Africa Business News

South Africa’s rand firmed against the U.S. dollar early on Friday, recovering from the previous session’s tumble as global risk sentiment was dented by fears of a second wave of coronavirus infections.
The rand was trading 0.3% up 17.4050 per dollar at 0700 GMT, having fallen more than 1% on Thursday.
South African-focused investors are now awaiting a supplementary budget pencilled in for June 24.
Finance Minister Tito Mboweni is expected to unveil a major shake-up in spending and revenue forecasts for the recession-hit economy when he tables the supplementary budget.
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Barrick Gold on Thursday said there is absolutely no truth in a news release circulated on social media in Zambia claiming the gold miner sold its Lumwana copper mine.
The fake press release, dated June 15, claimed Barrick had sold its Zambian copper mine to Metalinvest Capital Corporation and Zambia’s National Pension Scheme Authority (NAPSA) for $895 million in cash.
A Barrick spokeswoman told Reuters in a statement that they don’t know the person behind the action and they have alerted the relevant securities regulators and law enforcement authorities. 
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Two South African unions on Friday rejected job cuts proposed to rescue South African Airways, which has cost the government more than a billion dollars to stave off bankruptcy and will cost it about half that again to reform.
State-owned SAA went into a form of bankruptcy protection in December, and since then state-appointed administrators have been trying to see what they can salvage.
Unions had been in discussions with them and had previously accepted that some job cuts would be necessary.
The current plan, which would involve laying off about 90% of staff leaving just 1,000 jobs, will cost at least 10 billion rand ($573.9 million). That is on top of the 20 billion rand that has been spent just keeping the airline afloat in the past three years.
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The Ghana Stock Exchange has expelled Liberty Securities Limited and First Atlantic Brokerage Limited from the membership of the Exchange.
According to the GSE, its decision to expel the membership of Liberty Securities Limited and First Atlantic Brokerage Limited is in view of their violation of some market rules.
The two entities are barred from executing trades on the stock market, providing advisory services to clients on capital market issues and holding in place or in trust, clients’ accounts or their security holdings.
Both entities were found to be operating without an authorized dealing officer for more than three months, having a low liquid position and inactivity on the market due to the lack of an Authorised Dealing Officer to execute trades.
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The Ghana Revenue Authority, GRA, has reassured freight forwarders that technical challenges that have disrupted the Integrated Customs Management, ICUMS, will be addressed by the end of June.
The ICUMS, also known as UNIPASS, was rolled out on June 1, to take over the single window platform from GCNet and West Blue Consult at the Ports.
But the challenges of the new system have disrupted clearing activities at the Ports.
The Commissioner General of the Ghana Revenue Authority, Mr. Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah while speaking at a press briefing, said even though the system is fraught with challenges, government has been able to rake in 490 million cedis in 17 days, which is more than half of the amount raised by the previous system in a month.
Mr. Owusu-Amoah explained that per the calculation, UNIPASS has done well if it has been able to mobilize 490 million cedis within 17 days.
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The Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, on Thursday said the Federal Government will complete 22 major roads in 2020 and 2021.
Fashola also stated that Nigeria was currently constructing a bridge to link the country with Cameroon.
The minister who spoke in a live television programme in Abuja noted that Nigeria lost one year of construction due to the reduction of the national budget in 2017.
He said the plan to complete 22 major roads between this year 2020 and 2021 lost about three good dry (season) months due to COVID-19.
The minister said he could not state all of the roads off-hand but noted that some major roads in virtually all geopolitical zones would be completed.
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The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Mr Olamilekan Adegbite, says the Federal Government has designated seven of the country’s strategic minerals to unlock the potential in the mining sector.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria reports that the minister said this on Thursday in Abuja at a webinar organised by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group
Adegbite named the minerals as coal, iron ore, bitumen, gold, limestone, lead-zinc and barite.
He noted that the country was endowed with over 44 different mineral resources occurring in over 500 locations across the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory.
He also commended the NESG for the effort it had put in to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the country’s economy.
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Experts have called on the government to reduce the personal income tax of Nigerians in order to increase their purchasing power.
The acting Director-General, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Ambrose Oruche while responding to the new inflation figures published by the National Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday said the rise in inflation in May was expected due to an increase in the Consumer Price Index.
He recalled that the Federal Government introduced the gradual easing of lockdown in May, adding that the restriction in interstate movement had triggered price hike by wholesalers.
Oruche said manufacturers had not increased the prices of their commodities.
He said there was a spike in Consumer Price Index, which was as a result of restriction to movement, panic buying and hoarding of essential commodities by some sellers.
According to him, whenever there is inflation, it is the salary earners that bear the brunt.
He said inflation rate would continue to rise due to the state of the business environment despite the efforts of the Central Bank of Nigeria to curtail it.
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The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria has taken over assets belonging to the Chief Promoter of Doggi Group Limited, Alhaji Umaru Abdullahi, over an indebtedness of more than N440m, following the order of Honourable Justice A.I. Chikere of the Federal High Court, Abuja division.
A statement from AMCON on Thursday said the justice gave the order on June 5.
It said the case of Doggi Group Limited and its promoter had been a protracted issue because the loan was purchased during the first phase of Eligible Bank Assets purchase from Union Bank Plc way back in 2011.
AMCON has offered the obligor a good measure of olive branches and explored all avenues to resolve the matter amicably, but the obligor, and his company, Doggi Group Limited, have remained recalcitrant and unwilling to repay the huge debt to the corporation.
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South Africa’s rand held steady against the U.S. dollar early on Thursday, after President Cyril Ramaphosa announced further easing of the coronavirus lockdown to help the battered economy.
At 0700 GMT, the rand traded at 17.1900 per dollar, unchanged from its previous close.
Ramaphosa in a speech on Wednesday said restaurants will now be allowed to offer sit-down service. Cinemas, casinos, theatres, hair salons and spas will be allowed to open under strict social-distancing rules. Ramaphosa further said a date for their re-opening will be announced in due course.
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