who were using travel agents for the first time, "safe in the knowledge that they will be there for them if anything changes".

 

"There's huge optimism from our customers who are booking for the popular destinations - about a quarter of our bookings are for Spain this summer - and also for once-in-a-lifetime holidays," the operator said.

 

Noel Josephides, director of the Association of Independent Tour Operators, told the BBC that his company's 2021 passenger numbers to Greece had "finally equalled" its deferred and new bookings for 2022.

 

"This is the first time this year that this has happened, and is a notable landmark after endless months of deferrals, refund credit notes and cancellations while the travel rules were changed on a regular basis," he said.

 

However, Mr Josephides said the government needed to "help to reduce" the costs of PCR trests to "circa £10/£12 per test, as is the case in Europe".-BBC

 

 

 

Purdue signs deal on opioid settlement with 15 states

Fifteen US states have dropped their opposition to a bankruptcy plan for Purdue Pharma, clearing the way for a multi-billion dollar settlement.

 

It marks the first step towards the OxyContin painkillers maker paying out $4.3bn (£3.1bn) to settle cases related to the opioid crisis.

 

The New York attorney general said the funds would be used to "prevent any future devastation".

 

A total of 10 states still oppose the proposals of pharmaceutical giant.

 

A spokesperson for Purdue Pharma said it would work to "build a greater consensus" for its bankruptcy plan.

 

They added it would "transfer billions of dollars of value into trusts for the benefit of the American people...who have been affected by the opioid crisis".

 

In 2020, Purdue entered a guilty plea on criminal charges relating to its promotion of Oxycontin, which it knew was addictive.

 

Those charges included defrauding health agencies and of making illegal payments to doctors.

 

The company filed for bankruptcy a year previously, saying it would restructure and help tackle addiction.

 

Reports filed in a New York court on Wednesday showed that 15 states, including New Jersey and Massachusetts, had reached an agreement with Purdue that would see its owners, the wealthy Sackler family, pay an additional $50m.

 

The Raymond and Mortimer Sackler families said in a statement: "This resolution to the mediation is an important step toward providing substantial resources for people and communities in need.

 

"The Sackler family hopes these funds will help achieve that goal."

 

As part of the deal, the Purdue Pharma firm will also release millions of documents on its role in the opioid epidemic.

 

Opioids are a class of powerful drugs found in opium poppies that can be used to block pain signals between the brain and the body.

 

They can be found as legal prescription medications, but they can also be found as illegal street drugs, such as heroin.

 

Opioid addiction to both legal and illegal drugs has been a serious, ongoing problem in countries such as the US, which had nearly half a million deaths from overdoses between 1999 and 2019, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

 

'No money will ever compensate'

New York attorney general Letitia James said: "While no amount of money will ever compensate for the thousands who lost their lives or became addicted to opioids across our state or provide solace to the countless families torn apart by this crisis, these funds will be used to prevent any future devastation."

 

The deal is subject to approval but would require the Sackler family to pay out the $4.3bn in total over the next nine years.

 

Under the agreement, the Sackler family would also have to give up control of their foundations to the trustees of a national opioid-related charity.

 

It also follows on from drugs giant Johnson & Johnson announcing in June it would pay $230m (£165m) to settle claims it fuelled an opioid addiction crisis in New York State.

 

The firm did not admit liability or wrongdoing in settling with the state, although it must stop selling painkillers nationwide.-BBC

 

 

Fyre Festival ticket-holders proposed payout slashed

Ticket-holders to the 2017 Fyre Festival fiasco have seen their proposed payout slashed.

 

They are set to receive just $281 (£204) each, according to court papers filed in New York last week.

 

That amount falls short of the April settlement reached in a US federal court, which concluded they could have had up to $7,220 returned each.

 

Lawyers have struggled to recoup money from acts and models who promoted the festival that fell apart.

 

Organisers of the 2017 event had promised a luxury two-weekend Bahamas getaway, with tickets costing upwards of $1,200.

 

The event reportedly sold about 8,000 tickets with an advertised musical line-up that boasted of top artists, luxury accommodation and gourmet dining. Some VIP packages sold for as much as $12,000.

 

Attendees arrived instead to find chaos: no musical acts, little food and only disaster relief tents to sleep in.

 

After the infamous festival was cancelled, a class-action lawsuit was filed days later.

 

Since then, documents submitted by the festival's bankruptcy trustee show that just $1.4m has been collected in its attempts to recoup ticket-holders' cash.

 

Gregory Messer said: "Obtaining recoveries in the case was extraordinarily difficult and challenging given the lack of books and records, that any physical assets that could have been liquidated were already seized by federal prosecutors".

 

Mr Messer added that it was further complicated by the fact organiser Billy McFarland is in prison, having been convicted of fraud.

 

He also explained that it had proven tricky to reclaim a lot of the cash paid out to celebrities and influencers to promote or appear at the festival.

 

After subtracting $1.1m for accountants and legal costs, the 277 ticket-holders will have $78,000 shared out between them if the proposal is approved by a judge.

 

Band Blink 182, which tweeted that it would no longer take part in the event as it got under way, has returned $157,100 of the $265,000 it had been paid, according to documents.

 

Following the fallout of the festival, documentaries by rival streaming services Netflix and Hulu have showed what went wrong behind-the-scenes on the island of Great Exuma.

 

Ticket-holders described a lawless atmosphere, being housed in emergency tents and their "gourmet" cheese sandwiches being served in Styrofoam boxes.

 

The class-action lawsuit argued the organisers had known the event was "dangerously underequipped and posed a serious danger to anyone in attendance", the New York Times reported at the time.

 

Grammy-nominated rapper Ja Rule, who was originally described as a co-organiser of the event, claimed in 2020 that he had also been scammed by McFarland. Ja Rule has not been charged in connection with the fraud.-BBC

 

 

 

Sainsbury's stops selling CDs and DVDs

Supermarket giant Sainsbury's says it has decided to stop selling CDs and DVDs as streaming services take their toll on sales of the products.

 

A spokesperson said Sainsbury's customers increasingly went for music and films online instead of buying the shiny silver discs.

 

The firm said sales were being phased out, although it would continue to sell vinyl records in some stores.

 

CD sales have shrunk in the past decade but were still worth £115m last year.

 

Other big supermarkets show no sign of following Sainsbury's lead, with larger branches of Tesco, Asda and Morrisons still stocking a range of CDs and DVDs.

 

"Our customers increasingly go online for entertainment, so earlier this year we took the decision to gradually phase out the sale of DVDs and CDs, so that we can dedicate extra space to food and popular products like clothing and homewares," Sainsbury's said.

 

The decision is another sign that the CD, once the dominant means of buying and selling recorded music, is long past its heyday.

 

With sales hit first by the MP3 music file, then by streaming services such as Spotify and Deezer, the silver disc is now seen as unfashionable in many circles.

 

Worse still, the format that it was designed to kill off, the vinyl record, has enjoyed a resurgence, with UK sales climbing to 4.8 million last year, bringing in revenue of more than £86m.

 

That was still well short of the money brought in by CDs. But according to the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), the value of record sales in 2021 is expected to surpass that of CDs for the first time since the late 1980s.

 

"The CD has proved exceptionally successful for nearly 40 years and remains a format of choice for many music fans who value sound quality, convenience and collectability," said a BPI spokesperson.

 

"Although demand has been following a long-term trend as consumers increasingly transition to streaming, resilient demand is likely to continue for many years, enhanced by special editions and other collectible releases.

 

"If some retailers now see the format as less of a priority, this will create a further opportunity for others, such as independent shops and specialist chains such as HMV, to cater to the continuing demand."

 

Out of fashion

Music industry observer Graham Jones points out that supermarkets have always carried a very limited selection of CDs, with an emphasis on big names such as Ed Sheeran.

 

But as his book Last Shop Standing makes clear, the supermarkets could still make life difficult for record shops, especially by undercutting them on price.

 

In one chapter, he recounts an incident from 2008, when a shop in the East Midlands found that rather than ordering copies of the latest Coldplay CD from the record company, it was cheaper to buy them on special offer from Morrisons and Asda and resell them.

 

However, such incidents are unlikely to be repeated these days.

 

"Sales of CDs are slowing down, so I can understand why Sainsbury's are pulling out, really," he told the BBC.

 

"Vinyl is incredibly fashionable and the CD has gone out of fashion.

 

"A lot of indies [independent shops] may be stocking less CDs than they used to, but they're still selling. There's this myth that the CD is completely dead."-BBC

 

 

 

Vauxhall owner Stellantis to invest €30bn in electric vehicles

Vauxhall owner Stellantis has said it will invest more than €30bn (£26bn) in electric vehicles between now and the end of 2021

 

It aims to make the total cost of owning an electric vehicle equal to that of a petrol-driven model by 2026.

 

Stellantis said it would build at least five battery plants in Europe and the US to support its strategy.

 

It has already announced two plants in France and Germany, and the third will be in Italy in Termoli.

 

The world's fourth-biggest car maker, which was formed in January from the merger of Italian-American firm Fiat Chrysler and France's PSA, is gearing up to compete with electric vehicle leader Tesla and other big car manufacturers.

 

Vauxhall UK plant safe with electric vehicle plan

Stellantis said that all 14 of its vehicle brands, which include Peugeot, Jeep, Ram, Fiat and Opel, will start selling fully electrified vehicles.

 

The company said it wanted to focus on keeping the vehicles affordable and sustainable. However, a spokesman declined to indicate what sort of prices Stellantis intended to charge for passenger cars.

 

It will also electrify its commercial vehicle line-up, and roll out hydrogen fuel-cell vans by the end of 2021.

 

"This transformation period is a wonderful opportunity to reset the clock and start a new race," Stellantis chief executive Carlos Tavares said. "The group is at full speed on its electrification journey."

 

The company said its electric cars would be built on four platforms, have driving ranges of 500 to 800 km (300 to 500 miles) on a single charge, and fast-charging capability of 32 km (20 miles) per minute.

 

UK plans

This week the firm announced plans to build electric vans at its Ellesmere Port plant in Cheshire.

 

The £100m investment, to which the UK government will contribute about £30m, will safeguard more than 1,000 factory jobs.

 

The future of the plant had been in doubt after Stellantis scrapped plans to build its new Astra model there.

 

Stellantis is currently building two battery plants, one in France and one in Germany, and it said it would establish a third at Termoli in Italy.

 

The two "gigafactories" at Douvrin in France and Kaiserslautern in Germany will get French and German government support of €1.3bn (£1.1bn).

 

A spokesman said Stellantis would build at least two more such plants, which are likely to be in the US.

 

He add that the company planned to build the battery factories at its major production hubs, and did not have current plans to build any gigafactories in the UK.-BBC

 

 

 

Cairn Energy gets right to seize Indian assets in tax row

UK oil firm Cairn Energy has gained the right to seize Indian state assets in France worth more than €20m (£17m) as part of a long-running tax row.

 

A French tribunal ordered a freeze on about 20 properties in central Paris as Cairn increases pressure on the Indian government over disputed tax claims.

 

Cairn said it wanted an "amicable settlement" in the $1.2bn (£870m) row.

 

Sources said the Indian government would seek "legal remedies" when it received notice from the French court.

 

Edinburgh-based oil and gas exploration firm Cairn Energy is in dispute with the Indian government over a 2014 retrospective tax bill, when the country's tax office seized a 10% stake in Indian operations that Cairn was trying to sell.

 

Cairn took the issue to an international tribunal, which awarded the company $1.7bn in costs and damages in December 2020. The Indian government has appealed against this.

 

However, the energy firm has been identifying assets that it would seize in the absence of a settlement, including some belonging to Air India.

 

Cairn Energy threatens to seize Indian government assets

The award by the French court is "a necessary preparatory step to taking ownership of the properties and ensures that the proceeds of any sales would be due to Cairn", the company said.

 

David Nisbet, director for group corporate affairs at Cairn Energy, told the BBC's Today programme: "It is a long-running story unfortunately, and one we wished hadn't actually taken place.

 

"Clearly what we want to do is find an agreed amicable settlement with the government of India," he said. "But this is all just part of a process of saying: 'Look India, we need to earnestly engage', but we also have a fiduciary duty to protect the rights of our shareholders."

 

He said that more than six months after the ruling by the international tribunal, despite discussions in Delhi on two occasions, India has not said it will honour it.

 

"We have to protect the rights of our shareholders," he said. "And our international shareholders, who have waited patiently for seven and half years, would expect us to do so."

 

The Indian government has said that it does not recognise international tribunal awards, and that tax is a sovereign matter.

 

Mr Nisbet said that Cairn Energy had never questioned the right of any government to levy taxes.

 

However, he said that the Indian government had fully participated in the five-year international arbitration process, and that it was a signatory to an investment treaty between the UK and India.

 

Cairn expects the Indian government to honour the both the ruling and the treaty.

 

The Indian government declined to comment, but sources said it had "not received any notice, order or communication, in this regard, from any French court".

 

"We are trying to ascertain the facts, and whenever such an order is received, the government of India will take appropriate legal remedies in consultation with its counsels," the sources said.

 

The sources added that the government filed an application on 22 March to set aside the award by the international tribunal in The Hague Court of Appeal, adding that the government of India "will vigorously defend its case".

 

Trying to seize planes or property owned, or linked, to a foreign government in pursuit of an unpaid debt might sound an extreme tactic. But there is plenty of precedent for what Cairn is doing.

 

Lenders or investors trying to secure money they believe they are owed have often asked the courts for help. The normal route is to target assets that are in jurisdictions outside the control of the government being pursued.

 

Aircraft, which are valuable, mobile, and relatively easy to sell on, are a frequent target.

 

In 2012 Elliott, the investment firm currently trying to shake up the UK pharmaceuticals company GlaxoSmithKline, went one step further, persuading officials in Ghana to arrest an Argentine naval training vessel.

 

Elliott was trying to enforce payment on sovereign bonds issued by the Argentine government.

 

These are, of course, tactics in a bigger battle. Cairn does not have any particular interest in trying to seize and resell Air India aircraft or the clutch of properties it has seized in France.

 

What it wants is to be a thorn in the Indian government's side.

 

The legal actions will, Cairn hopes, push India into a negotiated settlement - to avoid further court battles and another wave of bad publicity.-BBC

 

 

 

Apple founder Steve Wozniak backs right-to-repair movement

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has issued a passionate endorsement of the right-to-repair movement, despite the company's opposition.

 

The movement wants laws passed to guarantee users access to information and parts to repair their own devices.

 

"We wouldn't have had an Apple had I not grown up in a very open technology world," Mr Wozniak, its co-founder with Steve Jobs in the 1970s, said.

 

"It's time to recognise the right to repair more fully."

 

'Extremely dangerous'

Existing right-to-repair rules in Europe and the US are limited to appliances and vehicles, respectively.

 

And right-to-repair advocates say Apple is one of the fiercest opponents to expanding the legislation to cover consumer electronics.

 

It allows repairs by its own authorised technicians only and does not generally provide spare parts or repair information.

 

And it has reportedly engaged lobbyists to persuade lawmakers repairing devices can be extremely dangerous.

 

But Mr Wozniak, 70, said: "Companies inhibit [the right to repair] because it gives the companies power, control, over everything.

 

"It's time to start doing the right things."

 

Mr Wozniak made his comments in an impassioned nine-and-a-half-minute reply to a request from right-to-repair campaigner Louis Rossmann on Cameo, a site that allows ordinary people to pay celebrities for a short message.

 

"This one has really gotten to me," he said.

 

"When starting Apple, I could never afford a teletype for input or output.

 

"They cost as much as two cars."

 

But he knew how TVs worked and had access to schematics - so he built his own solution to turn his TV into an early computer monitor for the Apple I.

 

"I didn't have to afford something I could never afford," he said.

 

"I wasn't restricted from anything that kept me from building that computer and showing the world that the future of personal computers is going to be a keyboard and a TV.

 

"That all came from being able to repair things, and modify them, and tap into them yourself."

 

He also credited an open platform with the success of the Apple II, which he said had shipped with schematics and designs.

 

It had been, he said, the only source of profits at Apple for the company's first decade.

 

"So why stop them? Why stop the self-repair community?" he asked.

 

"How was Apple hurt by the openness of the Apple II?"

 

Mr Wozniak left Apple in the mid-80s but revealed in an interview last year he was still technically an employee, receiving a weekly paycheque of about $50 (£36) out of "loyalty" despite having no role in the running of the business.

 

'Creative minds'

He also had much to say about the value of open technology for education.

 

"You could repair a lot of things at low cost - but it's even more precious to know that you did it yourself," he said.

 

And he spoke of the "motivation and joy" of young people learning to write software and develop hardware "to prove to themselves they've got a little special skill in the world", adding it was "very motivating for creative minds, believe me - that's how I grew up".

 

media captionShould devices be easier to fix?

Earlier this year, Mr Rossman began trying to raise $6m to get the right to repair passed into law by a direct-ballot initiative.

 

So far, he has raised $750,000.

 

And he has now posted a video asking for direct involvement and a donation from Mr Wozniak, saying other interested donors were waiting for a figurehead to "go first" before donating large amounts.

 

Apple has been contacted for comment.

 

US President Joe Biden is widely expected to announce some form of executive order on the topic in the coming days - as pressure also mounts from officials in Europe.-BBC

 

 

Lloyds fined for nine million misleading insurance letters

Lloyds Banking Group's insurance arm has been fined £90m for sending out nine million misleading letters between 2009 and 2017 about home insurance.

 

The bank claimed in the letters that the renewal quotes being offered were a "competitive price".

 

But the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said Lloyds did not check the accuracy of the claims.

 

It is one of the largest fines ever handed down to a retail bank by the FCA, which regulates the sector.

 

"Firms must ensure their communications with customers are clear, fair and not misleading," said Mark Steward of the FCA.

 

"Millions of customers ended up receiving renewal letters that claimed customers were being quoted a competitive price which was unsubstantiated and risked serious consumer harm."

 

Loyalty error

The FCA accepted that the bank started removing the "competitive price" phrase from 2009 but found that a substantial number of renewals continued to include the wording until 2017.

 

The regulator said the renewal premiums offered to customers were likely to have been higher than the premium quoted to new customers, or customers that chose to switch insurance provider.

 

Separately, the FCA found that around 500,000 customers were told they would receive a discount based on "loyalty" for being a "valued customer", but the discount was never applied.

 

Some 350,000 customers have been receiving payments owing to the error. They are being refunded a collective total of £13.5m, the equivalent of about £40 each.

 

A Lloyds Banking Group spokesman: "We're sorry that we got this wrong. We've written and made payment to those customers affected by the discount issue and they don't need to take any further action.

 

"We thank the FCA for bringing this matter to our attention and since then we've made significant improvements to our processes and how we communicate with customers."

 

The FCA has been cracking down on insurance premiums, having found between 2018 and 2020 that most existing customers would receive a higher quote for the same product than a new one.-BBC

 

 

 

German carmakers fined over emissions 'cartel'

VW group and BMW have been fined €875m (£752m) by the European Commission for colluding to curb the use of emissions cleaning technology.

 

Daimler, which was part of the talks but blew the whistle on them, escaped without a fine.

 

The companies had agreed not to implement more than basic EU standards, the Commission said.

 

However, VW said that the contents of the discussions were not implemented, and that customers were not harmed.

 

The carmaker said it was considering appealing against the decision.

 

This type of fine is a first for the European Commission, which normally imposes competition penalties for price fixing and market sharing, rather than technical cooperation.

 

The Commission said BMW, Daimler and three VW group brands - Audi, Porsche, and VW - had "illegally colluded to restrict competition" in diesel emissions cleaning.

 

Specifically, it said the firms had regular meetings for five years on how to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxide, an exhaust gas harmful to people and the environment.

 

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London air pollution turned into art to raise awareness

The firms developed 'AdBlue', a liquid additive to turn nitrogen oxide into harmless water and nitrogen.

 

However, while the carmakers knew that injecting more AdBlue into streams of exhaust gas could lead to more effective cleaning, they indicated to each other that none of them would aim above the minimum legal standards, the Commission said.

 

They agreed on sizes of AdBlue tanks and ranges, and exchanged sensitive information on planned tank sizes and AdBlue consumption in future models, it added.

 

"In today's world, polluting less is an important characteristic of any car," the Commission said. "And this cartel aimed at restricting competition on this key parameter."

 

VW 'may appeal'

VW said the Commission was "imposing fines even though the contents of the talks were never implemented and customers were therefore never harmed."

 

It said the tank sizes and ranges that were put into cars were two to three times higher than those discussed.

 

"The Commission is breaking new legal ground with this decision, because it is the first time it has prosecuted technical cooperation as an antitrust violation," a spokesman said.

 

Instead of a fine it would have been better for the car industry if the European Commission had "issued clear guidelines describing how cooperation in research and development can be structured in a way that complies with antitrust law", VW added.

 

"The large fines imposed in this case underscore the need for more comprehensive practical guidance from the Commission to ensure that legal uncertainties do not become a stumbling block to innovation in Europe," the carmaker said.

 

"Volkswagen will carefully review today's decision once served and then decide whether to appeal, if necessary," it added, saying that it has until mid-September to bring any action before the European Court in Luxembourg.

 

The case is separate to the so-called "dieselgate" emissions-cheating scandal.

 

BMW said the Commission had cleared it of suspicion of using illegal "defeat devices" to cheat emissions tests.

 

"This underlines that there has never been any allegation of unlawful manipulation of emission control systems by the BMW Group," BMW said.-BBC

 

 

 

Google faces new anti-trust lawsuit over app store

Google is being sued by 37 US states over policies on its Android app store, Google Play.

 

The lawsuit claims that the tech giant has used "monopolistic leverage" to generate large profits from purchases made within its own store.

 

It also claimed Google had bought off its competitors.

 

Google said that there are rival app stores for Android devices, and that apps can also be downloaded directly from developers' own websites.

 

The 37 states involved in the legal action include New York, Tennessee and North Carolina, as well as Washington DC.

 

It criticises the commission Google takes on purchases made within Google Play, which can be up to 30%, in line with Apple's App Store policies and the stores of other rivals such as Amazon and Microsoft XBox.

 

In 2020, Google's gross revenue from Google Play was $36.8bn (£26.7bn), reported Statista, while Apple chief executive Tim Cook has claimed not to know how profitable the App Store is as an individual entity within his company.

 

Google also says that 97% of developers do not pay it any "service fees" at all because they are not selling digital products within their apps.

 

"Google Play is not fair play," Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes said in a statement.

 

"It must stop using its monopolistic power and hyper-dominant market position to unlawfully leverage billions of added dollars from smaller companies, competitors and consumers beyond what should be paid."

 

'Openness and choice'

In a blog, Google's senior head of public policy, Wilson White, described the action as "strange".

 

"We understand that scrutiny is appropriate, and we're committed to engaging with regulators," he wrote.

 

"But Android and Google Play provide openness and choice that other platforms simply don't."

 

The tech giants' app store policies are facing increasing scrutiny.

 

In May, the UK's Competition and Markets Authority launched an investigation into Apple's app store policies.

 

And Epic Games, the studio behind the hit game Fortnite, started legal action against both Apple and Google in the UK back in January, citing competition rules.

 

A study commissioned by Facebook in December suggested that the majority of apps used by people in the US were made by either Apple or Google, reported The Verge.-BBC

 

 

 

U.S. set to add more Chinese companies to blacklist over Xinjiang

(Reuters) - The Biden administration is set as early as Friday to add more than 10 Chinese companies to its economic blacklist over alleged human rights abuses and high-tech surveillance in Xinjiang, two sources told Reuters.

 

The U.S. Commerce Department action will follow its announcement last month adding five other companies and other Chinese entities to the blacklist over allegations of forced labor in the far western region of China.

 

The additions to Commerce Department's Entity List are part of the Biden administration's efforts to hold China accountable for human rights violations, the sources said.

 

China dismisses accusations of genocide and forced labor in Xinjiang and says its policies are necessary to stamp out separatists and religious extremists who plotted attacks and stirred up tension between mostly Muslim ethnic Uyghurs and Han, China's largest ethnic group.

 

The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

 

One of the sources said the department plans to add 14 Chinese companies to the Entity List over reported abuses in Xinjiang.

 

The identities of the companies being added were not immediately known. Some companies from other countries are also set to be added to the department's blacklist as soon as Friday.

 

The White House declined to comment, while the Commerce Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

 

The latest action shows President Joe Biden aims to press China over what the administration says are worsening human rights abuses against the Uyghur population in Xinjiang.

 

Generally, entity-listed companies are required to apply for licenses from the Commerce Department and face tough scrutiny when they seek permission to receive items from U.S. suppliers.

 

Last month, the Commerce Department said it was adding the five Chinese entities "for accepting or utilizing forced labor in the implementation of the People’s Republic of China’s campaign of repression against Muslim minority groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region."

 

The department said the action in June targeted the ability of the five entities, including Chinese-based solar panel material firm Hoshine Silicon Industry Co (603260.SS), "to access commodities, software, and technology ... and is part of a U.S. Government-wide effort to take strong action against China’s ongoing campaign of repression against Muslim minority groups" in Xinjiang.

 

This is not the first time the U.S. government has targeted Chinese firms linked to allegations of high-tech surveillance activity in Xinjiang.

 

In 2019, the Trump administration added some of China’s top artificial intelligence startups to its economic blacklist over its treatment of Muslim minorities.

 

The Commerce Department under Trump targeted 20 Chinese public security bureaus and eight companies including video surveillance firm Hikvision (002415.SZ), as well as leaders in facial recognition technology SenseTime Group Ltd and Megvii Technology Ltd.

 

The Commerce Department said in 2019 the entities were implicated in "high-technology surveillance against Uighurs, Kazakhs, and other members of Muslim minority groups.”

 

UN experts and rights groups estimate more than a million people, most of them Uyghurs and members of other Muslim minorities, have been detained in recent years in a vast system of camps in Xinjiang.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Tax reform tops agenda as G20 finance chiefs meet in Venice

(Reuters) - Finance ministers and central bankers from the group of 20 rich countries will meet face to face on Friday for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic at a gathering in Venice where corporate tax reform will top the agenda.

 

The G20 is expected to give its political endorsement to plans for new rules on where and how much companies are taxed which were backed last week by 130 countries at the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

 

The deal envisages a global minimum corporate income tax of at least 15%, a level which the OECD estimates could yield around $150 billion in additional global tax revenues, but leaves much of the details to be hammered out.

 

Officials say the two-day gathering in Italy's historic lagoon city will open a discussion on how to put the OECD proposals into practice, with the aim of reaching a final agreement at a Rome G20 leaders' summit in October.

 

The G20 members account for more than 80% of world gross domestic product, 75% of global trade and 60% of the population of the planet, including big-hitters United States, Japan, Britain, France, Germany and India.

 

If all goes to plan, the new tax rules should be translated into binding legislation worldwide before the end of 2023.

 

Ministers may seek assurances from the U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen that she can win legislative approval for the proposals in a divided U.S. Congress where Republicans and business groups are fighting Joe Biden's proposed tax increases on corporations and wealthy Americans. read more

 

Aside from tax, ministers will discuss a global economic recovery which officials from G20 president Italy told reporters was hugely uneven, with wealthy Western countries picking up strongly while developing nations are left behind.

 

International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva delivered the same message this week, saying there was a "dangerous divergence" between wealthy and developing countries as they seek to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

The G20 will ask the IMF to allocate $650 billion of its reserve asset known as Special Drawing Rights by the end of August, with a recommendation that ways are found to ensure a significant part of the money goes to countries most in need.

 

Some delegations at the meeting may express concerns that rising inflation and interest rates in the United States could unbalance the global economy, G20 officials said, though this is unlikely to appear in the final communique.

 

The G20 ministers and central bankers will meet from 1:15 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. (1115-1530 GMT) on Friday and from 9:45 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. (0745-1515 GMT) on Saturday, followed by a closing news conference by the Italian presidency.

 

Side events include a tax symposium on Friday and a climate change conference on Sunday.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Double whammy for food buyers as freight costs spike amid high grain prices

(Reuters) - Rising costs to ship crops globally are adding to concerns about food inflation that are already at decade-highs and hitting cost-sensitive consumers in import-dependent markets.

 

The cost of bulk carriers that move grains and oilseeds from production hubs in the Americas and Black Sea to key consumers have roughly doubled from last year due to rising fuel costs, tighter vessel supply and longer port turnaround times amid COVID-19 curbs, according to grain and shipping sources.

 

"Freight cost has become a real challenge as it comes when we see huge increases in grain prices," said Phin Ziebell, agribusiness economist at National Australia Bank in Melbourne.

 

"For years, buyers enjoyed low grain and freight prices. I see no immediate end to high freight costs."

 

The cost of moving grains from Australia to Southeast Asia has risen to $30 a tonne from $15 last year, and to $55 from $25 from the U.S. Pacific Northwest to Asia, shipping sources said.

 

Ships carrying wheat from the Black Sea to Asia now cost around $65 a tonne, from around $35 last year.

 

"It is the cost of bunker fuel and the cost of bulk ships lifting the prices of carrying grains," said one trader at a leading brokerage in Singapore. "We also have COVID-19 quarantine requirements slowing cargo movement."

 

FUEL TO THE FIRE

 

With world food prices having risen at their fastest pace in over a decade in May, the spike in crop freight costs poses a fresh challenge to food importers and policymakers attempting to keep inflation levels in check just as several key economies reopen following coronavirus lockdowns.

 

And the price of key crops like corn and soybeans are set to remain elevated and volatile through the rest of the northern hemisphere growing season as crops develop.

 

Chicago corn futures are up roughly 90% from a year ago on strong global demand and stressed crops in the United States, while soybeans are up more than 50% after drought clipped output in top grower Brazil. Wheat is up around 30% from a year ago following growing problems last season.

 

DOUBLE WHAMMY FOR BUYERS

 

The double whammy of higher crop and freight prices is pinching buyers in Asia, the top crop consuming region and home to China that accounts for more than half of the world's soybean purchases. Japan is one of the world's biggest corn buyers.

 

For a typical wheat buyer in Indonesia, the world's second-largest wheat importer, the cost of a 50,000-tonne cargo of food-grade wheat from the Black Sea has jumped by $4 million from a year ago to around $15 million, with the freight cost alone rising by $1.5 million.

 

Crop price volatility is another challenge.

 

Benchmark corn futures lurched more than 10% higher in the last week of June before slumping 10% the following week as weather forecasts shifted market sentiment.

 

"We have seen a drop in consumption with these high prices," said a procurement manager at a flour milling company with operations across Southeast Asia. "It is difficult to take a position in a market like this. Millers are reducing purchases."

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Indonesia's Bukalapak kicks off $1.1 bln IPO, biggest in over a decade

(Reuters) - Indonesia's Bukalapak launched an up to $1.13 billion IPO ahead of next month's listing, marking the country's biggest issue in over a decade amid rising investor appetite for tech stocks in a region boasting a growing consumer class, according to a term sheet seen by Reuters.

 

The e-commerce company, which counts Singapore sovereign investor GIC and Microsoft (MSFT.O) among its backers, is set to be valued at $5.6 billion at the top end of a price range, doubling the company's valuation from two years ago.

 

Details of the IPO are currently being announced at an investor briefing.

 

Reuters reported on Thursday that Bukalapak, the country's fourth biggest e-commerce firm, was targeting raising more than $1 billion in its IPO, 25% more than previously planned. L3N2OJ1ES

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

Top investor in Australia's Myer kicks off board reshuffle talks with shareholders

(Reuters) - Myer Holdings' (MYR.AX) top shareholder Premier Investments (PMV.AX) said on Friday it has begun talks with fellow shareholders to revamp the company's board, after raising its stake in the high-street retailer.

 

Premier reaffirmed its demand that the Myer's entire board should resign immediately, sparing the chief executive John King.

 

"Any other action would be futile, and costly for Myer shareholders who have endured enough," Premier said in a statement.

 

Including King, Myer's board currently has four members – acting chairman JoAnne Stephenson and two non-executive directors.

 

The top investor said it has also hired a proxy solicitation firm and is trying to procure a copy of Myer's shareholder register ahead of calling an extraordinary general meeting.

 

Earlier this week, Premier sought the immediate resignation of the entire Myer board after it raised its stake to 15.77% in the retailer. It has been critical of Myer's management and its strategy to shore up profitability and value to shareholders through the years. read more

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

Levi Strauss forecasts upbeat full year as apparel demand bounces back

(Reuters) - Levi Strauss & Co (LEVI.N) on Thursday forecast a strong full-year profit after handily beating quarterly earnings estimates as demand for its jeans, tops, and jackets rebound quicker than expected across its markets.

 

Shares in Levi climbed 3% in extended trading as it also increased its third-quarter dividend by 33%.

 

Customers refreshing their wardrobes following months-long lockdowns and COVID-19-related restrictions are boosting sales of loose-fitting jeans and street clothes at Levi and its peers American Eagle (AEO.N) and Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF.N).

 

"About 35% of consumers in the U.S. have changed waist sizes. And some of it is up and some of it is down, but either way, it creates another reason for people to go out and update their wardrobe," Chief Executive Officer Charles Bergh said on an earnings call.

 

Levi is also benefiting from its collaborations with a slew of brands, including Valentino, and its push toward direct-to-consumer sales that largely helped boost its adjusted gross margin by 670 basis points to 58.2% in the second quarter.

 

Lower promotions, price increases and sourcing savings also supported margins, said the company, known for its Signature and Levi's 501 jeans.

 

The Denizen and Dockers brands' owner forecast fiscal 2021 per-share profit between $1.29 and $1.33, above estimates of $1.15. It also forecast second-half revenue to be above 2019 pre-pandemic levels.

 

Net revenue more than doubled to $1.28 billion in the second quarter ended May 30, beating Refinitiv IBES estimates of $1.21 billion. Excluding items, Levi earned 23 cents per share, versus estimates of 9 cents.

 

Revenues through digital channels rose 75% as people have taken to the ease of getting their orders delivered at their doorsteps.

 

Levi said it would improve its digital business by investing in distribution centers and its program that allows customers to pick up online orders in stores.

 

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

 

 

Nigeria: We Spend 30% Production Cost On Power Generators - MAN

The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has said that self-generated electricity gulps 30 per cent of the production cost by its members.

 

The Director General of MAN, Mr. Segun Ajayi-Kadiri, stated this while addressing participants at the Global Environmental Facility-United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (GEF-UNIDO) project inception workshop in Lagos.

 

He stated that the cost of sourcing energy from the national grid has not been business-friendly either.

 

Kadiri, however, said energy management systems and energy system optimization could sustainably reduce manufacturers' energy consumption and cost.

 

The Country Representative and Regional Director, UNIDO Regional Office Hub, Mr Jean Bakole, said globally, industries account for one-third of total energy consumption and for almost 40% of worldwide carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources in Lagos, Mr Tunji Bello, said industrial emissions are the second source of air pollution in Lagos.

 

He stated that the concentration of industries in commercial zones in the state like in Apapa, Ikeja, Idumota, Odogunyan, among others has increased air pollution and poor air quality.-Daily Trust.

 

 

 

Nigeria: Ogun Assembly Summons Chinese Firms for 'Maltreating' Nigerian Workers

Ogun State House of Assembly has summoned the management teams of Italy Ceramics Company Limited located along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and CCETC Suk Power Company Limited for allegedly maltreating indigenous workers.

 

The firms are expected to explain the rationale behind the alleged inhumane treatment being meted on their employees, including physical assault and injury on the workers.

 

The Speaker of the Assembly, Rt. Hon. Olakunle Oluomo issued the summon in response to a petition submitted by a member representing Ikenne State Constituency, Kunle Sobukanla during plenary at the Assembly Complex, on Thursday.

The management of the firms are to appear before the Assembly's Committee on Industry, Trade and Investments on Monday.

 

Oluomo emphasised that though the State was committed to attracting investors, it would not habour investors that would maltreat the people of the state.

 

Earlier, Sobukanla informed the Assembly that the Chinese-owned companies which were into the production of ceramics and electricity generation with hundreds of employees as supporting staff, had inflicted injuries on some of their employees.

 

The petition partly reads, "the company did not consider it necessary to provide medical attention for the injured employees, neither did they show any remorse for the injury inflicted on the workers.

 

"It is important to mention that it is not good enough for foreigners to be accommodated in Ogun State and Nigeria at large and such investors will not be able to reciprocate the kind gesture extended to them but instead, maltreating their host and employees inhumanly".

In another development, the Assembly has adopted the interim report of its committee on Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, calling on the Omala of Imala, Oba Moses Olabode to desist from hindering the developmental projects currently being undertaken by Olorunda community.

 

The Assembly's decision followed the presentation of the report of the Committee by the Chairman, Hon. Ajayi Bolanle, who thereafter moved the motion for its adoption and seconded by the member representing Ipokia/ Idiroko State Constituency and supported by the Whole House through a voice vote.

 

The Assembly also pointed out the need for the State Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs to step up measures towards setting the records straight on chieftaincy-related issues in the affected communities.-Daily Trust.

 

 

Mali: Going for Gold in Western Mali Threatens Human Security

Uncontrolled artisanal gold mining in Kayes is damaging the environment and fuelling trafficking and local conflicts.

 

Mali's artisanal gold mining sector regularly uses chemicals and dredges rivers, despite these practices being prohibited. The consequences for human health, environmental sustainability and local stability are dire.

 

The western region of Kayes is among the most severely affected. It produced an estimated 73% of the country's 26 tons of artisanal gold in 2019 and generated US$1.23 billion.

 

Artisanal gold miners mostly use mercury and cyanide to separate gold from other minerals. Institute for Security Studies (ISS) research shows that these chemicals are smuggled into Mali from Benin, Togo, Burkina Faso and Senegal through illicit trafficking routes.

Mali's government estimates that 33.3 tons of mercury enter the country illegally every year, most of which (28 tons) is used in Kayes. The chemical is readily available throughout the region, with 10 grams priced between US$2.5 and US$3.4.

 

Little official data exists on the quantity of cyanide used. However, cyanidation ponds have multiplied near villages and mining sites in the region's Sadiola and Kéniéba localities in the past five years. This has occurred as artisanal miners renowned for having mastered the chemical have moved into the area from Burkina Faso.

 

Intensive, improper use of these chemicals presents massive risks for agriculture, fishing and herding due to groundwater contamination that can lead to animal and human poisoning. Cyanide is lethal and when ingested, causes rapid paralysis. Milder cases of poisoning lead to headaches, nausea, vertigo, anxiety, altered mental states, rapid breathing and high blood pressure.

Chronic exposure to mercury gas can cause renal failure, tremors, movement disorders and various psychoses and memory impairment. The damage is particularly severe for pregnant women because of the dangerous neurotoxic effects on the development of the foetus. In Kayes, women represented 33% of the 298 307 artisanal miners identified in 2019, and many more live close to mining sites.

 

Artisanal miners renowned for having mastered the use of cyanide moved into Kayes from Burkina Faso

 

Yet there is little awareness among artisanal miners about the health cost of their activities. No caution is taken in the transport, storage and handling of toxic chemicals. They are often hidden and transported in food trucks, directly in contact with food products. They're also stored in warehouses without temperature control and handled without appropriate protective gear.

Besides harming human health, using these chemicals and the creation of new mines damages vegetation and wildlife. Vegetation must be cleared for most artisanal sites, leading to soil erosion and an easy flow of chemically-poisoned water into rivers and groundwater. Former sites are routinely abandoned without restoration, making them unsuitable for agriculture and herding. Villagers and cattle regularly fall into abandoned pits - just one of the lasting safety risks.

 

Dredging rivers to destruction is a damaging practice that encourages artisanal gold mining in Kayes. Once the heart of local agriculture, the Falémé River on the border with Senegal, is drying up due to chaotic dredging. Mali's armed forces sporadically evict illegal miners from the river bed, but the soldiers can't be everywhere, and the miners soon return.

 

The intensive use of chemicals feeds a large-scale, lucrative transnational criminal economy. Financial gains for traffickers are huge. In 2019, the sale of 18 tons of mercury generated over US$100 million.

 

The intensive use of chemicals feeds a large-scale, lucrative transnational criminal economy

 

Kayes is the main market for illicit trading in mercury in Mali due to its location. The region borders Guinea, Senegal and Mauritania, connecting Mali to coastal West Africa, where multiple clandestine supply chains of mercury and cyanide originate. Corruption among some security forces makes borders more porous, facilitating crime.

 

This profitable trafficking network also serves as a potential financing source for violent extremist groups in this part of West Africa. Environmental damage also drives local conflicts, with river dredging causing disputes among communities. Interviewees told the ISS that some traditional leaders and local administration officials are complicit.

 

In exchange for cash or infrastructure including electricity supply, water drilling and housing, local authorities give land access to illegal miners and turn a blind eye to the environmental implications of their activities. This causes resentment among environmentalists and communities whose livelihoods depend on agriculture, fishing and herding. It has often led to protests.

 

The destruction of farmlands and agricultural economies around the Falémé River antagonises farmers. In some instances, the ISS was told that dredge owners and farmers are now arming themselves in response to the spiralling hostility.

 

Environmental damage drives local conflicts, with river dredging causing disputes among communities

 

The government's repressive approach to addressing the problem has been ineffective. Collaborative responses that take into account artisanal miners' interests are required. First, the Mali government needs to align its laws with the technical evolution of artisanal gold mining. Effective regulation should replace unrealistic prohibition. This could include training miners in the safe use of chemicals and protection of the environment.

 

Second, the government should support dialogue between communities and their traditional and administrative authorities. Awareness needs to be raised about the risks of inter-communal violence over the environmental damage caused by chemicals used for mining.

 

Third, the government should work with existing associations to set up committees that can oversee the environmental impact of artisanal mining. Finally, Mali's environment ministry needs to expand and reinforce the technical capacity of local and not just centrally-based state officials tasked with limiting pollution and health damage.

 

Fahiraman Rodrigue Koné, Senior Researcher and Nadia Adam, Research Officer, ISS Bamako

 

This article was produced with support from the UK Conflict, Stability and Security Fund and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of The Netherlands.-ISS.

 

 

 

East Africa: Egypt, Sudan Seek UN Help to Resolve Mega Dam Dispute With Ethiopia

The foreign ministers of Egypt and Sudan appealed to the U.N. Security Council on Thursday to intervene in their dispute with Ethiopia over the operation of a mega dam on the Nile River.

 

"We come here in search for a viable path towards a peaceful, amicable and negotiated solution, and to avert the dire consequences of our inability to reach a settlement to this matter," Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said.

 

"Our expectation is that this council will take the necessary measures to ensure the parties engage in an effective process of negotiation that could yield an agreement that serves our collective interests," he added.

 

Tensions have escalated since Addis Ababa said Monday it had begun its second phase of filling the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam -- or GERD, as it is known. Downstream neighbors Egypt and Sudan object, insisting that a legally binding agreement that governs how the dam is filled and operated must first be in place.

"Silence from the council would send out the wrong message and would signify a tacit approval of the fact that this unilateral filling was acceptable," Sudan's foreign minister, Mariam al-Mahdi said.

 

The Nile flows northward, with one tributary (the White Nile) beginning in South Sudan and the other (the Blue Nile) in Ethiopia. They merge in Sudan and continue flowing north to the Mediterranean Sea. Along the way, the river crosses through 11 countries, and populations have depended on its water for millennia.

 

Ethiopia started building the GERD in 2011 on the Blue Nile as a major hydropower project. Construction is nearly complete, and Addis Ababa says the dam will help bring electricity to 65 million Ethiopians who do not have it.

 

"We are dealing here with a hydroelectric dam. We are not building a nuclear plant," said Seleshi Bekele Awulachew, Ethiopia's minister for water, irrigation and energy. "It's not the first of its kind in Africa or in the world."

He urged the council not to become involved in the issue, which the African Union is mediating.

 

"If the council consents to the path preferred by Egypt and Sudan, it will certainly be entangled in resolving disputes on all transboundary rivers," Ethiopia's minister said.

 

After 10 years of negotiations, the three countries still have not resolved the situation. Council members urged them to find the political will and momentum to quickly resume substantive negotiations to resolve outstanding differences.

 

"A balanced and equitable solution to the filling and operation of the GERD can be reached with political commitment from all parties," U.S. envoy Linda Thomas-Greenfield said. "Egypt and Sudan's concerns over water security and the safety and operation of the dam can be reconciled with Ethiopia's development needs."

She said the African Union is the most appropriate body to address the dispute and that Washington would provide political and technical support. The U.N., the European Union and South Africa have also been involved as observers to these talks, which recently stalled.

 

Russia went a step further, proposing that the parties undertake a round of negotiations with the African Union chair while the three ministers are all in New York.

 

"We believe that this would be the best contribution the council could make to finding a solution to the situation," Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said.

 

Egypt and Sudan asked the council to adopt a resolution put forward by council member Tunisia. It demands that Ethiopia stop filling the dam and calls for the three countries to resume negotiations and reach a legally binding agreement within six months.

 

Sudan's foreign minister acknowledged after the meeting that the council appeared to have little appetite to adopt the resolution.

 

But Cairo and Khartoum insist the issue is an important national security issue.

 

"This is a situation that Egypt cannot and will not tolerate," Shoukry told the council.- VOA.

 

 

 

South Africa: Confusion Over Healthcare Worker Contracts in the Eastern Cape

Thousands of healthcare contract workers in the Eastern Cape Department of Health face an uncertain future over the continued extension of their contracts. This follows two conflicting decisions on ending contracts of workers roped in February last year to help in the fight against COVID-19 in the province.

 

How it happened

 

The department went on a hiring spree of healthcare workers last year to boost the numbers of frontline workers deployed to different health facilities across the province in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Initially, the contracts were meant to end in March this year. However, a new circular was sent in March following a public outcry about the termination of the contracts at a time when healthcare workers were sorely needed for the COVID-19 response. This prompted the provincial government to source an additional R400 million to fund the renewal of the contracts until the end of June 2021.

On 21 June, the Buffalo City Metro was the first district to send out an internal circular to personnel managers as a reminder that contracts would not be renewed after it ends at the end of June.

 

However, the provincial health department's newly appointed Acting Superintendent-General, Mahlubandile Qwase then made an about-turn a week later and ordered all circulars and notices issued must be retracted "with immediate effect".

 

Qwase wrote to health department and facility managers on June 28, informing them the department is attending to administrative matters relating to the extension of contracts for 2 949 COVID-19 and community healthcare workers who are currently on three months contract extensions ending June 30.

 

"All managers and supervisors are hereby notified to and instructed not to terminate these workers' contracts, nor to issue them with notices of termination until such time that the accounting officer indicates as such. All circulars and notices already served to be retracted with immediate effect," he wrote.

'The department needs us as much as we need employment'

 

One community healthcare worker from East London affected by this, tells Spotlight "the whole thing of these contracts is confusing". She did not want to be named out of fear it may jeopardise her future employment prospects.

 

"After we received our contracts, we served the department wholeheartedly risking our lives throughout the peak of the pandemic and now we are told we don't have a job. The same officials who had told us that we are losing our jobs, now told us we might get an extension of our contracts. This is traumatic to go to work in the morning not knowing that by the end of the day you are about to lose your job. We are hoping this time they will give us permanent employment because the department needs us as much as we need employment. I don't know where my next meal will come from if the department decides to dump us," she says.

Eastern Cape provincial chairperson of the Treatment Action Campaign, Thembisile Nongampula says now it is the wrong time to talk about terminating contracts of healthcare workers as the province is heading towards a third wave.

 

"Terminating contracts at this juncture will be a wrong move because those workers are most needed to assist in combating the third wave which is almost here. Five provinces, including the Eastern Cape, are affected by the Delta variant, meaning the department needs all the help they can get. We have constantly warned the department on numerous occasions that failing to employ enough [healthcare] workers will result in other workers being overworked. Health MEC Nomakhosazana Meth must do justice to the community and public health, which is on the edge of collapsing. They should strive to absorb these workers," says Nongampula.

 

Meanwhile, the National Education Health and Allied Workers' Union (Nehawu) provincial secretary Mlungiseleli Ncapayi said the department's latest decision is a victory for workers.

 

"While the department halts the termination of contract workers it is not clear how long the extension is but we are happy that the department is coming to its senses. We have been pushing for this because we are faced with a third wave in the middle of winter," he said.

 

"We want the department to employ all of them permanently and stop using the money [meant] for human resources to settle legal claims. The senior managers need to be accountable for shortages of staff caused by the exorbitant medico-legal claims. We don't want our people to suffer because the department had budget constraints due to poor management. We can change MECs every now and then but if there is something wrong with the management nothing will be proper in that department. We need serious investigation towards the department managers, said Ncapayi.

 

Eastern Cape legislature rebukes health department

 

Early in June before the notices on employment contracts were issued, the provincial legislature's health portfolio committee tabled its report on the provincial department's budget vote criticising the department for failing to fill hundreds of critical vacancies left by healthcare workers who had left due to various reasons including death and retirement, among others.

 

According to the report, there were vacancies left by 307 frontline healthcare workers who succumbed to COVID-19 during the first and second waves. The committee noted in the report that staff shortages coupled with accruals associated with employment benefits are "an indication of the department's unwillingness to appropriately cater for its employees". "Continuous contract extensions," the report states, "is tantamount to unfair labour practices" and shows inefficiencies in the department's capacity. The committee recommended that the department "strives to work with minimum staff at the administration level whilst maintaining and redirecting other human resources to service delivery platforms".

 

When Spotlight asked the committee chair Mxolisi Dimaza about the latest developments with the contract workers, he said the issue is now with the Premier's office. "We understand he advised that their contracts must be extended. We also understand that the department is busy with recruitment of those 307 critical workers. When there are those actions we are happy as the legislature but after three months, the committee will go to those affected hospitals to check if the posts are filled," he said.

 

"If the vacancies are not filled, our responsibility is to find out why posts are not filled because in our report we made it clear that the critical posts must be filled as soon as possible. To us as the committee, at the hospital level all workers are critical. Vacancies of cleaners are critical just like doctors and nurses vacancies."

 

Eastern Cape health department responds

 

Eastern Cape Department of Health spokesperson Sizwe Kupelo tells Spotlight for now the department will employ over 80 healthcare workers to help plug the gap.

 

According to him, the recruitment processes are at "an advanced stage for the 86 frontline workers". "These are professional nurses, enrolment nurses, and assistant nurses. They will be placed on a needs basis with clinics and hospitals in desperate need of more workers. The employment of these nurses comes as COVID-19 active cases continue to rise in the province, so having more of our dedicated frontline workers on the frontline is a good move that will save many lives," says Kupelo.

 

"Ideally," he says, "we would love to ensure every single healthcare worker is employed which would mean nurses and doctors would not have to work overtime, but the fact of the matter is that we simply don't have enough budget. Having more workers at our facilities is a top priority, not only because of the COVID-19 pandemic but because that would ensure we continue delivering effective and efficient services to millions of our people. We have the problem of a huge salary bill, whereby most of our budget is going towards salaries instead of our core business. But key funded positions have to be filled."

 

Meanwhile, the Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Eastern Cape called on the National Department of Health to place the provincial department under administration. DA Member of the Eastern Cape Legislature Jane Cowley said financially the department is no longer sustainable and "the collapse of the entire department is inevitable".

 

According to departmental figures provided in response to Cowley's questions in the legislature, the provincial department in this financial year is expected to spend 80% of its available budget of R22.3 billion on personnel of which about 20% is non-medical (support) staff. The spending on non-medical staff is more than double what is budgeted for goods and services which includes health consumables such as oxygen tanks, linen, and medicines needed for quality patient care.

 

Note: A member of the Treatment Action Campaign is mentioned in this article. Spotlight is published by SECTION27 and the Treatment Action Campaign but is editorially independent - an independence that the editors guard jealously. Spotlight is a member of the South African Press Council.-spotlight.

 

 

Cameroon: Unlocking the Potential of Aquaculture in Cameroon

Ganava, a farmer from the Republic of Cameroon, still remembers the day insurgents from Boko Haram burst into his village, seizing his land and threatening to kill him and his family.

 

"We were forced to flee and hide in the mountains because we feared for our lives," he recalls.

 

Ganava comes from Koza close to the Nigerian border in the country's volatile Far North Region. He, his wife and their 11 children sought refuge 100 kilometres away in the town of Maroua where he has learned new skills in a field he never expected - aquaculture.

 

He is not the only one. Heavily impacted by the violent insurrection, more than 400 people from the town of Zileng have also learned aquaculture as a way to rebuild their livelihoods and lives.

 

In fact, since March 2019, over 3 000 people across the country, including refugees and displaced persons in the Far North Region, took part in various FAO projects, that were supported with donor funding from the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) and Irish Aid.

While Cameroon has a fishing industry along its coast in the southwest, aquaculture has been less important in inland areas where crops and animal husbandry have been the more common source of support for livelihoods.

 

FAO has been working with the country's Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Industries to give farmers and pastoralists training in this promising sector. Fishing equipment and other technical assistance were also provided through the projects.

 

Aside from the violence in the Far North, the Republic of Cameroon struggles with a high rate of poverty. This combination of violent conflict, poverty-induced hunger and climate shocks have forced millions of people from their homes and destroyed the livelihoods of millions more.

In early 2021, nearly 2.7 million people in Cameroon were estimated to be food insecure and there are more than 300 000 internally displaced people in the Far North Region. The COVID-19 pandemic has added to the daily challenges that many people face.

 

Breeding fish and building a business

 

Some of the displaced, like Florence Gasida, once relied on fishing.

 

Florence, a single mother with five children, comes from the village of Zebe also in the Far North region of the country, where fishing has traditionally been the main economic activity. It was climate change, rather than violence, that forced her to leave because of its impact on local fish stocks around her village. Through an FAO project she is now earning an income through aquaculture.

 

"Thanks to the training and the support provided by FAO, I can now breed fish myself and sell my products to create a better life," she says. "I now know how to manage a fish farm, while ensuring the health of my fish."

FAO has provided training for men and women and also provided equipment and fish feed for participants.

 

"It is through these initiatives that the people of this region have now discovered the advantages of fish farming, how to raise their own fish and thus contribute to reducing food insecurity," says Fulbert Haiba-Daliwa, the FAO aquaculture expert leading the project.

 

"FAO also supports the government by sharing various techniques of fish production through training seminars and supervision for producers."

 

With donor support, FAO focused on the need to improve food security in the short-term and to build capacity and resilience in the long-term

 

Since the project began, the fish farmers have produced nearly 1 700 kilogrammes of fresh fish. FAO has also trained women on processing techniques, such as drying techniques for the fish, in order to minimize food losses.

 

"The idea is to provide people with skills and knowledge that will enable them to be resilient in the face of economic, social, and ecological difficulties that could occur in the future," says Haiba-Daliwa.

 

Strengthening food security in the region

 

The project not only promoted aquaculture. By combining fish farming and market gardening, the farmers were able to apply innovative techniques for using water from their fish tanks to irrigate their crops and minimize the use of chemical fertilizers.

 

The communities have also benefited from quality agricultural seeds and motor pumps for water drainage. More than 500 vegetable gardens and 20 fish farms were also established in the region with FAO's assistance.

 

"We are seeing the benefits of the skills acquired and the resources made available to us; the support from FAO and the government has never been lacking, we are grateful for it," says Siddi Yankabe, president of the Zileng community.

 

"In the future, we wish to invest in diversifying our fish production. We want Zileng to be a true example for surrounding communities of development through food security."

 

Audun Lem, Deputy Director of Fisheries and Aquaculture at FAO, says Sub-Saharan Africa has great potential for aquaculture. "Not only does aquaculture provide jobs and secure livelihoods, it provides vital food and micronutrients in a region with fish consumption much below the world average, in fact less than half the world average," he said.

 

With the support of its financial and technical partners, FAO is working to stem food and nutritional insecurity in Cameroon while enhancing the resilience of the most vulnerable people in the country. The aquaculture project is an important step in this direction.-FAO.

 

 

 

 


 


 


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INVESTORS DIARY 2021

 


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Companies under Cautionary

 

 

 


 

 

 

 


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