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LONDON/CHICAGO (Reuters) &#8211; It’s dog eat dog in the world of COVID-19 vaccines.



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That’s the fear of global health agencies planning a scheme to bulk-buy and equitably distribute vaccines around the world. They are watching with dismay as some wealthier countries have decided to go it alone, striking deals with drugmakers to secure millions of doses of promising candidates for their citizens.



The deals &#8211; including those agreed by the United States, Britain and the European Union with the likes of Pfizer (<a href="https://www.reuters.com/companies/PFE.N">PFE.N</a>), BioNtech (<a href="https://www.reuters.com/companies/22UAy.F">22UAy.F</a>), AstraZeneca (<a href="https://www.reuters.com/companies/AZN.L">AZN.L</a>) and Moderna (<a href="https://www.reuters.com/companies/MRNA.O">MRNA.O</a>) &#8211; are undermining the global drive, experts say.



“Everybody doing bilateral deals is not a way to optimize the situation,” said Seth Berkley, chief executive of the GAVI alliance which co-leads the scheme called COVAX designed to secure rapid and fair global access to COVID-19 vaccines.



Pfizer said this week it was in concurrent talks with the EU and several of its member states on supplying them with its potential vaccine.



And in the latest swoop, Britain announced a deal on Wednesday to secure advanced supplies of potential COVID-19 vaccines from GlaxoSmithKline (<a href="https://www.reuters.com/companies/GSK.L">GSK.L</a>) and Sanofi (<a href="https://www.reuters.com/companies/SASY.PA">SASY.PA</a>).



This, according to global health charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), will further fuel “the global scramble to hoard vaccines by rich countries” and feed “a dangerous trend of vaccine nationalism”.



The concern is that vaccine supply and allocation in this pandemic will echo the last &#8211; caused by the H1N1 flu virus in 2009/2010 &#8211; when rich nations bought up the available supply of vaccines, initially leaving poor countries with none.FILE PHOTO: A scientist prepares samples during the research and development of a vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at a laboratory of BIOCAD biotechnology company in Saint Petersburg, Russia June 11, 2020. REUTERS/Anton Vaganov/File Photo



In that instance, since H1N1 turned out to be a milder disease and the pandemic ultimately petered out, the impact on infections and deaths from vaccine imbalances was limited.



However COVID-19 is a far greater threat, and leaving swathes of the world’s people vulnerable will not only harm them, but also extend the pandemic and the damage it can cause, health experts say.



“There is a risk that some countries are doing exactly what we feared &#8211; which is every man for himself,” said Gayle Smith, former head of the U.S. Agency for International Development and CEO of the One Campaign, a non-profit aimed at ending poverty and preventable disease.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">‘I AM WORRIED’</h3>



More than 75 wealthier countries including Britain have expressed interest in the COVAX financing scheme, which is also co-led by the World Health Organization and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, or CEPI, joining 90 poorer ones who would be supported through donations.



But the United States, China and Russia are not among countries expressing interest in COVAX, according to GAVI.



And an EU source said last week that the European Commission, which is the bloc’s executive arm and leads EU talks with drugmakers, has advised EU countries not to buy COVID-19 vaccines via COVAX.



“I am worried,” said Thomas Bollyky, director of the global health program at the Council on Foreign Relations. “What is happening with the handful of nations that are locking up supply of vaccine competes with the multilateral supply deals.



“At the end of the day, vaccine manufacturing is a finite resource. You can expand it, but only so much.”



Experts estimate the world can reasonably hope to have around 2 billion doses of effective COVID-19 vaccines by the end of next year, if several of the leading candidates prove effective in expedited late-stage trials currently underway. COVAX’s aim is to distribute doses for at least 20% of its signed-up countries’ populations.Slideshow&nbsp;(3 Images)



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">ANOTHER TWO YEARS?</h3>



Berkley of GAVI said, however, that if self-interested countries or regions snapped those up to cover their entire populations &#8211; instead of sharing them across nations and protecting the most at-risk people first &#8211; the pandemic could not be controlled.



“If you were to try to vaccinate the entire U.S., (and) the entire EU, for example, with two doses of vaccine &#8211; then you’d get to about 1.7 billion doses. And if that is the number of doses that’s available, there’s not a lot left for others.”



If a handful, or even 30 or 40 countries have vaccines, but more than 150 others don’t, “then the epidemic will rage there” Berkley said.



“This virus &#8230; moves around like lightning. So you’ll end up in a situation where you will not be able to go back to normal. You won’t be able to have commerce, tourism, travel, trade, unless you can get the whole pandemic to be slowed down.”



He and Smith and other health experts said ending the pandemic meant ending it globally.



“It’s the difference from a pandemic (for) another two years as opposed to one year,” Smith added. “The economics and health consequences of that are enormous.”

Clarification on COVID-19 “hotspots” as SA moves to level 3 lockdown

‘Vaccine nationalism’: Is it every country for itself?

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JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; Steel producer ArcelorMittal South Africa Ltd fell deeper into a half-year loss as demand for steel dropped due to the new coronavirus and output declined after operations were shut during a lockdown, the company said on Thursday.



Africa’s biggest steel producer, which is majority-owned by ArcelorMittal SA, said its headline loss had increased to 2.613 billion rand ($157 million) for the six months to June 30 from a loss of 638 million rand a year earlier.



ArcelorMittal South Africa said some parts of its business would remain idle until demand recovered, including placing the melting operations at its Vereeniging Works on care and maintenance from the third quarter.



The company said it expected steel demand to be at between 70% to 75% of pre-lockdown levels for the foreseeable future.



“On the back of a demanding 2019, the first half of 2020 proved to be incredibly difficult with the widespread health, social and business impact brought about by the global COVID-19 pandemic,” ArcelorMittal South Africa Chief Executive Kobus Verster said.



The steel producer, which has long battled against cheap imports, rising costs and a flagging local economy, said last month it had begun talks to cut an unspecified number of jobs as it slashes costs to deal with the impact of the pandemic.



Job cuts are politically sensitive in a country where unemployment stands at a record high of about 30%.



During the period, liquid steel production fell 54% to 1.1 million tonnes and sales volumes dropped 47% to 1.1 million tonnes.



The company’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) fell from a profit of 167 million rand to a loss of 1.256 billion rand

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ArcelorMittal South Africa falls deeper into half-year loss as steel demand falls

I never knew that our entire healthcare infrastructure was in such a bad state. Those were the sentiments expressed by Nigeria’s Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha, as he updated leadership of the National Assembly on the fight against the pandemic. This virus provides an opportunity to examine our national health system in dire need of reforms and funding; the Chairman pointed out to the lawmakers.



Conspicuously absent from recommendations for legislative reform was a key issue highlighted by COVID-19: mental health. Government-mandated social distancing and the implementation of other public health guidelines have led to emotional anguish and psychological challenges amidst restrictions on public life, economic hardship, and illness. Rather than mental health being at the periphery, a robust national response to this novel virus mandates the issue takes front and center stage.



A lack of research on Nigeria’s mental health demographics has contributed to it being a low priority among policymakers and inadequately funded. The largest nationally representative study on general mental health in the country was published by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2004 — over 15 years ago! The research found that one in eight Nigerians would develop a mental health condition during their lifetime and that fewer than 10% have access to the care they need. Recent investigations are even more sober. According to the 2018 Nigeria National Depression report, produced by Joy, Inc., in partnership with NOI Polls, a leading polling organization in West Africa, and research partners at Yale, one in three Nigerians are experiencing depressive symptoms. In a country that surpasses 200 million, it means over 60 million Nigerians are at risk of depression. As isolation intertwines with mortality and hunger, these individuals could be pushed over the edge.



The country does not have nearly enough resources to tend to this impending crisis. Infrastructure is deficient with only eight federal neuropsychiatric hospitals in Nigeria, and three operating at the state level. Mental health workers have complained that these facilities are too few, face strained budgets, poor work conditions, staffing issues, and residents experience abuse. At the community level, mental health care is limited, which falls short of the global standard set out by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Human capacity is also a challenge. The Association of Psychiatrists in Nigeria has only 250 psychiatrists registered to it when millions potentially face mental health challenges. Nigeria’s poor mental health infrastructure is currently governed by a framework that has roots that date back to 1916. Starting as an ordinance in the British colonial era, the statute became codified as a law called the Lunacy Act of 1958. To put the law in perspective, it was adopted two years before Nigeria’s independence. In 2003, the Nigerian Mental Health Act was proposed to replace the Lunacy Act. It failed to pass and was eventually withdrawn from the Senate in April 2009. It was reintroduced in 2013, but also did not make it through the legislative process.



Recently, there has also been movement on mental health legislation. In November 2019, the Senate passed a mental health bill for second reading. Progress continued in February this year, when the upper chamber held a public hearing on the proposed law. If the history of failed efforts is to be our guide, however, there is little reason to think there will be passage of the legislation.



Though the proposed mental health bill may seem like progress, it still fails to adequately address key issues of quality care, comprehensive community response, funding, and respecting the human rights of those with psychological conditions in Nigeria. As policymakers are planning a comprehensive approach to this virus, mental health and its governing architecture must be part of the package.



Those debating macroeconomic interventions from stimulus funds to conditional cash transfers should take heed as well. As we deliberate the best way to reignite growth, understanding the profound link between mental health and economic development is crucial. A 2016 WHO led study quantified the impact, estimating that for every $1 put into scaled up treatment for common mental health conditions, there is a return of $4 in improved health and work productivity. Demonstrating how promoting mental health serves as a fiscal enabler.



Narrow understandings of epidemiological responses also lead to public health blind spots. For instance, the most notable exchange of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19’s discussion with the National Assembly concerned hazard pay to frontline health workers. Reducing the issue of support to simply cash.



Medical workers need more than finances. Their mental health is at risk as they endure long hours, bear extreme isolation, cope with dwindling medical supplies, and are in constant proximity to death. Research published by the Journal of the American Medical Association highlights the psychological fallout. The study examined the mental health outcomes of 1,257 health care workers attending to COVID-19 patients in 34 hospitals in China. Many experienced symptoms of depression (50%), anxiety (45%), insomnia (34%), and psychological distress (71.5%). Nurses and women were the hardest hit, reporting especially severe symptoms — modeling other polls which show COVID-19 has had a negative impact on women and mothers at higher levels — demonstrating that suffering has been disproportionate along gender lines. Additionally, Frontline workers in Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, exhibited a greater psychological burden than Chinese health care workers father away. Meaning our most critical lines of defense, those health officials engaged day-to-day against the virus, are the most psychologically at risk. This could result in more mistakes on the job and burnout, leading to worse outcomes for patients.



A comprehensive public health response to COVID-19 should include mental health preparedness. The United Nations recently sounded the alarm to the international community to do more to protect those with increased mental vulnerabilities during this period. Policymakers in Nigeria need to continuously elevate mental health as a vital part of the national discussion. The first place they could start is by prioritizing passage of mental health legislation that is more human rights centered and updating the national mental health policy. Nigeria needs a new regulatory framework that eschews colonial origins and supports those with mental health conditions during this pandemic.



By Chime Asonye and Hauwa Ojeifo

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Mental health legislation could help Nigeria survive COVID-19

WINDHOEK (Reuters) &#8211; The Namibian government has approached the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a 4.5 billion Namibian dollars ($274 million) emergency loan to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic, a Ministry of Finance spokesman said on Wednesday.



“We submitted an application to IMF last week. We will assess the terms and conditions to see if they are favourable to Namibia,” the ministry’s spokesman Tonateni Shidhudhu told Reuters.



Namibia had previously avoided loans from the IMF since becoming a member in 1990, but the coronavirus pandemic has seen many nations seek assistance from the lender in recent months.



The IMF on Monday approved $4.3 billion in emergency financing for South Africa to help address the “severe economic impact” and health challenges of the coronavirus pandemic.



In Namibia, confirmed COVID-19 cases have surged in recent weeks after a slower infection rate at the start of the outbreak in the country in March.



So far, Namibia has 1,917 cases and has recorded eight deaths.



Its budget deficit for the current fiscal year is seen widening to 68.7% of gross domestic product, from an estimate of 54.8% in the previous year.



($1 = 16.4130 Namibian dollars)

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Namibia seeks IMF funding to help fight COVID-19

#Africa50: Why Investing in Digital Infrastructure post-COVID-19 is Critical to Africa’s Recovery

#Africa50: Why Investing in Digital Infrastructure Post-COVID-19 is Critical to Africa’s Recovery

LAGOS/LONDON (Reuters) &#8211; Nigeria’s state oil firm NNPC has signed a $1.5 billion prepayment deal led by Standard Chartered and backed by oil traders Vitol Group and Matrix Energy, two sources close to the matter said, the first such agreement since the coronavirus pandemic.



The deal provides OPEC-member Nigeria with much-needed cash after its finances were hit by the oil price crash in April as COVID-19 lockdowns erased nearly one third of global oil demand.



The financing package called Project Eagle was also backed by African Export Import Bank (Afrexim) and United Bank for Africa. Vitol and Matrix will each get 15,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude as repayment over five years, starting in August. Nigeria’s crude production is nearly 2 million bpd.



Nigerian trader Matrix confirmed its participation in the deal. Vitol, the world’s biggest independent oil trader, declined to comment. A spokesman for Standard Chartered declined to comment. Afrexim did not have an immediate comment.



UBA and NNPC did not immediately respond to requests for comment.



Prepayments with traders are widely used in commodity finance as banks consider them to be one of the more secure forms of lending in countries viewed as risky.



For trading firms such as Vitol, these loans are ideal for securing long-term supplies and boosting razor-thin margins.



NNPC has been trying to raise cash through prepayments with traders for years. However, the firm’s opaque finances and costly gasoline subsidies have made it tough for it to secure private financing on attractive terms. Nigeria announced the end of subsidies earlier this year.



NNPC will use a large portion of the money to pay taxes owed by its subsidiary NPDC, the sources said. The remainder will go towards operational expenses and capital expenditure. One of the sources said money from the pre-payment could fund an upgrade of the Port Harcourt refinery.

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Nigeria in $1.5 bln oil prepay deal with traders Vitol, Matrix

Former South African finance minister Nhlanhla Nene says government needs more teeth to sort out misconduct and corruption in its ranks.



Nene fell on his sword as finance minister, in 2018,after admitting meeting members of the Gupta family – accused of corruption in South Africa – during his time in office. He was succeeded by former reserve bank governor Tito Mboweni.



“I think the government needs real authority to execute their task. If anything happens, at times we do not see action in that space when people, who do get out of their way, being dealt with as they should be,” Nene told CNBC Africa in an exclusive live interview.



Nene also said that that COVID-19 was also proving worse than the global financial crisis, in 2008, that he worked through as deputy finance minister.



“When the pandemic hit the country it was facing a very tough economic situation. Back in 2008 you were suffering a global situation , but it was not complicated by a natural disaster like the one we have now. This is much more complex than the one we had back then…The solutions are just as difficult to find. Finding a solution is like trying to fix an aeroplane while you are flying it and I don’t envy the leadership in making decisions,” says Nene.



Nene, born to subsistence rural farmers in 1958, has retreated to his farm in KwaZulu Natal since he left office.



“Even when I was in office I would always retreat back to the fam to gain some sanity…I love animals and I love nature it is really therapeutic,” he says.

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“It must be like trying to fix a plane when you are flying it” why former finance minister Nene doesn’t envy those in power fighting COVID-19.

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa’s rand firmed in early trade on Tuesday, as lack of local drivers turned attention to a U.S. Federal Reserve meeting that was expected to reiterate a dovish policy stance.



At 0625 GMT, the rand traded at 16.4275 per dollar, 0.17% firmer than its close on Monday.



The United States central bank, the Federal Reserve, meets on Tuesday and Wednesday. It could confirm recent hints about the benefits of an average inflation target, which would allow rates to stay lower for longer and benefit high-yielding assets.



“With no data scheduled to drive currency markets today, we can expect them to continue their current momentum, with the rand setting its sights on breaking through the R16.35/$ mark,” said Bianca Botes, executive director at Peregrine Treasury Solutions.



Analysts expected investor focus to be on offshore events, despite some key local data releases this week including consumer inflation and trade figures.



The International Monetary Fund said on Monday its executive board approved $4.3 billion in emergency financing for South Africa to help address the “severe economic impact” and health challenges of the coronavirus pandemic.



“This &#8230;should really be currency neutral as they will in all likelihood provide the funding through a cross-currency swap,” Standard Bank chief trader Warrick Butler said in a note.



In fixed income, the yield on the benchmark instrument due in 2030 was down 2 basis points to 9.135% in early trade.

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South Africa’s rand firms, focus on Fed meeting

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; A pandemic-delayed African free trade deal, if fully implemented, could boost incomes across the continent, pull millions out of poverty and cushion against the negative fallout from COVID-19, the World Bank wrote in a report on Monday.



The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) was due to come into force on July 1, but that proved unworkable after the virus forced widespread border closures and halted talks between governments over the removal of tariffs.



It may now begin operating from the start of 2021.



The pandemic is expected to cost Africa up to $79 billion in lost economic output this year alone with the additional risk of millions of job losses.



“In this context, a successful implementation of AfCFTA would be crucial,” the report said. “(It) is a major opportunity for Africa, but implementation will be a significant challenge. Lowering tariffs is only the first step.”



Once in force, the AfCFTA will bring together 1.3 billion people across 55 countries with combined gross domestic product of $3.4 trillion.



World Bank researchers estimated the trade deal would lift 30 million Africans out of extreme poverty and 68 million from moderate poverty by 2035.



Full implementation could increase real income in Africa by 7%, or nearly $450 billion, mainly by reducing the cost of trade through the elimination of tariffs and red tape.



Ivory Coast and Zimbabwe &#8211; countries with the highest costs of trade &#8211; could see income gains of 14%.



The volume of total exports would increase by almost 29%, according to the World Bank, with exports between African nations rising 81%. Exports to non-African countries would increase 19%.



“The report estimates that compared with a business-as-usual scenario, implementing AfCFTA would lead to an almost 10%increase in wages, with larger gains for unskilled workers and women,” the report said.

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African trade deal could lift millions out of poverty, World Bank says

At one time or another, nations and individuals confront crisis points – moments of existential challenge that also open up new possibilities. African countries, at just such a crisis point as a result of the novel coronavirus, face three possible outcomes post-pandemic: play catch-up, stand still or fall even further behind the industrialized world1.



With this crisis comes an economic disruption of unprecedented proportion. To avoid falling further behind, Africans must narrow the scientific and technology gap and leverage our comparative advantages. It is time for Africa to adopt radical technological and policy innovations. The global economy is increasingly driven by science-based and patent-intensive systems. Through investments in molecular technology, AI and other technologies the 4th industrial Revolution is ushering in, they can overcome existing barriers to entry.



Catching Up



India offers an example of how to catch up. There, two key developments in the sixties and seventies sharply altered the country’s trajectory.



In 1965, following past famines crises, India imported 250 tons of high-yielding Mexican dwarf wheat seed varieties for wide-scale testing on farms. Early positive results led to the importation of a further 18,000 tons. Along with the use of irrigation and other innovations adopted by farmers, Indian agriculture was transformed.



Within five years, India produced enough grains to support its population and, even following a drought in 1979, had no need to import grain. Overall, the country’s wheat and rice production tripled between 1961 and 1980. Radical policy response to famine-induced crisis birthed the Green Revolution.



India’s pharmaceutical sector also experienced a crisis-inflection point in 1972, when the government passed the Patents Act, which enabled domestic firms to replicate drugs that had been patented by multinational corporations. Local companies have since dominated the global market through reverse-engineering leading to generic medicines that are far more affordable than patented ones. Radical policy response to crisis-induced shortage of medicines transformed Indian Pharma.



Falling Behind



Africa processes a very small proportion of its agricultural produce. We continue to export raw commodities like cocoa, timber and cotton that others process and re-sell to Africa at a much higher valuation. Our continent also has sufficient sunlight, wind and hydropower, technologies that can power Africa sustainably, and other regions besides.



Critically, Africa also has a median age of 19, far younger than that of any continent, a potential demographic dividend of young innovation-driven workers and a relatively small proportion of elderly workers. This human capital will foster Africa’s forging ahead.



If we fail to harness new technologies and leverage our strengths to create abundant high paying manufacturing and service jobs to compete within global supply chains, then we risk falling even farther behind on socioeconomic terms.



Forging ahead



To forge ahead, Africa will first have to return swiftly to economic growth. Beyond that, diversifying our economies will be critical, particularly for those countries that are dependent on one or two mineral resources or commodities. Above all, African companies must deepen capacities for competitive advantage to master new technologies in emerging sectors.



African innovators need a robust innovation framework and a better enabling environment to master the so-called industrial biology embedded in the 4th Industrial Revolution. For instance, firms in Morocco, Senegal, Nigeria and some other African countries have developed COVID-19 test kits but face a difficult path to commercialization.



China’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic is once more illustrative of a dynamic industrial policy. It is targeting ambitious increases in domestic firms’ share of the global medical supplies market. The government has provided cheap land for factories subsidized loans, helps them to secure a supply chain of raw materials, and to stimulate domestic demand by incentivizing hospitals and companies to use their products.



And there are powerful examples right here on the continent. South Africa successfully financed the production of The National Ventilator Project to address COVID-19, developing prototypes, securing component supply chains, and a manufacturing facility. The project owes its success in part to strong government support and broad coordination among economic and technological agencies. As with South Africa, the rest of the continent would benefit from strong innovation systems that are part of national budgeting and planning frameworks.



African businesses have a critical role to play, but so do African leaders, who must strike a delicate balance between state intervention and open markets. African governments are best placed to identify market failures and opportunities, and devise policies and regulations that benefit Africa’s private sector and its people.



Professor Banji Oyelaran-Oyeyinka, is the Senior Special Adviser on Industrialization to the President, AfDB, he is a fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Engineering and Professorial Fellow, United Nations University.

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OPINION: COVID-19 – will Africa catch up, stand still or fall further behind?

ACCRA (Reuters) &#8211; Ghana’s central bank on Monday maintained its policy rate at 14.5%, citing a need for macro-economic stability despite the slowdown brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.



Ghana’s economy, which relies heavily on natural resources like cocoa, gold and oil, is expected to grow in 2020 at its slowest rate in nearly 40 years, leading the government last week to announce a $17.4 billion support programme. [nL5N2EU61X]



Bank of Ghana Governor Ernest Addison described mixed economic indicators during a monthly news conference. He noted a gradual rebound in credit growth and “reassuring results” from stress tests conducted on banks this month.



However, he said the budget deficit for the first half of 2020 stood at 6.3% compared with the 3% target and expressed concern about rising inflation.

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Ghana central bank keeps benchmark policy rate steady at 14.5%

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Steven Joffe, CEO of Invicta joins CNBC Africa to breakdown the company’s interim numbers.

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Despite preferences offered under the Free trade area that is the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), intra-Comesa trade is at a meagre 8 per cent of total trade. The Covid-19 pandemic has worsened the situation, with border closures causing disruptions to regional supply chains and thus slowing down trade. What can be done to improve intra-Comesa trade and attract more investments into the region? Chris Onyango, Director of Trade and Customs at COMESA joins CNBC Africa for more.

How to boost trade in the COMESA region

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In Rwanda, a total of 30 impact oriented and sustainable projects from stakeholders in the Cultural and Creative Industry are set to benefit from a RWF300 million ($315,900) recovery fund launched by the government and various partners. Joining CNBC for more is Rosemary Mbabazi, Minister Youth &#038; Culture Rwanda and Geraldine Umutesi, Deputy Director General, Imbuto Foundation.

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Coronavirus

‘Vaccine nationalism’: Is it every country for itself?

ArcelorMittal South Africa falls deeper into half-year loss as steel demand falls

Mental health legislation could help Nigeria survive COVID-19

Namibia seeks IMF funding to help fight COVID-19

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Nigeria in $1.5 bln oil prepay deal with traders Vitol, Matrix

“It must be like trying to fix a plane when you are flying it” why former finance minister Nene doesn’t envy those in power fighting COVID-19.

South Africa’s rand firms, focus on Fed meeting

African trade deal could lift millions out of poverty, World Bank says

OPINION: COVID-19 – will Africa catch up, stand still or fall further behind?

Ghana central bank keeps benchmark policy rate steady at 14.5%

COVID-19: What the reopening of airports means for Rwanda’s economy

BAP EP8: How to shift African economies from reliance on bailouts towards real growth

Invicta CEO on debt stabilisation, navigating COVID-19 shocks

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