Dubai, United Arab Emirates | AFP | The coronavirus crisis, which has already battered oil prices, threatens to further undercut Gulf economies battling a downturn and struggling to wean themselves from a decades-old energy addiction. The six Gulf states — Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates …
Read More »World’s 22 richest men have more than all women in Africa: Oxfam
Davos, Switzerland | AFP | The number of billionaires has doubled in the past decade and the world’s 22 richest men now have more wealth than all the women in Africa, Oxfam said Monday in an appeal to the Davos elite to get serious about inequality. “Our broken economies are …
Read More »China GDP grew 6.1% in 2019, slowest in three decades
Beijing, China | AFP | China’s economy weakened to its slowest pace in three decades in 2019 as weaker domestic demand and trade tensions with the United States took their toll, official data showed Friday. The world’s second-largest economy grew by 6.1 percent last year, its worst performance since 1990, …
Read More »Power cuts return to South Africa
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South Africa’s electricity utility Eskom at the weekend resumed power outages, citing a “vulnerable” generating system, just weeks after implementing the severest rationing in recent times. The debt-laden company which generates around 95 percent of the country’s electricity, on Sunday said the cuts …
Read More »2019 economy performs below expectations
Growth is projected to range between 5.5-6% compared to 6.2% in 2018 Kampala, Uganda | JULIUS BUSINGE | Uganda’s economy performed below expectations especially towards the end of the year, according to the latest Bank of Uganda Monitory Policy Report. In addition, an analysis of the different monetary policy reports, …
Read More »Sixty years on, Africa still seeks right model for growth
Paris, France | AFP | As 1960 dawned, sub-Saharan Africa braced for historic change: that year, 17 of its countries were destined to gain independence from European colonial powers. But six decades on, the continent is mired in many problems. It is struggling to build an economic model that encourages …
Read More »Rwanda’s grand vision for future leaves poor in Kigali on the curb
Kigali, Rwanda | AFP | Slum dwellers in Kigali are accusing city authorities of razing their homes without paying compensation, stirring anger among poorer Rwandans who feel marginalised by a government-led push to modernise the capital. This month, the first of thousands of homes slated for demolition in Kigali’s unplanned …
Read More »US urges countries to suspend digital taxes
Washington, United States | AFP | US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Wednesday urged countries like France to suspend taxes on global computing giants and wait for a negotiated agreement on international taxation. As the United States is poised to impose tariffs of up to 100 percent on $2.4 billion …
Read More »Two years after coup, Zimbabweans grow more despondent
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Two years ago, Linos Mutepera was among hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans who celebrated the toppling of long-time ruler Robert Mugabe with tears of joy. Today, he looks back at that time with bitterness, his hope of a better life dashed on the rocks of poverty …
Read More »Uganda economy gets bigger by 20%
Bigger Economy: Why could that be bad news? Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The recent rebasing of the national account series by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) has excited economists with many saying it presents the government an opportunity to make policy based on data that is a …
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