BUSINESS - The African Mirror

Nov

05

2020

Congo government proposes 23.2% budget cut for 2021

BUSINESS

THE Democratic Republic of Congo's government has proposed to parliament a budget of 14.2 trillion Congolese francs ($6.9 billion) for 2021, a 23.2% decrease compared with the previous year, a draft document seen by Reuters has shown. The world's leading cobalt producer sees its economy growing 3.2% next year, the budget ministry document showed, after a projected contraction of 1.7% in 2020 caused by the economic shock of the coronavirus pandemic. The slimmed-down budget, which still needs to be agreed by parliament, is one of several pre-conditions set by the International Monetary Fund, which is considering the lender's first formal…

Nov

04

2020

By The African Mirror

Nigeria’s unrest chokes cocoa shipments

BUSINESS

CHIJIOKOE OHUOCHA NIGERIAN protests against police brutality, coupled with curfews to quell unrest, have drastically slowed cocoa shipments to the Lagos port, adding to problems for farmers grappling with falling prices, an industry body said. Nigeria, the world's fifth biggest cocoa grower, had barely recovered from the impact of lockdowns to curb the novel coronavirus when violence sparked by the protests erupted last month, forcing several states to restrict movement. The president of the cocoa association, Mufutau Abolarinwa, told Reuters the combination of curfews and traffic gridlock meant it could take up to 30 days for containers to travel within…

Nov

04

2020

By The African Mirror

Libya crude output rises to about 850,000 bpd, says oil source

BUSINESS

LIBYAN oil production has risen to about 850,000 barrels per day (BPD), up from about 800,000 bpd on October 31, a Libyan oil source has told Reuters. The North African country is still restarting its oil fields after the lifting of an eight-month blockade by eastern forces and production is fluctuating, the source said on condition of anonymity. Oil output dipped to about 780,000 bpd on Sunday, he added. The blockade had reduced the OPEC member's oil production to about 100,000 bpd from 1.2 million bpd. - Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Nov

03

2020

By The African Mirror

South Africa’s waning economic fortunes demand harsh policy adjustments: who will bear the brunt?

BUSINESS

MICHAEL SACHS, Adjunct Professor, University of the Witwatersrand THE social and economic crisis generated by the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated South Africa’s fiscal crisis. But the origins of the fiscal crisis are deeper. It is a structural crisis that will define public policy over the years ahead. Two decades ago, South Africa was confident about its economic future. Public expenditure was expanded to deliver on social objectives that had been deferred at the outset of the democratic transition in 1994. The expansion of public sector commitments was deliberate, warranted and well-targeted. It included a permanent expansion of core public services…

Nov

02

2020

By The African Mirror

Mali’s auditor general recommends review of mining contracts

BUSINESS

Mali’s transitional government aims to review mining conventions signed with companies by the previous administrations, interim President Bah N’daw, said late on Friday following recommendations from the country’s auditor general. Mali is one of Africa's largest gold producers. Companies operating in the country include Barrick Gold Corp and AngloGold Ashanti and Resolute Mining. “The conventions establishing mining companies include clauses which do not always guarantee the protection of the interests of the state,” Auditor General Samba Alhamdou Baby said after handing his report to the interim president. “In particular the non-distribution of dividends, the non-payment of certain taxes, to which is added…

Oct

18

2020

By The African Mirror

Zimbabwe’s restrictions on mobile money transfers are a blow to financial inclusion

BUSINESS

MARCIA KWARAMBA, Scholar-in-Residence in the Social Responsibility and Sustainability Division, University of Colorado Boulder MOBILE financial services are, in most African countries, born out of crises. In 2011, Zimbabwe had gone through a volatile decade of economic crises – hyperinflation, currency instability and a collapse of the formal financial system. Consumers, mostly employed in the informal sector, had a widespread mistrust of the formal banking system. In came Econet, a major mobile operator, to launch a mobile money service called Ecocash. Taking advantage of the country’s high mobile penetration, the service had 2.3 million users within 18 months. Today, close…

Oct

14

2020

By The African Mirror

Extension of G20 debt freeze would be very beneficial – Angola

BUSINESS

ELIZABETH HOWCROFT and MARCH JONES EXTENDING a scheme by major economies to halt billions of dollars in debt service from poor nations during the coronavirus crisis would be very helpful, Angola's finance minister has said, promising a lean approach from her country. The G20 group's Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) has since April helped more than 40 developing world nations defer at least $5 billion in official debt payments. An extension is expected in coming days, though it might only be until the middle of 2021 rather than the end as debtor nations had hoped. "We are very keen... to…

Oct

13

2020

By The African Mirror

Stung by the pandemic, Ethiopia boosts health budget 46%

BUSINESS

DUNCAN MIRIRI ETHIOPIA has raised its health budget by 46% this year after the coronavirus crisis exposed the need for more equipment, facilities and personnel, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has announced. The populous Horn of Africa nation has typically been spending twice its annual health budget servicing its external debt, he said, but it was now shifting priorities. "In many African countries, healthcare is a neglected sector. This pandemic has exposed our dark underbelly," Abiy told the FT Africa conference, which was held virtually. The extra spending has made the health sector the fourth biggest in terms of budgetary allocations,…

Oct

13

2020

By The African Mirror

More synchronized action needed to tackle COVID economic crisis

BUSINESS

THE international community must do more to tackle the economic fallout of the COVID-19 crisis, the head of the International Monetary Fund said on Monday, publicly calling on the World Bank to accelerate its lending to hard-hit African countries. Some of the key events of the virtual and elongated annual meetings of the IMF and World Bank take place this week, with the most pressing issue how to support struggling countries. "We are going to continue to push to do even more," IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said during an online FT Africa summit. "I would beg for also more…

Oct

12

2020

By The African Mirror

Nigeria not looking to issue Eurobonds, Vice President says

BUSINESS

FELIX ONUAH NIGERIA will avoid issuing Eurobonds due to their expense, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said, and will look at alternative ways to raise funds to support the economy in the face of a looming recession. “We are not likely going to explore again the Eurobond market because we are trying to avoid commercial borrowing,” Osinbajo told journalists in a group interview late on Friday. Nigeria’s economy has been hobbled as the coronavirus pandemic has triggered a crash in the price of oil, its main export, and an exodus of foreign investors. Nigeria is likely to enter recession in the…