African press review 1 December 2016

New money for old in Zimbabwe. A possible income boost for Nigerians. School grade deflation in Kenya. And South Africans are asked if bigger really is better?

In Zimbabwe, the government owned Herald tells readers that the bond note currency demo planned for yesterday in Harare was a flop.

Bond notes, which began circulating on Monday, are the latest attempt by the country's Reserve Bank to introduce a credible local currency that will hold its value.

The Herald says the demonstration called for by the opposition National Electoral Reform Agenda, was largely ignored by the public, and that the bond notes were well received.

Privately owned Newsday has a slightly different view, saying the public is divided over the notes, officially valued at 1:1 with the US dollar.

At a public hearing in the country’s second-largest city, Bulawayo, the paper reports, some people called for a referendum on the surrogate currency, while others suggested the government should return the Zimbabwean dollar.

In a separate story, Newsday cites University of Zimbabwe senior economics lecturer, Phineas Kadenge, who warned in a public lecture that people were expecting “too much” from bond notes, which would not solve all the country’s socio-economic challenges.

Kadenge said some quarters were talking up “self-fulfilling prophecies” by portraying the new currency as doomed. Those peddling such information were pursuing a political agenda, he said.

Lest we forget, Zimbabwe experienced hyperinflation from the late 1990s. During the peak month in November 2008, inflation hit 80 billion percent. Subsequently, the country switched to the United States dollar.

Nigerian oil prices soar

In Nigeria, the popular Lagos daily This Day cheerfully reports that the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has agreed to the first oil production cut in eight years, leading to a price rally that saw oil prices hitting a one-month high of $50 per barrel.

The paper quotes the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources who said if oil prices continue to hover at slightly above $50 for a prolonged period, Nigeria would be comfortable with the price.

Still, This Day cautions, the excitement could be blighted by militant attacks in the Niger Delta, which have seen Nigeria’s oil output fall since the beginning of the year.

Attacks on oil and gas infrastructure have impacted on oil earnings and exacerbated the foreign exchange scarcity in the country.

Given oil revenue is Nigeria's major source of income, it's an important issue.

Education issues in Kenya

The Standard reports that the Kenya National Examination Council is telling Kenyans to expect drastic reduction in the number of students who get the top grade because of tighter quality controls.

The issue is known as grade inflation, a process which devalues examination results.

The examination board’s chief, Professor George Magoha, says that in any population the “A grade materials fall between five and 10 percent, and Kenya cannot keep producing so many A’s.

"Anything outside that bracket is suspicious or extraordinary and for a school to have 96.6 percent scoring A is stupidity of the highest level," Magoha is quoted as saying.

SA has bigger things on its mind

In South Africa, the Sowetan has other burning issues on its mind.

"Is a gigantic penis really better?” the paper asks.

This may seem a little risqué. But the paper justifies its enquiry by saying "For as long as we can remember, size has always been a hot topic in the bedroom, and the general consensus has always been ‘the bigger, the better’.”

The downside, the Sowetan says, is that men who are too well-endowed can scare potential partners away the minute they drop their pants.

One such case is 26-year-old musician, Romeo Malik, a Congo native living in Johannesburg. Malik says being big is not a blessing.

The paper consults a sex therapist who advises bigger men to respect their partner and not rush the sex but rather ease into things.

Now we know.