Downturn
UN: 64% of married Nigerian women lack sexual, reproductive rights
The United Nations Fund for Population Affairs (UNFPA) has said that an estimated 64 per cent of married women in Nigeria are unable to enforce their sexual and reproductive health rights. It said that only about 46 per cent of married women in Nigeria between the age of 15 and 49 years are in a position to make personal decisions regarding their sexual and reproductive health rights. UNFPA said that whereas 56 per cent of the married women have decisions about their healthcare made mainly by their husbands, 33 per cent make such decisions jointly with their husbands. The world body, which issued a report on the state of bodily autonomy for women across the world, said only 56 per cent of married women in Nigeria can say no to their husbands if they do not want to have sexual intercourse. ...
France, African leaders push to redirect $100 billion in IMF SDR reserves by October
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday a summit in Paris on Africa financing had agreed to work towards persuading rich nations by October to reallocate $100 billion in IMF special drawing rights monetary reserves to African states. Impoverished African economies must not be left behind in the post-pandemic economic recovery and a substantial financial package is needed to provide much-needed economic stimulus, African and European leaders concluded at a summit in Paris. In the immediate term, that meant accelerating the COVID-19 vaccine rollout and creating the fiscal breathing room for African nations, which will face a spending shortfall of some $285 billion over the next two years, the summit communique showed. The communique set out a two-pronged response based on addressing...
CBN governor seeks PPP model to improve healthcare infrastructure
Bloomberg The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has urged stakeholders in the public and private sectors to collaborate to build a more healthy and robust healthcare infrastructure in Nigeria. The CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, made the call at a movie launch titled: “UNMASKED”, a feature documentary on leadership, trust and the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria. The movie was produced and directed by Mr Femi Odugbemi, a Nigerian documentary filmmaker, and co-produced by Ms Kadaria Ahmed, a renowned journalist, media entrepreneur and television host, on Friday in Lagos. According to Emefiele, addressing the public health crisis along with the downturn in the economy required strong coordination. He said the measures and interventions put in place by the CBN and private sector to improve governme...
Adidas frustrated with Manchester United over sharp decline in shirt sales
Adidas are growing disgruntled with Manchester United after a downturn in shirt sales, according to the Daily Mail. With the deal that Man United agreed with Adidas worth in the region of £78M-a-year, as per the Daily Mail, you’d expect that it would be a relationship the club would try to keep healthy. However, the report claims that Adidas were frustrated with the Red Devils for their failure to brief them on plans for their involvement in the proposed European Super League. There is now also further discontent, with Adidas wary of Man United’s decline in shirt sales. The Daily Mail claim that shirt sales have fallen 100,000 over the last two years. It’s not exactly clear why that would be the case. You could argue it’s as a result of United’s decrease in quality on the field, or it coul...
Zimbabwe street vendors reel under virus curbs
For years, Zimbabwean single mother Spiwe Tembo would sell buns on the streets of central Harare, earning enough to feed her three children. But her fortunes have dived. Since authorities banned street hawkers a year ago as part of a raft of measures to limit the spread of Covid-19, she plays cat-and-mouse with the police who comb the streets to rid them of vendors. “Things are tough,” the 34-year-old said, waving a packet of large buns to potential customers on a busy street in a part of Harare that locals call “Third World” because it is always teeming. She said: “We get arrested by municipal and national police. Almost daily I pay bribes to police officers to avoid getting arrested.” On the days she doesn’t have any cash, the inevitable happens and she is arrested and her wares seized. ...
UN projects Nigeria’s GDP to expand by 1.5 percent
Nigeria’s gross domestic product (GDP) is projected to expand by 1.5 per cent this year, after a contraction of 3.5 per cent in 2020, a United Nations (UN) report said on Wednesday. In the latest World Economic Situation and Prospects report, the UN noted, that tighter foreign exchange (forex) liquidity, mounting inflationary pressures and subdued domestic demand clouded the medium-term outlook. Although last year, the global economy shrank by 4.3 per cent, this year’s projected recovery of 4.7 per cent will barely offset the losses of 2020, according to the report. The World Economic Situation and Prospects 2021 is a report produced by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), in partnership with the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), and the five UN regional ...
Ekiti governor suspends ongoing recruitment of teachers
Gov. Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State has suspended the ongoing teachers recruitment exercise over economic crisis posed by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The governor directed immediate refund of money paid by successful candidates in the recruitment exercise conducted by the State Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM). Mr Babatunde Abegunde, Chairman of TESCOM, who made this known in Ado Ekiti on Thursday said the directive was due to the commitment of the governor to the general welfare of the people in the state and the need not to make new entrants into the public service suffer unduly. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that about 100 candidates may have been affected by the directive. Abegunde explained that monies to be refunded covered those paid by the candidates for the p...
