Washington, United States | AFP | South Africa’s central bank chief Lesetja Kganyago will take over as chair of the International Monetary Fund’s policy advisory committee, the IMF announced Thursday. Kganyago, who has served as governor of the South African Reserve Bank since late 2014, takes on a three-year post …
Read More »COMMENT: Misery for inflation targeters
Why the misery index has a role to play in assessing the state of an economy and success of policy COMMENT | KOICHI HAMADA | The United States, Europe, and Japan are all making positive economic strides. In the U.S, the unemployment rate is falling, and now stands at just over …
Read More »Mixed reactions to Museveni’s New Year speech on economy
What experts think is important in regard to president’s message Kampala, Uganda | JULIUS BUSINGE | Gideon Badagawa, the executive director at the Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU), says President Yoweri Museveni’s New Year speech with regard to value addition was well-intentioned. “The concentration of the speech on value addition …
Read More »‘Massive’ infrastructure spending needed in Africa, says report
Abidjan, Ivory Coast | AFP | Economic growth in Africa picked up steam last year and is set to accelerate strongly in 2018, but “massive investments” are needed in infrastructure, the African Development Bank (ADB) said Wednesday. Growth in Africa rose from 2.2 percent in 2016 to 3.6 percent in …
Read More »Africa’s top bank indicates oil investments to spur Uganda economy in 2018
Abidjan, Ivory Coast | THE INDEPENDENT | The latest African Economic Outlook (AEO) report indicates that foreign direct investment (FDI) flows following the recent issuance of oil exploration licenses and the investment in infrastructure development is expected to spur Uganda’s economy for most of 2018. The African Development Bank 2018 …
Read More »Sudan police fire tear gas as protesters march against price rises
Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | About 200 protesters marched Wednesday in the Sudanese capital’s twin city of Omdurman against rising food prices, with anti-riot police firing tear gas to disperse the rally. Prices of food items but mainly bread have surged in past weeks across Sudan after a jump in …
Read More »DR Congo revises mining code to make most of battery-driven cobalt boom
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | As demand for batteries drives a surge in the price of cobalt, the Democratic Republic of Congo is gearing up to overhaul its mining regulations to harvest more profit from the coveted metal. The global boom for smartphones and electric cars has pushed up the …
Read More »S.Africa aims to patch-up threadbare clothing industry
Maitland, South Africa | AFP | South Africa is fighting to revive its frayed clothing industry, once a crucial provider of jobs in a country suffering from high unemployment, as a flood of cheap imports forces local factories to shutter and lay off workers. Once the economic lifeblood of many small …
Read More »S.Africa seeks cash from firms linked to Zuma graft scandal
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South African prosecutors said Tuesday they are seeking $130 million from global consultancy McKinsey and a local firm linked to a graft scandal that has engulfed President Jacob Zuma. The announcement was the first move against the Gupta family that is accused of corrupt …
Read More »Sudan police beat protesters at demo against rising prices
Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Anti-riot police fired tear gas and beat protesters with batons Tuesday as hundreds of Sudanese demonstrated against soaring bread prices near a presidential palace in Khartoum, an AFP correspondent said. Bread prices have more than doubled after a jump in the cost of flour due …
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