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A man is silhouetted against the logo of the World Bank at the main venue for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank annual meeting in Tokyo. REUTERS-Kim Kyung-Hoon
The Annual Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) scheduled to take place in Marrakesh, Morocco, in October 2021 has been postponed by 12 months until 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The IMF, in a statement this afternoon, said that the decision to postpone the Annual Meetings, was reached after consultations between the Bretton Woods Institutions and the North African country, Morocco.
The Annual Meetings are usually held for two consecutive years at the World Bank Group and IMF headquarters in Washington, D.C. and every third year in another member country. 2020 edition of the Annual Meetings were held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Annual Meetings bring together central bankers, ministers of finance and development, private sector executives, civil society, media and academics to discuss issues of global concern, including the world economic outlook, global financial stability, poverty eradication, inclusive economic growth and job creation, climate change, and others.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an organization of 190 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world. Created in 1945, the IMF is governed by and accountable to the 190 countries that make up its near-global membership.
The World Bank Group plays a key role in the global effort to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. It consists of five institutions: The World Bank, including the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA); the International Finance Corporation (IFC); the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA); and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).
Working together in more than 100 countries, these institutions provide financing, advice, and other solutions that enable countries address the most urgent challenges of development. The World Bank is owned by 180 member countries. Nigeria joined the bank on March 30, 1961.
Capital market: Senate tasks stakeholders on economic recovery, The requests contained in three separate letters read at the beginning of plenary on Tuesday by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan. 3
To strengthen the confidence of investors in the capital market, the Senate on Wednesday tasked stakeholders on the need to revive the Nigerian economy.
Chairman, Senate Committee on Capital Market, Sen. Ibikunle Amosun, gave the task during an interactive session with agencies in the sector.
He said that as stakeholders, they must come together with a view to reviving the economy and strengthening the confidence of the much needed investors in the capital market.
“As stakeholders in the capital market, I urge you all to see this interactive session as an avenue for us to brainstorm on ways we can collaborate to meaningfully strengthen the capital market.
“This is so that it can continue to function as the gateway to economic development of our nation.
“This interactive meeting is very apt, especially coming at a time like this when concerted efforts are required to revive our economy which has been negatively affected due to the outbreak of COVID-19 and the recent EndSARS protest.
“This is the most crucial moment for our economy as Nigeria and indeed the whole world continue to grapple with economic hardships – such that has not been witnessed before.”
He noted that the Senate was not unaware of some of the challenges facing the Nigerian Capital Market.
Amosun, however, said that it was the desire of the committee to support the agencies with necessary legislation to propel the market into greatness.
“Please be assured that we will expedite action on the passage of relevant laws, amend and enact new laws where necessary.
“The capital market needs to re-activate our alternate Market and bring on board unlisted multinational companies in order to develop a robust capital market.
“These informal sectors as we are all aware, is a driving force that will dominate our nation’s economy,” he said.
Director-General Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), Lamido Yuguda, said that the market had not fully recovered from the market crash in the sector.
“The market performance has been volatile since two years but however, it is slowly recovering after the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Yuguda, who lamented that SEC was not getting funding from the Federal Government but relied on transaction charges, called for support from the Senate.
NIMASA pleas for sustainable national shipping line
The Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Admin¬istration and Safety Agen¬cy (NIMASA), Dr. Bashir Jamoh, has harped on the need for sustainable Nation¬al Shipping Line, saying that re-establishment of Nation¬al Fleet was imminent.
Jamoh, who reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to the establishment of a strong national fleet, noted that the desire for a Nigeri¬an shipping line was gradu¬ally being achieved.
He stated this in Lagos while receiving members of the National Fleet Imple¬mentation Committee who paid him a courtesy visit at the agency’s headquarters.
He told the team led by the committee chairman and Executive Secretary, Nigeria Shippers’ Council, Hassan Bello, that the need for a national carrier cannot be over-emphasised owing to the enormous economic benefits it offers.
According to him, “There is no better time to have a national carrier and devel¬op the maritime industry than now, when the world is gradually looking away from fossil fuels, which cur¬rently form the mainstay of the Nigerian economy and President Muhammadu Buhari is trying to diversify the economy from oil.
Culled Today.ng
Payment of Revised Electricity Tariffs Resumes
The payment of the revised electricity tariffs took off yesterday with the federal government urging Nigerians to prepare for further price reviews, since pricing will in the future depend on market dynamics.
The federal government, through the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), had, on September 28 directed the suspension of the Service-Based Tariff structure, which was earlier approved for the Distribution Companies (Discos), following opposition from organised labour and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs).
However, after negotiations with labour, the tariffs for customer categories D and E, with a power supply of fewer than 12 hours daily, remain frozen, while band A will have a 10 per cent reduction from the initial September 1 rate.
Customers under band B will enjoy 10.5 per cent reduction while those in band C will get up to 30 per cent discount.
However, the government said its decision to pull the brakes on the decade-long subsidies will continue but that the discount will be funded by the Value Added Tax (VAT) mopped up during collection in the industry.
Although the newly revised order from NERC, which the Discos started implementing yesterday, had yet to be made available to the media and the public as at evening, Chairman of NERC, Prof. James Momoh, confirmed that the new order has been signed.
Feelers from some of the Discos, including Abuja and Ikeja, which have already alerted their customers on the resumption of the revised rates, also indicated that the regulatory agency already has communicated to them the new order.
“This is to inform our customers that with effect from 1st November 2020, AEDC has effected a revised Service Reflective Tariff as approved by the regulatory agency.
“Customers on the prepaid platform will be the first to experience the revised tariff when they vend from Sunday, 1st November 2020, while the revised tariff will reflect in the bills for customers on the post-paid platform when they receive their electricity bill,” a statement from the AEDC stated.
But Momoh, who spoke during an online event organised by “A Professional Africa,” on the current status of the electricity industry in Nigeria added that he will sign a new capping order for unmetered Nigerians today.
Also hinting on the often held opinion by Nigerians that the regulatory agency was not firm and independent enough, Momoh, who confirmed the position, said the agency knows the right thing if given a free hand to operate by the government.
“We can now work and look forward to December and January to see what kind of review we have to do. It won’t remain the same forever. No, there’s another review and it will come with a complete answer.
“But if the president says don’t do it, we won’t do it. But we know what to do if given a free hand to do the work,” he stated.
Culled ThisDay
NASS tellS RMAFC to redesign new revenue sharing formula,
The House of Representatives has asked the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission to come up with a new revenue sharing formula that will put more resources at the disposal of state and local governments.
The House Committee on Finance, which grilled Chairman of the RMAFC, Mr Elias Mbam, at a budget defence session in Abuja on Wednesday, said Nigerians were demanding devolution of power especially on finances.
Chairman of the committee, Mr James Faleke, said, “Let us make it very clear, Chairman (Mbam); the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission is purely established to mobilise revenue for Nigerians and a very core responsibility is the issue of new revenue formula.
“If you are unable to do this core responsibility, then Nigerians will not be happy with us. Nigerians are saying that the money at the centre is too much.”
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He added, “Where you just sit down and you see the Federal Government sponsoring a lot of projects like N-Power, N-Agric that they have no business with, it shows us that there is so much money at the centre to the detriment of the states.
“Please, take this your function as very critical. If by next year we are not getting anything towards a new bill, this committee might be forced not to consider your budget.”
Mbam, in his written presentation to the committee, a part of which he read out, decried the high cost of governance in the country, saying the RMAFC was on the verge of introducing a review.
The document partly read, “The cost of governance in Nigeria is very high and has continued to be on the increase.
NEITI to automate platform for audit data submission
The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative on Wednesday announced that it would unveil a platform that automates the data gathering component of its extractive industry audit process on Friday.
It said the NEITI Audit Management System would move data gathering and submission for NEITI’s audits from the present manual mode to an automated one.
Spokesperson for the agency, Ogbonnaya Orji, disclosed this in a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday.
He said the system was developed after series of needs and technical assessments in close consultation with key stakeholders.
“This is a win-win for everyone involved in the NEITI audit process in terms of cost and efficiency gains,” the Executive Secretary, NEITI, Waziri Adio, said.
He added, “One of the clear lessons of the moment is that automation is needed on many fronts not just for the future but even for the present.
“We are indebted to our stakeholders and supporters for seeing the need with us and working collaboratively to develop a platform that is fit-for-purpose.”
NEITI stated that with NAMS, extractive companies and government agencies covered under NEITI’s audits could make their audit submissions in real time and in an environment that would be more secure, convenient and efficient than the current one.
UK’s CDC provides $75m funding to Stanbic IBTC
CDC Group, the UK’s development finance institution and impact investor, announced a $75m debt commitment to Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc, a subsidiary of Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc and member of the Standard Bank Group.
CDC said in a statement that the long-term funding would enable the bank to continue lending to businesses in subsectors of the economy important for domestic consumption and exports including food, manufacturing, telecommunications and construction.
The debt commitment will also give Stanbic IBTC access to long-term dollar funding, which is difficult to raise in the commercial market even under normal conditions, according to the statement.
It said the long-term dollar funding would enable Stanbic IBTC to lend to exporting and other dollar-earning businesses in Nigeria, thus supporting key growth sectors of the economy.
The Head of CDC Nigeria Office and Coverage Director, Benson Adenuga, said, “This debt facility is an important step in supporting Nigerian businesses in crucial sub-sectors such as food and agriculture.
“This deal cements our relationships with Stanbic IBTC and Standard Bank Group, both key partners in Nigeria and across the continent. Our patient capital plays an important role in unlocking dollar funding, which is vital to finance longer-term investment projects in Nigeria.”
He said CDC had been investing in Nigeria for over 70 years, with partnerships with nearly 100 companies in the country.
“We continue to prioritise Nigeria as a key investment region,” Adenuga added.
Culled Punch
