Decades after the formal decolonization of Africa, the countries of the continent lack plenty of things to be considered independent or sovereign. If truth be told, flag independence brought more dependence than anything else. African economies are now firmly integrated into the lopsided world system, without much hope towards self-reliance. The so-called ‘democratization’, which was launched in the early 1980s, proved to be a monumental farce! Every few years, hundreds of political parties vie for state power with the clear intention of leveraging high offices to engage in serious looting. In Africa, major businesses cannot be envisioned without the blessing of political power, and political power cannot be envisioned without obsessing ethnicity. The routine is now well established. In fact, multiparty politics created fertile grounds for increased conflicts. ‘It is our turn to eat’ is Africa’s current Magna Carta and presupposes a rotation of looting by groups bent on identity politics (ethnic, religious, etc.) The chronic grand political corruption in Africa is now labeled the ‘AIDS of Democracy’!
Good governance is no more the driving force of African governments/countries. Since parasitic accumulation leveraging identity politics is the main pillar of Africa’s modernity, an integrity system that upholds transparency and accountability has become anathema to governments. Critically inclined individuals questioning systemic corruption are/were quietly removed from public discourses. At times, they are removed from the planet altogether, period! Our zombified elites or ‘useful idiots’, as Lenin used to call them, are not in a position, intellectually, emotionally, financially, etc., to challenge the ongoing protracted public looting! In the meantime, the sheeple, (human mass) rudderless as ever, still awaits for ‘Godot’, so to speak, while, intensifying polarization is taking its toll on the continent. The ideology of neoliberalism that obtains all over implicitly condones corruption by way of favoring crony capitalism over free market economic activities. The continental/regional/country wide destabilizations are reactions to the prevailing abusive governance. It seems The Sahel, North Africa, The Great Lakes region, The Horn, are in the process of slow motion fragmentation.
We feel it is instructive to examine the history of a once progressive party, which was enticed to degenerate into utter decadence. After taking state power, the TPLF led EPRDF (of Ethiopia) allowed grand political corruption to penetrate every nook and cranny in the country, citing the proverbial excuse of regional devolvement (read ethnicity). As a result, Ethiopia’s once respected and relatively capable bureaucracy became a mere pawn in the hands of political goons. This project of fostering intentional decay created a culture of mediocrity and corruption unseen and unheard in the history of the country. Connection to the power that be, rather than uprightly upholding laws, became the new modus operandi. At this point, it is worth mentioning how the goons of the party frustrated a civil society initiated grass root anticorruption movement. EPRDF’s unethical leadership successfully fought, tooth and nail, to stop this mass based organization from taking hold of the sheeple’s imagination! This column repeatedly advised EPRDF and its leadership not to take the paths of the Mafiosi, but to no avail. EPRDF became a den of well-known corrupt elements from all walks of life. By pushing policies that alienated it from the masses, EPRDF became the visible protector of various criminalities. The rest is history. Again, nothing new here!
Without a clear salvation plan, Africa is speeding towards its demise. To some extent, this quagmire is self-inflicted. Quality leadership with a potential to articulate as well as maneuver a relatively independent path, was systemically mowed down, to help facilitate the emergence of a strata of ‘useless idiots’, eager to blindly serve the callous interests of transnational capital. Again, nothing new here! Unfortunately, the way we are going about it, it seems ‘failed and failing states’ will become the norm in our expansive continent. To this end, the lack of independent media, to say nothing about tangible democracy, is and will continue to impede the ushering of liberating narratives!
The sheeple needs continuous guidance and illumination. Institutions that could potentially forge such a milieu are not encouraged in Africa, as they can positively impact the sheeple’s conscience. For instance, the paid media (state, private, NGOs, etc.) is not in the business of enlightening the African sheeple. On the contrary, its intention is to make sure we become mindless consumers as well as promoters of useless policies, ideologies and culture. The main objective is to make sure we do not develop reality-grounded self-awareness, as that can potentially lead to self-reliance and independence of thought! Naturally, one of the main objectives of the state media is to continuously lie, so that incumbent politicos will remain in power for prolonged looting. By and large, Africa’s so-called private media is not really private, it is a direct or indirect subsidiary of the global MSM (Main Stream Media), which in turn is under the thumb of transnational capital. Many of these so-called African media do not even have their own editorials. They tend to parrot what is given to them by their paying masters, albeit in the various local dialects; nothing more! Oligarchs also use private media to misguide/indoctrinate the sheeple so that they can get away with murder. At the end of the day, the MSM is the amalgam of private and state media. In the words of former assistant secretary of the US treasury; the MSM is a presstitute! We say no more; except to mention that all attempts to establish independent media outlets in Africa have been thoroughly frustrated, by all sorts of interests (Pambazuka, et al.) Again, nothing new here!
Obviously and particularly at this point in time, ignorance and silence are not what suffering Africa needs. What Africa desperately wants is leadership with transformational vision. Unfortunately, committed and capable generation would not come to the fore as long as Africa’s institutions are only too eager to worship mediocrity and corruption. It is clear that independent attitudes in all spheres of existence have become threatening to the insecure and power hungry politicos, determinedly thriving on identity politics based ineptitude. The selection criterions for all posts in Africa, particularly in government agencies, are no more based on merits, even in the critical professions where skill remains crucial. “It is not what you know and what you do, but rather what you are, ethnologically, that will accrue you benefits in Africa”!
VOICELESS AFRICA
Experts peg incentivized driven taxation as vital for secondary market leeway
As preparations get underway to roll out the much anticipated secondary market in Ethiopia, various elements including that of ironing out the current tax laws, particularly on tax policy, are gearing to take shape in order to harbor a conducive market. To make this a reality, the capital market regulatory body is working in tandem with the Ministry of Finance (MoF) to create a conducive tax incentive for investors who would engage on the capital market.
Following the past two events that focused on the ongoing activity of the formation of the security exchange in Ethiopia organized by FSD Ethiopia and Addis Ababa Chamber of Commerce and Sectoral Association, early this week and last week, senior experts of the Ethiopian Capital Market Authority (ECMA) have expressed the efforts done thus far and those projected to materialize in the near future.
One of the issues raised at the event was the revisit of the tax policy that is on the hand of MoF.
On her presentation Hanna Tedla, Senior Capital Market Legal Advisor at ECMA, said that some of the expected changes which eagerly need to be realized lie in the tax policy. She said that an incentive oriented tax is expected to take shape from the government’s side in the upcoming alternative financial market.
“If we look at basic policy considerations, let’s put a sharp focus on things such as tax policy. We need to have enabling tax policies in place to get some of the financial products from the mind to the ground. For example, the collective investment schemes that we expect; more so in the funds, in many other jurisdictions, often pass through taxation, thus keen efforts should be done to eliminate double taxation. So we need to extensively go through items such as source of revenue for example, for us, on securities that we want to undertake,” Hanna elaborated.
As Brook Taye, Director General of ECMA, indicates, the tax policy is mandated by MoF, “We need to have discussions on the issue with the relevant government body.”
“The market is very much new and if we need to hit the ground running, it is integral to have an accommodating policy. We are now organizing possible policy ideas that will be tabled to MoF,” Brook explained.
“If the policy inputs are accepted by the ministry, the market will no doubt operate properly,” he added whilst declining to give further information to the exact input details.
Nonetheless, experts indicate that the major concept needed to shift is that of the current income tax law which is not incentivized in the fund market like share sales or bond market. They expressed that if the government wants the security exchange market to be an alternative financial source it must consider the upcoming trading market with different incentives including taxes.
“Mostly the resources secured through secondary market will be invested directly or indirectly on economic development like new investments or expansions on existing businesses. So if the sector shall be backed by incentives potential investors shall participate on the capital market at the same time issuers shall generate funds for their possible investments,” they said while emphasizing that, “Incentives are crucial.”
They stated that one of the current de-incentives laws was the income tax proclamation and others like regulation and directives that indicated that the revenue secured from investment on shares and bonds have massive tax duties unlike the income generated from the transaction of fixed properties.
The income tax proclamation article 59.1 stated that a person who derives a gain on the disposal of immovable asset, a share, or bond shall be liable to pay income tax.
According to the proclamation there are two classes, class A and class B, of taxable asset with 15 percent and 30 percent levies respectively.
The class A taxable asset is stated as an immovable asset that may include buildings, while class B is bonds and shares as per the proclamation article 59.7.
“However if the capital market necessitated to mushroom and encourage players to invest on the business, revisiting the current proclamation is pivotal,” experts that Capital asked about the issue explained.
They added that the rate should at least be equal to encourage players who want to invest through the capital market, “Otherwise potential investors would not be encouraged to invest on the secondary market with such extraordinary taxation levies against the investment when they put their money to secure fixed asset, which has very limited economic benefit for the country.”
Experts also expressed their expectation of government in reducing further tax from revenue secured at the bond and share markets against the rate for class A taxable assets.
“It has a double advantage, for starters it provides more attractive incentives for investors to invest on the capital market and on the other hand it will stabilize the extraordinary market that is observed in fixed asset business,” they argued.
Capital learnt that MoF is already looking at alternatives to support the upcoming market regarding tax policies.
It can be recalled that Capital reported that ECMA was in close communications with the National Bank of Ethiopia, the central bank, to consider the current retail banks to be part of the capital market as an investment bank. Of course to allow for this transition, a proclamation revision is required. A possible alternative of establishing a bank subsidiary fully separate from the current deposit mobilizing banking system is one avenue that is being heavily proposed.
New directive gives external auditors autonomy
Newly appointed Governor of National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE), Mamo Esmelealem, signs his first directive which gives autonomy to external auditors in banks.
Experts commended the new directive citing that it properly follows the full implementation of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in conjunction with tightening the assignment and responsibility of auditors.
The ‘appointment of external auditor of bank directive no. SBB/86/2023’ which replaced the 1996 directive becoming effective as of February 1st stated that auditing experts and bankers in order to tighten the control on financial institutions, might increase their audit expenses and expand the responsibility of auditors.
The directive now demands auditors to have IFRS based knowledge. To this end, in the new lease of doing business certified auditors should have IFRS certificate or have a specialty on IFRS, a requirement that was not set before.
(Photo: Anteneh Aklilu)
“Besides the IFRS certification, auditors should have practical knowledge on the area,” Tilahun Girma, expert on IFRS and a finance consultant at I Xcel Financial, Management and IT Consultation Company, underlined.
“For instance, NBE has its own law regarding provision for bad loans and on the IFRS financial instrument. There is a condition of expected credit losses resulting in the recognition of a loss allowance before the credit loss is incurred. So the auditors should have knowledge on expected credit loss calculation,” he added.
The directive indicated that assessment of the adequacy of provisions held for non-performing loans and other outstanding assets as per IFRS and the NBE directive before annual accounts of a bank are finalized and dividends paid to shareholders, “the audit should also cover and ascertain that loan-loss provisions and day one gain/loss recognition are reflected in fair value estimates and have been carried out properly as per IFRS.”
He also stated that the new directive added that auditors should have experience and technic on fair value measurement.
“In the current experience, historical cost of an asset was measured on the audit, while a fair value measurement assumes that the asset or liability is exchanged in an orderly transaction between market participants to sell the asset or transfer the liability at the measurement date under current market conditions,” he explained.
Knowledge on actuarial valuation is also the other new concept included on the directive.
The directive imposed a requirement that the audit team as a group must have an adequate and comprehensive IFRS knowledge as evidenced complemented with an IFRS training certificate. In addition, the audit manager and engagement team members shall have necessary qualification and adequate experience in a bank audit that are sufficient to the risk, complexity and peculiar nature of their work and ensuring if the required audit quality standards as specified under International standard on Quality Management 1 (ISQM1).
The directive stated that audit teams must have expertise in the computation of expected credit loss (credit modeling) and actuarial valuation and/or the auditor use of the work of external experts who have adequate knowledge and expertise on the same. The directive also stated that experts have to have adequate knowledge, understanding, and training of fair value estimation and is able to check the robustness of the processes for determining fair value of assets and liabilities, and also to evaluate key assumptions and inputs that a bank has used in its valuations.
Regarding the appointment of external auditor the directive stated that a bank shall appoint external auditor through a competitive bid and shall hire the same auditor for another two more years without competitive bid and must also not hold office for more than three consecutive years in a bank.
The directive article 4.5 stated that an external auditor may be appointed through competitive bid for a maximum of two consecutive terms; that is six years. It added that a bank through a competitive manner may consider and appoint an external auditor who served for two consecutive terms only after lapse of three consecutive years from the last date of engagement of the external auditor.
“In my view the new directive has put a strong stand regarding impartiality of the auditor or the team regarding connection or affiliation with the bank directly or indirectly, which is crucial in undertaking a clear and proper audit on any given bank,” an audit expert commented on the current directive.
The audit team members are not supposed to be employees of the bank to be audited from at least the last three years, and for the particular external auditor, its partner or its staff members must not be shareholders or employed directly or indirectly by its first degree relatives.
Article 5.7 indicated that for any audit firm, its partners, directors, manager and members of the proposed audit team must not be insolvent or declared bankrupt by court, and must also not have been convicted by the court for any criminal offences as well as found in default of any bank or other financial institutions inclusive of tax obligations.
External auditor, its partners or its audit team members as well as their associates must also not operate any deposit account and must not be direct or indirect borrowers and/or foreign currency user of assigned bank except at arm’s length.
The directive clearly gives a monopoly for the Office of the Auditor General of Ethiopia or its appointee to carry out the audit of state owned banks.
The directive added that the external auditor or any partner must have to be licensed by Accounting and Auditing Board of Ethiopia.
Article 6.3 also said no bank shall remove or change its external auditor/s already appointed and approved by the National Bank, without the prior written approval of the National Bank.
“This is one of the key articles that give’s power for external auditor to undertake proper auditing on a bank. In the past auditors were considerate of their jobs when it came to clearly enforcing their opinions as they may have been easily disposed of by the bank. However based on this article auditors may have a say if a bank demands to fire them from their contract,” auditors who in the past were fired in a similar scenario explained their relief of the new directive to Capital.
“Now the bank will not have an independent position to terminate a contract with auditors.The new directive gives more power for auditors to undertake their responsibility independently,” they explained.
The directive article 7.4 indicated that to conduct its audit on a group basis; and if board of directors or management of a bank imposes a limitation on the scope of the auditor’s work, the audit shall not accept such a limited scope.
The directive also gives a right for the external auditor to report to the regulatory body if any such needs arise.
Article 10.3 states that an external auditor shall report directly to the National Bank on matters arising from the audit including but not limited to insolvency, illiquidity, acts of fraud or theft and others that auditor deems significant to the regulators function due to its nature or potential financial impact.
In the past auditors provided the finding to the bank but now they are responsible to report to the NBE, which is crucial for prudency in the sector, audit experts opined.
The external auditor is responsible to focus on the recoverability and the carrying value of loans, investments and other assets shown in the financial statements; and also identification and adequate disclosure of all material commitments and liabilities.
“The external auditor is expected to independently verify and validate the framework, structure, key assumptions and inputs and processes used for fair value estimations; and ensure that the valuation practices by a bank are consistent with IFRS as adopted in Ethiopia,” the directive said.
According to the directive an auditor is expected to have coverage of reasonable and appropriate number of branches and/or sub branches of a bank. Experts said that it is also another area that would make the service expensive but they commented that the central bank should at least mention a percentage of branches that shall be covered by the audit.
Tilahun told Capital that the article will be one of the reasons that will lead auditors to demand more fees since they are expected to cover reasonable branches unlike the current experience. Similarly, he agreed with other experts that NBE was expected to put specific figures regarding the number of branches that shall be covered on the audit.
(Photo: Anteneh Aklilu)
Mulugeta Asmare, President of Goh Betoch Bank, accepted that the new directive to make auditors more autonomous, even though technically at the current stage banks still assign external auditors as an independent body.
He said that it is relative to state on the notion of the new directive making auditors more expensive, “So far the external audit expense is not cheap but based on the new directive auditors will come with an additional burden, time and professionals that would have more expenses which will finally be covered by the client or banks.”
“The directive take in to account the implementation of IFRS on a full manner like the actuarial valuation, which is currently carried out by oversea companies mainly who come from Kenya. So auditors are now expected to include this service on their auditing that is one of the reason the expenses shall be increase,” he explained.
He said that the issuance of the new directive is timely since the sector is becoming international and capital market is coming.
“Producing comparable and internationally sound financial statement is crucial since we are going to international market and embark stock market. It is must to conduct auditing as per the IFRS standard that is internationally acceptable,” he said.
“Perhaps it seems challenging and places additional pressure on banks and since we are new, a balance sheet is a testimony for a firm when we are doing business at the stock market. So it needs to keep international standards and carry out the necessary professional auditing,” he explained.
(Photo: Anteneh Aklilu)
Mulugeta, who served on different financial firms at top leadership positions, told Capital that the directive has imposed a high role on the bank’s management to carry on their day to day operation more prudently.
On its preamble the directive mentioned that the directive is put in place to increase reliance on the work of external auditors and is believed to enhance quality and effective risk based supervision, and to ensure that external audit is performed by qualified and independent auditor.
At the current condition the audit expense of a bank is very insignificant compared with total expense and the experience of other countries. “There is high competition between auditors due to that banks expense is very small,” the sector experts said.
The experts argued that banks pay audit fee similar to what auditors get paid at any factory.
Auditing experts stated that the directive is very strong but on a positive end demands auditors to be qualified on their capability and knowledge.
Tele initiates new program to pave way for innovators
As a component of its implementation of digital solutions to guarantee the country’s digitization, Ethio Telecom announced its Ethiotel Innovation Program.
Beyond its overall attempts to extend and modernize services, the program, which was inaugurated on February 6, 2023, is supposed to empower and support the country’s startup digital finance and technological enterprises and innovators.
“Ethiotel Innovation Program is designed to be implemented in three chapters mainly to address the challenges that any startup businesses would face, such as market penetration, customer attraction and retention. In addition to, acquiring experts and finance and enabling business ideas at conception to be realized as well as allowing existing startups to grow,” the telecommunications firm revealed.
Since the first phase of the program, which will be implemented from February 10 to April 30, 2023, has begun, Ethio Telecom has now invited qualified entrepreneurs to submit applications. This phase of the program is focused on firms that make use of cloud and mobile financial service capability. During this stage of the competition, the top 100 winners will be working to overcome the obstacles they confront, assure their business continuity, and put financial and cloud business concepts into practice right away.
With the help of our technology partner Huawei Technologies, the top 100 winners and companies will also receive professional, expert, financial, and material support as well as funding for trips to China to gain international experience.
Beyond finance and the technology sector, the program will place special attention on the deployment of digital contents, solutions, services, analytics, consumer and business applications of chosen top 150 startup enterprises in its second phase, which will run from March 20 to July 30, 2023.
Beginning in August 2023, the last stage of the innovation program will capitalize on the institutionalization of the ventures and inventions. According to Ethio telecom, in particular, they will build a research and development center, establish a TechHub center, and use the best practices from phases 1 and 2.
