Former telecoms and postal workers in the Republic of the Congo say the government is unable to pay them what they are owed. The money they paid into their pension funds each month has disappeared.

The country has nearly gone bankrupt three times in the past 20 years and has been repeatedly bailed out by the International Monetary Fund, despite being Africa's third-largest oil producer.

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Shares in London have plummeted in early trading, with the FTSE 100 index of shares plunging 8 percent to its lowest level in three years.

It comes after big falls in Asia, with Japan's Nikkei 225 index down 5 percent while Australia's ASX 200 slumped 7.3 percent, its biggest daily drop since 2008.

Asian investors also reacted to a slump in Chinese export figures and the shrinking of the Japanese economy.

In China, the benchmark Shanghai Composite share index fell 3 percent, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index sank 4.2 percent.

Markets have been rattled by the threat of a price war between oil exporting group Opec and its main ally Russia.

The wobble compounds fears over the effect of coronavirus on the economy.

Oil prices are down more than 20 percent with Brent crude trading at 35 dollars, 98 cents a barrel.

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The wife of the first case of coronavirus in SA has also contracted the disease, bringing to three the number of confirmed cases in SA. They were part of a group of 10 people who travelled to Italy, and the test results of the other group members will be available in the next 48 hours.

Tourism minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane will meet the tourism industry on Monday to discuss the effect of Covid-19 on tourism and the recovery plan.

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Cameroon and Togo confirmed their first cases of coronavirus on Friday, bringing the number of countries in sub-Saharan Africa hit by the epidemic to five.

The outbreak has largely spared that part of Africa so far, but since last month cases have been detected in Nigeria, Senegal and South Africa. North African countries have registered more than two dozen cases.

In the central African country of Cameroon, the health ministry said a 58-year-old French citizen who arrived in the capital Yaounde on Feb. 24 had fallen ill with the virus. It later said the man’s female partner had also tested positive.

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Oil marketers under the aegis of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria have said access to the dollar at N306 will enable them to resume importation of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol).

The marketers also said there was an urgent need for the Federal Government, through the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, to increase the margins on petrol to encourage them to make more investments.

According to the petrol pricing template of the PPPRA, margins for retailers and dealers are N6 and N2.36 per litre while transporters’ allowance is N3.36 per litre.

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THE top five banks, otherwise known as Tier-1 banks (T-1 banks) will record 50 percent decline in loan growth rate in 2020. Analysts see a slow down to single from double digit growth recorded in 2019.

The banks are Access Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank, GTB; First Bank of Nigeria Limited, FBN; United Bank for Africa Plc, UBA; and Zenith Bank.

The financial statement of the five banks shows that their combined loans and advances rose to N10.65 trillion in Nigeria from N8.57 trillion 2018, translating to loan growth of 24.3%.

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The Nigerian government has announced plans of a partnership with the World Bank and International Financial Cooperation on staff capacity building and infrastructural development for Free Trade Zones in the country.

This was disclosed by the Acting Managing Director of the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority, Bitrus Dawuk. In a statement, the NEPZA boss said the partnership will help attract more Foreign Direct Investments to the Nigerian economy.

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The Nigerian government has announced plans of a partnership with the World Bank and International Financial Cooperation on staff capacity building and infrastructural development for Free Trade Zones in the country. This was disclosed by the Acting Managing Director of the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority, Bitrus Dawuk. In a statement, the NEPZA boss said the partnership will help attract more Foreign Direct Investments to the Nigerian economy.

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Nigeria has confirmed the second case of coronavirus in the country.

The Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, announced this on Monday at a press conference in Benin City, the Edo State capital.

Ehanire told reporters that the newly confirmed case was a contact of the index case. He said the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control made the discovery after collecting samples from all contacts of the index case.

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A public spending watchdog says government departments in the UK spent more than £4bn on preparations for leaving the European Union.

The National Audit Office said this figure included spending on staff, external advice and advertising.

The NAO stressed in its report that it was not making a judgement on whether the spending represented value for money.

It also emphasised that the figures represented a "minimum estimated level of spend" due to "limitations" in the data provided by departments.

A Treasury spokesperson said the government had made "all necessary funds available" to ensure the country was prepared for leaving the EU.

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