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Concerned at the inefficiencies that the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed in Ethiopia, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has announced that the country is increasing its health budget by 46 per cent to respond. Economic Analyst, Samuel Getachew joins CNBC Africa for more.

Ethiopia increases health budget by 46% in response to COVID-19

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E-waste contains toxic chemicals that are naturally discharged from the metals inside when buried, and environmentalists have argued that if E-waste is not well disposed, it could endanger the human health. CNBC Africa spoke with Olivier Mbera, Country General Manager of EnviroServe Rwanda on the economic and environmental impact of E-waste.

The environmental & economic impact of e-waste on Rwanda

The environmental & economic impact of e-waste in Rwanda

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The International Monetary Fund says remittance flows contracted sharply during the early lockdown period but have shown signs of recovery. Although the IMF says the risk of a decline in payments and transfers from migrant workers back to their home countries is very significant, particularly for those in sub-Saharan Africa. Michael Famoroti, Chief Economist at Stears joins CNBC Africa to discuss what this means for Nigeria’s economy.

Nigeria looks to benefit from improved remittance flows as countries emerge from lock-downs

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The #ENDSARS protest in Nigeria comes at a time when the country still has restrictions around mass gathering in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19. Joining CNBC Africa’s Kenneth Igbomor to discuss the threat this protest poses to Nigeria’s COVID-19 fight is Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, Director-General of the Nigeria Centre of Disease Control.

#ENDSARS: How the protests impact Nigeria’s fight against COVID-19

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The International Monetary Fund says the World’s economy will contract by 4.4 per cent this year describing it as the worst crisis since the great depression. The IMF also says that Sub-Saharan Africa’s economy will decline by 3 per cent. Also, Finance Minister and Central bank Governors of the G20 group will meet today to address issues ranging from the COVID-19 to a possible extension of the debt relief initiative for poor countries. Niyi Flade, CEO of Crusader Sterling Pensions joins CNBC Africa for more.

IMF: Global GDP to contract 4.4% in 2020

COVID-19 takes backseat as Nigerians protest for police reforms

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One of the effects of the COVID-19 crisis is the decrease in visibility and brand value. Africa’s top 150 most valuable brands are set to lose up to 12 per cent of its value which is a loss of around $60 billion. Jeremy Sampson, Managing Director at Brand Finance Africa joins CNBC Africa for more.

Here’s how much Africa’s top brands could lose in value due to COVID-19

Here’s how much Africa’s top brands could lose over COVID-19

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Cartrack has reported solid results amid the COVID-19 crisis as it more than quadrupled its interim dividend and a 21 per cent increase in its headline earnings per share. The group’s South African services saw an increase in subscription revenue growth of 17 per cent and its revenue grew 16 per cent to R1.08 billion. Cartrack CEO, Zak Calisto joins CNBC Africa for more.

Cartrack impresses with solid H1 earnings. Here’s how the business navigated COVID-19 headwinds

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SOV Development Foundation has created the first cryptocurrency for a nation, CNBC Africa spoke with Peter Dittus, Chairman of the foundation on how it will operate and how effective Robo Central Bank could eliminate the risks of hyperinflation.

SOV Development Foundation creates first cryptocurrency for a nation. Here’s how it works

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Rwanda&#8217;s Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources had pledged to eradicate food insecurity completely by 2025. However, it said that the issue of food loss and wastage threatens the commitment. CNBC Africa spoke to Eugene Kwibuka, Spokesperson at the Ministry of Agriculture to tell us what the country is doing to overcome the food waste challenge.

Here’s how Rwanda plans to curb food wastage

Here’s how Rwanda plans to curb food wastage, end food insecurity

LONDON (Reuters) &#8211; British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will on Monday impose a tiered system of further restrictions on parts of England as the COVID-19 outbreak accelerates, though anger is rising at the cost of the stringent curtailment of freedoms.



Johnson has chaired an emergency response committee, known as a COBRA meeting, and will then address parliament at around 1430 GMT, offering lawmakers a vote later in the week on the measures. He will then hold a press conference.



Johnson’s three-tiered local lockdowns will include shutting bars, gyms, casinos and bookmakers in some areas placed into the “very high” alert level, probably across the north of England, British media reported.



“Pretty much all areas of the UK are now seeing growths in the infection rate,” England Deputy Chief Medical Officer Jonathan Van-Tam told reporters. “The epidemic, this time, has clearly picked up pace in the north of England earlier than it did in the first wave.”



Van-Tam said the freshest data showed infections were rising across the north of England and in some more southerly areas too while the virus was creeping up age bands towards the elderly from those aged 16-29 years.



“Nightingale” emergency field hospitals in Manchester, Sunderland and Harrogate have been told to mobilise, NHS England’s Medical Director Steve Powis said.



Manchester intensive care consultant Jane Eddleston said 30% of critical care beds were taken up with COVID-19 patients &#8211; starting to impact on healthcare for others.



RELATED COVERAGE<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-who/pandemic-can-be-overcome-quickly-with-right-tools-who-idUSKBN26X1DD"></a><a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-who/pandemic-can-be-overcome-quickly-with-right-tools-who-idUSKBN26X1DD">Pandemic can be overcome quickly with right tools &#8211; WHO</a><a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-britain-powis/covid-hospitalisations-rising-rapidly-in-northern-england-health-official-idUSKBN26X1B7"></a><a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-britain-powis/covid-hospitalisations-rising-rapidly-in-northern-england-health-official-idUSKBN26X1B7">COVID hospitalisations rising rapidly in northern England &#8211; health official</a>



See more stories



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lockdown-fatigue">LOCKDOWN FATIGUE</h2>



But as millions of people across the United Kingdom grapple with a patchwork of local restrictions, the hospitality sector says it is being brought to its knees by the government.



A group of English pub and nightclub owners led by Manchester club night and events operator Sacha Lord will instruct lawyers to begin opposing the government if Johnson orders pubs closed.



“If he is suggesting that pubs and bars need to shut down in Greater Manchester, we’re launching an immediate judicial review,” Lord, creator and operator of Manchester’s Parklife festival and The Warehouse Project, told Reuters.



Lord has the support of The Night Time Industries Association, the British Beer and Pub Association, JW Lees Brewery, Joseph Holts Brewery, New River Pub Company, and a host of other operators in northwest England.

The Tories have it – Boris Johnson returns to power with a stronger Brexit mandate

PM Johnson to impose further COVID-19 restrictions but pubs angry

CHIMANIMANI, Zimbabwe (Thomson Reuters Foundation) &#8211; Known for their rugged ranges, grassy plains and forest waterfalls, the Chimanimani mountains in eastern Zimbabwe have long been a popular destination for tourists &#8211; and gold miners hoping to strike it rich.



Travel restrictions to slow the spread of COVID-19 have kept the tourists away, although some attractions reopened last month.



But illegal mining has surged as miners take advantage of the lack of visitors, leaving a trail of environmental destruction in their wake, say researchers and activists.



“The waters are being polluted; the biodiversity poisoned; endemic plants dug up (and) trampled; animals and birds poached; (and) litter strewn all over the mountains,” said Julia Pierini, head of BirdLife Zimbabwe, a non-profit.



Activists, industry experts and some of the miners themselves say rangers employed by the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (Zimparks) to protect Chimanimani National Park are involved in the illicit activity.



“For the past couple of years, we have been seeing illegal gold miners in the mountains, but suddenly during lockdown we started to see hundreds of them,” said Collen Sibanda, vice chairman of the Chimanimani Tourist Association (CTA).



“Zimparks is recruiting people. They are organising these syndicates.”



Lenny Kwaramba told the Thomson Reuters Foundation that he had been mining in the mountains without a license since March.



“I thought it was legal because we were working with the rangers,” said Kwaramba, whose name has been changed to protect his identity.



“We were given a target, we would sell about 40 grams of gold per day,” he continued, explaining that as the miners came back down the mountain, the rangers would take the gold and pay them in U.S. dollars.



That was until August, when the military and police were deployed to help the rangers evict the miners.







“I had to run for my life,” Kwaramba said. “They were firing at us. Some (miners) were injured and others are missing.”



Zimparks spokesman Tinashe Farawo said the authority was looking into claims that the park’s rangers had a hand in the illegal gold mining.



“We have heard such reports. We are currently investigating the allegations,” he said in a phone interview.



“We are calling upon (everyone) to forward any evidence that our officers are involved. We want to ensure we protect these forests for the benefit of the future generations.”



There is no official data on the number of illegal gold miners in the Chimanimani Mountains, but authorities note that around the country their ranks have risen in recent years.



As Zimbabwe experiences its worst economic crisis in a decade, with crippling hyperinflation and unemployment, young people are venturing into illegal gold mining in a bid to earn a living.



Gold panning in Chimanimani is mostly small-scale and informal, according to a 2016 research paper by the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in London.



The paper estimated that the output from artisanal gold panning in the area from 2007 to 2011 was between 600-to-900 kg per year, with less than half of that amount being officially recorded.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sacred-places">SACRED PLACES</h2>



The latest census data shows about 135,000 people live in the area around the Chimanimani Mountains, on the border of Zimbabwe and Mozambique.



That population, made up of various indigenous communities, is still recovering from last year’s Cyclone Idai, which caused $622 million worth of damage, mainly in Chimanimani and Chipinge districts, according to government officials.







And now, say locals, they also have to endure the ecological impacts of illegal mining.



Pierini at BirdLife Zimbabwe said the mountains are an important watershed area with ecologically sensitive wetlands that provide most of the water used by communities in the valleys below.



“With a changing climate, on the back of Cyclone Idai last year and drought conditions this year, mining in the Chimanimani Mountains represents an ecological catastrophe,” she said in emailed comments.



“If not halted permanently, (it) will no doubt pave the way for another humanitarian crisis,” she added.



As they follow the gold belt, the miners drain springs, dig up riverbeds and cut into caves, Pierini said.



Their activity fills the water with silt, making it unliveable for marine life and largely unusable by people, she noted.



The miners also use chemicals such as mercury and cyanide to separate gold from the ore and the soil, leaving people and wildlife downstream with highly toxic water, said Chief Raymond Saurombe, a leader of Chikukwa Village in Chimanimani.



“For a chief to be respected, one should have his or her dams, caves and springs,” he explained.



“Now that all these are being invaded by the miners, We will be soon left with nothing. These sacred places are what give us recognition as chiefs.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mining-ban">MINING BAN</h2>



In response to a rise in illegal mining along riverbeds all over the country, Information Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said in a cabinet press briefing in September that, apart from a few exceptions, “all riverbed alluvial and riverbed mining on rivers is banned with immediate effect.”







The Zimbabwean government has for the past few years been trying to register all small-scale artisanal miners, but critics say the lack of implementation means the number of illegal miners continues to grow.



As the cabinet works on creating policies to make mining in the country more sustainable, Mutsvangwa said it has resolved to also ban licensed mining activities in the country’s national parks.



National parks are protected by law, but those protections are sometimes overridden to grant mining rights to big companies, explained Simiso Mlevu, communications officer for the Centre for Natural Resource Governance, an advocacy group.



More than 15 mining licenses had been granted in national parks around the country over the past decade, Mlevu said via WhatsApp.



Deputy Minister of Mines Polite Kambamura said that small-scale miners should register their mining activities to ensure they follow proper mining standards and do not harm the environment.



“It is a punishable offence for one to mine without registration. Besides poor mineral accountability and environmental damage, proper mining standards are not being followed in these areas,” he said on WhatsApp.



Since law enforcement agents evicted the illegal miners from the Chimanimani Mountains in August, the local communities have had some respite from the gold rush.



But as long as miners continue to be drawn to the area, Chief Saurombe fears the mountains’ famed legends and mysteries are under threat.



“We have our sacred places that include dams with mermaids and caves in the mountains. These sacred places are important to us,” he said.

Mozambique records first COVID-19 death

Pandemic spurs illegal gold rush in Zimbabwe mountains

WASHINGTON (Reuters) &#8211; Countries and institutions must do more to help African states weather the global pandemic and its economic impact, the International Monetary Fund said on Friday, noting the region faced a projected financing gap of $345 billion through 2023.



IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva told a conference that African states had spent an additional 2.5% of gross domestic product on average to help their populations, and institutions like the IMF had also stepped up, but more aid was needed. Private lending also remained subdued, she said.



“The pandemic will not be over anywhere until it is over everywhere,” Georgieva said. “All of us, countries and institutions, must do more to support Africa to cope with the next phase of this crisis.”







Despite sizeable domestic adjustments, African states still need $1.2 trillion in financing through 2023, she said, adding that some heavily indebted countries were being forced to choose between debt service and additional health and social spending.



Current commitments from international lenders and official bilateral creditors would cover less than a quarter of the projected needs, and private lending remained limited, leaving the projected $345 billion funding gap, she said.



The pandemic, coupled with a collapse in commodity prices and a plague of locusts, have hit African economies particularly hard, putting 43 million more people at risk of extreme poverty, according to World Bank estimates. African countries have reported more than 1 million coronavirus cases and some 23,000 deaths.







The IMF is calling on members to make new pledges so the fund can increase its concessional lending capacity, and to loan their Special Drawing Rights &#8211; the IMF’s currency &#8211; to poorer countries.



It also backs an extension of the Group of 20’s moratorium in official bilateral debt payments beyond the end of 2020, and steps to strengthen the architecture for debt restructuring.

IMF_logo

IMF chief sees $345 billion financing gap for African states

GENEVA (Reuters) &#8211; The World Health Organization’s top emergencies expert said on Friday that European governments must take decisive action to shut down transmission of the coronavirus, including by curbing mass gatherings, to avoid more painful lockdowns.



Europe surpassed 100,000 daily reported COVID-19 cases for the first time on Thursday, after countries such as Russia and Britain saw no respite from the mounting number of infections every day in the past five.



“There are no new answers. We know what we need to do,” Mike Ryan told a news briefing in Geneva.



“It is though sad to see many countries in Europe experiencing a rapid rise in cases and governments do have to take decisive action in order to try and shut down transmission.”







Older populations and other vulnerable groups likely to suffer severe disease must be protected, he added.



Physical distancing, wearing masks, and proper ventilation remained key, Ryan said. “We need to be very, very careful with any forms of mass gatherings that bring people together at close quarters.”



The WHO on Friday reported a record one-day increase in global coronavirus cases, with the total having risen by 350,766 in 24 hours.







In all more than 36.58 million cases have been reported globally and more than 1 million people have died, according to a Reuters tally on Friday.



Ryan told the WHO’s Executive Board on Monday that the agency had submitted a list of names of scientists for a WHO-led international mission to China to look into the origins of the virus, which emerged late last year in the central city of Wuhan.



Ryan, asked on Friday about progress, said: “This is not about WHO and the Director General seeking permission from China for the list of names. We share it as a courtesy to have a dialogue around the best team, not as a means of blocking or not blocking individuals. We are ready to move very, very quickly on this.”

Dr-Matshidiso-Moeti-WHO-Regional-Director-for-Africa

WHO urges Europe to stem rise of COVID-19 cases, curb mass gatherings

LAGOS/ABUJA (Reuters) &#8211; When the coronavirus outbreak forced shops to close in Nigeria’s commercial capital Lagos, kiosk store owner Funmilayo Akinola weighed up her safety against the need to make a living.



After deciding that she couldn’t afford to stop working, she faced the challenge of replenishing her stock as the pandemic has made it harder for informal traders to buy wholesale goods due to safety measures disrupting supply chains.



The answer lay in a logistics firm that provides an online marketplace where manufacturers and retailers connect.





Lagos-based Trade Depot delivered goods that she bought using the company’s app.



“(Without Trade Depot) I would have just locked up my shop, because my husband will not allow me to go inside the market to go and be hustling for goods,” said Akinola.Slideshow&nbsp;( 5 images )



She now uses her phone to order stock delivered by vans or tuk tuks to her narrow kiosk in the frenetic Lagos district of Mushin, where she sits surrounded by stacked-up goods, ranging from drinks and tinned food to detergent.



Demand was particularly high during the month-long lockdown in Lagos that ended in early May, said Akinola.







Trade Depot’s chief executive officer, Onyekachi Izukanne, said the company &#8211; which operates in six of Nigeria’s 36 states and was launched in 2017 &#8211; saw a 300% increase in gross revenue in the year to September, compared with the same period in 2019.



Ikenna Nwosu, a logistics consultant, said the pandemic had prompted a broader process of “digitization” that forced people to shop online. This has opened new supply chain networks and created employment opportunities as companies hire more workers to distribute goods, he said.



“Its creating new revenue streams. That is just scratching the surface of digitization,” he said.

shutterstock_306272309

Nigerian informal retailers turn tech-savvy to stock up amid pandemic

LONDON (Reuters) &#8211; Britain is urgently looking at ways to reduce the 14-day quarantine period which applies to some arriving passengers, transport minister Grant Shapps said on Wednesday, adding that a mix of COVID-19 testing and self-isolation was promising.



Arrivals from countries like France, Spain and the United States must self-isolate for 14 days on arrival in Britain, a restriction which airlines say is crushing travel demand.



Shapps said he was setting up a Global Travel Taskforce to open up international travel.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="594" height="276" src="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/gettyimages-78144533-594x594.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-351946" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/gettyimages-78144533-594x594.jpg 594w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/gettyimages-78144533-594x594-300x139.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 594px) 100vw, 594px" /><figcaption>The first-ever Boeing aircraft 777 delivered to the state-owned Qatar Airways stands on the runway at Doha airport, 29 November 2007. Earlier this month, the rapidly expanding airline ordered from the US aircraft manufacturer 30 Boeing 787 Dreamliners and five 777 cargo planes in a deal valued at over 6.1 billion dollars at list prices. AFP PHOTO/STR (Photo credit should read -/AFP via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



“The overall aim of the Taskforce will be to consider what steps the government can take&#8230; to enable the safe and sustainable recovery of international travel,” he added in a statement.







It would report back no later than early November.



In July, Britain changed its policy from a blanket quarantine to one which established “travel corridors” to countries with low infection rates.



But with cases on the rise in several places, the list of countries on the quarantine exemption list is dwindling, and the travel industry has warned it faces an existential crisis unless the policy is changed again.







“My ministerial colleagues and I have agreed that a regime, based on a single test, provided by the private sector and at the cost of the passenger after a period of self-isolation, could achieve our objective,” Shapps said.



Virgin Atlantic, easyJet, London’s Heathrow airport and Manchester Airports Group said that a test of a passenger after five days should be the starting point of proposals in a joint statement.



But airline body IATA said that 80% of travellers said they would not fly at all if any quarantine were in place.



“The proposals on the table do not go as far as we had hoped,” the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said. “A reduction in the length of quarantine is the very minimum needed to restart travel demand.”

london

Britain examining how to reduce travel quarantine period using tests

WASHINGTON (Reuters) &#8211; The World Bank said on Wednesday that the coronavirus pandemic could push as many as 150 million people into extreme poverty by the end of 2021, wiping out more than three years of progress in poverty reduction.



Releasing its flagship biennial report on poverty and shared prosperity, the multilateral development lender said that an additional 88 million to 115 million people will fall into extreme poverty &#8211; defined as living on less than $1.90 a day -in 2020. The report said this could grow to 111 million to 150 million by the end of 2021.



That would mean that 9.1-9.4% of the world’s population would be living under extreme poverty this year, about the same as 2017’s 9.2% and representing the first rise in the extreme poverty percentage in about 20 years.



The 2019 extreme poverty rate was estimated at about 8.4% and had been expected to drop to 7.5% by 2021 before the coronavirus pandemic. The report said that without swift, substantial policy actions, a longstanding goal of cutting the rate to 3% by 2030 looked out of reach.



“The pandemic and global recession may cause over 1.4% of the world’s population to fall into extreme poverty,” World Bank President David Malpass said in a statement, calling it a “serious setback to development progress and poverty reduction.”







The report found that many of the new extreme poor are in countries that have high poverty rates already, but around 82% of these are in middle-income countries, where the poverty line is defined as income of $3.20 a day for low-middle-income countries and $5.50 a day for upper-middle-income countries.



While extreme poverty has been concentrated in rural areas in the past, the World Bank report found that increasing numbers of urban dwellers have been thrown into extreme poverty as jobs dry up from coronavirus lockdowns and reduced demand.



Sub Saharan Africa has the highest concentration of those living on less than $1.90 a day, and could see an increase of over 50 million people by 2021 compared to pre-coronavirus estimates. About 42% of the region’s population could be living under extreme poverty by 2021 versus a pre-COVID estimate of 37.8%, the study showed.



The coronavirus also has stagnated “shared prosperity,” defined as growing income for the poorest 40% of a country’s population. The World Bank said that from 2012 to 2017, income rose for this group by an average of 2.3% in 74 of 91 economies for which data was available.







The COVID-19 crisis could now reduce income for the poorest 40%, increasing income inequality and reducing social mobility, the bank said.



To get back on a track of poverty reduction, countries will need collective action to control the virus, provide support for households and build more resilient economies once the pandemic subsides, the World Bank said.



“Countries will need to prepare for a different economy post-COVID, by allowing capital, labor, skills and innovation to move into new businesses and sectors,” Malpass said.

Coronavirus

Ethiopia increases health budget by 46% in response to COVID-19

The environmental & economic impact of e-waste in Rwanda

Nigeria looks to benefit from improved remittance flows as countries emerge from lock-downs

#ENDSARS: How the protests impact Nigeria’s fight against COVID-19

IMF: Global GDP to contract 4.4% in 2020

COVID-19 takes backseat as Nigerians protest for police reforms

Here’s how much Africa’s top brands could lose over COVID-19

Cartrack impresses with solid H1 earnings. Here’s how the business navigated COVID-19 headwinds

SOV Development Foundation creates first cryptocurrency for a nation. Here’s how it works

Here’s how Rwanda plans to curb food wastage, end food insecurity

PM Johnson to impose further COVID-19 restrictions but pubs angry

Pandemic spurs illegal gold rush in Zimbabwe mountains

IMF chief sees $345 billion financing gap for African states

WHO urges Europe to stem rise of COVID-19 cases, curb mass gatherings

Nigerian informal retailers turn tech-savvy to stock up amid pandemic

Britain examining how to reduce travel quarantine period using tests

Coronavirus may push 150 million people into extreme poverty: World Bank

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Coronavirus

Ethiopia increases health budget by 46% in response to COVID-19

The environmental & economic impact of e-waste in Rwanda

Nigeria looks to benefit from improved remittance flows as countries emerge from lock-downs

#ENDSARS: How the protests impact Nigeria’s fight against COVID-19

IMF: Global GDP to contract 4.4% in 2020

COVID-19 takes backseat as Nigerians protest for police reforms

Here’s how much Africa’s top brands could lose over COVID-19

Cartrack impresses with solid H1 earnings. Here’s how the business navigated COVID-19 headwinds

SOV Development Foundation creates first cryptocurrency for a nation. Here’s how it works

Here’s how Rwanda plans to curb food wastage, end food insecurity

PM Johnson to impose further COVID-19 restrictions but pubs angry

Pandemic spurs illegal gold rush in Zimbabwe mountains

IMF chief sees $345 billion financing gap for African states

WHO urges Europe to stem rise of COVID-19 cases, curb mass gatherings

Nigerian informal retailers turn tech-savvy to stock up amid pandemic

Britain examining how to reduce travel quarantine period using tests

Coronavirus may push 150 million people into extreme poverty: World Bank

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