AfricaFocus Bulletin
February 7, 2017 (170207)
(Reposted from sources cited below)

Editor’s Note

In the world of large multinational corporations, secrecy is more
than the rule rather than exception. Despite this reality, there
have been some advances in recent years, including U.S. legislation
and regulations requiring disclosure of payments by U.S. oil, gas,
and mining companies to foreign governments. Last week, the U.S.
Congress revoked this Security and Exchange Commission rule, a year
before it was actually to be implemented. Although comparatively
little noticed in comparison to the tumult around White House
actions, this was an indication that the Republican Congress as well
was determined to reverse even modest steps to fight corporate
corruption and other similar abuses.

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In this context, the continuing Africa-wide campaign to curb some
$70 billion in illicit financial flows from the continent   becomes
both more difficult and even more imperative. A timely new report
just released on January 27 by six civil society organizations lays
out specific steps that African governments can take to “accelerate
the IFF agenda.” The six include five African organizations (Trust
Africa, Tax Justice Network-Africa, the Pan African Lawyers Union,
CRADEC (Cameroon),  CISLAC (Nigeria), and Global Financial Integrity
(Washington, DC).

This AfricaFocus Bulletin contains (1) a brief article on the U.S.
congressional action to revoke the SEC rule on transparency for oil,
gas, and mining companies, and (2) the full text of “Accelerating
the IFF Agenda for African countries.”

For more information on the revocations of the SEC rule, visit
https://thefactcoalition.org/press/news-releases/,
http://www.pwypusa.org/category/press-releases/, and
http://tinyurl.com/ze7rr6k

For previous AfricaFocus Bulletins on illicit financial flows,
corruption, and related issues, see
http://www.africafocus.org/intro-iff.php

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The Trump Election: Intersecting Explanations
http://www.noeasyvictories.org/usa/trump-win-reasons.php

Observations (third installment, Feb 7, 2017)

Since the inauguration of President Donald Trump on January 20, the
news cycle has been driven by the rapid pace of executive orders,
tweets, and, most surprisingly, an unprecedented range of resistance
to the assault on democratic values and rationality by the new
administration. Although the debate about explanations for the Trump
election have faded into the background, they remain highly relevant
for the present and future, for evaluation of his questionable
legitimacy, analysis of both medium-term and long-term strategies
for resistance, and, at a deeper level, as x-rays or CAT scans to
help piece together a deeper analysis of the history and driving
forces underpinning the U.S. and global socioeconomic and political
order.

[Continued at http://www.noeasyvictories.org/usa/explanations.php]

++++++++++++++++++++++end editor’s note+++++++++++++++++

Following House, Senate Axes SEC Oil, Mining Payments Rule Bloomberg
BNA, February 6, 2017

By Rob Tricchinelli

http://tinyurl.com/zxm2bs6

The Senate voted early Feb. 3 to revoke an SEC rule requiring oil,
gas and mining companies to disclose more about their operations,
two days after related House action. President Donald Trump can now
sign the measure, which would negate the long-embattled Securities
and Exchange Commission rule mandated by the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act and
designed to fight overseas corruption.

It was set to take effect in 2018 and force companies like Chevron
Corp. to reveal payments to governments tied to resource
development.

Republican lawmakers are using the Congressional Review Act to kill
the rule, which skirts the procedural requirement for 60 Senate
votes. The vote broke along party lines, 52-47, with Sen. Ed Markey
(D-Mass.) not voting.

Dodd-Frank Mandate

While the CRA action negates the SEC rule, it doesn’t strip away the
Dodd-Frank Act provision mandating the regulation. This means the
SEC is still technically required to craft the measure, even though
a Republican-led commission is unlikely to act and Republican
lawmakers are seeking to repeal that part of Dodd-Frank.

Several Republican lawmakers said they want the SEC to craft a
better rule. “It’s time to go back to the drawing board and redo
it,” Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.), who sponsored the effort in the
House, told Bloomberg BNA in a brief interview. Democrats slammed
the move. “This bill puts Big Oil and its cronies ahead of
transparency and accountability, and ought to be called the
Kleptocrat Relief Act,” Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) said in a news
release.

Try, Try Again

The rule has a tortured history. The SEC’s first attempt was struck
down in a lawsuit by the American Petroleum Institute. The second
attempt was prompted by a different lawsuit alleging the agency was
dragging its feet in reproposing it. Oil, gas and mineral companies
argue that the rule’s compliance costs, which the SEC estimates to
run in the tens or hundreds of millions industry-wide, outweigh its
benefits. The rule’s supporters counter that similar rules are
already in effect in other jurisdictions without hampering the
industry. They also say disclosures would reduce graft in mineral-
rich countries whose residents have low standards of living.

“It is alarming that lawmakers would move to undermine American
efforts to combat violent extremism abroad by rolling back this
anti-corruption measure, which protects American companies and
democratic interests around the globe,” Clark Gascoigne, deputy
director of the Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency
Coalition, said in a news release.

To contact the reporter on this story: Rob Tricchinelli in
Washington atrtricchinelli@bna.com

******************************************************

Accelerating the IFF Agenda for African Countries

January 2017

http://tinyurl.com/jf6ro5n

Introduction

Illicit financial flows (IFFs) are a large and growing problem for
the African continent, with upwards of $70 billion in IFFs leaving
the continent annually. African governments, intergovernmental
organizations, industry, and civil society have come to understand
the severity of the problem over the past few years.

The following list of actions are meant to address some of the first
steps in addressing IFFs. These actions are foundational, involving
measures that can either be undertaken more quickly and easily in
some countries where some of the processes and commitments may
already be underway or measures that lay the groundwork for later
reforms. The result is an Accelerated IFF Agenda that governments
can use as a place to begin their work to tackle IFFs in their own
countries, leading to greater domestic resource mobilization and
growth, resources which will be critical in making progress on the
Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development, and the African Union’s Agenda 2063, the Addis Tax
Initiative, and the Africa Mining Vision.

In considering the items on the Accelerated IFF Agenda, it is
important to remember two things. The first is that this should not
be seen as an all-or-nothing agenda. Each of these measures is
important in its own right and can be implemented independently of
others, and governments may want to consider ways to phase in
certain actions. For example, requiring country-by-country reporting
of all multinational companies operating in the country is one
option, but a government could instead require it only of companies
operating in the extractive industries or in construction. Second,
public involvement in helping achieve many of these aims can be of
great benefit. For example, a team of computer science students at a
university might be able to assist in the creation of an online
registry for corporations. Civil society organizations, academics,
the country’s youth, and other parts of society want to help tackle
IFFs for the good of their countries and their futures. Working with
them can multiply the effectiveness of many of the government’s
efforts, as well as building confidence with donors, investors, and
citizens.

The Accelerated IFF Agenda

Below is a list of fourteen measures governments can take in the
immediate term to catalyze their efforts to combat IFFs. Brief
explanations of each measure are included in the pages that follow.

Create Governmental IFF Policy

1. Establish Multi-Agency Units within Governments to Address IFFs

2. Include IFF Accountability within the African Peer Review
Mechanism

Promote Financial Transparency

3. Establish or Enhance Online Corporate Registries, Make
Information Publicly Available, and Require Beneficial Ownership
Information as Part of the Registration Process

4. Adopt the Open Contracting Data Standard

5. Require Disclosure of Beneficial Ownership Information from all
Government Contract Bidders

6. Require Disclosure of Beneficial Ownership Information in
Political Asset Declarations

7. Establish Government/Independent Measurement Mechanisms for
Extracted Natural Resources

Increase Enforcement Efforts and Powers

8. Adopt a Law Clearly Prohibiting Trade Misinvoicing

9. Establish Specialized Asset Forfeiture and Recovery Units and/or
Advocate for the Creation of a Special Office of Asset Recovery
within the African Union

Tackle Tax Evasion and Avoidance

10. Join African Tax Information Sharing Networks

11. Establish Transfer Pricing Units within Tax Authorities

12. Require Public Country-by-Country Reporting by Multinationals

Prevent Financial Crime

13. Mandate Rigorous Customer Due Diligence and Suspicious Activity
Reporting Programs within Banks

14. Empower Strong and Effective Financial Intelligence Units (and
create them if not yet established)

Several of the actions identified above require that certain
information be made available to the public. Countries may also want
to consider adopting a more wide-ranging law, regulation or policy
that provides the public with greater access to government
information and data, often called freedom of information
provisions.

Additional Detail for Accelerating the IFF Agenda for African
Countries

Create Governmental IFF Policy

1. Establish Multi-Agency Units within Governments to Address IFFs

IFFs affect all aspects of a country’s economy, therefore approaches
to curtailing IFFs must include agencies from across government,
enabling agencies to come together to coordinate and to develop
policy.

Governments should consider establishing multi-agency units that
include officials from various ministries or departments who
specialize in:

*  Financial intelligence and bank supervision

*  Import administration

*  Export administration

*  Transfer pricing

*  Income tax

*  Natural resource exploitation

*  National criminal investigations

*  National criminal prosecutions

*  Anti-corruption

To ensure that these multi-agency units can function effectively,
countries should ensure that laws are in place to allow officials
from different agencies to share information within these multi-
agency units. Some African countries have begun to establish multi-
agency units, but they are often more narrowly focused on, for
example, corruption or ‘illicit finance’ as described in the US-
Africa Partnership on Illicit Finance. While we welcome the
initiative to build on these existing multi-agency endeavors, we
believe it is imperative that the scope of work for the units be
broad enough to encompass the entirety of the IFF challenge.

2. Include IFF Accountability within the African Peer Review
Mechanism and Open Government Partnership Commitments

Countries should call on the African Union to include IFF-related
questions on the African Peer Review Mechanism questionnaire. As a
starting point, questions on this questionnaire could address each
of the policy areas recommended in this document. In addition,
African countries that are part of the Open Government Partnership
(OGP) should include in their OGP National Action Plans commitments
to carry out the action items identified in this document.

This action would implement previous recommendations made by the UN
Economic Commission for Africa’s High Level Panel on Illicit
Financial Flows from Africa,  which were endorsed by the African
Union in January 2015. The High Level Panel on Illicit Financial
Flows from Africa is now a joint initiative of the African Union and
the UN Economic Commission for Africa.

Promote Financial Transparency

3. Establish or Enhance Online Corporate Registries, Make
Information Publicly Available, and Require Beneficial Ownership
Information as Part of the Registration Process

Countries could look to legislation and regulation from early
adopters like the United Kingdom and the Ukraine for models on how
to implement these measures. In addition, a number of other
countries have committed to establishing public registers or
exploring their establishment and may soon have legislation that
could be referenced in developing domestic measures. These countries
include Bulgaria, France, Ghana, Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya,
Netherlands, New Zealand, and Nigeria.

This action would implement previous recommendations made by the UN
Economic Commission for Africa’s High Level Panel on Illicit
Financial Flows from Africa, and the Human Rights Development
Initiative, which was appointed by the African Union’s African
Commission on Human & Peoples’ Rights to conduct a study on the
human rights implications of IFFs.

4. Adopt the Open Contracting Data Standard

The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a common data model
that establishes a framework to enable governments to publish
shareable, reusable, and machine-readable procurement data that is
publicly accessible. While many countries have started to publish
PDFs of procurement contracts, information provided in PDF form is
of extremely limited utility. Adoption of a global data standard
like the OCDS is not just an exercise in publishing procurement
information. It enables governments to conduct assessments on the
fitness of their procurement systems by examining the experiences
and outcomes of other countries using the same standard. In
addition, the OCDS is a mature standard, offering practical tools,
expertise, and support to assist governments in adoption of the
standard.

The Contracting 5—Colombia, France, Mexico, Ukraine, and the UK—are
implementing the OCDS, and Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi,
Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Tunisia have included open contracting in
their National Action Plans for the Open Government Partnership.
Uganda developed an open contracting platform, the Government
Procurement Portal (GPP), and continues to work to improve the
system.

This action would implement previous recommendations on open
contracting and open spending made by the UN Economic Commission for
Africa’s High Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows from Africa,
and the Pan African Lawyers’ Union.

5. Require Disclosure of Beneficial Ownership Information from all
Government Contract Bidders

Currently, the Open Data Contracting Standard does not collect
information on beneficial ownership. To fill this gap, countries
should require beneficial ownership disclosures for all bidders for
and recipients of government contracts to help prevent sham bidding,
bidding by persons barred from government procurement for past
actions, and other forms of corruption in bidding processes. Such
policies are already in place in Slovakia and could serve as a study
for countries wishing to implement this recommendation.

This action would implement previous recommendations made by the UN
Economic Commission for Africa’s High Level Panel on Illicit
Financial Flows from Africa.

6. Require Disclosure of Beneficial Ownership Information in
Political Asset Declarations

Conflicts of interest may not be readily identifiable in asset
declarations unless the beneficial owners of the entities included
are known. Adding this detail to the asset declaration requirements
can help identify where potential conflicts may arise in the
individual’s political work. The Ukraine has passed legislation
requiring the inclusion of beneficial ownership of property
information on its asset declarations, and Liberia has included
making use of beneficial ownership information on asset declarations
an element of its National Action Plan for the US-Africa Partnership
on Illicit Finance.

7. Establish Government/Independent Measurement Mechanisms for
Extracted Natural Resources

Governments should independently determine or verify the actual
volume of natural resources being extracted from the ground by
mining and oil companies and not just rely on the volumes reported
by the companies. Without independent verification of the volume of
natural resources being extracted, it is impossible to determine if
companies have in fact paid the correct amount to the government
under their extraction contracts.

Zambia has implemented the Mineral Value Chain Monitoring Project
(MCVMP), which aims to independently monitor and facilitate the
exploration and exploitation of mining and mineral value chains in
the country. International support has contributed to the MCVMP
effort in Zambia, including the Government of Norway, the European
Union, and the Public Finance Management Reform programme. 8 Where
the African Mining Vision and/or the African Mineral Governance
Framework call for similar verification of the volume of minerals
extracted, this action item could be implemented through those
initiatives. This action builds on the strength of the OCDS and the
Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), which track
agreements and payments between governments and companies.

Increase Enforcement Efforts and Powers

8. Adopt a Law Clearly Prohibiting Trade Misinvoicing

Trade misinvoicing is the manipulation of the price, value, or
quantity of a good on an international invoice in order to avoid
taxes, move money, or evade capital controls. Of measurable IFFs,
trade misinvoicing has historically represented and continues to
represent the largest portion of IFFs. Though trade misinvoicing is
a relatively simple technique to use, it is exceedingly difficult
for government officials to identify. Moreover, the widespread,
routine, and customary nature of its use makes enacting a law
prohibiting the conduct essential in order to put business persons
on notice and to empower prosecutors to prosecute the conduct when
it is identified.

Example of a model law criminalizing trade misinvoicing:

Whoever, in relation to the importation or exportation of goods or
in relation to the trade in services or intangible property,
deliberately misstates, manipulates, falsifies, or omits a price,
quantity, volume, grade, or other material aspect of an invoice for
the purpose of (i) evading or avoiding VAT taxes, customs duties,
income taxes, or any other form of tax or revenue collected by the
Government; (ii) obtaining a tax benefit, export subsidy, or other
benefit provided by the Government; or (iii) evading or avoiding
[capital or foreign exchange controls]; shall be subject to a civil
or criminal fine of up to [specific amount] [or imprisoned for up to
[x] year[s], or both].

This action would implement previous recommendations made by the UN
Economic Commission for Africa’s High Level Panel on Illicit
Financial Flows from Africa.

9. Establish Specialized Asset Forfeiture and Recovery Units and/or
Advocate for the Creation of a Special Office of Asset Recovery
within the African Union

Asset forfeiture and recovery efforts deprive all types of criminals
of the proceeds of their crime, providing powerful disincentives for
crime in the first place. However, in order to be effective
disincentives, these efforts must be consistent and efficient.
Because they involve funds found in other jurisdictions, asset
recovery efforts require specialized knowledge of foreign legal
systems and mutual legal assistance treaties. Establishing units
specializing in asset forfeiture and recovery ensures that all
criminals face the potential for the loss of their criminal proceeds
and improves the odds of a country recovering the funds because of
the increased capacity and expertise that these units develop over
time.

Another approach would be to advocate for the creation of a special
office of asset recovery within the African Union. This office could
assist and facilitate asset repatriation requests among states,
including the maintenance of a public list of funds requested for
return and the status of such requests. Taking this approach could
contribute to the implementation of the recommendation by the UN
Economic Commission for Africa’s High Level Panel on Illicit
Financial Flows from Africa for the African Union to lead an effort
to establish a global governance framework for asset freezing and
repatriation. 10 The African Development Bank has also committed to
supporting a regional network on recovery of stolen assets in its
recently adopted Bank Group Policy on the Prevention of Illicit
Financial Flows. In addition, collaborative asset recovery
approaches already exist. For example, Asset Recovery Inter-Agency
Networks (ARIN) have been initiated in Southern Africa, East Africa,
and West Africa.

Tackle Tax Evasion and Avoidance

10. Join African Tax Information Sharing Networks

Several African countries have signed up to the OECD-led Common
Reporting Standard (CRS) for the international exchange of
information about bank accounts held by citizens abroad in an effort
to capture lost tax revenue. Access to this information is critical
in identifying and pursuing cases of individual tax evasion because
without the information provided by the foreign countries, the home
country has no way of knowing which citizens hold taxable bank
accounts abroad and must instead rely upon self-reporting by
individuals.

However, some African countries may have difficulty initially
accessing the broader international system for automatic exchange of
tax information because of how the system has been set up (with
little input from developing countries). Despite this, the
international framework could readily be adapted to establish
exchange arrangements among developing countries, especially within
regions. In fact, the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) is
currently engaged in a pilot program facilitating automatic exchange
of tax information among a number of African countries. In addition
to enabling African countries to get this critical information
sooner than may be available from developed countries, it offers
countries the opportunity to demonstrate capacity to perform within
these arrangements, making the country a more attractive potential
exchange partner for developed countries down the line.

11. Establish Transfer Pricing Units within Tax Authorities

Financial arrangements within corporate groups or among related
entities are nearly impossible to observe from the outside and
consequently are of high risk for manipulation. For this reason,
transactions among these parties, referred to as transfer pricing,
warrant special attention. Given the complexity of these
arrangements and transactions, it has been found that forming units
with highly trained officials to monitor these types of transactions
yields the most consistent and effective results for tax
administrations.

This action would implement previous recommendations made by the UN
Economic Commission for Africa’s High Level Panel on Illicit
Financial Flows from Africa, and the Human Rights Development
Initiative.

12. Require Public Country-by-Country Reporting by Multinationals

Public country-by-country reporting (CBCR) helps identify where
transfer pricing investigations should focus. By requiring companies
to provide basic financial information for entire corporate groups,
disaggregated by country, tax administrations are better able to
identify the risk of potential transfer pricing abuse and even
identify jurisdictions of concern to help establish more sensitive
risk management frameworks within tax administrations.

African countries should require foreign multinational corporations
(MNCs) operating in their country to provide their country-by-
country reports with their local tax returns and encourage those
MNCs to make the information publicly available. Further, African
countries should require MNCs headquartered in their country to
prepare and publish country-by-country reports.

This action would implement previous recommendations made by the UN
Economic Commission for Africa’s High Level Panel on Illicit
Financial Flows from Africa. 12

Prevent Financial Crime

13. Mandate Rigorous Customer Due Diligence and Suspicious Activity
Reporting Programs within Banks

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has set the international
standards for customer due diligence and suspicious activity
reporting in their FATF Recommendations 2012 standard,
Recommendations 10 and 20, respectively. Countries can look to their
FATF-Style Regional Body (FSRB) for assistance in implementing and
strengthening their laws and regulations in this area. This action
would implement previous recommendations made by the UN Economic
Commission for Africa’s High Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows
from Africa, and the Human Rights Development Initiative. 14.
Empower Strong and Effective Financial Intelligence Units (and
create them if not yet established)

Financial intelligence units (FIUs) are bodies that collect and, if
given the power, coordinate intelligence on financial crime that
results in IFFs. Creating FIUs where none exist, and giving them
strong powers of coordination and information collation from
different arms of government (possibly in a lead role in a Multi-
Agency IFF Unit (see point 1 above)), is critical to organizing and
operationalizing counter-IFF measures. Additionally, connecting to
the international network of FIUs, the Egmont Group, can help
facilitate cooperation among FIUs of different countries. While most
African countries do have FIUs, only twenty-two African countries
have FIUs that are members of the Egmont Group.

About

This document is the result of consultations among experts on
various elements of illicit financial flows, including:

* Raymond Baker – Global Financial Integrity, Washington, D.C., USA

* Jason Braganza – Tax Justice Network-Africa (TJN-A), Nairobi,
Kenya

* Liz Confalone – Global Financial Integrity, Washington, D.C., USA

* Donald Deya – Pan African Lawyers’ Union (PALU), Arusha, Tanzania

* Donald Ideh – TrustAfrica, Abuja, Nigeria

* Heather Lowe – Global Financial Integrity, Washington, D.C., USA

* Jean Mballa Mballa РCentre R̩gional Africain pour le
Développement Endogène et Communautaire (CRADEC), Yaoundé, Cameroon

*  Auwal Ibrahim Musa (Rafsanjani) – Civil Society Legislative
Center (CISLAC), Abuja, Nigeria

*  Crystal Simeoni – Tax Justice Network-Africa (TJN-A), Nairobi,
Kenya

We wish to thank the Swedish International Development Agency for
their support of this project.

*****************************************************

AfricaFocus Bulletin is an independent electronic publication
providing reposted commentary and analysis on African issues, with a
particular focus on U.S. and international policies. AfricaFocus
Bulletin is edited by William Minter.

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By A. Shaw and James Thompson

We are talking about race and the fight against racism.

Race seems to be short hand for all of us –the human race.

Race suggests some kind of totality among people.

Racism, on the other hand, necessarily implies segments of the race that are hostile towards one another.

So, racists are hostile segments of the people. For example, some racists hate all of the human race.

These are called misanthropes. Misanthropes hate and often want to destroy everybody. They often want to destroy the human race merely because members of the human race are human.

Other races hate and often want to destroy only half of the race.

These are called misandrists. They hate and often want to destroy boys and men simply because they are boys and men.

Another type of racist hates and often wants to destroy girls and women who constitute half of the race. These are called misogynists.

How can we fight the racism whether it aims to destroy the totality of the human race or the destruction of only the males or only the females?

Today, perhaps a doctor can give them a pill or an injection or lock them up or lie them on an injection table or hang them. In Texas, it is not feasible to electrocute all the racists because it would drain all the electricity. Texas administers so many lethal injections that it sometimes has to deal with shortages of the poison that it pumps into the veins of its people so it is not a viable option.

By the way, in the USA, a misogynist can become President and reside in the White House, Donald Trump.

At some point, it became obvious to even the racists that a racism based on gender was unsatisfactory. A gender based racism requires racists to destroy some of their parents and some of their siblings. So, the racists modified their racism to be based on color more than on gender in order to protect their kinfolk.

The racists then imagined that there is a multiplicity of racists based on color chiefly of the skin. The racists thereby discovered blacks, whites, yellows and later on during the latter 19^th and 20^th centuries, browns and reds.

Initially, the division of humanity consisted of blacks and whites. Later on the racists added the yellows. The prevalence of these sexual mixtures (miscegenation)made it difficult to determine whether an individual was this color or that color. Sometimes blacks who look like they were white insisted that they were black. Vice versa, sometimes whites who look like they were white insisted they were black. When the yellows entered the mixture, the problem of determination of racial identity grew more complex and hopeless. Nobody could tell whether somebody else was white or black. Among the whites, people discovered that other whites were the principle foe, for example, yellow haired and blue eyed people who were white hated some other people who did not have yellow hair and blue eyes even though they were white. So clearly color was an inadequate basis for racism.

In order to fight racism progressive people fought a legal struggle-both judicial and legislative-in which laws were passed to prohibit racist acts called discrimination, e.g. in the USA the civil rights act in 1964 and the voting rights act in 1965. The state in the USA mildly enforced these legal measures against racism over the last 50 years but the state in the USA did not enforce these anti-racist laws with the vigor to eradicate racism.

Around the middle of the 19^th century the form of racism based on skull shape became popular among the intelligentsia and almost replaced color based racism.

Skull based racism known as phrenology became popular, advocating that there was a relationship between skull shape and psychological characteristics. Almost all phrenologists insisted that non-whites lacked the kind of skull shape that results in the development of strong and smart individuals.

People relied on other scientists to debunk the non-sense of the phrenologists and after the defeat of the Nazi racists who were enthusiastic phrenologists, people widely saw that skull based racism was non-sense. So, to fight skull based racism and the residues of color and gender racism requires war.

This brings us up to the present time where the original basis of racism, the emergence of an economic surplus or deficit, generates race hatred mostly of the misanthropic form. There is a group of highly trained racists who argue that at least 80% of the world population must be exterminated so that the 20% can strive and survive. These are basically misanthropes. These misanthropes claim that they only want to get rid of about 80% of the world’s population.

If these racists were successful in wiping out 80% of the world’s population, they would then attempt to get rid of the remaining 20%. These racists so far believe that pestilence and famine are the best ways to get rid of the 80%, but these modern day racists do not overlook the Nazi contribution to racism. This racism can be described as industrialized genocide.

Contemporary racists primarily rely on the manufacture and distribution of lethal germs to produce the pestilence that can wipe out the 80%.

And this pestilence in turn produces the famine that greatly contributes to wiping out the 80%. Research institutes around the world are developing the viruses that will accelerate the rate of mass murder that is underway.

For decades, these institutes were mostly interested in the research of deadly biological agents but today their focus is mainly on the development of these agents.

There is a consideration that impedes the use of these deadly biological agents to attack the 80%. That consideration is the existence or absence of a highly effective antidote that will cure members of the 20% if they are inadvertently infected by the biological agents distributed by modern day racists.

People who talk about the conspiracy to wipe out 80% of the world population are ridiculed as hopeless and incurable paranoids.

The information concerning wiping out the 80% has been hacked but what do you do with the documentation that demonstrates that imperialists are conspiring to wipe out the 80%? Anyone who has possession of the data that proves the imperialists are wiping out the 80% would get the same kind of treatment as Edward Snowden. You cannot take the data hacked from biological research institutes to the bourgeois media because under bourgeois law they are required to notify the state.

AfricaFocus Bulletin
January 23, 2017 (170123)
(Reposted from sources cited below)

Editor’s Note

“Eskom, accused of overly cozy ties with the Guptas featured heavily
in the report, with 916 mentions. … it’s Eskom’s chief executive,
Brian Molefe, who comes out looking the worst. According to cell
phone records, Molefe had 58 phone calls with the eldest of the
Gupta brothers, Ajay Gupta, between August 2015 and March 2016, just
before the Guptas purchased South Africa’s Optimum coal mine for
2.15 billion rand ($160 million). Eskom, which prepaid the Gupta’s
Tegeta Exploration and Resources 600 million rand for coal, had been
accused of helping to finance the Guptas’ coal mine deal through
preferential treatment.” – Quartz Africa

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In South Africa, as elsewhere in countries both large and small, the
debates about government energy policy are often framed in terms of
what is best for the “national interest.” But few doubt that behind
these choices between renewable energy options and others (fossil
fuels or nuclear energy), there are also private interests, whose
roles in the management of the state are not new but are becoming
more and more blatant (see below on links on the common stakes of
the incoming Trump administration and Russia’s Putin in promoting
fossil-fuel interests).

Concentrating on this aspect of what is termed “state capture” in
South Africa, this AfricaFocus Bulletin includes (1) brief excerpts
from the 355-page report on “State of Capture” from Public Protector
Thuli Madonsela; (2) an article with a summary of the report from
Quartz Africa, and (3) an article from The Conversation on the state
capture issue and its effects on plans for nuclear energy.

Two recent articles with background on the energy debate include:

le Cordeur, Matthew, “5 reasons why Eskom is wrong about renewables
costs – CSIR,” Jan 12, 2017 http://www.fin24.com – direct URL:
http://tinyurl.com/jmpts84

“Eskom delaying R50 billion renewable energy plan to push nuclear
goals,” Jan 10, 2017, http://businesstech.co.za – direct URL:
http://tinyurl.com/zcqku94

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Just Announced re State Capture in Mozambique

Watch live on youtube January 25
Zitamar News and Africa Research Institute present:
A Webinar on Mozambique’s Debt Crisis
Wednesday 25 January – 15:00 Maputo / 13:00 London / 08:00 New York

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The Trump Election: Intersecting Explanations
http://www.noeasyvictories.org/usa/trump-win-reasons.php

Observations (second installment), Jan 23, 2017

In the period between the election and the inauguration, the
highest profile debate about reasons for the Trump electoral win was
about Putin’s intervention. But that debate produced more heat than
light, while key issues such as the common interests of Putin and
the Trump administration in promoting the fossil-fuel industry
received only marginal attention.

See http://noeasyvictories.org/usa/putin-intervention.php for  short
observations and database entries for 31 sources to date.

Articles on the fossil-fuel connection in particular include:

Joe Romm, “Did Putin help elect Trump to restore $500 billion Exxon
oil deal killed by sanctions?,” ThinkProgress, Jan 8, 2017
http://tinyurl.com/z6d45ub

Rachel Maddow, 5-minute video on ExxonMobil & Russia deal, Dec. 20,
2016 at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n60SzMzjXog

Alex Steffen, “Trump, Putin and the Pipelines to Nowhere
You can’t understand what Trump’s doing to America without
understanding the ‘Carbon Bubble’,” Dec 15, 2016, http://medium.com
– Direct URL: http://tinyurl.com/hb2xnc6

++++++++++++++++++++++end editor’s note+++++++++++++++++

“State of Capture”: A Report of the Public Protector

14 October 2016

Full 355-page report in pdf available at http://tinyurl.com/jffpskt

5. Evidence and Information Obtained

Introduction

5.1. The Gupta family, originating from India, arrived in South
Africa in 1993. They  established businesses in South Africa with
their notable business being a computer  assembly and distribution
company called Sahara Computers. The family is led by  three
brothers Ajay Gupta who is the eldest, Atul Gupta and Rajesh Gupta
who is  the youngest. Rajesh is commonly known as “Tony”. According
to a letter submitted  to my office, total revenues from their
business activities for the 2016 financial year  amounted to R2,6
billion, with government contracts contributing a total of R235
million of the revenues.

5.2. They later diversified their business interests into mining
through the acquisition of  JIC Mining Services, Shiva Uranium and
Tegeta Exploration and Resources,  Optimum Coal Mine and
Koornfontein Coal Mine. They also started a media  company called
TNA Media, which publishes a newspaper called The New Age and  owns
a television channel called ANN7.

5.3. The Gupta family are known friends of the President Zuma.
President Zuma has  openly acknowledged his friendship with them,
most notably during a discussion in  the National Assembly on 19
June 2013 where he admitted that members of the  Gupta family were
his friends. Mr Ajay Gupta (“Mr A. Gupta), also admitted to being
friends with President Zuma when I interviewed him on 4 October
2016.

5.4. President Zuma’s son, Mr Duduzane Zuma (“Mr D. Zuma”) is a
business partner of  the Gupta family through an entity called
Mabengela Investments (“Mabengela”).  Mabengela has a 28.5% interest
in Tegeta Exploration and Resources (“Tegeta”).  Mr D. Zuma is a
Director of Mabengela.

5.5. Members of the Gupta family and the President Zuma’ son, Mr D.
Zuma, have  secured major contracts with Eskom, a major State owned
company, through  Tegeta. Tegeta has secured a 10 year coal supply
agreement (“CSA”) with Eskom  SOC Limited (“Eskom”) to supply coal
to the Majuba Power station. The entity has  also secured contracts
with Eskom to supply coal to the Hendrina and Arnot power  stations.

5.6.  Eskom CEO, Mr Brian Molefe (“Mr Molefe”) is friends with
members of the Gupta  family. Mr A. Gupta admitted during my
interview with him on 4 October 2016 that  Mr Molefe is his “very
good friend” and often visits his home in Saxonwold.

5.7. The New Age newspaper has also secured contracts with some
provincial  government departments and state owned entities, most
notably Eskom and South  African Airways (“SAA”).

5.8. The Gupta family recently purchased shares in an entity called
VR Laser Services  (“VR Laser”). VR Laser has major contracts with
Denel SOC Limited (“Denel”), a  State owned armaments manufacturing
company. VR Laser has also partnered with  Denel to apparently seek
business opportunities abroad.

5.9. During March this year, Mr Jonas issued a media statement
alleging that he was  offered the position of Minister of Finance by
members of the Gupta family in  exchange for executive decisions
favourable to the business interests of the Gupta  family, an offer
which he declined. The Gupta family has denied the allegations  made
by Mr Jonas.

5.10. At the time Mr Jonas is alleged to have been offered a Cabinet
post as Minister of  Finance, Mr Nene was occupying the post. Mr
Nene was removed from his post on  9 December 2015 by President Zuma
and replaced with Minister Van Rooyen.  Minister Van Rooyen was
replaced by Minister Gordhan on 14 December 2015 as  Minister of
Finance, 4 days after his appointment.

5.11. Following Mr Jonas’ statement, Ms Mentor also issued a
statement to the press  alleging that she was also offered a Cabinet
post by members of the Gupta family in  exchange for executive
decisions favourable to their business interests, an  allegation
denied by the Gupta family.

5.12. The former CEO of Government Communication and Information
System (“GCIS”),  Mr Themba Maseko also issued a statement alleging
that members of the Gupta  family pressured him into placing
government advertisements in the New Age  newspaper. Mr Maseko
further alleged that President Zuma asked him to “help” the  Gupta
family.

**********************************************

What the “State Capture” report tells us about Zuma, the Guptas, and
corruption in South Africa

Lynsey Chutel and Lily Kuo

Quartz Africa, November 2, 2016

What the “State Capture” report tells us about Zuma, the Guptas, and corruption in South Africa

It’s the report that confirms South Africa’s worst fears about
corruption: that the state has been captured. In 355 pages, former
public protector Thuli Madonsela and her team of investigators
outline in detail just how much control the Gupta family, a wealthy
Indian immigrant family, has over South Africa’s resources. The
Guptas’ close friend, president Jacob Zuma, as well as two ministers
implicated in the report, went to court to stop its release. But it
was finally released on Nov. 2, after protests and a court battle.

The report is potentially damning for Zuma, offering proof that he
sanctioned the use of state companies for personal enrichment. But
now the real reckoning begins, as a web of corruption around Zuma,
the Guptas, and at least three ministers begins to unravel.

Hiring and firing ministers in the Guptas’ house

The report contains a detailed interview with deputy finance
minister Mcebisi Jonas, who alleges that the Guptas offered him the
finance minister’s post weeks before Zuma was to shuffle three
finance ministers in one week. Jonas was driven to the Guptas’ home
by the president’s son Duduzane Zuma, where he was met by Ajay
Gupta.

Ajay Gupta allegedly told Jonas they’d been keeping tabs on him and
wanted him to be their man in the treasury. Ajay Gupta revealed that
they’d already made 6 billion rand ($443 million) from dealings with
the government, and wanted to make at least 2 billion rand more
(about $147 million). When Jonas refused, they tried to sweeten the
deal with 600 million rand (about $44 million) and an extra 600,000
rand ($44,318) in cash, right there. Jonas declined the money, and
months later became the whistle-blower that launched this
investigation when he revealed his story in March.

Vytjie Mentor, who came out after Jonas with an account of how the
Guptas tried to offer her the job of minister of public enterprises,
in charge of state-owned companies, also details her exchange with
the family. According to the report (p.89), Mentor was told during a
meeting in October last year at the Guptas’ home that she would go
from an ordinary parliamentarian to cabinet minister in a week. All
she had to do was make sure South African Airways dropped their
route between Johannesburg and Mumbai, making way for the Gupta-
linked carrier Jet Airways. Mentor declined. She was surprised to
see the president himself emerge from an adjacent room, who said
“it’s okay girl…take care of yourself,” as he personally escorted
her out.

According to the report, the Guptas also have the power to fire
ministers seen as stumbling blocks to their plans. Former finance
minister Nhlanhla Nene’s insistence on sticking to the rules cost
him his job. As did Barbara Hogan, former minister of public
enterprises, who refused to allow outside influence in appointments
of board members of state-owned South African Airways, Transnet, the
national rail, and Eskom, the state power utility (p. 89, 90). On an
official visit to India, Hogan said she was shocked to find the
Guptas running proceedings. She was relieved of her duties a few
months later.

Des van Rooyen, the unknown parliamentarian who became finance
minister for a few days after Nene, went to court in a bid to delay
the report, fearing it would implicate him. And it has. His phone
records show that van Rooyen visited the Guptas’ home seven days in
a row before he was appointed as finance minister. He was later
moved to a less prominent ministry. Van Rooyen has denied any
wrongdoing.

Negotiating on behalf of the Guptas

Mining minister Mosebenzi Zwane also tried to have the report
delayed, saying it was hastily prepared and that he had not been
given time to respond. According to the report (p. 124, 125), Zwane
travelled to Switzerland on behalf of the Guptas to smooth over
their acquisition of a troubled coal mine from multinational
commodity trader Glencore, helping the Guptas become one of the main
coal suppliers for state utility Eskom. Zwane allegedly helped
facilitate the deal by accompanying delegates from a Gupta resources
company, Tegeta, to Zurich, according to a flight itinerary obtained
by the public protector. Zwane could not be interviewed in time for
the report, but should be allowed to give his version in subsequent
investigations, the report says.

Eskom: Keeping the lights on for the Guptas

Eskom, accused of overly cozy ties with the Guptas featured heavily
in the report, with 916 mentions. Lynn Brown, who became the
minister in charge of South Africa’s state owned enterprises, is
implicated in the report for allowing the appointment of a lame-duck
board that turned a blind eye to murky deals made at the energy
monopoly.

But it’s Eskom’s chief executive, Brian Molefe, who comes out
looking the worst. According to cell phone records, Molefe had 58
phone calls with the eldest of the Gupta brothers, Ajay Gupta,
between August 2015 and March 2016, just before the Guptas purchased
South Africa’s Optimum coal mine for 2.15 billion rand ($160
million). Eskom, which prepaid the Gupta’s Tegeta Exploration and
Resources 600 million rand for coal, had been accused of helping to
finance the Guptas’ coal mine deal through preferential treatment.

The report concludes (p, 20), “it appears that the sole purpose of
awarding contracts to Tegeta to supply Arnot Power Station, was made
solely for the purposes of funding Tegeta and enabling Tegeta to
purchase all shares in OCH [Optimum Coal Holdings]. The only entity
which appears to have benefited from Eskom’s decisions with regards
to [the Optimum coal mine deal] was Tegeta.” Cellphone records also
put Molefe in the Saxonwold area, where the Guptas live, 19 times
between August and November 2015 and phone calls between Molefe and
Ronica Ragavan, head of the Gupta’s holding company, Oakbay
Investments. Justifying these calls and visits, Ajay Gupta told
Madonsela in an interview last month that Molefe is his “very good
friend” who often visits the Gupta compound. But Madonsela says
these records show “a distinct line of communication between Molefe
of Eskom, the Gupta family and directors of their companies… These
links cannot be ignored as Mr Molefe did not declare his
relationship with the Guptas.” Eskom hasrefuted any allegations of
wrongdoing. “We do believe everything that we’ve done so far was
above board,” spokesman for the utility, Khulu Phasiwe, told a local
radio station.

Advertising with the Guptas

Themba Maseko, former chief executive of government’s communications
agency, in charge of a media buying budget of 600 million rand a
year, said he was pressured by the Gupta family to place government
ads in their newspaper the New Age. Maseko was also one of the
whistleblowers who took his story to the media in March.

In an interview with Madonsela in August, Maseko said he was on his
way to a meeting with the Guptas in late 2010 when the president
called him on the phone to say, “The Gupta brothers need your help,
please help them.” During the meeting with Ajay Gupta, Gupta told
Maseko that he wanted government advertising channeled to his new
newspaper, the New Age. According to Maseko’s account, the
government official told Gupta that he could not decide where
government departments advertise. Gupta responded that this was not
a problem. He would instruct the departments to advertise in the
newspaper

According to Maseko’s account, Gupta instructed Maseko to tell him
“where the funds are and inform the departments to provide the funds
to you and if they refuse, we will deal with them. If you have a
problem with any department, we will summon ministers here.” Later
when Maseko refused to take a meeting with a New Age staff, Gupta
told Maseko, “I will talk to your seniors in government and you will
be sorted out.” Maseko was fired a few months later.

A bright spot: Integrity in the Treasury

The report shows how the Guptas’ plans were repeatedly thwarted by
officials in the treasury (p. 131, 132, and 94). The National
Treasury, in charge of approving deals linked to state-owned
enterprises, stuck to the rules of procurement and public finance.
Treasury officials questioned the Eskom coal deal with Tegeta.
Unable to stop the initial deal, they succeeded in blocking an
extension of the Tegeta contract. These obstructions appear to have
frustrated the Guptas and cost Nene his job. Many speculate that
current finance minister Pravin Gordhan’songoing legal battles are
related to the treasury’s resistance to the Guptas influence.

What next?

Zuma, the ministers, and the Guptas have yet to respond to the
damning allegations in the report. Madonsela has since left office,
with state capture report serving as her parting shot in a seven-
year battle against corruption. Still, she’s left instructions on
how to use with her findings. Her successor, who has already
started, should bring potentially criminal accusations in the report
to the National Prosecuting Authority and the police’s Directorate
for Priority Crime Investigation, better known as the Hawks.

Madonsela has also recommended that the report be taken further by a
commission of inquiry, headed by a judge appointed by the chief
justice of South Africa’s constitutional court, Mogoeng Mogoeng.
There are concerns that the prosecuting authority and the Hawks have
been compromised. (They have spearheaded the fraud case against
finance minister Gordhan.) But the public’s hopes lie in the chief
justice, who has spoken out harshly against the abuse of power
before.

“Public office bearers ignore their constitutional obligations at
their peril. This is so because constitutionalism‚ accountability
and the rule of law constitute the sharp and mighty sword that
stands ready to chop the ugly head of impunity off its stiffened
neck,” Mogeng said in March when he ruled against the president over
his use public funds used to renovate his personal compound in
Nkandla.

*******************************************************

How the state capture controversy has influenced South Africa’s
nuclear build

Harmut Winkler

The Conversation, May 26, 2016

http://tinyurl.com/jgrjcz8

South Africa is facing a critical decision that could see it
investing about R1 trillion – or US$60 billion to $70 billion – in a
fleet of new nuclear power stations. Proponents argue that it will
greatly increase electrical base-load capacity and generate
industrial growth. But opponents believe the high cost would cripple
the country economically.

What should be an economic decision has now been clouded by
controversy, with political pressure to push through the nuclear
build and the increasingly apparent rewards it would bring to
politically linked individuals.

The nuclear expansion programme needs to be considered exceptionally
carefully given that the required financial commitment is roughly
equal to the total South African annual tax revenue. Loan repayments
could place a devastating long-term burden on the public and on the
economy as a whole.

South Africa’s energy needs

South Africa is in the process of massively expanding and
modernising its electricity generation capacity. The government-
driven Integrated Resource Plan aims to increase total capacity from
42,000MW (peak demand of 39,000MW) to 85,000MW (peak demand of
68,000MW) in 2030. A key component of this plan is the construction
of facilities to produce 9,600MW of nuclear power. However, this
aspect of the plan has been challenged.

The biggest concern is that nuclear power is too expensive for the
country. The debate gained momentum when the 2013 update to the
2010-2030 electricity plan found that electricity demand is growing
slower than originally anticipated. Peak demand in 2030 is now
expected to range between 52,000 MW and 61,000 MW. There is
consequently widespread belief that new nuclear power stations can
be delayed considerably.

South Africa’s energy generation options

South Africa has had remarkable success with speedy, cost-effective
installation of renewable energy power plants. In addition to this,
technologies for harvesting South Africa’s plentiful wind and solar
energy resources are rapidly becoming cheaper, raising the question
of whether the country should not invest more in these options
rather than in going nuclear.

The argument that nuclear energy provides a stable base load,
independent of weather conditions, is mitigated by improvements in
energy storage technologies. But also by the fact that South Africa,
with its large coal power production, has a proportionally higher
base load than many highly developed industrialised countries. The
pro-nuclear option is therefore not unavoidable, as nuclear
proponents suggest, but rather a matter for thorough economic
consideration.

Zuma and the Russians

The nuclear debate gained a political dimension when President Jacob
Zuma and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, started to develop
an unusually close relationship. It culminated in an announcement
that the Russian nuclear developer, Rosatom, had been awarded the
potentially highly lucrative contract to build the new reactors. The
agreement was later denied.

Rosatom was considered the preferred contender, with other bidders
only there to lend the process legitimacy, according to some
observers. The lack of transparency surrounding the process, coupled
with a history of corruption in South African mega-projects like the
arms deal, has made the whole scheme seem suspicious to the broader
public.

A thickening plot

A crucial thread in this saga involves the Shiva uranium mine, about
30km north-west of Pretoria, the country’s executive capital. It
originally belonged to a company called Uranium One, a subsidiary of
Russia’s Rosatom. It was sold in 2010 to Oakbay Resources, a company
controlled by members of the politically connected Gupta family and
the president’s son, in a deal that greatly surprised economists.

The mine was deemed unprofitable and thus unattractive to other
mining companies. But it was still considered worth a whole lot more
than the R270 million paid by Oakbay. The mine would, however,
become highly profitable if it became the uranium supplier to the
new nuclear power stations. Oakbay and its associates therefore have
a very strong incentive for this nuclear build to happen.

It is here that the nuclear build drama feeds into the recent major
controversy surrounding alleged state capture, meaning a corrupt
system where state officials owe their allegiance to politically
connected oligarchs rather than the public interest. This was
highlighted by the shock dismissal of Finance Minister Nhanhla Nene,
a reported nuclear build sceptic, but also by subsequent allegations
of ministerial positions being offered to people by members of the
Gupta family.

Political, legal and civil opposition

The nuclear build’s association with the Zuma faction in the ruling
African National Congress (ANC) will be a political hot potato for
decades to come. The whole scandal also offers potential opportunity
to opposition parties. With increasing evidence of individuals
benefiting, opposition parties have found another spot to exploit,
as they did with Nkandla. A post-Zuma government would find it most
convenient to simply dissociate itself from the whole scheme.

The South African courts have been used very effectively by pressure
groups in the past. Already a number of environmental groups have
initiated legal applications, and these might end up being escalated
to the Supreme and Constitutional Courts. This will delay any
building initiative by years.

The South African experience with the 2010 World Cup has shown that
mega-projects can come to fruition when there is broad overall
support for the initiative. At the same time, South Africans can be
very disruptive and obstructive when this is not the case. For
example, the public opposition to e-tolling, an electronic toll
collection on certain roads.

The two leading opposition parties, the Democratic Alliance and the
Economic Freedom Fighters, have already expressed their strong
criticism of the planned nuclear build. Their supporters and civil
society in general have demonstrated their capacity for mobilisation
around specific issues. So the potential for an anti-nuclear protest
movement cannot be discounted.

A negative nuclear outlook

Building these plants is a risky business proposition, especially
for Rosatom, which is implicated in the developing scandal. The
recent political mood swing against state capture and a likely
credit rating downgrade add to the risk.

Rosatom has suggested a nuclear build financing option that
effectively amounts to it providing a loan. It is, however,
conceivable that a future government may not honour debt repayments
if there is a view that the construction deal was secured
irregularly.

The narrow public support base and downright hostility in some
quarters to a nuclear build has already effectively stalled local
nuclear construction plans. The level of controversy, high costs and
potential for further disruption mean that the planned
implementation could only proceed under severe social strain.

Such a scenario could very well cost the ruling ANC the 2019
national elections. And the party is becoming increasingly aware of
this. As such, it is posited that the nuclear build will not happen
any time as soon as planned.

*****************************************************

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Source: In defense of communism