Newscast - Africa

President Vladimir Putin says Russia plans to switch its gas sales to unfriendly countries to roubles while responding to a freeze on Russia’s assets by foreign nations.
Putin says Russia will continue, of course, to supply natural gas in accordance with volumes and prices fixed in previously concluded contracts.
Putin says the government and central bank had one week to come up with a solution on how to move these operations to the Russian currency and that gas giant Gazprom would be ordered to make the corresponding changes to gas contracts.

Rishi Sunak announced a 6-billion pound tax cut for workers, slashed fuel duty and signalled a future reduction in income tax as he sought to shield ordinary Britons from a squeeze on living standards that’s been worsened by the war in Ukraine.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer says his tax plan delivers the biggest net cut to personal taxes in over a quarter of a century.
The measures go further than the Treasury had suggested in the run-up to the statement, which was originally billed as an update on the state of the economy.

The UN’s International Labour Organization says it was halting all technical cooperation with Russia until it stops its war in Ukraine, further isolating Moscow on the world stage.
The ILO decided to temporarily suspend technical cooperation or assistance from the ILO to the Russian Federation, except for the purpose of humanitarian assistance, until a ceasefire is agreed and a peaceful resolution is implemented while Moscow is also suspended from certain meetings and conferences.
British ambassador Simon Manley says it was another decisive vote in Geneva against Putin’s aggression.

China says it will allow local and foreign investors access to more sectors of the economy after cutting its so-called negative list for market access.
China’s state planner released a shortened list of industries that are either restricted or prohibited to investors.
Hans Hendrischke, a professor of Chinese business and management at the University of Sydney Business School, says such moves towards liberalising the economy have been in the works for some time.
He says there is pressure from the corporate sector and economists in China to make more substantial changes while the government is still insisting on gradual reforms such as pilot zones.
The Institute of International Finance says unprecedented outflows from Chinese stocks and bonds may be related to Moscow’s deepening ostracisation over the war.

The British media reports that the Saudi Media Group bid to buy Chelsea has failed to make the final shortlist.
The Raine Group, handling the sale after Abramovich’s assets were frozen by the British Government following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, has started informing prospective buyers of the status of their offers.
The Saudis are reportedly the first to be told their bid for the Chelsea has been rejected.
Saudi Media insisted its offer was completely separate from the Saudi Arabian state, a move provoked by criticism of the country’s human rights record.

The court of the West African Economic and Monetary Union has ordered the suspension of its sanctions against Mali, pending a detailed court ruling.
The organisation earlier instructed the suspension of all financial institutions under its wing in Mali, after its ruling military junta decided to delay elections meant to restore civilian rule after coups in 2020 and 2021.
The interim government says the sanctions had severe consequences for the population, with Bamako blaming them for debt defaults worth $180m since January.
The court's ruling does not apply to sanctions imposed by the Economic Community of West African States.

Data from Statistics South Africa showed that South Africa’s headline consumer price inflation was at 5.7% year on year in February, unchanged compared with January.
On a month-on-month basis, the consumer price index rose 0.6% in February from 0.2% in the previous month.
Core inflation, which excludes prices of food, non-alcoholic beverages, fuel and energy, was also steady at 3.5% year on year in February.

The authorities in the Ethiopian region of Tigray say they will do everything possible to ensure the success of a ceasefire.
The Tigrayan forces say they were committed to a pause in hostilities - as long as the government took concrete steps to allow aid into the region.
The fighting has left more than five million people needing food aid, but no deliveries have reached Tigray for months.

Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo and his ministers have cut their salaries by 30 per cent under measures to reduce spending as the country struggles with higher fuel costs from the Ukraine crisis and stalled progress on a new tax.
Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta announced that foreign travel by government appointees, except for critical missions, and the purchase of imported vehicles had been suspended with immediate effect.
He says the government hoped to save around $400 million through the measures.
The minister says other measures include a 50-per cent cut in fuel coupon allocations for all political appointees and heads of government institutions.

The World Health Organization is urging caution over the increasing number of African countries rolling back Covid-19 surveillance and quarantine measures.
The WHO says this is especially worrisome in a continent that still has the lowest rates of vaccination in the world.
WHO’s Regional Director for Africa, Matshidiso Moeti, says that because of the pressure to open up the economy, countries were cutting back on surveillance and other measures.
He says lifting the public health measures does not mean lifting the foot off the pedal of pandemic vigilance.