ABUJA (Reuters) – Nigeria is targeting economic growth of at least 7 percent a year by 2020, the Ministry of Budget and National Planning said on Tuesday, a far cry from its current recession, the first in 25 years.

Nigeria’s economy is heavily dependent on exports of crude oil and is undermined by decades of endemic corruption, It has been hobbled by low global oil prices that have slashed government revenues and the availability of foreign currency.

In the third quarter of 2016, gross domestic product contracted 2.24 percent from a year earlier.

With inflation also at an 11-year high, frustration is rising, with protesters taking to the streets of Lagos on Monday to call for a change in government.

The 7 percent target for gross domestic product growth is part of a medium-term economic recovery plan that seeks to address some of Nigeria’s issues, the budget ministry said in a statement.

“Our goal is to have an economy with low inflation, stable exchange rates, and a diversified and inclusive growth,” Minister of Budget and National Planning Udoma Udo Udoma said at an economic forum on Monday, where he addressed private enterprise, according to the statement.

The plan’s priorities are agriculture and food security, energy, small businesses and industrialisation and stabilising the macroeconomic environment, the minister said.

“Nigerian growth faces various supply constraints including fuel, power, foreign exchange, and even business unfriendly regulation,” the statement said, adding that the recovery plan would seek to address these issues.

(Reporting by Camillus Eboh; Writing by Paul Carsten; Editing by Dominic Evans)

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GABORONE (Reuters) – Botswana’s economy will grow by nearly double in 2017 compared to the previous year as Africa’s largest exporter of diamonds shakes off a slump in global commodity prices and electricity shortages.

In a budget speech to parliament on Monday, Finance Minister Kenneth Matambo said the economy would grow by an estimated 4.2 percent in 2017 compared with 2.9 percent growth in 2016.

However, the minister said the budget deficit would widen, to 1.43 percent of GDP from 0.7 previously, as government spent more on electricity and water infrastructure following a severe drought in the region.

“The optimistic outlook is based on the anticipated slight improvement in the mining sector and positive growth prospects for the non-mining sectors,” Matambo said.

The minister said revenues for the 2017/18 financial year were estimated at 57.2 billion pula ($5.5 billion), with customs collections accounting for 29.8 percent of revenues followed by minerals at 28.6 percent.

Matambo warned that slow recovery in the global economy and low commodity prices posed risks to the growth forecast.

An analyst at First National Bank Botswana, Moatlhodi Sebabole, said the investments in water and energy infrastructure were a positive step.

“The rise in expenditure is enough to support the growth projections but the key will be implementation of these projects,” Sebabole said.

Botswana, which celebrated 50 years of independence in 2016, is considered one of the continent’s most stable nations and boasts one of the highest rates of income per capita in the world.

The land-locked state has, however, struggled with weaker growth in recent times as mineral sales slowed, while electricity shortages have hurt mining.

($1 = 10.5042 pulas)

(Reporting by Johannesburg newsroom; Editing by James Macharia)

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By Wendell Roelf

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) – South Africa will publish its revised Mining Charter by next month, a minister said on Monday, bringing closer legislation meant to redress racial economic inequality but which has concerned companies struggling with lower commodity prices.

A separate Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act will be finalised by June, proposing to give the state a 20 percent free stake in new energy projects and the ability to buy further shares.

The Mining Charter was introduced in 2002 to increase black ownership of the mining industry, which accounts for around 7 percent of South Africa’s economic output.

However, industry body the Chamber of Mines, has taken the government to court over ownership interpretations in the latest draft, which requires companies to keep black ownership at 26 percent even if black shareholders sell their stakes.

“We are not challenging the charter. We are fully supportive of the entire transformation journey, but we just need the rules to be absolutely clear to make sure we don’t end up making targets that are unobtainable but are pragmatic and realistic,” said Roger Baxter, chief executive of the Chamber of Mines.

In a separate court case, a local law firm is challenging the entire Mining Charter, arguing it is unconstitutional.

The new charter, which was revised in 2010 as part of a consultative approach to regulations, also requires companies to provide housing and other amenities in mining communities, many of which are mired in poverty and neglect.

“If government goes ahead and implements the charter in its current form it will be very unfortunate, because it would have a pretty dramatic effect on investment in mining in South Africa,” said Peter Leon, a partner at law firm Herbert Smith Freehills African practice.

South Africa is the world’s top platinum producer and has a significant gold industry but firms are struggling with depressed prices, rising costs and bouts of labour unrest.

“For investors, it goes without saying that regulatory certainty and the sanctity of private ownership under the constitution is paramount,” Anglo American Chief Executive Mark Cutifani told delegates at a mining summit in Cape Town.

Mining companies say they were not consulted in the latest draft but Minister of Mineral Resources Mosebenzi Zwane denied this and sought to reassure investors.

“We have consulted extensively with stakeholders,” Zwane said in a speech at the opening of the summit.

“We call upon investors to come to South Africa and engage us frankly as we move towards transformation of our economy. We will continue to have an open door policy.”

With rising unemployment, the ruling African National Congress is under increasing pressure to address gaping inequality that persists 23 years after the end of apartheid.

Black South Africans make up 80 percent of the 54 million population, yet most of the economy in terms of ownership of land and companies remains in the hands of white people, who account for around 8 percent of the population.

(Additional reporting by Zandi Shabalala, Ed Stoddard and Barbara Lewis; Writing by Joe Brock; Editing by James Macharia and Susan Thomas)

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