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Marketers Will Pay Naira for Dangote Fuel -IPMAN

Aliko Dangote Refined petroleum products from the $20bn Dangote Petroleum Refinery are to be sold in naira and not in the United States dollar as speculated in some quarters, oil marketers clarified on Monday. Dealers in the downstream oil sector also stated that the registration process for marketers at the refinery was still ongoing, as many operators had continued to register with the plant. It was further gathered that officials of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority were meeting with the management of the refinery to perfect the pricing template for products produced by the facility. On January 12, 2023, the Dangote Petroleum Refinery announced the commencement of production of Automotive Gas Oil, also known as diesel, and JetA1 or aviation fuel. The President, Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, had in a statement issued by the firm, said, “We have started the production of diesel and aviation fuel, and the products will be in the market within this mon...
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South Africa's recession worsens as economy shrinks 51% in Q2


Shoppers queue outside a grocery store back in March during an initial 21-day nationwide lockdown aimed at limiting the spread of the novel coronavirus in Soweto, South Africa [File: Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters]
Shoppers queue outside a grocery store back in March during an initial 21-day nationwide lockdown aimed at limiting the spread of the novel coronavirus in Soweto, South Africa 

"This is the first time in history that the South African economy has contracted for four straight quarters," Statistician-General Risenga Maluleke told a news conference.

The rand fell roughly 1 percent against the dollar on the dismal data to trade at 16.9325 to the dollar.

Joe de Beer, another top official at Statistics South Africa, said after adjusting for inflation the economy was roughly the same size in the April-June quarter as in the first quarter of 2007.

Most sectors declined steeply except for agriculture, which grew 15.1 percent in the second quarter from January-March, helped by fruit and nut exports, and better-than-average winter rainfall.

Mining declined 73.1 percent, manufacturing 74.9 percent and construction 76.6 percent. Gross domestic product (GDP) for the whole economy shrank 17.1 percent from the same period in 2019.

Tough times

Jeff Schultz, economist at BNP Paribas, said the global effect of the pandemic coupled with the recent return of power cuts by ailing state utility Eskom would hamper any economic recovery.

"It will take a very long time to get to pre-pandemic levels," he said.

The government expects a GDP decline of at least 7 percent in 2020, a worrying prediction in a country where unemployment was at about 30 percent before COVID-19.

Pamela Mutandwa, 37, who runs a roadside vegetable stand in Pretoria, said times were hard. "It was really difficult during lockdown. There were no people buying and I struggled. When I opened in 2009 there were more customers."

Tlouama Abrama, 31, a petrol attendant, said he was disappointed by the government's economic policies. "They should be doing more to revive the factories around here so people can get jobs. Their policies are not working."

The finance ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.


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