Africa Business News

The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority is encouraging aviation passengers to be more informed about their challenges while travelling via airports. NCAA Head of Consumer Protection, Michael Achimugu, noted that this is the heavy travel season and a lot of travelers need to be properly sensitized about the cause of delays and solutions to the problem. Achimugu stated they are now in the high travel season in aviation and as you know there’s been a lot of flight disruptions as well as a lot of complaints. He says their duty at NCAA is to sensitize our passengers because most of the time when compalaints come about these disruptions, it comes from a place of poor knowledge about their rights and responsibilities as air passengers.

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The National Bureau of Statistics says foreign investments in Nigeria’s telecommunications sector fell sharply to $14.4m in the third quarter of 2024, marking an 87 percent decline from the $113.42m recorded in the second quarter. Foreign investments in the sector dropped by $99.02m. The bureau revealed in its capital importation report that the figure reflected a 77 per cent year-on-year drop compared with the $64.05m attracted in 2023. The decline signalled a significant downtrend for the sector, grappling with infrastructure deficits and high operating costs despite its growth potential.

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The UN agency providing aid to Palestinians says it is suspending deliveries through the main crossing between Israel and Gaza because of security concerns. The head of Unrwa, Philippe Lazzarini, says two recent convoys had been looted by armed gangs near the Kerem Shalom crossing and called on Israel to maintain law and order. Mr Lazzarini says the road away from the crossing "has not been safe for months", citing the theft of five more lorries on Saturday as well as the incident last month. He says there had been a "breakdown of law and order" and that the responsibility to protect aid workers lay with Israel.

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US President-elect Donald Trump has threatened to impose 100% tariffs on a bloc of nine nations if they were to create a rival currency to the US dollar. Major world powers China and Russia are part of the Brics alliance, along with Brazil, India, South Africa, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates. Leading politicians in Brazil and Russia have suggested creating a Brics currency to reduce the US dollar's dominance in global trade. But internal disagreement has slowed any progress. Trump says they require a commitment from these countries that they will neither create a new Brics currency or they will face 100% tariffs and should expect to say goodbye to selling into the wonderful US economy,

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Hackers stole $16.8 million from the Bank of Uganda. A group of Asia-based hackers code-named “Waste” accessed the central bank’s IT systems and illicitly transferred the funds in early November. The hacker group sent parts of the money back to Japan and the UK. The bank is questioning several of its employees and the Ministry of Finance. While the Central Bank claims it is recovering the lost funds, the episode continues an uptick in cyber-attacks in Uganda since COVID-19. In 2022, Uganda lost approximately UGX 15 billion ($4 million) due to cyber-related incidents, with financial institutions being primary targets.

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The Federal Government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Republic of France to promote and diversify the critical mineral value chain in the solid minerals sector. The Special Assistant on Media to the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Segun Tomori says the MoU signing was done by the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, on the sidelines of President Bola Tinubu’s visit to France. He says Critical minerals such as copper, lithium, nickel, cobalt, and rare earth elements are essential to clean energy technologies adding that Both countries agreed to collaborate on research, training and Franco-Nigerian students exchanges for knowledge and skills transfer. Tomori says Alake stressed that the ministry would leverage the partnership to open the mining sector to French investors.

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The Federal Government says the malaria vaccine will now be part of the national routine immunisation schedule. Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, the Coordinating Minister for Health & Social Welfare described malaria as not just a health crisis, but also an economic and developmental emergency that must be eliminated. The Coordinating Minister stated that the federal government is resolute in its commitment to eliminate malaria. He says Malaria reduces productivity, increases out-of-pocket health expenditures and, compounds the challenges of poverty adding that the annual loss to Nigeria’s GDP from malaria exceeds $ 1.1 billion, a stark reminder of the economic imperative of elimination.

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Iran says it will hold nuclear talks with officials from France, Germany, and the United Kingdom this week, amid escalating tensions over Iran’s nuclear programme. Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and UK officials confirmed the meeting. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei says a range of regional and international issues, including the issues of Palestine and Lebanon, as well as the nuclear issue, will be discussed. The International Atomic Energy Agency adopted a resolution denouncing Iran for what it called a lack of cooperation. The three European nations, whose representatives will meet Iranian officials, were among those voting for the resolution.

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Negotiators at the United Nations climate talks agreed on a $300bn target to help developing nations adapt to climate change, but many poorer nations have dismissed the agreement as insufficient. The agreement came a day after the COP29 talks were supposed to end in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. Richer nations agreed to pay at least $300bn a year by 2035 to help poorer countries make their economies more environmentally friendly and prepare for natural disasters. The number is an increase from a previous $100bn pledge but was still $200bn less than the number called for by a group of 134 developing countries. A delegate from India, Leena Nandan, called the agreement an “illusion”.

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A new PricewaterhouseCoopers reports that Kenya-based multinationals and publicly listed companies have come under fire for poor tax transparency. The study looked at the tax disclosures of 10 top companies and found major gaps—none of them shared their tax strategies, transfer pricing practices, or how their tax policies connect to sustainability goals like ESG. PwC urged Kenyan companies to follow frameworks like GRI 207 to improve accountability and help economic growth.

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