News — black economy

Africa's Stolen Wealth - Paradox of Plenty. Africa has been branded by many as a rich continent and by others, a continent of poverty. Africa is blessed with a massive variety and quantities of natural resources. The continent holds around 30% of the world's known mineral reserves. These include oil and natural gas reserves, uranium, diamonds and gold. One can't help but wonder, why is it that a continent with such vast potential wealth can remain so poor, precipitating a paradox of plenty. Following extensive research on this, I share with you a phenomenon I believe is the anchor linchpin reason for the poverty in Africa. (Via Risen Africa)

American economist Professor, Jeffrey Sachs exposes how America, its Western allies, the CIA and the defence industry have rigged the system to keep Africa from being prosperous. It is a stunning expose and rebuke to the present world order. When the missionaries came to Africa they had the Bible and we had the land.They said ' let us pray' we closed our eyes when we opened our eyes, we had the bible and they had our land. This expose shows the extent to which Africa has been deprived of the chance of development at the expense of others. What do you think of this expose?

Prophet Mboro is a charismatic yet controversial church leader from South Africa. He is adored by his thousands of followers and renowned as much for his dancing as he is for the `miracles' he performs. Boasting a collection of expensive cars and wearing an array of jewelry, Mboro has emerged as a millionaire from the boom in Pentecostal `mega-churches'. The question that lingers is if Mboro can possibly be a messenger from God. In such a case, his followers seem to praise him more than they praise God. What do you think?

María Elena Moyano Delgado was an Afro-Peruvian community organizer and mother whose assassination by the Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) sparked a public outcry bringing attention to her work and the plight of economically marginalized women. 

Born on November 23, 1958 in Barranco District, Lima to Eugenia Delgado Cabrera, laundress, and Hermógenes Moyano Lescano, Moyano Delgado and her six siblings were mostly raised by Eugenia.  Moyano Delgado completed two-years of Sociology at Inca Garcilaso de la Vega University in Lima, but limited funds prevented further studies.  While her education provided some analytical concepts and Marxist interpretations, it was her experiences amongst community women that shaped Moyano Delgado’s approach to organizing and politics.

As a teenager, she became involved in church groups before expanding her reach into secular community organizing.  Moyano Delgado was active in the Movimiento de Jóvenes Pobladores (the Shantytown Movement), elected in 1986 and 1988 president of the Federación Popular de Mujeres de Villa El Salvador (Federation of Common Women of Villa El Salvador), and finally elected deputy mayor of Villa El Salvador in 1989, serving until her 1992 death.  She spearheaded the organization of public kitchens, health committees, various income-generating projects, education, and the Vaso de Leche program (Glass of Milk), which provided daily milk to impoverished children.

Moyano Delgado never publicly called herself a feminist, nor did she emphasize her Blackness, although her actions suggested a commitment to both.  This was due in large part to Peru’s war-torn conditions and like so many other Afro-Peruvian women, Moyano Delgado found herself and her people caught in the middle between two hyper-masculine and violent factions.  The Sendero Luminoso, a Marxist-inspired movement, and the Peruvian state under President Alberto Kenya Fujimori Inomoto, then implementing draconian neo-liberal economic reforms.  

Moyano Delgado’s concern remained with Villa El Salvador women, not ideology. She considered soup kitchens a form of public grievance and saw the political in the personal. And, Moyano Delgado was committed, despite attempts to derail her daily work with women, to improving the material conditions on the ground.

Her advocacy gained the support Lima’s mayor who instituted and expanded Vaso de Leche.  Unfortunately, fundamentalist Sendero Luminoso resented attempts to improve the conditions of the poor without a full-scale embrace of the Marxist Revolution, thus they assassinated Moyano Delgado in front of her family, then dragged her body to the nearest town and blew it up with dynamite to serve as a community spectacle of terror.  Moyano Delgado knew her death was imminent since it came during the politically-motivated assassinations of María Antenati Hilario, Margarita Astride de la Cruz, Juana López, Marina Oroña Barbarán, Verónica Pérez de Mantari, and Rebeca Fernández Cartagena.

María Elena Moyano Delgado died at thirty-three years-old in Villa El Salvador on February 15, 1992.  Nearly 300,000 people attended her funeral and in 2017 her mother Eugenia accepted the Peruvian Order of Merit for Distinguished Service on Maria’s behalf.  In 1980, Moyano Delgado married Gustavo Pineki and they had two sons, David and Gustavo.

At 29, Theo Baloyi has a made name for himself in South Africa as one of the thriving young entrepreneurs. His journey started when he met a French businessman with a shop at Durban Airport a few years ago. In a long conversation, the two of them talked about entrepreneurship and culture.

That was when the interest to go into entrepreneurship started for Baloyi. He told himself if he wanted to make an impact, he needed to take calculated risks. He then decided to venture into the footwear industry after noticing a market gap.

Through his research, he noticed that most of the sneakers on the continent were imported brands. And so he wanted to design something with an African touch. Initially, he wanted to import the sneakers from established brands but later decided against it.

In the process, Baloyi co-founded Bathu, a South African township slang for ‘shoes’, in 2015. His brand of sneakers is designed with a distinctive mesh fabric and thick white soles.

“I did 18 months of research and development, which included coming up with a proof of concept, quality testing and quality assurance,” Baloyi explained in an interview with Howwemadeitinafrica. Baloyi’s accounting experience helped in this regard. “I’ve been fortunate to have extensive experience with business and finance modelling in a corporate environment.”

According to him, he settled on the name Bathu because his business is about uniting people. “It doesn’t matter where you go, whether it’s a place filled with isiXhoa, isiZulu or Sepedi speaking people, South Africa know what it means. It unites us, and that’s what the business is about- uniting people,” he told news24.

Today, his shoe business makes a turnover of over $1 million. The company also has four cars, two stores at Gauteng, Johannesburg and Port Elizabeth. 

South Africa is one of the unestablished markets for sneakers and so for most designs, manufacturing companies do not have the right equipment for it. And in some cases, the companies have to source the right equipment, by which time the designs submitted would have been outmoded.

“In South Africa, you need about eight months to manufacture a new shoe. In the East, this usually takes four weeks. While South African factories can buy expensive equipment to manufacture according to specific requirements, the trends and styles may no longer be current when the product is completed,” Baloyi told Howwemadeitinafrica.

Through his network, he found a manufacturer for his first 100 Bathu sneakers. “A colleague at PwC whose friend’s family owned a factory… So, I got to work,” he said. In 2017, he managed to release 1000 pairs of Mesh Edition sneakers through a collaboration with an incubation hub in Johannesburg.

Baloyi said his success even surprised him. “The rewards were are reaping now are pleasures I thought we’d only see a couple of years from now,” he said. “But through the hard work and perseverance of my team, we’ve come this far in just three years.”

According to the entrepreneur, he reinvested profit from his business in order to make it a sustainable venture. “Five years later, this is where we are: 15,000 pairs per month and it’s growing,” he said.

Currently, there are 12 Bathu retail outlets across the country, aside from the online store. The company employs 103 people.

In 2019, National Football League player Russell Okung tweeted that he wanted to be paid in bitcoin. “Pay me in Bitcoin,” he tweeted. He claims to now have what he wished for. The Carolina Panther player retweeted himself on Tuesday saying that he has been paid in Bitcoin, thereby making him the first player in NFL history to be paid in digital currency, he said.

An announcement said this was made possible through a partnership with Zap, a bitcoin startup founded by Jack Mallers. Under the partnership, Zap’s Strike product, which allows people to receive bitcoin as dollars via direct bank deposits, enables the NFL player to convert his salary into cryptocurrency.

Per the arrangement, Okung’s annual salary of $13 million will be divided equally between bitcoin and fiat. But an anonymous source told TheVerge that the claim that Okung was being paid in bitcoin was misleading and that the player was still being paid in dollars. The source further explained that the 32-year-old player was merely converting his salary into cryptocurrency after he has been paid by fiat.

“Money is more than currency; it’s power,” Okung said in a statement. “The way money is handled from creation to dissemination is part of that power. Getting paid in Bitcoin is the 1st step of opting out of the corrupt, manipulated economy we all inhabit.”

On his part, Mallers praised Okung as a leader adding that he is setting a good example on a big stage. “Getting #Bitcoin in exchange for your labor is much more than meets the eye. He is setting that example on a big stage,” he tweeted.

Okung is not the first professional athlete to be involved in the bitcoin trade. According to Yahoo Finance, “unnamed members of the Brooklyn Nets basketball team and baseball’s New York Yankees, have also begun onboarding to the program.” The global cryptocurrency market is valued at $575 billion. It is therefore no surprise that more and more sportsmen are getting involved in the sector.

In an Op-Ed in 2019, Okung described bitcoin as “sustainable solutions that can demonstrate that our economic power is not only real but vastly undervalued and overlooked.”

He continued: “Bitcoin is one of the few financial assets that offers sanctuary from a global recession, when it arrives. Financial advisor isn’t recommending bitcoin because they don’t make money by selling it to clients.

“The mainstream talking heads don’t mention it because it threatens their cushy industry. But we are on the precipice of something truly unique with the invention and success of bitcoin. I’m playing my role in raising awareness, shamelessly encouraging professional athletes to embrace bitcoin, and evangelizing to a mainstream audience about the opportunity we have to capture undeniable economic power.”

For him, bitcoin is a digital gold which is not under the control of one entity and allows him to seamlessly send money to relatives in Nigeria. “Bitcoin offers a way to protect that hard earned capital from the whims of central bankers who keep printing more money to bail out their friends on Wall Street. It is time for us to embrace our economic sovereignty by allocating at least 5% of our wealth into bitcoin,” he added.

Zambia has formally requested a financing arrangement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to deal with its debt crisis, the Fund said in a statement on Tuesday. The IMF is “currently assessing this request,” it said.

The administration of President Edgar Lungu released a photo showing him in a meeting with officials of the IMF in the capital, Lusaka. According to Reuters, Zambia officials have been tight-lipped on what was discussed at the meeting.

The request for assistance from the IMF follows a rocky relationship between the Fund and the Zambia government. However, Reuters cited the country’s finance minister, Bwalya Ng’andu, as saying that the government had been in talks with the Bretton Wood institution over an “appropriate policy instrument” to help manage its debt.

The copper-producing nation became the first African country to default on its loan repayment, totaling $3 billion, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Zambia issued three sovereign debt instruments before COVID-19; the first being a $750 million debt instrument with a 5.375% interest, the second being a $1 billion debt instrument with 8.5%, and the third being 1.25 billion with 8.9% interest.

The suspension of the loan repayment covered three upcoming interest payments on debts due on October 14 this year, January 30 and March 20 next year. The country says its inability to honor its debt commitment is because of challenging macroeconomic and fiscal situations “aggravated by the COVID-19 crisis that has severely affected the country’s public finances.”

The Finance Ministry added that a combination of declining revenues and increased unbudgeted costs caused by the COVID-19 has affected its available resources to make timely payments on its indebtedness leading to increasing debt-servicing difficulties.

Zambia, Africa’s second-largest producer of copper, has accumulated foreign debt of $10 billion over the past decade. The drastic fall in copper price has strained the country’s finances and stalled economic growth, which grew at an average of 6.8% between 2000 and 2014. The country’s public debt reached 80 percent of GDP in 2019 from 35 percent at the end of 2014.

The South African country is not the only nation taking steps to default on loan payments. Argentina reached an agreement with its creditors to restructure $65 billion of its foreign debt.

Ever since the outbreak of COVID-19 and the imposition of restrictions on movement, African Finance Ministers have called for the suspension of debt interest payments so as to free fiscal space for critical investment in health to contain the spread of the virus.

Some African Heads of State have even called for the complete forgiveness of all bilateral and multilateral debt.

According to the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, calls for debt relief are complicated by Africa’s range of creditors. Of all Africa’s external interest payments, 55% are made to private creditors while only 17% are made to multilateral institutions, with the same figure going to China.

Mo Ibrahim Foundation further noted that before COVID-19, as many as 30 African countries spent more on repaying public debt than on healthcare. The Gambia, for example, spends as much as nine times its health budget on debt servicing, while Angola and Congo spend six times. 

Nigeria, damaged by the collapse in oil prices, has secured a $3.4 billion loan from the IMF, having resisted borrowing from the organization for years. It has also requested a further $3.5 billion from the World Bank. 

Egypt, hurt by a lack of tourism revenue and decreased trading through the Suez Canal, has received $2.8 billion from the IMF and is seeking a further $5 billion to account for the coronavirus-induced budget shortfall.

We catch up with some members of the Public in London and ask them what they think of Black Parenting. Interview by Mathew Roache

Few companies will pay taxes if they had their way. For companies with large holdings, filing their tax return is a major headache while others devise means to avoid paying taxes or reduce the amount of tax they pay by filing for bankruptcy or using other financial accounting tactics.

Small and medium scale businesses are often regarded as the backbone of any country’s economy. However, one of the challenges affecting the sustainability of small businesses is taxes. In many cases, SMEs overpay taxes while others do not understand how the system works.

Some tax experts turn to accuse small business owners of using amateur tax preparers, accountants and others who do not provide proper tax-related information for them. To help many businesses overcome this particular challenge, Michel Valbrun, the founder of The Valbrun Group, a black-owned accounting firm, is proving a legal and ethical way to reduce their tax burden.

The company provides services to individuals and businesses to help them in their tax preparation, accounting and tax planning. In 2019, it reportedly saved businesses more than $8 million in accumulated lifetime tax savings in a legal and ethical manner. 

Who is Michel Valbrun?

The certified accountant was born in Miami, Florida to two Haitian parents who migrated to the United States to live the “American Dream.” He became a graduate of the University of Florida with an Accounting degree and went on to become a certified CPA. 

He started his career at Ernst and Young serving Fortune 500 companies through advisory, audit, accounting, and tax. He later worked for other accounting firms. Valbrun has always loved business and entrepreneurship, something he inherited from his parents who owned their own tax practice in Miami, Florida.

Driven by the desire to help individuals achieve financial independence, he began organizing workshops and seminars on how to achieve financial freedom. He then scaled it up by opening his own accounting firm.

“My mission is to bring my experience, knowledge and expertise to clients in a valuable way,” he said. “I’ve teamed up with some of the greatest minds in the legal, financial planning and accounting fields to bring my clients advanced tax strategies and planning. My clients benefit from time-tested, advanced strategies that most accountants have never heard of.”

Some of Valbrun’s biggest role models include Les Brown, Eric Thomas, Barack Obama, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr., Daymond John, Tony Robbins, Robert Kiyosaki, Grant Cardone, Gary Vaynerchuck, Oprah Winfrey, and many more people, he told VoyageATL.

“My greatest supporter is my wife, Racquel. She has always supported me, even when we were friends and she continues to support me on this journey. My clients are amazing and continue to help me by providing referrals and testimonials. My mother and aunt played a significant role in my life and are true heroes for raising me and my sisters,” he added.

Two white farmers, who forced a terrified black man they caught on their land into a coffin and threatened to throw in a snake and burn him alive, were sent to prison today for attempted murder.

Willem Oosthuizen and Theo Jackson were also sentenced for kidnapping, assault with GBH and intimidation in a trial that highlighted the deep racial divisions in South Africa.

The pair were sentenced to a combined 35 years after a court was shown a horrific two-minute long video of them threatening their victim, trapped inside a coffin, as he pleaded for his life.

Dozens of extra armed police officers were drafted in to keep law and order both inside and outside the court, after fears of violence breaking out if the sentence had not been a long prison term for them both.

The two farmers who pleaded not guilty were given two months bail to put their affairs in order after being found guilty by Judge Segopotje Mphahlele at Middelburg High Court sitting in the Magistrates Court.

The court is in Mpumalanga Province in the east of South Africa where the farm was based.

Mr Mlotshwa appeared before Judge Mphahlele and said he thought the farmers should be jailed for 15 years.

While the victim also said he was due compensation for his ordeal of R400,000 (£22,750). 

The attackers' defence lawyers requested the judge show mercy and give them non-custodial sentences.

But prosecutor Robert Molokoane said the whole country was watching adding: 'They had no respect for the law as they took the law into their own hands. They took the video to show what they do with the black man.'

He said that the offences opened old wounds as they were racially motivated.

In August both were convicted after Mr Mlotshwa's ordeal in the coffin was shown to the court on a big screen. 

They were also caught on video of threatening to throw a snake in the coffin with their terrified prisoner.

When the footage went viral on social media last year it triggered national outrage and near rioting. Ultimately leading to the arrest of the two accused, who were remanded in custody for their own safety after getting death threats.

Mr Mlotshwa wept in court when the video was shown and his mother was so distressed she left the courtroom.

'Please don't kill me,' Mlotshwa is heard begging the two white men while being forced into the coffin

'Why shouldn't we, when you are killing our farm?' one replied.

The two claimed that they had caught Mr Mlotshwa with stolen copper cables trespassing on private property. They said he threatened to return at night and burn down their crops and murder their wives and children.

To scare him from carrying out his threat they said they put him in the coffin and threatened to burn him alive in the hope that he would be too frightened to return.

Mr Mlotshwa did not report the incident and only went to police when the video went viral months later.

The footage caused shock in the court with many in the public gallery in tears, with some forced to leave in distress.  

Activists from political parties, including the ruling African National Congress and the main opposition Democratic Alliance and the EEF rallied outside court and attended each day of the trial in force.

Mr Mlotshwa broke down in tears many times during his evidence claiming he was kidnapped as he took a short cut across their farm into town to by provisions for his mother to sell at her shop.

The farmers claimed he was a thief and trespasser.

Mr Mlotshwa claimed he was beaten and then driven to a barn where he was put in a coffin.

The victim describing the coffin attack told the packed courtroom: 'Accused Number 2 (Jackson) opened the coffin and told me to get into it. Accused Number 1 (Oosthuizen) told me he would shoot me if I ran away.

'I refused to get into the coffin and they both assaulted me with their fists all over my body.

'I was so scared and I kept asking them what was happening but none of them answered me. I then thought it better to get into the coffin as I could no longer endure the pain' he said.

Mr Mlotshwa denied making any threats to the two farmers. 

Amid a pandemic, a civil rights reckoning, and the heat of the Los Angeles summer, three young brothers are helping to cool the place down with a hip-hop-inspired healthy frozen pop business that donates a portion of its proceeds to charity.  

The brothers, 10-year-old Shiloh, 12-year-old Judah, and 14-year-old Nas Accius, started Jiggy Popp with the idea of introducing a healthy treat to their community. Through their all-natural-ingredient products, the boys aim to provide an accessible gateway to a vegan lifestyle while also giving back. Shiloh, Judah and Nas plan to donate a portion of their proceeds.

The boys’ musical backgrounds influenced their decision to donate their money to inner-city arts programs. The Fernando Pullum Arts Center in Leimert Park, where the boys often vend, is one of the chief recipients of nearly $6000 the boys have contributed so far.  

“It’s not only about just having access to art programs, it’s beyond that. It’s more about having a creative mindset and creative solutions,” Judah explained. “But for that to happen, people need to be creative. That’s where the idea popped in: Why not give back to arts programs. They help children, so why not help them help children.”  

Crediting music with enabling them to start their business in the first place, these lifelong musicians have infused their products with some hip-hop culture.

“Before, I was a street performer. I was bussing on the streets, I was playing my guitar,” explained eldest brother Nas. The money he earned there, matched by a gift from the trio’s dad, made up the $700 start-up cost for Jiggy Popp. Everything else, including the names of the pops, was the result of collaboration.  

“The flavors for our pops are Black culture-related,” Judah explained.  “We have things like Mango Unchained – Django Unchained – like the movie. We have Strawberry Better 23, like Strawberry Letter 23, which is a Prince Song,” he pointed out. Other flavors like Georgia Peach on my Mind, Blackberry Gordy and Tropic Like its Hot are also a nod to Black culture.  

One expert says that what these young men are doing is not only important for development but vital for the Black community. Will Campbell, professor of Entrepreneurship at Southern University and VP of Commercial Services and Mortgage Retail at Essential Federal Credit Union, pointed out the alarming wealth gap between black and white families. “Entrepreneurship is the only way we’re going to make up the wealth gap.” He added, “Creating those entrepreneurs with very innovative, creative, and bright minds. Training that mindset at an early age will help them develop that financial responsibility. It teaches stewardship early.”

The boys understand and accept their collective responsibility. “When people buy our pops it’s not just about more money,” Judah said.  “Most people we encounter are like ‘look at my young black kings out here hustling’. I feel like I’m inspiring people.” 

Each boy has hopes for the future of their business and their community. Shiloh hopes the business will grow and people will share it with their friends. Nas can’t help but think about a potential reality — that they may never have to work a 9 to 5.  “Once this is fully sustainable, this could be our life,” he said. “If I had to say what we wanted to do when we grow up, it’s this business.” 

Meanwhile, Judah hopes to continue to inspire people. “Every other kid could do this as well,” he pointed out. “I want to inspire people to be able to do what we do: Have their own company and thrive the way that we have. Moving forward I want to keep inspiring people.” 

Zambia’s Zesco Limited says it intends to save about 12 megawatts of electricity through the installation of energy-saving bulbs.

The power utility, on Monday, through its spokesman, Henry Kapata, said the power utility has embarked on the replacement of incandescent bulbs with Light Emitting Diodes (LED) tubes and fluorescent tubes with LED tubes as part of energy-saving measures.

“These alternative energy bulbs are long-term that will help us meet the demand for electricity and the ever-increasing customer base,” he said in press release.

Kapata said power utility had since embarked on the distribution of the bulbs in some residential areas in Lusaka, the country’s capital, which is expected to be completed before the end of the year.

According to him, the power utility expects to install 147,456 LED bulbs with a lifespan of about 30,000 hours, suggesting savings of about 12 megawatts.

Power utility has procured 30,000 energy-saving bulbs and installed them in all its buildings.

Kapata added that power utility has also embarked on promoting the bulbs in industrial, commercial and public buildings to scale up energy efficiency.