Feeling the heat

The Week Ahead

One of Nigeria's most reliable businesses, Okomu Oil Palm Plc, is facing a crisis. Recent attacks by criminal gangs have left three employees dead, raising questions about investor safety and government intervention. We explore the complexities of this situation and ask: what are the broader implications of these brazen threats on the immediate community and the country at large?
Next, the Nigerian fiscal policy committee has proposed sweeping Value Added Tax (VAT) reforms aimed at simplifying the tax system and protecting vulnerable populations. Part of the reforms proposed is the simplification of the VAT system by consolidating state-level consumption taxes, allowing input VAT credits for businesses, and exempting basic necessities from VAT. Will these changes truly impact small businesses and lower-income segments?
Finally, in Ghana, inflation rates are showing a mixed picture, with declines in food prices contrasting with increases in non-food items.
Data coming out of Ghana highlights a slight decrease in the overall inflation rate while food prices dipped, leading to the overall decline in the inflation rate, same cannot be said for non-food items. What factors are driving these trends, and how are they affecting everyday Ghanaians' purchasing power?

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