With more testing, Nigeria could have higher COVID-19 cases than Spain, Italy and the UK combined
According to BusinessDay analysis, nearly 2 million people in Africa’s most populous country may have been infected with the coronavirus. The low testing rate in the country is the reason why it’s unable to report the actual cases.
When Brazil, the most populous country in Latin America, waltzed into the second spot on the list of countries with the most cases of the coronavirus, it cast an uncomfortable spotlight on Nigeria where low testing rates may be masking the number of infected persons.
Brazil’s similarities with Nigeria suggests the latter should be just as hit by the virus as the former but for low testing which has kept numbers artificially low in Nigeria.
Lagos seeks partnership for local production of 1m electricity meters in 4 years
Lagos State government is seeking partnerships that will deliver the local production of between 600,000 and 1 million electricity meters to meet the needs of citizens and address challenges associated with estimated billing.
Olalere Odusote, commissioner for energy and mineral resources, in an interview with BusinessDay states that the Eko Innovation Centre (with the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources as title sponsors) is promoting efforts to provide affordable meters to the populace by facilitating a meter design Hackathon (a bidding competition) to improve energy distribution, monitoring and preventing revenue leakage.
“On the campaign trail there were two big issues that Lagosians complained the most about; it was traffic and transportation and lack of constant supply of electricity. So, instead of putting up big electricity projects that may or may not be completed, we decided to target where the problems are, to invest in those areas because our job is to solve problems. What the governor has said in his wisdom is that as much as possible we should meter all Lagosians over the next four years,” Odusote says.
Lagos reformed Land Use Charge 2020 holds these benefits for property owners
The Lagos State reformed Land Use Charge (LUC) of 2020 comes with 48 percent charge reduction, meaning that a property owner in Ikeja, for instance, who paid N27,000 by 2018 rate, will now be paying about N14,000 or thereabout.
Another take-way from the reformed LUC is that there is a reintroduction of 25 percent discount for early payment of the charge. “All property owners who are able to pay their charge before the due date will enjoy this concession,” Lago State commissioner of finance said.
He states further that the new LUC also comes with some waivers, which he explains, were introduced by the state government as a form of palliative to cushion the harsh economic and social impact of Covid-19 pandemic on the people.
“Because of that, all penalties for payment defaults for 2017, 2018 and 2019 have been waived. But the government is not waiving the amount payable. What we are waiving are the interests and penalties for failure to pay. This means that the 2018 law subsists for those charges payable then,” he explains.
Nigeria’s micro pension growth is shortened by poor savings culture, COVID-19
The lack of savings culture among Nigerians and the current economic downturn occasioned by COVID-19 pandemic have frustrated the effective take-off and full implementation of the country’s micro pension scheme.
As at the end of May 2020, only about N24 million has been generated from the informal sector scheme, a year and six months after it was launched by President Muhammadu Buhari in the wake of his second-term bid.
Micro pension, an offshoot of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) now swelling with over N10.8 trillion in assets under management with over 9 million registered contributors, is expected to galvanise the informal sector players and provide them with an effective plan for retirement.
With Biden’s nod to Senator Harris, US is primed for first black female Vice President
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on Tuesday picked Senator Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.) as his running mate, a historic decision that elevates the first Black woman and first Asian American woman to run for vice president on a major-party ticket at a moment when the country is grappling with its racial past and future.
Biden’s announcement, made in a text and tweet, aligns him with a former presidential rival whose most electric campaign performance came when she criticized his record on school integration during a debate.
The decision is the most consequential of Biden’s presidential campaign and has major implications not only for the November election but for the future of the Democratic Party.
