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South African firms suffer revenge attacks after xenophobia

MTN Nigeria

from OKORO CHINEDU in Lagos / EMEKA OKONKWO in Abuja
Nigeria Bureau
LAGOS, (CAJ News) – SOME South African multinational corporations in Nigeria have been caught up in retaliatory attacks following the xenophobic violence.

Retail group Shoprite, mobile network firm MTN, and entertainment group Multichoice were targeted on Wednesday (today).

Shoprite disclosed several stores in South Africa, Nigeria and Zambia were unable to open due to protest action and extensive damage has been done to several supermarkets since Tuesday.

The retailer said it was highly concerned about the acts of xenophobic violence against foreign nationals that sporadically flared up and the resultant rhetoric of intolerance that is leveled against foreigners.

It noted this was creating a platform for criminals to exploit.

Shoprite stated that as a company with deep African roots, employing thousands of African nationals in 15 countries on the continent, it appealed to an end to xenophobia across the continent.

“We remain committed to engage with Government (both Nigeria and South Africa), industry and consumer groups so that decisive action is taken against those involved in violent crimes and intimidation against foreign nationals as well as to convey our strong position against xenophobia,” Shoprite stated.

Nigerians ran amok in the commercial city of Lagos since Tuesday.

Property in the city was destroyed and a Shoprite outlet in the Lekki zone looted.

MTN Nigeria, which is the South African company’s biggest entity, decried the violence and retaliation.

Three outlets were closed because of tensions.

“MTN Nigeria strongly condemns hate, prejudice and xenophobia and reiterate our unequivocal condemnation of all violence. We are against all forms of bigotry and discrimination. They should have no place in society.”

Multichoice was also affected.

It suffered a further setback when prominent Nigeria artist, Tiwa Savage, pulled out of a music festival the entertainment company is organising for September 21 in Johannesburg.

John Ugbe, Multichoice Nigeria Chief Executive, appealed for dialogue, peace and unity.

“This is a sombre period for every African and beyond, and we urge all our customers, followers and stakeholders to shun violence,” Ugbe said

On Tuesday, Nigeria voiced its concern over the attacks of its nationals in South Africa.

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, has summoned the South African High Commissioner to Nigeria, Bobby Moroe, to express the government’s displeasure.

Zambia withdrew their senior national soccer team scheduled to play Bafana Bafana in protest for xenophobic violence.

In Zimbabwe, the locals were threatening South African Airways, banks such as Standard, Nedbank and supermarkets like Pick n’ Pay, Spar among others.

– CAJ News

South Africa offered opportunity to lead in 4IR

Cybercrime

from DION HENRICK in Cape Town
CAPE TOWN, (CAJ News) – THE cybersecurity skills gap offers South Africa an opportunity to lead in the fourth industrial revolution (4IR), a business executive said at the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Africa.

The World Economic Forum is scheduled for Cape Town from September 4 to 6.

Sandro Bucchianeri, Chief Security Officer of Absa Group, said 4IR was an opportunity for public and private businesses as well as government to influence the development of a talent pipeline to address current and future needs.

“In seizing this opportunity, we have the chance to contribute to tackling the global cybersecurity skills shortage while addressing the unemployment of our youth and, in so doing, making an impact on people and the societies in which we live,” Bucchianeri said.

He noted youth aged 15-24 are the most vulnerable in the South African labour market.

Statistics SA reported that the unemployment rate among this age group was 55 percent in the first quarter of 2019.

Cyber Ventures estimates that the global shortfall of cybersecurity jobs will rise to 3,5 million by 2021.

Bucchianeri said the estimated shortfall provided a startling statistic and a unique opportunity to make a difference.

This gap must, he said, be filled to support the projected growth of the world’s cybersecurity sector over the next couple of years, but the talent pool is simply not keeping pace.

“In South Africa, the problem is compounded, as those who are trained in cybersecurity do not stay, as they are headhunted by global counterparts for premium packages.”

To address its skills shortage, Absa has collaborated with the Maharishi Institute (MI) to set up the Absa Cybersecurity Academy.

The programme is an externally focused, corporate social responsibility initiative aimed at empowering marginalised South African youth.

– CAJ News

Nigeria bloodbath could spill into entire Africa

Boko Haram. File photo

from EMEKA OKONKWO in Abuja, Nigeria
ABUJA, (CAJ News) – AN international envoy has warned of the impact of the deadly violence in Nigeria on the African continent.

The warning by Agnes Callamard, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, comes amid the Boko Haram conflict, clashes between farmers and cattle herders, attacks against some Muslim faithful by state security personnel as well as an onslaught against people engaged in same-sex relationships.

Callamard, who has concluded a 12-day mission to Nigeria, expressed concern perpetrators, including the uniformed forces, were mostly not held accountable.

“The absence today of accountability functionality is on such a scale that pretending this is anything short of a crisis is a major mistake,” the envoy said.

“It is a tragedy for the people of Nigeria. Unchecked, its ripple effects will spread throughout the sub-region if not the continent, given the country’s central economic, political and cultural leadership role.”

Callamard said the overall situation she encountered in Nigeria gave rise to extreme concern.

“By many measures, the federal authorities and the international partners are presiding over an injustice pressure cooker. Some of the specific contexts I examined are simmering,” she said.

Callamard has presented these preliminary findings to local authorities.

The official final report will be presented to the Human Rights Council in June next year.

Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country (198 million people) and its biggest economy but is also one of the most volatile nations.

– CAJ News

OPINION: What is causing mayhem in South African society?

South Africans on the looting spree of foreign owned shops in Johannesburg

by LUKE ZUNGA
JOHANNESBURG, (CAJ News) – SOUTH Africans citizens use Violence to draw attention to non-responsive government.

What is causing mayhem in South African society and the attacks on foreign migrant businesses and burning of trucks. It is an economic battle. In the United States of America (USA), Canada and Australia; these countries realize value in some foreign nationals, and facilitate them to start businesses.

Violent South African citizen kicking and burning properties including human beings

But elements of South African society attack foreign nationals and trucks to draw attention of their government. They say government does not listen to them. And it is true.

I am researcher with South African Development Foundation (Sadef). We are not funded by donors. Our efforts are genuinely to find economic solutions for South Africa and other African countries, by designing models which are practical taking into account local scenarios.

Seen here ransacking foreign owned shops are South African citizens in droves

After more than 200 communications from 2014 the President, Cyril Ramaphosa is not aware what we are submitting. The Director General (DG) may eventually know but does not respond.

He knows the Minister and President will never discover. The key persons in a department are the Director General and the Minister.

Luke Dzipange Zunga is a Chartered Secretary and Corporate Governance expert. He is also Global Zimbabwe Diaspora Development Chamber (ZDDC) chairman, photo by Savious-Parker Kwinika, CAJ News Africa

The Director General controls the budgets and hires employees for the department according to the current operations. Each employee has a job description in running the department.

There is nobody hired to receive submissions from the public and process them up the ladder to the DG or Minister or to search for new ideas from citizens.

Citizens have brilliant solutions and more so they want to speak to somebody, even if the idea fails, but nobody is available. Submissions to the department land at the lower levels or at the DG department where workers there search for key words to direct submissions from office to office, but nothing is done.

The DG does not know, and therefore does not supervise where a submission ends or whether the matter is acted on. The workers are aware nobody will ever know. If the DG is not aware nothing is acted on.

Whatever citizens send to government ends up lost somewhere or dumped to waste and the matters therein ignored. There is the problem!

The Minister is on similar dilemma. The DG works around the Minister, organizing his engagements, movements, budgets, meetings etc. The DG is very busy and has no way of knowing what citizens are bringing into the department unless some lower employer is so daring to go out of his or her routine job description to evaluate submissions and bring it to the attention of the DG.

It is very rare as there is nobody employed to attend to matters which are not routine. The Minister has a Personal Assistant (PA), who, as a matter of routine, takes every incoming communication to the DG or to the Ministers Special Advisor.

The Minister does know what is coming into his/her department unless it is of political matter which the department workers do not handle. The Minister does nothing until and unless there is a recommendation by the DG.

At the end of the day the Minister and the President do not know what is arriving into their departments, until the DG tells them, until there is a recommendation from the technocrats.

So is the Premier. DGs are running the country.

Promises politicians made during electioneering can never be accomplished. At best it is the DG, who the nation rely on, not the Minister or the President, who are behind the scenes, closed out.

If there is no recommendation the Honourable President cannot act, has nothing of his own, nothing despite appearing on TV and asking for ways to improve economy.

The President receives his messages screened by the DG. People can’t reach the Minister and the President by approaching the department.

The DG is more distant. So, who is answerable?

Politicians think technocrats or DGs know. No, technocrats are idiots. Most of Masters graduates went through the same Ivy League doctrine, which narrows them to copy the bank rule and say ‘there is no funding to start the business’ or ‘start the business from your own capital’.

They know nothing else other than economic models around the bank rule, which holding African economies down.

Who suffers – is black citizens can’t enter business? DGs ignore all other recommendations, they do not respond to submissions.

If any response it is cold, brazen, brief and they do not invite any discussions. Citizens’ frustrations boil to rage. The DG has no political responsibility. The Minister and President have political responsibility but are behind the DG or Municipal Managers. WHY?

– CAJ News

NB: Luke Zunga is a Chartered Secretary and Corporate Governance. For feedback, write, news@cajnewsafrica.com