The United States has warned Kenya that it risks losing billions of shillings through its major financial system called the Integrated Financial Management Information System (Ifmis). The US analysis flagged vulnerabilities in the financial auditing tool notifying the Kenyan government of the impending risk. According to the East African Publication, a fresh report from the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) stressed the vulnerabilities of Kenya’s Integrated Financial Management Information System as reported by US companies doing business in Kenya. “US companies have expressed concerns about Ifmis due to insufficient connectivity and technical capacity in county government offices, apathy…
Author: Temitope N.
Small-scale traders in Uganda who import goods from China are currently in a tight fix over gaps in cargo documentation, rising import tax bills, and overall bureaucracy despite advanced trade management tools from their country’s regulatory body. According to the East African Publication, a recent directive from the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) requires importers to submit master and house bills of lading for all cargo containers arriving in the country. This new directive has left traders in the country who usually prefer consolidation of cargo in a dilemma. The country’s revenue authority explained the reason behind its new directive in a…
Nigeria is set to receive the balance $1.05 billion from a $3.3 billion Afrexim bank loan backed by oil revenues by the end of May, aiming to rejuvenate the economy and enhance the availability of foreign currency in the domestic exchange market. The Senior Executive Vice-President for Finance, Administration and Banking at Afreximbank, Denys Denya said the bank has verified the crude availability and would release the balance next month. He stated, “The verification of the crude availability has happened, so we expect in the next month to finalize the release of the balance. Based on future production, you get the…
The Federal Government has unveiled the upgraded Citizens’ Delivery Tracker App, which will enable all citizens to view the deliverables and key performance indicators for all ministries and give their assessments. The government said the tracker is available at app.cdcu.gov.ng. and can be downloaded on Google Play Store and Apple Store. However, checks by Nairametrics show that the app is not yet available on those platforms as of the time of filing this report. Hadiza Usman, Special Adviser to the President on Policy and Coordination and Head of the Central Delivery Coordination Unit (CDCU), spoke at the go-live event of…
The Universities in the Netherlands (UNL), a collective organization for higher education in the country, has decided to reduce the number of undergraduate courses offered solely in English. This decision is a response to ongoing demands to cut down the influx of international students. Previously, the umbrella body attributed issues including student housing shortages and a decline in education accessibility and quality to a growth in international student numbers. Following an agreement made earlier this year, the universities under UNL resolved to stop new English-taught undergraduate programmes, cease international student recruitment activities, and eliminate foundation years for international students. This action was…
Economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is projected to increase over the next two years, but it is unlikely to significantly alleviate poverty across the region, the World Bank said in a report. The region’s economy is expected to expand by 3.4% this year and 3.8% in 2024, driven in part by a decrease in inflation, which is anticipated to bolster private consumption. The shocks of COVID-19 and Russia’s war in Ukraine According to Reuters News, many countries in SSA were hit hard by the shocks of COVID-19 and Russia’s war in Ukraine, which pushed up inflation and interest rates,…
KPMG has said that the effectiveness of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) monetary tightening strategies may fall short unless Nigeria addresses the underlying supply-side constraints fuelling cost-push inflation. In issue 15 of the Flashnotes publication of KPMG in Nigeria, which was seen by Nairametrics, the firm emphasised the need for a balanced approach that tackles both demand-pull and cost-push inflationary pressures. It called for collaborative efforts between fiscal and monetary authorities to dismantle the supply-side barriers contributing to inflation. The document read: “We recognise that price stability is a necessary condition for economic growth. We equally recognise that raising…
Zimbabwe has announced the launch of a new currency, as the country has effectively given up in its effort to salvage the Zimbabwean Dollar. The new currency which will be called ZiG is set to be introduced on April 8, 2024, with an initial exchange rate set at 13.56 per dollar. Additionally, a new interest rate of 20% has been established, contrasting sharply with the previous rate of 130% on the old Zimbabwean Dollar. It is also noted that the new currency will be backed by a diverse basket of foreign currencies, gold, and other precious metals. The move was…
The foreign exchange rate for the Nigeria Customs Services’ (NCS) cargo clearance in ports and other goods entry points has dropped to N1260.49/$ from N1330/$ in the past few days. This represents a decline of around N70 for cargo clearance. The new rate reflects the closing rate on the official NAFEM window yesterday where the naira closed at N1255/$. The exchange rate used for import duty payments on the customs portal has been decreasing over the last two weeks, reflecting the naira’s fortification in the foreign exchange (FX) market. This rate had reached its zenith at N1,624.7/$1 and has been…
The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has lamented the effect of high interest rate of CBN’s Treasury bill noting that it is drying up funds from the private sector into government’s treasuries. The LCCI Director-General, Dr Chinyere Almona, said this in a statement on Friday where she urged the apex bank to reconsider its decision on interest rate hike. She acknowledged the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) goals of curbing inflation and stabilizing the exchange rate as praiseworthy but emphasized the need for these objectives to be achieved without impeding private sector endeavours and economic expansion. Almona highlighted…
In the battle of short-term money market instruments, government-backed securities are currently trouncing commercial papers. Nairametrics’ data tracking reveals a significant 75% year-on-year decline as per value in the issuance of commercial papers in Nigeria. In terms of volume, there was a 66% decline, as only 32 CPs were issued in Q1 2024, in contrast with the 95 issued in Q1 2023. In Q1 2024, CPs totalling N165.36 billion were issued, a significant decline from the N664.14 billion worth of CPs issued during the same period in 2023. Comparatively, N5.64 trillion worth of treasury bills and N1.01 trillion of OMO-bills…
The World Bank has loaned Ethiopia a total sum of $1.72 billion to enhance electricity, expand water supply, and also facilitate the movement of food to markets. According to Reuters, the World Bank and the East African country signed the loan agreements on Friday as announced by Ethiopia’s finance minister. The World Bank will provide Ethiopia with $523 million to expand the nation’s electricity network and also augment the country’s investment in renewable energy. Another $500 million from the World Bank will finance two projects, including boosting access to food markets and renovating and constructing new projects in rural areas. The…
The Lagos State Government has mandated supermarkets and grocery stores throughout the state to display price tags on all products, warning that failure to comply may result in the sealing of non-compliant establishments. The warning was issued by the Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency (LASCOPA) on Saturday as a measure to enhance transparency and safeguard consumers from potential price exploitation, as contained in a statement retrieved from the Lagos State Government’s official website. This initiative aims to prevent misunderstandings and inconvenience at the point of sale, fostering a more straightforward and consumer-friendly shopping experience. “The Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency (LASCOPA)…
The President of the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development, George Agyekum Nana Donkor has listed some of the solutions to the economic, agricultural, and unemployment challenges bedevilling the West African sub-region. This is as he laments that there are no jobs for millions of students that graduate from universities within the sub-region annually. He said such development among others, constitutes a part of the economic challenges facing the region but seized the moment to call for urgent solutions by relevant stakeholders. As disclosed by the bank in its X page on Saturday, Donkor raised the concern during the ECOWAS…
Financial expert and head of investment and research at Meristem Securities Limited, Praise Ihensekhien, has advised the federal government to adopt other currencies for import-related transactions to reduce Dollar dependence and preserve the stability of the Naira in the forex market. Ihensekhien shared this insight during the Economy Outlook webinar hosted by Nairametrics on Saturday. According to her, if such policy is implemented, the need for the greenback will significantly diminish, providing the Naira with some respite in the forex market. While lauding the CBN’s efforts to stabilize the Naira through numerous policies, Ihensekhien pointed out that there is a need for more action,…
The naira value of the total external debt of Nigeria’s 36 states and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) increased by 23.76% from N3.350 trillion to N4.146 trillion between June 2023 and December 2023. According to the debt profile of the 36 states of the federation and FCT published by the Debt Management Office, total sub-national debt as of June 30, 2023, stood at $4.349 billion which translates to N3.350 trillion using the exchange rate of N770.38/$. However, as of December 31, 2023, despite an increase of around $261 million in the total sub-national external debt- just 6%, the naira value of…
The Head of Corporate Banking Group and Chief Operating Officer at Ecobank Transnational (ETI), Dr. Bunmi Bajomo has stated that Nigerian banks cannot compete with their peers in North and East Africa based on foreign currencies. She stated this during the Nairametrics’ Economic webinar tagged- CBN policies and its wider impact on the wider economy where she rationalised the aoex bank’s move towards recapitalisation of banks. According to her, Nigerian banks have seen severe economic headwinds in the past few years from covid-19 pandemic and significant depreciation of the naira serves as genuine reasons for the recapitalisation exercise. She stated, “In conclusion, as…
The percentage of men with wage or salary paying jobs have declined in 11 years, according to a brief on gender landscape in Nigeria by the World Bank. A noteworthy decline of 39% (9.1%-points) characterizes the landscape of wage and salaried employment for men, with a sharp decrease from 23.2% in 2011 to 14.1% in 2022. This trend not only highlights a significant move away from formal employment for men but also places Nigeria below the averages for Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) at 25.9%, low middle income (LMC) at 34.9%, and the world at 51.3%. Women, on the other hand, saw…
The Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) aggressive stance on the naira defence is projected to lead to an enormous interest payout, with the CBN set to incur approximately N1.01 trillion. This figure emerged from the analysis of the Nigerian Treasury Bills (NTB) auction data for the first quarter of 2024, which showcases a robust subscription trend amidst rising rates. The cumulative interest to be paid out by the end of these T-bills’ tenors will amount to approximately N1.01 trillion, underlining the substantial cost of defending the naira and curbing inflationary pressures. On the other hand, investors seem to respond positively…
The Federal Government through the Debt Management Office has opened offers for the April 2024 Savings Bond, with rates reaching as high as 18.046% per annum. According to the announcement made by the DMO, the 2-year FGN Savings Bond will be issued at 17.046% per annum, while the 3-year FGN Savings Bond will be issued at 18.046% per annum. About FGN Savings Bond They are issued by the DMO monthly, and the subscription is N1000 per unit, subject to a minimum subscription of N5,000, and subsequent multiples of N1,000, with a maximum subscription limit of N50,000,000. Interest payment for Savings…