Zimbabwe’s average annual inflation rate will drop to 134% in 2020, according to a new report published by the Ministry of Finance. The Southern African country has been grappling with dire economic declines for more than ten years, with runaway inflation hitting the 659.4% mark in September. As a result, there have been severe shortages…
The World Bank has issued an urgent call for $25 billion in further COVID-19 emergency financing to assist the world’s poorest nations tackle the challenges raised by the pandemic. David Malpass, the World Bank’s president, spoke to finance ministers and central bank governors of the G20 major economies that he would lay out a supplemental…
Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM), has launched the Strategic Business Plan for the establishment of a Plastic Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO) in Kenya. The PRO will drive collective Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) in the country, whereby a producer’s responsibility for a product is extended to the post-consumer stage of a product’s life cycle, whilst turning plastic waste into valuable resources. The Strategic…
South Africa’s economy will contract by 8% in 2020, though the International Monetary Fund projects a 3% growth in the 2021 financial year in its World Economic Outlook report. The IMF’s 2021 growth forecast is 0.5% less its previous estimate released in June, and in line with projections by the Ministry of Finance. President Cyril…
Ghana has officially become the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to achieve the Millennium Development Goal 1, which is the target of halving extreme poverty. The success stories don’t end there though. According to a report from the Ministry of Finance, the country became a middle income economy in June, and with an economic freedom…
Rwanda’s Kigali International Finance Centre (KIFC) has signed a financial agreement with French public investment bank Bpifrance that sets the path for the two public institutions to support and promote business exchange and economic cooperation between both nations. The agreement is particularly a major milestone for the Kigali International Finance Centre as it aims to…
Zambia is set to default on its external debt when the copper producing nation misses $118 million in interest payments on Eurobonds due from October 14 to March 2021. The Southern African country is banking on a comprehensive debt restructuring plan but without help from its largest creditor, China, as well as a substantial macroeconomic…
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has denied Nigeria will issue Eurobonds due to their hefty expenses and instead look for alternative ways to raise funds to support the economy as it battles a looming recession. In a news conference, Osinbajo said, “We are not likely going to explore again the Eurobond market because we are trying…
South African state owned defence company, Denel, has requested for $231 million bail out from the National Treasury over the next three years. Denel manufactures military equipment for South Africa’s armed forces, and has been embroiled in a financial crisis made worse by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The firm has struggled to pay salaries of…
South Sudan will change the country’s currency, in a move the government says is aimed at improving its beleaguered economy. Information Minister Michael Makuei Lueth broke the news at a press conference in the capital Juba, following a cabinet meeting that approved the change. “The cabinet has decided that the current currency should be changed….This…
Private sectors activity in Africa’s most industrialized nation, South Africa, declined at a slower rate in the month of September as the government relaxed strict lockdown measures imposed to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus. The IHS Markit Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) climbed to 49.4 in September from 45.3 in the previous month, illustrating…
Ethiopian Airlines have offered operational aid to rival South African Airways (SAA) which includes planes, pilots and maintenance. The goodwill gesture that was announced by the CEO Tewolde GebreMariam, is however not enough for SAA. South African Airways, the national carrier of Africa’s most industrialized nation, requires a cash injection of $600 million to get…
The Republic of Congo’s government has announced that the economy will grow by 0.5% in 2021 after a contraction of 8.6% in 2020. The positive economic outlook is driven by renewed optimism for oil futures, as revenues are projected to rise 21% to 1,846.1 billion CFA francs ($3.32 billion), up from 1,525.3 billion CFA francs…
The Ghanaian government has pulled back the $500 million listing of its gold royalty fund Agyapa Royalties in London, as concerns mount over transparency and accountability. The main opposition party, National Democratic Congress, has raised fears that the funds would be misappropriated while questioning the listing process. Other civil society groups and independent economists have…
Chevron’s Nigerian subsidiary has announced that it will slash its local workforce by 25% in order to offset costs and minimize losses. The oil firm has been operating a joint venture with Nigeria’s state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) for decades, but this year has been the toughest financially owing to the weak demand for…
Kenya’s private sector activity rose by the fastest rate in 29 months in September according to a report released by the Markit Stanbic Bank Kenya Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI). PMI jumped to 56.3 in September from 53.0 in the previous month, driven by an increase in firms resuming operations after President Uhuru Kenyatta eased some…
Zambia Chamber of Mines has asked the government to reform its taxation policies and treat mineral royalty payments as a deductible expense, in order to eliminate double taxations and spur investment in the sector. Since Parliament passed new tax regulations in 2019, mineral royalty payments have not been treated as a deductible expense when calculating…
External trade data from Mali’s statistics agency reveals that the country’s gold exports rose 6.5% to 65.6 tonnes in 2019 compared with the previous financial year. The Statistics agency delayed release of the data owing to the coronavirus pandemic that has grinded the Malian economy to a halt and led to refocusing of policy, and…
Ivory Coast’s government has announced a new budget of $15.47 billion for the 2021 financial year, marking an increase of 6.9% on 2020’s budget. According to the Government Spokesman’s Office, the budget’s increase is meant to improve the living standards of people affected by the corona virus pandemic. As such, there are inclusions of social…
Zambia’s government says that the nation is on the verge of receiving $1 billion in debt service relief should all its requests to official and commercial creditors be granted. The country’s Finance Minister Bwalya Ng’andu revealed in a presentation to creditors that Zambia has made formal requests that aim to wipe out its debt. “We…