Stolen: Tsh 80 billion from an English Bank
In a daring incident of robbery,
miscreants have fled with £40m from a Belfast bank. The criminals are suspected
to be professionals who had “clearly done their homework”, police have said.
Robbers stole millions from the vaults of the bank in Donegall Square West on
Monday as the families of two bank officials - one at Downpatrick, County Down,
and the other at Poleglass near Lisburn - were held hostage. The bank officials
are Kevin McMullan from Downpatrick and Chrissie Ward from Colinmill in
Poleglass. Senior investigating officer Andy Sproule said: “It was a carefully
planned operation by professional criminals who had done their homework.”
Detectives said the possible involvement of paramilitaries was a “key line of
inquiry”.
A female hostage held during the raid raised the alarm after scrambling through
a forest. The raid at the Northern Bank’s Belfast headquarters is thought to be
one of the biggest UK cash robberies.
The detective superintendent appealed for help in tracing a “distinctive” white
box van which had been used to load the cash from the Wellington Street entrance
on two occasions.
The van was so unusual that police had so far been unable to find a similar one
to put on display, said the officer.
Detectives were actively looking at previous incidents where gangs had been
involved and the mode of operation.
It is understood the police are looking at a number of possibilities of who was
responsible for the robbery.
These are believed to include two non-paramilitary gangs and three teams
attached to paramilitary groups - the IRA, the INLA and the UDA.
The female hostage - Kevin McMullan’s wife Karen -wearing blue overalls and
soaking wet trainers, made her way to a house near Drumkeeragh Forest Park at
about 2200 GMT on Monday.
She was in a distressed state, but was reluctant to tell the male householder
too much about the incident as she was concerned about her husband. However, she
said she had been a hostage in a bank robbery.
There are reports that she was suffering from exposure as a result of her
ordeal.
As the investigation continues, the police are examining the woman’s car which
was found burned on Tuesday at Drumkeeragh Forest Park, between Castlewellan and
Ballynahinch.
At a news conference on Wednesday, police said the amount stolen in the raid was
about £22m. The building at the centre of the robbery houses the bank’s cash
centre, where tens of millions of pounds were believed to have been stored.
The National Australia Bank, which owns the Northern Bank, said the robbery
would have no knock-on effect for the sale of the Northern to the Danish Danske
Bank Group announced earlier this month.
In a statement, the bank said: “The theft is covered by self-insurance, and as
such, National Australia Bank will bear the impact of any losses arising from
the theft.”
The bank said customers would not be affected.
The Northern Bank has 95 branches and 30% of the market in Northern Ireland.
Privatisation
reaches its peak this year
By Timothy Kitundu
Growth in privatization has increased manifold over the past couple
of years. The statistics were recently released by the Presidential Parastatal
Sector Reform (PSRC), showing a cumulative number of 724 divestiture
transactions in the year till June.
PSRC Coordinator Dr. Heavenlight Kavishe said in Dare es Salaam that the figure
is made up of the divestiture of 307 units and disposal of 417 non-core assets.
According to Dr. Kavishe, the comparative figures for the period up to June 30th
2003 were a cumulative total of 552 divestiture transactions, comprising the
divestiture of 281 units and disposal of 271 non –core assets.
“Therefore, during the year which ended on June 30th 2004 a total of 172
divestiture transactions were completed, made up of the divestiture of 26 units
and disposal of 146 non-core assets,” he said.
The comparative figures for divestiture activities during the preceding year
which ended on 30 June were 83 divestiture transactions made up of the
divestiture of 22 units and disposal of 61 non-core assets.
Additionally he said, the 1999 amendment of the Public Corporations Act gave
PSRC the responsibility to initiate, advise and facilitate the establishment of
multi-sectoral regulatory authorities.
He mentioned the regulatory Authorities and related institutions earmarked for
setting up as the Surface and marine Transport Regulatory Authority (SUMATRA),
Energy and Water Utilities Regulatory Authority (EWURA) and the Tanzania
Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA).
Others are Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA), the Fair Competition
Commission together with the Fair Competition Tribunal (FCT).
“By the end of the year under review the following Regulatory Authorities had
already been established: the Tanzania communication s Regulatory Authority
(TCRA) and the new Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA),” he said.
Adding that these institutions inherited resources from former institutions.
TCRA inherited resources from the former Tanzania Communications Commission
(TCC) and the Tanzania Broadcasting Commission (TBC) whereas TCAA took over
resources of the former TCAA.
The government, he said has now accessed resources that will enable PSRC to
embark on the final phase of physical establishment of the new institutions that
is EWURA, FCC and FCT.
Retirement
counselling for TCAA staff
Nestory Ngwega, Tanga.
Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA) has started retirement
counselling services and offering solutions for the retired staff. The first
such programme was organised by way of a seminar recently.
“Problem of many workers is that they do not prepare life after retirement as a
result when days come, they find themselves getting into problems by not knowing
what to do then,” said the chairman of TUGHE for Tanzania Civil Aviation
Authority (TCAA) Eugen Lwala, during the three day seminar on workers’ life
after retirement.
Stressing on being pragmatic, he advised employees to start preparation in his
or her working days to live a happy and satisfied life in post retirement
period.
He said, knowing that the problem exists among some staff, the Civil Aviation
Authority through TUGHE has decided to organize such a seminar to awaken its
staff members to focus on future life.
He urged them to take the matter seriuosly because the aim of TUGHE is to make
sure that workers’ lives becomes better not only during time in work, but also,
even after the employment is over.
He appealed to them to cultivate a habit of serving money and establish a
sustainable income genarating projects instead of spending their money in
luxurious matters.
EU proposes
removal of import restrictions
By Timothy Kitundu
The European Union initiative of eliminating quantitative
restrictions on import of textile and clothing products from WTO countries is
expected to help the country in a big way.
This Regulation implements one of the key commitments taken at the end of the
last WTO Trade Round ‘Uruguay Round’ in 1994. This definitively seals the
disappearance of textiles quotas that have been in place for four decades and
there is no going back.
According to a statement issued over the weekend by the EU Trade Issues, the
challenge now for the textiles industry world-wide is to compete in the new
environment.
Rather policy makers also need to ensure that the transition is as smooth as
possible and managed in a way that does not wipe out the textiles industries of
weak and vulnerable developing countries.
Apart from the Regulation of eliminating import quotas from WTO countries, It
will also establish a transitional regime concerning the import in the first
quarter of 2005 of products subject to the import quota regime in 2004.
According to the statement, the Regulation also sets up a statistical monitoring
system for the imports to the EU of a number of textile and clothing products.
This will give early intelligence on signs of serious market disruption and will
allow the EU to follow closely the development of trade in the new environment.
The WTO Agreement on Textile and Clothing (ATC), which established a ten year
period for the elimination of the quotas, will expire on 31 December 2004. From
1st January 2005 trade in textile and clothing products will be subject to the
general GATT rules.
The general GATT rules which proscribe the imposition of quantitative
restrictions for imports. The EU already eliminated 56 bilateral quotas in 2002
under the third stage of integration of the ATC.
“The new Council Regulation will eliminate all quotas applied to the import of
textile and clothing products from WTO countries, as of 1 January 2005,” reads
part of the statement.
The statement further reveals that to ensure the respect of the bilateral
textile agreements, goods shipped before 1st January 2005 and subject to quotas
in 2004 shall be subject to the import regime prevailing in 2004, even if they
are presented for customs clearance after 1st January 2005.
However, in order to avoid excessive burdens on trade and customs, from 1st
April 2005 all such goods will be allowed to enter the EU freely whereas a
monitoring system will be set up from 1st January 2005 to follow up imports of
the most sensitive textile and clothing products.
This scheme will involve a customs-based monitoring of imports of liberalised
goods from all origins; and a requirement for the issue of an import
surveillance document for the import of certain products from China, which will
be discontinued in 2005 as soon as the customs-based surveillance system is
fully operational.
Imports quotas will, however, be maintained vis-à-vis some non-WTO countries,
i.e. Belarus and North Korea, Serbia and Montenegro and Vietnam, although
agreements being finalised with Vietnam and Serbia should lead to the
elimination of quotas for them early in 2005.
Better car
park system urged
By Angela Mazula
Ilala Municipal Council has called upon the National Parking System (NPS) to
improve its service in order to reduce crowding of cars in the reserve area,
Mayor revealed.
Speaking in Dar during the weekend, Abuu Jumaa Mayor of Ilala Municipal said
that Dar es Salaam city’s car parks are over crowded and it is up to the
national parking system to eradicate this problem creating a good image to their
costumers.
He said “we expect to meat the NPS leadership to discuss the ways to solve this
problem because NPS spend more money than of the service.”
He said some NPS officials charged with the responsibility of collecting parking
fees rush toward the costumers asking for money and forgetting their main
responsibilities while the number of car accident increase everyday in the
country.
Said Hamidu a NPS parking fees collector at Ubungo said every employee is tasked
to ensure that a certain amount of collection per day is reached according to
the numbers of cars within the area.
He said “every station was surveyed and the number of collection per day is
known to your employer if you fail to reach the target that will be the end of
your job, reaching the target is neglecting other things”.
Hamidu said in striving to reach this goal same people tend to forget the basic
principals of their employment and start fighting for their entertainment.
Ernest Kamuzora an operation supervisor told The Express that it is only for the
negligence of some employees to forget ensuring proper parking of cars because
this is basic principal of the company.
Kamuzora said supervision among other things by the NPS Company are personal
cleanliness, honest and parking timeliness emphasised, he commented.
"Africa
should emulate Asia"
By Timothy Kitundu recently in Arusha
African countries have been urged to emulate the pro-active stance
of Asian countries of emigration such as the Philippines whose home-based and
overseas organisations constantly assist the country’s migrant workers wherever
they are.
Lack of involvement of African governments, Trade Unions and wider civil society
has left African workers at the mercy of receiving countries and employers
therein. Workers are part of a tripartite arrangement hence facilitation to them
by Trade Unions and their operation within the NEPAD and globalisation is
essential.
Makame L. Makame from the Zanzibar Trade Union Congress (ZATUC) said this
recently in Arusha when presenting a paper on the Roles and Structures of
Government, Workers and Employers Organisations for Addressing Labour Migration.
“Efforts should be made to save the migrant workers who are being the ones
affected by the circumstances and also Trade Union movements have a duty to
safeguard the interests and rights of migrant workers,” he said.
According to Makame, many migrant workers from Africa, and Zanzibar in
particular are like beggars who are not choosers, and with no choice, migrant
workers do the three ‘D’ jobs that are dirty, dangerous and demanding.
He said, it is very difficult to organise migrant workers into unions or
organisations to defend their interests and rights largely because they are
often threatened with deportation. This makes them be among the most vulnerable
people in society and are the least protected.
“Despite their contribution to economic growth, migrant workers remain
disproportionately represented in low wage with very little or no access to job
benefits,” he said.
According to Makame, while migrant workers are employed outside their country of
origin, their status abroad changes widely from legal migrant with the right to
settle and naturalise, to temporary guest workers required to leave when a
contract expires.
Non-authorised workers, he said, are subject to arrest at any time and the
prevailing conditions of employment facing migrant workers in many countries are
increasing manifestations of hostility and violence against non-nationals.
National legal restrictions set in some countries may affect the possibilities
for migrant workers to act as Trade Union officials, or as members an
organisation or may affect their right to form their own unions.
Tsh 16bn/-
Swiss grant for TZ
Switzerland grants 16 billion Tanzanian shillings (18 million Swiss Francs) to
the government of the United Republic of Tanzania
On 13th December, 2004, the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania and
the Government of the Swiss Confederation signed a bilateral grant Agreement for
Poverty Reduction Budget Support (PRBS) by which Switzerland will extend to the
Government of the United Republic of Tanzania reimbursable financial assistance
of 18 million Swiss Francs equivalent to 16 billion Tanzania Shillings for the
period 2004 - 2006 as direct budget support.
According to the Agreement, this aims at assisting the Government of Tanzania in
the implementation of the Poverty Reduction Strategy and in the continuation of
the economic and structural reform process. It is for the third time that the
Swiss Government is supporting the Government budget of the United Republic of
Tanzania, bringing the Swiss general budget support to a total of 49 million
Swiss Francs (approx. 42 million US $.
Tanzania’s impressive and sound macro-economic performance over the last few
years have brought the Tanzanian economy on a more sustainable growth path,
increasingly underpinned by a growing private sector. The Government of the
United Republic of Tanzania recognises the important role of the private sector
also in its new National Strategy for Growth and Poverty Reduction where the
private sector plays a pivotal role as the engine of economic growth. This is
recognised by Swiss Development Cooperation, focussing also on Private Sector
Development as a synergetic supplement to the general budget support. The
bilateral relationship between Tanzania and Switzerland is of a long-standing
nature with Swiss Development Cooperation being active in Tanzania since the
late 1960s and today increasingly focussing on economic cooperation as well as
on support to the health sector.
The Agreement was signed by the Charge’ d’Affaires a.i. of the Swiss Embassy in
Dar es Salaam, Mr Jean - Jacques Leutenegger, and the Permanent Secretary to the
Treasury Mr. Gray S. Mgonja at the Ministry of Finance of the United Republic of
Tanzania.
|
Business News | Forex Week | Money Market | Corporate Report |
|
Business Opinion | Bank Interest Rates | Capital Market Focus |