The CNBC Conversation with Nicole Stott

The CNBC Conversation with Space for Art Foundation Founder, Nicole Stott

Africa’s most influential connectivity event comes to Rwanda

Shared Value Africa Initiative: Safaricom’s Kiptinness on the importance of achieving sustainability

Focus on Africa Conference: Building integrated freight systems to boost intra-African trade

EdTech Monday: Advancing Girls’ Education Through Digital Learning

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="429" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Gerrit-Schmidt-III-MSc-is-Chief-Commercial-Officer-at-SFO-and-Head-of-Affinity-Research-at-Stellenbosch-Institute-for-Family-Governance.-820x429.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-417587" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Gerrit-Schmidt-III-MSc-is-Chief-Commercial-Officer-at-SFO-and-Head-of-Affinity-Research-at-Stellenbosch-Institute-for-Family-Governance.-820x429.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Gerrit-Schmidt-III-MSc-is-Chief-Commercial-Officer-at-SFO-and-Head-of-Affinity-Research-at-Stellenbosch-Institute-for-Family-Governance.-300x157.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Gerrit-Schmidt-III-MSc-is-Chief-Commercial-Officer-at-SFO-and-Head-of-Affinity-Research-at-Stellenbosch-Institute-for-Family-Governance.-160x84.jpg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Gerrit-Schmidt-III-MSc-is-Chief-Commercial-Officer-at-SFO-and-Head-of-Affinity-Research-at-Stellenbosch-Institute-for-Family-Governance.-768x402.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Gerrit-Schmidt-III-MSc-is-Chief-Commercial-Officer-at-SFO-and-Head-of-Affinity-Research-at-Stellenbosch-Institute-for-Family-Governance..jpg 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /></figure>



Family Governance is not a buzzword. It has global economic relevance.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Stellenbosch Institute for Family Governance, by SFO, partners with Stellenbosch Business School to pilot AffinityLab; a family focused research incubator to nurture and stimulate familial cooperation in Ultra-High-Net-Worth (UHNW) families.



Featured in June/July 2022 issue of Forbes Africa 



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="429" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/30-under-30-820x429.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-417651" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/30-under-30-820x429.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/30-under-30-300x157.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/30-under-30-160x84.jpg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/30-under-30-768x402.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/30-under-30-1536x804.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/30-under-30-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /></figure>



Data from research providers in financial services and academia support the relevance of thinking in familial terms. Forbes projects the greatest wealth transfer in history from baby-boomers to next generation custodians, estimated at over 30 trillion dollars over the next 20 years, with significant inherent risk of failure.&nbsp; According to the Oxford Ownership Project, an estimated 70% of global businesses are owned by families.&nbsp;



Everyday interactions with family enterprises are closer to home for people buying products from big brands such as Louis Vuitton, Samsung and LEGO. Family governance is relevant, and it is in the interest of the world economy for family enterprises to grow, whereas the families which own them are likely to grow apart.



Family governance, especially familial cooperation, remains a challenging topic due to the complexity of relations in these organisations, compounded by the newly realised knowledge gap. Industry-wide, financial services professionals understand the need for sound governance but run the risk of putting the cart in front of the horse by relying on so-called best practices of what worked elsewhere. Rather, we as financial services professionals, should be working with families to develop the best familial cooperation practices that are relevant for them and their context.



A deeper understanding of cooperation within families is key to gain traction with family governance. But, if a family is unable to work together as a family of affinity foremost, one cannot reasonably expect wealth transfers to be sustainably successful.



AffinityLab intends to address latent familial cooperation needs. UHNW families typically consist of multi-generational branches with members located in various jurisdictions, pushing global families to rethink wealth management strategies beyond investment performance. In times of geopolitical crises questions around goal-based investing are extending to goal-based living, reaffirming the need for a consolidated strategic approach to family governance. Starting with the need to establish Affinity as a primary goal of family and puts familial cooperation squarely in the research focus of AffinityLab.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">“Cooperation needs to be at the heart of family strategy for families to realise goal-based living together. Family Governance starts with Affinity.” – Gerrit Schmidt III (Chief Commercial Officer at SFO). </blockquote>



Entitlement and perceived inequitability frame familiar problems in UHNW families. These problems negatively influence family organisations and do not typically allow for cooperation or a sense of interrelated affinity. Furthermore, these problems intensify alienation and place unique strain on family branches, driving at best, superficial cooperation for short-term gains. Once this occurs, it is a question of time before the family implodes, dividing their assets at the cost of cooperating as a family.



The family is stronger by design if able to meaningfully engage members, at varying levels of involvement, in their enterprise. The purpose of an enterprising family should not be limited to a specific industry or specialism. Family purpose should, however, be specific to the ideals of working together as a purpose-led organisation with established collaboration from members who share the common vision and lived purpose. Stellenbosch Institute for Family Governance by SFO specialises in family-management consulting by helping businesses and business families to realise these ideals. We design family structures conducive to nurturing inclusivity and developing proficient Ultimate Beneficial Owners.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Coming back to the idea of putting the cart in front of the horse, financial services providers should primarily be thinking in terms of succession development and designing purposeful family structures conducive to more than tax efficiency and return maximisation.&nbsp;



The qualitative aspects of wealth management matter and the disruptive work of Africa’s first Institute for Family Governance has the potential to shift family enterprise futures, stimulating the global economy.



Family Governance starts with Affinity. Started by SFO. A family focused financial services group.

Gerrit Schmidt III (MSc) is Chief Commercial Officer at SFO and Head of Affinity Research at Stellenbosch Institute for Family Governance.

Family Governance Starts with Affinity

LONDON/NEW YORK, May 27 (Reuters)



The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has received $40 billion in pledges for its new Resilience and Sustainability Trust to address challenges such as climate change, IMF head Kristalina Georgieva said on Friday, close to their target set last month.



Building resilience to the effects of climate change will cost trillions of dollars over the next decade, she said in a pre-recorded speech broadcast to the Ibrahim Governance Forum, an Africa-focused conference.



Climate investment globally needs to increase by up to six times from the roughly $640 billion spent in 2020, to keep global temperatures from rising more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report said in April.



&#8220;The devastating effects of climate change are robbing Africa of lives and livelihoods,&#8221; Georgieva told the conference, which was scheduled to mark six months until the COP27 climate conference in Cairo.



The IMF launched the new financing facility for low and middle-income countries in April, with the goal of raising at least $45 billion.



Its finance director had said it would need to receive &#8220;a substantial fraction&#8221; of the total before starting operations of the new trust by the time of the meetings of the IMF and World Bank in October.



Georgieva said at the conference that many African countries were dealing with droughts that were increasing food and political insecurity.



&#8220;Now the surge in food, fuel and fertiliser prices have dramatically raised import costs, all in the context of already high sovereign debt and limited fiscal capacity,&#8221; Georgieva said.



&#8220;African countries cannot face these overlapping crises &#8211; climate, food, pandemic &#8211; alone,&#8221; she said, adding that IMF lending to African countries in the last year was 13 times the annual average.



Reporting by Rachel Savage and Rodrigo Campos; Editing by John Stonestreet and Edmund Blair

IMF story

IMF secures $40 billion so far for new sustainability trust

Biased cultural norms, limited technology access, and biased teaching and learning materials perpetuate the STEM education imbalance between boys and girls.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Ghana_00693-1-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-417156" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Ghana_00693-1-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Ghana_00693-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Ghana_00693-1-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Ghana_00693-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Ghana_00693-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Ghana_00693-1-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /></figure>



Ensuring that girls receive a quality education is the most powerful investment we can make in our collective future. Educated women are more likely to marry at a later age, have fewer children, earn higher incomes and build better lives for themselves and their families. The World Bank has even said that without improvements in gender equality, <a href="https://blogs.worldbank.org/nasikiliza/how-empowering-women-can-help-end-poverty-africa">we will not reduce poverty</a> in Africa.



Addressing the under-representation of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses is a central part of improving girls&#8217; education in Africa. The choice could not be more clear: if Africa does not make significant progress in getting more girls in the sciences, its progress towards sustainable development will be compromised.



However, in many countries across the continent, <a href="https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/sites/teacheng/files/2022-04/Girls%27%20education%20and%20empowerment.pdf">social norms and traditions prevent</a> girls from pursuing educational opportunities. In Sudan, for instance, many families with children see girls’ priority as domestic chores over schoolwork. Evidence shows that African girls who spend 28 hours per week on household duties and caregiving attend school 25% less than those with just 10 hours of weekly domestic chores. In a continent where girls are far more often pressured to work in the home than boys are, it results in major gender disparities in learning.



Some will argue that technology could be the solution, providing digital access to learning that girls might not otherwise have. However, gender norms already limit girls’ access to technology, and have had a disproportionate<a href="https://www.britishcouncil.org/sites/default/files/sub-saharan_africa_education_series_21_july_r.pdf"> impact on their learning opportunities during the Covid-19 lockdowns</a>.



In Ethiopia, parents are more likely to deny girls access to mobile phones as they want to protect them from<a href="https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/sites/teacheng/files/2022-04/Girls%27%20education%20and%20empowerment.pdf"> exposure to unsafe content</a>. One <a href="https://www.girlsandmobile.org/">study</a> found that for boys, cost is the biggest barrier to mobile phone access, while for girls, social norms are the main constraint; a large majority of boys do not have to seek permission to use technology while nearly half of girls do.



Globally, the<a href="https://www.girlsandmobile.org/"> disparity between boys and girls</a> is so great that boys are 50% more likely to own a mobile phone than girls and more than half of girls have to borrow a mobile phone if they want access, compared with only 28% of boys.



There is also significant disparity in how girls and boys are treated in the classroom itself, especially in STEM subjects. Teachers often demonstrate the same gender biases as parents, sub-consciously encouraging boys ahead of girls by calling on them first or more often to answer science-related questions. Teaching materials and textbook examples further deepen the divide with more references to boys and male success than that of women and girls.



Data from the OECD reveals a strong correlation between 15-year-old boys&#8217; self-confidence in STEM subjects and their higher performance versus girls’. Yet boys&#8217; brains are no more effective at STEM problem-solving than girls&#8217;, and there are<a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29484644/"> negligible gender differences in children’s maths skills</a>. What evidence does show, however, is that girls&#8217; self-perception, due to community pressures and biases, are the primary reason for girls succeeding less in many countries in STEM studies and careers.



The most immediate way to nurture their confidence in the sciences is to increase girls’ exposure to high-quality, inclusive science instruction in schools. Girls’ familiarity with STEM is a key part of building their self-confidence in it.



That’s why the British Council is tackling some of these issues in a drive to increase and sustain access, interest, participation and performance of girls in these subjects at all levels:



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Making Coding Fun for Girls After-school coding clubs #LearningToCode are being piloted in Kenya and South Africa to give girls exposure and access to technology and build their confidence through fun activities in a creative and safe environment.</li><li>Training Teachers on Gender Inclusion Through teacher training across many African countries, in conjunction with ministries of education and teacher training colleges, we are skilling-up teachers to be more gender inclusive in the classroom and making them aware of biases and how they can affect girls.</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Digital Skills in the Classroom We work with the Wikimedia Foundation in Ghana on our Skills for Success programme which is focused on building teacher training colleges capacity to skill-up teachers in digital technology so they can bring that to the kids in their classrooms. This is particularly important for girls who are less likely to get exposure to technology at home.</li><li>School Leadership Training We work with school leaders across Africa to teach more inclusive styles of school management, promoting reflective learning.</li></ul>



These are just some examples of the systems changes that can be achieved. We encourage aid agencies, ministries of education and other partners to consider the wide-reaching benefits of creating societies in which&nbsp;girls can achieve their potential in STEM.



The British Council welcomes the opportunity to co-create impactful, needs based education programmes in partnership with like-minded organisations.







Andrew Zerzan is the Deputy Regional Director and Director of Education, Arts &amp; Civil Society for British Council in Sub Saharan Africa.



Andrew is an international programme leader, passionate about finding solutions to complex social and cultural challenges. He has more than 15 years’ experience in international programme strategy, partnership development and project management.



Andrew joined the Council in 2014 and has held several roles including, Global Director of Education, Global Head of Business Delivery, and Director of Risk and Security.



Prior to joining British Council, Andrew worked with several organisations including the World Bank, Gates Foundation and Reed Elsevier plc. In 2004 he launched a start-up education business, pioneering a high-tech approach to learning and connecting people from different cultures and geographies.



Andrew was commended by the City of London for innovative risk management in the Risk Management Awards of 2014.



Andrew has experience of living and working in Europe, Africa and Asia, and is currently based in Nairobi with his family and dog. Andrew has weathered the pandemic appreciating the ingenuity of African youth to thrive regardless of the challenges they face.

Ghana_00693_British Council

Closing the gender gap in African STEM education

As the South African economy is slowly and cautiously emerging from the devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic, organisations are starting to look to the future and what emerging trends hold for their business.



One such trend is the concept of the Metaverse which, in essence, represents the convergence of digital and physical world.&nbsp; It’s a 3D virtual space where users can gather as a group of avatars, interacting with one another in surroundings that replicate the physical world with select modifications.



It’s almost sounds like the real world and Sci-Fi is finally starting to cross paths, and ironically the idea is based on a Neal Stephenson’s book&nbsp;Snow Crash&nbsp;published 30 years ago.&nbsp;



The Metaverse concept opens a world of opportunities for users to try out various activities from travelling, shopping, trying on clothes and attending virtual concerts. And already major brands are entering the Metaverse, so to speak, eager to find a place in this immersive Internet experience.



Preparing for the Metaverse



The world is going through major digital and technological changes, which in turn means organisation must keep up with current customer demand while also remaining agile and ready for future economic environments.



And whilst the Metaverse is still a concept for now, given its immersive nature, it can present a myriad of opportunities for companies. Organisations must be ready to bring their digital presence to the next level once the Metaverse becomes a reality.



The opportunities are exiting, with the post-Covid hybrid or remote working environments, organisation should leverage these increasingly creative virtual business experiences to connect and collaborate with their own people, enhance their business process, and maintain a competitive edge.



Bringing the Metaverse Closer to the Edge



The Metaverse will undoubtedly be persistent and comprise of large amounts of information. Connecting to this digital reality will require fast and reliable online speed to manage the requisite bandwidth and interoperability demand.



However, latency can also become a major concern, and this is where edge computing bridges the gap. The Metaverse trend will further drive the adoption of edge computing as it is a key infrastructure that enables the Metaverse to reach full potential, enabling providers to scale their offerings sustainably.



A sustainable, virtual world



Unfortunately, with the increase in data volume, bandwidth, and continuous operations, comes higher energy usage and even more heat release from IT gear.



Leveraging existing infrastructure can help to reduce the formation of new and bigger data centres that could potentially negatively impact the environment. Already the pandemic resulted in an increase in data centre functionality, with the construction of hyperscale data centres spreading across the world due to the surge in cloud services that require large-scale servers and storage.



If the pandemic can bring about such a massive leap, the realisation of this virtual world integrating with our daily functions will require super computing power and sophisticated, edge computing-powered data centres.



It is therefore important that as companies move towards the Metaverse, and commission more data centres to support their individual offerings, they should work with experts to organise and prioritise data centre sustainability.



Organisations should review their current energy mix and consider clean technologies to address their carbon footprint and prepare for future expansion efforts like the Metaverse.

Why big business is pumping billions into the metaverse

Opinion piece: The post-pandemic era and the Metaverse – are we ready?

Why Diesel Is Driving Up The Cost Of Everything

The CNBC Conversation with Lord Karan Bilimoria

What to expect at the Gauteng Infrastructure Investment Summit

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/107005904-1643117857182-gettyimages-1237577245-widak-bitcoind220106_npTUo-1.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-414837" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/107005904-1643117857182-gettyimages-1237577245-widak-bitcoind220106_npTUo-1.jpg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/107005904-1643117857182-gettyimages-1237577245-widak-bitcoind220106_npTUo-1-300x169.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/107005904-1643117857182-gettyimages-1237577245-widak-bitcoind220106_npTUo-1-160x90.jpg 160w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>Artur Widak | NurPhoto | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



As cryptocurrency investors reel from the sharp sell-off in <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/quotes/btc=x/">bitcoin</a> and other digital currencies, some fear the worst is yet to come.



Bitcoin, the world’s largest virtual currency, briefly plunged below $33,000 Monday to its lowest level since July. It’s since recovered back above the $36,000 mark, but is still down almost 50% from a record high of nearly $69,000 in November.



Meanwhile, the entire crypto market has shed more than $1 trillion in value since bitcoin’s all-time high, as top tokens such as ether and solana followed the No. 1 digital currency to trade sharply lower. <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/quotes/eth=x/">Ether</a> has more than halved in value since reaching its peak in November, while solana has suffered an even steeper decline, falling 65%.



That’s got some crypto investors talking about the possibility of a “crypto winter,” a phrase referring to major bear markets in the young digital currency market’s history. The most recent such occurrence happened in late 2017 and early 2018, when bitcoin crashed as much as 80% from all-time highs.



David Marcus, the former head of crypto at Facebook-parent Meta, appeared to admit a crypto winter has already arrived. In a tweet Monday, he said: “It’s during crypto winters that the best entrepreneurs build the better companies. This is the time again to focus on solving real problems vs. pumping tokens.”



Nadya Ivanova, chief operating officer at the BNP Paribas-affiliated tech research firm L’Atelier, said she’s not convinced a crypto winter has arrived yet — but the market is “now in a cooling off period.” That might not be so bad, she says.



“Over the last year — especially with all the hype in this market — a lot of developers seem to have been distracted by the easy gains from speculation in NFTs (non-fungible tokens) and other digital assets. A cooling off period might actually be an opportunity to start building the fundamentals of the market,” Ivanova told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe.”



Crypto’s rout has come in tandem with a slide in global stocks. Experts say that involvement from large institutional funds has meant digital assets are becoming more intertwined with traditional markets.



The S&amp;P 500 has fallen 8% since the start of the year, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq index is down over 12%. And the correlation between bitcoin’s performance and that of the S&amp;P 500 has been on the rise lately.



Traders fear potential interest rate hikes and aggressive monetary tightening from the Federal Reserve will drain liquidity from the market. The U.S. central bank is considering making such moves in response to surging inflation, and some analysts say it could result in the end of the era of ultra-cheap money and sky-high valuations — especially in high-growth sectors like tech, which benefits from lower rates since companies often borrow funds to invest in their business.



“I think it’s related to the rout and withdrawal from risky assets overall,” Ivanova said of bitcoin’s recent decline.



The moves lower in major digital coins has been a boon to stablecoins, or digital currencies that track the value of sovereign currencies like the U.S. dollar. USD Coin, the second-largest stablecoin, has added over $5 billion in market value since Sunday, according to data from CoinGecko.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-correction"><a></a>Correction?</h2>



Vijay Ayyar, vice president of corporate development and international at crypto exchange Luno, thinks the recent slump in crypto is more of a “correction” than a sustained downturn.



Bitcoin has typically seen “blow-off tops” before diving 80% or more, he said. This refers to a chart pattern which shows a steep increase in price and trading volume followed by a sharp fall in price.



“Corrections for BTC usually are in the 30-50% range, which is where we are currently, so still within normal correction territory,” Ayyar said.



Looking ahead, he says a key level to watch for bitcoin is $30,000. If it closes below that point in a week or more, “that would definitely indicate high likelihood of a bear market,” he said. A decline of around 80% from bitcoin’s recent peak would indicate a price of less than $15,000. Ayyar doesn’t think such a scenario is on the table.



Still, investors are worried about the prospect of further regulatory crackdowns on the crypto industry. Last week, Russia’s central bank proposed banning the use and mining of cryptocurrencies, mimicking a similar move from neighboring China. And the U.S. government is reportedly preparing to release a strategy to regulate crypto as early as next month.

107005904-1643117857182-gettyimages-1237577245-widak-bitcoind220106_npTUo-1

Investors fear ‘crypto winter’ is coming as bitcoin falls 50% from record highs

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/6BVOZWSNURNNLFN7XWB75LZTDA-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-414088" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/6BVOZWSNURNNLFN7XWB75LZTDA-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/6BVOZWSNURNNLFN7XWB75LZTDA-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/6BVOZWSNURNNLFN7XWB75LZTDA-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/6BVOZWSNURNNLFN7XWB75LZTDA-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/6BVOZWSNURNNLFN7XWB75LZTDA.jpg 960w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>A healthcare worker administers the Pfizer coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine to a man, amidst the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 variant Omicron, in Johannesburg, South Africa, December 9, 2021. REUTERS/Sumaya Hisham</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, Dec 17 (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa&#8217;s health minister said on Friday that the government believed that vaccines and high levels of prior COVID-19 infection were helping to keep disease milder in a wave driven by the Omicron variant.



There have been early anecdotal accounts suggesting that Omicron is causing less severe illness than previous variants in South Africa but scientists say it is too early to draw firm conclusions.



The country reported a record number of daily infections earlier this week.



&#8220;We believe that it might not necessarily just be that Omicron is less virulent, but &#8230; coverage of vaccination (and) &#8230; natural immunity of people who have already had contact with the virus is also adding to the protection,&#8221; Health Minister Joe Phaahla told a news conference. &#8220;That&#8217;s why we are seeing mild illness.&#8221;



South Africa has given 44% of its adult population at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, more than many African countries but well short of the government&#8217;s year-end target. But among the over-50s vaccination coverage levels are over 60%.



Addressing the same news conference, Michelle Groome from the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) said there had been an uptick in COVID-19 hospital admissions and deaths.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-read-more-omicron-poses-very-high-global-risk-world-must-prepare-who">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2021/omicron-poses-very-high-global-risk-world-must-prepare-who/">Omicron poses “very high” global risk, world must prepare -WHO</a></h3>



&#8220;Starting to see a slight increase in deaths nationally, but once again this level is very much lower even than the baseline period we were seeing between the second and third waves,&#8221; said Groome, who heads the NICD&#8217;s division of public health, surveillance and response.



Waasila Jassat, a public health specialist at the NICD, estimated that of the COVID-19 related deaths that had happened in hospitals since mid-November more than half of the people who had died had co-morbidities, or tended to be old, and &#8220;a fair proportion of them were admitted for other reasons and died from other causes&#8221;.



She said that vaccination data on those who had died were incomplete but it seemed from self-reported information that 93% of the deaths were among either unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated individuals. She added that a further 3.5% of those who had died had been vaccinated more than five or six months ago.



Phaahla said early indications were that infections might have peaked in the most populated Gauteng province, where cases initially surged.



He added that in the coming week the health department would report back to the National Coronavirus Command Council on whether COVID-19 restrictions should be adjusted.



President Cyril Ramaphosa, who tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday, is making good progress with his recovery from COVID-19 while continuing to receive treatment for mild symptoms, the presidency said on Friday.



Ramaphosa was given Johnson &amp; Johnson&#8217;s one-dose vaccine in February.



(Reporting by Alexander Winning; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Giles Elgood)

6BVOZWSNURNNLFN7XWB75LZTDA

South Africa says vaccines, prior infection help mildness of COVID cases

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/106907334-1625627524477-gettyimages-1232574972-OIL_DEMAND.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-414196" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/106907334-1625627524477-gettyimages-1232574972-OIL_DEMAND.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/106907334-1625627524477-gettyimages-1232574972-OIL_DEMAND-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/106907334-1625627524477-gettyimages-1232574972-OIL_DEMAND-160x90.jpeg 160w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>A tanker truck drives past oil well pump jacks operated by Chevron Corp. in San Ardo, California, U.S., on Tuesday, April 27, 2021. David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



Demand for oil is set to be lower than expected next year, the International Energy Agency said Tuesday, as it revised down its outlook by 100,000 barrels per day for both the remainder of this year and 2022.



In its Oil Market Report, the IEA said global oil demand was now expected to rise by 5.4 million barrels per day in 2021 and 3.3 million barrels per day in 2022 to hit pre-pandemic levels of 99.5 million barrels per day globally.



But the recovery is expected to be affected by a new surge in Covid-19 cases, with jet fuel being hit hard, the report said. Its authors noted that the emergence of the new omicron variant had already brought about new restrictions on international travel.



However, the IEA added that while the rise in new Covid cases was expected to slow demand, the recovery that is already underway was not expected to be completely derailed.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-production-to-outpace-demand"><a></a>Production to outpace demand</h2>



Despite this uncertainty, production is poised to outpace demand from December, the report said, led by increased output from the U.S. and OPEC+ countries. This upward trend would extend into 2022, the IEA said, with the U.S., Canada and Brazil set to pump at their highest annual levels ever.



“Saudi Arabia and Russia could also hit records if remaining OPEC+ cuts are fully unwound,” the IEA said. “In that case, global supply would soar by 6.4 mb/d next year compared with a 1.5 mb/d rise in 2021.”



The IEA’s outlook conflicts slightly with OPEC+ expectations. The oil-producing consortium put out its own report on Monday, and was more optimistic than the IEA on demand recovery next year.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2021/coffee-prices-are-at-10-year-highs-and-analysts-say-they-have-much-further-to-go/">Coffee prices are at 10-year highs, and analysts say they have much further to go</a></h3>



OPEC+ predicted that the omicron variant would have a mild impact on oil markets, and said it expects demand to reach 100 million barrels per day by the third quarter of 2022. It also raised its demand forecast for the first quarter of 2022 by 1.1 million barrels per day.



In November, OPEC+ lifted its crude output&nbsp;by 500,000 barrels per day, as it unwound the output cuts it agreed upon in the early stages of the coronavirus crisis.



The organization agreed in the spring of 2020 — as oil prices plummeted in the face of the pandemic — to cumulatively cut almost 10 million barrels per day of crude production.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-gloomier-outlook-for-oil-prices"><a></a>Gloomier outlook for oil prices</h2>



With regards to oil prices, the IEA also revised its outlook downward.



“Our oil price assumption (based on the forward curve) is roughly 15% lower for 2022 than in last month’s report,” the report’s authors said. “Brent&nbsp;prices average $70.80/bbl in 2021 and $67.60/bbl in 2022.”



Brent crude oil futures were trading slightly lower on Tuesday, erasing earlier gains to trade at around $74.27 a barrel at 10 a.m. London time.



U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were also slightly lower, trading at just above $71 a barrel.

106907334-1625627524477-gettyimages-1232574972-OIL_DEMAND

Omicron Covid variant to dent global demand for oil, IEA says

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="546" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/GettyImages-462743612-820x546.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-412999" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/GettyImages-462743612-820x546.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/GettyImages-462743612-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/GettyImages-462743612-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/GettyImages-462743612-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/GettyImages-462743612-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/GettyImages-462743612-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>A general view of the headquarter of the embattled South African main electricity provider ESKOM is pictured on February 4, 2015 in Johannesburg. South Africa power supply was under &#8220;extreme&#8221; pressure on February 2, 2015 and likely to remain so until end of the week after a technical fault at the country&#8217;s sole nuclear plant, electricity utility Eskom said. AFP PHOTO/GIANLUIGI GUERCIA (Photo by Gianluigi GUERCIA / AFP) (Photo by GIANLUIGI GUERCIA/AFP via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



CAPE TOWN, Nov 19 (Reuters) &#8211; South African power utility Eskom is facing deliberate acts of sabotage by unknown criminals, its chief executive said on Friday, as he showed images of a high capacity electricity pylon toppled when all eight of its metal support stays were cut.



Struggling under a mountain of debt, state-owned Eskom regularly implements power outages that have unnerved investors and cost Africa&#8217;s most industrialised economy billions of dollars in lost output.



Claims of sabotage at Eskom&#8217;s fleet of ageing coal-fired power plants supplying the bulk of South Africa&#8217;s electricity, and which are prone to mechanical breakdowns, have swirled around for years, but CEO Andre de Ruyter&#8217;s comments on Friday were the firmest yet from a senior executive.



&#8220;The evidence does appear to be, at least prima facie, incontrovertible that there is malice afoot and that we need to take action,&#8221; he said during a media briefing.



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Discovered on Wednesday evening, the toppled pylon which showed no signs of metal fatigue or corrosion, is found along the main distribution lines feeding coal conveyor belts at the 3,708 megawatt (MW) Lethabo plant in the Free State province.



&#8220;What further arouses suspicion that this was a deliberate act of sabotage is that nothing was stolen from the site &#8230; so this was not an economic crime,&#8221; he said.



Quick action by Eskom prevented Lethabo power station from running out of coal, a prospect which could have worsened power cuts to Stage 6, when around 6,000 MW is shed from the national grid, versus Eskom&#8217;s nominal installed capacity of 46,000 MW.



De Ruyter did not speculate on the motives behind the attacks, which come amid mounting criticism of Eskom management&#8217;s inability to stop power cuts.



He said Eskom was using infrared-equipped drones to help patrol strategic infrastructure but it was virtually impossible to safeguard some 390,000 kms (242,335 miles) of transmission and distribution lines. 



(Reporting by Wendell Roelf; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

South Africa’s Eskom facing ‘deliberate’ acts of sabotage, CEO says

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-1233035258-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-411043" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-1233035258-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-1233035258-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-1233035258-120x80.jpg 120w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-1233035258-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-1233035258-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-1233035258-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>UKRAINE &#8211; 2021/05/21: In this photo illustration the International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo is seen on a smartphone screen. (Photo Illustration by Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



LONDON/WASHINGTON, Nov 11 (Reuters) &#8211; Glencore has offered assurances over the restructuring of Chad&#8217;s more than $1 billion commercial debt, paving the way for the International Monetary Fund to move forward on a lending program, sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday.



The African country in January became the first country to request a restructuring of its external debt of $3 billion under a common framework agreed last year by China and other Group of 20 members and the Paris Club of major creditor countries.



Chad&#8217;s state creditors and the IMF have agreed on a restructuring, but had insisted that Chad also reach comparable terms with other bilateral and private creditors.



The IMF said late on Thursday it was working with Chadian authorities to bring a new lending program to the IMF&#8217;s board for approval after the country&#8217;s main private sector creditor committed to engaging in &#8220;good faith discussions&#8221; about restructuring the country&#8217;s debt.



It did not name Glencore specifically, but Chad has said the company accounts for more than 98% of its commercial debt, most of it in oil-for-cash deals dating back to 2013 and 2014.



Abebe Aemro Selassie, director of the IMF&#8217;s African department, said IMF staff aimed to submit a new Extended Credit Facility for Chad to the board for its consideration &#8220;as soon as possible,&#8221; but gave no specific timetable or additional details.



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One of the sources said the goal was to complete work on the new arrangement by the end of the year.



Chad, Zambia and Ethiopia are the only countries that have sought debt treatment under the G20 Common Framework.



Progress on Chad&#8217;s case could help encourage other countries in debt distress to seek help under the G20 program, IMF and World Bank officials have said.



Glencore and a consortium of banks in October started talks with Chad over the restructuring of its commercial debt.



The restructuring of Chad&#8217;s total debt, which the IMF has described as unsustainable, is a prerequisite for the Central African country to benefit from further financial support.



Chad was thrown into political turmoil in April following the battlefield death of former President Idriss Deby, and its economic outlook has worsened due to the coronavirus pandemic, attacks by rebels in the north, and delays in financial support.



Its debt has already been restructured twice, in 2015 and 2018. 



(Reporting by Karin Strohecker and Julia Payne in London and Andrea Shalal in Washington Editing by Chris Reese and Richard Chang)

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South Africa says vaccines, prior infection help mildness of COVID cases

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South Africa’s Eskom facing ‘deliberate’ acts of sabotage, CEO says

Glencore assurances on Chad pave way for IMF lending program -sources

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