rewind returns. with updates on the best of al-jazeera this documentary i will come early onion. with the how to. go on to rewind continues with louisiana what was once a thriving community. what's up with murdering your bow down. while the southern chip with the law is submerged 30 feet below us on al-jazeera. given al this is counting the cost on al-jazeera your look at the world of business and economics this week as oil prices slump economies shrink and austerity kicks in is this the end of the middle east oil rush also this week south africa's

unemployment hit a record high before the pandemic what's gone wrong for an economy that emerged from the 2008 financial crisis in a strong position. when you try to reinvent the wheel but turns out you may simply be the world's largest taxi firm is this the end of the gig economy into fights and labor laws and courts around the world. the world economies are moving away from fossil fuels right now being an oil producing nation is a tricky proposition burning through money set aside for a rainy day and borrowing money from international investors to make sure you can pay your bills it's also a time many big oil companies are thinking about leaving more oil in the ground many countries have failed to wean themselves off oil struggling to diversify their economies oil revenues in the middle east and north africa fell from over one trillion dollars in 2012 to $575000000000.20. 19 that's according to the i.m.f.

and this year middle east produces are expected $270000000000.00 less than oil revenue at the same time middle east oil exporting economies are expected to contract 7.3 percent just as an example the biggest economy saudi arabia is predicted to have a budget deficit of 112000000000 dollars this year which is a record according to saudi vestment group the government has tripled value added tax from 5 percent to 15 percent and has cut its cost of living allowance for state employees from june of this year that amounted to about $267.00 a month for 2 thirds of the country's employees still saudi finance minister mohammad dahlan says the kingdom may have to borrow $60000000000.00 to cover the huge budget deficit saudi arabia isn't the only country struggling while prices trading around $40.00 a barrel that means countries like algeria a stretch to say the least it needs oil at $157.00

a barrel just to make ends meet the only nation that can balance its budget at $40.00 is qatar so can the really see the writing on the wall an end to the age of oil is coming well there is hunter castro met with jihad as or in washington d.c. he is the director of the middle east and central asia department at the international monetary fund she began by asking him our middle east oil exporters doing enough to diversify. well diversification has different meanings you have the fiscal diversification and countries in the 'd have already started that with the introduction of the value added tax as well as also other fiscal measures some bearing and in process of doing this we encourage them to accelerate that there is also the u.k. sure. shore soul 'd vision 2030 and other medium term programs government has already started to use that and the 3rd level of diversification the

diversification off economic enablers or i would say a driver for growth and technology for example. is one area promoting and developing is also another avenue where countries in the last few years have introduced certain number of programs but we have also to cognize that diversification is a long process and this process had made it more difficult with the we think that going forward what is important is to accelerate the investment in technology have an environmental led growth and also improve business environment and those 3 elements with investing in education investing in health care will allow those countries to have a healthy and strong diversification programs what are the hurdles for a diversification why is it such a long process because you are in fact investing in a long cycle you need to have enablers for that human capital is an important they

mention and it takes time to do this you need to adjust some of the laws labor laws and also especially if you are investing in start ups. this takes time for those. new ventures to grow but those are the steps that goes in the right direction and this is has to be done dynasty weighed improving some all. the doing business indicators and also investing and. investment in technology and investment in. green energy and green recovery with this pandemic. while prices still at a very low range what are your growth prospects for these middle eastern countries . those 2 shocks led to one of the most severe crisis that beijing has to endure in less than one year and we saw

a drop in on economic activity that what not seen in the last decade. of course government reacted very rapidly in order to address. impact on lives and livelihoods by introducing certain number of measures to protect the life of people through social distancing and other health care measures in patterns to that government have also initiated certain number of fiscal and monetary stimulus in order to address them package of this crisis on livelihood of people on economic activity and also in providing liquidity to the financial system this has had but yet we expect growth this year to be negative on average by more than 5 percent of course it's different between countries and oil exporting countries where more affected than the old importing countries you mention the value added tax that's a new thing for some of these countries how is it being implemented and so far

would you say it's working to fund these governments as you know there are 3 countries who have already introduced saudi and bahrain others are preparing it proved to be simple to implement and their revenue impact. is going to be acceptable it came at a time where the economy was not growing fast and therefore it may have had an impact when it was introduced but this is a step in the right direction diversify the source of the. news it helps also introduce a tax that is new to the sick totally and also it helps create some discipline in the way public resources are the use of course this is a step in the right direction but it's not the only step that is needed. and then if we do have a 2nd wave of cold air in the middle east do you think these economies can serve ryan and how. well the 1st wave showed us that countries with efficient in

managing the 1st way they have introduced swift lease strong and stringent measures to protect lives and those who started early were able to open up earlier. and also we saw an investment in the health care infrastructure and this is something that. going forward what is going to be important is how to balance between opening up and protect the lives how to make sure that some of the services. education is an important one delivering public services as well as also helping some of the sectors that we're hardly hit like does a transportation to to cover and above all is how to help balance to get. into the new sectors of the economy and then with course we have the oil importing countries we have egypt and jordan and lebanon how do you think they'll fare well here i think each country is different of course the drop in oil

was used for them on reducing the cost of energy but on the other hand reminiscences investment flows and tourism flows went down each country has its own i would say framework off actions that is needed going forward countries who have introduced reforms like egypt were able to addressing the impact of the keep the economy functioning others need like lebanon on. a stronger form agenda in order to restore confidence and address one of the most severe crisis that lebanon has endured over the last decades 11 on does have a new government do you have confidence that this government is capable of resolving the crisis and taking lebanon out of debt and what role do you see the i.m.f. playing in achieving. as you know the i.m.f. . is helping lebanon and giving these people and we are now looking forward for

the formation of the government to engage again with living on with the peace and order to see what are the programs. and how the fund can. thank you very much for joining us thank you. south africa could be heading toward a debt crisis if it doesn't rain in its spending right now that's a difficult proposition for a nation that needs every penny to combat the pandemic the country has already agreed to a loan of more than $4000000000.00 from the international monetary fund and as is the case with all the ones from the lender of last resort it comes with strings the biggest string of all is a debt to anchor that's like a promise not to increased it to unmanageable levels when it plans its budget if it doesn't rain in spending it could soar to 140 percent of g.d.p. by the end of the decade this year debts could rise to 90 percent of g.d.p. the bargee or dash the more money you pay in interest payments which means there

isn't enough money for services or help to create drops with unemployment running at more than 30 percent the country is also grappling with another problem corruption under former president jacob zuma his rule of 9 years almost $30000000000.00 was allegedly new shit from the stage that's according to government estimates that money right now would be very useful as unleashes a much needed $30000000000.00 stimulus program to combat the covert 19 economic crisis. well joining me now from johannesburg islam keller patrick monday even keller is a thing electra at the johannesburg based school of economics and finance university of the witwatersrand thank you for your time going into the global financial crisis in 2008 south africa had recorded a budget surplus it came out with a strong balance sheet now it's on the verge of a debt crisis what went wrong in those he is a software guy had a half hour to offset the new craze is that he concedes unfortunately for the offer

to go because his net sheets and the golden political change with zuma together with the left led by the congress party especially a function of the n.c. as well as the huge who are stuck in big and therefore decided to lament a state led driven program under the new code page and in the process also destroyed and they pick posed institutions such as the president was very as well as as so easy for president if you do a. page on and the rest of those around him with science but it wasn't all just corruption though i mean can we really put it all down to that misappropriation aware that other factors at play. there are the feds tons. at the local are new to fed and bt also did destroyed the capability of the state so this state was shipped out of kuwait believe it so what we saw was that not only was corruption

a part of code project but indeed was only saw a destroying of some of the capability that had been built by the black government says 994 therefore the so called ups of institutions from local levon where there have been several students are forced because they still cannot meet i walked up to get water you cannot to me said these and refused to give already so it's been a crisis that was human made which is zuma fiction so this kind of corruption couple are to leave and incapable state as well as a very difficult period to our own destruction of eskom where this economy was built on mining in any cheese and eskom in my ability to give our energy the ever wes and. the economy and together with the

corruption says rumi see that because it double edged sword to with there was corruption and as a lesson on one side on the other side there was just a collapse of institution due to state in a couple and lack of capabilities and then of course we have unemployment which has soared to 30 percent but that was going up before the coronavirus pandemic taking rat into account where do you see the country headed. the country is facing huge challenges we expect with a corporate 19 and implemented often a couple who should be about 40 percent which probably will be among the highest among leaders income countries and many people have been pushed into formality and in the process often for muddy choose their own social pathologies because you could be unemployed and they cannot scrape through. and other forms of violence

increases that is why is that offer you guys one of the hi pam arrayed countries but also very vibrant countries in the world. as i mentioned earlier the government has to introduce a debt anchor as part of the i.m.f. program what else is required by the i.m.f. and how is the country going to go in making this a crime. and then if expect south africa to undergo huge structural economic reforms as specifically the existing support of state owned enterprises who all of them need cash injection from eskom today newly built south africa no established to just fucking 2 to decide african broadcasting corporation so that's one area the 2nd is around telecommunication where this 8 has kept the spectrum and has that difficulty of us communicating in this interview and 3rd is about huge

concentration in the economy but not the in areas where the stage is dominant this is transported to just kick this is power the energy generation where they stayed true as countries is rid of government and so these reforms require the state to play and maybe an environment in that process hopefully allow private sector to come in and 5 and succeeds however we know that because of the state having these assets it's unlikely to move at that pace if you like to because of the step in tests such as cage unknowns and the communist therefore i think this petition is all that i am and to encompass the awesome board i put in dead tonight so that for done we've found itself fading because it's going to lead to mustique action and evolved because it's been seen by brought us as austerity so i don't i doubt that i am ever will find these process is being met by the southern government who have

spent 7 government to get people interested as an end up having to review and go a bigger such an adjustment program because if your banker changed cept those changes reste i.m.f. expects all of them with the loan debt given as a football and that a $1000000000.00 in the possum's ok the $30000000000.00 stimulus package proposed by the government what impact if any do you think that will have on the economy. it's been a very sad story about that puck a just that it be you don't remember that shit didn't you on of that 50 bjorn was meant to be in got on t.v. bet by the government and the south african design of bank. only about 15 percent of that has been spent therefore meaning that many corporations have been ever left alone then of course ups they've been destroyed and sickened by the puck of that offensive beyond that to mention what's going to be part of that of the

total and equipment that i mentioned before going to be going to come from them ads which have just come in now so it's not because it does best it and others. come from the budget lines which already been announced in february and you know that to those they've been kept because in the process that i was a lovely guy has reported that there's been a huge corruption way money meant for has said this has been kept up to me spends. as a for dad because that corruption has led to many people dying sloth or god or luna competitive thames suffer the ga has done fade in thames off their heads due to call the 8 however the fed that the money meant to spend went to court options and people's pockets than protection protective you could mend and otherwise is

a disaster for suboxone. well have leave it there for time thank you so much for your time kelly patrick monday appreciate it thanks so much thank you the u.k. supreme court is hearing a case that could bring an end to the so-called gig economy the appeal was brought by after drivers won the right to be recognized as workers and not as independent contractors who has argued that it's a technology company that connects drivers and riders in a separate case in california and rival lift have been ordered by a judge to classify drivers as employees it's just one of many cases globally drivers and unions claim millions of people in the great economy have insecure contracts that don't entitle them to sick can tolerate pay many are unable to save for retirement because of the nature of the work. but doing me in now from london by skype his neo-con very neil is the chief executive officer of the recruitment and employment confederation in the u.k. thanks for your time neil his business model could not just be damaged but appended

ready if the court rules against him saying yes actually drive is our employees one side of the debate do you come down on especially considering i mean if this business model changes who knows what it will mean the size of the company its profits its number of drives so well thank you pleasure to join you i think this is a really important case because what we have here is a business a neighbor who are doing something new an app based. right platform but of course essentially in many ways it is taxi company and there are really strong established rules in the u.k. fool when someone is working for themselves and when someone is actually a worker working for an employer and i think what we are has learned through this case is that those rules are. are inflexible for a reason and i have was oh i was not surprised when the when the initial case

phoned for the claimants because in reality you can't just say someone is self employed there are a range of tests in english law that are about the type of work you're doing and i think if you look across the the that work by and large most people on an even hand would say the. drivers were it workers by the traditional definition that castell in england sets out so i wasn't surprised so by the by the judgement that it proved what does that mean for its business model it has a choice it can either move to acknowledging that and be able to work a moral or it can range how to work is done differently so that it retains a contract a model that choice is theirs but we cannot just say that someone is so. or when it would work as you sort of mentioned this is gone through the courts it's now in the u.k. going to the final court of appeal to the supreme court. i mean this could also have implications for all delivery services for everyone in the get go conan couldn't.

absolutely and i think what's really important here is there is a very clear test in case law in england for when someone is a worker and when someone is reported companies need to know what and respect that and in some cases there are good economy companies who are employing people self-employed and they're clearly self-employed and in some cases we've seen examples where that much more in question as we've seen in the view of the case i think what's important here is that companies cannot just hide behind the law they have to make a decision about whether they want people to be workers and that comes with responsibilities and rights for workers and for companies or whether they want people to be self employed if they choose self employment they can't expect people to do the things that workers can be expected to do there's a choice there and i think

a lot of these particularly new or companies tech complot from different companies a habit of thinking that they're changing the world with what they're doing well there are reasons why our employment relation systems work the way they do and it's really important. flexible labor markets are working which is a huge benefit to people in terms of fighting work quickly and finding work flexibly with that we maintain the fact that fairness matters in that part of the labor market just as much as it does to people who have an an on going permanent job working 9 to 5 as things stand the likes of her and left not paying taxes are getting that they're just a connecting technology not an employer nor are they contributing to you know employee health schemes or anything like that and maybe the taxpayer century has to pick up the tab i mean does that add another element to this. well i hope peace around fair competition and around. companies paying the appropriate amount of taxes depending on whether they're. there in kind of what we

call the traditional economy in the or in this more out based economy we see exactly the same discussion going on here in the u.k. between. the retailers bricks and mortar retailers who have to pay a tax called business rates which very high and online retailers who don't have to pay that tax and of course they can feed that through to prices so there is a big debate to have a whole countries i think about the balance of taxation when you have more companies operate saying in a desegregated way either matching which is essentially what platform is doing it approved drivers with with with customers or indeed selling in country or internationally from platforms like amazon so that i think there is a big debate coming about that i think it's really important that businesses that are grown while i'm on new technology approach that with the sense that.

responsibility matters and that somewhere the tax is going to have to be paid i think the work of that's been going on in the o.e.c.d. internationally around. writing trying to find some common ground between nations on how we tax these big global businesses is really really important to that responsible capitalism that we should all be aiming for ok thank you so much for your time chief executive officer of the recruitment and employment confederation in the u.k. appreciate a time thank you and that is our show for this week get in touch with us by tweeting me at kevin allen do you use the hash tag a.j.c. to see when you do our jobs an e-mail counting the constant is there at dot net is our address is more for you on line out there dot com slash c t c. take you straight to our page which has individual reports links and entire episodes for you to catch up on. and that is it for this edition of counting the cost some convert al from

a whole team thanks for joining us the news on al-jazeera is next. a face can tell a story without uttering a single word. and knowing god it's. a simple task. inform us. the unconventionality of life witnessed through the lens of the human eye. is what inspires us. witness documentaries on al-jazeera. on the deserted streets of bogata they've become familiar figures couriers and bicycles delivering food or medicine to lock down colombians most of them here are venezuelan migrants they might go miss a mother of 4 says contagion is always on her mind none of them receive health insurance for their work and exposing themselves and very few seem to have it yet

there may be a bright side people who look down on them as a skilled migrants now say they're essential to control the virus i receive messages on the out saying that we are you know so i was a nurse back home what i am doing is not all that different from my passion helping others. a commander in chief under fire donald trump denies claims he mocks america's war dead. over on how markets in and this is al-jazeera live from doha also coming up a diplomatic win of sorts for donald trump after days of talks in washington serbia and kosovo were greeted normalise economic tights.

paying tribute in a city still in the morning a month on.