Business
BUA Chairman Rabiu shares South Africa visa entry denial experience at Africa CEO Forum
Rabiu said the experience highlighted the difficulties Africans still face when travelling within the continent despite ongoing talks about African integration and economic cooperation.
The founder and Chairman of BUA Group, Abdul Samad Rabiu, has recounted how he was denied entry into South Africa after his visa expired a day before his trip, while European travellers were reportedly allowed into the country without visas.
Rabiu shared the experience on Thursday while speaking on “Africa at Scale: Capital, Policy and the Architecture of Growth” at the ongoing Africa CEO Forum in Kigali, Rwanda.
He said that the incident occurred in February 2025 when he travelled from Lagos to Cape Town for the Mining Indaba conference.
He said that immigration officials stopped him on arrival after discovering that his visa had expired the previous day.
Rabiu explained that he and his team spent about four hours at the airport before he was eventually returned to Lagos.
“I take full responsibility because my visa had expired and my crew failed to notice it before the trip,” he said.
However, the businessman said that he became concerned after noticing that passengers arriving on multiple flights from Europe were allowed into South Africa without visas while he, as an African, was denied entry.
“While we were waiting at the immigration desk, there were about three international flights from Europe. Most of the passengers were Europeans, and they all entered Cape Town without visas,” he said.
Rabiu said the experience highlighted the difficulties Africans still face when travelling within the continent despite ongoing talks about African integration and economic cooperation.
“I did not have a problem with being returned because I had no valid visa. My issue was being an African in Africa and being denied entry, while foreigners from other continents were allowed in freely without visas,” he said.
He called for reforms in visa and immigration policies across the continent, stressing that Africa cannot achieve meaningful economic integration while Africans continue to face barriers moving within African countries.
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₦190 CHINESE YUAN (CNY)
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Business
WEF could appoint Lagarde as its next chair, sources say
The WEF’s Board of Trustees, which includes Lagarde herself, was due to meet on November 2 and could elect her as its next chair, said the people close to the organisation, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.
•European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde
The World Economic Forum could appoint Christine Lagarde as its next chair as soon as next month, four people close to the organisation told Reuters, meaning she would step down early as European Central Bank chief and trigger a wider reshuffle at the top of the ECB.Lagarde’s ECB term is scheduled to end in October 2027.
Leaving early would give European Union leaders a chance to pick a new ECB President before France’s spring presidential election, which opinion polls suggest the far-right could win, and could pave the way for a deal involving two other senior ECB roles.
The WEF’s Board of Trustees, which includes Lagarde herself, was due to meet on November 2 and could elect her as its next chair, said the people close to the organisation, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.
No final decision has been taken yet, they said.
A spokesperson for the WEF said the forum could not confirm when the next full Board of Trustees meeting would take place, but that the aim was to hold one before the end of the year.
Business
Germany plans tax on sugary drinks
The tax is expected to generate additional revenue for the federal government of €690 million in 2027 and €925 million in 2028.
The German cabinet has approved draft legislation to tax sugary drinks in Europe’s biggest economy.
If passed by the German Bundestag, the tax will take effect on 1 July 2027.
The coalition aims to raise revenue for the federal budget while encouraging manufacturers to reduce sugar content and offer healthier products.
The levy is intended to ease pressure on the healthcare system, which faces costs of more than €2 billion every year linked to the high consumption of sugary drinks, which contributes to obesity, diabetes and tooth decay.
According to the federal government, Berlin is using the tax to implement “what associations from the fields of health, science, child protection, and consumer protection have long been demanding.”
The tax is expected to generate additional revenue for the federal government of €690 million in 2027 and €925 million in 2028.
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