Oil prices, virus, instability put Algeria on edge

Yahoo – AFP, Amal Belalloufi with Philippe Agret in Tunis, April 12, 2020

Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman chairs a virtual meeting
of G20 oil ministers in Riyadh (AFP Photo)

Algiers (AFP) - Algeria faces economic and social turmoil if crude prices continue to collapse, experts have warned, with the oil-dependent country reeling from a year of popular protests, political turmoil and now, coronavirus.

The North African country is an example of how hydrocarbon economies are likely to face unrest if oil prices remain at near two-decade lows due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a price war between key players Saudi Arabia and Russia.

Top oil-producing countries agreed Sunday to slash output by nearly 10 million barrels per day from May 1 to boost prices, Kuwait's Oil Minister Khaled al-Fadhel wrote on Twitter.

But as Algerian oil expert Nazim Zouioueche told official news agency APS, any impact will likely be temporary due to the coronavirus pandemic, leaving Algeria's economy exposed.

The price collapse has destroyed Algeria's revenue projections, with President Abdelmadjid Tebboune acknowledging the "vulnerability" of the country's oil-dependent economy.

It is "imperative to put an end to bad practices instilled over a period of financial well-being, such as waste and a spirit of laziness and overconsumption", Tebboune has said.

His words might be too little, too late, as the drop in prices, the coronavirus and ongoing political uncertainty create a perfect financial and social storm.

'Financial abyss'

Algeria "is on the edge of a financial abyss", according to Luis Martinez, North Africa specialist at France's Sciences Po University.

The government decided to slash public spending in March, after oil prices dipped to $22.50.

The country's 2020 budget had been based on an oil price of $50 per barrel, with growth of around 1.8 percent.

Algiers has already announced a 30 percent cut to the state budget, without touching civil servants' wages, as well as cutting its enormous imports bill.

State oil giant Sonatrach is to halve operating and capital expenditure, from $14 billion to $7 billion, in order to preserve foreign currency reserves.

But former Sonatrach CEO Abdelmadjid Attar said in principle, the company "shouldn't have to reduce hydrocarbon production" as the cuts would affect other operations.

Meanwhile, Algeria's foreign reserves dropped to under $60 billion at the end of March, compared to almost $80 billion at the end of 2018 and over $97 billion at the end of 2017.

Some economists are concerned those could quickly run out.

Economist Ahmed Dahmani warns of multiple dangers: a rapid draining of foreign exchange reserves, a worsening budget deficit and balance of payments, a sharp devaluation of the dinar and an inflationary surge, leading to economic recession and mass unemployment.

Bureaucracy, corruption

"The government has no choice but to broaden the tax base, to resort to public debt and negotiate loans," Martinez said. "With the remaining foreign reserves, that should allow it to hold on until 2021. But after that?"

Others worry that Algeria will struggle to diversify its economy away from oil and attract investors.

Economics expert Aderrahmane Mebtoul expressed doubt the country could recover capital that has already left, and said Algeria's "bureaucracy, fossilised financial system and corruption" would keep foreign direct investment away.

With the coronavirus disrupting economies worldwide, the pandemic could provide a scapegoat for the government.

"The Algerian authorities could in fact argue that the economic and financial situation is no better" elsewhere, Martinez said.

But in Algeria, the pandemic follows a protracted political crisis.

The "Hirak" citizens movement that began in February 2019 brought down longtime autocrat Abdelaziz Bouteflika a year ago.

Only the pandemic was able to halt -- perhaps temporarily -- massive weekly anti-government protests.

And a continued collapse in oil prices could prove to be the final straw for a country on the edge.

"It's not the year 2020 that's on trial, but the 20 years of patronage, nepotism and corruption" of Bouteflika's reign, Martinez said.

IMF, World Bank call for suspending debt payments by poorest nations

Yahoo – AFP, March 25, 2020

The World Bank's International Development Association fights poverty in some
of the world's poorest countries, including Central African Republic (AFP Photo/
CAMILLE LAFFONT)

The International Monetary Fund and World Bank on Wednesday called for governments to put a hold on debt payments from the world's poorest nations so they can battle the coronavirus pandemic.

"The World Bank Group and the IMF believe it is imperative at this moment to provide a global sense of relief for developing countries as well as a strong signal to financial markets," the Washington-based development lenders said in a joint statement.

The move aims to help countries that are home to two-thirds of the world's population living in extreme poverty -- largely in sub-Saharan Africa -- and qualify for the most generous, low-cost loans from the International Development Association (IDA) financed by wealthier nations.

"The coronavirus outbreak is likely to have severe economic and social consequences for IDA countries" which will face "immediate liquidity needs to tackle challenges posed by the coronavirus outbreak," the organization said.

The IMF and World Bank called on the Group of 20 nations to support the initiative for "all official bilateral creditors to suspend debt payments from IDA countries that request forbearance."

In addition, the institutions called for an analysis of the financing needs these countries will face, and whether their total debt load is sustainable.

Part of the World Bank, the IDA is one of the largest sources of assistance for the world's 76 poorest countries, providing zero or low interest loans spread over 30 years or more, and grants to some distressed nations.

In the fiscal year ending June 30, 2019, IDA commitments totaled $22 billion, of which 36 percent was provided on grant terms, according to the World Bank.

Ethiopia's Abiy seeks $150bn for African virus response

Yahoo – AFP, Robbie BOULET, March 24, 2020

After lagging behind the global curve for COVID-19 infections and deaths, Africa
has seen the number of cases rise (AFP Photo/Yasuyoshi CHIBA)

Addis Ababa (AFP) - Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Tuesday urged G20 leaders to help Africa cope with the coronavirus crisis by facilitating debt relief and providing $150 billion in emergency funding.

The pandemic "poses an existential threat to the economies of African countries," Abiy's office said in a statement, adding that Ethiopia was "working closely with other African countries" in preparing the aid request.

The heavy debt burdens of many African countries leave them ill-equipped to respond to pandemic-related economic shocks, as the cost of servicing debt exceeds many countries' health budgets, the statement said.

"Just as the virus knows no borders, our responses should also know no borders," it said.

Saudi Arabia, which currently presides over the G20, last week called for a "virtual" summit to coordinate an international response to the coronavirus crisis.

French President Emmanuel Macron's office said Monday that he had spoken by telephone with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping and that the two leaders agreed on the need for emergency talks.

After lagging behind the global curve for coronavirus infections and deaths, Africa has seen a rise in cases in recent days.

As of Monday night, there were 1,654 reported cases across 43 African countries resulting in 52 deaths, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

Experts warn that the coronavirus could quickly overwhelm weak African health systems.

African economies will also be vulnerable in the face of "a dramatic decline in exports, disruption of global chains, and the sudden drying up of travel and tourism," Abiy's statement said.

The proposed $150-billion (138-billion-euro) aid package could include budgetary support from the World Bank and crisis financing from the International Monetary Fund, the statement said.

To alleviate African debt burdens, Abiy proposed that interest payments on government loans "should be written off" and that "part of the debt of low-income countries should be written off."

The IMF reported last year that seven African countries were in debt distress and that nine, including Ethiopia, were "at high risk of debt distress."

Abiy's proposal comes one day after African finance ministers called for $100 billion in "immediate emergency economic stimulus" including the waiver of debt interest payments.

Without a coordinated aid effort for the continent, the coronavirus "will have major and adverse implications on African economies and the society at large," according to a statement from the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, which is headquartered in Addis Ababa.

Egypt closes mosques, churches over coronavirus fears

Yahoo – AFP, March 21, 2020

Egypt has ordered the closure of mosques and churches to stem the
spread of the coronavirus (AFP Photo/Khaled DESOUKI)

Cairo (AFP) - Egypt's religious authorities ordered Saturday the closure of all mosques and churches and banned communal prayer gatherings to try and stem the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The decision taken by the ministry of religious endowments, which oversees mosques nationwide, and the Coptic Orthodox Church will run for at least two weeks.

In separate statements, the ministry and the church said the move is aimed at avoiding large gatherings such as prayers and mass, where the risk of contamination could be high.

The religious endowments ministry said in a statement it "decided to halt prayers and to close all mosques... starting today (Saturday) and for two weeks".

It urged worshippers to pray at home.

The Coptic Orthodox Church said it ordered "the closure of all churches, suspension of ritual services, masses and activities".

The decision, including a ban on visits to monasteries nationwide, "is effective from Saturday for two weeks... and until further notice", it said.

Late Friday, Egypt's Catholic Church said it suspended mass until further notice.

Egypt has so far has recorded eight deaths out of 285 confirmed cases of coronavirus.

Authorities have imposed tough measures to limit social interaction in the country of 100 million inhabitants, where Christians represent around 10 percent of the population.

They have closed schools and universities, ordered the overnight closure of cafes, restaurants, nightclubs, sporting clubs and malls, and reduced the number of public sector employees.

Egypt has also halted air traffic from Thursday until the end of March.

Women's bank helps Ivorian children to swap labour for class

Yahoo – AFP, Christophe KOFFI, March 8, 2020

For these Ivorian children, the canteen is a big draw of primary schooling made
possible by village women (AFP Photo/ISSOUF SANOGO)

Kokoti-Kouamekro (Ivory Coast) (AFP) - In a poor farming village in Ivory Coast, women are celebrating a new development that is allowing them to send their children to school instead of working in the country's cocoa plantations.

Until now, many families earning less than a dollar (a euro) a day had no choice but to send their offspring to work beside adults in the fields.

Crippling poverty is a major factor in the widespread use of child labour in Ivory Coast, which is the world's top cocoa producer.

But now with the help of a Swiss-based foundation, women in plantations around Kokoti-Kouamekro are turning to a network of small savings banks with the goal of protecting children.

The International Cocoa Initiative (ICI) has been working since 2007 towards the goal of ending child labour in Ivory Coast and neighbouring Ghana.

The ICI identified 200 child workers out of 900 people on the plantations of Kokoti-Kouamekro, a village of some 2,000 people in the Taabo region, 200 kilometres (125 miles) from Abidjan.

The foundation decided to back about 30 women in an association called Bakpa-elai, which watches out for children's interests.

It helped create a "feminine cell for economic reinforcement (Cefrec)", the formal term for the women's bank.

Since 2018, the ICI has set up 14 Cefrec units in the cocoa-growing parts to specialise in savings and credit with the aim of promoting children.

These local units opened the way for numerous money-making activities, including small shops and other business concerns, in Kokoti-Kouamekro and other villages.

Paying the workers

With seeds, boots and machetes supplied by the ICI, the women of the village association chose to save almost one euro apiece, after harvesting and selling yams, cassava, corn and other food products.

The collected money was placed in a box that requires three "key keepers" with joint access, to reduce any risk of embezzlement or temptation. People who are late for weekly financial meetings are fined.

Village women are also attending classes, with the emphasis on literacy (AFP 

Photo/ISSOUF SANOGO)

"In one year, we mobilised about 3.8 million CFA francs (about 5,800 euros / $6,500), and spent two million, with a positive balance of 1.8 million," said Patricia Kouadio Amami, the president of the association, clad in a multicoloured dress and headscarf.

"Thanks to our bank, we pay the people who work on the land in place of the children we used in the past. One of us has even been able to buy a computer for her student son," Amani said.

Empowered by working together, women are also challenging traditions in a rural culture where the father of the family makes all the decisions. The number of women members of the Bakpa-elai association in Kokoti-Kouamekro doubled in one year.

"I find the women formidable," said Marcel Amani, a cocoa planter.

"We used to send the kids out into the fields. Since the women created this association, all that has stopped," he told AFP. "They deserve our respect."

Child trafficking

The women have also begun classes in reading and writing, but the innovation that most attracted the children was a school canteen.

"The attendance rate has increased," said Lou Horyphine Koffi, head of the school. "The canteen contributes greatly to keeping the child in school."

"The women of Kokoti-Kouamekro have shown that they are capable of finding solutions to their problems by their own resources," said Euphrasie Aka, West and Central Africa coordinator of ICI.

Still, Ivory Coast is a major regional hub for child trafficking from neighbouring countries, some of whom come in search of work.

More than 1.2 million children were taken on by Ivorian cocoa plantations in 2013/2014, according to the ICI.

"We're going to note a worsening of the problem in absolute terms," Aka told AFP ahead of the release of a new ICI report planned for April.

"A high number of producers has emerged on the basis of the rise in cocoa prices... which implicitly leads to a high number of child workers," the organisation said.

Sudan to hand Bashir to ICC for Darfur crimes: top official

Yahoo – AFP, Jay Deshmukh and Abdelmoneim Abu Idris Ali, February 11, 2020

The International Criminal Court has charged Bashir with genocide, crimes against
humanity and war crimes in Sudan's western region of Darfur (AFP Photo/ASHRAF SHAZLY)

Khartoum (AFP) - Sudan has agreed to hand ousted autocrat Omar al-Bashir and others to the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes in Darfur, a member of Khartoum's ruling body said Tuesday.

The Hague-based ICC has charged Bashir and three of his former aides with genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Sudan's western region during a brutal conflict from 2003.

"Those who have been indicted by the ICC, they have to go there," Mohamed Hassan Al-Taishay, a member of the ruling sovereign council said, without mentioning their names.

His remarks, quoted in a statement issued by the sovereign council in Khartoum, came as a government delegation met rebel groups in the South Sudanese capital of Juba.

Taishay said the talks focused on justice and reconciliation in Darfur, where the United Nations says about 300,000 people have been killed and millions displaced since the conflict erupted.

Taishay said they had agreed several mechanisms for achieving peace in the region.

"First, all those who have been indicted by the ICC should appear before the ICC," he said.

"Second, a special court be set up to investigate crimes committed in Darfur."

The conflict in Darfur, the size of France, erupted when ethnic minority African rebels took up arms against Bashir's then Arab-dominated government, accusing it of marginalising the region economically and politically.

The ICC has charged Bashir with genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in the conflict.

Bashir was ousted by the army last April following months of mass protests 

against his rule (AFP Photo/ASHRAF SHAZLY)

It has also indicted three of his former aides, Ahmed Haroon, Abdulrahim Mohamed Hussain and Ali Kushied.

"We cannot achieve justice unless we treat the suffering of the victims because this is a truth that we can't escape from," Taishay said.

"In Darfur, crimes against humanity and war crimes have been committed."

Bashir has denied the charges.

Bashir was ousted by the army in a palace coup last April after months of protests against his iron-fisted rule of three decades.

He was detained following his ouster and has since been jailed on corruption charges.

Anti-Bashir protesters, residents of Darfur and rebel groups from the region have consistently demanded that the ousted ruler be handed over to the ICC.

For years before his ouster and despite the ICC indictments, Bashir had regularly visited regional countries as well as Russia and China.

Days before the protests erupted in December 2018, he visited Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus, becoming the first Arab leader to do so since the Syrian conflict began in 2011.

In 2018, Bashir helped broker a tentative peace deal in South Sudan after five years of intense conflict in the world's newest country, which won independence from Khartoum in 2011.

Malawi president appeals to keep job after court cancels his election

Yahoo – AFP, Jack McBRAMS, February 7, 2020

Malawi President Peter Mutharika, whose re-election last year has been annulled
by the country's constitutional court (AFP Photo/AMOS GUMULIRA)

Blantyre (Malawi) (AFP) - Malawian President Peter Mutharika on Friday filed an appeal against a landmark court decision that overturned his 2019 election victory, accusing it of bias against him, documents showed.

Malawi made history on Monday when the top court ruled in favour of an opposition bid to cancel last May's presidential election results over allegations of rigging.

In his appeal papers, Mutharika said the judges had "erred in law" in concluding that his re-election was "undue" and he asked the Supreme Court to reverse the judgment which also ordered new elections.

After six months of marathon hearings broadcast on public radio, the judges had declared Mutharika was "not duly elected" over what it called widespread irregularities, especially "massive" use of correction fluid on results sheets.

It was only the second time that a presidential election has been cancelled by a court in sub-saharan Africa, after Kenya in 2017.

But Mutharika, 79, said the judges' findings were "grossly biased" against him and a "miscarriage of justice".

A protest last year against the contested election results, which have been 

annulled (AFP Photo/Amos Gumulira)

Lazarus Chakwera, the leader of the main opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP), who came a close second to Mutharika, complained that he was robbed of victory.

Mutharika was declared the winner of the May 21 election with 38.5 percent of the vote, with Chakwera losing by just 159,000 votes.

It is the first time a presidential election has been challenged on legal grounds in Malawi since independence from Britain in 1964.

The normally stable country was hit by protests throughout last year over the election result, and on Friday the activists threatened the electoral commission with "the mother of all demonstrations" if they don't step down in the next week.

In separate court papers on Friday, the Malawi Electoral Commission chairwoman Jane Ansah sought an order "suspending the enforcement" of the Constitutional Court ruling, pending the hearing and determination of an appeal.

Opposition leader Lazarus Chakwera celebrates the court's decision to annul 

an election in which he lost to the president by 159,000 votes (AFP Photo/

AMOS GUMULIRA)

'Biased'

The court ordered a fresh election within 150 days -- as well as an investigation into the conduct of the electoral commission.

But Ansah accused the Constitutional Court of acting in "excess of its jurisdiction".

She said organising an election would require more time -- at least 261 days -- suggesting October 28 for the new polling date.

In its historic ruling, the court also ordered a number of legislative changes including that a candidate should be chosen by more than 50 percent of the ballots cast.

Under the current first-past-the-post electoral system for choosing a president.

Mutharika rubbished that court's order to parliament to change the laws saying that matter was never raised by the opposition in their petition, and that the order went against the "doctrine of separation of powers".

Ansah said she believes that "by ordering the legislature to convene and pass (new) legislation, the court acted in excess of its jurisdiction and had infringed on the independence and immunity of parliament."

The southern African nation made history on Monday when its Constitutional 

Court ruled in favour of an opposition bid to cancel May's presidential vote

 fresh polls. (AFP Photo/Jean Michel CORNU)

'Mother of all demonstrations'

The court also castigated the electoral commission, ordering an investigation into the "competence and conduct" of its seven members and staff.

Ansah said the court acted in "excess of its powers" by ordering such a probe and that "having condemned them already, any such enquiry would be sham".

Meanwhile the activists who led the long-running protests following the contested vote last year have given Ansah and her team of commissioners an ultimatum -- resign by Friday of next week or face a fresh round of demonstrations.

"They (commissioners) are going to see the biggest or the mother of all demonstrations in Malawi," Gift Trapence, vice chairman of the Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) told a news conference in the capital Lilongwe on Friday.

He warned that protesters would "shut down" the electoral commission offices, adding "this time we are actually prepared to even do vigils in their (commissioners) homes.":

Sudan army agrees Burhan-Netanyahu meeting will boost security

Yahoo – AFP, Abdelmoneim ABU IDRIS ALI, February 5, 2020

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he and the Sudanese leader
"agreed to start cooperating leading to normalisation" after decades of boycott
(AFP Photo/SUMY SADURNI)

Khartoum (AFP) - Sudan's military announced Wednesday it backed a surprise meeting held between the country's leader and Israel's premier in Uganda this week, saying the opening would help boost national security.

General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, chairman of Sudan's ruling sovereign council, met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Entebbe on Monday in a meeting that was not pre-announced.

Israel remains technically at war with Sudan, which supported hardline Islamists -- including, for a period, Al-Qaeda -- during the rule of autocrat Omar al-Bashir, who was ousted during mass protests last year.

On Tuesday, Burhan briefed the sovereign council and key ministers about his meeting, saying he met Netanyahu "to protect the national security of Sudan".

The military's support for Burhan on the matter came after top officers met at army headquarters in Khartoum.

"There was a meeting at the army headquarters today, and those present... were briefed about the visit ... and its impact on Sudan's national security," military spokesman Brigadier Amir Mohamed Al-Hassan told AFP.

"The army is in favour of this (Burhan-Netanyahu) meeting as it is in the interest of Sudan's national security."

On Wednesday, Burhan met Sudanese editors to explain why he met Israel's premier.

Burhan told the editors "the main thing that pushed him to take the decision to meet ... (Netanyahu) was to secure some key benefits for Sudan," said Hassan, without elaborating.

"He said that brave decisions were needed in order to change the current situation in Sudan, to ease the economic pressures on Sudanese people, and also to change the internal and foreign policies of Sudan."

'Positive direction'

Soon after Monday's meeting in Entebbe, Netanyahu's office said the Israeli premier believed that post-Bashir Sudan was headed "in a positive direction".

It said he and Burhan had "agreed to start cooperation leading to normalisation of the relationship between the two countries".

Sudan has long been part of a decades-old official Arab boycott of Israel over its treatment of the Palestinians and occupation of Arab lands.

In the wake of the Six-Day War of 1967 in which Israel occupied the Palestinian territories and seized the Golan Heights from Syria, Arab leaders held a historic meeting in Khartoum to announce what became known as the 'three nos' -- no peace, no recognition, no negotiations with Israel.

The Palestine Liberation Organization called Burhan and Netanyahu's meeting "a stab in the back of the Palestinian people".

In a statement carried on official news agency WAFA, Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat accused Netanyahu and his US allies of "trying to liquidate the Palestinian cause".

Bashir was ousted by the army last April after months of nationwide protests against his iron fisted three-decade rule.

Sudan is now ruled by a joint military-civilian sovereign council headed by Burhan, which is tasked with overseeing the country's transition to full civilian rule.

Former Kenyan president Daniel arap Moi dead at 95

Yahoo – AFP, Nicolas DELAUNAY, February 4, 2020

Former Kenyan president Daniel Arap Moi, seen here in 1998, has died
(AFP Photo/ALEXANDER JOE)

Nairobi (AFP) - Former Kenyan president Daniel arap Moi, who ruled the country with an iron fist between 1978 and 2002, has died aged 95, President Uhuru Kenyatta announced Tuesday.

Moi's 24-year rule saw his country become a one-party state where critical voices were crushed, corruption became endemic and tribal divisions were stoked and turned bloody.

"It is with profound sadness that I announce the death of a great man of an African state," Kenyatta said in a statement.

He ordered a period of national mourning until a state funeral is held, on a date not yet announced.

The former president died "in the early morning of February 4 at Nairobi hospital in the presence of his family," Kenyatta said.

'Chequered career'

Moi fought off rivals in a bitter contest to take the top job in 1978, succeeding Kenya's first president, Jomo Kenyatta, when he died.

The speaker of Kenya's national assembly, Justin Muturi said that Moi was an "astute politician", who "employed pragmatic nationalism to keep the country together for the 24 years that he led our nation."

"He will be remembered for his great efforts towards consolidating peace and tranquility within the Horn of Africa and largely the East African Region, at a very difficult time for the region and the African continent," Muturi added.

His son Gideon Moi, a senator, confirmed Moi died at 5:20 am (02:20 GMT). "He passed away peacefully," he said. "I was by his side and, as a family, we have accepted (his death)."

One of the defining scandals of Moi's presidency was the loss of $1 billion from the central bank through false gold and diamond exports.

A report by Britain-based risk consultant group Kroll in 2007 claimed Moi's family and clique laundered money on a global scale, buying properties and companies in London, New York and South Africa and even a 10,000-hectare (25,000-acre) ranch in Australia.

'Discipline'

Vice-President William Ruto, who comes from the same Kalenjin people as Moi, mourned his "legendary personal discipline" and said that his "life and work touched every one of us in lasting, impactful ways."

Those targeted by his regime included human rights and environmental activists, including the writer Ngugi wa Thiong'o and the future Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai.

Moi was however praised for keeping Kenya a relative haven of peace during a chaotic period in east Africa which saw the genocide in Rwanda and civil wars in Burundi and Somalia.

His later return -- under significant pressure -- to multiparty elections in 1992, and peaceful handover of power to opposition leader Mwai Kibaki in 2002 also won him some praise.

Former opponent Raila Odinga, who spent several years in jail under Moi, referred to the late leader's "chequered career", but also spoke of his decision to finally restore multiparty politics.

"Moi and I reconciled after the political differences of the 1980s and early 90s, and we were able to work together to bring more reforms to the country," Odinga said.

In recent years observers have criticised the "rehabilitation" of Moi as the elderly former president often received visits from President Kenyatta, his opposition rival Raila Odinga and any politician seeking his blessing ahead of elections.

Kenyatta revived "Moi Day" in honour of the former president in 2017, after it was scrapped in 2010.

Angola vows to bring back billionaire dos Santos over graft claims

Yahoo – AFP, in London, January 20, 2020

A trove of leaked documents allege that Isabel dos Santos, the billionaire daught
of Angola's ex-president, amassed her wealth by plundering state funds (AFP Photo/
FERNANDO VELUDO)

Luanda (AFP) - Angolan prosecutors vowed on Monday to use "all possible" means to bring back Isabel dos Santos, the former president's billionaire daughter, after thousands of leaked documents revealed new allegations she siphoned off hundreds of millions in public money.

Dubbed Africa's richest woman, dos Santos is accused of using her father's backing to plunder state funds from the oil-rich but impoverished southern African country and -- with the help of Western consulting firms -- move the money offshore.

She stopped living in Angola after her authoritarian father Jose Eduardo dos Santos, who ruled the country for nearly 40 years, stepped down in 2017 for his anointed successor Joao Lourenco.

She now spends her time between London and Dubai.

"We will use all possible means and activate international mechanisms to bring Isabel dos Santos back to the country," prosecutor general Helder Pitra Gros told public radio.

"We have asked for international support from Portugal, Dubai and other countries," he added.

The 46-year-old dos Santos is already being investigated as part of an anti-graft campaign launched by Lourenco, who has vowed to root out corruption.

Prosecutors last month froze bank accounts and holdings owned by the businesswoman and her Congolese-Danish husband Sindika Dokolo, a move dos Santos described as motivated by a groundless political vendetta.

Gros' remarks came after a trove of 715,000 files dubbed the "Luanda Leaks" on Sunday revealed how the eldest daughter of the former president allegedly moved the vast sums into overseas assets.

The award-winning New York-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) behind the release alleged the international system has allowed powerful individuals like her to move assets around the world, without questions.

Prosecutors have already frozen the bank accounts and holdings owned by dos 

Santos and her Congolese husband Sindika Dokolo (AFP Photo/FERNANDO VELUDO)

"Based on a trove of more than 715,000 files, our investigation highlights a broken international regulatory system that allows professional services firms to serve the powerful with almost no questions asked," the ICIJ wrote.

The group said its team of 120 reporters in 20 countries was able to trace "how an army of Western financial firms, lawyers, accountants, government officials and management companies helped (dos Santos and Dokolo) hide assets from tax authorities".

'Highly coordinated attack'

Dos Santos took to Twitter to refute the claims, launching a salvo of around 30 tweets in Portuguese and English, accusing journalists involved in the investigation of telling "lies".

"My fortune is built on my character, my intelligence, education, capacity for work, perseverance," she wrote.

Born in Baku, Azerbaijan, and educated in Britain, dos Santos -- scornfully nicknamed "the princess" -- was named Africa's first female billionaire in 2013 by Forbes, which estimates her current wealth at $2.1 billion.

Her lawyer dismissed the ICIJ findings as a "highly coordinated attack" orchestrated by Angola's current rulers, in a statement quoted by The Guardian newspaper.

Dos Santos herself told BBC Africa the file dump was part of a "witch hunt" meant to discredit her and her father.

She headed Angola's national oil company Sonangol until her father's successor forced her out after becoming president in 2017.

"Red flags really went up when she was appointed head of the state oil company at a time when her father still had significant influence," said Daniel Bruce, who heads the UK branch of anti-corruption campaign group Transparency International.

Former Angolan president Jose Eduardo Dos Santos ruled for nearly 40 years 

before stepping down in 2017 (AFP Photo/Adalberto ROQUE)

"You could see there were major conflicts of interest starting to emerge," he added.

Dos Santos said on Wednesday that she would consider running for president in the next election in 2022.

Western consultants

The ICIJ investigation said Western consulting firms such as PwC and Boston Consulting Group were "apparently ignoring red flags" while helping her stash away public assets.

"Regulators around the globe have virtually ignored the key role Western professionals play in maintaining an offshore industry that drives money laundering and drains trillions from public coffers," the report said.

Its document trove included redacted letters allegedly showing how consultants sought out ways to open non-transparent bank accounts.

London-based firm PwC was among those advising her businesses.

The consultancy said it had "immediately initiated an investigation" in the wake of the "very serious and concerning allegations."

"We have also taken action to terminate any ongoing work for entities controlled by members of the dos Santos family," it added in a statement.

The Boston Consulting Group did not immediately respond to an attempt to get comment by AFP.

One confidential document allegedly drafted by Boston Consulting in September 2015 outlined a complex scheme for the oil company to move its money offshore.

The investigation also published a similar 99-page presentation from KPMG.

"UK firms... have played a role both in helping her to amass this fortune but also to invest the proceeds of these suspicious deals," said Bruce.

"There are questions to answer," he added. "Particularly for those who helped her acquire property."

Dos Santos and Dokolo have invested in several luxurious London houses and amassed an impressive collection of valuable artwork.

Her husband, a well-known collector of African arts, developed that passion from his billionaire banker father Augustin Dokolo Sanu.

Van Oord involved in Luanda building plan that involved human rights abuses: Trouw

DutchNews, January 20, 2020

Luanda is a mix of new and old. Photo: Depositphotos.com

Dutch dredging group Van Oord may have been involved in human rights abuses and corruption in Angola in connection with the development of an urban development project near the capital Luanda in 2013, Trouw reported on Monday. 

The paper says its own research on the ground and documents leaked to the international investigative journalists’ group ICIJ suggest that some 3,000 families were driven from their homes to make way for the development. 

ING and Atradis, the Dutch government’s credit insurance agency, were also involved with the project, Trouw says. ING lent the equivalent of €360m to the Angolan state and Atradis acted as guarantor. 

Van Oord and ING told Trouw in a reaction that they would now focus on compensating the locals who have been made homeless and that they were completely unaware people had been forcibly moved. 

Trouw says Van Oord worked on the project together with Isabel dos Santos, daughter of the former president of Angola. According to the ICIJ, she has become the richest woman in Africa by exploiting family ties, shell companies and being involved in unscrupulous deals. 

Legal experts told the paper that Dutch companies are often lax in the research they do before getting involved with controversial partners such as Isabel dos Santos, who had been the subject of rumours about possible corruption for years.