Newscast - Africa

Health ministry data has showed that Coronavirus cases in Gambia, mainland Africa’s smallest country, have surged over 60% in the last seven days to nearly 800 cases.

Authorities attributed the rise to people relaxing their guard on protective measures that had so far kept Gambia’s case total the lowest in Africa. Testing has also increased in the country, where the number of deaths is 16.

Government spokesman Ebrima Sankareh said that there is increased enforcement of mask-wearing and other measures across the country.

He added that Gambia will increase police, paramilitary, marine and immigration presence on its border as scores of Senegalese return from celebrating Eid al-Adha in neighbouring Senegal, which has recorded over 10,400 cases.

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The House of Representatives is set to petition President Muhammadu Buhari over the refusal of some agencies of government to appear before its Committee on Public Account to answer questions over financial irregularities traced to them or clarify some records provided by other agencies.

The House Committee on Public Account is particularly not happy with the refusal of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emiefele, Group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, Managing Director of the Nigeria Port Authority, Haha Hadiza Bala Usman and the Bureau for Public Enterprises to appear before it over sales of federal government landed property across the country.

The agencies, alongside the National Emergency Management Agency, and the Petroleum Equalisation Fund failed to appear before the Committee on Public Account over the sales of some government property.

Chairman of the House Committee on Public Account, Rep. Wole Oke said the President should compel the agencies to honour the invitation of the House within seven days.

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The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control has confirmed 457 new cases of coronavirus in the country. This brings the total number of COVID-19 infections recorded in the country so far to 44,890.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) disclosed this on Wednesday night via Twitter showing that the new infections were recorded Lagos, the Federal Capital Territory and 19 other states of the federation.

Lagos topped the list with 137 cases, the FCT came second with 76 new cases of infection.

A total of 32,165 persons have recovered from the virus while the death toll now stands at 927.

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Gold has topped $2,000 (£1,527) an ounce for the first time as traders look for havens amid the pandemic.

Investors have moved cash into the precious metal as Covid-19 cases rise in the US and more money is pumped into the global economy.

The record high gold price has also been driven by concerns over tensions between Washington and Beijing.

Prices of other precious metals, including silver, have also risen sharply since the start of this year.

The price of gold has increased by more than 30% this year as coronavirus cases continue to rise in America, causing dozens of states to halt or reverse their plans to reopen.

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A survey on Wednesday showed that activity in Kenya’s private sector rose at its fastest pace in a year last month on the back of a gradual easing of coronavirus lockdown measures.

The Markit Stanbic Bank Kenya Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) jumped to 54.2 in July, from 46.6 in the previous month, well above the 50.0 mark that separates growth from contraction. July’s level was the highest since June last year.

Jibran Qureishi, head of Africa Research at Stanbic Bank said the removal of county travel restrictions supported output and business sentiment in July, referring to the opening up of the capital Nairobi and the port city of Mombasa

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South Africa’s rand inched up on Wednesday after dropping to two-months lows the day before, as some risk demand returned amid concern over the global economy.

At 0650 GMT the rand was up 0.4% to 17.3000 per dollar, after falling to 17.5350 in the previous session, its worst since early June.

Analysts at Nedbank in a note said the rand traded on the back foot yesterday, despite local sellers of USD. This supply was easily absorbed by offshore-driven demand, with the rand an apparent proxy for all emerging-market currencies.

A delay in agreement over the latest coronavirus relief package in the United States has also slowed demand for the dollar, leading to some recovery in emerging-market assets.

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Morocco Finance Minister on Wednesday said plans to reform, merge or dissolve some state bodies to reduce their dependency on a state budget hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

Finance minister, Mohamed Benchaaboun, told reporters that the plan could include a merger of the indebted state railway operator, ONCF, and the highway company ADM into a single entity,

Morocco expects its economy to shrink by 5% this year, with the fiscal deficit rising to 7.5% of gross domestic product and treasury debt to 75.3% of GDP. Despite a tough lockdown, it has confirmed 26,196 cases of the coronavirus.

The state has already announced some measures to help with the economic impact. Last week, King Mohammed VI announced a $12.8 billion stimulus, equivalent to about 11% of GDP.

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South Africa’s Blue Label Telecoms on Tuesday said that Cell C, in which it is the largest shareholder, had defaulted on the payment of capital on its $184 million note, which was due on Aug. 2.

Cell C, a mobile carrier, also defaulted on interest and capital repayments related to the respective bilateral loan facilities between itself and Nedbank Limited, China Development Bank Corporation, Development Bank of Southern Africa Limited and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited.

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South Africa’s Blue Label Telecoms on Tuesday said that Cell C, in which it is the largest shareholder, had defaulted on the payment of capital on its $184 million note, which was due on Aug. 2.

Cell C, a mobile carrier, also defaulted on interest and capital repayments related to the respective bilateral loan facilities between itself and Nedbank Limited, China Development Bank Corporation, Development Bank of Southern Africa Limited and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited.

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A survey on Wednesday showed that South Africa’s economic downturn extended into last month, though businesses still reeling from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic reported slightly less steep in output and new orders.

The pace of job losses also slowed, but July still saw the third-fastest reduction in employment on record.

The IHS Markit Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 44.9 from 42.5 in June, its second increase in a row but still far below the 50 mark that separates expansion from contraction.

Africa’s most industrialised economy imposed a hard lockdown in late March to contain the spread of the coronavirus. It has gradually eased curbs on most economic activity since.

The July reading was the 15th in succession below 50, showing the downturn began well before the pandemic.

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