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How Data Protection Regulation Created 2,686 Jobs In One Year – FG

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has disclosed recorded created 2,686 new jobs I’m less than 24 months through the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR).

The Agency who made this known on Friday at its first annual NDPR Performance Report 2019-2020, said that 76% of Data Protection Compliance Organisations (DPCOs) complied with the regulation.

At the unveiling of the Report, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Pantami, expressed satisfaction on how NITDA provided support for industry adoption of the NDPR. He said: “I have reviewed the report and I am proud to see that we have through the NDPR, 2,686 job roles, thereby creating massive opportunities for young Nigerians to be recruited as Data Protection Officers, Data Protection Compliance Organisations, Compliance officers among others.

“The DPCOs have also earned over N2 billion in the first year of implementation. This is the intent of our digital economy policy- empowering Nigerians in a way that ensures global competitiveness.”

While giving his speech, the Director-General of NITDA, Mallam Kashifu Abdullahi, stated that the goal of the report is to give all stakeholders the opportunity to understand how the agency has fared in the implementation of the NDPR. He added that understanding between industry players would generate further research and provide guidance to other regulators, partners, data controllers, data processors and other stakeholders.

He said NITDA made a compilation of all the organisations who filed their annual audit report for the year 2019.

“Submission of an audit report does not conclusively indicate compliance with all tenets of data protection, this list shows organisations who have complied with the audit filing requirement of the NDPR, which is a key milestone towards compliance. It is important to note that non-filing of the NDPR audit report is a breach of the Regulation,” he said.

The DG added that, “the Report, being the first of its kind is aimed at highlighting key initiatives, successes and challenges of implementing the Regulation. The NDPR being a flagship of the NDEPS, is expected to be used as a learning curve for Nigeria and Africa on how to effectively implement global laws with due consideration of local peculiarities and opportunities.”

The NDPR was issued on 25th January, 2019 pursuant to Section 6(a,c) of the NITDA Act, 2007. The Regulation covers every person subject to the laws of Nigeria, whether resident in Nigeria or not. It is aimed at safeguarding the rights of persons to privacy; fostering safe conduct for the transactions involving the exchange of personal data; preventing manipulation of personal data; and ensuring that Nigerian businesses remain competitive in international trade through the safeguards afforded by a just and equitable legal regulatory framework.

FG to Matawalle: We own the gold deposits in Zamfara

The federal government has cautioned the Zamfara state government over making impressions of owning gold deposits in the state.

Olamilekan Adegbite, minister of mines and steel development, who issued the warning on Friday, said mineral products remain exclusively that of the federal government.

Zamfara government on Tuesday said it started its gold reserve to reduce dependence on federal allocations.Rabiu Garba, the state commissioner for finance, told journalists that, though, there was a federal government ban on mining activities in the country, “the state government was able to purchase the commodity from licensed miners”.“At the moment, we have a pure gold reserve of over 30 kilos and as time goes by, we will continue to invest in this regard so that, like other states and other nations, we will be having our mineral reserves and ours will be in gold,” Garba said.“When the ban is lifted and mining activities resume fully, we are hopeful that we will be receiving royalties from miners while the federal government will also be giving us something.”Joseph Onu Silas, a lawyer, had accused the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) of trading in gold with the state government, seeking the cancellation of the purchase of gold worth N5 billion from Zamfara by the apex bank.But while briefing the press on the forthcoming 5th Nigerian mining week, Adegbite said what the state government is doing is right but the portrayal to the public is wrong.

“I had a meeting with the Zamfara people yesterday or day before yesterday, they need to get their narrative right to the public,” Adegbite said.

“We have what we call private mineral buying centres, we issue licences, in fact, anybody that is interested should come to us and once you meet the criteria, we give you a licence to purchase the mineral and that is the angle the Zamfara Government is exploiting.

“From their own fund, they are buying gold from their people and I spoke with the governor, you need to explain these to the people properly. It’s not as if they are cornering the resources that belongs to the federal government.

“All mineral resources in country is vested in the federal government and that is in the exclusive list and that stays. And the right royalty should be paid to the federal government.

“People feel that some parts of the nation are cornering the wealth of the nation to themselves which belongs to all of us and I will always say this, everybody has partake in the lunch of the Niger Delta’s people, we have taken from the oil and gas and it has been used to develop this country and the mineral wealth of this country will also be used collectively to develop this country and not exclusively by one section.”

The state government has denied the allegations against it.

Zailani Baffa, spokesperson to Bello Matawalle, the state governor, said the state government is not directly mining the gold by itself.

“It will rather purchase the gold from the mining companies registered by the Federal Government in the state,” Baffa said in a statement.

He also said the CBN did not enter into any trade agreement with the state government as claimed by the lawyer.

“The fact is that the CBN, just like in agriculture, is willing to invest in mining, as part of its Anchor Borrowers’ Programme whereby the apex bank will invest an amount for the state government to supply it with the gold as proceeds of the investment,” he said.

“This is aimed at boosting the mining sector in the country which is within the provisions of the scheme.” (thecable)

FG approves N5.1bn for Aba, Kano shoes, garments processing hubs

The Federal Executive Council, FEC, have approved the setting up of two shoes, garments, and leather processing hubs in Aba and Janguza, in Abia and Kano states respectively, under a Private, Public Partnership, PPP, arrangement.

Speaking at the briefing, the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, said the project, which would cost N5.1 billion in investment, would be managed by two companies; a Nigerian and Chinese and will provide about 4,330 direct and indirect job opportunities.

He said, “The Council approved the Full Business Skills Compliance Certificate issued by Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), Abuja, for the design, finance, upgrade, operate, and transfer of the Nigeria Correctional Service Shoe, Garment, and Leather Processing Factory located in Aba, Abia State as well as Janguza, Kano State under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP).

“This full business skills certificate and the investment that will come there amounts to 5 billion, 100 million naira (N5,100,000,000). Invariably, when the partnership comes into effect, the benefit is enormous. About 1,330 people will have direct employment, while about 3,000 people will have indirect employment.

“The benefit besides the employment of Nigerians is the opportunity for training of the inmates of our correctional facilities in Janguza, Kano State, and Aba in Abia State. The contract for full business skills compliance certificate is given to Messrs LG Investment Limited, a Nigerian company which is partnering with a Chinese company, Full Technology Incorporated from Beijing, China”, he explained.

On his part, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Niyi Adebayo said that the council approved the contract for the procurement and installation of automotive/mechatronics equipment in special centers in six geopolitical zones, as well as three pilot workshops and automotive service hubs for the National Automotive Design and Development Council, NADDC, at the cost of N1.8 billion.

He explained that the reason for the project “is that with the kind of vehicles being manufactured today, we need training institutes that will train our mechanics and our youths how to maintain and service these vehicles.”

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who briefed on behalf of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Mohammed Bello, the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Boss Mustapha, said that the memos from the ministries were also approved by the FEC.

He said, “I will start with the Honorable Minister of the Federal Capital Territory Administration whose memo for the award and contract of the final design of engineering infrastructure and production of tendered documents for Kabusa district phase three of the FCT, Abuja an area of about 850 hectares which will be a mixed-use of both private and government, residential and offices. It was approved for the sum of N183, 709, 480, 50k to Messrs Techno Engineering, and Consult Limited.

“The Minister of Aviation also presented a memo seeking approval for the rehabilitation of the various screening machines nationwide at the cost of N654 million. You would notice that with the incident of the COVID-19 pandemic, a new protocol sanctioned by IATA and other Aviation authorities has now come into our airports which entails more of social distancing. So you need more points to screen passengers and their luggage. So this is what has necessitated for the rehabilitation of those screening machines that have broken down.

“Also on behalf of the Minister of Works and Housing, I want to report that his memo for the completion of the rehabilitation of the Abeokuta-Ibadan road, a distance of 72 kilometers was approved today. It was a memo asking for augmentation by N788 million to bring the project cost to N4.78 billion-plus six months extension time for construction. So we hope that by 2021, this road will be completed. You need to note also that this was a contract that was awarded in 2010 but due to the paucity of funds and other constraints, we have to take it over.

“The SGF on behalf of Mr. President also presented a memo which was approved seeking Council’s approval for the purchase of 21 operational vehicles for the Federal Road Safety Corps in favour of Messrs Pan Nigeria Ltd in the total sum of N292, 615 million. The purpose of the memo is to enhance the operational capability and capacity of the Corps so that we can stop the carnage on our roads and also secure our roads better.

“The unique thing about this memo is that these vehicles are being sourced from one of our local assemble plants, Peugeot Nigeria Ltd in Kaduna.” NIPC INTELLIGENCE

Huawei releases global banking sector response to Covid-19

At Huawei Connect 2020, International Data Corporation (IDC), the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications and consumer technology markets, along with Huawei, have released a major White Paper titled “Banking Industry Rises up to the New Normal”. In this paper, IDC and Huawei survey the impact that Covid-19 has had on the banking industry and outlines steps that should be taken by banks to ensure their future success. As part of this report, IDC and Huawei has developed a Banking Resilience Index, which quantifies the current status of banking by region in terms of six key measures. This Index shows major regional differences and can be used by banks to assess their own Resilience and provides guidance for where to focus for future success.

At HUAWEI CONNECT 2020, Huawei and its partners are showing the wide range of FSI solutions, including Financial Cloud, smart branches, digital CORE and intelligent data platforms. These solutions allow banks to reduce costs, increase agility to the rapidly changing FSI environment, attract and retain customers and position themselves against emerging competitors. The recent disruptions to everyday life have moved the focus of financial services to Mobile and Huawei has been a leader in supporting the move to mobile interactions globally, based on the early experiences in China. The insights we are sharing are allowing financial customers globally to respond and support customers in these trying times.

These experiences led Huawei to work with IDC on this report. Some of the major findings in the report concern the financial impact of the pandemic on bank’s balance sheets, the exponential increase in digital payments from mobile devices and the dramatic shift in the role of branches in banking services. In looking to the future, IDC finds that efforts should concentrate on:

  • Channel Upgrades – moving to a completely digital customer journey,
  • Communication Rethink – changing how services are delivered to customers,
  • Infrastructure Overhaul – building on hybrid cloud and microservices,
  • Data and Analytics Redefinition – building robust data lake and AI capabilities,
  • Workflow Reimagining – moving beyond paper and PCs to mobile workflows, and
  • Platform Transformation – incorporating emerging technologies such as 5G, AI and IoT, etc.

Taken together, the Banking Resilience Index and the focus areas, provide guidance for banks as they deal with the continuing challenges of “The New Normal”.

Huawei will continue to expand its engagement with the world’s leading financial organizations and the insights provided by this report will provide a solid foundation for that work.

Distributed by APO Group

World richest billionaires got richer amid Covid-19

Pony Ma Huateng of Tencent, China's second richest man and Jack of Alibaba, the number one tycoon

The wealth of the world’s billionaires reached record heights this year despite the global coronavirus crisis, led by tech, health and industry “innovators and disruptors” like Elon Musk, said a report published Wednesday.

By the end of July, the cumulative wealth of billionaires stood at around $10.2 trillion, according to a study by Swiss bank UBS and accounting giant PricewaterhouseCoopers.

That exceeded the previous peak of $8.9 trillion recorded in 2017.

https://d-27045118901469589205.ampproject.net/2009190410002/frame.html The annual inventory of the super-rich’s fortunes identified 2,189 dollar billionaires at the end of July — 31 more than in 2017.

The report noted that the coronavirus crisis accelerated a trend in this select club that is seeing “innovators and disruptors” in the technology, healthcare and industry sectors edge out those in more traditional areas like entertainment or real estate.

But it gave rise to some sharp criticism at a time of pandemic-led economic hardship.

“Billionaires doing very nicely out of the #Covid_19 pandemic, ordinary people left with debt, businesses collapsing, unemployment rocketing, people suffering and making huge sacrifices whilst the worlds richest laugh all the way to the bank!,” tweeted Angela Rayner, deputy leader of Britain’s Labour Party.

The report nevertheless said billionaires had “given more than ever before in a space of a few months.”

– ‘Fortunes are polarising’ –

According to the report, the pandemic initially had an impact on the world’s billionaires.

Their wealth fell 6.6 percent in February and March as the world feared for economic growth.

A stock market crash in March saw some tumble out of the billionaires’ club, before a sharp rebound in technology and health stocks began.

Soon, their wealth had bounced back by 27.5 percent between April and the end of July.

“Fortunes are polarising as business innovators and disruptors deploy technology to be among the leaders of today’s economic revolution,” the report said.

“The Covid-19 crisis just accentuated this divergence” with other billionaires who are “on the wrong side of economic, technological, societal and environmental trends” and are becoming less wealthy.

Ambani, he tops billionaires’ earning in 2019

The report pointed for instance to South African-born innovator Elon Musk, whose companies Tesla and SpaceX “are respectively pioneering the mass-market electric car and private space travel.”

According to Forbes, Musk briefly joined the very select group of $100-billion men in August — coming in fifth — as share prices in Tesla soared.

It also singled out China’s Zhong Huijuan, a former chemistry professor who is worth $20.4 billion according to Forbes after her drug company Hansoh Pharmaceutical listed last year.

Across 2018, 2019 and the first seven months of 2020, the fortunes of four billionaires in the tech sector increased by 42.5 percent, putting their cumulative fortune at an estimated $1.8 trillion.

Health sector billionaires recorded an increase of 50.3 percent, with a cumulative fortune estimated at $658.6 billion.

These were “boosted by a new age of drug discovery and innovations in diagnostics and medical technology, as well as latterly Covid-19 treatments and equipment,” the report said.

By comparison, the net worth of billionaires in industries such as entertainment, real estate and financial services increased by no more than 10 percent.

Yahoo.com

Future phone screens could be made of new and unbreakable transparent wood material

When smartphone manufacturers are busy with perfecting their folding smartphones, or the under-display camera, someone has found a new kind of material that can be made into phone screens in the future. A team of researchers has discovered that the balsa wood can become transparent and even made into phone screens after processed in a certain way.

A researcher, Junyong Zhu from the Forest Products Laboratory, has teamed up with colleagues from the University of Maryland and the University of Colorado to work on this project. The team uses balsa wood as the base material, which is then subjected to a room-temperature oxidizing bath that makes it almost transparent. After that, the wood is filled with a synthetic polymer called polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), and that’s how it becomes glass-like transparent.

Besides being transparent, it is said that the glass made with the wood is more durable and lighter than regular glasses. Not to mention that it is also bendable, which makes it perfect to be used with foldable smartphones. When it is dropped, the material will splinter and it can withstand much stronger impacts compared to conventional glasses. Another highlight of the material is that it’s cheap to be mass-produced.

Let us know what you think about this transparent wood material on our Facebook page. Stay tuned to TechNave.com for more exciting news.

SOURCE:technave.com

Scientist create new transparent wood stronger than glass

Scientists transformed wood from balsa trees into clear material that could replace conventional glass 

The team bleached the wood until it was nearly clear and then added a synthetic polymer called polyvinyl alcohol

The innovation is five times more thermally efficient than traditional glass

It is also stronger and will bend instead of shattering if damaged  

Scientists have designed ‘transparent wood’ that could replace conventional glass in windows.

The innovation was developed using wood from the balsa tree, which is native to South and Central America, and claims to be five times more thermally efficient than glass.

The team treated balsa wood in an oxidizing bath that bleaches it of nearly all visibility and then penetrated it with a synthetic polymer called polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) – creating a product that is virtually transparent.

Unlike traditional glass, the transparent wood can withstand much stronger impacts and will bend or splinter when damaged, instead of shatter

The transparent wood was created by teams at the University of Maryland and University of Colorado, which set out to find a greener alternative to conventional glass – a production that creates 25,000 tons in emissions each year.

Along with contributing to greenhouse gases, glass contributes to a loss of energy

Residential building windows in particular account for 10–25% of the heat loss due to their poor thermal management capability,’ the team wrote in the study.

‘Exploring energy efficient window materials is thus highly desirable to address heating costs, energy shortages, and the global impact of climate change associated with increased carbon emissions.’

The team chose balsa wood because of its fast growth and opaque appearance due to its ability to absorb light.

While this is not the first example of optically transparent wood, previous developments have focused on the study of wood anatomy on a microscopic level.

And the latest innovation appears to be more transparent than those created in the past. 

To develop transparent wood, researchers immersed the wood in a bleach solution at room temperature to remove the light absorbing substance from the structure.

‘Then in order to obtain high optical transmittance and low haze simultaneously, we infiltrated the wood template with PVA,’ reads the study.

‘PVA is widely used in composites as it is an environmentally friendly polymer featuring optical transparency.’

Google News

How China adapted tech expertise from others and built world’s best, largest railway system

*Today,66% of world’s High Speed Rail is domiciled in China. That is the ingenuity of China that powers her growth

When an intercity high-speed train pulled out of Beijing South station in 2008, China’s rail network had ushered in a new fast-moving era.

Over the past decade, the country has added over 35,000 kilometers to its high-speed rail (HSR) network, with the total length that far exceeds the rest of the world combined. Train speeds have increased from a maximum of 200 km per hour to 350km per hour – the fastest in the world.

The HSR offers shorter travel times, comfort, convenience, safety and punctuality and is by far the largest passenger-dedicated network of its type in the world, a report shows.

The World Bank report also said that China was the first country with a gross domestic product (GDP) per capita below $7,000 to invest in developing an HSR network.

The road from planning to operation

Looking back, a key milestone for China’s HSR development was the approval of the Medium- and Long-Term Railway Plan (MLTRP) in 2004 when freight volume was growing rapidly and the low speed of the existing railway limited competitiveness in passenger transport.

The plan envisaged that, by 2020, the national railway infrastructure would grow to 100,000 km, of which 12,000 km would be high speed, and four horizontal and four vertical corridors would be established to link all major cities.

After detailed plans had been approved, the next step was to ensure a solid technological base for both infrastructure components and rolling stock.

In the early stage, construction was pushed forward under technology transfer agreements with some European countries like Germany and France, as well as Japanese suppliers, but China quickly adapted and improved the designs for local use.

Based on accumulated experience in this field, China has also worked with the International Railway Union to develop international standards for HSR equipment.

CBN, BDCs strengthen commitment to exchange rate stability

The attempt to see all Bureaux De Change (BDCs) operators as weakest link in fight against illicit financial flow has been faulted by stakeholders.

The BDC sector has for decades, remained a critical component of the Nigerian financial market playing pivotal role in exchange rate stability and job creation. Erring BDC operators have severally been sanctioned by the Central Bank of Nigeria and Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria in line with the industry’s zero tolerance for regulatory abuse. The BDCs have also supported Nigeria’s growth agenda and the CBN’s commitment to exchange rate stability, writes COLLINS NWEZE.

Corruption and illicit financial flows are twin evils  that no right thinking individual, group or organisation should support. The impact of these societal malaise transcends over $30.4 billion lost by  African economies and businesses annually. It has led to poor infrastructure and rise in insecurity.

That explains why the over 5000 Bureaux De Change (BDCs) and their umbrella body, the Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) rejected in totality, attempt by  certain segment of the economy to label BDCs as economic saboteurs and illicit forex traders.

Analysts insist that money laundering and illicit funds transfer are unwholesome practices that predate the coming of licensed BDCs. These illegal activities are so pervasive and widespread that every segment and all operators in the financial industry is vulnerable to their operations. That is why many prominent financial institutions including global banks, and investment firms have been found culpable in this respect.

Stakeholders have also backed the ongoing investigation of some corporate bodies and individuals by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The apex bank under the Godwin Emefiele leadership has set up tough regulations and implemented several policies to tackle illicit financial flows.  The regulators has also partnered with ABCON to tackle money laundering and ensure transparency in the financial market.

ABCON also believes that money laundering through the BDCs or any other financial institutions is unacceptable and those found wanting should be punished based on the law. The group supports the need to tighten and strictly enforce regulations in the foreign exchange market, with erring members sanctioned.

Besides, the CBN has been effective in regulating the BDC sector, hence ABCON and all registered BDCs take exception to the editorial for its outright lies and ignorance of the working of the financial system.

ABCON President, Aminu Gwadabe, said: “We also do not agree with those that insist that the CBN has been “inexcusably weak in enforcing its own rules”. He said the regulator has in the past, fined erring BDCs and insole extreme cases, withdrew their operating licenses.

Gwadabe said the resumption of dollar sales to BDCs has led to nearly N40 appreciation of the naira in the first week of the exercise, and saved the local currency from continued depreciation.

He said the CBN’s aim of easing pressure on supply and firming up the naira succeeded and will continue to be achieved with improved liquidity in the market.

“The N2 margin earned by BDCs from every dollar sold is barely enough to cover their operating costs and keep over 15,000 Nigerians employed by the sector, hence the assertion that BDCs business is one of the lucrative businesses in the country is wrong,” he stated.

Gwadabe also said that call from certain segments of the economy for a moratorium on licensing new BDCs is unacceptable as any new operator that meets the requirement for registration should be given the opportunity to operate.

THE NATION

NIMASA issues cabotage operators mandatory registration order

The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has issued a three-month ultimatum to companies engaged in Cabotage trade in Nigeria to register all vessels used in coastal and inland waters trade.

\In addition to registration in the applicable Special Register for Cabotage Vessels and Ship Owning companies, and obtaining the Certificate of Cabotage Registration/License, operators with expired registration certificates are to ensure the renewal of their Cabotage Operational Certificate/License for all Cabotage vessels within three months. 

At the expiration of the three months, NIMASA would notify relevant government authorities and International Oil Companies (IOCs) to bar vessels without valid Cabotage certificates.    

Speaking shortly after the Agency released a Marine Notice to announce the decision, Director-General of NIMASA, Dr. Bashir Jamoh, disclosed that the notice was part of efforts to ensure strict enforcement of the Coastal and Inland Shipping (Cabotage) Act 2003 and Guidelines on Implementation of the Coastal and Inland Shipping (Cabotage) Act 2003.  

Jamoh reiterated that the Cabotage Act provided that every vessel intended for use in domestic trade must be duly registered by the Registrar of Ships.

The DG stated, “The law provides that every vessel intended for use under the Cabotage Act must be duly registered in the appropriate register and the operational certificates be renewed annually. We are out to ensure strict implementation of NIMASA’s mandate under the law.

“Ultimately, our intention is to build and continue to enhance the capacity of Nigerians in the shipping industry in line with relevant international regulations.” 

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