Newscast - Africa

MTN Nigeria has raised N125bn through the issuance of commercial papers to boost its short-term working capital and funding requirements.
The company said that it had completed the Series 4 & 5 Commercial Paper issuance under its N150bn Commercial Paper issuance programme.
The notice signed by Company Secretary, Ufo Ukpanat, revealed that MTN Nigeria sought to raise N100bn, and the transaction was 125 per cent subscribed, with N125bn increased.
The commercial papers included a 188-day CP at a yield of 11.00 per cent and 267-day commercial paper at 12.50 per cent.

Ekiti State Government has approved the establishment of a fund designed to receive, manage and invest in a diversified portfolio of medium- and long-term assets for the state, and for future generations of indigenes and residents.
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Media, Yinka Oyebode, says that approval for the establishment of the Fund, named Ekiti State Wealth Fund, was one of the decisions reached at the meeting presided over by Governor Biodun Oyebanji on Wednesday.
Oyebode, says that the bill on the establishment of the state wealth fund would be presented to the State House of Assembly for legislative processing and subsequent passage into law.

The Independent National Electoral Commission has postponed the governorship and state house of assembly elections scheduled for Saturday, March 11.
INEC National Commissioner for Voter Education, Festus Okoye, says the elections will hold on Saturday, March 18.
He says following the ruling by the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal on the reconfiguration of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System used for the February 25 Presidential election, the Commission met to assess its impact on its preparations for the governorship exercise.
Okoye stated that though the tribunal’s ruling would enable INEC to commence the preparation of the BVAS for the governorship and state assembly elections, it is too late for the reconfiguration to be concluded.

China’s National People’s Congress has kicked off its annual parliamentary session, announcing a modest target for economic growth of about 5 per cent.
The session is also set to hand President Xi Jinping a third term in office and implement the biggest government shake-up in a decade.
Outgoing Premier Li Keqiang says it was essential to prioritise economic stability and set a goal of economic growth at around 5 per cent, one of the country’s lowest in decades.
Li also announced a target of creating about 12 million urban jobs this year, up from last year’s mark of at least 11 million.

France is set for disruption to transport and public services, as unions protest against plans to raise the pension age from 62 to 64.
Most train and metro services are cancelled on Tuesday, and many schools will be closed.
More than one million people are expected at demonstrations in Paris and other cities.
With the government showing no sign of backing down on its pension plan, one union leader has said there is talk is of escalation and bringing the country to its knees.
In the days ahead, there will be calls to extend the strikes in key sectors like power generation and gas terminals.

South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed a former mayor, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, to the newly created position of electricity minister in an effort to address the country's long-running power crisis.
The new minister faces two vast challenges. Power cuts of up to 12 hours a day - the government has declared a national disaster- and allegations of high-level corruption at the state-run energy giant Eskom.
Eskom is massively in debt - almost $24bn in the red.
Mr Ramaphosa also appointed the deputy head of the ANC Paul Mashatile as deputy president.

The Tanzanian government has banned boarding at nursery and lower years at primary schools, saying their aim is to give children the opportunity to bond with their families - understanding the traditions, cultures and values of the country.
Education Commissioner Lyabwene Mtahabwa says boarding services for children up to the age of 10 will end next month, and they will remain as day scholars until they reach the next grade - known in Tanzania as standard five.
She did however say exceptions can be made for pupils whose parents or guardians obtain a special permit exempting them from the change in rules.
Ms Mtahabwa says any school found to be violating the directives will face disciplinary measures, including striking pupils from their books.

The World Bank has suspended talks over its future engagement with Tunisia following President Kais Saied's recent criticism of sub-Saharan migrants.
The outgoing head of the bank, David Malpass, says Mr Saied's remarks had triggered racially motivated harassment and even violence in Tunisia.
He described the situation as deeply concerning but added that recent steps by the Tunisian government to support migrants were positive.
President Saied denounced racism, despite making comments last month that African immigrants were part of a plot to change Tunisia's demographic profile.

The Central Bank of Nigeria revealed that the Federal Government recorded N7.34tn fiscal deficit between January 2022 and November 2022.
A member of the Monetary Policy Committee, Mike Obadan, says these have continued to elicit serious concerns considering the growing yearly fiscal deficits and their implications for public debt accumulation and inflation in view of the Ways and Means Advances financing.
He says the Nigerian economy was highly challenged in 2022 as reflected by weakening growth performance, high and escalating inflation, foreign exchange market pressure and depreciating exchange rate, ballooning fiscal deficits and public debt and expanding money supply among others.

The Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Clem Agba, has disclosed that the Federal Government plans to establish a basket fund to collect donations for the 2023 population and housing census.
Agba noted that a total of N869bn is needed for the census, adding that the government committed N291,5bn with the need for an additional N327.2bn.
He says the total requirement for the census is N869bn census requirement – N626bn which is about $6 per capita (just slightly above the threshold of up to $5 per capita); Post-Census is N243bn.
Agba further disclosed that the census exercise was to be conducted last year but rescheduled for March 2023, but there is a recommendation that it should be held in May 2023.