World
New Media Law Threatens Free Speech In Angola—HRW
By Dipo Olowookere
Angolan President, Mr José Eduardo dos Santos, has been urged not to a new media law until parliament revises provisions restricting the right to freedom of expression.
According to the Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Wednesday, the law threatens freedom of speech in Angola and grants the government and ruling party expansive power to interfere with the work of journalists, and potentially to prevent reporting on corruption or human rights abuses.
Parliament passed the Press Law on November 18, 2016, with minimal debate, together with a new Television Law, Broadcast Law, Journalists Code of Conduct, and statutes of the recently established Angolan Regulatory Body for Social Communication (ERCA, Entidade Reguladora da Comunicação Social Angolana).
The five laws constitute what the government called the Social Communication Legislative Package (Pacote legislativo da comunicação social).
“Angola’s new media law is the latest threat to free expression and access to information in the country,” said Daniel Bekele, senior Africa advocacy director at Human Rights Watch. “President Dos Santos should uphold his commitment to human rights and refuse to sign these media restrictions into law.”
A number of the Press Law’s articles violate Angola’s international obligations to respect media freedom, Human Rights Watch said. These include:
Article 29 gives the Ministry of Social Communication the authority to oversee how media organizations carry out editorial guidelines and to punish violators with suspension of activities or fines;
Article 35 imposes excessive fees to establish a media group of 35 million kwanzas for a news agency (US$211,000) and 75 million kwanzas (US$452,000) for a radio station; and
Article 82 criminalizes publication of a text or image that is “offensive to individuals.” Under the penal code, defamation and slander are punishable with fines and imprisonment for up to six months.
The law’s overly broad definition of defamation opens the door for the government to arbitrarily prosecute journalists who report about illegal or improper activity by officials and others, Human Rights Watch said. Criminal defamation laws should be abolished entirely, as they are open to easy abuse and can result in harsh consequences, including imprisonment.
ECRA’s final draft statutes and the other media laws were unexpectedly put forward for discussion just days before their November 18 approval, catching many media professionals unaware. Journalists and media freedom activists have criticized the process as lacking consultation and transparency.
“We were never officially informed about dates of the discussion or approval of this law – not even during the discussion of details,” Teixeira Candido, the head of the Angolan Journalism Union, told Human Rights Watch.
Parliament approved the establishment of the regulatory body, together with the first drafts of the other four bills of the Social Communication Legislative Package, in August at the initiation of the ruling party, the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), which controls roughly 80 percent of the assembly’s seats. The first draft gave the body the authority to “enforce compliance with professional journalistic ethics” and to issue licenses to journalists, which are required for them to work. After criticism from the Journalism Union, however, the government agreed to limit this authority to a new body controlled by media professionals.
Under the revised statute, six of the ERCA members are to be appointed jointly by the government and the party with the most seats in parliament. The journalism union nominates two members and the other political parties in parliament appoint the remaining three.
The new media laws follow government officials’ complaints about what they consider an irresponsible media, including social media. In December 2015, President Dos Santos said, “Social networks should not be used to violate other people’s rights, humiliate, slander or convey degrading or morally offensive content.”
After parliament passed the recent package of laws, Social Communication Minister José Luis de Matos told the media that the new media law would ensure that journalists take more responsibility for their work because they “cannot assume that they have the right to do what they want.”
Angolan political figures, including members of the government, have used the defamation provision of the old 2006 media law to crack down on critics. In 2008, Graça Campos, a journalist and editor of the weekly paper Angolense, was sentenced to a six-month suspended jail term for publishing articles accusing three former ministers of involvement in corruption.
In March 2011, Armando Chicoca, a correspondent for Voice of America, was sentenced to a year in jail for articles critical of a judge in Namibe province.
In February 2014, Queirós Chilúvia, another journalist, was sentenced to a six-month suspended jail term for investigating screams and cries for help emanating from a police station. In May 2015, Rafael Marques, a prominent journalist, was given a six-month suspended jail term for revealing killings and torture in the country’s diamond fields.
The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights has long called for the abolition of criminal defamation laws in the continent, saying that they open the way to abuse and can result in very harsh consequences for journalists who expose abuses of power, corruption, and human rights violations, all of which are rife in Angola.
In 2013, in a landmark judgment Lohé Issa Konaté v. Burkina Faso, involving a criminal libel conviction of a Burkinabe journalist, the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights ruled that imprisonment for defamation violated the right to freedom of expression and that such laws should only be used in restricted circumstances. The court also ordered Burkina Faso to amend its criminal defamation laws.
After 40 years of independence, the Angolan media remains largely controlled by the MPLA. The government owns the only radio and television stations that broadcast across the entire country, as well as the official news agency.
Reporters Without Borders ranks Angola, 123rd out of 180, in its 2016 World Press Freedom Index. In August 2013, Human Rights Watch urged the government to repeal the country’s criminal defamation laws and stop using them to harass journalists.
“The predominance of the Angolan government and the most powerful political party undermine the independence of the journalism regulatory body and risks making it a mechanism for censorship and control rather than media freedom,” Bekele said. “Unless this new media law is revised, the precarious situation of the media in Angola will only get worse.”
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
On the sidelines of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), Russian President Vladimir Putin has held a working discussion with Dilma Rousseff, President of the New Development Bank (NDB) established by BRICS countries. According to official reports made available by the Kremlin, Putin urged the bank to consider seriously the adoption of new financial payment systems and the possibility of settlements in national currencies.
“There are issues that require special attention. I mean the expansion of the possibility of settlements in national currencies, and further joint efforts to create a digital platform for settlements and investments,” Putin stressed in his comments at the meeting, and reminded that this question was thoroughly discussed at the last summit of BRICS leaders in Kazan, Tatarstan.
While congratulating her re-election to the position of the head of the New Development Bank, which implies that all members of the bank highly appreciated her work, Putin further underlined that currently the New Development Bank (NDB) has approved and financed approximately 120 projects worth US$39 billion.
In her brief response, Dilma Rousseff, President of the New Development Bank (NDB), informed and confirmed the fact that the Russian Federation proposed her candidacy for re-election as the NBR president. “For my part, I will do everything possible and make every effort to fulfil my duties in this post as best as possible,” Rousseff told Putin in the presence of the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Maxim Oreshkin, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, and Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina.
Established in 2015 by the BRICS leaders, the New Development Bank (NDB) has since faced multitude of challenges, especially now with geopolitical changes and emerging economic hurdles. “Of course, we face a number of challenges. These are mutual settlements in national currencies, as well as the creation of digital platforms for the implementation of mutual settlements, including in local currencies. Currently, there are various mechanisms that make it possible to tokenize mutual settlements,” explained Dilma Rousseff, President of the New Development Bank.
Rousseff, in addition, referred to the second very important issue, including the expansion of member countries of the international development bank, as well as the addition of new members partners of the bank. Two countries have already been selected as new members: Uzbekistan and Colombia. And two more countries are still under consideration: Ethiopia and Indonesia.
According to media reports, other multilateral development institutions, including the World Bank, have expressed an intention to work together with the NDB. In September 2016, NDB and World Bank Group signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation and it was announced that the NDB and WBG’s cooperative efforts focusing primarily on infrastructure development in BRICS member countries.
The New Development Bank (NDB), formerly referred to as the BRICS Development Bank, is a multilateral development bank established by the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa). According to the agreement on the NDB, “the Bank shall support public or private projects through loans, guarantees, equity participation and other financial instruments.” Moreover, the NDB “shall cooperate with international organizations and other financial entities, and provide technical assistance for projects to be supported by the bank.”
In May 2022, the New Development Bank set up a regional office in India in the state of Gujarat with the goal of financing and observing infrastructure projects in both India and Bangladesh. In May 2023, Saudi Arabia expressed its intention to join the NDB. The bank is headquartered in Shanghai, China. The first regional office of the bank was opened in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2016. Subsequently, regional offices were established in São Paulo in Brazil, Ahmedabad in India and Moscow in the Russian Federation.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
A special fund to mobilise $250 million in investment in the next three year for cheap, clean energy in Africa has been launched by Octopus Energy.
Called the Octopus Energy Power Africa Fund (OEPA), this initiative opens the door for investors to support renewable projects Africa, which is home to nearly 40 per cent of the world’s renewable potential.
The fund, launched at the Africa Energy Forum in Cape Town, South Africa, with $60 million already realized, will unlock funding that catalyses the continent’s huge clean energy potential, bringing together forward-thinking investors to power communities and businesses with affordable, homegrown, green energy.
Starting with projects across Sub-Saharan Africa, OEPA plans to invest in game-changing clean energy solutions – from rooftop solar and battery storage to electric vehicle charging infrastructure and grid upgrades.
As part of the move, Octopus Energy Generation is also working with African investment specialist Pembani Remgro Infrastructure Managers (PRIM) to create a smart, practical model that opens new doors for green investments in emerging markets.
“Africa is abundant with clean energy potential – enough to build the next-generation renewable powerhouse and a greener, fairer future fuelled by sunshine and wind.
“By partnering with local experts, such as Pembani Remgro Infrastructure Managers, we aim to accelerate that future and create new green pathways,” the chief executive of Octopus Energy Generation, Zoisa North-Bond, stated.
The Director of the Octopus Energy Power Africa Fund, Ashleigh Gray, said, “With the Octopus Energy Power Africa Fund, we’re offering a new gateway into a region where demand is soaring. This is an incredible opportunity for forward-thinking investors to support transformative clean energy projects and grow with one of the world’s most exciting markets.”
Also, the chief executive of Pembani Remgro Infrastructure Managers, Herc van Wyk, said, “There is a growing awareness of the opportunity presented by infrastructure investment in Africa and we look forward to collaborating with Octopus to unlock new sources of capital for clean energy solutions in Sub-Saharan Africa.”
The launch of OEPA is the next step in Octopus Energy’s mission to bring affordable, green energy to more people globally, and comes hot off the heels of its investment in MOPO – a solar battery innovator powering off-grid homes and businesses to accelerate clean energy access across Africa.
The fund also builds on the company’s partnership with Akuna Group to deliver Sierra Leone’s first-ever wind farm on Sherbro Island, bringing clean, reliable power to local homes and businesses to a region long underserved by traditional grids.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The African Credit Rating Agency (AfCRA), which was formed to provide accurate ratings for countries on the continent, will officially be launched in the third quarter of the year.
The continental initiative will provide alternative assessments of repayment risks, after several African leaders and lenders, lamented the unfair ratings by other established ratings firms like Fitch, Moody’s and S&P Ratings.
According to African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), a body established by the African Union (AU) to do the groundwork for the launch of the agency, AfCRA plans to start operations by the end of September 2025.
The agency will publish its first sovereign rating report by the end of the year or early 2026, said Mr Misheck Mutize, lead expert on credit-rating companies at APRM.
It will appoint a chief executive next quarter, and candidates have already been shortlisted.
The new company will focus on local-currency debt ratings to help support the development of domestic capital markets and reduce foreign currency risk on the continent.
African leaders, including President Ruto of Kenya and former Senegalese President, Mr Macku Sall have accused the foreign ratings companies of bias and a lack of transparency.
Recently, Ghana and Zambia, have also lambasted these agencies for their ratings.
The AfCRA will seek to address that issue by having a presence on the continent, although it has raised worries about how objective and accurate the ratings will be.
“This was designed to maintain independence and avoid conflict of interest,” Mr Mutize clarified, as per Bloomberg, adding that “Shareholding will mainly be African private-sector driven entities.”
The call for AfCRA was heightened after Fitch downgraded the Cairo-based Africa Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) credit rating to BBB-, one notch above junk ratings, from BBB, citing high credit risks and weak risk management policies.
Fitch calculated that the ratio of Afreximbank’s non-performing loans (NPLs) exceeded the 6 per cent high-risk threshold outlined in the ratings agency’s criteria.
For Afreximbank, it said in its first quarter operating results ending March 31, the NPLs ratio stood at 2.44 per cent.
APRM in response said the rating was based on a “flawed” categorisation of loans and calling for the decision to be reconsidered.
Mr Mutize also stressed that that the company won’t shy away from downgrades where warranted.
“It is important to debunk the assumption that AfCRA is being established to give favorable ratings to Africa — no,” he said to Bloomberg.
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