AfricaFocus Bulletin
January 8, 2019 Mozambique/Global: Who Pays for Transnational Corruption?
The line-up of those involved in this $2.2 billion fraudulent loan deal, now
implicated in a case in the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of New York,
is multinational. The five named individuals indicted include the former Minister of
Finance of Mozambique, a Lebanese businessman representing Privinvest (an
international shipping conglomerate in Abu Dhabi), and three London-based bankers,
citizens of New Zealand, Great Britain, and Bulgaria, employed at the time of the
loans by the giant Swiss bank Credit Suisse. Three more names are redacted in the
indictment and 5 others, three Mozambicans and two additional employees of
Privinvest, are cited but not named in the text of the indictment.
December 10, 2018 Africa/Global: Green New Deal Could Be Game-Changer
“And yet here’s the truly strange thing: I feel more optimistic
about our collective chances of averting climate breakdown than I
have in years. For the first time, I see a clear and credible
political pathway that could get us to safety, a place in which
the worst climate outcomes are avoided and a new social compact is
forged that is radically more humane than anything currently on
offer.” - Naomi Klein on the Green New Deal
November 12, 2018 Africa: Africa Mining Vision
The Africa Mining Vision (AMV) was adopted by Heads of State at the February 2009
African Union summit following the October 2008 meeting of African Ministers
responsible for Mineral Resources Development. An action plan was adopted in December
2011, and the African Minerals Development Centre (https://www.uneca.org/amdc)
launched in December 2013. The lead role in developing the vision was taken by
African professional staff at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
(UNECA), in consultation not only with African governments but also with civil
society organizations and specialists on the mining sector.
November 12, 2018 Africa: Why Mining is Hard to Tax
"In Africa as elsewhere in the world, while energy companies might be somewhat undertaxed,
mining companies typically are greatly under-taxed. Indeed, it is only a
slight exaggeration to say that, with a few significant exceptions, notably
Botswana’s diamond mines, mining in Africa is barely taxed at all. One reliable
source indicates that contemporary African governments collect about 55% of the total
value of energy production in tax revenue, but only 3% of the value of mining
production." - Taxing Africa
October 16, 2018 Africa/Global: Drug Company Profits vs. Public Health
"Oxfam examined publicly available data on subsidiaries of four of the largest US
drug companies and found a striking pattern. In the countries analyzed that have
standard corporate tax rates, rich or poor, the corporations’ pretax profits were
low. In eight advanced economies, drug company profits averaged 7 percent, while in
seven developing countries they averaged 5 percent. Yet globally, these corporations
reported annual global profits of up to 30 percent. So where were the high profits?
Tax havens. In four countries that charge low or no corporate tax rates, these
companies posted skyrocketing 31 percent profit margins." - Oxfam, September 2018
More on:
politics&human rights|peace&security|health|economy|ict
AfricaFocus Archive:
by date | by place | by topic
October 1, 2018
Africa/Global: Professionals Enabling Corruption
September 17, 2018
Uganda: Time for the Youth
August 27, 2018
Africa: Migration Reports Show Complex Realities
August 15, 2018
West Africa/Europe: From Cocoa to Chocolate
July 30, 2018
East Africa: Ethiopia/Eritrea Peace Hopes, Cautions
July 18, 2018
Africa/Global: 10 Ways to Misunderstand the Trump Election, and Why They Still Matter
June 20, 2018
Congo (Kinshasa): Ebola Response Shows Lessons Learned
June 4, 2018
West Africa/Global: Tax Evasion without Borders
May 21, 2018
Namibia/Africa: Afrobarometer Insights
May 7, 2018
USA/Africa: Achieving 100% Renewable Energy
May 7, 2018
USA/Africa: Renewable Energy Advances on Many Fronts
April 23, 2018
Ethiopia: Wax, Gold, and "Ethiopianness"
April 9, 2018
Africa: Storybooks in African Languages
March 26, 2018
Zimbabwe: Women Continue Protest at Hwange Coal
March 12, 2018
Africa/Global: Charting Where They Hide the Money, 2
March 12, 2018
Africa/Global: Charting Where They Hide the Money, 1
February 26, 2018
Nigeria/Global: Promising Potential for Solar Mini-Grids
February 12, 2018
Sudan: Perilous Crossroads on Refugee Map
January 29, 2018
Africa/Global: Humanitarian Attention Deficits
January 15, 2018
South Africa/USA: Inequality is Extreme and Still Rising
January 15, 2018
Africa/Global: World Trends in Inequality
December 18, 2017
Cameroon: Speech, Rights, and Aging Autocracy
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