Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 03 March 2023

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 03 March 2023 

 


 

 


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ü  Adani Group: Embattled Indian giant strikes $1.87bn US deal

ü  Seed sales jump as fruit and veg shortage continues

ü  Tomato shortage: How far is Brexit to blame?

ü  Renting: Tenants seek 'bills included’ homes as energy costs rise

ü  Energy firms expect bill help to continue in April

ü  Darlington Council vows to support market despite closures

ü  WH Smith staff data hit by cyber-attack

ü  Building giant CRH chooses US over London in blow to UK

ü  Nigeria: NLC Condemns Planned Concession of Airports, Supports National
Carrier

ü  South Africa: Roads and Power Lines Put Primates in Danger 

ü  Kenya: Panic Grips Coffee Farmers in Mt Kenya Following Fears of Low
Returns

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

 

Adani Group: Embattled Indian giant strikes $1.87bn US deal

Indian multi-billionaire Gautam Adani's embattled business empire says it
has secured $1.87bn (£1.6bn) of investment from a US-based asset management
firm.

 

Florida-headquartered GQG Partners has bought shares in four of the group's
companies, Adani told investors.

 

It marks the first major investment made public by the firm since it was
accused of engaging in stock market manipulation and financial fraud by
short-seller Hindenburg Research.

 

Adani Group has denied the allegations.

 

Adani Group's seven stock market-listed companies had an estimated $135bn
wiped off their value since Hindenburg Research's report was published on 24
January.

 

The GQG investment will be split across four Adani companies, including
flagship firm Adani Enterprises.

 

"This transaction marks the continued confidence of global investors in the
governance, management practices and the growth of Adani portfolio of
companies," said Adani Group's chief financial officer Jugeshinder Singh.

 

"We value GQG's role as a strategic investor in our infrastructure and
utility portfolio of sustainable energy, logistics and energy transition,"
Mr Singh added.

 

Can India's Adani Group recover from $100bn loss?

How Gautam Adani's empire lost $100bn in days

Rajiv Jain, chairman and chief investment officer at GQG, said he believed
the "long-term growth prospects for these companies are substantial".

 

He added that Mr Adani was "widely regarded as among the best entrepreneurs
of his generation."

 

In a separate regulatory filing, Adani Enterprises denied media reports that
the conglomerate had secured $3bn in credit from a sovereign wealth fund.

 

"We would like to clarify that the said news item appears to be a market
rumour and hence it would be inappropriate on our part to comment on it,"
the firm said.

 

Earlier on Thursday, India's Supreme Court said it had appointed an
independent panel to investigate US short-seller Hindenburg Research's
allegations against Adani Group firms.

 

The firm alleged that Adani companies had engaged in decades of "brazen"
stock manipulation and accounting fraud.

 

It also claimed the companies had "substantial debt" which put the entire
group on a "precarious financial footing".

 

Short-selling is betting that the value of an asset will fall.

 

Adani Group has denied the allegations, calling them an "attack on India".
It had previously said that the Hindenburg report was intended to enable the
US-based short seller to book gains, without citing evidence.

 

Mr Adani's group has seven publicly-traded companies which operate across a
wide range of sectors, including commodities trading, airports, utilities,
ports and renewable energy.-bbc

 

 

 

Seed sales jump as fruit and veg shortage continues

Demand for vegetable seeds has "rocketed" as supermarkets continue to limit
sales of some fresh produce.

 

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) said seed sales across its retail
outlets had risen 20% in February compared to the same month last year.

 

Separately Mr Fothergill's Seeds said online sales had jumped by nearly 50%
last month.

 

Stores are limiting tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers but the RHS said many
potato suppliers had already sold out.

 

Recent bad weather in Spain and North Africa, along with complex supply
chains, have been blamed for empty shelves in UK supermarkets.

 

Wholesalers and importers the BBC has spoken to suggested the UK may also be
suffering because of lower domestic production, as well as a price-sensitive
market.

 

Former environment minister George Eustice claimed the shortages would last
three to four weeks but some growers said supply problems could last until
May.

 

Mike Burks, managing director of the Dorset and Somerset-based Gardens
Group, said customers were instead coming to them: "Over the last couple of
weeks sales of veg seeds have rocketed," he said.

 

"Potatoes, peas, beans. Also tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers as well as
lettuce and other salad crops. Brassicas such as cabbage, cauliflower,
broccoli and kale have done well too. It's across the board"

 

Staff were also being asked for tomato plants but "it was way too early for
that", Mr Burks said.

 

Sales of compost, seed trays, propagators and pots had also shown double
digit increases. With the trend to smaller gardens many people were growing
on patios and window boxes, he added.

 

RHS director of horticulture, Tim Upson, said since the start of the
pandemic there had been a "big trend" of people growing their own food.

 

"This is likely to increase as a reaction to the national fruit and
vegetable shortages as well as people looking for different ways to save
money to keep up with the cost of living," he said.

 

Based on sales last year the RHS predicted that chard, salad leaves,
tomatoes, garlic, and squash would be among the most popular vegetables to
grow in 2023.

 

Nicky Berry tried growing vegetables during Covid but "it was a bit of a
disaster".

 

The mother of five has just spent £250 on equipment, including a polytunnel,
to set up a vegetable garden at her home in Poole, Dorset.

 

"I saw all the empty shelves in the supermarket and thought I'd do it
properly this time," she said.

 

The 44-year-old has bought a variety of seeds and intends to plant them with
her youngest son, 12, who has ADHD and autism.

 

"It's a nice bit of bonding and it does taste better, so I see it as a
bonus," she added.-bbc

 

 

 

 

Tomato shortage: How far is Brexit to blame?

Some of the UK's biggest supermarkets are limiting sales of tomatoes and
other salad items.

 

The government says the shortages, which are expected to last for several
weeks, have been "predominantly caused by poor weather in Spain and North
Africa where they are produced".

 

Others highlight the impact of high energy prices on UK growers, whether the
government has done enough to help them and supermarket pricing.

 

Lots of people on social media have also been posting pictures of empty
shelves in the UK and contrasting them with plenty of fresh produce in
supermarkets in Europe, claiming Brexit is a factor.

 

What are supplies like in Europe?

The European Commission (EC) told us that "there is no particular situation
of food shortage in EU agricultural markets".

 

The Spanish government did confirm that "supplies in Spain are currently
lower".

 

It said this was largely due to the weather: "unusually high temperatures
from the end of the summer period until December"... followed by a "sudden
arrival of low temperatures in January... resulted in a drop in supply".

 

There have been some shortages in the Republic of Ireland, another European
Union (EU) member, and Irish retailers have blamed freezing weather in
Southern Europe and North Africa. But none are rationing fruit and
vegetables.

 

How is Brexit affecting tomato imports from the EU?

EU countries are in the single market - a giant, free-trade zone where
countries share the same rules and regulations.

 

 

The UK is no longer in the single market and now has a rule that every
consignment of "plant products" - such as tomatoes - sent from the EU to the
UK, requires customs declarations and pre-notification on the government's
IT system.

 

It produced a video on how to do this, using an example of someone trying to
import tomatoes.

 

The government says the paperwork is not routinely checked but, from 2024,
there will be further paperwork and checks.

 

A screenshot of a frame from the government's animated video showing a
character called Ali who imports tomatoes from Spain

Image caption,

A government video shows the steps the character called Ali has to take to
import tomatoes from Spain.

We spoke to MCE Logistics, a company which processes these forms for dozens
of importers of Spanish tomatoes for British supermarkets.

 

It told us it takes around 10-20 minutes to do this per lorry - longer if
they are transporting mixed loads of vegetables - and they use specialised
software.

 

Guy Singh-Watson who runs the Riverford veg box company, and has farms in
England and France, blames "Brexit paperwork" for the shortages.

 

Brexit represents "a challenge for the entire Spanish fruit and vegetable
sector", according to the Spanish government.

 

But it said the current tomato shortages in the UK were "due to the weather
reasons mentioned, and not to Brexit".

 

We asked the European Commission whether Brexit was a factor. It did not
comment on this, but said "food prices and trade flows are driven by market
forces".

 

One person on social media highlighted the situation in the Netherlands,
another source of tomatoes for the UK.

 

They quoted 'Daniel' saying: "I live in the Netherlands. We have too many
tomatoes! We used to export them to the UK but it now takes a truck driver
77 hours of queueing to take tomatoes to the UK and all truck drivers simply
refuse."

 

We contacted the industry associations in the Netherlands as well as the
haulage company pictured in the tweet.

 

The company has not got back to us and the industry association said they
were "not aware of queuing at the ports in the Netherlands for goods leaving
to or entering from the UK".

 

Ksenija Simovic, a senior policy adviser at Copa-Cogeca, a group which
represents farmers and farming co-operatives in the EU, said when there is a
shortage of supply "it doesn't help that the UK is out of the EU and single
market".

 

"But I don't think this is the primary reason the UK is having shortages,"
Ms Simovic added.

 

We asked the UK government if Brexit was a factor but it did not address
this point.

 

It said farming minister Mark Spencer had spoken to UK retailers and
"...asked them to look again at how they work with our farmers and how they
buy fruit and vegetables".

 

What about the UK's tomato producers?

Of all the tomatoes eaten in the UK - about 500,000 tonnes a year - UK
growers produce a fifth or 100,000 tonnes.

 

During the summer, this goes up to around half of all tomatoes bought.

 

Picture of tomatoes in a box with a Union Jack

There have been shortages of seasonal farm workers, including in the
glasshouses where tomatoes are grown, that have been blamed on Brexit and
the pandemic.

 

The government's Seasonal Workers visa scheme allows workers to stay for six
months at a time. Before Brexit, they could come and go - from other EU
countries - as part of freedom of movement rules. Now they come from
countries as far away as Nepal.

 

Bal Kumar Khatri (r) and brother Buddi Bahadur Khatri (l) from Nepal

Image caption,

Seasonal workers Buddi Bahadur Khatri (l) and Bal Kumar Khatri (r) came from
Nepal to work in glasshouses last year.

Dr Sarah Schiffling, a supply chain expert from the Hanken School in
Helsinki, told us the season for growing tomatoes in UK glasshouses is about
nine months a year. A six-month visa means recruiting and training two sets
of workers, adding to the paperwork and cost.

 

In addition, visas are granted only if workers earn at least £10.10 for each
hour worked - 60p more than the current National Minimum Wage.

 

Dr Schiffling highlighted differences in pricing strategies between UK and
EU supermarkets which, she argued, has been a factor in the current tomato
shortages.

 

"The pricing strategies of some supermarkets in the UK tie producers into
longer-term contracts while the EU supermarkets use spot rates - when there
are fewer tomatoes the price goes up", she told BBC 5 Live.

 

What about tomatoes from Morocco?

More than a third of tomatoes eaten in the UK currently come from Morocco.

 

UK tomato imports in 2022: 35% Morocco, 34% Netherlands, 16% Spain and 15%
other EU countries

Growers there have been affected by unusually cold night-time temperatures
that affected tomato ripening.

 

Bad weather also led to the cancellations of ferries bringing supplies to
the European mainland over the past three to four weeks.

 

After Brexit, the UK signed a trade continuity agreement with Morocco
(replicating the trade deal the UK had with the country as an EU member).

 

In March 2022, Poole Harbour announced a new direct service connecting the
UK and Morocco would be launched "shortly".

 

It said it would provide "an alternative route for exporters from Morocco
and Africa currently using road networks to the UK via Europe". But the
route has not been launched.

 

We contacted officials at Poole but have not had a reply.-bbc

 

 

 

 

Renting: Tenants seek 'bills included’ homes as energy costs rise

All-inclusive rents are rising up the list of priorities among people
searching for somewhere to live, according to property portal Rightmove.

 

The phrase "bills included" is second on the list of search terms, having
been fourth a year earlier, reflecting the pressure of surging prices.

 

But one student told the BBC that rising rents mean the costs can still
"consume your thoughts".

 

Property buyers are also widening searches to find an affordable home.

 

Tenant needs

Pets have consistently topped the list of search terms for rental
properties, according to the Rightmove data provided to the BBC, as people
consider landlords' policies on allowing dogs and cats in their properties.

 

Early last year, this was followed on the priority list by searches about
whether the property had a garage - as people sought extra space while
working from home - and whether the premises were furnished.

 

But, a year on, the term "bills included" has jumped to second place.

 

"Any landlord able to offer this to a tenant is likely to be met with a long
queue of applicants," said Tim Bannister, property data expert at Rightmove.

 

The growing Build to Rent sector has been trying to tap into this demand -
offering flats that include the cost of bills, and at the higher-end may
also provide membership at on-site gyms.

 

Jermaine Browne, co-founder of one such operator - ARK - said it was a
"simple and effective solution" to financial uncertainty.

 

However, rents can be linked to inflation - so these may have risen sharply
as prices have soared.

 

These represent only a fraction of the rental market, and private landlords
are far less likely to include bills in the rent.

 

Students are among those who might have access to all-inclusive deals, but
Sofia Gauntlett-Palou - who studies at the University of York - said it did
not remove the stress of bills.

 

The 20-year-old shares a house with three others, and their bills are
included up to a cap set by the landlord.

 

"We've managed to stay in it by limiting our use - turning off the heating,
and using the most appropriate cooker ring," she said.

 

"But I've been stressing that if we go over the cap, I can't guarantee I can
afford the excess. It can consume your thoughts."

 

Rents rising at fastest rate for seven years

Exhausting, costly, miserable: My search to rent a one-bed flat

The second-year social and political sciences student, who has found another
house-share for next year, said she had seen a massive increase in the cost
of renting. A shortage of properties meant tenants had little bargaining
power.

 

She took a gap year, working in a shop, before university to build up
savings to help with living costs, and is planning to work throughout the
summer to help pay for next year.

 

"Finances can take quite a toll on students' wellbeing when also juggling
academic work," she said.

 

A survey of university students by the website Save The Student suggested
that 63% of those asked had struggled to pay their rent, up from 53% a year
earlier. Many said this had an impact on their mental health.

 

Dan Wilson Craw is the deputy director of Generation Rent, which lobbies for
renters. This is his view on the pros and cons of inclusive rents:

 

Not having to deal with a utility company and the potential for large
increases in bills can be an attractive prospect

It can be difficult to know how good a deal you are getting. Landlords must
provide an energy performance certificate which contains some useful
information about how expensive a property is to heat compared with others,
but they don't necessarily have up-to-date information about what energy
costs would be at current tariffs

At the end of your initial tenancy it might be difficult to negotiate a
lower rent if energy bills have fallen. Conversely, if the landlord wants to
raise the rent to account for higher energy costs, it can again be difficult
to know if you're getting a good deal - particularly if you don't know what
your energy usage has been

If you need to save money, you don't have the option of cutting back on
energy use

 

 

Some tenants want to buy a first home. House prices may be starting to fall,
but not necessarily fast enough to make much of a difference to
affordability. Potential first-time buyers are also facing the prospect of
higher mortgage rates than they might have expected.

 

 

The Rightmove data suggests that potential buyers are less certain about
what they can afford. Based on search on the portal, this has led to:

 

A wider range of prices being looked at by house hunters

A rising proportion extended their search to cheaper properties than were
included in their original enquiries

People continuing to look in a wider geographical area than pre-pandemic,
often looking at more properties in cheaper areas further afield

During Covid, many people searched for inside and outdoor space, creating
more interest in rural and coastal areas. The latest data suggests buyers
are now increasingly looking to more affordable outskirts of towns and
cities, as the cost of living dominates considerations.

 

"First and foremost, finding a suitable home within budget will be the top
priority for most buyers, and our data suggests people are continuing to
look further afield and consider more areas in order to do this," Mr
Bannister said.-bbc

 

 

 

Energy firms expect bill help to continue in April

Some energy firms are preparing to amend bills in expectation that the
government will keep support at or near current levels, the BBC understands.

 

Typical household energy bills are set to rise to £3,000 a year from April,
but calls have been made for the government to retain its current level of
support so they stay at £2,500.

 

The government had previously said all help for bills is under review.

 

A Treasury source declined to "comment on speculation".

 

At the moment, the government is limiting the typical household bill to
£2,500 a year, plus a £400 winter discount, which will also end from April.

 

>From 1 April the help is scheduled to be scaled back, which will push bills
up.

 

Fuel poverty campaigners have said the number of households struggling to
afford bills could rise from 6.7 million to 8.4 million as a result of the
April rise.

 

However, industry sources told the BBC that some energy companies have
already started amending future bills to reflect that energy help will
continue at or very near to current levels beyond 1 April.

 

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to date has declined to extend the support, but
experts have suggested it is increasingly likely he will change course,
probably at the Spring Budget on 15 March.

 

New energy price cap prompts calls for help on bills

The Resolution Foundation think tank, which aims to improve living standards
for people on low to middle incomes, and consumer rights champion Martin
Lewis have both said Mr Hunt is highly likely to cancel the bills rise.

 

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), an economics research institute, has
forecast that the Treasury could afford to keep support at current levels
until the summer due to wholesale energy prices falling sharply, meaning the
cost of the scheme had been cut.

 

Energy UK, which represents suppliers, urged the government earlier this
week to hold the level of support at £2,500 for an average household and to
"announce that quickly" so firms could price it into bills from April.

 

Energy Secretary Grant Shapps previously said he is "very sympathetic" to
suggestions that the planned £500 rise in bills should be stopped.

 

There has been a drop in wholesale gas and electricity prices in recent
weeks which has raised hopes that the worst of the energy crisis could be
easing.

 

Bills began rising as Covid lockdowns ended but the war in Ukraine saw them
surge further.

 

Without the government's energy price guarantee to limit prices, a typical
household gas and electricity bill would have hit £4,279 a year from January
under the energy price cap which is set by Ofgem, the industry
regulator.-bbc

 

 

 

 

Darlington Council vows to support market despite closures

A council has said it will support a historic market after a spate of
business closures in recent months.

 

Darlington Market was renovated in 2021 to include a bar, street food stalls
and entertainment area.

 

However, several businesses have left the venue, some less than a year after
opening.

 

Darlington Borough Council said it remained confident empty stalls would be
filled, while the owner said it had been "inundated" with interest.

 

A venue serving Asian food and a street food stall offering
Mexican-Californian food were among the latest to leave the venue.

 

It now means the market, which was once occupied by businesses including
butcher shops, craft stalls and bakeries, has 10 empty units, according to
the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

 

Before the latest closures, the council had announced it would invest
£800,000 for the market's further redevelopment.

 

'Attract new traders'

The LDRS reports the council was "disappointed" further traders had left,
but said it was "confident that the vacant stalls will be taken up by new,
exciting traders".

 

"It is important to note that the forthcoming investment will be targeted at
the traditional trading section of the market which will attract new traders
to improve on the current offer that exists within this area," it added.

 

Market Asset Management, which owns the market, said it was in the process
of announcing replacement stallholders.

 

It said the six-figure sum from the council would help enhance the market's
offering as a place where "people love to shop, eat and drink and enjoy
entertainment".

 

A spokesperson said it was "committed to offer flexible, modern leases to
support small and start-up businesses".

 

It added it was an exciting time for the market and major redevelopment
would continue to take place with a new bar, revamped shop front fascias, a
new shop floor café and new toilets.-bbc

 

 

 

 

WH Smith staff data hit by cyber-attack

High Street retailer WH Smith has been hit by a cyber-attack, with hackers
accessing some of its workers' data.

 

Data that may have been breached includes names, addresses, National
Insurance numbers and dates of birth of the firm's current and former UK
staff.

 

However, its website, customer accounts and customer databases are not
affected, WH Smith said.

 

The company said it had launched an investigation and had told the relevant
authorities of the incident.

 

"WH Smith takes the issue of cyber-security extremely seriously and
investigations into the incident are ongoing," it said.

 

"We are notifying all affected colleagues and have put measures in place to
support them."

 

It added: "There has been no impact on the trading activities of the group.
Our website, customer accounts and underlying customer databases are on
separate systems that are unaffected by this incident."

 

WH Smith did not say how many of its current and former employees had been
affected by the breach, which took place earlier this week. The company
employs about 10,000 people in the UK across its High Street stores and
outlets at railway stations and airports.

 

The Information Commissioner's Office, a watchdog which investigates data
breaches, said it was aware of the incident and was investigating.

 

Lauren Wills-Dixon, an expert in data privacy law at law firm Gordons, said
retailers were at a higher risk of cyber-attack because of the large amount
of data they hold on their customers and employees.

 

"There is also enhanced reputational risk and potential for disruption
because retailers are so reliant on public trust and confidence, which cyber
incidents threaten to undermine. This makes the retail sector an attractive
target."

 

She added that attacks on employees' data could be more damaging than others
because the type of data companies hold about their staff means a leak can
lead to a greater risk of identity theft for the affected individuals.

 

This year has already seen two cyber-attacks on high-profile UK companies.

 

In January, Royal Mail was hit by a Russian linked ransomware attack that
caused severe disruption to overseas deliveries for several weeks.

 

That same month sportswear chain JD Sports said that it had been targeted by
a cyber-attack which could have put data relating to 10 million customers at
risk.

 

In April last year, online greeting card company Funky Pigeon, which is
owned by WH Smith, was hit by a cyber-attack that left it unable to process
orders for several days.-bbc

 

 

 

 

Building giant CRH chooses US over London in blow to UK

Building materials giant CRH is planning to move its main share listing from
the UK to the US, in a further blow to the London stock market.

 

The Ireland-based firm said North America now accounted for about
three-quarters of its earnings and was likely to be "a key driver of future
growth".

 

The move is likely to add to concerns that the UK's stock market is losing
out to overseas rivals.

 

Reports suggest UK tech firm Arm may also list its shares in New York.

 

Chip designer Arm used to be a member of the FTSE 100 share index of top UK
firms, but was bought by Japanese conglomerate Softbank in 2016.

 

Recently, Softbank has been looking to list Arm's shares after a planned
sale to US firm Nvidia fell through.

 

The UK government has reportedly been lobbying hard for the company to
choose the London stock market.

 

However, Bloomberg has reported that Arm is going to reject the UK and aim
to list its shares in New York later this year.

 

A number of takeovers of firms listed in London has increased concerns that
the UK market is declining in importance, and is failing to attract
fast-growing tech firms.

 

CRH announced its plans to change its share listing as it reported strong
sales and earnings for the past year.

 

The company - which supplies products such as asphalt, cement and paving -
saw sales climb 12% last year to $32.7bn (£27.3bn) with earnings rising 13%
to $5.6bn.

 

CRH said moving its main share listing to the US would bring "increased
commercial, operational and acquisition opportunities" for the firm, and it
would now consult its shareholders over the plans.

 

If CRH does decide to switch, it will be following in the footsteps of
plumbing and heating product firm Ferguson which moved its main listing to
the US last year.

 

Last month, betting firm Flutter said it was thinking of a US share listing,
and earlier this week, the Financial Times reported that oil giant Shell -
the largest company on the London stock market - had considered moving its
shares to the US market in 2021.

 

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said there were plenty of other
companies in the FTSE 100 that could follow Ferguson and CRH.

 

"That's not a good look for the London Stock Exchange," he said.-bbc

 

 

 

Nigeria: NLC Condemns Planned Concession of Airports, Supports National
Carrier

President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Joseph Ajaero has
said the body is fully in support of the national carrier project, while
condemning federal government's plan to concession the four major airports
in the country.

 

The Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, had at various fora,
explained that government's plan to concession the airports was to inject
private sector funding to develop state-of-the-art airport facilities that
can meet international standards, so that Nigeria, which has the highest
flight traffic in West Africa could be sun-regional hub.

 

He said government also insisted on establishing a national carrier in order
to have an airline that could be effectively competitive and could harness
the benefits of the Bilateral Air Service Agreements (BASA) through
reciprocity by operating to such destinations like London, New York, Paris,
Dubai and other destinations whose airlines also operate to Nigeria.

 

 

But NLC has insisted it would support the national carrier project and that
it is against airport concession. While Nigerian airlines could be
alternatives to a national carrier, government has reiterated that it does
not have funds to upgrade and modernise the international airports,
insisting it wants to concession the terminal facilities at airports in
Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Kano and that work is already at advanced
stage in the two projects.

 

However, speaking during a visit to one of the aviation unions, the
Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals (ANAP), in Lagos, Wednesday,
Ajaero explained that Nigeria needed a national carrier because the country
cannot continue to depend on foreign airlines and stressed that the country
establishing a national carrier was long overdue, but insisted that due
process must be followed in establishing one.

 

 

He said the country cannot be supporting foreign airlines to rip off the
country to the detriment of its local airlines. "We would demand as a matter
of right, a national carrier. Nigeria must have a national carrier and we
can't be depending on foreign carriers," Ajaero said.

 

He assured the union not to fret over the proposed concession of the four
major international airports in the country and the demolition of the office
buildings of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the Nigeria
Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority
(NCAA) and others in Lagos to pave way for the airport city project called
Aerotropolis, insisting that the idea is a joke of the century and will be
dead on arrival.

 

"I don't think any human can concession here without paying entitlement.
Anybody that takes over here as a concessionaire is spending his money for
nothing. We have passed through privatization and so we know how it works
and we know the dangers, so they are joking.

 

 

"I equally saw the Minister of Aviation talking about illegalizing the
unions in the aviation and that is the highest joke of the century because
he doesn't have such powers. Don't listen to anybody that is telling you he
wants to take over the aviation industry, he cant without following due
process and then, you cant shave somebody's hair in his absence, you can't
say that you concession here and there, there can't be an abortion without
pregnancy, things must follow due process, that is the way it is, so nobody
should panic", he said.

 

The NLC President also condemned the failure of the Aviation Minister to
inaugurate Boards of Aviation Agencies, alleging that all contacts awarded
and appointments made are illegal, null and void.

 

He expressed surprise that there was no Board of Directors in the different
agencies and said this, no doubt, has led to some strange practices in the
sector like the appointment of some persons from outside the aviation
industry to head some directorates, stressing that this does not allow
growth of career civil servants in the system.

 

He said: "The issue of interim board is an illegality, because an interim
Board is not the same thing as a Board. A properly constituted Board by the
Act and even in the Act, you see people who are supposed to be the Board
members and their responsibility. If anybody is running his office, with his
wife, his children, his personal assistant (PA) as a Board, he can't take
over the responsibility of a properly constituted board and until that is
done, he can't even take any major decision including the decision to
concession airports. He cannot, so whatever they might have done as at now
is void ab-initio; it is not only voidable but void ab-initio so, it is good
we understand it."

 

Earlier in his welcome address, Secretary General, ANAP, Comrade Abdulrasaq
Saidu said they were elated to have the NLC President visit the union
describing his visit as a great honour to them.

 

He listed the challenges the union wanted to be addressed by the national
body to include the concession of airports, Condition of Service (CoS),
planned demolition of agencies buildings, weakening the power of the unions
as regards aviation workers and the absence of Boards of Directors in the
past eight years.The President General ANAP, Comrade Kabir Gusau, also added
his voice calling on the NLC to urgently address these issues.He applauded
the NLC President's call for the establishment of a national carrier, saying
it will not only create jobs for the teeming unemployed pilots, engineers
and technical staff, but will also help to stimulate business activities in
the industry.

 

-This Day.

 

 

 

 

South Africa: Roads and Power Lines Put Primates in Danger 

About 25 million kilometres of new roads are expected to be built around the
world by 2050. Along with power lines and railways, roads cut through the
landscape everywhere, disrupting ecosystems. This linear infrastructure
prevents animals from moving safely around their habitat. It also reduces
access to the resources they need, like food, sufficient space and mating
partners.

 

This threat to biodiversity is a conservation issue globally, but especially
in developing nations, where 90% of new road construction is expected.

 

The African continent is home to unique biodiversity and extraordinary
landscapes. Planned infrastructure developments will certainly threaten some
of the last, unspoilt wildernesses on the continent.

 

 

We're particularly concerned about the future of primates. The International
Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists half of the continent's 107
primate species as threatened.

 

According to the IUCN 18% of the world's primates are directly affected by
roads and railroads and 3% by utility and service infrastructure. These
figures are based on limited research, though. The true impact is likely to
be higher.

 

South Africa's case shows why. None of the South African primate species
currently have linear infrastructure listed as a threat under the IUCN. But
this doesn't mean they are not negatively affected. It just means that the
lists need to be better informed.

 

South Africa is the only African country that has long-term, country-wide
mortality datasets for both wildlife roadkill and wildlife electrocution.
It's collected by patrol staff, scientists and the general public (citizen
scientists).

 

 

Using this data, we investigated how roads and power lines affect South
Africa's five primate species: the chacma baboon (Papio ursinus), the vervet
monkey (Chlorocebus pygerythrus), the samango monkey (Cercopithecus mitis),
the lesser bushbaby (Galago moholi) and the greater or thick tailed bushbaby
(Otolemur crassicaudatus).

 

All species were affected, mostly by roads. We found a total of 483 deaths
captured in the databases between 1996 and 2021. The number of deaths is
likely to be a lot higher, due to under-reporting. Targeted species- and
area-specific surveys are needed to refine this dataset.

 

The more mortality data is available, the better we will understand impacts,
know where to focus interventions and inform future infrastructure
developments to lessen the human impact on biodiversity.

 

We recommend that infrastructure like roads and power lines be more
prominently recognised as a direct threat when developing Red List
assessments.

 

 

Primate deaths

 

Most of the electrocution data used in our study was accessed from the Eskom
Central Incident Register.

 

Roadkill data for our study was available from two sources: the national
database from the Endangered Wildlife Trust's Wildlife and Transport
Programme and our own observations.

 

Since 2011, the Endangered Wildlife Trust has received records from
systematic patrols on certain highways and species -and area-specific expert
research surveys. Citizen science data comes from all over the country
including national and regional roads, with differing speed limits, widths
and vehicle usage.

 

The area surveyed by systematic patrols amounts to 1,370 km, covering 0.2%
of the country's entire road network and 0.9% of the paved road network.

 

The highest number of deaths recorded was for vervet monkeys. This was to be
expected as vervet monkeys have a much wider geographic range in South
Africa than both bushbaby species and the samango monkey, so they have a
greater chance of encountering roads and power lines. The greater (or thick
tailed) bushbaby and the samango monkey are forest associated and forests
cover only about 0.1% of South Africa's land surface area.

 

Although the total of 483 primate deaths over 25 years may not appear very
high, we can assume that many remain undetected. For example scavengers
might remove the dead animals, or they could be hidden by dense vegetation
on road verges. They could be in remote places, in the case of power lines,
or severely injured animals might die later, a distance away from the road.
For roads, the actual mortality rate could be 12-16 times higher than the
detection rate.

 

Read more: Statistical ecology can unlock the power of biodiversity data in
Africa 

 

Solutions

 

Encouragingly, there is more and more research showing that primates, as
well as many other tree-dwelling species, accept man-made canopy bridges as
a means to cross gaps in their habitat.

 

In South Africa we conducted an experiment in the field to test what kind of
canopy bridge primates would use to cross gaps between trees. We found that
all five South African primate species used the canopy bridges offered to
them. The design they preferred was a solid pole bridge, rather than a
ladder bridge.

 

More and more canopy bridges of various kinds are being provided in
different countries. But research shows that Africa is lagging behind other
continents in doing this, and there are no canopy bridges in South Africa.
We suggest that all infrastructure development projects should try to give
attention to maintaining the integrity of landscapes, for example by
providing bridges for animals.

 

Public participation

 

We all need and use linear infrastructure in our day to day lives, so we all
carry some level of responsibility. Hence, we encourage people to record
wildlife mortalities and submit them to publicly available repositories such
as iNaturalist or the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

 

A new Global Primate Roadkill Database is also being developed by Laura
Praill at Oxford Brookes University and colleagues and should be available
to the public by April 2023.

 

Public awareness and participation is essential to lessen the human impact
on biodiversity.

 

Birthe (Bibi) Linden, Postdoctoral Researcher (University of Venda) &
Associated Researcher (Lajuma Research Centre), University of Venda

 

Wendy Collinson, Research Fellow: South African Research Chair in
Biodiversity Value & Change, University of Venda

 

 

 

 

Kenya: Panic Grips Coffee Farmers in Mt Kenya Following Fears of Low Returns

Nyeri — Panic and fear has gripped coffee farmers in Mt Kenya region
following the realization of poor prices at this year's coffee auction.

 

Following imminent poor pay, coffee farmers and their leaders now want the
Kenya Kwanza administration to set up a stabilization fund to cushion
farmers and preempt abandonment of the crop termed as black man Gold.

 

Speaking to the media Nyeri town MP Duncan Maina a member of a group of
leaders championing the rights of farmers said that it is apparent that the
2020/2022 crop will be poorly paid when one examines current prices at the
auction.

 

 

"For us, as leaders it's clear that this time around farmers will be paid
poorly with pay expected to decrease by Sh100, we have realized that
although this year's early crop was more compared to other years, prices at
the auction were low and this will definitely lower returns and that is why
we are demanding a fund similar to the Price Stabilisation (Stabex) funds
and coffee development fund," said Maina.

 

According to statics from the auction, this year's early crop realized low
prices of between USD180 and 200 for 50 kilograms of clean coffee as opposed
to high prices of between USD300 to 500 for the 2019/2020 crop.

 

Maina says that he is disappointed by the supplementary budget which was
presented to the assembly as it lacks no provision for money to cushion
farmers or even provide subsidies to the crop.

 

"Kenya Kwanza government rode on the promise of guaranteed maximum price for
coffee and tea farmers however it's unfortunate that we have no money meant
for farmers in the two sectors, this will complicate matters for our
government since farm inputs are out of reach for our farmers and worse
still they will be paid less," said Maina.

 

He said that it is high time for government planners to take coffee farming
seriously since the crop and tea are the leading exchange earner for the
nation.

 

John Gitonga Ngatia a farmer from Kamuyu said that unless the government
moves in, they will surely be paid less as compared to last year when they
were paid between Sh100 and 120 per raw kilo of cherry

 

"It is unfortunate that this government has come too late in the day to
realize that we will be paid poorly and they promised us that we will have a
minimum paid price but we have our votes intact we will wait but we will act
in the ballot box eventually " said Ngatia.

 

In January, Deputy president Rigathi Gachagua was tasked to oversee the
coffee and tea sectors in a move aimed at improving the fortunes of farmers.

 

On his appointment, Gachagua declared war on cartels which he said have been
milking farmers dry taking huge chunks of farmers' hard-earned money only to
pay them peanuts.

 

-Capital FM.

 

 

 

 

 

 


 


 


Invest Wisely!

Bulls n Bears 

 

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INVESTORS DIARY 2023

 


Company

Event

Venue

Date & Time

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

Good Friday

 

April 7

 


 

Easter Saturday

 

April 8

 


 

Easter Sunday

 

April 9

 


 

Easter Monday

 

April 10

 


 

Independence Day

 

April 18

 


 

Workers’ Day

 

May 1

 


 

Africa Day

 

May 25

 


 

 

 

 

 


Companies under Cautionary

 

 

 


CBZH

TSL

Fidelity

 


Willdale

FMHL

ZBFH

 


GetBucks

Zimre

Seed Co

 


 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

 


DISCLAIMER: This report has been prepared by Bulls ‘n Bears, a division of
Faith Capital (Pvt) Ltd for general information purposes only and does not
constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy or
subscribe for any securities. The information contained in this report has
been compiled from sources believed to be reliable, but no representation or
warranty is made or guarantee given as to its accuracy or completeness. All
opinions expressed and recommendations made are subject to change without
notice. Securities or financial instruments mentioned herein may not be
suitable for all investors. Securities of emerging and mid-size growth
companies typically involve a higher degree of risk and more volatility than
the securities of more established companies. Neither Faith Capital nor any
other member of Bulls ‘n Bears nor any other person, accepts any liability
whatsoever for any loss howsoever arising from any use of this report or its
contents or otherwise arising in connection therewith. Recipients of this
report shall be solely responsible for making their own independent
investigation into the business, financial condition and future prospects of
any companies referred to in this report. Other  Indices quoted herein are
for guideline purposes only and sourced from third parties.

 


 

 


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<mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> bulls at bullszimbabwe.com Tel: +263 4 2927658 Cell:
+263 77 344 1674

 


 

 

 

 

 

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