In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak across the globe, the Africa hr. summit have suspended the mercer 2020 Africa HR summit until further notice. The event was scheduled for 22- 23 April at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa.

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The European Union in Uganda together with all the EU members states and the Private Sector Foundation Uganda- (PSFU) recently held the first ever Uganda-Europe Business Forum.

The event took place at Speke Resort Munyonyo from March 9-10 2020, attracted investment from the European private sector with President Yoweri Museveni as the guest of Honour.

In an opening remark by the Ambassador of the European Union to Uganda, Attilio Pacifici he noted that the unfolding spread worldwide of the coronavirus made it impossible for the European Commissioner or any of her representatives to be present at the event.

Pacifici also added that over the last year, the EU Delegation to Uganda partnered with Private Sector Foundation Uganda to work together with the private sector, from both Uganda and Europe, in order to assess the main constraints hampering new, sustainable investments in this country and propose measures and remedies that can improve the investment and business climate.

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Ghana’s President, Nana Akufo-Addo, says the country will be taking advantage of the Coronavirus pandemic to strengthen the domestic production of pharmaceutical products in the country.

The West African country records its first index cases of COVID-19, joining its regional neighbours including Nigeria, Togo, Burkina Faso, Senegal, amongst others.

A statement on Thursday from Ghana’s Ministry of Health signed by the Minister, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, states that the country’s first cases are a Turkish returnee and a Norwegian returnee.

The minister said that the Laboratory results of the two confirmed cases were received at the same time from the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research.

He also disclosed that both individuals returned from Norway and Turkey making them imported cases of COVID-19.Meanwhile, President Akufo-Addo is optimistic that the crisis will help the country advance domestic drug production and reduce foreign imports.

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Troubled oil producer, Tullow Oil plc, 2019 was a year that the company showed loads of promise and even much greater disappointment, which culminated in the departure of its CEO, Paul McDade and Head of Exploration, Angus Mcoss.

While Tullow had run into problems with the Ugandan tax authorities in its bid to sell off its assets in that country, the announced discovery in Guyana gave the company some hope. Little did investors know that the discovery was not what they expected.

The South American discovery was heavy crude oil and the company faced accusation of deliberately conceding this to drive up their share price. Light crude is mostly preferred to heavy crude as it costs less to refine compared to the former.

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The Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Mr. Godwin Emefiele, has said the Bank may consider including the importation of hand sanitisers amongs items not valid for foreign exchange (FX) from its official forex window.

The CBN governor said this while speaking at the ‘Going for Growth 2.0,’ roundtable that took place in Abuja.

Emefiele, said this while responding to complaints by the Chief Executive of Emzor Pharmaceuticals Industrials Limited, Mrs. Stella Okoli, that most of the hand sanitisers seen in the country since the outbreak of the coronavirus were imported.

The price of hand sanitisers in the country have spiked since the first case of coronavirus was announced.

Emefiele explained that It is naira that we pay to buy sanitisers, rather than using dollars to import sanitisers from China. Sanitiser will get into the list of items that are banned.”

Earlier in his address, Emefiele had said addressing domestic and external challenges to growth required input from critical stakeholders who could generate great and workable ideas and solutions.

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The management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation has retired about 40 group general managers and general managers at the oil firm.

It was gathered on Thursday in Abuja that the affected GGMs and GMs were asked to leave the employ of the oil firm on Wednesday.

Sources at the corporation also stated that the reorganisation touched other very senior positions at the headquarters of the national oil firm, as well as in some of its subsidiaries.

It also explained that the one that is raising concern at the corporation is that most or all the top management staff from M-3 to M-4 who are due for retirement within a year were asked to leave yesterday (Wednesday),”

It was gathered that group general managers were on M-3, while general managers were categorised on M-4.

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The Senate, on Thursday, passed for second reading, a constitution amendment bill which prescribes Higher National Diploma or its equivalent as the educational qualification required for anyone seeking to contest the office of the Nigerian President or state governors. The bill sponsored by a member of the Peoples Democratic Party from Plateau State, Senator Isfifanus Gyang, also prescribes National Diploma or its equivalent as the minimum qualification for federal and state lawmakers. The bill seeks to alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to provide for the amendment of Sections 65 (2) (a), and 131 (d).

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Boko Haram terrorists have relocated their fighters to Bula Korege in the Sambisa Forest region of Borno State, prompting the Nigerian Air Force to deploy jets to bomb the locations.

The insurgents were planning to embark on an attack on bases of the Nigerian Army troops and civilian communities in the area when the NAF Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance platforms sighted them.

The air force noted that the strikes on the Boko Haram camps were part of the ongoing Operation Decisive Edge and they killed scores of the terrorists.

The NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, said that the air force, operating in concert with surface forces, will sustain its air campaign against the terrorists’ hideouts.

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The health ministry announced that Algeria has registered its first death from the novel coronavirus

No further details on the death were provided in the ministry statement, cited by the official APS press agency.

Another five new cases of COVID-19 have been recorded, bringing the total number of confirmed cases on Algerian soil to 24, the ministry added.

A 25th case – and the first registered in the country — concerns an Italian who tested positive in February but who has since left Algeria.

Of the five new cases announced on Thursday, two are Algerians who had been in France.

They have been hospitalised in the Souk Ahras area of eastern Algeria, and the Kabylie region east of the capital Algiers.

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As a result of growing fears of a coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, Morocco has suspended all of its maritime connections with highly-infected Italy.

After they announced early Tuesday the suspension of all flights to and from Italy to stop the spread of the virus, the directorate of the merchant navy at the Moroccan ministry of transport and logistics later made the announcement to also suspend maritime links with Italy.

The decision is in line with the government’s directives to prevent the spread of COVID-19, said the directorate.

The suspension concerns all boats traveling between Moroccan and Italian seaports. Lifting the suspension is dependent on the evolution of the epidemic in the European country.

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