Newscast - Africa

The chairperson of the Uganda Fish Processors and Exporters Association has apologised over his comments calling for local consumption of Nile perch to be banned.
Sujal Goswami reportedly made the remarks to MPs last week, arguing that such a ban would protect the species from illegal fishing and preserve it for export, according to local media.
Mr Goswami said he meant the Nile perch needs to be protected and the industry be well regulated by stopping illegal activities.

Mozambique’s President Filipe Nyusi is being sued in London by a firm at the centre of a $2-billion loan scandal that plunged his nation into a financial crisis.
Abu Dhabi-based shipbuilder Privinvest, owned by French-Lebanese billionaire Iskandar Safa, signed contracts with Mozambican state companies to supply tuna fishing and maritime security vessels.
The government took out secret loans in 2013 and 2014 to finance the deal however much of the money disappeared in kickbacks and bribes, and the country later defaulted on repayments.
Privinvest confirms that on 19 October 2021, President Nyusi was served in Mozambique with Privinvest’s litigation claims in the High Court in London against him.

The African Union plans to buy up to 110 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine from Moderna Inc.
Moderna is prepared to deliver the first 15 million doses to Africa later this year as part of an agreement facilitated by the White House.
An additional 35 million doses will be delivered in the first quarter of 2022 and up to 60 million doses in the second quarter.
The company is also working on plans to allow it to fill doses of its Covid-19 vaccine in Africa as early as 2023, in parallel to building an mRNA vaccine manufacturing facility in Africa.
Stéphane Bancel, the chief executive of Moderna says they believe the vaccine can play an important role in addressing the needs of low-income countries given its combination of efficacy against Covid-19, strong durability in the real-world evidence, and superior storage and handling conditions.

Sudan will reopen Khartoum airport to all inbound and outbound flights.
The head of civil aviation authority, Gen Ibrahim Adlan, told news agencies that the airport will resume operations.
The country suspended flights a day after the military seized power and declared a state of emergency.
Most cabinet ministers in the transitional government were also reported to have been detained, although Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok has been released.

President Muhammadu Buhari has explained how his administration took painful decisions to invest for a prosperous future for all Nigerians.
The Nigerian leader says upon assuming office in 2015, his government understood the importance of inclusive policies for sustainable peace.
The President says in the past six years, the government took very painful but necessary decisions to invest for a long-term prosperous future knowing very well that this will come with short term pains.
He says the Federal Government will keep encouraging public and private initiatives that increase investments in health, education, capacity building, youth empowerment, gender equality, poverty eradication, climate change and food security.

The Chairman of the Northern Governors Forum and Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong, has accused politicians of fuelling crisis in his state.
Lalong says the governors of the 19 northern states are in full support of the creation of state police to tackle the numerous security challenges facing their domain.
He noted that Plateau has long been known as a state of peace and tourism before some political actors started creating problems in the state.

The Minister of Power, Engineer Abubakar Aliyu, believes Nigerians will soon begin to experience a turnaround in the power sector.
Aliyu says the Federal Government is aware of the challenges facing the sector and is working to resolve them.
He noted that the government is focusing on improving liquidity in the sector, improving services in terms of hours of supply, billing transparency and accuracy, and wider access to electricity.
The Minister added that the government is working to explore opportunities that will, in the short term, deliver the much-desired quick wins while still focusing on the long-term objectives of increasing the available power.

The Nigerian Army has taken delivery of 60 new VP – 1 Type Tracked Armoured Personnel Carriers manufactured in China to boost the ongoing war against Boko Haram insurgency and banditry in the North-East and North-West.
The Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Faruk Yahaya says the deployment of new platforms to the battlefield underscores the Federal Government’s commitment to ensure that a state of normalcy is achieved across the country.
The Army Chief assured that the military is taking cogent steps in ensuring that bandits and terrorists are neutralised and annihilated throughout the country.

President Buhari approved the construction and equipping of a 14-bed space Presidential Clinic at a cost of N21 billion.
The Permanent Secretary State House, Mr Umar Tijjani explained that the Presidential Clinic was conceived in 2012 by the previous administration and will be open to people from other African countries for medical treatment.
He further says most of the preliminary work has been concluded and a Certificate of No Objection has been sought from the Bureau of Public Procurement.

Washington has revoked the US licence of one of China's biggest telecoms companies citing national security concerns.
China Telecom must stop providing services in America within 60 days.
Officials said the Chinese government's control of the company gave it the opportunity to access, store, disrupt, and/or misroute US communications.
They said this in turn could allow it to engage in espionage and other harmful activities against the US.
The decision comes hours after US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen spoke to China's Vice Premier Liu He about the state of the global economy.