Customs Forcefully Collect #300,000 from us - Shoe Dealers Cry Out; FG spends N1.3 trillion on importation in 12 Months: CBN; Further Oil Production cut Required to keep oil Price above $40 in 2020; Half Zimbabwe's population to face Man-Made Starvation: WFP; Pound Sterling jumps against Euro in the face of Political Leads; Cyber Monday expected to Rake in Record US Sales.

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Customs Forcefully Collect #300,000 from us - Shoe Dealers Cry Out; FG spends N1.3 trillion on importation in 12 Months: CBN; Further Oil Production cut Required to keep oil Price above $40 in 2020; Half Zimbabwe's population to face Man-Made Starvation: WFP; Pound Sterling jumps against Euro in the face of Political Leads; Cyber Monday expected to Rake in Record US Sales.

As more Nigerians and citizens of other countries continue to intensify efforts to migrate to Canada, the Canadian Government invited 7,200 Express Entry candidates to apply for permanent residency in the latest draws held on November 13th and 27th respectively. According to the latest Canada Immigration Newsletter, the minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score required dropped to 471. This is a reduction of one point from the previous Express Entry draw held on November 13, which had a cut-off score of 472. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) applied a tie-break time and date of November 11, 2019, in the latest draws. This means that all candidates with a score of 471, who submitted their profiles before this date and time, received an ITA. The latest draws bring the number of Express Entry candidates who have received an Invitation to Apply in 2019 alone to 78,900. With the latest figure, Invitation to Apply for permanent residency issued so far in 2019 is just 11,000 shy of last year’s record of 89,800 invitations with just over a month left in 2019. Specifically, three more draws are expected before the year ends, regardless of whether this record stands or falls, the year 2020 will see the admissions target rise to 85,800 for the three Express Entry-managed immigration programs, up from 81,400 this year.

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Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/newscast-africa/support

As more Nigerians and citizens of other countries continue to intensify efforts to migrate to Canada, the Canadian Government invited 7,200 Express Entry candidates to apply for permanent residency in the latest draws held on November 13th and 27th respectively. According to the latest Canada Immigration Newsletter, the minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score required dropped to 471. This is a reduction of one point from the previous Express Entry draw held on November 13, which had a cut-off score of 472. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) applied a tie-break time and date of November 11, 2019, in the latest draws. This means that all candidates with a score of 471, who submitted their profiles before this date and time, received an ITA. The latest draws bring the number of Express Entry candidates who have received an Invitation to Apply in 2019 alone to 78,900. With the latest figure, Invitation to Apply for permanent residency issued so far in 2019 is just 11,000 shy of last year’s record of 89,800 invitations with just over a month left in 2019. Specifically, three more draws are expected before the year ends, regardless of whether this record stands or falls, the year 2020 will see the admissions target rise to 85,800 for the three Express Entry-managed immigration programs, up from 81,400 this year.

The Governor of the Central Bank of The Gambia, Bakay Jammeh said the domestic debt as at the end of October 2019, has increased to D33.0 billion compared to 31.1 billion in 2018. He said this yesterday during the Monetary Policy Committee meeting held at the Central Bank of The Gambia. He said this increment constitutes 37.6 and 40.3 percent of the Gross Domestic Product respectively, with an increase in the stock of Treasury and Suku al-Salaam bills by 14.8 percent to 19.7 billion during the period under review. He said food inflation increased marginally by 0.1 percent to 7.3 percent in October 2019 compared to 7.2 percent in September 2019, whereas non-food inflation decelerated to 8.0 percent in October 2019 compared to 8.3 percent in September 2019, but higher than 6.8 percent recorded last year. He said: "the Gambian economy is estimated to have grown by robust 6.5 percent in 2018 compared to 4.8 percent in 29017, supported largely by the service sector, including tourism and trade, financial services and insurance, as well as transport and telecommunication". He added: "The goods account deficit is estimated at US$ 286.7 million (16.2 percent of GDP) in the first nine months of 2019, higher than the deficit of US$252.6 million(15.6 percent GDP) in the corresponding year in 2018". He said the committee noted among others the potential impact on the economy of the stock to agriculture, improvement in the current account of the balance of payments, deceleration in inflation, strong in the banking sector and comfortable level of the international reserves of the bank. He said in view of this, the committee decided to maintain the policy rate at 12.5 percent, maintain the interest on standing deposit facility at 2.5 percent and the standing lending at 13.5 percent.

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The Governor of the Central Bank of The Gambia, Bakay Jammeh said the domestic debt as at the end of October 2019, has increased to D33.0 billion compared to 31.1 billion in 2018. He said this yesterday during the Monetary Policy Committee meeting held at the Central Bank of The Gambia. He said this increment constitutes 37.6 and 40.3 percent of the Gross Domestic Product respectively, with an increase in the stock of Treasury and Suku al-Salaam bills by 14.8 percent to 19.7 billion during the period under review. He said food inflation increased marginally by 0.1 percent to 7.3 percent in October 2019 compared to 7.2 percent in September 2019, whereas non-food inflation decelerated to 8.0 percent in October 2019 compared to 8.3 percent in September 2019, but higher than 6.8 percent recorded last year. He said: "the Gambian economy is estimated to have grown by robust 6.5 percent in 2018 compared to 4.8 percent in 29017, supported largely by the service sector, including tourism and trade, financial services and insurance, as well as transport and telecommunication". He added: "The goods account deficit is estimated at US$ 286.7 million (16.2 percent of GDP) in the first nine months of 2019, higher than the deficit of US$252.6 million(15.6 percent GDP) in the corresponding year in 2018". He said the committee noted among others the potential impact on the economy of the stock to agriculture, improvement in the current account of the balance of payments, deceleration in inflation, strong in the banking sector and comfortable level of the international reserves of the bank. He said in view of this, the committee decided to maintain the policy rate at 12.5 percent, maintain the interest on standing deposit facility at 2.5 percent and the standing lending at 13.5 percent.

Former Finance minister and Harare East legislator Tendai Biti says Zimbabwe needs to reintroduce the multi-currency regime, seek debt cancellation and liberalize the fuel industry, among other interventions, to get the economy ticking again. In an interview, Biti also said a political solution is a key to addressing Zimbabwe's economic crisis and resolving the crisis of legitimacy emanating from last year's general elections. President Emmerson Mnangagwa beat MDC Alliance president Nelson Chamisa by a wafer-thin margin although the MDC insists the elections were rigged. Biti also said the government should repeal Statutory Instrument 142/19 with immediate effect, and the government should go back to the regime of multiple currencies even with the local currency working as a medium of exchange and the exchange rate will find equilibrium. Biti said the government should ring-fence pensions and savings in US dollar terms to avoid devaluation of pensions and savings. The Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority, he said, should be allowed to levy its charges in US dollars. This will enable the parastatal to import the required 400 megawatts of electricity. Biti believes the government should get rid of command agriculture and introduce incentives to the farming sector.

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Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/newscast-africa/support

Former Finance minister and Harare East legislator Tendai Biti says Zimbabwe needs to reintroduce the multi-currency regime, seek debt cancellation and liberalize the fuel industry, among other interventions, to get the economy ticking again. In an interview, Biti also said a political solution is a key to addressing Zimbabwe's economic crisis and resolving the crisis of legitimacy emanating from last year's general elections. President Emmerson Mnangagwa beat MDC Alliance president Nelson Chamisa by a wafer-thin margin although the MDC insists the elections were rigged. Biti also said the government should repeal Statutory Instrument 142/19 with immediate effect, and the government should go back to the regime of multiple currencies even with the local currency working as a medium of exchange and the exchange rate will find equilibrium. Biti said the government should ring-fence pensions and savings in US dollar terms to avoid devaluation of pensions and savings. The Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority, he said, should be allowed to levy its charges in US dollars. This will enable the parastatal to import the required 400 megawatts of electricity. Biti believes the government should get rid of command agriculture and introduce incentives to the farming sector.

Online retailer Jumia Technologies, has quit the Tanzanian market, only days after pulling out of Cameroon. Jumia becomes the second digital trading company to exit the local market after money lender, Tala, closed business last September. Dubbed "the Amazon of Africa," Jumia announced yesterday a review of its portfolio had led to shutting its e-commerce business in Tanzania. Reuters reported that Jumia's share price has plummeted since a Wall Street debut in April. "We have to focus our resources on our other markets. It is more important now than ever to put our focus and resources where they can bring the best value and help us thrive," the company said in the statement. Jumia entered the Tanzania market five years ago and its abrupt exit appears like a continuation of a scale back on its-e-commerce operations across Africa. It was not immediately clear what the impact the exit would have on enrolled dealers as well as job loses. With an e-commerce business similar to Amazon's and a classified portal like Alibaba's, Jumia sells its own stock and takes a cut of third-party transactions on its website. The firm has a presence in 12 African markets including Nigeria, Kenya, SA, Egypt, Ghana, Morocco, Uganda, Senegal, Rwanda, Ivory Coast, Tunisia, and Algeria

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Online retailer Jumia Technologies, has quit the Tanzanian market, only days after pulling out of Cameroon. Jumia becomes the second digital trading company to exit the local market after money lender, Tala, closed business last September. Dubbed "the Amazon of Africa," Jumia announced yesterday a review of its portfolio had led to shutting its e-commerce business in Tanzania. Reuters reported that Jumia's share price has plummeted since a Wall Street debut in April. "We have to focus our resources on our other markets. It is more important now than ever to put our focus and resources where they can bring the best value and help us thrive," the company said in the statement. Jumia entered the Tanzania market five years ago and its abrupt exit appears like a continuation of a scale back on its-e-commerce operations across Africa. It was not immediately clear what the impact the exit would have on enrolled dealers as well as job loses. With an e-commerce business similar to Amazon's and a classified portal like Alibaba's, Jumia sells its own stock and takes a cut of third-party transactions on its website. The firm has a presence in 12 African markets including Nigeria, Kenya, SA, Egypt, Ghana, Morocco, Uganda, Senegal, Rwanda, Ivory Coast, Tunisia, and Algeria