What is the price per ton and how many tons? Also what grade?

hollandis:

Is it not because NNPC has been discredit that such a report came out in the first plsace.In fact KPMG should be investigated and punished accordingly because of their non-exposure of fraudulent practices over the years.Rubbish report.They should also publish how much they were paid for the auditing job

Obviously you haven't worked in a company that was audited before. the auditor can only present the report to the person that asked him to do the audit. if the person then decides to publish it, then it becomes public.

auditor are given access to information that is not normally public. and they are punished if they mishandle it.

KPMG had no right to make it public, only the ministry of finance could. and thankfully the senate forced them to release it.

This is crazy. we see how they continue to steal and rob this country blind. And the question is to what end. How much is enough. This strike over petrol subsidy is the trigger we may have been waiting for to call this Nation to order. That was the reason why we started the strike but we have moved past that. The questions is now. WHERE IS OUR MONEY? WHO HAS STOLEN WHAT? LETS BRING THEM TO JUSTICE. EXPOSE AND PROSECUTE ALL THIEVES.

Regarding the report being toned down, you have to understand that is was authored by an accounting firm. and by the nature of audits, you can't put things in absolute terms. you have to present a fair report that management then defends with a written response. I agree it appears that the tone is mild, I am sure the author would have loved to make more alarming remarks but legally they can't. They mainly observed after the fact and can't be certain they are absolutely correct.

I hope this opens our eyes to the level of corruption at the Federal level. but like someone before me said. Which one of us does not corrupt the system to favor their own cause? Lets start from within , from the people, don't pay bribe to the police, Don't inflate your p[rice based on the customer, be honest, serve your punishment when you offend and more importantly. speak up when you see corruption.

Not many people think of shantytowns, illegal street vendors, and unlicensed roadside hawkers as major economic players. But according to journalist Robert Neuwirth, that’s exactly what they’ve become. In his new book, Stealth of Nations: The Global Rise of the Informal Economy, Neuwirth points out that small, illegal, off-the-books businesses collectively account for trillions of dollars in commerce and employ fully half the world’s workers. Further, he says, these enterprises are critical sources of entrepreneurialism, innovation, and self-reliance. And the globe’s gray and black markets have grown during the international recession, adding jobs, increasing sales, and improving the lives of hundreds of millions. It’s time, Neuwirth says, for the developed world to wake up to what those who are working in the shadows of globalization have to offer. We asked him how these tiny enterprises got to be such big business.

Wired: You refer to the untaxed, unlicensed, and unregulated economies of the world as System D. What does that mean?

Robert Neuwirth:There’s a French word for someone who’s self-reliant or ingenious: débrouillard. This got sort of mutated in the postcolonial areas of Africa and the Caribbean to refer to the street economy, which is called l’économie de la débrouillardise—the self-reliance economy, or the DIY economy, if you will. I decided to use this term myself—shortening it to System D—because it’s a less pejorative way of referring to what has traditionally been called the informal economy or black market or even underground economy. I’m basically using the term to refer to all the economic activity that flies under the radar of government. So, unregistered, unregulated, untaxed, but not outright criminal—I don’t include gun-running, drugs, human trafficking, or things like that.

“There are the guys who sneak stuff out of the port. The guys who get it across the border. The truck loaders and unloaders. All working under the table.”
Wired: Certainly the people who make their living from illegal street stalls don’t see themselves as criminals.

Neuwirth: Not at all. They see themselves as supporting their family, hiring people, and putting their relatives through school—all without any help from the government or aid networks.

Wired: The sheer scale of System D is mind-blowing.

Neuwirth: Yeah. If you think of System D as having a collective GDP, it would be on the order of $10 trillion a year. That’s a very rough calculation, which is almost certainly on the low side. If System D were a country, it would have the second-largest economy on earth, after the United States.

Wired: And it’s growing?

Neuwirth: Absolutely. In most developing countries, it’s the only part of the economy that is growing. It has been growing every year for the past two decades while the legal economy has kind of stagnated.

Wired: Why?

Neuwirth: Because it’s based purely on unfettered entrepreneurialism. Law-abiding companies in the developing world often have to work through all sorts of red tape and corruption. The System D enterprises avoid all that. It’s also an economy based on providing things that the mass of people can afford—not on high prices and large profit margins. It grows simply because people have to keep consuming—they have to keep eating, they have to keep clothing themselves. And that’s unaffected by global downturns and upturns.

Wired: Why should we care?

Neuwirth: Half the workers of the world are part of System D. By 2020, that will be up to two-thirds. So, we’re talking about the majority of the people on the planet. In simple pragmatic terms, we’ve got to care about that.

Wired: You talk a lot about wares that are sold through tiny kiosks, street stalls, and little informal markets. Where do those goods come from?

Neuwirth: The biggest flow of goods is from China. It’s no secret that China is the manufacturing engine of the planet. In a lot of ways, they’re more capitalist than we are. If someone wants something made—even if that person isn’t licensed—a Chinese factory will make it. It’s also easy to deal with China. You can go to the local Chinese consulate and get a tourist visa within a couple of hours. You can’t say the same about coming to the US. So African importers, for instance, travel to China and commission Chinese firms to make goods for them to sell in Africa.

Wired: But it’s not all Chinese manufacturers, right? In your book, you write about how huge international corporations want to get their goods into informal markets.

Neuwirth: Sure. Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Colgate-Palmolive: They sell lots of products through the little unregistered and unlicensed stores in the developing world. And they want their products in those stores, because that’s where the customers are.

Wired: How does that work?

Neuwirth: Basically, they hire a middleman. Procter & Gamble, for instance, realized that although Walmart is its single largest customer, System D outposts, when you total them up, actually account for more business. So Procter & Gamble decided to get its products into those stores. In each country, P&G hires a local distributor—sometimes several layers of local distributors—to get the product from a legal, formal, tax-paying company to a company willing to deal with unlicensed vendors who don’t pay taxes. That’s how Procter & Gamble gets Downy fabric softener, Tide laundry detergent, and all manner of other goods into the squatter communities of the developing world. Today, in aggregate, these markets make up the largest percentage of the company’s sales worldwide.

Wired: You write that there are even street-vendor-specific brands.

Neuwirth: Absolutely. A good example is UAC Foods, which is based in Nigeria but active throughout West Africa and traded on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. It’s a highly formal company that was originally incorporated by the British more than 100 years ago. UAC Foods owns hotels and restaurants, but it also has this product called the Gala sausage roll. You never find Gala being sold in normal stores. It’s sold only by unlicensed roadside hawkers and at roadside kiosks. Basically, UAC recognized that this product wasn’t going to sell well in a normal store. But sausage rolls are in demand where people are on the go, when they need a quick snack on the side of the highway or in a traffic jam. So UAC relies on this informal phalanx of thousands of unregulated hawkers who sell Gala sausage rolls all over the streets of African cities. This is UAC’s distribution channel for this one product.

Shadow Markets of the World
If all the world’s informal markets were formed into a single independent nation, its $10 trillion economy would be the second-largest on the planet (behind only the US). These markets thrive in places where taxes are low, poverty is high, and resources are scarce. The colors on this map indicate the size of each country’s underground economy, as a percentage of its GDP.


Source: Friedrich Schneider et al., “New Estimates for the Shadow Economies All Over the World,” International Economic Journal, 2010
Wired: Some of the biggest street-market businesses are based around mobile phones. How does this work?

Neuwirth: Most of the world outside of Europe and the United States doesn’t have the option of a monthly mobile phone plan. The companies just sell airtime in the form of rechargeable cards, and customers pay as they go. And the best way to have these cards available everywhere, at any time, is to seed them among the unlicensed street vendors and roadside kiosks. In fact, to advertise their services, mobile companies produce these colorful umbrellas adorned with their company logo, which they give to street vendors. In Lagos, street markets are sometimes called umbrella markets, because there are so many of these umbrellas.

Wired: And this is pretty lucrative for them?

Neuwirth: Oh yeah. When the cell company MTN launched in Nigeria in 2001, it thought that it would replicate the mobile phone market of Great Britain or the US. It didn’t do very well with that. So it retooled and came back with this System D-oriented approach, and now it has more than 40 percent of the market. Its profits are around $2.4 billion in Nigeria alone. So you’re talking about a truckload of money being generated by a totally informal sales force.

“Formal companies are wedded to a business plan. but underground companies CAN turn on a dime if conditions change.”
Wired: But, of course, many products in these markets aren’t so legit. There are a lot of knockoffs and counterfeit items—clothing, handbags, electronics. The Chinese even have a word for these goods: shanzhai.

Neuwirth: Literally translated, shanzhai refers to the mountain hideouts of bandits in the Middle Ages. But it has come to mean cloned or knockoff-branded goods. Usually these knockoffs switch a letter in the brand name. I’ve seen phones that say Motolola instead of Motorola. I’ve seen Hogu Boss or Guuucci spelled with three U’s. In some ways, it’s not even a real attempt to deceive; everyone knows that Gucci is not spelled with three U’s. Often they’re actually great products. The highest-end knockoff Puma soccer jerseys or sneakers are indistinguishable from the genuine items. And indeed, word on the street is that the same factories that subcontract with Puma and Adidas and other companies are sometimes the ones making the knockoffs.

Wired: But how do people get those illegal goods from China to the underground markets?

Neuwirth: They massage the manifest for the shipping containers. Or send them to ports where there’s less supervision and reduced customs fees. Sneaking things into a country is itself a huge source of System D employment. There are the guys who sneak stuff out of the port. Then there are the guys who get it across the border. And there are the truck drivers and the loaders and unloaders. It’s a fantastic number of people—all of them working under the table.

Wired: You also say that System D is a source of innovation.

Neuwirth: That’s true. Chinese phones were the first to offer dual-SIM-card capability, for example. It was a reaction to a need that wasn’t being met by the formal market. In many countries of the developing world, different mobile companies have the best service in different regions. So, if you’re in the big city but your mom is out in the country and your brother is in another city, you might need separate services to talk to both of them. With a dual-card phone, you can keep two SIM cards in your handset and switch services as easily as you answer call-waiting. There’s a big market for that, and the System D entrepreneurs figured this out long before the legit world did. Nokia makes one now, but the underground Chinese manufacturers had them back in 2007.

Wired: So System D companies can move faster than more formal businesses.

Neuwirth: System D merchants are the ones figuring out what people need. As I said, it’s these merchants who go to China and place the orders. Chinese manufacturers didn’t figure out that a dual-SIM-card phone would be a really good thing. Some folks from Africa and elsewhere said, “Hey, this would be a popular product. We want it.” And the Chinese were happy to make it.

Wired: Merchants drive the innovation?

Neuwirth: Yes. I’ll give you another example. In many places in Africa, there’s no municipal water system. You have to buy drinking water. In West Africa, System D came up with something called Pure Water, which is water in a baggie that’s filled and sealed by a special machine. You get half a liter of water for a minimal price on the street. This has become the way that people throughout West Africa get their drinking water. System D entrepreneurs produce it, and System D hawkers sell it. Together they’ve created a new kind of product that serves a vital need, and they make money doing it. The government in Nigeria even figured out a way to work with the unlicensed Pure Water companies to monitor the purity of their water without forcing them to get registered or regulated or to pay taxes. Every baggie now has a stamp showing it’s been approved by the Nigerian equivalent of the US Food and Drug Administration.

Wired: Why aren’t established companies taking advantage of these opportunities?

Neuwirth: Formal companies are wedded to a business plan. It’s much easier for System D companies to turn on a dime. If conditions change—if Nigeria develops a water system, say—yeah, Pure Water makers will suffer for some short time, but then they’ll figure out the next thing to do. They’re just much more nimble.

Wired: Are there things that the US should be doing to take better advantage of the realities of System D in the developing world?

Neuwirth: Absolutely. For starters, if we really want to engage in true, ground-level economic development in these countries, then we have to begin looking at these markets. These are the places where the bulk of people are being employed. And we have to listen for these markets to tell us what’s needed in a community. It’s not a bureaucrat in Washington or Nigeria who can best establish what’s needed to help the poor in Lagos. It’s the people who are working in these markets and living on the streets who can tell us that. And maybe more US companies can begin acting like Chinese firms, recognizing that there’s a market there and a niche to be filled. In the future, it’s going to be a very lucrative and important niche indeed.

Robert Capps (rcapps@wired.com) is Wired’s articles editor.

After reading what has been written, i think a married person's perspective needs to be added.

From my perspective, Marriage is about companionship and friendship. Like someone said, its an investment in the other person and in your union.

Having kids is secondary and that's coming from someone who is trying to. Kids bless a union but they shouldn't define it. Many people get married and 9 months later have a baby without getting to build a foundation for their marriage. Once the kids grow up, they realize that they have nothing but the kids in common. I believe every couple should wait at least 2 years to build a marriage foundation and to ensure that their relationship is solid. like one of the posters also said we plan to adopt a child that has been brought to this earth and left helpless either by bad parents or misfortune through the death. there are so many kids out there. Please adopt or support and orphanage.

My wife told me a story about a older couple who tried for years to have kids but couldn't after much pressure, the man told his family that he did not marry his wife to breed it was because he loved her and cared for her no matter what she can or cannot offer him. That is the true essence of marriage. Most marriages are sweet and good in times of abundance it is n time of need that a true marriage can test itself. those who get divorce either decide to give up trying to work on their marriage (which sometimes is the best option) or they didn't build a good foundation from the start and they have no choice but to knock down the marriage.

We have developed a hybrid ecommerce in our own business. We have a physical shop to showcase our presence but we keep it all streamlined to minimize cost. We allow you pay into our account so no card transaction wahala and we allow partial payment on order and the balance on delivery. We have been around for over 2 years with no body's goods or money missing.

The main issues from our perspective is trust and education. But I believe with time and a young population of over 65% ecommerce will continue to grow in Naija. Reminds me of dot com era in late 1990 and early 2000s.

We are O&O Gadgets. (www.oandogadgets.com) we service the whole of Nigeria and we can safely say we have sold to people in most states in Nigeria . We specialise it gadgets but we do all kinds of procurement. Some unique, others interesting. But we have definitely seen the growth in the market and we keep seeing new entrants daily. Fortunately the market is young and large so everyone can carve their own niche and customer base.

P.s start your Christmas shopping now, air cargo is getting overcrowded. Check us out at www.oandogadgets.com

Also for those that have family in the USA they want to send Christmas gifts to, We deliver gifts in the US too we will mail your items to family members, nieces, nephews etc. and you can pay in either Naira or dollars in Nigeria.

Hey circuit Atlantic. I am a competitor www.oandogadgets.com. But I have to admit I love your website . Keep up the good work. Together we will bring good deal to Nigerians.

Regards
Yinka
O & O Gadgets
Www.oandogadgets.com

I guess elections are over. Toll will begin on lekki rod let see if there will be resistance.

Stop spamming other people's post. What does this have to do with a 2012 Toyota Camry?

How much to clear this car? You said shipping included I am assuming the buyer clears.

LASIK is great but still a bit expensive with time the price will keep coming down. I am considering doing mine in India while aim on a business trip there next year.nits much cheaper.

As per being a glasses wearer, be careful not to rely on it too much. I have transitional lenses ( turns to sunglasses outside) after so many years my eyes are super sensitive to the sun. I can't go outside without sunglasses or prescription sunglasses.

So be very careful. Even after my LASIK I will still wear sunglasses all the time due to light sensitivity.

Thanks

You know as crazy as Ghadafi was, his people were taken care of. And they lived in a truely free state ( free of foreign interference)

The only fault I found with him was his not handing over to people that had the same vision for Libya. Now his vision will die with him and his principle of pan Africanist will die.

Lesson to us all. If you are the only one hat can do what you do well! Then you are not doing anything. Every leader should have good followers he can hand over to. Otherwise he is wasting his time,

Rest in peace colonel. May your soul rest in peace. I laughed at you eccentric way because I did not really understand what you stood for.

babaogun:

someone requested pounds info.
A BDC guy in Ikoyi Hotel Lagos (now Southern Sun) bought British Pounds for N258 on monday.

Please do you have his number?

kollymercy:

Call this guy: I call him Fine Malam cos the guy nah handsome aboki, lol,

In front of Eko Hotel. 07088536501.

N160/$1 as @ this morning.

Was this buying or selling?

@sexyshe :You are right some ship to Nigeria. But usually at ridiculous shipping charges and it takes a while ( as noted by a poster above)

@walcolm : It may be easy for you to buy and send to someone in the USA to ship to you or buy and pay FEDEX or DHL fee, but not everyone in Naija has that opportunity. Also with some of these seller they wont ship to Naija because of our "419 boys". Procurement services help to take care of that and you can pay in Naira so it makes the transaction easier.

Want this guy just redeployed?

Why are we blaming the government fo4 a failed football federation? The country is getting what it deserves. Why is the government so in bed with the NFF.

Do you hear Obama being blamed for us team or brown for uk success or failure.

The NFF should be a minor government supported (but not controlled) sports arm of the ministry of sports.

The ministry of sports should sanction the local premier league. Set up 36 teams one from each state. And get private sponsored for each. Set up a company to own the league ( not government) like MLS (USA) each team gets to redraft players. Players get paid based on their rank in their position ( the league will have a master salary table) all transfers have to be sanctioned by the league and all sale of players to international teams have to be sanctioned that way they can help subsidise teams in small markets. Make Saturday local league day and charge between N100 to N500 per game . Raise more funds by selling drinks food and have a family only section where kids pay half price and there is extra security. That way you gets families to come out.

Have each team have a junior (14-18) and a minor (9-14) team to help groom future players. Each league will have an affiliated school for the junior and minor league to help the students learn while they play. Only prodigies will be allowed to play the minor and junior leagues. And each team must have players from at least 10 states at any given time.

This should be a good start.

Try www.oandogadgets.com

This is sad, I now support him seeing the poo out of NDLEA

What's your number. We need to talk send to omoola007@yahoo.com

Thanks

Oga please how much is the license. I have interested investors. Also would you consider a co-buying agreement. Say $20k weekly. At rate plus agreed margin.


Please contact me at omoola007@yahoo.com

I would allocate

20% to power generation. And supplement power budget with a N1000 per generator tax. The funds will go directly to renewable and gas powered energy generation

25% to federal government employees. And make sure each ministry generates 25-40% of it own budget. Through fees and pay per use service (airport fees, road toll, car registration fees, driver license fee, per head health care fund fee N1000 annually,
U
15% on Education. 5% to universities. 5% to secondary and 5% to nursery and primary schools. I will require everyone to pay 5% income tax. You must have tax clearance to get any government services, to fly, drive, to enrolled your kids in school. Police can check at checkpoints and impound your car if you don't have it.

15% on roads and infrastructure construction

5% on public transport scheme ( charge bi-annual car registration fee of N5000 to supplement the scheme) use the money to create a PPP loan fund businesses can borrow to fund purchase of buses.

15% on healthcare for all. Employ all graduating doctors  and nurses into a 3 year national service scheme pay them well (what private hospitals pay) and exempt them from NYSC.

Give the rest out as loans to small business men and women. They must have tax clearance to qualify and they will give the bank/government 10 equity that they can buy back in 5 years.

Sue NDLEA for what. They had reasonable suspicion and they acted on it. They want 6 poos so if it takes him 1 week then that's what he has to endure. Me I can do 6 poos in 2 days no long thing.

So all you fake lawyers he can't sue for poo.

The all new HONDA CRV will be available in November 2011 in the US. If you are interested in getting one, please indicate your interest and we can discuss it.

The car proves to be a better design than the current version with 3rd row seating.

Contact me for more details on pricing and color availability.

If only this would happen to a kid that currently attends Kuramo primary school, Lagos state model college or any public school in Nigeria.

Congrats kid you deserve all the recognition you get. But remember not everyone is as lucky as you.

I am looking to start a bottle water preform and bottle blowing business. I would like to gauge the Market from those in the water business.

Questions

Do most water companies blow their own bottles or they buy it from preform sellers?

Are preforms mostly imported or made in Nigeria? (Heard they are mostly from Ghana )

What is the going rate for preforms? And blown bottle? Both 75cl and 1. 5 litres

Any information will be helpful.

Thanks

I am looking to start a bottle water preform and bottle blowing business. I would like to gauge the Market from those in the water business.

Questions

Do most water companies blow their own bottles or they buy it from preform sellers?

Are preforms mostly imported or made in Nigeria? (Heard they are mostly from Ghana )

What is the going rate for preforms? And blown bottle? Both 75cl and 1. 5 litres

Any information will be helpful.

Thanks

I agree that the law is in effect and it heavily favors tenants. but be careful.

All the landlord has to say is that he does not want to rent to you anymore, or that his cousin's son needs to use the apartment due to family emergency and he will not renew your lease. you forget that once your rent is due. you are asking for another lease to which the landlord can refuse. After-all its personal property not government property.

BTW see how they nicely excluded Ikoyi, VI, Lekki, Ajah. thats where rent is sky high and people pay 2 years to protect themselves from rent increase.

I walked into a mall store in Limerick Pennsylvanian, USA (some far suburb of Philadelphia) . Asa's was blasting i had to take two and ask i am still in Lagos on Yankee. Her talent is definitely being recognized. Keep it up.

For what it's worth? I don't know too much about the osun state government. But being vetted by like minded people in can I think he will do a good job.

Yes if it were a pdp governor, well I am not sure i would be positive because I would not expect him to finish the project , see mr Daniel in Ogun state.

In general I am equal opportunity. If rash la effs up I will surely criticise him. Like the stupid 1 yr rent crap before providing mass affordable housing to the poor. Or amosun not fully supporting bi corny Lagos Ibadan express road.