Daily Watch – Senate suspends tax reform hearing, Bad weather affects cocoa output
5th December 2024

At least 12 people were reportedly killed Wednesday morning as an explosive planted by bandits blew off a bridge in Zamfara State. The victims were travelling in an overloaded Golf car to Gusau from Maru Local Government Area of Zamfara State when the incident occurred at about 8 a.m. at Gadar Mailamba (Mailamba Bridge) in Tashar Sahabi in Maru LGA. Premium Times reported. An explosive planted by bandits had similarly blown off another bridge in the area on Sunday after an attack by the outlaws was repelled in Unguwar Galadima in the same local government area. Residents said the bandits were attacking communities around Dansadau emirate to avenge the killing of their leader, Sani Black, in September by local vigilantes. The Zamfara State Police Command said the newly identified terror group, Lakurawa, is responsible for the recent explosions.
The Senate has suspended action on the tax reform bills and further instructed the Committee on Finance to stay action on the public hearing pending the time the agitations are addressed. The Senate further constituted a special committee to meet with the executive branch and work with the Federal Government to resolve the issues surrounding the tax reform bills. This was made known by the Deputy Senate President, Jibrin Barau, who presided during the plenary on Wednesday, and noted that the delegation will meet on Thursday to resolve all the issues that have been the cause of the uproar. Members of the committee include Adamu Ailero (PDP, Kebbi Central), Orji Kalu (APC, Abia North), Seriake Dickson (PDP, Bayelsa West) Titus Zam (Benue South), Abdullahi Yahaya (Kebbi), Adeola Olamilekan (APC, Ogun West), Sani Musa (APC, Niger East), and Adetokunbo Abiru (APC, Lagos East).
Ghana’s inflation rose for the third month in a row in November, to 23% year on year from 22.1% in October, the statistics service said on Wednesday. Government statistician Samuel Kobina Annim said food prices drove the latest increase. Food inflation rose to 25.9% compared to 28.8% in October 2024. Equally, non-food inflation went down to 20.7% in November compared to 21.5% in October 2024. In addition, inflation for locally produced items went up to 25.4% in November 2024 compared to 24.6% in October 2024 while inflation for imported items went up in November to 17.6 compared to 16.3 in October 2024.
Multinational cocoa exporters operating in Ivory Coast fear a drop in supplies from farmers in the coming months after adverse weather hit crops, Reuters reported. In the western and southwestern regions that produce more than half of Ivory Coast’s cocoa, heavy rains have damaged crops. “We were happy at the start of October, but the rains arrived and ruined everything. Today we only have a few pods to harvest and nothing more,” said Daniel Konan Kanga, a farmer who owns six hectares in the western city of Duekoue. “There’s nothing more to harvest,” said Simon Djedje, who owns five hectares in the southwestern region of Soubre. In the Ivorian bush, cooperatives, buyers and middlemen say the bulk of the main harvest was completed in November, and shortages are expected to last through February or March.