By Kudzai Mutisi The government of Zimbabwe issued a statement on 31 August 2020 addressing several issues pertaining to the land reform program. The statement presented the government’s position on the compensation of indigenous (black) Zimbabweans who lost their land during the land reform program and the compensation of former farm owners whose land was covered by Bilateral Investment Protection and Promotion Agreements (BIPPAs).



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Belarus-tractors-for-Zimbabwe.png" alt="" class="wp-image-379493" width="692" height="925" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Belarus-tractors-for-Zimbabwe.png 477w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Belarus-tractors-for-Zimbabwe-225x300.png 225w" sizes="(max-width: 692px) 100vw, 692px" /><figcaption>Tractors from Belarus arrive in Zimbabwe as part of a training programme for farmers. </figcaption></figure>



ocals and foreigners seem confused by the government’s statement particularly the issue of returning land to certain former farm owners as compensation. Many have misconstrued this as the reversal of the land reform program by President Mnangagwa’s government. The compensation of former farm owners is covered in section 295 of the constitution of Zimbabwe. There are three categories of farm owners eligible for compensation in different forms. Section 295 (1) provides that indigenous Zimbabweans who lost their land must be compensated for the land and developments thereon. Section 295 (2) stipulates that those whose land was covered by BIPPAs and BITs are entitled to compensation for the land and developments thereon. Section 295 (3) compels the government to compensate those not covered in subsection 1 and 2 for improvements on the land and nothing else.



 In line with the constitution of Zimbabwe, President Mnangagwa’s government has put measures to provide compensation to all three categories of former farm owners. The recent statement provides options for the compensation of farmers under subsection 1 or 2 of section 295. In fact, these former farm owners were not included in the Global Compensation Deed signed recently. It is only these two categories of former farmer owners who have the option to get back their land or to be allocated alternative land elsewhere.



 The farmers that fall under section 295 (3) will be compensated only for improvements on their farms in accordance with the Global Compensation Deed recently signed by the government and former white farmers. These former white farmers owned more than 98 percent of the land expropriated by the government during the land reform program. They have no option of getting back that land. It is worth noting that the number of farms covered by BIPPAs and BITs are fewer than 37.



Some of the farmers in this category already received compensation for their land during the Mugabe era. According to the recent government statement, the compensation of these farmers will be governed by Statutory Instrument 62 of 2020. President Mnangagwa is not reversing the land reform program, he is simply implementing the country’s constitution. By committing to the full compensation of farmers covered by BIPPAs and BITs, the government of Zimbabwe is respecting and restoring property rights. Moreover, the new black farmers currently occupying the land covered by BIPPAs will not be left landless, they will be resettled elsewhere by the government. This is a positive move that should be applauded by locals and foreigners alike.



 The government’s statement also emphasised that illegal occupation of productive farms will not be tolerated anymore. In addition, the government will not downsize productive farms. This is a complete departure from the past where the government allowed the disruption of production on white owned farms.



 The criticism being levelled against President Mnangagwa’s government is driven by sheer ignorance of the country’s constitution and political propaganda. If anything, the recent moves by the government seek to correct the mistakes made during the land reform program and to bring sanity to the agricultural sector. There is no reversal of Zimbabwe’s land reform program. In fact, the government is effectively finalising the land reform program.

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OPINION:There is no reversal of Zimbabwe’s land reform program

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; South African power utility Eskom will implement planned blackouts on Tuesday after breakdowns at a number of power stations in the last two days, it said on Tuesday.



The power cuts will last from 1000 GMT to 2000 GMT, the company said in a statement, adding that any further deterioration in generating performance may require additional loadshedding at short notice.

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South Africa’s Eskom to implement power cuts on Tuesday after breakdowns

HARARE (Reuters) &#8211; Foreign white farmers settled in Zimbabwe whose land was seized under Robert Mugabe can apply to get it back and will be offered land elsewhere if restitution proves impractical, the government said on Monday.



Last month, Zimbabwe agreed to pay $3.5 billion in compensation to local white farmers whose land was forcibly taken by the government to resettle Black families, moving a step closer to resolving one the most divisive policies of the Robert Mugabe era.



Under Zimbabwean laws passed during a short period of opposition government but ignored by Mugabe, foreign white farmers protected by treaties between their governments and Zimbabwe should be compensated for both land and other assets.



In that regard, Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube and Lands and Agriculture Minister Anxious Masuka said in a joint statement that these farmers should apply for their land back.



That means, in some instances the government would “revoke the offer letters of resettled (Black) farmers currently occupying those pieces of land and offer them alternative land elsewhere,” the ministers said.



But removing the Black beneficiaries from the land could prove practically and politically difficult.



“Where the situation presently obtaining on the ground makes it impractical to restore land in this category to its former owners, government will offer the former farm owners alternative land elsewhere as restitution where such land is available,” the statement said.



The ministers said other white farmers whose land had been earmarked for acquisition by the government but were still on the properties, can apply to lease the land for 99 years, just like their Black counterparts.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="748" height="1024" src="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Emmerson_Mnangagwa_2019-01-15-748x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-375030" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Emmerson_Mnangagwa_2019-01-15-748x1024.jpg 748w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Emmerson_Mnangagwa_2019-01-15-219x300.jpg 219w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Emmerson_Mnangagwa_2019-01-15-584x800.jpg 584w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Emmerson_Mnangagwa_2019-01-15-768x1052.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Emmerson_Mnangagwa_2019-01-15-696x953.jpg 696w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Emmerson_Mnangagwa_2019-01-15-600x822.jpg 600w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Emmerson_Mnangagwa_2019-01-15.jpg 790w" sizes="(max-width: 748px) 100vw, 748px" /></figure>



President Emmerson Mnangagwa has said the land reform could not be reversed but paying of compensation was key to mending ties with the West.



The programme still divides public opinion in Zimbabwe, where the number of white farmers has dropped to just over 200 from 4,500 when land reforms began 20 years ago, according to the predominantly white commercial farmers union.



Opponents see the reforms as a partisan process that left the country struggling to feed itself, but its supporters say it has empowered landless Black people.

Zimbabwe tightens coronavirus lockdown in capital Harare as cases hit 203

Zimbabwe says foreign white farmers can apply to get back seized land

CAIRO (Reuters) &#8211; Egypt signed a $2 billion conventional and Islamic loan with several international and regional banks in a deal coordinated by two UAE lenders, the finance ministry said on Monday.



Emirates NBD Capital and First Abu Dhabi Bank were joint coordinators and lead managers of the deal, the ministry said in a statement.



The loan aims at “financing the state budget and supporting the Egyptian economy in order to maintain its strong path in the face of fluctuations prevailing in global markets”, it added.



The loan was approved by parliament, the statement said.



A parliamentary document obtained by Reuters showed Egypt initialized the deal with Emirates NBD and FAD in July 20 to obtain a one-year, $2 billion loan in two tranches to close the gap in its 2020/21 budget wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic.



The first tranche is a conventional facility of $1.490 billion and the second an Islamic facility of $510 million, the document added.



“When they came to the market&#8230;on the back of COVID, the pricing was dislocated, the comparables were a bit on the high end. But they managed to convince the banks to commit to a tight level. And now&#8230;,it is in line with the market’s pricing,” a banking source said.

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Egypt signs $2 bln loan with regional, international banks -statement

LAGOS (Reuters) &#8211; Nigeria’s state oil company recorded a 5.34 billion naira ($14 million) cost for fuel in June, months after it changed its pricing method in an effort to eliminate subsidies.



State oil company NNPC outlined the “under recovery” bill in its June monthly statement, a term used to reference money lost through fuel sales.



NNPC spokesman Kennie Obateru said the costs represented temporary payments to marketers, who buy imported fuel and then sell it on, for stocks they held when the subsidy was removed, and would be spread over six months.



“Since the subsidy removal started with reduction in pump price, marketers have to be paid the differential of the (government) verified stock they held,” he told Reuters.



In March, amid a global oil price crash, Nigeria cut its gasoline pump price and said it had eliminated subsidies through a new price cap that maintained government control, but allowed prices to move with the market. 



Nigeria’s gasoline prices had been kept artificially low at 145 naira ($0.48) per litre. A study supported by the British government estimated Nigeria spent 10 trillion naira on subsidies from 2006 to 2018, more than the individual budgets for health, education or defence. 



But in the past riots have broken out merely over rumours of any increase.



The body tasked with setting pump prices, PPPRA, has not published retail prices since March 31. Fuel importers said there is a set monthly depot price, but it is not widely distributed. Those who want to know it have to visit the depot.



The lack of transparency around the new gasoline pricing mechanism has been a point of contention for those monitoring whether the subsidy cost has been permanently eliminated and is one of the sticking points over a much-needed World Bank loan. 



($1 = 380.5000 naira)

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JOHANNESBURG- (Reuters) &#8211; South African food producer RCL Foods reported a 65.4% drop in annual headline earnings on Monday, as the COVID-19 pandemic and national lockdown impacted its final quarter.



The owner of Rainbow chicken and maker of Selati sugar said its headline earnings per share (HEPS) fell to 114.2 million rand ($6.89 million) for the year to June 30 from 329.5 million rand a year earlier.



HEPS strips out some one-off items the main profit gauge used in South Africa.



Despite a loss of 959 million rand for the period, the group declared a final gross cash dividend of 10 cents, bringing the total dividend declared for the year to 25.0 cents.



($1 = 16.5740 rand)

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South Africa’s RCL Foods reports 65% profit drop but offers dividend

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa’s Sun International said on Monday it fell to a loss in the six months to June 30 after it was forced to close its operations for just over three months due to the coronavirus lockdown.



The casino and hotel company said its adjusted headline earnings, the main profit measure in South Africa, declined from 172 million rand to a loss of 885 million rand in the period.

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S.Africa’s Sun International falls to half-year loss

NAIROBI (Reuters) &#8211; Kenya’s central bank will have to approve any plans by commercial lenders to issue dividends for this year, it said in a memo to bank executives seen by Reuters on Monday, an unusual move caused by the coronavirus crisis.



Lenders in the East African nation have seen their earnings plunge in the first half of this year, hit by higher provisions for bad loans, on the back of the COVID-19 pandemic.



They have also had to restructure more than a quarter of total customer loans, to provide relief to individuals and firms hit by the disruptions.



All lenders are required to resubmit their internal capital adequacy assessments by the end of October, the central bank said in the memo, reflecting the impact of the pandemic.



They will also be expected to discuss their plans with the regulator, before making decisions on distribution of profits to their shareholders, the memo said.



“The duration and extent of the pandemic remains uncertain and it is critical that these institutions remain resilient by strengthening their balance sheets,” the central bank said.

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Kenya central bank to rule on 2020 dividend issuance by banks

ACCRA (Reuters) &#8211; Ghana will reopen air borders to international travel as of Sept. 1 after closing them in March to limit the spread of the coronavirus, President Nana Akufo-Addo said in a speech to the nation on Sunday.



Land and sea borders will remain closed, he said.

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) &#8211; U.S. President Donald Trump’s intelligence chief on Sunday defended his decision to cease in-person Congressional briefings on election security, while Democrats said the move would suppress critical information about foreign election meddling and warned they may subpoena testimony.



John Ratcliffe, the president’s new director of national intelligence and a close Trump ally, accused U.S. lawmakers of leaking classified information from a July 31 briefing to promote what he called false narratives for political purposes.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/gettyimages-642093036-594x594-2.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-352574" width="707" height="521" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/gettyimages-642093036-594x594-2.jpg 594w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/gettyimages-642093036-594x594-2-300x221.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/gettyimages-642093036-594x594-2-80x60.jpg 80w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/gettyimages-642093036-594x594-2-570x420.jpg 570w" sizes="(max-width: 707px) 100vw, 707px" /><figcaption>WASHINGTON, DC &#8211; FEBRUARY 16: U.S. President Donald Trump stands during a news conference announcing Alexander Acosta as the new Labor Secretary nominee in the East Room at the White House on February 16, 2017 in Washington, DC. The announcement comes a day after Andrew Puzder withdrew his nomination. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



“A number of members of Congress went to a number of different publications and leaked classified information, again, for political purposes, to create a narrative that simply isn’t true, that somehow Russia is a greater national security threat than China,” Ratcliffe told Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures.



Ratcliffe is a former lawmaker who defended Trump during Congressional probes into Russian efforts to influence the 2016 election.



Democratic lawmakers accused Ratcliffe of trying to block them from questioning intelligence officials in a bid to conceal information on how Russia has been interfering in the 2020 presidential election to help Trump, as it did in 2016.



“You can say things in a written report that are not correct, and you can’t be subject to questioning about it,” Representative Adam Schiff, Democratic chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, told CNN’s State of the Union program.



“When you can hide behind documents or withhold documents and not have to answer questions about it, it lets you conceal the truth. And in this case, concealing the truth is concealing Russians are again intervening to help the president in his re-election,” he said.



Schiff denied leaking any classified information from the July briefing.



“I haven’t, my staff hasn’t. I can’t speak for what all the members of the committee have done or not done, including a lot of the Republican members,” he said.



The intelligence community has warned that Russia is trying to “denigrate” Trump’s 2020 Democratic opponent, Joe Biden, and that Iran and China are also trying to sow disinformation. [L2N2EV1EF] Schiff vowed he would “compel” the intelligence community to hand over information to Congress on the threat, including potentially through the use of subpoenas.FILE PHOTO: Director of National Intelligence (DNI) John Ratcliffe arrives to brief Congressional leaders on reports that Russia paid the Taliban bounties to kill U.S. military in Afghanistan, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., July 2, 2020. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo



Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar, a former presidential candidate, told ABC’s “This Week” that Ratcliffe’s decision was an “outrage” at a time when multiple foreign governments were trying to “break into” the Nov. 3 election, and that it was “crazy” that the House may be forced to subpoena him.



However, Senator Ron Johnson, Republican chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, played down the significance of Ratcliffe’s decision when speaking with CNN’s “State of the Union” program, saying that the Democratic response had been “blown so way out of proportion.”



A bipartisan investigation by the Senate Intelligence Committee found this month that Russia meddled in the 2016 U.S. presidential election to help Trump at the direction of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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Trump intel chief defends briefings ban, Democrats raise subpoena threat

CHICAGO (Reuters) &#8211; United Airlines (<a href="https://www.reuters.com/companies/UAL.O">UAL.O</a>) said on Sunday it is permanently eliminating change fees on tickets for U.S. travel effective immediately, the latest effort by a U.S. airline to try to stimulate bookings hit by the coronavirus pandemic.



Chicago-based United is among the major U.S. airlines that began implementing temporary waivers of change fees this year to give passengers more flexibility with their travel plans given the uncertainty surrounding the pandemic.



Now it is making the policy permanent for all standard Economy and Premium cabin tickets and also applying it to any ticket already booked through the end of the year. The standard change fee &#8211; charged to passengers who change their tickets &#8211; for domestic flights was $200.



In a video message to customers, Chief Executive Scott Kirby said getting rid of fees is often a top request from passengers.



The move matches Southwest Airlines’ (<a href="https://www.reuters.com/companies/LUV.N">LUV.N</a>) long-standing policy of not charging fees for ticket changes.



Rivals American Airlines (<a href="https://www.reuters.com/companies/AAL.O">AAL.O</a>) and Delta Air Lines (<a href="https://www.reuters.com/companies/DAL.N">DAL.N</a>) traditionally do charge for changes. Along with United, they were booking record revenues before the pandemic crushed demand, thanks largely to fees for things like checking luggage or choosing a seat.



In another change, beginning Jan. 1 United will allow customers to list for stand-by for free on a different flight on the same day of travel with the same departure and arrival cities if a seat is available.



Kirby called the moves a departure from decisions airlines had made in the past to survive difficult times, sometimes at the expense of customer service, saying United “won’t be following that same playbook as we come out of this crisis.”



Airlines are burning through millions of dollars daily because of the pandemic, but agree that restoring customer confidence and providing travel flexibility will be key to encouraging people to start traveling again and pave the path back to profitability

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United Airlines bids farewell to change fees in push for bookings

(Reuters) &#8211; Facebook Inc (<a href="https://www.reuters.com/companies/FB.O">FB.O</a>)&nbsp;made an “operational mistake” in not acting sooner to remove a page for a militia group that posted a call to arms in Kenosha, Wisconsin, the company’s Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said on Friday.



The social media company said on Wednesday it had removed the page for the Kenosha Guard, and an event listing there for Armed Citizens to Protect Our Lives and Property as it violated the company’s policy against “militia organizations”.



Facebook’s action came after two people were shot and killed during protests in the town on Tuesday night, part of three nights of civil unrest that followed the shooting by a white police officer that left a Black man, Jacob Blake Jr, paralyzed.



Zuckerberg, speaking in a video message published on his Facebook profile, acknowledged the company had received complaints from “a bunch of people” about the Kenosha Guard posting.



“The contractors and reviewers who the initial complaints were funneled to basically didn’t pick this up,” he said. “And on second review, doing it more sensitively, the team that’s responsible for dangerous organizations recognized that this violated the policies and we took it down.”



Zuckerberg said the company had not found any evidence to show that the person charged with the fatal shooting during Tuesday’s unrest followed the Kenosha Guard page.



News website BuzzFeed quoted an internal Facebook report as showing the event associated with the Kenosha Guard was flagged at least 455 times, and a Facebook worker as saying it accounted for 66% of all event reports that day.



Facebook declined to comment on those finding, Buzzfeed said.



Facebook said it would continue to evolve its policies for identifying potentially dangerous organizations.



“This is a new policy we launched last week and we’re still scaling up our enforcement of it by a team of specialists,” a spokesperson said.

Zuckerberg defends Facebook from Trump’s crackdown and everything else you missed: CNBC After Hours

Zuckerberg says Facebook’s failure to remove militia page an ‘operational mistake’

LAGOS (Reuters) &#8211; Angola plans to join the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), an international effort to fight corruption in revenues from oil, gas and mineral extraction.



Tete Antonio, Angola’s minister of foreign affairs, announced the move on Twitter late on Friday and said Angola “has clearly demonstrated its commitment to promote the open and accountable management of its natural resources for the benefit of its people.”



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="910" height="609" src="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/oil-rig-industry-oil.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-375804" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/oil-rig-industry-oil.jpg 910w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/oil-rig-industry-oil-300x201.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/oil-rig-industry-oil-820x549.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/oil-rig-industry-oil-768x514.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/oil-rig-industry-oil-696x466.jpg 696w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/oil-rig-industry-oil-600x402.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 910px) 100vw, 910px" /></figure>



EITI, formed in 2003, has more than 50 implementing countries.



Angola’s President Joao Lourenco has embarked on an anti-corruption drive since taking power from Jose Eduardo dos Santos, who stepped down in 2017 after a near four-decade rule.



Earlier this month, a court in Luanda sentenced dos Santos’s son to five years in prison over a $500 million corruption case.



Africa’s second-largest oil exporter is also working to stem a steady decline in oil output due to a lack of investment.

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Angola to join oil and extractives transparency group to fight corruption

<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/trg508epzi34UWmJlOHzgQCfL-kAanijp2gqe2a9sA_T_VNBPbqlRJU4wJAXtOv1kMFT3DAtqY1saMI3qHLl44NzKV_ZRXvhfuzYFzhY9QVQEcqggQC08nuNUcHUBU0j1fgr3h828M2gEMXfTQ" alt=""/></figure>



By Mduduzi Mbada,



In contributing towards the realisation of the kind of society we want, as articulated in the Freedom Charter and our constitution, in February 2020, we presented the Growing Gauteng Together (GGT2030) plan of action that will endeavour to deliver the province of our dreams in terms of the economy and social security. The GGT2030 is about taking forward the implementation of the ten-pillar programme of transformation, modernisation and reindustrialisation of the Gauteng economy.&nbsp;



The GGT2030 plan of action also seeks to develop a sustainable capable state, where millions of people will be empowered to take charge of their destiny. It is about building a sustainable future for all and a society characterized by equality, social justice, prosperity, no crime and gender-based violence and improving the quality of life of its citizens. This is a society free of any form of discrimination and injustice.



The development of the GGT2030 Plan of Action was scientific.&nbsp; It was guided by the Indlulamithi Scenarios 2030, specifically, the Nayi Le Walk scenario, which identities social and economic drivers that can significantly improve the lives of citizens with pro-poor income distribution, inclusive growth, and meaningful social cohesion.



The modelling and development of GGT2030 policy interventions were also done using SA-Linked National-Provincial – which is linked macro-micro model for South Africa developed by the Applied Development Research Solutions (ADRS), which considers the what-if question.&nbsp;



Before the Covid-19 pandemic, we had to analyse major trends such as the demographical shifts that were already taking place globally; Inequality and urbanization which were on the rise; the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) that was already reshaping the way human beings live and work and climate change that was cited as the new existential threat to all of humanity. The importance of understanding global trends is necessary because any successful nation or state should develop measures to anticipate and respond effectively to these trends.



This includes developing responses to the novel COVID-19 pandemic, which has resulted in a global paradigm shift and fundamentally changed life as we have come to know it. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to the fore the issues of poverty and inequality in both the developed and developing countries. It has, therefore, become imperative for countries to respond not only to the health challenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic but to purposefully address issues of poverty, inequality and developmental imperatives in their respective regions in response to the pandemic.



The COVID-19 pandemic has brought trauma and shock to the global system and South Africa is not immune. Gauteng as the economic hub of the country, contributing almost 34% to GDP, has had to drastically adjust and lead a comprehensive response to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.&nbsp;



True to the nature of pandemics, like volcanos and earthquakes, we know they will happen, but we do not know when, where, and how they will occur. In response to the challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, we have remodelled the GGT2030 plan of action as part of the reconstruction and recovery of our economy. The remodelled GGT2030 is a response to both the social and economic challenges brought on by COVID-19 pandemic. It was done by understanding three scenarios related to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic specifically in SA. Firstly, under the Low Scenario, about 0.5% of South Africans (i.e. about 300,000) will be infected by COVID-19. Secondly, the Moderate and High Scenarios consider the possibility of COVID-19 infecting close to 1% and 2% of the population (about 600,000 and 1,200,000) respectively. The Low and Moderate Scenarios assume that the pandemic will be contained during the third quarter of 2020, and the economy will begin to recover during the fourth quarter of 2020.&nbsp;



The modelling exercise assisted in introducing new bold policy measures to curb any further social and economic distress in society. Specifically, this includes the introduction of an unemployment grant for all those who have become unemployed, it also includes making public works the employer of last resort for the unskilled-unemployed. This is because, in 2020, EPWP if expanded it will cater for 35% of the unskilled unemployed before expanding the service to all unskilled-unemployed by 2030, with the increase of the daily rate to R 160. We should also introduce a new caregiver grant of R 500, which is allocated for family members that take care of a child who receives either a child support grant or a care dependency grant and an immediate increase of the monthly child support grant to R 500.



With regards to Macro-Economic Policy Reform, there is a need to refocus and realign policies to support growth and employment as evidenced by the easing of monetary policy. This includes a rise in current government expenditure, an increase in investment to stimulate economic services and social infrastructure. This will also require an improvement in the ease of doing business in the province, and an increase in labour productivity of some sectors, the ten growth sectors and an increase in competitiveness in some sectors such as the financial services sector, real estate and business services.



Therefore, the re-modelled GGT2030 also brings the possibility of an expansion of the tourism sector, growth in the trade, catering and accommodation services sector, growth in exports for the agricultural sector, a rise in labour productivity and increased competitiveness of strategic sectors.&nbsp;



It also brings into sharp focus the need to improve industrial policy levers s such as industrial financing incentives as an instrument that can potentially drive industrialization and potentially reduce the trade deficit in the province. In the next five years, we will spend R60 billion &#8211; infrastructure spend to create 100 000 jobs and develop 50 black industrialists. Through Industrial Financing Incentives, total annual investment in the manufacturing sector will increase by&nbsp; R 10 billion during the next 11 years; Special Economic Zones (SEZ) and African integration programmes, will increase total exports by an additional 1.5% after 2020 and catalyse economic growth, employment opportunities and promote entrepreneurship; and the government’s Proudly SA and localisation policies will gradually reduce the import dependency ratios of some sectors by 20% over the next 11 years. Specifically, the Tshwane Automotive SEZ will be one of the biggest since 2010, with a supplier park and a factory producing 200,000 vehicles a year for the Ford Motor Company by 2022. This will be made possible with a scale of investment of over R20 billion by the private sector matched by R3.7 billion by government. The R1.7 billion spending on the build phase alone will be dedicated towards SMMEs, sourced from the Tshwane area and Gauteng at large.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The collaboration of government with the private sector, through the Public-Private Growth Initiative (PPGI), is another initiative that can increase investment both provincially and nationally. This will be achieved through the increased private sector increased investment in the South African economy by R 500 billion over the next 11 years, as their contribution to the broader socio-economic development of the country. With Public Investment Cooperation (PIC) investing R 20 billion in the manufacturing sector for the period between 2021 and 2025 (5 years) will contribute to growth and employment.&nbsp;



We are also working with the Development Bank of South Africa (DBSA) and the Presidency infrastructure division to unlock development in key nodes of the City Region. By funding the bulk infrastructure needed in the post-apartheid cities such as Lanseria, Vaal River City and the Western Corridor, wherein we are investing in an Agro-processing SEZ, as well as implementing accompanying investments in the revitalisation of 15 industrial parks, 12 Agro-Parks and five agro-processing facilities we envisaged significant growth and employment prospects.



Overall, the roadmap to inclusive growth in the province should be deliberate in its efforts of targeting the poor and improving service delivery services to improve the living conditions of poor families in the province. This should also lead to improvements in total employment, the decline in inequality as measured by the Gini coefficient, a decline in government expenditure relative to its debt ratio and improved profits for businesses.&nbsp;



Under the modelled six-pillar policy scenarios, it is projected that the poverty rate will decline by almost 50% from 28% to 15% and that there will be a significant improvement in the delivery of social services (education, health, land reform, housing, etc.) and economic infrastructure across the country (roads, bridges, transportation, etc.) This will particularly improve the living conditions of poor families.



When the GGT2030 is fully implemented, the size of the economy is expected to more than double over the next 11 years, from its current size of about R 1 trillion to a little above R 2 trillion, in 2010 prices. The unemployment rate will be reduced by almost two-thirds from the 36% (Mild COVIT-19 scenario) and 42% (Severe Scenario) in 2020 to 13% by 2030. Per Capita GDP is expected to increase by 70% in real terms (from about R 68, 000 currently to about R 115, 000 in 2030. The provincial poverty rate is expected to reduce by more than 40% over the next decade from 20% (Mild Scenario) and 21.3% (Severe Scenario) in 2020 to 11.5% in 2030. The high-income inequality in the province, measured by the Gini index, is expected to decline by 12 percentage points over the next 11 years. The decline will be from its current value of 70% to 58% by 2030. This will be achieved through a 4 billion per annum spend in buying goods and services from 2000 township enterprises, support 50 black industrialists, supporting 50 emerging black farmers and 20 black agro-processors and supporting of 500 cooperatives in the care economy and the creation of 250 000 sustainable and decent jobs.&nbsp;



The implementation GGT2030 with discipline, and the right kind of skills, including investing in knowledge as a strategic resource, will contribute to the South Africa of our dreams by 2030, it is also plan of action that will contribute towards a South Africa that truly belongs to all who live in it by 2055, the centenary of the Freedom Charter, where poverty and inequality are not the key defining features of social relations but by March towards a prosperous and united South Africa.







Mduduzi Mbada, Head of Policy, Gauteng Provincial Government, Office of the Premier

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OPINION: Growing Gauteng Together plan remodelled as part of reconstruction and recovery of the economy Post-COVID-19.

LAGOS (Reuters) &#8211; Angola plans to join the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), an international effort to fight corruption in revenues from oil, gas and mineral extraction.



Tete Antonio, Angola’s minister of foreign affairs, announced the move on Twitter late on Friday and said Angola “has clearly demonstrated its commitment to promote the open and accountable management of its natural resources for the benefit of its people.”



EITI, formed in 2003, has more than 50 implementing countries.



Angola’s President Joao Lourenco has embarked on an anti-corruption drive since taking power from Jose Eduardo dos Santos, who stepped down in 2017 after a near four-decade rule.



Earlier this month, a court in Luanda sentenced dos Santos’s son to five years in prison over a $500 million corruption case.



Africa’s second-largest oil exporter is also working to stem a steady decline in oil output due to a lack of investment.

oil-rig-industry-oil

Angola to join oil and extractives transparency group

ABUJA (Reuters) &#8211; Nigeria’s capital imports plunged 78.6% in the second quarter year-on-year to $1.295 billion, the statistics office said, as lower oil prices push Africa’s largest economy towards recession.



Nigeria, Africa’s top oil exporter, has suffered its worst crisis in decades as low oil prices triggered by the coronavirus pandemic caused the economy to shrink in the second quarter, slashing government revenues and weakening the naira currency.



The government expects further GDP contractions in the third and fourth quarters. 



Nigeria has seen an exodus of foreign money in its equity and debt market, though foreign investors have been caught up by a shortage of dollars on the currency market as global oil prices collapsed.



“The largest amount of capital importation by type was received through other investment&#8230; followed by portfolio investment&#8230; and foreign direct investment in Q2,” the National Bureau of Statistics said in a report.



Nigeria’s capital imports fell from a peak of $21.32 billion seven years ago to $5.12 billion in 2016 as investment dried up in the wake of a recession, and have barely recovered since then.



A foreign exchange shortage has seen the naira drop to record lows on the black market in recent months after two devaluations and central bank moves to unify the country’s multiple exchange rates.

Nigeria_naira

Nigeria capital imports sink 79% in second quarter as economy shrinks

Over the past 20 years sub-Saharan Africa has registered the&nbsp;<a href="http://www.fao.org/3/a-bo092e.pdf">highest rate</a>&nbsp;of agricultural production in the world. There have been knock-on effects with the region also seeing the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---inst/documents/publication/wcms_624872.pdf">fastest growth</a>&nbsp;in off-farm employment and non-farm labour productivity.



There’s a&nbsp;<a href="https://farmerline.co/2019/05/29/securing-the-future-of-agriculture-in-the-face-of-an-ageing-farmer-population/#:%7E:text=Ghana%20is%20like%20many%20other,Food%20and%20Agriculture%2C%202011">widely held</a>&nbsp;view that Africa’s agricultural growth trajectory could be jeopardised by an ageing farm population because young people are fleeing from farming. Several sources indicate that the average age of Africans in farming has risen to 60 years or more. But we are unaware of any empirical evidence to support this claim.



To understand what’s really going on, we used nationally representative survey data collected by the government statistical offices of six African countries – Ghana, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia, Nigeria and Tanzania. Because these surveys were replicated multiple times in each country between 2000 and 2018, we can compute how much time people spent annually in farming and off-farm jobs. We can examine trends in the age distribution of the labour force in farm and off-farm employment since 2000.



This was done as part of our&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rural21.com/english/current-issue/detail/article/the-myth-of-africas-ageing-farmers.html">research</a>&nbsp;into young people’s access to land as well as their migration decisions and employment opportunities.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Breaking the myth</h2>



Our&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rural21.com/english/current-issue/detail/article/the-myth-of-africas-ageing-farmers.html">findings</a>&nbsp;debunk the myth that most farmers in sub-Saharan Africa are over 60 years of age – far from it in fact.



According to the national government-administered data in the six countries, the average age of the agricultural workforce ranges from about 32 years to 39 years. Even when not counting young adults in the 15 to 24 year old range, the average age of the agricultural workforce ranges from 38 to 45 years of age. And even going beyond the generally accepted labour force age range of 15 to 64 years to include all elderly people of any age working in farming, the mean age of farmers barely changes.



This is explained by the fact that&nbsp;<a href="https://www.populationpyramid.net/africa/2020/">only 3%</a>&nbsp;of sub-Saharan Africa’s population is 65 years and over. And less than half of this group is economically active and engaged in farming.



Secondly, the average age of the agricultural workforce in the six African countries examined has either increased by one or two years or remained constant over the past decade. Between the first and latest survey periods, which spanned from seven to 12 years, the average age of the labour force in farming increased by less than two years in four of the six study countries (Ghana, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia). The mean farmer age remained unchanged in Nigeria and declined slightly in Tanzania.



In other words, the age of Africans in farming is barely rising, if at all. Considering that roughly 7 million to 10 million young people are entering the labour force in sub-Saharan Africa each year, it is easy to understand why the average age of the farming population is not rising, even with large numbers of young people partially or fully moving out of farming.



Based on these nationally representative surveys, it is clear that of the region’s many agricultural challenges, an ageing workforce in farming is fortunately not one of them.



Third, our study found that individuals in off-farm jobs are on average one to three years younger than those in farming, especially when the sample excludes the 15-24 year old age group.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">How to make farming profitable for young people</h2>



As highlighted in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00220388.2018.1430767?journalCode=fjds20">previous studies</a>, the share of employment in farming has been declining over time as opportunities for off-farm employment expand in Africa’s rapidly transforming economies. But farming still accounts for a significant proportion of the jobs held by working-age individuals and remains the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00220388.2018.1430767?journalCode=fjds20">single largest</a>&nbsp;employer of rural youth. Most of the jobs, however, are, part time.



It is true that many young people from rural areas are leaving farming as off-farm opportunities continue to expand. Nevertheless, most young people who are economically active remain engaged in farming. What is missing, however, is a critical mass of skilled young Africans with access to finance and know-how to drive productivity growth in farming and related value chains.



The idea of keeping young people in farming for fear of African agriculture becoming the preserve of the elderly is misplaced. A more effective strategy would prioritise resourcing the millions of rural youth already engaged in farming to make farming more profitable. Making agriculture “sexy” is not nearly as important as making it profitable. Young people will flock to agriculture if and when it becomes clear that it can make good money.



A related priority is to encourage skilled young Africans to apply their expertise to address the many policy, regulatory, and financing barriers that inhibit them from starting and expanding agribusiness firms that provide important services to African farmers.

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OPINION:There is no reversal of Zimbabwe’s land reform program

South Africa’s Eskom to implement power cuts on Tuesday after breakdowns

Zimbabwe says foreign white farmers can apply to get back seized land

Egypt signs $2 bln loan with regional, international banks -statement

Nigeria pays $14 mln for fuel in June despite subsidy removal – NNPC

South Africa’s RCL Foods reports 65% profit drop but offers dividend

S.Africa’s Sun International falls to half-year loss

Kenya central bank to rule on 2020 dividend issuance by banks

Ghana to reopen international air borders from Sept. 1, says president

Trump intel chief defends briefings ban, Democrats raise subpoena threat

United Airlines bids farewell to change fees in push for bookings

Zuckerberg says Facebook’s failure to remove militia page an ‘operational mistake’

Angola to join oil and extractives transparency group to fight corruption

OPINION: Growing Gauteng Together plan remodelled as part of reconstruction and recovery of the economy Post-COVID-19.

Angola to join oil and extractives transparency group

Nigeria capital imports sink 79% in second quarter as economy shrinks

African farmers are younger than you think. Here is why

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