Events, Verisoph

December 2015 South Africa terminates investment treaties and passes its own protection law 0 cit. After the Foresti challenge, South Africa reviewed its bilateral investment treaties, let several with European states lapse, and enacted the Protection of Investment Act to handle investor protection under domestic law and its own courts instead of international arbitration. The government said the old treaties exposed public-interest policy to costly ISDS claims. Investor groups warned the move would deter foreign capital; South Africa framed it as reclaiming regulatory sovereignty. diplomacy / economy / politics ●●

2015 Zucman estimates the trillions hidden offshore 0 cit. Economist Gabriel Zucman estimated that around 7.6 trillion dollars, roughly 8 percent of the world's household financial wealth, sits in tax havens beyond the reach of tax authorities. He put the yearly loss to governments at about 200 billion dollars. These are his estimates, drawn from gaps in national accounts, and other scholars debate the exact figures. economy / society ●●●

February 2015 The Mbeki panel counts Africa's losses 0 cit. A high-level panel led by former South African president Thabo Mbeki reported in 2015 that Africa loses roughly 50 billion dollars a year to illicit financial flows. It said the largest share comes from companies mispricing trade to shift profits into tax havens, not from bribery alone. The figure is a contested estimate, but it framed offshore finance as a drain on the continent's development. economy / politics ●●●

2015 The 1MDB fund is looted through shell companies 0 cit. Malaysia's state investment fund 1MDB became the centre of one of the largest known corruption cases, with US prosecutors alleging that about 4.5 billion dollars was stolen between 2009 and 2015. The money moved through shell companies in the British Virgin Islands, Seychelles and Curacao and banks in several countries. Prime Minister Najib Razak was convicted of corruption in 2020, upheld on appeal in 2022; the financier Jho Low was charged but remains a fugitive who denies wrongdoing. economy / politics ●●●

2015 Mkandawire challenges the neopatrimonialism thesis contested 0 cit. From the London School of Economics, Thandika Mkandawire publishes a critique arguing that the popular claim that African states are driven by neopatrimonialism and instrumental disorder rests on weak evidence and poor economic reasoning. He offers a direct counter to the 'disorder as strategy' school. The exchange shows the interpretation of state weakness is contested among scholars, not settled. economy / politics ●●

c. 2015 Orma pastoralism squeezed by delta land pressure 0 cit. Orma herders face growing pressure on the Tana delta from large irrigation and land schemes, farming expansion and recurring drought. Shrinking dry-season grazing raises the risk of renewed friction with farming neighbours. Many Orma continue to depend on cattle while adapting to a more crowded and contested landscape. economy / environment ●

16 January 2016 Founding of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank 0 cit. The China-led AIIB opens for business in Beijing with 57 founding members, a new multilateral bank for infrastructure lending in Asia seen as a counterweight to the World Bank and ADB. diplomacy / economy / politics ●●

25 April 2016 Announcement of Saudi Vision 2030 0 cit. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman unveiled a plan to diversify Saudi Arabia's economy away from oil and loosen some social restrictions. The program included giant projects, tourism, and reduced clerical influence. economy / politics / society ●●●●

16 January 2016 Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank opens 0 cit. The China led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank began operations with dozens of member states. It offered a new source of development finance outside the established Western institutions. economy ●●●

3 April 2016 The Panama Papers are published 0 cit. An international consortium of journalists published a leak of 11.5 million files from the law firm Mossack Fonseca, exposing offshore holdings of politicians, business leaders, and celebrities. The revelations led to resignations and investigations across many countries. economy / politics ●●●●●

24 May 2016 Forbes reveals Thiel is funding Hulk Hogan's lawsuit against Gawker 0 cit. Forbes reported that Peter Thiel had secretly been financing wrestler Hulk Hogan's invasion-of-privacy lawsuit against the media company Gawker, which had outed Thiel as gay in a 2007 post. Thiel later confirmed the reporting and said he spent roughly 10 million dollars on the case; the resulting 140 million dollar jury verdict against Gawker led to the company's bankruptcy. Thiel's lawyers later told a bankruptcy court his motives were partly financial, contradicting his earlier framing of the effort as philanthropic. culture / economy ●●

c. April 2016 The Panama Papers and Football Leaks widen scrutiny of football finance 0 cit. Leaked documents in the Panama Papers and the later Football Leaks trove expose offshore tax arrangements and hidden ownership structures used by players, clubs, and agents. The leaks documented how football's commercial growth under FIFA and UEFA had outpaced regulatory oversight, prompting tax investigations across several European countries. economy ●●

21 April 2016 Seriti Commission report finds no evidence of arms deal corruption unproven 0 cit. The Seriti Commission released its final report concluding that no evidence had been placed before it showing bribes were paid to officials or cabinet members in the arms deal, and that the equipment acquired was properly utilised and justified. Anti-corruption campaigners and opposition parties condemned the findings as a whitewash, pointing to the commission's refusal to admit key documentary evidence, including an independent investigation into arms company Ferrostaal, and its failure to pursue leads from foreign investigations. economy / politics ●●●

c. 2016 Cobalt and coltan tie the Congo to the electronics age 0 cit. The Democratic Republic of Congo supplies most of the world's cobalt and much of its coltan, minerals essential to phones, laptops, and electric-car batteries. Amnesty International and other groups have documented dangerous artisanal mining, including child labor, feeding global supply chains, while armed groups in the east have profited from the mineral trade. Congolese ground still powers the technology of richer nations with limited benefit flowing back to miners. economy / society / technology ●●●

21 September 2016 The Bahamas Leaks are published 0 cit. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists published a leak of records from the Bahamas corporate registry, naming officers and directors of offshore companies. The data added public detail on politicians and business figures who used the jurisdiction. It followed months after the Panama Papers. economy / politics ●●●

2016 Some of the world's biggest economies are companies 0 cit. Advocacy groups publicized a striking claim that year: of the hundred largest economic entities in the world, most were corporations rather than countries, when company revenue is set beside national output. Economists caution that comparing a firm's revenue to a country's GDP is not a like-for-like measure, since GDP counts value added, not total sales. Even so, the statistic became a durable shorthand for the scale of modern multinationals relative to states. economy / politics ●●

30 August 2016 The EU orders Apple to repay billions in back taxes 0 cit. The European Commission ruled that Ireland had given Apple illegal tax benefits and ordered the company to repay around 13 billion euros, spotlighting how firms shift profits into low-tax jurisdictions. The case put arrangements like the so-called Double Irish under a harsh light. After years of appeals, the EU's top court upheld the order in 2024, a rare instance of a state being forced to collect tax from a giant multinational. economy / politics ●●

3 April 2016 The Panama Papers expose the offshore world 0 cit. A leak of millions of documents from the law firm Mossack Fonseca revealed how companies, politicians, and the wealthy used shell entities and tax havens to hide money and dodge taxes. The disclosures, cross-referencing the wider story of offshore leaks, put the machinery of profit-shifting on full public display. They fueled investigations and reforms and showed how deeply the offshore system is woven into the global economy. economy / politics ●●●

2016 Forensic accounting meets the mega-leaks 0 cit. Leaks of millions of documents, from the Panama Papers to later troves, threw open the hidden world of shell companies, off-balance-sheet structures, and aggressive tax arrangements used to move and conceal wealth. Forensic accountants and reporters traced the money through the paper trail, showing that the same techniques that dress up company accounts also hide fortunes from tax authorities and the public. economy / politics / society ●●

1 October 2016 The yuan joins the IMF's reserve basket 0 cit. China's yuan enters the IMF's Special Drawing Rights basket alongside the dollar, euro, yen, and pound, a symbolic recognition of China's economic weight. The move marked China's ambition to give its currency a global role. In practice the yuan still makes up only a small share of reserves and cross-border payments. diplomacy / economy ●●

February 2016 Egypt launches Vision 2030 0 cit. President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi's government launched Egypt's Sustainable Development Strategy, branded Vision 2030. It sets national goals across the economy, society, and the environment to be reached by 2030. The plan is explicitly aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the African Union's Agenda 2063. economy ●

25 April 2016 Saudi Arabia unveils Vision 2030 0 cit. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman unveiled Saudi Vision 2030, a sweeping plan to cut the kingdom's dependence on oil, grow the private sector, and open up society by 2030. It is the highest-profile of the national 2030 plans and reshaped Saudi economic and social policy. Its branding and target year echo the earlier Gulf visions and align with the wider Sustainable Development Goals. economy / politics ●●●

22 April 2016 Kenya signs the Paris Climate Agreement 0 cit. Kenya signs the Paris Agreement, adopted in December 2015, and ratifies it in December 2016, committing to a Nationally Determined Contribution to cut greenhouse gas emissions. The pledge is folded into Vision 2030 and national climate law. Defenders call it a voluntary, self-set commitment, while critics note that access to climate finance and export markets increasingly hinges on meeting such international benchmarks. diplomacy / economy ●●●

2016 The Import Declaration Fee and Railway Development Levy 0 cit. The Miscellaneous Fees and Levies Act of 2016 consolidated two further charges on imports: an Import Declaration Fee of 3.5 percent and a Railway Development Levy of 2 percent of customs value. The railway levy was introduced to help fund the Standard Gauge Railway. Together with duty, excise, and VAT, these charges can add roughly 50 to 100 percent or more to the price of an imported car. economy / politics ●●

March 2016 East African Community moves to phase out second-hand clothing imports 0 cit. At their summit, East African Community heads of state directed member countries to phase out imports of used clothing and footwear, the mitumba trade, by 2019 to rebuild domestic textile and apparel industries. The bloc raised tariffs on second-hand garments as a first step. The plan set the EAC on a collision course with the United States over AGOA eligibility. diplomacy / economy / politics ●●

c. 2016 Frozen chicken imports hollow out Ghana's poultry sector 0 cit. Ghana, once largely self-sufficient in poultry, came to import the large majority of the chicken it consumes, most of it frozen cuts from the EU, the United States and Brazil. Local producers say they cannot match the price of imported parts that fetch little value in their home markets. Food-sovereignty campaigners describe this as dumping that de-industrialized a domestic sector; exporters describe it as normal trade in surplus cuts. diplomacy / economy / society ●

April 2016 The Panama Papers name the hidden owners 0 cit. In April 2016 journalists published the Panama Papers, 11.5 million documents leaked from the law firm Mossack Fonseca. The files linked world leaders, celebrities and criminals to secret offshore companies and forced Iceland's prime minister to resign. It was the largest leak of its kind at the time and made "offshore" a household word. economy / society ●●●

2016 Britain opens a register of company owners 0 cit. In 2016 Britain launched a public register requiring companies to name the real people who own or control them. The European Union followed with its own rules for public registers. The reform has clear limits, and in 2022 the European Court of Justice struck down mandatory public access on privacy grounds, showing how contested open ownership data remains. economy / politics ●●

2016 A UN commission projects a shortfall of millions of health workers by 2030 0 cit. The UN High-Level Commission on Health Employment and Economic Growth projected a worldwide shortfall of about 18 million health workers by 2030, concentrated in low- and lower-middle-income countries. WHO later revised the projected 2030 gap to roughly 10 million. Both figures point to demand growing fastest where staff are already scarce. economy / society ●●

5 June 2017 The Qatar Blockade 0 cit. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt cut ties and imposed a land, sea, and air blockade on Qatar, accusing it of backing extremists and Iran. The rift split the GCC until reconciliation in 2021. economy / politics ●●●●

c. 2017 Rise to superpower status 0 cit. By the late 2010s China stood as a leading global power in economics, technology, and military strength. It positioned itself as a rival to the United States on the world stage. economy / politics ●●●●

5 November 2017 The Paradise Papers are published 0 cit. A journalist consortium published a leak of about 13.4 million files, much of it from the offshore firm Appleby, detailing tax avoidance by corporations and wealthy individuals. The reporting named public figures and multinational companies. economy / politics ●●●

20 March 2017 David Rockefeller dies 0 cit. David Rockefeller, the last grandchild of John D. Rockefeller, died in March 2017 at the age of 101. He was among the best known bankers and philanthropists of his era. economy / society ●●

c. 2017 The digital astrology revival debunked 0 cit. Smartphone apps and social media drive a boom in astrology among a new generation, turning the ancient Babylonian art into a billion-dollar wellness industry. The oldest of pseudosciences finds its largest audience yet in the most modern of media. culture / economy ●●

September 2017 Toys R Us liquidation 0 cit. Toys R Us filed for bankruptcy in September 2017 and, after failing to restructure its debt, liquidated in 2018, closing all of its roughly 800 US stores and eliminating about 30,000 jobs. Employees and several members of Congress pointed to the 5 billion dollars of debt from the 2005 leveraged buyout as the central cause, and public pressure led KKR and Bain Capital to set up an 20 million dollar severance fund for laid-off workers in 2018 without admitting the debt caused the collapse. The private equity firms said the retailer had been undone by structural changes in retail; critics, including several US senators, called it a clear example of a healthy business destroyed by the debt used to acquire it. economy ●●

10 January 2017 FIFA expands the World Cup to 48 teams 0 cit. FIFA's council votes to expand the World Cup from 32 to 48 teams starting in 2026, a change expected to significantly increase tournament revenue from broadcasting and sponsorship. Critics argued the expansion prioritized FIFA's commercial growth over competitive quality, continuing the pattern set under Havelange and Blatter of scaling the tournament for money. economy ●●

20 March 2017 The Russian Laundromat is exposed 0 cit. Reporters with the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project and partners detailed a scheme, dubbed the Russian Laundromat, that moved billions of dollars out of Russia through shell companies and complicit banks. The system used fake loans and Moldovan court orders to disguise the flows. The investigation drew on leaked banking records. economy / politics ●●●

June 2017 The SGR railway and the debt-project era 0 cit. The Standard Gauge Railway from Mombasa to Nairobi opened in 2017, built and largely financed by China at a cost of several billion dollars. The contracts were negotiated without open competitive tender and key terms were kept secret; later audits questioned the cost and a take-or-pay arrangement tied to the port. It became the emblem of a debt-fuelled mega-project era. diplomacy / economy / politics ●●●

2017 South Africa's land audit measures the gap 0 cit. The government's land audit finds that white South Africans, a small minority of the population, still own the large majority of individually held farmland more than two decades after apartheid ended. The figures make plain how little the willing-buyer, willing-seller model shifted ownership. They become central evidence in the argument that the negotiated bargain left colonial land patterns in place, and in the debate over what to do next. economy / society ●●

24 October 2017 Saudi Arabia announces NEOM 0 cit. As the flagship project of Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia announced NEOM, a planned $500 billion futuristic city and economic zone on the Red Sea coast. It is meant to run on renewable energy and advanced technology, including the linear city known as The Line. NEOM became the most visible symbol of what a national 2030 plan could try to build. economy / technology ●●

March 2017 US used-clothing lobby petitions to review EAC's AGOA status 0 cit. The Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles Association (SMART), which represents US used-clothing exporters, petitioned the US Trade Representative to review the AGOA eligibility of Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania over their used-clothing import restrictions. The petition triggered an out-of-cycle review of the four countries' trade benefits. Critics point to it as a case of a narrow US industry lobby using trade preferences to overturn an African industrial policy. diplomacy / economy / politics ●●

c. 2017 Kenya rolls back its used-clothing tariff to protect AGOA access 0 cit. Facing the threat of losing duty-free access to the US market for its apparel exports, Kenya lowered the higher tariff it had placed on imported second-hand clothes and stepped back from the EAC phase-out timetable. Kenya's apparel export jobs depended on AGOA, and the government chose to keep them. The reversal is cited by critics as an example of how AGOA leverage can override a regional development decision. diplomacy / economy / politics ●●

November 2017 The Paradise Papers follow the money 0 cit. In November 2017 the Paradise Papers, drawn mainly from the offshore law firm Appleby, exposed the tax arrangements of multinational companies, politicians and the very rich. The 13.4 million files showed that much offshore activity was legal, raising questions about the rules rather than just lawbreaking. They widened the debate from hidden crime to the design of the tax system itself. economy / society ●●

8 March 2018 Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership 0 cit. Trade agreement among eleven Pacific Rim economies, salvaged after the United States left the original TPP. It sets high-standard rules on trade, investment, and digital commerce. diplomacy / economy / politics ●●●

21 March 2018 African Continental Free Trade Area 0 cit. Agreement creating a continent-wide free trade area covering most African states, the largest by membership since the WTO was formed. Trading under the agreement began in 2021. diplomacy / economy / politics ●●●

30 November 2018 United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement 0 cit. Trade agreement replacing NAFTA with updated rules on autos, labor, and digital trade. It entered into force in July 2020. diplomacy / economy / politics ●●●

15 October 2018 Collapse of Sears 0 cit. Sears, once America's largest retailer and the inventor of the mail-order catalog economy, files for bankruptcy after years of decline against Walmart and Amazon. economy ●●

6 February 2018 First launch of the Falcon Heavy 0 cit. SpaceX flew the Falcon Heavy, then the most powerful operating rocket, and landed two of its boosters side by side. The demonstration flight carried a Tesla car into space. economy / technology ●●●

2018 The World Bank pushes competency-based learning 0 cit. The Bank's 2018 report warned of a global learning crisis and its Human Capital Index ranked countries by skills. It pressed governments to measure results and adopt competency-based curricula. economy / politics ●●●●

c. 2018 Post-apartheid land reform and inequality debates continue 0 cit. More than two decades after apartheid ended, land ownership in South Africa remained heavily skewed toward the white minority, and parliament debated proposals to allow land expropriation without compensation to accelerate redistribution. The debate reflected unresolved tensions between the constitutional protection of property rights and demands for redress of apartheid-era dispossession under the 1913 Natives Land Act and its successors. South Africa continued to grapple with among the highest inequality levels in the world, alongside high unemployment concentrated among Black citizens. economy / politics ●●

25 January 2018 Judicial Commission of Inquiry into State Capture (Zondo Commission) established 0 cit. President Cyril Ramaphosa formally established the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into State Capture, chaired by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, following the release of the Public Protector's 2016 'State of Capture' report. It was tasked with investigating allegations of systemic corruption and undue influence over state institutions during Jacob Zuma's presidency, particularly involving the Gupta family. economy / politics ●●●

20 August 2018 Zondo Commission opens public hearings 0 cit. The Zondo Commission began public hearings, ultimately hearing testimony from more than 300 witnesses over four years, including former ministers, executives of state-owned enterprises, and members of the Gupta business network, on the capture of institutions such as Eskom, Transnet and SARS. economy / politics ●●

2018 The maize scandals capture food programmes 0 cit. In 2018 a scandal at the National Cereals and Produce Board revealed that well-connected traders and briefcase companies were paid for maize deliveries ahead of genuine farmers, some for maize never grown locally. Similar maize-import and subsidy scandals had recurred since at least 2009. The cases showed how patronage networks reached even food-security programmes. economy / politics ●●

2018 The second NYS scandal and the Ngiritas 0 cit. A second, larger National Youth Service scandal surfaced in 2018, with hundreds of millions of shillings paid to companies linked to the Ngirita family and others for goods never supplied. Courts later ordered the Ngiritas to forfeit assets as proceeds of crime, but prosecutions of the senior officials involved largely stalled. economy / politics ●●

c. 2018 Economists call the CFA a colonial currency 0 cit. Senegalese economist Ndongo Samba Sylla and co-author Fanny Pigeaud publish a detailed critique arguing that the CFA franc constrains the monetary sovereignty of its members and serves French interests. Their book is later translated as Africa's Last Colonial Currency. Defenders reply that the peg brings low inflation and stability, so the balance of blame for the CFA's effects remains disputed. economy / society ●●

April 2018 Bollore's African ports draw corruption charges 0 cit. French tycoon Vincent Bollore, whose group ran port and logistics concessions across French-speaking Africa, is charged in France over how his firm won contracts in Togo and Guinea. Investigators examined whether cut-price political campaign work helped secure the port deals in Lome and Conakry. The case pointed to how contracts were steered to French firms. economy / politics ●●

2018 Zimbabwe launches Vision 2030 0 cit. President Emmerson Mnangagwa introduced Vision 2030, a plan to make Zimbabwe an upper-middle-income society by 2030. It is delivered through a stabilisation program and successive five-year development strategies. The plan states that its goals align with the African Union's Agenda 2063 and the wider 2030 development agenda. economy / politics ●

21 March 2018 Kenya signs the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement 0 cit. Kenya is among the first states to sign the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement, which aims to create a single continental market of over a billion people. The agreement enters into force in 2019 and trading under its terms begins on 1 January 2021. Proponents present it as African-led integration, while critics warn Kenya's more developed industries could be exposed and that phased tariff removal cuts government revenue. diplomacy / economy ●●●

30 July 2018 United States suspends Rwanda's AGOA apparel benefits over used-clothing tariffs 0 cit. Rwanda held to the used-clothing phase-out and sharply raised tariffs on imported second-hand garments to protect its domestic textile plan. In response, the United States suspended duty-free treatment for Rwandan apparel under AGOA. Rwanda accepted the loss of benefits rather than reverse its policy, the only EAC state to hold firm while Kenya and others backed down. diplomacy / economy / politics ●●●

c. 2018 Cheap EU milk powder floods West African markets 0 cit. European exporters shipped growing volumes of low-cost skimmed-milk powder, often blended with palm oil, into West African markets after EU milk quotas ended in 2015. Reports by Oxfam and the development group SUDWIND documented the powder selling well below the cost of local fresh milk, undercutting West African herders. Campaigners call it agricultural dumping enabled by EU farm subsidies; the European Commission maintains the exports are legal and demand-driven. diplomacy / economy / society ●●

c. 2018 Switzerland adopts automatic exchange of account data 0 cit. Switzerland began automatically sharing information on foreign residents' bank accounts with dozens of partner countries under an international standard. For foreign clients this effectively ended the banking secrecy that had defined Swiss finance for generations. The change was driven by sustained pressure from the United States and the European Union over tax evasion. diplomacy / economy ●●

c. 2018 The Gates Foundation rises to the top tier of funders 0 cit. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation becomes one of the two largest contributors to the WHO, rivaling entire national governments. Counted together with Gavi, the vaccine alliance the foundation helped create and funds, the private philanthropic footprint in global health is larger still. Nearly all of this money is earmarked for chosen priorities such as vaccines and polio. economy / science / society ●●●

2019 Kenya rolls out the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) 0 cit. Kenya replaces 8-4-4 with a 2-6-3-3-3 Competency-Based Curriculum focused on skills over rote exams. CBC follows a global competency-based-education model promoted by the OECD and the World Bank, a case of a transnational education agenda reshaping a national system. economy / politics / society ●●●

26 March 2019 The EU passes the Copyright Directive 0 cit. The EU's 2019 Copyright Directive included Article 17, which pushed platforms to filter uploads for copyrighted material. Critics warned that automated filtering could sweep up lawful content. economy / technology ●●

21 December 2019 West African leaders and France announce the eco currency reform 0 cit. President Macron and Ivory Coast's president Alassane Ouattara announced that the eight-nation West African CFA franc would be renamed the eco, that member states would no longer be required to deposit half their foreign reserves in an operations account at the French Treasury, and that French representatives would leave the BCEAO's governing bodies. The euro peg and French guarantee of convertibility were kept in place, so critics argued the reform changed the currency's name and some administrative details while leaving its core structural dependency intact. diplomacy / economy ●●●

21 August 2019 High Court sets aside Seriti Commission findings 0 cit. The Pretoria High Court set aside the Seriti Commission's 2016 findings, ruling it was 'inexplicable' that the commission had ignored evidence pointing to corruption, improper influence and fraud in the arms deal. The ruling effectively invalidated the commission's central conclusion that the deal was clean. economy / politics ●●

2019 Surveillance capitalism is named 0 cit. Scholar Shoshana Zuboff published a book arguing that leading tech firms had built a new economic order she called surveillance capitalism. In her account, companies harvest human experience as free raw material, turn it into predictions of behavior, and sell those predictions in markets. The phrase gave a name, attributed to Zuboff, to the sense that the free internet runs on watching its users. economy / society / technology ●●●

December 2019 The smartphone as a tracking device 0 cit. Journalists obtained a file of location pings from ordinary smartphone apps and showed they could follow named individuals through their daily lives. The data, gathered by a hidden industry of location brokers, tracked people to their homes, workplaces, and protests. It made plain that the phone in nearly every pocket is also a continuous tracking beacon. economy / society / technology ●●

July 2019 The Arror and Kimwarer dams that were never built 0 cit. In 2019 investigators found that around 19 billion shillings had been paid to the Italian firm CMC di Ravenna for two dams, at Arror and Kimwarer, that were never built. Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich became the first sitting cabinet minister in Kenya to be arrested. He was acquitted in 2023, an outcome critics point to as a sign of how rarely such prosecutions stick. economy / politics ●●●

21 December 2019 The West African CFA is renamed the eco and reserves leave Paris 0 cit. Presidents Alassane Ouattara and Emmanuel Macron announce that the West African CFA franc will be renamed the eco. The reform ends the requirement to deposit half of foreign reserves in the French Treasury and removes French representatives from the BCEAO board. The euro peg and French guarantee remain, and the Central African CFA is left untouched. economy / politics ●●●

5 October 2019 Malaysia launches the Shared Prosperity Vision 2030 0 cit. Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad launched the Shared Prosperity Vision 2030, a plan to raise living standards and move Malaysia to a high-income, knowledge-based economy by 2030. It aims to spread growth more evenly across income groups, ethnicities, and regions. It joined a long list of countries that fixed their development branding on the year 2030. economy ●

13 June 2019 The UN and the World Economic Forum sign a Strategic Partnership Framework 0 cit. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and WEF chairman Klaus Schwab signed a framework to deepen cooperation on delivering the 2030 Agenda. It named six areas of joint work, including climate, health, and financing development. The deal was openly published, but more than 200 civil-society groups signed a letter opposing it, arguing it gave corporations too much influence inside the UN. diplomacy / economy ●●

c. 2019 KRA values cars against the CRSP price list 0 cit. The Kenya Revenue Authority values imported vehicles using its Current Retail Selling Price list, a schedule of benchmark prices by make and model. Taxes are calculated from this figure after age-based depreciation, not from what the buyer actually paid. Because the list sets the taxable value, updates to it directly change how much importers owe, and revisions have drawn repeated complaints. economy / society ●●

15 March 2019 Kenyan High Court strikes down the Kenya-Mauritius tax treaty 0 cit. Kenya's High Court nullified the 2012 double-taxation agreement with Mauritius after a challenge by Tax Justice Network Africa, which argued it opened a route for profit-shifting and revenue loss. The court struck the treaty down on procedural grounds, finding it had not been properly ratified and laid before Parliament as the law required. Tax Justice Network Africa framed the win as exposing a treaty designed to bleed the tax base; the government defended it as a standard investment-promotion accord. economy / politics / society ●●●

c. 2019 The United States becomes the largest single contributor 0 cit. For most of the WHO's history the United States is its single biggest funder, supplying both assessed dues and large voluntary grants. In recent years American contributions have covered on the order of a fifth of the organization's total funding. That scale gives Washington outsized weight in what the WHO can afford to do. diplomacy / economy / politics ●●●

April 2019 Yemen becomes the most fragile state 0 cit. The 2019 index placed Yemen at number one, with a score of 113.5. Years of civil war, foreign air strikes, economic collapse, and a large-scale hunger crisis had driven its score up sharply. Yemen held the top position in the years that followed. economy / war ●●●

c. 2019 Fenced wildlife land beside landless people 0 cit. By the late 2010s a large share of Kenya's land sat inside parks, reserves and conservancies managed for wildlife and tourism, while many pastoralists and forest peoples remained landless or squeezed onto small plots. The gap raised a plain question about who the land was for. It set the core tension of fortress conservation: rich habitat protected while the people beside it went without. economy / environment / society ●●●

15 November 2020 Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership 0 cit. Free trade agreement among fifteen Asia-Pacific countries including China, Japan, South Korea, and the ASEAN states. Measured by members' GDP it is the largest trade bloc in history. diplomacy / economy / politics ●●●

30 December 2020 EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement 0 cit. Agreement governing trade and cooperation between the European Union and the United Kingdom after Brexit, providing tariff-free trade in goods with new border formalities. It took effect when the transition period ended. diplomacy / economy / politics ●●●

25 June 2020 Collapse of Wirecard 0 cit. German payments firm Wirecard files for insolvency after admitting 1.9 billion euros on its balance sheet likely never existed. The fraud at a DAX company becomes Germany's biggest postwar corporate scandal. economy ●●

June 2020 Great Reset initiative launched contested 0 cit. The World Economic Forum launched the Great Reset, a proposal to rethink economies and sustainability after the pandemic. The initiative became a frequent subject of conspiracy theories, though it was a documented set of policy proposals. economy / environment ●●●●

c. 2020 China's e-CNY and central bank digital currencies 0 cit. China began public trials of a digital yuan issued directly by its central bank, one of the largest tests of a central bank digital currency. Many countries began studying or piloting similar official digital money. economy / politics / technology ●●●●

20 September 2020 The FinCEN Files are published 0 cit. Journalists reported on leaked US Treasury suspicious activity reports showing that major banks moved trillions of dollars in suspect funds. The files exposed weaknesses in global anti money laundering controls. economy / politics ●●●

March 2020 Pandemic quantitative easing floods the world with money 0 cit. Central banks unleash unprecedented quantitative easing during the COVID-19 crisis, expanding balance sheets by trillions; the surge in money is later linked by critics to the inflation that followed. economy ●●●●

April 2020 to 2021 Debt relief in the COVID-19 pandemic 0 cit. The G20, with IMF and World Bank support, suspended debt payments for the poorest countries through the Debt Service Suspension Initiative. The response revived long-running arguments about how to handle unsustainable sovereign debt. economy / politics ●●●

30 May 2020 Crew Dragon carries astronauts to orbit 0 cit. SpaceX flew NASA astronauts to the space station aboard its Crew Dragon capsule. It was the first crewed orbital launch from American soil since the shuttle retired in 2011. economy / exploration / technology ●●●●

3 June 2020 The World Economic Forum launches the Great Reset contested 0 cit. Klaus Schwab and the World Economic Forum publish the Great Reset initiative, openly proposing to reshape the global economy after COVID-19. A documented published program, distinct from the conspiracy theories that later attached to the name. economy / politics ●●●

30 September 2020 Palantir goes public via direct listing 0 cit. Palantir Technologies began trading on the New York Stock Exchange through a direct listing, cementing the fortunes of co-founder and chairman Peter Thiel and CEO Alexander Karp. The listing was notable for the company's dual-class share structure that preserved Thiel's outsized voting control. economy / technology ●●

20 May 2020 France's National Assembly passes the CFA/eco reform law 0 cit. The French parliament passed legislation formally ending the requirement for West African CFA states to hold reserves at the French Treasury and removing French officials from the BCEAO's board, implementing the 2019 Abidjan announcement. Central African CFA states, using a separate franc issued by BEAC, did not adopt the same reforms and continued the pre-existing reserve-deposit arrangement, leaving that zone's currency structure unchanged into the 2020s. economy ●●

c. April 2020 FIFA settles US racketeering charges and reforms its structures 0 cit. US prosecutors expand the 2015 case with a superseding indictment naming more than a dozen additional defendants, including former CONMEBOL and CONCACAF officials, while FIFA itself is recognized in US courts as a victim entitled to restitution. The prolonged case became the most extensive sports corruption prosecution in history, resulting in numerous guilty pleas and convictions across multiple continents. economy / politics ●●

31 January 2020 United Kingdom leaves the European Union 0 cit. The United Kingdom formally left the European Union after nearly half a century of membership, entering a transition period to settle future relations. It was the first country ever to withdraw from the Union. diplomacy / economy / politics ●●●

19 January 2020 The Luanda Leaks expose Isabel dos Santos 0 cit. The ICIJ and partners reported on more than seven hundred thousand leaked files detailing how Isabel dos Santos, daughter of Angola's former president, built a fortune through deals with state companies. The reporting alleged she moved public money through a web of offshore firms while much of the country stayed poor. Dos Santos denied wrongdoing and called the investigation politically motivated. economy / politics ●●●

2020 The Covid billionaires at KEMSA 0 cit. During the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority awarded emergency contracts worth billions of shillings for masks and protective equipment to politically connected and newly formed companies, often at inflated prices. The press dubbed the beneficiaries 'Covid billionaires'. The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission flagged about 7.8 billion shillings in irregular spending, and KEMSA's top managers were removed. economy / politics / society ●●

January 2020 The WEF publishes its Davos Manifesto on stakeholder capitalism 0 cit. For its 50th annual meeting, the World Economic Forum issued an updated Davos Manifesto built around "stakeholder capitalism", the idea that companies should serve customers, workers, and society, not only shareholders. Klaus Schwab has promoted the concept for decades. Backers call it responsible business; critics call it a way for large corporations to expand their role in public policy. economy / politics ●●

3 June 2020 The WEF launches the Great Reset initiative 0 cit. Klaus Schwab and Britain's Prince Charles launched the Great Reset, a WEF initiative calling for the COVID-19 recovery to be used to build greener, more equal economies. Schwab and Thierry Malleret set out the argument in a book published weeks later. The WEF describes it as a voluntary discussion platform with no power to enact anything. Some critics and commentators read it instead as a plan for centralized global control; that interpretation is theirs, and the initiative itself was openly published, not secret. economy / politics ●●●

2020 China launches digital yuan trials and CBDCs go mainstream 0 cit. China began public trials of its central bank digital currency, the digital yuan, making it the largest economy to test state-issued digital money. Dozens of other central banks, coordinated in part through the Bank for International Settlements, began their own CBDC research. Supporters see faster, cheaper payments; critics point to the potential for governments to track or restrict how money is spent, a central worry in the debate over digital governance. economy / technology ●●

8 December 2020 Kenya-UK Economic Partnership Agreement signed 0 cit. Kenya and the United Kingdom sign an Economic Partnership Agreement to preserve duty-free, quota-free access after Brexit removed Kenya from the EU trade regime. The deal largely rolls over the terms of the EAC-EU arrangement on a bilateral basis. Supporters cite continuity for exporters, while critics note it commits Kenya to gradual reciprocal market opening to a far larger economy. diplomacy / economy ●●

September 2020 The FinCEN Files reveal flagged transactions 0 cit. In September 2020 journalists published the FinCEN Files, based on secret US reports that banks had filed on suspicious transactions worth some 2 trillion dollars. The documents showed banks moving money they had themselves flagged as possibly dirty, often for years. They exposed weaknesses in the systems meant to stop money laundering. economy / politics ●●

c. 2020 Earmarked money lets donors steer WHO priorities 0 cit. Because most WHO funding is tied to specific programs, the donors who give it shape which diseases and projects get attention. This is a documented feature of the budget, not a hidden one. Critics go further and argue the WHO is effectively captured or controlled by its biggest funders, whether the United States, Gates philanthropy, or others; the organization's defenders answer that policy is still set by the full membership at the World Health Assembly, where each country has an equal vote. diplomacy / economy / politics ●●●

14 April 2020 Trump halts US funding to the WHO 0 cit. President Donald Trump announces a halt to United States funding of the WHO pending a review, accusing the organization of mismanaging the pandemic and being too deferential to China. As the largest single contributor, the United States put a significant share of the WHO's budget in question. The WHO and many governments objected to cutting funds mid-pandemic. diplomacy / economy / politics ●●●