Economy
Ivory Coast Gets ECA Boost for Development Planning
By Dipo Olowookere
On Monday, the Ivoirian government, through the Ministry of Planning and Development (MPD) and the Sub-Regional Office for West Africa of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), launched the support project to strengthen development planning in Côte d’Ivoire.
This project forms part of the fundamental mission of the ECA to provide assistance to African countries and aims at supporting the renewal of development planning in Côte d’Ivoire.
It consists of developing a Guide to the Project Cycle (GPC) and of strengthening the capacities of the Ivoirian public sector executives in project monitoring and evaluation.
The GPC refers to a set of tools for project design and management based on the Logical Framework analytical method. It takes into account the activity of management and decision-making during the project cycle (including the missions, roles and responsibilities, key documents and decision choices).
The support of the ECA will make it possible to assess the use of GPC tools in Côte d’Ivoire and to provide a methodological guide that presents the different stages of the project cycle, as well as the missions, roles and responsibilities of the actors.
As for the capacity strengthening workshop, it will be held in Abidjan on February 21-25, 2017 with the objective of improving technical skills in project monitoring and evaluation for the management of the MPD and of other Ministries in charge of the design and implementation of development programmes and projects.
For the Deputy Cabinet Director of the Ministry of Planning and Development, Mr N’Grouma Tanoh, it is important to have a guide to the management cycle of the priority projects in Côte d’Ivoire in order on one hand, to standardise management methods and procedures applicable by all the sectoral ministries and on the other hand, to improve the absorption capacities of credits allocated to projects.
For the Director of the Sub-Regional Office for West Africa of the ECA, Dr. Dimitri Sanga, the launching of this project aligns perfectly with the mandate of his organisation which consists of supporting the economic and social development of Member States, to encourage regional integration and promote international cooperation for the development of Africa.
Taking into consideration the sub-regional context, marked by a relatively low resilience to exogenous shocks, with the loss of nearly 3 percentage points of growth between 2014 and 2015, owing mainly to the effect of lower prices for raw materials, Dr Dimitri Sanga explained that the ECA places a special emphasis on two fundamental levers that are closely associated: the acceleration in the structural transformation of African economies and the strengthening of development planning.
Lastly, the Director of the Sub-Regional Office for West Africa of the ECA congratulated Côte d’Ivoire which, with the implementation of the second generation of its NDP for 2016-2020, “is one of the rare countries of our sub-region and even of Africa to remain in an effective and continual process of development planning since 2012”.
Côte d’Ivoire, it should be remembered, implemented successive five-year plans from its independence in 1960 up to 1985, followed by structural adjustment plans and poverty reduction strategy papers up to 2012. In order to transform Côte d’Ivoire into an emergent country by 2020, the Government has decided to re-position planning at the heart of public action. This commitment was materialised by the development and implementation of the National Development Plan (NDP for 2012-2015) and the adoption in December 2015 of the second generation of the NDP for 2016-2020, which is the new framework of reference currently being implemented.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The federal government has been asked by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to suspend the implementation of the controversial tax laws.
In a reaction to the tax reform acts, the president of the group, Mr Afam Osigwe (SAN), the suspension of the laws would allow for a proper investigation into allegations of alterations in the gazetted and harmonised copies.
A member of the House of Representatives, Mr Abdussamad Dasuki, alleged that some parts of the laws passed by the parliament were different from the gazetted copy.
To address the issues raised, the NBA said it is “imperative that a comprehensive, open, and transparent investigation be conducted to clarify the circumstances surrounding the enactment of the laws and to restore public confidence in the legislative process.”
“Until these issues are fully examined and resolved, all plans for the implementation of the Tax Reform Acts should be immediately suspended,” the association declared.
It noted that the controversies “raise grave concerns about the integrity, transparency, and credibility of Nigeria’s legislative process.”
“These developments strike at the very heart of constitutional governance and call into question the procedural sanctity that must attend lawmaking in a democratic society,” it noted.
“Legal and policy uncertainty of this magnitude has far-reaching consequences. It unsettles the business environment, erodes investor confidence, and creates unpredictability for individuals, businesses, and institutions required to comply with the law. Such uncertainty is inimical to economic stability and should have no place in a system governed by the rule of law.
“Nigeria’s constitutional democracy demands that laws, especially those with profound economic and social implications, emerge from processes that are transparent, accountable, and beyond reproach. Anything short of this undermines public trust and weakens the foundation upon which lawful governance rests.
“We therefore call on all relevant authorities to act swiftly and responsibly in addressing this controversy, in the overriding interest of constitutional order, economic stability, and the preservation of the rule of law,” the organisation stated.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Demand for hot stocks, including MRS Oil Plc, buoyed the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.52 per cent on Tuesday, December 23.
The energy company was one of the three price gainers for the session as it chalked up N19.69 to sell at N216.59 per share versus the previous day’s value of N196.90 per share.
Further, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc gained N2.95 to close at N56.75 per unit versus N53.80 per unit and Golden Capital Plc appreciated by 84 Kobo to N9.29 per share from Monday’s N8.45 per share.
Consequently, the market capitalisation went up by N10.95 billion to N2.125 trillion from N2.125 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) rose by 18.31 points to 3,570.37 points from 3,552.06 points.
Yesterday, the NASD bourse recorded a price loser, the Central Securities Clearing System Plc (CSCS), which gave up 17 Kobo to close at N33.70 per unit against the previous trading value of N33.87 per unit.
The volume of securities traded at the session went down by 97.6 per cent to 297,902 units from the previous day’s 12.6 million units, the value of securities decreased by 98.5 per cent to N10.5 million from N713.6 million, and the number of deals remained flat at 32 deals.
By value, Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc ended as the most actively traded stock on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units exchanged for N16.4 billion. This was followed by Okitipupa Plc, which traded 178.9 million units valued at N9.5 billion, and MRS Oil Plc with 36.1 million units worth N4.9 billion.
In terms of volume, also on a year-to-date basis, InfraCredit Plc led the chart with a turnover of 5.8 billion units traded for N16.4 billion. Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc ranked second with 1.2 billion units sold for N420.7 million, while Impresit Bakolori Plc followed with the sale of 536.9 million units valued at N524.9 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
It was another bullish trading session for the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited as it closed higher by 0.59 per cent on Tuesday.
The market further rallied due to continued interest in large and mid-cap stocks on the exchange by investors rebalancing their portfolios for the year-end.
Yesterday, Aluminium Extrusion sustained its upward trajectory after it further appreciated by 9.96 per cent to N14.90, as Austin Laz gained 9.81 per cent to close at N2.91, Custodian Investment improved by 9.69 per cent to N38.50, and First Holdco soared by 9.35 per cent to N50.30.
Conversely, Royal Exchange declined by 7.22 per cent to N1.80, Champion Breweries shrank by 6.57 per cent to N15.65, NASCON lost 5.36 per cent to trade at N105.05, Sovereign Trust Insurance depreciated by 5.28 per cent to N3.77, and Japaul went down by 4.51 per cent to N2.33.
At the close of business, 29 shares ended on the gainers’ table and 27 shares finished on the losers’ log, representing a positive market breadth index and bullish investor sentiment.
This raised the All-Share Index (ASI) by 895.06 points to 153,354.13 points from 152,459.07 points and lifted the market capitalisation by N579 billion to N97.772 trillion from the previous day’s N97.193 trillion.
VFD Group finished the day as the busiest stock after it recorded a turnover of 192.0 million units worth N2.1 billion, GTCO exchanged 63.5 million units valued at N5.6 billion, Access Holdings traded 49.8 million units for N1.0 billion, First Holdco sold 45.8 million units valued at N2.3 billion, and Secure Electronic Technology transacted 38.3 million units worth N28.4 million.
In all, market participants bought and sold 677.4 million units valued at N20.8 billion in 27,589 deals compared with the 451.5 million units worth N13.0 billion traded in 33,327 deals on Monday, showing an improvement in the trading volume and value by 50.03 per cent and 60.00 per cent apiece, and a shortfall in the number of deals by 17.22 per cent.
-
Feature/OPED6 years agoDavos was Different this year
-
Travel/Tourism9 years ago
Lagos Seals Western Lodge Hotel In Ikorodu
-
Showbiz3 years agoEstranged Lover Releases Videos of Empress Njamah Bathing
-
Banking8 years agoSort Codes of GTBank Branches in Nigeria
-
Economy3 years agoSubsidy Removal: CNG at N130 Per Litre Cheaper Than Petrol—IPMAN
-
Banking3 years agoFirst Bank Announces Planned Downtime
-
Banking3 years agoSort Codes of UBA Branches in Nigeria
-
Sports3 years agoHighest Paid Nigerian Footballer – How Much Do Nigerian Footballers Earn