Five things to know to start your day

More questions than answers

A group of 14 countries have issued a rare joint statement questioning the validity of the World Health Organisation study into the origins of the coronavirus, which was first detected in Wuhan, China, and has now killed almost 2.8 million people across the globe.

The countries seemed to criticise the study for a lack of depth.

Even though the said countries never directly blamed China for interfering with the scientific probe, the accusing fingers seemed directed at Beijing over a perceived lack of transparency and full cooperation, factors which may have undermined the WHO’s study.

The statement said that health experts were delayed in studying the origins of the virus and that even when granted access, they were denied “complete, original data and samples.”

“Scientific missions like these should be able to do their work under conditions that produce independent and objective recommendations and findings,” reads the statement, which was issued by the U.S. State Department in coordination with a raft of other governments, including Australia, Canada, Denmark and the United Kingdom.

The Czech Republic, Estonia, Israel Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, the Republic of Korea and Slovenia also co-signed statement.

Even the WHO’s director, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, spotted the gaps in the study.

“I do not believe that this assessment was extensive enough,” he said. “Further data and studies will be needed to reach more robust conclusions.”

The European Union called the report a “helpful first step” and highlighted “the need for further work”, urging “relevant authorities” to help, but without naming China.

Discussing its findings, Peter Ben Embarek, head of the research team that travelled to China, said the report “is not a static product, but a dynamic one”, adding that there will be a new analysis.

Embarek said team members faced political pressure from “all sides”, but insisted: “We were never pressured to remove critical elements in our report.”

He also said, “Where we did not have full access to all the raw data we wanted, that has been put as a recommendation for future studies.”

Markets mixed

While there is a lot of movement in bonds this morning, global equity markets continue to be fairly quiet. Overnight the MSCI Asia Pacific Index slipped 0.1% while Japan’s Topix index closed 0.8% lower. In Europe, the Stoxx 600 Index was 0.4% higher by 5:50 a.m. Eastern Time with cyclical stocks performing well. S&P 500 futures pointed to almost no change at the open.

Oil was slightly lower as traders awaited the latest OPEC meeting, and gold was under $1,700 an ounce. The naira was trading at N409 per US dollar at the Investors and Exporters window this morning, according to FMDQ data.

Read Also: African governments must do more to keep economies afloat, create jobs, says World Bank

Uneven recovery

A new report by the World Bank says Sub-Saharan Africa is set for an uneven economic recovery this year as some countries struggle to bring coronavirus infections under control.

While African countries have made tremendous investments over the last year to keep their economies afloat, governments will need to do more to “support job creation, strengthen equitable growth, protect the vulnerable,” and support the environment, the bank’s Chief Economist Albert Zeufack said in a statement.

Gross domestic product is forecast to grow 2.3%-3.4% in 2021 after contracting 2% last year, the Washington-based lender said in its Africa Pulse report Wednesday.

New infection waves are weighing on growth projections on the continent. Economic activity will remain well below pre-Covid-19 projections in a majority of the countries in the region, increasing the risk of long-lasting damage from the pandemic on people’s living standards, the World Bank said.

Rising demand for commodities and higher prices should help support the recovery in the region, the World Bank said, while vaccine distribution will have an uneven impact on growth.

Sub-Saharan Africa’s outlook also depends on debt suspension. Several countries in the region have signed up to the so-called common framework on debt relief put together by the Group of 20 nations.

Court bars FG from blocking SIM cards on April NIN linkage deadline

A Federal High Court in Lagos State has barred the Federal Government from blocking SIM cards not linked to National Identity Numbers next month.

The Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy had, through the Nigerian Communications Commission, asked operators to block all SIM cards not linked to NIN by April 6, 2021.

The deadline had caused many Nigerians to gather at offices of the National Identity Management Commission in disregard of COVID-19 protocols.

However, a former second National Vice-President of the Nigerian Bar Association and human rights lawyer, Monday Ubani, filed an originating motion and asked the court to stop the Nigerian Communications Commission from disconnecting all SIM Cards not linked to NINs.

The court ruled that the ultimatum of April 6, 2021, be halted as the timeline is grossly inadequate and will not only work severe hardship but will likely infringe on the fundamental rights of Nigerians to freedom of expression as guaranteed by Section 39(1)(2) and Section 44(1) of the 1999 Constitution.

The judge further declared that in view of the COVID-19 pandemic and the rising cases in Nigeria presently, the deadline given to over 200 million Nigerians to register their SIM cards with NIN, will lead to a rush, thereby resulting in the clustering of Nigerian citizens in a NIN registration centre, subjecting them to the possibility of easily contracting COVID-19.

Joe Biden’s infrastructure roll-out

President Joe Biden on Wednesday will call for a dramatic and more permanent shift in the direction of the U.S. economy with a roughly $2 trillion package to invest in traditional projects like roads and bridges alongside tackling climate change and boosting human services like elder care.

He also aims to put corporate America on the hook for the tab, which is expected to grow to a combined $4 trillion once he rolls out the second part of his economic plan in April.

Coupled with his recently enacted $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, Biden’s infrastructure initiative would give the federal government a bigger role in the U.S. economy than it has had in generations, accounting for 20% or more of annual output.

The effort, to be announced on Wednesday at an event in Pittsburgh, sets the stage for the next partisan clash in Congress where members largely agree that capital investments are needed but are divided on the total size and inclusion of programs traditionally seen as social services. Just how to pay for them will be a fractious issue in its own right.