Banking
AfDB Board Approves $105.26 Million for Lovua-Tshikapa Section of the Batshamba-Tshikapa Road Project in DRC
TUNIS– The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group approved on Tuesday, December 10, 2013 in Tunis, two grants and a loan amounting to US $105.26 million (UA 70.14 million*) to finance the Lovua-Tshikapa section of the Batshamba-Tshikapa road project in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The project aims at opening up the country’s Bandundu and West Kasaï Provinces with a view to improving the service level of the transport logistics chain on the Kinshasa-Tshikapa road as well as the living conditions of people in these areas.
It involves the development of a 56-kilometre portion of the Batshamba-Tshikapa road between Lovua and Tshikapa on the National Road 1 (NR1), including the construction of a new bridge over the Kasaï River which crosses Tshikapa town.
The project supplements previous Bank interventions on the same road such as the Nsele-Lufimi (93+850 km) and Kwango-Kenge (70+34 km) stretches completed in 2011 with a UA 52.45-million grant; and the Loange and Lovua (63 km) roads financed by an ADF grant of UA 53.55 million approved in 2012. The entire road covers 433 km towards Mbuji-Mayi and beyond Tshikapa. Thus, the Bank’s involvement in the current project will help to strengthen its previous and ongoing operations on the road axis and extend its support to other key provinces in the country (Bandundu, West and East Kasaï).
It is consistent with the pillars of the Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (GPRSP) 2011-2015 of the Democratic Republic of Congo, whose main thrusts include the improvement of access to basic social services. The project aligns with the DRC’s transport policies framework whose action plan is considered as a reference framework for the country’s 2002-2015 transport sector reforms. The plan proposes massive transport infrastructure investments and the consolidation of sustainable development with three key pillars: (i) rehabilitation of old asphalted roads and the construction of new ones; (ii) traffic restoration by re-opening the earth-roads network; and (iii) protection and maintenance of roads in good state of repair.
The project is consistent with the Bank’s new Country Strategy (2013-1017) for the DRC, which builds on two pillars: (i) Development of Private Investment, Rural Integration and Support Infrastructure; and (ii) Building Central Government’s Capacity to Increase Public Revenue and Create an Enabling Framework for Private Investment. The project is aligned to the Regional Integration Strategy (RISP 2011-2015), also built on two pillars: (i) Regional Infrastructure Development; and (ii) Institutional and Human Capacity Building.
Aligned to the key objectives of the Bank’s Ten Year Strategy (2013-2022), namely, inclusive growth and gradual transition to green growth, the project also fits with its accompanying operational priorities, including infrastructure development, private sector development, governance and accountability, skills and technology, gender, fragile States, agriculture and food security.
It is noteworthy that the project is in line with the interventions of the Bank and other donors (European Union and World Bank) as part of the gradual development of NR1. Actually, the Bank, through a grant of UA 52.45 million, financed the rehabilitation of the road sections between Nsele-Lufimi (93.85 km) and Kwango-Kenge (70.34 km). Similar works between Loange and Lovua (63 km) also benefited from an ADF grant of UA 53.55 million, approved in 2012.
The population of the project’s target area is estimated at 1,750,000, including 892,000 women representing nearly 51 per cent of the population. It comprises the urban centre of Tshikapa and four major villages (Mukala, Katanga, Kayateshia and Kabunlongo). The planned road is the nearest motorway of national importance to which it can be connected.
The main direct beneficiaries of the project are: (i) people living the project areas; (ii) road transporters through the provision of adequate infrastructure and substantial reduction of vehicle operating expenses; (iii) the extractive industries sector for transportation of inputs and evacuation of products; and (iv) the Congolese State. The other project beneficiaries are businesses and other service providers involved in the project’s implementation and monitoring.
Scheduled to be implemented from December 2013 to December 2018, the project will be jointly co-financed by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) (UA 55.56 million) and African Development Fund (ADF) as lead donor with UA 13.92 million. The contributions of DFID and ADF represent 79.97 per cent and 20.03 per cent, respectively, of the project’s total cost estimated at UA 69.48 million. DFID resources will be managed and disbursed through the Fragile States Facility (FSF), pursuant to Bank Rules and Procedures. Both institutions will sign a specific agreement defining the terms of the co-financing.
The total cost of the project, net of taxes and customs duty, is estimated at UA 69.48 million, equivalent to US $105.26 million. The project is jointly financed by: (i) the ADF to the tune of UA 13.98 million through a loan of UA 0.66 million, derived from a cancellation, and a grant of UA 13.92 million, of which UA 0.28 million is derived from a cancellation; and (ii) DFID, to the tune of EUR 63.61 million, equivalent to UA 55.56 million, to be disbursed through the Fragile States Facility (FSF). The contributions of ADF and DFID represent 20.03 per cent and 79.97 per cent, respectively, of the total project cost. This cost includes compensations owed project-affected persons, borne exclusively by ADF resources.
Banking
Millions of customers still stranded worldwide 24 hours after GT Bank online operations suffered attacks
By Yemie ADEOYE
GT Bank, one of Nigeria’s leading banks, with operations across Africa and the United kingdom, and with an asset base of about US$3.11 trillion is under a cyber attack which has left millions of its customers across the world stranded in the last 24 hours.
The bank which was renowned for its seamless online operations at inception has suffered dwindling online efficiency in recent years and this current attack didn’t come as a surprise to many of its numerous customers. However, it is becoming worrisome that over 24 hours after its online operations went down, the bank has not been able to arrest the situation and restore its online services.
Stranded GT Bank customers outside the banks premises
Several customers of the bank took to their X (formerly known as twitter) handles to express their frustrations at the bank, as several of the customers in the diaspora are unable to access their accounts and carry on with their transactions. A customer , Jeff55 who lamented on his X handle about the development, stated that it is a thing of shock that a bank of this size couldn’t afford to have the necessary tools and experts to ensure a full protection of its online operations in this age and time.
Another customer Dimma stated that while Cybersecurity training may seem tedious, the recent #GTBank hack is a stark reminder that everyone is just a click away from a devastating attack.
Several media organisations had reported that hackers have stolen GT Bank website, and intercepted customers Data in massive phishing operation.
At the time of filing this report, Biztellers.com.ng checks on the banks website shows that it is still down and unaccessible, and neither GT Bank media and communications unit nor any of its agencies or surrogates have commented officially on the development.
Says output surge buoyed by reforms he announced in May 2024 to address gaps in PIA
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Sunday declared a resurgence in the oil & gas industry, commending the increased crude production to 1.6 million barrels per day.
The president, who said this in a national broadcast, maintained that the resurgence was buoyed by the reforms he announced in May 2024 to address the gaps in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
Nigeria’s crude oil output got a boost to 1.61 million barrels per day in July 2024 through the president’s directive and the industry leadership provided by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
Acknowledging what he called a resurgence of the once-declining oil and gas industry in his Sunday-morning broadcast to the nation, President Tinubu said that oil investors are coming back to Nigeria.
He said; “Our once-declining oil and gas industry is experiencing a resurgence on the back of the reforms I announced in May 2024 to address the gaps in the Petroleum Industry Act. Last month, we increased our oil production to 1.61 million barrels per day, and our gas assets are receiving the attention they deserve. Investors are coming back, and we have already seen two Foreign Direct Investments signed of over half a billion dollars since then.
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“Fellow Nigerians, we are a country blessed with both oil and gas resources, but we met a country that had been dependent solely on oil-based petrol, neglecting its gas resources to power the economy.
We were also using our hard-earned foreign exchange to pay for and subsidise its use. To address this, we immediately launched our Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (CNG) to power our transportation economy and bring costs down.
This will save over two trillion Naira a month, being used to import PMS and AGO and free up our resources for more investment in healthcare and education.
“To this end, we will be distributing a million kits of extremely low or no cost to commercial vehicles that transport people and goods and who currently consume 80% of the imported PMS and AGO.
“We have started the distribution of conversion kits and the setting up of conversion centres across the country in conjunction with the private sector. We believe that this CNG initiative will reduce transportation costs by approximately 60 per cent and help to curb inflation.”
Plans are in top gear for the 11th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the FBN Holdings Plc.
The management made this disclosure in a notice it filed with the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) on Thursday, where it averred that it has not been served with any court order against the proposed AGM.
According to notice, which was signed by the acting Company Secretary, Adewale Arogundade, FBN Holding said, “The attention of FBN Holdings Plc (the Company) has been drawn to recent media reports purporting that the Company has received a Court Order stopping it from holding the Annual General Meeting (AGM) scheduled for August 15, 2023.
“We confirm that this assertion is a false narrative as the Company has, as at the date hereof, not been served with any court order to stop the forthcoming AGM.
“Suffice to mention that the AGM is a statutory meeting of Shareholders that must be held in accordance with the law, further to which the Company will notify the regulators and the public as appropriate if there is any lawful order to restrain the Company from conducting same.
“We hereby assure our esteemed Shareholders that the AGM shall hold on August 15, 2023, as planned and we look forward to their attendance and active participation at the meeting.”
However, court orders published in national dailies showed that the Federal High Court in Lagos had issued an order against the financial institution, barring it from holding its 11th AGM.
The order was entered pursuant to a petition by Olusegun Onagoruwa, in suit No: FHC/L/CP/1271/2022. It was addressed to the bank and some other bank officials.
It read, “Take notice that unless you obey the directives in the judicial order contained in the order made on July 15, 2022, by the Federal High Court, Lagos, by refraining from proceeding with the 11th Annual General Meeting of FBN Holdings Limited proposed for August 15, 2023, from seeking approval to issue or raise share capital in any manner whatsoever, from appointing or confirming the appointment of new directors, or in any other manner taking any step towards implementing, actualising enforcing resolution of the 10th Annual General Meeting of FBN Holdings Plc held on June 20, 2022, or in any other manner overreaching, disobeying or undermining the said order of a court, you will be guilty of contempt of court and you will be liable to be committed to prison and to there imprisoned.”
Biztellers brought you a report that a segment of shareholders had staged a protest at the headquarters of the bank on Monday, calling for the AGM to be held, as well as soliciting regulatory interventions.
It is expected that at the AGM, FHN Holdings is poised to breathe life into plans to seek shareholders’ approval to raise N150bn fresh capital via a rights issue and elect new directors including billionaire, Femi Otedola and Samson Ariyibi among other resolutions.
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