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Moghalu Harps On Private Sector Bill Of Rights
The Chairman, Board of Directors and Advisory Board, Africa Private Sector Summit, Prof. Kingsley Moghalu, has reiterated the importance of Private Sector Bill of Rights (PSBoR) in business development in Africa.
Moghalu in a statement made available in Lagos, spoke at the AfCFTA Joint Private Sector Session 2023 Afreximbank Intra-African Trade Fair, Cairo, Egypt, yesterday.
According to him, PSBoR must be adopted as companion instrument to the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) in order to create Africa everyone wants.
Moghalu said: “Trade, business and economies in general cannot grow sustainably, create wealth and lift millions from poverty without strong, predictable enabling business environments.
“This is the value proposition of the Africa Private Sector Summit’s proposed Charter on the Private Sector Bill of Rights (PSBoR).
“As I hope that I have demonstrated, the PSBoR is an indispensable compliment to Africa’s Regional Economic Communities and the potentially transformative AfCFTA Treaty.
“The Private Sector Bill of Rights, when adopted, will provide many practical benefits to varied stakeholders including governments, stock exchanges, African businesses, development partners, and the continental and global publics.”
He said that thriving businesses would pay taxes to the government and increasing revenues, adding that a thriving private sector generates listings and sustainability of capital markets.
“Productive economies with skilled, well educated labour forces will position Africa to join the 4th Industrial Revolution.
“The complimentarity of the Private Sector Bill of Rights to the RECS and the AfCFTA equals an Africa that is truly open for business,” Moghalu said.
Describing RECs and AfCFTA – regional trade as the path to prosperity, Moghalu, a former Deputy Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), said that decades ago, Africa’s political leaders recognised, with foresight, that regional integration and trade are a powerful path to achieving prosperity.
He recounted that the African leaders established eight RECs that became the regional building blocks of the African Union and, ultimately, the AfCFTA.
He stressed that AfCFTA is the world’s largest free trade area, with the main purpose of progressively reducing the steep tariff barriers and trade costs that have for decades prevented the growth of trade and prosperity within the continent.
According to him, trading across borders under the terms of the AfCFTA began on Jan. 1, 2021 and as of August 2023, 47 out of 54 African countries have ratified the treaty.
He said that when fully implemented, the AfCFTA would boost intra-African trade by 52 per cent, lift 30 million people out of poverty, and increase the continent’s GDP by USD 450 billion by 2035.
Highlighting roles of private sector and government, Moghalu said that the continental targets simply could not be achieved without the private sector.
He said that while governments had signed and ratified the AfCFTA, it was companies and business enterprises that trade across Africa, far more than governments.
“This means that the African private sector must be strengthened to leverage the provisions and protocols of the AfCFTA to expand intra-African trade to create prosperity,” Moghalu said.
Speaking further on the African Private Sector Summit (APSS) and the Private Sector Bill of Rights, Moghalu stressed the need to leverage the private sector’s ability to drive trade and investment in our continent.
According to him, to help achieve an enabling environment for business in the continent, APSS is engaging with African governments and other relevant parties for the adoption by all African countries of a Charter on the Private Sector Bill of Rights (PSBoR) for an enabling Blbusiness environment.
Moghalu added: “The Private Sector Bill of Rights contains 24 specific rights.
“These rights include the rights to easy establishment of businesses, a conducive legal framework for business, infrastructure, peace and security, and consultative relationships between governments and businesses in the making of regulations that govern or affect business.
“The adoption of the Private Sector Bill of Rights will fast-track the actualisation of the key Framework Protocols of the AfCFTA.”
According to him, the APSS’s goal is to have the Charter on the Private Sector Bill of Rights adopted by at least 22 African countries, but preferably all countries on the continent that are members of the 55-Member State African Union,.
He said that it should also be adopted by the Pan-African Parliament, and then adopted at the Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the African Union.
Moghalu said: “We will seek adoption by national parliaments and/or the Executive branches of government. We are walking a similar path as that which led to the successful adoption of the AfCFTA.
“The specific rights identified in the Private Sector Bill of Rights come from the protocols of the RECs and AfCFTA.
“The PSBoR is intended as an essential companion instrument to the AfCFTA treaty, one that domesticates the continental trade agreement inside national governments, private sector governing and coordinating entities, and in the operations of the African marketplace in reality.
“I believe that the Private Sector Bill of Rights when adopted by African countries and alongside the RECs and AfCFTA, addresses a fundamental conundrum that has confronted post-colonial Africa for decades.”
“Why have market-oriented economies created broad-based wealth in Europe, North America and increasingly in Asia but poverty remains high in the vast majority of African countries?
“Breaking this jinx is the goal of the AfCFTA and the African Union’s vision 2063 – The Africa We Want,” he said.
He attributed high poverty in the continent to the relatively low level of intra-African trade.
“The PSBoR guarantees, amongst other rights, the right to favorable credit terms to support short, medium and long term investment projects as well as trade credit supported by the Africa Trade Insurance.
“ It also guarantees the right to benefit from scientific progress (innovation) and the right to local content in intellectual property,” he said.
The Rivers State Chief judge, Justice Simeon Chibuzor Amadi has granted pardon to six inmates standing awaiting trial at the Port Harcourt maximum correctional center.
The six lucky inmates granted pardon on Tuesday by the state Chief Judge included Nwekeala Chizoba, Samuel Emmanuel, Aniete Kelvin, Ebube Fubara and Goddey Okpara who were on awaiting trial as murder suspects and have all spent between 10 years to seven years in the custody without a proper information filed against them in the court.
Justice Amadi during a special gaol delivery exercise last Tuesday at the Port Harcourt Maximum Correctional Centre opined that the special gaol delivery was part of activities lined up to commomerate the 2024/2025 legal year in the State and restated the commitment of the state judiciary in decongesting the correctional centre and ensuring that those inmates who are not supposed to be there are removed from the custody.
The state chief judge stressed the need for all stakeholders to work together to build a society that supports rehabilitation and gives a second chance to anyone or group of people who have fallen short of the expectation of the law and have been punished accordingly.
He stressed that the National Judicial Council(NJC) encourages judges to pay more attention to criminal matters to enable them to decongests the correctional facilities, noting that since his assumption into office, his administration has been able to reduce the number of inmates in Nigerian Correctional Centres and the Port Harcourt Correctional Centre in particular, to less than 2,000 as against the over 4,000 inmates previously in the faculty.
According to him, “as they release the deserving inmates, they affirm their commitment to justice, compassion and rule of law but that they must not forget the fundamental principles of justice delivery system which is truth and fairness, integrity and equality before the law.”
I encourage you all the released inmates to return to your families and become better citizens. You must not engage in action that will return you all back to prison. Let me say that while the judges show empathy to you all, it does not absolved individuals from being held accountable for actions against individuals, corporate organisations and state which the law frowns at, ”he stated
The Chief Judge thereafter stood down the exercise to enable the DPP to intervene to case files following the fact that majority of the persons listed to benefit from the exercise are facing murder charges and adjourned to a date that will come before December.
Earlier in his goodwill message, the outgoing state Comptroller of Nigerian Correctional Centre, Port Harcourt, Felix Lawrence, who was recently promoted to the rank of Assistant Controller General, commended the state judiciary led by Chief Judge, Justice Simeon Chibuzor Amadi for their continuous effort aimed at ensuring justice and decongesting the facilities.
Other activities lined up for the event included special church service at St Paul’s Cathedral , Anglican Communion, Rebisi Port Harcourt, inspection of guard of honour by the state Chief Judge mounted by officers of the Nigerian police and a special court session held at the ceremonial court hall.
By: AkujobiAmadi
The Director General of Rivers State Bureau on Public Procurement (RBoPP), Dr. Ine Briggs, has explained that the Sir Siminalayi Fubara administration plans to enforce transparency in governance through public procurement.
Speaking at a one-day Public Procurement Enlightenment workshop organised in collaboration with the State Local Government Service Commission for newly elected chairmen, vice chairmen, secretaries and leaders of legislative assemblies, Dr. Briggs said it is key for grassroot development.
She stated that the Sir. Fubara administration plans to reduce wastage and at same time infuse efficiency in public expenditure.
The RSoPP DG said the local government political office holders remain key drivers in the new vision hence the workshop is to arm them with knowledge on how to execute projects in tandem with needs of the people.
“ Your role in the prudent management of public resources is, therefore, not just administrative it’s the cornerstone of delivering the dividends of democracy. Every procurement decision you make must reflect a commitment to fairness, transparency and accountability” Dr. Briggs submitted.
One of the key goals of the administration she further reminded the participants was to use their offices to foster economic growth through public procurement.
She warned that the law establishing the agency empowers it to penalise defaulters, but that what is more important is voluntary compliance to the laws.
In addition to that, she said urged the local government council leaders that champion the practice and implementation of public procurement law.
On his part, Acting Chairman of Local Government Service Commission, Pastor GoodLife Ben Iduoku averred that the aim of the workshop is to arm key stakeholders in the local government system to generate new ideas, innovation and strategies in tandem with government policies and programmes.
The workshop dealt on various topics on procurement planning, methods, Understanding Bid Process, including types of Construction Contracts and law.
Some participants were awarded excellence and meritorious awards as part of the programme.
By: Kevin Nengia
The 19th anniversary of the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS), Rivers State Chapter, recently ended in Port Harcourt in grand style, with participants from various schools including proprietors, the academia, civil society groups and top government functionaries charting the way forward for educational improvement.
The 19th NAPPS anniversary christened, ‘Innovation and Adaptation: Transforming Challenges Into Opportunities’ was held at Casoni Hotels, Port Harcourt.
In his remarks, the Chairman of the Rivers State Chapter of the association, Dr. Jaja Adafe Sunday expressed gratitude to the members and executives for their untiring efforts towards the achievements of the body.
He sought the intervention of government on the lingering crisis on the economy as it is affecting the running of schools.
He decried high cost of things including fuel and raw materials which has adversely affected the running of schools and payment of teachers.
Dr. Sunday hinted that the current economic situation in the nation is biting hard on the operations of schools, saying inflation, removal of fuel subsidy, fuel scarcity, poor electricity supply, tariffs and lack of government grants are some of the challenges faced by schools, and urged the members to brace up to the challenges, as it is the panacea to building a brighter future.
Guest speakers from the health sector and the academia thrilled the gathering on the essence of basic education which they said is the key to national development.
Former Dean of the Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Professor Azuru and the Chief Medical Director of Meridian Hospitals, Dr. Odo Iyke were some notable guest speakers who delivered lectures at the occasion.
Some distinguished proprietors also got special recognitions and awards.
The 19th anniversary cake was cut by the Rivers State NAPPS Chairman with representatives of the state government assisting.