Nigeria’s inflation sharply rose to a three-year high in November as food prices increased due to dollar shortages, insecurity in farmlands, and supply bottlenecks fuelled by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, consumer prices jumped 14.9% from the previous year, compared with 14.2% in October. The food index, which accounts for…
McKinsey will pay back over $40 million to South Africa after a judicial inquiry into alleged corruption in Africa’s most industrialized country revealed irregularities in contracts that the global consulting firm had with a local partner at government-owned companies. McKinsey had already paid $65.7 million to South Africa in 2018 after it worked with the…
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has confirmed Zambia formally requested assistance to navigate a debt crisis. Zambia became the first pandemic-era sovereign debt default in the continent last month, after it failed to pay a $42.5 million coupon on one of its Eurobonds. The government had earlier indicated it would seek help from the IMF…
South Africa’s auditor general has announced recovery of nearly $228 million of irregularly paid COVID-19 jobless claims in an ongoing investigation into corruption linked to relief funds. Earlier in the year, a special jobless grant administered by the government’s Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) called TERS payments was introduced to provide between 38% and 60% of…
A Russian-backed project – Great Dyke Investments – that is planning to build Zimbabwe’s biggest platinum mine has sold a 4.4% stake to Fossil Mines, as the pandemic disrupted fundraising for the venture. Fossil is owned by Zimbabwe’s Obey Chimuka and the firm will invest $30 million in the Darwendale project through a combination of…
A new survey shows that South Africa’s business confidence rose in the fourth quarter of the year, as easing of COVID-19 lockdowns in the past few months led to a resurgence in economic activity. The Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) business confidence index (BCI), compiled by the Bureau for Economic Research jumped to 40 points in…
Nigeria’s central bank governor, Godwin Emefiele, projects the economy will grow by roughly 2% in 2021. Africa’s largest economy slipped into recession in the third quarter – the worst in 33 years – blamed on the COVID-19 pandemic and drop in global crude oil prices. However, Emefiele said he expected it to be short-lived. Emefiele…
South Sudan, the newest country in the East African Community (EAC) bloc, has been called upon by the East African Business Council (EABC) to stop charging visa entry fees on any EAC Partner State and embrace the use of National Identity cards as a traveling document across the region. EABC CEO Dr. Peter Mutuku Mathuki…
Nigeria’s central bank held its benchmark lending rate at 11.5% following a meeting by the monetary policy committee on Tuesday. Prior to the meeting, the last of 2020, the bank had cut the rate on two occasions this year both by 100 basis points. Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele said in a virtual briefing in…
Ethiopia will proceed with plans to sell a minority stake in state-run Ethio Telecoms within nine months and tendering for two new licenses will start on December 1 despite fears the war on Tigray would scare away potential investors. Ethiopia considers the telecoms industry its crown jewel even as Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed seeks to…
Nigeria has slipped into a recession for the second time in the last five years after its gross domestic product contracted for the second consecutive quarter due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and a fall in crude oil prices. Africa’s largest economy was last in recession in 2016, its first in a generation,…
Africa’s most developed nation warned on Saturday the rating downgrade by Moody’s and Fitch will increase the country’s borrowing costs and limit its fiscal framework Tito Mboweni, Minister of Finance said, “The decision by Fitch and Moody’s… is a painful one. “There is an urgent need for government to implement structural economic reforms to avoid…
Zambia has become Africa’s first pandemic-era sovereign defaulter after the copper producing nation failed to pay an overdue Eurobond coupon before a 30-day grace period elapsed on Friday. Finance Minister Bwalya Ng’andu insisted the country wasn’t in a position to make the payment and sought a reprieve until April. “They will not support the standstill…
Gold mining giant Endeavour Mining is in talks with the much smaller Teranga Gold over a merger which if successful would mark the latest in a series of deals involving the West African gold industry. Increased consolidation of mining firms operating in Western Africa enhances miners’ abilities to manage increasing security costs especially in the…
Eastern Africa’s aviation industry received enormous acclaim on Tuesday as both Ethiopia’s and Kenya’s state-owned airlines clinched all the Africa’s Leading Airlines awards on offer. The two nations are arch rivals not only in athletics but also the aviation industry, and this competition has spurred both airlines to global reputation. Ethiopian Airlines has again been…
Diamond mining giant Debswana will close a diamond mine in Botswana as the firm struggles to make profit from mining lower value diamonds due to weak demand and trading disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Debswana Mining Company is equally owned by De Beers and the Botswana government, and is among the largest diamond miners…
Nigerian Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning Zainab Ahmed has said that the country’s total public debt may hit $100.8 billion by December 2021. Ahmed made the statements when she appeared before the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts. There have been growing concerns among the public and economists over Nigeria’s debt stock….
Eskom, South Africa’s major power utility, trimmed its net loss to $1.3 billion in the 2019/20 financial year, though it projects a larger loss in the next financial year owing to the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The firm’s debt grew to $29.8 billion – equivalent to 9% of South Africa’s gross domestic product…
Multinational gold miner AngloGold Ashanti has announced that it will double its dividend payout ratio following an increase in its profits and reduced debt. A rise in global gold prices is responsible, with the price of the precious metal surging to record highs of above $2,000 an ounce in the beginning of the year due…
Trump’s rhetoric versus Biden’s policies. If ever words could summarize a story. The most powerful country in the world is heading to the polls in an election that pits the incumbent President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joseph Biden, who served under Trump’s predecessor, Barack Obama – the first head of state with African…