On 5 November 2018, international media reported that Iran vows to sell oil, bust US sanctions. When he was elected in 2013, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani sharply criticised his predecessor President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for widespread corruption, which was partly a result of an attempt from Iran to bypass United States and UN-imposed sanctions.
Before signing the Iran nuclear deal that eased these sanctions in 2015, Iran tried to bypass the United States and UN by selling its oil through undercover government and private channels. This strategy laid the groundwork for unprecedented corruption, which included Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, the police and even privates citizens who sold Iranian oil on the black market. This allowed sizeable fortunes to amass, with millions of US dollars never finding their way to Iran’s tax coffers.
But only two years latter, Rouhani came into office and promised to stop bypassing and establish transparency to fight massive corruption rooted at the heart of the government. Now it seems President Rouhani has forgotten his sharp criticism, which was welcomed by experts and voters. He admits that Iran will bypass sanctions once again “with great pride”. He omits the consequences for the Iranian economy, which is still suffering from the country’s former attempt at bypassing sanctions.
Back in 2007, an international commission of inquiry report revealed that international sanctions are an invitation to all manner of corruption, including money laundering siting Iraq a case in point. More than two decades ago, from 1995 to 2003, the United Nations ran an oil-for-food program for Iraq. The country was then under the iron fist of the then President Saddam Hussein.
What was true back then is just as true today. However, it appears that the United States Treasury has learned from the past. For that reason, it has taken the extraordinary step of publicly detailing a brand new scheme of abuse by naming names.
The Iraq-related UN racket was exposed by a commission headed by former United States Central Bank Chief Paul Volcker. Volcker’s book exposed a scheme that could serve as the plot for a major movie. The central character is a Syrian national Mohammad Amer Alchwiki. He runs a company called Global Vision Group in Moscow. At the core of the scheme, stated the United States Treasury, are the Iranians who are breaking United States sanctions by shipping oil and helping the Syrians to pay for it.
The Global Vision Group has been arranging the shipment of millions of barrels of oil from the National Iranian Oil Company to the Syrian government using vessels insured by European companies. The United States Treasury said: “Since at least 2014, vessels carrying Iranian oil have switched off the Automatic Identification System (AIS) onboard before delivering oil to Syria, as a means of concealing the true destination and recipient of this Iranian oil.”
Then, the Assad government uses the Global Vision Group to assist in moving hundreds of millions of dollars, which originated with the Central Bank of Iran, to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard which serves as paymaster to Hamas and Hizballah. Illustrative of how money laundering schemes operate, the participants in this racket used intermediary companies to hide their operations.
According to the United States Treasury dealings with the Iranians by Alchwiki’s group were managed through a Russian company Promsyrioimport, which is controlled by the Russian Ministry of Energy, and an Iranian pharmaceutical company, with funds coming from the Central Bank of Iran.
The United States Treasury has targeted nine individuals and organizations for sanctions in this scheme, but will this action make any difference? Peter Rudolf, Senior Researcher at German Institute for International and Security Affairs argued that it may well end up forcing the Iranians and Russians to establish new operations to achieve their purposes. But it seems unlikely that the United States action will diminish the determination of the Iranian and Russian governments to support the Syrian regime and to use Iranian oil in the process.
Lain Cameron of Oxford University asserted that sanctions, as we have seen often, and as seen so clearly in this case, push the sanctioned groups and governments into operating schemes through intermediary companies to cover the illicit flows of goods and cash. Bribery becomes a standard part of the process. Cash transfers across borders are hidden as far as is possible, and often successfully.
Frank Vogl, Co-founder of Transparency International and author of a book entitled “Waging War on Corruption: Inside the Movement Fighting the Abuse of Power” underlined that sanctions could be more effective if a far tougher anti-money laundering set of measures were in place by the governments that control all important Western financial centers. According to Frank Vogl, it is ironic that the United States Treasury should be so vigilant and effective in investigating and exposing sanction-busting schemes, and so understaffed and ineffective in exposing illicit financial flows into the United States.
Lain Cameron noted that the United States does not have in place a system that requires the naming of the beneficial owners of shell companies that are controlled by foreign citizens and own investment assets in the United States. The U.K. has this, and it ought to be a model for all countries. Republican and Democrat leaders in both houses of the United States Congress have been giving increasing support to draft legislation that could to a degree resemble the approach that the British have taken.
Sanctions And Corruption
“HIT ME WITH MUSIC…”
Unless one has been residing in a remote ice cave in Reykjavik Iceland over the past few decades; it’s hard to deny the reality that reggae music, Rastafari’s contemporary expression, has promoted Ethiopia/Africa more than ANY other medium. Bekka! The one drop infectious rhythm of reggae has clear indigenous African influence and is easy to move to, hence loved by most. Add lyrics of love, redemption, repatriation and other Pan African framed themes, the genre becomes a powerful tool, especially in perilous times. Old schoolers (like yours truly) learnt from and still listen to Marley, Tosh, Burning Spear and Culture amongst the long list of classics. Addis Abeba was even put on the musical map in 1996 by Culture’s lead singer Joseph Hill chanting,
“There is a land; far, far away
It’s called Addis Ababa
Chant with I and say
There is a land; far, far away
It’s called Addis Ababa
Wonders of the world
The great River Nile
Is found there in Africa
The great treasure of Axum
Axum of Zion
It’s found there in Africa.”
Millennials and Generation Z also consist of a talented crop of musicians furthering the lyrical legacy connecting Africans at home and abroad. A few better known in Africa include Koffee, Chronixx and Proteje. Oje Ken Ollivierre, is the 1981 Jamaican born artist, known as Proteje. He is a second-generation singer from Jamaican mom and reggae songstress, Lorna Bennett, and calypso singing dad, Mike Ollivierre, from St. Vincent and Grenadines. Proteje’s influences are wide and his collection include myriad songs on love, social matters and spiritual inspiration such as “Hail Ras Tafari”.
“Every morning I rise
Peace to my mind when I hail Ras Tafari
Knowing His eyes are on I
Jah be my guide, I reside with the Most High
Even inna drought I nuh cry
These are the times when I hail Ras Tafari
Knowing that Jah will provide for I.”
His musical messages flooded Addis Abeba this weekend as reggae connoisseurs of all walks of life welcomed him home for the second time. Brother Malaphi, a US born Pan African engineer and repatriate to Kenya, flew from Mombasa to Addis for the performance which also featured Kenyan artists Arrow Bwoy and DJ ZJ Heno. Engineer and cultural promoter Malaphi expressed the need to engage reggae artists while they are on the continent, sharing opportunities for residence, investment and more. Best known in Kenya and Tanzania for his promotion of the arts and cultural tours for African Diaspora communities, Malaphi has brought several groups to Ethiopia over the past several years.
Music and the arts, in general, continue to be an important platform for linking Africans wherever they may be. Right here in Addis Abeba, aka the diplomatic capital of Africa, the setting is right and ready for attracting major cultural events. Performance venues, 5 Star Hotels, tour vehicles, acceptable audio/visual/stage systems and more essentials of the entertainment industry infrastructure are available. To be clear, this does not disregard the suffering still going on in the north due to the tplf belligerence. Addis, being the economic and political engine of Ethiopia, does need to focus on the progress and development required for rebuilding battle torn lives and regions for some time. Culture can play an important role.
Addis, the seat of the African Union, should have no issue with consistent cultural representation from the other 54 Africa Union member states and the Sixth Region. Though Pan African centered events pop up from time to time, some are hoping the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) in May 2023, will usher in staple events attracting local, continental and international visitors alike, regularly. The city now boasts myriad spaces of entertainment and education and reggae musicians are ready, willing and able to play a role, this includes local talent like Static Levi and Israel Tefera. Reggae artists have understated power and privilege amongst the masses to influence positive change, especially amongst youth. A song can fast become an anthem and call to action for peace, joy, love, unity and a plethora of good causes. So as a new generation of youth emerge from an era of pandemic, conflict, media attacks and more; public and private sector can realize expedited progress through music. That said, investment in spaces to cultivate, promote and support artists is a great start. Ethiopia, the source of inspiration for the Jamaican born genre, may develop homegrown talent and then stake a claim in the future of reggae, attracting visitors worldwide.
By the way, Reykjavik Iceland also has a reggae scene.
Dr. Desta Meghoo is a Jamaican born Creative Consultant, Curator and cultural promoter based in Ethiopia since 2005. She also serves as Liaison to the AU for the Ghana based, Diaspora African Forum.
Choose your battles wisely
“Choose your battles wisely. After all, life isn’t measured by how many times you stood up to fight. It’s not winning battles that makes you happy, but it’s how many times you turned away and chose to look into a better direction. Life is too short to spend it on warring. Fight only the most, most, most important ones, let the rest go.” – C. JoyBell C.
To choose your battles means to be selective of the problems, arguments, and confrontations that you get involved in. Instead of fighting every problem, you save your time only for the things that matter. This means fighting the most important battles and letting go of the rest.
Our priorities determine which issues are the most important and thus what battle we choose to fight and which ones to let go. In other words, our priorities will tell us how to use our time effectively. Or do they?
Very often people say that they need more time to do what they need to do, to complete their assignment, or even to take time off. Well, nobody is going to get more time. There are only twenty-four hours in a day and that is it. No matter what you do, you will not get more today or tomorrow.
So, time is precious indeed and needs to be handled with care or managed so to speak. We need to realise though that time management has nothing to do with the clock. The clock will keep on ticking. That is a fact. Time management instead has everything to do with the way we organize and control our activities. We cannot save time, lose time, turn back the clock or have more time tomorrow than today. Time is unemotional and uncontrolled. It moves forward regardless of circumstances and in life creates a level playing field for everyone. So, since we cannot change time, we must instead change our approach to it.
Very often I find myself very busy trying to get things done. And I am not alone. We run around here and there and join the rat race from morning to night, just to find ourselves exhausted and not satisfied that we have done enough or that we have done what was most important. And so, we continue to work later, and during the weekend, forgetting to spend quality time with the ones closest to us, our family and friends. A very important gift is therefore to be able to choose our battles wisely and leave unimportant things undone. You see, we can do and have anything we want but we cannot do and have everything we want. We need to make choices. We need to do the right things and do them right. The rest we must learn to let go. So, the biggest challenge we face is to know what battles to choose and what are the right things to do. Next, to make sure that we actually do them, instead of being side-tracked by other issues that come our way, very often other people’s issues. The reason why most goals are not achieved or why projects are not completed in time is because time is spent to do second things first. While most of us know deep inside what really needs to be done, we are often caught by a thousand other issues that come our way from the moment we wake up and get ready to go to work. Chances are that before even leaving the house we received one or two telephone calls, distracting us from what really needs to be done. Interestingly enough, it is other people that distract us and make us do other things, most probably their things. But even our own desires can be so diverse, and our attention can be so scattered that we often are not sure what should get our attention. That is why we need to focus. To be successful, we cannot just run on the fast track. No, we need to run on our own track. People who reach their potential and fulfil their dreams determine and act on their priorities, every day.
So how do we do that? Here is where planning our time comes in. Pilots plan their flight, including a plan B should things go wrong, and then they fly their plan. Scuba divers plan their dive and then they dive their plan. Should things go wrong underwater, they also follow protocols to deal with the issue at hand. Interesting enough, in both examples the plans are made by teams of two: the captain and co-pilot and in the case of scuba diving, the dive buddies. These principles can be applied in managing our business, organization and life. In other words: “Plan your life, live your plan.” And you will find that you will only be able to do this effectively when you have clearly defined your objectives, while your values provide a useful compass on the way. Next comes to actually stick to your plan and carry it out. This sounds simple but is probably one of the most difficult things to do as we are often taken off track by unimportant issues and urgencies, giving us a feeling of accomplishment (“I have been so busy.”) but turning out to be time wasters instead. In other words, prioritise and a simple way of doing this is to sit down a few minutes and list down the most important things that need to be done, prioritise them and begin working on them one by one until completed. Don’t worry if you have finished only one or two at the end of the day but instead be confident that you have been working on the most important issues. A survey carried out by Day Timers Inc. in America showed that only one third of workers plan their daily schedules and that only 9% follow through and complete what they planned. What results would a similar survey show amongst us here? The German novelist Johann Wolfgang von Goethe said: ”Things that matter most must never be at the mercy of things that matter least.” If you prioritize your life and plan your day but don’t follow through, your results will be the same as those of someone who didn’t prioritize at all. Now evaluate yourself and think again.
Now that you know what it is that needs to be done and now that you actually begin working on the most important issues, you may find out that you cannot do it all by yourself. This is when effective delegation comes in, which most of us find very difficult to do. We need to realize however that we cannot do everything ourselves and that while we work on our priorities, routine tasks need to continue. More often than not, we have difficulties to let go and trust others to do what we normally do ourselves. A guideline that John C. Maxwell suggests is that if someone else can do a task 80 percent as well as yourself, hand it off. And if you do a good job of motivating, encouraging and rewarding, that person will only get better and in the end may even be doing a better job than you could yourself. Such people are so valuable because they now begin to allow you to work on your priorities.
One more thing to realise is that every day we are surrounded by other people we spent much time relating to. This is no less important in this country where relationships are so valued. But are we spending time with the right people? People, who can take us to another level, who help us to move forward? Or are we spending time with people who instead take us back and distract us from what we should be doing? So, while you want to treat everyone with respect and try and have a good, positive relationship with everyone, you should not be spending time with everyone equally.
Choose your battles wisely!
Ton Haverkort
Sources:
“Today Matters” by John C. Maxwell
https://personalexcellence.co/blog/choose-your-battles/
‘BUSINESS FOR PEACE’ INSPIRING BUSINESS LEADERSHIP
Initiative Africa has been implementing the “Business for Peace” initiative for a year now. Capital sat down with Kebour Gena, the Executive Director for Initiative Africa to understand more about their work. Excerpts;
Capital: Why should the Business Community be considered a stakeholder in Peacebuilding?
Kebour Gena: Consistently overlooked in peacebuilding campaign is the role of the Ethiopian private sector in promoting peace. And yet private-sector engagement can influence key political actors, spread messages of peace across the country, bring together disparate sectors of Ethiopian society, preventing incitement, and ensuring a return to normalcy. The current puzzling political environment of conflict and tension require a radical adjustment and innovative thinking to build partnerships and collaborations. Restructuring must reach beyond traditional institutional mandates and methodologies. New players, particularly the private sector, as well as more NGOs, must be enlisted in a new approach to economic peacebuilding.
Capital: What is the” Business for Peace” project of Initiative Africa doing to make that a reality?
Kebour Gena: For a long time, attention was first and foremost given to state actors and few CSOs’ on issues of peacebuilding. The roles that can be played by the private sector were in general ignored. It is undeniable that regardless of the objective; the financial cost of conflict has a negative effect on business success, economic prosperity, and peace. And yet private sector actors in Ethiopia have not been called to engage in peace and reconciliation. There has been some participation in fundraising, but very little has been done in mobilizing the private sector to engage in peacebuilding.
This project is based on the premise that private sector actors can, at both the macro and micro levels, be a CATALYST for positive change in the relationships between conflicting factions; act as a FACILITATOR of constructive activities with other actors that have interest in peace; and be an INFLUENCER of actors who, by virtue of their official position or informal authority and legitimacy, can say “yes” or “no” to peace. There are numerous concrete ways through which private sector actors can contribute to peacebuilding. Businesses can act in situations where other actors – due to their positions within the political environment – cannot. Private sector actors may lobby for peace and serve as conduits between warring parties who would otherwise fail to converse. By creating jobs and income opportunities, private sector actors can also help mitigate socioeconomic inequalities and shift the stances of opposing parties to a conflict.
This is what the Business for Peace initiative does. We mobilize, empower and engage the private sector to be active in peacebuilding. We are currently running a number of initiatives including short courses for business executives on peacebuilding and conflict resolution, fellowship programs for young and upcoming business leaders that includes local community engagement and awareness creation for private sector on the upcoming national dialogue.
Capital: Partnership with the business community is very important to the process of peace building and the national dialogue. As the National Dialogue is launched, how do you see the role of business in advancing the peacebuilding and National Dialogue?
Kebour Gena: Indeed, business is a very important part of our society in actually making the peacebuilding or the National Agenda a reality. How can one imagine changing the society without t the involvement of the business sector in this dialogue? In a recent survey conducted in early Januaryover 85 percent of companies welcomed the engagement of the business sector in peacebuilding and the national dialogue efforts. In fact close to 87 percent of the executives indicated their willingness to mobilize and support the National Dialogue; and close to 70 per cent of the CEOs indicated their willingness to personally mobilize and support the Peace efforts and the National Dialogue. That’s a very positive posture. We will not miss this chance to have our say.
Capital: What has been the major challenge so far in the engagement?
Kebour Gena: My general assessment so far is that there is a strong interest for the idea and initiative from the private sector. Most stakeholders recognize the need for the private sector to actively engage in peacebuilding in Ethiopia. But the process and design and technical skill is lacking. The actual concepts of peacebuilding and conflict transformation remain blurred to the sector and the need for capacity building is clear. It has also been a challenge to generate interest from private sector actors to make practical contributions for their community for peacebuilding. But we continue to have formal and informal conversations about the project need, indepth needs assessment and capacity gaps.
Capital: In your opinion what makes or breaks national dialogues?
Kebour Gena: National Dialogues are used as a way of resolving political crises and pave the way for political transitions and sustainable peace. Exeperience show that most National Dialogues have reached an agreement,but only half of these agreements were implemented. This is because the main actors and groups advocating for change’are not necessarily in favor of democratic reform and so may chose to use the process for their own partisan interests. Also public buy-in is crucial to ensure progress in the negotiation and implementation of agreements, the problem is in many instances support for the process can decline over time if people become frustrated with delays, diminishing legitimacy, or a lack of progress. In Ethiopia’s case the limit of three years instead of five looks to me more appropriate.
There is also the issue of ownership. No one can make anyone else’s peace. The notion of national ownership is central to debates around peacebuilding, yet it remains far from clear how the concept should be put into practice. The challenge of operationalizing national ownership is inextricably bound up with debates over the meaning of the term, putting national ownership principles into practice must begin with a clear answer to the question of “who owns what?”. At its core, the notion of national ownership is grounded in the fundamental premise that peacebuilding cannot be solely an outside-in activity, with international actors as its primary agents; successful peacebuilding requires the active involvement and engagement of local actors at all levels of society. Ethiopians must create the conditions and develop the processes for achieving and sustaining their own peace. Peace practitioners can support these processes, work alongside people as colleagues, offer different perspectives and ideas, and discuss options. But they cannot make peace in another person’s context.
Capital: Our country is going through a post-conflict reconstruction phase. What is your message to top business executives and business leaders?
Kebour Gena: I ask responsible business including farmers, traders, service providers and manufacturers to come together, to create the Ethiopia that we all want by addressing principled business and by acknowledging the increasingly complex crisis situations and coming up with more complex responses, and supporting the work of actors in these environments.
Capital: Partnership with the business community is very important to the process of peace building and the national dialogue. As the National Dialogue is launches, how do you see the role of business in advancing the peacebuilding and National Dialogue?
Kebour Gena: Business is a very important part of our society in actually making the peacebuilding or the National Agenda a reality how can one imagine changing the society without the involvement of the business sector in this dialogue. In a recent survey conducted in early January over 85 percent of companies welcomed the engagement of the business sector in peacebuilding and the national dialogue efforts. In fact close to 87 per cent of the executives indicated their willingness to mobilize and support the National Dialogue; and close to 70 per cent of the CEOs indicated their willingness to personally mobilize and support the Peace efforts and the National Dialogue. That’s a very positive posture.
Capital: Would you have any final remarks?
Kebour Gena: Let me just say that Peacebuilding is a long-term process of encouraging people to talk, repairing relationships, and reforming institutions. For positive change to last, everyone affected by conflict is within communities, between societies, or between the state and ordinary peopleconflict has to be involved in the process of building peace.
