Five things to know to start your Tuesday

Rockefeller, Bezos plan 10,000MW mini-grids in Nigeria

A global climate organisation backed by the Rockefeller Foundation and the Bezos Earth Fund is piloting a solar mini-grid programme in Nigeria that could provide the answer to the erratic power supplies that sap productivity in Africa’s most populous nation, a report by Bloomberg has said.

The report stated that initially, the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet wants to build a pilot in each of the regions covered by Nigeria’s 11 power distribution companies and ultimately facilitate 10 gigawatts of mini-grids.

The programme is adding to earlier efforts to build mini-grids in areas with no access to the national power supply.

Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet — formed in 2021 by the two groups along with the Ikea Foundation – helped build the first so-called interconnected mini-grid in December.

Peruvian ex-president sentenced to more than 20 years in bribery case

Peruvian ex-President Alejandro Toledo has been sentenced to more than 20 years in prison, making him the latest Latin American leader to be jailed in connection with the Odebrecht construction firm corruption scandal.

Toledo was convicted of taking $35m in bribes from the Brazilian construction firm in exchange for a freeway construction contract, and was sentenced to 20 years and six months in prison on Monday.

The 78-year-old former leader of the Andean nation, who served in office from 2001 to 2006, received one of the harshest sentences yet handed out in connection to Odebrecht’s campaign of bribery in exchange for political favours across the continent.

Venezuela’s former oil minister arrested for alleged ties to US

A former Venezuelan oil minister with alleged ties to a United States intelligence-run firm has been arrested, days after he resigned.

Pedro Tellechea, Venezuela’s onetime petroleum minister and a former state oil executive, was taken into custody on Sunday, the AFP news agency reported. Details of his arrest were announced on Monday.

Tellechea and his co-conspirators are accused of facilitating the illegal “delivery of an automated control system” to a company controlled by the US intelligence services” through Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA), the state-controlled oil company he operated, Attorney General Tarek William Saab said in a statement.

World Bank says Nigeria lost N13 trillion to forex subsidy

The World Bank said Nigeria lost N13.2tn in foregone revenue as a direct consequence of the implementation of its foreign exchange subsidy policy between 2021 and 2023.

It said the government lost N2tn in 2021, N6.2tn in 2022, and N5tn in 2023. `From the amount, N3.9tn was lost from the non-oil sector as tax revenue.

The institution also highlighted that the government terminated the foreign exchange subsidy in February 2024, contrary to the policy announcement made by the Central Bank in July 2023.

US urges probe into killings of two Mozambique opposition figures

The U.S. government on Monday condemned the weekend killings by gunmen of two Mozambique opposition figures ahead of protests against a disputed election result, with Washington urging “a swift and thorough investigation into the murders.”
The United States is the largest bilateral donor to Mozambique, providing over $560 million in assistance annually, according to the U.S. State Department.

Washington joined the European Union and Mozambique’s former colonial ruler Portugal in the condemnation and the call for an investigation into the murders of opposition lawyer Elvino Dias and opposition party official Paulo Guambe after multiple rounds were fired at a car in which they were travelling on Saturday.

Mozambique police on Monday fired teargas and bullets at protesters in the capital Maputo who had gathered at the scene where the two opposition party figures were shot dead on Saturday after a disputed election.
The full results of Mozambique’s Oct. 9 national election are expected this week, with early results showing that the ruling party Frelimo is set for another win. Opposition candidates say the poll was rigged.