Zimbabwe Online News

The weather Monday is temporarily cloudy in most regions, getting sometimes very cloudy in the north with scattered rains in the far northwest regions during the night. The wind is blowing quite strong, stronger near coasts, light to moderate elsewhere. The sea is choppy to rough. Highs are ranging between 15°C and 20°C, reaching 22°C in the far south and hovering over 13°C on heights. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement: Analysis of Tariff Concessions and New Measures for Trade Liberalisation" is the theme of a technical workshop slated to be held on February 29 in Tunis, the Tunis Chamber of Commerce and Industry (French: CCIT). The event, organised by the CCIT, is designed to explore the list of tariff concessions submitted by . AfCFTA member states and help master techniques of using the E-tariff book, a digital plateform to determine tariff advantages. The aim is also to have a better understanding of the Guided Trade Initiative (GTI) and the reciprocity principle as well as the rules of origin approved. Tunisia signed up to the GTI launched on October 7, 2022, by the AfCFTA Secretariat during the 10th Meeting of the Council of Ministers -October 7-8, 2022, in Accra). Tunisia is one of the first eight African countries (Egypt, Ghana, Camerouo, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania and Mauritius Island ) gearing up for the launch of the continental free trade area under thi s initiative, said the Ministry of Trade and Export Development. The AfCFTA Secretariat selected five criteria for accession to the GTI. The AfCFTA Agreement entered into force on May 30, 2019, seeks to create a single market of 1.27 billion consumers with an aggregate GDP between US $2.5 billion. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

To entrench a culture of aviation security among airport stakeholders will be the goal set for 2024, Transport Minister Rabie Majidi told a meeting on Monday. Tunisia is set to become a leading tourist and investment destination in the long term, thanks to the efforts exerted to ensure the security of airports, aircrafts and all carriers. This event, organised in cooperation with the United Kingdom's Ministry of Transport, seeks to enhance civil aviation security and to endeavour to raise awareness among the players and staff in this field, notably in Tunisia's airports, as part of a global strategy that takes into account the specific nature of the sector, the technological development, innovation and creation in recent years. The minister pointed out that Tunisia is a pioneer in the field of civil aviation security, having adopted international conventions on civil aviation, calling for laws to be amended to ensure that they are in line with international conventions. He underlined in this regard, the n eed to revise the civil aviation code to make it consistent with the sector's international requirements. The goal is to provide all the optimal conditions for the management of these assets, taking into account their sovereign aspect, in terms of safety and security, in compliance with national requirements and international developments, as well as the standard rules published by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). Majidi called to implement new management methods to encourage investments and projects in civil aviation and air navigation that will help the country honour its international commitments and agreements. He laid emphasis on the importance of the health, safety and environmental protection aspects in accordance with international standards, as well as on the need to build up skills to foster proficiency in new technologies, rapid and forward-looking intervention, and the development of mechanisms for sharing expertise and experience with regional partners. He further pointed out the need to boost cooperation between the two countries to reinforce air transport safety, through the development of an air safety culture. 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

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