Actions have consequences. Words have consequences. As do silences, especially in crucial times, when they emanate from the seat of great power, like that of a US president.
On January 6 last year, the world watched a formidable symbol of American democracy be desecrated by an angry mob, supportive of Donald Trump, that was incited by the words of the former US president, to "take back control" and "stop the steal".
The mob was encouraged by Mr Trump, first, by his words and actions – the phone calls to rustle up 11,780 votes – and then by his long uncharacteristic silence, his too conspicuous delay in calling for calm and telling protesters to go home, yet insisting “this was a fraudulent election".
There were other inciting slogans that pushed hordes of Trump supporters to break the law, scaling the gates of the US Capitol, storming the premises, and causing immeasurable damage to the psyche and conscience of rational people across America.
Not believing facts is not just an American problem
If they had wanted, Trump supporters could have demonstrated differently. They had every right to peaceful protest. But the violence that left five people dead, including a Capitol police officer, can never be condoned, not under any guise of freedom or civil liberties.
The unwillingness of a large mass of people to accept the result of a democratic and secure election process indicates a deep and dangerous malaise in American society. This is only exacerbated by country-wide misinformation campaigns, online or elsewhere.
America is "in very dangerous territory", Barbara F Walter, author of a book (out this month) called How Civil Wars Start, and a professor of political science at the University of California, who serves on a CIA advisory panel, has warned. But not believing facts is not just an American problem.
The consequences of subscribing to misinformation are at the root of several dire problems in the world today. And it is not just that democracies are imperilled; actual lives are at stake. The pandemic has shone a light on what is no longer a fringe section of people. Over the past 18 months, anti-vaxxers have made their presence felt all over the world.
As with the group of people who believe falsehoods over facts – such as the baseless belief that an election was stolen – anti-vaxxers discredit science and data and replace it with their own contorted understanding of reality. They have never been more of a menace.
America recorded one million Covid-19 cases in a single day this week with 35 million unvaccinated Americans. This is not an underdeveloped country with a modest GDP. For a country usually portrayed as a beacon of progress, and where vaccines are made abundant, it is astonishing that so many people continue to make a choice to not be inoculated against the virus; and consequently to not be safe and to not keep others safe, presumably because they are convinced that their own misinformed assumptions of science are the truth. This situation is far from under control.
Fortunately, social media companies have gradually begun to take more proactive positions. If January 6 is one year of the US Capitol violence, January 9 is a year since Twitter permanently banned Mr Trump for violating the company's terms. And just this week, for fuelling misinformation, Twitter also permanently banned Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. For similar reasons, in September last year, Facebook banned 150 German Facebook accounts and expanding its medical misinformation policies, YouTube removed 130,000 videos perpetuating wrong information about vaccines.
Combating misinformation is an enormous challenge. To tackle it is an arduous process but one that must be joined so that societies function and remain stable. It starts with people, institutions and all stakeholders, public and private, no longer staying silent.
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- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
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- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
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- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
BULKWHIZ PROFILE
Date started: February 2017
Founders: Amira Rashad (CEO), Yusuf Saber (CTO), Mahmoud Sayedahmed (adviser), Reda Bouraoui (adviser)
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: E-commerce
Size: 50 employees
Funding: approximately $6m
Investors: Beco Capital, Enabling Future and Wain in the UAE; China's MSA Capital; 500 Startups; Faith Capital and Savour Ventures in Kuwait
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
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Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
