On 11 March, at least 82 people died after a mountain of rubbish collapsed in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. Is rubbish a ticking time-bomb in the county?
One&#8217;s trash is indeed another person’s treasure. That has been the story of Koshe, a 54-year-old area, known as the dumping ground of the capital. Home to too many people and a destination for dwellers that frequent the area scavenging for food and goods to sell on the open black market, it became known by its nickname, literally meaning &#8220;trash&#8221; in Amharic. The British academic, Caroline Knowles, described it as the “redistribution center which indexes the differences between people’s life journeys, refracted through material cultures at their point of disposal.”
Then, the tragic landslide episode from a week ago managed to change its narrative forever. It has also become a dumping ground of the dead, as more bodies are recovered and the death toll rose into the hundreds. No longer just home of trash to an outsider, it is now a classic example of human-made disaster.
As more than a hundred people perished and are being laid to rest and the blame game is certain to begin, broken lives, the broken dreams have become the black eye of the tight-knit community. It has all the marking of a modern community in transition in an Ethiopian society that is considered as one of the fastest growing economies in the world and where the poor has been pushed to the brink to accommodate the urbanization of a once struggling and doomed nation.
There is a mixture of extreme poverty and middle-class wealth, the working class and the elitist, the mini mansions and the shantytown, the old and the young. Heartbreaking yet still standing, poor but striving, home to the dying but the living – Welcome to Koshe.
Its fabric is still rich, with kind people, modern homes, dotted buildings, some finished and most partially completed aging buildings, busy bars, donkeys and modern automobiles competing for space, far from the international boutique hotels of the capital, yet only 30 minutes away.
The public roads, with crumbling pavements, are full of people selling second-hand clothes, anything and everything and struggling to survive. There are two room bars, calling themselves &#8220;hotels&#8221; and one roomer as &#8220;clinics&#8221;. It looks like this is a community in need of direction and compassion.
Even from a distance, the odour of the dump is overwhelming.
But this home for many people and was home to the more than hundred that have perished. In the shadow of a national declaration of mourning, what is left of the community are mourners dressed in all black or the beautiful Ethiopian scarves worn upside down, to demonstrate the sadness, the loss of the moment.
In a rush to find survivors and connect lost families, it seemed all is lost. Perhaps, this is the Tsunami of Addis Ababa. The local hospital, Alert, has accommodated many, Abune Aregawi church, which is located next door, has provided a refuge to mourners and became a resting place for many victims in an unmarked grave. “There are too many mourners to say each person’s names”, an official told mourners. “But all will be missed”.
But, they have a name, a story, and a family. They were loved, respected and valued. In reflection of all the mourners, there were too many, and enough to celebrate and remember the lives well lived. Dented in poverty, weak to cry and scream, but nevertheless crying and fainting in sorrow, is how I saw the community in mourning.
There was a sermon reminding the mourners to cry and hurt less and told them the victims were now in heaven, out of their misery. Dozens of people have been buried on each day this week. The utter sadness, the rush to bury and accommodate more dead bodies was the scene of a busy mill factory scene rather than real life. But that is the life of this community these days.
There was no CNN, no New York Times or BBC to report. They have all decided to share the same article from the Associated Press from a distance. There is no Angelina Jolie, nor George Clooney to catch their attention. This episode will soon be forgotten; no pity will bring back the dead, construct broken lives.
Before Saturday’s disaster, the landfill was home to more than 300 people, some of whom lived in makeshift cardboard and plastic shelters near its edges.
Hundreds more climb the mounds of trash each day, looking for items they can use or sell as vultures circle overhead. There is always more trash to inspect, as the city adds about 300,000 tons of waste to the dump each year.
The death toll has risen to more than a hundred and ten and rescuers are still discovering more.
But who is counting? Even the rescuers seemed overwhelmed, untrained and not equipped to answer the demands of the task that is before them. No trained dogs to locate bodies, little equipment to support the effort, no scant media attention from the world. Even at the transition ceremony of the leadership of the African Union, there was absolutely no mention of this tragedy.
Boris Johnson, the flamboyant and controversial British Foreign Minister visited Ethiopia this week, but decided to do a photo-op with Olympian Haile Gebreselassie, rather make his visit worthwhile by visiting the location and paying a tribute to the dead on behalf of the British people.
The garbage is a mountain and it will take a while to navigate it fully and completely. There was a pause to store more garbage here last year as the dump became dangerously high. In 2016, authorities decided to close the site and relocate dumping to a new landfill site at Sendafa, Finfine Special Zone, Oromia Regional State but opposition by local farmers caused the rubbish collectors to move back. Consequently, Koshe started accumulating more garbage months ago. The poor still gather to sleep next to this dump still and collect anything worthwhile to own and sell.
How do other nations handle their garbage?
Famine, war, extreme poverty are not new to Ethiopia, another tragedy of the nation is a footnote, a page in its progress forward. An official told CNN how, &#8220;This is the result of the search because this is a vast area. It is also deep. The amount (that) collapsed, it is deep, it takes time”. But time is the essence to these people. Crippled and lost lives, missing bodies and nowhere to go are everywhere here.
Indeed, broken lives, broken dreams.
&#8220;Instead of suffering the stench of the waste disposal site sitting at our home, we can sit with added electricity in the grid, that gives us light at night,&#8221; Tewoldeberhan Gebregziabher (PhD), director general of Ethiopia&#8217;s Environmental Protection Authority promised in 2013, with the help of the United Kingdom.
According to Cambridge Industries, the Koshe waste to energy facility will be the first of its kind in Africa and process around 350,000 tons of waste annually. Once the facility is operational, which is located alongside the 50-year-old dumpsite, it was expected to power as many as 30 percent of the Ethiopian capital’s households.
What happened to that promise?
Back at Koshe, the memorial service was overwhelming. People cried, fainted and prayed. The pictures of the dead, the child who is missing and the old was burying the young and it looked like a war zone. Parents, teachers, children have all perished. So overwhelming and the community looked like a ghost town for a moment. But it is not.
How did she survive? She was at work, laboring to bring her 1,000 birr salary to fruition. She cried a mountain of tears, but she can never afford to mourn for long. She has no home, no family, and little future.
“I buried my parents, my uncle and my siblings&#8221;, one woman told me. &#8220;I have no one, I have no home&#8221;.

Op-Ed:  Ethiopia’s rubbish dumps – a ticking time-bomb?

<a href="http://www.cnbc.com/karen-gilchrist/" rel="author">Karen Gilchrist</a> | <a href="http://twitter.com/_karengilchrist">@_karengilchrist</a>
Forget buying that new car, opt for a scarf and gloves and head to Norway if you want to achieve true happiness, a new report suggests.
Renowned for its good public services, political stability and enviable gene pool, Norway can now also claim pole position as the happiest country on earth, having risen in the ranks to surpass Denmark and claim first place in this year&#8217;s World Happiness Report.
The study, which measures social factors alongside economic data, points to the limitations of financial factors in achieving happiness. Therefore, Norway vaulted ahead despite its economy being hit by the plummeting oil price, meanwhile happiness in the U.S. continues to wain despite incomes increasing.
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&#8220;This report gives evidence that happiness is a result of creating strong social foundations. It&#8217;s time to build social trust and healthy lives, not guns or walls. Let&#8217;s hold our leaders to this fact,&#8221; said Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, which produced the report in association with the United Nations.
Norway sped ahead from fourth place last year to steal the top spot in the annual rankings, which combine economic, health and polling data on approximately 3,000 respondents in each of more than 150 countries. It is joined in the top five by fellow Nordic states Denmark, Iceland, Finland and central Europe&#8217;s Switzerland, which averaged a comparable happiness level of 7.5 out of 10.
The Netherlands, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Sweden were also placed in the top 10.
The U.S.&#8217;s happiness has slipped over the past year, however, the report suggests. Despite rising wages, overall happiness has fallen from 13th position globally to 14th, pointing to a need for a more comprehensive approach from government, the report suggests.
&#8220;The predominant political discourse in the United States is aimed at raising economic growth, with the goal of restoring the &#8216;American dream&#8217; and the happiness that is supposed to accompany it. But the data show conclusively that this is the wrong approach,&#8221; said Sachs, in a section of the report entitled &#8220;Restoring American Happiness&#8221;.
Income per person has increased roughly three times since 1960, but measured happiness has not risen – indeed, it has dipped over the past decade from 7.5 out of 10, to 6.8 out of 10.
&#8220;The United States can and should raise happiness by addressing America&#8217;s multi-faceted social crisis— rising inequality, corruption, isolation, and distrust—rather than focusing exclusively or even mainly on economic growth, especially since the concrete proposals along these lines would exacerbate rather than ameliorate the deepening social crisis.&#8221;
The comments follow a recent speech by Helen Clark, head of the UN Development Program (UNDP), in which she spoke out against the &#8220;tyranny of GDP (gross domestic product)&#8221;, arguing that quality of growth is more important.
The U.S. ranked just ahead of Ireland, which took 15th place, and was followed by Germany in 16th, the U.K. in 19th and France in 31st.
However, economic factors remain a certain contributor to achieving social cohesion and overall happiness, the report finds. The ten bottom spots were taken by some of the world&#8217;s poorest countries, with happiness levels averaging approximately 3 out of ten.
These included Yemen, South Sudan, Liberia, Guinea, Togo, Rwanda, Syria, Tanzania, Burundi and Central African Republic.

Here’s why Norway is ranked the world’s happiest country

Jeff Jones, the president of Uber, is quitting the car-hailing company after less than a year. The move by the No. 2 exec, said sources, is directly related to the multiple controversies there, including explosive charges of sexism and sexual harassment.
Uber confirmed the departure and will be sending a statement.
Jones also confirmed the departure with a blistering assessment of the company. &#8220;It is now clear, however, that the beliefs and approach to leadership that have guided my career are inconsistent with what I saw and experienced at Uber, and I can no longer continue as president of the ride sharing business,&#8221; he said in a statement to Recode.
Jones, said sources, determined that this was not the situation he signed on for, especially after Uber CEO Travis Kalanick announced a search for a new COO to help him right the very troubled ship.
That was not the reason for Jones&#8217; departure, sources said, even though it meant that Kalanick was bringing in a new exec who could outrank him. Instead, these sources said, Jones determined that the situation at the company was more problematic than he realized.
Jones was certainly touted by Kalanick as a big hire when he arrived at Uber last fall from Target, where he was its well-regarded CMO. His job, among others, was to remake the company&#8217;s tainted image. He also was president of its main ride-sharing business.
Kalanick and Jones met just a year ago at the TED conference in Vancouver and there was much excitement that the company was attracting top-level corporate execs.
Jones replaced board member Ryan Graves, who started at the company as CEO but relinquished that role to Travis Kalanick in 2010, as president. Graves now heads up the company&#8217;s delivery business, UberEverything. The transition was pitched as a necessary move as the ride-hail company continued to scale.
&#8220;Over the last six months, Ryan and I have become increasingly convinced that our rapidly growing marketing efforts needed to be far more integrated with our city operations,&#8221; Kalanick <a class="inline_asset" href="https://newsroom.uber.com/jeff-jones/" target="_self">wrote</a> in a post announcing Jones&#8217; hire.
Jones spent much of the beginning of his tenure as the president of ride-sharing driving for Uber and meeting with drivers, after which he sent drivers an email about what he learned and what the company intends to do.
&#8220;It&#8217;s clear that there&#8217;s much we can be doing better. Listening is where we get our best ideas, because they come from you, the people using Uber every day &#8221; he wrote.
But in February, Jones&#8217; second public attempt to reach drivers went awry when drivers began flooding Jones&#8217; Facebook page with angry comments and complaints during a question and answer session.
Jones&#8217; decision to leave Uber likely won&#8217;t surprise people who worked with him at Target. &#8220;Jeff does not like conflict,&#8221; a source previously told Recode.
The situation at the company has deteriorated since then, obviously, after a blog post by a former female engineer chronicled a deeply dysfunctional management led by Kalanick that favored what board member Arianna Huffington called &#8220;brilliant jerks.&#8221;
Jerks indeed, as what has happened since then has made clear. Since the post, the company has fired its engineering head after revelations of a serious sexual harassment investigation at his previous employer, saw its head of product leave after questionable sexual behavior was uncovered at a company event and has initiated an investigation into the entire situation with a former Attorney General of the United States at the lead.
In addition, the now persistently apologetic Kalanick announced the search for a COO to help him do a better job.
—By Kara Swisher and Johana Bhuiyan, <a class="inline_asset" href="http://recode.net/" target="_self" data-nodeid="101305756">Recode.net</a>.
CNBC&#8217;s parent NBCUniversal is an investor in Recode&#8217;s parent Vox, and the companies have a content-sharing arrangement.

Uber president Jeff Jones is quitting as management turmoil at the ride-hailing company deepens

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<a href="http://www.cnbc.com/geoff-cutmore/" rel="author">Geoff Cutmore</a><a class="inline_quotes" href="http://data.cnbc.com/quotes/FB" target="_self" data-gdsid="139619" data-inline-quote-symbol="FB"> | </a><a href="http://www.cnbc.com/saheli-roy-choudhury/" rel="author">Saheli Roy Choudhury</a>
<a class="inline_quotes" href="http://data.cnbc.com/quotes/FB" target="_self" data-gdsid="139619" data-inline-quote-symbol="FB">Facebook</a> and <a class="inline_quotes" href="http://data.cnbc.com/quotes/GOOGL" target="_self" data-gdsid="19004" data-inline-quote-symbol="GOOGL">Google</a>&#8216;s runaway success in capturing large stakes in the digital advertising market comes with responsibilities and they need to do more when curating how advertisements are placed on their platforms, according to <a class="inline_quotes" href="http://data.cnbc.com/quotes/WPP-GB" target="_self" data-gdsid="36873" data-inline-quote-symbol="WPP-GB">WPP Group</a> CEO Martin Sorrell.
Sorrell, whose company owns ad agencies such as the Grey Group and Ogilvy &amp; Mather, was speaking to CNBC at the sidelines of the China Development Forum, where he said the two tech giants have to exert more control over ad placements on behalf of brands, and take more responsibility for it.
&#8220;They&#8217;ve always maintained they were sort of digital engineers standing there with their digital spanners, trying to tighten the nuts on their digital pipes and not being responsible for the content that was going through the pipes,&#8221; said Sorrell.
A key criticism leveled against both Facebook and Google is that the companies are not doing enough to arrest fake news on their platforms.
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&#8220;They can&#8217;t just say look we&#8217;re a technology company, we have nothing to do with the content that is appearing on our digital pages,&#8221; Sorrell said. He added that, as far as placing advertisements was concerned, they have to be held to the same standards as traditional media organizations.
Another concern is that sometimes advertisements are automatically placed alongside objectionable and inappropriate content within those platforms that brands do not have control over.
&#8220;The big issue for Google and Facebook is whether they are going to have human editing at this point &#8230; of course they have the profitability. They have the margins to enable them to do it. And this is going to be the big issue — how far are they prepared to go?&#8221; Sorrell said, adding they needed to go &#8220;significantly far&#8221; to arrest these concerns.
A failure to address such issues could see Facebook and Google potentially take hits on ad revenue if brands stop advertising on their platforms. For example, French advertising firm <a class="inline_quotes" href="http://data.cnbc.com/quotes/HAV-FR" target="_self" data-gdsid="16865" data-inline-quote-symbol="HAV-FR">Havas</a> recently pulled all its ad spend from Google and its video platform, YouTube.
The Guardian <a class="inline_asset" title="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/mar/17/google-pledges-more-control-for-brands-over-ad-placement" href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/mar/17/google-pledges-more-control-for-brands-over-ad-placement" target="_self">reported</a> that Havas took the step after talks with Google broke down because the tech giant couldn&#8217;t provide specific reassurances, policy and guarantees over the filtering and classification of video or display content.
Havas&#8217; decision came after the UK government joined organizations including the Guardian, BBC and Transport for London in pulling advertising from Google and YouTube, the Guardian report said.
Sorrell said blanket withdrawals from advertisers across these digital platforms will not solve the problem. Instead, he urged for greater cooperation with the tech giants.
&#8220;I think the most constructive way of doing it is getting Google and Facebook to understand the problem, which I think they do, and to get them to step up to control it just like any other media right now would in a traditional sense,&#8221; he said.

Facebook, Google need to ‘step up’ control of their platforms, says WPP’s Martin Sorrell

It&#8217;s often said that good things come to those who wait — but a bloated $4.5 trillion balance sheet might be a notable exception to that rule.
With the <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/43752521" target="_self">Federal Reserve</a> facing a Herculean conundrum in unwinding its crisis-era monetary policy — and a <a class="inline_asset" title="http://www.cnbc.com/2017/02/13/yellen-outlook-irrelevant-because-trump-will-reshape-fed-mark-grant.html" href="http://www.cnbc.com/2017/02/13/yellen-outlook-irrelevant-because-trump-will-reshape-fed-mark-grant.html" target="_self">likely leadership transition on the horizon</a> — <a class="inline_quotes" href="http://data.cnbc.com/quotes/GS" target="_self" data-gdsid="19203" data-inline-quote-symbol="GS">Goldman Sachs</a> suggested on Saturday the central bank could move early to reduce the vast sums of government and <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/44178108" target="_self">mortgage-backed securities</a> (MBS) it holds on its books.
In a research note to clients, the bank pointed to the likelihood that <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/donald-trump/" target="_self">President Donald Trump</a>may &#8220;reshape the leadership&#8221; of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the Fed&#8217;s powerful policy-making body, as the terms of Fed Chair <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/janet-yellen/" target="_self">Janet Yellen</a> and Vice Chair Stanley Fischer expire in early 2018.
&#8220;This could be important for balance sheet policy because many Republican-leaning economists have criticized quantitative easing (QE) and have expressed a preference for rapid balance sheet rundown, perhaps even through asset sales,&#8221; wrote Daan Struyven, a Goldman economist.
If the new appointments—especially the new chair—are thought to favor aggressive balance sheet normalization, perhaps even including asset sales, and if all decisions are left up to the incoming team, financial markets might experience heightened uncertainty during the transition.&#8221;
Goldman suggested there was a &#8220;strong &#8216;risk management&#8217; case for an announcement of very gradual balance sheet runoff later this year,&#8221; because of the political risk associated with new leadership at the Fed.
&#8220;Our forecast is that the discussion around reinvestment continues for most of this year and the plan is formally announced in December 2017,&#8221; Struyven said. &#8220;At that meeting, we expect the committee to hold the funds rate steady after hiking in both June and September. We expect the quarterly hikes to resume in March 2018.&#8221;
The economist harked back to 2013&#8217;s &#8220;taper tantrum,&#8221; in which markets reacted the Fed&#8217;s suggestions of tighter monetary policy by sending bond yields surging and stocks reeling — albeit temporarily.
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A potential fire sale of Treasurys and mortgage-backed securities by the Fed &#8220;could have significantly more adverse effects on financial conditions than gradual runoff, and the mere risk of such an outcome might set up another &#8216;taper tantrum,&#8217; &#8221; Struyven added.
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<h4 class="subtitle">&#8216;The uncertainty is substantial&#8217;</h4>
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As the central bank begins a campaign to tighten benchmark interest rates — making a quarter-point hike just last week — it&#8217;s renewed a debate over how to unwind the Fed&#8217;s massive bond buying program.
Some market observers have long argued that the Fed has distorted financial conditions with QE, and the central bank faces a huge task trying to pare down its bloated balance sheet.
&#8220;The bigger the Fed&#8217;s credit footprint, the more it interferes with the efficient employment and pricing of credit,&#8221; wrote George Selgin, a senior fellow and director of the Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives at the libertarian-leaning Cato Institute, in a <a class="inline_asset" title="https://www.cato.org/blog/shrinking-feds-balance-sheet" href="https://www.cato.org/blog/shrinking-feds-balance-sheet" target="_self">blog post last month</a>.
&#8220;By directing a large share of savings to purchases of longer-term MBS and Treasury securities, for example, the Fed has artificially raised both the prices of those securities, and the importance of the housing market and the federal government relative to the rest of the U.S. economy,&#8221; Selgin wrote. &#8220;It has also dramatically increased its portfolio&#8217;s duration gap and, by so doing, the risk that it will suffer losses should it sell assets before they mature.&#8221;
On Friday, Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari, the lone dissenter against the U.S. central bank&#8217;s decision last week to raise interest rates, the U.S. economy is still falling short on employment and inflation.
Kashkari, an alumnus of both Goldman Sachs and the U.S. Treasury who oversaw the government&#8217;s Temporary Asset Relief Program (TARP) during the financial crisis, believes the Fed should wait on raising interest rates until it publishes a detailed plan for how and when it will reduce its $4.5 trillion balance sheet.
Goldman set forth two scenarios under which the Fed could begin trimming its balance sheet. Under an &#8220;early start, passive runoff&#8221; scenario, the bank said the Fed &#8220;gradually tapers reinvestment in December 2017 over 10 months but does not sell assets.&#8221;
Conversely, under a &#8220;late start, active sales&#8221; scenario, Goldman said the Fed could cease reinvesting in bonds in July 2018 &#8220;without tapering and actively sells $40bn of assets per month.&#8221;
Under the latter, the Fed could shrink its balance sheet by about $250 billion per quarter starting in the second half of next year, &#8220;with similar contributions from maturing assets and active sales,&#8221; the bank added.
However, neither scenario is without its risks, Goldman&#8217;s economist wrote: &#8220;While our baseline estimate suggests relatively little tightening from balance sheet rundown, the uncertainty is substantial. The 2013 &#8216;taper tantrum&#8217; also provides a reminder that the impact of balance sheet policy on financial conditions is uncertain and could be larger than our baseline estimate.&#8221;
&#8211;Reuters contributed to this article.
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How a possible Yellen departure could spark a fire under the Fed to cut its $4.5 trillion balance sheet

Egyptian Petroleum Minister Tarek El Molla said on Sunday his country had received two cargoes of diesel fuel from Saudi Arabian state-owned oil company Aramco on Friday and Saturday.
Molla was speaking at an energy conference in Cairo.
Saudi Arabia agreed in April last year to provide Egypt with 700,000 tonnes of refined oil products a month for five years, but the cargoes stopped arriving in early October.
Though officials from both sides have denied the existence of tensions or disagreements between the two countries, the two have been at odds on a number of political issues.
Egypt voted in favour of a Russian-backed but Saudi-opposed U.N. resolution on Syria in October, which excluded calls to stop bombing Aleppo.
In January an Egyptian court rejected a government plan to transfer two uninhabited Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia.
Egypt announced last week that the petroleum product shipments would resume.
Egypt had turned to the spot market in recent months after Aramco&#8217;s halt of shipments but also sought similar deals to make up the shortfall. Crude from Iraq was expected to arrive in late March as part of an agreement for 1 million barrels a month.
Molla said he was revising the import schedule with distributors following Aramco&#8217;s decision to resume shipments.
In the longer term, Egypt&#8217;s petroleum products imports will decrease from 35 percent of its consumption needs currently to 5-7 percent of consumption by 2020, Molla said, saving the country billions of dollars per year.
(Reporting by Abdelrahman Adel; Additional reporting by Eric Knecht; Writing by Ahmed Aboulenein; Editing by Dominic Evans)

Egypt received two cargoes of diesel fuel from Saudi Aramco

Nigeria&#8217;s monetary and fiscal authorities must cooperate on their policies to help Africa&#8217;s largest economy to develop, the central bank governor said, according to his spokesman.
Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele made the comments at a two-day retreat for members of the bank&#8217;s Monetary Policy Committee and the ministers for finance, budget and investment. The closed-door meeting, which takes place about three times a year, ended on Saturday.
OPEC member Nigeria is in its first recession in 25 years, largely brought on by low oil prices. Crude oil sales account for about two-thirds of government revenue.
The central bank has faced criticism from investors for keeping Nigeria&#8217;s currency, the naira, at a rate some 30 percent above the black market, where entrepreneurs are forced to go for foreign exchange with the dollar scarce on official channels.
&#8220;Godwin Emefiele reiterated the need for the country&#8217;s monetary and fiscal authorities to collaborate and harmonize standpoints so as to develop the economy rapidly,&#8221; central bank spokesman Olalekan Ajayi said in an emailed statement on Sunday.
The finance ministry has previously said adjustments were needed to narrow the spread between exchanges rates on the official and black market. The central bank devalued the rate for retail customers in February after Nigeria&#8217;s top economic advisor body called for an urgent review.
The bank&#8217;s Monetary Policy Committee is due to meet on Monday and Tuesday to set interest rates. Twelve out of 13 economists polled by Reuters predicted that the bank would leave its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 14 percent on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Camillus Eboh and Alexis Akwagyiram, in Lagos, editing by Larry King)

Nigerian central bank head urges cooperation on monetary & fiscal policy

South Africa&#8217;s police minister will fight a court order to remove the head of an elite police investigation unit, popularly known as the Hawks, after the court ruled his appointment unlawful, media said on Monday.
Berning Ntlemeza was appointed in 2015 to lead the powerful Directorate of Priority Crime Investigation, but two domestic non-government bodies, Freedom Under Law and the Helen Suzman Foundation, applied to the High Court to have Ntlemeza removed on the grounds that he was unfit for the office.
Sandile Ngidi, a spokesman for Police Minister Nathi Nhleko, said Nhleko was appealing against Friday&#8217;s ruling, eNCA television reported. Ntlemeza will stay on while the appeal was processed, the report added.
Reuters could not immediately reach Ngidi for comment.
The integrity of the Hawks has been called into question by domestic media and NGOs, over the unit&#8217;s role in a graft case against Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, which critics say was part of a political agenda.
Charges in that case were withdrawn last year.
(Reporting by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

South Africa police minister to appeal court order against Hawks head

What is the retirement industry doing to improve the financial outcomes of those saving for retirement? Is the retirement sector being innovative enough or simply doing what it has been doing all along, asks Graham Knight, Certified Financial Planner at Alexander Forbes Financial Planning Consultants.
Many people will hardly be able to replace their current income come retirement. In most cases, the replacement value for every R1 saved in a pension fund is about 30c. The term “replacement value” means the percentage of their final employment remuneration which a retired employee will earn from pension fund savings.
Cashing in funds before retirement is the number one reason most people can&#8217;t retire with a replacement value near their final salary.  Some retirement funds have launched in-fund solutions to seamlessly encourage employees to leave their money invested with their current employer when they change jobs as opposed to cashing in their funds.
The biggest problem that advisers encounter is fund member’s lack of understanding that contribution rates to the employer pension funds are usually based on  ‘pensionable salary’ which is often a smaller percentage than the ‘Total cost to company’ package of the employee.  This lowers the replacement value at retirement because the member has been saving a lower percentage of total remuneration than pensionable salary and the member is used to living on the full remuneration package.
The retirement industry has started making some changes like adding member education sessions to employees to explain how to save, for how long, and to further create awareness around the benefits and options available to them within the retirement fund.
Some retirement fund companies have added a replacement value calculator on their websites so employees can calculate their replacement value at retirement.
A few funds have been marketing the fact that they charge lower fees, which is beneficial to the member’s replacement ratio because high fees over a long period of time affect investment growth and erode the amount of capital in retirement. It is important to know that fees are not the only factor which should be considered when investing. There are many factors which will affect the growth of your retirement capital such as how active the investment portfolio management is, as well as the asset allocation of the portfolios and the performance of the asset classes over time, and the contribution rate. That’s why it is helpful to consult with a financial adviser during your retirement planning journey to understand whether you are on track to secure a sufficient replacement value. The more you are able to save each month the more likely you are to achieve your goals.
Retirement funds and companies have increased the percentage they allow employees to contribute, thus allowing them to save a bigger portion of their earnings.  This definitely increases their replacement value.
Employees who have had their contributions invested for their whole working life and who preserve their retirement funds when they leave and start new employment, end up with a far better replacement value than those who cash in their funds along the way.
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Innovation in the retirement sector improves financial outcomes for retirees

Eskom and AFD today signed a R 6 billion (€400 million) multi-tranche framework agreement to support Eskom investments in the extension and reinforcement of its power transmission grid.
Eskom’s Chief Financial Officer Anoj Singh said: “This multi-tranche loan facility will contribute towards Eskom plans to strengthen and refurbish the transmission infrastructure while diversifying our funding structures.”
AFD’s funding will focus on transmission lines and substations that support grid strengthening in areas where the development of future renewable energy sources are envisaged as well as to support the facilitation of cross-border transmission projects. As such, the funding will contribute to AFD’s global objective of dedicating 50% of its funding to development projects that have a climate change co-benefit.
AFD’s Chief Executive Officer, Rémy Rioux, said: “This new funding to Eskom reiterates the willingness of AFD to be a key financial partner of the South-African utility. Since the beginning of our engagement with Eskom, almost 10 years ago, we have made the choice to focus our support on targeted areas where we believe a development finance institution like AFD can provide the most value-added, i.e. renewable energy production, renewable energy related grid reinforcement and expansion, as well as technical knowledge sharing.”
This funding represents the first multi-tranche facility approved by AFD in the African continent. This new instrument recently developed by AFD opens a 3-year window during which the funding is made available to Eskom to finance projects that are compliant with eligibility criteria that have been agreed upon between AFD and Eskom, namely: be part of Eskom’s Transmission Development Plan, contribute to the evacuation of the renewable energy (existing or future) and/or facilitate the development of cross-border transmission networks.
This multi-tranche facility provides Eskom with mid-term visibility on the availability of funding for its Transmission Development Plan. It also reinforces AFD’s position as a long-term partner of the South-African power utility &#8211; since its first €100 million financing approved in 2007 for the Sere wind farm, and the recent signing a €150 million (R2.3 billion) facility to support Eskom investments in the distribution network.
The multi-tranche facility has been approved while the partnership between Eskom and Électricité de France (EDF) &#8211; that was entered into in November 2015 &#8211; is completed. The partnership grant provided by AFD and the French Ministry of Finance focused on knowledge, experience and expertise sharing between the two utilities, on various areas, including smart grids. The partnership has produced recommendations that will improve performance in terms of system efficiency and reliability. The multi-tranche facility will build on the results of this partnership to develop projects.
“We appreciate AFD’s long-standing commitment and support and are pleased that we can continue the valuable partnership with this organisation whose mission is to improve and support Africa’s energy development goals and mobilise resources for the continent’s economic and social development”, said Eskom’s Interim Group Chief Executive Matshela Koko.

S.A’s Eskom signs R6bn deal with France’s AFD

King Mohammed VI has sacked Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane.
On Wednesday, March 15, the palace issued a statement which read, in part: “His Majesty has decided to name another political figure from the Party of Justice and Development [PJD] as the new head of government. […] His Majesty will, very shortly, receive this person and will charge him or her with forming the new government.”
The statement makes reference to the political impasse that has dragged on since the general election in October: Mr Benkirane’s inability to bring together a majority coalition in Parliament with which to form a government.
His PJD had won the most votes but was well short of a majority, for which he needed to partner with the National Rally of Independents (RNI), led by tycoon and Agriculture Minister Aziz Akhannouch, as well as the two other parties that formed the ruling coalition in Mr Benkirane’s previous term: the Party for Socialist Progress (PPS) and the Popular Movement (MP).
Mr Akhannouch, however, insisted on bringing with him the Constitutional Union (UC) and the Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP), which Mr Benkirane did not want.
The royal palace’s communique is politely critical of the prime minister, “recalling that HM the king had exhorted, on several occasions, the designated head of government to accelerate the formation of the new government” and alluding to “the absence of signals that augur [the government’s] imminent formation,” but Mr Akhannouch hobbled Mr Benkirane on purpose.
It should not have been his place to coerce the leader of the biggest party in Parliament to form a coalition he did not want.
Mr Akhannouch is part of the old boys’ networks through which power is channelled in Morocco, and his party is made up of highly educated technocrats who tend not to look fondly on the Islamists of the PJD.
The whole blocking manoeuvre was calculated to get rid of Morocco’s first bearded prime minister and to cut the PJD down to size.
The new prime minister-designate (who will be a PJD member, as required by the constitution) will get the message and will agree to Mr Akhannouch’s big-tent coalition with the UC and the USFP.
While it is early to judge, this should be positive for policymaking, as there will be fewer forces outside government resisting its direction, and this will make negotiations over further reforms to the pensions system easier.
The downside risks are in the areas of social stability and possibly on security.
The Islamists will certainly interpret Mr Benkirane’s sacking the way we do: as a sign that the palace and the old guard are reasserting control at the expense of the democratically elected ruling party.
Their resentment will tend to find expression in wider perceptions of government illegitimacy, and may, in more extreme cases, contribute to young men’s decisions to join terrorist networks.

Morocco’s Prime Minister Benkirane gets the sack

South Africa&#8217;s Constitutional Court ordered the government on Friday to pay social grants on April 1 via its current service provider, seeking to end a fiasco that had threatened the payment of benefits to 17 million people.
The court also said the grant-paying company had to do so under the terms of its existing contract for 12 months before a new deal could be adopted.
The mess stems from the social welfare department failing to take responsibility for social service payments or find a new provider after the Constitutional Court ruled several years ago that the contract was unsound. (Reporting by Tanisha Heiberg; Writing by James Macharia; Editing by Ed Cropley)
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South Africa’s top court orders social grants payment on April 1

A South African High Court has said the appointment of Berning Ntlemeza as head of an elite police investigation unit is unlawful and must be revoked, local media reported on Friday.
Two local non-governmental organisations, Freedom Under Law and the Helen Suzman Foundation, had applied to the court to have Ntlemeza removed as head of the Directorate of Priority Crime Investigation, known as the Hawks. (Reporting by Ed Stoddard; Editing by Gareth Jones)
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South Africa court orders removal of elite police unit chief

The Kenyan unit of U.S. ride-hailing firm Uber Technologies Inc has increased its fare by 20 percent, a move that follows protests and strikes by Uber drivers who said a lower fare made their service uneconomical.
Uber, which operates in several African countries, cut its fare in Kenya to 35 shillings ($0.3400) per kilometre last year, after local rival Little &#8211; backed by Kenyan telecoms operator Safaricom Ltd &#8211; introduced a service with a lower price.
Uber drivers have staged regular strikes and protests in Nairobi in recent weeks over the low fare, local media reported.
Lawmakers and ministry of transport officials also supported a higher price.
The company has now raised its fare to 42 shillings per km.
&#8220;We believe driver-partners will earn more as a result of these changes,&#8221; Uber Kenya said in a statement on Thursday.
As in other markets, Uber drivers in Kenya initially faced opposition and sometimes hostility from other taxi drivers. In March last year, six men were charged with attempted murder and malicious damage to property over an attack on an Uber driver.
($1 = 102.9500 Kenyan shillings)
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Uber Kenya hikes fare by 20 percent after strikes

Africa needs to focus on improving infrastructure, technological readiness and health and primary education in order to become more competitive and create more job opportunities for its burgeoning young population; that’s according to KPMG’s latest <a href="https://home.kpmg.com/za/en/home/insights/2017/03/african-capital-markets-series.html">Report</a> on Africa in a changing global environment.
This Report documents how Africa, as a continent, regionally and by individual country, compares to its main Developing and Transition Economy competitors as an investment prospect for the limited available foreign direct investment (“FDI”) and considers what steps could potentially be taken to encourage FDI inflows into Africa.
John Geel, Managing Partner, Deal Advisory for KPMG in South Africa, says that the Report considers Africa’s position in the current global economic environment and measures how Africa ranks, by individual country, by region and as a continent, with competing Developing and Transition Economies.
“This Report gives insights into what direction the world economy is expected to take in the context of the current trust crisis by Developed and other economies as identified in the Edelman Trust Barometer 2017, resulting in the recent increase in populist views by the general populations of the world,” says Robbie Cheadle, Associate Director, Deal Advisory for KPMG in South Africa.
The current global economic environment
The global economy, and in particular the Developing and Transition Economies, is currently facing two major challenges. The first challenge is sluggish growth leading to stagnant global trade, subdued investment and increasing policy worldwide uncertainty. The second challenge being that the world is on the brink of the fourth industrial revolution which is expected to drive significant change to global industry and business models and possibly lead to a net loss of jobs.
A further impact of the lacklustre global economic environment is the lower gross domestic product (“GDP”) growth, reduced FDI inflows and higher inflation being experienced by Developing and Transition Economies. For Sub-Saharan Africa, specifically, this also comes at a time when these countries have also been, and continue to be, impacted by lower commodity prices, adverse weather conditions and political and security challenges.
“In order to become more competitive and improve their future growth prospects,” says Cheadle, “Developing Countries need to invest in human and physical capital and FDI inflows are vital in order for them to do this. The recommendations that Emerging Market Developing Economies implement a comprehensive, consistent and co-ordinated approach to policy making, address economic vulnerabilities and enhance international integration by promoting trade and FDI are certainly worth implementing.&#8221; 
Comparing Africa to other Developing and Transition Economies
From an overall global competitiveness point of view, Africa’s average competitiveness ranking is 21% compared to Latin America and The Caribbean’s average ranking of 40%, the Transition Economies average ranking of 45% and Asia’s average ranking of 57%. This implies that Africa is significantly less competitive than Asia, Latin America and The Caribbean (grouped as one) and the Transition Economies.
In order to encourage competitiveness and growth, the Report suggests that the legal and administrative framework within which government, business and individuals operate must be efficient and of a good quality. The institutional environment must encourage investment by protecting the legal rights of investors and enabling them to fully leverage information and communication technologies in daily activities and production processes resulting in increased efficiency and innovation.
Corruption in Africa continues to be an impediment as it reduces the efficiency and quality of the institutional environment in a country and this impacts on the relevant country’s ability to be competitive. Africa has a low ranking in the Ease of Doing Business Survey 2016, which means that it is difficult for companies to start and maintain a business in many African countries.
GDP growth for Emerging Market Regions is forecast to continue to be subdued during 2017 and 2018. Africa has the highest forecast average GDP growth at 4.3% in 2017 and 4.4% in 2018. Asia has the second highest forecast average GDP growth at 3.4% in 2017 and 4.0% in 2018. These growth forecasts are subject to significant uncertainty, particularly with regards to global policy uncertainty regarding trade and increasing protectionist tendencies.
Finding solutions 
“African countries need to focus on improving their rankings in the Corruption Perceptions Index, which dropped significantly during 2016, and the Ease of Doing Business Survey thereby promoting their countries as the country of choice for the limited available FDI inflows,” says Geel.
African countries should also continue to focus on utilising all available funding to improve education, health and infrastructure so that they are prepared, to the best extent possible, for the fourth industrial revolution and to derive the best benefits available from the changes to come.

Report: Africa is less competitive than its main rivals

Vibrant, driven young leaders emerge from the 2017 Laureus ‘Youth Empowerment through Sport’ programme
Laureus recently launched its sixth annual Youth Empowerment through Sport (YES) programme with an educational training camp hosted from 26 February to 4 March 2017 in Cape Town at The Team House in Noordhoek.  17 young leaders from various Laureus-funded and affiliated programmes participated in a 7-day interactive training workshop where young leaders from across the country were provided with the necessary tools to ignite positive change in their lives and local communities.
The list of influencers involved in motivational sessions included Laureus SA Chairman Morné du Plessis, Laureus ambassador and one of South Africa’s leading female mountaineers, Deshun Deysel as well as members from the Laureus SA Foundation Board of Trustees and YES programme funders Mercedes Benz.  Some of the themes explored at the training camp included: sport for development, the importance of personal development, the art of goal setting and conflict resolution.
A number of training and skills focused agencies were recruited to assist with the training component at the camp, including: Laureus’ global partner, Active Communities Network (ACN) and eta College.
The training camp also provided a platform for young leaders to transfer knowledge and share different ideologies. Some of the YES graduates were selected to be a part of the YES Expert group and formed part of the content delivering team. Two of the 2016 YES Experts, Bongi Nhleko and Katlego Malaka, took on the role as Head Facilitators this year.
‘An incredible milestone for the YES Programme and Laureus Foundation South Africa to see the programme lead and run by previous participants and graduates. The true definition of sustainability and succession! Looking forward to seeing these Sport for Development Agents in action!’ – Gita Carroll, Laureus YES Programme Lead
Launched in 2012, the programme focuses on equipping the youth with the technical, vocational, entrepreneurship and life skills needed to develop sustainable livelihoods. The programme targets school leavers, ages 18 to 25 with particular attention given to young people who are passionate about sport and the upliftment of local communities.
The overriding goal of the programme is to create a critical mass of youth leaders who have the skills to use sport to champion social programmes in their communities with the aim to progress into further education and employment. YES is based on the belief that young people are the greatest force to bring about social change in other young people and that these youths are potential champions for positive social change and are essentially able to inspire and motivate other youths to become positive role models.
The YES training camp forms part of the first phase of the 2017 YES programme. The young leaders will now go back to their respected communities and seek to do good, using the knowledge and tools gained at the YES training camp, to help tackle some of the most pressing issues facing their communities. The group will meet again later in the year to complete the second phase of the programme before finally graduating from the programme by the end of 2017.

S.A: Meet vibrant, driven young Laureus leaders

On 10 March, the metered taxi drivers took to the streets of Johannesburg and severely impacted traffic to and from O R Tambo International Airport. They were protesting the ride-hailing app Uber which they say is ‘stealing their jobs’. They state they had exhausted all avenues in government as their appeals for the government to use force, failed; it was, therefore, time for them to take matters into their own hands and use their own force instead to prevent voluntary trade between Uber and its customers.
The government started to regulate metered taxi prices shortly after the 2010 World Cup when they imposed a fee of R15 per kilometer, and this regulation has never been repealed. Seeing an opportunity in the market, Uber moved in, and the metered taxi drivers are upset because Uber can provide a better, cheaper and more easily accessible service than they can.
While the taxi drivers are in favour of government using force against their competitors, they do not enjoy falling victim to that force. Sadly, this is the nature of government protection. Different groups will always vie for the power that government protection gives them, because then they do not have to compete so hard on an open market with others who might provide a better service. To demand that government steps in and rigs the market against one competitor is not justice, it is not fair and it is not moral. You cannot demand government protection without recognising that that same protection will restrict your job prospects as well, perhaps not immediately, but definitely in the future.
The metered taxi drivers have a legitimate concern, but they are focusing their frustration on the wrong target. Price controls always entrench one group over another – all too evident from how the government tried to control business under Apartheid socialism. The taxi drivers would be able to compete with Uber if they could charge the price they thought best. The market, made up of their passengers, would provide reliable information when what they offer is either accepted or rejected and steer them in the right direction to better their service even more. The drivers ought to be protesting the amount of power government holds over their industry and the price controls it imposes. They should not be attacking a competitor that has a right to enter the market and try its hand at running a profitable business.
Contrary to popular belief, and perhaps that of the taxi drivers, no one has a right to a job. A job is a voluntary contract into which you enter either with an employer or a customer. You fulfill your side of the agreement by providing a service in exchange for reward from the other party. No-one is compelled to provide you with a job. An employer, just like a customer, has a right to use their resources as they see fit. It is immoral to demand that they do x with their time, money and other resources, simply because you or anyone needs or demands it. This is a moral argument. To say you have a right to a job means that you are prepared to use force when you deem it necessary to force people to act in a way you want, or to give their money to you whether they wish to or not. It is claiming that your needs, whims and desires have precedence over their free will. To argue in this way will lead, one day, to you being displaced when the next powerful group succeeds in using government power to force you to make way so that they can operate without having to compete with you.
Uber drivers, just like the metered taxi drivers, are working people, trying to make a living and put food on the table for their families. Through Uber, they just happen to provide an easily-accessible, cheap service that customers voluntarily choose to use. Uber drivers are not moustache-twirling barons who reside in cigar smoke-filled rooms.
As in any industry, not just the taxi industry, government should not have so much power that one group can use it against another. The power should be in the hands of the customer who will decide which service is the better.
Author Chris Hattingh is an intern at the Free Market Foundation. The views expressed in the article are the author’s and are not necessarily shared by the members of the Free Market Foundation.

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