Newscast - Africa

Russia’s Economy Minister Maxim Reshetnikov says the economy is expected to grow by an average of 3% in the period 2022-24, with the central bank raising interest rates to curb inflation.
The ministry also upgraded its growth forecast for this year to 4.2% from 3.8%, as the economy recovers from the coronavirus pandemic and lower oil prices faster than expected.
The Russian Central Bank this month raised its key rate for the fifth time this year, to 6.75%, as it tries to bring inflation under control, and has signalled that more hikes are possible.
The ministry sees inflation returning to the central bank’s target of 4.0% next year and staying stable around that level through to 2024.

South Africa’s Jacob Zuma failed to appear in court for the resumption of a graft trial, as prosecutors argued ill health did not justify his absence.
He was due in court on Tuesday for the resumption of the trial involving an arms purchase in 1999, when he was deputy president.
State advocate Wim Trengove says attendance in court is not optional while contesting an instruction from Zuma to carry on with his case without him.
Details of Zuma’s medical condition have been kept confidential.

Somali Deputy Prime Minister Mahdi Mohammed Gulaid says the International Court of Justice has set 12 October as the date for its ruling in the long-running maritime dispute between Somalia and Kenya.
The ruling will come despite the fact that Kenya has withdrawn from the case, alleging ICJ bias and calling for a Somali judge on the panel to recuse himself.
The case concerns a 62,000 square miles triangle in the Indian Ocean.
It has been going on for the last six years, keeping investors away because of a lack of legal clarity over who owns potential off-shore oil and gas reserves.

A protest has taken place in the Namibian capital Windhoek against an agreement made with Germany after it apologised for genocide in the southern African country in the early 20th Century.
Various political parties and traditional chiefs have dismissed Germany's offer to pay $1bn in development aid and say the deal was made without properly consulting the victims.
The agreement was widely criticised in Namibia for failing to include reparations for the affected communities.

Nigeria has written the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries requesting a higher production quota under the OPEC+ accord.
The Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, says the technical problems that had hampered the country’s output would soon be resolved.
Sylva says the country’s full production capacity was closer to 2.2 million bpd, which should be reflected in a revised quota, even though Nigeria has struggled to produce at its current allocation.
He says that the country deserves a higher quota, noting that aside its efforts to fix the technical difficulties, the basis for the current production quota, which was mainly because of the problems in the Niger Delta at the time, no longer exists.

Nigeria has raised $4 billion through Eurobonds after an intensive two days of virtual meetings with investors across the globe.
The Debt Management Office explained that the Order Book peaked at $12.2 billion, which enabled the Federal Government of Nigeria to raise $1 billion more than the $3 billion it initially announced.
The DMO says bids for the Eurobonds were received from investors in Europe and America, as well as Asia. There was also good participation by local investors.
The Eurobonds were issued in three tranches, details, namely seven years–,$1.25 billion at 6.125 per cent per annum; 12 years -$1.5 billion at 7.375 per cent per annum as well as 30 years -$1.25 billion at 8.25 per annum

The Federal Government has denied reports that a Presidential University Visitation Panel has indicted the management of the University of Lagos on allegations of misappropriation of funds and maladministration.
The Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Education, Mr Sunny Echeono,
explained that the latest report by the University Visitation Panel has nothing to do with the Special Presidential Visitation Panel that was set up by President Muhammadu Buhari in August 2020, to address the crisis in UNILAG.
Echeono stated that there was a crisis at the university in 2020 and a special presidential visitation panel was set up with very specific terms of reference.

President Muhammadu Buhari has asked the Senate to amend the Petroleum Industry Act 2021.
President Buhari explained that his proposal became necessary having carefully reviewed the administrative structure of both the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, and the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission.
He listed the three areas of the Act he sought to be amended to include the appointment of non-executive board members, removal of the Ministries of Petroleum Resources and Finance from the boards of the two institutions, as well as the appointment of executive directors.

A new report has revealed that at least 20 per cent of the full-time workforce in Nigeria lost employment during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020,
The report by the United Nations Development Programme and the National Bureau of Statistics assesses the impact of COVID-19 on business enterprises in the country.
It says while there have been promising signs of recovery this year, COVID-19 has had an outsized socio-economic impact on Nigeria.

The Biden administration has signalled plans to double the United States’s refugee admissions cap for the next fiscal year, reaffirming a commitment to bolster a resettlement programme that was gutted by former President Donald Trump.
The Department of State announced that the administration sent a report to Congress recommending that the limit be raised from 62,500 to 125,000 in the next fiscal year, which begins on October 1, 2021.
State Department spokesman Ned Price in a statement says with the world facing unprecedented global displacement and humanitarian needs, the United States is committed to lead efforts to provide protection and promote durable solutions to humanitarian crises, including providing resettlement for the most vulnerable.