<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/7289/15950562313_cdefc2f6ba_b.jpg" alt="40th Anniversary of the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front… | Flickr"/><figcaption> Image via: Flickr 40th Anniversary of the Tigrayan People&#8217;s Liberation Front</figcaption></figure>



The United Nations Security Council will privately discuss on Friday a decision by Ethiopia to expel seven senior U.N. officials, diplomats said, as malnutrition rates rise and famine looms in the country&#8217;s war-torn northern region of Tigray.



The United States, Britain, Ireland, Estonia, France and Norway, plan to raise the issue during a closed-door meeting of the 15-member body, but diplomats say any strong action is unlikely as Russia and China have long made clear they believe the conflict is an internal affair for Ethiopia.



The expulsions of the U.N. staff were announced by Ethiopia on Thursday, two days after U.N. aid chief Martin Griffiths warned that a &#8220;de-facto&#8221; aid blockade had likely forced hundreds of thousands of people in Tigray into famine.



Ethiopia&#8217;s Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond to requests for comment on the expulsion of U.N. staff. Ethiopia has previously denied blocking food aid.



&#8220;As a major new military offensive looms, this seems like Ethiopia&#8217;s attempt to test if the international community is prepared to respond with more than words to an unfolding famine,&#8221; a senior Western official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters.



War broke out 10 months ago between Ethiopia&#8217;s federal troops and forces loyal to the Tigray People&#8217;s Liberation Front (TPLF), which controls Tigray. Thousands have died and more than two million people have been forced to flee their homes.



The conflict&#8217;s spillover to neighbouring Amhara and Afar regions is fueling a rise displacement and people in need. In June, a U.N. assessment found that 400,000 people in Tigray were in famine-like conditions.



U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was shocked by Ethiopia&#8217;s move to expel U.N. officials and said on Thursday that the world body was engaging the government &#8220;in the expectation that the concerned U.N. staff will be allowed to continue their important work.&#8221;



The United States condemned the expulsions and warned that it would not hesitate to use sanctions against those who obstruct humanitarian efforts.



The United Nations stressed on Friday that it was critical that the aid operation continue in Tigray, where 5.2 million people need help.



Only about 11% of the trucks needed to bring life-saving food have entered Tigray since mid-July, U.N. humanitarian aid spokesman Jens Laerke said on Friday. He also said that 79% of pregnant and lactating women screened in Tigray last week were diagnosed with acute malnutrition.



&#8220;Until now there is no indication that it (Ethiopia&#8217;s decision) stops the operation,&#8221; he told reporters in Geneva.



U.N. human rights spokesman Rupert Colville said of the decision to expel U.N. staff: &#8220;The scale, seven people across three agencies, is extremely rare, if not unprecedented.&#8221;

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U.N. Security Council to discuss Ethiopia expulsion of U.N. staff

<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://bp.com/content/dam/bp/country-sites/en_za/south-africa/home/home/covid19_slider.jpg" alt="Home"/><figcaption><a rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" href="https://www.bp.com/en_za/south-africa/home.html"> BP </a> Image via :&nbsp;Copyright/RalphBronzin</figcaption></figure>



&nbsp;BP&nbsp;and&nbsp;Eni&nbsp;are&nbsp;seeking to&nbsp;raise&nbsp;up&nbsp;to $2 billion for their emerging&nbsp;oil&nbsp;and&nbsp;gas&nbsp;joint&nbsp;venture&nbsp;in&nbsp;Angola&nbsp;as both firms attempt to reduce their own debt to help build&nbsp;up&nbsp;renewables businesses, banking and industry&nbsp;sources&nbsp;said.



BP&nbsp;and&nbsp;Eni&nbsp;announced in May that they had entered into talks to merge their&nbsp;oil,&nbsp;gas&nbsp;and liquefied natural&nbsp;gas&nbsp;(LNG) operations in&nbsp;Angola&nbsp;to form one of Africa&#8217;s largest energy companies.



Spinning off&nbsp;oil&nbsp;and&nbsp;gas&nbsp;assets is seen as a way for them to squeeze more out of such assets as they try to reduce their greenhouse&nbsp;gas&nbsp;emissions and shift towards renewable energy.



It is also seen as a way to remove debt from the parent company to the independent&nbsp;joint&nbsp;venture, making it easier for the parent companies to&nbsp;raise&nbsp;money for low-carbon businesses.



BP&nbsp;and&nbsp;Eni&nbsp;have in recent weeks contacted a number of leading western banks to request proposals to&nbsp;raise&nbsp;$1.5-$2 billion for the&nbsp;joint&nbsp;venture, four&nbsp;sources&nbsp;said.



&#8220;They are trying to deconsolidate the&nbsp;Angolan assets and want to&nbsp;raise&nbsp;cash for the&nbsp;joint&nbsp;venture&#8217;s&nbsp;upstream operations,&#8221; one of the&nbsp;sources&nbsp;said.



BP&nbsp;and&nbsp;Eni&nbsp;declined to comment.



However, many western banks are unlikely to lend the money due to growing investor and government pressure for them to reduce investments in fossil fuels, particularly in countries where environmental standards are not tightly monitored, the&nbsp;sources&nbsp;said.



On Friday, a senior U.S. climate envoy said that Western fossil fuel companies investing in Africa face a significant risk of regulatory action that&#8217;s getting more explicit as the world moves to try to tackle dangerous climate change.

BP_Connect_Kapiti,_New_Zealand

BP, Eni seek to raise $2 bln for Angola joint venture

G20 Compact with Africa to address COVID-19 & FDI decline

G20 Compact with Africa to address COVID-19 & FDI decline, says AfDB’s Adesina

Amrita Sethi on the role of blockchain in art exchange

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We all know how government’s Health department has arguably been the busiest during the pandemic, but another department that’s also been in trouble is Mineral resources and energy. Among other things, they’ve had to make sure that enough power is generated for Eskom to keep our lights on. Mineral Resources &amp; Energy Minister, Gwede Mantashe joins CNBC Africa to unpack South Africa’s energy plan.

Minister Gwede Mantashe on latest developments in South Africa’s energy sector

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1110" height="777" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/GettyImages-1211817673-1110x777.jpg" alt="South African economy to shrink 4.9% in 2020, SARB to cut rates in May – Poll" class="wp-image-368592" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/GettyImages-1211817673-1110x777.jpg 1110w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/GettyImages-1211817673-300x210.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/GettyImages-1211817673-820x574.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/GettyImages-1211817673-768x538.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/GettyImages-1211817673-1536x1075.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/GettyImages-1211817673-scaled.jpg 2048w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/GettyImages-1211817673-696x487.jpg 696w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/GettyImages-1211817673-1068x748.jpg 1068w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/GettyImages-1211817673-1920x1344.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 1110px) 100vw, 1110px" /><figcaption>Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



 BENGALURU, Dec 14 (Reuters) &#8211; More than 71.15 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 1,608,736​ have died, according to a Reuters tally. Infections have been reported in more than 210 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019. Interactive graphic tracking global spread of coronavirus: open https://tmsnrt.rs/2FThSv7 in an external browser. Eikon users can click https://apac1.apps.cp.thomsonreuters.com/cms/?navid=1063154666 for a case tracker. 



The following table lists the top 50 countries by the number of reported cases. A complete list is available with the above links.



 COUNTRIES AND TOTAL DEATHS CONFIRMED DEATHS PER TERRITORIES CASES 10,000 INHABITANTS United States 298,101 16,107,064 9.12 India 143,019 9,857,029 1.06 Brazil 181,123 6,880,127 8.65 Russia 46,941 2,653,928 3.25 France 57,911 2,376,852 8.65 United Kingdom 64,170 1,849,403 9.66 Italy 64,520 1,843,712 10.68 Spain 47,624 1,730,575 10.18 Argentina 40,668 1,494,602 9.14 Colombia 38,866 1,417,072 7.83 Germany 21,746 1,325,852 2.62 Mexico 113,704 1,241,436 9.01 Poland 22,864 1,135,676 6.02 Iran 52,196 1,108,059 6.38 Turkey 16,417 1,044,927 1.99 Peru 36,609 983,045 11.22 Ukraine 15,154 894,215 3.4 South Africa 23,276 860,964 4.03 Indonesia 18,819 617,820 0.7 Netherlands 10,048 613,487 5.83 Belgium 17,902 605,966 15.66 Czech Republic 9,535 579,079 8.97 Iraq 12,579 574,634 3.27 Chile 15,846 569,781 8.46 Romania 13,385 556,335 6.88 Bangladesh 7,052 490,533 0.44 Canada 13,350 454,852 3.6 Philippines 8,730 448,331 0.82 Pakistan 8,796 438,425 0.41 Morocco 6,624 399,609 1.84 Switzerland 5,396 373,831 6.34 Saudi Arabia 6,048 359,888 1.79 Israel 2,962 352,868 3.33 Portugal 5,461 344,700 5.31 Austria 4,473 321,632 5.06 Sweden 7,514 320,098 7.38 Hungary 6,965 280,400 7.12 Serbia 2,331 266,432 3.34 Jordan 3,365 259,614 3.38 Nepal 1,698 248,423 0.6 Ecuador 13,874 201,524 8.12 Panama 3,331 190,585 7.97 Georgia 1,790 189,726 4.8 United Arab Emirates 617 184,949 0.64 Japan 2,614 181,342 0.21 Bulgaria 5,626 178,952 8.01 Croatia 2,640 175,886 6.46 Azerbaijan 1,922 175,874 1.93 Belarus 1,254 158,334 1.32 Dominican Republic 2,360 153,585 2.22 



Source: Reuters tally based on statements from health ministries and government officials Generated at 04:00 GMT.



(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2020. Click For Restrictions &#8211; https://agency.reuters.com/en/copyright.html

FACTBOX-Worldwide coronavirus cases cross 71.15 million, death toll at 1,608,736

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/2021-03-29T132436Z_1_LYNXMPEH2S0YM_RTROPTP_4_EGYPT-SUEZCANAL-SHIP-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-400339" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/2021-03-29T132436Z_1_LYNXMPEH2S0YM_RTROPTP_4_EGYPT-SUEZCANAL-SHIP-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/2021-03-29T132436Z_1_LYNXMPEH2S0YM_RTROPTP_4_EGYPT-SUEZCANAL-SHIP-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/2021-03-29T132436Z_1_LYNXMPEH2S0YM_RTROPTP_4_EGYPT-SUEZCANAL-SHIP-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/2021-03-29T132436Z_1_LYNXMPEH2S0YM_RTROPTP_4_EGYPT-SUEZCANAL-SHIP-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/2021-03-29T132436Z_1_LYNXMPEH2S0YM_RTROPTP_4_EGYPT-SUEZCANAL-SHIP.jpg 2016w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>A view shows the container ship Ever Given, one of the world&#8217;s largest container ships, after it was partially refloated, in Suez Canal, Egypt March 29, 2021. Suez Canal Authority/Handout via REUTERS</figcaption></figure>



Suez Canal says traffic in channel resumes after stranded ship refloated CAIRO (Reuters) &#8211; The giant container ship that blocked the Suez Canal for almost a week was fully floated on Monday and traffic in the waterway would resume, the canal authority said in a statement.



A Reuters witness saw the ship moving and a shipping tracker and Egyptian TV showed it positioned in the centre of the canal.



(Reporting by Mohamed Abdel Ghany and Yusri Mohamed; Writing by Aidan Lewis; Editing by Alison Williams)

A view shows the container ship Ever Given, one of the world’s largest container ships, after it was partially refloated, in Suez Canal

Suez Canal says traffic in channel resumes after stranded ship refloated

(Reuters) &#8211; Johnson &amp; Johnson will supply up to 220 million doses of its single-shot COVID-19 vaccine to African Union&#8217;s 55 member states from the third quarter of 2021, the drugmaker said on Monday.



J&amp;J, through its unit Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, entered into a deal with the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT), which could order an additional 180 million doses, for a combined total of up to 400 million doses through 2022. (https://refini.tv/3cyeFiB)



&#8220;We need to immunize at least 60% of our population in order to get rid of the virus from our continent. The J&amp;J agreement enables us to move towards achieving this target,&#8221; said John Nkengasong, director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.



Earlier this month, Europe approved J&amp;J single dose COVID-19 vaccine. The United States, Canada and Bahrain have also approved the shot.



Late last year, J&amp;J said it and the GAVI vaccine alliance expected to enter into a deal that would provide up to 500 million doses of the company&#8217;s vaccine to COVAX, the programme backed by the World Health Organization, through 2022.



Johnson &amp; Johnson has established a global manufacturing and supply network for its COVID-19 vaccine, collaborating with nine partners across four continents, including Aspen Pharmacare in South Africa.



(Reporting by Nandakumar D in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Giulia Paravicini in Addis Ababa; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)

Johnson & Johnson Corona vaccine

J&J in deal to supply COVID-19 vaccine to African Union member states

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Lesetja_Kganyago_WEF-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-400177" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Lesetja_Kganyago_WEF-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Lesetja_Kganyago_WEF-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Lesetja_Kganyago_WEF-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Lesetja_Kganyago_WEF.jpg 830w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, March 26 (Reuters) – South Africa’s record low lending rates, which the central bank kept unchanged on Thursday despite rate hikes in other emerging markets, will not last forever, Governor Lesetja Kganyago said on Friday during an online address.



The Reserve Bank (SARB) left its repo rate at 3.5% for a fourth meeting in a row in a unanimous decision.



While the decision was in line with most economists’ expectations, a slew of rate hikes in countries such as Brazil, Russia and Turkey in response to climbing U.S. Treasury yields had raised speculation the SARB might follow suit.



At the meeting on Thursday, Kganyago said the bank saw overall risks to the inflation outlook as balanced, and that the impact of currency volatility, partly caused by the jump in U.S Treasuries, was low.



On Friday, in a Q&amp;A session with the UK-based South African Chamber of Commerce, Kganyago reiterated this view, but warned the bank could not keep lending rates low indefinitely.



“The monetary policy stance in South Africa is hugely accommodative. The interest rate is below the neutral rate. On a forward looking basis, interests rates are negative in real terms,” Kganyago said.



“(But) it can’t continue forever. At some stage the savings pool will say: No, this is favouring borrowers over us, the savers, and they will re-price you.”



The central bank’s quarterly projection model predicts at least two rate hikes in 2021, but Kganyago played down the chances of hikes this year. “Fortunately the monetary policy committee does not outsource its responsibility to the model. We make our own judgements,” he said.



“Yesterday we spelt out the risks that could trigger a rise in interests rates: oil prices, electricity prices, and food inflation.”



“But those shocks for us when they happen, we see through them. It’s whether they feed into other prices going forward. And when they do, that’s what we call second-round effects and that triggers a policy response,” Kganyago said. (Reporting by Mfuneko Toyana. Editing by Nqobile Dludla and Mark Potter)

Spring Meetings Of The International Monetary Fund And World Bank

SOUTH AFRICA’S RECORD LOW LENDING RATES ‘WON’T LAST FOREVER’ – CENTRAL BANK GOVERNOR

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="527" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/GettyImages-1064245894-820x527.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-398696" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/GettyImages-1064245894-820x527.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/GettyImages-1064245894-300x193.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/GettyImages-1064245894-768x494.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/GettyImages-1064245894-1536x988.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/GettyImages-1064245894-scaled.jpeg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>(Photo credit should read SIMON MAINA/AFP via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



By Duncan Miriri



NAIROBI, March 26 (Reuters) &#8211; Kenya&#8217;s biggest telecoms operator Safaricom has started trials for 5G high-speed internet network using technology from Nokia and Huawei, it said.



Safaricom, part owned by South Africa&#8217;s Vodacom and Britain&#8217;s Vodafone, wants to boost its fast-growing data business, amid increasing demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic forcing people to work and learn from home.



The trials, which started with four Kenyan cities and towns on Friday, will be expanded to 150 sites in nine urban areas in the next 12 months, Safaricom said in a statement.



Safaricom said last year it would consider Huawei for its 5G network rollout. The United States has urged countries not to include Huawei in their 5G plans, citing security concerns, which Huawei has denied.



Safaricom is the market leader in the mobile data segment in Kenya, with 67.5% of total users as of last September, statistics from the regulator Communications Authority of Kenya showed.



The company has a 35.6% share of the small but growing internet to home and office by fibre market, CAK said.



The new 5G network will give consumers internet speeds of 700 megabits per second, more than three times faster than the current 4G network, the company said.



It will also allow Safaricom to offer an alternative service for homes and offices in areas which are not currently covered by the its fibre network, the company said.



The technology will also support far many more devices to connect to the internet in a given area, compared with the existing network.



(Reporting by Duncan Miriri; editing by Jane Merriman)



(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2021. Click For Restrictions &#8211; https://agency.reuters.com/en/copyright.html

istockphoto-1187729700-612×612

Safaricom launches East Africa’s first 5G network, Huawei a vendor

JOHANNESBURG, March 25 (Reuters) &#8211; Below are some quotes from South African Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago on Thursday as he announced the central bank&#8217;s decision to keep its benchmark repo rate at 3.5%.



INFLATION



&#8220;The overall risks to the inflation outlook appear to be balanced. A more appreciated nominal exchange rate in recent months, and generally low pass-through, is expected to continue to moderate some inflationary pressure.&#8221;



&#8220;While global food price inflation remains high, local food price inflation is slightly lower than previously expected and should remain broadly contained due to higher local crop production. Oil prices have increased sharply this year and are expected to remain at these levels over the forecast horizon. Electricity and other administered prices remain upside risks to the inflation trajectory.&#8221;



GROWTH



&#8220;South Africa&#8217;s economy expanded by 6.3% on a quarterly, annualised basis in the fourth quarter of 2020, and contracted by 7% for the year as a whole. The Bank&#8217;s forecast for GDP for the first quarter of 2021 stands at -0.2%, down from 1.0% at the time of the January MPC meeting. With stronger quarterly outcomes for the rest of this year, the economy is expected to grow by about 3.8% (up from 3.6%).&#8221;



&#8220;GDP is expected to grow by 2.4% in 2022 and by 2.5% in 2023, unchanged since the January meeting. Overall, risks to the domestic growth outlook are assessed to be balanced.&#8221;



DECISION



&#8220;Unless the risks outlined earlier materialise, inflation is expected to be well contained in 2021, before rising to around the midpoint of the inflation target range in 2022 and 2023.&#8221;



&#8220;Against this backdrop, the MPC decided to keep rates unchanged at 3.5% per annum. The decision was unanimous.&#8221;



&#8220;The implied policy rate path of the Quarterly Projection Model indicates an increase of 25 basis points in each of the second and fourth quarters of 2021. Compared to the previous meeting, the shift in the rate path from the third to the fourth quarter is due to somewhat lower inflation in 2022.&#8221; (Reporting by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo and Mfuneko Toyana; Editing by Hugh Lawson)



(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2021. Click For Restrictions &#8211; https://agency.reuters.com/en/copyright.html

South African Reserve Bank Rate Announcement Ahead Of Stimulus Plan

EXCERPTS-South African central bank comments as rates kept on hold

JOHANNESBURG, March 25 (Reuters) – South Africa’s central bank left its repo rate unchanged at 3.5% in a unanimous decision on Thursday, saying that overall risks to the inflation outlook appeared to be balanced in the near and medium term.



The Reserve Bank (SARB) has now kept rates on hold at its last four meetings, resisting pressure to match rate hikes by other emerging market central banks.



The decision was in line with a Reuters poll last week, where all but one of the 25 economists polled expected unchanged rates.



South Africa’s consumer inflation rate slowed to 2.9% in February, a touch below consensus, its lowest in eight months and below the central bank’s target range of between 3% and 6%



Subdued price-growth has been largely due to weak economic activity, with Africa’s most advanced economy shrinking by a record 7% last year.



The bank said it sees gross domestic product of 3.8% in 2021, up from its January forecast of 3.6%, and inflation averaging 4.3%, up from January’s forecast of 4%.



Governor Lesetja Kganyago said the pace of economic recovery would depend on the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines and the appearance of a likely third wave of infections. He said lower inflation, seen below the mid-point its range, supported accommodative rates.



“The overall risks to the inflation outlook appear to be balanced. A more appreciated nominal exchange rate in recent months, and generally low pass-through, is expected to continue to moderate some inflationary pressure,” said Kganyago.



“Unless the risks outlined earlier materialise, inflation is expected to be well contained in 2021, before rising to around the midpoint of the inflation target range in 2022 and 2023.” 



(Reporting by Mfuneko Toyana Editing by Gareth Jones, Kirsten Donovan)

Closing Day Of The World Economic Forum (WEF) 2020

South African central bank holds repo rate at 3.5%

JOHANNESBURG, March 25 (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa&#8217;s rand firmed in early trade on Thursday, as investors awaited the outcome of a central bank monetary policy meeting later in the day, where the regulator is expected to leave its benchmark lending rate unchanged.



At 0610 GMT, the rand traded at 14.9275 against the dollar, 0.35% firmer than its previous close.



Data on Wednesday showing consumer price inflation in February dipped below the central bank&#8217;s target range of 3-6% did little to change market expectations that the central bank&#8217;s monetary policy committee (MPC) will not cut interest rates any further, keeping the rate at 3.5%.



&#8220;The local markets have traded cautiously over the week thus far, with the short-term price action in the rand somewhat confounding to market participants at both extremes of the price ranges,&#8221; analysts at Nedbank said in a note.



&#8220;This scenario is likely to continue ahead of the MPC, despite a consensus expectation of an unchanged decision.&#8221;



Emerging market central banks have come under increasing pressure in recent weeks from global rising yields, weakening currencies and rising inflation strains with policymakers in Brazil, Russia and Turkey delivering a surprise cumulative rate hike of 300 basis points last week.



This adds to signs that an easing cycle across emerging market central banks which started in 2019 and was the longest easing cycle since the 2008 financial crisis and the 2010 euro crisis &#8211; might be coming to an end.



The South African economy contracted 7.0% last year despite the Reserve Bank cutting interest rates by a cumulative 300 basis points to counteract the damage caused by pandemic-induced lockdowns.



In fixed income, with the yield on the benchmark government bond due in 2030 was up 4.5 basis points to 9.485% in early deals. (Reporting by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo; Editing by Rashmi Aich)



(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2021. Click For Restrictions &#8211; https://agency.reuters.com/en/copyright.html

101416618-rand

South Africa’s rand firmer ahead of cenbank’s interest rate decision

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="462" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-1212490540-820x462.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-397290" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-1212490540-820x462.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-1212490540-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-1212490540-768x433.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-1212490540-1536x865.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-1212490540-scaled.jpeg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, March 18 (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa&#8217;s finance minister said on Thursday that a third wave of the coronavirus could destabilise the government&#8217;s efforts to control its finances and avoid a further downgrade of the country&#8217;s sovereign rating.



Two of the top three rating agencies &#8211; Moody&#8217;s and Fitch &#8211; downgraded South Africa&#8217;s sovereign rating further into junk in November on concerns of rising debt levels and the government&#8217;s ability to raise revenues and pay off debt amid the economic shock inflicted by the pandemic.



Tito Mboweni, replying to questions in a virtual parliament session, said the rating agencies would be looking closely at how the government was moving on its promised structural reforms such as infrastructure growth, telecom spectrum allocation, reliable power supply and reducing the public sector wage bill.



&#8220;If it (reform) was seen to be deviating from our fiscal framework, then we&#8217;re going to be in trouble,&#8221; Mboweni said, and warned that a third wave of coronavirus could hurt the efforts.



&#8220;I&#8217;m scared that the third wave is coming&#8230; It&#8217;s going to be more vicious than the second one,&#8221; he said.



He said any third wave would have to be handled so that the country could still keep the economy going, or else it could hurt its fiscal framework.



Africa&#8217;s most industrialised country saw a first wave of coronavirus when it was already in recession. It had to impose two hard lockdowns to curb the spread of infections, setting the economy back by 13 years and pushing millions more into unemployment at a time when almost a third of the population was already jobless.



The finance minister said the country&#8217;s floating exchange rate, low and stable inflation and a well-regulated financial market were positive factors that could lend support in the event of another crisis.



&#8220;I think we are on a good wicket, and I am on the crease.&#8221; (Reporting by Promit Mukherjee; Editing by Susan Fenton)



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Tito Mboweni

S.Africa’s finance minister warns a third wave of COVID-19 could hurt country’s ratings

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="410" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Oped-Yelland-EnergyTW-option-2-820x410.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-399687" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Oped-Yelland-EnergyTW-option-2-820x410.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Oped-Yelland-EnergyTW-option-2-300x150.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Oped-Yelland-EnergyTW-option-2-768x384.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Oped-Yelland-EnergyTW-option-2-1536x768.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Oped-Yelland-EnergyTW-option-2.jpg 2000w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Photographer via Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



CAPE TOWN, March 18 (Reuters) – South Africa’s government has selected eight preferred bidders, including Turkey’s Karpowership, to provide emergency electricity and help prop up the country’s ailing power supply, Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe said on Thursday.



The tender for 2,000 megawatts (MW), launched two years ago when South Africa suffered some of the worst power cuts in a decade, aimed to find the cheapest and quickest options to ease a shortage that has cost the continent’s most industrialised economy billions of dollars.



“The evaluation process has resulted in the selection of eight preferred bids totalling 1,845 MW and a further three eligible bids totalling 150 MW,” Mantashe told a media briefing.



Besides Karpowership, which operates a fleet of powerships and will provide ship-to-shore electricity when eventually anchored at three coastal sites, Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power and other firms Oya Energy and Umoyilanga Energy were also shortlisted.



In February last year, Karpowership told Reuters that each of its ships, which anchor off-shore and connect to the electricity grid, is capable of providing a range of power options from 30MW to around 600MW and contracted for different lengths of time. Karpowership did not immediately respond to a request for comment.



Mantashe said the projects were expected to inject around 45 billion rand ($3.05 billion) into South Africa’s economy, with the first power expected to be connected to the grid from August next year.



Mantashe said a request for proposals for the procurement of 2,600 MW under the latest bid round for private power producers will go to the market at midnight on Thursday.



“We intend to release four more requests for proposals within the next 12 months,” he said, adding that this will include 3,000 MW from gas, 1,500 MW from coal and 513 MW from battery storage.



Drowning in a pile of debt, state-owned power utility Eskom cannot meet demand and regularly cuts power to industries and households, known locally as load-shedding, to help stave off a complete power grid collapse.



Design flaws at underperforming new power stations and unreliable coal-fired plants that provide more than 80% of the country’s electricity needs has hit power generation capacity.



On Monday, senior Eskom executives said the utility faced uncertainty on about 6,000 MW at any given time, out of a total nominal capacity of over 44,000 MW, and that electricity supplies would remain erratic until a maintenance plan was completed by September. ($1 = 14.7567 rand) (Reporting by Wendell Roelf; Editing by Edmund Blair and Susan Fenton)



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S.Africa picks preferred bidders for emergency power tender, minister says

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="683" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/cellphone_-_pexels-1024x683-1.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-366897" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/cellphone_-_pexels-1024x683-1.jpg 1024w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/cellphone_-_pexels-1024x683-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/cellphone_-_pexels-1024x683-1-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/cellphone_-_pexels-1024x683-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/cellphone_-_pexels-1024x683-1-696x464.jpg 696w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



ABUJA, March 16 (Reuters) &#8211; Nigerian regulators have set a flat fee for financial transactions done via mobile phones, replacing a billing system that caused disagreements between telecoms firms and lenders.



The Nigerian Communications Commission and central bank said on Tuesday they had agreed a flat fee of 6.98 naira ($0.0183) per transaction to ensure financial inclusion and lower costs.



Nigeria wants to open up its digital financial services sector, which will help millions of Nigerians who do not have bank accounts. But regulation has been caught up with intense lobbying from lenders seeking to protect their turf amid stiff competition and a rise in borrowers renegotiating loans.



The country has more than 20 lenders.



MTN Nigeria, majority-owned by South Africa&#8217;s MTN Group, runs Nigeria&#8217;s biggest mobile phone network, serving around 76.5 million people.



A quick code, or unstructured supplementary service data (USSD), sent by mobile phone for transaction is critical for delivering services to Nigeria&#8217;s underbanked population in a cost effective manner, the regulators said in a statement.



But disputes over fees and who is responsible for paying has often led mobile phone operators to withdraw services.



The regulators said payments to mobile operators for providing the USSD service would be billed to bank customers and that lenders would not impose additional charges.



They did not disclose how much money was owed to mobile operators for the service under the old system, but said a settlement plan was being worked out.



Mobile operators had threatened to suspend lenders from using the quick code service.



($1 = 380.55 naira) (Reporting by Chijioke Ohuocha. Editing by Mark Potter)



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gettyimages-1165324563-170667a

Nigeria set to boost mobile banking with fixed transaction fee

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-484332922-820x547.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-397368" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-484332922-820x547.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-484332922-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-484332922-768x513.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-484332922-1536x1025.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-484332922-scaled.jpeg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption> Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg via Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



March 16 (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa&#8217;s consumer confidence in the first quarter returned to pre-lockdown levels, a survey showed on Tuesday, helped by a sharp decline in COVID-19 cases since the peak of the second wave in early January.



The consumer confidence index (CCI), sponsored by First National Bank (FNB) and compiled by the Bureau for Economic Research (BER), rose to minus 9 points from minus 12 points in the fourth quarter.



South Africa enforced one of the world&#8217;s strictest lockdowns in March last year, forcing mines, manufacturers, retailers and services to shut down or operate under tight regulation.



Government support schemes, higher-than-inflation adjustments to personal income tax brackets, soaring equities on the stock market, employment recovery and COVID-19 vaccine rollouts also aided the rebound, according to the survey.



The rise in the first quarter was driven by consumers&#8217; expectations about the performance of the economy and their household finances in 12 months, according to the survey, while the time-to-buy durable goods index lagged behind.



The survey also noted the recovery continues to be fuelled by a rise in low and middle-income sentiment and that the economic boost would be more robust if high-income consumers recorded a similar rise in confidence levels.



However, the survey warned that a third coronavirus wave could dampen prospects and employment levels would need to rebound considerably to counter unfavourable dynamics.



&#8220;The pace of the recovery in real household consumption expenditure is therefore expected to slow somewhat compared to the fourth quarter, despite the slight increase in consumer confidence in the first quarter of 2021,&#8221; the survey said. (Reporting by Tanishaa Nadkar in Bengaluru; Editing by Ramakrishnan M.)



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