Advertise on podcast: Africa Business News

Qatar has announced new plans to expand output from the world’s biggest natural gas field, saying it will boost capacity to 142 million tonnes per annum before 2030. The new North Field expansion, named North Field West, will add a further 16 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) per year to existing expansion plans. Qatar’s Energy Minister Saad Sherida al-Kaabi said at a news conference on Sunday. Qatar’s Energy Minister Saad Sherida al-Kaabi says recent studies have shown that the North Field contains huge additional gas quantities estimated at 240 trillion cubic feet, which raises the state of Qatar’s gas reserves from 1,760 [trillion cubic feet] to more than 2,000 trillion cubic feet. He says these results will enable them to begin developing a new LNG project from the North Field’s western sector with a production capacity of about 16 million tonnes per annum. The QatarEnergy chief says the firm will immediately commence with engineering works to ensure the expansion is completed on time.

Kenya has exempted passport holders from South Africa and six other countries from paying an unpopular entry fee introduced last month. A memorandum from Kenya's interior ministry and immigration department says the exempted countries had entered visa abolition agreements or signed bilateral visa waiver agreements with the East African state. Only travellers from the East African Community regional bloc were exempt from paying the money. In addition to South Africa, the exemption has been extended to passport holders from five other African states - Ethiopia, Eritrea, Congo-Brazzaville, Comoros and Mozambique. San Marino, Europe's third-smallest nation, is the only other country on the exemption list.

Algeria's President Abdelmadjid Tebboune officially opened The Great Mosque of Algiers, the largest mosque in Africa. It is also the third-largest in the world, after the mosques in Saudi Arabia's Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina. The mosque was constructed over seven years, costing more than $800m. It is expected to host prayers during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which begins in two weeks.

The Central Bank of Nigeria has pegged the duty rates to be paid by importers to the Nigerian Customs Services during goods clearance. The bank instructed the Customs to utilise the FX closing rate on the date of the ‘Form M’ submission by importers for the clearance of goods and import duty assessment. The Director of Trade and Exchange Department, Hassan Mahmud, says this measure aims to tackle the volatility and frequent updates on the customs website concerning the liberalisation of the foreign exchange market.

The West African regional bloc, ECOWAS says the exit of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso would be detrimental to the region’s economy including stalling projects worth over $500 million. It also stated that the authority recognises that the withdrawal will automatically affect the immigration status of the citizens, as they may be required to obtain visas to travel around the region. The Chairman of the Authority, Bola Tinubu, says the issues though daunting, present an opportunity for ECOWAS to reaffirm its commitment to the vision of our founding fathers and the principles underpinning our commitment to peace, security, and regional integration.

The Nigeria Labour Congress has threatened to shut down its services all over the country if labour members are attacked during its planned two-day protest beginning February 27, 2024. The Labour, in a statement on Sunday, signed by its President, Joe Ajaero, says there is no going back on the planned industrial action. The NLC says the Federal Government must put on its thinking cap and implement its agreement with the Organised Labour as well as address the mounting economic crisis of survival in Nigeria. The NLC says its member won’t be cowed to shelve their proposed nationwide protest.

Parliament in Somalia has approved a major defence agreement with Turkey. Under the ten-year deal, Turkey will arm and train Somali navy forces and deploy its ships in Somali waters. Analysts say it's a major step in enhancing Somalia’s maritime security. Prime Minister Hamza Abdi says the deal eliminates - in his words - fears of terrorism, piracy, illegal fishing and the dumping of toxic waste. It comes as Ethiopia signed a controversial agreement with the self-declared republic of Somaliland, which has increased tensions between Mogadishu and Addis Ababa.

The Biden administration has announced it is cancelling $1.2bn of student debt for 153,000 American borrowers. The Supreme Court had previously blocked President Joe Biden's plan to cancel student debt for over 40 million Americans. This announcement only applies to those enrolled in a specific repayment plan who meet certain requirements. Those affected will be notified and it will be applied automatically. The announcement from the White House only applies to those enrolled in the voluntary Saving on a Valuable Education repayment plan who have been making payments for at least 10 years and who originally borrowed $12,000 or less for school.

The South African government has announced that it's tapping into its foreign reserves to try to reduce its enormous debts. The unusual move was announced by the finance minister, Enoch Godongwana, as he gave his budget speech in Cape Town. South Africa's current borrowings are the highest since 1947 and more money is spent servicing the debts than on education and health. The opposition has accused the governing ANC party of trying to sway voters ahead of the general election in May, which could see the party lose its majority for the first time since the end of apartheid 30 years ago.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, Gbenga Komolafe, says that the country’s oil rigs have increased to 30 from 11 in 2011. He linked the increase to NUPRC and other government stakeholders’ efforts to attract confidence and certainty into the oil and gas industry. Komolafe says Nigeria recorded capital expenditure worth billions of dollars within the last two and a half years due to the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act. He says that rig count is a measure of vibrant activities in the oil industry.

Nigerian Government says cement manufacturers are not doing enough to stem the rising cost of cement in the country, stating that it will not accept a situation where the price of essential building materials like cement continues to rise uncontrollably. The Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Arc. Ahmed Dangiwa expressed displeasure over the steady, recurring, and alarming increase in the prices of cement and other building materials and accused the manufacturers of hiding behind unstable FOREX to inflict hardship on Nigerians. He described the situation as unacceptable and inimical to the country’s growth, saying that the government cannot accept such illicit price hikes. Dangiwa noted that the incessant hike had overtaken the country in the past few months, causing a 100 per cent rise in price from N5,500 to N10,000.

Nigerian Lawmakers made a resounding plea to the Federal Government, urging it to refrain from eliminating the electricity subsidy, particularly in light of the prevailing hardships experienced across the country. The Senate’s stance emerged following a thorough deliberation, and subsequent endorsement of a motion during its plenary session emphasising the imperativeness of maintaining the electricity subsidy in Nigeria for the foreseeable future. The Senate resolved to call for prudence and caution, urging careful consideration of the socioeconomic ramifications before any decision regarding the removal of the electricity subsidy is made.