Summary of Budget 2017: Key points at-a-glance

November 22, 2017 No Comments

Philip Hammond has delivered his second Budget as chancellor. Here are the key points of his speech.

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Stamp duty and housing

• Stamp duty to be abolished immediately for first-time buyers purchasing properties worth up to £300,000
• To help those in London and other expensive areas, the first £300,000 of the cost of a £500,000 purchase by all first-time buyers will be exempt from stamp duty, with the remaining £200,000 incurring 5%.
• 95% of all first-time buyers will benefit, with 80% not paying stamp duty
• Reduction will apply immediately in England, Wales and Northern Ireland although the Welsh government will have to decide whether to continue it when stamp duty is devolved in April 2018
• It will not apply in Scotland unless Scottish government decides to follow suit
• £44bn in overall government support for housing to meet target of building 300,000 new homes a year by the middle of the next decade
• Councils given powers to charge 100% council tax premium on empty properties
• Compulsory purchase of land banked by developers for financial reasons
• £400m to regenerate housing estates and £1.1bn to unlock strategic sites for development
• Review into delays in developments given planning permission being taken forward
• £28m for Kensington and Chelsea council to provide counselling services and mental health support for victims of the Grenfell fire and for regeneration of surrounding area
• New homelessness task force

• Stamp duty cut for first time buyers
• What does the stamp duty change mean?

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Alcohol, tobacco and fuel

• Tobacco will continue to rise by 2% above Retail Price Index (RPI) inflation, equivalent to 28p on a pack of 20, while the minimum excise duty on cigarettes introduced in March will also rise
• Duty on hand-rolling tobacco will increase by additional 1%
• Duty on beer, wine, spirits and most ciders will be frozen, equating to 1p off a pint of beer and 6p of a typical bottle of wine
• But duty on high-strength "white ciders" to be increased in 2019 via new legislation
• Fuel duty rise for petrol and diesel cars scheduled for April 2018 scrapped
• Vehicle excise duty for cars, vans and motorcycles registered before April 2017 to rise by inflation
• Vehicle excise duty for new diesel cars not meeting latest standards to rise by one band in April 2018
• Tax hike will not apply to van owners
• Existing diesel supplement in company car tax to rise by 1%
• Proceeds to fund a new £220m clean air fund for pollution hotspots in England

• What the Budget 2017 means for you
• What does the diesel change mean for you?
• Why is white cider being taxed more?

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Personal taxation and wages

• Tax-free personal allowance on income tax to rise to £11,850 in line with inflation in April 2018
• Higher-rate tax threshold to increase to £46,350
• Short-haul air passenger duty rates and long-haul economy rates to be frozen, paid for by an increase on premium-class tickets and on private jets
• National Living Wage to rise in April 2018 by 4.4%, from £7.50 an hour to £7.83.

The state of the economy

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• Growth forecast for 2017 slashed from 2% to 1.5%
• Forecasts for 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 revised down to 1.4%, 1.3%, 1.5% and 1.6% respectively.
• Productivity growth revised down by an average of 0.7% a year up to 2023
• Annual rate of CPI inflation forecast to fall from peak of 3% towards 2% target later this year
• Another 600,000 people forecast to be in work by 2022
• £3bn to be set aside over next two years to prepare UK for every possible outcome as UK leaves EU

• Sharp cut to UK growth forecast

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The state of the public finances

• Annual government borrowing £49.9bn this year, £8.4bn lower than forecast in March
• Borrowing forecast to fall in real terms in the subsequent five years from £39.5bn in 2018-19 to £25.6bn in 2022-23.
• But projected borrowing has been revised up for 2019-2020, 2020-2021 and 2021-22, compared to March, due to the weaker economic outlook and expected lower tax yields
• Public sector net borrowing forecast to fall from 3.8% of GDP last year to 2.4% this year, then 1.9%, 1.6%, 1.5% and 1.3% in subsequent years, reaching 1.1% in 2022-23.
• Debt will peak at 86.5% of GDP this year, then fall to 86.4% next year; then 86.1%, 83.1% and 79.3% in subsequent years, reaching 79.1% in 2022-23.

• Hammond loosens his belt

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Welfare and pensions

• £1.5bn package to "address concerns" about the delivery of universal credit
• Seven-day initial waiting period for processing of claims to be scrapped
• Claimants to get 100% advance payments within five days of applying from January
• Typical first payment will take five weeks rather than current six
• Repayment period for advances to increase from six to 12 months.
• New universal credit claimants in receipt of housing benefit to continue to receive it for two weeks

• What do universal credit reforms mean?

Business and digital

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• VAT threshold for small business to remain at £85,000 for two years
• £500m support for 5G mobile networks, full fibre broadband and artificial intelligence
• £540m to support the growth of electric cars, including more charging points
• A further £2.3bn allocated for investment in research and development
• Rises in business rates to be pegged to CPI measure of inflation, not higher RPI, a cut of £2.3bn
• Digital economy royalties relating to UK sales which are paid to a low-tax jurisdiction to be subject to income tax as part of tax avoidance clampdown. Expected to raise about £200m a year
• Capital gains tax relief for overseas buyers of UK commercial property to be phased out, with exemptions for foreign pension funds
• Charges on single-use plastic items to be looked at
• £30m to develop digital skills distance learning courses

• Business rate rises to be eased
• Tech giants targeted over VAT payments
• Research money central to Budget

Education and health (England only)

• £40m teacher training fund for underperforming schools in England. Worth £1,000 per teacher
• 8,000 new computer science teachers to be recruited at cost of £84m and new National Centre for Computing to be set up
• Secondary schools and sixth-form colleges to get £600 for each new pupil taking maths or further maths at A-level and core maths at an expected cost of £177m
• £2.8bn in extra funding for the NHS in England
• £350m immediately to address pressures this winter, £1.6bn for 2018-19 and the remainder in 2019-20
• £10bn capital investment fund for hospitals up to 2022
• No extra funding for nurses pay but a guarantee that if future pay rises are recommended by independent body, there will be new money

• Cash for maths, no extra on school budgets
• The NHS will get extra money - chancellor

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Nations/infrastructure/transport/regions/science

• £320m to be invested in former Redcar steelworks site
• Further devolution of powers to Greater Manchester
• £1.7bn city region transport fund, to be shared between six regions with elected mayors and other areas
• £30m to improve mobile and digital connectivity on TransPennine rail route.
• £2bn for Scottish government, £1.2bn for Welsh government and £650m for Northern Ireland executive
• Scottish police and fire services to get refunds on VAT from April 2018
• Young person's railcard extended to 26-30-year-olds, giving a third off rail fares

• Hammond scraps police and fire VAT bills
• Budget gives extra £1.2bn to Wales
• Extra £650m for Northern Ireland in Budget

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Multiyork collapse puts 550 jobs under threat

November 22, 2017 WORLD No Comments

Image copyrightMULTIYORK

Image captionBritish furniture retailer Multiyork has gone into administration

Multiyork, the furniture retailer, has gone into administration, putting 550 jobs under threat.

The retailer will trade until Christmas at the earliest while administrators Duff & Phelps seek a buyer.

Multiyork will honour all existing orders placed until 22 November and customers will be contacted by the retailer.

The chain employs 547 staff in 50 stores and a manufacturing site in Thetford, Norfolk.

Employees were told of the collapse on Wednesday afternoon and the management team will stay in place.

"Multiyork is still open for business, still trading - it's very early days for the administration," a spokesperson for Duff & Phelps told the BBC.

"We're really hopeful we can find a buyer."

The administrators said that the 39-year-old upholstered furniture retailer had been affected by difficult trading conditions.

"Trading conditions for UK retailers continue to be difficult due to a number of factors including economic uncertainty, rising commodity prices, increasing business rates and the fall in value of the pound which has increased the cost of importing raw materials and products," said Allan Graham, a joint administrator at Duff & Phelps.

"This appears to be leading to a sharp fall in consumer confidence and less money being spent on discretionary items."

Multiyork has gone into receivership once before and was bought out by the Wade Group in 1995.BBC

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Breaking: Mugabe attends public function after coup

November 17, 2017 No Comments

Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe, center, arrives to preside over a student graduation ceremony at Zimbabwe Open University on the outskirts of Harare

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe arrived at a university graduation ceremony in the capital on Friday, his first public appearance since a military seizure of power that political sources say is aimed at ending his 37 years in office.

Wearing a blue and yellow academic gown and mortar board hat, the 93-year-old sat in large wooden chair at the front the hall.

He was greeted by ululations from the crowd as he declared the ceremony open.

Earlier, leaders of Mugabe’s party are making plans to force him from office if the 93-year-old leader resists pressure from the army to quit.

The self-styled grand old man of African politics, the only leader Zimbabwe has known since independence in 1980, insists he is still in charge. But the source, a senior member of Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party, made clear the party wanted him gone.

“If he becomes stubborn, we will arrange for him to be fired on Sunday,” the source said. “When that is done, it’s impeachment on Tuesday.”

Zimbabwe’s official newspaper, the Herald, ran photographs late on Thursday that showed a grinning Mugabe shaking hands with military chief General Constantino Chiwenga, who seized power this week.

That suggested Mugabe was managing to hold out against Chiwenga’s coup, with some political sources saying he was trying to delay his departure until elections scheduled for next year.

The ZANU-PF source said that was not the case. Anxious to avoid a protracted stalemate, party leaders were drawing up plans to dismiss Mugabe at the weekend if he refused to quit, the source said.

“There is no going back,” the source told Reuters. “It’s like a match delayed by heavy rain, with the home side leading 90-0 in the 89th minute.”

Mugabe’s options look limited.

The army is camped on his doorstep.

His wife, Grace, is under house arrest, and her key political allies are in military custody.

The police, once a bastion of support, have showed no signs of resistance.

Furthermore, he has little popular backing in the capital, a hotbed of support for the opposition, which has tapped into the anger and frustration at his handling of the economy, which collapsed after the seizure of white-owned farms in 2000.

Unemployment is now running at nearly 90 per cent.

Chronic shortages of hard currency are driving up the price of imports as much as 50 per cent a month.

On social media, Zimbabweans circulated a spoof message to Chiwenga demonstrating the depth of anger at Mugabe.

“If Mugabe refuses to resign, let the army take him to First Street and leave him there. People of Zim will negotiate with him,” the message read.

In a statement broadcast on national television, the military said it was “engaging” with Mugabe and would announce an outcome as soon as possible.

The United States, a longtime Mugabe critic, is seeking “a new era”, the State Department’s top official for Africa said, an implicit call for Mugabe to quit.

In an interview with Reuters, acting U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Donald Yamamoto appeared to dismiss the idea of keeping Mugabe in an interim or ceremonial role.

“It’s a transition to a new era for Zimbabwe, that’s really what we’re hoping for,” Yamamoto said.

The army appears to want Mugabe to go quietly and allow a smooth and bloodless transition to Emmerson Mnangagwa, the vice president, whose sacking on Nov. 6 triggered the military takeover.(NAN)

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Police arrest 10 over farmers, herdsmen clash in Kebbi

November 17, 2017 No Comments

The Police in Kebbi State has arrested 10 suspects in connection with the recent violent clash between farmers and herdsmen in Bakoshi Community of Suru Local Government Area of the state.

The Commissioner of Police, Kabir Ibrahim, who accompanied Gov. Atiku Bagudu to the scene of the clash on Friday, said more suspects were being tracked down.

The clash led to the destruction of foodstuff and livestock, with one person dead.

The commissioner said that the discovery of the corpse of a farmer, Shehu Bakoshi, 30, close to the settlement of the herdsmen resulted in the reprisal attack by farmers.

The District Head of Bakuwai, Jagwadeji Tukur, commended the police for their quick intervention by arresting identified persons who attacked herdsmen in the community.

The governor directed the immediate resettlement of the dispersed herdsmen with a promise to provide basic amenities to the new settlement.

He blamed rumour mongers for the escalation of the clash and warned that perpetrators would be penalised.

The Chairman of the local government, Alhaji Umaru Miagandi, said the council would provide assistance to the victims.

Miagandi also said that awareness campaign would be embarked upon to educate the people on the need to avoid “violent resolution of disputes”. (NAN)

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90 percent of students in Benin Republic university are Nigerians – Official

July 09, 2017

The President of the Houdegbe North American University in the Republic of Benin, Dada Houdegbe, on Saturday announced that about 90 per cent of its students were Nigerians.

Mr. Houdegbe made the remark at the University’s award of degrees and conferment of honorary awards to its graduating students and other local and international personalities.

“Three years ago, we graduated about 3,000 students from different areas of studies.

“Today, the Houdegbe North American University is graduating about 2,000 students, as well as the conferment of Honorary Doctorate Degrees on deserving personalities.

“Let me say that about 90 per cent of students in our university are Nigerians, who are happy being our students,” he said.

According to him, there is currently a growing interest of many young Nigerians in the courses being offered by the university, its affordability and good learning environment.

The president said that the university was meant to build bridges across political, economic, linguistic and cultural divides in West Africa, in particular, and Africa, in general.

Mr. Houdegbe commended former president Olusegun Obasanjo for his belief in the institution’s ideals, as well as the encouragement he had continued to give to the university.

Samia Nkrumah, founder of the Kwame Nkrumah Pan-African Centre, said that the time had come for West African and other African countries to embrace the policy of “Education for All’’.

The daughter of former Ghanaian President, Kwame Nkurumah, said that the overall development and transformation of the region and the continent would largely depend on education.

“We must be more committed in encouraging and promoting educational exchanges between West African countries and other African countries.

“We must realise as Africans that we currently have a very fast-growing young population that should be given qualitative education.

“We need to ensure that we actually prepare our young population to be more productive. We, therefore, need to encourage our young men and women to freely acquire education in any university of their choice,
across West Africa and Africa in general,” she said.

Peng-Khuan Chong, an Emeritus Professor of Political Science, Plymouth State University, in the United States, enjoined the graduating and undergraduate students to learn to be competent, confident and have compassion.

“Young men and women in the Republic of Benin, Nigeria and other African countries, should learn to be competent, be confident and have compassion.

“And then, they must be courageously strong, innocently hopeful, and most importantly, be forever hopeful,” he said.

A Nigerian undergraduate at the university, Linus Richard, said that he and many other Nigerian students were happy to have had the opportunity to study at the institution.

Mr. Richard said that the institution’s admission process was devoid of the problems associated with writing a qualifying examination, it’s academic calendar hitch-free, with affordable fees, as well as a conducive study environment.

The university was established in 1992 in Cotonou, Republic of Benin, as a private tertiary institution, which offers both undergraduate and postgraduate courses.

(NAN)

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Senate approves NYSC, law school for NOUN graduates

July 08, 2017 No Comments

The Senate yesterday amended the law establishing the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) to enable graduates of the institution participate in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme and the Law School. 

The amendment followed consideration of report of the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFUND, chaired by Senator Jibrin Barau (APC, Kano) on the amendment of NOUN Act.  The review aligned NOUN’s Act with the requirements of the Universities Miscellaneous Provisions (Amendment) Act 2012, the law which regulate all universities in the country.

Barau said the amendment would address perception that the university is correspondence and seen as part time institution.

“These two concepts correspondence and part-time significantly affect the way the public views the programs run by the university. 

“This has been the reason why law graduates of the school are not admitted into the Nigerian Law School, as well as the reason for the non inclusion of the graduates of the university into the NYSC,” he said. 

Senate President Bukola Saraki said the amendment would go a long in enhancing the institution. 

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Dogs Get Better Treatment Than Nigerian Workers - Shehu Sani

May 02, 2017 No Comments

The Senator representing Kaduna Central, Shehu Sani has advocated N145,000 as minimum wage for Nigerian civil servants.

He described the current N18,000 minimum wage as ‘a big insult’ to Nigerian workers, adding that the amount was not even enough to feed a politician’s dog in a month

Sani said this on Monday when he entered the venue of the workers’ day celebration in Abuja.

Sani said that the Nigerian workers deserved to live better as the country was rich enough to comfortably pay them well.

According to him, “When you say N56,00, or N60,000, sometimes all these things are tied to our foreign exchange. Nigerian workers should have not less than $300 per month and that will be between N140,000 and N150,000.

“I would be one of those that would push it forward. Nigeria has the resources to do that. The amount of money that is being used to maintain and sustain political office holders, the amount of money being wasted on corruption, the amount of money being stolen both known and unknown are monumental to the point that we cannot tell ourselves that such a country that pride itself as a giant of Africa will be paying less than $20 in the name of minimum wage.

“N18,000 or N20,000 minimum wage is an insult to Nigerian workers because it cannot sustain even a dog or security man in the house of a politician.

“So, as far as I am concerned, I believe the only way to be fair and just is not just to peg it but rather make it a government policy. Public and private working places should maintain that especially you journalists that have no salary.

“I think there should be a law that should peg a minimum wage and take it to the dollar and that will be the best way which workers will be able to sustain themselves and their family.”

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Reports: A Serving Corp Member, 34 others Arrested in Kogi

May 02, 2017 No Comments

A serving corp member has been arrested by the Kogi State Police Command for breaking the Automated Machine (ATM) of ECO bank with digger and axe along Ganajana area in Lokoja with intention of stealing money from the machine.

The Kogi State Police Commissioner, CP Wilson Inalegwu while addressing journalists yesterday at the Police Command said the serving corp member, Aka-Jude Tersoo and his partner in crime Godwin Idih were among 34 suspected criminal arrested within one week in the state.

He explained that on the twenty six of last month at about 2 am, the serving corp member and his partner were arrested by a vigilant Armed Police patrol team on duty noticed suspicious movement at the bank and stopped to observed.

He disclosed that on close examination the police patrol saw two individual later identified as Godwin Idih and Aka-Jude Tersoo breaking the ATM machine with digger and axe.

"The team promptly intercepted and arrested the suspects and recovered theexhibits and on interrogation, the suspects confessed to the crime.

He noted that the arrest were made within one week adding that the command was determined to curb crime so that indigenes and visitors alike can sleep with their two eyes closed.

Wilson Inalegwu pointed out that these breakthrough resulted from the relentless efforts of its officers, improved security coverage and result oriented strategies.

"The Command will continue to adopt common problem solving strategies for. effective result on the Community Policing which has improved public confidence in the Command resulting in public spirited individuals coming forward to give or provide valuable information on criminal elements and their activities.

"The Command will not rest on its oars and will continue to work hard to ensure the security of life and property", he maintained

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World Boxing Champion Anthony Joshua to Have Stadium Named After Him in Nigeria

May 02, 2017 No Comments

The Ogun state government is looking to rename a street and stadium after Anthony Joshua. Parents of the World Heavyweight Champion hail from Sagamu, one of the biggest cities in Ogun state. The British-Nigerian boxer defeated Ukrainian Wladimir Klitschko in a World Heavyweight Fight World Heavyweight champion Anthony Olufemi Joshua is set to have a street and stadium in Ogun state named after him.
The British-Nigerian boxer defeated Ukrainian Wladimir Klitschko to become the new World Heavyweight Champion last weekend.

Reports say that majority leader of the State House of Assembly Yinka Mafe is looking to move a motion to have the Sagamu International Stadium renamed Anthony Joshua Stadium, and the popular Cinema Street in the city, renamed the "Anthony Joshua Street". It is believed that the boxer's family owns almost half the land and property on one side of Cinema street in the popular town.

The cinema, from which the road takes its name, was built by the boxer's great grandfather Omo-Oba Daniel Adebambo Joshua in the 50s, and is one of the oldest of such facilities in the country. The legislator watched the fight in an open air viewing event organised by the Sagamu Youth Congress alongside hundreds of youths, and was thrilled by both the turnout and the outcome.
"We are proud of what he has achieved as a son of Sagamu, and we will be happy to do our own little bit to show our appreciation and support for him," Mafe said.

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