How to boost land tenure for the people of Mali? That was the topic of the meeting held last Wednesday which gathered members of the committee in charge of the pilot project of land and forest tenure. The workshop was organized by the Malian subsidiary of the Helvetas Suisse Intercooperation and the National Coordination of Farmers Associations (CNOP Mali). “The session’ aim was to rule on...

In DR Congo, land conflicts have spread to the University of Kinshasa. Indeed, green spaces belonging to the institution are occupied by individuals who now claim their ownership. This is quite alarming more so since some of the residents have proceeded to the cadastering of some areas, driving the minister of land affairs to personally come on the site. “To solve this illegal occupancy issue,...

World Bank will provide the Republic of Benin a $50 million financing to boost its tourism industry. The facility comes to support the country’s competitiveness and transborder tourism programme led by its National Agency for Tourism Development and heritage promotion (ANPT). The 5-year programme will mainly help make Ouidah, a town located in the Southern part of the country, a tourism...

 “IMF will grant Benin over the next three years a $150 million loan to support its action programme,” said Norbert Toé, head of an IMF delegation visiting Benin, at the end of his mission. Entitled Revealing Benin, the scheme aims to “improve populations’ living standards, maintain a stable macroeconomic environment which aligns with public debt and promote private sector’s...

The Federal Government of Nigeria intends to issue a $64 million green bond in April this year to fund low-carbon emission projects and boost renewable energy in the country. This was declared by the outgoing Minister of Environment, Amina Mohammed (photo), in Lagos on Thursday. Mohammed said the bond would be aimed at domestic markets and target areas such as solar power, agriculture,...

The Nigerian Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun (photo), has disclosed plans by the Federal Government to increase the spending on infrastructure from 10% to 30% this year. “We will now target 30% of government expenditure on infrastructure, up from 10 percent,” she said. Adeosun added that the Federal Government is willing to increase spending on major infrastructures such as power, rail,...

Nigerians will be charged higher fees for deposits and withdrawals exceeding N500, 000 and N3 million, for individuals and corporate customers respectively. This falls in line with a new policy adopted by the Central Bank of Nigeria. Under the new policy which has been approved by the Bankers’ Committee of the CBN in Abuja on Thursday, individual customers who deposit or withdraw below N500,...

South African company MTN Group has revealed that it has invested more than $16billion so far in its operations in Nigeria. This was disclosed by outgoing Chairman/Chief Executive of MTN Group, Phuthuma Freedom Nhleko (photo), during a visit to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) headquarters in Abuja on Thursday. The official said the mobile operator was willing to invest more in...

The Nigerian Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Audu Ogbeh, has disclosed that the Chinese government is interested in importing dry yam from the country to meet industrial and domestic demands. The Minister, who revealed this in Abuja on Thursday, noted that although Nigeria remains one of the World’s largest producers of yam, it was still not among yam exporting countries. He...

The Nigerian Commissioner for Information, Godwin Udeuhele, on Thursday, announced that the Enugu State Executive Council has used part of a $50 million loan secured from the French Development Agency (AFD) to restore water infrastructure in the state. During the first phase of the scheme for which the loan will be used, water supply in Enugu urban will be boosted. Nsukka urban will...