VENTURES AFRICA – Africa’s biggest bank by assets, Standard Bank, on Tuesday said it is set to retrench 148 staff in its IT division in an effort to reduce ‘”inefficiencies and duplication”. “Standard Bank has undertaken a thorough review of its IT operations, which has revealed areas of inefficiencies and duplication,” Reuters quoted the bank’s [...]

VENTURES AFRICA – About 2400 Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) employees that were locked underground at the Thembelani Mine in Rustenburg on Friday were allowed to leave the mine safely late on the same day, the world’s biggest platinum miner confirmed on Tuesday. “Operations throughout Rustenburg and the North of the Pilanesburg are operating as per [...]

VENTURES AFRICA – President of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB), Donald Kaberuka has said Governments should increase taxes on foreign mining and energy companies operating on the continent. According to Reuters, Kaberuka at a lunch in London, said: ‘‘The reality is that Africa is being ripped off big time… it is a collective idea [...]

VENTURES AFRICA – Former CEO of Equitorial Commercial Bank, Mr Peter Harris has accused the majority shareholder Naushad Merali, of breaking a Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) rules on good governance independence. Mr Harris alleged that the 85 percent stake owner was running the bank from his riverside office, leaving other members with little or [...]