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Nigeria unveils new Naira designs. But how much can be achieved with the move?

Published

2 years ago

November 23, 2022

Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari has unveiled the new Naira notes of N200, N500 and N1,000 at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The unveiling comes months ahead of the initially announced date in December.

President Buhari launched the new notes before the weekly Federal Executive Council, FEC, meeting, presided over by President Buhari.

The governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Godwin Emefiele while addressing the media after the launch remarked that the introduction of new notes designs is in line with the global practice, and ideally, there should have been a redesigning and re-issueing between five and eight years.

According to him, “In the past, I have to confess that attempts by the CBN to redesign and reissue the naira notes have been resisted. It is only President Muhammadu Buhari that has the courage to do so.”

The CBN at the announcement of the redesigning of the new notes last month, mentioned that the policy was one tactically aimed to reduce the amount of cash outside bank system, and ultimately use as measure to control inflation which is currently at 17 years high at 21.09%.

But the news of the currency re-designing was not immediately positive on the Naira as the currency in sharp response to the policy fell in value in the exchange market to a record height. At the height of the fall, one US dollar exchange for about N900.

Meanwhile, the newly unveiled notes have been greeted with mixed reactions from Nigerians as many do not seems impressed with the designs according to feedbacks sampled on Twitter. Perhaps Nigerians would learn to embrace the new notes as time passes. After all, as it is said in Nigerian parlance, “who no like money”

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IMF, Egypt reach agreement for fourth review of Egypt’s $1.2 billion loan request

Published

12 hours ago

December 26, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Egypt and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have reached a staff-level agreement over the fourth review of the Extended Fund Facility arrangement, which might lead to a $1.2 billion payout under the program.

In March, Egypt, struggling with rising inflation and cash shortages, consented to the $8 billion, 46-month facility. Its economic problems were made worse by a precipitous drop in Suez Canal revenue over the last year due to regional tensions.

Over the next two years, Egypt’s government has committed to raising its tax-to-revenue ratio by 2% of GDP, according to the IMF, emphasising removing exemptions rather than raising taxes.

According to a statement from the IMF, this would allow it to expand social expenditure to support vulnerable populations.

“While the authorities’ plans to streamline and simplify the tax system are commendable, further reforms will be needed to enhance domestic revenue mobilization efforts,” the statement said.

According to the IMF statement, Egypt had also committed to maintaining its commitment to a flexible currency rate and to taking more urgent action to guarantee that the private sector became the primary driver of development.

The IMF’s executive board still has to accept the fourth review’s staff-level agreement.

VenturesNow

Libya’s eastern govt accepts petrol subsidy elimination

Published

12 hours ago

December 26, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

In a recent statement, the eastern government of Libya claimed it had reached a consensus on a plan to eliminate gasoline subsidies and would draft a mechanism to carry out the accord.

Additional information on the idea was not released by the administration led by Osama Hamad, a challenger to the internationally acknowledged Tripoli-based government.

However, it is uncertain if Hamad’s government would be able to carry out the plan in the divided nation.

According to the Global Petrol Prices online tracker, a litre of gasoline costs just 0.150 Libyan dinars ($0.03) in OPEC member Libya, making it the second-cheapest in the world.

Following an uprising against former ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, smuggling networks have thrived in the ensuing political unrest and armed fighting. In 2014, conflicting eastern and western governments separated the nation.

A World Bank analysis estimates that the annual value of fuel smuggling from Libya is at least $5 billion.

In a meeting with Mari Barrasi, the deputy governor of the Central Bank of Libya (CBL), located in Tripoli, and four members of the bank’s board of directors, Hamad in Benghazi supported the idea of removing subsidies.

The CBL’s Benghazi branch offices served as the venue for the conference.

The eastern parliament appointed Hamad in 2023 to succeed Abdulhamid Dbeibah, who had been put in position in 2021 under a U.N.-backed procedure that the parliament said had lost its legitimacy.

Dbeibah, who is located in Tripoli, stated in January that he will conduct a public poll on the topic of eliminating gasoline subsidies, but he hasn’t done anything about it since.

According to CBL figures, gasoline subsidies cost 12.8 billion Libyan dinars between January and November of this year. 4.8 Libyan dinars to $1 is the official exchange rate.