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Nigeria’s unemployment rate to rise to 41% in 2023 -KPMG

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Nigeria’s Unemployment Rate To Rise

Global audit and tax advisory firm, KPMG, has projected that Nigeria’s unemployment rate is expected to rise to  40.6% as compared to 2022’s 37.7%.

KPMG detailed this forecast in its International Global Economic Outlook report – H1 2023 on Tuesday, where it stated that “unemployment is expected to continue to be a major challenge in 2023 due to the limited investment by the private sector, low industrialization, and slower than required economic growth and consequently the inability of the economy to absorb the 4-5 million new entrants into the Nigerian job market every year”.

The report also revealed in part that there are expectations for GDP to continue to grow at a relatively slow pace of 3% in 2023 owing to the slowdown in economic activity that typically characterizes periods of political transition in Nigeria.

Furthermore, the spillover from an expected slowdown in the global economy in 2023 and its trade and financial flow implications are expected to drag
on GDP.

“Additionally, growth will be negatively affected by the Naira Redesign Policy introduced in Q4 2022 and Q1 2023 and its implications on key non-oil sectors like manufacturing, trade, accommodation and food services, transportation, and other services, further slowing down overall GDP growth in 2023,” the report read.

On the resurgence of major aspects of the economy,  it forecasted that the telecommunications, trade services, as well as the oil sector, are expected to see recoveries, on account of measures being taken to tackle security issues.

Credit: channelstv.com

Africa’s Growth Remains Low – World Bank

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Andrew Dabalen, World Bank Chief Economist for Africa

Growth across Sub-Saharan Africa remains sluggish, dragged down by uncertainty in the global economy, the underperformance of the continent’s largest economies, high inflation, and a sharp deceleration of investment growth, a World Bank report said Wednesday.

In the face of dampened growth prospects and rising debt levels, African governments must sharpen their focus on macroeconomic stability, domestic revenue mobilization, debt reduction, and productive investments to reduce extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity in the medium to long term.

Economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa is set to slow from 3.6% in 2022 to 3.1% in 2023, according to the latest Africa’s Pulse, the World Bank’s April 2023 economic update for Sub-Saharan Africa.

Economic activity in South Africa is set to weaken further in 2023 (0.5% annual growth) as the energy crisis deepens, while the growth recovery in Nigeria for 2023 (2.8%) is still fragile as oil production remains subdued. The real gross domestic product (GDP) growth of the Western and Central Africa subregion is estimated to decline to 3.4% in 2023 from 3.7% in 2022, while that of Eastern and Southern Africa declines to 3.0% in 2023 from 3.5% in 2022.

“Weak growth combined with debt vulnerabilities and dismal investment growth risks a lost decade in poverty reduction,” said Andrew Dabalen, World Bank Chief Economist for Africa. “Policy makers need to redouble efforts to curb inflation, boost domestic resource mobilization, and enact pro-growth reforms—while continuing to help the poorest households cope with the rising costs of living.”

Debt distress risks remain high with 22 countries in the region at high risk of external debt distress or in debt distress as of December 2022. Unfavorable global financial conditions have increased borrowing costs and debt service costs in Africa, diverting money from badly needed development investments and threatening macro-fiscal stability.

Stubbornly high inflation and low investment growth continue to constrain African economies. While headline inflation appears to have peaked in the past year, inflation is set to remain high at 7.5% for 2023, and above central bank target bands for most countries. Investment growth in Sub-Saharan Africa fell from 6.8% in 2010-13 to 1.6% in 2021, with a sharper slowdown in Eastern and Southern Africa than in Western and Central Africa.

Despite these challenges, many countries in the region are showing resilience amidst multiple crises. These include Kenya, Cote d’Ivoire, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) who grew at 5.2%, 6.7%, and 8.6% respectively in 2022. In the DRC, the mining sector was the main driver of growth due to an expansion in capacity and recovery in global demand. Harnessing natural resource wealth provides an opportunity to improve fiscal and debt sustainability of African countries, but the report cautions that this can only happen if countries get policies right and learn the lessons from the past boom and bust cycles.

“Rapid global decarbonization will bring significant economic opportunities to Africa,” noted James Cust,

‘New taxes are threat to Ghana’s economic development’

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Mr Abraham Koomson, the GFL Secretary General (R) making a point at the forum

The Ghana Federation of Labour (GFL) says the consistent introduction of new taxes in the country is a threat to national economic development.

Mr Abraham Koomson, the GFL Secretary General, who spoke to the Ghana News Agency in Tema, said companies had employees and paid their salaries, as well as social security, contributing to the improvement of the standard of living for Ghanaians hence the numerous taxes could have adverse effect on their operations. .

He advised that government not to compel factories to move from the country because some companies had already begun to reduce their workforce, while others were planning to shut down soon.

Mr Koomson stressed that the closure of the companies would adversely affect government revenue all for its development programmes and increase the unemployment rate in the country.

He cautioned that if the local companies would not be revived for the survival of the country, foreign countries investing in the country must not be discouraged.

The GFL Secretary General urged the government to consider the implications of the Excise Duty Bill of 2022 on manufacturing industries, saying it would cripple companies and increase unemployment.

“The GFL continues to receive calls from Chief Executive Officers of companies and other stakeholders raising concerns that the new laws are rushed and passed without proper consultation to weigh the implications on industry, and by extension the fate of workers whose job security is guaranteed if industries break even,” he stated.

Mr Koomson said the products involved in the taxation among several others on the market, were already barely affordable because of the high cost of unit prices triggered by a combination of factors including water and electricity tariffs which saw an upward adjustment at the beginning of this month.

He added that high import bills for raw materials and the depreciation of the Ghana Cedi were all squeezing out capital by the day.

He said times had been hard, leading to companies having to adjust salaries of workers, break even to sustain operations; and the suspension of the new 20 percent bill would boost investor interest, guarantee sustained revenue inflows, and create more jobs.

By Elizabeth Larkwor Baah

GNA

 

He’s a shallow-minded child –Gyedu Blay Ambolley hits back at KOD

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NANA KWESI COOMSON
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Gyedu Blay Ambolley

Highlife Veteran, Gyedu Blay-Ambolley has hit back hard at Ghanaian On-Air-Personality, Kofi Okyere Darko following the comments he made after the former’s claim that VGMA was a curse to the Highlife genre. According to KOD, Gyedu Blay-Ambolley had gotten it all wrong with regard to the people who were to blame for the decline of the Hi-life genre.

“Such nonsense! Which awards scheme has projected our music industry like the VGMA since independence? How many have projected our musicians beyond GH? How many have consistently done more than ten years? Some of our musicians have failed to evolve and [are] quick to blame others for their personal mishaps. When was the last time he released an album?” parts of KOD’s Facebook post directed at Ambolley read.

KOD said the issue was rather the fault of radio stations who had refused to play hi-life music and admonished Ambolley to rather blame them.

“When was the last time he released an album? He should be blaming some of the radio stations that don’t even play our music.”

But reacting to KOD’s Facebook post in an interview with Andy Dosty, the hiplife-originator said he was not ready to respond to the “young boy” because he was busy preparing for his next tour.

According to him, he considered the fashion designer and TV personality as a child whose mental capacity was not fully developed.

“I see Okyere Darko as a child. He is shallow-minded, the reason why he said those things,” he said,I am going on a European tour in May next year. My music, Gyedu-Blay Ambolley’s music, and in June, I will be back on tour.

Comparing their individual career trajectory, he questioned if KOD could take his Disc Jockeying skills or his fashion design acumen to the international stage.

“So when he sits and talks, can he take his clothes on tour as a designer like the way I am going on tour with my music? Can he take his DJing on tour like the way I am going on tour with my music? If these people talk, you know they are shallow minds,” he concluded

Credit: pulse.com.gh

‘I’m not craving for the Grammys, BET awards’ –Kojo Antwi

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NANA KWESI COOMSON
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Kojo Antwi

Julius Kojo Antwi, well known in the music industry as Kojo Antwi, a popular Highlife musician, has disclosed that he does not do music with the intention of winning an award. According to him, he is into music because it is his desire to bless the world with his God-given talent and he not to get awards or validation.“Grammys is in and it’s nice that some people go and win it but me as an artiste it’s not my thing,” he said.

He added “BET awards did a certain category that would accommodate us but they the organizers are looking at the commercial aspect of it”.

In an exclusive interview with UTV’s Abeiku Santana on Atuu, the reggae musical artiste disclosed why he doesn’t often attend awards ceremonies.

“I don’t attend the awards ceremonies because I don’t play my music to win an award and I hope people don’t misjudge me,” he stated.

Kojo Antwi continued “God has gifted me the talent and if God gives me a new song I’ll share it with the world and that’s what I look for”.

The popular composer whose music career has spanned over 3 decades also added that although some musicians dream to win international awards, his aim is to produce songs that will linger forever.

“It is nice to win a Grammy and see others win but me as an artiste, it is not my thing,” he hammered.

Kojo Antwi is credited with several albums including ‘Mister Music Man’, ‘Densu’, ‘Afrafra’, and ‘Akuaba’. In recent times, Kojo Antwi has collaborated with some new school artistes including Stonebwoy and King Promise.

Credit: pulse.com.gh

Maiden Edition Of The Shine Summit Slated For June 2

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MAXWELL OFORI
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Kobby Kyei (right) in a picture with some key personalities for the summit

The maiden edition of the technology, media, and entrepreneurship conference, dubbed ‘The Shine Summit’ will take place on Friday, June 2, 2023, in Accra.

The date and venue for the summit which will gather some of the best brains in the various sectors, was announced at the media launch held on Wednesday, April 5, 2023.

The summit is being powered by Global Ovations, whose Chief Executive Officer, Gideon Raji, gave the rundown, particularly on how to participate.

He stated that interested participants would have to watchout for a portal which would be launched soon and register to attend at no cost.

He also stated that the summit, which will take place at the La Palm Royal Beach Hotel, will have hubs to coach participants in specific areas, relating to the three thematic points.

The Shine Summit, according to the organisers, will serve as a platform that will mobilise the youth to educate them on a positive aspect of technology, media and entrepreneurship. The aim is to help create opportunities through collaboration and investment.

The launch of the summit brought together people in the media, technology space and entrepreneurs.

The likes of the EU Ambassador to Ghana, Irchad Ramiandrasoa Razaaly, Bola Ray, Nana Ama McBrown, CEO of Caveman Watches Anthony Dzamefe, Comedian OB Amponsah, Andy Dosty and other great personalities attended the launch.

The brain behind The Shine Summit, Kobby Kyei, a Blogger, indicated that the conglomeration of like minds is to champion the positive agenda.He remarked that the idea is also to change the narrative from negative to positive.

He shared his life story, including how as a blogger, has contributed to some communities having access to portable drinking water.

Speaking particularly about the power of social media, for which reason the youth must be educated on, he rebuked the influx of unhealthy contents at the expense of positive creativity and innovations.

He thus invited everyone, especially the youth, who may not be aware of the power of social media to register and attend the summit on June 2, 2023, at La Palm Royal Beach Hotel, Accra.

“Our first gathering will be at the La Palm Royal Beach Hotel and I will be looking forward to seeing each and every one of you, this is the time to make the difference and I’m very glad to start the journey with you”, Kobby Kyei said.

The Shine summit Speakers are;Anthony Dzamefe, Bernard KafuiSokpoe, Futurist Kwame, Wode Maya, Portia Gabor, Gifty Anti, Bola Ray, Tommy Annan Forson and Kobby Kyei.

‘Death to Christians’: Violence steps up under new Israeli gov’t

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Hostility by fundamentalist Jews towards Jerusalem’s Christian community is not new

Nothing about the attack or what happened since surprised Miran Krikorian. The Armenian owner of Taboon and Wine Bar in the Old City of Jerusalem was not surprised to receive a call the night of January 26 that a mob of Israeli settlers was attacking his bar in the Christian Quarter and shouting “Death to Arabs … Death to Christians.”

It didn’t surprise him how little effort the police made to catch the perpetrators; after some press about the attack and a lack of arrests, police told him two months later they detained three of the suspects among the mob. But they also asked for his surveillance video, despite the videos being already online and surveillance cameras omnipresent in the Old City.

“You have cameras over here that can show the underwear that someone is wearing, so how come you’re asking for my footage two months later?” asked Krikorian.

It was easy for him to identify many of the perpetrators himself – they went online and gave his restaurant a 1-star review minutes after the attack – but when he went to the police station that night, the officer there scolded him: “Don’t bother me too much.”

A couple of days later, Armenians leaving a memorial service in the Armenian Quarter say they were attacked by Israeli settlers carrying sticks. An Armenian was pepper-sprayed as settlers scaled the walls of the Armenian convent, trying to take down its flag, which had a cross on it. Source: Aljazeera.com

Cuba lifts ban on cash deposits in US dollars at banks

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For two years, it had not been possible to deposit dollars in cash

Banks in Cuba will again accept cash deposits in US dollars after a ban prohibiting the practice was surprisingly lifted on Monday.

Cubans had been unable to deposit dollars in cash into their accounts at banks and other financial institutions for almost two years.

The Cuban government brought in the ban in 2021 citing “continuing difficulties caused by the ongoing US embargo”.

The move comes among the worst economic crisis to hit Cuba in decades.

Cubans are facing shortages of food, medicines and petrol which have led to long queues forming at shops and petrol stations.

The resolution by the Central Bank of Cuba (BCC) was published in Cuba’s Official Gazette on Monday and is effective immediately.

It does not mention Cuba’s current economic problems but rather cites the recent increase in tourism and the “gradual recovery of the service industry and the productive sector” as the reasons behind the lifting of the ban.

The resolution also stated that the “economic pressure” from the United States, which it said led to the ban in the first place, remained in place and that therefore “the root of the problem” had not been solved.

Cuba has been under US sanctions for more than six decades but the economic restrictions placed on it were further tightened under the Trump Administration.

Source: bbc.com

Volcano erupts in Russia’s far east, spewing ash 20km into the air

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Cars are shown covered in volcanic dust following the eruption

The Shiveluch volcano erupted early Tuesday morning in Russia’s far eastern Kamchatka region, spewing ash up to 20 kilometers above sea level, according to the local branch of the Russia Academy of Sciences (RAS) Geophysical Survey.

Seismic activity was first reported around 12:54 a.m. local time on Tuesday (8:54 a.m. ET on Monday), the Geophysical Survey said on Telegram, adding that the volcano was still erupting nearly 15 hours later.

Videos posted on social media from the region show a large ash cloud in the sky and ash covering roads and cars in the town of Ust-Kamchatsky, about 90 kilometers (55 miles) from the volcano.

According to satellite data, the size of the plume cloud measures 400 by 250 kilometers and has spread to the west and south of the volcano, the Geophysical Survey said.

The Institute of Volcanology and Seismology of the Far Eastern Branch of RAS said a “red” hazard designation, the highest level, has been issued for aviation and that there is a risk of hot lava flows blocking roads, Russian state news agency TASS reported.

“Molten lava flows can travel up to 20 kilometers and block the Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky-Ust-Kamchatsky highway,” the institute said, according to TASS.

Source: cnn.com

At least 40 killed in Myanmar military air attacks

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Myanmar’s military has been accused of indiscriminate killings of civilians as it engages in major offensives to suppress armed resistance

Myanmar’s military has launched air attacks on a central town known to be a bastion of opposition to the coup carried out two years ago.

Witnesses and local media said dozens of people were killed and wounded in the attack on Tuesday – one of the worst since the military seized control of the country.

The air raids occurred as residents gathered for the inauguration of an administrative office, Al Jazeera’s Tony Cheng reported from Thailand’s capital Bangkok.

“At 7:35am the crowd was attacked by jets and those were followed by Mi-35 helicopters,” said Cheng, citing one rescuer at the scene.

“He confirmed 40 dead but he suspects the death toll will rise considerably – the carnage there was terrible. All the reports we’re seeing is that these were civilians, and far from being a legitimate military target.”

No immediate response from Myanmar’s military rulers was available.

Three first responders were killed in the second attack while rescue work was being carried out, Cheng reported.

Sagaing region – near the second-largest city Mandalay – has put up some of the fiercest resistance to the military’s rule with intense fighting raging there for months.

Graphic video circulating on social media purportedly of the attack show bodies scattered among the ruins of homes. “We are going to rescue you if we hear you screaming,” one person could be heard saying in one video. “Please scream!”

Source: Aljazeera.com

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