E-Financial
World Bank Backs Public Health Reforms With $170 Million
With World Bank support of $150 million, the Nigeria State Health Program aims to get more women to health facilities that offer lifesaving services including skilled attendance during childbirth and immunization for babies. To evaluate the impact of the new approach, Nigeria will also receive a $20 million grant from the Health Results Innovation Trust Fund, supported by the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development and the Government of Norway, and administered by the World Bank. Adamawa, Nasarawa and Ondo states are beneficiaries of the grant that will help roll out bold healthcare reforms which will focus on results at public health facilities. The reforms signal improved care for over 9 million people, of whom nearly 4 million are women aged 15-49 and children under age five. Every year, about 400,000 pregnant women need care in these states, where the chances of giving birth with skilled help can be as low as 1 in 7. Marie Francoise Marie-Nelly, World Bank Country Director for Nigeria said: “Three states in Nigeria are leading the way for others by rewarding health facilities for tangible results. I hope that they will show how public money can be invested smartly to get closer to the Millennium Development Goals, especially those related to the survival and health of mothers and children.” Under the program, health facilities will be paid for verifiable results such as the number of children immunized. Successfully employed in Rwanda and Burundi, this “Results-Based Financing” approach could help Nigeria rapidly reduce its current 10 percent share of global maternal deaths. “We have a huge gap to cover in terms of achieving the health outcomes we desire for our people,” said Dr. Mohammed Ali Pate, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Health. “The Results-Based Financing approach will enable us to focus on those outcomes, because in the end it is not the process or the inputs that matter, it’s whether or not you are getting people to be healthier, or women surviving childbirth, or children surviving till the age of five.” In addition to Results-Based Financing for health facilities, the program will also attempt to overcome institutional bottlenecks at the state and local government levels, and provide technical assistance. Rolled out more widely, such reforms could spur a significant decline in Nigeria’s high maternal mortality and under-five child mortality rates, which have declined slowly despite relatively high levels of spending on health. The three participating states vary considerably in terms of health indicators, so will provide rich experience to guide future investments in health, both domestic and by development partners.
E-Financial
Lagos State Appoints MoneyMaster as Payment Partner for “Ounje Eko” Programme
“Ounje Eko”, the food price discount initiative of the Lagos State Government, has appointed leading payment service bank, MoneyMaster Payment Service Bank Limited (MMPSB), as its collaborator in the bid to ensure ease of payments at the market.
MoneyMaster is one of the Central Bank of Nigeria-licensed Payment Service Banks (PSBs) to promote financial inclusion across Nigeria.
Under the partnership, MMPSB will apply its cutting-edge payment solution to engender easy payment and reconciliation in order to make the experiences of Lagosians who will be getting their food supplies from the markets pleasurable. Its payment solution is also all-encompassing and ensures real time value to payment destinations.
The mobile bank was appointed as the collection and payment partner for “Ounje Eko” Food Markets programme which is a government initiative serving the five divisions of Lagos State. Consequent on this, MoneyMaster Payment Service Bank will collect payments in 57 LCDAs in the state.
The partnership gives credence to the quality of payment solutions that MoneyMaster is reputed for in its services to its growing business clientele in private and public sectors.
E-Financial
CBN, EFCC Probe Banks, Firms over Alleged Forex Racketeering
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), is investigating irregular foreign exchange transactions and forward contracts valued at approximately $2.4 billion.
The inquiry follows an extensive audit by Deloitte, which scrutinized $7 billion in dollar debts accumulated under the bank’s previous leadership.
In the aftermath of the 294th Monetary Policy Committee meeting in Abuja, Yemi Cardoso, governor of CBN, disclosed to journalists that the investigation, supported by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, among other security bodies, aims to clarify the legitimacy of these FX allocations identified as problematic by the audit.
“It was determined that a number of these transactions did not qualify…they were outright illegal. The law enforcement agencies are now looking into those transactions that as far as we are concerned, are not valid to be paid,” Cardoso detailed, emphasizing the unlawful nature of these forex deals.
The crux of the investigation lies in the audit findings that a significant portion of the scrutinized transactions lacked proper documentation and, in many instances, were deemed outright illegal.
However, the unfolding investigation has raised concerns within the organized private sector, with some entities contemplating legal action against commercial banks for unresolved forex bids.
Despite these tensions, Governor Cardoso reassures that the foreign exchange market remains open and transparent, inviting stakeholders to address their forex needs through the official channels.
Furthermore, Cardoso clarified the distribution of fertilizers to farmers as a one-off measure and not indicative of a shift back to direct interventions by the CBN, underscoring a commitment to strategic, regulatory governance rather than direct market involvement.
E-Financial
CBN Urges Banks to Expedite Action on Recapitalisation
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed deposit money banks in the country to expedite action to increase their capital base from the current ₦25bn.
Olayemi Cardoso, governor of CBN, stated this during the apex bank’s 294th meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) on Tuesday in Abuja, when the MPC hiked the interest rate by 22.75% to 24.75%.
The apex bank chief said the MPC examined developments in the banking sector and expressed satisfaction that the industry remained stable. The committee, however, said to guard against risk, commercial banks in the country should accelerate their recapitalisation efforts.
Cardoso said, “The MPC also reviewed developments in the banking system and noted that the industry remains safe, sound, and stable. The committee thus called on the bank to sustain its surveillance and ensure compliance of banks with existing regulatory and macro-potential guidelines.
“The MPC also enjoined the banks to expedite actions on the recapitalisation of banks to strengthen the system against potential risks in an increasingly globalised world.”
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