Author: Mustapha Juma

Digital mobile payment platform Apple Pay last week silently went live in South Africa, with at least three banks supporting the service.

This is the first time the service is being launched in Africa.

How Apple Pay works

Apple Pay is the smartphone manufacturer’s payment and digital wallet system. Users of the iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch can use the feature to pay online on various apps and at Tap and Pay NFC terminals. A bank card needs to be connected to the service.

Apple Pay allows users to load a supported banking card and use their Apple device – such as an iPhone or cellular Apple Watch – to make a contactless payment at supported NFC-based terminals.

Banks supporting Apple Pay

Following the launch of the service in Africa, three South African banks are listed on Apple’s website as partners supporting Apple Pay.

They are Absa, Discovery and …

Just a few days after being sworn in as Tanzania’s sixth President, Samia Suluhu Hassan has continued to prove wrong those who might have doubted her leadership.

Days after taking over power following the demise of Tanzania’s fifth President John Pombe Magufuli, President Samia Suluhu suspended the Director of the country’s port authority over massive embezzlement of public funds.

Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) Director-General Deusdedit Kakoko was adversely mentioned in the report of the Controller and Audit -General(CAG).

Suluhu had vowed to continue the strict legacy of former president Magufuli who had zero tolerance towards corruption, incompetence among other shortcomings.

The course of action toward Covid-19

On Tuesday, April 6, 2021, President Samia Suluhu said that she intends to form a committee of experts to professionally evaluate the Covid-19 pandemic so as to advise the government on the way forward.

Speaking while swearing in permanent secretaries and deputy permanent secretaries …

Egypt and Sudan have signed a deal that will see the capacity of electricity linkage between the two countries raised to 300 megawatts.

The two countries made the decision after signing a contract agreement on Tuesday, March 30.

The contract to raise the capacity and stability of the existing electrical interconnection line between Egypt and Sudan was signed by the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company and Siemens Energy Company.

Egyptian Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy Mohamed Shaker and Sudanese Ambassador to Cairo Mohamed Elias are among the people who attended the signing ceremony.

According to the contract, the capacity of the linkage will rise from 80 megawatts to 300 megawatts.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the ministry stated that the contract includes the supply and installation of (2) ineffective compensator units (STATECOM) capacity of 2 x + – 150 megafars.

The total value of the contract is 453 million …

In the South African Department of Mineral Resources and Energy 2020 Annual Performance Plan report, the authority highlighted the importance of the energy sector in catalyzing economic growth and development.

As in the report, real-life reflects the need for a reliable supply of energy to ensure that Africa continues to push its presence onto the global stage and build foundations of economic and social prosperity.

To achieve this change, and to transform the continent’s legacy challenges into a future that allows for continued growth and development, it remains a priority for the government and private sector to invest in energy solutions that are sustainable, reliable, and relevant.

As the continent moves into the first half of 2021, it’s the right time to look ahead at what the year ahead looks like for the energy sector and what changes or opportunities could potentially shift energy solutions into high gear.

The Renewable

Are you thinking of investing in Africa, Côte d’Ivoire to be specific?

Well, the best time to invest in Africa is now. However, foreign investors have not moved into the continent as quickly as expected because foreign investment decisions are often methodically overstructured. One of the major factors cited is too much risk.

Africa is the most profitable region in the world. A report by the UN Conference on Trade and Development states that between 2006 and 2011, Africa had the highest rate of return on inflows of Foreign Direct Investment: 11.4%.  This is compared to 9.1% in Asia, 8.9% in Latin America and the Caribbean. The global figure is 7.1%.

Investing in Africa is good business and a sustainable corporate strategy for foreign investors. Advanced and emerging countries’ governments and the private sector should leverage these profitable, emerging investment opportunities.

Economic growth prospects

Africa’s economic growth prospects are …

It is the end of an era for WPP Scangroup Plc founder and Chief Executive Officer Bharat Thakrar, 69, who just tendered his resignation as CEO and board member.

His resignation came just a month after he was suspended by the company together with the Chief financial officer Satyabrata Das over alleged gross misconduct.

Thakrar also resigned as director of the company’s subsidiaries and affiliates.

In a statement on Wednesday, the board said the investigation into the allegations of gross misconduct and possible offenses against the two executives will continue despite the resignation.

The board has delegated the authority to an interim Chief Operating Officer, Alec Graham.

“This is to ensure the continued management of the company, with the support of the Board and the senior executives of the subsidiaries,” it said.

WPP-Scangroup is a subsidiary of WPP and is listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange.

Also Read: Mozambique gas: …

Ghana has moved into the next phase of Covid-19 vaccination.

The exercise that targets all health care workers in other districts and regions in Ghana kicked off on Monday, March 22.

According to the Ghana Health Service (GHS), the AstraZeneca vaccine that is being administered is safe.

Approximately 90,000 health workers are being targeted in this next phase of the vaccination programme in Ghana.

The Director-General of the GHS, Dr Patrick Kuma Aboagye said this includes both public and private sector health workers and that their names and locations have been vetted and each district will have two sites for vaccination.

According to him, all health workers would have been covered across the country within a week, or two weeks.

Additional vaccines

Speaking on Sunday afternoon during a press briefing, Dr Kuma Aboagye said Ghana was still pursuing additional vaccines as well as sustaining the public education on adherence to …

The ARB Apex Bank has joined the Ghana-Sweden Chamber of Commerce (GSCC).

The Ghana-Sweden Chamber of Commerce president Pearl Delali Dorledzi on Thursday, March 18 led a delegation to present the certificate of membership at a ceremony in Accra.

Dorledzi revealed that the ARB Apex Bank had been admitted to the platinum membership, which confers the highest partnership privileges on the Bank and the Rural and Community Banks (RCBs) in Ghana.

ARB Apex Bank is a mini central bank for the Rural and Community Banks.

The bank was registered as a public limited liability company in January 2000 and received a banking license in June 2001.

It was admitted to the Bankers Clearing House in August 2001 as the 19th member and started its banking business on 2 July 2002.

According to Madam Dorledzi, the Chamber is excited to partner with ARB Apex Bank and RCBs in Ghana to bring …

Nigeria’s unemployment rate has risen to 33.3% in Q4, 2020.

The rate rose from 27.1% recorded as of Q2 2020, indicating that about 23,187,389 Nigerians remain unemployed.

According to the recently released labour force report published by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the underemployment rate decreased from 28.6% to 22.8%.

The statistics show a combination of both the unemployment and underemployment rate for the reference period gave a figure of 56.1%.

This means that 33.3% of the labour force in Nigeria or 23,187,389 persons either did nothing or worked for less than 20 hours a week, making them unemployed.

This is an additional 1,422,772 persons from the number in that category in Q2, 2020. Using the international definition of unemployment, the rate was computed to be 17.5%.

Education

According to the report, those reporting A ‘levels as their highest qualification had the highest rate of unemployment with 50.7%, followed …

Ghana is set to introduce a new policy aimed at curbing revenue leakages in online betting.

Speaking on Friday, March 12, 2021, while presenting the 2021 budget statement and economic policy on the floor of Parliament, Ghana’s Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and caretaker Minister for Finance, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said gaming has become a major income earner all across the globe and a significant source of Government revenue.

Over GHs 300 million lost annually

He noted that the influx of online betting and automation of the once totally manual process has changed the character of revenue sources from that industry.

According to Mensah-Bonsu, Ghana loses an estimation of over GHs 300 million annually in revenue due to leakages in the sector.

He said the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry for the Interior will work with stakeholders to formulate a comprehensive policy to improve revenue mobilization from online gaming.

“The Ministry …