African press review 22 June 2017

Nigeria is to get a cash boost from the World Bank. Some aspects of South Africa's new mining charter could harm a crucial economic sector. And South Sudan appears to be emerging from the dark shadow of famine.

Nigeria is to get a huge boost from the World Bank, Lagos-based Punch reports.

According to the story, the World Bank yesterday approved a 900-million-euro loan to support the implementation of Nigeria’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan scheduled to run until 2020.

The Better Education Service Delivery for All programme will receive about two-thirds of the cash, to bring out-of-school children into the classroom, improve literacy and strengthen accountability for results in basic education.

The rest of the money will go to the Kaduna State Economic Transformation Programme, which focuses on enhancing private sector investment in the state through an improved business environment, effective budget planning and execution, and fiscal accountability.

New mining charter could harm South African resources sector

There's more bad news for South Africa on the ratings front.

According to the Johannesburg-based financial paper BusinessDay, the international agency Moody's warned yesterday that the already low credit ratings of South African resources groups will be cut further if the Mining Charter is implemented.

The new charter was unveiled last week by Minerals Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane.

Among the crucial proposals are a black economic empowerment rule which would increase the current obligatory proportion of black shareholders from 26 to 30 percent.

The revised mining charter also places new conditions on the procurement of mining equipment and materials, obliging the companies to buy from black suppliers.

Moody’s say the Mining Charter will worsen the credit ratings of South African mine operators because most of them will have to borrow to fund the new requirements.

A one-notch downgrade would leave only one South African company, South32, outside the junk status zone.

More South Africans on the dole than have jobs

Also in BusinessDay, news that the number of people receiving grants has increased by 328 percent in the past 15 years‚ while the number of those with jobs increased by only 24 percent.

This is according to the latest survey published by the South African Institute of Race Relations (IRR).

The IRR survey shows that in 2001 there were over 12 million people in employment and just short of four million receiving social grants.

Last year there were more people receiving social grants in South Africa than there were people with jobs. Rounding the figures up, 2016 saw 16 million at work, with 17 million on the dole.

An Institute of Race Relations analyst says the numbers are a recipe for social and political chaos since, with South Africa now formally in recession‚ the government will find it difficult to finance the social grants programme.

As the economy stagnates and tax revenue slows‚ demand for grants will increase. The government will then have to cut other areas of expenditure in order to meet popular demands for higher grants. The poor and the unemployed will be worst affected.

The IRR concludes that this will lead to much higher levels of violent protest action.

South Sudan's famine replaced by famine-like situation

The famine situation in South Sudan has improved but not much, according to the front page of regional newspaper the East African.

South Sudan is no longer classified as being in famine, although 45,000 people in Jonglei and Unity states are expected to remain in famine-like conditions and the situation is still critical, a UN-backed food security report said on Wednesday.

An estimated six million people, that's half the population, are expected to be severely food insecure this month and next, up from 5.5 million in May, the report says.

The report is based on a survey by a working group including government and UN officials.

While there is no longer famine in counties in the north of the country, where it was declared in February, there are concerns now about the country's east, bordering Ethiopia.

"The conflict-related displacement of over 200,000 people from northern, central, and eastern former Jonglei has severely disrupted livelihoods and access to social services, thus severely undermining food security in the state," the report says.