Rwanda: Locally Assembled Laptops to Ease Shortage in Rwanda Schools

Locally assembled laptops are expected to ease shortage of digital devices at schools, boost basic facilities availability and improve ICT teaching. Positivo BGH, Argentina-based ICT company that set up a factory in Rwanda, has started producing laptops as part of its plans to supply digital devices to the government. Last year, the government signed a deal with the ICT company to address problems in the One Laptop Per Child Programme and ICT in education such as poor devices, distribution, lack of basic facilities and educational products, among others. Positivo BGH African president Juan Ignacio Ponelli, told Rwanda Today, that production at the factory based in Special Economic Zone started in mid-July and so far 7,800 units have been assembled. "We are bringing the best available technology to Rwanda and the continent. We have strong partnerships with global leaders in this industry like Intel, Google, Microsoft," said Ponelli.

Egypt: ENI Makes Gas Discovery in Egypt's Deep Waters, Dubs It As 'Supergiant'

Cairo — Italian oil and gas company Eni has revealed what it is describing as the "largest gas discovery ever made in Egypt and in the Mediterranean Sea," on Sunday. The discovery of Zohr "could hold a potential of 30 trillion cubic feet of lean gas," Eni said in a statement. Egyptian Petroleum Minister Sherif Ismail said developing the new discovery is due to take approximately 4 years, in a statement issued on Sunday. He was briefed on the discovery by Eni Chief Executive Officer Claudio Descalzi, who also discussed the discovery with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in a recent trip to Egypt. Descalzi said this "historic discovery will be able to transform the energy scenario of Egypt." The Italian giant said it intends to immediately appraise the field to accelerate the development of the discovery. Zohr was discovered in the Shorouk block. Eni holds 100 percent of the working contractor's interest in the block, after an agreement signed between the company and the Egyptian state's Natural Gas Holding Company in January 2014. Eni has operated in Egypt since 1954 where it is a major oil and gas producer, supplying a little over a quarter of Egypt's annual oil and annual gas production.

Nigeria: BVN - CBN Confirms Enrolment of 19 Million Bank Customers The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has disclosed that a total of 19 million bank customers have so far registered for the bank verification number (BVN). Director, Banking and Payment System, CBN, Mr. Dipo Fatokun, disclosed this in a presentation at the bi-monthly forum organised by the Finantce Correspondents Association of Nigeria (FICAN), held in Lagos at the weekend. He also urged bank customers that were yet to register to do so before the October 1, deadline. "As at last week, over 19 million bank customers have been issued BVN. What we are doing now is to be moving round the banks to see how they are doing and those that are complying. The campaign from the CBN is that Nigerians should go and enrol for the BVN that is why we are going to be very strict with the deadline. Furthermore, he stressed that with BVN, there would no longer be hiding place for fraudsters. "Why we have not caught anybody is because we have not gotten to the cut-off date. When we get to the cut-off date, any account that does not have BVN cannot receive and cannot take out money. "So, if you are a fraudster and you try to transfer money into an account that doesn't have BVN, the system will reject it. Now, if you are a fraudster and you transfer money into an account that has BVN, then we know you. It is going to engender transparency in the banking industry," he added.

FG to review cost of 2nd Niger Bridge

The Federal Government is to review the Second Niger Bridge contract to ascertain the exact cost of the project. The construction of the Second Niger Bridge, a Public Private Partnership arrangement, was awarded to Julius Berger at the cost of N130 billion to complement the ageing River Niger Bridge. Aminu Dikko, director-general, Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), told journalists on Wednesday at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, that the commission had asked the ministry of works to review and justify the cost of the project, as the project was not likely to be completed soon. So far, N10 billion has been spent and, out of it, N1.5 billion was used for paying for damages and others, he had said at the time. Legacy concessions inherited by the commission were also discussed. These include the Lagos International Trade Fair complex, the Tafawa Balewa Square and the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. There is also a proposal to build three deep sea ports for the country with a combined estimated cost of about $6 billion.

APC will be more involved in Buhari’s appointments- Oyegun

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), John Odigie-Oyegun, has said that the party would henceforth participate more actively in subsequent appointments by President Muhammadu Buhari and apply the principle of party supremacy, following the outrage that followed the president’s latest alleged lopsided appointments. Oyegun told THISDAY on Saturday in Abuja that the party was “marginally involved” in the president’s recent appointments, though it was his prerogative to appoint his personal staff. Buhari drew the ire of many across the country on Thursday when he released a list of six new key appointees, which was widely criticised as the accentuation of an uneven geopolitical distribution of appointments since his inauguration on May 29. Odigie-Oyegun, while reacting to the widespread criticisms over the appointments, said, “It is too early and superficial to say the appointments were lopsided; it is too early. We are just a little over two months into the government. The appointments made so far are personal staff members of the president. And it is his prerogative to make those appointments.”

BRITISH AIRWAYS IN LANDMARK PENSIONS CASE

British Airways is preparing for a High Court clash with one of its pension fund’s trustees over increases in payments to the airline’s retired workers in a closely watched dispute that could see hundreds of millions of pounds at stake. The fiercely contested case between BA and its trustees, which will be heard next February, is significant because the hearing is likely to clarify the role and responsibilities of pension fund trustees. It stems from the government’s decision in 2010 to link pension increases for retired public sector workers to the Consumer Price Index rather than the Retail Price Index (RPI), which is seen as a more generous measure of inflation. The government’s decision also applied to private sector defined benefit schemes such as BA’s, which predated the airline’s merger with Spain’s Iberia in 2011 when it became part of International Airlines Group. BA is fighting the trustees over their 2013 decision to award a 0.2 per cent discretionary increase to pensioners in the scheme — amounting to a pension bump of half the difference between RPI and CPI. BA said it was “committed” to ensuring that its company pension schemes should act in the best long-term interests of scheme members. “The scheme in question has a significant deficit, which British Airways is funding with a clear recovery plan,” the company said.

Fredrick Forsythe Reveals He Spied for MI6 During Nigerian Civil

He is known today as the author of peerless spy thrillers, but his expertise was hard won. In extracts from his memoirs, Frederick Forsyth reveals how he worked for the MI6 to spy on the Biafran government during the Nigerian Civil War There is often confusion between the Secret Service and the Security Service, but everyone remotely concerned is universally described by those on the outside with another misnomer, that of “spy”. The true spy is almost certainly a foreigner employed deep inside the clandestine fabric of his own country who is prepared to abstract his country’s covert information and hand it over to his real employers. In late 1968 I was sought out by a member of the Firm called Ronnie. He made no bones about what he was and we hit it off. There are times in your life when you meet someone and in short order decide that he is a thoroughly decent fellow and you can trust him. If you are ever deceived in this later, it is like a hot dagger.

Bailout: CBN inject N338bn in 27 states to stimulate economy n line with the federal government’s resolve to reflate economic activities in the country, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will this week continue the disbursement of its special intervention fund totalling N338 billion to 27 states in the country. Already, the funds to Kwara, Zamfara and Osun States were disbursed last week and they have commenced the payment of salary arrears to workers in their respective states, A source at the central bank confirmed that more states would get their monies this week. From the breakdown of funds made available to the first three states to which monies were disbursed last week, Kwara State got a total of N4.320 billion from the special intervention fund, Osun got N34.988 billion, while Zamfara was given N10.020 billion. The source, a senior central bank official, stressed that with the disbursement of the N338 billion to the 27 states that applied for the special intervention fund, economic growth would be stimulated through the payment of outstanding salaries to workers who have been owed for months. The conditions for accessing the facility included resolutions of the respective state executive councils (SECs) authorising the borrowings and state Houses of Assembly consenting to the loans, as well as issuance of Irrevocable Standing Payment Orders (ISPOs) to ensure timely repayment at source from the states’ Federation Account allocations.