Nigerian ‘Sakawa Kingpin’ Sunny Awamini Wanted Man By Interpol – EOCO Uncovers

 The Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) has detained a notorious leader of a fraudulent enterprise operating in Ghana and neighboring Nigeria who is also on the wanted list of Interpol for various organized crimes.

On Thursday, July 21, 2022, Sunny Anwamini (Alias Sunny Enyindah Anwamini @ Apostle Sunny Chigeru), a Nigerian national, was arrested and charged with three counts of Uttering forged documents, defrauding by false pretences and money laundering.

The accused, between January 2017 and May 2022, used forged documents including an Export Declaration Form from the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to obtain various sums of money totaling Six Million, Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars ($6,500,000) from one Mazen Farakh, the complainant, under the pretext of exporting teak wood from Ghana to him in Ukraine.

The accused was arraigned before Her Ladyship Elfreda Dankyi at Criminal Court 2 of the High Court, Accra. After the accused person’s plea was taken, EOCO’s legal team prosecuting on behalf of the Republic, prayed the court to take into consideration the amount involved in the offence allegedly committed in granting bail.

The Court in its ruling set the terms of bail at Twenty Million Ghana Cedis (GHc 20,000,000) with three (3) sureties, two (2) of whom must be justified.

The accused is to surrender his passport and other travelling documents and to report twice a week to the EOCO headquarters.

However, Sunny Awamini is yet to settle the bail conditions and has been detained.

Background

According to deep throat sources at EOCO, the suspect met Mazen Farakh in December 2018 during which the latter expressed interest in purchasing expensive wood (teak).

Sam after receiving the sum of $6.5 million from the Ukrainian businessman sent photographs of fake pallets of teak stored in custom bonded warehouses and promised to get the goods delivered to Ukraine.

Additionally Information

Sunny Awamini alias Sam is apparently a wanted man by interpol and Nigeria security apparatus having been in the hunt for him for several years.

EOCO after doing a diligent work sought collaboration from their Nigerian counterparts and were informed that Sam has been a wanted man and operates a criminal gang of fraudulent enterprise in Nigeria for a very long time.

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South Africa Reports First Death Causally Linked To COVID Vaccine

 South Africa’s health regulator reported on Thursday a causal link between the death of an individual and Johnson & Johnson’s (J&J) (JNJ.N) COVID-19 vaccine, the first time such a direct link has been made in the country.

The person presented with rare neurological disorder Guillain-Barre Syndrome soon after being given J&J’s vaccine, after which the person was put on a ventilator and later died, senior scientists told a news conference.

“At the time of illness no other cause for the Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) could be identified,” Professor Hannelie Meyer said.

The person’s age and other personal details were not disclosed for confidentiality reasons.

Last July, U.S. authorities added a warning to a factsheet for J&J’s vaccine saying data suggested there was an increased risk of GBS in the six weeks after vaccination. At the time it noted 100 preliminary reports of GBS in vaccine recipients, including 95 serious cases and one reported death.

Read Full Story …. Reuters >>> : 

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Food Prices Fell Again In July, U.N. Agency Says

 The United Nations food agency’s world price index declined again in July, edging further away from record highs hit in March.

The Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) food price index, which tracks the most globally traded food commodities, averaged 140.9 points last month versus a revised 154.3 for June. The June figure was previously put at 154.2.

The July index was still 13.1% higher than a year earlier, pushed up by the impact of the invasion of Ukraine, adverse weather and high production and transport costs.

“The decline in food commodity prices from very high levels is welcome, however, many uncertainties remain,” said FAO Chief Economist Maximo Torero.

A bleak global economic outlook, currency volatility and high fertilizer prices – which can impact future production and farmers’ livelihoods – all pose serious strains for global food security, he said.

The vegetable oil, sugar, dairy, meat and cereal price indices all fell month-on-month in July, with wheat slumping 14.5%, partly due to a deal reached between Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the United Nations to unblock grains exports from Black Sea ports.

The maize price index fell 10.7% in July, also due in part to the Russia-Ukraine deal as well as increased seasonal availability from key producers Argentina and Brazil, the FAO said.

Three ships carrying a combined 58,041 tonnes of corn were authorised to leave Ukrainian ports on Friday, the organisation arranging the operation said. A first vessel carrying Ukrainian grain set sail from Odesa on Monday.

Source: Reuters

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2030 World Cup: Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Paraguay Bid To Be Joint Hosts

 Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Paraguay have submitted a joint bid to host the 2030 World Cup.

Uruguay hosted the competition’s first ever tournament in 1930 and say they want to bring the World Cup “home” when it celebrates its centenary.

“This is the dream of a continent,” said Alejandro Dominguez, president of the South American Football Confederation (Conmebol).

Spain and Portugal have also announced a bid to be joint hosts.

Uruguay beat Argentina in the final to win the inaugural World Cup in 1930 and Dominguez was speaking at the scene of that win – Montevideo’s Centenario Stadium.

“There will be more World Cups, but the cup only turns 100 one time, and it needs to come home,” added Dominguez.

Chile hosted the World Cup in 1962, while the tournament was held in Argentina in 1978.

“It’s right for the World Cup to be hosted where it all began, 100 years later,” said Ignacio Alonso, president of the Uruguayan Football Association.

The 2022 World Cup will be held in Qatar while Canada, Mexico and the USA will be joint hosts in 2026.

Fifa plans to select the 2030 host in 2024.

The UK and Republic of Ireland football associations agreed in February not to bid for the 2030 World Cup and instead focus on a joint attempt to host Euro 2028.

Source: BBC

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Kenya Plans Nationwide Electric-Car Charging Stations

 Kenya’s power utility firm Kenya Power has launched plans to build infrastructure that will enable the charging of electric vehicles countrywide.

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A six-month trial phase is expected to start in September in the capital, Nairobi, before going to other major towns across the country in two years’ time.

The adoption of electric vehicles in Kenya has been low, partly because of a lack of adequate charging stations for individuals and businesses.

Only 350 out of an estimated 2.2 million registered vehicles in the country are electric, according to the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra).

The government hopes to increase the share of electric cars to reach 5% of all vehicle imports by 2025.

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Impoverished Zimbabweans Turn To Scrap Metal Trade As Inflation Bites

 Shepherd Chowe pushes a cart filled with tins, iron rods and other metallic objects down a dusty pathway in Hopley, a poor settlement about 15 km west of Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare.

It is 11 a.m. and Chowe, 46, has arrived at a scrap yard where dozens of metal scavengers await to sell their wares. For two sacks, Chowe gets paid $6.

“I start moving around the township at 8 a.m. … asking people for scrap metal or anything metallic they are not using anymore,” Chowe said, adding that on a good day he takes home $40.

Chowe is among Zimbabweans selling scrap metal for survival as the cost of living soars, piling pressure on a population already facing food shortages and high unemployment, stirring memories of economic chaos years ago under veteran leader Robert Mugabe’s near four-decade rule.

Annual inflation, which hit 256.9% in July, has cast a shadow over President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s bid to revitalise the economy.

By selling scrap metal, Chowe can afford to pay rent, buy food and pay school fees for his two daughters.

“Scrap metal has given us hope,” Chowe said.

Zimbabwe’s steel industry has been struggling since the collapsed of the Zimbabwe Iron and Steel Company (Ziscosteel) more than a decade ago.

However, in recent years, small steel producers working with scrap yard dealers are picking up the pieces.

“These scavengers help the steel industry which we supply. Sometimes they (steel makers) lack money to pay us, but the metal is always available,” scrap yard owner Fungai Mataga said, as workers loaded metal into a truck headed for Kwekwe in the Midlands, the home of steel manufactures.

Mataga buys cast iron for $0.15 per kg and mild steel $0.22 per kg from scavengers.

“They all come here to sell (metal) for survival,” he said.

The scrap metal trade is not illegal in Zimbabwe, but has raised concerns about vandalism of infrastructure including that of state-owned National Railways of Zimbabwe, which has called for the trade to be regulated.

As Chowe leaves the scrap yard, 19-year-old Mike Mavhunga arrives saddled with sacks of tins.

Every day he wakes up at 5 a.m. to walk 10 km to Glen Norah, a township west of Harare, his hunting ground for metal.

“My aim is to get at least two bags of scrap metal which gives me $6. But on a rough day, I get $1 or $1.50,” Mavhunga said. “This is how I survive.”

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Africa Needs Access To Low-Cost Capital – Zambian President

 President Hichilema Hakainde of the Republic of Zambia has expressed concern that national incomes for African countries remained low coupled with high inequality and poverty rates partly due to huge infrastructure deficits and low levels of human development and private investment.

To address this the Zambian President underscored the need for Africa to access low-cost capital and a establish predictable, competitive and stable economic policy environment.

“I am greatly convinced that the importance of the African Union Financial Institutions has been well established and very well-articulated in a way that it has now become common knowledge amongst the wide variety of stakeholders involved in this inspiring and expected ground-breaking journey,” President Hichilema has stated.

President Hichilema stated in a speech read on his behalf at the AU Member States Ministers of Finance, Monetary Affairs, Economic Planning, and Integration which focused on “Improving Africa’s access to Capital: Debt Management and the Rising Influence of Credit Rating Agencies.”

A document made available to the Ghana News Agency in Tema explained that the 5th Ordinary Session of the Specialized Technical Committee also made far-reaching recommendations on assessments by the Member States on the state of the debt crisis in their respective countries as a way of promoting transparency and accountability, which in turn facilitates debt restructuring and reduces vulnerabilities.

To address longer-term challenges and achieve financial stability and autonomy, President Hichilema stressed the need to speed up the operationalization of African financial institutions as indicated in Article 19 of the Constitutive Act of the African Union.

Ambassador Albert Muchanga, African Union Commissioner for Economic Development, Trade, Tourism, Industry and Minerals, reiterated the need to accelerate domestic resource mobilization to reduce reliance on foreign capital.

He said AU Agenda 2063 stipulated that for it to be fully and effectively implemented, 75-90 percent of financial resources must be mobilized domestically across Africa.

“As we harness the spirit of innovation, one key issue that we need to realize is that the African Union is a source of value creation. It is a brand that is lucrative politically, diplomatically, strategically; and, inter-alia, commercially.

“Therefore, AU policy organs like this Specialized Technical Committee (STC) need to come up with ways and means of transforming this source into value capture to drive our progress as a continent, and in this way, relying on our own resources,” Ambassador Muchanga stated.

Dr. John Ampontuah Kumah, Chair of the Bureau of the STC and Deputy Minister for Finance of Ghana, noted that additional structural reforms such as debt restructuring and reprioritizing public spending were required to ensure long-term debt sustainability.

“We need to collectively work together to transform Africa into a global powerhouse of the future.

“Reconfiguring the global debt relief architecture, including reinstating the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI), will be crucial in supporting debt-ridden African countries’ transition towards a path of sustainable debt in the medium to long term,” Dr Kumah stated.

The Ministers of Finance and Central Bank Governors at the end of the meeting recommended the establishment of a regulatory institution in Africa to strengthen mechanisms for tax transparency, effective and prudential fiscal management and combating illicit financial flows.

The Ministers reiterated the need to establish an African Credit Rating Agency based on self-sustainability and political and financial autonomy, and adopt the Tax Strategy and the Strategy on curbing Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs).

The STC meeting accepted the proposal of Afreximbank and ATIA to be designated as AU Specialized Agencies.

The STC requested AU Member states to ensure a significant proportion of their annual budgets are committed to the financing of industrialization projects, supported by prudential taxation policies and practices to enhance domestic resource mobilization, to minimize rigidities in credit creation.

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