Hello, it’s been a week of drama, with different happenings. A bit on education, since we touched on that during the week, the Nigerian government is thinking of replacing the 2020 Secondary school exams WASSCE With GCE. Hopefully by November things would be better.
Nigerian government goes looking for funds
What do you do when the content of a leaking container is finishing?
A. Fix the leakage.
B. Pour more funds into the leaking container.
Most people would opt for option A, but that’s because they’re not the Nigerian Govt, which in its usual fashion always seems to pick option B.
And it has done it again, introducing two new levies this week, the same week we heard “Honorable Minister it's okay, it's okay, it's okay Off your mic it's okay” 😂 🤦
And the two levies: Stamp Duty on Rent and License fee for Delivery companies
The new schedule
What this means
If you are an individual renting from another individual, your stamp duty is payable to the state tax authority such as LIRS if you are resident in Lagos. If either the tenant or the landlord is a company, then the duty is payable to FIRS.
Contrary to the tweet and popular opinion, since most people rent houses for less than 7 years, the Stamp duty on most rent agreements is at the rate of 0.78%, not 6%.
While it’s an arguably insignificant amount to the tenants, this is a means to generate revenue for the government. For example, Lagos state has about 1.2 million houses, assuming they get to collect from only 30% of these houses at the lowest tier 0.78% @ N100,000 per annum, that’s about N312m. A sure money-making scheme.
And the next burden: License fee on Delivery companies
Delivery companies now have to pay these fees to get their licenses in order to move around.
Prior to this new tiered licence fee, according to the Courier Regulatory Department (CRD), obtaining the licence costs an initial ₦2 million (₦10 Million for International couriers) and an extra cost of about ₦270,000 in application processing and induction. The licence is also renewable yearly for ₦360,000. It looks like the new proposition is better than the former but was the former even enforced, how many people knew it existed? Should this fee even exist?
Why it matters
This would lead to an increase in the cost of delivery - which is often as high as 30 - 50% the cost of many commodity products. Think of the price of delivery for small chops increasing from 1k to 3k. 😢
These new fees if enforced would reduce the number of delivery companies, as many can’t afford the license fees.
Big Picture:
Timing and Accountability have always been a major reason people fight back against new government policies. Why introduces these changes now? Where’s all the money going to?
It’s easy to put these policies on paper but the enforcement would be difficult for the Nigerian government, as Nigerians are clearly not having it.
Bye, Ebola
The 2018 ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo which was the world’s second-biggest — over 2,000 people died — is over. Ebola generally kills two-thirds of those who contract it.
Thanks to new treatments, including antivirals, the new outbreak has been put to an end.
Soon we’d be able to say same to COVID-19
Introducing Laikipia 'BJ-50'
Photo credit: Laikipia
It seems the Kenyan government is trying their hands on some innovative technologies and automobiles are setting this trend.
Background story: The Kenya Export Promotion and Branding Agency, a government organisation whose sole mission is to brand Kenya and export the nation’s locally produced products to the international market has collaborated with Laikipia County to assess the needs of up-scaling an automobile plant ‘Sagak Auto tech plant’ in the region to build capacity to produce cars for both local and international markets.
Where is Laikipia County?: Laikipia County is one of the 47 counties of Kenya, located on the equator in the former Rift Valley Province (one of Kenya’s former eight provinces bordering Uganda). As county number 31, Laikipia is a cosmopolitan county with two major urban centres: Nyahururu to the southwest and Nanyuki to the southeast with Rumuruti as it’s capital.
Car prototype
Photo credit: Nairobi wire
The car model named ‘BJ-50’ was first seen on the news early 2019 when Laikipia County Government showcased two locally made cars at a conference in the region. It is proposed to be used as a form of urban commercial transport popularly known as tuk-tuk and one of the vehicles goes for about Ksh450,000 ($4,173.53). It has a capacity of seven passengers and achieves a maximum speed of 70km per hour.
Economic impact: Since its recent launch, BJ-50 already has 26 buyers and counting. The car which can also be used as a cargo carrier comes in handy for farmers and business people. This also might just be one of the long-awaited means of creating more jobs for young people in Kenya.
What people say: With the level of technological advancement from around the world, this might come across as a joke to some Kenyans who think the cars look like student projects for a science fair but to others, perhaps, full of patriotism, think every good story has a beginning and this is a milestone for Laikipia county.
Worth reading 📚
Quote 💭
Talk doesn’t cook rice.
— Chinese Proverb
Thank you for reading this week’s edition 💙
Written by Daniel Adeyemi, Damilola Amusan & Bright Azuh