Starlink has suspended orders for its residential kits across Nigeria with a note that the suspension would be lifted after securing approval from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for its recently announced price increment. The company, however, allows orders for its high-end Business Plan – ₦159,000 for a monthly subscription compared with the Residential Plan which costs ₦38,000 per month. Starlink in September announced a 97% price increase for its monthly subscription from ₦38,000 to ₦75,000. For new users, the company increased the Starlink kits by 34% from ₦440,000 to ₦590,000. The company cited “excessive inflation” as the reason for the increment. The announcement sparked controversy in the Nigerian telecom sector as local operators accused the NCC of double standard for allowing Starlink to increase price, which they are not allowed to do despite years of appeals to the regulator. The NCC, however, stated it did not approve Starlink’s price increment.
At least 50 Boko Haram fighters were killed on Tuesday and seven members of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) were missing, following an insurgent ambush on a convoy monitoring the country’s power grid installations. Babawale Afolabi, spokesperson for the NSCDC, a government agency set up to protect infrastructure, said security operatives were ambushed by about 200 Boko Haram fighters during the patrol mission. Afolabi said more than 50 insurgents were killed in the fighting but seven operatives were missing, adding that efforts are underway to find them in the bush. He said “a few others” of the security force were wounded.
Ghana’s Producer Price Inflation (PPI) rate for October 2024 shot up by 2.5% to 33.0%, from 30.5% in September 2024. According to the Ghana Statistical Service, the month-on-month change in the PPI between September 2024 and October 2024 was 3%. The PPI in the Industry sector, excluding the Construction sector, increased from 43.3% in September 2024 to 48.8% in October 2024. The rate in the construction sector also increased to 31.5% in October 2024. In the Services sector, the rate recorded the same as 12.4% in October 2024. Similarly, the Mining and Quarrying (54.3%), recorded inflation rates above the national average (33.0%), while Water Supply, Sewerage, and Waste Management activity recorded the lowest rate of 4.1% in October 2024.
Southern Africa’s regional bloc on Wednesday extended by a year its troop deployment in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where it is helping the government fight rebel groups. The Southern African Development Community (SADC) deployed the mission in Congo, a major producer of metals like cobalt and copper, in December 2023 with a one-year mandate. A communique issued after regional leaders met in Zimbabwe’s capital Harare expressed concern at the security and humanitarian situation in Congo and reiterated the bloc’s support for the government. “Summit extended the mandate of the SADC Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo by one year, continuing the regional response to address the prevailing unstable security situation,” the communique said.