VenturesNow

Electricity: Nigeria to patronize local meter manufacturers amid shortage

Published

8 months ago

March 24, 2024

Nigeria’s Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has said that the government would patronize local meter manufacturers amid shortage.

Adelabu made the revelation during his working visit to MEMMCOL in Mowe, Ogun State. The policy, according to the minister, seeks to enhance local content development and stimulate industrial sector growth.

“We will also prioritise patronage, ensuring sustainability in their operations, aligning with President Bola Tinubu’s renewed hope agenda.

“It is a must to have significant local content in power sector’s projects and contracts,” Adelabu explained.

He emphasised the importance of providing local producers with long-term capital and affordable financing. In addition, as in the oil and gas sector, he announced plans to enact laws guaranteeing local content in the power sector, highlighting the critical need for comprehensive backward integration and technical training initiatives.

“That is the only way local producers can be sustained. But, we need to start developing capacity in terms of investment infrastructure and also ensure mass production. Need to develop local capacity to avoid importation.

“We must have comprehensive plan for full backward integration, so that the locally manufactured productst will be achieved. We need to start training our people in technical training.” Adelabu said.

Since late 2023, the appalling state of the electricity supply has gotten worse as gas suppliers to gas-fired thermal power plants have stopped supplying the product to the plants because of the $1.3 billion in debt that the electricity-producing facilities owe.

He clarified that over the next five years, the Presidential Metering Initiatives intend to install two to 2.5 million metres annually. He said that closing large metering gaps is the first priority, highlighting the need for cooperation from all parties involved.

Most Nigerian homes engage power transaction based on estimated billing which often end with complaints mostly by energy consumers over alleged practice of over-billing.

Related Topics:electricity Energy Featured Nigeria power

Click to comment

VenturesNow

IMF mission concludes 4th loan program assessment in Egypt

Published

2 hours ago

November 22, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Following the completion of a recent visit to Egypt, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced that its mission had achieved significant strides in policy talks aimed at concluding the fourth review of the IMF loan program.

The review is the fourth in Egypt’s most recent 46-month IMF loan program, which was authorised in 2022 and increased to $8 billion this year following an economic crisis characterised by high inflation and chronic foreign exchange shortages. It may unleash more than $1.2 billion in financing.

Along with reaffirming its commitment to maintain a flexible exchange rate system, the IMF stated that Egypt “has implemented key reforms to preserve macroeconomic stability,” including the unification of the currency rate that facilitated imports.

Earlier on Wednesday, Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said Cairo has asked the IMF to modify the targets for the programme not only for this year, but for its full duration, he added without giving more details.

“Discussions will continue over the coming days to finalize agreement on the remaining policies and reforms that could support the completion of the fourth review,” the IMF added in its statement.

VenturesNow

Kenya seeks $750m from World Bank, obtains $200m from AfDB— Official

Published

2 days ago

November 20, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The head of debt management for the finance ministry told Reuters that Kenya had obtained a $200 million loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and was negotiating a fresh $750 million loan with the World Bank.

After being forced to abandon proposed tax rises costing more than 346 billion shillings ($2.68 billion) in June due to fatal demonstrations, the East African nation’s administration, which has been grappling with significant debt, has been frantically seeking fresh funding.

The Finance Ministry’s public debt management office director general, Raphael Owino, told Reuters that the IMF’s October clearance of the seventh and eighth reviews, which opened the door for a $606 million loan tranche, had aided the ministry’s talks for more loans.

“The World Bank is coming on board, riding on the back of IMF receipts,” Owino said. “The AfDB is already on board.”

The discussions for more assistance, which came under the World Bank’s “Development Policy Operations” (DPO) with the government, were confirmed by a representative at the organization’s Kenya office.

“The amount of the current (loan) is yet to be determined. The amount will also depend on the implementation of the policy reforms agreed upon,” the spokesperson told Reuters, adding that past DPO loans averaged about $750 million.

In May, the World Bank approved the latest round of DPO loans, totalling $1.2 billion.

According to a statement made last month by Finance Minister John Mbadi, Kenya has set a foreign borrowing goal of 168 billion shillings for the fiscal year ending in June 2025.