VenturesNow

Telecom operators in Nigeria announce intentions to raise tariff as operation cost skyrockets

Published

1 year ago

May 7, 2022

Telecom operators in Nigeria have communicated intentions to raise the tariff with the regulatory agency, the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC).

The regulator confirmed it received a letter from the operators on Friday in which the association of mobile phone operators demanded a certain percentage hike in tariff for services due to the high cost of operations.

The NCC said there could be justifiable reasons for the demand but that no tariff increase will be effected without a cost-based study to determine the appropriate cost for services.

The Nigerian Bureau of Statistics last month said the consumer price index, (CPI) which measures inflation increased to 15.92 percent on a year-on-year basis for March 2022. As a result of the situation, the price of most products in Nigeria has doubled in six months.

In March, there was a continued scarcity of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly called petrol in Nigeria, while the price of diesel hit a record high at ₦900 per litre in filling stations. The hike in fuel price specifically concerns telecom operations as Nigeria’s epileptic power situation means they are all run on fuel for operations.

In a similar development, major airline operators in Nigeria yesterday, threatened to shut down operations from Monday, 9 May 2022. Their concerns also bothered on the price of fuel.

Related Topics:Featured Nigeria Telcom operators

Click to comment

VenturesNow

Kenya: Parliament approves appointment of Kamau Thugge as central bank governor

Published

8 hours ago

June 7, 2023

Ifeoluwa Dada

Months after throwing open the position for the country’s top banker, Kenya’s parliament has approved the appointment of Kamau Thugge as the country’s central bank governor.

The National Assembly on Wednesday approved the
appointment of economist and senior civil servant who was nominated by President William Ruto as the next apex bank chief.

Thugge, who served as principal secretary in the finance ministry until mid-2018, was nominated after serving as one of the president’s senior economic advisers since late last year.

He shook off competition from others shortlisted candidates like Adan Mohamed, who served in the cabinet from 2013-2022, with four others also interviewed for the role.

The new central bank governor will be faced with the immediate pressure of stabilizing the country’s monetary policy as the East African giant currently faces a shortage of funds amidst rising public debt.

Despite the odds, the World Bank in a report earlier today expects growth to edge up to 5.0% in 2023, underpinned by a recovery in agriculture.

VenturesNow

Ghana presents ‘working proposal’ for debt restructuring— IMF sources

Published

8 hours ago

June 7, 2023

Ifeoluwa Dada

West African country, Ghana has made a major move at resolving its debt crisis as the country has presented debt restructuring proposal to its creditors.

According to sources quoted by Reuters, a “working proposal” has been submitted to help the country escape its worst economic crisis in a generation.

One of the sources revealed that the proposal was a first attempt to engage the official creditor committee after its formation in May. It should be recalled that the Paris Club last month announced that official sector of creditors of Ghana had formed a committee co-chaired by China and France for debt restructuring talks.

The plan is to end restructuring of domestic debt before turning to negotiations with its official bilateral creditors and international bondholders, a government official said.

Ghana is one of several cash-strapped countries facing unprecedented delays in getting bailouts as China, its biggest bilateral creditor with about $1.7 billion of debt and Western economies disagree over how debt relief should be structured.

The first formal review of the programme will hold in the coming months as an IMF team will visit Ghana between 8th and 15th of June.