Category: Industry

RUNDU: The Mineworkers Union of Namibia (MUN) said it is committed to job security for its members. General secretary and administrative head of MUN, George Ampweya in a media statement issued here on Monday wrote that MUN is committed, as it has been for the past 35 years, to defending and preserving its members' job security. 'This is part and parcel of our constitutional and legal obligations towards our members and is done well within our structural functionalities which include branch, region and national levels respectively,' Ampweya said. Ampweya said in May 2023 alone the union successfully concluded six court cases, which they are proud of. He added that although the union is being precluded by the Labour Act 11 of 2007, it insists on going as far as tendering representations even at the internal disciplinary hearing levels including all other aspects within the given sphere of its structures. 'This wide-ranging support is done with the oversight of the MUN head office, national executive commit tee and the office of our national president, as the situation demands,' he noted. Ampweya encouraged members to form part of its leadership structures to determine their own internal processes and governance in terms of the MUN constitution. This inclusion, he said, will allow them to help chart the direction forward and ensure that their needs are reflected in decisions and interventions. 'Ultimately, this contributes to a stronger labour movement and union where we all complement each other from branch, region and national, to avoid structural representation distortion,' he indicated. Source: The Namibia Press Agency President Kais Saied met, on Monday at the Carthage Palace, President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Odile Renaud-Basso, who is visiting Tunisia from February 19 to 20. During the meeting, Saied stressed the importance of strengthening dialogue between Tunisia and the EBRD with a view to financing promising projects in Tunisia, particularly in the fields of renewable energy, new technologies, health, infrastructure and water desalination, "within the framework of a global vision that meets the aspirations of the sovereign Tunisian people", according to the Presidency. Saied, whose comments were quoted in the press release, also underscored the state's commitment to providing the necessary legal and legislative guarantees and a favourable climate to attract private investment and encourage Tunisia's partners to finance more diversified projects capable of boosting growth and development. The President underlined the State's support for entrepreneurship and business, saying t hat "the State attaches equal importance to supporting public services and enterprises, given their central role in the national economy and in the protection of fundamental human rights (health, transport, etc.)". At the end of the meeting, EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso said that her meeting with the Head of State had focused on the main priorities, adding she would also be meeting members of the government in the coming days to discuss financing for businesses and very concrete projects for the country. Since starting operations in Tunisia in 2012, the EBRD has invested more than pound 2.1 billion in 69 projects in the country and supported more than 1,200 SMEs through technical assistance funded by the European Union. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

The 3rd edition of the fair "La Balade équitable et solidaire" will take place from February 22 to March 3, 2024 at Artisan Palace, Berges du Lac, on the initiative of the Groupement du Patronat Francophone "GPF", in partnership with the Ministry of Tourism and Handicrafts and the National Handicraft Office. Launched in 2020, this initiative aims to promote Tunisian handicrafts by providing an exhibition platform for 50 talented craftsmen from different regions of Tunisia. For this 3rd edition, craftspeople, artists and designers from all regions of the country will come to exhibit their creations and promote their talents and know-how. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Foreign exchange reserves fell by 14 days of imports to 105 days of imports (23 billion dinars) on Monday, from 119 days of imports (25.9 billion dinars) on February 16, according to financial and monetary indicators published by the Central Bank of Tunisia. Economist Moez Hdidane told TAP this decrease is due to the repayment of the Eurobond of of 850 million euros (principal)on February 17, to which is added interest of 47.8 million euros, making a total of 898 million euros (equivalent to 3 billion dinars). Hdidane explained that the repayment of this instalment was made possible thanks to the 3-billion-dinar advance recently granted by the BCT to the Tunisian Public Treasury on an exceptional basis. The Assembly of People's Representatives (ARP), on February 6, approved a bill authorising the BCT to grant facilities to the Treasury in order to enable the government to mobilise the necessary resources to meet the urgent financial needs of the State. The economist also pointed out that the repayment of this Eurobond on 19 February will lead to a decrease in the balance of the Treasury's current account, which will fall from 4.5 billion dinars to 1.5 billion dinars, after 3 billion dinars have been drawn and converted into euros to meet this repayment. He also noted that the next major maturity of the public external debt on the international financial market will have to be repaid in October 2024. It is loan guaranteed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), contracted in 2014, the repayment of which will mobilise an amount of 1 billion dinars, equivalent to 5 days of imports. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

The value of approved agricultural investments in 2023 fell by 25.1% compared to 2022 to TND 480.1 million, according to a statistical bulletin on private agricultural investments in 2023 released on Monday by the Agricultural Investment Promotion Agency (APIA). The number of investment operations has also decreased by 11% to 3021 operations, which will create 3076 permanent jobs, compared to 3552 in 2022. Compared to the 2016-2020 development plan, private agricultural investments went down by 32.4% in number and 28% in value. The investments are distributed as follows TND 381.5 million for agriculture, TND 73.9 million for services, TND 57.9 million for fisheries, TND 33.3 million for primary processing and TND 3.9 million for aquaculture. There was also a decrease in the number of investments approved for young people, with 510 operations worth TND 52.3 million, compared with 791 operations worth TND 83.8 million in 2022. Conversely, 320 operations worth TND 33.3 million were approved for women, compar ed with 253 operations worth TND 28.3 million in 2022. Approved investments benefited from grants worth TND 139.5 million, representing 29.1% of the volume of approved investments, compared with TND 168.2 million in 2022 (26.3%). Subsidies for the purchase of agricultural equipment amounted to TND 57.5 million, representing 41.2% of total approved subsidies. The loan rate fell to a maximum of 20%. As for investment indicators in components that help rationalise the use of natural resources, approved investment in photovoltaic equipment increased to TND 11.7 million, with subsidies of TND 5.9 million. Investments in organic production amounted to TND 10.2 million, with subsidies of TND 3.4 million. Approved investments in olive tree planting components stood at TND 8 million, with subsidies of TND 3.6 million. Approved investments in water saving components amounted to TND 13.9, with subsidies of TND 6.5 million. In addition, the granting committees approved 42 land loans worth TND 6.6 million, compared to 58 loans worth TND 9.4 million in 2022. These loans will allow 413 hectares of land to be brought into the economic cycle, compared with 519 hectares in 2022. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

The stock market has started this week well. The benchmark index closed Monday's session up 0.54% at 8403.88 points on a modest volume of TND 3 million, reported broker Tunisie Valeurs. UADH was the best performer of the session. The car retailer's shares rose by 4.4% to TND 0.470 on a low volume of TND 1,000. Délice Holding shares led the way in terms of volume. The share of the dairy products specialist fed the market with transactions of 441 thousand dinars, or 15% of the total volume traded during the session. The stock ended the session in positive territory, up 1.1% to TND 10.500. BNA shares ended the session in positive territory. The state-owned bank's share price rose by 4% to TND 0.780, attracting TND 107,000 during the session. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has fallen by 4.1%. Land'Or shares were among the biggest losers of the session. The cheesemaker's shares fell 2% to TND 5.880 on thin trading volume of TND 6,000. The stock has fallen by 2% since the beginning of the year. So urce: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse