COMMENTARY

Batteries and the auto industry: Nissan’s UK investment and the battery race

DATE
08 Jul 2021
AUTHORS
Professor David Bailey


News that Nissan plans to build a new battery electric vehicle (BEV) at its Sunderland plant has been welcomed as a ‘pivotal’ moment for UK auto after Brexit by Boris Johnson. Nissan’s battery partner, Envision, will build a huge new battery plant (a ‘gigafactory’) next door to produce the batteries needed for the model.

The investment safeguards Sunderland’s medium-term future, and is clearly welcome news. It is the first concrete investment in large scale battery manufacturing in the UK – a move that is vital for the auto industry as we approach a 2030 ban on petrol and diesel cars.

But it’s only a first step and much more will be needed.

As the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has stressed, the nine gigawatt hours (GWh) per year of capacity committed by Nissan and Envision makes up less than a sixth of the 60GWh per year that will be needed to support mass car production in the UK as the industry rapidly transforms towards an electric future.

There’s also a Brexit dimension to the battery race. The UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement fired a starting gun on battery investment, as after 2026 the battery in a UK- or EU-made BEV has to come from the UK or EU to avoid tariffs between the two.

The EU has already committed over €6 billion to the European Battery Alliance to develop a battery supply chain across the EU. That is in addition to substantial support from national governments across the EU.

Hungary, for example, has a special economic zone where battery makers and car makers can invest in battery production and receive generous tax breaks. The UK’s £500 million seems pretty small beer in comparison.

Some 20 battery gigafactories are already up and running, being built or planned across the EU. Some of these are massive.

The Tesla gigafactory under construction near Berlin (which Tesla’s ‘Technoking’, Elon Musk, chose over Britain owing in part to Brexit uncertainty) will likely end up with around 50GWh of capacity per year, compared to Sunderland’s 9GWh.

Volkswagen, meanwhile, is planning six gigafactories with a total capacity of target of 240GWh, and Stellantis is starting with 50Gwh at two plants in France and Germany, and discussions are ongoing with the Italian government for a third.

It’s all about scale. The huge size of these gigafactories is key to producing at scale and getting battery costs down, in turn reducing the cost of battery electric vehicles and making the latter more affordable in the mass market.

As costs fall, there is likely to be a tipping point, around the middle of this decade, when BEVs out-compete internal combustion engine (ICE) cars. From that point there won’t be many reasons to buy an ICE car.

Because batteries are large, heavy and expensive to transport, future car production will likely require car factories and battery plants to be in close proximity to each other. That raises a question mark over the long–term viability of Stellantis building electric vans at Ellesmere Port, given that batteries are likely to be imported from France.

Anchoring Stellantis assembly at Ellesmere Port and Luton in the UK will likely require another battery plant here. The same will go for other car firms too.

It is no surprise that the Nissan announcement came shortly after the government unveiled the Subsidy Control Bill, which it says gives it more flexibility and power to support businesses.

Importantly, the UK never really exploited the state aid space it had under EU regulations, and so what may have changed is a willingness to intervene to use state aid to support manufacturing.

After all, the government doesn’t want to be seen to be losing car plants after Brexit, and it also wants to be seen to be supporting good jobs in ‘Red Wall’ areas.

The UK government is thought to be in discussion with a number of battery manufacturers, but they are also being wooed by EU countries. And car firm bosses are very good at playing divide-and-rule strategies to play governments off against each other to get the best aid package.

So trying to land these gigafactories will be an expensive business, and there will rightly be questions about value for money and public accountability.

The government is coy about what was offered to Nissan and Envision (or to Stellantis regarding electric van production).

In the Nissan case, the FT suggests that the government has committed around £100 million, with as much as £80 million from Sunderland City Council and a partner firm to create a sustainable microgrid to power the site. In the Stellantis case it is thought to run into the tens of millions of pounds.

Of course, the government would have offered support even if the UK was still in the EU. But outside of the Single Market and Customs Union, Nissan was in a stronger position to extract as much support as possible.

Indeed, if Nissan had instead invested somewhere else, it would have been a pretty clear signal that the UK was a less attractive investment location after Brexit. That was a scenario the government was desperate to avoid.

Nevertheless, if we want to keep mass car making in the UK after Brexit, then we will need this investment in large scale battery making.

UK auto is going to need a lot of batteries if mass car making is to be retained in the UK. Without it, car making is likely to gravitate towards EU countries where heavy investment in large-scale battery making is already well underway.

The big risk here is that unless we make batteries in the UK we will probably lose our mass car industry.

By David Bailey, Professor of Business Economics at Birmingham Business School and Senior Fellow at UK in a Changing Europe.

China helping political parties to work for people’s well-being

President Cyril Ramaphosa and President Xi Jinping during a Welcome Ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in the People’s Republic of China. File picture: Elmond Jiyane/GCIS

By Chen Xiaodong  Jul 9, 2021

On July 6, the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC), General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPC and President of China Xi Jinping, President of the ANC and President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa, General Secretary of the South African Communist Party (SACP) and Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation Blade Nzimande and other leaders of more than 500 political parties and organisations from over 160 countries as well as 10 000 and more representatives of political parties and representatives of various communities, participated in the cloud event of the CPC and World Political Parties Summit with “Working for the People's Well-being and the Responsibility of Political Parties” as the theme.

In the context of profound transformations and a pandemic unseen in a century, when human society has once again found itself at a historical crossroads, this successful summit has provided an important platform for the political party leaders from various countries to strengthen the exchange and mutual learning of experience in governance, to discuss co-operation in solidarity as well as future development plans, to enhance the capability to work for the people’s wellbeing, to promote world peace and development, and to promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind

After attending the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the CPC on July 1, General Secretary Xi Jinping expounded during the Summit once again the CPC’s proposals for the future of mankind and to the international community, especially to all political parties in the world. He proposed that political parties need to shoulder their historical responsibility as the major force for the progress of mankind, and elaborated the CPC’s mission as a major political party in a major country.

It is the historical responsibility of political parties to work for the people's wellbeing. Political parties, as an important force for human progress, need to set the right course forward and shoulder their historical responsibility to ensure the people’s wellbeing and pursue human progress. To achieve that, political parties need to work even harder on the following:

First, we need to shoulder the responsibility to steer the course of shaping a shared future for mankind. We need to heed the voices of the people and strengthen co-ordination and co-operation. By doing so, the interests of the people of one’s own country will be in line with those of all others and humanity will move forward towards a shared future.

MORE ON THIS

• Ambassador Chen Xiaodong on how China succeeded in the past, and how it can continue to succeed in the future

• #CPC100: Chinese embassy pledges support to South Africa in anti-Covid fight

• We’re renewing the ANC, Duarte tells China’s Communist Party as it marks centenary

Second, we need to build consensus by upholding and promoting the common values of humanity for peace, development, equity, justice, democracy and freedom. We need to champion the common values of humanity, foster broad-minded tolerance toward the understanding of values by different civilizations, and respect the explorations of different peoples to turn values into reality. By doing so, the common values of humanity will be translated into the practice of individual countries to serve the interests of their own people in a concrete and realistic way.

Third, we need to promote development by bringing greater benefits to all peoples in a fairer manner. On the road towards the well-being of all mankind, no country or nation should be left behind. We need to bring greater equity, higher efficiency and stronger synergy to global development, and jointly oppose the practice of technology blockades and divides as well as decoupling.

Fourth, we need to enhance co-operation by working together to address global risks and challenges such as Covid-19, terrorism, and climate change. In particular, we need to advocate solidarity and co-operation so as to close the “immunisation gap”. We must oppose the practice of politicising the pandemic or attaching a geographical label to the virus. We need to work together to build a global community of health for all.

Fifth, we need to improve governance by enhancing our capacity to ensure the people’s well-being. People of all countries are entitled to choose their own development paths and institutional models and to advance political democracy in a way that suits the national conditions of the country.

The CPC is committed to enhancing exchanges and mutual learning with various political parties in the world and the well-being for the people of China and the world. It is the unswerving goal of the CPC to run our own house well, ensure a happy life for the 1.4 billion-plus Chinese people, and advance the lofty cause of promoting peace and development for all mankind.

With the goal of moderate prosperity in all respects achieved, China has embarked on a new journey towards building a modern socialist country. The Chinese people are brimming with a greater sense of fulfilment, happiness and security with each passing day.

Fighting for the cause of human progress is also the international mission of the CPC. The CPC will continue to uphold a people-centred development philosophy, focus on the overarching issues of national rejuvenation and human progress in the greater context of time and space and always be a builder of world peace, contributor to global development, and defender of the international order.

The CPC has persisted in closely associating the future of the Chinese people with that of other peoples of the world and steered a steady course of China's development amid the general trend of the world and the currents of the times to promote common development and prosperity of all countries. We work with political parties from all countries to make new contributions to the wellbeing of people all over the world.

First, the CPC will press ahead with the Chinese-style modernisation and the CPC is ready to share with political parties of all countries experience in modernisation to enrich each other’s toolbox to modernisation.

Second, the CPC will take comprehensive steps to deepen reform and opening up. The CPC is ready to enhance communication with world political parties in steering economic globalisation towards greater openness, inclusiveness, balance and win-win results. We stand ready to work with the international community to improve global connectivity and further promote high quality Belt and Road co-operation, so that more countries and peoples will be able to share the fruits of development.

Third, the CPC will make new contributions to improving the well-being of humankind. We are willing to share more of our solutions and strength to the world’s poverty-alleviation efforts. China will help promote fair accessibility to and affordability of vaccines for developing countries, work hard to peak carbon dioxide emissions and achieve carbon neutrality, and advance the new process of global biological diversity.

Fourth, the CPC will actively improve global governance. We need to stand opposed to the practice of unilateralism disguised as multilateralism and say no to hegemony and power politics. The CPC will actively promote the improvement of global governance and China will always be a member of the developing world. We are committed to enhancing developing countries’ representation and voice in the global governance system.

Party exchanges between China and South Africa provide a powerful boost to the common well-being of the two peoples. The CPC, the ANC and the SACP are good friends, good partners, and good comrades who breathe the same breath and share weal and woe. They forged a deep friendship as early as the period of South Africa’s struggle against apartheid.

China-South Africa relations started from party-to-party exchanges. The strong friendship, close exchanges and important guidance provided by the leaders of the CPC, the ANC and the SACP have boosted the sustained development of bilateral relations.

After the birth of the New South Africa, our party-to-party relations has been developing rapidly, and has laid an important strategic foundation and provided political support to our bilateral relations.

In recent years, under the stewardship of the leaders of the two parties and two countries, high level interactions between political parties of the two countries are more frequent, and cooperation in various fields is getting closer, bringing huge tangible benefits to the two peoples.

China-South Africa relations have become a model for China-Africa relations, South-South co-operation, and the solidarity and co-operation among developing countries. It can be said that without the close cooperation between our parties, there would not be the establishment and development of the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries.

It is worth mentioning that President Ramaphosa, as the president of the ANC, delivered a passionate speech as the first guest speaker at the summit. The president spoke highly of the CPC’s contribution to the African countries’ development and the well-being of the people. He also mentioned that “China has been a good friend and loyal friend to many of us on the African continent …The ANC regards the CPC as a true, reliable and valued friend.”

On the occasion of the 100th birthday of the CPC and SACP, General Secretary Nzimande also attended the summit. All of these fully reflect the profound friendship between our parties and two countries.

It is our firm belief and strong expectation that under the leadership of General Secretary Xi Jinping, President Ramaphosa and other leaders of the our parties and two countries, with the joint efforts of both sides, the party-to-party co-operation will achieve more fruitful results and continue to inject strong impetus into the development of the China-South Africa Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, bringing more sense of gain and happiness to the people of our two countries.

The South African people are suffering from the third wave of Covid-19 infections. A few days ago, the CoronaVac Covid-19 vaccine manufactured by Sinovac Life Sciences Co of China has been authorised emergency use access in South Africa with conditions.

This is the latest development of China-South Africa Covid-19 response co-operation and a pragmatic measure taken by the ANC government for the wellbeing of South African people. The CPC is willing to work with South African political parties such as the ANC and the SACP to help South African people defeat the virus and create a happy life together.

* Chen Xiaodong is Ambassador of China to South Africa.

** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of IOL and Independent Media.

CHINA

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M
EXCLUSIVE: Edison Power goes after its senior executives for fraud

Edison Power Group, one of South Africa’s largest electrical companies of which well-known Durban businessman Vivian Reddy is a shareholder, was allegedly defrauded for over R150m by some of the organisation's top brass. Picture: Nqobile Mbonambi/African News Agency(ANA)

By Ayanda Mdluli Jul 9, 2021


Durban - Edison Power Group, one of South Africa’s largest electrical companies of which well known Durban businessman Vivian Reddy is a shareholder, was allegedly defrauded for over R150 million by some of the organisation's top brass.

An investigation by the Daily News has established that the company had opened charges of fraud, corruption and embezzlement against key senior employees and an executive director whose names are known to the publication.

Information obtained by the newspaper suggests that the investigation commenced after a whistle-blower had sent information to Edison power shareholders back in 2019.

The Daily News has been able to establish that the year and a half long forensic investigation has since been handed over to the Hawks Serious Commercial Crimes Unit in Germiston, Johannesburg.

In a response to questions, the Hawks said cases of fraud were opened and registered for further investigation by the Serious Commercial Crimes Unit.

Captain Ndivhuwo Mulamu, the communications officer of the Hawks, said investigations were at an advanced stage.

"Once completed, the dockets will be transferred to NPA for a decision," she said.

Edison Power Group has been involved in several prominent projects in and around Gauteng, which included the FNB Stadium, OR Tambo International Airport, Monte Casino, Sun City, Mpumalanga High Court, Sandton City and the Sandton Convention Centre.

Responding to questions from the Daily News, the company's non-executive director Ethen Singh confirmed the matter and revealed that he was overseeing the recovery of the assets.

He further confirmed that the group estimates that over R150m could have been siphoned out of the company.

"However, that could increase substantially as the investigation progresses. The modus operandi of the senior management fingered involves collusion with suppliers, sub-contractors and payment to ghost service providers and ghost suppliers of materials. It included ghost workers and overpayment of bonuses, and illegal increases were granted," he said.

He further explained that some members of management created their own sub-contracting companies and awarded contracts to themselves.

"Our investigations discovered that homes in exclusive estates were paid for by company funds for a staffer. Another employee bought a restaurant in an upmarket area with the proceeds of crime. Even school fees were paid illegally, via the company," he said.

He further revealed how the lifestyle audits of some employees showed them living well beyond their means, and in some cases, owning multiple properties.

"Arrests are expected to be made soon," he said.

When approached for comment, Reddy expressed his great disappointment that persons that were employed in positions of trust defrauded the business by abusing their senior positions of influence .

“I hope that justice will prevail and those found guilty will face the wrath of the law.”

He stated that shareholders invested in companies and were trusted by the CEO, Board and executive management to protect the investment and to ensure that shareholders get value, but in this case, they worked for their own value via alleged fraudulent activities.

"Given the great negative, devastating impact on businesses caused by the pandemic, acts of fraud worsens the situation and could cause businesses to collapse," he added.


Daily News

 SOUTH AFRICA

Coffin manufacturers prepare for shortage of materials used to make it

By Genevieve Serra 

Cape Town - A local coffin manufacturer has confirmed chipboard used to make coffins is running out locally as the Covid-19 third wave ravages the country.

Last week, undertakers told Weekend Argus they had ordered additional coffins in the wake of the third wave to prevent a shortage as experienced during the second wave

Undertakers in Cape Town confirmed, between Muslim and Christian Covid-19 burials, they were conducting up to at least 91 per week.

Chipboard is predominantly used to manufacture coffins and is approved by the South African Bureau of Standards.

According to coffinandcaskettraining.com, 70% of coffins were made out of chipboard in South Africa.

Brent Berry, the owner of Beta Manufacturing, Beta Coffins in Somerset West, had noted the start of a shortage of chipboard during the third wave.

Berry has since ordered his chipboard from China but has been hit with delays due to Level 4 restrictions.

He did not want to comment on the exact pricing of wood and material but said prices had tripled if the wood was imported.

“The biggest problem is the wood, super wood, NDF, chipboard,” he explained.

“This is mainly used to make coffins. There is a dire shortage, and we all have been battling with the increase in prices since the pandemic started.

“For example, I am importing my wood from China, and prices have increased due to shipping prices as well.

“The shipping rate has tripled. I have a trailer, for example, that is waiting for six weeks, and due to Covid, there is a delay.

“I am a small business. During the first and second waves, there was an increase in the demand for coffins. Now with the third wave, there has been an increase.”

Grahame Ernstzen, owner of Ernstzen Funerals, said he purchases his coffins ready-made from manufacturers.

During the second wave, they were forced to use display coffins when the showrooms and storage rooms were completely cleared out.

He said they were not as yet in the same position as during the second wave but were preparing themselves.

He added most coffins were made out of chipboard and that there was an extra burial fee for Covid, due to the additional precautions taken.

“I buy my coffins which are ready-made, but there are few manufacturers,” he said.

“We have pre-ordered coffins because we learnt from the second wave that there were zero coffins, so we had to use the stock in the showrooms.

“Chipboard is the standard wood used for coffins and then there is super board. With Covid there is an extra cost, some of the undertakers do charge for it due to the precautions taken like PPE.

When asked about the fees of entry-level coffins versus caskets, he said it depended on the wood and if it was custom-made.

“Entry-level coffins cost about R1000 and a casket between R14 000 and R15 000.

“This depends on the usage of silk, frills, extended handles, solid wood to satin and pillows.

In January, AVBOB’s general manager for corporate affairs told Independent Newspapers that they had increased their container mortuaries to 22 units which had been distributed around the country.

Weekend Argus

 

Haiti’s assassinated president was a threat to the elite

Haiti's President Jovenel Moise File picture: Valerie Baeriswyl/Reuters

By Shannon Ebrahim 

IOL SA

Haiti is in the depths of crisis following the assassination of its president Jovenel Moise on Thursday this week. The state has never been so weak, and the volatile situation could easily spiral out of control. The country currently has two competing constitutions, no sitting parliament, overdue elections, a chief justice who just died of Covid-19, and an incumbent Prime Minister Claude Joseph who was supposed to be replaced this week by Ariel Henry, but who has now declared “a state of siege” which translates into the borders being closed and martial law declared.

The now assassinated Moise was an enigma. On the one hand he sounded very much like the only real “peoples’ president” Haiti ever had - former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide - as far as the social agenda he was pursuing. Moise had a dogged commitment to end the monopolies that offered lucrative contracts to Haiti’s powerful elite. He was intent on changing the power dynamics in the country, particularly when it came to money and who had control over electricity contracts. While most of the country struggles with constant electricity outages, a predatory elite were still paid billions to provide electricity. Moise put an end to many of these contracts, and was well aware that his campaign against the wealthy and powerful elites would likely cost him his life

This was much the same story as when Aristide had come to power in 1991. After decades of dictatorship under the Duvalier family (Papa Doc and Baby Doc) and the formation of a ruthless secret police force that terrorised the country, Aristide had come to power preaching liberation theology. He was the leading voice for the aspirations of the dispossessed in the country, and preached “food for the people”. His left wing people-centred agenda made him too many enemies, and he was swiftly overthrown in a coup, which according to Aristide, had links to the CIA who backed the head of the military who ousted him.

After Aristide had returned to the country in 2001, and won a reported 92% of the election, his attempts to ensure Haitians got a stake in the privatisation of certain enterprises irked the Americans, and it was his strong contention that the US had forced him into exile in 2004. American companies did not want to give a stake to local Haitians, and the French were angry at Aristide’s insistence they pay US$21 billion in restitution for the 90 million gold francs they had forced Haiti to pay them for the appropriation of French property between 1825-1947.

The former powers were not going to stand by and allow Aristide to rule his country in a manner that was not in their interests. Aristide was kidnapped by men in US special forces uniforms, and flown out of the country by the US, with the help of France and Canada. This modern day coup shocked the world, and Aristide was ultimately given safe haven in South Africa by the government of president Thabo Mbeki, until he eventually returned to the country in 2011.

Like Aristide, Moise had an affinity with the people, having grown up on a large sugar plantation. He often said he always wondered why people were living in such bad conditions while enormous lands were empty. He believed agriculture was the key to change his country for the better. His left-wing agenda made him dangerous enemies, just as Aristide’s had. But sadly Moise exited the stage leaving Haiti in a much worse condition than Aristide had.

In the months before he was killed, Moise aggressively pushed for the rewriting of a new constitution which many Haitians believed was needed. The two existing constitutions, which have been existing in parallel, had created two competing centres of power between the president and the prime minister. His proposed new constitution would have given the president more power, and enabled the president to seek more terms in office. Moise felt he needed more time to deliver on his promises, but was roundly criticised for what was perceived to be an attempt to consolidate power.

Elections in Haiti had been delayed due to Covid-19 and the fact that Moise had argued that his term was up next year, and not this February as the opposition maintained. The regional Organisation of American States had backed Moise’s position. But his governance left a lot to be desired, and he made a number of strategic mistakes which provoked mass protests against him, demanding his resignation. With the tide of public opinion already set against him, his detractors saw the opportunity to get rid of him. He was assassinated by professional killers, and now the country teeters on the brink of chaos.

The hidden hand of the predatory elite and outside interests always lurks in the background when it comes to Haiti. This has been Haiti’s curse throughout its history - beginning from when it was one of the world’s most brutal slave colonies, but also France’s richest. It was coveted for its riches of sugar, coffee and cotton, brought to market by enslaved people. But it was also the first enslaved nation to wrench their freedom from their colonial masters after a bloody war. Haiti became the world’s first black-led republic when it declared independence in 1804. But the continued interference by France through the imposition of a suffocating debt on their former colony, and the subsequent occupation by the Americans, meant Haiti was never truly free.

The challenge for the Haitian people now is to rid their politics of those taking their cue from outside powers, and looking to only fill their pockets and hold onto power.

* Shannon Ebrahim is Independent Media’s Foreign Editor.

 

WTO’s IP waiver for Covid-19 vaccines faces structural headwinds

Public funding is leading the Covid-19 vaccine research and development, and therefore there is no justification for IP, says the writer. File picture: Timothy Bernard/African News Agency(ANA)

By Ashraf Patel 

The Biden administration in the US signalling its intention to support a Covid intellectual property (IP) waiver was welcomed, alas, besides being a case of a ‘“too little, too late”.

Since the early days of the pandemic, progressive international organisations such MSF (Doctors Without Borders) and the Third World Network (TWN), have strongly supported the TRIPS (The Agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) waiver proposal on grounds that it would accelerate efforts by developing countries to collectively fight the Covid-19 through creating requisite capacities for manufacturing the vital personal protective equipments including face masks, therapeutics, and vaccine

They argue correctly that the most practical way to ensure the availability of enough vaccines to meet the demand is through scaling up production. The IP protection acts as a legal barrier to technology transfer and thus prevents the dissemination of technology. Public funding is leading the Covid-19 vaccine research and development, and therefore there is no justification for IP.

In the week that President Joe Biden made the announcement and the G7 Summit commitment, World Bank president David Malpass immediately poured cold water on it, saying the World Bank would not support the IP waiver as it would crowd out innovation and research and development investment of the pharmaceutical sector.

However, what big pharmaceuticals won’t tell the public is that none of the countries supporting the IP system spoke about the tens of billions of dollars of public funds provided to pharmaceutical companies Astra, Sanofi, Moderna, J&J, that continue to sell medicines and vaccines at prices which are beyond the reach of people in developing countries.

By contrast, emerging powers such as China and Russia have made available Covid vaccines to developing nations within a public good framework.

The high point of developing world solidarity was the G77 group during the World Trade Organization Doha Development phase in the early 2000s. Most of the leading developing world nations, including China, India, Brazil, South Africa and Mexico, cohered around a moral and developmental agenda, especially agriculture, TRIPS and trade barrier matters.

Sadly, the G77 has divided and nations such as Chile and Ecuador are being incorporated into powerful northern blocs and trapped into corporatist bilateral  investment treaties

Ironically, Brazil, which started the global movement against patents in the late 1990s under the leadership of former Brazilian foreign minister Celso Amorim, is today the new member of an initiative (Quire) for supporting the structure of the international patent system.

Another powerful and influential actor in global public health is the Gates Foundation. While couched in the narrative of “charity and philanthropy”, the Gates Foundation approach in capturing global public health discourse is a cause for concern.

In a critical review of the foundation, public health journalists Malpani, Baker and Yanni (2021) observed that during the pandemic, it has spent or committed to spending hundreds of millions of dollars on the development and procurement of Covid-19 medical technologies, partnering with global health agencies and pharmaceutical corporations to accelerate the development and deployment of technologies.

They contend that this provides the foundation with counter-vailing power in “prioritising pharma monopolies of technology and intellectual property (IP) and secretive, technocratic, and top-down approaches that mostly exclude LMICS from decision making as well as avoiding public scrutiny”.

And in terms of health products, its traps most countries into a system that primarily benefits pharmaceutical corporations and high-income countries’ governments, which can subsidise these corporations with billions of dollars in upfront subsidies and paying high prices for treatments and vaccines.

The core argument of Developing South nations is an appeal for WTO members to work together to ensure that intellectual property rights such as patents, industrial designs and copyright do not hinder access to vaccines. In addition, many countries, especially developing countries, may face institutional and legal difficulties when using flexibilities available in TRIPS.

However, while South Africa and India’s stance is brave, it is essentially contradictory – as political elites and health regulators decisions’ have seen their Covid-19 vaccine roll-out dependent on global pharmaceuticals.

This contradiction seems lost on those who have gone head over heels in prioritising big pharma’s market-driven roll-out – and in the case of South Africa, with disastrous mistakes relating to Astra and J&J roll-outs.

Meanwhile, the post-Covid recovery challenges in South Africa and Africa faces further structural economic and social headwinds such as new macro-economic debt crisis in most of Africa, 4IR and the displacement of labour, resource conflicts around oil, gas and water and a myriad socio-economic crises that will require decisive leadership commitment to sustainable and alternative economic development pathways.

What is clear is that the developing world, especially South Africa’s approach – with a begging bowl mentality to the G7 and northern capitals, is unlikely to yield any substantial developmental outcomes. Again, alternative economic and political paradigms are urgently required.

* Ashraf Patel is a digital development specialist, and associated with the Institute for Global Dialogue.

** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of IOL and Independent Media.

Expat pill couriers: Lifeline in medicine-starved Lebanon

Issued on: 11/07/2021 - 

Lebanese pharmacies have staged a nationwide strike to protest the severe shortage of medicine Anwar AMRO AFP

Beirut (AFP)

Barely two hours after Lydia landed from Marseille in France, friends and relatives flocked to her apartment to collect drugs that have vanished from Lebanese pharmacies because of crippling shortages.

They started knocking on her door as early as 7:30 am -- before she even had a chance to unpack two suitcases and a backpack stuffed with medicine she had purchased from France for more than $1,000.

"I didn't even have a chance to sleep, but I understand because there's nothing worse than running out of medicine," especially if you have a chronic illness, the woman in her sixties said from her home in Baabdat, north of Beirut.

Lydia, like many other Lebanese expats, has become a courier for family and friends grappling with a raft of shortages due to what the World Bank has termed one of the world's worst financial crises since the 1850s.

As pharmacies run out of hundreds of medicines, including over-the-counter pain killers, the suitcase of a Lebanese expat, once teeming with gifts and duty-free purchases, now resembles a portable pharmacy.

"I brought everything: antibiotics, medicine for hypertension, cholesterol, diabetes, Parkinson's and cancer as well as many antidepressants," Lydia told AFP.

Her parents also recently flew in from Marseille carrying medicine for 12 people in four large suitcases, she said.

The expat deliveries, Lydia said, remind her of Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war.

"The crisis has revived wartime reflexes, especially a sense of social solidarity," Lydia said.

But "what is happening today is unprecedented and surreal," she added. "We have never seen such shortages in medicine or fuel... We have never felt this suffocated."#photo1

- Shopping in Cyprus -

Lebanon's foreign currency reserves are fast depleting and the cash-strapped state has started to gradually reduce subsidies on key imports including fuel and flour.

Medicine importers say hundreds of drugs have disappeared from the market, as the central bank owes suppliers abroad millions of dollars and they can no longer open new lines of credit.

For its part, the government accuses importers of hoarding medicine with the aim of selling it at a higher price once medicine subsidies are reduced by the state and drugs become more expensive.

For the Lebanese people, the shortages have triggered a worldwide drug hunt. As for pharmacies, they staged a nationwide strike Friday protesting the lack of supplies.

In the neighbouring island of Cyprus, pharmacists can now spot Lebanese customers scouring for supplies to take back home.

Tracy Najjar made a trip to Cyprus last month with her husband Paul to temporarily escape Lebanon's crisis, but also to stock up on medical supplies.

"The pharmacist immediately guessed we were Lebanese," she said.#photo2

"He told us that another Lebanese couple had come in two days earlier to buy a ton of drugs," she added.

Tracy, who lost her three-year-old daughter Alexandra in the Beirut port blast that killed more than 200 people last summer, said she bought some of the most basic supplies.

They included eye drops, powdered milk, antidepressants and drugs for high blood pressure.

Apart from family and friends, beneficiaries often include strangers who reach out over social media, now a key platform for buying and exchanging medicine.

- Certain death -

President Michel Aoun this month pledged to continue subsidising medication and medical supplies selected by the health ministry on a priority basis.

The central bank has for months urged the health ministry to identify priority drugs, but a list has yet to be finalised.

The central bank said last week it would earmark $400 million to support key products including medicine and flour.

The head of the medicine importers' syndicate said the bank had promised it $50 million a month in subsidies for medicine -- just half of importers' current bills for that period.

Expecting shortages only to worsen, Ahmad, a 58-year-old parking attendant, warned that the situation is turning deadly.

The 58-year-old father of three suffers from high blood pressure and diabetes but can't find the pills prescribed by his doctors.#photo3

"I can not even find the generics," he said.

He tried to do without for a few weeks but his blood pressure quickly climbed.

He reached out to a cousin in Istanbul and a friend in the United Arab Emirates to secure the medication, at a cost much higher than the subsidised prices he would have paid if available in Lebanon.

"We either die because we can't find medicine or we die because we have run out of money after spending it all on drugs brought in from abroad," he said.

"Either way, they are killing us," he added, referring to Lebanon's under-fire political class.

© 2021 AFP

Colorado ranchers face not just drought but rising social pressures



Issued on: 11/07/2021

Cattle rancher Janie VanWinkle, seen standing near a reservoir on her Colorado ranch during a record-hot summer, says drought is only one problem facing fellow ranchers Patrick T. FALLON AFP/File

Grand Junction (United States) (AFP)

"The grass should be up to here," Janie VanWinkle says, holding a hand next to her knee above the scant growth on her ranch in Colorado, which -- just as in 2020, and 2018 -- is again being hit by devastating drought.

"Here we are again," she says, wearing a checkered shirt and a persistent smile that belies her ranch's woes at a time when record high temperatures have been scorching much of the US West.

"The soil moisture is just completely depleted, you can dig down four feet and there's no moisture in the dirt. So that's the cumulative effect that makes it tougher than previous droughts."


But the drought is only one of many challenges facing ranchers, not only in Mesa County where she lives, but across the West.

"The drought's right here in your face, you never get away from that," she says. "So it feels like we are always under attack, whether it's 'fake' meat, wolves, animal rights, environmental issues -- you name it."

Colorado provides a case study of the modern tensions between cities and the countryside, between the metropolis of Denver -- a haven for digital start-ups and progressive movements -- and sparsely inhabited regions where ranchers spend hours on horseback checking on their grazing herds.

Janie VanWinkle, her husband Howard, and their son Dean own about 450 head of cattle, after selling 70 last fall in expectation of the coming drought, and 35 in June as their hay stock began to run low.

They are constantly juggling between buying more feed as its price rises, and selling more cattle.

While the survival of the ranch is not immediately threatened, this will be a bad year: Janie VanWinkle estimates that her cattle will weigh 100 to 120 pounds (45 to 55 kilograms) less than usual when they are sold to feedlots in the fall.

- 'Emotional cost' -

Looking ahead, the most likely scenario "is that these drier conditions will be the norm," said Russ Schumacher, a professor of atmospheric science at Colorado State University.#photo1

"It will take years of above normal precipitation -- not just one year -- to get out of these conditions," he added.

The higher temperatures brought on by climate change are magnifying the consequences of low rain- and snowfall, Schumacher said.

When her son came home from college, Janie VanWinkle recalled, "Dean was like, 'You guys need to be irrigating!'

"But we are! We have been!" she said. "It’s just not doing anything, because it's been so hot."

She worries about what the future holds for her son -- the fifth generation of ranchers in the family -- not just because of the drought but because of an increasing tangle of societal pressures.

In March, Colorado's Democratic governor urged people to observe a day without meat; the state voted in 2020 to reintroduce wolves, which prey on cattle; and real-estate developers and tourism promoters keep buying up prime ranchland.

An NGO that campaigns against animal cruelty recently sought to organize a statewide referendum that would have banned artificial insemination and the slaughter of cattle less than five years old (instead of the more typical age of less than two years).

"All of these things come together and it does create a huge emotional toll on our ranchers and our livestock producers. It's brutal," said VanWinkle, who was the previous president of the Colorado Cattlemen's Association.

In the long run, "social perception is going to change things more than drought," she said. "It's sometimes just totally overwhelming."

- 'Biggest upcyclers' -

Dean VanWinkle, who recently completed his college studies in animal science, remains convinced that the cattle-ranching industry can adapt and survive -- even flourish -- while respecting the environment.#photo2

"Cattle are the biggest upcyclers, really, that there is," he said, referring to their ability to transform hay into protein.

"Ultimately," he added, "cattle themselves are pretty much climate neutral."

That claim is widely disputed. Worldwide, cattle are responsible for 14.5 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions behind climate change, according to the United Nations.

The rate in the United States is lower, however -- four percent, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency.

The American industry boasts that it produces as much meat now as in 1977, but with herds that are 33 percent smaller, owing to progress in genetics and nutrition.

"The producers are extremely adaptive," said Kim Stackhouse-Lawson, who heads a sustainable livestock initiative at Colorado State University in collaboration with the industry.

Among possible developments, she mentioned breeds better adapted to different climates, new technologies like drones or computer-linked "necklaces" to guide cattle, and diversification by ranchers into eco-tourism or hunting expeditions.

"I believe that the future is bright," said Brackett Pollard, who wears two hats, as a rancher and a banker.

"We've learned through the pandemic, where prices were exceptionally high, that people are willing to pay a lot for our product," said Pollard, who raises several hundred head of cattle at his ranch near the town of Rifle.

© 2021 AFP

Walking with Myanmar's anti-junta fighters


Issued on: 11/07/2021 - 

Members of Myanmar's Karenni People Defense Force (KPDF) take part in military training at their camp near Demoso in Kayah state STR AFP

Kayah State (Myanmar) (AFP)

In their camp hidden in the forested hills of Kayah state near the Thai border, Myanmar anti-junta volunteers practice firing their homemade weapons, do physical training, and play guitar in between skirmishes with the military.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military ousted Aung San Suu Kyi's elected government in February and launched a bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protests.

In some areas civilians have formed "defence forces" to combat the State Administration Council, as the junta dubs itself, often using hunting rifles or weapons manufactured at makeshift factories.


"I've been away from my family more than three months," one member of the defence force at the camp told AFP on condition of anonymity.#photo1

"I will return home after this revolution."

During that time the group of roughly 60 has fought around twenty skirmishes with the Myanmar military, or Tatmadaw, he said.

Communication is patchy in the country's eastern states, and AFP was unable to verify the number of clashes.

Since the coup, fighting between Myanmar's military and rebel groups in the east of the country has displaced an estimated 100,000 people, the UN said last month.

Locals in Kayah state have accused the military of using artillery shells that have landed in villages.#photo2

That has only hardened resolve to take up arms.

"We will never forget and forgive till the end of the world" reads a tattoo across the neck of one volunteer.

The wooden rifle of another has "Spring Revolution" carved into the butt and barrel in Burmese script.

In a mixture of combat camouflage and T-shirts, the volunteers go on patrol, navigating single track paths through the jagged hills.

They practice firing their motley assemblage of weapons at a makeshift firing range.

During downtime, one plays guitar on a bench while another resting inside a tent checks his weapon.#photo3

More than 890 people have been killed by the junta's security forces since February 1, according to a local monitoring group.

As well as the rise of local self-defence forces, analysts believe hundreds of anti-coup protesters from Myanmar's towns and cities have trekked into insurgent-held areas to receive military training.

The civilian fighters are often outnumbered and outgunned in clashes with Myanmar's military -- one of Southeast Asia's most battle-hardened and brutal.#photo4

But the volunteers are determined to fight on.

"If we all fight, we will win," one told AFP.

"I believe we can win."

© 2021 AFP

G-20 finance ministers back plan to stop use of tax havens

By DAVID McHUGH


1 of 14 PROTEST PHOTOS

Italian Policemen in riot gears clash with demonstrators during a protest against the G20 Economy and Finance ministers and Central bank governors' meeting in Venice, Italy, Saturday, July 10, 2021. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Top finance officials representing most of the world’s economy have backed a sweeping revision of international taxation that includes a 15% global minimum corporate levy to deter big companies from resorting to low-rate tax havens.

Finance ministers from the Group of 20 countries endorsed the plan at a meeting Saturday in Venice.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the proposal would end a “self-defeating international tax competition” in which countries have for years lowered their rates to attract companies. She said that had been “a race that nobody has won. What it has done instead is to deprive us of the resources we need to invest in our people, our workforces, our infrastructure.”

The next steps include more work on key details at the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and then a final decision at the Group of 20 meeting of presidents and prime ministers on Oct. 30-31 in Rome.

Implementation, expected as early as 2023, would depend on action at the national level. Countries would enact the minimum tax requirement into their own laws. Other parts could require a formal treaty. The draft proposal was approved July 1 in talks among more than 130 countries convened by the OECD.

Italy hosted the finance minister’s meeting in Venice because it holds the rotating chair of the G-20, which makes up more than 80% of the world economy. The event also attracted around 1,000 protesters under the banner “We Are The Tide,” an umbrella group of environmental and social justice activists, including opponents of large cruise ships and the hordes of tourists they bring to the lagoon city. A small group scuffled Saturday with police after breaking away from an approved demonstration area.

The U.S. already has a minimum tax on overseas earnings, but President Joe Biden has proposed roughly doubling the rate to 21%, which would more than comply with the proposed global minimum. Raising the rate is part of a broader proposal to fund Biden’s jobs and infrastructure plan by raising the domestic corporate tax rate to 28% from 21%.

Yellen said she was “very optimistic” that Biden’s infrastructure and tax legislation “will include what we need for the United States to come into compliance” with the minimum tax proposal.

Republicans in the Congress have expressed opposition to the measure. Rep. Kevin Brady of Texas, the top Republican on the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee, has blasted the OECD deal, saying, “This is an economic surrender to China, Europe and the world that Congress will reject.”

The international tax proposal aims to deter the world’s biggest firms from using accounting and legal schemes to shift their profits to countries where little or no tax is due — and where the company may do little or no actual business. Under the minimum, companies that escape taxes abroad would pay them at home. That would eliminate incentives for using tax havens or for setting them up.

From 2000-2018, U.S. companies booked half of all foreign profits in seven low-tax jurisdictions: Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Singapore and Switzerland.

A second part of the tax plan is to permit countries to tax a portion of the profits of companies that earn profits without a physical presence, such as through online retailing or digital advertising. That part arose after France, followed by other countries, imposed a digital service tax on U.S. tech giants such as Amazon and Google. The U.S. government regards those national taxes as unfair trade practices and is holding out the threat of retaliation against those countries’ imports into the U.S. through higher import taxes.

Under the tax deal, those countries would have to drop or refrain from national taxes in favor of a single global approach, in theory ending the trade disputes with the U.S. U.S. tech companies would then face only the one tax regime, instead of a multitude of different national digital taxes.

___

McHugh reported from Frankfurt, Germany.