Newscast - Africa

Tanzania's President Samia Suluhu Hassan has lashed out at some top officials who have been criticising her government for taking loans from international bodies.
She says foreign aid was helping her government fulfil its social and development agenda.
She says, unlike other countries that had used such funds to buy protective gear like gloves and masks, Tanzania had used the funds prudently to build new health centres and medical facilities.
She says the money was also being used to put up new classrooms and learning facilities in many parts of the country.

South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir has dismissed the central bank governor and appointed a replacement.
The dismissal of Dier Tong Ngor was announced in a presidential decree on the national broadcaster on Monday night.
He was replaced by Moses Makur Deng who has been a director-general in charge of banks’ supervision and research at the bank. South Sudan’s economy is driven by oil, which accounts for nearly 90% of the country’s national budget.

A South African judicial panel that examined allegations of high-level corruption during former President Jacob Zuma’s tenure will hand over the first of its three-part report to President Cyril Ramaphosan.
The panel was chaired by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo and has been investigating allegations of state capture corruption and fraud in the public sector during Zuma’s time in power between 2009 and 2018.
The remaining parts of the report are expected to be handed over to Mr Ramaphosa before the end of next month.
Zuma is accused, among other things, of allowing an Indian business family with close links to him to siphon state assets.

The federal government will commence the collection of income tax on bonds, short-term securities.
The federal government had in 2012 granted tax waivers on all bonds and debt instruments issued by all tiers of government and corporate entities.
The Securities and Exchange Commission had earlier introduced a 0.025 per cent charge on fixed income secondary market transactions, which was expected to become effective today.
President, Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers, Mr Olatunde Amolegbe says the introduction of the policy by the apex capital regulator would bring significant regulation to the market.

The Contractor handling Zungeru Hydroelectric Power Project, Sino Hydro, has assured that the $1.3 billion 700 Mega Watts electricity project will be commissioned in four phases in 2022.
A statement by the company's Deputy Project Manager, Li Xiao Ming, stated that the first turbine which will generate 175 Mega Watts will be commissioned in the first quarter.
He says the second turbine which will also generate 175 Mega Watts is expected to be commissioned second quarter while the third turbine is expected to be commissioned in the third quarter.
He says the fourth turbine would be commissioned in December 2022.

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu has assured that the fourth quarter of 2022 completion time of the red and blue line rail projects in the State remains on course.
Governor Sanwo-Olu expressed satisfaction with the pace of work at the stations, noting that the contractors were on course and hoped that they would round up works on the Blue and Red line rails according to the schedule for commercial activities this year.

India’s competition watchdog has ordered an investigation into Apple Inc’s business practices in the country, saying it was of the initial view that the iPhone maker had violated certain antitrust laws.
The order from the Competition Commission of India comes after a non-profit group alleged that Apple was abusing its dominant position in the apps market by forcing developers to use its proprietary in-app purchase system.
The complainant argued that Apple’s imposition of a 30 per cent in-app fee for the distribution of paid digital content and other restrictions hurts competition by raising costs for app developers and customers while also acting as a barrier to market entry.
The CCI says Apple’s restrictions prima facie result in denial of market access for potential app developers and distributors.

Pakistan’s natural gas shortage is hurting its most important export industry, putting even more stress on an economy already struggling with accelerating inflation and a weakening currency.
Executive director of All Pakistan Textile Mills Association, Shahid Sattar says About $250 million of textiles exports were lost last month after mills in Punjab were forced to shut for 15 days.
He says factories in the province are dependent on regasified imports of liquefied natural gas, while domestic supply is being diverted to other regions
Government data shows that Production grew almost 6% in the nine months through March 2021 and the sector accounted for 60% of total exports.

Turkey's annual inflation rate has soared to a 19-year high, underlining the country's financial turmoil and alarm over its president's policies.
Prices hit more than 36% in December as the cost of transport, food and other staples ate into household budgets.
Most central banks raise interest rates to help cool inflation but Turkey has gone the other way.
The lira shed 44% of its value against the dollar last year and fell another 5% on Monday before recovering to trade flat.
The drop in the lira has made the price of inflation-fuelling imports more expensive, ranging from energy to many of the raw materials Turkey's manufacturers turn into exports.

India extended Covid vaccinations to teens aged 15-18 after officials tightened restrictions in big cities to avoid a repeat of last year’s devastating outbreak.
More than 200,000 people around India died in a huge spring virus wave that overwhelmed hospitals and crematoriums.
Government data shows that health workers have since administered more than 1.4 billion vaccine doses but less than half of India’s population is fully inoculated.