The former finance minister from the collapsed Afghan government, Khalid Payenda, tells Ed Butler that it was brought down by rampant corruption at a very high level. He served for six months from the beginning of this year and says that by the time US forces left and the Taliban began advancing, most of Afghanistan's supposed 300 thousand troops and police didn’t exist. He says phantom personnel were added to official lists so that generals could pocket their wages. Many Afghans feel enraged by the failures of the US-backed government and they say it abandoned them in their hour of need.

( Pic: Man counting money at a market in Afghanistan Credit: Bloomberg Creative )

Will Africa’s economic development be held back for the world’s net zero climate targets? And could banning investment in their fossil fuels do more harm than good? Tamasin Ford speaks to NJ Ayuk, the executive chair of the energy industry lobby group, Africa Energy Chamber who says the decision is a disaster for countries in Africa and to W.Gyude Moore, a Senior Policy Fellow at the Centre for Global Development and Liberia's former Minister of Public Works who says Africa can’t catch up without fossil fuels. Dr Olumide Abimbola, is the Executive Director of the Africa Policy Research Institute, a Berlin based think tank that works on Africa policy issues. He’s in Glasgow for the climate talks and Tamasin asked him whether there’s a fear the EU Green deal could restrict goods from Africa. And Adenike Oladosu, one of Nigeria’s youth delegates in Glasgow says people in her country do want to go green but it’s just not affordable.

Pic: Smoke emerging from chimneys Credit: Alexandros Margos/Getty

Sewage entered British waters for around 3 million hours in 2020 in over 400,000 pollution incidents. Hugo Tagholm, chief executive of Surfers Against Sewage tells Tamasin Ford why this is happening. Public pressure for the government and water companies to do something about this is mounting, particularly since it's become known that privately owned water companies in England paid their shareholders almost $80 billion in dividends over the last 30 years. WaterUK represents all of the water and sewage providers across the UK. We hear from their director of policy, Stuart Colville. Is tougher legislation the answer? Sweden faced similar problems with their sewage system more than fifty years ago. Peter Sörngård, an environmental expert at the Swedish Water and Waste Water Association explains how they dealt with it.

Producer: Benjie Guy

(Picture: a sewage outflow pipe discharges sewage into a river. Credit: BBC.)

sewage spewing into British waters went viral on social media. The country’s Victorian era sewage systems are struggling to cope. We find out what’s being done about it and look to Sweden where they seem to be getting things right.

As global leaders jet out of Glasgow, leaving the hard bargaining to their delegates, Business Weekly looks at what the pledges made so far really mean. Will rich countries be able to support the financial demands made of developing nations to help them transition away from fossil fuels? And what did activists make of Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi’s promise of reaching net-zero by 2070? Also on the programme, we hear why some people enjoy trophy hunting - and whether it can ever be a useful tool for conservation. And as an inquest names a haul of Anglo-Saxon coins one of the biggest ever found in England, we ask what happens to treasure after it’s discovered. Business Weekly is presented by Lucy Burton and produced by Matthew Davies.

Central Banks around the world are introducing digital currencies and last month Nigeria became the first African country to launch one - the eNaira. But what is a digital currency and how are Nigerians reacting to theirs? We hear from people on the streets of Abuja. Tamasin Ford speaks to Rakiya Mohammed, director of information security at the Central Bank of Nigeria. Chinwe Egwim, chief economist at Coronation Merchant Bank in Lagos, explains why the eNaira has been introduced and the benefits it could have. Digital currency expert Josh Lipsky of the Atlantic Council puts the launch of the eNaira in the context of the others that are springing up all over the globe.

Producer: Benjie Guy.

(Picture: the eNaira mobile phone app. Credit: enaira.gov.ng)

Inflation has hardly been seen in the developed world economies for the last three decades. But now some economists are warning it could be returning with a vengeance, because of supply chain problems, post-Covid exuberance, and higher wage demands. What is going on, and should we all be worried? We hear opposing views from Claudia Sahm, former economic adviser to the Federal Reserve and the White House, Steve Hanke of Johns Hopkins University, and Andrew Sentance, senior adviser at Cambridge Econometrics and a former member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee.

Image: Full shopping cart in supermarket aisle (Credit: Getty Images).

Guy Hands, the founder of Terra Firma, opens up on the highs and lows and risks involved in deal making and private equity. From being bullied at school to becoming a household name, buying and selling businesses from cinema chains and pubs to waste management, aircraft leasing and green energy companies. We hear his side of the deal that turned sour, the acquisition of multinational music company EMI in 2007, and how his addiction to doing deals has affected his personal life. Ed Butler is in conversation with Guy Hands about his new book, The Dealmaker. (Image: Guy Hands; image credit: John De Garis)

The future of credit for the young, or just another way of getting into debt? Would you pay for a product now, when you could simply delay payment for free? Ever since the pandemic forced millions of us to stay at home, millions more of us have been buying goods online using a new form of credit. Buy now, pay later offers goods interest free and it's proving very tempting to many younger shoppers. But is it just a new form of debt trap? Ed Butler speaks to Nick Molnar co-founder of Afterpay and Sebastian Siemiatkowski, the cofounder and CEO of Klarna, the Swedish based firm that's now the world's biggest buy now pay later provider. He also hears from Alice Tapper of personal finance forum Go Fund Yourself who says regulation is desperately needed to protect younger consumers. Plus Amber Foucault from the consumer spending analytics company Cardify who says that until global regulation comes in, we should watch out for many younger customers getting into financial trouble using this system.

(Picture: "Payment due!" written on a calendar with a bank card on top. Credit: Getty Images.)

As the world focuses its attention on climate, we’re looking to the money that could create real change. Venture capital is the type of financing that can take new ideas to the mass market and it’s finally looking to fund clean, green tech. First, to understand how start-ups go about seeking VC funding, Vivienne Nunis hears from founder Diedre McGettrick. Gabriel Kra, of the venture capital firm Prelude Ventures, explains the shift he's seen in low-carbon investing. But Silicon Valley attracts the world’s sharpest minds, so why aren’t more tech leaders coming up with the bright ideas needed to fight climate change? We ask founder-turned-investor, Ben Parr. Producer: Sarah Treanor. Image: Smart farming technology. Credit: Getty Images

Correction: Prelude Ventures invested approx. $125m in the past 12 months, in deals totalling $1.3bn. It didn’t invest $1.3bn on its own, as was stated in the programme.

As world leaders gather in Glasgow in Scotland for the UN’s global climate conference, COP26, we ask if a new project partnering with the private sector will help save the Amazon rainforest, or whether it’s simply another way for the corporate sector to pay away its guilt. Plus, we hear from a youth delegate to the last big climate conference in Paris – what is she hoping for this time round? And, can electric freight vessels help global shipping to go green? We hear how a Norwegian company is working on one. We also look at the fight against plastic waste and how the world’s recycling systems simply aren’t working. And they’re big, glamorous and they involve hundreds of people. But are the days of the big Indian wedding over? Business Weekly is produced by Matthew Davies and presented by Tamasin Ford.

Trophy hunting – paying to kill large animals, often in African game reserves – promotes strong feelings. Many oppose it, but some conservationists argue it adds value to wildlife and their habitats. We discuss the arguments and hear from a psychologist about the motivations of people who want to kill animals in the wild. With Doctor Sue Snyman from the School of Wildlife Conservation; Dr Mark Jones who represents the charity Born Free; tourism expert Dr Muchazondida Mkono; and Geoff Beattie, the author of Trophy Hunting: A Psychological Perspective. Vivienne Nunis also gets the view from Richard Leakey, the famous paleoanthropologist and former head of the Kenyan Wildlife Service.

Producer: Sarah Treanor.

(Photo:: A rhinoceros. Credit: Getty Images)

How does a $200,000 starting salary sound? That’s now the industry standard for newly qualified lawyers at big corporate law firms in the US and the UK. But before you sign on the dotted line consider that in exchange for your princely wage packet, 100 hour working weeks and being on-call 24 hours a day could be part of that deal.

So is it all worth it? Elizabeth Hotson speaks to "recovering lawyer" Taly Matiteyahu, whilst Christopher Clark, director of legal head hunting firm, Definitum Search, explains why salaries have got so high and Stephen Parkinson, a senior partner at law firm, Kingsley Napley sets out some alternatives to the status quo.

Plus, a practising corporate lawyer in New York tells us about his work schedule and Anna Lovett, an Associate Solicitor at law firm Burnetts, tells us about changing attitudes to work. And Charlene Bourliout, an ex-lawyer and burnout consultant offers some strategies for coping with an overwhelming workload.

Presented and produced by Elizabeth Hotson

Picture description: dollar bills Picture credit: Getty Images