HARARE (Reuters) &#8211; Zimbabwe has increased the average electricity tariff by 320% to let the state power utility ramp up production and improve supplies at a time of daily rolling power cuts, the national energy regulator said on Wednesday.



Power cuts lasting up to 18 hours have hit mines, industry and homes and, together with a devastating drought, have been cited by the treasury as among the main reasons why the economy is set to contract by up to 6% this year. 



However, the jump in power costs will further anger Zimbabwean citizens who have in the last week seen sharp rises in fuel and basic goods prices. Salaries have not kept pace, prompting citizens to blame President Emmerson Mnangagwa&#8217;s policies for the worst economic crisis in a decade.



The Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA) said it had approved an application by Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) to raise the tariff to 162.16 cents (10.61 U.S. cents) from 38.61 cents.



This was the second increase in three months, following one in August.



ZERA said the tariff hike was necessary after inflation soared &#8211; the IMF says it was about 300% in August &#8211; and due to a plummeting Zimbabwe dollar currency, which was re-introduced in June.



The new tariff would allow ZETDC to raise money to repair its generators, as well as pay for imports from South Africa&#8217;s Eskom and Mozambique which cost U.S. $19.5 million every month, the regulator said.



Hopes that Zimbabwe&#8217;s economy would quickly rebound under Mnangagwa, who took over after the late Robert Mugabe was deposed in a coup in November 2017, have faded fast as ordinary people grapple with soaring inflation which has eroded earnings and savings.



(Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by Toby Chopra)

Here’s why Zimbabwe has quadrupled its electricity prices

By <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/sean-mfundza-muller-298216">Seán Mfundza Muller</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-johannesburg-1275">University of Johannesburg</a>

Recent <a href="http://www.eskom.co.za/news/Pages/2019Mar16.aspx">power cuts</a> and the <a href="https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/national/2019-02-21-eskom-bailout-to-reach-r150bn-in-10-years/">announcement</a> that South Africa’s power utility Eskom will be receiving R23billion (about USD$1.5billion) a year in government support for the foreseeable future are symptomatic of operational and financial crises at the utility. 

The conventional wisdom is that a major restructuring will address the crisis. But this is misleading. Defensible justifications for the restructuring are mostly about Eskom’s future problems, not its current ones. And there’s a risk that restructuring could exacerbate some of the underlying causes of the crisis.

The crisis itself is a function of a <a href="https://www.gtac.gov.za/Publications/160-casestudy_eskom_300413.pdf">complex set of factors</a>. These include an inappropriate tariff regime in the 1980s and 1990s, policy indecision in the post-apartheid era, bad infrastructure planning and poor project and human resource management. There’s also been large-scale corruption and a failure in government’s implementation of the oversight model for state-owned entities – as well as problems with the model itself. 

Two basic cases are being made for restructuring the 96-year old utility. The first is that, by formally splitting Eskom into managerially and financially autonomous components, it will be possible to improve management, better understand the source of existing problems, attract private investors and address corruption.

The second is that restructuring would facilitate a greater role for renewal energy generation driven by privately-funded generation projects. Eskom’s roles as generator, buyer and distributor of electricity would be separated to stop the utility’s generation interests from distorting its purchase and distribution decisions. 

Both cases are flawed. Eskom’s management and financial problems won’t necessarily go away simply by splitting it into three components. Any managerial benefits of separation can be overshadowed by difficulties in getting autonomous components to interact in a way that promotes the public interest, while private investors will not take on the unattractively debt-ridden components. 

And the case based on renewables has more to do with the need for South Africa to have a more appropriate energy mix that doesn’t rely so heavily on coal. It has little to do with Eskom’s underlying malaise. Renewables are on the table because of technological change and mass deployment of renewable energy internationally that has decreased costs, along with the need to meet climate change commitments. 

<h2>The proposal and its risks</h2>

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa and the Finance Minister Tito Mboweni have set out two main proposals to fix the utility. 

The first is a major injection of funds. Mboweni announced that the National Treasury will provide Eskom with R23billion in cash a year for between three and ten years. This is in addition to financial support in 2015 that exceeded R150billion in costs to the state. The financial support will largely be funded by reducing other government expenditure as well as an increase in borrowing. 

The second major announcement was that the power utility will be split into three components: generation, transmission and distribution. 

Financial support, although highly undesirable, has become unavoidable. The necessity of the restructuring, however, is questionable and it carries large risks.

Breaking Eskom up into three parts is touted as a way to improve information about operations and finances, and to reduce inefficiencies. In addition, some argue that it would help attract direct private sector financing. 

These claims are dubious. For instance, the claim about private sector financing rests on the assumption that private investors will get a guarantee of future tariffs or revenues. But a guarantee would also facilitate Eskom borrowing from financial markets itself. And the obstacle to such a provision is partly regulatory and partly that it would create a large contingent liability for the state. 

Similarly, private investors will only get involved where Eskom is expected to be profitable in the future. That means that the cost and debt overhangs from the country’s two biggest coal-powered fire stations, Medupi and Kusile, will remain the problem of government and citizens.

A great deal has been written about the restructuring of state-owned enterprises. There have been both successes and failures. International experience across many industries shows that while separation can have a positive effect, it can also lead to breakdown of communication and information flows, distortion of incentives relative to the public interest, decline in operational indicators and excessive profits for private participants. 

A prominent example is the <a href="https://theconversation.com/nationalising-britains-railways-is-the-only-way-to-fix-chronic-problems-heres-why-88591">privatisation of passenger rail in the UK</a>. What followed was a deterioration in services and subsequent, large government bailouts. 

The nature and extent of the risks in the case of Eskom’s unbundling require a detailed analysis. The current narrative gives them too little attention.

<h2>Overselling renewables</h2>

Those pushing renewable energy as the panacea are, in my view, downplaying the downsides and playing up the benefits – suggesting, for example, that it’s a costless solution. But it’s not. 

Decentralised renewable power generation by firms and households is rarely entirely “off grid”. When the sun doesn’t shine, electricity is drawn from the grid. But revenues from the sale of this electricity aren’t enough to fund the costs of the underlying generation and transmission infrastructure. 

Other countries have got round the problem by introducing a high “grid connection fee”. This hasn’t been given much attention in South African commentary. 

And while some have led the public to believe renewable energy will <a href="https://www.businessinsider.co.za/6-quick-fixes-that-can-save-south-africa-from-more-load-shedding-2019-3">ameliorate</a> Eskom’s operational crisis, they fail to mention that it could exacerbate the utility’s financial crisis. Adding renewable capacity does not remove the costs already incurred for new coal-fired power stations. And decentralised generation reduces Eskom’s revenues. 

There are other reasons to gradually expand South Africa’s renewable energy capacity. That is certainly <a href="https://theconversation.com/south-africas-power-utility-wants-to-finance-nuclear-this-is-a-bad-idea-67939">better than pursuing a nuclear power option</a>. But obscuring its downsides will lead to dangerously inaccurate beliefs about what is actually a very limited role for renewables in addressing the current crisis.

It would have been preferable if the dangers of restructuring Eskom had been properly considered before the the president and finance minister made their statements. But given that the path appears to be set, it is paramount that policymakers and the public be awake to its complexities and risks.<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/114333/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important" />

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/sean-mfundza-muller-298216">Seán Mfundza Muller</a>, Senior Lecturer in Economics and Research Associate at the Public and Environmental Economics Research Centre (PEERC), <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-johannesburg-1275">University of Johannesburg</a>

This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-restructuring-south-africas-power-utility-wont-end-the-blackouts-114333">original article</a>.

#LoadShedding: Restructuring South Africa’s Eskom won’t end power cuts in the country, here’s why…

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa’s gold and platinum mines will shed around 90,000 jobs in the next three years as above-inflation electricity price increases by power utility Eskom add to already soaring operating costs, an industry body said on Monday.



“In total, as many as 90,222 jobs would be at risk solely as a result of the MYPD4 tariff increases granted by Eskom,” the Minerals Council South Africa said in a presentation.



Job cuts are politically sensitive in Africa’s most industrialised economy where a quarter of the labour force is unemployed, while power outages and steep price increases by Eskom are set to hurt an already fragile growth outlook.



In February, miner Sibanye-Stillwater said it planned to cut nearly 6,000 jobs in a restructuring of its gold mining operations, while Gold Fields said last year it could slash 1,100 jobs, and Impala Platinum plans to cut its workforce by a third.

What you need to know about Eskom’s price hike that is expected to cost South Africa 90,000 mining jobs

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) &#8211; Ethiopian Airlines said on Monday it would keep close ties with U.S. planemaker Boeing even though questions remained about its 737 MAX 8 model, after a crash shortly after take off this month killed 157 people. 



CEO Tewolde Gebremariam also promised to work closely with an investigation into the March 10 incident, after reports that the probe was under strain because the Ethiopian authorities were not sharing information with international partners.



Boeing has come under intense scrutiny since the crash, the second in five months involving its new 737 MAX 8 model. But Tewolde said the airline’s relationship with Boeing was sound.



“Despite the tragedy, Boeing and Ethiopian Airlines will continue to be linked well into the future,” he said, in his most extensive written statement since the incident.



“We pledge to work with Boeing and our colleagues in all the airlines to make air travel even safer,” he said, although he added: “Many questions on the B-737 MAX airplane remain without answers.”



He said he did not want to speculate on the cause of the crash, but defended the airline’s training programme.



Boeing’s 737 MAX fleet has been grounded worldwide, wiping $28 billion off the company’s market value and throwing doubt over advance orders of the plane, worth more than $500 billion.



Tewolde said he supported the decision to halt flights of the plane. “Until we have answers, putting one more life at risk is too much,” he said,



Tewolde said both pilots of the doomed Ethiopian Airlines plane had been fully trained “beyond” the requirements of Boeing and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.



The airline’s Aviation Academy annually trains more than 2,000 pilots, flight attendants, maintenance workers and other employees for Ethiopian Airlines and other African carriers, he said.



“We are the company others turn to for aviation expertise,” he said, adding the company had invested more than $500 million in the last five years in training and other infrastructure in their Addis Ababa base.



Writing by Katharine Houreld; Editing by Edmund Blair

Here’s why Ethiopian Airlines is committing to Boeing ties despite crash

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa is likely to harvest 16 percent less maize in 2019 compared with the previous season after drought delayed plantings, a Reuters poll showed on Monday.



The government’s Crop Estimates Committee (CEC), which will provide its second production forecast for the 2019 crop on Tuesday, is seen pegging the harvest at 10.482 million tonnes, down from the 12.510 million tonnes in the 2017/2018 season, the poll six traders and market analysts showed.



The 2019 harvest is expected to consist of 5.317 million tonnes of the food staple white maize and 5.165 million tonnes of yellow maize, which is used mainly in animal feed.



The crop is slightly higher than the country’s annual consumption of around 10 million tonnes but the production outlook could still be dampened by warmer weather.



“The medium term weather outlook still calls&nbsp;for better growing conditions across most production areas. However, frost damage may dampen the production outlook specifically for the late plantings in parts of the Free State and the North,” said FNB senior agricultural economist Paul Makube.



White maize prices are just below highs reached in January of 3,350 rand on fears that yields would be hit by delayed plantings, with the contract ending July closing at 3,052 rand on Friday.



Reporting by Tanisha Heiberg; editing by Darren Schuettler

Why South Africa is likely to harvest 16 % less maize in 2019

An Ethiopian Airlines passenger jet has crashed as it was making its way to Nairobi, Kenya. The jet is believed to have crashed 6 minutes after take-off from Addis Ababa Bole International Airport in Ethiopia. 



Ethiopian Airlines believes that the jet was carrying 149 passengers and 8 crew members on board. 



Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took to twitter to express his condolences to those who have lost loved ones in the crash. 



<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">The Office of the PM, on behalf of the Government and people of Ethiopia, would like to express it’s deepest condolences to the families of those that have lost their loved ones on Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 on regular scheduled flight to Nairobi, Kenya this morning.— Office of the Prime Minister &#8211; Ethiopia (@PMEthiopia) <a href="https://twitter.com/PMEthiopia/status/1104650609951719427?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 10, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Ethiopian Airlines released a number of helplines on their twitter account that family or friends of those who may have been on flight to get more information. 



<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">Below are phone numbers for information Airport emergency hotline 011 5 17 87 33 0115 17 47 35 For all information necessary 011 5 17 89 45 011 5 17 89 87 011 5 17 82 31 011 5 17 85 58— Ethiopian Airlines (@flyethiopian) <a href="https://twitter.com/flyethiopian/status/1104675981539852288?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 10, 2019</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">Airport emergency hotline (251)11 5 17 87 33 (251)115 17 47 35 (251)11 5 17 41 00 For all information necessary (251)11 5 17 89 45 (251)11 5 17 89 87 (251)11 5 17 82 31 (251)11 5 17 85 58— Ethiopian Airlines (@flyethiopian) <a href="https://twitter.com/flyethiopian/status/1104684228602744834?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 10, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Ethiopian Airlines flight crashes in Addis Ababa en route to Nairobi

Nigerians finally head to the polls for the keenly contested presidential and national assembly elections. 



<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">Dear Nigerians, The slogan for <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NigeriaDecides?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NigeriaDecides</a> is “We must vote” It’s your right!<a href="https://t.co/mCXK2esWI3">pic.twitter.com/mCXK2esWI3</a>&mdash; Uchenna (@Demoore90210) <a href="https://twitter.com/Demoore90210/status/1099294928956465152?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 23, 2019</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">Election coverage kit loaded! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NigeriaDecides2019?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NigeriaDecides2019</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/cnbcafrica?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@cnbcafrica</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Christycolep?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Christycolep</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/KennethIgbomor?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KennethIgbomor</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Estheroawoniyi?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Estheroawoniyi</a> <a href="https://t.co/qHsuN8XRO5">pic.twitter.com/qHsuN8XRO5</a>&mdash; Wole Famurewa (@WoleFamurewa) <a href="https://twitter.com/WoleFamurewa/status/1099187036366557184?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 23, 2019</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">Yass!!! This woman is not here for the foolishness! All business baby!! ??<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/mood?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#mood</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/voting?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#voting</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NigeriaDecide2019?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NigeriaDecide2019</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ElectionisNotWar?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ElectionisNotWar</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Election2019?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Election2019</a> photo Crd:<a href="https://twitter.com/FarabaleAfrica?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FarabaleAfrica</a> <a href="https://t.co/Y35EhQo9Cy">pic.twitter.com/Y35EhQo9Cy</a>&mdash; Uchenna.U (@mildyche) <a href="https://twitter.com/mildyche/status/1099334281984380929?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 23, 2019</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">Electoral material arriving unit 22 on Water cooperation drive, Oniru, Lagos at 8:57 am. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NigeriaDecides2019?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NigeriaDecides2019</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NigeriaDecides410?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NigeriaDecides410</a> <a href="https://t.co/sQbFsNDODZ">pic.twitter.com/sQbFsNDODZ</a>&mdash; Wole Famurewa (@WoleFamurewa) <a href="https://twitter.com/WoleFamurewa/status/1099226591132110848?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 23, 2019</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">&quot;It is empty&quot;. Electoral officers showing ballot boxes before voting. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NigeriaDecides2019?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NigeriaDecides2019</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NigeriaDecides410?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NigeriaDecides410</a> <a href="https://t.co/PSa3VyVyRX">pic.twitter.com/PSa3VyVyRX</a>&mdash; Wole Famurewa (@WoleFamurewa) <a href="https://twitter.com/WoleFamurewa/status/1099227020335243264?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 23, 2019</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">The ballot boxes. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NigeriaDecides2019?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NigeriaDecides2019</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NigeriaDecides410?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NigeriaDecides410</a> <a href="https://t.co/TE6vIMv355">pic.twitter.com/TE6vIMv355</a>&mdash; Wole Famurewa (@WoleFamurewa) <a href="https://twitter.com/WoleFamurewa/status/1099227570443292674?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 23, 2019</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">So this essentially happened in most places in Lagos where majorly Igbos live. Nigeria will always find a way to break your heart ? ??? <a href="https://t.co/2XaN7tPQqw">pic.twitter.com/2XaN7tPQqw</a>&mdash; Sparklezzzzz (@Sparklezzzzz1) <a href="https://twitter.com/Sparklezzzzz1/status/1099320403942694912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 23, 2019</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><a href="https://twitter.com/inecnigeria?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@inecnigeria</a> This happened at Isolo Lagos, votes were set on fire<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NigeriaDecides2019?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NigeriaDecides2019</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ElectionNotWar?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ElectionNotWar</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NigeriaDecides?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NigeriaDecides</a> <a href="https://t.co/rZ6Z01Ifzk">pic.twitter.com/rZ6Z01Ifzk</a>&mdash; WINNERMAN WILLZ (@Lightss_Up) <a href="https://twitter.com/Lightss_Up/status/1099292431349092352?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 23, 2019</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">This is happening in Okota. <a href="https://twitter.com/inecnigeria?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@inecnigeria</a> what happens to their vote?<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ElectionNotWar?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ElectionNotWar</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NigeriaDecides2019?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NigeriaDecides2019</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NigeriaDecides?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NigeriaDecides</a> <a href="https://t.co/rQrvoPh9dV">pic.twitter.com/rQrvoPh9dV</a>&mdash; ??? (@miss_ooma) <a href="https://twitter.com/miss_ooma/status/1099303230054547457?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 23, 2019</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NigeriaDecides410?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NigeriaDecides410</a>: Voters at Asokoro 111, ECOWAS secretariat (Garki) all smiles and ready to cast their votes. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NigeriaDecides2019?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NigeriaDecides2019</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/2019Elections?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#2019Elections</a> <a href="https://t.co/ev6YIuzpNZ">pic.twitter.com/ev6YIuzpNZ</a>&mdash; CNBC Africa (@cnbcafrica) <a href="https://twitter.com/cnbcafrica/status/1099254118684807168?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 23, 2019</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">Did you know that there are 84.2 million people have registered to vote in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Nigeria?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Nigeria</a>&#39;s 2019 presidential elections? The youth represents 51.1% of the registered voters. Source: INEC <a href="https://twitter.com/inecnigeria?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@inecnigeria</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NigeriaDecides?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NigeriaDecides</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NigeriaDecides2019?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NigeriaDecides2019</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CNBCAfrica?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CNBCAfrica</a> <a href="https://t.co/JGp7Cm25bC">pic.twitter.com/JGp7Cm25bC</a>&mdash; CNBC Africa (@cnbcafrica) <a href="https://twitter.com/cnbcafrica/status/1099256647166410752?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 23, 2019</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">Who gets the Nigerian vote? Follow it all vote by vote live on ⁦<a href="https://twitter.com/cnbcafrica?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@cnbcafrica</a>⁩ at 4 pm CAT <a href="https://t.co/aCDrF9mw49">pic.twitter.com/aCDrF9mw49</a>&mdash; Chris Bishop (@ChrisBishopZA) <a href="https://twitter.com/ChrisBishopZA/status/1099281223615164417?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 23, 2019</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NigeriaDecides410?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NigeriaDecides410</a>: Counting and sorting ongoing at polling unit 028 Maitama, Abuja and polling unit 037 Victoria Island, Lagos respectively. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NigeriaDecides2019?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NigeriaDecides2019</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/2019Elections?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#2019Elections</a> <a href="https://t.co/340LeLKsu4">pic.twitter.com/340LeLKsu4</a>&mdash; CNBC Africa (@cnbcafrica) <a href="https://twitter.com/cnbcafrica/status/1099309912000266240?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 23, 2019</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">The <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/electionday?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#electionday</a> came and <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ivoted?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ivoted</a>. Proudly!! <a href="https://t.co/vGOTsZXwVx">pic.twitter.com/vGOTsZXwVx</a>&mdash; Asaba Boy (@_aideology) <a href="https://twitter.com/_aideology/status/1099327828322123777?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 23, 2019</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">Voting done and dusted, my polling Unit was generally peaceful, though we had to stay in the sun for over two hours, it was a time well spent chatting with neighbors, especially my <a href="https://twitter.com/elevationng?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@elevationng</a> connect group members who turned out to cast their votes. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/election2019?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#election2019</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ivoted?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ivoted</a> <a href="https://t.co/MaYoBFvxWw">pic.twitter.com/MaYoBFvxWw</a>&mdash; Godman Akinlabi (@PGeeman) <a href="https://twitter.com/PGeeman/status/1099306682176454656?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 23, 2019</a></blockquote>
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[IN TWEETS] Nigerians head to the polls

(Reuters) &#8211; Amazon.com Inc (<a href="https://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=AMZN.O">AMZN.O</a>) on Tuesday joined Apple Inc (<a href="https://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=AAPL.O">AAPL.O</a>) in the $1 trillion club, becoming the second member of the group after its stock price doubled in 15 months.
If the online retailer’s share price continues at its recent pace, it will be a matter of when, not if, Amazon’s market valuation eclipses that of iPhone maker Apple, which reached $1 trillion on Aug. 2.
Apple took almost 38 years as a public company to achieve the trillion dollar milestone, while Amazon got there in 21 years. While Apple’s iPhone and other devices remain popular and its revenues are growing, it is not keeping up with Amazon’s blistering sales growth.
Amazon has impressed investors by successfully diversifying its business into virtually every corner of the retail industry, altering how consumers buy products and putting major pressure on many brick-and-mortar stores.
It also provides video streaming services and bought upscale supermarket Whole Foods. And its cloud computing services for companies have become a major driver of earnings and revenue.
“Amazon’s a little bit more dynamic than Apple because the iPhone has become more mature. Amazon’s cloud business is an extra growth driver that Apple doesn’t have,” said Daniel Morgan, portfolio manager at Synovus Trust in Atlanta, Georgia who describes Amazon’s cloud services as its “crown jewel.”
In the second quarter the unit accounted for 55 percent of Amazon’s operating income and 20 percent of total revenue, according to Morgan.
Apple started trading in December 1980 but its stock did not truly start to take flight for another 25 years, spurred by the iPhone, the breakthrough device that left competitors in the dust.
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Amazon &#8211; founded as an online book-retailer in Chief Executive Jeff Bezos’ garage in 1994 &#8211; started trading on May 15 1997 at $1.50 on a split-adjusted basis.
By October 2009 it had risen to $100 and the stock hit $1,000 for the first time on May 30, 2017. It has held above that level since October 27, 2017.
Just 10 months later, on Aug. 30, Amazon shares hit $2,000 for the first time, just $50 per share away from giving the company a $1 trillion market value. That milestone, just a month after it reached a $900 billion valuation threshold.
Amazon shares were last up 1.1 percent at $2,035.69, pulling back slightly from the milestone level of $2050.2677.
Amazon currently trades up 74.0 percent for the year to date. In comparison, Apple has risen about34.7 percent year to date.
Analysts expect Apple’s revenue to jump 14.9 percent in its fiscal year ending in September, according to Thomson Reuters data, a hefty rise but still far short of Amazon’s expected revenue growth of 32 percent for 2018.
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Additional reporting by Noel Randewich in San Francisco; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli
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Amazon becomes second publicly traded U.S. company to reach $1 trillion market value, why it could pass Apple

BAMAKO (Reuters) &#8211; Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita won re-election with 67 percent of the vote in a run-off against opposition rival Soumaila Cisse, the Ministry of Territorial Administration said on Thursday.
The victory hands Keita a second five-year term in the mostly desert West African country where militant violence and claims of fraud by the opposition marred the poll.
Keita’s now faces the giant task of lifting Mali out of a spiral of Islamist and ethnic violence in the center and north where attacks worsened in the months leading up to the vote despite the presence of U.N. and French troops.
Threats by jihadist militants forced nearly 500 polling stations &#8211; about two percent of the total &#8211; to stay closed during Sunday’s run-off, the government said. One election official was killed in northern Niafunke, in Timbuktu region.
It also meant voter turnout of over 2.7 million people was a muted 34 percent of the electorate.
Cisse has accused the Keita’s campaign of ballot stuffing and tweaking electoral rolls to secure the win, accusations Keita denies.
Despite the bitter rhetoric leading up to Thursday’s results, however, the streets of Bamako and other main cities remained calm this week. The country exports gold and cotton.
Reporting By Tiemoko Diallo; Writing by Edward McAllister; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg

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