A 1,098 carat diamond believed to be the third largest gem-quality stone ever to be mined, has been discovered in Botswana, according to a joint venture between Anglo American’s De Beers and the government.

The stone was presented to President Mokgweetsi Masisi on Wednesday by Debswana Diamond Company’s acting managing director Lynette Armstrong. It is the third largest in the world, behind the 3,106 carat Cullinan stone recovered in South Africa in 1905 and the 1,109 carat Lesedi La Rona unearthed by Lucara Diamonds in Botswana in 2015.

“This is the largest diamond to be recovered by Debswana in its history of over 50 years in operation,” Armstrong said.

“From our preliminary analysis it could be the world’s third largest gem quality stone. We are yet to make a decision on whether to sell it through the De Beers channel or through the state owned Okavango Diamond Company,” Armstrong said.

Minerals minister Lefoko Moagi said the discovery of the yet-to-be named stone, which measures 73mm long, 52mm wide and 27mm thick, could not have come at a better time after the COVID-19 pandemic hit diamond sales in 2020.

The government receives as much as 80% of the income from Debswana’s sales through dividends, royalties and taxes.

Production at Debswana fell 29% in 2020 to 16.6 million carats while sales fell 30% to $2.1 billion as the pandemic impacted both production and demand.

In 2021, Debswana plans to increase output by as much as 38% to pre-pandemic levels of 23 million carats as the global diamond market recovers with the easing of travel restrictions and reopening of jewellers.

The former chairman of state-owned South African utility Eskom and widely admired businessman Jabu Mabuza has died from COVID-19 complications on Wednesday, his family announced.

Mabuza, 63, resigned unexpectedly from Eskom in early 2020 after apologising for failing to meet a commitment to avoid power cuts during the holiday period. He had been appointed to lead the Eskom board shortly after President Cyril Ramaphosa won the African National Congress (ANC) party leadership in December 2017.

“Jabu lived his life so beautifully and committed to the transformation of South Africa’s economy,” the statement from his family read.

“He was a pillar of strength for his family, a dedicated servant of the country, an activist in empowering black entrepreneurs and committed to work for the transformation of corporate South Africa.”

Mabuza also served as chairman of various companies including casino and hotel owner Sun International, mobile and landline operator Telkom SA and Anheuser Busch InBev’s African business following the merger with SAB Miller in 2018.

He also served as the former group chief executive officer of casino and hotel owner Tsogo Sun Holdings Limited, the president of Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) and chair of Business Leadership South Africa.

BUSA President Sipho Pityana called Mabuza a “powerhouse in the South African economy”, adding in a statement: “I am at a loss for words. The passing of Jabu is tragic, devastating and a great loss for business and our country.”

MTN Nigeria said on Wednesday it notified some enterprise customers about a potential service disruption to enable them put in place business continuity measures.

The local unit of South Africa’s telcoms firm MTN runs Nigeria’s largest mobile phone network which generates around a third of the company’s revenue.

The action was “a routine notification to a small group of businesses affected by a specific challenge in very few specific locations,” MTN said.

“Maintaining network stability and high levels of customer service remains a key priority for us,” Karl Toriola, MTN Nigeria’s chief executive, said in a statement.

Toriola said MTN aimed to inform customers in a timely manner so that they can put in place business continuity measures. Potential disruptions could be due to network maintenance, faults or other circumstances that may pose a risk, he said.

On Tuesday, MTN had sent a customer notice, seen by Reuters, informing them that services could be disrupted due to rising insecurity in different parts of the country.

The International Monetary Fund said on Thursday it was concerned by Nigeria’s move to renew fuel subsidies and urged the government to continue efforts to unify its exchange rates.

Africa’s largest oil exporter, which still has to import almost all its fuel needs due to lack of refining capacity, said in March it had ended costly fuel subsidies.

It also has multiple naira rates running in parallel that were put in place during a 2016 oil price crash to avoid a big devaluation but which have underpinned an unofficial exchange market.

“The mission (IMF team) expressed its concern with the resurgence of fuel subsidies,” the IMF said in a statement following virtual meetings with the Nigerian authorities.

“The mission recommended maintaining the momentum toward fully unifying all exchange rate windows and establishing a market-clearing exchange rate,” it added.

The country’s central bank has recently been letting the currency’s official value gradually weaken in an apparent move to allow it to converge with what is known as the NAFEX rate, a market-determined rate for investors and exporters.

The IMF’s comments come after the World Bank this week said the central bank’s management of the foreign exchange regime had reduce access to foreign exchange, undermining investor confidence and investment appetite.

The IMF also said in its statement on Thursday that Nigeria’s banking industry remained well-capitalised with the level of non-performing loans (NPLs) contained.

“Nevertheless, it remains to be seen what share of forborne loans may turn non-performing as the impact of the pandemic abates,” it said, adding that NPLs often rose towards the end of an economic crisis.