Transport Infrastructure
FRSC: 90% of trucks in Nigeria over 30 years
The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) says 90 per cent of trucks in the country are over 30 years. The FRSC Corps Marshal, Dr Boboye Oyeyemi, disclosed this in an interactive session between the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), the FRSC and Haulage operators on Monday in Lagos. Oyeyemi called for an improvement on the maintenance and standardisation schemes for vehicles as most of them lacked safety measures like lighting, reflectors and other parts. He stressed the need for an intervention from the Federal Government to ensure truckers had fleet renewal as vehicles that had been on the road for 30-years should be scrapped. Oyeyemi pointed out that “due to the age of the trucks, they frequently breakdown on the road prolonging the days goods spend on the road before getting to its destinat...
World Bank predicts 4% global economic growth, 1.1% for Nigeria in 2021
ABS-CBN The World Bank says global economy is expected to grow by 4 per cent in 2021, assuming an initial COVID-19 vaccine rollout becomes widespread throughout the year. It said this in a statement issued in Washington D.C. on Tuesday at the presentation of the January 2021 Global Economic Prospects. It added that the said recovery would likely be subdued unless policy makers moved decisively to tame the pandemic and implement investment-enhancing reforms. The bank also said that growth in Sub-Saharan Africa was forecast to rebound moderately to 2.7 per cent in 2021, while Nigeria’s growth was expected to resume at 1.1 per cent. For the region, it said that while the recovery in private consumption and investment was forecast to be slower than previously envisioned, export growth was expe...
OECD: South Africa economy could contract 8.2% if second coronavirus wave hits
South Africa’s economy could contract 8.2% this year, and grow just 0.6% in 2021, if a second wave of COVID-19 cases hits the country and its main trading partners, the OECD said on Friday. If a second wave of infections is avoided, the economy will contract 7.5% in 2020 before rebounding 2.5% next year, the OECD said in a report on Africa’s most industrialised economy. South Africa was in recession before the pandemic struck, with recurring power cuts by struggling state utility Eskom and weak business confidence dampening economic activity. President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government has promised to fast-track reforms to raise economic growth potential, but some investors are becoming restless about the pace of change. “South Africa cannot afford to delay reforms. It is essential to undertake...
