Electron Native

  Nigeria’s diversification plan may still be on track. The nations mines ministry says 50 mines would be operational by 2023.   COVID-19 brought home the reality that oil alone can’t be trusted to earn Africa enough revenue to cater for her citizens. The recent low oil price is a clear evidence of this. The fall in all price resulted in an increase in the price of gold.   Nigeria’s Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Olamilekan Adegbite said, the pandemic has slowed things down, but we can catch up”. The nation has a projection of earning 3% from the both processing and available raw minerals.   An example is barite, which used for drilling oil and gas. And the market for it primarily is in Africa, where more exploration for black gold are being carried out.   The minister expects more artisanal miners to benefit from the new plan. This is possible when they form cooperative societies and sell the ores, mostly gold to government buying centres instead of ...

Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari comments on the #ENDSARS protests spreading across the nation. He assures of his administration’s commitment to reforming the SARS unit across Nigeria. The President, made the comments in a series of tweets on Friday night, said he had met with the Inspector General of Police, Adamu Mohammed, who he said has briefed him on moves to reform the unit. He urged Nigerians to be patient and calm as they freely exercise their right to protest peacefully. Buhari tweeted: “I met again with the IGP tonight. Our determination to reform the police should never be in doubt. “I am being briefed regularly on the reform efforts ongoing to end police brutality and unethical conduct, and ensure that the Police are fully accountable to the people. “The IG already has my firm instructions to conclusively address the concerns of Nigerians regarding these excesses, & ensure erring personnel are brought to justice. “I appeal for patience & calm, even as Nig...

Mauritius’s economy is expected to contract by between 7.5% and 15% in 2020 due to the effects of the coronavirus, which have hit its tourism, manufacturing, and transport sectors, the central bank governor said on Friday.   Bank of Mauritius Governor Harvesh Seegolam said in a statement that these sectors, alongside information and communications, business and administrative activities, and wholesale and storage, made up almost 40% of gross domestic product. The bank had in March forecast growth of 2.6% to 2.8% this year. “The contraction in output this year will be severe,” Seegolam said. Mauritius has 334 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, 322 recoveries and 10 deaths. It has suspended international passenger travel, restricted movement on the island, and allowed only essential businesses to stay open. Seegolam said tourism, another important sector, had also slumped and that in April and May alone, the sector had lost 12 billion rupees in foreign exchange...

However, Mr Museveni did not mention any time frame with the comment. But latest available data from the country’s statistics’ office states that in 2017 Uganda earned $2 billion from tourism, an increase from $1.7 billion the previous year. President Museveni adds that the Ugandan economy would also lose the $1.3 billion sent home each year by Ugandans in diaspora as many would be out of work because of the global economic aftershocks of the lockdown. Last month, the International Monetary Fund reported that Uganda’s tourism earnings would fall by 54% in the 2019/20 (July-June) fiscal year, and decline by 52% in 2021. The IMF almost cut its forecast for economic growth in Uganda for the financial year ending in June to 3.3% and projects 3.7% growth in the following fiscal year. In the year ended June 2019, the economy grew 6.5%. Tourism is one of Uganda’s main revenue earners as the east African country attracts visitors to her Savannahs and game reserves to watch...

Morocco’s Royal Air Maroc or RAM is seeking a state loan guarantee to pay for June expenses as it struggles with $5 million in daily losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic, according to its chief executive officer, Abdelhamid Addou. Royal Air Maroc Source : Morocco World News The loan will help state-owned airline maintain its cashflow to meet financial commitments, Addou explains in a letter to RAM staff. The lockdown imposed by Morocco having closed down all flights and imposed a lockdown to help slow the spread of the coronavirus. Addou adds that RAM staff should brace for further austerity measures after salary and spending cuts that helped it uphold its financial commitments in March, April and May. “This is the worst crisis in our history,” he said after RAM’s traffic plunged by 60% in March and 100% in April. The company must adapt to new travel requirements and regulations caused by the pandemic, he said, adding that it could take three years to return RAM’s ...

Facebook and a consortium of African and global telecom firms have agreed a deal to build one of the world’s largest underwater or subsea cable networks. This will boost Internet availability across three continents, it focus on Africa, Middle East and some parts of Europe they said in a joint statement on Thursday. 2Africa Source: Tech Africa The partners in this project are South Africa’s MTN GlobalConnect and Mauritius-based infrastructure provider WIOCC are partners in the project, along with China Mobile International, French telecoms major Orange SA, Saudi Arabia’s stc, Telecom Egypt, and Vodafone. The project, called 2Africa, aims to build 37,000 kilometres of subsea cable infrastructure which will directly connect countries around the African coast to Europe and the Middle East, according to its website. The network will have a design capacity of up to 150 terabytes per second (Tbps) on key parts of the system, according to the site . The 11 new cables rolled ...

Nigeria’s The Debt Management Office informed the investing public his on its website on Wednesday, adding that a total of N33bn was offered while it recorded a total subscription of N165.56bn. The treasury bills were auctioned across 91-day, 182-day and 364-day tenors.   Debt Management Office, Nigeria. Source : Tribune Online. A total of N4.38bn was offered on the 91-day; N12.92bn for the 182-day tenor, and N16.5bn was offered on the 364-day tenor. The 91-day and 182-day tenors got total subscriptions of N22.33bn and N41.19bn respectively, while the 364-day tenor received N102.03bn subscription. Total allotments of N19.78bn, N40.09bn and N82.88bn were made on the 91-day, 182-day and 384-day tenors respectively. The bid rates in percentage were 1.3900-6.6398, 1.9400-7.4800, and 2.8000-12.8000, while the stop rates in percentage were given as 2.5000, 2.8500 and 3.8400 for the 91-day, 182-day and 364-day tenors respectively. According to the DMO, all...

South Africa’s National Treasury says it will table a new budget on June 24 to ratify plans for a 500 billion rand ($27 billion) stimulus package aimed at easing the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak. National Treasury, Republic of South Africa. Source : CNBC. The statements explain that,“A revised fiscal framework will also be presented, to account for substantial revenue losses emanating from the economic shock of the pandemic and subsequent lockdown.” President Cyril Ramaphosa mentioned the rescue package in late April. It equates to 10% of GDP and includes higher welfare and unemployment grants as well as support for businesses.

Foreign investors in Nigeria have being assured that their investments are safe. The Governor gave this assurance, Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele. Central Bank of Nigeria Source : Wikipedia According to the punch The assurance is part of a statement from the CBN on Sunday. Emefiele assured investors interested in repatriating their funds from the country of the safety of their money, despite the drop in the revenue from crude oil. He noted that the CBN had put in place measures to ensure an orderly transfer of funds for those that might be interested in doing so. He said, “The foreign exchange available would be devoted to strategic importation or service obligations that are the priority. “The CBN, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, is committed to galvanising the manufacturing sector in a bid to reset the economy.” Recalling a similar situation that occurred in 2015 over declining revenue, Emefiele said that the...

The South African grid is about to get a major boost. South Africa is developing a plan for a new 2,500 megawatt (MW) nuclear power plant, the energy ministry told lawmakers on Thursday. Nuclear Power Plant Source : Forbes Reuters News Agency reports that Africa’s most industrialised economy, which operates the continent’s only nuclear power plant near Cape Town, said last year that it was considering adding more nuclear capacity in the long term, after abandoning in 2018 a massive nuclear expansion championed by former president Jacob Zuma. Analysts had expressed serious concern about Zuma’s project for a fleet of nuclear plants totalling 9,600 MW because it would have put massive additional strain on public finances at a time of credit rating downgrades. Its current nuclear plant, Koeberg, has a capacity of around 1,900 MW and was synchronised to the grid in the 1980s. “The development of the roadmap for the 2,500 MW Nuclear New Build Programme will be comme...

Nigerians will be buying fuel at cheaper rates, again. The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation or NNPC has announced a 17.94 per cent reduction in the ‘ex-depot’ price of petrol. Petrol Pump Nozzle Source : Punch Newspapers Nigeria The price was reduced from N113.28k per litre petrol was sold to marketers in the previous month to about N108.00K per litre. The new ex-depot price is coming almost a week into the new month, following the promise last month by the Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mele Kyari, that a new pricing template for petroleum products would be released every first of a new month. Ex-depot price is the ceiling price at which petroleum products depot owners or terminal operators are expected to sell to marketers. The marketers, through their various filling stations, then sell to the end users. With the reduction of the ex-depot price, a new retail price of petrol is expected to be announced by the appropriate agency, PPPRA. The Petroleum Prod...

Mobile operator Vodacom Group said on Monday it had switched on Africa’s first live 5G mobile network in three cities in South Africa, with further rollouts planned in other parts of the country.   Source: BizAfricaDaily According to Reuters, Vodacom has been recently assigned temporary additional spectrum by South Africa’s telecoms regulator for the duration of a national state of disaster to tackle the coronavirus pandemic, which has been used to fast track its 5G launch, the company said in a statement. Chief Executive Officer, Shameel Joosub had said in February that Vodacom is expected to offer 5G mobile services in South Africa this year by using a network being built by another African operator, Liquid Telecom. The deployment of 5G will help Vodacom manage the 40% increase in mobile network traffic and the 250% increase in fixed traffic experienced during the five-week long coronavirus lockdown, it said. The lockdown has resulted in a spike in online ac...

Nigeria’s Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Agba, says that the nation’s economy will get N2 Trillion stimulus in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the fall in oil prices.   Prince Clem Agba Source : Sahel Standard He has also disclosed that the government will explore ways of supporting the airlines in the country, saying that the aviation sector loses N21 billion monthly due to the present pandemic. Speaking at a webinar, Agba adds that the Economic Sustainability Committee had outlined five broad policy objectives with which to deal with the problems. According to him, “Of the $2.5 billion facilities from the World Bank, about $1 billion of it will be going to the States as loans. These are concessionary loans. Mr. President has already approved N850 billion loan from domestic capital market. “He has also approved $150 million to be taken from the Sovereign Wealth Account in support of Federation Account Allocation Commi...

The World Bank has agreed to grant $7 million to Zimbabwe to help it fight the new coronavirus outbreak. Zimbabwe is more than $1.2 billion in arrears to the World Bank, African Development Bank and European Investment Bank, making it normally ineligible for funding or debt forgiveness from global lenders.   Zimbabwe’s finance minister, Mthuli Ncube. Souce : Voice of America, The World Bank spokesman said that while Zimbabwe and other countries indebted to the lender could not access regular financing, they could get money from its trust funds to fight the coronavirus that has slowed down the global economy. The lender explained that, “The bank’s senior management has underlined the need for additional trust fund financing to ensure that Zimbabwe and the small group of other countries in arrears can receive support as part of our global effort to help countries respond to the COVID-19 crisis.”  Zimbabwe will get $5 million from the World Bank’s global financi...

The World Bank has banned a China based electrical company, Liaoning-EFACEC Electrical Equipment Company Limited or  LEEEC  from taking part in a project sponsored by the lender in Zambia for 20 months. The punishment is because the firm is involved in some fraud related practices on a project in Zambia.   Source : LEEEC Headquarters Building. According to the World Bank, the suspension or debarment typically run for three years, but it says this case it shortened the period to 20 months because the company was cooperating and had agreed to develop an “integrity compliance program” consistent with World Bank guidelines. The suspension is part of a settlement agreement under which the company acknowledges responsibility for failing to disclose a conflict of interest and other infringements according to the banks guidelines.  The case involves the Lusaka Transmission and Distribution Rehabilitation Project in Zambia, which has been designed to increas...

A survey has shown that South African private sector activity fell to a new record low in April, as seen on Wednesday. This is due to a nationwide coronavirus lockdown and closure of companies.   Source : Bloomberg, South African Manufacturing Plant Markit’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) dipped to 35.1 in April from 44.5 in March. This is its lowest level since the survey began in 2011. The figure was below the 50 level that separates expansion from contraction for the 12th month in a row. Africa’s most developed economy is now in its sixth week of a strict lockdown aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the novel virus, which has infected over 6,000 South Africans and killed 123. Although, the lockdown has been partially eased since Friday, allowing some sectors to operate under specific conditions, the economy, which is already in recession, is still expected to take a massive hit. The National Treasury had on Monday ...

Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) on Tuesday reports that it had completed repairs to one unit at its Anglo Converter Plant and intends to lift its force majeure to suppliers of concentrate, three months after a blast shut processing facilities.   Source : MiningMX The Johannesburg-listed miner said it expected the Anglo Converter Plant and full downstream processing operations to be fully operational at its Phase B unit from May 12, while repairs would continue at its Phase A unit. The damage to the processing facilities forced Amplats, one of the world’s largest platinum producers, to declare force majeure and cut its production outlook. “As we complete the ramp-up, we are engaging with suppliers of concentrate to lift force majeure imminently. All temporary commercial arrangements applicable during the force majeure period will revert to normal commercial terms,” Anglo American Platinum CEO Natascha Viljoen said. Amplats said the force majeure notice would ...

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved a loan of around $226 million for Cameroon. The money will help the central African nation meet urgent balance of payments needs emanating due to the COVID-19 pandemic.   Source : The Guardian Nigeria According to a statement from the lender, the pandemic and terms of trade shocks from the sharp fall in oil prices are having a significant impact on Cameroon’s economy, leading to a historic fall of real GDP growth. “Cameroon is facing serious challenges from the twin COVID-19 pandemic and terms of trade shocks,” the statement further said, adding that “the shocks have given rise to substantial fiscal pressures and an urgent balance of payments need.”

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reports that 40%  of people in Nigeria live in poverty, figures published on Monday highlighting the low levels of wealth in a country that is Africa’s biggest economy.   Source : International Centre For Investigative Reporting The Statistics office a report about poverty and inequality from September 2018 to October 2019, said 40% of people in the continent’s most populous country lived below its poverty line of 137,430 naira or $381.75 per year. It said that represents 82.9 million people. Nigeria is a top oil exporter in Africa, which has helped to create wealth related to crude sales that account for more than half of government revenue. But a failure to diversify the economy and build much needed transport and power infrastructure has stunted growth and the spread of wealth beyond the rich elite. Rapid population growth outstrips economic growth, which stands at around 2%. The United Nations estimates that Nigeria...

The Democratic Republic of Congo security forces killed 31 armed assailants in clashes around Lubumbashi, the country's second-largest city, a human rights group said Sunday, denouncing the action as human butchery.   March 13, 2020, Moroccan soldiers from the UN mission in DRC (Monusco) ride in a vehicle as they patrol in the violence-torn Djugu territory, Ituri province, eastern DRCongo. (AFP) The NGO, Justicia, affirms that they also killed seven attackers and one police officer were also in Lubumbashi on Saturday. Meanwhile, 13 militiamen were killed in Likasi, nine in Kasumbalesa on the border with Zambia and two in Bunkeya, another town in region rich in cobalt. While denouncing what it described as an "destabilisation attempt" by the attackers, Justicia also hit out at the army for "opening fire without warning" on the militiamen who were more lightly armed, some just carrying knives. This, the group said, amounted to "human butcher...

1. Fellow Nigerians, 2. From the first signs that Coronavirus, or COVID-19 was turning into an epidemic and was officially declared a world-wide emergency, the Federal Government started planning preventive, containment and curative measures in the event the disease hits Nigeria. 3. The whole instruments of government are now mobilized to confront what has now become both a health emergency and an economic crisis. 4. Nigeria, unfortunately, confirmed its first case on 27th February 2020. Since then, we have seen the number of confirmed cases rise slowly. 5. By the morning of March 29th, 2020, the total confirmed cases within Nigeria had risen to ninety-seven. 6. Regrettably, we also had our first fatality, a former employee of PPMC, who died on 23rd March 2020. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family in this very difficult time. We also pray for quick recovery for those infected and undergoing treatment. 7. As of today, COVID-19 has no cure. Scientists around the...