How Corruption was Eliminated and Economic Prosperity Restored in Georgia

When the prime minister comes to sell you an IPO, you, the investor, take the meeting. When that prime minister turns up with no bodyguards and shows remarkable knowledge of the company he is promoting, you, the investor, take notice. When Nika Gilauri, the premier of Georgia, tells you that the prosperity of his country has been achieved because it has become one of the "least corrupt" countries in the world, you, the investor, take note.

 

But it wasn't always like that. After the demise of the USSR, Georgia was not only one of the most corrupt of the former-Soviet republics, it was one of the most corrupt countries in the world. Bribe-to-drive was the norm; police stopped cars at least twice an hour to extort a non-trivial sum of money. The then-interior minister infamously quipped: "Give me petrol only. My people will take care of their own salaries." Being a traffic cop was so lucrative that you had to pay a bribe of between $2,000 and $20,000 to get the job in the first place. Graft was endemic. Georgians passed more envelopes to bent officials than the post office does letters. Meanwhile the economy crumbled and the state was left bankrupt and powerless.

 

The election of Mikhail Saakashvili changed everything. A bold reformer, he was swept to power in the "Rose Revolution" at the end of 2003 by the overwhelming desire for radical change. His closely-knit team is unified by a common vision and supported by a compliant parliament and judiciary.

 

The new government wasn't just radical – it shocked and awed. Ministers, oligarchs and officials were sacked or arrested. Those who resisted were dealt with decisively, sometimes brutally. The state confiscated $1bn worth of property. Custom officials bore collective responsibility; an entire shift would be punished if one officer was caught accepting bribes. Corrupt professors were kicked out with a lifetime ban from academia. But the piece de la resistance was Saakashvili's order to sack the entire 16,000-strong police force on a single day, to replace them with some of the best and brightest university graduates. Today, Georgia ranks alongside Finland as having the least corrupt police force in the world and their standout uniforms are rumoured to have been designed by Armani.

 

The campaign expanded irresistibly. Tax offices were equipped with CCTV; university exam papers were printed in the UK and held in bank vaults until needed; and officials were constantly tested in sting operations. The proactive assault on graft was accompanied by a PR campaign to undermine respect for criminal groups and introduce respect for the law.

 

The campaign then turned to the sectors. First up was the power sector that was widely used as a cash cow for well-connected oligarchs. In less than a year, Georgia went from net importer to exporter of electricity and the sector became the target of long-term foreign investment.

 

Tax collection followed. Georgia's tax base consisted of just 80,000 companies in 2003 and tax collection was a mere 12% of GDP. Saakashvili slashed red tape and introduced flat personal and corporate taxes. Eight years later over 250,000 companies are on the register, and pay the equivalent of 25% of GDP. Georgia now boasts one of the most liberal tax regimes in the world, on par with the Gulf states and Hong Kong.

 

Lastly came deregulation, with many rules and agencies simply abolished, removing channels of corruption in the process. Among other things, car registration became so easy that used cars became the largest export item in 2011. Georgia moved swiftly from the bottom of the World Bank's Doing Business ranking (112) into the top 20 (16) by 2012. Foreign investment followed and fuelled a multi-year surge.

 

But perhaps, the most lucrative Georgian export would be the fight against corruption itself – from which many states mired in graft could benefit. The Georgians patented a process whose steps are replicable: establish early reform credibility by radical action, launch a frontal assault excluding no sacred cows, attract new blood, limit the role of the state via privatisation and deregulation, use technology and communication to maximum effect, and above all, be bold and purposeful. Georgia's close and distant neighbours should take heed. Their prime ministers and presidents have got their job cut out for them.

Culled from www.businessnews.com.ng
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless handheld from Glo Mobile.

WHY DIALOGUE CANNOT WORK FOR BOKO HARAM

Inspired by the success of the amnesty program in the Niger Delta, the Nigerian govt has openly approached Boko Haram for dialogue. Govt intends to solve the boko haram menace the same way it solved MEND, i however  don't think thats going to work beacause Boko Haram and the Niger Delta Mend are not one and the same.  

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta sought to expose the exploitation and oppression of the people of the Niger Delta and devastation of the natural environment by public - private partnerships between the federal government and corporations involved in the oil of the Niger Delta. Mend's stated goals were to secure reparations from the fedral government for pollution caused by the oil industry. A goal the whole country sympathised with even though we did not support the blowing up of oil pipelines and the kidnapping of foreign nationals.  

Boko haram also known as jama'atu ahlis sunna lidda' awati wal-jihad which means "western education is sinful" is a jihadist terrorist organisation which aims to establish sharia law in the country. They have been known to attack christians and bomb churches. There is no way these guys are going to sit on a round table, hold hands and sing kumbaya with the federal govt. Their god father, the late Osama Bin Laden didn't teach them to.  

Mend by their modus operandi never targeted innocent victims except for their violent clashes with security forces, and when they observed the sincerity of the federal govt to right the so many wrongs in their home land, the militants dutifully surrendered their weapons and worked together with government to provide a better future for the region and its inhabitants. Boko Haram on the other hand have suicide bombers who drive cars ladden with explosives into churches while christians are worshipping.  killing men, women and children. It's now a sunday routine in Northern Nigeria.  

Moreso activities of the violent islamic sect transcends beyond the Nigerian borders. A recent U.S report states that Boko Haram and two other groups; Al - shabaab in East Africa and Al - Qaeda in North Africa are not only sharing resources but indications are that they are also coperating in personel training. Basically Boko Haram is a member of an international terrorist syndicate and should be treated as such. How can you reason with such people?. These are guys whom Osama Bin Laden personally recognised and commended their efforts.  

There is no way they would surrender their ideology. Boko haram is no movement seeking to salvage the North which is filled with a  largely uneducated populace and wild scale  poverty. It is rather a movement against humanity and freedom. Its members should be brought before the law to face trial for crimes against humanity.

@adedunmade

UP NEPA

The Minister of Power, Prof. Barth Nnaji, while speaking at the Ministerial Platform organised by the Ministry of Information said that the Federal Government was working hard to increase power supply in the country to about 40,000 megawatts by 2020 and about 135,000MW by 2030. This statement though, reminds me of similar empty promises that have been made by previous governments, the funniest, the caption of an old newspaper comes to mind, where government gave NEPA a final deadline to provide steady power supply by 1986, sadly 25 years later we are still in total blackout and am currently surviving solely on my generator. This situation has saddened both you and I,that is,if you are a Nigerian or you reside in Nigeria, it's financially tasking to run generators for our homes and businesses, not to mention the bribe payed to the petrol station attendant so he would sell you petrol in a keg, yet our govt. is blind to this act of daylight robbery being perpetuated against Nigerians. Prof. Barth added that efforts at improving the power sector have not yielded the required results due to the N400 billion debt by the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) to various creditors, as well as N24billion owed the multinational oil and gas companies for gas supplied for National Independent Power Projects. I however believe that corruption and legacies of inefficient governments is the cause of our power problem. Trillions of naira has allegedly been pumped into the power sector but it's evident that those funds were diverted into private pockets,because so many Nigerians still don't understand why there is no light. Am sure you must have realized that the tariff payed by Nigerians for power has increased even though the product is scarcely available. I use this opportunity to make a call to government, stop the propaganda, if you would give us light, give us or leave and let's be satisfied that you failed. We no longer want empty promises. We have been waiting on those since 1986 and still no show. Am curious about your opinion though, how do we solve this NEPA issue in Nigeria?

FULL VERSION by TEMITOPE BALOGUN

Have you ever wanted something sooo bad??? Have you ever needed or longed to own something sooo much???? Have you ever anticipated for something for a really long time and you are not so sure you would get it or see it???

Am sure you wondering why am asking all this questions and you are thinking she definitely has an answer to it…… really I wish I did have an answer to every single question up there regarding to my present status. Uhmmmmn…. My heart his heavy and my head feels soo light, both head and heart always malfunctions when it comes to this particular ish!!!  

 Now am sure you are curious and want to kill the suspense you feel right now, wondering where this is headed to or what am talking about n the essence of all this at all. *Sigh* I really wish I knew how to explain this ish or go about it at all.

Let me start by referring to my last write up which is THE LAW OF TRIAL VERSION (If you haven't read it please do and drop your comment) I mentioned something about my CRUSH and the kind of game that just creeps into your life, in your mind you think you have a trial version but somehow you manage to download a real/full version without even realizing and because u didn't have the chance to try it out and get familiar with it 1st it starts to malfunction your system and leaves you clueless and feeling the way I feel right now….. This should give you an idea of what am talking about now (I guess).

I have this game in my system that's always giving me this clueless feeling…. I like this game so much, more like am crazy and so much into the game.  When I came across this game it was like every other normal game nothing spectacular about it, just that it looks interesting from afar and fun so I decide to start giving it my time bit by bit, the funniest thing about this game was that it was a really difficult game and because of that it almost killed my interest in the game but somehow I just got stuck in it…..

Am sure most of you have come across an onion before rite?? And some have had the privilege of peeling it(m ostly females will get this and guys that cook)  If you have not come across one please check the closest market around you and buy one , it's not expensive at all one cost jus N10. Back to ma story, have u ever tried peeling an onion before? If you have, you would know the moment you start peeling, you have tears rolling down your cheek and the more you peel the more the tears rite?  

But you can't or won't stop peeling because you know that aroma and sweet feeling you get when you put the onions in your food/stew while cooking it or when it's done….   How does the onion illustration affect this story?, It does in a way because the more I play this game the more it hurts to understand it or get a full knowledge of it but somehow I derive this unexplanatory good feeling stage by stage and for me to keep at it trust me the feeling was that good cause sometimes I forget the hurt I feel peel after peel before getting to the good feeling….

Let me divert a little and encourage someone  " see life has an onions, no matter what you are going thru or been through just keep pushing through that pain and hardship it might seems like you won't come out of it or you probably going to die going thru it but one thing you should always focus on is the sweet aroma and taste you will get at the end of it all, that you won't even remember the pain and hurt you went through getting to that sweet end of the hardship and pain tunnel" Back to my game, I found myself playing a full version of this game instead of a trial version and that still leaves me clueless and agitated but I keep playing it because I sooo much like the good unexplanatory feeling I get in every stage of this….

Y am I sharing this? I know most guys/girls are going through something like this, u have this full version game in your system instead of a trial version and it seems like you are going crazy because u can't handle it or don't have a full knowledge of it. 1st thing you should do is realize and indentify the game is a full version that creeps into your system  2nd thing is separate it from every other game. 3rd thing you should know is don't get it twisted or mixed up 4th thing you should do, since you already know it's a full version that creeps into your system play it like a trial version so it won't always give you that clueless feeling Finally have fun playing it because that's the only way it won't always make your system malfunctions….

You want to know if I still play this full version game that leaves me all messed up and all then u have to keep reading and wait for my next write up……… Trust me the game is still very much prominent

P.S   GAME means GUY or BABE but in my case it's a guy I call him my crush          SYSTEM means YOUR LIFE         
        TRIAL VERSION means a tryout/ setting p         
       FULL VERSION means a relationship or crushing  

Written by @spicyirishpeach (temmyt)

REPORT SAYS CORRUPTION COULD WEAKEN EUROPE

Spanish bank debt contingency plan under discussionProtest in Buenos Aires as authorities step up action to stem capital flightVictorious Walker urges Romney to 'say it like it is'POLITICAL AND business corruption in Europe, especially in the Mediterranean, could further weaken vulnerable economies struggling to overcome the euro crisis, according to an international watchdog.

While it sees itself as one of the world's least corrupt regions, few countries in Europe regulate lobbying or give citizens easy access to public information, allowing a culture of graft to take hold and political and business elites to divert funds, Transparency International said in a report.

Bloated budget deficits and debt are at the heart of the euro zone's 2½-year-long crisis, while corruption means scarce public money is spent inefficiently and may be creamed off at a time when record unemployment is reducing government revenues."Countries with weak anticorruption safeguards are often the ones with most problems in their public debt at the moment," said Finn Heinrich, research director at Transparency International, who supervised the report across 25 countries.

"Audit institutions are particularly weak and often not independent from the government, meaning that public officials probably know they can get away with cutting corners," he added.The report names Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain – the euro zone's most financially troubled nations – as having deeply rooted problems in their public administration, namely that officials are not accountable for their actions.Although not technically illegal behaviour, politicians and business leaders use their influence to win contracts and sway policies, while parliaments often fail to enforce the anti-graft laws and rules that exist, the report says.

"The links between corruption and the ongoing financial and fiscal crisis in these countries can no longer be ignored."Corruption costs the European Union about €120 billion a year, according to the Strasbourg-based Council of Europe. Many analysts say the figure is probably higher.Privatisations are fertile ground for creaming off funds into private hands and Transparency International says Portuguese and Greek privatisation programmes could be at risk, potentially leaving less money to pay down debt and deficits.

The perception that governments are too close to business elites added to the public anger that brought thousands of people on to the streets in Madrid and Athens in recent months.Former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi was dogged by scandal. He faced a bribery case in Milan in February, although it was thrown out by the court and he denies any wrongdoing.Corruption is notoriously difficult to measure, but 74 per cent of Europeans see it as a growing problem in their countries, according to the EU's latest Eurobarometer survey.

The European Commission has described corruption as a "disease that destroys a country from within".Transparency International says the issue is not limited to the countries of the Mediterranean. Many countries in western and northern Europe do not have dedicated anti-corruption agencies, while wealthy Sweden and Switzerland have no binding rules to regulate private donations to political parties, the report finds.Regulations in the Netherlands are seen as "wholly inadequate", the report said, while bans in place on corporate donations in Belgium and France are not effective because funding can be pushed into other "opaque channels".

Transparency International also says the influence of lobbyists is shrouded in secrecy and the 3,000 lobbying groups in Brussels should be required to sign a single register, rather than a variety of voluntary registers."Europeans' concerns are not with potential police corruption or suchlike," said Mr Heinrich."They view corruption as the close interrelationship between business and the political elite. European leaders don't take that into account." – (Reuters)IRELAND'S RECORD TIME TO CLOSE THE LOOPHOLES IRELAND IS one of 19 countries yet to regulate lobbying and one of 15 countries that have failed to introduce an outright ban on undisclosed political donations.It is also singled out in the study as the only country that has introduced excessive fees for freedom of information requests.

Transparency International Ireland says politicians must "curb the influence of powerful interests on politicians by opening lobbying to greater public scrutiny and making political campaign finance more transparent"."Ireland's anti-corruption framework is decidedly patchy, with significant weaknesses that undermine the quality of our democracy and standards of governance," says Nuala Haughey, Transparency Ireland's advocacy and research manager."On the downside, structural weaknesses in democratic governance mean the executive is not properly held to account by parliament. Policy-making remains shrouded in secrecy and political patronage is alive and well when it comes to appointments to State boards.

"Our ethics watchdog, the Standards in Public Office Commission, is hobbled by weak investigative and sanctioning powers," Haughey adds, "and political party finance laws are riddled with loopholes – significant corruption risks that draft legislation currently before the Oireachtas does not adequately address."The Taoiseach's election mantra was that he wanted to make Ireland the best small country in the world in which to do business, raise a family and grow old with dignity and respect."If he is serious about this, he needs to go beyond austerity policies" to tackle the corruption risks and governance gaps that undermine our economic stability.

-culled from www.irishtimes.com

LIST OF ALL COMMERCIAL AIRPLANES IN NIGERIA AND THEIR AGES

List of All Commercial Airplanes in Nigeria and Their

This is a comprehensive list of all aircrafts used in Nigeria and their ages.

Dana Air

Owner Reg No Aircraft Type Date Bought Age

Dana Air 5N-DEV McDonnell Douglas MD-83 C12Y128 11-05-2012 20.9 Years

Dana Air 5N-JAI McDonnell Douglas MD-83 C12Y128 21-08-2009 21.2 Years

Dana Air 5N-SAI McDonnell Douglas MD-83 C12Y128 30-08-2008 21.7 Years

Dana Air 5N-SRI McDonnell Douglas MD-83 C12Y128 04-08-2008 21.6 Years

Aero Contractors

Owner Reg No Aircraft Type Date Bought Age

Aero Contractor 5N-BIZ Boeing 737-4B7 01-02-2007 22.2 Years

Aero Contractor 5N-BJA Boeing 737-4B7 05-2007 21.7 Years

Aero Contractor 5N-BJO De Havilland Canada DHC-8-311Q Dash 8 Y50 23-02-2007 12.9 Years

Aero Contractor 5N-BKQ Boeing 737-522 28-08-2008 19.4 Years

Aero Contractor 5N-BKR Boeing 737-522 14-08-2008 19 Years

Aero Contractor 5N-BLC Boeing 737-522 26-09-2008 19.4 Years

Aero Contractor 5N-BLD Boeing 737-522 10-08-2008 19.9 Years

Aero Contractor 5N-BLE Boeing 737-522 02-04-2009 19.9 Years

Aero Contractor 5N-BLG Boeing 737-522 28-08-2011 20.5 Years

Aero Contractor 5N-BLH Boeing 737-522 20.7 Years

Aero Contractor 5N-BOB 737-42C 26-03-2012 21 Years

Aero Contractor 5N-BOC 737-42C 17-10-2011 20.2 Years

Arik Air

Owner Reg No Aircraft Type Date Bought Age

Arik Air 5N-BKU De Havilland Canada DHC-8-402Q Dash 8 C10Y62 14-10-2009

Arik Air 5N-BKV De Havilland Canada DHC-8-402Q Dash 8 C10Y62 06-11-2009

Arik Air 5N-JEA Canadair CL-600-2D24 Regional Jet CRJ-900ER C10Y65 02-10-2006

Arik Air 5N-JEB Canadair CL-600-2D24 Regional Jet CRJ-900ER C10Y65 02-10-2006

Arik Air 5N-JEC Canadair CL-600-2D24 Regional Jet CRJ-900ER C10Y65 02-10-2006

Arik Air 5N-JED Canadair CL-600-2D24 Regional Jet CRJ-900ER C10Y65 31-03-2007 5.4 Years

Arik Air 5N-MJC Boeing 737-7BD(WL) C12Y119 14-06-2007 N1795B Martin 14-06-2007 5.2 Years

Arik Air 5N-MJD Boeing 737-7BD(WL) C12Y119 14-06-2007 5.2 Years

Arik Air 5N-MJE Boeing 737-7GL(WL) Y149 25-11-2007 4.7 Years

Arik Air 5N-MJF Boeing 737-7GL(WL) Y149 04-12-2007 4.6 Years

Arik Air 5N-MJG Boeing 737-7BD(WL) C12Y112 27-05-2008 4.2 Years

Arik Air 5N-MJH Boeing 737-7BD(WL) C12Y112 27-05-2008 4.2 Years

Arik Air 5N-MJI Boeing 737-7BD(WL) C12Y112 04-02-2009 11.3 Years

Arik Air 5N-MJ J Boeing 737-76N(WL) C12Y112 04-02-2009 11.2 Years

Arik Air 5N-MJK Boeing 737-76N(WL) C12Y112 09-04-2009 11.1 Years

Arik Air 5N-MJN Boeing 737-86N(WL) C16Y132 10-03-2009 3.4 Years

Arik Air 5N-MJO Boeing 737-86N(WL) C16Y132 29-06-2009 3.3 Years

Arik Air 5N-MJP Boeing 737-8JE(WL) C20Y126 28-10-2009 2.8 Years

Arik Air 5N-MJQ Boeing 737-8JE(WL) C20Y126 17-02-2010 2.7 Years

Arik Air CS-TFW Airbus A340-542 C36Y201 11-12-2008 4 Years

Arik Air CS-TFX Airbus A340-542 C36Y201 29-04-2009 3.9 Years

Air Nigeria

Owner Reg No Aircraft Type Date Bought Age

Air Nigeria 5N-VNC Boeing 737-33V C16Y100 02-06-2010 13 Years

Air Nigeria 5N-VND Boeing 737-33V C16Y100 02-06-2010 13 Years

Air Nigeria 5N-VNE Boeing 737-33V C16Y100 02-06-2010 12.8 Years

Air Nigeria 5N-VNF Boeing 737-33V C16Y100 08-07-2010 12.7 Years

Air Nigeria 5N-VNG Boeing 737-33V C16Y100 02-06-2010 12.6 Years

Air Nigeria 5N-VNH Embraer ERJ-190AR (ERJ-190-100 IGW) C12Y84 02-06-2010

Air Nigeria 5N-VNI Embraer ERJ-190AR (ERJ-190-100 IGW) C12Y84 02-06-2010

Air Nigeria 5N-VNJ Boeing 737-36N C16Y100 16-08-2010 15.2 Years

Air Nigeria 5N-VNK Boeing 737-33A C16Y100 15-11-2010 15.3 Years

Air Nigeria 5N-VNL Boeing 737-33A C16Y100 15-11-2010 15.2 Years

Air Nigeria 5N-VNM Boeing 737-4Q8 03-08-2011 18.2 Years

Air Nigeria SU-GCI Airbus A330-243 C24Y244 13-05-2012 6.7 Years

Chanchangi Airlines

Owner Reg No Aircraft Type Date Bought Age

Chanchangi Airlines 5N-BEV Boeing 737-217(A) 10-12-2004 30.2 Years

Chanchangi Airlines 5N-BIF Boeing 737-282(A) 21-11-2005 29 Years

Chanchangi Airlines 5N-BIG Boeing 737-282(A) 28-12-2005 29 Years

Chanchangi Airlines 5N-BIH Boeing 737-282(A) 28-12-2005 22.9 Years

Chanchangi Airlines 5N-BMB Boeing 737-3J6 03-2009 21.3 Years

Chanchangi Airlines 5N-BMC Boeing 737-3Z0 03-2009 21.2 Years

First Nation Airways

Owner Reg No Aircraft Type Date Bought Age

First Nation Airway 5N-FNA Airbus A320-212 07-04-2011 19.3 Years

First Nation Airway 5N-FNB Airbus A320-212 08-04-2011 18.2 Years

First Nation Airway 5N-FNC Airbus A320-212 10-04-2011 17.7 Years

IRS Airlines

Owner Reg No Aircraft Type Date Bought Age

IRS Airlines 5N-CEO Fokker F100 20-08-2004 22.3 Years

IRS Airlines 5N-HIR Fokker F100 22-01-2009 18.4 Years

IRS Airlines 5N-SAT Fokker F100 22-12-2010 22.3 Years

IRS Airlines 5N-SIK Fokker F100 16-07-2010 22.5 Years

IRS Airlines 5N-SMR Fokker F100 02-03-2010 22.4 Years

Kabo Air

Owner Reg No Aircraft Type Date Bought Age

Kabo Air 5N-DKB Boeing 747-251B 22-10-2008 26.1 Years

Kabo Air 5N-JJJ Boeing 747-136 01-2001 41.3 Years

Kabo Air 5N-JRM Boeing 747-251B 25-11-2008 25.9 Years

Kabo Air 5N-PDP Boeing 747-238B 17-07-2001 38.1 Years

Kabo Air 5N-RRR Boeing 747-136 01-2001 41.3 Years

Max Air

Owner Reg No Aircraft Type Date Bought Age

Max Air 5N-BMG Boeing 747-346 27-07-2009 25.7 Years

Max Air 5N-DBM Boeing 747-346 12-11-2008 24.5 Years

Max Air 5N-DDK Boeing 747-346 20-08-2009 24.6 Years

Max Air 5N-HMB Boeing 747-438 10-2011 21.1 Years

Max Air 5N-MBB Boeing 747-346 22-04-2009 24.4 Years

Max Air M-ANGA Embraer EMB-135BJ Legacy 06-01-2012

Overland Airways

Owner Reg No Aircraft Type Date Bought Age

Overland Airways 5N-BCR ATR 42-320 04-03-2005 25.6 Years

Overland Airways 5N-BND ATR 42-320 27-10-2010 18.7 Years

- Published in Latest News

NIGERIA OIL BILL WATERS DOWN ITS REFORMS by Joe Brock

Nigeria's long-awaited oil law, when it finally comes, looks likely to be a botched job that gives favourable tax terms to foreign oil firms while doing little to satisfy calls for transparency and reform of a corrupt and wasteful sector.

A new draft of the long-awaited Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) is close to being finalised, potentially ending years of uncertainty that has blocked billions of dollars of investment.

Licensing rounds, contract renewals and investment have been put on hold for five years pending the new bill to regulate Africa's top oil and gas industry. Passing the bill will allow such work to resume.

But provisions that would have forced the government to publish how much oil it pumps and all the payments it receives from oil firms - in an industry where secrecy is blamed for corruption - have been stripped from the bill.

"I expect the petroleum industry to be happy. I expect many Nigerians to be upset," said Pedro Van Meurs, an oil and gas expert who has consulted with the government on the PIB.

"Transparency provisions related to corporate income tax, hydrocarbon tax and production sharing were deleted. This should be a source of concern."

The PIB is meant to change everything from fiscal terms to overhauling the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). Its comprehensive nature caused years of disputes between lawmakers, ministers and oil majors.

The latest copy proposes some changes that will improve transparency: keeping royalty payments secret will not be allowed, for instance. Oil company profit taxes proposed in the bill are also in the public domain for the first time.

But it does not require disclosure of oil sales, of other taxes like income and hydrocarbon tax, nor of payments to the government, including signature bonuses. Openness on such subjects is vital to clean up the energy sector, say campaigners.

President Goodluck Jonathan commissioned a task force in January to fast-track a new copy of the PIB, which makes the passage of this condensed version more likely, even if the national assembly debate on it takes a while.

Jonathan said on Tuesday the new PIB would be sent to the national assembly next month.

"Passage of any piece of legislation brings a level of certainty to the industry that has been absent for years," said Gordon Bottomley, Nigeria analyst at Ergo, a New York-based advisory firm that has been closely tracking the PIB.

"(But) the re-organisation of ... Nigeria's oil and gas industry is going to be far from painless. And this bill, in terms of transparency, appears less than desirable."

NEW POWERS FOR MINISTER

The bill also gives the oil minister new supervisory powers over all industry institutions, including a new regulator to police downstream and upstream, raising concerns about checks and balances. Lawmakers had rejected drafts that did this in the past.

It says anyone who "interferes" with the minister will be fined or imprisoned. And it allows the oil minister and the directors of state institutions to receive gifts, which will not please civil society groups calling for an end to graft.

Foreign oil companies like Shell, Chevron and Exxon will be relieved that tax changes are more favourable compared with previous versions. This could be a sticking point with lawmakers seeking a better deal for Nigeria.

Analysts say that the taxes foreign firms pay on profits onshore, which will be published under the PIB, will amount to a big cut from the taxes that are now levied in secret.

Furthermore, the cut will apply both to existing fields and to new fields, unlike in earlier versions of the law which cut taxes only on new fields, the analysts say. Van Meurs says the government could lose 20-50 percent of its tax revenue per barrel on existing assets.

NATIONAL OIL COMPANY

Detail is thin on plans to partly sell off the mismanaged NNPC, seen by experts as the biggest barrier to progress.

Nigeria exports some 2 million barrels per day (bpd) but could double that with a better-managed state oil firm able to pay for its share of joint ventures, foreign oil majors say.

NNPC was last month described by parliament as "answerable to no one" in a probe into a $6.8 billion fuel subsidy fraud. It is accused by oil traders of owing billions in unpaid bills.

The NNPC rejects allegations of corruption or insolvency.

The PIB proposes a new National Oil Company (NOC), which will within three years be partly listed, in theory leading to much-needed accountability.

But the PIB isn't clear on what assets the NOC gets. The old NNPC would still exist and keep joint ventures and production sharing contracts with oil majors, which cover the majority of Nigeria's known oil and gas reserves, for an indefinite period.

"For arguably the most important element of the bill, it is worrying the section on NNPC is both brief and vague," an executive at an oil major operating in Nigeria said.

There is also no domestic gas pricing in the bill, which is key to unlocking the world's seventh largest gas reserves.

Left in doubt are onshore licenses Oil Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke is in the process of renewing. She signed a 20-year one with Exxon worth trillions of dollars in February and has promised to do the same with Shell and Chevron by June.

It has not been made clear whether they will include clauses exempting them from the PIB, in which case a huge portion of the oil business would not be governed by the new bill.

"It's meant to be single framework for everything in oil and gas. If you are going to have it but then do a special deal for, say, Exxon ... That would be a huge departure from what the bill was meant to be," said Antony Goldman, head of PM Consulting.

- Culled from Reuters