Quick Takes
USAID, Others Boost Agribusiness Devt
In order to boost food security in Nigeria, USAID and Africa Lead are boosting agribusiness entrepreneurship capacity development for the youths.
The organisations, during a five-day event tagged: ‘USAID Africa Lead Entrepreneurship a and Agribusiness Development Boot camp’ held in Lagos recently, said it became necessary to help the youths who are dedicated to starting up agribusiness.
Speaking at the event, the Training and Non State Actors Manager, Mrs. Cecilia Addae noted that the programme is aimed towards expanding agribusiness and developing the nation’s agricultural sector
She added that it is a way to also foster broader economic development and agricultural transformation.
Add a es aid the youths who are between the ages of 18-35 showed they have innovative agribusiness startup idea and entrepreneurship passion.
She further described other criteria they have as being a farmer or agri-preneur engaged in some activities along value chain, strong desire to increase skill and knowledge planning and actively managing a start-up and expansion in agribusiness.
“Africa Lead is building on its existing leadership training programme and envisions working with youth, women and entrepreneurs to start up and expand agribusiness along profitable value chains,” she said.
Halliburton to Pay $29.2m to Settle Charges
Oil company, Halliburton Co will pay $29.2 million to settle civil charges it violated federal anti-bribery rules related to books, recordkeeping and internal accounting controls while doing business in Angola, U.S. regulators said on Thursday.
The Securities and Exchange Commission said Halliburton’s former vice president, Jeannot Lorenz, separately agreed to pay a $75,000 penalty in connection with the alleged violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
Both the company and Lorenz are settling the case without admitting or denying the allegations.
In a statement, Halliburton said the Justice Department had also investigated the matter and was planning to close it out without filing related criminal charges.
The probe began after the company received an anonymous allegation about possible FCPA violations in December 2010. The company said it “promptly” reported the tip about possible corruption to the Justice Department, conducted its own internal investigation and cooperated with the government. A lawyer for Lorenz could not immediately be reached for comment. The SEC said the alleged FCPA violations stemmed from contracts that Halliburton entered into with a local Angolan company in order to satisfy certain “local content regulations” for foreign firms doing business in the country.
Some of those payments, the SEC said, “were made in advance of Halliburton obtaining lucrative oilfield service contracts.”
African LNG Exports to Get Boost
Cameroon plans to begin exporting liquefied natural gas later this year using a newly designed offshore plant that analysts say could slash production costs and unlock African reserves not previously considered economically viable.
West and Central Africa’s Gulf of Guinea has seen a wave of new oil and gas exploration, particularly since Tullow Oil discovered Ghana’s huge Jubilee gas field in 2007. But the cost of pipelines and onshore liquefaction facilities means that relatively few gas finds have been developed, Reuters reported.
However, a new technology has the potential to boost West and Central Africa’s efforts to exploit its vast gas resources by allowing smaller plants to ship gas from less accessible fields.
A specialised vessel owned by Golar LNG will dock offshore Cameroon’s Atlantic coast in the coming weeks for testing. It will liquefy natural gas produced in nearby offshore fields for shipment directly overseas. Russia’s Gazprom has the rights to ship the gas to customers in Asia, Europe or South America.
“Deploying offshore liquefaction facilities bypasses some of the difficulties associated with building infrastructure onshore. Sometimes, offshore is simply easier,” said Jean-Baptiste Bouzard, sub-Saharan analyst at Wood Mackenzie.