<p data-reactid="38">The U.S. Justice Department on Friday filed a lawsuit seeking to recover assets that include a $50 million Manhattan apartment and an $80 million yacht that it said were bought using money generated from a scheme to pay millions of dollars in bribes to a former Nigerian oil minister.</p>
<p data-reactid="39">The civil lawsuit, filed in federal court in Houston, alleged that two Nigerian businessmen conspired with others to pay bribes to the minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke, who oversaw the African country&#8217;s state-owned oil company.</p>
<p data-reactid="40">The lawsuit said that in return, Alison-Madueke steered lucrative contracts with a subsidiary of Nigerian National Petroleum Corp to companies owned by the two businessmen, Kolawole Akanni Aluko and Olajide Omokore.</p>
<p data-reactid="41">Despite being unqualified and in some instances failing entirely to perform services under the contracts, these companies received more than $1.5 billion in revenues through the sale of crude oil, the lawsuit said.</p>
<p data-reactid="42">The Justice Department said that Aluko and Okokore then laundered their illicit revenues through the United States and used the money to buy $144 million in assets including the Manhattan condominium and the $80 million yacht, the Galactica Star.</p>
<p data-reactid="43">The condominium is located in One57, a skyscraper located near Central Park on a street in Midtown Manhattan that is known as &#8220;Billionaire&#8217;s Row.&#8221;</p>
<p data-reactid="44">Acting Assistant Attorney General Blanco said in a statement that the case demonstrated the Justice Department&#8217;s commitment to trading and recovering corruption proceeds.</p>
<p data-reactid="45">&#8220;The United States is not a safe haven for the proceeds of corruption,&#8221; he said.</p>
<p data-reactid="46">Following a mortgage default, lender Banque Havilland SA launched foreclosure proceedings on the condominium in January. It is scheduled to be up for public auction on July 19, according to the lawsuit.</p>
<p data-reactid="47">Alison-Madueke was charged with money laundering in Nigeria, the country&#8217;s financial crimes agency said in April. She previously denied to Reuters any wrongdoing when questioned about missing public funds and corruption allegations.</p>
<p data-reactid="49">Lawyers for Aluko and Omokore could not be immediately identified. They are not defendants in the lawsuit, which is a civil forfeiture action.</p>
<p>The lawsuit was brought as part of Justice Department&#8217;s Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative, which seeks the forfeiture of the proceeds of foreign corruption.</p>
<div class="Attribution_attribution_o4ojT" data-reactid="50">
<p class="Attribution_content_27_rw" data-reactid="51">Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Additional reporting by Eric Beech in Washington; Editing by Leslie Adler</p>
</div>


U.S. seeks to recover $144M in bribes to former Nigerian oil minister

<p data-reactid="38">South Africa&#8217;s Minister of Mineral Resources Mosebenzi Zwane has suspended the implementation of a controversial mining ownership law pending a judgement in an urgent interdict application by the industry, the Chamber of Mines <a href="file:///C:/Users/moniquev/Downloads/2017-07-14-minister-suspends-implementations-of-reviewed-charter.pdf">industry body</a> said on Friday.</p>
<p data-reactid="39">The Chamber applied for an urgent high court injunction in June to prevent the implementation of the law, which increases the minimum threshold for black ownership of mining companies.</p>
<p data-reactid="39">The <span class="articlelocation"><span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; color: #333333;">Chamber&#8217;s President Mxolisi Mgojo told <a href="http://cnbc.africa/news/southern-africa/2017/06/15/chamber-mines-seek-legal-opinion-mining-charter/">CNBC Africa</a> last month that it had decided to apply for an interdict to &#8220;p</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; color: #333333;">rotect the mining industry&#8221;.</span></p>
<p data-reactid="39"><strong>READ: </strong><a href="http://cnbc.africa/news/southern-africa/2017/06/15/chamber-mines-seek-legal-opinion-mining-charter/">SA’s Revised Mining Charter is “the last nail in the coffin”: Chamber of Mines VP Phiri</a></p>
<p>The charter raises the minimum threshold for black ownership of mining companies to 30 per cent from 26 per cent. It also requires mining companies to pay 1 per cent of turnover to their black empowerment partners, see below.</p>
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SA’s Minister of Mineral Resources suspends implementation of Revised Mining Charter

<p data-reactid="38">Etisalat Nigeria&#8217;s rescue has put the country&#8217;s banks in a quandary as they prepare for half-year results due this month as they do not know whether to provision for loans to the company until they can work out its value.</p>
<p data-reactid="39">A banking source told Reuters that the lenders first wanted to determine Etisalat Nigeria&#8217;s free cash flow to help them value the telecoms business before deciding on whether to impair the assets or hold on to find new investors.</p>
<p data-reactid="40">&#8220;No bank is talking about restructuring now, but it might get to that later once we are able to ascertain the true value of the company,&#8221; the source said.</p>
<p data-reactid="41">Nigerian regulators intervened last week to save Etisalat Nigeria, the country&#8217;s fourth-largest mobile operator, from collapse and prevent lenders placing the telecoms firm in receivership, prompting a board and management change.</p>
<p data-reactid="42">On Thursday, Etisalat Nigeria changed its name to 9mobile, the company said.</p>
<p data-reactid="43">The telecoms firm took-out a $1.2 billion loan four years ago from 13 local lenders to refinance an existing debt and expand its mobile network, but it struggled to repay due a currency crisis and recession in Nigeria.</p>
<p data-reactid="44">Banks involved in the loan deal include: Zenith Bank, GT Bank, First Bank, UBA, Fidelity Bank, Access Bank, Ecobank, FCMB, Stanbic IBTC Bank and Union Bank. Results are due from this month.</p>
<p data-reactid="45">GT Bank with $138 million in outstanding loans and Access Bank with $131 million are among the most exposed to Etisalat Nigeria.</p>
<p data-reactid="46">&#8220;We think that by the time the new management settles in, makes some changes and reduces costs, the company might bounce back,&#8221; the source told Reuters, adding that he expected support from the central bank, which has sought to avoid Etisalat Nigeria&#8217;s collapse from sparking a wider debt crisis.</p>
<p data-reactid="47">Etisalat Nigeria&#8217;s new chief executive Boye Olusanya told Reuters on Tuesday he was focused on getting the telecoms group back on track to make a profit, while working on the paperwork to eventually raise new capital. [nL8N1K24G4]</p>
<p data-reactid="48">Renaissance Capital analysts estimates Etisalat Nigeria could be worth $1.2 billion based on an enterprise value to operating cashflow multiple when compared with South Africa&#8217;s MTN and other African telecoms companies.</p>
<p data-reactid="49">Nigeria&#8217;s banks are set to report interim earnings this month and investors will be watching for signs of a rise in non-performing loans.</p>
<p data-reactid="50">The banks collected half of their interest payment for May from Etisalat Nigeria so that the new team running the company has funds to keep it operating, the source said.</p>
<p data-reactid="52">And any provisioning may not kick in until the next quarter.</p>
<p data-reactid="53">&#8220;Given the understanding that Etisalat&#8217;s debt was performing till the end of the first quarter we believe the banks &#8230; might be required to make provisions in the second quarter,&#8221; said Olalekan Olabode, head of research at Vetiva Capital said.</p>
<p>&#8220;Rather than converting the debt to equity, we expect to see a restructuring in the near term,&#8221; he added.</p>


Nigerian banks seek Etisalat Nigeria cash flow clarity before results

<p>South Africa’s Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba, during an interview with CNBC Africa called on all South Africans to work together to grow the economy. He was speaking to the broadcaster following the 2017 Thomson Reuters Economist of the year event hosted at the JSE.</p>
<p>[bc_video video_id=&#8221;5505706966001&#8243; account_id=&#8221;1571595826001&#8243; player_id=&#8221;default&#8221;]</p>
<blockquote><p>“There is no single individual who will be a messiah for the South Africa economy,” he said. We need all role-players- business, labour, government and civil society to work together.</p></blockquote>
<p>We need unity in action and purpose towards restoring growth in our economy, he added.</p>
<p>The finance minister argued that there are certain steps we need to take to reignite growth in the economy such as addressing ourselves to policy and programmes like telecommunications, state owned companies, the reformed process, stabilising the governance and financial position of state owned companies, implementing some of the fiscal policy and procurement policy reforms, land reform programmes and so on.</p>
<p><strong>READ</strong>: <a href="http://cnbc.africa/trending/state-capture/2017/07/13/gigaba-onthe-guptas/">“I am not captured by any family” – SA’s FinMin Gigaba<br />
</a><a href="http://cnbc.africa/news/2017/07/13/south-africa-considers-privatization-counter-recession/">South Africa considers privatization to counter recession</a></p>
<p>“What we’ve done under the aegis of the president is to meet with various sector departments cited as critical to this economic recovery programme to develop an <a href="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/GOVERNMENTs-INCLUSIVE-GROWTH-ACTION-PLAN.pdf">action plan </a>with clear action steps and timelines that we are going to implement to respond to the situation we are in and lift the economy up”, he added</p>
<p><a href="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/GOVERNMENTs-INCLUSIVE-GROWTH-ACTION-PLAN.pdf">For more on the plan read:</a></p>
<p><a href="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/GOVERNMENTs-INCLUSIVE-GROWTH-ACTION-PLAN.pdf">GOVERNMENTs-INCLUSIVE-GROWTH-ACTION-PLAN</a></p>


SA has no economic messiah – Finance Minister Gigaba

<p>In a first on CNBC Africa, South Africa’s Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba said  that he is not captured by any family when asked how the public should perceive him in light of the #Guptaleaks and his name being tied to the influential family, who have close ties to President Jacob Zuma.</p>
<blockquote><p>“I dissociate myself from any such allegations, I am an independent person who works on the basis of his conscience and believe in the constitution of the country any loyalty in the constitution of the country.&#8221; He said.</p></blockquote>
<p>Watch the full interview below&#8230;</p>
<p>[bc_video video_id=&#8221;5506149048001&#8243; account_id=&#8221;1571595826001&#8243; player_id=&#8221;default&#8221;]</p>


“I am not captured by any family” – SA’s FinMin Gigaba

<p data-reactid="38">South Africa Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba laid out an ambitious 14-point program on Thursday to wrench the economy out of recession that included the sale of non-core assets and partial privatization of state-owned firms.</p>
<p data-reactid="39">The plans to stimulate &#8220;inclusive growth&#8221; in the continent&#8217;s biggest economy appear to represent an ideological shift by the African National Congress (ANC), whose political alliance with the unions has tended to make privatization a dirty word.</p>
<p data-reactid="40">The continent&#8217;s most sophisticated economy entered recession for the first time since 2009 in the first quarter and is also struggling with high unemployment and credit ratings downgrades.</p>
<p data-reactid="41">Gigaba said he would continue with the disposal of non-core state assets and roll out a &#8220;private sector participation framework&#8221; by March 2018.</p>
<p data-reactid="42">&#8220;All of these items that we have announced&#8230; they constitute an important intervention to restore confidence and demonstrate action, and outline an action plan that we as government can be responsible for,&#8221; Gigaba said.</p>
<p data-reactid="43">The government would also reduce the issuance of guarantees to state companies, especially those extended for operational purposes, he said.</p>
<p data-reactid="44">Many of South Africa&#8217;s 300-odd state-owned companies, which include South African Airways, are a drain on the government&#8217;s purse. Ratings agencies have singled out some as threat to the country&#8217;s investment grade rating.</p>
<div class="Attribution_attribution_o4ojT" data-reactid="45">
<p class="Attribution_content_27_rw" data-reactid="46">Reporting by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo and Mfuneko Toyana</p>
</div>


South Africa considers privatization to counter recession

<p>Enterprise application software provider SAP has initiated an independent investigation into allegations that it agreed to pay <a href="http://amabhungane.co.za/article/2017-07-11-guptaleaks-software-giant-sap-paid-gupta-front-r100m-kickbacks-for-state-business">10% “sales commission” </a>to a company controlled by the Guptas to clinch business from Transnet.</p>
<p>The New York Stock Exchange listed company is governed by <a href="https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/foreign-corrupt-practices-act">The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, </a>which prohibits such practices.</p>
<p>SAP&#8217;s probe will be spearheaded by a multinational law firm and overseen by Executive Board Member Adaire Fox-Martin, who will  vigorously review contracts awarded by SAP South Africa.</p>
<p>SAP has also launched an internal review and will make the results of the investigation public once it is concluded.</p>
<p><strong>READ: </strong><a href="http://cnbc.africa/news/political/2017/07/13/state-capture-probe/">SA’s Public Protector wants an urgent inquiry into state capture</a></p>
<p>In a statement SAP said &#8220;Consistent with company policy, SAP has brought in senior expert staff across all relevant functions while the current management team has been placed on administrative leave pending the findings of the review&#8221;.</p>
<p>Fox-Martin is currently travelling to South Africa to address the concerns of customers, partners and employees.</p>
<p>The SAP (Global) interim team are expected to arrive from Germany tomorrow morning.</p>


SAP to investigate Gupta corruption allegations

<p>South Africa’s Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane has called for an urgent investigation to take place into state capture, and backed her predecessor&#8217;s call that President Jacob Zuma has no right to decide which judge should oversee the inquiry.</p>
<p>According to <a href="https://www.enca.com/south-africa/public-protector-calls-for-urgent-state-capture-inquiry">ENCA</a>, this was revealed in her answering affidavit in the state of capture review application.</p>
<p>Zuma in December last year <a href="http://cnbc.africa/news/southern-africa/2016/11/25/south-africas-zuma-to-challenge-influence-peddling-report-implicating-him/">called on the courts</a> to review and set aside former public protector Thuli Madonsela&#8217;s State of Capture report.</p>
<p><a href="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/State-of-Capture-14-October-2016.pdf">State-of-Capture-14-October-2016</a></p>
<p><a href="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Annexure-A1-Interview-between-President-Zuma-and-the-Public-Protector.pdf">Annexure-A1-Interview-between-President-Zuma-and-the-Public-Protector</a></p>
<p>Last month Mkhwebane <a href="http://cnbc.africa/news/political/2017/06/15/s-africas-public-protector-launches-probe-influence-peddling-state-owned-firms/">launched a new investigation</a> into allegations of influence-peddling and unlawful enrichment by certain officials within three state-owned firms after thousands of emails relating to alleged fraud were leaked.</p>
<p>[bc_video video_id=&#8221;5453226603001&#8243; account_id=&#8221;1571595826001&#8243; player_id=&#8221;default&#8221;]</p>


SA’s Public Protector wants an urgent inquiry into state capture

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<p>&#8220;Africa is an awakening giant,&#8221; according to the former South African President Frederik Willem de Klerk speaking at the World Petroleum Congress in Istanbul.</p>
<p>The leader who oversaw the transition of his country&#8217;s power to Nelson Mandela said Tuesday that the future looks bright for a continent previously blighted by war, famine and a lack of infrastructure.</p>
<p>&#8220;I believe Africa is an awakening giant and, yes, it is not performing according to what we expected soon enough, but it will perform,&#8221; he said.</p>
<div id="inline_movable_ad"> De Klerk believes that African countries are primed to take advantage of the world&#8217;s growing size.</div>
<p>&#8220;If we look at food shortages for the rest of the world with a growing population, Africa is the solution,&#8221; he said.</p>
<p>&#8220;It has underdeveloped land, frugal land, which can provide food for the growing billions of the world.&#8221;</p>
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<div class="pro-video-chapters fall dyperf dyMonitor" data-adid="535383||1437|||">Companies investing in Africa have bemoaned rampant corruption in countries such as Kenya and Nigeria that have seen strongmen leaders enrich themselves at the cost of their own people.</div>
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<p>But de Klerk said Africa is not alone in this regard: &#8220;Corruption is a worldwide problem, it is just more sophisticated in the developed world and more unsophisticated in the developing world. But it is everywhere.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;Africa has a great future. I firmly believe in it. But we need to get our house in order we need to fight corruption more effectively,&#8221; he added.</p>
<p>The former leader added that investors in his own South Africa, can rely on the country&#8217;s constitution for asset protection rights and dismissed recent headlines about &#8220;property seizures&#8221; as comments from extremists.</p>
<p>[bc_video video_id=&#8221;5504152717001&#8243; account_id=&#8221;1571595826001&#8243; player_id=&#8221;default&#8221;]</p>
<p><strong>South African leadership</strong></p>
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<div class="inline-player dyother dyMonitor" data-adid="1009204||2186|||">
<div class="pro-video-chapters fall dyperf dyMonitor" data-adid="535383||2186|||"> This year South Africa&#8217;s ruling ANC party will elect a new leader and de Klerk viewed it as a great opportunity.</div>
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<p>&#8220;What is going on is bad leadership at the moment. It&#8217;s not good governance; it is a governing party which is itself in disarray,&#8221; he said.</p>
<p>&#8220;But there is light at the end of the tunnel. The time of President Zuma is running out. He will be replaced as leader of the African National Congress (ANC) in December this year.&#8221;</p>
<p>De Klerk said a strong candidate to lead South Africa is emerging but refused to name the person on the grounds it might be a &#8220;kiss of death for him.&#8221;</p>
<p>De Klerk added that independent courts, a free press and a civil society that is &#8220;bulging its muscles,&#8221; are all combining to provide increased stability in South Africa.</p>
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“Africa is an awakening giant” – Former SA President FW de Klerk

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<p>Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari is recuperating fast and will return home shortly, his deputy said on Wednesday after visiting the head of state in London where he has been on prolonged sick leave.</p>
<p>Yemi Osinbajo&#8217;s brief and unannounced trip has revived speculation about Buhari&#8217;s health and whether he will be able to stand for re-election in 2019. The details of his illness have not been made public.</p>
<p>&#8220;He is in very high spirits, he is recuperating very quickly and we had a very long conversation. We spoke for well over an hour. His humour is all there. He is doing well,&#8221; said Osinbajo, who is acting president.</p>
<p>&#8220;We discussed wide-ranging issues. I can&#8217;t go into specifics,&#8221; he said in his first public comments after returning to Abuja on Wednesday morning. Osinbajo then chaired a weekly cabinet meeting.</p>
<p>When Buhari, 74, left Abuja for London on May 7, his second trip abroad for health reasons, he handed over power to Osinbajo, who according to the constitution would assume the presidency should Buhari be unable to continue.</p>
<p>Osinbajo is already being talked about in the capital as a potential nominee for the 2019 presidential election in Nigeria, sub-Saharan Africa&#8217;s largest economy and energy producer.</p>
<p><strong>Questioning the Narrative</strong></p>
<p>A thin-looking Buhari was last seen in Nigeria on state television in early May, just hours before he flew to Britain, welcoming a group of 82 girls released by the Islamist militant group Boko Haram.</p>
<p>Buhari&#8217;s first trip to London for health reasons was in January and lasted nearly two months.</p>
<p>The Nigerian public&#8217;s view of Buhari&#8217;s situation has turned sceptical. As the trickle of information about the president&#8217;s health, which used to include photographs of meetings in London, dries up, some are questioning the official narrative.</p>
<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t know, unless they show it to us on television or through anything, that both of them (Buhari and Osinbajo) are meeting,&#8221; said Adeleke Ogunlana, a businessman in Lagos.</p>
<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t believe they met at all.&#8221;</p>
<p>With the economy now in its second year of recession, the first in a quarter of a century, others asked whether a sickly person should be at the helm.</p>
<p>&#8220;We want a healthy, vibrant president who is sound mentally and physically to be able to handle the problems facing the country,&#8221; said Emeka Iloabuchi, a Lagos-based marketer.</p>
<p>&#8220;The president as far as I am concerned should leave the office, should resign honorably so that the people of Nigeria can have a man that is healthy.&#8221;</p>
<p><strong>Avoiding Political Infighting</strong></p>
<p>Nigerian officials have sought to avoid a scenario seen in 2010 when political infighting broke out during the lengthy illness of then-President Umaru Yar&#8217;Adua.</p>
<p>Osinbajo has been given full powers to act during Buhari&#8217;s absences, in contrast to predecessor Goodluck Jonathan who only took over after Yar&#8217;Adua&#8217;s death in 2010 ended the power vacuum.</p>
<p>Investors have welcomed Osinbajo, a Christian lawyer from the commercial capital Lagos in southwest Nigeria who is seen as more business-friendly than Buhari.</p>
<p>But the long-term risk is that the Muslim north, where Buhari hails from, might not accept Osinbajo as a permanent solution if the president became incapacitated at some point.</p>
<p>Traditionally in Nigeria, the leadership rotates between north and south to ensure a balance in a country evenly split between Muslims and Christians.</p>
<p>Jonathan, a Christian from the south, upset many northerners by refusing to give way to a northern candidate in 2010. Many northerners had felt there should have been another northern presidential term after Yar&#8217;Adua&#8217;s premature death.</p>


Nigeria’s Buhari recovering fast, will return soon: VP, Osinbajo

<p><em>Nelspuit born Ray Phiri (70) a South African jazz legend has died after suffering from lung cancer. Born on 23rd March 1947 Phiri shot to fame in 1985, when Paul Simon asked him and Ladysmith Black Mambazo to join his Graceland project. Phiri,  who was a founding member of the Cannibals and the world celebrated group &#8211; Stimela, penned the piece below for <a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/">Forbes Africa</a> in April 2015 on his deep spiritual connection with Bob Marley. Forbes Africa asked him to write it in commemoration of Zimbabwe&#8217;s 1980 independence day.</em></p>
<p>Bob Marley’s song <em>Zimbabwe</em> has a deep spiritual connection with me. I fell in love with Marley’s music in the late 1970s as a producer on the RPM label that distributed his music in South Africa.</p>
<p><em>Zimbabwe</em>, though set to a laid back groove, is a potent, revolutionary and uplifting piece of poetry that I can never tire of hearing. It is a call to action for Africans to liberate themselves. Zimbabwe was host to me and many South Africans in exile and a champion for our own independence in South Africa. When Marley brought these elements together, live at Rufaro Stadium in Harare in 1980, it was inspirational.</p>
<p>Bob Marley opens and closes with the line <em>Every man got a right to decide his own destiny</em>. What a powerful statement for a black man to make in 1980. Back then, Cold War politics saw major powers pay little attention to the right of the African to exercise proper self-determination. It was a time of puppet masters, mercenaries and assassinations. In one line, Marley asserts a notion similarly enshrined in the 1776 American Declaration of Independence – ‘that all men are created equal’ and whose rights include<em> ‘</em>life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness’. When Marley says <em>in this judgement there is no partiality</em> and <em>brother you’re right, you’re right, you’re right, so right</em> he is affirming the concept that the African not only has inalienable rights but is justified in the right to determine and assert them as he sees fit – even if it means fighting back.</p>
<p>I love Marley’s use of Jamaican patois in the chorus to toast Zimbabwe’s independence. I can see the African in him digging deep within the soul of his vernacular to express himself beyond the confines of the English language. Lively expressions like<em> Natty Dread it</em> (let your hair down/shake those locks free – be black and proud of it), <em>set it up</em> (live it up), <em>mash it up</em> (raise the roof), and <em>dub it </em>(get down<em>)</em>, all conjure up images of people having a good time, united in a colorful celebration. It is not just celebrating Zimbabwe’s independence but celebrating that Africans have brought that liberation about. Marley’s wit and optimism shines in the repetition of the oxymoron <em>little trouble/little struggle</em> – almost poking a finger up at the establishment by demeaning the barrier they represented to African independence.</p>
<p>Marley does not shy away from the sobering realities of the struggle for independence. <em>We gon’ fight, we have to fight, fight for our rights</em> resonates strongly with me as this became our reality in South Africa. By 1980, many young people in apartheid era South Africa and Ian Smith’s Rhodesia had answered that call to go <em>arm in arm with arms </em>to <em>fight this struggle</em>. When many of our leaders were imprisoned or gagged by the state, we as artists and civic leaders stepped up and became the inspirational voices and ‘<em>real revolutionaries</em>’ Marley is referring to. Our words became metaphoric arms, arming our people’s consciousness to fight back. When I say, <em>Don’t be afraid, don’t whisper in the deep</em><em>. Speak out your mind, stand up!</em> and <em>I’m inspired. I cannot understand hate</em> in <em>Whispers in the Deep</em> I am channeling Marley’s call to action. I am encouraging our people to take a stand against everything apartheid stood for.</p>
<p>Marley also sketches a blueprint for post-apartheid South Africa with the call to <em>come together to overcome,</em> challenge the <em>divide and rule</em> legacy and find humanity in each other (<em>in every man’s chest there beats a heart</em>). We could not be passive, hoping naively that apartheid would end. We took Marley’s inspiration to fight, and then cast aside our <em>internal power struggles</em> to build a new society founded on peace, love and harmony. We wrote songs to encourage our people to examine themselves, unite, keep fighting and awaken the world to our plight – songs like <em>Singa Jindi Majita </em>by Stimela<em>, Asimbonanga </em>by Johnny Clegg and Savuka, and <em>Weeping</em> by Bright Blue. When we took our music abroad, we gave a voice to the anti-apartheid movement and challenged the propaganda war of Pik Botha’s government. We encouraged boycotts and protests. We united across racial lines to form plural organizations like the UDF in 1983 and, as artists, the South African Musicians Alliance in 1986. These movements crystalized social reform, contributing to the end of apartheid and laying the foundations for the democratic South Africa we live in today.</p>
<p>[bc_video video_id=&#8221;5503874306001&#8243; account_id=&#8221;1571595826001&#8243; player_id=&#8221;default&#8221;]</p>
<p>I believe Bob Marley’s messages in <em>Zimbabwe</em> of African emancipation, self-determination and renaissance are still relevant 35 years later. At a forum at the African Union in Addis Ababa, I worked with other African artists to forge the vision of an African Renaissance by 2063. Echoes of <em>I don’t want my people to be contrary</em> and <em>Every man got a right to decide his own destiny</em> were in the dialogue and actions of these determined and united Africans.</p>
<p>That spirit lives on. Marley was truly a prophet of our time.</p>


Jazz legend Ray Phiri’s deep spiritual connection with Bob Marley

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<div class="inline-player"><a title="http://www.cnbc.com/brexit/" rel="2">Britain&#8217;s exit</a> from the <a title="http://www.cnbc.com/european-union/" rel="3">European Union</a> has not only revitalized current members but it has also inspired countries outside of the bloc to apply for membership, the International Monetary Fund&#8217;s managing director, Christine Lagarde told CNBC Tuesday.</div>
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<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s quite fascinating to see this sort of parallel track of those existing members of the EU suddenly being revitalized, rejuvenated and re-encouraged in the face of what they regarded as the adversity of one member wanting to jump ship,&#8221; Lagarde said on Tuesday.</p>
<p>Britain narrowly voted to leave the EU in a referendum on June 23 last year, an event that shocked financial markets as well as commentators across the globe. Meanwhile, formal talks between the U.K. and EU&#8217;s negotiators kicked off in June this year shortly after British Prime Minister Theresa May failed to increase her parliamentary majority in a snap general election.</p>
<div id="inline_movable_ad"> British and EU leaders now have just over a year and a half to negotiate and agree a deal, which will then go to a vote before the European Parliament.</div>
<p>When asked whether countries such as Serbia and Montenegro – both of whom are hoping to become members of the EU – could endanger the future of the bloc, Lagarde stressed the EU had been reinvigorated by the Brexit vote.</p>
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<h4 class="subtitle">&#8216;An aspiration and an inspiration&#8217;</h4>
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<p><span class="video-icon"><a class="" href="http://www.cnbc.com/video/2017/07/11/how-countries-in-europe-are-anchored-by-the-eu.html" data-videoid="3000634947" data-videotype=""><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" title="IMF's Lagarde: How countries in Europe are anchored by the EU" src="https://fm.cnbc.com/applications/cnbc.com/resources/img/editorial/2017/07/11/104579603-3ED2-REQ-0711-LagardeVid2.600x400.jpg?v=1499790809" alt="IMF’s Lagarde: How countries in Europe are anchored by the EU" width="600" height="400" /></a></span></p>
<div class="headline">IMF&#8217;s Lagarde: How countries in Europe are anchored by the EU  <time>19 Hours Ago | 02:17</time></div>
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<p>Speaking on the sidelines of an international banking conference in Dubrovnik, Croatia, Largade argued the European project was &#8220;clearly alive, kicking, an aspiration and an inspiration&#8221; for many countries in the EU.</p>
<p>&#8220;At the same time, some of these non-EU members aspiring to join (are) wanting to accelerate the process. I think that is a very strong sort of double positive message,&#8221; Lagarde told CNBC.</p>
<p><a class="inline_asset" title="http://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/16/imfs-lagarde-warns-the-uk-against-crash-brexit.html?view=story&amp;%24DEVICE%24=native-android-tablet" href="http://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/16/imfs-lagarde-warns-the-uk-against-crash-brexit.html?view=story&amp;%24DEVICE%24=native-android-tablet">Last month</a>, Lagarde suggested it would be best for the U.K. economy to prioritize a predictable exit from the EU rather than a &#8220;crash situation&#8221;.</p>
<p>In April, the Fund warned that the unpredictability surrounding Brexit posed a risk to global financial stability. It forecast at the time, the U.K. economy would expand 2 percent in 2017, before gross domestic product (<a title="http://www.cnbc.com/gdp/" rel="1">GDP</a>) declines to 1.5 percent in 2018.</p>
<p>However, the institution is unable to calculate precisely how the British economy will suffer from Brexit because it has still to define its future arrangements with the EU.</p>
<ul>
<li>Article by <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/sam-meredith/" rel="author">Sam Meredith</a> | <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/karen-tso/" rel="author">Karen Tso</a></li>
</ul>
<p><em>— CNBC&#8217;s Silvia Amaro and Karen Gilchrist contributed to this report.</em></p>
</div>
</div>


IMF’s Lagarde reveals the unintended consequences of Brexit

<p data-reactid="38">Nigeria must not borrow more to fund its budget and should instead raise money it needs by other means, the country&#8217;s finance minister said on Tuesday, calling into question planned foreign loans of $2 billion from lenders like the World Bank.</p>
<p data-reactid="39">Africa&#8217;s largest economy is in its first recession in 25 years, and had planned to borrow extensively from overseas to fund a record budget aimed at helping the country spend its way out of its economic doldrums.</p>
<p data-reactid="40">But plans for lenders like the World Bank and African Development Bank to loan at least $2 billion to Nigeria have been stalled for over a year as international organisations&#8217; frustrations mounted at the country&#8217;s refusal to impose key fiscal reforms such as allowing its foreign exchange rate to float freely.</p>
<p data-reactid="41">Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun&#8217;s comments, made while speaking at a business forum in the capital of Abuja, suggest that Nigeria will no longer seek such loans, or an additional $1.5 billion it had planned to raise from international debt markets.</p>
<p data-reactid="42">&#8220;We cannot borrow anymore, we just have to generate funds domestically enough to fund our budget. Mobilize revenue to fund the necessary budget increase,&#8221; she said.</p>
<p data-reactid="43">In May, the head of Nigeria&#8217;s budget office said the country has a shortfall of $7.5 billion for its 2017 budget expenditure, and said that would be addressed with $3.5 billion from the aforementioned loans and debt.</p>
<p data-reactid="44">The government also planned to raise $4 billion from the local debt market, he said at the time.</p>
<p data-reactid="45">Nigeria&#8217;s presidency signed off on its record 7.44 trillion naira ($24.39 billion) budget for 2017 in June, after numerous delays.</p>
<p data-reactid="47">The plan projects a deficit of 2.21 trillion naira, implying a deficit equivalent to 2.18 percent of Nigerian gross domestic product.</p>
<p>($1 = 305.0000 naira)</p>
<div class="Attribution_attribution_o4ojT" data-reactid="48">
<p class="Attribution_content_27_rw" data-reactid="49">Reporting by Felix Onuah; Writing by Paul Carsten; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Pritha Sarkar</p>
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Nigeria “cannot borrow anymore”, says finance minister

<p data-reactid="38">South Africa state-run power utility Eskom said on Tuesday external auditors had raised &#8220;two reportable irregularities&#8221; with their regulatory body related to an obscure company and the reinstatement of former CEO Brian Molefe, who has since left.</p>
<p data-reactid="39">Eskom, which earlier postponed its annual results presentation scheduled for Tuesday, said in a statement it &#8220;had 30 days to take appropriate steps to mitigate the risks identified.&#8221;</p>
<p data-reactid="40">Company spokesman Khulu Phasiwe said one of the irregularities related to another former acting chief executive, Matshela Koko, who allegedly violated procurement rules by giving contracts to a firm where his stepdaughter was a director.</p>
<p data-reactid="41">&#8220;The Board has finished its investigation and the matter is now with the Minister of Public Enterprises Lynne Brown, who is applying her mind to the matter,&#8221; he said.</p>
<p data-reactid="42">Eskom, which provides virtually all of the power for Africa&#8217;s most industrialised economy, has lurched from crisis to crisis as it tries to build new power stations.</p>
<p data-reactid="43">In late June the company appointed Johnny Dladla as acting chief executive, a stopgap measure after a leadership vacuum at the company worsened when the chairman abruptly resigned.</p>
<p data-reactid="44">Dladla replaced Molefe, who was briefly reinstated and then removed in May by a team of government ministers amid growing concerns about governance at Eskom.</p>
<p data-reactid="45">Eskom has also come under scrutiny in the media after leaked documents put it at the centre of allegations of improper dealings in government contracts by the Guptas, business friends of President Jacob Zuma. Both Zuma and the Guptas have denied any wrongdoing.</p>
<div class="Attribution_attribution_o4ojT" data-reactid="46">
<p class="Attribution_content_27_rw" data-reactid="47">Reporting by Ed Stoddard; Editing by James Macharia and David Evans</p>
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Eskom results delayed, auditors flag “irregularities”

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<div class="embed-container image"><a href="http://www.cnbc.com/north-korea/">North Korea</a>&#8216;s refusal to drop its nuclear weapons program may have a lot to do with the fate that met another would-be nuclear power&#8217;s dictator just a few years ago.</div>
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<p>Pyongyang&#8217;s ongoing development of nuclear weaponry — including the successful launch last week of a missile that could potentially reach the United States — has set off alarm bells across the international community. But the insistence of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un to keep building an arsenal could come from a lesson he learned from another one-time opponent of the West: Libya&#8217;s Moammar Gadhafi.</p>
<p>Gadhafi conceded to Western demands that he give up his quest for nukes in 2003, only to be toppled by <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/42836064">NATO and his Libyan opponents during a brief civil war in 2011.</a></p>
<div id="inline_movable_ad">Nobody likes Kim having nukes. He&#8217;s an erratic leader whose weapons programs defy UN sanctions, and North Korea has repeatedly broken promises to stop developing them. Worst of all, Kim likes to threaten to attack other countries, including <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/japan/">Japan</a>, <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/south-korea/">South Korea</a>, the <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/united-states/">United States</a>and <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/australia/">Australia</a>.</div>
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<p>But <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/kim-jong-un/">Kim</a> likely sees the weapons as an insurance policy that keeps him in power. There are uncanny similarities between his regime and Gadhafi&#8217;s: The Libyan dictator had seized control of the state after leading a military coup in 1969. Like Kim, Gaddafi ran a socialist dictatorship built on a cult of personality. Under Gadhafi, <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/libya/">Libya</a> earned a reputation as a rogue nation. It consistently breached international norms, committing human rights abuses, funding terrorist groups, and proliferating weapons of mass destruction.</p>
<p>Yet, in a surprise move in 2003, Gadhafi agreed to give up his weapons program and welcome international inspectors. In exchange, the <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/united-states/">U.S.</a>and its allies promised better relations with Libya and lifted long-standing economic sanctions.</p>
<p>Eight years later, NATO led a military intervention to support rebels trying to overthrow Gadhafi&#8217;s regime. NATO said it was responding to a United Nations call to end crimes against humanity in the country.</p>
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<blockquote class="embed-container pull-quote"><p><span class="quote">&#8220;North Korea (is) firmly in the belief that they need to have credible nuclear deterrent, and they believe that as a sovereign country they have the right to do so.&#8221;</span><span class="author">-Dr. Guo Yu, analyst, Verisk Maplecroft</span></p></blockquote>
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<p>Gadhafi was beaten and killed after he was chased down by rebel soldiers on October 20, 2011. His convoy had been <a class="inline_asset" title="http://www.nbcnews.com/id/44971257/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/t/libyas-moammar-gadhafi-killed-hometown-battle/#.WWMJLoSGOUk" href="http://www.nbcnews.com/id/44971257/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/t/libyas-moammar-gadhafi-killed-hometown-battle/#.WWMJLoSGOUk">bombed and scattered by U.S. and French airstrikes</a> only moments earlier. Gadhafi holds the unfortunate (for him) distinction of being the only Middle Eastern national leader who was killed during the Arab Spring.</p>
<p>U.S. President <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/barack-obama/">Barack Obama</a> has called his failure to plan for the consequences of Gadhafi&#8217;s downfall the worst mistake of his presidency. But he has said he still believes military intervention was the &#8220;right thing to do&#8221;.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s highly likely that Kim keeps Gadhafi&#8217;s unfortunate end in mind, and it deters him and his North Korean leaders from surrendering their own nuclear weapons, according to experts.</p>
<p>&#8220;We see in Libya and <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/iraq/">Iraq</a> countries who gave up their WMD programs, and foreign power campaigns that led to a regime change,&#8221; said Dr. Guo Yu, principal Asia analyst at global risk consultancy Verisk Maplecroft. &#8220;To safeguard against that, North Korea (is) firmly in the belief that they need to have credible nuclear deterrent, and they believe that as a sovereign country they have the right to do so.&#8221;</p>
<p>Kim is also &#8220;watching what&#8217;s been happening in the <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/middle-east/">Middle East</a>, and the external military interventions — mostly led by the U.S. — which are interested in regime change and just reinforce the mindset for pursuing independent credible nuclear deterrence,&#8221; Yu said.</p>
<p>During a visit to Libya&#8217;s former colonial ruler <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/italy/">Italy</a> in 2009, Gaddafi remarked: &#8220;We had hoped Libya would be an example to other countries … But we have not been rewarded by the world.&#8221;</p>
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Moammar Gadhafi may explain Kim Jong Un’s nuclear ambitions

<p>Headlines surrounding the G20 Summit held in Hamburg, Germany, last week have been nothing short of gloom, with some protesters waving signs directed at world leaders who gathered for the summit, reading “<a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2017/07/06/welcome-to-hell-protesters-clash-with-police-g20-summit-hamburg.html">Welcome to Hell</a>”. It is reported that on the eve of the summit, water cannons had been deployed and directed at protesters attempting to disrupt the gathering of world leaders.</p>
<p>People are clearly very angry at the status quo. This was not the first time an expression of dissatisfaction by civil society was manifested at a high-level gathering of this nature. Recall the 1999 WTO Protests in Seattle, USA – when people gathered to protest during the WTO Ministerial Conference. The 1999 protests were anti-capitalism. Union workers, labour rights groups, and other civil society organizations took the streets to express their <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/01/the-dark-side-of-globalization-why-seattles-1999-protesters-were-right/282831/">frustration</a> with ‘globalization’ as they saw it.</p>
<h4>Almost 20 years later, the cry is still the same</h4>
<p>Last week, and almost 20 years later, the cry is still the same, with wide protests during the Group of 20 Summit held in another developed, high-income country, Germany. Protesters do not see the point of the G20 and the summit. In a <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/g20-summit-2017-protests-prompt-police-reinforcements/">news report</a>, one of the protest organizers is quoted as attributing economic inequality, issues surrounding climate change and the migration crisis on the G20 and its world leaders.</p>
<p>At a recent <a href="http://www.t20germany.org/">Think20</a> summit, on May 29, 2017 – May 30, 2017, held for the purpose of providing G20 leaders with policy recommendations for Global Solutions, various professionals &#8211; businesspeople, researchers, academics, media representatives, think tanks from around the world &#8211; gathered to engage in dialogue and debate surrounding ways towards economic growth, social cohesion, peace and security and ways to protect the environment.</p>
<p>Policy recommendations were researched, drafted and ultimately culminated into 20 policy proposals that were <a href="http://www.t20germany.org/2017/06/15/20-solutions-g20/">presented</a> to the German Chancellery Minister. The presentation of the policy briefs called on the G20 to take strides towards the implementation of the recommendations.</p>
<h4>Where to these recommendations leave Africa?</h4>
<p>Where is Africa in all of this? There is <em>only</em> one African nation in the G20, South Africa. There is a paradox to be drawn from this with respect to engaging Africa significantly on issues of global importance at such gatherings. This point, of “talking <em>about </em>Africa <em>without </em>Africa” and “a stronger voice for Africa at the G20 [and in other global settings]” was highlighted by one of the panelists during a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7Pq6WQuVTQ">discussion</a> at the Think20 Summit. The current frustration</p>
<p>The current frustration, as manifested in Hamburg, is frustration against the status quo, frustration against a club of world leaders in an exclusive group driving the agenda for everyone else. Their inability to drive the agenda or to contribute significantly to the agend has frutrated African countries, who see themselves as being driven by the agenda. Even though Africa’s position is not significantly on the minds of those thousands of protesters in Hamburg, it is clearly part of the bigger problem with the formation of the existing structures and models.</p>
<h4>Governance as we know it is being questioned</h4>
<p>The protests surrounding the G20 summit are yet another reminder (after the 2016 US elections, the Brexit vote, the near misses in the Dutch and French elections) that governance as we know it is being questioned.</p>
<p>The tough questions and civic resistance is a wakeup call that it is no longer business as usual. Grassroots organizations also want a seat at the table; as do indigent communities and smaller economies, particularly those in Africa. It cannot be about ‘club governance’. If seats are not provided for <em>all </em>stakeholders, there are those prepared to bring folding chairs to disrupt the formal gatherings – as it was clearly being seen in Hamburg.</p>
<p>The G20 (and particularly the summit) was birthed from an attempt to learn lessons from and address the consequences of the 2008 financial crisis. As an informal political forum it has made significant steps towards being more inclusive and not simply a club for the biggest economies. It has engaged various groups: businesses, youth, think tanks, and others; however, it still is an exclusive group trying to be inclusive. Integration and cohesion is a global goal at this point, the stakes for further disintegration (socially and internationally) are all too high at this point.</p>
<p>Integration and Cohesion is a global goal at this point, the stakes for further disintegration (socially and internationally) are all too high at this point.</p>
<p>Author: <em>Mary-Jean Nleya, Founder &amp; Editor of <a href="http://www.theglobalcommunique.com/">The Global Communiqué</a>. Mary-Jean was selected as a G20 Young Global Changer to attend the <a href="http://www.t20germany.org/">Think20</a> Summit in Berlin, Germany in May 2017. </em></p>


Op-Ed: The G20 Summit – global goal of integration

<p>HARARE (Reuters) &#8211; Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe is in Singapore for medical treatment, in his third such visit this year, a newspaper reported on Sunday.</p>
<p><strong>Read: </strong><a href="http://cnbc.africa/zdnl-mc/2017/07/04/angolan-leader-back-spain-month-medical-trip/">Angolan leader back in Spain a month after medical trip &#8211; CNBC Africa</a><br />
<a href="http://cnbc.africa/news/2017/05/29/nigerias-president-absent-deputy-warns-economy-biggest-challenge/">With Nigeria’s president absent, deputy warns economy is “biggest challenge”</a></p>
<p>Africa&#8217;s oldest ruler at 93, Mugabe was last in Singapore in May for what his spokesman George Charamba said then was treatment for eye problems.</p>
<p>The Standard said he had left again for Singapore on Friday for more medical treatment. Information and Broadcasting Services Minister Chris Mushohwe told the newspaper Mugabe was in Singapore but declined to confirm the reason for the visit.</p>
<p>The ruling ZANU-PF party said on Saturday it had cancelled a youth rally scheduled for July 14 due to be attended by the president because he would be out of the country.</p>
<p>Charamba and Mushohwe did not respond to calls and messages to their phones for comment.</p>
<p>Despite growing concerns about his health, Mugabe has taken more than ten trips abroad this year and wants to seek another five-year term in office in 2018.</p>
<p>He has ruled the southern African nation since independence from Britain in 1980.</p>
<p>The government has denied he falls asleep in meetings, saying in response to television footage appearing to show him doing so that he is resting his eyes.</p>
<p>Mugabe has racked up more than 200,000 air miles since the start of 2016. He spent $53 million on foreign trips last year, more than double the initial budget of $23 million, according to government data.</p>
<p>(Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe; editing by John Stonestreet)</p>
<p>© Thomson Reuters 2017 All rights reserved</p>


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