South Africa: Employment of Additional Members of the South African National Defence Force for Service in Cooperation with the South African Police Service (21.04.2020)

Opinion: COVID-19 broke the back of the fossil-fuel industry

The COVID-19 or Coronavirus outrbreak has broken the Fossil-Fuel Industry or the Petroleum Industry. The futures of sales on oil is crashing, the value of oil is shrinking, as the demand has gone bust within a short time. While the OPEC-Plus countries and other oil producing continued to drill oil and produce more barrels of oil. Which by all means are surplus. This means, the cost of production and the possible hitting the market at a loss.

The oil industry is hit by the lack of ordinary transport. That people are not flying, they are not using public transport or their own cars. As so many nations and republics with lockdowns. So, the demand has fallen dramatically over the last few weeks. This means the amount of drilled oil and surplus will stored, as the wholesale struggle to be traded and the ones buying need to keep it in stock. Since, the market is saturated with surplus as it is.

Why did the Oil Prices Crash:

First, demand has been obviously decreasing as the coronavirus spreads around the world. Many countries took preventative measures including social distancing, restrictions on going out and prohibitions on international travel. This has sharply reduced demand for oil for transportation via vehicles and airplanes” (…) “Secondly, there is a technical reason. In the futures market, investors have to end the contract by doing a reverse trade by a certain expiry date, or buyers have to take physical delivery of the oil. The contract of WTI crude for May delivery, which was most actively traded, expires on Tuesday, so many investors who had bought oil rushed to sell to close the trading” (Rurika Imahashi – ‘Four things to know about the historic oil price plunge’ 21.04.2020, Asia Nikkei – Asian Review).

We can easily see and understand why we are here. There is no tourism right now. Airlines are not operating. Companies are going bonkers and people are under lockdown all across the board. Not only in one Republic, but in most. There isn’t a Kingdom, Republic or a Nation in itself, which haven’t had a lockdown or movement restriction. There are so many places where the public have been restricted.

That this industry has been hit and hard. This is only natural by the actions made by all governments and citizens following the social distancing and less travel. That is why the petroleum industry have more production, than what its actually trading. The wholesale is failing, while there is surplus in stock.

The petroleum and gasoline will be hit for a while, until the public and transportation companies uses as much as it used too before the COVID-19. The usage of cars, public transport and aviation industry too.

We are seeing a crash of industry because of how we changed quickly and how the lockdowns interfered in the usual acts of man-kind. We don’t need as much petroleum and fossil-fuel to get around. We don’t even travel within out own towns. There is just needed workers who does. The rest are based in small spaces. There already other industries hit already like Airlines, Tourism and so-on. This is a continuation of it.

The oil crash will directly hurt markets. It will not a big whoesale, as there is a lack of storage and places to put the millions of surplus barrels of oil. That is before the ones produced in the future. Peace.

Cameroun: Ministere de la Sante Publique – Communique Radio-Presse – Renforcement du plateau technique en rapport avec la lutte contre le COVID-19 (21.04.2020)

Update on the COVID-19 Outbreak in Uganda (20.04.2020)

Cameroon: North-West Region – Governor’s Office – General Secetariat – Ref. 008 – Press Release (20.04.2020)

Burundi: Communique de Presse du Ministere de la Sante Publique et de la Lutte Contre le SIDA sur le Suivi des Actions de Prevention et de Riposte Face au COVID-19 (21.04.2020)

Ethiopia: Notification Note on COVID-19 Situational Update (21.04.2020)

Gabon: Ministere de l’Economie et des Finances – Communique de presse (20.04.2020)

Rwanda: Ministry of Health – COVID-19 Coronavirus Update (20.04.2020)

Opinion: Zaake MP is in a perfect storm…

The People Power Movement Members of Parliament Francis Zaake has been arrested because he sent food with boda-boda to his constituents. Zaake MP didn’t act vile or in discontent with any law. He used his wealth of office to give food to the ones who needs it in the midst of the second lockdown period. Not like he went house-to-house or used broke the law in other ways.

Zaake only got into trouble, because his a vocal opposition leader and MP. If he was an NRM associate or one of them. He would have gotten away with it. Like the Pastor who did the same thing the other day. However, the President directive and all controlled through the COVID-19 Fund. That is why Zaake gets into trouble. Because, Zaake MP needs to be named in one of the National Addresses, since he would have spent more than 3,000 shillings on it.

Zaake is in a perfect storm. If he doesn’t spend funds on his constituents, they are not getting fed. If he does do it, he gets into trouble. He got the latter after trying to do the merciful thing. He had chosen to defy the directive and not use the COVID-19 Fund and OPM Food Delivery Unit. He decided to do it on his own in his constituency.

This is the same government that sent the public to the Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago to get food. Where they pushed the community to his doors during the weekend. So, its ironic that they are arresting Zaake for doing what they pushed on Lukwago. Lukwago who didn’t actually do this service was pushed and held captive by the public from Rubaga Division in Kampala. He had crowds around his compound on the 19th April. Yes, Zaake did it on his own merry, but Lukwago had more people around him. Zaake was in home as his home was raided and arrested for his operation.

The State House and Office of Prime Minister (OPM) is in-charge of an operation, where the state is asking for donations and the President specifically asks for cars. While, a man who defies Presidential Directives are charged with murder. Even if he didn’t make crowds, didn’t defy social distancing and such. Sent small tokens of foods in Mityana district. That is clearly the message.

Zaake should have just sent the food to the stockpile of the COVID-19 Fund. Not, that the food and packages would have been received to his constituents. Because, then its up to the ones who runs it. The COVID-19 Fund who has been busy giving out in Wakiso and Kampala, not in Mityana. That is why the President and his team is ignorant of the plight elsewhere. Maybe they are looking the other way and hoping this will pass.

Zaake could either let his constituents starve or feed them as he saw it possible. Now, his paying the price for doing this. However, this is also a signal of the failure of the state and the COVID-19 response of the central government. If the government was working, than Zaake wouldn’t need to do it at all. That is how you can see its a perfect storm.

He can either play with fire, add more wood or get burned. He got burned by playing. However, if he didn’t play, the fire would burn out and there would be no heat. That is why he acted. That says it all. Peace.