Nigeria slashes 2020 budget, oil benchmark
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Nigeria slashes 2020 budget, oil benchmark

ByEditorial

The Nigerian government has reviewed downwards its 2020 budget from $27.1bn to $26.9bn to reflect its revenue challenge brought about by global oil price slump. The country’s budget deficit now stands at $13.5bn, with the country only able to fund its budget through direct revenue to the tune of $13.22tn. The government hopes to finance the deficit through foreign loans from the International Monetary Fund, World Bank…

Meeting Africa’s urgent liquidity needs while protecting its access to international markets
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Meeting Africa’s urgent liquidity needs while protecting its access to international markets

ByEditorial

This Opinion is co-signed by the ministers of finance and / or ministers of development of the following countries: Angola, Cameroun, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Namibia, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone and Tunisia. As the Coronavirus pandemic storm sweeps through the world, in Africa it is leaving many economies that have…

Is South Africa’s Lockdown working?
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Is South Africa’s Lockdown working?

ByEditorial

The longer South Africa’s lockdown continues the more I’m reminded of the 1982 Holocaust film, Sophie’s Choice. Starring the impeccable Meryl Streep who won the Oscar for her portrayal of a woman forced by Nazis to make an impossible choice of deciding which one of her two children she wanted sent to the gas chambers….

SA to print more money to fight Covid-19
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SA to print more money to fight Covid-19

ByEditorial

South Africa’s deputy finance minister David Masondo says the country’s central bank should do more to safeguard the economy from the effects of Covid19. Mr Masondo was quoted in a weekend newspaper report calling for the reserve bank to buy government bonds directly from treasury. His comments have received widespread criticism, with many economists stating…

A majority of South Africans fear hunger more than the virus
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A majority of South Africans fear hunger more than the virus

ByEditorial

South Africa’s lockdown moves into unchartered waters this week, from today around 1.5 million workers will return to work as government gradually begins re-open the economy in what it calls a risk adjusted strategy. The strategy will see various sectors of the economy being opened incrementally to prevent the exponential rate of Covid-19 infection. The…