Economy

World Bank Mission Representative Hails Botswana

Published

8 years ago

31/01/2017

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

World Bank Mission representative has hailed Botswana for the impressive output on the National Monitoring and Evaluation System (NMES).

Speaking during the combined thematic working groups (TWG) workshop on project for development of a national monitoring and evaluation system in Gaborone recently, World Bank’s lead public sector governance specialist, Ms Kathrin Plangemann indicated that what the groups had done was impressive.

Ms Plangemann said following the World Bank mission of December 2016, different sectors were required to review the indicators and make possible changes and improvements where necessary.

She stated that a few of the members had responded to the call and the changes suggested were incorporated in the matrix, adding that there was a need to conclude development of those indicators, especially on baseline data, targets and indicator protocols.

She said Botswana has a strong collaboration with the World Bank adding that they were in a bid to strengthen relations, reduce poverty and make sure that the public sector delivers its mandate.

She requested all sectors of the economy to closely scrutinise the identified indicators and provide the necessary information for the success of the initiative, adding that “successful implementation of the NMES is the gateway to a successful and brighter future.”

For his part, the director of macroeconomic policy in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development Dr Ernest Makhwaje mentioned that NDP 11 was approved by Parliament on December 1, 2016, with the theme, “Inclusive Growth for the Realisation of Sustainable Employment Creation and Poverty Eradication” which seeks to address Botswana’s three main development challenges of unemployment, poverty, and income inequality.

Dr Makhwaje said the plan focuses on six national priorities, diversified sources of economic growth, human capital development, social development, sustainable use of natural resources, consolidation of good governance and strengthening of national security, monitoring and evaluation.

On the way forward in terms of the implementation of NDP 11, Dr Makhwaje stated that members of the various TWGs would be critical in the implementation and delivery of plan’s national priorities.

He stated that the ministry reflections are by no means exhaustive and also urged other ministries and departments to develop their strategic plans based on the national priorities and strategies identified in NDP 1.

He said they should also align their visions, missions and mandate to identified NDP 11 strategies and implement NDP 11 national priorities and strategies through their annual performance plans for effective delivery of the goals and objectives contained NDP 11.

He however said in the previous plans, project implementation had been a challenge, particularly in terms of project designs and scope, cost overruns and delays in project delivery.

Dr Makhwaje said it was important for accounting officers to take charge of project deliveries under their ministries and departments by adopting some of the re-engineering tendering and adjudication processes to ensure speedy delivery of projects.

Economy

Market Sheds 0.25% as Tantalizers Stocks, Others Shed Weight

Published

13 hours ago

15/03/2025

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited suffered a 0.25 per cent hair cut on Friday after investors offloaded some stocks, including Tantalizers, which topped the losers’ chart.

The company was the worst-performing equity during the session after it shed 9.85 per cent to settle at N2.93, Jaiz Bank lost 9.72 per cent to trade at N3.25, Neimeth declined by 9.45 per cent to N2.49, Dangote Sugar tumbled by 7.76 per cent to N35.05, and Lasaco Assurance shrank by 5.96 per cent to N2.68.

On the flip side, Royal Exchange gained 10.00 per cent to finish at 88 Kobo, Linkage Assurance soared by 9.57 per cent to N1.26, Guinea Insurance appreciated by 9.52 per cent to 69 Kobo, Enamelware inflated by 9.05 per cent to N25.30, and Red Star Express rose by 8.41 per cent to N5.80.

Business Post reports that the market breadth was negative on the last trading session of the week, with 24 depreciating shares and 22 appreciating share, showing a weak investor sentiment.

Apart from the insurance index, which closed higher by 0.12 per cent, and the commodity space, which closed flat, every other sector crumbled.

The consumer goods counter deflated by 1.08 per cent, the banking industry went down by 0.22 per cent, the energy sector fell by 0.18 per cent, and the industrial goods counter retreated by 0.03 per cent.

At the close of trades, the All-Share Index (ASI) decreased by 265.81 points to 105,955.13 points from 106,220.94 points and the market capitalisation dropped N166 billion to end at N66.352 trillion compared with Thursday’s value of N66.518 trillion.

A total of 750.6 million stocks worth N11.1 billion exchange hands in 10,584 deals during the session versus the 341.7 million stocks valued at N16.7 billion transacted in 11,233 deals a day earlier, implying a rise in the trading volume by 119.67 per cent, and a decline in the trading value and number of deals by 33.54 per cent and 5.78 per cent apiece.

Champion Breweries topped the activity chart with 350.4 million units worth N1.4 billion, Tantalizers sold 53.1 million units for N157.1 million, Custodian Investment traded 51.1 million units valued at N1.0 billion, Lasaco Assurance transacted 36.5 million units worth N97.7 million, and Access Holdings exchanged 30.7 million units valued at N723.0 million.

Economy

Unlisted Securities Bourse Down by 0.60%

Published

13 hours ago

15/03/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

There was a 0.6 per cent decline at NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange on Friday, March 14, with the Unlisted Security Index (NSI) dropping 20.44 points to close at 3,363.74 points, in contrast to the previous trading day’s 3,384.18 points and the market capitalisation of the bourse losing N11.81 billion at session to settle at N1.942 trillion compared with the preceding day’s N1.954 trillion.

Yesterday, Okitipupa Plc went down by N30.00 to close at N300.00 per share compared with Thursday’s value of N330.00 per share, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc shrank by 31 Kobo to trade at N21.69 per unit versus the previous day’s N22.00 per unit, and Geo Fluids slid by 31 Kobo to trade at N2.84 per share, in contrast the N3.15 per share it was traded a day earlier.

However, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc rose by N2.66 to N38.23 per unit from N35.57 per unit, Afriland Properties Plc expanded by 30 Kobo to N23.20 per share from its previous rate of N22.90 per share, and AG Mortgage Bank Plc increased by 5 Kobo to close at 53 Kobo per unit versus 48 Kobo per unit.

During the session, the volume of securities traded at the bourse fell by 72.6 per cent to 652,237 units from the 3.9 million units recorded on Thursday.

But the value of securities traded went up by 40.5 per cent to N33.1 million from the N23.6 million quoted at the preceding session and the number number of deals increased by 11.7 per cent to 37 deals from 17 deals.

Impresit Bakolori Plc was the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 533.9 million units sold for N520.9 million, the second position was occupied by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 13.0 million units valued at N502.4 million, and the third spot was taken by Afriland Properties Plc with 17.4 million units worth N356.2 million.

The most active stock by volume (year-to-date) was also Impresit Bakolori Plc with 533.9 million units valued at N520.9 million, followed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 69.9 million units sold for N23.7 million, and Afriland Properties Plc with 17.4 million units valued at N356.2 million.

Economy

Naira Appreciates to N1,522/$1 at Official Market on FX Liquidity Boost

Published

13 hours ago

15/03/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira recorded its first gain against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) this week on Friday, March 14, firming up by 1.19 per cent or N18.31 to close at N1,522.37/$1 compared with the preceding day’s N1.540.68/$1.

This was supported by the injection of FX into the market by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Over the last few sessions, the local currency had depreciate following recent pressures in the market as interventions have failed to ease pressure welling in the market with the country’s foreign reserves losing over $2 billion in the last month.

However, there were fresh injections at the session, which boosted the value of the local currency in the official market.

Equally, the domestic currency appreciated against the British Pound Sterling at NAFEM yesterday by N25.93 to sell at N1,640.20/£1 versus the previous day’s N1,990.13/£1 and improved its value against the Euro by N22.30 to quote at N1,653.78/€1, in contrast to the preceding session’s value of N1,676.08/€1.

In the parallel market, the value of the Nigerian Naira remained unchanged against the US Dollar during the trading day at N1,590/$1.

As for the cryptocurrency market, sellers of risk assets took a breather yesterday, with crypto markets posting sizable gains after risk appetite returned to markets.

Solana (SOL) jumped by 6.7 per cent to trade at $133.10, Ripple (XRP) gained 4.1 per cent to finish at $2.39, Cardano (ADA) went up by 3.8 per cent to settle at $0.7356, Dogecoin (DOGE) rose by 2.5 per cent to sell at $0.1723, Bitcoin (BTC) grew by 2.3 per cent to end at $83,987.28, Litecoin (LTC) added 3.0 per cent to quote at $91.48, Binance Coin (BNB) appreciated by 1.8 per cent to $590.92, and Ethereum (ETH) improved its value by 1.4 per cent to sell at $1,919.80, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.