By Martina Schwikowski

As Cameroon’s President Paul Biya hosted a luncheon for the national football team after their AFCON victory over Egypt, Anglophone Cameroonians are calling on the president to lift a ban on internet connection.

Sunday’s AFCON triumph of the Cameroonian national team over Egypt offered a glimpse of a united country, celebrating a historic victory. But on social media, the wave of protest is growing louder.

Cameroon’s national football team popularly known as ‘The Indomitable Lions’, is being honored with a luncheon by President Biya at the presidential palace in Yaounde, after they beat Egypt 2-1 to clinch the Africa Cup of Nations for the fifth time.

However, nothing has changed in the internet restrictions that have led to strong criticism of Biya by frustrated Cameroonians.

The internet in English-speaking regions of Cameroon has been paralyzed for nearly a month on the orders of the president. His cites security concerns as a reason behind the shutdown.

Critics of the internet ban

Edward Snowden, an American whistleblower and former CIA employee who is in exile in Russia, regularly criticizes the curtailment of human rights and imminent reprisals by the government.

Rebecca Enonchong, a frequent Twitter user from Cameroon, who works in the IT industry and has also been a member of the Global Advisory Committee for Women at the United Nations and the UN ICT Task Force, also spoken out against the internet ban.

The campaign#BringBackOurInternethas been steadily growing and trending for the last several weeks. The campaign is increasingly becoming a forum for young people to oppose repression by President Paul Biya “The Internet is a fast way to communicate via WhatsApp, Twitter or Facebook, which is practically a human right because it facilitates access to information on many relevant topics that people want to learn about,” said Wanjiku Mwaura, DW’s expert on social media.

“This is seen as a violation of human rights in the regions of Cameroon where the English-speaking population is affected by the ban, and they have no way of resolving their differences with the government,” she added.

The fact that English is arguably the world’s most spoken language is also contributing to the rise of social media protests. “Of course it [English] helps the Anglophone population in Cameroon to address a larger audience – millions of people use Twitter in English – which improves communication and increases the reach of their concerns,” Mwaura said.

For weeks, the West African nation has not had data connections. But only in the north-west and south-west of Cameroon, which use English as their official language. The crisis has intensified as a result of increasing strikes.

Bamenda turned to ghost town

More and more teachers have joined striking attorneys to express their anger at what they say is the neglect and marginalization of their populations in the bilingual country. They have stayed away from work turning cities like Bamenda to ghost towns.

Apparently, Cameroon’s government felt that the social networks had become a threat after activists called for general strikes. Mwaura is convinced that the protesters do not want violence but civil disobedience. “They are organizing protests in silence, through ghost towns. They want to draw their attention to their grievances and to talk to the government about their problems.”

Cameroon has two official languages: French and English. But in everyday life French is usually spoken. English-speaking teachers complain that French has too much influence in the schools in their region. The Anglophone people also feel culturally discriminated against.

At the end of last year, there were calls for a split. Those calls have only grown louder with the internet ban and Cameroon’s dual system is facing one of its greatest challenges since independence in 1962.

Ten people were killed in protests in Bamenda in December 2016. 5,000 government soldiers were promptly deployed to clamp down on the protest. Hundreds have since been arrested.

GE Transport and Transnet, South African-based freight logistics chain have entered a digital  partnership to seamlessly connect shippers and transport operators in streamlining pricing and capacity on the network, shipment planning, fuel costs savings and delivering goods to the market more effectively.

GE Global Chairman and CEO, Jeff  Immelt said: “The digital partnership we’re embarking on with Transnet will not only improve Africa’s transport sector, but unlock enormous opportunities for the supply chain fuelling Africa’s economy.”

Siyabonga Gama, Transnet’s Group Chief Executive said:  “Disruptive innovation has become the new buzzword for good reason. Innovation creates new markets and fundamentally changes the way we live and work. The partnership with GE Transport is helping us to create a new industry and develop new skills that have the potential to transform the world as we know it.”

As a global digital industrial leader and supplier of  equipment, services and solutions to the rail, mining, marine, power and drilling industries, GE Transport will assist Transnet to deliver goods and services with greater speed and efficiency through the provision of essential data required through Predix – GE’s cloud-based operating system for the Industrial Internet of Things.

The timing of this initiative falls in line with the robust growth taking place across Africa. Since 1995, Africa’s trade has nearly doubled, placing immense logistical pressure on existing transport infrastructure. As it stands, managing the various transport routes and developing new infrastructure is laborious. GE’s innovative solution will bring simplicity to payment processes, goods management, customs inspections and reduce the burden of a paper-based environment.

GE is encouraging development across the sectors of aviation, healthcare, transport and power as sectors that are increasingly  being inhabited by software companies, technology companies and industrial  companies. “This partnership is GE’s opportunity to take the new technology that we will develop in South Africa and introduce it to the rest of Africa,” said Immelt.

Digitalisation in Africa is essential to driving growth on the continent. It plays a significant role in stimulating inter-Africa trade. This isn’t the first time GE and Transnet have worked together. The two entities have partnered since 2009 to manufacture and deliver more than 230 Evolution Series diesel electric locomotives, including the “most African” locomotive, which featured 55% locally produced content.

“We have a rich history of partnership with Transnet, and are excited to continue working with them to unlock game-changing potential for the local supply chain that is at the heart of Africa’s global economy,” said Immelt.

By Buziwe Nocuze

Municipality blames illegal connections for blowing transformer

Residents of Mzamomhle, Gonubie, about 20km from East London, have been without electricity for two weeks and may have to wait another two months before being reconnected.

This is after a transformer exploded. Residents say they lost televisions, fridges and other appliances at the time of the explosion. Mandisa Gobongo , a resident, said the community had reported the problem to the Buffalo City Municipality. “When there is no electricity, everything stands still, because some of us do not even have money to buy gas or paraffin,” said Mandisa. “Our municipality is quiet; we don’t know how long it will take for us to have electricity again,” she said.

A shop owner said business had slowed. “People want cold drinks and fresh meat and unfortunately I cannot provide them with that since there is no electricity and that is destroying my business,” he said.

Nolizo Ziqubu, a single mother of three children, said, “I am not working and I don’t have money to buy paraffin and I don’t even have a primus stove – so it’s really bad.”

Another resident, who owns a fish and chip shop, said, “We don’t just sell for the sake of selling. We are doing it so that we can feed our families, but without electricity, we cannot put anything on the table for our families. We are suffering.”

Article continues after advertisement

Sibusiso Cindi, spokesperson for the Buffalo City Municipality said that that on 22 January a transformer blew due to illegal connections. “This transformer has not been replaced as the distribution [department] is waiting for new transformers,” said Cindi.

Cindi said extensive illegal connections throughout the municipality meant a large number of transformers were needed, and it takes six to 12 weeks to deliver the transformers, even though the municipality ordered on a regular basis. The delays were due to the high turnover caused by illegal connections, he said.

“We are pleading with the community, if they could assist us by reporting people conducting illegal connections as this ultimately causes the disruptions,” said Cindi.

By Africa Check

Africa Check sorted fact from fiction in the tenth State of the Nation address South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma delivered.

Amidst unprecedented security measures, South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma delivered what would likely be his last State of the Nation Address on 9 February 2017. We fact-checked his speech.

Energy

Claim

“To date, nearly 7 million households have been connected to the grid and now have the electricity.”

Verdict

correct

South Africa’s development indicators showed that 6,340,321 households had been connected to the grid as of 2013/14. A further 233,455 were connected in 2014/15 and 231,012 were connected in 2015/16. Figures for 2016/17 have yet to be released.

Zuma’s claim is correct based on these figures. They show that a total of 6,804,788 households – nearly 7 million – were connected as of 31 March 2016.

As of 2016, 90,3% of South African households had access to electricity for lighting.

Education

Claim

Among the participating countries [in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study] South Africa has shown the largest improvement of 87 points in mathematics and 90 points in science.

Verdict

correct

The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) is conducted every 4 years and provides participating countries with the means to compare pupil performance in maths and science.

Grade 4 and Grade 8 pupils are tested in most of the countries that take part in the study. However, in South Africa Grade 5 and 9 pupils are tested.

The 2015 study found that South Africa’s Grade 9 pupils recorded the “biggest positive change”. There was an improvement of 90 points in science and 87 points in mathematics.

The report goes on to note that “South Africa started with very low-performance scores in 2003 and this upward shift translates to an overall performance improvement by approximately two grade levels between 2003 and 2015”.

While South African Grade 9 pupils did record a large improvement, in comparison to other countries they fared badly. Out of the 39 countries assessed, South Africa’s Grade 9 students placed 38th for mathematics performance and 39th for science performance.

Differences between Tanzania and oil companies over local content obligations contained in Petroleum Act 2015 have resurfaced with the government collecting stakeholders’ views in efforts to enforce regulations.

The companies through their organisation, Oil and Gas Association of Tanzania (Ogat) last week told the Energy and Water Utilities Regulatory Authority (Ewura) that they are uncomfortable with the local content requirement in Tanzania and want a review.

The meeting was convened by Ewura after Energy Minister Prof Sospeter Muhongo on January 6, directed the regulator to hold a stakeholders’ consultation meetings on the draft petroleum regulations 2017.

The companies rejected the draft regulations, saying were costly.

“Our aim is to help the government come up with a realistic regulation on local content. All the concerns are taken into account in the process, backed by an extensive study on best practices,” Halfani Halfani, a senior official with Ophir Energy, a UK-based oil and gas exploration company, said.

The draft regulation lay down procedures to be followed by foreign companies to guarantee compliance with local content requirement.

According the proposed regulations, before engaging in any petroleum-related activity, a contractor must submit a local content plan for approval.

The plan must have details of employment, training, succession plans, research and development, procurement of goods and services and technology transfer.

The regulations also call for submission of quarterly implementation reports.

“If the regulations are implemented, companies will be spending most of their time focusing on meeting requirements for local content compliance at the expense of their primary undertakings,” said Mr Halfani.

“It is actually like the government managing the day-to-day activities of oil companies.”

He noted that the draft local content regulations unfairly target foreign oil companies.

“There is no mechanism in the proposed regulation to hold government officials accountable for failure to meet local content obligations on their part,” he said.

By KEN MACHARIA

A reverse brain drain to Africa might be the unintended outcome of Trump’s stringent immigration policies, industrialist Dr. Chri Kirubi said.

In a panel discussion hosted by The Economist Events in Nairobi, Kirubi said African countries should take advantage of the opportunity presented by the policies to attract and retain skilled talent.

“Trump is doing us a favor by driving back the educated where they belong, in Africa, Asia, Middle East. These are assets we have been allowing to disappear in Africa,” Kirubi said at the Economist’s Innovative Economies event.

The panellists, including Labour Cabinet Secretary Phyllis Kandie and her Tunisian counterpart Saidi Ounisi, opened the event by discussing how innovation can increase productivity and efficiency in Africa.

Kandie said the region needs to adapt an innovative culture as we make production more efficient.

“We (Government) have engaged the private sector in creating policies but there is opportunity to collaborate more. We also have to look at what the labor market needs and align the training of our young people to the needs of industry,” said Kandie.

But Kirubi said the issue was not in the policy formulation but in the implementation of these policies.

“Kenya’s Vision 2030 was created in a perfect partnership between the government and the private sector. What I don’t remember is how we are interpreting the vision to achieve our goals as a country.”

By Michel Nkurunziza

An artificial lake could be created in former Gikondo Industrial Zone in Kigali once the relocation of all the factories there to the Special Economic Zone is completed, Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA) has said.

Although she could not give more details, Annette Karenzi, the director-general of industry and entrepreneurship at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and EAC Affairs, told The New Times that the first phase of relocating Gikondo industries is complete and that they have lately embarked on the second phase.

The relocation from the decades-old industrial zone became necessary after the area was gazetted by REMA as a wetland, and the first phase involved relocating light industries, while the next phase will see heavy duty plants moved.

Despite the delayed relocation process, REMA has already embarked on a plan to turn the encroached area into other environmental friendly aspects.

Eng. Coletha Ruhamya, the director-general of REMA, told The New Times that by the end of the year, a study would have been completed detailing the viability of turning the Gikondo industrial hub into an artificial lake.

“We want the industries to expeditiously relocate and see how we can create an artificial lake in the area with waste, dirt sieving technology for water flowing into the man-made lake. A study to be conducted will have been completed by the end of this year. Then after we can start mobilising funds for implementation,” she said.

According to Ruhamya, the study will show the lake demarcations and it can be implemented either as a government project or public private partnership because it can be designed as an income generating venture.

“We have already received some requests to exploit the wetland area but requests are of a small area. We have first to clear the entire wetland. Artificial lakes exist in other cities. Once the lake is developed, there should be attractive and environmental friendly commercial activities for leisure so that that people could come for recreation,” she added.

Gikondo Industrial Zone was gazetted a wetland in 2005.

The law that gazetted the area prohibits construction of houses and other infrastructure in wetlands (rivers, lakes, swamps) as they might damage such a place in various ways.

However, the law says that, where necessary, construction of buildings intended for the promotion of tourism may be authorised by the minister in charge of environment.

Ruhamya said an assessment was conducted some time back in ensuring infrastructure are relocated from national wetlands, especially endangered wetlands including Gikondo wetland.

She said the quest to restore endangered wetlands is not limited to Kigali, adding that they are casting the net wider.

“What worries me is the fact that encroachment continues to escalate countrywide and we have to ensure we reclaim them,” Ruhamya said.

According to Ruhamya, proper and sustainable use of wetlands has shown environmental benefits, including disaster risk reduction, since wetlands help purify water and once well conserved, can avert disasters like floods.

According to the National Disaster Risk Atlas, published by the Ministry of Disaster Management and Refugee Affairs (MIDMAR) in 2015, disasters, including those induced by unprotected wetlands could cost Rwanda a massive Rwf100 billion ($132 million), bigger than the budget allocated to the agriculture sector.

Effects of Gikondo wetland degradation on EAC region

The efforts to protect Gikondo wetland is part of Lake Victoria Environment Management Project (LVEMP) project, which operates in five Eastern African countries that share Lake Victoria basin (Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda).

The LVEMP project was the first to identify Gikondo wetland as polluted and degraded area.

The East African countries initiated the project to examine the sources of pollution to Lake Victoria and one of the sources was traced to Gikondo wetland through Akagera River.

Studies indicate that industrial waste has polluted the Gikondo wetland, which snakes through the Nyabugogo-Akagera wetland complex, eventually ending up in Lake Victoria.

Environmentalists argue that degradation of Gikondo wetland does not only have impact on Lake Victoria but also on water supply system in Kigali city.

Aware of this, Rwanda Environment Management Authority embarked on saving Gikondo wetland from total degradation.

The low-lying wetland also faced informal settlements with poor sanitation system that also polluted both surface and groundwater.

By Franck Kuwonu

“It is a beautiful day when one returns home after too long of an absence,” King Mohammed VI of Morocco said after the North African country was readmitted to the African Union (AU) at its summit in January.

The decision by AU leaders in Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia, capped a swift and remarkable process since the King informed them at last year’s summit in Kigali, Rwanda of his country’s intention to return to the fold. Thirty-nine of the AU’s 54 countries voted in favour of readmission.

Morocco left the former Organisation of African Unity (AU’s predecessor) in 1984, to protest the seating of the Polisario Front as representatives of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), a former Spanish colony west of the Sahara that Morocco considers part of its territory.

SADR disputes Morocco’s position, and 30 years later the dispute remains unresolved. In explaining Morocco’s return to the AU, the king said, “When a body is sick, it is treated more effectively from the inside than from the outside.”

Over the years, the kingdom has expanded its economic ties with many countries on the continent, mainly through trade and investments since it left the AU. Now it appears to have successfully leveraged its economy weight into being reinstated to the AU.

Continental ambition

“We are Arabs, but we are also Berbers and Maghrebi,” Brahim Fassi Fihri, the president and founder of Institut Amadeus, a Morocco-based think tank, told Africa Renewal.

He was referring to the multicultural identity of his country, which is made up of mostly Berber and Maghrebi ethnic groups. He maintains that the decision by Morocco to leave the regional body three decades ago was a “strategic mistake” in the first place. Still, “Africa is our natural home,” he said. “We may have left an organization, but we could never have left the continent.”

As a sign of its political solidarity with Africa, Morocco’s national carrier, Royal Air Maroc, maintained its regular schedule to West Africa at the height of the Ebola epidemic two years ago, when all international air carriers, with the exception of Belgium-based SN Brussels, suspended flights to the affected countries of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone over contagion fears.

The decision was based on humanitarian grounds, not commercial–out of brotherly solidarity “reflecting the kingdom’s constant commitment to Africa,” the airline’s spokesman told Agence France-presse (AFP) at that time. The airline has expanded its network across the continent. Over the past decade, it has increased its flights to African destinations from 14 in 2007 to 32 in 2016.

To some extent the story of the national carrier is a telling testament to its expansive economic ambition on the continent.

Over the 10-year period starting in 2004, Morocco’s trade with the rest of the continent grew by an annual average of 13% ($3.7 billion) in 2014, 42% of which was with sub-Saharan Africa. This represented just 6.4% of the kingdom’s overall trade globally during the same period, according to a government report titled Morocco-Africa Relationship: Ambition for a New Frontier.

First investor in West Africa

Yet the most remarkable change was Morocco’s direct investments in the continent. In 2015 it invested $600 million, with neighbouring Mali getting the lion’s share, followed by Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Senegal and Gabon, according to the World Investment Report 2016, a publication of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

Over the decade ending in 2016, Morocco’s investment in sub-Saharan Africa represented 85% of its overall foreign direct investment (FDI) stocks, according to data from the country’s finance ministry and the African Development Bank.

“Moroccans became a more prominent investor on the continent, initiating 13 intra-African investments–its highest in over a decade,” reckoned a 2015 survey report by Ernst & Young, a global financial consultancy firm. The reason behind the growing interest in sub-Saharan Africa, says Ernst & Young, was that “Moroccan companies are looking towards sub-Saharan Africa as their country becomes a platform for exporting to other African countries.”

Morocco’s investments are mostly concentrated in banking and telecommunications sectors, which in 2013 accounted for 88% of its FDI stocks in sub-Saharan Africa.

The country’s leading bank, the Attijariwafa Bank Group, and part of the kingdom’s holding company Société nationale d’investissement (SNI), with 7.4 million customers and more than 16,000 employees, operates in 10 sub-Saharan African countries: Cameroon, Republic of Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, and Togo.

The Banque Marocaine du Commerce Extérieur (BMCE) group has a network of 18 country operations, mostly in West, Central and East Africa through Bank of Africa, its subsidiary. Maroc Telecom, the leading national telephone company, operates in 11 African countries, such as Burkina Faso and Mali, under different names, including Moov in francophone West Africa.

Preferred destination

Beyond these traditional sectors, Moroccan companies have also ventured into insurance. The Saham Insurance Group, for one, began operations in 10 African countries in 2010, and continues to expand across the continent, most recently with the acquisition in 2015 of Continental Reinsurance Plc of Nigeria.

For many years West African countries and to some extent Central African countries were the preferred destinations of Morocco’s investment in sub-Saharan Africa. In a letter to the AU, the king explained that “the important involvement of Moroccan operators and their strong engagement in the areas of banking, insurance, air transport, telecommunications and housing are such that the kingdom is now the number one investor in West Africa.” He added, “My country is already the second largest investor on the continent and our ambition is to be ranked first.”

Last October the king travelled to East Africa and Ethiopia, as Rwanda and Tanzania prepared to sign business deals. “The Moroccans’ current visit to East Africa marks a serious intent to enter the region and widen their interests in Africa,” The New Times in Rwanda reckoned.

To some observers the reasons behind Morocco’s foray into the continent are purely economic. “Several Moroccan companies are betting their growth on sub-Saharan Africa,” says Mr. Fihri. He toldAfrica Renewal that Moroccans, just like Americans, Europeans and Asians, are interested in Africa because it is “a continent with huge growth potential.”

In September 2015, Abdelmalek Alaoui, a Moroccan editorialist and political analyst, wrote in La Tribune, a French weekly financial newspaper, “Well ahead of other investors [before the latest rush on the continent], Morocco was able to see potential where others could only think of risks.”

Political leverage

However, other analysts like Amine Dafir argue that Morocco’s growing economic interest on the continent was designed to shore up influence it may have lost by withdrawing from the AU.

Strongly supporting Morocco in its formal application to rejoin the AU was a group of 28 African countries, representing more than the half of the votes (27) required for admission.

The pro-admission countries penned a letter to the AU requesting the suspension of SADR’s membership until issues surrounding the legality of its existence are resolved by the United Nations Security Council. “Our demand is grounded in international laws,” said Macky Sall, the Senegalese president, whose country was one of the signatories.

Over the last three years, the king of Morocco, often travelling with a large entourage of businessmen, has visited several African countries, including Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Mali and Senegal. Besides having been the most vocal supporters of the kingdom, these countries were also the top five destinations of Morocco’s FDI in sub-Saharan Africa.

In Addis Ababa, last month, 39 member states out of 54 voted for Morocco readmission; an outcome that Jawad Kerdoudi, the head of the Moroccan Institute of International Relations, had predicted as a “diplomatic victory born out of a deliberate and actions-driven strategy”.

ANALYSISBy Isaac Khisa

Dfcu’s new take-over will help expand its footprint countrywide

When Bank of Uganda Governor Emmanuel Tumusiime-Mutebile announced that they were transferring liabilities and assets of Crane Bank to the Development Finance Company of Uganda (Dfcu), many wondered how that was possible.

Crane Bank, set up in 1995, has been the fourth largest commercial bank in Uganda while Dfcu has been the distant sixth, out of the country’s 25 commercial banks. The two lenders, however, had an insignificant variance in market share.

Crane Bank controlled 8% market share offering corporate and retail services, with a focus on micro, small and medium-sized businesses while Dfcu had 7.5% market share and focusing on consumer banking, development and institutional financing, and treasury.

But Crane Bank’s trouble started last year when it registered Shs3billion loss in 2015, down from a Shs 50 billion profit in previous year due to high level of Non-Performing Loans and subsequent decline in its core capital to below 50% per legal requirement under the law.

This prompted BoU to take over its management on October 20, 2016 to avoid what it termed as ‘systemic risk to the financial system and allow the lead investor Sudhir Ruparelia, who had 48.67 % shares to either inject in more capital in the financial institution within six months or the regulator looks for a new investor.

And as it became clear that Sudhir, one of the Forbes listed 50 richest men in Africa, could not find a new investor to inject capital into the bank, BoU moved to welcome bidders for the Crane Bank takeover.

The bidding, according to BoU attracted 13 investors including Dfcu, Barclays Africa, First National Bank of South Africa, Aethel Partners, and General Equity, a New Zealand-based fund.

Justine Bagyenda, the executive director supervision at BoU told The Independent in an interview that during the analysis of the bidders, Dfcu emerged as the winner, with the best proposals on how it will contribute towards the banking sector.

“In the process of selecting the acquirer, we looked at the financial status of the prospective acquirer, who is behind this acquirer, is the new acquirer going to put in more capital because Crane Bank was significantly under-capitalized, and whether it had a strong shareholding,” she said.

“Some of the investors informed us that they were not interested in taking over the Crane Bank. They only wanted to take-over management and offer consultant services.”

For that, Bagyenda says only Dfcu met the set criterion for taking over Crane Bank because it had a strong shareholding including Netherland’s Rabobank and Norway’s Norfund, which owns 27.5% each of the lender, UK’s Commonwealth Development Corporation (15%) , and the Uganda’s National Social Security Fund.

“This means that Dfcu is able to rise more capital both locally through the stock exchange and also through its international partners for efficient operation of the bank,” Bagyenda added.

Dfcu management said in a statement that they have begun integrating the assets and liabilities of Crane Bank Limited into its business.

“Further supplemental actions required to give effect to this integration will continue to be implemented by both the Bank and the company including additional equity injection by the company into the bank,” said Dfcu in a statement on Jan. 27.

Dfcu gets boost with Crane bank take-over

Dfcu’s Crane Bank take-over makes it become the second largest commercial bank in the country, with an asset base of Shs3.37trillion, just behind the market leader Stanbic Bank that boasts of Shs3.73trillion. It also boasts on the increase in the branch network from 45 to 66 branches countrywide.

Mutebile said the Crane Bank was transferred to Dfcu following a confirmation from an external auditor that the bank’s liabilities as at October 20, 2016 grossly exceeded its assets and that it was insolvent, which insolvency continued to date.

“BoU on Jan 24, progressed Crane Bank from statutory management to receivership, with BoU as the receiver,” Mutebile said.

“In exercise of its powers as a receiver, under Section 95(1) (b) of the Financial Institutions Act, BoU has now transferred the liabilities (including deposits) of Crane Bank to Dfcu Bank Ltd and in consideration of that transfer of liabilities has conveyed Dfcu, Crane Bank assets.”

This implies that over 500,000 Crane Bank customers and depositors shall now have their accounts operated by Dfcu through its wide branch network, some of which were formally Crane Bank branches.

In addition, Sudhir and his partners in the bank will become a shareholder in Dfcu

Crane Bank take-over becomes the third commercial bank in five years to be taken over by BoU and later sold to new investors for failure to meet the minimum capital requirement that now stands at Shs 25billion. In 2014, BOU revoked the licence of Global Trust Bank Uganda after it failed to become commercially viable, accumulating losses up to Shs 60bn and its assets and liabilities handed to Dfcu Bank.

In 2012, BOU took over the management of the National Bank of Commerce (NBC) and immediately handed it over to Crane Bank citing dire financial constraints.

Crane Bank’s take-over, which also has a branch in Rwanda, comes at the time commercial banks are optimistic that the banking sector will register a surge in profitability on the back of improving economy and a reduction in Non-Performing Loans this year compared with last year. As at the end of 2016, Uganda had 25 commercial banks.

Dfcu listed on the USE on October 14, 2004, registered a 16% drop in profit after tax to Shs35.3 billion in 2015 citing increase in NPL’s compared with the previous year.

By Stanley Akpunonu

In a renewed effort to stem the tide of illegal operations, prevent the sale of unwholesome meat and improve hygiene conditions in abattoirs in Lagos State, no fewer than 24 butchers and cattle marketers have been arrested for offences bordering on illegal operations in a weekend clampdown carried out against illegal abattoirs, slaughter slabs and cattle markets by the state government.

The Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr. Oluwatoyin Suarau, told journalists that the exercise was carried out in Ikorodu and Badagry by the State Monitoring, Enforcement and Compliance Unit on Abattoirs and Slaughter Slabs, Stray Animals, Meat and Live Cattle Transportation and Regulation of Veterinary Premises.

He added that beside the 24 butchers and cattle marketers who were arrested for illegal operations, large chunk of unwholesome meat being processed with dirty stagnant water alongside live cattle were impounded during the raid.

According to a statement by the Assistant Director, Public Affairs, Ministry of Agriculture, Tunbosun Ogunbanwo, 10 butchers were arrested from illegal abattoirs by the enforcement team in Owutu Ikorodu while 14 butchers and marketers were arrested in the Badagry axis.

He said: “The operation in the Badagry axis affected illegal slaughter slabs at Seme J5 Zongo, Iya Afin and Ajara; and illegal animal markets at Iberekodo, Limka and Toll Gate.”

The Commissioner, while stressing the need for monitoring, enforcement and compliance in the red meat value chain business, added that the effort will help prevent spread of diseases, promote data collection for planning, promote good animal welfare and make Lagos a safe place for all inhabitants by discouraging environmental pollution and health hazards.