<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/7289/15950562313_cdefc2f6ba_b.jpg" alt="40th Anniversary of the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front… | Flickr"/><figcaption> Image via: Flickr 40th Anniversary of the Tigrayan People&#8217;s Liberation Front</figcaption></figure>



The United Nations Security Council will privately discuss on Friday a decision by Ethiopia to expel seven senior U.N. officials, diplomats said, as malnutrition rates rise and famine looms in the country&#8217;s war-torn northern region of Tigray.



The United States, Britain, Ireland, Estonia, France and Norway, plan to raise the issue during a closed-door meeting of the 15-member body, but diplomats say any strong action is unlikely as Russia and China have long made clear they believe the conflict is an internal affair for Ethiopia.



The expulsions of the U.N. staff were announced by Ethiopia on Thursday, two days after U.N. aid chief Martin Griffiths warned that a &#8220;de-facto&#8221; aid blockade had likely forced hundreds of thousands of people in Tigray into famine.



Ethiopia&#8217;s Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond to requests for comment on the expulsion of U.N. staff. Ethiopia has previously denied blocking food aid.



&#8220;As a major new military offensive looms, this seems like Ethiopia&#8217;s attempt to test if the international community is prepared to respond with more than words to an unfolding famine,&#8221; a senior Western official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters.



War broke out 10 months ago between Ethiopia&#8217;s federal troops and forces loyal to the Tigray People&#8217;s Liberation Front (TPLF), which controls Tigray. Thousands have died and more than two million people have been forced to flee their homes.



The conflict&#8217;s spillover to neighbouring Amhara and Afar regions is fueling a rise displacement and people in need. In June, a U.N. assessment found that 400,000 people in Tigray were in famine-like conditions.



U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was shocked by Ethiopia&#8217;s move to expel U.N. officials and said on Thursday that the world body was engaging the government &#8220;in the expectation that the concerned U.N. staff will be allowed to continue their important work.&#8221;



The United States condemned the expulsions and warned that it would not hesitate to use sanctions against those who obstruct humanitarian efforts.



The United Nations stressed on Friday that it was critical that the aid operation continue in Tigray, where 5.2 million people need help.



Only about 11% of the trucks needed to bring life-saving food have entered Tigray since mid-July, U.N. humanitarian aid spokesman Jens Laerke said on Friday. He also said that 79% of pregnant and lactating women screened in Tigray last week were diagnosed with acute malnutrition.



&#8220;Until now there is no indication that it (Ethiopia&#8217;s decision) stops the operation,&#8221; he told reporters in Geneva.



U.N. human rights spokesman Rupert Colville said of the decision to expel U.N. staff: &#8220;The scale, seven people across three agencies, is extremely rare, if not unprecedented.&#8221;

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U.N. Security Council to discuss Ethiopia expulsion of U.N. staff

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/GettyImages-890982518-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-412371" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/GettyImages-890982518-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/GettyImages-890982518-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/GettyImages-890982518-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/GettyImages-890982518-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/GettyImages-890982518-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/GettyImages-890982518-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Uhuru Kenyatta, Kenya&#8217;s president, speaks during the independence celebrations on Jamhuri Day at Kasarani stadium in Nairobi, Kenya, on Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2017. Kenyas main opposition alliance postponed indefinitely plans to swear-in its leader as president of a so-called Peoples Assembly, after the government warned such a step would amount to treason. Photographer: Luis Tato/Bloomberg via Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



Food from the ocean, or blue foods, are essential for the future food and nutritional security of the Kenyan people. Sustainably increasing consumption and production of blue foods is a critical component of our country’s development&nbsp;<a href="https://vision2030.go.ke/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">strategy</a>.



Blue foods also contribute to the Strategic Food Reserve programme in Kenya. Through this programme we seek to scale up the capacity and capability of our small-scale fishers to produce sustainably, add value to, and market fish and fisheries products for food, income and jobs.



These efforts demonstrate an important solution to two of the world’s greatest challenges: feeding the world’s growing population and eliminating poverty. Globally, blue foods could play a much larger role in improving nutrition and food security, and creating economic opportunities — but only if we transform our relationship with the ocean and the small-scale fishers whose livelihoods depend on it.



With smart policies and investments, fish, crustaceans, seaweeds, and other blue foods can act as superfoods that help solve many of the global food system’s challenges. Already, they provide a vital source of protein and nutrition for more than&nbsp;<a href="https://www.un.org/en/conf/ocean/background.shtml" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">three billion</a>&nbsp;people worldwide. For many countries in the Southern Hemisphere, they provide&nbsp;<a href="https://nicholasinstitute.duke.edu/sites/default/files/publications/contribution_of_fisheries_to_food_and_nutrition_security_0.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">50 percent</a>&nbsp;of people’s average animal protein.&nbsp;



Blue food solutions are needed now more than ever. COVID-19 has fueled a steep rise in hunger and poverty, which climate change is likely to worsen. Last year, around&nbsp;<a href="https://www.who.int/news/item/12-07-2021-un-report-pandemic-year-marked-by-spike-in-world-hunger" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">811 million people</a>, a tenth of the world’s population, were undernourished; meanwhile, the pandemic pushed&nbsp;<a href="https://blogs.worldbank.org/opendata/updated-estimates-impact-covid-19-global-poverty-turning-corner-pandemic-2021" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">97 million more people</a>into extreme poverty. As we build back better from the COVID-19 pandemic, we should prioritize solutions that create a more equitable and sustainable food system.



For blue foods, our&nbsp;focus should be on where most fishers find their livelihoods: small-scale fisheries, which employ&nbsp;<a href="https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/515701468152718292/pdf/664690ESW0P1210120HiddenHarvest0web.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">90 percent</a>&nbsp;of the over 120 million fish workers worldwide. Almost all these workers, over&nbsp;<a href="http://www.fao.org/voluntary-guidelines-small-scale-fisheries/ihh/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">90 percent</a>,&nbsp;live in developing countries and most&nbsp;of their catch is for human consumption, pointing to their central role in food security and sustaining local economies.



Yet, small-scale fishers face numerous challenges. Overfishing is common throughout the world, often fueled by harmful subsidies and illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, which deplete fish stocks. Inadequate scientific and technological capacity to improve sustainable production,&nbsp;inefficient&nbsp;distribution systems, and competition with larger industrial fleets also make it harder for small-scale fishers to generate sustainable incomes.



We need to fundamentally change our approach. With smarter management practices and technological innovation, research shows the ocean can sustainably produce much more food than it does today —&nbsp;up to&nbsp;<a href="https://oceanpanel.org/sites/default/files/2020-09/The%20Future%20of%20Food%20from%20the%20Sea.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">two-thirds</a>&nbsp;of the animal protein needed to feed the world’s population&nbsp;by 2050.



But simply producing more food is not enough. We must also ensure blue foods and the related economic benefits are equitably&nbsp;distributed. Local fishers in poorer nations do not have the means to compete with the&nbsp;<a href="https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/4/8/eaau2161" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">larger industrial fishing fleets of wealthier countries</a>.&nbsp;As fish become scarcer, the scales tip in favour of these industrialized operations who can fish for longer, farther and deeper — placing&nbsp;many African nations at a disadvantage. Only by putting small-scale actors at the heart of blue food policies can countries tackle these inequalities.



Some countries are taking action to address these challenges. In 2018, I joined 13 fellow heads of state under the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy, to start addressing these global issues. We each committed to produce, protect and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.oceanpanel.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sustainably manage 100 percent</a>&nbsp;of our national waters; and work towards ensuring wild fish stocks are restored and harvested at sustainable levels and that aquaculture is sustainably grown to meet global needs.



In Kenya, we&nbsp;recognize that small-scale fishers must be at the heart of any sustainable ocean plan. We should empower them to be stewards of our marine ecosystems.&nbsp;



Kenya has taken several measures to support small scale fishers.&nbsp; We have established&nbsp;<a href="https://www.iajournals.org/articles/iajsse_v2_i2_137_165.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Beach Management Units</a>&nbsp;(BMUs), community-led organizations that bring together fishers, traders, boat owners and other local stakeholders, to better manage the ocean they all depend on. These units have been instrumental in safeguarding fisheries’ resources, sustainably managing our coastal areas and have provided many blue food initiatives with investment opportunities. And crucially, the benefits — more jobs, more food, more economic opportunities — go directly to local communities.



Kenya has seen first-hand the immense benefits for people, nature, and the economy that investing in small-scale fishers and local blue food programmes can bring. A healthy ocean and blue foods are indispensable to building a stronger, more sustainable, and equitable food system.



We look forward to working with more countries in championing blue foods as a vital way to feed more people equitably, sustain more livelihoods and preserve ocean health for future generations.



Uhuru Kenyatta is President of Kenya and a member of the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta Attends Jamhuri Day Celebrations

President Uhuru Kenyatta says Small-Scale Fishers are Key to Fighting Global Hunger and Poverty

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="555" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/QHXVUHX3MJJHRDRSFYCEORRMQ4-820x555.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-412352" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/QHXVUHX3MJJHRDRSFYCEORRMQ4-820x555.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/QHXVUHX3MJJHRDRSFYCEORRMQ4-300x203.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/QHXVUHX3MJJHRDRSFYCEORRMQ4-133x90.jpg 133w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/QHXVUHX3MJJHRDRSFYCEORRMQ4-768x520.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/QHXVUHX3MJJHRDRSFYCEORRMQ4.jpg 960w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>People walk past the Bank of Ghana in Accra, Ghana, November 28, 2018. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



ACCRA, Sept 27 (Reuters) &#8211; Ghana’s central bank on Monday kept its main interest rate unchanged at 13.5% with concerns over rising inflation balanced out by optimistic Covid-19 recovery forecasts, Governor Ernest Addison said in a statement.



The Ghanaian economy grew by just 0.4% last year &#8211; its slowest rate since 1983. But it has gained ground in 2021, expanding 3.1% in the first quarter and 3.9% in the second.



The bank&#8217;s Monetary Policy Committee sees Ghana&#8217;s overall economic outlook continuing on an upward trajectory despite inflation having risen for a fourth month in a row in August.



&#8220;Developments continue to point to a sustained recovery in economic activity following the downturn at the peak of the pandemic,&#8221; Addison said.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-read-more-ghana-may-consumer-price-inflation-slows-to-7-5-year-on-year">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2021/ghana-may-consumer-price-inflation-slows-to-7-5-year-on-year/">Ghana May consumer price inflation slows to 7.5% year-on-year</a></h3>



&#8220;Given these considerations, and the fairly balanced risks to inflation and growth in the outlook, the committee decided to keep the policy rate unchanged,&#8221; he added.



Ghana&#8217;s consumer price inflation was at 9.7% year-on-year in August, with food inflation, the largest contributor to the country&#8217;s overall inflation rate, rising for a third straight month.



Although the inflation rate remains within the central bank&#8217;s targeted band of 8% plus or minus 2 percentage points, Addison cautioned that a close monitoring of the situation would be necessary to swiftly mitigate any impacts to local markets. 



(Reporting by Christian Akorlie; Writing by Cooper Inveen; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

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Bank of Ghana holds key interest rate at 13.5%

Rwanda begins third vaccination campaign

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106870012-1618806494603-gettyimages-1231972430-BC_ChineseFlag2021_4293-1.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-412343" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106870012-1618806494603-gettyimages-1231972430-BC_ChineseFlag2021_4293-1.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106870012-1618806494603-gettyimages-1231972430-BC_ChineseFlag2021_4293-1-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106870012-1618806494603-gettyimages-1231972430-BC_ChineseFlag2021_4293-1-160x90.jpeg 160w" sizes="(max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>In this photo illustration, the Bitcoin logo is seen on a mobile device with People’s Republic of China flag in the background. (Photo Illustration by t/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) Budrul Chukrut | SOPA Images | LightRocket | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



GUANGZHOU, China — Huobi, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, said it has ceased new account openings for mainland Chinese users after Beijing renewed a crackdown on virtual currencies.



The People’s Bank of China declared all virtual currency-related activities illegal including trading on Friday. The Chinese central bank also took aim at overseas exchanges providing services to mainland China users.



Huobi, one of these exchanges, said on Sunday that it would end account registrations for new mainland Chinese users. The company will also gradually retire existing accounts of mainland Chinese users by midnight on Dec. 31, 2021.



Meanwhile Binance, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, said that account registrations using Chinese mobile phone numbers are now blocked. The Binance app is also no longer available for download in China.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-read-more-bitcoin-drops-as-china-intensifies-crypto-mining-crackdown">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2021/bitcoin-drops-as-china-intensifies-crypto-mining-crackdown/">Bitcoin drops as China intensifies crypto mining crackdown</a></h3>



“Binance takes its compliance obligations very seriously and is committed to following local regulator requirements wherever we operate,” a spokesperson told CNBC.



This year, Chinese authorities have intensified a crackdown on cryptocurrencies that has targeted bitcoin miners and trading.



But China’s tough stance on cryptocurrencies is not new. Authorities in the world’s second-largest economy have long been worried about the impact of digital coins on financial stability.



In 2017, China shut down local cryptocurrency exchanges and banned so-called initial coin offerings (ICOs), a way to raise money for crypto companies by issuing digital tokens. 



Many of China’s cryptocurrency exchanges moved offshore as a result of that. But loopholes have remained that allow mainland Chinese traders to buy and sell digital currencies on these offshore exchanges.

Major crypto exchanges stop letting Chinese users sign up after Beijing’s renewed crackdown

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="800" height="507" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/JFN5R5LQLJOE7L4Y2UY425AGMU.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-412065" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/JFN5R5LQLJOE7L4Y2UY425AGMU.jpg 800w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/JFN5R5LQLJOE7L4Y2UY425AGMU-300x190.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/JFN5R5LQLJOE7L4Y2UY425AGMU-142x90.jpg 142w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/JFN5R5LQLJOE7L4Y2UY425AGMU-768x487.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /><figcaption>A 3D printed oil pump jack is seen in front of displayed stock graph and Opec logo in this illustration picture, April 14, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



LAGOS, Sept 27 (Reuters) &#8211; Top African oil exporters Nigeria and Angola will struggle to boost output to their OPEC quota levels until at least next year as underinvestment and nagging maintenance problems continue to hobble output, sources at their respective oil firms warn.



Their battle mirrors that of several other members of the OPEC+ group who curbed production in the past year to support prices when COVID-19 hit demand, but are now <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/opec-compliance-with-oil-cuts-rises-116-august-sources-say-2021-09-21">failing to ramp up output</a> to meet soaring global fuel needs as economies recover.



The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) agreed in July to add 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) to production from August until December 2021, slowly phasing out the unprecedented supply cuts.



However, Nigeria and Angola have underproduced by an average of 276,000 bpd so far this year out of their combined average OPEC quota of 2.83 million bpd according to Refinitiv data. They are likely to remain below quota through the end of the year, according to industry sources and Reuters calculations.



The oil not pumped is worth hundreds of millions of dollars.



Lockdowns aimed at stemming <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-oil-maintenance-an-idUKKBN22V0LT">COVID-19 last year hindered the supply</a> of spare parts and prevented maintenance work. Companies battered by a 20-year low in crude prices also postponed major investments.



Kola Karim, chief executive of Nigerian producer Shoreline Natural Resources which has eight producing fields pumping around 50,000 bpd, said the backlog meant it would be one to two quarters before Nigeria could pump at its full capacity.



The maintenance backlog covers everything from servicing wells to replacing valves, pumps and pipeline sections. Companies are also behind on plans to do supplementary drilling to keep production stable. These issues impacted virtually all companies in Nigeria, Karim said.



&#8220;So now things are breaking&#8230; we&#8217;re now facing the music,&#8221; he told Reuters, though he added that the country would catch up on production by early 2022 as companies rush maintenance and repairs.



Two sources, one at Nigerian state oil company NNPC and another close to Angolan state oil company Sonangol, confirmed the countries were struggling to raise output.



Spokesmen at NNPC and Nigeria&#8217;s oil and finance ministries did not reply to requests for comment.



Oil Minister Timipre Sylva told journalists last week that he expected Nigeria to meet its quota within a month or two, but did not specify how. The government has previously pointed to a recently signed oil overhaul law as key to boosting investment and production.



Angola&#8217;s finance ministry told Reuters that it could struggle to meet its target for years.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-decline-and-underinvestment">DECLINE AND UNDERINVESTMENT</h2>



In June, Angola&#8217;s oil minister, Diamantino Azevedo, lowered its targeted oil output for 2021 by 27,000 bpd to 1.19 million bpd, citing in a statement production declines at mature fields, drilling delays due to COVID-19 and &#8220;technical and financial challenges&#8221; in deepwater oil exploration. That is below the current 1.33 million bpd quota.



Angola pumped roughly 1.3 million bpd in 2020, down from its record peak above 1.8 million bpd in 2008.



It has embarked on a string of reforms to boost output.



&#8220;The reality is only five countries can actually hit these quotas in our view,&#8221; said Amrita Sen of Energy Aspects. &#8220;The rest are struggling with high decline rates and underinvestment.&#8221;



Those five are Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Iraq and Azerbaijan.



In Nigeria, five onshore export terminals run by oil majors, which typically export around 900,000 bpd, handled 20% less oil in July than the same time last year, despite relaxed quotas, according to analysis shared only with Reuters from consultancy Hawilti Ltd. The decline indicates lower production from all the onshore fields that feed these terminals.



Only French oil major TotalEnergies&#8217; new deep offshore oilfield and export terminal Egina, had been able to quickly turn the taps back on, said Mickael Vogel, director at Hawilti, citing an analysis based on data from Nigeria&#8217;s Department of Petroleum Resources.



Onshore oilfield output has lagged as companies struggled with a lack of workers and cash.



&#8220;Putting those wells back onstream has been more challenging than they thought,&#8221; Vogel said.



Nigeria has not met its quota since July last year according to Refinitiv data.



Angola, Africa&#8217;s second-largest exporter, has pumped below its target since September last year.



It has struggled for years as its oilfields age and decline, and exploration has been insufficient to compensate, Justin Cochrane, director for African Regional Research for IHS, said.



Angola&#8217;s largest fields began production in the early 2000s and are past their plateau.



The country made a <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-africa-oil-reform-idUSKBN1XL1FF">string of reforms</a> in 2019 aimed at boosting exploration, including allowing companies to produce from marginal fields adjacent to those they already operate. The pandemic stunted the impact of those reforms. By May, not a <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/global-oil-angola-idCNL8N2CT5W6">single rig was drilling in Angola</a> for the first time in nearly 40 years.



Since then, only three offshore rigs have resumed work.



&#8220;They&#8217;re swimming against the tide with declines outpacing new production,&#8221; Cochrane said.



(Additional reporting by Camillus Eboh in Abuja and Karin Strohecker in London; Editing by Dmitry Zhdannikov and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

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As OPEC reopens the taps, African giants losing race to pump more

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106873053-1619191330000-bourla.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-412329" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106873053-1619191330000-bourla.jpg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106873053-1619191330000-bourla-300x169.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106873053-1619191330000-bourla-160x90.jpg 160w" sizes="(max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla addresses a press conference after a visit to oversee the production of the Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine at the factory of U.S. pharmaceutical company Pfizer in Puurs, Belgium April 23, 2021. John Thys | Pool | Reuters</figcaption></figure>



There will be a return to normal life within a year, Pfizer CEO and Chairman Albert Bourla said on Sunday, adding that it’s likely annual Covid vaccination shots will be necessary.



“Within a year I think we will be able to come back to normal life,” Bourla said in an interview on ABC’s “This Week.”



Returning to normal life will have caveats, he said: “I don’t think that this means that the variants will not continue coming, and I don’t think that this means that we should be able to live our lives without having vaccinations,” Bourla said. “But that, again, remains to be seen.”



Bourla’s prediction about when normal life will resume is in keeping with that of Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel. “As of today, in a year, I assume,” Bancel told the Swiss newspaper Neue Zuercher Zeitung, according to Reuters on Thursday, when asked for his estimate of a return to normal life.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-read-more-pfizer-s-ceo-says-covid-vaccine-effectiveness-drops-to-84-after-six-months">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2021/pfizers-ceo-says-covid-vaccine-effectiveness-drops-to-84-after-six-months/">Pfizer’s CEO says COVID vaccine effectiveness drops to 84% after six months</a></h3>



In order to make that happen, Pfizer’s Bourla suggested it is likely annual coronavirus vaccine shots will be needed.



“The most likely scenario for me is that, because the virus is spread all over the world, that it will continue seeing new variants that are coming out,” Bourla said. “Also we will have vaccines that they will last at least a year, and I think the most likely scenario is annual vaccination, but we don’t know really, we need to wait and see the data.”



On Friday, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Dr. Rochelle Walensky authorized the distribution of Pfizer and BioNTech’s Covid-19 booster shots for those in high-risk occupational and institutional settings, a move that overruled an advisory panel. Walensky approved distributing the booster shots to older Americans and adults with underlying medical conditions at least six months after their first series of shots, in line with the advisory panel.



The World Health Organization strongly opposes a widespread rollout of booster shots, saying wealthier nations should give extra doses to countries with minimal vaccination rates. 



Bourla said on Sunday it is “not right to decide if you’re going to approve or not boosters” on any other criteria than “if the boosters are needed.”



On Tuesday, Tom Frieden, former head of the CDC, criticized Moderna and Pfizer for not sharing vaccination intellectual property more broadly to help accelerate global vaccination rates.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2021/s-africa-signs-deal-for-20-mln-pfizer-covid-19-doses-2/">S.Africa signs deal for 20 mln Pfizer COVID-19 doses</a></h3>



“While focusing on selling expensive vaccines to rich countries, Moderna and Pfizer are doing next to nothing to close the global gap in vaccine supply. Shameful,” Frieden said tweeted on Twitter.



Bourla said it is not a good idea to wave intellectual property.



“Intellectual property is what created the thriving life sciences sector that was ready when the pandemic hit,” Bourla said. “Without that, we wouldn’t be here to discuss if we didn’t with us or not because we wouldn’t have vaccines &#8230; Also, we are very proud of what we have done. I don’t know why [Frieden] is using these words. We are very proud. We have saved millions of lives.”



Pfizer is selling vaccines at different prices to countries with different levels of wealth. Developing countries are buying vaccines at cost from Pfizer, Bourla said. And Bourla pointed to the fact that Pfizer is selling one billion vaccine doses to the U.S. government at cost. The U.S. government is then donating those vaccine doses “at no cost, completely free, to the poorest countries of the world,” he said.

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Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla predicts normal life will return within a year and adds we may need annual Covid shots

Is Gold A Good Investment?

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<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-saa-to-resume-flying-on-september-23">SAA to resume flying on September 23</h3>


		
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JOHANNESBURG, Sept 23 (Reuters) &#8211; Jubilant South African Airways (SAA) staff at the country&#8217;s biggest airport broke into song and dance on Thursday as the airline took to the skies for the first time in around a year.



State-owned SAA&#8217;s longstanding financial woes were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and it halted all operations last September when it ran out of funds. <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/south-african-airways-exits-administration-after-17-months-2021-05-01">The company exited administration</a> in April thanks to another massive government bailout.



It restarted domestic flights from Johannesburg to Cape Town on Thursday and next week will launch a slimmed-down international service to five African capitals: Accra, Kinshasa, Harare, Lusaka and Maputo.



&#8220;After so many months we&#8217;ve been waiting for this moment, I am so excited. I am over the moon,&#8221; Mapula Ramatswi, an SAA flight attendant told Reuters at Johannesburg&#8217;s OR Tambo International Airport.



&#8220;I&#8217;m actually emotional the fact that it&#8217;s happening today, we never thought it would happen.&#8221;



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Ramatswi said the many months when SAA was grounded were difficult financially, but her family had helped her pull through.



Her colleagues sang church songs, ululated, clapped and danced nearby as an SAA plane with its tail fin bearing the colours of the South African flag took off.



The government has said it will sell a majority stake in SAA to a local consortium, and a due diligence process has been mostly completed. But the share purchase agreement has not yet been signed.



The planned sale of a 51% stake in SAA is part of government efforts to halt repeated bailouts to ailing state firms like SAA and power utility Eskom that have placed massive strain on stretched public finances. 



(Additional reporting by Sisipho Skweyiya Writing by Alexander Winning Editing by Frances Kerry)

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<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106931696-1629727676310-gettyimages-1234821819-AFP_9LH8GR.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-411803" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106931696-1629727676310-gettyimages-1234821819-AFP_9LH8GR.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106931696-1629727676310-gettyimages-1234821819-AFP_9LH8GR-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/106931696-1629727676310-gettyimages-1234821819-AFP_9LH8GR-160x90.jpeg 160w" sizes="(max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>Juan Rodriguez (L) reacts while receiving Johnson &#038; Johnson’s Janssen Covid-19 vaccine administered by vocational nurse Christina Garibay at a Skid Row community outreach event where Covid-19 vaccines and testing were offered in Los Angeles, California on August 22, 2021.
Frederic J. Brown | AFP | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



The Food and Drug Administration authorized Pfizer and BioNTech’s Covid-19 booster shots for people 65 and older and other vulnerable Americans six months after they complete their first two doses, making many Americans eligible to receive the shots now.



The FDA’s decision largely follows recommendations given Friday by its key vaccine advisory committee at a more than 8-hour agency meeting. The Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee voted 16-2 against distributing the vaccines to Americans 16 and older, before unanimously embracing an alternate plan to give boosters to older Americans and those at a high risk of suffering from severe illness if they get the virus.



Though Americans 65 and older make up roughly 17% of the U.S. population, they are the most at risk of dying from Covid, accounting for more than 77% of all Covid deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.



The FDA granted emergency use authorization to administer Pfizer’s shots to older Americans and people from 18- to 64-years-old with medical conditions that place them at risk of getting severely sick. The agency also included a broad definition of people from 18 to 64 “whose frequent institutional or occupational exposure” to the virus place them at a high risk of developing serious complications from Covid. That leaves enough wiggle room for the CDC to potentially clear third doses for people in nursing homes, prisons, front-line health employees and other essential workers who were among the first Americans who got the initial shots in December.



“The FDA considered the committee’s input and conducted its own thorough review of the submitted data to reach today’s decision,” Dr. Peter Marks, the agency’s top vaccine regulator, said in a statement. “We will continue to analyze data submitted to the FDA pertaining to the use of booster doses of COVID-19 vaccines and we will make further decisions as appropriate based on the data.” 



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The nonbinding decision by the vaccine advisory committee was expected to be a controversial one as the Biden administration has said it wants to begin offering booster shots to the general public as early as this week, pending authorization from U.S. health regulators.



While the agency hasn’t always followed the advice of its committee, it often does. Still, Marks reminded the panel on Friday that federal regulators did not have to accept its recommendation as written.



“We are not bound at FDA by your vote, just so you understand that. We can tweak this as need be,” he said.



In clearing the shots, which only apply to people who received Pfizer’s original vaccine, the FDA cited a small study provided by the company of about 300 people who received the boosters, data provided by the U.K. as well as more comprehensive, but less rigorous data, from Israeli health authorities.



Some scientists, including at least two at the FDA, had said they weren’t entirely convinced every American who has received the Pfizer vaccine needed extra doses at this time. However, the nation’s top health regulators, including CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, acting FDA Commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock and White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci, already endorsed Biden’s booster plan in August.



Friday’s vote put the FDA panel in an “awkward position” as the administration has already announced they would begin distributing boosters to the general public this month, Northwell Health chief of infectious disease Dr. Bruce Farber said prior to the panel’s recommendation.



Some committee members said they were concerned that there wasn’t enough data to make a recommendation, while others argued third shots should be limited to certain groups, such as people over age 60 who are known to be at higher risk of severe disease. Some members raised concerns about the risk of myocarditis in younger people, saying more research is needed.



Phil Krause, an FDA vaccine regulator who is leaving the agency over pressure from the Biden administration to approve the shots, was critical of the findings presented at the meeting, saying much of the data had not been reviewed by the federal agency or peer-reviewed. He said the models used were complex and scientists have to ensure it “is giving you the correct results.”



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“That’s part of the difficulty at looking at this kind of data without having the chance for FDA to review it,” he said.



In outlining plans last month to start distributing boosters as early as this week, administration officials cited three CDC studies that showed the vaccines’ protection against Covid diminished over several months. Senior health officials said at the time they worried protection against severe disease, hospitalization and death “could” diminish in the months ahead, especially among those who are at higher risk or were vaccinated during the earlier phases of the vaccination rollout.



Pfizer said In documents made public last week that an observational study in Israel showed a third dose of the Covid vaccine six months after a second shot restores protection from infection to 95%. The data was collected from July 1 through Aug. 30 when the fast-spreading delta variant was surging throughout the country.



In a presentation Friday, Dr. Sharon Elroy-Preiss of Israel’s Health Ministry argued that if officials there had not begun distributing boosters at the end of July, the nation likely would have exceeded its hospital capacity. Health officials began to see a trend, she said, of individuals in their 40s and 50s who were fully vaccinated become critically ill with Covid.



“We didn’t want to wait to see those results and we knew that we needed to vaccinate a larger portion of the population in order to get the numbers down quickly,” she told the committee. Israeli health authorities expected severe cases to average 2,000 by late August, she said. “We were able to dampen that effect and our severe cases are roughly 700 or less and have stayed stable, even though we still have days at 10,000 confirmed cases.”



The FDA OK is not the final go-ahead. The CDC’s vaccine advisory committee held the first day of a two-day meeting Wednesday to debate the third shots with a vote on the FDA’s proposal scheduled Thursday afternoon. If they issue a recommendation and it is approved by the CDC, booster shots could begin immediately.

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<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-1160299406-820x547.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-397971" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-1160299406-820x547.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-1160299406-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-1160299406-768x513.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-1160299406-1536x1025.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GettyImages-1160299406-scaled.jpeg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Emissions rise from towers at the Sasol Ltd. Sasol One Site in Sasolburg, South Africa, on Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2019. Sasol said some of its South African plants are under threat from sulfur dioxide emission standards that it will need to comply with by 2025. Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg via Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, Sept 22 (Reuters) &#8211;&nbsp;South&nbsp;Africa&#8217;s fuel and chemical producer Sasol Ltd has raised its emissions reduction targets for 2030 to 30% from 10% previously in a bid to make the company a net zero carbon emitter by 2050, its CEO said on Wednesday.



The new targets come as the company faces pressure from investors and environmentalists to take decisive steps at its heavily polluting plants, often described as amongst the continent&#8217;s worst greenhouse gas emitters (GHG).



Fleetwood Grobler, CEO of Sasol said in an interview with Reuters that the company intends to cut down its GHG emissions from 63.9 million tonnes to about 44.73 million tonnes by 2030, up from 57.5 million tonnes as per its previous target.



&#8220;This works on three levers &#8211; increase of natural gas as a transition fuel, renewable power source and energy efficiency processes,&#8221; he said.



The world&#8217;s top manufacturer of motor fuel from coal consumes around 40 million tonnes of coal annually from its own mines and exports up to 4 million tonnes each year.



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The petrochemicals major intends to gradually replace coal, with increased natural gas consumption which will be used as a transition fuel.



However, its coal consumption will, at a limited level, would still continue till 2040, he said.



&#8220;Our exports of coal are likely to come down to zero by 2030&#8230; the coal reserves will likely last till 2040,&#8221; Grobler said, adding that Sasol would not invest in any new coal mines or in extending the life of its mines.



He said with the reduction in coal consumption, a part of its workforce would also be redundant by 2030.



It will invest up to roughly 20 billion rand ($1.35 billion) annually to achieve the 2030 target, CFO Paul Victor said in a presentation. 



($1 = 14.7651 rand) 



(Reporting by Promit Mukherjee, Editing by Louise Heavens)

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