Metro

U.S. applauds Nigeria’s monetary policies

Published

7 months ago

May 11, 2024

The United States government has commended Nigeria’s monetary policies under President Bola Tinubu which it says has fostered economic growth within the short period he has been in power.

U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of African Affairs, State Department, Joy Basu, who made the assertion at a digital news conference with select Nigerian journalists, said the government’s policies were conducive for businesses to thrive, as well as strengthening and positioning the nation’s economy for overall growth.

Basu, stressed that the U.S. was committed to fostering its collaboration with Nigeria in order to “tackle myriad pressing issues and obstacles, which Nigeria, being Africa’s largest economy, was facing.”

The envoy said her country was working closely with the U.S. Treasury, Nigerian authorities and African central banks towards ensuring public and private sector economic restoration, stability and prosperity across Africa.

Basu stated that the U.S. was also working on curbing Africa’s security, infrastructure and energy challenges against the backdrop of the recently concluded 16th U.S.-Africa Business Summit in Dallas, Texas,

“We just came back from a meeting in Abuja, which was between the Secretaries of State and the United States is committed to being a good partner of prospect,” Basu said.

“We have made commitments to work on the security situation, infrastructure and energy, which is a common challenge not only in Nigeria but in some other countries in the continent.

“We have made concrete commitments to work on an enabling business environment in Nigeria and to make sure that American companies that are investing in Nigeria are having a transparent experience.

“We are working closely with our U.S. treasury, and with the central banks of African countries, particularly Nigeria and the World Bank, to restore the economy, help the people and ensure public and private companies to thrive,” she added.

Also speaking at the event, Reta Lewis, President, U.S. Export-Import Bank, highlighted U.S. efforts towards bolstering trade and investment across Africa, and emphasised the importance of transparency and accountability in fostering stronger U.S.-Africa partnerships.

“We are prepared to work with African countries and stakeholders from these MoUs to partner and foster competition.

“88.5% of the transactions that Exim does on a yearly basis is in small businesses.

“We feel small businesses are going to be part of the work we do, not only in the U.S. but in Africa,” Lewis said.

She also urged the participating journalists to always highlight the positive strides being made by U.S. to support businesses and bolster economic growth in Africa against the backdrop of the continent’s prevailing challenges.

Related Topics:Economy Featured Nigeria Policies President Bola Tinubu United States

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Metro

Zambia: FOX report highlights persistent media harassment, calls for reforms

Published

15 hours ago

December 18, 2024

Isaac Dachen

A new Freedom of Expression (FOX) report by the Media Institute for Southern Africa (MISA) Zambia, has raised concerns over what it describes as the continued harassment of media professionals in the country despite collective efforts to safeguard freedom of expression.

The FOX Report serves as a call to action for all stakeholders to create a safer and more enabling environment for the media to operate without fear or intimidation.

Chairperson of the MISA-Zambia Board, Lorraine Mwanza, who raised the concerns while launching the report on Tuesday at the Pamodzi Hotel in Lusaka, highlighted that journalists and media practitioners in the country still faced intimidation, censorship, and violence for fulfilling their role of informing the public.

“The harassment of media professionals is a stark reminder of the threats posed to democratic values and the fundamental rights to seek, receive, and impart information without fear or hindrance,” Mwanza said.

She expressed solidarity with those who are targets of attack, and reaffirmed MISA’s commitment to defending journalists’ rights and protecting the integrity of the profession.

Mwanza further called on the government to address barriers preventing journalists from accessing public officials, emphasizing that public officials were custodians of critical information necessary for informed decision-making.

“When citizens have access to government data, they can better understand policies, monitor public spending, and advocate for change in their communities,” Mwanza noted.

She also appealed for the review and repeal of laws that undermine democracy, stressing the importance of enacting legislation that guarantees media freedom, freedom of expression, and digital rights, and commended the government for responding to calls from civil society organizations to withdraw the controversial Cyber Bills from Parliament.

Ministry of Information and Media Permanent Secretary, Thabo Kawana, in a speech read by Ministry Director Mordern Mayembe, reaffirmed government’s commitment to upholding media freedom and freedom of expression in Zambia.

Metro

Nigeria: 614,937 killed, 2.2m abducted in 1 year— Report

Published

1 day ago

December 18, 2024

Isaac Dachen

A new report released on Tuesday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has revealed that over 614,937 Nigerians were killed and 2,235,954 others kidnapped across the country in one year between May 2023 and April 2024.

The NBS report, titled, “The Crime Experienced and Security Perception Survey (CESPS) 2024”, says based on the surveys conducted between May 2023 and April 2024, the 2.2 million Nigerians who were kidnapped across the country paid a whopping N2.2 trillion as ransom, with an average amount of N2.7 million per incident.

The report also disclosed that murder rate was highest in rural areas with 335,827 incidents and 279,110 in urban areas.

A zone-by-zone analysis of the report showed that the North-West had the highest murder cases of 206,030, followed by the North-East which stood at 188,992, while the least was recorded in the South-West at 15,693.

The report also revealed about seven in 10 households reported murder cases to the police nationwide with 33 per cent of households responding that the killer was an unknown person, and 23.4 per cent confirmed that the murderer was a member of the household; while 1.0 per cent reported that the murderer was either a spouse or a lover.

The report said 1,668,104 persons were kidnapped in rural areas and 567,850 in urban areas with the North-West having the highest cases of kidnapping with 1,420,307 abducted, followed by the North-Central with 317,837 and the South-East at 110,432.

“Of the estimated amount of N2.2 trillion payments to free victims, the North-West reported the highest ransom paid with N1.2 trillion; while the South-East was the least with N85.4 billion.

“Disaggregated by zones, the North-Central reported the highest proportion of payment of ransom at 83.4 per cent, followed by North-East at 78.6 per cent.

“Households in urban areas paid an average of N3.7 million compared to N2.3 million in rural areas,” the report stated.

It added that about 91 per cent of kidnapping incidents were done for ransom in the form of money, goods or other benefits.

“While 2.4 per cent of cases were attributed to political, criminal, or terrorist objectives; 2.1 per cent were linked to personal or family disputes. Custody disputes accounted for 0.5 per cent of cases,” the report said.