Newscast - Africa

The Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria, CITN has pledged commitment to continuous advocacy and enlightenment towards achieving an efficient and effective tax system in the country.
President of CITN, Adesina Adedayo stated that the institute had always contributed to the country’s fiscal policy measures which have so far resulted in tax development.
He also emphasized the need for continuous learning on the field for both administrators and professionals, reiterating that taxation is a dynamic field.
Adedayo in his address to the newly inducted fellows tasked them with good behaviour and ethical practices that will advance the image of the Institute.

The Federal Government says that it expects Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product per capita to rise to $3,706.29 by 2025.
The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investments, Niyi Adebayo, says the country’s GDP which currently hovers around $500bn was experiencing steady growth, projecting that the GDP per capita would rise to $2,300 by the end of the year.
He says it shows that the county’s diversification agenda is working, the oil sector now only contributes to approximate 14 per cent of the GDP.

The Federal Executive Council meeting has approved N65.39bn in foreign and local denominations to execute power projects in the country.
The Minister of Power, Abubakar Aliyu, says the extraordinary session was to ensure the country begins 2022 on a clean slate in the area of electricity supply.
Aliyu says the Buhari regime had done more than its predecessors to ensure that Nigerians experience improved electric power supply.

The U.N. Human Rights office says Belarus and Poland are pushing refugees back and forth across their border and leaving them with little if any food, clean water or shelter urging both countries to address this appalling situation.
Refugees and migrants interviewed said they had suffered violence or threats in Belarus and been left hungry and cold.
Thousands of migrants are stuck on the European Union’s eastern frontier.
Poland and the EU accuse Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko of encouraging the migrants to travel to Belarus and cross the border illegally as revenge for sanctions imposed on Minsk over human rights abuses.
Stanislaw Zaryn, a spokesperson for Poland’s special services, said his country’s actions were legitimate and aimed to protect the country’s borders.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the United States is providing the World Health Organization, the United Nations Children’s Fund and five other global aid groups an additional $580m to fight COVID-19.
The pledge came as health officials in the US say the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus now accounts for 73.2 per cent of new cases over the past week, and as the country’s first known death linked to the variant is reported in the state of Texas.
The WHO also said the Omicron variant of the coronavirus is spreading faster than the Delta strain and is causing infections in people already vaccinated or who have recovered from COVID-19.

A senior Biden administration official says United States national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, will visit Israel this week for detailed discussions with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Iran’s nuclear programme.
The visit comes as negotiations in Vienna over Iran returning to the 2015 nuclear deal have shown modest gains, but remain far from a breakthrough.
The official told reporters that they will talk about where they see the state of Iran’s nuclear program and some of the timelines.
The official added that It will be a good opportunity to sit down face-to-face and talk about the state of the talks, the timeframe in which they are working and to re-emphasise that they don’t have much time.

A senior White House official says faced with a surging Omicron variant, US authorities will distribute 500 million free Covid-19 tests, mobilize military medical personnel if needed and increase vaccination capacity.
The Official says they have the tools to get through this wave noting there are no plans to impose new restrictions.
The official added that If Americans are vaccinated and follow the precautions that we all know well, especially masking when travelling, they should feel comfortable celebrating Christmas and the holidays.
The Joe Biden administration’s response is based on three principles: more hospital resources, more testing and more vaccines.

NMB Bank Limited says it will raise up to $2 billion through a private placement of a 12 month Agro Bill for onward lending to farmers for the 2021/22 agriculture season.
The government is aiming to achieve a US$48,2 billion agriculture economy by 2025 riding on the Agriculture and Food Systems Transformation Strategy, which seeks to achieve the targeted growth by 2025.
NMB in a circular says the $2 billion Agro Bill will support new and existing commercial farmers on its loan book for the current season.
NMB Bank will act as the placement agent regarding the Transaction and will distribute this Information Memorandum to a limited number of recipients for the sole purpose of assisting those recipients in deciding whether they wish to proceed to purchase the Bills.

The national carrier, RwandAir, has announced the resumption of flights to Southern Africa starting December 23.
The decision to temporarily ban flights between Kigali and the Southern African region as part of the new measures to control the Omicron variant of Covid-19 from spreading into the country was announced on November 28.
Among the new travel directives to curb the spread, arriving or departing passengers at Kigali International Airport must present a negative Covid-19 PCR test taken 72 hours prior to departure, and a three-day mandatory quarantine at designated hotels.
Preliminary data suggest the Omicron variant is more infectious than the Delta, over the past few days, reported a surge in the number of positive cases per day, as of December 19, a total of 169 cases were recorded.

Libya’s head of the High National Electoral Commission has ordered the dissolution of the electoral committees nationwide, in a move that effectively postpones this week’s presidential elections.
A statement by Imad al-Sayeh outlined six points, chiefly the disbandment of electoral regional and local branch offices and committees.
A member of the HNEC’s board of directors confirmed the authenticity of the document.