Africa Business

[New Era] Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila has defended the N$6.2 billion allocated to the ministry of defence, saying civil operations of the ministry directly promote economic growth through their business activities and protection of the country's natural resources.

[New Era] The grief-stricken family of 43-year-old Bryan Hembapu, who died in the United Kingdom in March, have thanked Air Namibia for repatriating his remains for free.

[GroundUp] The Johannesburg labour court has ruled that retrenchment negotiations can take place over Zoom or other video conferencing facilities. Photo: Brian Turner via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

[Daily Maverick] Residents of Makhanda have won another victory against the Makana municipality, with a judge ordering that officials must report to the court on progress they make in fixing a serious sewage problem in the town. The municipality consented to the order after it failed to file opposing papers. This comes after Judge Igna Stretch ruled that the municipality should be dissolved for its unconstitutional failure to provide services to residents.

[News24Wire] Eastern Cape provincial government departments owe businesses a combined R2.3bn in outstanding payments.

[Daily Maverick] Can you choose lives or livelihoods in a province with the highest number of Covid-19 cases in SA? While Western Cape coronavirus cases keep rising, the province is dealing with several issues: economics, public health emergency and now, a testing backlog that has forced the province to choose who to test in the City of Cape Town.

[News24Wire] As the date of the return of pupils in Grades 7 and 12 draws nearer, education unions are still concerned that schools - especially those in rural areas - are not ready.

[New Times] During the budget presentation of the Ministry of Trade and Industry in parliament, it was heard that the National Employment Programme that operates under the ministry has a one-billion financing gap.

[New Times] The Rwanda Mines, Petroleum and Gas Board (RMB) has announced guidelines to contain the possible spread of Covid-19 amongst employees in the mining sector and any other person they may contact.

[Nyasa Times] Malawi Parliament was nearly thrown into turmoil on the first day of its National Budget meeting Friday morning as opposition legislators demanded the presence of President Peter Mutharika in performing the State-opening of the new session.

[Nyasa Times] Vice President Salous Chilima has assured civil servants and those working in parastatals that Tonse Alliance will introduce a new standardised salary structure for civil servants and those in public service which will be higher than what they are receiving now.

[Swazi Media] About 9,000 people in Swaziland (eSwatini) are about to lose their jobs because of the coronavirus lockdown in the kingdom.

[The Herald] Students, teachers and lecturers will be able to access more free data bundles for all mobile network operators and some internet access providers through an initiative of the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz).

[The Herald] Bank customers are now limited to two internal transactions a day, that is transactions to account holders with the same bank, as the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) steps up efforts to starve the forex black-market of transaction liquidity.

[The Herald] Public transport dramatically improved from Wednesday as Zupco-operated buses and kombis were allowed to increase sitting passengers to fill all seats, but standing passengers are still not allowed.

[The Herald] Masvingo -Government is giving high priority to the construction of Runde-Tende Dam in southern Masvingo, with Vice President Constantino Chiwenga saying the project would give impetus to the ongoing expansion of the winter maize project to engender food security.

[The Herald] Secretary for Finance and Economic Development Mr George Guvamatanga has said that Government observes strict gatekeeping and thorough value for money assessment before awarding tenders or extending procurement deals.

[The Herald] It is time the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority Holdings (ZESA) puts its house in order to ensure the pre-paid electronic system does not continue to inconvenience its customers, with the latest mess occurring at the beginning of a month, when many need to top up.

[Daily News] TWO weeks after Tanzanian and Kenyan leaders agreed on modalities for enabling truck drivers cross at border posts, Kenyan authorities have started blocking Tanzanian truckers from crossing Namanga frontier on grounds of lacking valid Covid-19 clearance certificates.

[Zimbabwe Independent] Zimbabwe's cash-strapped government has splurged millions of United States dollars on top-of-the-range vehicles, which include Toyota Hilux and Land Cruisers, for senior military officials at a time President Emmerson Mnangagwa's government is pleading for an economic bailout package from international financial institutions.

[spotlight] The rapid spread of COVID-19 has drawn attention to the vulnerabilities of global medicine supply chains, and the heavy worldwide reliance on China for the critical active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) that make medicines effective.

[East African] Just two days after low level Covid-19 responders went on strike, medical doctors in Sierra Leone have issued a strike notice over non-payment of allowances and incentives.

[Zimbabwe Independent] The increase in year-on-year inflation to 765,57% for April as well as the 22% increase in the cost of living has brought to the fore the deepening economic crisis in the country amid worsening levels of poverty.

[Zimbabwe Independent] The 2020 licensing of fuel-import companies has taken a dramatic twist after the High Court declared null and void the Zimbabwe Energy and Regulatory Authority (Zera)'s decision last month to licence eight big firms.

[Nation] At least one million Kenyans have lost their jobs or have been put on indefinite unpaid leave as the Covid-19 pandemic morphs into a major jobs crisis.

[Premium Times] Nigeria has nominated a former Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, as its candidate for the Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) election coming up next year.

[Premium Times] The Nigerian government has said the ongoing remediation project of the hitherto polluted Ogoniland, which was launched in 2016, has created 775 jobs for qualified Nigerians.

[This Day] Abuja and Lagos -The federal government thursday proceeded with the full deregulation of the downstream petroleum sector with the removal of the existing cap on petrol price, urging marketers to import and sell the product according to the dynamics of the forces of demand and supply.

[This Day] Abuja -Says work to begin at the Moshood Abiola Stadium in Abuja shortly

[Monitor] President Museveni has said Uganda's agriculture and ICT sector will not be affected by the current COVID-19 pandemic ravaging both people's lives and the real economy.