Author: Francis Mwema

The SADC Chairperson who is also the President of the Republic of Mozambique, His Excellency Filipe Jacinto Nyusi, says the Southern African Development Community (SADC) has made significant progress in strengthening its efforts to integrate its economies and promote peace and security among the member states.

Speaking in the foreword to the SADC 40^th anniversary publication titled, 40 Years of SADC of Enhancing Regional Cooperation and Integration a publication that brings to light the history of SADC and key achievements that the Region has made since 1980, The SADC Chairperson Filipe Nyusi said the bloc also takes the opportunity to hail its founders and thank them for their vision, dedication, courage and values, which the Region has inherited.

The publication that was launched in Maputo, Mozambique, on June 23^rd, 2021 during the Extraordinary SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government was Published by the SADC Secretariat …

The Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) has indicated interest in lifting refined petroleum products from the soon to be completed $15 billion Dangote Refinery, in Lagos.

Once complete the refinery on daily basis is expected to produce 50 million litres of petrol and 15 million litres of diesel.

In a statement notice issued by the Dangote Group on Sunday July 3, noted that the Major Oil Marketers made this request during a recent visit to the site of the 650,000 barrels per day single train refinery in Ibeju-Lekki Lagos, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

Speaking after the conclusion of his visit to the site, the Chairman of MOMAN, Mr Adetunji Oyebanji, said the refinery would play an important role in helping to remove the various bottlenecks associated with the importation of petroleum products into the country.

ALSO READ: Yaoundé Declaration To tackle Continent’s Affordable Housing …

African Ministers and Heads of Delegation of Ministries in charge of Housing and Urban Development, African Finance Ministers, the Directors and Management of Shelter Afrique, and representatives of international, regional and national institutions, the private sector and civil society, have agreed to enhance mechanisms for the mass production of decent and affordable housing in the continent to achieve social and economic development.

During a three-day summit at the 40^th Annual General Assembly of shelter-Afrique that was held in Yaunde Cameroon, the participants resolved to address the challenges that have hindered the efforts to provide decent and affordable housing in Africa.

In a research concluded by the Shelter-Afrique, a pan African housing finance and development institution, shows that the overall shortage of housing in Africa is estimated at 56 million housing units with out of this, more than 90 per cent are in affordable housing bracket.

The Managing Director …

The latest data from Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries has showed that Crude oil production in Nigeria has fallen by 6.32 percent to 1.344 million barrels per day in May, 2021 as compared to 1.429 million barrels per day recorded in April 2021.

This report also shows that Nigeria’s average daily oil production in the first quarter of 2021 was 1.404mbpd compared to average daily oil production of 1.301mbpd recorded in the fourth quarter of 2020.

The production volumes are exclusive of condensate oil which is not part of OPEC reporting requirement.

According to a new report by the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, NEITI, the total oil production in 2019 was 735.244mmbbls,which represented an increase of 4.87 percent over the 701.101mmbbls recorded in 2018.

The report showed that Production sharing contracts, PSCs, contributed the highest volumes of 312.042mmbbls followed by Joint Venture (JV) and Sole Risk, SR, which recorded …

Transport infrastructure is vital to developing countries because efficient and reliable transport networks are critical for local and international trade.

Transportation infrastructure, such as roads and railway systems, is one of the sectors most threatened by climate change. Extreme weather events such as flooding, sea-level rise, and storm surge have repeatedly wreaked Havoc on transport networks.

In Africa, extreme weather is a threat that can cause extensive structural damage. It can also accelerate the aging of infrastructure components which can lead to significant financial losses.

For instance, a recent report on Tanzania uncovered the vulnerability of the country’s transportation systems. Long stretches of road and rail networks are exposed to extreme flooding events, with growing exposure in the future.

The report estimated that worst-case disruptions to Tanzania’s multi-modal transport networks could cause losses of up to US$1.4 million per day. In addition, damage to these networks can disrupt the flow …

In the latest may statistics released by the Meat Board of Namibia, show that the country has exported more live animals than it has slaughtered for value addition and export bearing in mind that Agriculture is one of Namibia’s most important sectors.

The majority of Namibia’s population is dependent directly or indirectly on the agricultural sector for their livelihoods.  Agriculture’s contribution to GDP (excluding fishing) over the last five years has been just over four percent. Livestock farming contributes to approximately two-thirds of agricultural production, with crop farming and forestry making up the remaining third of production.  Meat processing (which the Namibian government accounts for under manufacturing) contributes to another 0.2 – 0.4 percent of GDP.

The export of live animals (mostly cattle and sheep) has historically contributed to about two-thirds of agricultural exports by value.

During the period under review, statistics showed that the country exported 45 623 live …

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Extraordinary Summit has approved the mandate to deploy the regional standby force to Mozambique.

The country which is hosting the meeting is battling terrorism and insurgents in the northern region of Cabo Delgado.

The 16-member bloc has been grappling with how to respond to the conflict in which thousands have been killed since 2017.

The insurgency, led by an Islamist group known as the Sunnar (popularly known locally as Al-Shabaab), has destabilized the region since October 2017. Its strength has grown tremendously since last year. In October it made a daring raid on one of the major towns in the north, Mocimbao da Praia. And then in March this year it targeted foreign contract workers, including South Africans.

After months of deliberations and disagreements on what would be the best response to the instability and terrorism in the region- a decision to deploy forces …

According to a top official Seychelles is expected to establish airline connectivity with Angola and enter into a bilateral air services agreement signing that is scheduled in September.

This economic agreement will spur tourism and commerce between the two nations. Seychelles prides in their wonderful natural tourism assets in its beautiful beaches and mountain backdrops which contributes 24.8 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) while Angola is rich in natural resources as well as having large reserves of oil and diamonds, hydroelectric potential, and rich agricultural land.

Speaking to a press earlier this month the Seychelles Minister for Transport, Anthony Derjacques, said that Angola has always been very attractive to Seychelles and its national carrier, Air Seychelles, and such an agreement will open the countries for commerce, exchanges and visitors.

“We are already flying to South Africa and Angola is also in Southern Africa. It will help us a lot …

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday agreed in principle to a restructuring of Congo’s vast debts, an issue that was blocking negotiations with the International Monetary Fund, a minister said.

Acknowledging this Congolese Prime Minister Anatole Collinet Makosso on moday June 21 said that the financial difficulties his country has faced, delayed servicing of the debt and promised to reduce a debt that has recently increased.

The prime minister says the health crisis brought about by the Covid-19 led to an increase in borrowing that was aimed at cushioning its citizen without the ability to service it and thus it was time to make their debt sustainable going forward.

“Our debt currently stands at nearly $10,892,454,000 as of 31 December 2020, or 98% of GDP. Our objective is to bring it down to below the CEMAC community standard set at 70% of GDP,” Anatole Collinet Makosso said to the National …