On June 9, the Centre for support of pygmy peoples in the Democratic Republic of Congo (CAMV) has organized a meeting to assess the implementation of the agreement signed in 2014 by the Bukavu peoples and authorities. According to the agreement, the pygmies were to be given access to the lands of the Kahuzi Biéga national park. However, three years after its signing, CAMV reveals that pygmies...

The World Bank has approved the Business Environment and Entrepreneurship development policy loan, amounting to $500 million, to support Tunisia’s efforts to improve business environment and boost entrepreneurship. This was revealed by the institution in a press statement released on June 13, on its website. According to the statement, the facility aims to “support key pillars of the...

The World Bank has approved the Business Environment and Entrepreneurship development policy loan, amounting to $500 million, to support Tunisia’s efforts to improve business environment and boost entrepreneurship. This was revealed by the institution in a press statement released on June 13, on its website. According to the statement, the facility aims to “support key pillars of the...

Senegal is considering helping Gambia face the power crisis which it currently experiences. SENELEC, Senegal’s power utility is currently looking at exporting its power surplus to Gambia, the country’s minister of power, Thierno Alassane Sall, said. “As we speak, we have an excess output of 200MW which is not being used. We even negotiated with a neighboring country (Mali, editor’s note)...

In Kenya, Mombasa governor candidate from Jubilee Party, Suleiman Shahbal, and his running mate, Anania Mwaboza, promised to, if elected, set aside each year, throughout their mandate, $9.6 million to settle the 300,000 squatters of the county. “We plan to form a board which will enable us as the county government to set aside funds in the county budget to buy land in dispute and settle...

Shell Petroleum Development Company Limited (SPDC), has said that crude oil theft from its facilities dropped by over 200% last year against the percentage obtained in 2015. Likewise, oil spill from sabotage dropped by over 100% compared to 2015. “Crude oil theft on the pipeline network resulted in a loss of about 5,660 barrels of oil per day (bpd) in 2016, which is less than the 25,000bpd in...

Etisalat Nigeria is currently working with lenders and Abu Dhabi state investment fund, Mubadala, to resolve its debt problems brought on by a devaluation of the naira currency. The telecoms company has been in talks to restructure a $1.2billion loan after missing a payment deadline, but sources with knowledge of the matter had said that the talks reached a deadlock on April 28. Responding...

Commercial banks in Nigeria have raised the sum of N26 billion ($81 million) as part of vows to finance agro-based small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) in the country, according to Bola Adesola (photo), the Managing Director of Standard Chartered Bank. Speaking while briefing newsmen in Lagos yesterday, Adesola explained that the contribution comes after the Central Bank directed all...

Nigeria is targeting a 35% increase in its tax base this year from the current 14 million to 17 million payers as the country seeks fund to finance its 2017 budget. To achieve its target the government plans to employ about 7, 500 graduates between 18 and 35 years. Known as the Community Tax Liaison Officers (CTLOs), their job will be to raise awareness and educate citizens at all levels about...

Nigeria’s annual wheat imports rose by 54% to $201 million in the first quarter of this year against the $130.9 million the same period last year, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) shows. This result, among others, is due to the lack of High Quality Cassava Flour (HQCF), a composite which is mixed with wheat by flour millers for flour production. Explaining the...