Newscast - Africa

Figures from the Central Bank of Nigeria shows that the currency in circulation rose from N2.97tn at the end of October to N3.15tn in November.
The CBN data showed that the currency in circulation increased to N2.84tn in September from N2.78tn in August.
The Currency Operations Department of the CBN says in its 2020 annual report that it sustained banknotes disposal operations in 2020 to ensure the circulation of clean banknotes.
The apex bank says in furtherance of this objective, it deployed 11 banknote destruction systems and three currency disintegrating systems for currency disposal activities in the period under review.

Telecom consumers under the aegis of the National Association of Telecoms Subscribers have kicked against the plan by the Federal Government to introduce a suite of digital tokens to enhance the verification of the National Identity Number, effective January next year
The federal government says the digital tokens consisting of 16 alphabets and numbers will be accepted for third-party verification, instead of the 11-digit NIN.
The President, NATS, Adeolu Ogunbanjo, however, says the move was currently uncalled for, and shouldn’t be implemented without proper consultation with stakeholders.

Polish President Andrzej Duda has vetoed a controversial media ownership law that critics said was intended to silence a US-owned TV station critical of the government.
The law would have prevented companies from outside the European Economic Area from controlling Polish media outlets.
The ruling Law and JusticeParty said foreign corporations hold too much power over Polish media and rushed the bill through parliament earlier this month.
Critics said the move was intended to attack TVN24, Poland's most watched news channel and a network whose reporters have often been critical of the conservative government.
President Duda says he appreciated the government's attempt to protect the country from potentially hostile actors such as Russia, but noted that the bill raised significant concerns over property rights.

France has announced tighter Covid restrictions amid concerns over the Omicron variant.
From 3 January, remote working will become compulsory for those who can and public gatherings will be limited to 2,000 people for indoor events.
The news comes as France recorded more than 100,000 new infections on Saturday - the highest number reported in the country since the pandemic began.
France's prime minister however did not bring in a New Year's Eve curfew.

A spokesperson for the US National Security Council told AFP on condition of anonymity that the talks with Russia will take place on January 10.
Moscow earlier presented the West with sweeping security demands, saying NATO must not admit new members and seeking to bar the United States from establishing new bases in former Soviet republics.
The spokesperson added that Moscow and NATO representatives are expected to meet on January 12, while Russia and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe which includes the United States, will meet on January 13.

Somalia's President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo has suspended the prime minister, who is facing allegations of involvement in the theft of land.
Mohamed Hussein Roble accused the president of trying to stage a coup and said he would continue in office.
He urged the security forces to take orders from him rather than Mr Farmajo.
The prime minister's allies say Troops loyal to the president earlier failed to block Mr Roble from entering his office in the capital Mogadishu.
US embassy in Somalia urged the leaders TO refrain from provocative actions, and avoid violence".

South Africa is holding a week of events to mark the passing of the anti-apartheid leader Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
The plans include two days of lying in state before an official state funeral on 1 January in Cape Town.
Tributes have been pouring in from leaders around the world, including Queen Elizabeth II, US President Joe Biden and Pope Francis.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa says Tutu was one of the country's best-known figures at home and abroad that Tutu had helped bring about a liberated South Africa.

The Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors explained why electricity distribution companies always assumed ownership of equipment voluntarily made available by customers for use by Discos networks.
ANEDʼs Executive Director for Research and Advocacy, Sunday Oduntan, says that the move by Discos had to do with indemnity and public safety.
Oduntan says Discos needed to protect the equipment and ensure that access was only granted to qualified personnel, as some people had lost their lives because they were trying to maintain their transformers without being certified to do so.
He noted that the issue of community volunteering was clearly stipulated by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission.

The Federal Capital Territory Administration says the capacity of no fewer than 2,300 members of staff of the administration has been upgraded on various Information Communication Technology skills to improve service delivery to residents in the territory.
The Acting Director, FCTA Department of Reforms Coordination and Service Improvement, Dr Jumai Ahmadu, says that the staff members were drawn from various Secretariats, Departments and Agencies of the FCTA within the last 11 months.
She says the capacity building programmes were essentially trained the trainer's initiatives geared to bringing the workforce up to date with current technological trends, for efficiency in the system.
She says that the department leveraged continuous exposure of staff to capacity building initiatives especially in ICT, to enhance improved service delivery to residents in the territory.

Experts in the telecommunication industry have said the move by the Federal Government to tax social media companies is right because the companies generate commercial revenues from the nation.
Meta says 7.5 per cent value-added tax will be applied on sales of ads to advertisers from January 2022, and this applies to all non-resident businesses that provide digital service in the nation.
The National Coordinator, Alliance for Affordable Internet, Olusola Teniola, noted that the move by the FG was aimed at increasing its revenue through taxes. According to Teniola, Nigeriaʼs approach is very similar to that of Ghana.
He says since the VAT would naturally be transferred to the consumer, a way to cushion this impact, especially as the increase in digital transactions would continue, had to be adopted too.