· Kano State in Nigeria relaxed federal lockdown imposed by
President Muhammadu Buhari. As of April 27,Buhari imposed the total
lockdown on the state. It is not known whether the decision was in
consultation with the federal government.
· Africa’s oil producing nations have not been spared the
impact of the global decision to reduce oil output. About 14 countries
in sub-Saharan Africa produce oil, which accounts for most of their
annual export income. Crude oil prices rose marginally as the
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and their allies
started reducing output. Major producers in April agreed to a
production cut deal by 10 million barrels a day in May and June. The
record production cut is a way of balancing the mismatch between
supply and demand in global oil prices due to the coronavirus
pandemic.
· Ivorian Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly is in France for
medical checks, the government announced on Saturday in an official
statement. Defense Minister Hamed Bakayoko, will act as Prime
Minister.
· The Aliko Dangote Foundation (ADF), a philanthropic endeavor
of Aliko Dangote, has contracted 54Gene, a molecular diagnostics
company specialized in research, and diagnostics, to immediately set
up a 400 test/day capacity laboratory in Kano State. 54Gene is
accredited by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), and has
already set up labs in Lagos and in Ogun States. The lab, which was
inaugurated on May 3rd in Kano, will start with a testing capacity of
400 tests a day, increasing to 1,000 tests a day by May 10th.
· Mauritius announced the extension of its lockdown until June
1, even as coronavirus cases appeared to plateau in the island nation
where the number of victims has not changed in five days. Prime
Minister Pravind Jugnauth asked the population of the Indian ocean
Island for “a little more patience, to avoid any risk of a second
wave” as he extended confinement measures that have been in place
since March 20 — among the first in Africa.
· More than 100 visitors stranded in Seychelles due to the
COVID-19 pandemic flew to Doha for connecting flights on board Qatar
Airways on Tuesday. The Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority (SCAA)
communication officer told SNA that 110 passengers were onboard the
flight.
· The Central Bank of Seychelles (CBS) said it is ready to
intervene to stabilise the island nation’s currency after the rupee’s
25 percent drop against the dollar in the last three weeks. The sharp
drop in the value of the rupee, one of the effects of the COVID-caused
shut down in tourism, is likely to result in higher prices for
imported goods in Seychelles The governor of the Central Bank,
Caroline Abel, told a press conference that the bank wants to see
stability in the currency markets.
· Tanzania has said it is committed to enhance innovation and
technology, particularly through Timiza Akiba platform to advance
financial inclusion for all Tanzanians. Airtel Money Director Isack
Nchunda said in Dar es Salaam yesterday that Timiza Akiba enables
customers to save for a purpose while curtailing luxury spending.
Airtel Tanzania makes Timiza Akiba available to all Airtel Money
customers through their mobile network and USSD functionality which
works with any feature phone and doesn’t require access to data.
