East Africa

Details: East Africa; 06 December 2022; 835

UK's top 100 taxpayers pay £3.8bn in tax each year, equivalent to £38 million each
Top 100,000 taxpayers, (0.3% of taxpaying population) pay 21% of all income and CGT tax

The top 100 taxpayers in the UK – a minuscule proportion (0.0003%) of all taxpayers – pay a staggering £3.831 billion a year in income and capital gains tax. That's £38 million each on average and nearly 2% of HMRC's total annual revenue from these two taxes. This is according to new data received through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request made by investment service Wealth Club to HRMC.

	Combined Income and CGT liability in £'bn
Top (N) Taxpayers	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20	2020-21
100	2.137	2.344	2.661	3.831
1,000	6.290	6.690	7.405	9.609
10,000	16.324	17.077	18.380	22.008
50,000	30.015	31.159	33.159	37.352
100,000	38.457	39.816	42.221	45.533
Tax paid by all UK Income & CGT taxpayers	£190bn	£199bn	£198.4bn	£212.1bn

Population of all UK Income & CGT taxpayers	31.3m	31.7m	31.5m	32.2m

The table shows a breakdown from HMRC of the amount of tax paid by the top 100 to top 100,000 taxpayers between 2017 and 2021. The Chancellor needs to find an estimated £55 billion to plug the shortfall in public finances and it's widely anticipated he'll announce some £25 billion worth of tax rises on Thursday with wealthier individuals shouldering much of the burden.

Alex Davies, CEO and Founder of Wealth Club said: "It is commonly accepted that those with the broadest shoulders should bear the greatest burden. But what many people do not realise is: they already do – and have been doing so for years.

The top 100 taxpayers in the UK paid over £3.83 billion in income and capital gains tax last year which is sufficient to pay the average wage of 36,926 NHS consultants or over 112,000 nurses. The top 100,000 meanwhile paid over £45.53 billion.

So, as Jeremy Hunt looks to plug the black hole in our finances this Thursday, he needs to tread carefully. The country's tax receipts are very dependent on a frighteningly small number of rich people. Even if only a handful of the top 100 paid less in tax – or stopped paying altogether – it could be disastrous for the country's finances.

And that's not a remote possibility. The wealthy have more options available to them. The drastic one is leaving the country, the other is to concentrate even more on arranging one's affairs as to pay as little tax as possible.

As Louis XIV's finance minister said 'the art of taxation consists in so plucking the goose as to obtain the largest possible amount of feathers with the smallest possible amount of hissing'. The Treasury needs to be careful that the relatively small number of geese that it is plucking don't begin to hiss too loudly."

Details: East Africa; 05 December 2022; 696

The Commonwealth Observer Group (COG) has started its work in preparation for the general election in the Commonwealth of Dominica, scheduled for Tuesday 6 December.

The observer group, whose members are drawn from across the Commonwealth, is in Dominica at the invitation of Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit.

They will be deployed to locations across the country to observe and assess the pre-election environment, the conduct of elections on polling day, and the post-election period against the backdrop of the Commonwealth of Dominica’s national legislation and regulations - as well as regional and international commitments. On polling day, the Group will observe the opening, voting, closing, counting, and results-management processes.

In her arrival statement, the Chair of the COG and former Kenyan Cabinet Secretary, Hon. Amina Mohamed said she was honoured to lead the Observer Group. She added:

“We are keenly aware of the importance of elections in a democracy as they are the ultimate expression of a people’s will and ability to shape their societies. Casting a vote is a fundamental human right.

“As is customary, we will report on whether the elections have been conducted to the standards to which the Commonwealth of Dominica has committed itself, including its own laws.

“Our mandate is to observe, and not to interfere with, the process.

“We urge stakeholders to make full use of the freedoms that have been granted to them by law, in support of the further development of democratic process, and commit to peaceful elections, consistent with the Commonwealth’s values and principles.”

Throughout the mission, the Group will be supported by a team from the Commonwealth Secretariat which has been on the ground since 28 November to observe campaigns and preparations ahead of the elections.

As part of its mandate, the Group will also meet and have briefings with the police, political party representatives and other local stakeholders including the Electoral Commission, the media, citizen groups as well as groups representing women, youth, and persons with disabilities.

The observers will issue an interim statement of its preliminary findings on 8 December before departing Dominica by 11 December 2022.

The final report, which will include recommendations for future electoral processes, will be submitted to the Commonwealth Secretary-General, and thereafter shared with the Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica, relevant stakeholders, and the people of Dominica.

Details: East Africa; 05 December 2022; 732

Former President Uhuru Kenyatta. [File, Standard]

President Uhuru Kenyatta is expected to officially close the EAC-led Nairobi Process. Kenyatta, the facilitator of the talks, is expected to conclude the talks at Safari Park Hotel, on Monday, December 5 at 4 pm.

“H.E. President (rtd) Hon. Uhuru Kenyatta, will tomorrow afternoon, Monday 5th December 2022, formally close the discussions that have gone on for a week at 4:00 pm in Safaripark Hotel, a press release by the office of the Nairobi-process facilitator reads.

In August this year, Uhuru was appointed by the East African Community as the facilitator of peace talks in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The announcement was made today during the 22^nd Ordinary Summit of EAC Heads of state in Arusha, Tanzania.

At the time, Uhuru had just handed over the chairmanship of the community to his Burundian president Evariste Ndayishimiye, whose role is to oversee the implementation of the Nairobi process aimed at restoring peace.

Last week, Kenya hosted the third round of talks, on peace restoration in Eastern DR Congo.

“These consultations are a follow-up to the inaugural inter-Congolese peace consultation (Nairobi I) that was held in April 2022, the second inter-Congolese peace consultations a scoping and mapping mission in Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu (Nairobi II) which took place in May 2022,” By Winfrey Owino, The Standard

Details: East Africa; 05 December 2022; 901

Air France has unveiled its summer 2023 schedule, announcing plans to increase services and open new routes to East Africa.

The carrier will launch a new route to Dar Es Salam, Tanzania as a continuation of its service to Zanzibar (also located in Tanzania), it said in a statement released on November 28, 2022.

Air France will commence services to Dar Es Salam, Tanzania’s largest city, from June 12, 2023, operated three times weekly from its Paris-Charles de Gaulle hub by a Boeing 787-9, the airline added.

Dar Es Salam is also served by KLM with daily flights departing from Amsterdam.

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Increased services to East Africa with flights to Tanzania, Kenya and Madagascar

Air France also announced that it will increase flights to Zanzibar, (Tanzania), Nairobi (Kenya) and Antananarivo (Madagascar).

Alongside its new route to Dar Es Salam, Air France will increase its service to Zanzibar to three flights per week during the beginning of summer 2023, up from a twice weekly service in 2022.

From June 12, 2023, Air France will also increase to non-stop daily flights between Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Nairobi Kenya, against its current six weekly flights. These flights will be operated by its Boeing 787-9 fleet.

The Paris-Charles de Gaulle-based airline also revealed that it will offer five non-stop weekly flights to Antananarivo (Madagascar) operated by its Airbus A350-900 fleet compared to its current four weekly flights. By MICHAEL JONGA, AEROTIME, Hub

Details: East Africa; 05 December 2022; 676

Jubilee party Secretary General Jeremiah Kioni at a past press event. TWITTER JUBILEE PARTY

Jubilee Party has announced that it will join the planned countrywide rallies by Azmio One Kenya Coalition Party leader Raila Odinga if asked to.

Speaking on Monday, December 5, the party's Secretary General Jeremiah Kioni noted if required, the party members will join the public rallies scheduled to start on Wednesday, December 7.

According to Kioni, the former ruling party, along with other Azimio coalition parties, are awaiting a directive from Odinga on the details of the meeting.

Azimio Party leader Raila Odinga during a rally in Utawala on Sunday, December 4, 2022. RAILA ODINGA

“If it is a rally that we will need to attend as members of the opposition then we will attend. I am sure we will get communication from Raila Odinga,” Kioni indicated during an interview with Spice FM.

Kioni also stated that he was going to reach out to Odinga to obtain the details of when the rally will take place and the coalition's plan going forward.

This is a change of tact by the former President Uhuru Kenyatta's party considering that it had indicated on Saturday, December 3, that it was not going to participate in Odinga's demonstrations.

In a statement, the Jubilee SG had clarified that the former ruling party would not participate in Odinga’s rallies scheduled to start at the Kamukunji Grounds in Nairobi.

In addition, Kioni praised Raila’s intention to mobilize opposition to Ruto’s administration, stating that protests is a critical tool available to the opposition, which the opposition chief is effectively using.

“Protesting is a tool that is available to the opposition and they should use it when they think it is appropriate. It is also provided for in the constitution,” he indicated.

Odinga rallied his followers for a gathering on Wednesday, December 7 to discuss how to hold the Kenya Kwanza government accountable.

He maintained, Azimio will hold their first rally at Kamukunji grounds in Nairobi before proceeding to Mombasa, then Nakuru and Kakamega counties.

President William Ruto on Sunday, December 4 directed Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki to provide security to the opposition during their protests.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Prof Kindiki Kithure during a security meeting in Wajir County on November 24, 2022. MINISTRY OF INTERIOR