Africa Business Radio

President Muhammadu Buhari officially unveiled a digital Performance Management System that would help track government projects across the country in real-time.The president says the dashboard will keep an eye on projects using live data.President Buhari says the PMS has been in effect since January 2021 and has helped him to monitor the performance of ministries and by extension, monitor the progress of his administration.The president disclosed that it was in the continued drive to ensure accountability that his government incorporated a performance management framework into the functions of the Central Delivery Coordination Unit.

The United Arab Emirates’ economy ministry says the Gulf state and Syria agreed on future plans to enhance economic cooperation and explore new sectors.The move underscores shifting regional dynamics after 10 years of war in Syria.The UAE supported the Syrian opposition during the early years of the conflict, The UAE and other Arab countries made openings towards President Bashar al-Assad’s government as the Syrian army recaptured most of the territory from the oppositionThe ministry wrote on Twitter the value of non-oil trade between the two countries in the first half of 2021 was one billion dirhams.

China has denounced Taiwan’s national day speech, during which President Tsai Ing-wen says her government will not bow down to pressure from Beijing and will continue to bolster the island’s defences in order to protect its democratic way of life.China’s Taiwan Affairs Office says that Tsai’s speech incited confrontation and distorted facts, adding that seeking Taiwan independence closes the door to dialogue.Chinese President Xi Jinping says no one should underestimate the Chinese people’s strong determination, will and capability to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity.Tsai says Taiwan will keep bolstering its defences to ensure nobody can force the island to accept the path China has laid down, offering neither freedom nor democracy, and repeated a call for talks with Beijing.

Outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel says Israel’s security will remain a top priority for every German government during a farewell visit to the Jewish state.Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett called her a true friend of Israel.The German leader had earlier voiced confidence that whoever followed her as chancellor will feel equally committed to Israel’s security.She says Israel’s security will always be of central importance and a central topic for every German government.Bennett credited Merkel with fostering an unprecedented bond between the countries and described her as Europe’s moral compass due to her support for Israel.

A U.N. official says a funding shortage means humanitarian aid will have to be cut for many of the nearly 10 million people in the Democratic Republic of Congo facing multiple crises because of lack of money.The U.N. resident and humanitarian coordinator in the DRC, David McLachlan-Karr, says millions of people in the eastern provinces are victims of long-simmering inter-ethnic conflicts and conflicts over natural resources.He says the situation is particularly concerning in Ituri, North Kivu, and South Kivu provinces, as well as territories in northern Tanganyika. These protracted conflicts, he says, have left millions of people destitute and in urgent need of assistance.He says it will be difficult to provide that aid because only 27% of the U.N.'s nearly $2 billion appeals for this year has been funded.

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune demanded France’s total respect following a diplomatic row over visas and critical comments from Paris about the North African country.Algeria accused its former colonial ruler France of genocide and recalled its ambassador from Paris on October 2 in anger over what it said were inadmissible comments attributed to French President Emmanuel Macron.The Algerian government also banned French military planes from its airspace a day later.Tebboune says the return of the Algerian ambassador to France is conditional on the total respect for the Algerian state.

Brazil star Neymar says that the 2022 World Cup will be his last as he doesn’t have the strength to put up with more football”.He says he doesn’t know if he will still have the mental strength to put up with even more football.Neymar says that he will do everything to get to the 2022 World Cup in great shape and will do everything to win for his country and fulfil his biggest dream.

Sierra Leone has formally abolished the death penalty after President Julius Maada Bio signed into law a new measure outlawing capital punishment that was agreed by MPs in July.The president says as a nation, they have exorcised horrors of a cruel past while affirming their belief in the sanctity of life.Rights group Amnesty International says that last year 39 death sentences were handed down.Amnesty says Death sentences have often been commuted, but by the end of last year, 94 people were still on death row.

South Sudan’s health ministry has begun the rollout of the single-dose Covid-19 vaccine manufactured by Johnson & Johnson.South Sudan received the first consignment of just over 150,000 J&J doses in September. They were donated by the US government through the Covax initiative and make up the biggest consignment yet.Dr Victoria Anib Majur says more than 80,000 people have been vaccinated using the Oxford AstraZeneca jab. Dr Victoria Anib Majur, from the health ministry, urged women to get the vaccine which she said was safe and effective while refuting rumours which say that Covid-19 vaccination causes infertility.

The Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, says that President Muhammadu Buhari was the only politician in Nigeria at this time with the charisma and credibility to rally the whole country behind the patriotic push to rise above its current challenges.Osinbajo stressed the need for Nigeria to remain an indivisible country, assuring that its challenges would soon be overcome.Osinbajo urged Nigerians at home and in the diaspora to promote the message of one country, noting, anybody, who looks at how Nigeria operates will recognise that they are better off in this system, and that is the truth.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation has failed to make the latest list of the world’s highest income-grossing oil companies, both nationally-run and privately-owned.The latest list of the world’s highest income-grossing oil companies showed that although a number of the 10 highest-earning oil and gas companies in 2021 lost billions in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic and trade war between Russia and Saudi Arabia, big deals and discoveries were still made, further aided by recovering oil prices from the last quarter of last year.The list showed that Sinopec, also known as China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation, earned $323 billion in revenues in 2020, according to a compilation by offshore-technology.com, one of the leading entities covering the global offshore oil and gas industry.

Nigeria’s external reserves have risen to their highest level in 25 months to $42 billion presently due to the inflow of the recent Eurobond issued by the federal government.The Debt Management Office had explained that the Order Book peaked at $12.2 billion, which enabled the Federal Government of Nigeria to raise $1 billion more than the $3 billion it initially announced.DMO says this exceptional performance has been described as one of the biggest financial trades to come out of Africa in 2021 and an excellent outcome.The DMO says bids for the Eurobonds were received from investors in Europe and America, as well as Asia.

President Muhammadu Buhari says improving security, the economy and fighting corruption are still the core priorities of his administration, six years after the triad of promises first won him the presidential election.He says that this administration will continue to do everything within the ambit of the law to eliminate all forms of violent crimes that are creating fear and anxiety among the citizenry.He added that they have received new equipment in the fight against any form of insecurity from friendly countries.

136 members of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and G-20 Nations at the weekend agreed to a 15 per cent corporate tax rate effective from 2023, though Nigeria withheld its assent.The signatories officially entered into the agreement on Friday under the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on Base erosion and profit shifting, leaving Nigeria, Kenya, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.The signatories in their says the agreed to ensure that the MNEs pay a fair share of tax wherever they operate and generate profits.The statement said major reform of the international tax system would ensure that Multinational Enterprises would be subject to a minimum 15 per cent tax rate from 2023.

Nobel Prize award body says Tanzanian author Abdulrazak Gurnah has won the 2021 Nobel Prize in literature.The prestigious prize was awarded by the Swedish Academy, which cited Gurnah’s uncompromising and compassionate penetration of the effects of colonialism and the fate of the refugee in the gulf between cultures and continents.He has published 10 novels and a number of short stories. He is best known for his 1994 novel “Paradise”, set in colonial East Africa during World War I, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize for Fiction.

The Biden administration has called for an imminent return to talks in Vienna to revive the Iran nuclear deal but said a resumption of the negotiations is hinging on the Iranians.State Department spokesperson Ned Price told reporters that Washington is willing to continue the talks as soon as Tehran agrees to re-engage in the negotiations, stressing that the path to diplomacy is still open.Price says they have made very clear that they are prepared, willing and able to return to Vienna as soon as we have a partner to negotiate with.

The Indian government says it will re-open for tourists from October 15 after being closed for more than a year due to the coronavirus pandemic.The country famous for the Taj Mahal, desert palaces, tiger reserves, elephants and beaches had barred all foreign tourists in March 2020 in a strict lockdown when the pandemic took off.The home ministry in a statement says Tourist visas will be granted for foreigners arriving on charter flights from October 15, and on other flights from November 15, It stressed that all Covid-19 protocols should be adhered to by the foreign tourists, carriers bringing them into India and all other stakeholders at landing stations.

The Premier League says the Saudi-led takeover of Newcastle United has been approved, The Premier League in a statement says following the completion of the Premier League’s owners’ and directors’ Test, the club has been sold to the consortium with immediate effect.The deal went ahead despite warnings from Amnesty International that it represents sports washing of the Gulf kingdom’s human rights record.It brings to an end Newcastle’s 14 years of ownership under Mike Ashley.

South Africa, Kenya, Brazil and Mexico have been taken off England's Covid travel red list, meaning travellers from these countries no longer have to quarantine in an approved hotel at their cost for 10 full days.UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps says the changes begin on Monday and mark the next step in opening travel.All arrivals will still complete a passenger locator form.The UK government sets Covid travel rules for England. Devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will announce any changes to their rules in due course.

President Mnangagwa says Zimbabweans should buy locally manufactured products given the significant growth of the manufacturing sector that has seen an increase in capacity utilisation and ease of doing business anchored by the National Development Strategy.He says the economy has registered significant growth in agriculture, mining, finance and other sectors, resulting in an upward growth trajectory buoyed by a good agricultural season, firm international mineral commodity pieces and stable inflation and exchange rates and containment of the Covid-19 pandemic.President Mnangagwa urged industrialists to broaden their research and development towards increasing the range and variety of 'Made in Zimbabwe' products.